Significant Enhancements to ScholarShare College Savings Plans

Education is a key component of sustainble community in our urban, global economy. Savings plans can make it possible for more youth. Here's a program worth considering.


November 16, 2006 -- ScholarShare, launched by California Treasurer, Phil Angelides in 1999, helps families meet the rising cost of college by offering a tax-advantaged 529 college savings program. Now, ScholarShare will offer families lower fees, more investment options, and easier access to account information.

Under the enhanced ScholarShare Direct Plan, fees will start as low as 50 basis points (.5 percent or $5 per $1,000 invested) for index fund portfolios. Families can choose from a wide range of investment strategies, including two age-based options, six static portfolios, five individual fund portfolios and the Social Choice Portfolio, and can choose from index and actively managed portfolios.

With the ScholarShare Direct Plan, families will have access t complimentary, unlimited college planning and investment guidance services. Fidelity representatives provide account assistance and discuss college planning needs and financial goals at 22 investment centers throughout California, online, or by phone 24/7.

Fidelity offers College Planning seminars throughout California to help families learn about college costs and college savings options and ScholarShare Advisor College Savings Plan, that are available through financial advisors.

Fidelity also offers the Fidelity Investments 529 College Rewards American Express Card that lets families earn 1.5% on eligible retail purchases, accumulating Rewards Points that are converted to "Fidelity 529 Dollars" when deposited in a 529 account. Accounts may be opened with as little as $50, or $15 if an automatic investment plan is set up.

The ScholarShare Direct Plan does not have an income limit and offers a high maximum contribution limit of $300,000.

Launched in 1999, the program has since grown to more than 178,000 accounts and more than $2 billion in assets.

Sustainable Communities funding adds $2.5 mil

PDF of news release:

In September 2006, California State Treasurer Phil Angelides announced a $2.5 million funding increase for the successful Sustainable Communities Grant and Loan Program that assists cities and counties in pursuing "smart growth" projects. Assembly Bill 1341 authored by the Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials and sponsored by the Treasurer, increases the grant and loan cap from $5 million to $7.5 million. It also extends the program’s sunset date from 2007 to 2012.

The funding will be awarded by the California Pollution Control Financing Authority (CPCFA). Grants of up to $350,000, as well as interest free, five-year loans of up to $150,000 are available to local governments that demonstrate a lack of resources to undertake needed smart growth projects. Since the program was launched by the Treasurer in 2002, fifteen communities have received funding for a variety of projects from conducting studies for transit villages to planning for infill development.

"Sustainable Communities funding has helped reverse the course by which older neighborhoods are thrown away in 25-year cycles in favor of suburban sprawl, degrading our environment and widening the economic disparities between California communities," said Angelides. "That is why extending a sustainable development strategy is so fundamentally important for our environment and our economy in the long term," Angelides concluded.

The program is part of the Treasurer’s "Smart Investments" and "Double Bottom Line" investment initiatives that have directed more than $18 billion in investment capital – through state programs and the State’s pension and investment funds — to create economic growth and sustainable development in California underserved communities.

California's Green Wave Environmental Investment Initiative

California Green Wave Investing Strategy

In 2004, phil Angelides, California State Treasurer, launched the "Green Wave" Environmental Investment Initiative. He called on the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) to implement a four-pronged investment strategy to bolster their financial returns, create jobs, clean up the environment, and combat global warming.

Demand Environmental Accountability and Disclosure

Concentrated risk argues for the need for better investor intelligence and information, illustrated by the fact that a small number of companies appear to face the greatest potential regulation and litigation.

UPDATE: February 14, 2005 -- As the Kyoto Protocol took effect, Angelides wins CalPERS' approval of a new corporate environmental accountability initiative. Under this new initiative, CalPERS will prod companies to improve their environmental practices,

Target Private Investment in Environmental Technologies

Clean technology has emerged as the sixth largest venture investment category in the U.S. and Canada, behind information technology, software, biotechnology, health care, and telecommunications. According to Cleantech Venture Network, LLC, in 2002, investments in energy-related clean technologies represented nearly half (45.5 percent) of all clean technology investments. The remaining investments in clean technologies included enabling technologies -- technologies developed by biological, computational, and physical scientists and engineers that enable better use of natural resources and greatly reduce ecological impact (14 percent); materials and nanotechnology (13.8 percent), materials recovery and recycling (8 percent), and water-related technologies (4 percent). (Source: Cleantech Venture Network, LLC, Venture Monitor Q1 2003.)

