York Goes Green

Starting on Saturday, Aug. 14, there will be a two-day training session for those who are interested in introducing the Transition Initiative to their community. The complete details are available at the transitionus.org site. Here is an overview:

Training for Transition — Durham, NH

Transition United States (www.transitionus.org) is offering the two-day Training for Transition course as developed by the Transition Network in England (www.transitiontowns.org, www.transitionnetwork.org).  The course is an in-depth experiential introduction to Transition for those considering bringing Transition to their community.  It is recommended for local communities wishing to become an internationally-recognized Transition Initiative.

At the Training for Transition course, you will:

• Explore how the Transition process increases community resilience
• Receive tools for community outreach, education and engagement
• Learn how to summarize the Triple Challenge of Peak Oil, Climate, and Economic Instability in ways that move people to positive action
• Understand and know how to work with obstacles that have prevented our communities from recognizing and positively responding to the challenge of energy transition
• Experience ways that local social and economic community can be created and strengthened
• Learn ways of creating a positive, shared vision for your community’s future
• Receive support for becoming a Transition catalyst in your community
• Connect with others who are helping your region transition to greater stability and security
• Become a part of a rapidly growing positive, inspirational, global movement!

Curriculum:
The course describes how to catalyze, build and facilitate a successful Transition Initiative. It is packed with imaginative and inspiring ways to engage your community, and delves into both the theory and practice of Transition that has worked so well in hundreds of communities in the U.K. and around the world.

Who should attend:
People interested in learning about Transition Towns in greater depth and leaders already creating a Transition Initiative in their community.

Read the rest of the details.

July 29th, 2010 by wayne | Category: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Although perhaps more urgent in urban areas and hotter climates, cool roofs could make a difference in Maine as well. As is often the case, saving energy can also mean saving substantial money for the home owner or business owner. Here is an excerpt from a Department of Energy publication.

Can light-colored rooftops and roads really curb carbon emissions and combat global climate change? The idea has been around for years, but now, a new study by researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory that is the first to use a global model to study the question has found that implementing cool roofs and cool pavements in cities around the world can not only help cities stay cooler, they can also cool the world, with the potential of canceling the heating effect of up to two years of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions.

Because white roofs reflect far more of the sun’s heat than black ones, buildings with white roofs will stay cooler. If the building is air conditioned, less air conditioning will be required, thus saving energy. Even if there is no air conditioning, the heat absorbed by a black roof both heats the space below, making the space less comfortable, and is also carried into the city air by wind—raising the ambient temperature in what is known as the urban heat island effect. Additionally, there’s a third, less familiar way in which a black roof heats the world: it radiates energy directly into the atmosphere, which is then absorbed by the nearest clouds and ends up trapped by the greenhouse effect, contributing to global warming.

Today, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced a series of initiatives at the Department of Energy to more broadly implement cool roof technologies on DOE facilities and buildings across the federal government. As part of the effort to make the federal government more energy efficient, Chu has directed all DOE offices to install cool roofs, whenever cost effective over the lifetime of the roof, when constructing new roofs or replacing old ones at DOE facilities.  Additionally, the Secretary has also issued a letter to the heads of other federal agencies, encouraging them to take similar steps at their facilities.

“Cool roofs are one of the quickest and lowest cost ways we can reduce our global carbon emissions and begin the hard work of slowing climate change,” said Chu.

Read the rest of the press release from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

July 22nd, 2010 by wayne | Category: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

There is mounting evidence that in the construction and renovation of school buildings, attention to energy efficiency and climate control not only saves money but also  helps promote an environment that is more conducive to learning.

The U.S. Green Building Council estimates that attention to green details in schools — notably through energy efficiency and water consumption habits — can save the average school $100,000 annually. That’s the equivalent of being able to hire two new teachers or invest in approximately 200 computers. If every new school construction project or retrofit took green concerns into account moving forward, the impact of energy efficiency alone could save $20 billion over the next decade.

In addition, studies have shown that buildings with better natural lighting leads to improvement in student performance, good indoor air quality improves health, better acoustics increases learning potential, and comfortable indoor temperatures increase occupant satisfaction.

The USGBC has produced a short promotional video highlighting learning in a green school, as told by the students of the Sidwell Friends school.

July 21st, 2010 by wayne | Category: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

In a move that should ultimately conserve energy, allow customers to save money, and reduce future greenhouse gas emissions, Central Maine Power is using a $96 million DOE stimulus grant to deploy 620,000 smart meters to all of its residential and business customers beginning later this summer. Below are excerpts from a press release issued today by Trilliant Incorporated.

Trilliant Incorporated, a leader in delivering Smart Grid solutions that enhance energy efficiency, utility operations and renewable resource integration, today announced that it has completed agreements with Central Maine Power (CMP) to provide a complete Smart Grid communications network and advanced meter infrastructure solution.

CMP was awarded $96M under the Smart Grid Investment Grant program of the U.S. Department of Energy authorized under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. CMP’s service area encompasses roughly the southern third of the state, but accounts for nearly 80% of consumer sales of electricity in Maine. Matching funding from the corporation will bring the total investment to nearly $200M.

CMP expects to complete the installations by early 2012. The system will improve the company’s operations and customer service. It will also enable electricity supply companies and Maine regulators to work toward creating new benefits for consumers such as flexible rate schedules, lower energy costs, and peak demand load-shifting and load-shedding programs.

Read the rest of the press release.

