December 2007 Green Tidings

Season's Greetings from Brunswick, Maine!

From all of us here at F.W. Horch and at Energyworks, our renewable energy partner, thank you for another great year working together, practically saving the planet. Take heart in the knowledge that small actions lead to big changes. This is the darkest time of year, but we've turned the corner: from now on just a few more minutes of sunlight each day will change our winter wonderland to a midsummer dream.

May you find time to bring more sunshine into your life and the lives of those around you.

Best wishes for a healthy and happy 2008,
Fred Horch, Founder

Sustainable Living Talk, Jan 10
Join us for our next Sustainable Living Talk from 7:00 to 8:30 pm on Thursday, January 10th. Our own Brett Thompson will show you how to compost with worms all winter long. Worm composting is the easiest, quickest, and most effective way to turn kitchen scraps into nutritious plant food. More landscape, less landfill!

Free informational handouts will be provided. Seating is limited, so if you are interested in attending we encourage you to call the store at 729-4050 to reserve a seat.

The talk is part of the F.W. Horch series on sustainable living. Each monthly talk is held at the F.W. Horch Sustainable Goods & Supplies store, 56 Maine Street, Brunswick at 7:00 pm on the second Thursday of the month.

If you'd like a short preview of worms at work, take a peek at this feature story from New England Cable News. For a segment of the "Start Small, Save Big" series, Amy Sinclair visited our home, where we keep several worm bins. (Two minute video segment should start after a short commercial.) Visit http://preview.tinyurl.com/yv7hu7

News from Energyworks
Jen Hatch of Energyworks South writes,

Happy New Year’s to Everyone from Energyworks LLC!

If you are in the restaurant business, please join us on January 29^th ~ 11 am ~ Vignola Restaurant, 10 Dana Street Portland, Maine.

We will be presenting a seminar entitled:

The Environmental and Economic Value of Solar Hot Water for the Restaurant Business.

Points of Interest Being Presented:

• How does a Solar Hot Water System work?

• How will it benefit you as the restaurant owner?

• What rebates and tax incentives are available for those installing a solar hot water system?

• What is the overall process of the installation?

For more information please contact Jen via email at: jen@energyworksllc.com, or call 221-6342.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Other news from Energyworks:

Are you interested in wood boilers? Our Liberty office does installations of clean burning, high efficiency wood boilers. Please contact Pat or Lee at 589-4171 for more information.

Please contact us regarding the new rebates for the 2008 year. Although it has not yet been confirmed from the PUC we suspect the solar hot water rebates will prove to be even more favorable for home owners and commercial businesses for this upcoming New Year. We would love to talk to you about how a system could start working for you, to start saving you money.

As always, please call us with any comments/questions. 221-6342.

Be Well, Jen

Product News and Sustainable Living Tips
Next month's talk is on worm composting, which is hands down the best way to deal with kitchen scraps in the winter. One or two worm bins can transform your peels, cores, paper, and yucky leftovers into beautiful fertilizer. Each bin handles about three pounds of food waste per week.

Of all the systems we've tried, the Can-O-Worms is the best. It keeps the worms moist but not too wet, allows you to drain off worm tea (a wonderful liquid fertilizer), and makes it easy to harvest the finished worm castings without harming your worm colony.

For those on a tighter budget, we've also designed our own Wiggle Room worm bin. A raised platform inside a plastic tub with a bottom cork for draining out worm tea, it provides a great home for your worms, with just a little more work involved when it comes time to harvest the castings. We also sell packages of red wiggler worms in case you already have a worm bin or want to make your own.

Come in the store to pick up our free "vermiculture" handout and check out our selection of worm composting books. We sell the classic Worms Eat My Garbage among others.

On another topic, energy saving, we have two great made-in-Maine product lines that should be in every home. The first are fragrant Maine Balsam draft stoppers. What old home in Maine doesn't have a draft below at least one window or door? Keep out the cold air and keep yourself comfortable with these at the ready.

The second are folding wooden drying racks made by Dave Holmes. Try hanging your laundry instead of using your dryer and take a note of your electric bill! (If you can't kick the electric clothes drying habit, at least toss in a couple dryerballs to reduce drying time.) In our household we discovered that our clothes dryer was a major component of our electric bill. Since switching to air drying, we've been able to keep our electricity consumption below 10 kilowatt hours a day.

Along with the best drying racks made in Maine, Dave Holmes is now also supplying us with the best wooden laundry hamper made in Maine. Drop by the store to take a look at the clever double hamper he has designed for us. Beautiful, functional, durable and sustainable, being made from wood and cotton.

What's Happening in the Local Environmental Scene
Wednesday, Dec 19 -- Amy Sinclair of New England Cable News visited my home for a segment of "Start Small, Save Big." I believe the feature has already aired on TV, but if you're interested, you can view it online here (a short commercial will play first): http://preview.tinyurl.com/yv7hu7

Another bit of old, but very encouraging news, is that Al Gore won this year's Nobel Peace Prize. His Nobel Lecture on December 10 included this memorable passage: "We, the human species, are confronting a planetary emergency – a threat to the survival of our civilization that is gathering ominous and destructive potential even as we gather here. But there is hopeful news as well: we have the ability to solve this crisis and avoid the worst – though not all – of its consequences, if we act boldly, decisively and quickly."

I do hope to get back to more news in next month's newsletter, but we are still hard at work on our new web site and trying to keep up with the holiday shopping rush! Send me your news and sustainable living tips and I'll include them in January's edition. Have a Happy New Year!

November Green Tidings

Greetings from Brunswick, Maine!

I hope you had a splendid Thanksgiving. Our store continues to grow, and for that we give thanks to you, our wonderful customers. Thank you for making a difference in our lives and the world.

During this busy holiday season, I hope you'll find time to share with loved ones--and also to swing by our store or web site! If you get stuck for gift ideas, everyone loves a gift certificate to F.W. Horch.

Best wishes to you and yours,
Fred Horch, Founder

Giving Green
From November 20 through December 22, every purchase you make at F.W. Horch will help save the planet and support our local Maine community. We're giving 10% of our gross profits to benefit these groups: Nov 20 - 24, Habitat for Humanity; Nov 27 - Dec 1, Coastal Humane Society; Dec 4 - 8, Natural Resources Council of Maine; Dec 11 - 15, Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust; Dec 18 - 22, Friends of Merrymeeting Bay.

Sustainable Living Talk, Dec 13
Join us for our next Sustainable Living Talk from 7:00 to 8:30 pm on Thursday, December 13th. Danuta Drozdowicz of Fore Solutions will discuss green resources for home building, focusing on the new LEED for Homes certification program.

Free informational handouts will be provided. Seating is limited, so if you are interested in attending we encourage you to call the store at 729-4050 to reserve a seat.

The talk is part of the F.W. Horch series on sustainable living. Each monthly talk is held at the F.W. Horch Sustainable Goods & Supplies store, 56 Maine Street, Brunswick at 7:00 pm on the second Thursday of the month. January's talk will be on the topic of worm composting.

News from Energyworks
Jen Hatch of Energyworks South writes,

We have been very busy lately installing solar hot water systems as people are more than eager to reduce their need of oil or natural gas as the temperatures are dropping and homeowners are getting ready for the winter's approach.

We are almost ready to install the photovoltaic panels onto Yarmouth High School. The school was presented their grant award from Governor Baldacci at a school assembly. Everyone was thrilled for the students to gain recognition on behalf of the work they did to write the grant that awarded them the money for the installation. We would love to hear from more schools that are interested in doing a solar installation. Although that particular source of money has been depleted, we hope to see new sources of funding become available that would allow for more of these projects to happen.

Our Energyworks North office recently did a solar hot water installation on Bay Area Fitness in Bethel. The commercial incentives for solar installations are attractive and make for a good payback. We would love to talk to you as a business owner to discuss how an installation would make good financial sense. You can view the article on Bay Area Fitness by going to the link below.

http://tinyurl.com/yuy7we

Restaurant Owners - Please Save the Date for January 29^th, 2008. Energyworks will be hosting a seminar on how a solar hot water application will benefit your business. Please contact Jen at our Portland office (221-6342) if you would like to receive an invitation.

