Protect Our Local Wetlands

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Fairfield County, Connecticut has some of the most inspiring natural lanscapes an artist could ever desire to paint. From coastal vistas to splendor in the grass, the land we are stewards of provides amazing beauty. Our wetlands are an asset not only to our eyes, but to the very planet we depend on for survival.

Please take a moment to learn more about wetlands in this video from BobVila.com

Watch this at Bob Vila

$15.4 Million for Going GREEN

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu today announced more than $204 million in Recovery Act funding to support energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in ten states. Connecticut was one of the states receiving the funding. Under DOE's State Energy Program (SEP), states have proposed statewide plans that prioritize energy savings, create or retain jobs, increase the use of renewable energy, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Connecticut will use its $15.4 million in SEP funding to create or protect jobs and save energy with several projects, including in-home energy audits and the deployment of a variety of technologies, such as alternative-fuel vehicles. In one project, Recovery Act funds will enable more residents to take advantage of inexpensive in-home energy audits designed to reduce energy bills and encourage energy efficiency. For each home, a specialist will perform an energy assessment, find and professionally seal critical leaks and drafts, replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps, provide and install water conservation devices, and check insulation and appliances.

The state will also use funding to support four Clean Cities coalitions—Greater New Haven, Clean Cities of Southwestern Connecticut, Norwich Clean Cities and Capital Clean Cities—to support their efforts to facilitate the adoption of alternate fuels and petroleum-reducing technologies in Connecticut.

After demonstrating successful implementation of its plan, the state will receive an additional $19 million, for a total of $38 million.

CLICK HERE to read full press release

Up On The Roof

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Green roofs are everywhere these days. What, you've never heard of a "green" roof? I am not talking about a new trend in shingles or mold growing where it should not be. Green roofs are actually, well, gardens on your roof. A green roof reduces the amount of heat on the roof from the sun. This reduces heat in the building as well as the heat the structure generates which creates a "heat island" warming the surrounding air.

There are additional benefits, other than being a great insulator, to having a green roof. It conserves energy used by home heating and cooling. They help clean storm water so the runoff doesn't pollute our oceans, lakes and streams. They abate the heat that roofs generate and warm the local community and green roofs help to improve air quality.

Check out the video below for more Green Roof information.

"Secret Benefits" from Energy Conservation

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I often use the analogy of the car buying process to help explain how I believe one should look at the greener home buying process. Like a car, a home has an effect on the air we breath. Like a car, a home has energy-consumption and maintenance costs that continue through the life of your ownership. These costs should be factored in a buying decision.

However, reducing energy-use cost in a home is much easier these days than in a car. Most of us don’t have the knowledge and resources to redesign our existing cars engine to have greater fuel efficiency. We also find it difficult to reduce our consumption of auto fuel after we work to eliminate unnecessary trips and plan our errands more efficiently.

The easy, low cost changes we can make in our homes can reduce our monthly bottom line and help our planet in numerous ways. I recently read a white paper entitled The "Secret Benefits" From Energy Conservation and it added another dimension to my car/home analogy.

The authors state that "It is logical that a car driven 25% less each year will last longer. The same is true for most energy-consuming equipment, such as lights, motors and even digital equipment......It doesn't matter how energy-efficient an organization is, there are savings from turning equipment "off" when it is not needed." Like a car, "It's not the age....it's the mileage"

Once can reduce their utility budgets by conserving energy. By reducing equipment operation, the need for replacement is reduced. When equipment runs fewer hours, maintenance costs are reduced. By reducing energy-consumption one is also buffering themselves from sudden fuel cost spikes and suprise increase in utility bills.

The secret it out!

Click the link below to read the white paper referenced above.
http://www.instituteofgreenprofessionals.org/associations/9228/files/SecretBenefitsfromEnergyConservation-2008.pdf

Downsizing is in, Greensizing is BETTER

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Recently, the Today Show on NBC ran this video about the trend to downsize your home. While I do think the trend is an important one to note,I would also add a mention of GREENSIZING your home. Greensizing is all about the 3 R's of the green movement. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle!

It doesn't take long to go through your home and reduce the clutter, reuse what you find and recycle (donate, sell, give away) things that you no longer need. If you throw things away, remember to recycle that which can be recycled in your community! Every bit helps the cause....

Make Me Greener, Please

By MIREYA NAVARRO
Published: June 10, 2009

NYTimes.com

GEORGE BRYSON and Alina Sanchez flunked the test on water consumption.

They had hired a consultant to tell them how they could do better at home in helping the environment, and although they did very well on energy use, water was another matter.

“I do a lot of thinking in the shower,” Ms. Sanchez offered as a possible explanation. (The culprit turned out to be the sprinklers.)

Environmental savings can be elusive, and the benefits and costs confusing. To help households wade through the information, consultants armed with stepladders and gadgets are selling advice on energy efficiency, indoor air quality and even methods for creating an eco-conscious wardrobe.

