I’m lucky enough to live in a state that gives small solar rebates to homeowners who invest in them. Colorado is also home to a solar panel research laboratory and GE is even planning on setting up a solar panel manufacturing plant here as well.

But what is it going to take for homeowners to actually switch to solar? Many companies offer the installation of solar panels at no money down. Other claim the monthly payments for solar panels even out to the amount they are likely saving each month and even gaining money by selling back to the grid. The common theme? Money.

And that’s exactly the approach SunRun is taking to their marketing of solar panels. Earth-saving altruism is nice, but let’s face it – few people would bother installing solar panels if they weren’t somehow cost effective.  Otherwise, going green would be a truly impossible task.

“Sometimes,” SunRun’s website states, “people just don’t use enough electricity to make the switch to solar financially worthwhile.

Makes sense. A point they put across in their video advertisements as well. Going green with solar is, literally, all about the green.

What would it take for you to go solar? Even partly?

Related articles

• EvoEnergy offers CentroSolar panels

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• Massachusetts Walmarts Will Install Enough Solar Panels to Power 1,344 Homes

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• Canadian Solar to make panels in Japan as green power race heats up

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• I’m Confused.com: Will I be stuck with one energy supplier if I put solar panels on my roof?

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However, I have to look at the Volt from two perspectives – the one where I am genuinely interested in it as a car (I like cars, a lot) and one where I am looking at it as a environmental blogger.  One perspective fares slightly better than the other.

As a car, the Volt is fine. The electric engine picks up when you need it to and the car does really well for turning and handling.  Lots of climate control features, XM radio, a DVD player and all the bells and whistles that seem to come with a mid-range sedan nowadays. Backseats fold down to provide a pretty expansive storage area – big enough for two carefully-stacked bikes.

Drawbacks for this car? It feels like one enormous blind spot. Maybe this comes from a lifetime of driving cars that are slightly longer (trucks, mostly) and maybe there isn’t a fear that my mirrors aren’t showing all there is to see. But every lane change and turn required a stretch of my neck just to make sure I wasn’t going to have to buy this car.

Plastic hoods over the engine, abandon hope all ye who enter here.

The other drawback I noticed is how stupidly reliant this car is on its own technology. For example – there is no spare tire. Looking under the hood, there also isn’t much in terms of access to any of the guts of the car (I looked, even though the Chevy rep told me not to). Any and all vehicular emergencies are received by the push of the On-Star button.

Call me old-fashioned, but I think this is a pretty terrible way to approach a broken car.

This display tells you where the energy is coming from/going to

As an environmentally-minded writer and a man who is interested in anything that would relive us of the petrochemical shackle? I don’t think the Volt is a step in the right direction.

Clearly the Volt was designed around the idea that most trips from the house are about 30 miles, round trip. That’s exactly how long the battery-power lasted on the Volt before it dripped to zero. After that the fuel engine kicked in and for the reminder of my time with the Volt, I was essentially driving a gasoline powered car. During that time, however, the almost-to-helpful computer of the car gave me subtle hints on how I could improve my driving habits to be a more fuel efficient driver – giving me clues about the traffic ahead and a whole on-screen tutorial about not being a jackrabbit accelerator.

Why didn’t I plug it in? Great question. Until I had this car at my disposal I was never aware of how infrequently I parked near a power outlet. The Volt can charge off a 120 volt outlet (like any of the ones in your house). But since I have no garage and park on the street, that wasn’t an option. During the day while I was at work, my parking options were also limited. Furthermore, to get a worthwhile charge, my car needed to be parked near an outlet for about 7-8 hours. I did have the option of parking near an electric car charging port (there were a few in Boulder), I still had to keep it parked for more than a few hours, and just about every kiosk I drove by asked me to keep my parking time to under an hour.

It was not in the cards for me to plug in this car. This car was clearly not meant for me; maybe for the folks who live out in the burbs with a garage at their disposal.

The Volt doesn’t tell you how much fuel you have left in the car (like a classic gas gauge would). Instead, it gives you an approximation of how much farther you can go before you either have to charge or fill up with gasoline. I had to do a little digging to find out that the Volt has a 9 gallon fuel tank. Honestly, for being able to get 350-370 miles on a 9 gallon tank – I’m sort of impressed. However, the reliance on the outlet (and the fossilized fuels that are burned to power that outlet) the Volt is actually a major turn off. Although, while I was never near an outlet, I was able to add some power back to the battery through the car’s Regenerative Power Recovery system – energy reclaimed through coasting and braking. The energy reclaimed on a downhill coast was quickly applied to assist the engine through the next gas-guzzling uphill climb. Smart.