When you are thinking about your New Year's resolutions, think about making a commitment to a reduction in your carbon emissions, and a reduction in the amount of money you spend on oil, gas, or electricity. Investing in renewable energy is an investment that gives back long term savings, and environmental sustainability. Please contact us at any time with questions you may have. You can view our website at www.energyworksllc.com and call us at 221-6342.

We hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!

What's Happening in the Local Environmental Scene
Saturday, Dec 1 -- The Brunswick Sustainability Group is showing the film Afluenza at 8 pm in the 11 Pleasant Street Arts Center in Brunswick. After the film, Dr. Jen Scanlon of Bowdoin College will lead a discussion of consumer culture. This is a FREE event and the public is welcome. For more information, visit www.BrunswickSustainability.org.

Sorry this month's news is rather skimpy -- we've been busy putting together our new web site and trying to keep up with the holiday shopping rush! We'll include more news and sustainable living tips in December's edition.

October Green Tidings

Happy Halloween! We hope you enjoy the holiday with your favorite little ghosts, goblins and ghouls.

But did you know that a pack of unwanted vampires might be inhabiting your house? According to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory up to 10% of residential energy consumption is due to "vampire loads." Cell phone chargers, clocks on microwave ovens, instant-on TVs and other "wall wart" gadgets constantly suck power for no good reason.

This may not seem frightening until you consider how many coal and nuclear power plants operate day and night to satisfy our wall warts' demands. Now that's a scary thought. Read on for ways you can make these vampires vanish.

Spookily,
Fred Horch, Founder

Affordable Zero Energy Homes

Join us for "Affordable Zero Energy Homes: We Can Get There From Here", our next Sustainable Living Talk from 7:00 to 8:30 pm on Thursday, November 8th.

Mike White of Island Carpentry will give a talk titled "Affordable Zero Energy Homes: We Can Get There From Here," on Thursday, Nov. 8th, from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm. The talk is free and open to the public.

"Household energy consumption is one of the major contributors to global warming. We need to change the way we build," says Mike, owner of Island Carpentry. "The technology to build energy efficient sustainable homes is available today."

Discussion topics will include methods of super insulating and air sealing, controlling air exchange, passive solar design, and the introduction of renewable energy systems. Attendees will be encouraged to share knowledge and experience.

Free informational handouts will be provided. Seating is limited, so if you are interested in attending we encourage you to call the store at 729-4050 to reserve a seat.

The talk is part of the F.W. Horch series on sustainable living. Each monthly talk is held at the F.W. Horch Sustainable Goods & Supplies store, 56 Maine Street, Brunswick at 7:00 pm on the second Thursday of the month. December's talk will feature Danuta Drozdowicz of Fore Solutions, speaking on the topic of LEED certification.

News from Energyworks

Jen Hatch of Energyworks South writes,

Thank you for all of those for participated in this year's Green Buildings Open House. We had 12 homes on our portion of the tour, and many of the homes were busy all day with folks inquiring about solar installations. The weather was beautiful and the tour a success. We hope to have an even bigger turnout for next year, the Green Buildings Open House falls annually on Columbus Day Weekend.

We recently did our first installation over state lines, in New Hampshire. Not only did we have the opportunity to do work in New Hampshire, we also made it into the homeowner’s blog! Check out the installation work we did at the Eiermann/Simone residents in North Conway, New Hampshire. You can view it online at http://www.daveeiermann.com.

Finally, Energyworks worked this summer with schools to apply for a renewable energy demonstrative grant, and we are proud to say that we will be installing photovoltaics systems onto three local schools, Lincoln Middle School in Portland, Yarmouth High School and Gray New Gloucester High School. As these are demonstrative projects, educational components will be incorporated into the system that will read the output of the PV panels, allowing the students and community to see how a renewable energy system works, and the benefits it adds to the environment. We will keep you posted as the projects unfold.

As always, you can contact us at www.energyworksllc.com, or 221-6342 to learn more about how a renewable energy system may integrate into your home design needs.

Product News

"Vampire loads" are electrical draws that occur when appliances are turned off but still plugged in. You can check to see whether and how much your appliances are using with a neat device called a Kill A Watt, available for rental or sale at our store. This is a fun gadget for anyone interested in saving energy. Once you know which devices are drawing energy even when "off", then you can put them on an outlet switch or remember to unplug them! Also, if you are debating whether to replace an old refrigerator or other large appliance, measuring its electricity consumption with a Kill A Watt can help you figure out how much energy you could save with a newer model.

LED holiday lights are on order and will be arriving next week. We will have both colored strands and warm white. If you've been put off by the bluish tint to other LED holiday lights on the market, please come by to compare ours! The nice warm white LEDs are hard to find--and we've got them coming. Compared to incandescent holiday lights, LEDs last 50 times as long (100,000 hours), use 90% less energy, don't create a fire hazard and are much more rugged. All in all, a great energy-saving product.

We have the best drying racks made in Maine. Ours are big, solid and easy to fold up. Unlike the cheap Chinese-made imports, these racks are made to last a lifetime and come with a quality guarantee.

Hardwood BioBricks are available now in our store for $10 a bag of twenty. These are compressed sawdust bricks (without any binders) that burn hotter, cleaner and longer than cordwood. Home delivery service by the pallet is also available. Customers who use BioBricks love the fact that they arrive clean and ready to burn. No more wondering whether your cordwood is delivered wet or full of bugs!

What's Happening in the Local Environmental Scene

Smart Energy Expo will be on Sunday, November 4, from noon until 5 pm at Marshwood High School, S. Berwick, Maine. This FREE event will feature workshops, films, and exhibits on renewable energy and related issues. For more information call Maine Partners for Cool Communities at 761-5616 or visit www.CoolMaine.org

The Southern Midcoast Maine Chamber’s Go Green Expo will be on Saturday, November 10, from 10 am until 4 pm at Mt. Ararat High School Gymnasium, Rt. #201, Topsham, Maine. This FREE event will feature workshops, test drives of electric hybrid cars, fun for the kids (including a worm composting demonstration by me in the morning), and give aways. For more information call the Southern Midcoast Maine Chamber at 725-8797 or visit www.midcoastmaine.com

ecomaine's Green Expo, "the layperson's expo for going green at home and business," will be on Thursday, November 15, from 11 am until 6 pm at Sullivan Gym, University of Southern Maine, Portland, Maine. This event will feature seminars (including one by me at 1:45 pm on "becoming a zero waste household") and more than 60 exhibitors. For more information call Green Tree Event Consultants at 781-2982 or visit www.MaineGreenExpo.com

Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick is holding a brown-bag lunch discussion of Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature and Climate Change as part of its Cornerstones of Science series. Faciliated discussions with faculty from Bowdoin, Bates, Colby, USM and the US Army Corps of Engineers will take place in the Morrell Meeting Room on Wednesdays from 12:15 to 1:15 pm until November 14. For more information call 725-5242.

Save the date of Friday, December 7 for the next Brunswick Sustainability Group film showing at 8 pm in the 11 Pleasant Street Arts Center in Brunswick. This is a FREE event and the public is welcome. For more information, visit www.BrunswickSustainability.org.

About this Newsletter
This newsletter is free.

Archives are available online at http://fwhorch.blogspot.com/

Thanks for reading!

Fred Horch, Founder

Special Edition Green Tidings

This is a special edition of our Green Tidings featuring more information about events that didn't make it into our September edition.

Fred Horch, Founder

National Solar Home Tour

Two local houses will be featured in the National Solar Home Tour on Saturday, October 6th from 9 am to 5 pm:

Owner:       Guy Marsden, Rebekah Younger
Address:     61 Delano Road, Woolwich, ME 04579
Phone:       207-443-8942
Description: Woodworker in solar heated barn workshop where solar powered
            attic fan helps reduce summer heat. Domestic hot water also
            from solar. Solar powered lawn mower conversion, Staber washing
            machine, hybrid car, & many energy saving devices. A family
            inspired by simple living and sustainability.
Directions:  From Rt. 1 in Woolwich take Rt. 127 north.  Go 4-1/2 miles, turn R
            onto Old Stage Rd, then 1/2 mile & turn R on Delano Rd, & #61 is
            660 ft on R.

