#OccupyRooftops

The Occupy Wall Street movement began with a handful of protesters in mid-September. October found protesters "occupying" every continent but Antarctica. November promises to be a month of action, when the #Occupy movement turns their momentum into real societal change.

Tomorrow, national teach-ins for #OccupyColleges will begin at 66 colleges across the country to discuss the occupy movement through articles and videos from progressive leaders like Naomi Klein.

On November 5th, more than 64,000 Americans have signed-up to participate in Bank Transfer Day and move their money out of large banks like Bank of America and into local credit unions.

Then, on November 20th, environmental organizations across the world have joined together to host #OccupyRooftops, a day for people to come together and kickstart a solar project in their community by taking a picture in front of a building that they want to help go solar.

November might just be what the #Occupy movement needs to transform from a protest into an Arab Spring type of revolution. As Harvard Professor Lawrence Lessig explained:

What the protesters are saying is true: Wall Street's money has corrupted this democracy. What they are demanding is right: An end to that corruption. And as Flickr feeds and tweets awaken a slumbering giant, the People, the justice in this, yet another American revolution, could well become overwhelming, and finally have an effect.

But, before this revolution can begin, the demands must be more clearly defined. As Micheal Greenberg notes in an article for The New York Review of Books, "the movement's assertion it is an ally to 'all people who feel wronged by corporate forces of the world' has made it a blank screen upon which the grievances of a huge swath of the population can be projected."

Recently, environmental leaders and organizations have sought to merge climate activism with #Occupy's outrage over rising inequities. Prominent climate blogger Stephen Lacy believes that "as an all-encompassing economic, environmental and political issue, climate activism has the potential to become a key piece of the protests."

350.org, an large environmental organization, has built a new page on their website to explain the connection between the climate movement and #OccupyWallStreet. 350 is one of the many environmental groups that have partnered with solar company Solar Mosaic to host #Occupy Rooftops on the 20th.

As Yale climate forum blogger Keith Kloor recently noted, the climate movement has traditionally had problems rallying around such an amorphous problem like climate change with so many people most concerned about where their next paycheck is coming from.

By harnessing the momentum of #OccupyWallStreet around the fastest growing industry in America, solar, #OccupyRooftops hopes to help people create beautiful, job-producing solar projects in their communities and speak to their visceral economic anxieties.

Whether November produces "occupied" college campuses, massive bank transfers or community solar projects remains to be seen. Undoubtedly, it is poised to be a month to remember.

 

 

 

Comments

[Genders]

10:40 PM on 11/03/2011

Rooftop solar can provide several times the total electrical needs ot the country and the world in the long term with custom designed roofs and 40% panels. with today's roofs and panels rooftop solar can provide some 50% or more. Enough to close all of our coal plants and nukes. average installation prices for solar have dropped to 2 3 5$ per Wp for utility, commercial and residential installations. Panels have dropped below 1$ per Wp.

http://cleantechnica.com/2011/06/10/solar-power-graphs-to-make-you-smile/ rooftop solar cheaper than nukes.

http://cleantechnica.com/2011/03/18/offshore-wind-energy-cheaper-than-nuclear-energy-eu-climate-chief-says/

http://solarcellcentral.com/companies_page.html first solar 2.5$ per Wp installed.

http://www.plancanada.com/biochar_basics.pdf
2$ per watt waste bio char energy plant. 100 GW electricity

Rooftop solar, offshore wind and waste bio char bio fuels in combination are 24/7, forever, clean, safe, ready to replace all fossil and nukes in 7-15 years, Carbon, land and fresh water negative.

NOW is the time to go green.

[markkocaldo]

03:26 AM on 11/04/2011

I use Genders own link from NREL to show PV can be at max 3% of US energy needs

Genders uses circularly quoted nonsense from activist sources. I use real data from real projects.

Nukes are 3 cents a kwh. The cost of wind power is over 30 cents a kwh when taxpayer provided 5 times sized transmission and gas backup is included. When green storage replaces the filthy gas cost increases by a buck a kwh. Solar - add another 50 cents a kwh to that

What Gender calls waste biofuels really is compost necessary to maintain soil and recyclables. What's left can supply only a tiny amount of energy.

AECL has completed 8 new Candu reactor installations over the last twenty years all on time in 4 years and on budget at $2B/Gw or less than 3 cents a kwh when the 1.5 cent a kwh fuel and O&M cost is included.The last one was completed in 2007 in Europe.

Google "cnnc.com.cn/tabid/168/Default.aspx"

Here is a real wind project PGE's latest wind farm build $15B/Gw (20 cents Kwh at PGE's discount rate)

Google "pge-to-purchase-operate-246-mw-manzana-wind-project"

Offshore wind is 50% more expensive

Here is a real solar project just completed by expert engineers at Duke Energy.

Google "biofuelswatch.com/solar-farm-starts-operation"

$43 a watt average, 18% capacity factor, 50 cents a kwh at Dukes discount rate.

[Genders]

07:57 PM on 11/04/2011

Really? Fight with one of your fellow nuke0o-philes:
MrBIgp
13 Fans Become a fan
12:55 PM on 11/01/2011
The report in your link suggests that the most optimistic capacity of rooftop solar is about 45% of our electricit­y. The middle estimate is about 20%. Bio char cannot make up this difference­. In any event, you will still need energy storage which is more expensive than convention­al generation­.
Even if the thousands of square miles of solar panels were place on rooftop, It would still take a huge amount of materials and generate a huge amount of chemical waste from the production of solar cells.

[markkocaldo]

01:27 PM on 11/03/2011

To get to our goal of a zero carbon future we 100% of US energy needs must be met by electricity.

In that scenario rooftop PV can provide only 3% of US energy needs at a cost so enormous that the economy would be bankrupted.

Google "nrel.gov/docs/fy09osti/44073.pdf"

Report states "..The total annual resource is about 400 terawatt hours (TWh) for commercial and 419 TWh for residential buildings. "

US total electricity production 4000 terawatt hours in 2010 so 20% of US electricity can be provided by solar at max

But US total Energy use is 26000 Twh with only 15% provided by low carbon sources (nuclear, hydro, firewood/ethanol). By coincidence electricity is 15% of the US energy supply.

So 20% of 15% makes rooftop PV max 3% of US energy

[rebel0498]

04:40 PM on 11/02/2011

Transfer money out of banks, LOL. Big deal those welfare checks don't amount to much. I am sure BofA is shaking in their boots, it will probably shake up the stock market. LOL.