Last year on December 5, our friends, supporters and staff gathered at Rinaldo’s and Lalla’s house to celebrate the closing of 2017. It was a lovely evening, and we left the gathering with our hearts full of cheer. But there was also an undercurrent of foreboding as the Thomas Fire had just begun its destructive […]
Wildfires Tell Us We Already Live in a Climate-Changed World
Once again, California is up in flames. It’s beginning to look like a recurring seasonal phenomena much like hurricane or tornado season in the Southeast and Midwest. The Camp Fire is currently the deadliest wildfire in California’s recorded history at 81 deaths (with ~870 persons still missing). We can only pray that another massive fire […]
Call to Action: Help us Stop the CPUC!
We need your help! On October 11th, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) will meet to decide whether to dramatically increase the Power Charge Indifference Adjustment (PCIA) charge, an on-going fee that is levied on Community Choice customers, so those who remain with the utility do not incur long-term financial obligations made for the benefit […]
Santa Barbara County’s Redistricting Future: A Comparative Analysis of Measures G and H
By Robert Perry, Director of Energy Research Well, it’s that time of year. The November election is fast approaching and soon we will be receiving voter guides the size of small phone books, replete with competing ballot propositions and measures, where only one proposition or measure actually lives up to its title. For Santa Barbara […]
Microgrids: Our Energy Future
Stand in the future you wish to see. Then look back from there at the path and the choices that helped us solve our challenges, regenerate our natural systems, and learn to live in harmony with the planet and each other. Take four minutes to explore this way of thinking. This short, animated film […]
Deepa Willingham Receives 2018 Peace Prize
The World Business Academy would like to congratulate Solvang resident, Deepa Willingham as the recipient of the 2018 United Nations Association (UNA) Peace Prize. We humbly thank Deepa for her important humanitarian work in Santa Barbara County and around the globe. The UNA of Santa Barbara is in its second year of honoring local residents […]
Beyond the Burn: California Wildfires and Social Justice – What No One’s Talking About
By Robert Perry, Director of Energy Research [This is Part II in our series of Beyond the Burn and how California’s climate change-induced fire threats present a replicable opportunity for economic growth and social justice. If you haven’t read the first installment, you can find it here] I ended the first installment in this series with […]
California Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Case
The California Supreme Court last week refused to hear the World Business Academy’s case against the State Lands Commission. This decision, while disappointing, doesn’t detract from the strong legal arguments presented in the case, and we are confident they will someday become law — protecting the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). We urge you to […]
California Advances in Worldwide Sprint Towards Renewable Energy
By Robert Perry California lawmakers passed critical environmental legislation last week, burnishing the state’s reputation as a progressive leader in the fight against climate change and shining a spotlight on the federal administration’s disdain for climate science. Here’s what will be waiting for Gov. Brown’s signature: SB100 – The Big Kahuna: SB100 sets California on […]
Call to Action: Tell BLM to Stop Drilling and Fracking in Central California!
The Trump Administration is on the move to expose roughly 273,000 acres of federal public lands and mineral rights, to hydraulic fracking and oil drilling in San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties. The watchdog organization, Los Padres ForestWatch, performed an analysis of official GIS data that pointed to the administration’s efforts and disclosed […]
Thinking Beyond the Burn: Adaptive Strategies for Climate Change
By Robert Perry, Director of Energy Research (This is a two-part series by Robert Perry exploring how California’s climate change induced fire threats presents a replicable opportunity for economic growth and social justice) The Gulf Coast has its hurricanes. The East Coast, torrential rainfall (and sometimes hurricanes). For California, the primary threat from climate change […]
Business Leaders Collaborate in Efforts to Revitalize State Street
On August 14, 2018, Santa Barbara City Council held a public meeting to discuss the revitalization of State Street. In an effort to recapture economic vitality in the downtown area, members hosted a panel-discussion for concerned residents and business owners. A group of stakeholders, led by Amy Cooper, Chair of the World Business Academy’s State […]