Owner:       Al Heath, Suzanne Paule
Address:     37 Stonetree Rd, Arrowsic, ME 04530
Phone:       207-443-6614
Description: Owner designed and built for $75/sqft, this 2000 square foot home
            features passive solar design and superinsulated techniques to heat
            easily and comfortably with only 1.5 cords of wood and 75 gallons of
            kerosene. An active solar hot water system provides 75% of domestic
            hot water with plans to expand collectors and storage to provide
            radiant space heat. Our goal is to provide 75% of all home heating
            needs (hot water and space heat) with solar.
Directions:  Take Rt. 127 south from Woolwich towards Georgetown/Reid State Park.
            One mile south of Rt 1 look for Stonetree Rd on right. Turn in,
            1st house on the right, #37.

For more information about the tour, see the Maine Solar Energy Association.

Energy Savings: The Real Payback and Incentives

Join us for "Energy Savings: The Real Payback and Incentives", our next Sustainable Living Talk from 7:00 to 8:30 pm on Thursday, October 11th.

WydeVue's Stephen Carr will help you understand the various programs related to home energy savings. When you decide to buy a vehicle, you need to know all your options and package deals the dealership can offer you. The same applies to energy savings.

Knowing where to look for the information is the most challenging. What are the different programs related to energy savings? How do they affect the monetary payback and what are the incentives that coincide with the programs? WydeVue Residential Energy Services is looking forward to answering those questions for you.

Stephen will also be talking about HERS Ratings and how that relates to Energy Star Homes, Energy Efficient Mortgages, LEED Home energy qualifications, etc.

Free informational handouts will be provided. Seating is limited, so if you are interested in attending please reply via email or call the store at 729-4050 to reserve a seat.

Our Sustainable Living Talks are on the second Thursday of each month at 56 Maine Street in Brunswick. November's talk will feature Mike White of Island Carpentry, speaking on the topic of zero energy homes.

Green Chemistry Symposium

On Friday, October 26th, from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm at the Hannaford Lecture Hall in the Abromson Community Education Center at the University of Southern Maine, Portland Campus, investors, sustainable business leaders, cutting-edge researchers and policy makers will explore "Green Chemistry" solutions that expand our economy by replacing hazardous materials in consumer products with safer alternatives.

For on-line registration and other information visit www.MaineGreenChemistry.com

Brunswick Cool Community Party

The evening of Friday, October 26th is time for a Cool Communities celebration in Brunswick! Earlier this year, the Brunswick Town Council unanimously voted to make Brunswick a Cool Community. This party is a chance to recognize and thank the people that made that possible.

The party will be at 8pm in the 11 Pleasant St. Arts Center, the same location at which the Brunswick Sustainability Group has meetings and film showings. We'll have a dessert potluck, coffee and other drinks, an also great music (thanks to Jim Tolles). This will be a great occassion where citizens and candidates for town office can mingle and discuss a greener future for Brunswick and other towns pushing to pass the Cool Communities agreement.

For more information about the Brunswick Sustainability Group, which is hosting the party, visit www.BrunswickSustainability.org

September Green Tidings

We survived Common Ground Fair! We had a great time and met many, many new customers. If you're new to our mailing list after visiting us there, welcome!

Please join us at 7 pm on Thursday, October 11 for our next Sustainable Living Talk, "Energy Savings: The Real Payback and Incentives" by Stephen Carr of WydeVue Residential Energy Services.

Read on for more about that and other happenings in the world of sustainable living.

Warmly,
Fred Horch, Founder

Energy Savings: The Real Payback and Incentives

Join us for "Energy Savings: The Real Payback and Incentives", our next Sustainable Living Talk from 7:00 to 8:30 pm on Thursday, September 13th.

WydeVue's Stephen Carr will help you understand the various programs related to home energy savings. When you decide to buy a vehicle, you need to know all your options and package deals the dealership can offer you. The same applies to energy savings.

Knowing where to look for the information is the most challenging. What are the different programs related to energy savings? How do they affect the monetary payback and what are the incentives that coincide with the programs? WydeVue Residential Energy Services is looking forward to answering those questions for you.

Free informational handouts will be provided. Seating is limited, so if you are interested in attending please reply via email or call the store at 729-4050 to reserve a seat.

Our Sustainable Living Talks are on the second Thursday of each month at 56 Maine Street in Brunswick. November's talk will feature Mike White of Island Carpentry, speaking on the topic of zero energy homes.

News from Energyworks

Mark your calendar for the Solar Home Tour this Saturday, October 6!

Are you interested in learning more about a solar hot water or solar electric system for your home? This fall the American Solar Energy Association is sponsoring their annual National Solar Home Tour. The date is set for October 6th, 2007 from 10-4pm. This is a wonderful opportunity to view houses with installed solar systems. It will give you the chance to see what a residential solar system consists of, while receiving feedback from the homeowners who live with them. For more information regarding the tour, please contact Jen at Energyworks South LLC. jen@energyworksllc.com or 221-6342

In the meantime, if you have any questions or projects, call Energyworks North (in Liberty, Maine) at 1-877-enworks or Energyworks South (in Portland, Maine) at 221-6342. Or visit their web site at www.enworks.net.

Product News

With the leaves falling and the city of Bath moving to a pay as you throw trash fee, we're still selling plenty of composters. Although outdoor composting will soon come to an end with colder weather, now is a great time to consider starting an indoor composting system. Worms will eat your kitchen scraps all winter long. If you get started now, you'll have great compost in time for spring! Drop by the store to learn more and see worms in action.

Our product focus is now shifting from garden and composting to energy conservation. We recently prepared an Energy Saving catalog featuring products such as our Kilowatt meters, which are a neat gadget that can help you pinpoint which electric appliances are costing you the most to operate. We also carry a full line of other energy-saving products, including heavy-duty wooden drying racks (one of our best sellers at Common Ground Fair). Drop by the store to pick up your copy of our catalog and take a look at some of the ways we can help you conserve energy -- and save money -- this season.

As you prepare to spend more time indoors this fall and winter, it's a very good idea to think about indoor air quality. We sell a full line of products you can use for home improvement and house keeping that won't offgas toxic fumes. Next time you're in the store, ask for a copy of our Paint & Finishes and our Green Cleaning catalogs.

What's Happening in the Local Environmental Scene

We enjoyed this year's Common Ground Country Fair. What a crowd! If you went, we hope you had as much fun as we did.

Here's Brett from our store holding forth on the virtues
of vermiculture at the 2007 Common Ground Fair.

The Brunswick Sustainability Group welcomes the public to attend the group's monthly meetings on the third Monday of each month. October's meeting will be at 7 pm on Monday, October 15th, in the 11 Pleasant Street Arts Center in Brunswick. For more information, visit www.BrunswickSustainability.org.

Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick will be holding a brown-bag lunch discussion of Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature and Climate Change as part of its Cornerstones of Science series. Faciliated discussions with faculty from Bowdoin, Bates, Colby, USM and the US Army Corps of Engineers will take place in the Morrell Meeting Room on Wednesdays from 12:15 to 1:15 pm throughout October and into November. For more information call 725-5242.

The GrowSmart Maine 2007 Summit will be held on Friday, October 19, 2007, at the Augusta Civic Center. The keynote speaker will be Professor Ronald Heifetz, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. For more information, call 847-9275.

August Green Tidings

Please join us at 7 pm on Thursday, September 13 for our next Sustainable Living Talk, "Renewable Energy Options for Maine's Homes and Businesses" by Fortunat Mueller of Energyworks. And if you'll be going to Common Ground Country Fair later in September, drop by our booth to say hi!

Read on for more about that and other happenings in the world of sustainable living.

