Tuesday September 28, 2004, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Caterpillar CEO James Owens

CEO of Caterpillar, James Owens, at MINExpo International 2004.

Credit: Eric Grigorian / Polaris

Wednesday February 22, 2006, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

MAGIC Fashion and Apparel Trade Show

The fashion industry converges in Las Vegas for one of the most influential four days in the business Ð the MAGIC Marketplace. MAGIC connects buyers and sellers of men's, women's and children's apparel and accessories. Thousands of retailers spanning single store boutiques to mass market domestic and international chains come to the Marketplace to access more than 3,600 manufacturers showcasing over 5,000 brands and private label resources.

Credit: Eric Grigorian / Polaris

Wednesday November 11, 1998, london, England

London Underground

A stairway leads down to an underground train station.

Credit: Eric Grigorian / Polaris

Wednesday June 18, 2003, Baghdad, Iraq

Bechtel Corporation in Iraq

Bechtel Corporation holds its first conference in Iraq. Marv Regner, construction.

Credit: Eric Grigorian / Polaris

Friday March 7, 2008, Los Angeles, California, USA

Christian Lander, co-creator of Stuff White People Like blog

Christian Lander, one of the co-creators of the blog "Stuff White People Like," takes a break from his day job as a copy-reader in Culver City.

Christian Lander

Credit: Eric Grigorian / Polaris

Wednesday July 19, 2006, Los Angeles, California, USA

Randy Spelling

Randy Spelling, son of the late Aaron Spelling.

Credit: Eric Grigorian / Polaris

Thursday February 23, 2006, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

MAGIC Fashion and Apparel Trade Show

The fashion industry converges in Las Vegas for one of the most influential four days in the business Ð the MAGIC Marketplace. MAGIC connects buyers and sellers of men's, women's and children's apparel and accessories. Thousands of retailers spanning single store boutiques to mass market domestic and international chains come to the Marketplace to access more than 3,600 manufacturers showcasing over 5,000 brands and private label resources. Kathy Ireland her her line of clothes, Ki by Orioxi.

Credit: Eric Grigorian / Polaris

Thursday April 3, 2003, Mojave, Caifornia, USA

Commercial Airlines Store Planes at the Mojave Airport

US Airways is among the many airlines storing dozens of its commercial planes at the Mojave airport to cut costs during an unstable economic period. The airport, about 100 miles north of Los Angeles, is home to hundreds of planes that sit out in the open, with their engines, wheels and windows covered with tape to be stored for years if needed.

Credit: Eric Grigorian / Polaris

Thursday December 7, 2006, Irvine, California, USA

Founders of Fisker Coachbuild Henrik Fisker and Bernhard Koehler.

Henrik Fisker and a new design he is working on.

Credit: Eric Grigorian / Polaris

Thursday October 21, 2004, San Francisco, California, USA

Solar Energy Expo

Advocates of solar energy and businessmen take a tour atop San Francisco's Moscone Convention Center where a 675 Kilowatt solar electric system rests on two rooftops. The project was completed in October of 2003. By combining solar and efficiency, the Moscone Center was able to create a cost-effective project, allowing San Francisco to genertae electricity more cleanly and use it more wisely. The tour was part of Solar Power 2004- the solar industry's major annual solar energy convention. According to Solar Energy Industries Association, the trade group that organized the show, the market for solar energy has grown 30 percent a year.

Credit: Eric Grigorian / Polaris

Thursday June 26, 2003, Baghdad, Iraq

Hired security guards in Baghdad

Hired security guards like Wisam Salah, baring a klashnikoff, are the main source of security for local stores in Bagdhad where thieves still roam the streets. Salah himself guards 15 adjacent stores in the Karada district of Baghdad.

Credit: Eric Grigorian / Polaris

Wednesday June 21, 2006, Irvine, California, USA

Dr. David Pyott

Dr. David Pyott, chief executive officer of Allergan, at the corporate office.

Credit: Eric Grigorian / Polaris

Thursday October 30, 2003, San Bernandino, California, USA

San Bernardino County Fires

Firefighter pulls a line down a hillside Thursday afternoon trying to put out embers and remaining fires from early Thursday morning that sweep across Cedar Glen area.

Credit: Eric Grigorian / Polaris

Thursday April 3, 2003, Mojave, Caifornia, USA

Commercial Airlines Store Planes at the Mojave Airport

The number of commercial jetliners at California's Mojave airport has increased since September 11, as it's less costly for airlines to keep their planes in storage rather than keep them flying during tough economic times. The airport, about 100 miles north of Los Angeles, is home to hundreds of planes that sit out in the open, with their engines, wheels and windows covered with tape to be stored for years if needed.