Invest in Stocks of Environmentally Responsible Companies

Companies that engage in environmentally responsible practices can achieve better financial results, according to a number of studies.

Audit Real Estate Portfolios to Boost Long-Term Value

CalPERS and CalSTRS hold more than $16 billion in real estate holdings in 22 countries around the globe, with over half of those holdings in office and industrial space.

The federal government has encouraged energy efficiency through the national Energy Star program. Companies - including product manufacturers, builders, and retailers - that actively participated in the Energy Star program through voluntary partnerships with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency outperformed companies that were not involved in the Energy Star program by more than 12 percent during the two-year period of 2000-2001.

California's tough energy efficiency standards have resulted in substantial cost savings. This efficiency is due in part to stringent energy efficiency standards for buildings and appliances that have been in effect and periodically updated since 1978. Through the Energy Efficiency Standards for Residential and Nonresidential Buildings (also known as Title 24 building standards) along with standards for energy efficient appliances, California has saved more than $20 billion in electricity and natural gas costs since 1978. It is estimated California will save $57 billion by 2011 due to these standards. (Source: California Energy Commission, http://www.energy.ca.gov/title24/index.html.)

A minimal upfront investment of about 2 percent of construction costs in sustainable building practices and products typically yields life cycle savings of more than 10 times the initial investment, according to a recent study commissioned by California's Sustainable Building Task Force.

Seedhead.com in Culver City

I discovered a delightful website about gardening ... and was even more tickled to find that it originates out of Southern California.

Degen Pener created Seedhead.com as a news site that blends information from around the world about what's happening with plants and plant people. It covers landscape design, botanic gardens and nature reserves to visit, new plants, new books, endangered plants, ecological restoration, horticultural know-how, nurseries and more. The goal of Seedhead is to provide up-to-the-minute reports on the full breadth and depth of the world of plants.

He is a contributing writer for Santa Barbara Magazine and has contributed articles on gardens and horticulture to a wide variety of other national magazines. From 2004 to early 2005, he worked as the plant buyer at Seaside Gardens, a wonderful nursery with extensive display gardens in Carpinteria, CA, and worked as a garden designer from 2004 to 2006.

Degen Pener
degen@seedhead.com
Culver City, CA

Nancy Goslee Powers landscape designer of green roofs...and more

Nancy Goslee Power is a landscape architect in Santa Monica who has designed several sculpturally significant gardens in Southern California in recent days.

See photos of recent projects installed in Pasadena, California.

She was chosen by Frank Gehry to work with him on the remodel of the Norton Simon Museum where she reworked the extensive gardens.

At the new Art Center South Campus by Daly Genik she created a meadow-like roof garden.

The first phase of the new Kidspace Museum designed by Michael Maltzan was recently opened featuring a range of outdoor exhibits, spaces and interactive gardens.

Nancy also designed the green roof of the Pasadena Art Center.

Nancy Goslee Powers & Associates
1660 Stanford St.
Santa Monica, CA 90404
310-264-0266
fax: 310-264-0268
ngpa@nancypower.com

Living roofs are topping the list of real green for buildings

Green roofs for Pasadena

Atop the Art Center College of Design's downtown campus, this roof is covered in 6 inches of soil bearing native grasses and shrubs. More than a garden, it is an ecologically designed green space that cools the building in summer by absorbing heat - much like an urban park does - and insulates it from cold in winter.

Living roofs have a long history. The Vikings grew sod on their homes for insulation. The hanging gardens of Babylon were planted rooftops. Europeans have cultivated green roofs for decades. After World War II, Germany made them mandatory in all major cities to prevent rainwater from washing into aging sewer systems.

Experts say such roofs retain storm water, decrease the cost of greenhouse gas reduction and lessen the need for interior building insulation. They also help to bring fauna back to inner city areas by attracting insects and birds, just as a backyard would.

