http://1bog.org 1BOG (One Block Off the Grid) organizes group discounts on solar panels for your home, lowering the cost to buy solar power. Signing up is free! Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:20:09 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en In the midst of pointing out how off-the-charts happy Costa Ricans are during his brilliant  TED talk on the Happy Planet Index, Statistician Nic Marks casually lets it drop that 99 percent of electricity in Costa Rica comes from renewable energy sources. Wait. What!? Ninety-nine as in one less than ... http://1bog.org/blog/costa-ricans-freakishly-happy-and-energy-independent/ Solar industry growth has the potential to create hundreds of thousands of jobs nation-wide, and save homeowners tens of thousands of dollars on electricity bills. That’s why we’re so excited that Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell spoke out on behalf of the economic benefits of solar energy in the Philadelphia Inquirer ... http://1bog.org/blog/rendell-calls-for-six-times-more-solar-energy-in-pennsylvania-by-2021/ We know it's been a hard year Cleveland, but we just can't bring ourselves to feel sorry for you about the whole LeBron thing. We just calculated how much money homeowners will make by going solar there and we're totally jealous. For starters, you have one of the most kick-ass state ... http://1bog.org/blog/hey-clevelander-your-roof-is-made-of-cash/ The HOA Challenge If you live in a neighborhood that has a homeowner's association, you know that HOAs have a lot of power: they can control your home color, what kinds of plants you have in your yard, what kind of lawn furniture, even how many pets you can own. Some ... http://1bog.org/blog/how-to-convince-your-homeowners-association-hoa-to-allow-solar-panels/ Do you live in Ventura County, CA? Do you love energy efficiency and/or saving money? Well you’re in luck because today, Ventura County is one of the best places in the country to install a home solar system. Here’s why: California Solar Initiative Under Governor Schwarzenegger’s Million Solar Roofs program, California has ... http://1bog.org/blog/why-ventura-county-is-good-for-solar/ The current electricity mix Though renewable energy is growing fast, the U.S. still gets the vast majority of its power from conventional power plants. Most of these are coal-powered, making them a leading cause of smog, climate change, and toxic air emissions that can lead to serious illnesses like childhood asthma. ... http://1bog.org/blog/the-most-common-electricity-sources-in-the-u-s/ We're launching a brand new group discount on solar in Pittsburgh today, where the state's lucrative SREC program makes it kind of ridiculous not to go solar. As you can see from the infographic, the incentives combined with the group discount make it cost about as much as a mid-range ... http://1bog.org/blog/pittsburgh-campaign-launches-pittsburgh-1bog-members-earn-624-on-solar-investments/ One Block Off the Grid is bringing our rockin' group solar discounts to Cleveland next week!  We've heard that Cleveland ROCKS (it is, after all, home to the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame).  We've also heard that solar power rocks.  In our minds, more solar in Cleveland would be ... http://1bog.org/blog/coming-soon-solar-rockstars-in-cleveland/ The Keystone State has been working hard to make solar power a significant part of its state renewable energy policy. In fact, they've implemented an incentive program similar to the one that's responsible for making New Jersey the hottest solar market in the nation right now. But while the really juicy ... http://1bog.org/blog/why-its-a-brilliant-financial-move-to-go-solar-in-pennsylvania-right-now/ We're not epidemiologists here at One Block Off the Grid, but we do think quite a bit about the social implications of electricity production. Lately we've been especially interested in the connections between standard grid power and our health. Earth's atmosphere is a complex system.  There are tons of different physical, ... http://1bog.org/blog/connecting-the-dots-electricity-sources-and-human-health/