Warmly,
Fred Horch, Founder

Renewable Energy Options for Maine's Homes and Businesses

Join us for "Renewable Energy Options for Maine's Homes and Businesses", our next Sustainable Living Talk from 7:00 to 8:30 pm on Thursday, September 13th.

Energywork's Fortunat Mueller will cover photovoltaic solar (converting sunlight directly to electricity), solar hot water, solar space heat and residential wind. For those who have been considering ways to switch to more dependable and affordable sources of power or heat, he'll provide an overview of the renewable energy systems on the market today, including how much they cost and how well they perform.

"As fossil fuel supplies dwindle and the health of our environment becomes a growing concern, more Mainers will be looking towards alternatives to meet their energy needs," says Fortunat.

Fortunat is a co-owner of Energyworks South LLC in Portland. Energyworks, our renewable energy partner, is the most experienced installer of renewable energy systems in Maine, specializing in solar hot water, photovoltaics, residential wind turbines and high efficiency gas and wood boilers.

Free informational handouts will be provided. Seating is limited, so if you are interested in attending please reply via email or call the store at 729-4050 to reserve a seat.

Our Sustainable Living Talks are on the second Thursday of each month at 56 Maine Street in Brunswick. October's talk will feature Stephen Carr of WydeVue Residential Energy Services, speaking on the topic of energy savings paybacks and incentives.

News from Energyworks

Jen Hatch of Energyworks South writes,

Are you interested in learning more about a solar hot water or solar electric system for your home? This fall the American Solar Energy Association is sponsoring their annual National Solar Home Tour. The date is set for October 6th, 2007 from 10-4pm. This is a wonderful opportunity to view houses with installed solar systems. It will give you the chance to see what a residential solar system consists of, while receiving feedback from the homeowners who live with them. For more information regarding the tour, please contact Jen at Energyworks South LLC. jen@energyworksllc.com or 221-6342

In the meantime, if you have any questions or projects, call Energyworks North (in Liberty, Maine) at 1-877-enworks or Energyworks South (in Portland, Maine) at 221-6342. Or visit their web site at www.enworks.net.

Product News

One of our best sellers recently has been a non-toxic exterior water proofer called Seal Once. If you have a deck, outdoor wood furniture, fence, concrete, or brick work that you need to seal against water damage, this is a good product to know about. It is a penetrating, long-lasting sealer without toxic ingredients. It comes in clear or you can also mix in tints to provide UV protection.

We also carry a full line of interior paints and finishes. Our Old Fashioned Milk Paint is a great choice for wood furniture or for small rooms. You get a beautiful matte finish with no paint fumes. Naturally zero VOC, milk paint comes as a powder you mix with water. We love the fact that you can make small batches and store the powder for years, so there is virtually no waste.

VOC, by the way, stands for "volatile organic compound". A few years ago, the EPA started to crack down on VOC emissions from products like paint and finishes, because it turns out these were a major contributor to smog and poor air quality. Unfortunately, just because a product is zero VOC does not mean it is safe. It could still contain carcinogenic, teratogenic, or toxic ingredients. But nonetheless it is a good idea to avoid products with a high VOC rating.

Besides milk paint, we also sell water-based latex paint. The two brands we carry (American Pride and AFM Safecoat) work just like other brands of premium latex paint, just better for you and your planet because they don't contain toxic ingredients. We are stocking primer and white paint; tinted paint is shipped directly from the distributor as a special order. There has been a rush to call all water-based zero VOC latex paint "green" recently, even though many brands contain toxic ingredients. It's helpful to ask for the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for any product to find out what's actually in it, and it's a good idea to ask what kinds of tints are used. Some companies are putting their regular toxic tints into their "green" paint. Our distributors use a non-toxic (and rather expensive!) line of water-based colorants from Degussa.

With the colder weather coming soon, our product focus will be shifting from garden and composting to energy conservation. We recently prepared an Energy Saving catalog featuring products such as our Kilowatt meters, which are a neat gadget that can help you pinpoint which electric appliances are costing you the most to operate. We also carry a full line of energy-saving light bulbs. Drop by the store to pick up your copy of our catalog and take a look at some of the ways we can help you conserve energy -- and save money -- this fall.

But just because the days are getting shorter and fall is coming, don't think we're giving up on composting. It's just time to bring it inside! We'll be selling Wiggle Room worm bins and red wrigglers at Common Ground Fair, as well as in our store. If you haven't tried "vermiculture" (as worm composting is called), I highly recommend it. There are some tricks to it, though, so come on in to the store to find out how to convince the little guys to eat your garbage.

What's Happening in the Local Environmental Scene

The Common Ground Country Fair will be on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, September 21, 22 and 23. Come to the Fair and see why Downeast Magazine calls Common Ground "Maine's most authentic country fair, uniting, as it does, old-time folkways with progressive ideas about living the good life on a fragile planet." We'll be there in the Energy & Shelter tent. Stop by and say hi!

The Brunswick local redevelopment authority (BLRA) is in charge of developing a reuse plan for the Brunswick Naval Air Station when it closes in 2011. They will be presenting two reuse plan alternatives for public review at "BRAC to the Future 2: Plan Alternatives" on Thursday, September 6 from 7 - 9 pm at the Old Brunswick High School, 44 McKeen Street. For more information, visit the BLRA web site.

F.W. Horch Composting Clinic at Crystal Spring Farm in Brunswick, Sat. September 8, 11-noon. I'll show you how to make great compost. Call us here at (207) 729-4050 for more info.

The Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust's Race for Space will be held on Sunday, September 9, at Livesay Soccer Field on the corner of Middle Bay and Pennellville Roads in Brunswick. The four mile run starts at 9 am, a guided walk starts at 9:15 am, and a fun run for kids is at 10 am. Race-day registration is $25 per adult for the run; $12 for the guided walk. Proceeds benefit the land trust. For more information, call 725-0998 or visit www.BTLT.org.

The Brunswick Sustainability Group will be showing Good Food, a collection of short films about sustainability and locally-grown organic food, on Friday, September 14 at 8 pm in the 11 Pleasant Street Arts Center in Brunswick. This is a FREE event and the public is welcome. All residents of the greater Brunswick area are also welcome to attend the group's monthly meetings on the third Monday of each month. September's meeting will be at 7 pm on Monday, September 17, in the 11 Pleasant Street Arts Center in Brunswick. For more information, visit www.BrunswickSustainability.org.

Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick will be holding a brown-bag lunch discussion of Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature and Climate Change as part of its Cornerstones of Science series. Faciliated discussions with faculty from Bowdoin, Bates, Colby, USM and the US Army Corps of Engineers will take place in the Morrell Meeting Room on Wednesdays from 12:15 to 1:15 pm starting on September 19. For more information call 725-5242.

July Green Tidings

Our mudroom at home is full of sandals and swimsuits, but it won't be long before boots and parkas reappear. Wouldn't it be great to capture the delicious warmth of July and August to keep toasty during the heating season?

Now you can! Replace #2 heating oil with domestically-grown "biofuel." Please join us tomorrow, at 7 pm on Thursday, August 9, for our next Sustainable Living Talk: "Biofuel for Clean Energy Independence".

Read on for more about that and other happenings in the world of sustainable living.

Warmly,
Fred Horch, Founder

Biofuel for Clean Energy Independence

Join us for "Biofuel for Clean Energy Independence", our next Sustainable Living Talk from 7:00 to 8:30 pm on Thursday, August 9th.

Learn how biofuel -- which can be produced from any plant or animal fat or oil source -- can be used in place of fossil fuel for heating oil and diesel fuel.

"Biofuel is an intelligent solution to the energy security and environmental issues facing our nation today," says speaker Joel Glatz, co-owner of Frontier Energy of South China, Maine.

Joel is nationally known as a speaker and consultant in the area of biofuels. His brother, Garry Glatz, is the owner of Independence Fuel, which delivers BioDiesel and BioHeat(tm) blends throughout the midcoast region including Bath / Brunswick, and south to Kennebunk.

Our Sustainable Living Talks are on the second Thursday of each month at 56 Maine Street in Brunswick.

