arthur j weaver
Contact Info
Send me e-mail at art@renovusenergy.com. This is the most reliable way to reach me - and I will reply - even if it takes a while. Be persistent! but please also be patient. Thank you for understanding.
Personal Statement
As of 28 Feb 2011, I will step down as company president and Joe Sliker assumes the role which I have held for eight years. I will continue at Renovus as its CEO and systems designer - advising Joe and continuing to provide the best possible knowledge base and RE designs to our clients.
Joe comes to Renovus with superlative management skills and an exceptional commitment to the design and installation of quality solar thermal systems. Between the two of us and our experienced staff, I now firmly believe that there is no company anywhere that can do a better job in the design and implementation of small to mid-scale solar thermal and photovoltaic systems. We are also well-positioned to take on even larger projects when those opportunities arise - as they inevitably will.
However, as our company's Statement of Principles should make clear, our focus is and will continue to be on serving customers in our local community and upstate region.
The problem with politicians and academicians (why I am neither) ~
Vision without execution is a daydream, execution without vision is a nightmare. ~ Japanese proverb
Why we are, and will continue to be, a for-profit company ~
The superior man seeks what is right; the inferior one, what is profitable. ~ Confucius
This statement is not a contradiction of capitalist principles.
Ethical behavior (doing what is right) and profitability are not
mutually exclusive.
The superior man, in seeking what is right,
also expects to make a profit.
The inferior man, in seeking
only what is profitable, declares that his profit motive justifies
any means to that end.
What you seek makes all the difference.
Profitability = Sustainability. ~ Me
Biography
I have received certification in PV design and installation from NABCEP (North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners) and am an eligible installer for the NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research & Development Authority) program providing incentives for grid-connected solar (PON-2112). There are new, similar NYSERDA programs for small wind (PON-2097) and solar thermal (PON-2149) for which either I or another company employee will maintain eligibility. My role in the company is to problem solve and innovate - to make sustainable, rational choices among myriad rapidly evolving technologies, and above all, to provide our clients with the very best renewable energy systems and services.
Prior to founding Renovus with two partners (who have since moved on to other endeavors), I was a staff scientist at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source doing research in X-ray biophysics and proteomics. In the distant past, I received graduate degrees from Mayo Medical School and Mayo Graduate School, which are of little significance now except, perhaps, to provide comfort to people who want to believe that "well educated" people will somehow be more competent at whatever they do. This premise is highly questionable. The real differentiator among people is in the degree of passion and persistence that they bring to their lives and work. Renovus is a confluence of my interests in science, renewable energy, sustainable enterprise, and social change. I continue to learn from this experience.
To our knowledge, the Renovus building was - and still is - the first zero-energy commercial building in Ithaca, NY. In other words, the building produces and exports more energy to the utility grid than it consumes in its day-to-day operation including the energy used by its radiant floor heating system. Passive solar design and superinsulation in conjuction with active solar technologies - a 10kW photovoltaic system on the roof (installed March 2005) and a solar thermal evacuated-tube space heating system (installed March 2010)- will assure sustainability well into the future. In a word, our building has Quality.
Renovus history
- novus: novel, unusual, extraordinary / news, novelty, a new thing
- novus: new, fresh, young, inexperienced, revived, refreshed.
As with any small company with any track record, there's a lot of history to Renovus.
I am frequently asked where the name Renovus comes from. Here are couple of definitions of the Latin word novus:
The prefix Re suggests a simple interpretation like "re-newal". Of
course, Rê was also the Egyptian sun god.
So... Renovus = Renewal from the sun? Something new under
the sun?
Renovus is more than a business - it is a concept whose time has come.
Resources
- Jim Augustyn, The Solar Cat Book, 1979.
- Jim Augustyn,
The Return of the Solar Cat Book, 2003.
- Jim's books are for people
who think they know something about cats, but are having some difficulty
grasping the fundamentals of renewable energy. In all seriousness, there is a
lot of information here presented in a completely non-threatening way.
- Home Power
magazine.
- There is no better introduction to the industry and to nuts and
bolts education about renewable energy than this. In general, forget about
buying books on renewable energy - they are either too academic or out-of-date
as soon as they are published with the notable exception of...
- John Wiles, PV Power Systems and the 2005 National Electrical Code:
Suggested Practices, Version 1.7, October, 2007.
- Unlike a bound
text, at least this is a living, breathing document that is periodically
updated by John Wiles at New Mexico State University's Southwest Technology
Development Institute. John is an acknowledged authority on code issues
related to the design and installation of PV systems. This document is not
for those who are technically challenged - it is full of details that really
need to be understood if you're serious about installing PV safely and up to
professional standards.
