Saving energy saves money.  It’s a simple enough mantra in the age of global climate change and sagging economies.  And with recent environmental legislation – particularly California’s Global Warming Solutions Act, Assembly Bill (AB) 32, which mandates a 25 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2020 – Californians may have little choice but to become more efficient, fast.  

A proposed “energy-plus home,” that would replace an existing structure located at 448 Pennsylvania Street  may be a pioneer in an emerging movement towards an “organic energy” system in which energy users rely on a diverse, place-based set of resources, rather than large-scale energy facilities.  The home would be developed as the City completes a planning process to determine how to meet a goal of producing no greenhouse gas emissions associated with electricity consumption by 2030.

During an economic downturn that’s prompting many of us to test out our grandmothers’ secret recipes – who knew tongue could be so tasty – rather than dine out, it isn’t surprising that the Best Buy near the Potrero Hill Shopping Center has strategically placed “No Interest for 18 Months!” signs all along their shiny row of KitchenAide and Frigidaire refrigerators.  If there’s extra money to go around, replacing an old fridge may be one of the few shopping indulgences that can be fun and pragmatic.

Rene Feliciano clocks in at 6:30 on Monday morning. By nine o’clock, she has helped pack a small fleet of trucks to supply a handful of California’s supermarkets and restaurants. One big rig heads up the Pacific Coast to Eureka; two more traverse the great Central Valley destined for Sacramento and Fresno; another heads south across the Santa Cruz Mountains. Their cargo: organic produce from one of San Francisco’s greenest wholesale distributors.