On March 11, 2011, there was a seismic catastrophe unrelated to greenhouse gas emissions that devastated the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant and placed a huge question mark on the claims of nuclear fission to be a “clean” and relatively benign source of energy. Revelations over the past year have brought alarming clarity to the […]
resiliency
Advanced Community Energy (ACE): A Winning Hand for Local Energy Development
The increasing prevalence of wildfires (often sparked by utility wires) and other extreme weather events highlights the urgent need for DERs and local microgrid systems to provide true resiliency against climate-induced disruption and state authorized Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) that would preemptively deenergize transmission lines. Unfortunately, there are many hurdles to be cleared before […]
WATCH: Video of Global Citizens Club November 2019 Event “Designing Dreams from Derricks”
On November 6th, 2019 we concluded the Global Citizens Club 2019 conference series on “Greening our Infrastructure.” With the company of over 100 Santa Barbara community members and four key panelists, “Designing Dreams from Derricks” focused on the new discussion of the decommissioning of oil platforms off the coast of Santa Barbara. Panel Moderated by: Rinaldo […]
Global Citizens Club Meeting: Designing Dreams from Derricks
On November 6th, 2019, we concluded the Global Citizens Club 2019 conference series on “Greening our Infrastructure.” With the company of over 100 Santa Barbara community members and four key panelists, “Designing Dreams from Derricks” focused on the new discussion of the decommissioning of oil platforms off the coast of Santa Barbara. With a controversial […]
Designing Dreams from Derricks
Global Citizens Club Community Meeting Wednesday, November 6, 2019 5:00pm – 7:00pm Belmont El Encanto Hotel SANTA BARBARA, California – The future of the stranded oil derricks off of the Santa Barbara coastline will be the subject of a community meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 6, at the Belmond El Encanto Hotel & Spa. “Designing Dreams […]
Repurposing Offshore Oil Infrastructure to Save the Planet
By Robert Perry When most people think of climate change, they focus on the atmosphere. In truth, it is our oceans, lakes and other water resources that serve as the bulwark in preserving a livable climate and are closer to collapse than most realize. Indeed, acceleration of climate change will reach a whole new level […]
PSPS Outages Expected in Santa Barbara This Week (including Montecito)
Southern California Edison (SCE) has recently announced that a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) is possible for some Santa Barbara County areas starting Friday, due to high wind conditions. The length of the outages is currently unknown and depends on weather conditions. Santa Barbara county urges residents, for all PSPS events, to be prepared for […]
Resiliency Through Repurposing
By Robert Perry, Director of Research In facing our climate crisis, a lot of emphasis is placed on adding to, or replacing infrastructure. While this impulse is a logical reaction in the transition to clean energy, a strategy to repurpose existing facilities should always be considered first as a means to accelerate the transition, while […]
The Resource Adequacy Hurdle to 100% Renewable Energy
By Robert Perry, Director of Research Over the years, I’ve written about Santa Barbara County’s energy resiliency issues, particularly for communities along the coastline in the Southern California Edison (SCE) service territory. I’ve also decried SCE’s antiquated Request for Offer (RFO) process that no longer works in a time when energy procurement means building hundreds […]
Stop the PG&E Bailout Bonds
Call to Action! Dear Academy Supporters, The World Business Academy strongly opposed AB 1054, the utility bailout rushed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom, which strengthens the state’s monopoly on utilities at the expense of all California ratepayers, Community Choice programs, and democratic due process. Now there is a proposed extension to pay for PG&E’s […]
Business as a Global Change Agent: Ceres/Academy Collaborative
Since 1987, the World Business Academy has focused on the role business can and should play in solving humanity’s largest challenges. Our focus on climate change and energy security results from an analysis of the most important threats to human survival and thus the survival of business. Given this prime directive, it logically follows that […]
Advanced Community Energy (ACE): A Winning Hand for Local Energy Development
Following closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in 2013, the Academy’s energy advocacy efforts in various hearings and lawsuits initially focused on preventing the industry’s rush to build massive natural gas “peaker plants” which the Academy helped defeat in both Oxnard and Goleta. During that time, the Academy Research Director Robert Perry […]
