Fossil Fuel Free

On May 22, 2008, crude oil hit $135 per barrel. The next day, gasoline reached a record U.S. national average of $3.88 per gallon. Will our American way of life soon be unaffordable?

Nope--we'll just use less fossil fuel.

Consider life in the United States in 1856. Our modern conveniences depended on oil. We used it to light our homes, lubricate our clocks, and keep our trains running. But it wasn't petroleum--it was whale oil.

What happened? In 1857, a commercially viable kerosene lamp was invented. Within four years the market for whale oil had collapsed.

You probably find it hard to believe that we'll give up fossil fuel as easily, right?

Well, here's my family's plan to be free of fossil fuel without waiting for a magic "kerosene lamp":

1. We're becoming energy efficient. We switched to energy-efficient lights and appliances and now use just 10 kilowatt hours of electricity per day. If we were designing a new home, we'd choose passive solar heat, built tight and super well insulated. But we like to walk or bike to work, school and shopping, so we decided to stay in our in-town 1828 federal-style house. We did an energy audit, then installed weatherstripping, added insulation, and upgraded from forced hot air to radiant floor heating.
   
   
2. We'll use electricity and solar heat instead of oil or gas. We'll install solar hot water for showers, dish washing, etc. We're planning to replace our oil boiler with a solar-assisted electric heat pump. Before too long we hope to trade in our gas minivan for an electric model (we're excited to have Maine Electric Vehicles at our store for a talk on June 12).
   
   
3. We'll generate our electricity without fossil fuel. Today for about 21 cents per kWh, we can choose "green electricity" from hydropower dams and wind farms instead of the "standard offer" from fossil and nuclear fuel. For about $3 per day, we could generate our own electricity with solar panels, as Bill and Debbi Lord do at the Maine Solar House.

Fossil fuel won't disappear entirely from our lives, just like whale oil didn't disappear completely. (Did you know the last bottle of whale oil in the U.S. was sold in 1978?) But the high cost of fossil fuel will disappear from our budget, as we choose better alternatives.

Related Information and Resources

• www.EnergyStar.gov - energy efficient appliances
• hes.lbl.gov - home energy audits
• www.RevisionEnergy.com - solar hot water
• www.MaineEV.com - electric vehicles
• www.EnergyMaine.com/mresignup/ - green electricity
• www.SolarHouse.com - Maine Solar House
  

May Announcements

We have two quick announcements that couldn't wait until next month, and a schedule of our upcoming sustainable living talks to share with you.
-- Fred Horch, Founder

We're Hiring! Hillary Shende, our wonderful customer service manager, is leaving us. But she has a good excuse--she and her husband Vin are expecting! Know anyone who is good with people, computers and details who would like to help our customers save the planet? We are accepting applications for a permanent, part-time sales clerk to work Tuesday through Saturday, 9 am to 2 pm. Applicants should send a cover letter and one-page resume to us via email at info@fwhorch.com. The primary responsibility of the position is to take good care of our customers. Deadline to submit a cover letter and resume for consideration in our first round of interviews is Thursday, May 15. New Newsletter Software We've switched our newsletter software to iContact to make sure we reach your in box. We hope this will be a seamless transition, but we'd appreciate hearing about any glitches you may discover. At the very bottom of every newsletter, you will now find a link for managing your subscription (you can unsubscribe at any time) or forwarding this newsletter to a friend. If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know by phone at (207) 729-4050 or in person in the store. In short, our policy is to send our monthly email newsletter only to people who want it.

Sustainable Living Talk Schedule Mark your calendars! 7 pm on the 2nd Thursday of the month there is always something interesting happening at the store as part of our sustainable living talk series. Thursday, May 8: Crafty Local Eating - Amy and Jeff Burchstead of Buckwheat Blossom Farm discuss how to eat locally and affordably. Thursday, June 12: Electric Cars - Test drive an electric car. This talk starts early at 6 pm to give everyone a chance to get behind the steering wheel! The following future topics are tentative possibilities: July 10 - Converting a gas-powered lawn mower to battery-powered and solar rechargeable. August 14 - MOFGA update and Common Ground Fair preview. September 11 - DIY solar hot water. October 9 - Efficiency Maine buttoning up your home for the winter. November 13 - ReVision Energy going solar. December 11 - Sustainable gift giving. Have a topic you'd like to see covered? Let us know! 729-4050

Featured Spring Products Neuton Battery-Powered Lawn Mower Why hassle with a gas mower? Enjoy a whole new experience with the battery-powered Neuton Mower. No hard pull-starts, no gas or oil, and no fumes or loud noise.Learn more » Milk Paint for Walls Milk paint is the most environmentally friendly paint you can buy -- and now it is available for walls! Try painting your next room with milk paint and breathe easy. Learn more » NatureMill Pet-Friendly Composter Safely and conveniently compost all your pet waste and kitchen scraps. The NatureMill electric plug-in composter works outdoors year-round (even in the snow!). Learn more »

Local Environmental Scene

What's Happening in the Local Environmental Scene, May 2008

MaineEnvironmentalNews has launched a great new environmental news site for Maine. Check it out www.MaineEnviroNews.com

Saturday, May 3 -- Bowdoin's 5th Annual Solarfest on Saturday afternoon, on the main Bowdoin quad in Brunswick. SolarFest is a community event that promotes sustainable and renewable energy. Listen to a solar-powered band, eat some solar-cooked food, enjoy a moon bounce, and meet people who are raising awareness and offering information about alternative energy.