Regen Power Recovery

Other discussions I could be having about this car, but won’t (for the moment) – The resale value of an electric car after 5 years. The immense amount of toxicity that is in an electric car’s battery. How well this silly car probably won’t do in the Colorado winters.

What experiences have you had with driving or owning electric and hybrid cars? Thoughts go into the comments below! 

Related articles

• Chevy Volt’s Need for Sustainable Charge Mode(greencarinsider.com)

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What projects have you come across lately that you are supporting?

The Seed Project

Bamboo Shirts!

Desktop Vivariums

Environmentally friendly surfboards

The Mobile Greenhouse Project

Since I started working in Boulder, I have been doing a combination bike/bus commute (about 35 miles, each way) and compared to driving myself, it has been a dream. I get about an hour each morning and evening where I don’t really have to pay attention to anything. The laptop comes out and I write for a bit. Or maybe I dig into a book for a while. Sometimes I’ll just flat pass out. It takes just as long to bike/bus it as it does to drive it. And with the bus, I get to fall asleep!

However, I’ve shared my aggravation elsewhere about how sometimes the bike-storage on the regional buses is usually less than courteous. 

I guess that’s what turned my attention to the People For Bike’s campaign and their recent accomplishment of getting a half million pledges of people who will show their support to building a stronger bike culture.

A half million is a lot. So is another half million. With the goal of one million voices to speak together towards developing a stronger bike culture, People For Bikes has a ways to go.

This is your weekly call to action: I’m asking you to pledge your name. 

Whether you ride a racing bike, a commuter bike, maybe even just a mountain bike. Once a week, once a month, if you’re ever on a bike ever, throw a pledge out there.

If you dont’ bike because you’re terrified of biking with traffic or because there just isn’t enough bike infrastructure in your area, throw in a pledge. 

If you’ve ever wanted to see something actually hit a million. Throw in a pledge. 

And then get 10 others to pledge.

And so on.

And so on.

This has been your weekly CTA

Related articles

• Anything but driving.(heavymedal.wordpress.com)

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• Bike to Work Day 2012 marks revival of the fittest(newscenter.berkeley.edu)

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A solution to fragile foliage

Even during my hiatus from editing Not Quite Hippie, I still received quite a few press releases about things in the world of green and environmental progress. Big businesses who switched over to low-output light bulbs, notices about bike parades and various local food movements.

Only $25 at Quirky.com

Yesterday’s notice:  The Mercado.

The latest invention from Quirky – the website geared around social invention – is a bag designed specifically for those who frequent the farmers’ markets. And with the market season upon us (at least those of us in climates that usually see snow several months out of the year) how could I not give some attention to this item that gives a “well DUH!” answer to a problem most of us have?

Instead of letting yet another haul of fresh food get crushed, Darya Pino (of Summer Tomatoes) worked with the Quirky community to develop the Mercado.

The concept is simple – a reuseable bag that doesn’t mangle your vegetable haul together. The nylon construction keeps your veggies fresh, the pockets keep them from crushing each other.

The Mercado went from a simple idea to a very real thing that you can acquire at the Quirky website. 

What are some of the solutions you used to transport your own Farmers’ Market hauls?

Today’s post comes from Spencer Essey, a food activist blogger and publisher of Food State.

As the frost of winter begins to thaw and our minds turn to the outdoors and our lawns and gardens, so do our palates.  For those of us out there who aren’t huge fans of root vegetables, the winter can be a time of getting away from the local and healthy mantras we might subscribe to in the spring and summer months when fresh local produce abounds all around us.

And of course the best place to get all these fresh wonderful foods is from the farmers themselves, or at least their representatives at your local farmers market.

While it may still be too early for most farmers markets to get up and running in your communities, you don’t have to let your palate or your plate suffer any longer, because at least here in Denver, there is one farmers market that doesn’t let those pesky seasons determine their hours; Denver Urban Homesteading.

This dog is upset he couldn't go inside and get some raw cheese.

Located on the corner of 2^ndand Santa Fe, Denver Urban Homesteading resides in an old commercial-industrial building which enables them to stay open year round, catering to the farmers and ranchers who also continue to produce year round.

From producers like Leffler Family Farms and their bounty of radishes, turnips and carrots, to Windsor Dairy who raise Swiss and Heritage Breed cattle which are capable of weathering Colorado’s harsh winters, Denver Urban Homesteading is here for us lucky Denver residents year round. I’d be remiss, however, to not mention the regulars like Rob from Mini Moos and Kids Too who brings in the freshest goat milk you can possibly buy on weekends, or the folks at Callicrate Beef bringing in some of the finest cuts around.

Anthony Zimora of Leffler Family Farms (he married in) located in Eaton, CO shows off his extensive offerings of turnips, radishes and carrots.

