Home Science: 2011

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

How Many Congressmen Does It Take To Change A Light Bulb?

Image of a dimmable spiral intergrated CFL.

Compact Florescent Lamp

Quite a few, apparently, because congress has battled incessantly over the "constitutionality" of implementing the nationwide industry shift to energy-saving Compact Florescent Lamps (CFLs). The change is finally scheduled to come about this January, barring a last-minute attempt to derail the measure.

The facts are clear and extremely important in this energy and carbon challenged era: If every household in the US would switch to CFL or LED usage, it would be the equivalent of taking one million cars off our roadways. There are a multitude of reasons for the change such as this.

Likewise, the EPA ran a great post this week on their Greenversations blog, which highlighted the efforts of one astute woman who understands the significance and is taking matters into her own hands (literally) by making sure that her home lighting is thoroughly energy smart. Even her daughter is in the know about home energy conservation.

So let's see - a bright-minded child versus a House full of bickering congressmen. I'll go with the kid's advice any day. Read More

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Being The Change, From The Ground Floor Up.

Yikes web design's eco efficient new digs.

Fishtown people can be nosy neighbors. Maybe it's because we're watchful folk who look out for each other. Or perhaps it's that we have an insatiable and profound curiosity for the world around us that leads us to snoop a bit.

Whichever the case, when YIKES, a sustainable web design business and certified B corporation, hung out their sign on Girard Avenue, I felt that curiosity rise - especially after hearing that Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter had attended the grand opening of their eco-fabulous new office.

What is sustainable web design? What is a B corporation? And why does the mayor like them so much? YIKES co-founder Tracy Levesque sat down recently with us to answer these questions and more. Her dreams and goals tell of a wonderful story well on its way to coming true. Read More

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Thoughts of spring.

Berks Street in Fishtown in Philadelphia

Image via Wikipedia

Philadelphia neighborhood.

Making Healthy Homes (designer-in-exile.blogspot.com)
Innovation Week 2011: Five Creative Ways to Deal with the Switch to Green Lighting (curbed.com)
Have You Switched to CFL? (smarthome.com)
GOP's Dim Bulb Obsession Threatens Government Shutdown (thinkprogress.org)
LifeBulb: an LED that can match a 60W incandescent? | Hanna Gersmann (guardian.co.uk)

Monday, October 10, 2011

New Living

Image by brunosan via Flickr

The Texas flag flies in Houston.

A green building store in the Lone Star State shows how to build a healthy home, and a good business too.

Recently, I received a visit from my cousin Amanda Claire DeMers of Houston, who was in Philadelphia to see some of our great historic sites. I've known that she's been involved with the acclaimed store, New Living, which is an eco-smart, green building hub for Houston's sustainability sphere, and a certified "B" corporation. So after a little family catch-up chat at Johnny Brenda's restaurant and pub here in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philly, we discussed some of the innovative work that she and the store has been doing back in her hometown.

How long have you worked for New Living?

I have been at New living for two months, but New Living has been around for two years. I came in with a background in environmental policy, my Master's was on fisheries management, so completely not to do with design or retail or marketing or anything like that. But I met the owners and we got along. I came on and have been working retail there for the past couple months, but I'll be doing some PR and marketing for them - press releases and such, social media maintenance, and then a lot of events in environmental education.

Tell us about New Living - what they do, their history.

New living is a store in Houston and their niche is healthy green building and home. They sell all kinds of home-building products, like counter-tops, flooring, and they also sell organic mattresses and bedding. And then next door, which is actually part of our store but has a different storefront, is a shop called The Green Painter. That opened up six or seven month ago as a split off from New Living, and they sell no-VOC paints, non-toxic glues, wood stains, and concrete stains.

So all of our products are non-toxic and they're all environmentally friendly. But a lot of the emphasis is on the non-toxic. Much of that, to some degree, is because Houston hasn't necessarily been a very green conscious city, and when New Living moved in they thought they were going to be this sort of green store with a straight environmental message. Houston wasn't as responsive to that message as they envisioned, so they started learning more about indoor air quality and health and promoted those ideas, which sometimes goes along with environmental certifications like LEED, though sometimes it's independent. In fact, sometimes it's the opposite - a lot of LEED certification buildings trap the air inside, so they've really embraced the non-toxic banner and it seems to have resonated well.

