Alviston Blog

Alviston.com has teamed up with Mind Light Works Productions and Reedley College in Reedley, California, to bring you the Sustainable Summer Sessions at the Reedley College Forum. Every Wednesday night at 7 p.m., we will host a free program on a variety of green subjects from clean air to under slab insulation. Here is the schedule and we hope to see you there!

The Sustainable Summer Sessions 2009
Schedule of Programs

July 1
Video: “The Energy Equation” features energy expert Jeff Adolph, who takes an in-depth look at what we can do to make our homes more energy-efficient.

Bob Riding will be our guest after the video and talk about how he turned his own $500-per-month electric bill into $5 per month. Bob will also talk about his PG&E job of helping farmers save energy.

July 8

Video:  “Clearing the Air” Dr. Phil Martien, who lives in El Cerrito and works for the San Francisco Air Pollution Control District, explains what the atmosphere is, how air pollution is created, and what causes global warming. Dr. Martien will be our guest and answer questions about air quality and what we can do about it.

July 15

Video: “The Beer That Saved the World” is the story of Ken Grossman and the Sierra Nevada Brewery where they recycle everything, capture CO2 and make their own power from the methane they make at their own waste water treatment plant. This is the story of how to make a business both environmentally friendly and economically viable. Mark will lead the discussion following the program.

July 22

Video: “The Secret of SIPs” features Eric Habben who designed and built his own home out of structural insulated panels. SIPs are made from oriented strand board and rigid foam. The Habben house is so efficient that it is heated by an attached green house. Eric will be on hand to describe how the house was built and to talk about his new venture called DuraSip, a structural insulated panel made from resin skins instead of wood.

July 29

Movie:  “The 11th Hour.”  This thought-provoking film focuses on the human aspects of climate change, not just on what we are doing to cause it, but what these changes mean to us as a species. While the title may seem gloomy, the film is actually quite uplifting in that it helps reconnect us with ourselves and our planet.

August 5

Presentation: “Environmental Ethics” Lisa Palafox is a philosophy professor from Clovis who is very interested in where the responsibilities for our behaviors lie when it comes to our environment.

August 12

Presentation: “Everything is Connected.” Mark Alvis will show that when it comes to building “green”, everything affects everything else. From choosing the site and orientation, to what the building envelope is made from, to where you buy your grapes. We will have a show & tell of many of the materials used in an energy-efficient home.

August 19

Presentation: ”The Beautiful Sun.”  Cameron Park installs large scale solar systems for companies like Wal Mart, Macy’s, and Del Monte. When you get this big, your perspective starts to open . Cameron’s first hand experience doing “big Solar,” is at the same time exhilarating and cautioning. Bella Sol Systems, Mr. Parks company, went from no jobs in June of 2008, to more work than they could handle by the end of the year, back to zero by March of 2009.  

**The videos are from the TV series, “Green Planet” and are 30 minutes each. An open discussion will follow each presentation. Refreshments will be on sale before and after the show. You can order copies of the TV series, which will be available for $25 per 3 episodes.

For more information, contact Mark at (559) 226-3835 or markoalvis@comcast.net.

There has been a lot of interest in the Buchanan Energy Building in Clovis and the project is now underway. Bids have been awarded and construction should start sometime mid-July. Although Clovis Unified was awarded a matching grant from the State, the money has yet to come through. CUSD decided to take an incredible leadership role and move forward with the 5.5 million dollar project anyway.

Alviston.com will be on site everyday bringing you pictures and video of the construction, which will feature many energy-efficient, green technologies including: insulated concrete forms, radiant floor heating, photovoltaic, and thermal solar systems, advanced heating and cooling system, day lighting, wind turbines, a green roof and much more. The project will be watched from all over the nation, as it is the first building of its kind.

We are very excited that this long anticipated project is now underway as it will not only be an incredible learning tool for the students, but for the community as well.

–Mark Alvis

A couple weeks ago, I watched the most incredible lighting storm I have ever seen in the San Joaquin Valley. It was around 8:30 p.m. and we were watching the Mentalist at Jen’s house when I saw a flash in the window. At first, I thought it was the TV or a car’s headlights. However, when I went outside…WOW!

I got Jen to come out and watch it with me. It looked like most of the lightning was up in the mountains to the east, but it was hard to tell. There was not much thunder at first. I called my dad in Reedley, which is about 20 miles southeast of Fresno. Dad did not answer, which made me a little nervous.

Jen and I watched the lighting for ten minutes or so and then I headed home making calls as I went to get people out to see this spectacle.

As I drove, I could see lightning lighting up the skyway to the north, and south towards Three Rivers and Visalia. It looked like they were really being hit. When I got home, I climbed up on my roof to get a better view. At this point, the lightning was still a long way off, but I still would not recommend climbing on a roof in a lightning storm.

Still making calls, I got a hold of my brother Lyle in Reedley who said he had just talked with Dad, and their power was out, and some other parts of Reedley had their power out as well. The thunder was really starting to crack by now. Lyle told me to get down off the roof ‘cause it was pretty intense and headed my way.

As it approached Fresno, it dissipated quite a bit but still zapped some trees here and there.

That night I watched the news and they had some good video of the lightning. It made me think. I know that the weather is not the same as the climate. However, they are obviously related. It seems weathercasters are afraid to talk about global warming. It is obvious that people are very interested in both the weather and the climate. So should we not be talking about how global warming is affecting things like lightning storms?

That would make for a hell of a show, do you not think?

–Mark Alvis