In April, the city of Pasadena made green roofs mandatory on all new city buildings of 5,000 square feet or larger, on commercial buildings and residential tenant improvement construction of 25,000 square feet or more, and on all mixed-use or residential buildings of four stories or more.

Alice Sterling, Pasadena's green building coordinator, said there are 800,000 square feet of new building construction on the books in Pasadena that, if completed, will all have green roofs.

Green roofs start with a waterproof roof cover called a membrane. Then comes a root barrier, a drainage layer, and finally the growing medium and plants. Many plants native to California are drought-tolerant and need little maintenance

Depending on how the roof is designed, architects say the additional weight, which can equal that of a load of snow, is not unsafe even for older buildings. Greenery can be rooted on roofs that slope up to 60 degrees.

Nancy Goslee Powers, the Santa Monica landscaper who designed the roof at the Pasadena Art Center building, is working on similar projects in Beverly Hills and Century City, where a living roof is being installed on a public parking structure to keep it cool. It will be three-quarters the size of a football field.

Environmentology ... Honda's commitment

Environmentology is Honda's ongoing commitment and innovation program focused on environmentally responsible technology.

The results incldue world-changing advances in fuel economy, low emissions and alternative energy sources for the future.

Honda's firsts include:
-- the Honda Civic, world-changing for its fuel efficiency
-- first hybrid vehicle sold in North America
-- first government-certified fuel-cell car

Honda maintained the most fuel-economy status among the six major automakers as the most fuel-efficient auto company in America, 2005 -- with an average of 29.2 mpg. Their goal is to improve that by 5% by 2010.

Is that a lot?


Local Involvement:
For more tha 40 years, Honda has supported programs ad projects that focus on maintaining a clean and healthy environment for communities throughtout the country.

10 simple tips for living greener in 2007.

10 simple tips for living greener in 2007.

Here is a brief list of green actions to take. For more details and links to resources, visit the link to MSNBC.

1. Feed the Bees ** Pesticides, pollution and habitat destruction are taking a toll on the birds and insects that pollinate about 80 percent of the world's food supply. To lend a helping hand, plant a pollinator garden.

2. Clean Up, Naturally ** Household chemicals contribute to both in-door and outdoor pollution.

3. Ditch Your Junk ** Not only is junk mail annoying, it kills trees. Do yourself—and the forests—a favor by getting off the mailing lists of companies you don't support.

4. Air Your Laundry ** Line-dry your clothes once in a while. It saves money and also decreases your yearly carbon- dioxide emissions. Run your washer on cold whenever possible

5. Recycle Your Gadgets ** Don't clog landfills with old electronics.

6. Cut the Lights ** Trade your old incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescent ones. For help in picking the best bulb for your needs, go to energystar.gov.

7. Eat Your Veggies ** Have a meatless Monday. It takes about 16 pounds of grain to produce one pound of beef.

8. Save a Tree ** Use recycled paper products. According to the folks at stop globalwarming.org, the paper industry is the third largest contributor to global warming. If every U.S. household replaced one toilet-paper roll with a roll made from recycled paper, 424,000 trees would be saved.

9. Turn On the Tap ** Instead of spending big bucks on bottled water, drink the stuff that comes from your faucet.

10. Find an Eco-Date ** Because two recyclers are better than one.

SOURCE: MSNBC

The Compact in San Francisco eschews new

The Compact is an informal group in San Francisco that has agreed to several aims (more or less prioritized below):

* To go beyond recycling in trying to counteract the negative global environmental and socioeconomic impacts of disposable consumer culture and to support local businesses, farms, etc. -- a step that, we hope, inherits the revolutionary impulse of the Mayflower Compact.

* To reduce clutter and waste in our homes (as in trash Compact-er).

* To simplify our lives (as in Calm-pact)

They've agreed to follow two principles (see exceptions etc. on our blog).

#1 Don't buy new products of any kind (from stores, web sites, etc.)

#2 Borrow, barter, or buy used.

...and they're getting all kinds of national news with this simple, non-consumer way of life.

