Christmas in July
 Story By: Timothy Boe, NCARB, AIA
tim@ecotimesmagazine.com



The Holiday Season is a truly magical experience. The color green has often been associated with that time of year, as green historically represents renewal and re-birth. Even the ecological movement has embraced an association with the color green, in keeping with their vision of renewing our planet through a more enlightened sense of environmental stewardship.

Of course the spirit of the Holiday Season could not achieve its fullest potential were it not being viewed through the eyes of children. In fact it's the one time of year that adults strive to become more like kids. The "magic" of the holidays can help to bring our hectic world into proper focus. It helps prepare us for the New Year with a fresh perspective.

Now imagine that it is summer outside and you are a child who is confined to a hospital bed. Take one more step into their world and realize that their future might not project beyond the surgery that they are scheduled for in the coming days. Wouldn't it be wonderful if something could be done to make a little Christmas "magic" for them today? Some people believe it's possible and so for the past six years the company of Bovis Lend Lease has been manipulating the calendars at Children's Hospitals across the country through their program...Christmas in July.

While hospitals receive many gifts during the Holiday Season, donations of books and toys are slow in other times of the year. But for a kid in the hospital, Christmas may seem like an "eternity" away. Now thanks to the efforts of Bovis, along with their many contributors, Christmas comes to places like Children's Hospitals and Ronald McDonald's Houses during the heat of summer.

Each year books and toys are assembled for delivery to hospital toy rooms across the country. These special gifts are given to each child who has been in the hospital for a week, followed by another toy every week that he or she remains. Children also receive a book or toy prior to having a surgical procedure...another toy is there waiting for them when they come out. Kids are also given toys from the Christmas in July Toy and Book Drive if they happen to be hospitalized on their birthday and often if they simply have received no toys from home.

It's now July which heralds yet another Christmas in July Toy and Book Drive. As you read this story thousands of children are having their lives brightened and their spirits lifted through the "magic" of a holiday that still remains a speck on their distant horizon. Nonetheless, this and similar efforts are making this world a better place to live. If the Green Movement is about encouraging restoration and renewal... then surely it flourishes in the lives of these kids.

For information on how to be a part of Christmas in July, email Mitch Patalano at: mitch.patalano@bovislendlease.com or call: (310) 308-7575

Also see:
Give Kids the World
Gift Wish List

"We need a spirituality that emerges out of a reality deeper than ourselves, even deeper than life, a spirituality that is as deep as the earth process itself, a spirituality born out of the solar system and even out of the heavens beyond the solar system. There in the stars is where the primordial elements take shape in both their physical and psychic aspects. There is a certain triviality in any spiritual discipline that does not experience itself as supported by the spiritual as well as the physical dynamics of the entire cosmic-earth process. A spirituality is a mode of being in which not only the divine and the human commune with each other, but we discover ourselves in the universe and the universe discovers itself in us."

---"The Spirituality of the Earth" (1990), by Thomas Berry (1914-June 1, 2009)

Safe, Secure and Green IT
By: Johanna Juntunen
phalaropus@yahoo.com  

In the January issue of Sunbeam we looked at the American Solar Energy Society's policy recommendations for the 111th Congress which included an upgrade for the country's electric grid.
 
Now discussion of the sad state of the U.S. electrical grid is everywhere. They're talking about it in the White House and on Capitol Hill, electrical utilities are gearing up for a major overhaul and policy/technology wonks are salivating over the introduction of the Smart Grid. 
 
It appears that the Smart version is the preferred, indeed essential, technology to make distributive generation plausible in the new world of renewable energy. In the May issue, SOLAR TODAY magazine takes a look at the Smart Grid. Bracken Hendricks' article Wired for Progress is a good place to start to understand this admittedly complex topic.
 
Then take a look at the rest of the Sunbeam's HOT TOPIC for a more in-depth look with several articles and videos that help to unravel the mystery of the Smart Grid...click to see the link

The Nine Trillion Dollar Question ?!?

Many conversations are dominated these days these with speculations as to where all the federal relief money is being spent. There are many worthy entities in holding patterns while this topic gets better defined. Businesses are in need of funding – environmental projects and renewable energy projects are looking for capitol – schools are in need of repairs – and many Americans are out of work due to cut backs at their former jobs. It’s reminiscent of the days when Clara Peller looked at the almost empty bun on a Wendy’s commercial and croaked…“where’s the beef?” The attached video was recently taken at a hearing involving questions posed to the Inspector General for the Federal Reserve Board. It seems that they too have the same questions as Clara... Watch the video

RSi SuperPV on display at INTER SOLAR In San Francisco

San Francisco will be the location where the Solar Energy community will congregate on July 14-16 at the Moscone Convention Center. One of the stars at this event will be RSi Solar as they demonstrate SuperPV, an energy enhancement technology that could change the way that people think about Solar  Energy. In the past year RSi has been turning heads -- first with the introduction of their solar window system and now SuperPV. Solar windows open the possibility of Self Powered Buildings (SPBs) however in order to attain full building autonomy a super PV collector system is also required. Now according to tests provided by the University of Osaka and other studies recently released, the necessary system has been developed by RSi Solar. These products will be demonstrated through live feeds and in panel discussions. Eco-Times Magazine will be reporting from the Solar show with additional updates as they come. Solar has been identified as the most promising of the renewable technologies currently on the market. Utilizing Solar, Self Powered Buildings and Properties may now exist -- functionally free of the energy grid. Attached are numerous recent releases showing recent advances in this remarkable technology.

RSI PV-WINDOW POP-SCI 05-2009.PDF
RSi_SuperPV_Inter-Solar_Munich_Press_Release_05-27-2009.pdf
ZTC_RSi-SuperPV_SPS_Press_Release_06-07-2009.pdf
The_SuperPV_Science_Testimony_2009-05.pdf

Few industries have been hit harder than Retailing. Shopping Centers, once a destination for social interaction, are now experiencing many empty storefronts, as traffic diminishes. The premier educational society for the retail industry – The International Conference of Shopping Centers (ICSC) has always played a leadership role in guiding this industry. One of the many ways in which ICSC has led is in relation to the sustainable movement. Starting with the publication of The Retail Green Agenda and following up with the first Green Retail Conference last year near Dallas, TX., ICSC has long been proactive in terms of steering Retailers to renewable energy, and sustainable building and business practices. After much Industry interest, ICSC has scheduled its next Retail Green Conference for October 14 to 16 in Los Angles, CA. The attached program will provide details for this “must attend” event for both Retailers, as well as Suppliers to this vital industry...Click to see the program