You bring up a good point. As a trained energy auditor, my focus is often on sealing the "envelope of the home" to improve energy efficiency. We check for high CO levels in furnaces, mold, lead paint, asbestos, pet dander and other potential indoor air quality threats, but there are a multitude of contaminants to consider. We have to be very conscious of toxins as we tighten up homes.

Image by Scoobyfoo via Flickr

Non-toxic materials

Yes, and we can start that by not bringing as many toxins into the building process, which is the significance for having formaldehyde-free flooring, and surfaces that are antimicrobial and naturally bacterial resistant and don't contain chemical dyes, and wool carpets that don't contain synthetic coatings on them. When you don't bring these toxins into the home to begin with, you start at a much easier place. Then you can begin to manage it with something like an air filter, either for a whole home or maybe just one room. We also sell air filters and water purifying systems.

It seems like it takes more than just standard marketing and offering healthy green products to make your business thrive. You've moved into channels of New Media to advocate your concept. Tell us more about the advocacy side.

They've always done pretty well as a business, because, for whatever reasons, Houston as a city is doing well. So we do have customers that have the money to spend on quality home products. The key is making sure we educate people about why our products are the better choice. And there will be a greater role for the educational and advocacy component through time.

We're actually not just a store, we're a certified "B" corporation or benefit corporation, which is a certain way that we're chartered to serve the long term interests of the shareholders and to help solve social, economic and environmental problems, rather than just immediate returns to investors.

Image by ooh_food via Flickr

So this falls in line with business concepts that have been described as an emerging new economic model: A business that's sustainable and socially responsible, but profitable too.

Certain states already have programs in place that to certify and encourage B corporations. And hopefully, someday, it would be nice if there was some sort of tax advantage too. So say, instead of being a non-profit or, well, an oil corporation - somewhere between BP and Oxfam - we could find a place where we received some government benefit of taking on these problems.

Aside from providing non-toxic home products and educational outreach, what other services does New Living offer? Do you work directly with contractors?

Yes, and that's something that's really cool about our business. Downstairs is the store and showroom, but upstairs is sort of this green business incubator, where we have several green designers, an urban renewal realty program, green architects, and a solar company. It's really a hub of green activity in Houston and we've worked hard together to make a green scene here.

That's interesting. Houston doesn't come to mind as top on the list of cities with a strong sustainability community, like say here in Philly, where our mayor has been pushing to make this the greenest city in the nation. How would you compare Houston to others?

Bill McKibben. Image: Wikipedia

Some people say that it's behind major cities, but it's caught up pretty fast. Because we have some money here, it's been able to escalate more quickly.

Actually, one of our main customer components is moms. Sometimes even mom's who's husbands work for a big oil company or in the chemical industry, but they've read some of the popular Michael Pollan, Bill McKibben type books and they're saying "you know, I don't want to bring bad things into my home." Just like the local foods and organic foods movement caught on big partly because moms were afraid of what they were feeding their kids, we're hoping that non-toxic mattresses and organic flooring will follow.

I hope so too. Thanks for stopping by and giving a word to our readers about New Living and your great city. I hope you were able to take in some of the famous sites here as well.--D.A DeMers.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Weathering the Storm

And not just talking about hurricanes.

While we here on the East Coast hunkered down for the worst from Hurricane Irene, I noticed another storm on the radar not so immediately apparent, but important to watch, nonetheless. The green-building world is coming under siege, and anything related to making the planet a healthier place is being portrayed by some as tantamount to communism, failure, or perhaps even treason.

Sustainability backlash? Image: Wikipedia

OK, maybe not treason. But here's the situation: Recently the New York Times, typically a refuge for environmentalism in the mainstream media, published an article essentially calling the green jobs sector a colossal failure. The article enigmatically tossed aside contrary findings from a prior Brookings Institute report of "explosive growth" in the sector.

Perhaps the Times felt Brookings was off because it included workers in public transportation, green tech media, eco-smart retail, and sustainable restaurants in their green jobs assessment. Or maybe they were just feeding from the same trough as other media pundits, filled with endless tales of the mismanaged Seattle weatherization program or non-stop stories of Solyndra. Whatever the case, the newspaper has been blasted by the sustainability sphere, which believes that these jobs should be recognized as part of the new green economy, a sentiment echoed prominently Wednesday in a scathing rebuttal from activist and former White House adviser Van Jones.