Sunday, May 4 -- The Great Maine Bike Swap (Second date, different location), 10 am - 2 pm, UME Orono's new Student Recreation and Fitness Center. The bike swap offers a great way to buy and sell used bicycles. A portion of all sales supports the Bicycle Coalition of Maine's education and safety programs. www.bikemaine.org/bikeswap.htm

Thursday, May 8 -- Crafty Local Eating , 7 pm, F.W. Horch, 56 Maine Street, Brunswick. Join us for a talk by organic farmers Amy and Jeff Burchstead on the topic of local food. Come learn how to eat locally and affordably year round.

Friday, May 16 -- Planning for Peace in the Post-Petroleum Economy , 7 pm, Curtis Memorial Library, Brunswick. Join Noma Petroff and Peaceworks for a discussion of peace after oil.

Saturday, May 24 -- Run for the Sun , 9 am, Downtown Mall, Brunswick. Run for the Sun 5K Road Race is to create a fund for student-led initiatives at Brunswick High School that promote sustainability or environmental education. /www.brunswick.k12.me.us/bhs/academics/service_learning/run_sun/

News from ReVision Energy

Jen Hatch from ReVision Energy (formerly Energyworks) writes,

Please support Brunswick High School in their efforts to green up. They are going to be hosting a 5K road race, Saturday, May 24 at 9am. The event is called Run for the Sun and all proceeds will go towards a fund setup for student-led sustainability initiatives at Brunswick High School. Follow the link below for more information:

http://www.brunswick.k12.me.us/bhs/academics/service_learning/run_sun/index.htm

We will be attending the Smart Energy Expo in Kennebunk Saturday May 10, from 12-5pm. This will be held at the held at the Kennebunk High School. The Kennebunk High School Interact Club, the Class of 2009, freshman science students, the Energy Advisory Team from M.S.A.D. 71, and the Kennebunk Rotary are putting the event together in cooperation with Maine Partners for Cool Communities.

We are also attending Maine's Home & Lifestyle Expo which will be May 17 and 18 at the Knox Mill Complex on Washington and Mechanic Street in Camden.

Hope to see you at some of our many events this summer! As always, please call our office to find out how we could put renewable energy to work for you, 221-6342.

Be well,
Jen

New Products

Here's what's new in our store and on our web site for May 2008:

• Heirloom Organic Seeds
  Come to our store for a selection of heirloom organic vegetable seeds from Fedco. We sell open-pollinated varieties (not hybrids) so you can save your own seed from year to year.
  
  
• Grow-an-Herb
  Grow your own herbs from seed, indoors or outdoors. A great project for kids or cooks. Easy to grow, guaranteed!
  
  
• Grow-a-Tree
  There is something magical about growing your trees from seed. Choose from a variety of hardwood species including white birch, american elm, sugar maple and apple.

Eating Local - May's Sustainable Living Tip

Eating locally-grown food is a delicious way to help save the planet.

More to know about Eating Local

1. The average Maine meal travels 1,800 miles from farm to table, according to Russell Libby, executive director of MOFGA.
2. 80% of the food calories consumed in Maine are produced out of state.
3. Ten calories of fossil fuel energy is consumed for every one calorie of "conventional" food eaten, due to processing, packaging and transportation.
4. If every Mainer spent just $10 per week on locally-grown food for six months, $100 million would circulate in Maine's economy.
   
5. One acre of a small organic farm in Maine can support 40 people, according to Eliot Coleman, author of Four Season Harvest.
6. During World War II, home "Victory Gardens" provided 40% of the vegetables eaten by the general public.
7. Raised beds and "lasagna" gardening allow home gardeners to grow more produce with less work than conventional tilled bed methods.
8. Home composting of kitchen scraps can help maintain soil fertility without synthetic chemical fertilizers.
9. Organic herbs can be grown indoors year round on a kitchen window sill.
10. Community supported agriculture (CSA) is a way to support your local farmer. By buying a share at the beginning of the season, you provide the farmer with the money needed to buy seeds and operate the farm. In return, you reap the rewards of fresh, local and healthy food direct from the farm.
11. Planting heirloom organic seeds, rather than hybrid seeds, allows you to share and save seeds from year to year.
12. For maximum environmental benefit, eat in season. It takes a lot less energy to grow tomatoes in Maine in the summer than the winter!

Crafty Local Eating

Join us for "Crafty Local Eating," a talk by Amy and Jeff Burchstead of the horse-powered Buckwheat Blossom Farm. This free event will be from 7 to 8:30 pm on Thursdy, May 8, at our store, 56 Maine Street, in downtown Brunswick, Maine.

"Come learn how to eat locally and economically year-round," says Amy Burchstead, who with her husband Jeff has a small, organic, horse-powered farm in Wiscasset. "We’ll explore the ins and outs of farmers’ markets and CSAs and cover the basics of the easiest and most economical crops to grow and store yourself - from container gardening to the kitchen garden."

By some estimates, the average meal in Maine has traveled 1,800 miles before it reaches the dinner table. Only about 20% of the calories Mainers eat come from food grown in state. At their talk, the Burchsteads will discuss the hidden costs of buying out-of-season food that must be transported long distances. Attendees will learn about several options for eating locally-grown food around the year in Maine, including community supported agriculture (CSAs), farmers' markets, and farm stands.

The Burchsteads will also introduce aspiring gardeners to the easiest and most economical crops to grow yourself. The basic steps of testing and improving soil, planting, controlling weeds and pests, watering, and harvesting will be covered. Helpful techniques such as container gardening and lasagna gardening will be described. In addition, the Burchsteads will explain how to plan for winter by storing root crops, freezing and fermenting garden produce, and over wintering crops in the garden.

Other topics that will be covered at the talk are the definitions of "local" and "organic", the importance of knowing your farmer, and the "dirty dozen" conventional crops to avoid.

Free informational handouts will be provided. Seating is limited, so those interested in attending are encouraged 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 on the second Thursday of the month. June's talk will feature the chance to test drive electric cars from Maine Electric Vehicles.

For more information, please call 729-4050.