The Sustainable Systems Research Foundation is developing The Watsonville Basic Income Pilot Project, which will take revenues from the sale of solar electricity to a local business and distribute them to selected farmworker households as basic income stipends. This innovative project is in the planning stages and will be discussed on the radio on Sunday … Read More
Robert Stayton will be presenting his Solar Dividends model at the upcoming virtual conference Radical Climate Justice for the Global Commons, which will take place October 4 through 25, 2021. The conference is sponsored by The Environmental & Climate Justice Studies Digital Hub, which is part of The Orfalea Center for Global & International Studies … Read More
Funding basic incomes with Solar Dividends is an idea whose time has come. The economics are solid, and the need to reduce both poverty and greenhouse gases has become urgent. Solardividends.org is seeking communities who want to create a pilot project to demonstrate how Solar Dividends can meet climate goals and promote economic stability for … Read More
The Sustainable Systems Research Foundation is initiating a program to develop Solar Dividends in California. The program is titled End Poverty in California with Solar (EPICS). EPICS is a program designed to provide, by 2060, every individual in California with 10 kilowatts of installed solar photovoltaic panels and a monthly basic income, from birth to … Read More
In California, Assemblymember Evan Low introduced AB2712 in February 2020 to provide a $1,000 per month basic income to California residents over the age of 18 who meet the requirements. See AB-2712 California Universal Basic Income (CalUBI) Program to read the text of the bill. Note that this would not be a universal basic income. … Read More
My book Solar Dividends make a counter-intuitive argument: make solar electricity more expensive so sales of it can support everyone with a basic income. Here I will gradually post the top ten reasons why I think solar-generated electricity is worth a higher price. #10 Does not pollute our water Unlike fossil fuels, solar PV does … Read More
Robert Stayton was interviewed on the Sustainability Now! radio show on Sunday, December 15, 2019. Host Ronnie Lipshutz is a Professor of Politics at the University of California Santa Cruz, former Provost of Rachel Carson College at UCSC, and founder of the nonprofit Sustainability Systems Research Foundation. His biweekly radio show Sustainability Now! covers political … Read More
Just as the steam engine enabled the Fossil Fuel Age, so will photovoltaics (PV) enable the Solar Age. The Industrial Revolution began with the automation of cloth making. Richard Arkwright patented his water frame thread-spinning machine in 1768. He called it a water frame because it combined a waterwheel for power and a frame to … Read More
This is visionary work This unique and fascinating proposal is explained in clear terms. Built upon research and nuance, Solar Dividends is a powerful, valuable proposal for tackling energy and resource scarcity, pollution, income inequality, and environmental stresses. RACHEL JAGARESKI, Foreword Reviews [The excerpts above are from the new review of Solar Dividends by Foreword … Read More
What is the foundation of any economy? If you think it’s money, think again. It’s energy. Money is just a medium of exchange, but energy is what makes things go. Every economic activity requires energy. Energy in the form of gasoline and diesel moves goods locally and around the world. Energy in the form of … Read More