Breathing Easier: Improving Your Indoor Air Quality
SSV’s BackPaqAQ app screen El Niño is starting to make its presence felt this winter. With the inevitable rainstorms El Niño brings, we’ll definitely be living a lot more indoors, where the average American already spends […]
Winter’s Coming: Things to Consider to Weather the Storm(s)
A good chunk of Northern and Central California is looking wetter than average. As winter approaches, the conscientious among us will remember to perform yearly fall duties, such as replacing our furnace filters. But a changing […]
Empowering Future Eco-Minded Citizens: SSV’s Youth Air Quality Advocates Program
Introduction In many communities, poor air quality remains an invisible threat. Sustainable Silicon Valley (SSV) is on a mission to change this through their Youth Air Quality Advocates (YAQA) program. This initiative, funded by the California […]
Moving Towards the Light: Home Backup Power Systems
A home stylist’s vision of battery backup. CNET/Petmal/Getty Images We’ve previously highlighted California’s new climate paradigm marked by increasingly extreme weather events. The reliability of a home backup power supply has become more critical than ever. […]
EV Battery Considerations: Chemistry & Mining
Lithium hard rock strip mine. Gwenn Dubourthoumieu/The Carter Center In 2022, the State of California established a plan to make all new vehicle sales zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) by 2035. No doubt this will be a tremendous […]
EV Charging, the Front & the Back
With the exception of the propietary Tesla Supercharger, the de facto standard level 3 plug is the Combined Charging System (CCS1) Type. Via Ars Technica. Rechargeable batteries are now virtually everywhere, powering more and more components […]
Paradise by Bus: Getting Around Oahu
The sun and sand on Lanikai Beach. My wife and I have challenged ourselves to always use local mass transit to get around every destination we visit on vacation. We recently traveled to the Hawaiian island […]
EV Decision Factors: Checking All the Boxes
Chevrolet announced the end of the production line for its popular Bolt in favor of EV versions of their much larger, heavier, more cyclist and pedestrian-dangerous and profitable Sierra and GMC Orion EV models. Upcoming Chevy […]
Earth Month Resolution: Start Your IRA Electrification Plan Now!
Your home electrification plan impacts the current state of you electric panel. Most consumers can “watt miser” their existing service. This is the second part of our series on the Inflation Reduction Act & You; the […]
Inflation Reduction Act Update: Patience, Patience…
Kaitlen Brito, Washington Post The Inflation Reduction Act was enacted by Congress and signed into law by President Biden in August 2022. Among its many provisions, it addresses climate change and energy security throughout the US […]
Turning Brown to Go Green
Turning Brown to Go Green by Greg Larkins We always pride ourselves on having one of the nicer yards on the block. Something I inherited from my father, who had my brother and I always doing […]
Home for the Holidays
Yes, it’s the time of year for holiday celebrations and our suggestions for greening them. Keep these tips in mind to improve the sustainability of your gatherings for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa & New Year’s Eve, whether […]