Apprentice Brandon Meyer Featured in Mountain Xpress

Apprentice Brandon Meyer was featured in Asheville's local arts and entertainment paper, the Mountain Xpress. In this article, readers get a first hand look at how Meyer entered our program and is now going on to work for Cox-Schepp.

Small business profile: Asheville's Green Brothers installs solar hot water tubes

Business: Green Brothers Solar Who: Accem Scott opened Green Brothers last year as the first minority-owned solar energy business in Asheville.

Asheville City Council Explores Energy Efficiency

On Jan. 12, City Council voted to explore the Asheville Energy Independence Initiative, a pilot program that will support property owners to make their sites more energy efficient. Green Opportunities staff member Torin Kexel says of the decision, "This has the potential to create careers...There's a track here that I think is full of opportunities." Follow the "Read More" prompt to view the Mountain Xpress coverage of the council meeting.

Support Green Collar Jobs on January 12

The City Council will be considering an exciting new project at the City Council meeting on Tuesday. It's called the Asheville Energy Independence Initiative and it has the potential to substantially increase the city's investment in renewable energy, create hundreds of new, green collar jobs, and lower Asheville's overall carbon footprint. Using an innovative financing model, the initiative provides loans to homeowners and businesses for retrofits (efficiency measures and small renewable energy systems), making large-scale progress towards greater energy...
[Read More]

AVL GrOw

GO is growing green leaves in the dead of winter...
[Read More]

GO Needs Your Support

Dear Friends, It has been a remarkable year for Asheville GO. One year later, Green Opportunities —the organization we’ve built around Asheville GO—is on solid ground and well on its way toward its goal of providing pathways out of poverty into promising green careers. Here are a few of our accomplishments: •  Five of the six members graduating from the pilot class are now employed full-time.•  Our new class of 12 Asheville GO members has completed 15 service-learning projects addressing important community issues like water and air pollution,...
[Read More]

GO Seeking New Asheville Home

Click here to download this flier.
[Read More]

Community Forum for Stuart: Let Your Voice Be Heard

Many of you have expressed concern and outrage about the recent sentencing of Asheville GO member Stuart Peterson and are wondering what can be done to support Stuart or influence the court's decision on this and future cases.
[Read More]

Workforce training and development takes center stage as the Nauhaus Institute welcomes Asheville GO

Eight weeks into the construction process, the Nauhaus Institute grows its army of volunteers, welcoming the Asheville Green Opportunities Training Team (Asheville GO) to experience and learn about the broad spectrum of materials and techniques being used in the Nauhaus prototype. Organizers created this work day and learning tour as a first step in developing a high performance, natural building craftsmen training program that will support the recruitment efforts of the Nauhaus Building system.
[Read More]

The PERMIBUS Arrives in Asheville!

~Asheville Green Opportunities Presents a Family-Friendly Event~Wednesday, November 18 from 3-5pm Come one, come all! @ Burton St Community Center 134 Burton St, West AVL FREE (donations accepted)~ ~ ~-biofuel powered bus with solar and greywater systems~3pm puppet show for kids of all ages; bus tour4pm  chicken informational; seed ball making See sustainability on wheels! More info at www.permibus.org Presented by Asheville Green Opportunities with 21st Century Community Learning Centers and Burton Street Community Center
[Read More]

Red Cross Energy Audit

Asheville's Red Cross staff are top of the line when it comes to saving lives, but when it came time to save money on their energy bill, they found that they had a lot of room for improvement. The GO Team worked with Conservation Pros to perform an energy audit on the Red Cross building and find ways to lower their overall energy consumption. This was our first time working in this field and that made it a pretty interesting week for us.
[Read More]

Scraper Bikes: “Bike 4 Life Ride”

Born in the streets of Oakland, scraper bikes first gained attention as a trend in bicycle customization that spread with viral speed, thanks to YouTube. Since the Scraper Bike video debuted two years ago, they've become much more: a practical means of greening urban space, a social movement, and a rallying point for young people organizing against violence in their communities. Tyrone "Baby Champ" Stevenson, who styles himself the Scraper Bike King, says the first scraper bikes were created by Oakland teens who coveted, but could not afford, scraper cars --...

A Typical Friday...

On Oct. 16th the Asheville Go Team met with Accem Scott of Green Brothers at the AB Tech Enka Campus. There we gathered around to listen as he spoke on solar technology and the potential it has to benifit our lives, and more importantly, the health of the Earth.
[Read More]

350: International Day of Action

Why 350?Because scientists are telling us that 350 parts per million (ppm) is the maximum amount of atmospheric CO2 that would enable Earth to be a safe home for humans, not to mention all our non-human cohabitants. Right now we're at 387 ppm. Where's the Action?All over the globe, individuals and organizations are taking part in this October 24 day of service in an effort to reduce CO2 emissions. Some people are working to change legislation, some are developing public awareness, and others are volunteering at myriad service projects in their communities....
[Read More]

Press Release: Green Opportunities and Conservation Pros Team Up for the American Red Cross

See below or click on "Read more" to download the flyer.
[Read More]

Wilderness Retreat

"The trip brought the group a little closer. Climbing up on that mountain made me realize that if want to, I can be successful in any challenge." Asheville GO Member, Kelvin Bonilla
[Read More]

Energy Team Weatherizes First Home of the Season

The GO Energy Team is currently working with Community Action Opportunities to weatherize sixty homes in the West Asheville "Weed and Seed" area. Our goal is to help people on fixed incomes lower their energy bills and maximize their comfort while reducing overall energy use and CO2 emissions.
[Read More]

Van Jones Asks Supporters to Promote Green Jobs

The following message was sent on Tuesday by Van Jones to his supporters and friends. For those of you who are unfamiliar with his work, Jones is a leading figure in the green movement and in the fight for environmental justice. He is the founder of Green for All -an organization that continually inspires all of us at GO- which defines itself as "a national organization working to build an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty." He also co-founded Color of Change, an organization committed to bringing about racial...
[Read More]

NYTimes Reports on Toxic Water in West Virginia

Jennifer Hall-Massey knows not to drink the tap water in her home near Charleston, W.Va. In fact, her entire family tries to avoid any contact with the water. Her youngest son has scabs on his arms, legs and chest where the bathwater — polluted with lead, nickel and other heavy metals — caused painful rashes. Many of his brother’s teeth were capped to replace enamel that was eaten away.

We Are Appalachia: Take a Stand Against Mountaintop Removal

All next week artists, activists, and educators will come together to expose the truth about mountaintop removal. Come learn about the atrocity that is destroying our biodiverse landscape for the sake of coal. According to collaborative artists The Beehive Collective, "Every day, mountaintop removal mines use more explosive power than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Mining companies are clear-cutting thousands of acres of some of the world's most biologically diverse forests. They're burying biologically crucial headwaters streams with blasting...
[Read More]