Hurricane Irene, Philly.

Thus, to help the understaffed NYT correct its poorly researched argument (which has now gone nearly viral in the investment world and elsewhere), Home Science will feature a series of stories of everyday Americans working hard to build a sustainable green economy while making a living.

Our next post includes a visit with Philly musician Mark Snyder at his day job with an innovative Delaware compost company that gathers recyclable waste from local restaurants. Plus we're queued up to talk with some friendly folks who run a thriving eco home furnishings store in Houston - examples of sustainable businesses that are not running for cover. Call them truck drivers, salespeople, roofers, energy auditors, weatherization installers, app-makers, or IT specialists - if they're working for a business that specializes in improving the environment and getting paid for it, I call them green jobs people. Seems clear as spring water to me.--D.A. DeMers.

The Empire State Building: A Beacon for America's Energy Independence. By Christina Nunez via National Geographic's Great Energy Challenge blog.

Many conversations at the American Renewable Energy Day (AREDAY) conference in Aspen focused on what needs to be done, what can be done realistically, and what isn’t being done to transition the United States away from fossil fuels.

Tallest green building. Image: Wikipedia.

So it was refreshing and inspiring to hear about something that has been done: retrofitting New York City’s Empire State Building so that it will cut energy consumption by 38.4 percent, creating jobs and generating revenue in the process.

Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute, who consulted on the project, and building owner Anthony Malkin discussed the retrofit at AREDAY Friday. Malkin said that the goal for the project was to go beyond “green building” standards that don’t address economics and lead to a chase for “points”: “Put bike racks and a shower in [your building], get three points. Put in a green wall with plants and a water feature in your lobby, get points.” Read More...

Support Philly's Sustainable 19125 Community Initiative. Sourced via the New Kensington Community Development Corporation.

NKCDC office.

The people from Sustainable 19125 made a great YouTube video about all the green practices taking place in our local Philly neighborhood. Help them promote this community-led initiative by taking a moment to watch the video, hit "Like", and leave a comment! And as as noted in the organization's recent newsletter, "you may even be surprised to find a neighbor/friend making a special guest appearance." Watch it here...

Sustainable 19125 describes itself as "a broad and innovative partnership among community residents, businesses, and numerous government, nonprofit, and for profit partners to green the Fishtown, Olde Richmond, and East Kensington neighborhoods of Philadelphia." The organization states that it strives "to make 19125 the most sustainable zip code in the city." Their initiative is fostered by New Kensington Community Development Corporation, with help from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.

For more info, including green community resources, forums, and ways to get involved, be sure to visit Sustainable 19125's newly redesigned website at www.sustainable19125.org.

Other information for Philly's Kensington/Fishtown area communities, including general events and business news, can be found on the New Kensington Community Development Corporation website at www.nkcdc.org.

Stay safe and God bless.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Forever Green...

Conservation is nothing new for Vermonters.

Image: D.A. DeMers.

When I left the importing business some years ago and moved to Philadelphia, I sought out a job as a custom furniture designer for a small Vermont-based solid wood furniture maker with a showroom in Manayunk. It was a true green company, and always had been since its beginning nearly 40 years ago - something they might not have even thought about at the time.

I've since moved into more direct green job roles in weatherization and green-building fields. But during that career phase, it was a significant change. A good change. Granted, the income and perks of working for a major player in the design world were gone. But here was the uptick - instead of traveling across the globe eight times a year to a dirty industrial sector to inspect mass-market items destined for the landfill a few years after purchase, I took train rides up to a little mill in bucolic Vermont to review beautifully handcrafted yet affordable items made from Forest Stewardship Council wood sources and built to last a lifetime. I had reduced my carbon footprint from the size of Sasquatch to that of an ant. I had turned over a new green leaf, if you will.

The possibility for major societal change regarding spending choices, support for American products, local economies, healthy buildings, and a continued path toward sustainability, is not unrealistic. Only a few years ago people would say bunk if told a home would essentially be worth little more than the brick and mortar with which it was built. In a world of uncertainties comes opportunities for change - opportunities to rebuild the American dream. Thus, take a peek at this recent article from Danielle Sacks at Fast Company on the growing concept of micro investment in local communities, which, by no coincidence, uses a small town in Vermont as the base example:

Locavesting: Investing in Main Street Instead of Wall Street. Via Fast Company.

