Working Together for Solar Power

"A man can get discouraged many times but he is not a failure until he begins to blame somebody else and stops trying." John Burroughs

I just finished reading an article by Jeffery Combs, “Time: Your Most Valuable Commodity” and he talked about the concept of Return on Investment (ROI) and expanded on that paradigm to “Return On Time, Action, and Energy” (ROTAE).

With all of the stress on teamwork in this country as a way to be competitive on a global sense, we should think about it on a local basis. I talked about providing schools and/or a homeless shelter with solar panels to provide not only utilities to these facilities, but also much needed revenue.

So what could this team consist of? You have the facilities themselves, the schools and charitable facilities in your area. Then add to that people that support these schools, whether it is the PTA, PTO or booster clubs. The utilities that provide these buildings with their power, instead of building new generating facilities, use the massive space that makes up the coverings of these buildings to generate their own power as well as power for the utilities.

Environmental groups should join the effort, instead of suing municipalities they can work with them to provide clean, pollution free energy. Charities should find support from these groups to not only provide solar power to these facilities, but also ways to improve their energy use.

Working together we can lessen our dependence on foreign energy sources, reduce the impact of these facilities on global warming. Working together to meet our individual and organizational goals not only can we make this a better world, but do so sooner than later.

"What I am doing today is important because I am exchanging a day of my life for it. -Unknown

Solar Power for Charity

“Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold." Maurice Setter

I have rarely approved of government programs as I believe that they are put into place as a way to control the citizens of this, or any, country. If it were not so these programs would end when the project was completed. There are some programs which can not end, defense, government itself, etc. but that should be a rarity.

In the last article I talked about the state of New York working with individuals to make their homes energy independent. I also brought up the idea that the state should work together with schools and install solar panels on these buildings to relieve taxes payers of some of the cost of the school buy selling excess power, as well as provide electric power to homes and businesses in the area

Well what about other institutions? There is a men’s homeless shelter located in a poorer section of town that uses what is basically a warehouse to provide these men with a place to sleep. For all of those organizations who want to stop global warming, for all of those charities that support those in need why not find something that they can work on together?

If the men’s shelter was covered with solar panels what effect would that have on this charitable organization? Would they be able to eliminate expenditures for heating and lighting of the facility? Would they be able to free up money to provide more and improved services for those in need?

Sell the excess electricity to the water treatment plant and homes around it and what would that mean to the community? The money earned from the excess power could be used to improve the lives of these homeless men as well as provide them and the community at large with additional services.

"Genius is there in all of us, just waiting for us to tap into it." Robert R. Toth

BOGO

"When Andrew Carnegie died, they discovered a sheet of paper upon which he had written one of the major goals of his life: to spend the first half of his life accumulating money and to spend the last half of his life giving it all away. And he did!" Jim Rohn

I am not sure who started this acronym BOGO (Buy One Get One) and I hope that by using it I am not stepping on someone’s copy right. I have taken this acronym and changed to Buy One Give One.

“The life of a man consists not in seeing visions and in dreaming dreams, but in active charity and in willing service” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

How many people in America go hungry? Second Harvest states that there were approximately twenty-five million (25,000,000) in 2007. Even if you do not believe that number, simply helping people or charities is always a good thing. Also if you would like to help Second Harvest you can download a free copy of Barilla’s cookbook until February 29th and they will donate $1.00 to America's Second Harvest for every cookbook downloaded, up to 100,000 downloads.

"The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration, but its donation." Corrie Ten Boom

When there is a BOGO I will check out my coupons which are stacked up uncut in the family room. If I have coupons then it makes giving these items even easier. I will pick up the items when I do my usual shopping so that I am not making any extra trips. Most of these items are food items and I donate them to the local food pantry, unless there is a call from a group or organization for additional help.

“Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance.” St. Francis of Assisi

While we support our local pantry and a few others when they ask for help, we also support a men’s shelter. Those items which are not food, e.g. cleaning, laundry detergents, etc, are provided to other organizations which my wife and I support.

“Charity is injurious unless it helps the recipient to become independent of it.” John D. Rockefeller