Removed due to request by Invest Green’s compliance office.

Not since the Ghostbusters have we seen a business turning to emergency response vehicles as part of their brand identity. PC911, a Las Vegas based mobile IT service company, uses retired ambulances to rush to computer emergencies across the Nevada desert. While the Ghostbusters used dangerous nuclear accelerators to do their job, PC911 is turning to a safe and often overlooked alternative fuel to save money and reduce damage to the environment.

Chad Stone, founder of PC 911 (http://www.pc911lv.com), is running the company’s ambulances on used vegetable oil. Chad launched his company in 2005 and found that ambulances would be perfect for hauling everything needed for mobile computer repairs. However, the soot from the diesel engine bothered Chad and he took steps to make his ambulance fleet cleaner. It costs $1,200 to convert each one to run on vegetable oil, but the company saves quite a bit of money due to decreased diesel fuel usage. Also, by using retired ambulances, the company keeps its costs lower and keeps the ambulances on the road instead of in a junkyard.

PC 911 is also involved in other actions to help the environment and the community, including participation with Cell Phones for Soldiers.

Look for this green and community oriented company to be in the Valley of the Sun soon. PC911 is currently looking for a Technician and Senior Technician to fix sick computers all across Phoenix.

If you’ve ever looked into buying solar panels or photovoltaics for your house you know how much it cost. It can be anywhere from twenty to thirty thousand dollars for a typical home. What if you could instead lease a solar system for little or no money down? That’s what some companies are doing now and it seems to be catching on. Two I’ve discovered lately that do this are Citizenre and SolarCity. Basically it’s like renting a car, but with much longer leases, you pay very little down to get the system, and you pay them a monthly rent. You are protected from utility price hikes because the cost of the solar doesn’t change and you save money over what you’d be paying without solar panels. You also don’t have to worry about maintenance if anything goes wrong, these companies cover that for you.

One thing I noticed is that neither company seems to mention the generous incentives homeowners get if they buy their own system. According to American Solar Electric’s site a 22,478 dollar system only costs 9,878 dollars after APS/SRP rebates, and Federal and State tax incentives. Depending on the financing you can get this might be the better solution. Of course if anything goes wrong with the system or a much better cheaper form of energy comes out you are stuck with those solar panels and out a lot of money. If like me you live in a location that isn’t served by SRP or APS leasing sounds like it might be a great option to save money and the environment.

I had no idea about any of this, very interesting article about Cox’s environmentally friendly ways.

Embracing a green life and work style isn’t anything new to Cox. Our company founder, James M. Cox, was passionate about protecting the natural environment when he started our company over a century ago. An avid outdoorsman and agriculturist, he embraced the latest farming techniques to protect soil and he promoted the preservation of land through his newspapers. Today, his grandson, Jim Kennedy, chairman and CEO of Cox Enterprises, our parent company, has challenged Cox employees to continue this tradition and find innovative ways to conduct business with the least amount of impact to the environment.

Locally, Cox Arizona has a goal of reducing its total carbon footprint and greenhouse-gas emissions by an additional 20 percent by 2017. Our “green” call center allows 280 Cox customer-service representatives to work from a home office several days a week. They’re happy and productive with less commute, which saves fuel and preserves their income. Fewer employees in the office allows Cox to use office space more efficiently. Likewise, our local “home-start” program encourages our field-service technicians to start their day from their homes and work in their own neighborhoods. All in all, good for the environment, good for customer service. [azcentral.com]

Call to action canceled. Looks like AZ Biodiesel will be moving to a new city. Update forthcoming.

Check out the popular posts to the right. –>

The City of Chandler Arizona has ordered AZ Biodiesel to cease operations because of zoning compliance issues and refuses to let them operate while these issues are worked out. AZ Biodiesel is a small company making WVO Biodiesel and can’t afford to be shut down while waiting for Chandler to complete this 3 to 6 month process. AZ Biodiesel has the full support of the city’s fire marshal and has been safely producing biodiesel for their own vehicles for three years at their current location. They are located in a light industrial zone which has been approved for biodiesel production in the City of Phoenix. AZ Biodiesel is the only source of biodiesel made from waste oil in the Phoenix area and it would be a huge shame for the city to loose this valuable resource. Please encourage the City of Chandler to let AZ Biodiesel operate while this process is completed by emailing, calling, or faxing them at the address and phone numbers below.

**Update please read before contacting the City of Chandler. Please check the comments below for the response you’ll get back from Chandler and also AZ Biodiesel’s response to that. There are definitely two sides to every story and maybe both parties have some blame to accept for this mess. As far as I can tell AZ Biodiesel wasn’t trying to get around any planning and zoning laws, they were under the impression they had followed all the rules and had done everything the City had asked. That was until they were shut down without warning. It seems there was some sort of communication disconnect between the City and AZ Biodiesel and instead of working with AZ Biodiesel to fix any issues they shut them down and told them they’d have to wait. Hopefully our letters can help move this process along and get these issues resolved without having to make AZ Biodiesel move or go out of business.