What if you didn't send your money to a faceless investment bank, but instead gave it to a local business? We spoke to author Amy Cortese about local investing, where people keep their capital within 50 miles of where they live.

Seal of Vermount. Wikipedia.

"The crazy thing is it’s easier for most people to invest in a company halfway across the world than in their own backyard," says Amy Cortese, author of the recently published Locavesting: The Revolution in Local Investing and How to Profit From It.

Cortese, a former BusinessWeek editor, got her first glimpse of the revolution in 2009, as she witnessed communities swallowed up by the hangover of the economic collapse. "Wall Street rebounded, bonuses were back, everything was looking up, but it was so starkly different on the ground, on Main Street."

Cortese spent the next year on a journey to uncover the most innovative experiments in citizen finance around the world, from local stock exchanges to cooperatives and DIY IPOs. Read More...

On a similar note, Jeffrey Levy's post the other day at the EPA's Greenversations blog regarding sustainable Vermont, past and present, brings fond recollections of days spent in the land of 'freedom and unity' and the long-lasting tradition there to reduce, re-use, and recycle:

The View from Vermont. Via Greenversations.

Image: D.A. DeMers.

Ah, Vermont. Where I go to get away from my job, but also where I’m reminded of why I do my job.

Every summer, we go to “camp,” the cabin on a Vermont lake built by my wife’s great-grandfather in 1913. Think “rustic,” not “luxury.” The walls are plywood, the floors creak, there’s an abundance of spiders and usually a few mice, and it smells musty. I try to convince my daughters that spiders help keep the mosquito population down, to mixed success. When I sit up late at night reading, or we stargaze, the world outside vanishes. In other words, it’s heaven.

Camp is where we take stuff like furniture and appliances when we buy new things for home. The recliner chair where I’m sitting to write this is at least 50 years old. Some of the books on the shelves date to the 1930s. The cupboard is full of plates from when my mother-in-law grew up. People here were reusing long before we started talking about “reduce, reuse, recycle.” Read More...

East Coast Faith-based Groups Go Green.

Philadelphia has been in the news recently due to its surge of support from faith-based groups on issues of environment and energy efficiency. This was documented nicely in an article from the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences a few month ago regarding a series of forums conducted by the Interfaith Environmental Network.

It's wonderful to see similar involvement happening elsewhere. For example, an inspirational push for clean energy by religious and other non-profit organizations appears to be emerging from our neighbors down in the DC area. This write-up from Dustin Thaler of the group Weatherize DC details the effort, originally posted last week on their blog:

Community Energy Purchase. Via Weatherize DC.

Philadelphia Neighborhood. Image: Wikipedia

Who knew that energy savings could be so…sublime?

The Community Energy Purchase, The DC Project’s newest brainchild, is a remarkable undertaking that includes major cooperation with the Washington Interfaith Network.

The chief goal of the Community Energy Purchase is to provide close to 40 faith institutions and nonprofits in D.C. with reduced energy rates. These lower rates will have a significant impact on the institutions’ bottom lines. Congregations, many of which remain open to receive congregants at all hours of the day, often struggle with expensive utility bills. And nonprofits, who are constantly on a mission to secure funding for their causes, will also save valuable dollars.

The Community Energy Purchase has brought these faith and non-profit institutions together, and will put up to ten energy companies in competition with each other to provide them with a cheap electricity rate. Read More...

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Coming soon to Home Science - A guest blogger's tale of some unsightly experiences at work with an innovative new Delaware composting company. Hey, just because it's called clean energy or a green job, doesn't mean you wont get your hands dirty!--D.A. DeMers.

Friday, July 29, 2011

We are better than this

Image via Wikipedia

Clean energy: surging in a tough economy.

As the saying goes, 'the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in times of great moral crises maintain their neutrality.' And since I'm weary of hot places, especially after this summer's record heat (be it the result of global warming or not), I'm compelled to talk some politics.

Recently I received an alert from the environmental community that bill h.r. 2584 is still slithering across the House floor in Washington, with Congress poised to set it loose upon the world. The bill essentially strips away many sensible, important tools from the EPA and related public groups that help to keep them protecting and administering our nation's clean air and water laws. It's a full assault on America's environment and on emerging clean energy industries, coming straight from the radical wing of the Tea Party. Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA), who's been working to mitigate the controversial and hidden economic and ecologic costs of mountain-top coal removal in his region, recently described the bill as "the most anti-environmental legislation ever."