- Paul Gipe,
Wind Power: Renewable Energy for Home, Farm, and Business, 2004.
- A
first rate introduction to small wind turbines, indeed to the whole industry.
If your attention span and interest are sufficient, you should read this
book.
- Danish
Wind Energy Association website.
- An amazingly comprehensive site
for answers to wind energy questions ranging from elementary to highly
technical.
- Tom Lane, Solar Hot Water
Systems: Lessons Learned 1977 to Today, 2004.
- An excellent
introduction to the basics of solar water heating systems from someone who has
lots of real, practical experience.
- Dan Holohan,
Hydronic Radiant Heating, 1998.
- A practical, no-nonsense,
installer-oriented introduction to the basics of radiant hydronic heating
systems. So there!
- John Abrams, Companies We Keep, 2008.
- John's
book is subtitled "Employee Ownership and the Business of Community and
Place". It serves as a model for the evolution of Renovus Energy into
an employee-owned cooperative (but still for-profit) corporation.
- Joseph Jenkins, The Humanure Handbook, 3rd
ed., 2005.
- It takes an uncommon spirit to actually do what
Joe describes. For many years now, following Joe's instructions and
advice, we have composted all our human manure at our home. There are
a million ways to rationalize your way out of this... very, very few
have any merit.
- Joseph Jenkins, Balance Point,
2000.
- In particular, see the book's lengthy Appendix for
practical references - things you can do right now to make a
difference.
- Helen Nearing, Living the Good Life, 1970.
- Helen and Scott Nearing, Continuing the Good Life,
1979.
- These classics are now nearly unknown to younger
generations, but fortunately are still in print. Read if you want to
know how to take control of your life and livelihood... they did it,
so can you.
- World Scientists' Warning to Humanity, 1992.
- A
serious document signed by the world's Nobel laureats which received almost
no attention when first published. As you read it, ask yourself why
this is.
- World Scientists' Call for Action, 1997.
- If you can
read this document as well as the "Scientists' Warning" and not act, then you
must ask yourself what is wrong with your thinking. Individually or
collectively, it is not rational or logical to not act.
- Population
Connection
- This group has produced a 7-minute video which has a
startling effect. It is impossible to watch it without understanding that
humanity faces a quality of life catastophe as our population rises to 12
billion by 2050 while the world's resources remain constant or diminish (oil,
arable land, water).
- All is one
- A short flash video which presents the
concepts of connectedness and, implicitly, personal
responsibility for everything in our world. I love it... it makes me feel
good.
- Democracy Now!
- Amy Goodman is a hero of our times for questioning authority and speaking
the truth. Period.
- Arundhati Roy
- An astonishing woman, global
citizen, and outspoken critic of "big dams" in India, globalization and war.
Arundhati Roy is another hero of our times.
- Ayn
Rand, Atlas Shrugged, 1957.
- A stunning work of
literature - selling more copies now than in any year since its
publication. Read it.
- Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle
Maintenance, 1974.
- This classic needs no comment except to
say that it is essential reading for anyone who considers themselves
literate. It's all about Quality.
- Robert M. Pirsig, Lila, 1991.
- Subtitled -
"an inquiry into morals". It's all about
Quality - again.
- Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's
Purpose, 2005.
- Awesome and challenging.
- Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now: a Guide to Spiritual
Enlightenment, 1999.
- A new voice with a strong will and
exceptional writing skills. Highly recommended.
- Joseph Jenkins, Balance Point,
2000.
- An adventure, a journey, with an elementary but compelling
message accessible to all readers in search of a new direction in
their lives.
- Marlo Morgan, Mutant Message Down Under, 1994.
- Another
adventure, another journey, with a compelling message accessible to
all readers in search of a new direction in their lives.
- Tom Brown, Grandfather, 1995.
- It's about connectedness
and reconnecting...
- Miguel Angel
Ruiz, The Four Agreements, 1997.
- This primer will
change your life if you understand and act accordingly.
- Miguel Angel
Ruiz, The Voice of Knowledge, 2004.
- All that we know,
or think we know, is essentially a lie...
- Carlos Castaneda, Journey to Ixtlan, 1972, and later
books.
- No comment... read at your own risk.
What follows is a selected list of links, books and other resources that I have found useful in learning about how to live. They are listed roughly according to the level of anxiety they seem to cause in most people. Unless you were very, very lucky, your parents and teachers never introduced you to any of this - it's not their fault - they didn't know. Obviously, some of these sources cross boundaries and defy categorization - that's a good thing - everything is connected, remember? Good luck on your own journey... perhaps some of this may be of use.