Robert & Patricia Switzer Foundation

Berger publishes article on pathways to 100 percent renewable energy

Content Type: News - Fellows Reaching the goal of getting 100 percent of the world's energy from renewable resources is technically and economically feasible today. The challenges lie in the realms of public policy and political will, as well as in finance, market development, and business development.That was the message delivered by numerous distinguished energy experts in San Francisco on April 16th at Pathways to 100...

Morris presented on mitigating the impacts of the renewable energy gold rush on endangered species

Content Type: News - Fellows Legal & Policy Pathways for Energy InnovationApril 24-25, 2013University of MinnesotaWatch the video

Sievers says land-use arguments against biofuels in Europe are tenuous

Content Type: News - Fellows A new issue now tops EU biofuels debates: subsidies. First reports suggest that EU biofuels policy is costly, and that subsidies paid to biofuel producers are lush. A fuller exploration of the economics (and subsidies) of EU biofuels reveals that biofuels are among the best economic development - and cheapest carbon abatement - vehicles we have. In other words, the biofuels industry welcomes a...

Climate Change Hits Disadvantaged Hardest

Content Type: Switzer Network News Low-income neighborhoods are more often exposed to poor environmental quality when compared to wealthier communities, and scientists are saying this gap will increase as climate change is more widely felt. This video is part of our series on the environmental impacts of the goods movement industry:When Whales and Ships CollidePlug-in Cargo Ships on West Coast of CaliforniaProtecting Ourselves...

Aldy on true cost of fossil fuel subsidies

Content Type: News - Fellows Hundreds of billions of dollars in the developing world are funding subsidies for fossil fuel energy, including petroleum, electricity, and natural gas. Joseph Aldy, assistant professor of public policy, is currently research the economic and environmental impacts of these subsidies. He presented a snapshot of his latest research during an Energy Policy Seminar on Monday (March 25).As Aldy...

Wolf warns Keystone XL would feed superstorm risk

Content Type: News - Fellows It was the day the ocean came ashore. We watched in horror as Hurricane Sandy lurched into the East Coast last October. Floodwaters surged into Manhattan and inundated more than 70 percent of Atlantic City. Months later, people in New Jersey and other parts of the East Coast are still trying to pick up the pieces.That Frankenstorm gave us a hair-raising look at the power of nature and the...

Lara Hansen on Inaugural National Adaptation Forum: Whole lotta adapting going on!

Content Type: Blog Post - Fellow Editor's Note: The following blog post first appeared on the Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange (CAKE) website. CAKE was founded by EcoAdapt (1995 Switzer Fellow Lara Hansen's organization) and Island Press in July 2010, and is managed by EcoAdapt. It is aimed at building a shared knowledge base for managing natural and built systems in the face of rapid climate change.  You can read...

Erika Zavaleta: Building an Energy Efficient Home from the Ground Up

Content Type: Featured Fellows And Collaborations 1999 Switzer Fellow Erika Zavaleta strives to bridge ecological theory and research to sound conservation and management practice in her work and personal life. Between 2008 and 2010, she and husband Bernie Tershy worked with Anni Tilt of Berkeley-based Arkin Tilt Architects and Santa Cruz builder Marc Susskind to design and build a home that did just that. The home won the Best New Home award...

Mulvaney shares the toxic side of solar energy

Content Type: News - Fellows Solar power is often hailed as one of the cleanest available sources of energy, but that claim may not be entirely true.Numbers provided by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control show that solar panel manufacturers in the state produced more than 46-million pounds of hazardous waste between 2007 and 2011.Listen to the story

[WEBINAR] Lessons for Homeowners from Green Affordable Housing (Switzer Foundation Webinar Series)

Content Type: Blog Post - Fellow Are you a homeowner, interested in finding ways to make your home or investment property more sustainable? Then listen to Beverly Craig (1994) discuss lessons learned from six years working on improving the water and energy performance of multifamily affordable housing with Homeowner's Rehab, a nonprofit that owns over 1,000 units of affordable housing in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They "...

Protecting Ourselves from Diesel Fumes

Content Type: Switzer Network News Los Angeles, California, is one of the biggest transportation hubs in the world, but that has major health implications for residents. Exposure to diesel fumes has an impact on everyone, and Switzer Fellow Scott Fruin documents those effects, especially on children. This video is part of our series on the environmental impacts of the goods movement industry:When Whales and Ships CollidePlug-in...

Spring 2013 Newsletter on Energy Efficiency now available

Content Type: News - Announcements We published our Spring 2013 newsletter on Energy Efficiency this week. You can read a copy in our Press Room page.

Beckie Menten: Whole Building Energy Efficiency

Content Type: Featured Fellows And Collaborations 2008 Switzer Fellow Beckie Menten is the Energy Efficiency Coordinator for the Marin Energy Authority, the first Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) system in California. Community Choice Aggregation allows cities and counties to aggregate the buying power of individual customers to secure alternative energy supply contracts.  Marin Energy Authority's goal is to address climate...

Benefits of energy efficient design go beyond environmental and economic advantages

Content Type: Blog Post - Fellow Editor's Note:  1999 Switzer Fellow Erika Zavaleta strives to bridge ecological theory and research to sound conservation and management practice in her work and personal life. Between 2008 and 2010, she and husband Bernie Tershy worked with Anni Tilt of Berkeley-based Arkin Tilt Architects and Santa Cruz builder Marc Susskind to design and build a home that did just that. The home won the...

Webinar: Lessons for Homeowners from Green Affordable Housing with Switzer Fellow Bev Craig

Content Type: Events Are you a homeowner, interested in finding ways to make your home or investment property more sustainable? Then join Switzer Fellow Beverly Craig to discuss lessons learned from 6 years working on improving the water and energy performance of multifamily affordable housing with Homeowner's Rehab, a nonprofit that owns over 1,000 units of affordable housing in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They...

This is what democracy looks like

Content Type: Blog Post - Fellow Editor's Note: Frank Lowenstein and several other Switzer Fellows joined thousands of environmentalists on and around Washington's National Mall on Sunday for the Forward on Climate Rally, encouraging President Barack Obama to take strong measures against climate change.  What follows are Frank's impressions of the event and an audio file of a voicemail he left for Switzer staff from the...

von Meier awarded $4 million for work on electric power grid monitoring

Content Type: News - Fellows The University of California, Berkeley, got a $4 million grant for three years' work on electric power grid monitoring.UC Berkeley's California Institute for Energy and Environment, or CIEE, will oversee the research, working with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the UC Center for Information Research.Alexandra von Meier is co-director of electric grid research at CIEE and will lead the...

Do the Math - fossil fuel divestiture gains steam

Content Type: Blog Post - Fellow A month ago I was pleased and proud to be in attendance at the Portland, Maine stop for Bill McKibben’s “Do the Math” tour. His month long series of rallies helped build a campaign that is rapidly gaining attention – to recognize that if we exploit the known reserves of fossil fuels, as fossil fuel companies have every intention of doing as evidenced by inclusion of these reserves as assets in...