PROJECT: TO CREATE AN ENERGY SERVICE CORPS
The ProblemWe are in an energy crisis – our current use is inefficient and costly – and most of it still comes from dirty sources like coal power plans. This is expensive, leads to public health problems, and causes global warming. One of the biggest problems is that we literally waste a ton of energy every second of the day. Old urban buildings are some of the biggest problems; they are like the old gas-guzzlers on the road. They have cracks in the windows, huge drafts under the doorways, little to no insulation in the walls and attics. All the while the furnace is burning inside or the air conditioning is blasting. On top of that we leave our electronics plugged in all day long and they use energy every second even when they aren’t in use.
The Opportunity
We all want to make our homes warmer and lower our electric bills, but for most of us, doing so seems out of reach and costly. The reality is there are actually a lot of opportunities right now to make our buildings more efficient – especially for low-income residents who need it the most. There are state and federal funds that most people don’t know even know about. And there are simple things that everybody can do in their homes to save energy and money. About 30% of energy use in all buildings can be cut just by doing these simple things.
The Solution
So we’ll be tackling the problem by literally stopping our energy from going out the window and taking the mystery out of energy efficiency.
This semester, we’ll be working hard to:
• Teach thousands of kids across the state fun lessons about energy and the environment.
• Perform basic energy assessments in buildings to let people know how much energy and money they can save.
• Educate thousands of community members by organizing community workshops to teach homeowners how to do simple things around the house.
• We’ll be knocking on doors to distribute information, and getting neighbors together through house parties.
• We’ll be working with the community to actually weatherize homes and buildings by caulking windows, installing insulation, wrapping the hot water pipes with foam, and sealing up cracks
We're looking for people to get involved at all different levels.
The Opportunity
We all want to make our homes warmer and lower our electric bills, but for most of us, doing so seems out of reach and costly. The reality is there are actually a lot of opportunities right now to make our buildings more efficient – especially for low-income residents who need it the most. There are state and federal funds that most people don’t know even know about. And there are simple things that everybody can do in their homes to save energy and money. About 30% of energy use in all buildings can be cut just by doing these simple things.
The Solution
So we’ll be tackling the problem by literally stopping our energy from going out the window and taking the mystery out of energy efficiency.
This semester, we’ll be working hard to:
• Teach thousands of kids across the state fun lessons about energy and the environment.
• Perform basic energy assessments in buildings to let people know how much energy and money they can save.
• Educate thousands of community members by organizing community workshops to teach homeowners how to do simple things around the house.
• We’ll be knocking on doors to distribute information, and getting neighbors together through house parties.
• We’ll be working with the community to actually weatherize homes and buildings by caulking windows, installing insulation, wrapping the hot water pipes with foam, and sealing up cracks
We're looking for people to get involved at all different levels.
EARTH WEEK IS COMING!
Earth Week is coming!
WHAT ALREADY HAPPENED
A CALL FOR CLEAN ENERGY
A few weeks earlier, hundreds of students called during 3 days their Senators through the whole country to let them know they were supporting clean energy.
CALPIRG promoted this CALL-IN event.
We've teamed up with dozens of organizations across the country to host this 72 hour phone blitz to our Senators because the more calls we make, the more they'll pay attention to us.
We all have our own reasons for supporting clean energy. And our Senators need to hear them all.
SOLAR SURVEY
To promote solar panels as a green and efficient energy, CALPIRG helped conducting a solar survey all across the State of California. The survey consisted in asking solar houses' owners what they thought about their solar panel and solar houses in order to evaluate the solar technology and to improve it.
The results of the survey will be published soon in a report that will be handed to our politicians.
The results of the survey will be published soon in a report that will be handed to our politicians.
