This figure is staggering: The world could save $22 trillion—TRILLION, folks!—and cut carbon emissions to a level equivalent of India’s ENTIRE ANNUAL output of greenhouse gases (I'm no scientist, but in a country of 1.2 billion people, that would equate to a lot) if national governments adopted efforts to turn their cities into low carbon smart cities, says a study by independent initiative The Global Commission on Climate and Economy. This report, says PV Magazine, was backed by leading research institutes from the U.K. and six other countries (including Sweden, South Korea and Norway), and concluded that savings on transport, buildings, waste disposal and heating could reach $22 trillion globally by 2050 if strategies outlined in the report are adopted.

While it's unlikely that the whole world gets on board with this idea (here's to hoping!), there are some green cities that are ahead of our time and have either had eco-friendly infrastructure and sustainable and innovative solutions implemented for some time now, or are making these positive changes with the environment in mind moving forward. In this blog, we take a look at five of the greenest cities in the world that show us that it IS possible!

It's a whole new #solar world out there. We're pretty excited for Solar CrowdSource to be a small part of it! This solar energy news roundup includes cool new developments in solar energy, from India to Missouri. Check out these solar-fabulous examples that will go down in history as making big waves in alternative energy use.

Community solar programs (like Solar CrowdSource's) bring a utility together with its customers who want to choose how they purchase and consume energy. Through utility community solar customers purchase panels of a large, central solar facility and receive an energy credit on their utility bill for the energy the panels produce. Customers get a choice that will have a huge impact on their wellbeing, the environment, and save big bucks in the process!

Because this is such a hot topic—indeed, within the last two months, the Obama administration announced plans to provide financial and educational support for community solar in low- and medium-income neighborhoods—we thought it would be fun to wrangle together the latest commentary that’s #trending about #CommunitySolar on Twitter. Read on as these programs gain traction across the United States. 

Welcome to Solar CrowdSource. We are a community-based platform and service company that enables government, schools, utilities, faith-based organizations, and other nonprofits to run campaigns for solarize, community solar, and crowdfunding campaigns. For little to no upfront cost to the community, our campaigns include a full service campaign page, customized email workflows, data management, and campaign analytics to help make your campaign a success.

Our value proposition is to reduce customer acquisition costs and other soft costs through successful and proven programs designed to leverage the power of the crowd. This saves solar installation companies money and the savings are passed on to the community. Our team consists of solar, marketing and legal professionals that know the solar and regulatory environment in Georgia and we look forward to helping your community reach its sustainability goals safely and effectively.

Thank you for visiting our site and please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Sunny regards,

Don Moreland

New Web-based Platform Brings Solar Campaign Opportunities Together Under One Umbrella

Atlanta – August 18, 2015 – Through its easy-to-use online platform, Solar CrowdSource gives users access to more affordable alternative energy with three unique solar energy programs. Specializing in providing solar crowdsourcing opportunities for local governments, utilities, communities and individuals alike, the first comprehensive solar platform of its kind in the U.S. brings together Community Solar, Solarize and Crowdfunding programs in one place for Georgians to go in on the cost of solar together. The results are lower electric bills, greener communities and smart investments.

Did you know that solar energy is the fastest growing source of renewable energy in the U.S.? It's true, and there's good reason for that — our communities need it! In this blog, we've pulled together some fantastic solar energy predictions for 2016 from various solar energy experts. 

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), for example, put out a forecast that predicts the solar market will grow 25 to 50 percent in all U.S. sectors by 2016. That's great news, right? Check out their video on how solar has grown over the last decade in the U.S.:

You may be familiar with fellow Southern states and cities' Solarize programs, such as Solarize North Carolina  or Solarize Tybee, but did you know that the Atlanta metro area hasn't—until now—had its own Georgia Solarize program? That's crazy, right? Solarize programs are growing in popularity throughout the U.S. as of late because everything about them is positive for both the individual and the community as a whole.

Colleges and universities are a natural fit for solar energy—not only because their classrooms can fuel much of the research and innovation for the solar energy industry, but also for their physical layout and sheer size (the large, flat roofs of campus buildings are a great place for solar panels). The following are colleges with solar programs that are truly making a difference in solar energy in the United States and Georgia.

One of the great things about Solar CrowdSource is that, unlike some other tools out there in cyberspace, it is developed by Georgians for Georgians. Solar CrowdSource's founder and president Don Moreland wants to help you get the most out of your solar campaign with face-to-face strategy meetings, participation at local government council meetings, workshops and collaboration with campaign stakeholders, among many other things. Check out our About page for more on the company's value proposition. While you're considering our programs, get to know more about the man behind the company with this insightful Q&A session:

We hate to say it, but with all that sunshine in our great state of GA? We can do much better to grow our Georgia solar programs. Just take a look at this map of the top 10 Solar States of 2014 from Solar Energies Industry Association (SEIA)... Georgia isn't even on it!

 If you’re a VICE (the Emmy-winning HBO series) fan like we are, you likely saw this past season’s episode about Greenland’s melting glaciers. In this episode, Shane Smith travels to Greenland with climate scientist Jason Box to investigate why the glaciers are melting, and how the resulting rise in sea level will devastate our world sooner than expected. Heavy stuff. Here's why it matters...