Rooftops: Occupied! Communities Turn Out for Solar Power

November 21, 2011 • 3:00 pm PST
+ comments
See original
prev next

1 / 7

On Sunday, people all over the world met to Occupy Rooftops. The rooftop takeover, organized by Solar Mosaic and a host of partners, was designed to inspire communities to bring solar projects to their schools, churches, nonprofits, and other community centers. In Australia, Germany, Romania, Georgia, Finland, Peru, and throughout the United States, groups of all sizes got together to plan how to solar power to their communities.

Solar Mosaic didn’t ask occupiers to physically take over the rooftops on which they’d like to see solar: it’s solar panels that should be occupying the space. All advocates needed to do was find a building that could handle solar panels and take a picture in front of it. The photos are still coming in, but it’s already clear that some people did clamber up to the roof, while others gathered inside to hear presentations from solar installers. Solar Mosaic estimates that at least 300 people participated worldwide, and the group is already considering how to improve the concept next year.

Sarah Laskow
Reporter

See Gallery

Photos courtesy of Solar Mosaic

Posted in: Environment,; News

Tags: innovation,; solar power,; grassroots,; advocacy,; clean energy

More GOOD stuff

Sponsored by University of PhoenixRelated posts

Environment
The Nation's Largest Rooftop Solar Installation
The nation's largest rooftop solar installation was unveiled on Thursday. It's on a FedEx shipping center in Woodbridge, New Jersey. The FedEx...
by Andrew Price
Environment
Solar Mosaic: Bring Solar to Your Community for Just $100
The new Solar Mosaic program in Oakland lets residents buy $100 shares of solar panel installations on the roofs of local schools and nonprofits.
by Ben Jervey
Culture
Photos: Occupy Wall Street, Inside Out
Check out all 99 Portraits for the 99 Percent. And read an interview with Steven Greaves, the photographer behind the photographs.
by Steven Greaves, GOOD
Culture
The Occupy Wall Street Bible Is Out, and It's Good
Occupying Wall Street, the first thorough book about OWS, is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the movement.
by Julie Ma
Environment
Solar Power
GOOD and Futurefarmers look at the incredible amount of energy our sun produces.
by Andrew Price
Environment
Solar Power Moves
Though Virgle and its fine intentions turned out to be not so real, the project's faux-concerns-and its justifications for colonizing Mars-were...
by Daniel Riley
Environment
Microfinancing Solar Power
The bright future of small loans Every few weeks, the women of Huoi Pung-a small village in the mountains of northern Vietnam-bundle and haul...
by Ben Jervey
Business
Group Discounts on Solar Power
A company that makes going "off the grid" easier and more affordable. Solar energy can be intimidating to even the most environmentally minded...
by Emily Anthes
Design
BBCx365 Turns Online News Into Powerful Posters
For the past 106 days, designer Jonny Selman has taken a headline from the news and turned it into a poster. Every day.
by Alissa Walker
Business
Where Wind and Solar Power Make Sense
How much energy we can generate with wind and solar power projects depends, of course, on the wind and the sun. So being smart about where we put...
by Andrew Price
Environment
It's Been a "Record Year" for Solar Power
Good news: America added a lot of solar panels in 2010. California and New Jersey led the way, of course.
by Andrew Price
Environment
Supermodels Raise Money for Solar Power
Supermodels. They don't just provide us with tabloid fodder and unrealistic beauty standards. They also provide us with solar-powered hospitals.
by Andrew Price
Environment
America's Next Top Solar Power Plant
America's newest "largest solar photovoltaic plant," the Copper Mountain Solar Facility in Nevada, opened a few weeks ago.
by Andrew Price
Environment
Across the Globe, Solar Power Just Keeps Getting Cheaper
Within the next four years, solar power in China could be as cheap as coal for generating electricity. In some parts of Australia, it's already there.
by Sarah Laskow
Environment
California Has More Solar Power Than France
The state is close to installing 1 gigawatt worth of solar panels on rooftops alone.
by Sarah Laskow
Education
Meet the World's First Solar Powered Study Lantern
Thanks to this solar lantern, for less than $10, students living without electricity could have light to study by when the sun goes down.
by Liz Dwyer
Environment
The End of the Power Cord: Solar and Typing-Powered Laptops
A new solar laptop could free computers from their power cords. And in the future, the pressure created by typing could be used to charge batteries.
by Sarah Laskow
Environment
China to Build Enormous Solar Power Plant
A pair of Chinese companies are teaming up to build what might become world's largest solar power plant. According to Reuters, China Technology...
by Patrick James
GOOD Blog
Chevron's Using Solar Power...to Drill for Oil
From the Department of Mixed Emotions: The New York Times' Green, Inc. blog is reporting that a new solar thermal plant is going to be built in...
by Andrew Price
Environment
Two-Mile Solar Tunnel Powers Rail Between Paris and Amsterdam
This incredible 16,000-panel solar array on top of a Paris to Amsterdam rail line powers half of the big Antwerp train station nearby.
by Ben Jervey