News from Energyworks

Join us next month, Thursday, September 13, for a talk by Fortunat Mueller of Energyworks South here at the FW Horch store in Brunswick. These talks are a great way to find out about the latest renewable energy technology being used here in Maine, as well as to network with people who share your interests. Whether you are a complete novice or an old pro, I encourage you to attend. Check out next month's edition of Green Tidings for more details about the topics to be covered.

In the meantime, if you have any questions or projects, call Energyworks North (in Liberty, Maine) at 1-877-enworks or Energyworks South (in Portland, Maine) at 221-6342. Or visit their web site at www.enworks.net.

Product News

We finally have metal compost pails back in stock. One of our most popular items, these are a stylish metal pail that makes it easy to collect and carry out compost scraps. We are also very excited to be working with local potter Cicy Po, who has designed beautiful and functional hand-made ceramic compost crocks. Produced here in Brunswick, these are truly works of art yet remain eminently practical!

Dryer balls are another product we've had a hard time keeping in stock. Pop a couple in your dryer to reduce drying time and eliminate the need for disposable dryer sheets. A simple, practical way to save energy and reduce waste.

One final item to mention on the theme of keeping things in stock, we now have a good amount of bulk cleaning supplies on hand. My sincere apologies to anyone who was inconvenienced last month when we ran out of bulk laundry detergent. It's wonderful to see so many customers have embraced the idea of bringing back plastic bottles for refills. You can save money and save the planet. We're ready for you now!

Besides keeping up with demand for existing products, we have been busy evaluating and bringing in new products. We now have a number of camping and emergency preparedness products. Whether it's battery-free flashlights, super-efficient head lamps, or portable water purification, we can help you responsibly enjoy (and survive) the great outdoors.

Welcome Hillary Shende!

We are delighted to announce that Hillary Shende has joined our staff! A Brunswick resident, Hillary will be handling customer service and special orders, bringing her superb calm competence to bear on our controlled chaos. Drop by to say hi to Hillary mornings during the week.

What's Happening in the Local Environmental Scene

A subsidiary of National RE/sources, a real estate development company based in Connecticut, has proposed a $1.5 billion Twin River Energy Center to convert coal and wood biomass into fuel to fire a 700-megawatt electricity generator on the site of the former Maine Yankee nuclear power plant site in Wiscasset. In addition to electricity, the proposed plant also would produce a diesel-equivalent liquid fuel. The proposal has generated skepticism among Maine's environmental community, who point out that coal would need to travel long distances to the site, and that the proposed design would increase Maine's emissions of carbon dioxide, which is linked to global climate change.

The Brunswick local redevelopment authority (BLRA) is in charge of developing a reuse plan for the Brunswick Naval Air Station when it closes in 2011. They will be presenting two reuse plan alternatives for public review at "BRAC to the Future 2: Plan Alternatives" on Thursday, September 6 from 7 - 9 pm at the Old Brunswick High School, 44 McKeen Street. For more information, visit the BLRA web site.

On Monday, August 6, the Bath railroad station re-opened for passenger service as part of Maine Eastern Railroad's Brunswick to Rockland route. In the Department of Transportation's 2008-09 budget, a combined $1 million is earmarked for the state-owned Rockland branch rail line infrastructure and its connection points in Bath and Rockland. Capital investments have also been set aside to prepare the tracks between Portland and Brunswick for passenger service.

July Events

Could you get free hot water from the sun here in Maine? To find out, join us tomorrow, Thursday, July 12, at 7:00 pm at F.W. Horch Sustainable Goods & Supplies in Brunswick for "Design and Build Your Own Solar Hot Water Heater", a talk by Al Heath of Arrowsic.

You'll learn how much it costs, how well it works, and how to get started.

Al will explain how he and his wife researched, designed, and built a super energy efficient home themselves, including a solar hot water system that provides the majority of their hot water needs. At tomorrow's talk, which is a follow up to an April talk given to a standing-room-only crowd, he will share lessons learned during the process, focusing on his family's experience living with solar hot water.

Topics covered at the talk will include how much of the design and installation homeowners can realistically do themselves, and how much you need to sub-contract. In addition to describing the solar hot water system already in use in his house, Al will share his plans for increasing the size of his system for space heating.

Composting Clinic, Saturday July 21

Join us next weekend, 11 am to noon on Saturday, July 21, at Crystal Spring Farm in Brunswick. I'll show you how to make great compost. Call us here (207) 729-4050 for more info.

Summer Focus: Composting Goods & Supplies

Feed your garden with home-grown compost! We have the information and equipment you need to be successful this season making natural fertilizer from your kitchen and yard waste.

• Kitchen Compost Carrier
  Make your home composting program easier to manage. Perfect for short-term storage of kitchen scraps, this kitchen compost carrier features an optional carbon filter to eliminate odors. Made from 25% recycled plastic. Small (5.8 quart) size, $17.95; Large (9.6 quart) size, $24.95

• Envirocycle Composter
  Make batches of rich compost simply by taking this unit for a spin. This conveniently-sized tumbler is perfect for those who want an easy way to turn batches of kitchen scraps into nutrients for vegetables, flowers and houseplants. Featuring a base that collects liquid for "compost tea", the Envirocycle is a great addition to a deck or back yard for anyone who wants a no-hassle, proven system for composting. Available in black or green. $159

• Sun-Mar 200 Composter
  This innovative outdoor composter is based on a brilliant concept: put yard and kitchen waste in one opening, and remove finished compost from another. Inside the unit are two drums: new material enters the outer drum, fills it up, tumbles into the inner drum, then comes out the middle as finished compost. So well-designed it makes you wonder why all composters aren't built his way! $299

• Sun-Mar 400 Composter
  Suitable for handling large volumes of yard waste, the 400 is the larger cousin of the Sun-Mar 200 Garden Composter. Same great features as the Sun-Mar 200, plus a crank to help turn it. $399

• Sunleaves Wormtopia
  Turn your kitchen scraps and yard waste into high quality worm castings with the help of up to 15,000 redworms (sold separately). Worms convert scraps and wastes to castings as they migrate upward to the next tray, while producing nutrient-rich "worm tea" that can be drawn from a spigot mounted on the bottom. $109.50; one pint of Maine-raised red worms, $6.00

• Sun-Mar Composting Toilets
  Choose a Sun-Mar composting toilet when you need to conserve water, minimize your environmental impact, upgrade your outhouse, extend the life of your septic system, or provide sanitary facilities where there is no plumbing. Perfect for seasonal camps; these toilets can freeze solid with no risk of pipes bursting. Composting toilets harness aerobic microbes to oxidize waste, resulting in carbon dioxide, water, and essential plant nutrients and minerals. 95% of the starting material evaporates, and the remainder becomes an NSF-certified safe soil amendment. Self-contained units start at $1345; we also stock the full line of Sun-Mar supplies.

F.W. Horch Sustainable Goods & Supplies is located at 56 Maine Street in downtown Brunswick, Maine.

June Green Tidings

Green tidings to you and yours on a glorious summer Maine day!

On long June days full of sun, I like to think about our customers who are harnessing abundant, reliable and clean solar energy for hot showers, dish washing and laundry. Might you be among them next summer?

If you'd like to stop running your boiler or hot water heater all summer long -- or if you'd just like to know more about what's affordable with today's technology -- please join us at 7 pm on Thursday, July 12, for our next Sustainable Living Talk: "Design and Build Your Own Solar Hot Water System".

Read on for more about that and other happenings in the world of sustainable living.

Warmly,
Fred Horch, Founder

P.S. Our store is open Tuesday through Saturday, but our web site is open for business all the time online at www.FWHorch.com.
Design and Build Your Own Solar Hot Water System

Join us for "Design and Build Your Own Solar Hot Water System", our next Sustainable Living Talk from 7:00 to 8:30 pm on Thursday, July 12th.

We will discuss the state of the art in solar hot water systems. Solar hot water systems are clean, quiet and affordable. You get all the hot water you need without pollution or a fuel bill. Within a few years, solar hot water systems are likely to be standard for new construction, but today they are ahead of the mainstream in the United States.