The field of personal and home eco-consultants is relatively new. GenGreen, a Colorado company that offers a national directory of businesses marketing themselves as green at gengreenlife.com, says it has just over 3,000 listings under the umbrella term environmental consultants, up from 657 when the database was started in 2007. They include energy auditors, health and wellness experts, interior designers and “eco-brokers,” real estate agents who specialize in green homes. While real estate agents can get training and certification as “eco” or “green” by trade organizations, and states like New York run energy audit programs with accreditation rules, there are no industry standards for most eco-consultants, who can range from environmental engineers to the self-taught.

READ MORE http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/11/garden/11consult.html?_r=5

Acting locally, in the local manner - Energy conservation, local innovation | TerraPass: Fight global warming, reduce your carbon footprint

Erin Craig June 8, 2009

http://www.terrapass.com/
From Japan to Australia, regionally appropriate tricks for conserving energy

I was chatting with a friend in Sydney, Australia not long ago and came away with an enhanced appreciation of what it means to act locally.

My Bay Area was suffering an unseasonable heat wave while hers was unusually rainy, so we talked about how the weather affected our households. “At least I get my water heated for free,” I noted, explaining that we installed a solar-heated hot water system. While she was duly impressed, she replied that systems like that weren’t very practical in her neighborhood because she, like most of her neighbors, has on-demand gas water heating and no hot water tank. Without a tank, solar hot water is problematic because you can’t moderate its temperature.

On the other hand, she wasn’t complaining about the rain. “We have a rooftop rainwater cistern directly plumbed to the clothes washer,” she said. “It rains about the same amount here as there, but it’s distributed all year-round instead of dumping it all in the winter. We almost never need to supplement the cistern.” I found this idea quite enchanting, but such a system would only be useful to me five months of the year.

As we discussed our efforts to save electricity, she reminded me that in Australia, all outlets have switches built in so saving on stand-by power is a little easier. Her challenge is to make the switches more convenient: the ones in the kitchen are fine as they’re at counter height, but the switches behind the TV cabinet are too hard to reach.

These local flavors reminded me of a lecture given by a university professor known for his energy conservation ethic. He had recently visited Japan armed with energy management and measurement devices. When visiting traditional Japanese homes, he had expected to find them horribly inefficient, as they do not feature much insulation. What he found instead is that Japanese approach heating very differently than American. Some rely on micro-heat located where needed instead of central heat. When he joined a family for dinner, he basked in the warmth of a small heater attached to the bottom of the dining table.

In a similar way, I discovered one of my favorite “appliances” in a bed and breakfast kept fairly cool during a New Zealand winter: a mattress pad heater, perfect for a room where sleeping comprised 90% of the room’s use.

Which leads me to wonder what else I might be missing in my immersion in the American version of living lightly, and a West Coast version, at that. Any local practices employed which people would like to share? CLICK LINK BELOW
Image by Flickr user tomsaint11.

Acting locally, in the local manner - Energy conservation, local innovation TerraPass: Fight global warming, reduce your carbon footprint

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Purify Air - Surprising Sources of Indoor Air Pollution

The most widely quoted statistic about air quality is this: The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that indoor air can be two- to five-times more polluted than the air outdoors. And while the EPA is responsible for cracking down on outdoor pollution -- the smog, ozone and other chemicals that spew from tailpipes and smokestacks -- protecting the air indoors is largely the responsibility of homeowners.

While many sources of indoor air are fairly obvious and well-known -- second-hand smoke, carbon monoxide and radon, to name the most prominent, and deadly -- there are more insidious, secret sources of pollution that any concerned homeowner or parent should consider. Below are some of the most surprising. For tips on reducing indoor air pollution from these and other sources, see 25 Indoor Air Quality Tips from the American Lung Association. (www.thedailygreen.com/indoor-air)

Purify Air - Surprising Sources of Indoor Air Pollution - thedailygreen.com

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Federal money helps Fairfield go green

By Genevieve Reilly
staff writer- Connecticut Post

FAIRFIELD -- More than one-half million dollars in federal money will be used to save the town some green when it comes to conserving energy.

The Board of Selectmen on Wednesday authorized First Selectman Kenneth Flatto to accept a $545,100 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant awarded through the federal stimulus and energy independence acts.

Projects the town is looking to fund with the grant money include two reciprocating natural gas generators for the main library and police headquarters; financial incentives and public awareness programs; a geothermal study of Stratfield School; and a $23,000 hybrid vehicle for the town car pool.

The generators, budgeted at $360,000, generate electricity and use waste heat to warm the buildings, according to Ed Boman, assistant public works director. The equipment would save the town about $70,000 yearly for each building in heating and electrical costs.

"This is a home run," Flatto said of the proposed projects and the grant funding. There is no town match required for the grant money.

Another $115,100 will be used for the financial incentives and public awareness programs. Uses for this money will include reimbursements to residents and small business owners for purchases of energy-efficient equipment, reusable bags and 10 new bike racks around town. READ MORE......