Credit: Eric Grigorian / Polaris

Tuesday January 11, 2005, Lamno, Sumatra, Indonesia

Volunteers bring first aid to Sumatran tsunami victims

American helicopter dropping food, water, and water purification units in Lamno, a devastated region of northwest Sumatra. Fearing that they do not get the aid themselves the locals started a free-for-all and took what they could but were soon stopped after an Indonesian soldier fired 4 shots in the air. The American also tried to restore order and the boxes of aid were unloaded with the help of locals to the hands of Indonesian military for distribution. Locals and aid workers fear that the Indonesian military does not distribute the aid fully to the people and keeps a portion for themselves.

Credit: Eric Grigorian / Polaris

Thursday May 27, 2004, Tehachapi, California, USA

Energy Production at Wind Farms In Kern County California

Wind turbines in the Tehachapi mountains near the Mojave desert. The Tehachapi Mountains in Kern County (60 miles north of Bakersfield) are the site of one of the three largest wind farms in the world; the others are also in California - at Altamont, just east of San Francisco, and San Gorgonio Pass, just north of Palm Springs. There are thousands of wind turbines at each of these wind farms. Wind farms are clusters of wind turbines that generate electricity. They are located in areas with reliably favorable wind speeds. They are also near electric power transmission lines and large cities. Peak winds in these areas occur approximately at the same times as the peak electricity demand in the cities. This increases the value of the electricity to consumers. Many of the existing windfarms were set up in the 1980s when the State of California required electric utilities to purchase the electricity from the wind farms at favorable prices under long-term contracts. At the 40 square mile Tehachapi Wind Farm, prevailing northwesterly winds blow through passes in the Tehachapi Mountains making an ideal site for a wind farm. The site has limited agricultural value because most of it is too steep to cultivate. Cool air from the San Joaquin Valley blows through the narrow passes as hot air rises in the Mojave Desert. The best winds occur from March to September, averaging 15-20 miles per hour. Technical advances in wind turbine technology are increasing their efficiency and reducing the cost per kilowatt-hou of wind-generated electricity. The physical size and the power output capacity of wind turbines are also increasing. Generally, the larger the blades and/or higher the tower, the larger the capacity. Twenty years ago, the average capacity of large wind turbines was around 150 kilowatts; Now, a typical capacity is at least 750 KW, with one and two Megawatt capacity turbines becoming increasingly common. Turbines as large as 6 MW are under development. Between 1990 and 2000, the average cost to produce electricity from wind turbines has decreased from around ten cents to less than five cents per kwh in regions with very favorable wind resources. Some projects are selling power under long-term contracts at 3.5 cents per kWh, a price which is competitive with electricity generated from natural gas fueled power plants. New wind projects are being developed by electric utilities and private power producers to take advantage of federal tax credits and incentives. In several states, such as Texas, the electric utilities are required to produce a percentage of the power they sell from renewable resources such as wind. Besides these incentives, many of these projects are able to sell the electricity at a premium because it is clean or "green" power. In many states, individual farmers and ranchers lease their property to wind power companies and receive an annual payment for having one or more large wind turbines on their property. This could become a predictable "cash crop" for many other farmers and ranchers around the country, and help to boost farm and ranching incomes and stabilize rural economies. Although wind energy is clean, the technology has some environmental downsides; the turbines can produce a great deal of noise pollution in the otherwise quiet countryside, and are also potentially hazardous to birds.

Credit: Eric Grigorian / Polaris

Friday May 28, 2004, South Belridge, California, USA

Belridge Oil Fields in Kern County California

California's South Belridge oil fields have produced more than a billion barrels of oil. The Belridge and Lost Hills Oil Fields occupy about 36 square miles and are located just over 60 miles West of Bakersfield where the discovery of "black gold" in 1899 started an oil boom, and wooden derricks sprang up overnight. Soon Kern County production accounted for 7 out of every 10 barrels of oil that came from California, and by 1903 had made California the top oil-producing state in the United States. In December 1979, Shell purchased Belridge Oil Company for $3.65 billion. Originally considered to be a minor field, South Belridge annual production peaked at 63.6 million barrels of oil in 1987. In 1995 it reached one billion barrels of cumulative oil production. From 1995 through 1998, Belrigdge was the third most productive field in California.

Oil derricks in oil fields

Credit: Eric Grigorian / Polaris

Tuesday June 22, 2004, Maricopa, California, USA

Oil Well

Oil well near Bakersfield maintained by it's owner and workers. Bruce Holmes, in cowboy hat, owns 25 of these wells.