Any building that has a sunny roof and indoor plumbing is a candidate for a solar hot water system. With the sign off of a qualified solar installer, the state of Maine pays a rebate up to $1,250 for each system installed. For structures with direct solar exposures, solar hot water systems are the most efficient way to provide domestic hot water.

Our Sustainable Living Talks are on the second Thursday of each month at 56 Maine Street in Brunswick.

News from Energyworks

Here's the news from Energyworks, our renewable energy partner.

Energyworks North, out of Liberty, Maine, writes:

Summer is here at last and yet it seems to still be 'heating season.' We have been installing about one wood boiler a week! We are also seeing great interest in the new Skystream wind turbine; we have three projects underway and several others in the works. So, we'll carry on this summer installing Solar PV and Solar Hot water one house at a time!

We have also been making some simple boiler upgrades that are proving to save quite a bit of fuel for our clients. Give us a call to find out if these upgrades can save you money. 207/589.4171

Product News

We are now carrying milk paint in our store. Environmentally safe and non-toxic, it comes as a powder. You just add water to mix. There is a slight milky odor when it is applied, but it is completely odorless when dry. The paint is safe for children's furniture and toys, and can also be used for interiors of homes of people who are allergic to latex paints.

No Wet Car Wax is a new product for cleaning and waxing cars without using water. Just apply using a mist applicator with two clean cloths. Not only do you save water, but you also keep dirty runoff out of our rivers and lakes. Makes a great gift for any car buff in your life. This stuff really works!

For gardeners and anyone with houseplants, we are now carrying Earthworm Castings. These are one of the best organic fertilizers available. They are especially good for containers or houseplants, to replace soil nutrients and rejuvenate potting soil. Feed your soil to grow great plants!

We're making it easier to compost with the Biobag line of compostable bags. These innovative corn-based bags look like plastic, but compost when exposed to the proper temperature, moisture and organisms in your compost pile or bin. You can line your compost pail with these bags, and just take out the compost like you would the trash! Keeps down odors and eliminates the need to clean out the compost bucket.

What's Happening in the Local Environmental Scene

Saturday, July 7, 2007 from 7-9 pm. Join the Natural Resources Council of Maine and Frontier Cafe, Cinema and Gallery in Brunswick for a "Live Earth" global concert.

Running from 12 noon-12 midnight, the Frontier Cafe will be airing Live Earth concerts from around the globe in its cinema space. Starting at 7:00 pm, NRCM staff will be on hand to join you with a special message from Al Gore, just before the prime time American concerts kick off.

Admission to the event is free and open to the public. Don't miss out! For more information, contact Ryan Ewing at NRCM: 800-287-2345 ext 243 or ryan@nrcm.org.

Maine Bike Rally, July 6-8 in Yarmouth. Join bicyclists from across Maine, New England and beyond for a weekend of biking, camping, music food and fun! For more info, visit www.bikemaine.org/mainebikerally/

Composting Clinic at Crystal Spring Farm in Brunswick, Sat. July 21, 11-noon. I'll show you how to make great compost. Call us here (207) 729-4050 for more info.

'Green Space' tent at the Yarmouth Clam Festival: Sunday, July 22 from 8 - 4. See displays of local alternative energy and energy-efficient products. Contact Ami Robbins at afrob2@maine.rr.com for more info.

June 2007 Events

Could your next car be electric? Please join us tomorrow, Thursday, June 14, at 6:00 pm at F.W. Horch Sustainable Goods & Supplies in Brunswick for "Meet the Electric Car: Test Drive and Discussion", featuring two "Neighborhood Electric Vehicles" -- the Miles Automotive ZX40 four-door mini-SUV model and the two-door sporty Zenn Car.

The cars will be available for test drives starting at 6:00 pm. Afterwards, Bill Drinkwater and Kal Rogers will lead a discussion.

Bill is the Director of EVMaine.org, a web site for electric vehicle enthusiasts in Maine. He has built and worked on many of his own vehicles and has worked on implementing ultra-safe materials for the automotive industry. He calls himself an "adventurer" having traveled extensively and worked as a cable car welder, an art gallery owner/artist and a gold miner.

Kal is the marketing director for Maine Electric Vehicles. Until recently he was a "sales activist" for Maine's Air America Radio affiliate, 870 The Voice. He has worked with progressive alternative businesses and organizations for more than 20 years with highlights as co-founder of Mad Horse Theater Company in Portland, founder of "The InnerGuide" publication, Chair of the Maine Peace Campaign (Peace Action Maine) as well as his time helping to keep Air America on the air here in Maine.

Alternative Energy Days at Mount Washington

Join us this weekend, June 17 and 18, on Mount Washington in New Hampshire for "Mt. Washington Alternative Energy Days," an exhibition featuring alternative energy experts and vendors. The highlight of the event will be the Alternative Vehicle Regatta.

The history of alternative energy on the Mt. Washington Auto Road began the late 1970’s with an Alternative Vehicle Regatta that featured a wide variety of alternative fuel vehicles testing their worthiness on the Auto Road. Because of mixed success of the homemade vehicles and declining interest, the Alternative Vehicle Regatta was last held in 1979. With the growing public consciousness of global warming, the Mt. Washington Auto Road has decided bring back the Alternative Vehicle Regatta as part of this new event to be held in the Glen at the base of Mt. Washington.

Summer Focus: Composting Goods & Supplies

Feed your garden with home-grown compost! We have the information and equipment you need to be successful this season making natural fertilizer from your kitchen and yard waste.

• Home Composting Made Easy
  Easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions for composting in your backyard. Instead of overburdening your local landfill, learn how to turn kitchen scraps, yard trimmings and paper scraps into "black gold" for your lawn and garden. 32 pages, paperback. $2.95

• Kitchen Compost Carrier
  Make your home composting program easier to manage. Perfect for short-term storage of kitchen scraps, this kitchen compost carrier features an optional carbon filter to eliminate odors. Made from 25% recycled plastic. Small (5.8 quart) size, $17.95; Large (9.6 quart) size, $24.95

• Compost Maker Microbes
  Put billions of beneficial organisms to work for you! Dormant until you expose them to air, water and a food source, this blend of microbes will energize soils, composts, and decomposing organic matter. One pound. $10.95

• Envirocycle Composter
  Make batches of rich compost simply by taking this unit for a spin. This conveniently-sized tumbler is perfect for those who want an easy way to turn batches of kitchen scraps into nutrients for vegetables, flowers and houseplants. Featuring a base that collects liquid for "compost tea", the Envirocycle is a great addition to a deck or back yard for anyone who wants a no-hassle, proven system for composting. Available in black or green. $159

• Sun-Mar 200 Composter
  This innovative outdoor composter is based on a brilliant concept: put yard and kitchen waste in one opening, and remove finished compost from another. Inside the unit are two drums: new material enters the outer drum, fills it up, tumbles into the inner drum, then comes out the middle as finished compost. So well-designed it makes you wonder why all composters aren't built his way! $299

• Sun-Mar 400 Composter
  Suitable for handling large volumes of yard waste, the 400 is the larger cousin of the Sun-Mar 200 Garden Composter. Same great features as the Sun-Mar 200, plus a crank to help turn it. $399

• Sunleaves Wormtopia
  Turn your kitchen scraps and yard waste into high quality worm castings with the help of up to 15,000 redworms (sold separately). Worms convert scraps and wastes to castings as they migrate upward to the next tray, while producing nutrient-rich "worm tea" that can be drawn from a spigot mounted on the bottom. $109.50; one pint of Maine-raised red worms, $6.00

• Sun-Mar Composting Toilets
  Choose a Sun-Mar composting toilet when you need to conserve water, minimize your environmental impact, upgrade your outhouse, extend the life of your septic system, or provide sanitary facilities where there is no plumbing. Perfect for seasonal camps; these toilets can freeze solid with no risk of pipes bursting. Composting toilets harness aerobic microbes to oxidize waste, resulting in carbon dioxide, water, and essential plant nutrients and minerals. 95% of the starting material evaporates, and the remainder is an NSF-certified safe soil amendment. Self-contained units start at $1345; we also stock the full line of Sun-Mar supplies.

