Alviston Blog

Definition: Sustainable Sources

The materials used in a given product come from sources that are easily planted and replenished, and grow naturally.

While the economy has been at the forefront of the news lately, we need to try to keep our focus on sustainability, especially when it comes to construction and transportation. The strong temptation is going to be to go back to old wasteful, more polluting methods because many still think they are cheaper. They are not.

Affordable gas is a double-edged sword. It can present us with an incredible opportunity to leap forward and make some real gains against global warming; at the same time, it can lull us back into complacency and allow us to continue our gas guzzling ways.

Right now the U.S. has a chance to take lead, and by doing so, regain a great deal of its lost stature in the world. It can do this by making a concerted effort to do everything possible to create a sustainable economy, not just one that is continually growing.

It can do this in several sectors, but primarily energy. If the U.S. were to unleash its full potential on renewable, it would quickly out produce every other country that currently leads in wind, solar, geothermal, and fuel cell technologies.

The U.S. can also lead the way in clean transportation, both by building mass transit systems, which the gas spike proved that people would use in numbers, and by building a new generation of hybrid vehicles. The U.S. can also lead the way in wind power, of which it has plenty. It can also lead the way in biofuels like bio diesel from algae.

However, all this will only happen once there are no more impediments to change. Everything changes, and that means just like the Internet is taking over newspapers and TV, the old way of building cars and houses is over. In five years we will think that any car getting less than 100 MPGs is a joke, and any new home not making at least as much power as it uses, is a waste of money. Both of these are already available. All we have to do is figure out how to build them cheaper.

That is what competition is all about.

–Mark Alvis

Excuse the absence, but there’s been a lot going on around these parts.

Alvis Projects helped complete a 2100 solar panel installation last week at the Del Monte plant in Kingsburg. (Video is coming.) It’s the biggest one we’ve done by far, but cousin Cameron at Bella Sol is going to outdo us with an installation at another Del Monte plant in Hanford. Cameron and crew are putting up a 6,000 panel job. Wow!

And it’s not going to stop there for Del Monte. They plan on doing more PV over the next few months. We are working on getting the whole story of “The Greening of Del Monte” for you soon.

In addition to the big solar projects, we found out that the Buchanan Energy Center in Clovis has received Division of State Architecture approval. DSA is the agency that reviews all school and hospital plans in California. Plus, we heard that Clovis Unified has decided to go for the LEED certification, which is a very big deal. LEED stands for Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design and is run by the US Green Building council (see usgbc.org). Alvis Projects has been consulting on this project from its beginning and we’re very excited to see the project come out of the ground. The Buchanan Energy Center will be a showcase of energy-efficient building, healthy indoor environments and hands on learning about sustainable everything.

And just today, Mind Light Works Video Productions has been asked to apply for an EPA grant for their show “Green Planet.” We wish them the best of luck. They already have three episodes in the can and are shooting to do a 13-part series to air on PBS. Episode four is already written, shot and in the editing phase. We have all been waiting anxiously for this one because it’s called: “The Beer that Saved the World,” and is all about Ken Grossman and the Sierra Nevada Brewery where they are doing incredible things in the world of sustainability. Should be fun.

—Mark Alvis