More than just a market however, DUH also offers classes on just about anything you could ever want to live a greener more sustainable lifestyle, with offerings that range from the basics of a vegetable garden to raising angora goats for fiber, the good folks at DUH have built a truly extensive network of people who want to share their knowledge with you.  Check out there events calender to see if something piques your interest and see some photos of some adorable angora goats.

Want to raise chickens for eggs?  Goats for milk?  How about bees for your own allergy alleviating honey?  Then check out what they have to offer and give them a visit.  Anyone interested in living a more sustainable and self-sufficient lifestyle is sure to find something that interests them.

These are rainbow radishes from Laffler Family Farms ... delicious!

The market is open Thursday and Friday from 3 to 7 pm and Saturday from 9am to 3pm but for the true experience go on Saturday when all the farmers, chicken swappers, goat keepers and apiarists are there in person just chomping at the bit to share and enjoy with you.

Live well, eat well, and take a trip to Denver Urban Homesteading and be thankful we don’t have to buy our vegetables like this.  It might just awaken something in you that you never knew was there.

“That’s hippie talk” the senile father says.

Is this what we can expect from the older generation? Any hint of a progressive technology is automatically shut down just because it isn’t what they are used to? Frankly, I’m not sure why Chevrolet isn’t embracing this older generation. Or why most of us leave them to be the “senile old folks that will be dead soon anyway.”

While their impending demise may be true, they are still voting. In some cases, they are the only ones still voting both at the polls and at the cash register.

Silly pansy

There’s that really old saying: if you don’t like the weather in Colorado, wait 5 minutes.  Or, as the case has been, wait an entire month.

The second March began Colorado was baked in 60+ degree weather and not an ounce of moisture to be seen anywhere (March is typically our snowiest month). on April 1st we reached a high of 82 degrees (a record) I was completely sunburned and working on gardens the whole day. The next day it was overcast, 40, and windy. The day after that – an inch of snow all over everything.

Fortunately, we still had room inside the house for our army of tender seedlings. Most of yesterday was spent making sure everyone had an equal share of time under the modest grow-lamp.

Peas

And today? Sunny, gorgeous, and a bit muddy.

Rows of green

Fortunately, none of our cold-hearty plants suffered. Frankly, I think they liked it.

How has the weather been in your area? Any crazy Spring weather stories to share?

Did you know you can get the Best of Not Quite Hippie delivered right to your inbox? Sign up here! 

I think my experiment is done.

I have been a freelance writer for the better part of two years. I was more or less forced into it after the company I was working for closed down overnight. Making writing my trade was the logical choice. I went to school to learn how to write, all I’ve ever wanted was to make my living off of words. Lately, though, I’ve noticed that my motivation for putting together words has tanked.

The very thing I had downshifted my life for no longer satisfied me. In fact, some days, I absolutely hated doing it. My time had been filled up by running a freelance writing business (which only consisted of maybe 20% writing) and as a result I no longer enjoyed what I did. Most days it was like pulling teeth to put together a block of copy or a peice of content. Blogging became a chore. I can’t tell you the last time I even attempted to write fiction was. What is the point of being a writer if I don’t much enjoy it?

So I have moved writing off the center platform. No longer is my ability to produce words related to whether or not I had a place to sleep or food to eat. I am leaving freelancing and heading back into the world of full-time work. Upshifting, so to speak. But for the better. I have carefully sought out and found a position that I will likely really enjoy and will open me up to pursue better things in my life.

When freelancing, there were times I wasn’t sure what was and wasn’t “work.” As a result, I had an impossible time establishing the work/life balance that so many strive to find.

What does this mean for Not Quite Hippie? While I will have considerably less time to put towards producing content and updates, I can’t exactly pull the plug. There is, after all, a community here. A community of people who are interested in real-food defense, gardening, the politics of energy, and more. While I may be the primary content producer here, I feel it is rather bold to just say that this is mine. To just up and leave? That seems unjust. In just over a year I have found an enthusiastic audience and a topic I am endlessly interested in. Hell, you guys even decided I was your Most Valuable Blogger last year. Nope, this ain’t going anywhere.

The gardens will continue to grow and my curiosity towards a more sustainable life will always be at my center. I am expanding to include more writers in the content production process, opening up my platform to allow those who are passionate about a sustainable topic a chance to have their voice heard (Interested? Hit me up at dave at notquitehippie dot com). Formats will change, as will designs and layouts and content organization. I’ll still be here, open to your questions and ideas, always thinking green.

My new, personal focus is to bring my writing back to a place where I can really enjoy producing words. I want to write more stories for my fiction-starved audiences. I have a dozen blog project ideas that I’d love to see come to fruition.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, concerns, questions, whatever. Comment below or shoot an email to the address mentioned above.