About

Energy Seeds is a joint project of the Foundation for Environmental Education. A “blog” is a web log of journal entries. This Energy Seeds blog contains journal entries and stories about a number of projects that we have worked with over the past few years. It is intended to stimulate and catalyze new energy and environmental project ideas that build on our projects, and the ideas of our extended team. One of the ways in which we can do that is to provide you more than just the numbers and the data from each project. This site will provide you with the background on each project, the “behind-the-scenes” stories, and the thoughts, advice and contacts for the people who were involved in each project. We are hoping that these projects will help you do your own projects, or to join us in our future projects. We are planting the first “seeds” here with the launch of this blog site and we hope you will join us.

We hope this site, or at least a few project ideas herein, will encourage more people to want to harness their own piece of the sun. We hope to create a self-sustaining market place of ideas, and everyone can play a role in the team. This is why we go to such long lengths to introduce you to both the projects and the people who are responsible for them. We thank our sponsors (largely the utilities that make these projects possible at a reduced or at no cost to project recipients) for making these great stories possible, and helping us help work with those cultivating these various energy seeds around the world.

We know there are a number of grave predictions for the planet. Half of the experts predict an end to the natural world if we remain on our present course while the other half outline the destruction of the world economy if we make even small changes in how we generate and use energy. We believe there are less extreme options and we hope to show you some of the opportunities available to all of us. One seed, alone, if planted well, may help change the course of our history. Harnessing the sun in a more productive manner may help us sustain the lifestyle we enjoy while also putting a little less pressure on the planet.

Though we all may not know it right now, we each have a seed to plant, and each have a seed to sow…we all don’t have to start out as expert farmers, but we all can learn and grow. Come back, and share your story with us. We look forward to hearing from you.

Glen and Alyssa

(photo from 2000 solar school project in Kingsville, TX)

Glen G. Kizer is the President of the Foundation for Environmental Education and producer of the Environmental Weekly, the E3 (Energy, the Environment, and our Economy), and the Teens at Risk video series. Mr. Kizer is in charge of the solar schools and energy efficiency projects. He is also on the Board of Trustees of the Interstate Renewable Energy Council. Mr. Kizer’s current projects include 100 new solar schools in northern California in cooperation with Pacific Gas & Electric Company, which will demonstrate the viability of solar electricity and provide a teaching opportunity which marries environmental education with traditional math and science skills. NEED is administering the teacher training for the educational side of the project. He is also administering solar electricity and solar thermal projects in Arizona, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Peru, Haiti, and England.

Alyssa is SunPower’s Program Manager of Corporate Sustainability and the SunPower Foundation. A passionate solar advocate, Alyssa began her career in Washington, DC with a small non-profit doing international market transformation work in Latin America, Central Europe, and Asia. She next worked as a consultant to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Rebuild America, Million Solar Roofs, and EnergyStar programs. During the California energy crisis she worked for PG&E administering the incentive programs for integrated building designs and the Self-Generation Incentive Program (precursor to the California Solar Initiative). Alyssa helped launch the PG&E Solar Schools Program, and continues to be actively involved in the implementation of this fantastic program, Energy Seeds, and many other projects with the Foundation. Most recently, Alyssa was in the role as the Public Programs Manager for SolarCity while also serving on the board of Solar Richmond, a local non-profit organization that supports accelerating the adoption of solar energy within the greater Richmond community. When Alyssa isn’t thinking about how to change the world and following up on leads for new Energy Seeds, she’s playing with her dogs, writing, painting, riding her bikes, running, and going on adventures with her partner and friends.