Per Capita Davis: What a week this was
What a week that was, and I don’t mean about what was happening in Washington, though I guess that also factors in. I’m talking about the avalanche of news reports coming out about car companies and their plans for the future. Friday, Jan. 29, the…
Heating System Up to Snuff? Maintenance and Incentives Help You Get the Job Done
Winter is the time of year when we really test our home heating system. It’s a good idea to take notice. Is your system sufficient and efficient? You know your system is sufficient if it heats all parts of your house well. You know your…
Saving Money? Always a Great Plan!
Thank you to Bernadette Balics for her contributions to this article! Incentives have always played a huge role in the adoption of new technologies. Eventually, prices come down as volume increases and innovations like electric cars, electric heat pumps, and renewable energy become commonplace. While…
Don’t Light Tonight Season Began Nov 2020
November 1st marked the start of Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District Don’t Light Tonight season, the District’s voluntary program encouraging residents to not burn wood on days where air quality forecasts for particulate matter are above 25 micrograms per cubic meter, or an AQI of…
Tuleyome Tales: A second chance for Eel River salmon and steelhead?
For many years PG&E has operated the “Potter Valley Project,” a hydroelectric facility on the main stem of the Eel River consisting of Scott and Cape Horn dams and a tunnel diverting water into the Russian River watershed, where it is used to generate a…
Per Capita: Is it ‘here we go’ or is it ‘here we go again’?
I admit to becoming somewhat cynical about news reports of countries pledging to take real, substantive actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but, in the spirit of the season, and also admitting to a slightly dormant but unquenchable hope, I’m letting Lucy line up the…
Per Capita Davis: What does ‘urgent’ look like?
Warnings about potential adverse effects of what was heretofore known as “climate change” began long ago, but even if we stick a pin in the year 1990 (see below), there was always the semi-comforting tagline to news reports to the effect of, “if we act…
Could You Be Induced to Switch to an Induction Cooktop?
We’ve all heard you can start a fire by rubbing two sticks together. Easier said than done, but the idea has enshrined in popular culture the physical property that friction between two objects creates heat. Lesser known, but important nonetheless, is the idea that you…
Per Capita Davis: Reimagining the railroads
Back in 2016, Bill McKibben wrote the foreword for a book, the principal author of which is Bill Moyers, titled “Solutionary Rail — A people-powered campaign to electrify America’s railroads and open corridors to a clean energy future.” My neighbor across the street, a train…
Per Capita Davis: When innovation goes off the rails
For some time now the columns I’ve been writing were born out of the urgent discussion that started in the spring over how we earthlings will move forward from the pandemic. Would we learn anything from our experience about the value of and need for…
Per Capita Davis: Whatever happened with hydrogen?
Every few years or so there seems to be a renewed excitement about the potential for using hydrogen as a non-fossil fuel. Usually, the conversation is about cars. Once you get it into a car’s fuel tank, it can power the car without producing any…
Backup Battery Systems: The Final Piece of the Energy Puzzle
Our homes are more important than ever: they are our offices, schools, entertainment, and, at times, the only sit-down restaurant in town. So, having a home that powers itself, even when there’s a power outage, equates to huge peace of mind. How is this possible?…
Per Capita Davis: Innovating for the future
I’ve been searching high and low for innovations that could help power a more energy-efficient and sustainable future. There’s a lot out there, some very much closer to being a concept than an actual product or process. Still, the sheer number of ideas being pursued…
Cool Davis receives $6,000 for all-electric engagement
The Valley Climate Action Center (VCAC) recently provided $6,000 to Cool Davis to continue their work engaging Davis residents to adopt all-electric heating and cooling systems. The funds will also be used to develop an electric retrofit “roadmap” for existing homes, going directly to programs…
Per Capita: To the moon and back
Whether technology can save us from the climate crisis is an open question. It seems relatively certain that improvements in technology will inevitably at least help reduce carbon emissions, or maybe even capture some of them from the atmosphere, but hoping for or anticipating a…
Shelter-in-Place and Your Home Energy
Cool energy efficiency and conservation actions we recommend while you’re sheltering, working, learning, and playing at home.
Per Capita Davis: Some good news in a time of anxiety
I’ve been thinking a lot about “sustainability” the last few weeks and intended to write about it. But that would take me down a sort of dark road, and in these strange times I feel a need for something positive, lighter, hopeful. So here is some…
All Electric Homes in Davis: the Carrot vs. the Stick
In January, the California Energy Commission approved a new building code in Davis that encourages the construction of all-electric homes and discourages the use of natural gas to fuel residential appliances and heating systems. This comes after numerous California cities have approved similar initiatives, including…
Per Capita Davis: More pieces of the puzzle
I’m continuing to clean out my inbox and I don’t mean that to diminish what I conceive to be the value of this and other similar columns that don’t address a single idea, theme or thread. The items below are pieces of the puzzle of…
Per Capita Davis: New report on world energy outlook
There are several highly reputable organizations tracking the science of the climate crisis and issuing regular reports. Probably the best known of these is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change at the United Nations. Another, right up there at the top in terms of reputation…
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#mayisbikemonth may be over but these #loopalooza photos are still fresh! Davis City Bike Davis The Bike Campaign and Bike Garage Davis Bike Club Bike Davis Kids Davis Bike Collective Bike Party Davis
Cool Davis is hoping all our friends living in Rancho Yolo remain well! This is a reminder of our fragile grid and the need to look after each other during heat emergencies. Hurray that the City of Davis City now has Social Services staff to join City of Davis Fire Department to assist when a vulnerable neighborhood's power goes down.
For other down neighborhoods - remember to check on your neighbors! If your power is still on consider ways to reduce your energy use pre-cool , cover windows, delay appliance use, double up with neighbors in a cool location - cooling center (see City post for cooling center info), movie theater etc to reduce loads. After the emergency, move forward on your plans for how you will reduce and manage energy use in the future. We have to stand together to adapt to new climate challenges. Cool Davis and our many partners are here to help.
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