Berkeley Green Home Expo and Energy Symposium April 29, 2006

http://www.GreenHomeEXPO.org/

City of Berkeley

The 3rd Annual Green Home EXPO and Energy Symposium will bring together more than 75 businesses, non-profit organizations, and city government agencies and programs under the theme of Sustainable Living.

Exhibits include solar energy systems, biodiesel vehicles, a solar energy workshop for kids, and a wide variety of green building materials and furnishings. Energy conservation, Zero Waste, climate change, environmental protection and conservation are the focus of many of the exhibits.

Come and learn more about new 2006 Tax Credits and other incentives, and take advantage of the many free Universal Waste drop-offs & exchanges. We're also featuring 100% Recycled Pets, courtesy of Berkeley Animal Care Services.

Each year this event attracts several thousand people wanting to learn how to live more sustainably, and reduce their impact on the earth. We are proud to be able to connect residents with organizations working to make this a reality.

Can We Achieve Energy Independence?: Actions and Consequences
Moderated by Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates?Tom Bates was sworn in as Mayor of Berkeley in December 2002.  He brings with him to the office of Mayor a lifetime of public

service experience ? including four years as an Alameda County Supervisor and two decades as a California legislator representing Berkeley.  ??Mayor Bates' ambitious mayoral agenda includes forging a lasting City-School partnership to improve student performance and integrate social services with neighborhood schools, building additional housing for working people along Berkeley?s transit corridors, and improving on Berkeley?s environmental leadership. Some of his accomplishments include the following:
? Bates consistently received a 100% pro-environment voting score.  He authored legislation to create the East Bay Shoreline Park, provided state funding for urban creeks, and required regional transportation plans to include the use of bicycles.  He worked for the acquisition, development or expansion of many other wonderful parks, including Briones Regional Park; Sinkyone Redwood Forest, California's north coast; Ohlone Park; Clark Kerr Campus Recreation Area; Claremont Canyon Open Space; Clark Kerr Campus Open Space; Cedar/Rose Park; and Strawberry Sports Fields
? As Assemblyman, Bates worked to bring communities together and expand our economy.  He helped found the Bank of the Bay and the first Community Bank in the Bay Area.  He passed legislation to allow Brew Pubs, Limited Equity Housing, and Transit Villages.  He also helped win funding for Berkeley's Main Street Program (our new Arts District); Hybrid Electric Vehicles; and Electric buses. 
After retiring from the Assembly in 1996, Bates continued to serve the public.  In addition to teaching at UC Berkeley, he volunteered his efforts to work with school officials and parents to provide healthier food choices for Berkeley students, including organic fruits and vegetables. He was instrumental in the adoption of healthier food policies for the Berkeley and Oakland School Districts as well as the City of Berkeley. Tom Bates is a native Californian and a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley.  He is the father of two sons, Casey and Jon, and has six grandchildren.  He is married to Loni Hancock, former Mayor of Berkeley and currently a member of the State Assembly.
Panelists:
Professor Karina Garbesi, Cal State/East Bay: Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies: ?A

local product, Garbesi was awarded her bachelor?s degree in physics with high honors from UC Berkeley, and a Master?s and PhD from UC?s prestigious Energy and Resources Group, while supported by a Department of Energy Fellowship for Achievement in Science. She did her postdoctoral work at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory as an Alexander Hollander Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow. After turning down a Professorship in Environmental Engineering at Princeton University she accepted a position at San Jose State University to devote herself to broad inter-disciplinary education and research on issues of energy, society, and the environment. Currently on the faculty at Cal State East Bay, she is an environmental and education activist who has played a major roll in shaping and assessing the environmental studies curriculum throughout the CSU system and in implementing integrated science and quantitative learning across the curriculum. Recently recognized with a Switzer Environmental Leadership Grant, her research has spanned a broad spectrum from environmental physics, to local and international renewable energy resource assessments, to the the environmental justice of energy. Garbesi was responsible for the installation of one of the world?s largest solar electric systems at CSUEB. She is currently developing web-based curriculum on energy?s ecological footprint and heads EPA Region 9?s Environmental Finance Center at Cal State East Bay.
 John L. Geesman, California Energy Commission: Originally appointed to the California Energy Commission on July 18, 2002,

