Project Journal

Satisfying Our Speed Addiction
by Robert Fortunato on July 18th, 2015 No Comments »

We satisfied our speed addiction and green voyeurism this week by test driving the 691hp Tesla Model S P85D.  It is the fastest production car, period.  Going from 0 – 60 in 3.1 seconds in that car was the smoothest g-force rush we had ever experienced.
The P85D is beautifully executed,
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Love a Good Road Trip!
by Robert Fortunato on May 2nd, 2015 No Comments »

Thanks to Eric for the great article  – Tom, Kristy and Ann, and Diane Moss for making it happen and Mayor Parris and his staff for the very informative tour.  Also I appreciate Councilmembers Fangary and Barrigan and the other 12 residents who made the effort to educate themselves on
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Let’s bring it – or lose the opportunity!
by Robert Fortunato on March 29th, 2015 No Comments »

Many thanks to Rachel Reeves for the excellent article. Both the Keep Hermosa Hermosa and the Protect Hermosa’s Future people promised to redouble their efforts to find a viable financial solution after the election. Being one of the first cities to harvest more renewable energy than it uses (carbon neutral)
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Bill Says It All
by Robert Fortunato on February 12th, 2015 No Comments »

The goal of our Net Zero Energy, Zero Carbon, Green Idea House was to reduce our energy load so we can affordably produce more renewable energy than we use.
Our utility bill for our second full year of operation proved that the Green Idea House did just that. The 100% electric
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A Step Up for Christmas
by Robert Fortunato on December 22nd, 2014 No Comments »

Happy Holidays!  We started a new tradition this year.
We wanted to do something that is simpler, less stressful, that gives us more to celebrate.  Tens of millions of trees are cut down every year and all the waste, pollution and deforestation that entails made us think.
We love what the Living
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Giving the Gift of Knowledge
by Robert Fortunato on December 20th, 2014 No Comments »

150 students from the Environmental Charter High School came for a tour of the Green Idea House this week. ECHS has made this tour part of their curriculum and the 9th grader’s semester project. It is always great to see the student’s eyes light up as they start to understand:

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How Do We Find Meaning?
by Robert Fortunato on November 14th, 2014 No Comments »

Weaving meaning into the fabric of our lives and communities makes everything we do better.  So I was pleased to be contacted by Dean Bokhari of the Meaningful Show for an interview.
The conversation was a lot of fun and I hope you enjoy it as well.  We discussed everything from
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Would you Lose a $36 Million Annuity and a $40 Million Discount?
by Robert Fortunato on November 13th, 2014 No Comments »

Experts hired by the city of Hermosa Beach proved at the last city council meeting that Hermosa Beach could be the beneficiary of an annuity of $36 million/year and the investment would be discounted by up to $40 million if it got in the race to be one of the
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TEDx Video – Leadership, Innovation and the “Impossible” House
by Robert Fortunato on October 17th, 2014 2 Comments »

Dear Friends and Partners of the Green Idea House,
We are excited to share this TEDx video that features all of you – the community that came together to make the Green Idea House possible. Please watch it and share it with your social media friends. If there are enough views,
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School District Uses Solar to Save $700,000 Per Year – a.k.a more money for kids!
by Robert Fortunato on October 12th, 2014 No Comments »

My fellow U.S.Green Building Council Steering Committee members pulled together an excellent program this week.  It featured the leadership of Dr. Steven E. Keller, Superintendent of Schools for Redondo Beach, and his team who described how the district reduced energy costs by $600- $800k/ year!  The system will have a
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