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CALENDAR OF EVENTS Advocacy News (Includes how to reach your legislators) DEP Enforcement Actions In The Berkshire return to top |
From New Dream News, Tuesday, November 10, 2009 holidays / simplify the holidays booklet 2009 New Dream's traditional book of holiday tips has been updated for 2009 with all-new gift ideas, decorating suggestions, reader submissions, and ideas for reducing waste. Now, more than ever, it's important to plan a low-waste, low-cost holiday that's still full of fun--before getting swept up in the seasonal rush. During the 2008 holiday season, shoppers spent a total of $441.97 billion, down 3.4 percent from 2007, according to the National Retail Federation. Still, spending didn't decline nearly as much as Americans intended. In the American Research Group's pre-holiday surveys, 2008 respondents said they planned to spend half of what 2007 respondents claimed they planned to spend. Sometimes you don't need to spend anything to get something meaningful: download the free (with site registration) Simplify the Holidays guide and find out how. |
from Green America, December 1, 2009 How a $25 Loan Can Change the World
Green America member Mary Clive invested $25 last August via Kiva.org in each of 12 budding business-owners from countries like Cambodia, Kenya, and the Philippines. Each morning, she opens her Kiva.org homepage, and sees their faces, knowing she is helping them to break the cycle of poverty by starting or expanding their business with her loan. "It's an investment in other people's hopes and dreams," says Mary. |
from Green America, December 1, 2009 Congratulations to the 2009 winners of [Green America’s] People's Choice Awards! Based on two rounds of voting by you – our members, the drivers of the green economy – Green America recognized three of the members of our Green Business Network™ at the San Francisco Green Festival in November. Taking our first-ever "Shining Light" award for a small company with a big showing was Lunapads International. Green America Web Developer Shireen Karimi, herself a big fan of Lunapads, presented the award, highlighting Lunapads' donation of their products to women's and girls' centers overseas, their commitment to local production, and how their reusable product keeps millions of disposable hygiene products out of the landfills. When she presented the award to Suzanne Siemens and Madeleine Shaw, Shireen remarked on the special ways Lunapads connect women to their bodies and celebrate the cycles of nature. I had the honor of presenting the People's Longtime Leadership Award, to two-time People's Choice winner ReusableBags.com. When ReusableBags' founder, Vince Cobb, accepted his award (made from recycled glass, of course), he looked down the list of the other Top Ten nominees and celebrated how many (including Lunapads, To-go Ware, and UsedCardboardBoxes.com) are leaders along with him in the reusable products business. It shows a shift in consumer consciousness, he said, toward thrift and reuse as fundamental values. Care2.com earned this year's People's Choice for Green Business of the Year. Care2 drew comments from voters who shared their enthusiasm for how Care2 makes it easy to be an online activist and to follow a range of green issues. Our Online editor Andrew Korfhage presented the award to Care2 founder and CEO, Randy Paytner, noting that in Care2's founding year of 1998 there were hundreds of start-ups like Care2; many are no longer around, but Care2 has exploded in size, mobilizing 12 million members on issues from climate change to human rights – a real force in building the movement for a green future. Another finalist in our People's Choice contest this year represented a different kind of shift in economic consciousness. For the first time in the five-year history of the award, a socially responsible investing firm – Blue Summit Financial – made it into the top-ten. It's a wonderful reminder that there is a green option for all of our economic choices … from the bags we carry to the grocery story, to the banks we use to pay the grocery bills. Check out our latest Real Green article on microloans, as well as our new e-newsletter feature on how you can use community investments to support issues you care about. Today's example shines a light on how community investments can help the homeless. |
Autumn 2009 EcoBytes from CET Building and living green in the Berkshires Rainy weather on October 3 did little to dampen the spirits of hundreds of people curious to learn about energy efficient building practices and renewable energy technologies in Berkshire County. The 2009 Green Buildings Open House Tour once again sparked interest in learning first-hand about ways to renovate or build in an environmentally respectful way. Fifteen tour sites from Williamstown to Great Barrington opened their doors to share and show what they have done to save energy and invest in clean energy technologies. CET works in partnership with the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association each year to promote this regional event locally. For more information contact Cynthia Grippaldi at 413-445-4556 ext. 25. Walking the Talk A few months ago we tested 100% recycled content copy paper. It works great, and now we use it for all in-house printing and copying. We are thrilled with our used conference table and chairs in Pittsfield, donated to CET by Berkshire Bank. In Northampton we purchased used office dividers and refurbished chairs for the conference room. The worn carpets in our Pittsfield office desperately needed replacement; and then we realized that we could sand and restore the hardwood floors beneath them. We used OSMO One Coat, a low-VOC product made from renewable, natural ingredients, with beautiful results. We celebrated the move from downtown Northampton to our new Riverside Drive office in Florence with a zero waste open house. We used neighborhood caterers and china for the event. Our Greening Your Community Workshops in Amherst and Pittsfield were zero waste (or darn close.) In Northampton, we added our empty air sealing spray foam cannisters to the paper and containers that we already recycle through the Pedal People (zero emissions!) Energy Savings Seminars Greening your Community... Leading by Example In the Berkshires, representatives from 15 different municipalities gathered at CET's third annual Greening Your Community: Leading By Example workshop on November 5 at Lenox Town Hall. Participants learned from in-depth presentations about the Green Communities Act, shared their towns' experiences, and discussed what's happening at the grassroots level to save energy and address climate change across the Berkshires. Special thanks to Berkshire Co-op Market and Wild Oats Community Market for providing delicious, locally sourced refreshments. The event highlighted services to municipalities and grassroots groups available through CET's Climate Action Circuit Rider initiative and technical assistance offered in partnership with the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission to 14 Berkshire communities working to become Green Communities. For more information contact Nancy Nylen. ReStore Deconstruction has banner year |