My high school recital of W.B. Yeats' words from The Second Coming stirs in my mind:

"And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?"

This budget and debt debate has ruptured our country like nothing before. And because it has recently spilled into Home Science turf, I felt it was time, at least for the moment, not to 'maintain neutrality' and to wield the mighty pen with an op-ed in my local newspapers.

Hence, last week the following note from me appeared in suburban Philadelphia newspapers The Doylestown Intelligencer, The Courier Times, and The Burlington County Times...

Jobs, the Debt, and the Recovery:

The causes of the deep recession were many years in the making, and they won't be solved overnight. President Obama has made it clear that we can reduce our deficits while making investments needed to create good jobs and grow our economy — investments in job-creating areas like education, infrastructure, clean energy and cutting-edge research and technology. Investments that truly help middle-class families like mine.

Yet the GOP seems determined to block any means to foster such growth in these delicate times. The Republicans' cure all for our economy is simple-minded: a hasty elimination of debt, and by whatever immediate means available, mostly at the expense of middle-class families. In fact, one ranking Republican lawmaker said last week he's willing to cause "serious disruptions" in the economy to keep our debt ceiling from being raised.

Our president is a firewall against such recklessness. The GOP's methods include a scorched-earth policy toward jobs and investment. If Republicans get their way, later this year millions of Americans will have less money to spend, there will be less economic demand and more money will be zapped out of the economy at a time when we need it most. One might start to wonder if maybe helping the economy isn't really the GOP's top goal.

(Link to original published article: www.phillyburbs.com).

EPA's Lisa P. Jackson, Phila Mayor Nutter, Earth Day. Image: D.A DeMers.

Now believe me, in contrast to that letter, I'd prefer to write about home energy savings, on ways to make a furnace or boiler more efficient, on weatherization tactics, the latest advances in solar technology, wind turbines, or other items related to renewable energy and energy efficiency - the stuff we focus on here at Home Science.

Instead, I've found myself forced to step across the muck flowing from our politicians in Washington. Plainly stated, I'm just a regular middle-class guy working for a green economy who can put a sentence or two together. I am not a muckraker.

So to the politicians of any affiliation, I plead for sensibility on these issues. Please do not take away the tools we need to remain on the path of an environmentally sustainable economic future, a future that shows to the world the essence of true competitive American ingenuity.--D.A. DeMers.

Coming soon to Home Science - The State of Innovation: PA clean tech start-ups are pulling the economy to a new more energy efficient frontier. Don't get left behind!

Friday, June 24, 2011

Breathing Room

I am one of millions of Americans who suffers from asthma. Most of the time, I don't think about it. I go on with my day like everyone else. Every so often, though, I have a little trouble breathing. In the worst case, I'll have an attack.

Air Quality Index, EPA. Image: Wikipedia

It's sometimes hard to explain to people what it feels like when you get an asthma attack. Many non-asthmatics liken the condition to a typical respiratory affliction, like clogged sinuses or a cough. It's not. An asthma attack feels like you're suffocating. Think about it - air is about the most immediate thing we need to survive. If your lungs swell up and keep you from breathing, that's about as scary a feeling you can have.

Thankfully, the EPA has provided some helpful seasonal information that can help prevent asthma triggers:

Asthma rescue inhaler.

Summer heat is here, and that means it is more important than ever for people with asthma or other respiratory ailments to pay close attention to the air quality where they live. Like the weather, air quality can change from day to day or even hour to hour.

During the summer when ozone levels rise, the number of people with asthma related symptoms admitted to hospitals and emergency rooms increases. Asthma rates – especially among children – have increased dramatically. Asthma affects 25 million people in the United States, including seven million children. That’s 8 percent of the population. One out of every 10 school aged children is affected.

“While we have made great strides in improving air quality, we still need to do more,” said EPA mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin. “By further improving air quality, we can help to control asthma and provide a more active lifestyle for children, a vulnerable population.”

