Easter is right around the corner and if your family makes an activity out of egg dyeing, you’re probably starting to think about your color palate.

 Most artificial dyes you buy at the store are perfectly safe, containing food-grade dyes. However, if you, like me, prefer to know exactly what is going on your eggs, you can make your own beautiful dyes using fruits, vegetables and spices.

Electricity is more expensive when more of us are using it. This is called peak time and it exists between 4 PM and 9 PM.  

 When we come home from work or school, we turn on the heat or AC, make a snack or dinner, and Netflix and chill. This all takes a lot of energy and when we are all doing it at the same time, we make our energy systems work extra hard and pay for it, too. 

A few weeks ago, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) released the Green New Deal Resolution.

Many responses hailed this resolution for being the kind of bold policy we need to see. Others said this was not only unattainable policy pushing us towards a utopian and renewable future within only 10 years, but was not detailed enough to get us anywhere. 

In this week’s Fund-It Fast Chat* SJVCEO dove into revolving loan fund… I mean revolving energy fund and what that even means.

Think of it this way when you set aside funds/savings you automatically have a coffer of funds on hand to designate specifically for energy projects. So, let’s break it down:

Using household ingredients like distilled vinegar and baking soda to your advantage makes for a sparkly clean and environmentally friendly and safe home! 

LOS ANGELES, February 14, 2019 – Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) and biogas producer Calgren Dairy Fuels (Calgren) today announced that renewable natural gas produced at Calgren’s dairy digester facility in Pixley, California is being injected into SoCalGas pipelines. The project marks the first time that carbon-

negative renewable natural gas produced from cow manure has been injected directly into SoCalGas’ natural gas system. In August 2018, SoCalGas began receiving renewable natural gas into its system from CR&R, Inc.’s anaerobic digestion facility in Perris, California. The renewable natural gas from that digestion facility is already being used to fuel about 400 waste hauling trucks. Renewable natural gas is a carbon-negative fuel produced from waste and agriculture that can be used in trucks and buses, to generate electricity, fuel heating systems in homes and businesses, and for cooking.

 “Developing renewable natural gas is a smart and cost-effective solution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation and building sectors,” said Sharon Tomkins SoCalGas vice president for customer solutions and strategy. “Replacing just 16 to 20 percent of our traditional natural gas with renewable natural gas would reduce emissions equal to electrifying 100 percent of buildings in the state, but it would be two to three times more cost-effective. Moreover, the renewable natural gas solution does not require expensive appliance change outs or costly new mandates.”

An article from the New England Journal of Medicine calls on the health sector to take on climate change and share the connections between climate disasters and long-term health impacts.

In this week’s Fund-It Fast Chat* SJVCEO dove into on-bill financing and how your pocketbook can benefit from the program.

Our team here at SJVCEO is guilty of playing the acronym game with many of the programs and financing opportunities that are open to customers. One such example is OBF…meaning on-bill financing. This funding mechanism is one that is very easy to understand and one we hope our customers ask to understand.

Being a dog-mom is one of my favorite things, and I wouldn’t give it up for the world. When I got my pup, however, many of my environmentally-conscious friends and families made sure to let me know that having a pet isn’t a very eco-friendly choice.  

 Why you ask? Well, to start, pets consume a lot of resources and they produce massive amounts of noxious waste. UCLA published a study on the amount of meat consumed and carbon dioxide produced by cats and dogs, and it’s all pretty astonishing.  

 So, I decided it was important to figure out how to be more eco-friendly with my dog-related purchases and activities. Here are a few tips that I try to follow: 

Every year there is such buzz over what some call the granddaddy of them all…the Super Bowl. With over 75,000 people filling the street of this year’s site along with endless numbers of media and celebrities how does the NFL claim to make the event “sustainable”? With that question in mind I did some digging and am glad to say that the NFL proved my skepticism wrong.

The San Luis Obispo County government reduced its energy use by 15 percent since 2010 in its efforts to save money and reduce environmental impacts — leading to big savings.

The county currently spends about $4.5 million on electricity and natural gas every year. By taking on some simple and more complex projects to retrofit buildings, staff estimate the county is saving $600,000 to $700,000 annually in energy and maintenance costs.

Savings will likely continue to grow as the county approaches its goal to reduce energy at county facilities by 20 percent by 2020.

“Through the collection of data from our new energy management software and having the right team in place, we are in a position to recommend and implement future energy efficient projects which make the best use of our taxpayer’s money,” Colt Esenwein, county Public Works director, said in a news release.

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We hear so many people express interest in renewable energy, but they also share with us that they don’t know much about renewable energy or which types are best for their homes.

So how do you get started?