Vision:
Creating sustainable communities across the Santa Cruz / Monterey Bay Bio-region based
on learning programs that engage and teach communities how to build a healthy future for
themselves.
Mission:
To have Santa Cruz business, education, and government organizations switch to green
power as part of a four phase plan as described in the Solar Beach Technology Regenerative
Industry Initiative.
Goal:
Green power, implemented as a cost effective and clean method for generating power
within organizations will trigger the need for closed loop development by creating a
greater awareness of planetary resources.
Strategy:
A plan will be designed, managed by SQA (Sustainable Quality Awards) that will engage
school, business, and city organizations in a fun competition to switch to green-power.
- A series of award opportunities, such as free power for a month, will be given to
businesses that meet the criteria of the challenge (to be determined by the green power
challenge committee that will be created). During the SQA October 'Sustainable-Quality'
awards ceremony, guidelines for the program and development of the Sun-bus will be
introduced.
- An existing electric bus, owned by Ron Swenson of Solar Quest, will be refurbished and
transformed by high school students into a solar energy capture vehicle equipped with
tel-com equipment and presentation curriculum and tools. The vehicle will be put
on-the-road as an education center describing how 21st century communities are being
designed while emphasizing issues around alternative forms of energy, transportation.
Systemic modeling will also be taught to help people grasp concepts of sustainability. The
bus will be managed by Solar Quest.
- The green power industry will sponsor the up-front costs of the challenge along with
management and support costs to be done through SQA and Solar Quest (costs will be
determined and a value placed on its efforts by the green power challenge committee). In
addition, for every organization that switches, a donation will be given by green power
industry toward the Sun-bus learning vehicle's on-going maintenance and educational
developments.
- The bus will act as a marketing tool for green power awareness and make green power
purchase available on-site. It will become a model of how the green power industry can
create a nation-wide campaign to promote their products while engaging communities in
necessary renewable-energy education programs. The value of the Sun-bus goes beyond
standard product awareness by regenerating important ties through adults and children
through business/school projects (including bus refurbishment along with others which will
be determined by the committee) which will empower communities toward building a cleaner,
healthier, more innovate future for themselves.
