The front of Leaf House. Photo credit: The Leaf Community

1. The economic stimulus act provides $5 billion for the Weatherization Assistance Program; increases the eligible income level for the program from 150% of poverty level (determined by criteria established by the Office of Management and Budget) to 200% of poverty level; increases the amount of money that can be spent per home from $2,500 to $6,500; and allows weatherization assistance for homes that were weatherized before 1994 (previously, homes weatherized after 1979 could not be "re-weatherized").

2. $4 billion was allocated to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to retrofit public housing, and $510 million to retrofit the homes of Native Americans.

3. The stimulus bill gives $500 million to the Department of Labor to train workers for careers in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

4. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provides increased tax credits for homeowners for energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy installations; the act increases the tax credit for energy efficiency improvements from 10% to 30%, and gives a 30% tax credit for the cost of qualified solar energy systems, geothermal heat pumps, small wind turbines, and fuel cell systems.

5. The tax credit for homeowners who install a natural gas refueling system for a natural gas car, a charging system for a plug-in electric or hybrid vehicle, a hydrogen refueling station for a fuel cell car, or another refueling system in their homes is doubled from $1,000 to $2,000. The credit is good through 2010 for most refueling systems and through 2014 for hydrogen refueling systems.

There are many more provisions in the bill that support building energy efficiency, automotive energy efficiency, the manufacture and use of renewable energy systems, and research into (among other things) high performance batteries.

We recently covered in Home Energy Magazine a story from Italy about the Leaf Community. It is a live/work community outside of Rome where they create all the energy they need by taking it from the sun, the wind, and the ground (using geothermal heat pumps). They are doing a lot of research into storing energy, and that is clearly becoming a top priority among scientists. Energy produced from the sun and wind, for example, is intermittent, and sun and wind resources are often far from populations that need clean energy, requiring expensive transmission systems (more overhead wires). At Leaf House, they produce hydrogen using the electricity produced by photovoltaic solar panels, and store the hydrogen in a "chemical battery". The hydrogen can later be reclaimed and used in a fuel cell to create electricity.

Retrofitting homes to be more efficient, healthy, and sustainable is a "three-fer", as President Obama called it in a recent television interview: it saves energy; makes homes more affordable; and creates jobs. And research such as that taking place at Leaf House opens the door to unimagined, elegant solutions to our energy challenges. One thing that the economic stimulus package has already delivered — something that has long been lacking in the energy efficiency and renewable energy community — is hope.

37.8686 -122.267

Photo Credit: Jessica Lavin

I have never experienced anything like it and as I look back I know that being on the mall will be one of the truest moments in my life. Is this what happens when over two million people focus on the present moment and meditate on positive transformation and change?

The psychology of the inauguration fascinated me; more so because my experience of mob dynamics came from working at San Quentin State Prison where I have seen the Herd Effect in human populations. I brought walkie-talkies and set an emergency plan with the three other people coming with me just in case of violence. I expected if there were problems that the psychology of the Herd Effect would come into play.

The Herd effect describes how individuals in a group can act together without planned direction. Evolutionary biologists have noted in animals fleeing a predator, individual animals will band and run in a tightly packed group to insure their own self-seeking protection. By doing so the group becomes a unified front and collective action becomes paramount over individual need.

There are numerous case studies in sociology and psychology about the Herd Effect in humans. The Los Angeles riots of 1992 exemplified how the Herd Effect often results in mob violence. The security precautions at the inauguration, complete with snipers on the top of the museums, made me all too aware that the threat of violence had not been overlooked in the massive size of the crowd.

However, the event as packed and uncomfortable as it was, remained peaceful. Without the catalyst of fear, people looked out for each other and strangers burst out in the same songs. I left feeling empowered and intuitively in tune with my surroundings and fellow Americans. Although I had prepared for the possibility violence, I left with a bigger question: is there a positive counterpart to the Herd Effect? What happens when you have a collective body in a small area experiencing something positive and uplifting? Nothing came up in my research about this type of phenomena.

I would be curious to note if there exists any case studies about the effects of joy felt by millions in one area and what the side effects were in comparison. Perhaps this day and the actions of the crowd will be fodder for further study.

37.7697 -122.466

President Obama with Chief Justice John Roberts, after taking
the oath of office a second time. Source: whitehouse.gov

Add to our joy as a regular citizens that of our tribe–scientists and other seekers of the truth in its many forms. It’s time we came out of the shadows. Here is some of the reason for our joy, in the form of excerpts from President Obama's inauguration speech.

"We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age… "

"Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends–hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism– these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths."

Our success depends on curiosity! Say amen! I say amen!

We have a world leader now who believes that moral clarity and the continual pursuit of truth are inseparable.

I could talk about the proposed economic recovery package and the billions of dollars that will weatherize 1-million homes a year; or the billions that will go to renewable energy research and development; or the millions of jobs that will be created in a new, more sustainable economy. But I want to take a moment to pat us on the back.

One of the values taught me in theology classes, which comes straight from the Bible, is the value of a faithful remnant. Some might know of the story of Abraham and God discussing the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah, and how God was hot to destroy the cities but Abraham talked God into relenting if only ten good people could be found there. There is the non-biblical story of the rainmaker who came to a town in the midst of drought, and by living a simple, quiet, decent life, brought rain. I don’t think God is into democracy. God won’t wait for 51% of us to get it right. It only takes a few. So to the relative few who continued to pursue goodness, beauty and truth in the last 8 years, I say congratulations. We kept the faith; we ran the race; we won. Way to go. There will be lots of hard work and setbacks ahead, of course. But for now, let’s celebrate.

37.8686 -122.267