Commissioner Geesman serves as Presiding Member of the Renewables Committee and the Facility Siting Committee. He was re-appointed to a full five-year term by Governor Gray Davis on December 31, 2002, and was confirmed by the Senate. By law, four of the five members of the Energy Commission are required to have professional training in specific areas - engineering or physics, environmental protection, economics, and law. One commissioner is appointed to represent the public-at-large. Commissioner Geesman fills the Attorney position.
Commissioner Geesman, of Orinda, California, rejoined the Commission after originally serving as its Executive Director from 1979 to 1983. From 1983 to 2002, he was an investment banker specializing in the debt markets. During this time, he served as Chairman of California Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the California Power Exchange, and as a member of the Board of Governors of the Independent System Operator.
Commissioner Geesman earned a bachelor of arts degree from Yale University, and a juris doctorate degree from Boalt Hall, University of California, Berkeley.
David Hochschild got involved in solar energy as a Special Assistant to the Mayor of San Francisco , where he worked with a team in city government developing a $100 million revenue bond to pay for solar energy systems and energy efficiency projects for public buildings.  This landmark bond was approved by 73% of San Francisco voters in 2001.  David went on to co-found the Vote Solar Initiative, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping local and state governments implement large-scale solar energy programs, where he spent much of the last few years working in support of the $3.2 billion California Solar Initiative, adopted in January 2006.
He is currently the Executive Director of PV Now, a consortium solar panel manufacturers who make most of the world's solar panels, where he continues to work on solar energy policy.                 
Hal La Flash, Pacific Gas and Electric: Director of Renewable Energy Policy and Planning in the energy procurement  

organization at Pacific Gas and Electric Company, with a focus on the important area of renewable energy in the PG&E portfolio. He assesses the state of renewable energy technologies that will affect how PG&E fills its future resource needs, which includes understanding and evaluating emerging technologies.  Hal is also responsible for evaluating the environmental aspects of PG&E?s resource mix.
A major responsibility of his position is planning for and attracting ?best fit? renewable resource additions to meet the California Renewable Portfolio Standard.  This lead to working with the concentrating solar power industry on the Solar Task Force of the Western Governors Association?s Clean and Diversified Energy Initiative.  As such, in June 2005, he represented PG&E on the World Environment Day panel ?From Skyscrapers to Greenhouses: Leaders Take Action to Reduce CO2.?  He also co-authored ?Hedging Carbon Risk: Protecting Customers and Shareholders from the Financial Risk Associated with Carbon Dioxide Emissions,?  published by the Electricity Journal in July 2005.
 Hal has been at PG&E for 26 years where he has held various positions in energy efficiency, non-utility generation, tariffs, gas transportation, and resource planning.  He also held positions at PG&E Corporation in corporate development and business planning.   He has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin ? Madison, and a Masters in Business Administration degree from Saint Mary?s College of California.

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Zero Waste Art Contest
Green Home EXPO and Energy Symposium
Deadline for Applications: Friday, April 14, 2006

Categories:

n Off the Wall: 3-D Art objects; wearable Art included

n Media, Medium: 2-D designs; may integrate sound and light

n In the House: (Semi-) Functional Household items

Entrant information: Open to all Alameda County residents

Accepted Materials: All non-toxic waste items, found objects, industrial or commercial byproducts, salvaged items, including electronic waste. Please no toxic items, including lead, mercury, or asbestos.

Additional Accepted Materials: Fasteners, such as nails, staples, brads, all glues, plaster, cement, etc.

FREE Drop-Off for:
Electronic Waste: computers, monitors, printers, modems, cables, & related parts, cell phones, FAX machines, televisions -- anything you can plug in that you don't put food or clothing into. Courtesy of Alameda County Computer Resource Center.
Household Batteries (non-automotive): Alkaline, Lithium, NiCAD, all rechargeables, silver "button" batteries, power tool batteries, etc. Please separate by type. Bag any leaking or corroded batteries. Courtesy of Alameda County Computer Resource Center.
Safe Medicine Disposal -- Get rid of your expired and unused medicines, from antibiotics to Viagra in the environmentally safe way. NEVER flush medicines down the drain, as wastewater cannot be treated to remove these dangerous chemicals.
SWAP your Mercury Thermometer for a new digital one. Courtesy of EBMUD. Other mercury products (thermostats, switches, fluorescent lamps, etc.) accepted as well.
Swap your incandescent light bulbs for new energy-saving Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs)! Courtesy of City of Berkeley, PG&E, and California Youth Energy Services. (NOTE: You can turn in any old fluorescent lamps as well. Please use a zip-lock-type bag for CFLs, and carefully box any fluorescent tubes to prevent breakage.)
Swap up to Three Holiday Light Strings for new LED lights! Courtesy of California Youth Energy Services
Free Oil Change kit! Courtesy of Berkeley Office of Toxics Management
Free Recycled Denim Pencils and other goodies courtesy of Berkeley Clean Stormwater Program
Free Lead Paint Removal kit! For Berkeley, Albany and Emeryville homeowners. Includes Tyvek bunny suit, sponges, tape, plastic tarps, and more! Courtesy of Berkeley Lead Poisoning Prevention Program