Wood-Fired Power Plants are No Environmental Cure-All "It always seemed bizarre to think that cutting down trees and burning them for fuel could be a good way to reduce carbon emissions. And yet both the Kyoto climate change treaty and a key bill in the US House look favorably on generation not just from biofuels such as ethanol but also from so-called biomass, including wood. Fortunately, scientists are beginning to consider biomass with a more skeptical eye. Late last month, Massachusetts launched a study on whether biomass power-generation plants are sustainable - the crucial question in the debate on four plants proposed for the western part of the state..." To read the full article, go here. |
Massachusetts Biomass Sustainability and Carbon Policy Thursday, December 17, 2009 Holiday Inn In November 2009 the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) commissioned a team of experts to conduct a comprehensive study of issues related to biomass sustainability and carbon policy. Launched at the direction of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Ian Bowles, the six-month study will result in a “white paper” that brings the best science to bear as DOER considers the path forward for biomass energy policy, including the preparation of new regulations to establish sustainability criteria biomass facilities must meet under the Massachusetts Renewable Portfolio Standard. Environmental professionals with national and worldwide recognition in forestry and conservation have been selected to conduct this study. The group includes experts from the Manoment Center for Conservation Sciences, Pinchot Institute for Conservation, the Forest Guild, the Biomass Energy Resource Center, and other independent forest ecologists, resource economists and a change management consultant. This public stakeholder meeting is part of the scope of work designated to occur at the beginning of the project. The research team will present an overview of the project including the goals, assumptions, questions to be addressed and approach, as well as how the findings will be used. There will also be structured and facilitated conversations to gather public input regarding additional questions for the team’s consideration. Rob Rizzo, Bioenergy Program Manager |
Five Star Restoration Grant Program The Five Star Restoration Grant Program, administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), provides modest financial assistance on a competitive basis to support community-based wetland, riparian, and coastal habitat restoration projects that build diverse partnerships and foster local natural resource stewardship through education, outreach and training activities. The deadline to apply is Thursday, February 11, 2010 - click here to access the full Request for Proposals document. At least $200,000 of the current grant round will be made available to support urban conservation and restoration in seven metropolitan areas (including Boston). To be eligible for this urban conservation and restoration funding, projects must include a spring community service day in which funding partners can participate in a restoration project (e.g., planting trees or native plants, pulling invasive plants, removing trash from urban waterways, installing rain gardens, etc.). All Five Star-funded projects must: (1) include on-the-ground wetland, riparian, in stream and/or coastal habitat restoration (in the targeted metropolitan areas, urban restoration projects may also include the creation of backyard wildlife habitat and “green infrastructure” through tree plantings, rain gardens, pollinator gardens, etc.); (2) integrate meaningful environmental education into the restoration project either through community outreach, participation, and/or integration with K-12 environmental curriculum; (3) involve a diverse set of community partners to accomplish the project’s objectives; (4) result in measurable ecological and educational/social benefits. NFWF will host an online webinar on Thursday, December 10, from 2:00-3:30PM to provide supplemental information regarding the grants program and to respond to questions (click here for more info). |
UPDATED: BILL IS INTRODUCED JOINTLY IN MA HOUSE AND SENATE BY THE LEADERSHIP CAMPAIGN |
Biomass Gets Second Look The ballot initiative - success Palmer biomass in Springfield – more scrutiny from DEP on C&D burning Hearings on H.R. 759, the Kocot bill to ban C&D burning DOER places a temporary moratorium on biomass eligibility for the state Renewable Portfolio Standard As a sidenote – there have been two editorials in the Boston Globe of late, one by Tim Searchinger, who was the lead author on the recent Science article explaining why burning trees for power always results in a net addition of CO2 to the atmosphere. The Globe editorial staff followed up with their own editorial stating that it always seemed odd to them that burning trees could be a good plan. That’s funny, because I remember a time when they didn’t seem so strong on the issue… Anyway both editorials are available on the MEEA website. Massachusetts Medical Society comes out against biomass In an effort to reduce air pollution and promote public health, delegates approved a four-point resolution regarding biomass power plants. The resolution stated that the Society (1) urge state government to adopt policies to minimize the approval and construction of new biomass plants: (2) declared Medical Society opposition to the three currently proposed large-scale power plants in the state on the grounds that each facility poses an unacceptable public health risk, (3) urge state and federal governments to remove large-scale biomass electricity generation plants from the list of technologies eligible to receive renewable energy credits, federal stimulus funds, and Mass. Technology Collaborative loans; and (4) urge state government to extend Department of Environmental Protection regulatory authority to small-scale biomass facilities to ensure that the most protective air pollution emissions controls are used. |
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Have you ever wanted to get involved in microlending but lacked the $1,000 or more often required as a minimum investment for community development loan funds?