Mar 25 2008

Ode to the Skutches

The world would be a much better place if it was filled with people like Mike and Lynn Skutches. 

solar schools union democrat.jpgThe couple, both science teachers, have committed their personal and professional resources to promoting renewable energy. 

In addition to installing solar on their home in Sonora, California, the Skutches are also launching a new campaign to educate students on solar energy with a $5,000 PG&E Solar Schools grant and a new solar panel to be installed at Soulsbyville Elementary.

Lynn is a chemistry teacher at Sonora High School and Mike is a science teacher at Soulsbyville School. 

Soulsbyville School will receive a 1 kilowatt solar generation system for the school's educational use, which is estimated to save the school about $200 per month in energy. 

While not a huge energy savings, the educational impact is significant. 

Ina recent article in the Union Democrat Mike highlighted the educational benefits. "They are simple but powerful examples of solar energy.  They get kids to appreciate the concepts, rather than just reading from a book alone."

The solar system will also be connected to the Internet, providing the students with a real time tool to see how much power is generated on a given day.

The $5,000 grant will be used to purchase materials for solar education and will help fund Solar Sonora Energy Expo.

Posted by: Keely Wachs | Comments (0) digg delicioussend to a friendprint entry

 

Categories

Community , Energy , Solar

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  • This article is right on - small businesses have a huge role to play in sustainability. Not only do they add up in aggregate, but many small businesses operate in industries that can have a significant environmental impact depending on the exact practices, like dry cleaners, auto repair shops, etc. Green is also starting to affect the bottom line more and more, customers are increasingly voting with their feet for more sustainable businesses as can be seen from the growth of sites like http://www.ecovian.com. This is also a huge opportunity for small businesses to leapfrog their bigger brothers by being more agile in adopting these measures. -Emily
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  • Great entry, Katie. Love the level of detail you managed to get in there! Probably won't be able to compete with coal and oil any time the next decade, but definitely a great technology to look into! Keep it up :) -Rune (Norway)
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