2011 October 27

Shloppity Shlop! Here Comes Dr. Seuss’ "The Lorax"

The Once-ler, a clear-cutting industrial polluter. Images courtesy of Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures The Lorax, champion of the environment, is coming to the big screen in an animated 3D (or rather "Tree-D") movie featuring Danny DeVito as the grumpy forest creature. Seuss took on consumerism with How the Grinch Stole Christmas and environmental concerns with The Lorax, which has had its share of controversy. What better way to get the message across than in a fantasy land losing its colorful cotton candy-esq...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Google Funds $75 Million for Residential Solar Installations

Internet Giant Secures Second Fund for Residential Solar Leases in 3 States-

Google recently put up $75 million in funding for roughly 3,000 residential solar installations in Arizona, California and Colorado. Clean Power Finance will oversee the fund and will work with solar power installers to provide homeowners with financing options. The initiative will give consumers an option to enter into lease agreements or power purchase agreements with the installers, which is especially beneficial for the majority of homeowners who cannot afford cash down on expensive solar installations. This is Google’s second fund, with the first being a landmark residential solar deal between the company and California-based SolarCity to the tune of $280 million in project funding. The latter was established to provide installations, lease agreements and power purchase agreements in 11 states as well as Washington D.C. Currently, federal and state governments are providing long-term extensions of solar tax credits for residential and commercial solar installations which makes it a very good time to look into PPA’s and lease agreements in your state. Lowe’s, for instance, has partnered with Sungevity and are offering $0 down for residential solar installations in most states throughout the U.S.