Recently in Community Sustainability Category

The farm property located at 492 Bay Road in Easton, Massachusetts has recently been purchased by Sean and Jessica Flynn who have begun operation and renamed the 20 acre property "Flynn's Farm". The new owners will be guided by the expertise of Ross and Susan Henderson- the previous owners of the property.

The farm will sell flowers including typical annuals, perennials, bushes and trees and speciality items like lilies. Other landscaping materials are also available. The farm will sell vegetables and will have a pick your own pumpkin patch later this fall. Future plans also include a pick your own wild flower garden.

The farm will be introducing eggs soon and you should expect to see other animals on the farm in the future.

Hours for the farm are Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sundays 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.  You may visit their website at www.flynnsfarm.com or call 508-238-1600.

Studies show that simply
giving people their energy information
can result in energy savings of up to 15%.

Google PowerMeter allows you to:

Google PowerMeter Features

Google PowerMeter is a free electricity usage monitoring tool that provides you with information on how much energy your home is consuming. Google PowerMeter receives information from utility smart meters and in-home energy management devices and visualizes this information for you on iGoogle (your personalized Google homepage). And, Google PowerMeter is free.

Studies show that being able to see your electricity usage in near real time, throughout the day, makes it easier to reduce it and save money. This sort of feedback requires either an advanced electricity meter, a "smart meter," or a consumer-owned electricity management device, and many of today's smart meters don't display information to the consumer.

Consumers should have access to data on their personal electricity use, control who gets to see this data and choose from a range of services to help them understand and benefit from this data.

Google is working with federal and state governments to ensure that energy policies encourage consumer information; read Google's comments to the Department of Energy on smart grid investment in the stimulus, Edward Lu's testimony to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and  comments to the California Public Utilities Commission and our joint statement with leading companies and NGOs.

Google hopes that consumers will soon be empowered with an entire ecosystem of energy information products and services.

If all households in developed countries achieved a 15% energy savings by 2020, it would mean about a 470 MtCO2 equiv. reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Read More at SolutionsForClimateChange.com

EPA wants to toughen the ozone limit adopted in 2008 by cracking down further on vehicles, power plants, factories and landfills. Much of the U.S. could then be in violation of federal regulations.

The EPA proposed allowing a ground-level ozone concentration of between 60 and 70 parts per billion, down from the 75-ppb standard adopted under President George W. Bush in 2008.

Eastern and Midwestern states, where much of the pollution comes from coal-fired power plants, will face utility scale changes.  Other states that have already tackled industrial emissions, such as California, will face non-point source emissions, largely from pollution from diesel engines in trucks and construction equipment, which emit nitrogen oxides, a precursor to smog.

PROTECT OUR HEALTH

Though complying with the standards could cost up to $90 billion nationwide, according to the EPA, it could also save $100 billion in health costs over time.

A 65-ppb standard -- the middle of the proposed acceptable range -- would avert 1,700 to 5,100 premature deaths nationwide in 2020 compared with the 75-ppb standard, the EPA estimates. The agency projects the stricter standard would also prevent an additional 26,000 cases of aggravated asthma compared with the Bush-era standard, and more than a million cases of missed work or school.

PROTECT FORESTS and SENSITIVE ECOSYSTEMS

The EPA also proposed setting a "secondary standard" to protect plants and trees from repeated smog exposure during growing season, a move environmentalists said would help national parks, forests and sensitive ecosystems. Trees and other vegetation absorb heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, making them an important check against global warming.

Environmentalists praised the agency for proposing regulations that match the unanimous recommendations of an EPA science advisory committee.

SOLUTIONS

Small businesses won't face the same scale changes as power plants, but their fleets will be affected.  This regulation can also provide small business with opportunities to help other companies with filtration, new fuels, high-performance vehicles, and reduced electricity from coal based utility plants. 

We'll be following this legislative and administrative change that will affect local communities and businesses of all sizes.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu says: If the United States does not adopt the bill's carrots and sticks for reducing energy waste and developing carbon-free energy sources, China will leapfrog ahead of us in this field.

The Senate should take heed and pass a global warming bill at least as strong as the House's this year. Passage of the bills working their way through Congress that cover renewable energy and  "cap and trade"  is of special importance to Massachusetts, which is home to cutting-edge scientists and clean-energy research firms - some of which are racing with foreign competitors to create products that could be sold for decades around the world.

"Small Biz: Big on Green" FREE Seminar Aug 6, 6:30 PM North Easton, MA (AMES LIBRARY COMPLEX) Bring your green biz questions. Register here. It's FREE, DOWNLOAD FLIER (Limited space...Register Online)

WE ARE PRESENTING A FREE PROGRAM FOR OUR COMMUNITY...

What you will learn:  This information-packed expert presentation and Q&A helps small business people understand which green business strategies ...

