For Episode 6, we hit sunny Monterey Bay to speak with Graham Hunting of Blue Line Power, a clean energy company. We’ve split the episode up into three parts:

Part One:
Graham talks about how you can pay for a commercial or residential solar energy system. We visit the York School to see how real people have gotten off the grid and reduced their carbon footprint. We discuss rebates, tax credits, and green loans that are available to consumers. In the process, we find out how long a system lasts and how long it takes to get a return on investment.

Part Two:
Next, we learn what different types of solar panel systems are available and how efficient they are, including new innovations, like “spray-on” solar panels.

Part Three:
In the last segment, we visit a house that pays $0 in electricity bills. We see the components that make up a solar energy installation, including the inverter, the meter, and the solar panel modules. Finally, Graham touches on maintenance, cost, and why 2008 is the best year to get a residential solar system.

The Green Rapper crew rolled mobb deep to a screening of Seasons, a mountain biking film by The Collective. Now, we’re not ones to drink a lot of Mountain Dew and cross our arms in an X-formation while yelling “EXTREME!”, but we did very much enjoy this beautifully shot film. The film follows elite riders through the back country of their home turf and into the competitive mountain biking circuit, telling their stories chronologically from Winter to Fall. In the end, it is the amazing speeds, stunts and cinematography that make this film worth checking out. Also the soundtrack was awesome and has inspired me to check out the music of Latch Key Kid. Here’s a teaser from Youtube:

In the 1980’s, free trade and environmental degradation virtually eliminated Haiti’s internal rice production. Haitians eventually became dependent on rice imports. Now, Haitians are starving due to rising food prices. There are reports of people making themselves sick, just so they can be admitted to the hospital and get food. There are many reasons for rising food prices including diversion of crops to biofuels and rising commodity and oil prices. Agricultural and oil interests lobbied for blended biofuel solutions such as ethanol, instead of promoting smart solutions such as electric vehicles or reusing waste vegetable oil.

To be sure, Haiti’s neighbor, the Dominican Republic, is also effected by the global food shortage, but they have a huge advantage with their local food production. Dominicans produce 80% of the foods consumed locally, which insulates them somewhat from the global shortages. It would be interesting to hear the presidential candidates address some of these issues in the next debate. Much has been made during the campaigns about special interests and globalization, but this an actual example of how bad policy has created a disaster and the next president must provide leadership on issues like these.

To help the Haitian citizens check out http://www.foodforthepoor.org/donate/haiti. Just $12 will feed one family for a month.

Last month, Nader Khalili, an earth architect from Iran passed away. Khalili developed Super Adobe and Super Block construction. These structures, made of soil, barbed wire, and a little cement, withstand extreme climactic conditions and seismic activity. Originally conceptualized for lunar colonization settlements, these adobe buildings have been built by the United Nations Development Programme to house refugees and have been used widely in hot, dry climates of the developing world. Now that green architecture has caught on, even affluent Americans are getting in on the act.

The Cal-Earth organization in Hesperia, California has plans for homes that have been approved for construction in San Bernardino County. This short documentary shows how sandbag prototypes can easily be built by local people, using local materials.

Last weekend, we went up the 101 to Humboldt Redwood State Park and checked out the Avenue of the Giants. After we had researched their website, we picked a campground and planned hikes and a trip to nearby Arcata and Eureka. This review gives a rundown of our campground pick and recommendations.

It has become increasingly possible that the Democratic contest for president will be decided by Superdelegates instead of actual voters. If you feel as though your vote is becoming more and more irrelevant in the electoral process, you are not alone. David Rothkopf, author of Superclass: The Global Power Elite and the World They Are Making, argues that this power shift is just the tip of the iceberg. I heard him speak last night and he explained his theory that the world’s 6 billion people and their destiny is controlled by about 6 thousand wealthy individuals that he calls the Superclass. These are the same people who show up in statistical sound bites such as: “The richest 2% own more than half of global assets.”

I once heard a similar theory from a bus driver when conversing about politics during my commute, but Rothkopt does have some anecdotal and empirical evidence to support his theory. He proposed the growing disparity of wealth and power will lead to civil unrest and has helped to create populist backlashes in the form of popular leaders such as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hugo Chavez. He also made the claim that issues such as global warming and the stability of world financial institutions are at the mercy of the Superclass as they have usurped national governments. Citing ridiculous policies such as last year’s ethanol-laden energy bill and the border wall, Rothkopt explained how powerful lawyers and lobbyist representing the Superclass have guided government into enacting policies that don’t necessarily reflect our best interests. He even quipped about how the current accusations and controversy of elitism are laughable when you consider they are coming from the wife of a former President and a man whose wife is the heiress to Hensley & Co., the nation’s second-largest Anheuser-Busch distributor.

Despite the bad news about growing disparities, the speaker was optimistic that we can reassert control over our nation and work in cooperation with increasingly powerful countries in Asia to fight global warming and economic instability.

In our latest installment, we traveled across the Bay to speak with youth development veteran Mark Henderson. For 15 years, Mark has been helping inner-city youth get jobs in the city of Oakland. In this fifth episode, he talks with us about the current job situation for youth in Oakland and how Measure Y is addressing the challenges that youth face. Mark breaks down the specifics of using job skills training and employment as an incentive to keep youth in school, off the street, and out of trouble. He also touches on green collar jobs, and explains how regular folks can get involved to help youth and reduce crime in their neighborhood.

Listen to the full version of the Green Rapper production “El Medio Ambiente (The Environment)” from the closing credits by pressing play.