Happy Holidays From blackEnergy
Posted by Sonja Ebron
It’s said you learn the most during challenging times. If so, blackEnergy earned a PhD this year. We owe our survival to the prayers of well-wishers, including our staff, our advisers, our nonprofit partners, our patient suppliers and vendors. Most of all, we are grateful for our customers — the lifeblood of any business — who send us money, good will and good cheer throughout the year.
Just this week, we received a call from a customer who’d purchased several bulbs from us for his solar shower. He wanted to know if we carried a part that would allow them to work on a 12-volt system. (We didn’t but referred him to another vendor.) He thanked us for the assistance and indicated he had two more questions:
Customer: Your answer to the first will determine the second one. You ready?
Agent: Yes, sir, go ahead.
Customer: First question - Are you married?
Agent: Yes, sir, I am.
Customer: Second question - What is the difference between an in-law and an outlaw?
Agent: There’s not a bit of difference, sir. You can’t squeeze a ray of light between them.
Customer: Wrong! You wanna know the difference?
Agent: Yes, sir?
Customer: The outlaw is wanted. You all have a Merry Christmas!
That’s the kind of love that keeps us going. Happy holidays from blackEnergy.
Low-Cost Solar Heater Made From Soda Cans
Posted by Sonja Ebron
The green economy is here, and those seeking to profit from it must keep an ear to the ground for new business ideas. As a sign that green thinking has reached the grassroots, I recently found a Daily Kos diary describing how to heat your home with soda cans. The materials are easy to find at most hardware stores, and the process is relatively simple. This could be a great money-maker for an industrious entrepreneur with a little mechanical skill.
Here’s what you do:
- remove the ends of 240 soda cans,
- glue 16 cans together with caulk to make a column,
- repeat step (2) until you have 15 columns and let them dry for 2-3 days,
- drill 15 circular holes into two 2 x 6’s to make column manifolds,
- fit the soda can columns between the two manifolds,
- make a rectangular box with a plywood base and line with aluminum foil,
- place the cans and the manifolds inside the box,
- cover the box with Lexan sheeting and seal the edges,
- connect the columns with flex duct on the top and bottom of the box,
- attach some piping, an in-line fan, a thermostat and other accessories.
Despite all the high- tech research on new products to save energy and the environment, these are the proven, low-tech, low-cost concepts that will see most of us through.
Save Energy At Home And Get A Higher Bill?
Posted by Sonja Ebron
We’re about to get ripped off again by our electric utility companies. Regulated utilities have sought repeated rate increases from state regulators as the costs of oil and natural gas rose the last few years. Deregulated firms have collectively raised their rates with impunity. With rare exceptions, few have lowered those rates now that prices have declined for both fuels.
The Wall Street Journal reports that consumers are using much less electricity this fall and winter than in past years. Just as we limited our driving when gasoline prices rose, it appears we’ve also lowered our use of electricity as electric rates have climbed. Perhaps the milder weather this winter reduced the need for electricity to heat homes and businesses. Or perhaps the slow economy shuttered businesses and forced people from their homes, reducing the demand on power plants. But some utilities report residential use down as much as 9%, a much greater reduction than could be caused by abnormal weather and economics combined. “Something fundamental is going on,” says Jim Rogers, chief executive of Duke Energy. Perhaps the real reason is that people are finally getting serious about energy efficiency and conservation and simply eliminating wasteful practices in their homes.
Eco-Friendly at Lower Cost
Posted by Sonja Ebron
Conventional wisdom says environmental improvements cost money, that we can’t do anything about climate change without sending prices skyward. The most exciting thing I ever heard from Al Gore was that protecting the environment would provide economic benefits as well, but I was never clear on how that would work. Industry has begun to understand that our response to climate change will force them to think in new ways. There’s good news that may help manufacturers move faster.
blackEnergy’s CEO Named Atlanta Tribune “Superwoman”
Posted by Sonja Ebron
The March issue of Atlanta Tribune: The Magazine carries a profile of blackEnergy’s CEO, Sonja Ebron. Each March, the Tribune honors Women’s History Month by designating several Atlanta women of color who are leaders in the fields of business, politics, sports and other areas. Download the full article here (pdf).
Atlanta’s WSB-TV Profiles blackEnergy for Black History Month
Posted by Sonja Ebron
Consumer reporter Jim Strickland came over to visit blackEnergy in January. WSB-TV had heard good things about us and wanted to profile our company for Black History Month. Of course, we were happy to oblige. This 2-minute segment was the first profile out of the chute and ran on February 1st.
blackEnergy Wins Atlanta Business League Award
Posted by Sonja Ebron
Sonja Ebron, CEO of blackEnergy, was honored with the 2007 “Non-Traditional Business Enterprise” award by the Atlanta Business League at its 23rd Annual Super Tuesday Conference on September 25, 2007. The Super Tuesday Conference is the ABL’s signature event, designed to recognize and celebrate African American business women. This year’s sponsors included AirTran Airways, the Coca-Cola Company, UPS, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Ms. Magazine Profiles blackEnergy
Posted by Sonja Ebron
The summer issue of Ms. Magazine carried an article entitled “The Green Bottom Line: How environmentally conscious, women-run companies do good and do well.” The article, written by Ms. contributor Laura Orlando, begins with blackEnergy: “The trade-off between social good, the environment and profits isn’t really a tradeoff anymore — it’s an excuse. Just ask Sonja Ebron, CEO of blackEnergy in Atlanta. Her company, founded in 2001, secures energy for black communities, using collective buying power to negotiate some of the lowest natural gas rates in Georgia. Moreover, it sends some of its profits back to nonprofit organizations in its customers’ communities. And since the company anticipates that access to energy will get much tougher because of climate change, Ebron — who has a doctorate in electrical engineering — hopes its efforts to locally produce power will help ‘ease the transition to low-energy living’ for its customers.”