•  INCREASE REVENUE  
•  DECREASE COSTS and
•  MOTIVATE EMPLOYEES  

Get an overview of what green business solutions can do for you . . . and why every job can be a greener job to motivate your team!

Michael Lemke, North Easton small business consultant, emphasis on family/business strategies for entrepreneurial growth & success. Michael publishes NewEnglandGreenSolutions.com.

Carolyn Allen, Senior editor/publisher of CaliforniaGreenSolutions.com and SolutionsForGreen.com,  about green solutions. Based in Los Angeles, CA, she brings broad knowledge of small business' solutions in the "green economy."

Come...and stump the editors!  Bring your green business questions.


Reserve your spot now! It's FREE, but Register here. 

Share the Flier with colleagues! DOWNLOAD a PDF FLIER here.

"Green Prosperity: How Clean-Energy Policies Can Fight Poverty and Raise Living Standards in the United States" is a new report from the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (PERI), commissioned by Green For All and NRDC.

The report finds that investments in a clean energy economy can significantly drive down the unemployment rate and provide job opportunities to Americans across all skill and education levels. Through increased employment and lower energy bills and transportation costs, the standard of living for low-income people in particular would rise.

In general, our findings show that clean-energy in-vestments create more job opportunities than spend-ing on fossil fuels, across all levels of skill and edu-cation. The largest benefits will accrue to workers with relatively low educational credentials.

We further find that a high proportion of the jobs generated by clean-energy investments should offer good opportunities for advancement through training programs, and more generally, that newly employed low-income workers will see new opportunities to lift themselves and their families out of poverty.

"Green Prosperity" focuses on job creation and the economic impact of clean-energy investments on lower-income families nationally, as well as in forty-one metropolitan statistical areas and Congressional Districts.

With solar and energy efficiency being some of the most cost effective renewable energy strategies, it is significant that energy efficiency improves affordability at the same time it reduces climate change.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY RETROFITS LOWER HOME HEATING AND UTILITY BILLS

Retrofits could reduce living costs by an average of 3-4 percent for low-income households.  Achieving these benefits will require well-designed policies to expand the market for retrofits.  The markets to provide retrofitting services must be targeted to benefit low-income renters as well as homeowners.

PERI also released a complimentary report with the Center For American Progress called "The Economic Benefits of Investing in Clean Energy: How the Economic Stimulus Program and New Legislation Can Boost U.S. Economic Growth and Employment."

Download the Executive Summary

Registration Open for Green Infrastructure Workshops (various dates in July 2009)

EPA will be hosting green infrastructure workshops at the following locations over the next few weeks. These workshops will focus on how wet weather programs can be effectively managed using green infrastructure technologies and approaches. Space is still available in each workshop. Information about the workshops, including agendas and registration, is available at: www.epa.gov/npdes/greeninfrastructure/training (You need to register for each workshop separately.)

• Ft. Myers, Florida (July 1-2)
• Hartford, Connecticut (July 8-9)
• Charleston, West Virginia (July 21-22)

How wet weather programs can be effectively managed using green infrastructure technologies and approaches

Green Infrastructure Webcast June 23, 2009 on
Funding/Incentives and Brownfield Redevelopment

This fifth webcast in the green infrastructure webcast series will be held June 23 from 1:00 to 3:00 EDT and feature Abby Hall from EPA discussing "Funding & Incentives" and Stacy Swartwood from EPA discussing "Brownfields Redevelopment." The "Funding & Incentives" portion will include summaries of local incentives that communities have used to encourage the use of green infrastructure approaches. An overview of how many communities have funded green infrastructure will be discussed.

Stormwater Management on Browfields

The second portion of the webcast will cover design considerations and appropriate best management practices for stormwater management on brownfields. This webcast will discuss how green infrastructure practices can retain, treat and then release stormwater without it ever coming into contact with contaminated or compacted soils.

Register at: www.epa.gov/npdes/greeninfrastructure/training

Urban Ore defined opportunities in recycling urban waste and turning it into recycled content for new products.

12 Master Categories Developed by Urban Ore

Urban Ore created a radical concept in Berkeley during the 80s: there is no such thing as waste. Urban Ore creates conceptual designs of zero-waste disposal facilities to receive 12 master categories of discards that can all be recycled.

Every kind of waste falls into these twelve categories in one way or another.

1. Reusables
2. Paper
3. Plant debris
4. Food scraps
5. Wood
6. Ceramics (rock-hard things, including C & D)
7. Soils
8. Metals
9. Glass
10. Polymers
11. Textiles
12. Chemicals
13. COMPOSITES!

NOTE: Composite materials are the big problem. Together they are difficult to separate. The solution is to NOT use composites, or design them for disassembly (European auto manufacturers have had great success with designing for disassembly -- it gives a whole new meaning to reverse engineering!)

The action step is to determine your processes for the identified materials:

What can you redesign to eliminate waste?