F.W. Horch Sustainable Goods & Supplies is located at 56 Maine Street in downtown Brunswick, Maine.

May Green Tidings

Happy summer and green tidings to you and yours.

Mark your calendars for "Meet the Electric Car," our next Sustainable Living Talk at 6 pm on June 14. Note the earlier start time, to give everyone a chance to test drive the cars. Read on for more about that and other happenings in the world of sustainable living.

Warmly,
Fred Horch, Founder

P.S. Our web site keeps growing! If your summer travels don't bring you to midcoast Maine, why not swing by our store online at www.FWHorch.com.

News from Energyworks

Here's the news from Energyworks, our renewable energy partner.

Energyworks North, out of Liberty, Maine, writes:

Hard to believe that Memorial Day weekend has come and gone: winter must be officially over! We are in full swing here -- nearly the whole crew will be working on an 8kw PV project next week where we will also be installing a skystream wind turbine. Climate change issues and escalating gasoline prices are forcing us to all re-think how we will act in the world. What will you do?

It continues to be encouraging to see so many Mainers taking the initiative to deal with these concerns and make the move to renewable energy.

Energyworks South, out of Portland, Maine, writes:

Frustrated by real problems like high fuel costs, global warming and war in Iraq? Energyworks has real solutions like solar hot water systems that can save as much as $2,000 annually in fuel costs, depending on your situation. We have solar electric systems that eliminate thousands of pounds of CO2 emissions annually. All of our renewable energy systems (solar thermal, pv & wind turbines) decrease dependence on fossil fuel and help reduce the need for America to battle over middle eastern oil supplies.

Everyone can make a difference by living more efficiently and adopting renewable energy technology. Our systems are cost-effective, reliable and proven to significantly reduce fossil fuel consumption. Please call us at 221-6342 or visit us on the web at www.energyworksllc.com.

CFL Recycling -- In Store for FREE

You can now bring your burned out CFL bulbs to F.W. Horch for recycling. This is a free new service made possible by Efficiency Maine. Bring any compact fluorescent bulb to our store for proper disposal. Remember, you should NEVER throw a CFL bulb in your regular trash.

CFLs, like all fluorescent bulbs, contain a tiny amount of mercury. If you should break a bulb in your house, wear disposable gloves and use care to pick up all the pieces. Put them in a zip-loc bag, seal it, mark it as "Household Hazardous Waste", store it in a safe place out of reach of children, and dispose of it during your town's annual household hazardous waste collection day. You can use two pieces of paper to scoop up glass shards, or a damp sponge. Put those in the bag as well.

Solar Hot Water -- A Great Summertime Idea

Did you know that modern solar hot water systems allow you to shut off your boiler all summer long, saving fuel, preventing pollution, and extending the useful life of your heating system? Real-world performance data from the growing number of families in Maine who have installed solar hot water systems is demonstrating even greater energy savings than predicted. The reason? Boilers operate at their worst performance during the summer, when they typically cycle on and off in short bursts to keep a tank of hot water ready "just in case" it's needed.

In terms of efficiency, using your home's heating system to heat hot water during the summer is like driving your car one block, stopping, turning the engine off, and then re-starting to drive one more block. You can avoid this unnecessary waste by installing a solar hot water system which will use free sunlight to heat all of the water your family uses all summer long (and potentially even in the spring and fall). State rebates and federal tax credits are still available, and the costs of these systems can be easily financed through any home equity loan or line of credit.

For more information, contact Energyworks.

Drying Racks Made in Maine

We recently found a new vendor for made-in-Maine wooden drying racks. These are solid, durable racks with a very clever expanding design that makes it possible to dry a full load of laundry. Come in to the store to check them out. We will soon offer them through our web site, too.

Know of any other practical, made-in-Maine products we should carry? Please let us know! We believe buying local is a great way to start saving the planet, and we are committed to supporting Maine vendors wherever possible.

Sun-Mar Composting Toilets Meet Maine Code

Composting toilets have been installed throughout Maine for decades. Environmentally, they are the best way to treat human waste, safely converting it in situ into rich fertilizer that can be used as a soil amendment. Recently, there has been some confusion among code enforcement officers regarding the status of composting toilets in homes under the new Maine plumbing code, which took effect two years ago.

To meet the new code for use in homes, composting toilets must pass national standards such as National Sanitation Foundation Standard 41 and be installed according to the manufacturer's instructions. If you are considering a composting toilet for use in an inhabited structure, make sure the model you select is legal for residential use in Maine. The complete line of Sun-Mar toilets we sell here at F.W. Horch meets code.

If you or your codes enforcement officer has any question about whether the brand of composting toilet you are considering is legal, contact Dana C. Tuttle, Senior Plumbing Inspector, Plumbing Examining Board, Office of Licensing and Registration in Augusta at (207) 624-8639 or Jim Jacobson, Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Health Engineering, Plumbing and Waste Water Program at (207) 287-5695.

What's Happening in the Local Environmental Scene

On Monday, April 23, the Brunswick Town Council voted to add Brunswick to the list of towns and cities across Maine and across the country who have committed to become a "Cool Community". So what is a Cool Community? These are cities and towns that pledge to help stop global warming by signing the U.S. Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement. The Cool Cities campaign helps cities turn their commitments into action by pushing for smart energy solutions.

Want to help Brunswick live up to its commitment to become a "Cool Community"? Join the Brunswick Sustainability Group at our next meeting at 7 pm on Monday, June 18, at 11 Pleasant Street. For more information, drop by the store to sign up for their mailing list.

Is Dad into cars and alternative energy? Then come to Alternative Energy Days, at Mount Washington on Father's Day, Sunday June 17, and Monday June 18. Mt. Washington Alternative Energy Days is an exhibition for consumers looking to reduce their energy use and carbon footprint featuring alternative energy experts and vendors. The highlight of the event will be the Alternative Vehicle Regatta up the Mount Washington Auto Road.

May 2007 Events

Please join us tomorrow, Thursday, May 10, at 7:00 pm at F.W. Horch Sustainable Goods & Supplies in Brunswick for "BayScaping: Landscaping to Protect Casco Bay in Your Own Backyard", a talk by Mary Cerullo of Friends of Casco Bay.

Mary will help you find practical ways to reduce dependence on lawn chemicals. BayScaping is a way for homeowners and yard care services to maintain a healthy landscape without depending on pesticides and fertilizers. You will receive a how-to guide, a soil test kit, and a worksheet for designing a low-maintenance, attractive yard that is healthy for families, pets, and Casco Bay.

This month we have a bonus talk. Join us on Thursday, May 24, at 7:00 pm for "Building Green by 'Function Form': How to Build an Environmentally Friendly Home on a Reasonable Budget" by John Whitworth and James Prentice of the Balsam Group LLC.

John and James will share the Balsom Group design philosophy of "Form Follows Function." They developed this alternative design process to address some of the shortfalls of the traditional builder/owner relationship, especially when applied to building high-performance "green" homes. They will explain how their unique approach can fully integrate the home owner's desires wants and needs into a satisfying design and construction process from start to finish.

News From Energyworks

Energyworks, our renewable energy partner, writes,
Spring is in the air and we are getting back on roofs all over the mid coast ! We've got two wind projects in the works as well as two large residential grid tied pv projects lined up for the spring. Remember that there is still a state rebate available for the installation of a Solar Hot Water system. For more info on the rebates and tax credits check out www.maine.gov/msep

We had a great time at the Green Expo in Damariscotta. A great turn out and lots of interest. It seems there is a great deal of interest in wind power these days, perhaps because of the recent storms. If you want to learn more about the potential of wind, Pat Coon will be doing two presentations in May ( Chewonki's sustainable energy conference may 12 - chewonki.org and a class in camden 5/23)

Energyworks South (the Portland office), writes,
Energyworks South is looking forward to MEBSR's (Maine Businesses for Social Responsibility) annual conference May 10 at the Hilton Garden Inn, Freeport. Please stop by our table to learn how your investment in a solar hot water system can dramatically reduce your household carbon footprint--with a system payback in the 5-7 year range. Too many homes in Maine are heating water year-round with inefficient oil burners. When that boiler kicks on in August to heat water for a shower, we calculate it is operating at roughly 10-15% percent efficiency. The solution? By converting a traditional 'hot start' oil boiler to a 'cold start' mode, in conjunction with solar hot water, we can effectively turn off the boiler from May to October and prevent hundreds of gallons of oil from going straight up the chimney! Call Phil Coupe at 221-6342 to see if your household is a good candidate for this upgrade, or send an e-mail to phil@energyworksllc.com.