In addition to the essential step of speaking about asthma with your health care provider and being aware of general air quality conditions, the EPA list the following specific steps that can help prevent an asthma episode:

Play it safe. Ground-level ozone and particle pollution can exacerbate an asthma episode. Look for the Air Quality Index (AQI) during the local weather report or go to EPA’s website www.airnow.gov. The Air Quality Index uses a color-coded system to display whether the five major air pollutants exceed air quality standards for the day. When the Air Quality Index reports unhealthy levels, people, particularly asthmatics and others with respiratory ailments, should limit strenuous outdoor activities.

Don’t smoke in the home. Take it outside. One of the most common asthma triggers in the home is second- hand smoke. Take the EPA ‘smoke-free home’ pledge: www.epa.gov/smokefree.

Break the mold. Mold is another asthma trigger. The key to controlling mold is controlling moisture. Wash and dry hard surfaces to prevent and remove mold. Remove, and if possible replace, moldy ceiling tiles and carpet. For more see EPA’s website: www.epa.gov/asthma/molds.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

In the Company of Men

Image: D.A. DeMers

To be honest, I was hesitant about writing this story. The thought of interviewing a person from a big energy company seemed odd, considering my scribbling is usually about ways to limit energy use. As a clean energy advocate, my rebel impulse has often been to fight the Power, and from all my preconceptions, a city's gas company seemed like the consummate example of, well, The Man.

Or perhaps The Woman.

Stop there, because when I met Marlynn Jannett, a pipe mapping designer I interviewed from Philadelphia Gas Works, my concerns were essentially set to rest.

Her story is one of guts and determination - the American dream exemplified, and a friendly face for the gas company. She's also my neighbor.

Ms. Janett began her career with Philadelphia Gas Works a couple decades ago. She was the first woman hired to work in field services for the company. Her current position involves creating CAD designs of gas pipes for "prudent mains" where the risk of breakage is possible, or in the worst case, has already occurred.

Image by osde8info via FlickrThe gas company is on a constant schedule to replace antiquated pipes, such as those made of cast iron, with newer materials like PVC that are less corrosive and more ductile. In a city as old as Philadelphia, upgrading such infrastructure can be extremely challenging, considering the maps provided are often outdated or nonexistent. Their efforts often include exploratory excavation measures such as drilling through cement foundations.

But the biggest initial challenge for Ms Janett's career was to break through the so called glass ceiling.

Her training came by way of a unique outreach program from the Private Industry Council developed to provide women with engineering skills needed to facilitate their advance into the industrial workforce - a workforce completely dominated by men.

"This all came to me a bit by accident," she said. "I was working in the billing department of a legal firm when I got laid off. Then I heard about the PIC program and thought 'why not?'"

Marlynn Janett

After showing an exceptional ability to master a variety of CAD software programs, she was visited by two engineers from PGW. A lengthy recruitment process ensued, until the company determined she possessed the necessary aptitude for the job. She out-competed several male candidates with her sharp skills and astute interviews, and planted herself firmly in a solid career.

"Some guys weren't too happy at the time, but they got used it," she acknowledged, when asked if she sensed resentment by her male counterparts.

Now, a master of her trade, she's moved well beyond the issues of those days. They were simply milestones of an evolving culture. The only concern she has presently at her job is "working in the middle of Frankford Ave, lifting a manhole cover, and trying not to get run over by a car."--D.A. DeMers.

A Clean Energy Plan with the Community.

PGW recently introduced a number of green energy programs that intersect with various sectors of Philadelphia's business and residential communities. Their EnergySense program is made up of several initiatives that strive to help the company’s residential, commercial and industrial customers conserve energy and save money. It's also expected to create as many as 1,000 new local jobs, reduce the region’s carbon dioxide emissions by 1.24 million tons - the equivalent of taking 200,000 cars off Philadelphia’s streets - and support the Mayor's Office of Sustainability's Greenworks plan to make Philadelphia the greenest city in America.


Energy outreach at the NKCDC. Image: D.A DeMers

The plan involves connecting with a consortium of non-profit energy groups, neighborhood organizations, and city departments to provide initiatives such as the The Enhanced Low Income Retrofit Program, Residential Heating Equipment Rebates, Commercial and Industrial Retrofit Incentives, Commercial and Industrial Equipment Rebates, High Efficiency Construction Incentives, and Comprehensive Residential Incentives.

Over the next five years, the company plans to invest $60 million to generate over $110 million in net savings for all of PGW’s customers. Saving money while saving the planet? Sounds like a win-win solution for everybody.--D.A. DeMers.