What do you buy?

What do you get rid of?

Then eliminate wasteful purchases and practices.

SOURCES:

Earth Resources Foundation
Stephanie Barger
P.O. Box 12364
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
949-645 5163
www.earthresource.org/

GrassRoots Recycling Network
Linda Christopher
PO Box 282
Cotati, CA 94931
707-321-7883
linda@grrn.org www.grrn.org/

California Resource Recovery Association
P.O. Box 276567 Sacramento, CA 95827-6567 916-441-2772
judigregry@aol.com www.crra.com

Gary Liss & Associates
4395 Gold Trail Way
Loomis, CA 95650-8929
Phone: (916) 652-7850
gary@garyliss.com
www.garyliss.com/

Huls Environmental Management, LLC
P.O. Box 4519
Covina, CA 91723-4519
Phone: (626) 969-7816
michael@hulsenv.com
www.hulsenv.com

Richard Anthony Associates
3891 Kendall St
San Diego, CA 92109 USA
858-272-2905
ricanthony@aol.com
www.richardanthonyassociates.com/

Urban Ore
900 Murray St
Berkeley, CA 94710
(510) 841-7283
urbanore.citysearch.com

New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc.
45500 Fremont Boulevard
Fremont, CA 94538 (510) 498-5500
http://www.nummi.com

Local Government Operations Protocol (LGO Protocol) will provide policy framework, calculation methodologies, and reporting guidance for quantifying GHG emissions from local government operations.

Local Government Operations Protocol Now Available for Public Comment

Written Public Comments Due July 18, 2008, 5:00 PM PDT

Local Governments across the United States will soon benefit from a common greenhouse gas accounting and reporting standard. The California Climate Action Registry has partnered with the California Air Resources Board, ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, and The Climate Registry to develop a greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting protocol for local government operations.

Local Government Operations Protocol (LGO Protocol)

These partner organizations have worked with dozens of stakeholders over the last four months to develop the Local Government Operations Protocol (LGO Protocol).

For California Registry local government members, the LGO Protocol will serve as a sector-specific protocol that provides the policy framework, calculation methodologies, and reporting guidance for quantifying GHG emissions from local government operations.

The protocol is based largely on current guidance available to California Registry members, but does include some new guidance, including quantification methodologies that account for the diverse services local governments provide, such as wastewater treatment and solid waste management. The LGO Protocol also includes a local government report template that requires additional information beyond what is currently reported in CARROT.

The draft Local Government Operations Protocol is now available for review and comment. Written comments should be submitted by 5:00 PM PDT on July 18, 2008 to policy@climateregistry.org. Instructions for submitting LGO protocol comments can be found here.

More information about the Protocol and its development process, a PDF of the Protocol and the instructions on how to submit comments are also available online.

PUBLIC WORKSHOP: July 10, 2008

We will hold a public workshop to discuss the LGO protocol and answer questions on Thursday, July 10 from 9 AM - 12 PM PDT at the Cal/EPA Building in Sacramento. More information on the workshop is available at ARB.CA.GOV

Publication Date: 6/26/2008

The SAS Scorecard provides a view of environmental impact goals that include use of raw materials, and conservation of utilities like electricity, fuel and water.

The software, which SAS claims is the first of its kind from any vendor in the world, applies SAS' expertise in ­reducing the cost of daily ­operations and applies it to the reduction of an organisation's environmental i­mpact.

Scorecard provides a ­"dashboard" view of metrics chosen by the company to reflect its environmental impact goals, which include reduced usage of raw materials, and conservation of utilities like electricity, fuel and water. This is essentially the same view SAS provides of corporate performance metrics in its other software offerings.

Supply Chain to Major Corporations

Smaller businesses that supply goods and services to large corporations could still benefit from ­implementing Scorecard as well, particularly as they are still affected by the latter's green policies.

"Many if not most suppliers to large international retailers, like Wal-Mart, are small ­companies and because of their corporate social responsibility policies they need to know how green their suppliers are," said SAS senior director for ­international programs Thomas Spiller.

"We don't look at the Sustainability Scorecard as something to make a profit from. It's something that can help a company fulfil its social responsibility objectives," he added.

The SAS Scorecard can be provided on a software-as-a-service basis if a company does not have the resources for a full inhouse deployment. In the public sector, it can be deployed at the agency or ministry level.

You can:

• Calculate the value of intangible assets like employee morale and technology and correlate those measures with tangible information from across your enterprise.
• Provide strategic value in all of the Balanced Scorecard perspectives - Financial, Customer, Process and People - linking corporate data together in ways that produce better information and decisions.
• Identify the root causes of potential problems well in advance - allowing you time to consider and plan strategic actions to ensure ongoing success.
• Support quality standards like Six Sigma, Baldrige, TQM and EFQM that run alongside your scorecard.

SAS

Publication Date: 9/3/2008