The Compact in San Francisco eschews new

The Compact has several aims (more or less prioritized below):

* To go beyond recycling in trying to counteract the negative global environmental and socioeconomic impacts of disposable consumer culture and to support local businesses, farms, etc. -- a step that, we hope, inherits the revolutionary impulse of the Mayflower Compact.

* To reduce clutter and waste in our homes (as in trash Compact-er).

* To simplify our lives (as in Calm-pact)

We've agreed to follow two principles (see exceptions etc. on our blog).

#1 Don't buy new products of any kind (from stores, web sites, etc.)

#2 Borrow, barter, or buy used.

EPEAT rates environmental standards for computers

Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, or Epeat, an electronics rating system available free at www.epeat.net.

The system, formed in mid-2006, is funded by the Environmental Protection Agency and is meant primarily for bulk buyers. But it is useful for individuals, too. Electronics — only computers now, with more products to follow — can be achieve ratings of gold, silver or bronze.

Honor system ratings are subject to reviews by the Green Electronics Council, a nonprofit group in Portland, Ore., who maintains the list. Manufacturers score their products against a set of environmental standards, including levels of hazardous substances, energy efficiency and ease of recycling.

More than 300 types of desktops, laptops and monitors have received at least a bronze, and most also have a silver rating, which means that they also meet at least half of 28 optional standards. None of the computers have it to gold, which means that they would meet all the required standards as well as three-quarters of the optional ones.

Hydrogen refueling stations are sprouting in the Southland

California's South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) is spending $4M to convert 30-35 Priuses to run as hydrogen (internal combustion, not fuel cell)-electric hybrids

In June, 2006, The City of Santa Monica dedicated the region’s fifth municipal hydrogen fueling station along with five hydrogen-powered Priuses to help hasten the day when its residents and those throughout the region can drive virtually zero-emission vehicles.

Santa Monica is one of a group of five Southern California cities placing themselves ahead of the curve in meeting future energy needs and cleaner air standards. The other cities participating are Burbank, Ontario, Riverside and Santa Ana. For the next five years, each city and AQMD will operate the Priuses, which have been specially modified to burn gaseous hydrogen.

The hydrogen-fueled, internal-combustion engine vehicles are considered a near-term bridge to longer-term future technologies including fuel cell vehicles, which emit only water vapor. Near-zero emission vehicles including those powered by fuel cells are considered a key strategy to clean up smog in Southern California, which has some of the most severely polluted air in the nation.

The five cities program is aimed at stimulating demand for hydrogen fueling, accelerating the expansion of the region’s hydrogen fueling network, and educating the public on hydrogen-fueled vehicles.

The total cost for the project is more than $7 million, including:
• A contract awarded by AQMD to Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc. of Irvine to design, convert, test, certify and maintain the hydrogen Priuses;
• Contracts awarded by AQMD to Air Products and Chemicals Inc., headquartered in Allentown, Penn., to design, install and demonstrate hydrogen fueling stations at the five cities and provide continuing maintenance services. As part of the Santa Monica station, Air Products contracted with Proton Energy Systems Inc. of Wallingford, Conn., to supply the station’s electrolyzer;
• Purchase of 30 Priuses, paid for by individual cities and AQMD; and
• Preparation of cities’ fueling sites, paid for by cities.

Each hydrogen-fueled Prius has a compressed-gas fuel cylinder that holds up to 1.6 kilograms of hydrogen, giving the vehicles a range of up to 80 miles per fill. (One kilogram of hydrogen is roughly equivalent to the energy content of one gallon of gasoline.)

The Priuses meet the state of California’s strict Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle standard for smog-forming nitrogen oxides, and unlike their gasoline-fueled counterparts, they have no carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide or hydrocarbon emissions.

The five cities’ hydrogen fueling sites add to a growing network of hydrogen stations in the Southland. Three other stations -- at AQMD headquarters in Diamond Bar, LAX and Sunline Transit Agency in Thousand Palms -- now are operational. An additional two stations, at UC Irvine and in Torrance, are expected to be completed by the end of the year. All 10 stations will provide hydrogen for fuel cell and internal combustion engine vehicles.