John Schaeffer | pg.2

It’s that time of year when we all vow to purge our weaknesses and get back to the business of doing the right thing. While 2007 was a pretty good year for me in the scheme of the last decade, still there are myriad ways to improve. I thought I'd share a few of the ... read more

A tradition began on December 21, 1994 when 23 intrepid souls braved the freezing weather at the construction site that was to become the Real Goods Solar Living Center. We built a fire and huddled around to see if we did our geometry correctly. We designed the Solar Living Center to be a temple to ... read more

There’s nothing quite so satisfying as seeing the harvest come in after years of planning and toiling. This year’s olive harvest at our farm was no exception! In 2006 I decided to jump into my decade-long passion for olive oil by converting a piece of my unused land into an olive tree orchard. My wife, Nancy, ... read more

This fall's Solar Power 2007 Conference in Long Beach, Calif., was a real eye opener. For one thing, it was the first time I felt underdressed at a solar conference! I’ve been going to solar conferences since the early 1980s, and most were noted for their ragtag conglomeration of mission-passionate solar pioneers with stars in their ... read more

Welcome to my blog! It's been nearly 30 years since I founded Real Goods, a renewable energy and ecological living company — and I have been living “off-the-grid” on solar and hydroelectric power most of the time since. I live on a 320 acre working biodynamic farm we named Sunhawk Farms. Here in the hills of ... read more