Credit: Eric Grigorian / Polaris

Sunday July 27, 2003, Baghdad, Iraq

Baghdad doctor

Hussein Sabah, 1st year medical Doctor.

Credit: Eric Grigorian / Polaris

Wednesday June 18, 2003, Baghdad, Iraq

Bechtel Corporation in Iraq

Bechtel Corporation holds its first conference in Iraq. Andrew Natsios, USAID administrator.

Credit: Eric Grigorian / Polaris

Wednesday June 22, 2005, Bushehr, Iran

Construction of nuclear plant in Iran

Workers work at the nuclear plant in the southwestern Iranian city of Bushehr. Russian fuel for Iran's first nuclear power reactor will be delivered within months. Russian welders and other workers are working on the electricity turbine area and reactor building, which will be sealed off and operated automatically once fuel is introduced.

Credit: Eric Grigorian / Polaris

Wednesday June 21, 2006, Irvine, California, USA

Dr. David Pyott

Dr. David Pyott, chief executive officer of Allergan, at the corporate office.

Credit: Eric Grigorian / Polaris

Tuesday June 22, 2004, Maricopa, California, USA

Oil Well

Oil well near Bakersfield maintained by it's owner and workers. Bruce Holmes, in cowboy hat, owns 25 of these wells.

Credit: Eric Grigorian / Polaris

Thursday December 7, 2006, Irvine, California, USA

Founders of Fisker Coachbuild Henrik Fisker and Bernhard Koehler.

Henrik Fisker's hand drawn sketches are taken from paper to computer.

Credit: Eric Grigorian / Polaris

Wednesday September 21, 2005, Hancock County, Mississippi, USA

Admiral Thad Allen in Charge of Katrina Recovery Operations

Vice Admiral Thad Allen, chief of staff of the U.S. Coast Guard, is in charge of rescue and recovery in and around New Orleans. He flies on a Coast Guard plane heading to a meeting in Jackson, Mississippi.

Credit: Eric Grigorian / Polaris

Monday July 21, 2003, Baghdad, Iraq

Ice in Bagdhad

In the scorching heat of the Baghdad summer where temperatures easily reach 130 Fahrenheit, the worth of ice has risen to that of gems. With the lack of electricity, overwhelming number of Iraqis in the capital city Baghdad are dependent on ice factories producing this valuable product - frozen water. The factories sell a block of ice for 1000 dinars; 66 cents, with the current exchange rate. They sell them mostly to street vendors. Vendors, sometimes as young as 8, then sell it on the streets at much higher prices. Everybody needs it. Drivers transporting meat to the outside of Baghdad need them. US soldiers keeping their water bottles cold need them. Street vendors selling cold drinks need them. And every household needs ice. The shortage in electricity has given ice a new worth and the longer the electricity is out the higher the prices rise. Water coolers recycle and cool warm water used to separate frozen ice from it's containers. A mosque resides behind this ice factory in Southern Baghdad.

Credit: Eric Grigorian / Polaris

Thursday September 18, 2003, Los Angeles, California, USA

Searching on Google

Lisa Hagen, manager at Hotel Bell-Air in Los Angeles, researches on Google to better accommodate her notable guests during their stay at the hotel.

Credit: Eric Grigorian / Polaris

Thursday November 10, 2005, Santa Barbara, California, USA

Former UN Assistant Secretary General Robert Muller

Born in Belgium in 1923 and raised in the Alsace-Lorraine region in France, Robert Muller was a member of the French Resistance in WWII and then devoted the next 40 years of his life behind the scenes at the United Nations focusing his energies on world peace. He rose through the ranks at the UN to the official position of Assistant-Secretary-General. He has been called the "Philosopher" and the "Prophet of Hope" of the United Nations. He went on to create a "World Core Curriculum" and is known throughout the world as the "Father of Global Education." There are 38 Robert Muller schools around the world with more being established each year. The World Core Curriculum earned him the UNESCO Peace Education Prize in 1989. Dr. Muller lives with his wife Barbara part of the year in Santa Barbara, California, and part of each year in Costa Rica.

Robert Muller in Santa Barbara.

Credit: Eric Grigorian / Polaris

Wednesday October 20, 2004, San Francisco, California, USA

Solar Energy Expo

A Solar modual diplay being examiined at Solar Power 2004- the solar industry's major annual solar energy convention. According to Solar Energy Industries Association, the trade group that organized the show, the market for solar energy has grown 30 percent a year.

Credit: Eric Grigorian / Polaris

Eric Grigorian