F.W. Horch Composting Goods & Supplies

Feed your garden with home-grown compost! We have the information and equipment you need to be successful this season making natural fertilizer from your kitchen and yard waste.

F.W. Horch Sustainable Goods & Supplies is located at 56 Maine Street in downtown Brunswick, Maine.

All of our store events are now in Google Calendar.

• Home Composting Made Easy
  Easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions for composting in your backyard. Instead of overburdening your local landfill, learn how to turn kitchen scraps, yard trimmings and paper scraps into "black gold" for your lawn and garden. 32 pages, paperback. $2.95

• Kitchen Compost Carrier
  Make your home composting program easier to manage. Perfect for short-term storage of kitchen scraps, this kitchen compost carrier features an optional carbon filter to eliminate odors. Made from 25% recycled plastic. Small (5.8 quart) size, $17.95; Large (9.6 quart) size, $24.95

• Compost Maker Microbes
  Put billions of beneficial organisms to work for you! Dormant until you expose them to air, water and a food source, this blend of microbes will energize soils, composts, and decomposing organic matter. One pound. $10.95

• Envirocycle Composter
  Make batches of rich compost simply by taking this unit for a spin. This conveniently-sized tumbler is perfect for those who want an easy way to turn batches of kitchen scraps into nutrients for vegetables, flowers and houseplants. Featuring a base that collects liquid for "compost tea", the Envirocycle is a great addition to a deck or back yard for anyone who wants a no-hassle, proven system for composting. Available in black or green. $159

• Sun-Mar 200 Composter
  This innovative outdoor composter is based on a brilliant concept: put yard and kitchen waste in one opening, and remove finished compost from another. Inside the unit are two drums: new material enters the outer drum, fills it up, tumbles into the inner drum, then comes out the middle as finished compost. So well-designed it makes you wonder why all composters aren't built his way! $299

• Sun-Mar 400 Composter
  Suitable for handling large volumes of yard waste, the 400 is the larger cousin of the Sun-Mar 200 Garden Composter. Same great features as the Sun-Mar 200, plus a crank to help turn it. $399

• Sunleaves Wormtopia
  Turn your kitchen scraps and yard waste into high quality worm castings with the help of up to 15,000 redworms (sold separately). Worms convert scraps and wastes to castings as they migrate upward to the next tray, while producing nutrient-rich "worm tea" that can be drawn from a spigot mounted on the bottom. $109.50; one pint of Maine-raised red worms, $6.00

• Sun-Mar Composting Toilets
  Choose a Sun-Mar composting toilet when you need to conserve water, minimize your environmental impact, upgrade your outhouse, extend the life of your septic system, or provide sanitary facilities where there is no plumbing. Perfect for seasonal camps; these toilets can freeze solid with no risk of pipes bursting. Composting toilets harness aerobic microbes to oxidize waste, resulting in carbon dioxide, water, and essential plant nutrients and minerals. 95% of the starting material evaporates, and the remainder is an NSF-certified safe soil amendment. Self-contained units start at $1345; we also stock the full line of Sun-Mar supplies.

April Green Tidings

Join us today, the day before Earth Day, for "Solutions Saturday" at Frontier Cafe in Brunswick. Enjoy a series of short environmental films, then discuss local solutions (see schedule below). Get inspired for positive action on Earth Day!

Mark your calendars for "BayScaping: Protect Casco Bay in Your Own Backyard," our next Sustainable Living Talk at 7 pm on May 10. Read on for more about those events, and other things happening in the world of sustainable living.

Warmly,
Fred Horch, Owner

P.S. Our web site keeps growing! If your travels don't bring you to downtown Brunswick, why not swing by our store online at www.FWHorch.com.

Solutions Saturday: Environmental Film Festival

Saturday, April 21 ~ 11 am to 4:30 pm
Frontier Cafe, Cinema and Gallery
Fort Andross
Brunswick, Maine

11:00 am	Family Focus: Environmental Awareness and Action "The Quest for Dan the Can" -- recycling, etc. Discussion leaders: Sustainable Bowdoin Brunswick Town Councilor Ryan Ewing, NRCM
12:15 pm	Local and Organic Food "The True Cost of Food" -- local, organic farming Discussion leaders: Seth Kroeck, Crystal Spring Farm Brett Thompson, Maine Master Gardener Volunteer
1:30 pm	Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention "Our Children at Risk" -- toxins in the environment "Sam Suds" -- PVC, the poison plastic Discussion leaders: Environmental Health Strategy Center Maine League of Conservation Voters
3:00 pm	Energy and Climate Change "Kilowatt Ours" -- a plan to re-energize America Discussion leaders: Chewonki Hydrogen Energy Center

Sustainable Living Talk, "BayScaping: Protect Casco Bay in Your Own Backyard"
Join us on Thursday, May 10, at 7:00 pm at F.W. Horch Sustainable Goods & Supplies for "BayScaping: Protect Casco Bay in Your Own Backyard".

Mary will explain Friends of Casco Bay's BayScaping program to help home and business owners find practical ways to reduce dependence on lawn chemicals. BayScaping is a way for homeowners and their yard care services to maintain a healthy landscape without depending on pesticides and fertilizers. Each person will receive a how-to guide, a soil test kit, and a worksheet for designing a low-maintenance, attractive yard that is healthy for families, pets, and Casco Bay.

As Associate Director of Friends of Casco Bay, Cerullo takes the BayScaping message to the public in a talk that allows attendees to ask questions and share their own experiences. She will touch on the six major aspects of the program: building a good foundation, watering, mowing, thatch and soil compaction, fertilizing one's lawn, and pest control.

Free refreshments and informational handouts will also be available.

Our Sustainable Living Talks are on the second Thursday of each month at 7:00 pm at 56 Maine Street in Brunswick.

News from Energyworks

Here's the news from Energywork, our renewable energy partner:

We will be out and about over the next few weeks at several events -- come and see us on April 20 and 21 at the Midcoast Green Collaborative Expo in Damariscotta. In May, Pat Coon will hold several adult ed classes at the Camden Hills Regional High School: Wednesday, May 9 he'll talk about "Steps to Renewable Energy" on the 16th "Going Solar" and on May 23 Pat will talk about "Wind Power". Also we will be at Chewonki's Sustainable Energy Conference on Saturday May 12. In addition, Spring is in the air and we are starting to get busy, we are gearing up for several new Grid Tie PV projects coming up including an 8KW system for a farm in Knox County.

What's Happening in the Local Environmental Scene
On Monday, April 23, the Brunswick Town Council will consider whether Brunswick will join other towns and cities across Maine and across the country in becoming a "Cool Community". So what is a Cool Community? These are cities and towns that have made a commitment to stopping global warming by signing the U.S. Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement. The Cool Cities campaign helps cities turn their commitments into action by pushing for smart energy solutions.

The Midcoast Sustainable Energy Expo, at the Central Lincoln County YMCA, Damariscotta, on Friday, April 20, from 12:00 - 6:00 pm, and Saturday, April 21, 9:00 - 5:00 pm, will bring together building trades people, energy professionals, and the general public from a geographic area wider than the Damariscotta/ Newcastle region of Midcoast Maine. It will demonstrate affordable energy-efficient construction techniques, demonstrate working examples of renewable energy systems and technologies that local people can install in their homes and businesses.

Lots more is happening around Earth Day on April 22. For more events and information, visit the Earth Day Network.