Mark Ruffalo leads crowdsourcing campaign to get solar on schools
Mosaic, the first US company to crowdsource investments for solar projects, is kicking off 2014 with a New Years Resolution campaign to "Put Solar On It." Anyone can pledge online at PutSolarOnIt.com to put solar on a local home, school, place of worship, business, or other property. Throughout 2014, Mosaic will provide people with the tools and network they need to make their pledge a reality.
Academy Award nominee, Mark Ruffalo, well-known as The Hulk in The Avengers, is leading the campaign. Ruffalo has pledged to put solar on his childrens' school, Stephen Gaynor Elementary, in Manhattan. Make It Right has pledged to put solar on a home for a family living in New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward. Other pledges have come in from individuals across the nation.
"I'm helping put solar on my kids' school to save the school money and free up resources that will be aimed at their education instead of fossil fuels," Mark Ruffalo explains, "We can also demonstrate the shining future that is now within our grasp. I love that Mosaic is making it possible for all people to participate in an economy meant for all -- the solar economy. We are powerful."
The "Put Solar On It" resolution is part of significant national momentum. In 2013, a solar installation was installed every four minutes throughout the US and the price of a solar dropped to 60% of 2011 prices, according to the US Solar Energy Industries Association and Greentech Media Research. The nation installed more clean energy than coal, oil, and nuclear combined, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. According to the Solar Foundation and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the solar industry is creating jobs at four times the rate of the economy at large.
This year, President Obama put solar panels on the White House, Mayor Bloomberg committed to putting solar on New York City's largest landfill, and Walmart reached a solar generating capacity greater than the solar generating capacity of 38 states. On the investment side, Warren Buffet invested over $7B in solar.
Billy Parish, Mosaic's President and 'Movement' team leader, explains the company's vision to build a powerful and purpose driven membership community dedicated to accelerating humanity to the inevitable transition to 100% clean energy. "In the past year, thousands of people have invested in solar through Mosaic. We're now crowdsourcing other aspects of the solar development process. We're building a movement to power the world with 100% clean energy and this movement is people powered."