More info regarding PGW's programs can be found at www.pgworks.com. Plans administered by the Mayor's Office of Sustainability can be found at www.phila.gov/green.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Greening our Infrastructure

EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter recently spoke of the economic and environmental value of green infrastructure in American communities. Their efforts are commendable - sewers and such aren't topics of everyday conversations, despite being essential to metropolitan living. Water is a sacred resource, and the innovative new methods being used to preserve it are truly fascinating and worth learning about - they are passages to a more resourceful future.--D.A. DeMers.

The Big Green Block

LEED certified Kensington High School.

PHILADELPHIA – Mayor Michael A. Nutter, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson and Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz highlighted the Philadelphia Water Department’s Big Green Block initiative at Shissler Recreation Center and the Kensington High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. The Big Green Block initiative, part of the Administration’s Green City, Clean Waters plan, promotes greening and stormwater management of the city blocks within the community surrounding the Shissler Recreation Center through implementing several green stormwater infrastructure systems on the property. The initiative is a collaborative effort between the Philadelphia Water Department, The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, the New Kensington Community Development Corporation, Sustainable 19125, the Mural Arts Program and the Philadelphia Parks and Recreation.

“When we talk about sustainability and about green cities in the future, water must be among the first issues addressed. We can’t be green without water. The Big Green Block initiative is an exciting example of how we can work together toward a common vision of William Penn’s green country town,” said Mayor Nutter. “I would like to thank EPA Administrator Jackson for recognizing the importance of stormwater management in America’s cities, and especially Howard Neukrug and the Water Department for their forward thinking.”

Philly artist at work on an environmental mural.

“Instead of investing in one project that treats one concern, green infrastructure allows us to protect the health of our waters, save money and make our communities more attractive places to buy homes and build businesses,” EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said. “We want to use the win-win strategies we see here with the Big Green Block Initiative and other projects throughout the city to make every community healthier, more prosperous and more sustainable.” Read More...

Source: The City of Philadelphia website. Photos by D.A DeMers. For further reading on this and similar projects visit www.phillywatersheds.org.

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A Nationwide Strategy

Lisa P. Jackson in Philadelphia.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching a new strategy to promote the use of green infrastructure by cities and towns to reduce stormwater runoff that pollutes our nation’s streams, creeks, rivers, lakes and coastal waters. Green infrastructure decreases pollution to local waterways by treating rain where it falls and keeping polluted stormwater from entering sewer systems. In addition to protecting Americans’ health by decreasing water pollution, green infrastructure provides many community benefits including increased economic activity and neighborhood revitalization, job creation, energy savings and increased recreational and green space.

“Through this agenda, we’ll help cities and towns across the nation clean up their waters and strengthen their communities by supporting and expanding green infrastructure,” said Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe, who announced the agenda at a Green Street, Green Jobs conference focused on fostering green infrastructure in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. “Green infrastructure changes improve the health of our waters while creating local jobs, saving communities money and making them healthier and more prosperous places to raise a family and start a business.”

Stormwater is one of the most widespread challenges to water quality in the nation. Large volumes of polluted stormwater degrade our nation’s rivers, lakes and aquatic habitats and contribute to downstream flooding. Green infrastructure captures and filters pollutants by passing stormwater through soils and retaining it on site. Effective green infrastructure tools and techniques include green roofs, permeable materials, alternative designs for streets and buildings, trees, rain gardens and rain harvesting systems.

As part of the strategy, EPA will work with partners including local governments, watershed groups, tribes and others in 10 cities that have utilized green infrastructure and have plans for additional projects. EPA will encourage and support expanded use of green infrastructure in these cities and highlight them as models for other municipalities around the country. The 10 cities are: Austin, Texas; Boston, Mass.; Cleveland, Ohio; Denver, Colo.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Kansas City, Mo.; Los Angeles, Calif.; Puyallup, Wash.; Syracuse, N.Y.; and Washington, DC and neighboring Anacostia Watershed communities.

Natural and impervious cover diagrams from the EPA. Via Wikipedia.

