Alviston Blog

Wednesday night we showed Green Planet Episode 3: The Secret of SIPs at the Reedley College Sustainable Summer Sessions. The program featured Eric and Jeanie Habben and their house, which was built using structural insulated panels.

After the video, Eric talked about his new venture, which is a new type of panel called a phenolic resin skin panel. It is a structural insulated panel made with fiberglass skins instead of wood. You could feel the interest in the room rise as Eric described how these new panels work. By the time he finished Eric had everyone on the edge of their seats wanting to ask questions.

I asked why they were not being made here in the Valley and if you could use them in place of steel cladding. Others were curious about the cost of the panels and if they were being used anywhere yet.

The most interesting thing was that even though the program ended early, nearly half of the audience stuck around to talk for another thirty minutes. Sounds like people are ready for some change in the building industry to me. 

Join us this Wednesday evening when we show the movie: The 11th Hour. Mostly, it is a bunch of smart people saying smart things regarding sustainable living. It is amazing how little we talk about things that really matter. This movie will help. The film is 90 minutes, so we need to start right at 7 p.m. I will try to get our time extended so we can have our usual discussion time at the end. 

Everyone is welcomed and we hope you can join us! The Sustainable Summer Sessions are being held at the Reedley College Forum Hall. Parking is free. 7 p.m. For more info, call me at (559) 226-3835.

–Mark Alvis

There was definitely a positive vibe in the room last Wednesday for the third Sustainable Summer Session at Reedley College. We screened GpEp 4: The Beer that Saved the World. The program is about Ken Grossman and the Sierra Nevada Brewery.

I think that everyone in the audience noticed Ken has understated enthusiasm for the survival of the planet. He pushes the envelope of sustainability to its limits, when it comes to the viability of the business, by almost willing sustainable things to happen, which usually they do.

The video sparked a very lively discussion on what people were doing in their own lives, and it was amazing how connected many of the people in the audience were, even though many had never met.

Jan Dekker, dean of Instruction at Reedley College, spoke about how they are trying to bring more “sustainability” to the campus. David Brletic from the city of Reedley, talked about how “green” thinking is seeping into city hall. 

Coming up this Wednesday, we are going to show “The Secret of SIPs” with Eric Habben. SIP stands for structural insulated panel and the program details how Eric and his wife Jeanie designed and built their incredibly efficient home.

After the show, Eric will talk about his new venture called DuraSip, which is a new type of structural insulated panel made with fiberglass skins.

Wednesday, July 22 at 7 p.m. at the Reedley College Forum Hall. Please join us!

–Mark Alvis

This past Wednesday we held session #2 of the Sustainable Summer Sessions at Reedley College. Incredibly, the attendance doubled from our first session.

Wow!

Dr. Phil Martien gave an informative talk on air quality and the causes of air pollution. We also showed Green Planet Episode 2 (GpEp2) which featured Dr. Phil in his natural setting of San Francisco and El Cerrito. We are happy to announce that at least 25 Reedley College students who had some great questions and great ideas attended the session. Thanks to Jan Dekker for making their attendance possible.

This coming Wednesday we are going to show Green Planet Episode 4: “The Beer That Saved the World!” It is an enjoyable tale about Ken Grossman and the Sierra Nevada Brewery, and shows just how a business can be both sustainable and profitable. Some of the energy-efficient systems featured are fuel cells, anaerobic digesters, photovoltaic systems, and variable speed motors. In addition, there is a variety of recycling and reuse efforts also going on at the brewery, such as CO2 re-capture and animal feed being made from the spent brewing ingredients.

The show starts at 7 p.m. at the Reedley College Forum Hall. Everyone is invited. The show is free, as well as parking. We hope you can come this week and help us keep spreading the word about sustainability, and do not forget to bring your cup!

–Mark Alvis

We had our first session at the Reedley College Forum on Wednesday, July 1 and it went great! We showed the first installment of the TV show Green Planet called “The Energy Equation.” The show features Jeff Adolph, who is a genius at saving energy.

Bob Riding followed with a presentation about how he went from a $500 a month bill down to a $5 a year bill using many of the techniques we have been talking about on Alviston.com. Bob also has removed his expansive lawn and replaced it with native plants, saving even more power since he barely has to water at all now, which means the pump runs way less.  A great show! Thanks Bob!

The next show at the next Sustainable Session on July 8 is called “Clearing the Air” and features Dr. Phil Martien. The show explains what the atmosphere is, how air pollution is created, and what a new type of pollution, carbon dioxide, is causing. Dr. Martien will give a presentation after the video and then take questions. Dr. Phil, as his friends call him, has a gift when it comes to explaining the complex world of air quality, describing it in a way that is clear and easy to understand. Everyone is encouraged to attend as the issues we will be discussing affects us all here in the Valley.

If you have questions about this program or any of the upcoming programs, please call Mark at (559) 226-3835. Hope to see you there!

–Mark Alvis