July 15th, 2010 by wayne | Category: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The next York Energy Efficiency Committee meeting is this Tuesday at 7pm at the York Public Library.

We’ll be talking about PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) in more detail – and what it will take to make it a reality here in York. For more information on what PACE is you can go to this website (PACEnow.org) – but in a nutshell, the program is part of a state-funded trust that loans people money to make energy upgrades on their home, and is paid back gradually over an extended period of time in the form of a lien on your property. The advantage is that you can start taking advantage of the energy savings immediately, while paying if off gradually — and without having to come up with a big down payment.

Apparently this program has been in effect in other states in the country to great success. Check out the latest status of the PACE  program in Maine.

We will also be talking about a number of other issues in regards to planning for 2010/2011.

As usual, all are invited join us for our discussion.

July 12th, 2010 by wayne | Category: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Congratulations to Zak Harding and the York School Department for this award.

Sustainable cleaning reaps rewards
July 05, 2010

YORK, Maine — The York School Department custodial department was recently awarded a Green Difference Award by Project Green Schools for the year 2010.

The award was presented to school department Facilities Director Zak Harding at the Project Green Schools annual Green Difference Awards event at the Genzyme Center in Cambridge, Mass.

York schools were one of three districts presented the award for Excellence in Green Cleaning. Harding was presented the award by Robin Organ, founder and executive director of Project Green Schools.

Project Green Schools is a Massachusetts-based nonprofit organization that focuses on improving the health of schools and students by offering education programs to youths on green principles and promoting responsible environmental stewardship to children. Schools that practice green cleaning practices can make a large impact on the overall health of students and staff, and help reduce absenteeism through the creation of a healthier and safer educational environment.

Note that while becoming greener, the custodial operation also became more efficient, “reducing supply costs by more than 20 percent in the past year.”

Read the rest of the Seacoastonline.com article.

July 6th, 2010 by wayne | Category: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

June 23rd, 2010 by wayne | Category: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Town of York is asking you to complete a couple of brief surveys about your views on walking and biking conditions in York.

Town of York Walking Questionnaire:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=gr83ET5NkwAlHBUt68XIEQ_3d_3d

Town of York Bicycling Questionnaire:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=5nxNsbl_2fWqkYvQ9ivmMMaQ_3d_3d

By the way, you can learn more about the benefits of “walkable” neighborhoods at http://www.walkscore.com/walkable-neighborhoods.shtml.

For policy and planning information to support bicycling, see http://www.bicyclinginfo.org/develop/policies.cfm.

And the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center aims to to “improve the quality of life in communities through the increase of safe walking and bicycling as a viable means of transportation and physical activity.”

June 22nd, 2010 by wayne | Category: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Green Education Foundation was founded in 2008 with the goal of promoting and enhancing environmental education.

Green Education Foundation (GEF) is a non-profit organization that provides environmental education resources for Pre K-12 classrooms and youth groups nationwide. GEF believes that what is healthy for the environment is healthy for kids, and promotes learning opportunities that develop sustainable habits of environmental stewardship in children and their communities. GEF couples standards-based curricula with active participation, acknowledging that children learn best through hands-on activities that enhance their critical thinking skills.

For information about the GEF’s programs and its library of standards-based lessons and activities, visit greeneducationfoundation.org.

June 21st, 2010 by wayne | Category: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Thanks to Victoria for passing along this article about Eco Movement Consulting and Hauling, a local company that “collects food waste and other compostable material from Portsmouth-area restaurants and brings it to farms to be turned into compost for farmers.”

Right now, Eco Movement collects compostable material from 30 restaurants from Newington to Ogunquit, Maine, including at least a dozen in Portsmouth. The company also just landed an account with Portsmouth Hospital. The customers pay for compostable bags and put the material in a tote outside, which Bedard and Miranda pick up on a regular basis.

The bags are taken to compost farms in Farmington and Fremont, the closest to Portsmouth. But Bedard is working to find a lease arrangement with an area farmer where he can create a compost farm and education center.

Read the rest of the story by Deborah McDermott, City eateries compost with Eco Movement, at Seacoastonline.com.

Eco Movement’s web site is zerowastenow.com.

June 14th, 2010 by wayne | Category: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Greetings Everyone!!

As the school year comes to a close, and the tourists descend upon our fair city, the summer is usually a time when things slow down for our committee. We will continue to hold monthly meetings – as long as there is interest – but the focus will be more on discussing what types of projects we want to take on during the Fall, when we start ramping up again.

There are a number of interesting possibilities, including:

1. Becoming a part of Harvestfest – in at least some capacity.
2. Reaching out to local tourism related businesses – and helping them connect with state programs that promote sustainability.
3. Working with the town to allow Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) bonds for homeowners wanting to install energy upgrades to their home.

Those are just some of the ideas that we’ve been kicking around. We’d love to hear your ideas too!

Our next meeting is this coming Tuesday at the York Public Library at 7pm. One of the things we’ll be talking about is the implications of the Gulf Oil Spill, and what it will mean for us locally. In addition we’ll also be discussing the new fee structure for dumping yard waste and compost at the town facility – and whether or not we want to take an official position on it.

Hope to see you there!
Eric

P.S.: Don’t forget to check out the “York Community Dialogue” meeting on Saturday, June 12th at York High School from 8:30 – 12:00. There will be people and groups represented from all over York!

June 6th, 2010 by Eric | Category: Uncategorized | Leave a comment