Energy savings is one of the greatest benefits of green infrastructure. On and around buildings, green infrastructure can reduce heating and cooling costs. For example, green roofs reduce a building’s energy costs by 10 to 15 percent, and an additional 10 percent of urban tree canopy can provide 5 to 10 percent energy savings from shading and windblocking. Green infrastructure also conserves energy by reducing the amount of stormwater entering combined collection and treatment systems, which reduces the amount of wastewater processed at treatment plants.

EPA will continue to work with other federal agencies, state and local governments, tribes, municipalities, and the private sector to identify opportunities for using green infrastructure and provide assistance to communities implementing green approaches to control stormwater. EPA will also provide additional tools to help states and communities leverage green infrastructure opportunities within other innovative environmental projects.

Sourced from an EPA press release. Photos by D.A. DeMers.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

The "State" of Clean Energy

Image via WikipediaA press release from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory outlines a new study linking the growth of clean energy with individual state policies. Some interesting findings are included. Sourced with permission from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

States’ policies are important to solar and wind energy development and in reducing energy use says a new report from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The findings are in report, State of the States 2010: The Role of Policy in Clean Energy Market Transformation.

“This report shows the importance of the state and local policy in encouraging clean energy market development,” said Mike Pacheco, NREL vice president of Deployment & Market Transformation. “Specifically, state policymakers may be more effective at driving clean energy investment using a suite of policies and keeping the policies in place longer.”

Building on an emerging body of literature identifying connections between state policy and renewable energy, the State of States 2010 report quantifies the connection between state clean energy policies, renewable energy development and actual reductions in energy use. Renewable energy use increased 3 percent across the United States in 2010, the report says.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory map, via Wikimedia

It is the first time energy efficiency has been considered in this type of analysis, and the report shows significant connections between reduced energy use and building codes, electricity prices and, in some cases, energy efficiency resource standards. Even though state policies might apply to a wide variety of renewable energy resources, the analysis shows that most often there’s a relationship between policy and solar and wind development. So, if states tailor policy to other resources, it might help increase development of renewable energy sources in addition to solar and wind.

“State policy efforts can help sustain the good work started by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in creating economic development opportunities through clean energy,” said LeAnn M. Oliver, DOE Weatherization & Intergovernmental Program Manager. “State of the States 2010 offers practical information to policymakers on how to further promote those policies.”

To track the progress of the states and regions toward a clean energy economy, NREL also provided the analysis and findings for DOE’s 2009 U.S. State Clean Energy Data Book. The data book, published in October 2010, summarizes the status of state-level energy efficiency and renewable energy developments and supporting policy implementation, and can be accessed as a PDF and as an interactive data analysis tool. It identifies the states and regions leading in overall renewable energy capacity and energy efficiency policy. Key findings include:

In 2009, Maine had the largest percentage—23 percent—of non-hydro renewable generation, mostly from bioenergy.

Texas leads the country in total non-hydro installed renewable energy capacity.

California is the leader in solar energy installed capacity.

Oregon, California, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania have the strictest building codes, which require high efficiency in commercial and residential construction

NREL provided the analysis for both the State of the States 2010 report and the U.S. State Clean Energy Data Book under its Clean Energy Policy Analyses project. To learn more about CEPA, visit www.nrel.gov/cepa.

NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for DOE by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Winter Gardening?

Commenting on the project's efforts, Orchard Director Phil Forsyth eloquently stated in a recent Philadelphia Magazine interview, "kids are more likely to eat something they pulled off a tree themselves than something you just hand to them."

Mr. Forsyth will be the instructor for the workshop, and says to dress warmly. "A good portion of the class will be held outdoors in Grumblethorpe’s gardens." For more information visit www.phillyorchards.org.

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Recycle Your Way To A Greener Block.

Need some good facts and reasons to help encourage your neighbors to recycle? Here are a few quick ones:

2. Recycling saves energy. Recycling one aluminum can save enough energy to run a TV for three hours. A glass bottle will light a 100-watt bulb for 4 hours. Every ton of paper could heat and cool a home for 6 months.

Actions you can take: Recycle all paper, plastic and glass. Recycle electronics, light bulbs and batteries. Compost food waste, yard waste, and holiday trees... Speaking of holidays, have yourself a wonderful one. We'll catch up again in the new year.

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Images by D.A. DeMers, unless otherwise noted. Free to use via CC license 3.0. Visit our main blog, Designer in Exile, for insightful feature posts and interviews with leaders and innovators in the art, design, and sustainability world.

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