Featured Products for December

Maine-Made Drying Rack

Our best seller at Common Ground Fair, this large drying rack features a unique design, thick birch dowels, and a lifetime guarantee from the craftsman who makes them here in Maine!
Large drying rack $75

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Guyot Designs Stainless Steel Water Bottle

Guyot Designs, based in Deer Isle, Maine, believes in beautiful, functional design. Treat yourself to the gold standard in stainless steel bottles. Made from high quality 18/10 surgical grade stainless steel machined to exacting specifications, these wide-mouth bottles can be easily cleaned. The tethered lids open and close with a comfortable turn and will not leak due to the well-designed threads.

Backpacker 32 oz $24.95

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Maine Balsam Draft Stopper

Handmade in Maine with fragrant balsam harvested from the paper and lumber industry, these attractive draft stoppers halt cold drafts from doors and windows. Covered with 100% cotton in assorted patterns.

30" for windows $15.95
42" for doors $19.95

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Voltaic Backpacks

Voltaic solar backpacks are mobile solar power generators designed to charge virtually all handheld electronics. Embedded in the outside of the bags are lightweight, tough, waterproof solar panels. A custom battery pack stores any surplus power generated, so it is available when you need it - not just when the sun is up. The battery packs can also be charged using the included AC travel charger or car charger, making them just as useful on the grid as off. Voltaic bags use fabrics made from recycled soda bottles. Recycled PET fabric is light weight, extremely durable, UV and water resistant, and even looks better than the nylon it replaced. Most importantly, it uses significantly less energy to produce and creates demand for recycled materials.

Large backpack $249

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ActiveTrax on the Go Audio
Stop wasting all those batteries! The ActiceTrax On The Go Audio solar-powered speakers allow you to literally crank up the tunes. Plug your iPod (or USB compatible MP3 player) into the side jack of this mini boom-box for a great external speaker. Or, use the AM/FM/WB radio (the weather band radio plays the most local station). You can also recharge your iPod from the ActiveTrax's USB jack. Includes a solar panel on top, as well as an easy-crank self-powered charging system that gives you 20 minutes of speaker play for each minute of cranking.
ActiveTrax speaker/radio/charger $39.95
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Rechargeable Acculoop Batteries

These new nickel metal hydride batteries come charged and ready to use. Not only are they reusable up to 1,000 times, but the Acculoop batteries hold their charge much better than other brands.

2-pack AA $13.95

2-pack AAA $6.95

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SolarSheat Space Heater The SolarSheat hot air collector is a self-contained and self-powered sustainable solution for space heating. Mounts on a south-facing wall or roof. No need for plumbing or electricity -- these units have a built-in solar-powered fan to blow in warm air whenever there is sun. Now anyone can go solar!
1500 watts $1,979 Learn more »

Convectair Electric Space Heater

Perfect as a complement to a solar space heater, or anywhere you need a heating boost, the Convectair Apero electric space heater works on the proven principle of natural convection. Hangs on the wall and plugs into a regular 120 volt outlet. 1250 watts $257

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Energy Film

Insulate your window glass without adhesive using an easy-to-apply spectrally-selective cling film. Reduce heat loss through treated windows by 12 - 18%, in effect turning regular glass into low-E glazing. Non-reflective surface retains excellent visual clarity. Blocks 97% of UV light and 70% of infrared light, while allowing 77% of visible light to pass through. Includes squeegee for installation.
24"x48" $19.95; 36"x48" $29.95; 48"x84" $39.95

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Yolo Colorhouse Paint - Special Offer!

YOLO Colorhouse performs like a premium conventional paint, yet it has low odor, no harmful chemicals, and no added solvents. Green Seal certified, zero VOC, 100% acrylic, with 40% volume solids, YOLO Colorhouse interior paint has excellent hide and layout. Pick from their designer palette or custom tint to match any color.

$45.95 / gal

Special offer: Buy 3, get 1 free until 12/7

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Environmental Happenings

What's Happening in the Local Environmental Scene and Beyond

On Tuesday, November 18, the Maine Legislature’s Transportation Committee voted to accept a negotiated conservation easement for Sears Island but to leave it unsigned, meaning no action will be taken. Instead, the committee requested a bill in the next Legislature instructing the Maine Department of Transportation to pursue the permitting of a cargo port on Sears Island, which is owned by the State of Maine. At the head of Penobscot Bay, Sears Island is the largest causeway accessible undeveloped island on the eastern coast of the United States. At issue is whether the development of a cargo port will be permitted on the island.

The Ocean Energy Institute, a tiny research organization founded by Maine resident Matthew Simmons, hopes to build a 5-gigawatt, deep-water wind farm--the largest in the world--in the Gulf of Maine. Because the winds are strongest several miles offshore, the turbines would be built on floating platforms anchored some 12 to 20 miles off the coast in waters 100 to 200 meters deep. The target generating capacity of 5 gigawatts equals the power required to replace the use of home heating oil in Maine. The Gulf of Maine has an estimated wind power potential of 100 gigawatts, peaking in winter when winds are stronger.

Arctic sea ice and climate are behaving in ways not seen before in the satellite record—both in the rate and extent of ice loss during the spring and summer, and in the record ice growth rates and increased Arctic air heating during the fall and winter. During the 2008 melt season, Arctic sea ice declined by a record 10.58 million square kilometers, then rebounded at an astounding rate. As of October 31, ice extent was at 9.27 million square kilometers, more than doubling since the annual minimum of 4.52 million square kilometers measured on September 14, 2008. Over much of the Arctic, especially over the Arctic Ocean, air temperatures were unusually high, consistent with rapid ice growth. Near-surface air temperatures in the Beaufort Sea north of Alaska were more than 7 degrees Celsius above normal and the warming extended well into higher levels of the atmosphere.

Thursday, December 4 - The Kennebec Estuary: Health and Sustainability, 7 pm, Long Reach Hall, Maine Maritime Museum, Bath, Maine. A presentation of The State of the Kennebec Estuary, a research project contracted by the Kennebec Estuary Collaboration. This report assesses current ecological conditions of the estuary and identifies key challenges and opportunities for conservation of this unique system. Speakers: Slade Moore, Director of Biological Conservation, Jaret Reblin, Biologist. For more information, call 442-8400.

Thursday, December 4 - Wildlife Rehabilitation: Raptors, Reptiles & More, 7 pm, Curtis Memorial Library, Brunswick. A presentation by Karen McElmurry, Director, Center for Wildlife. Part of the Friends of Merrymeeting Bay Speaker Series. For more information, contact Misty Gorski at 582-5608.

Thursday, December 11 - Sustainable Gifts, 7 pm, F.W. Horch, 56 Maine Street, Brunswick. Tie into the deeper meanings of the holiday time by giving simple, sustainable gifts. Join us for some ideas about gifts that nurture relationships, build on old and new rituals, and create environmentally sustainable and just communities. Space is limited! To reserve a spot, please call us at 729-4050.

Please note: our store will be closed from Thursday, December 25 through Thursday, January 1, 2009, re-opening on Friday, January 2. Happy Holidays!

Shop Local: December's Sustainable Living Tip

Shop local to keep dollars circulating in your community. According to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, every dollar spent at a locally owned business creates more than three times as much local economic activity as a dollar spent at a national chain store.

Facts About Locally Owned Businesses

1. According to a 2006 study, only 14% of the revenue taken in by a typical big box store in midcoast Maine remains in the Maine economy. 86% leaves Maine.
2. In contrast, locally owned businesses spend 45% of their revenue in Maine.
3. Compared to national chains, local retailers purchase a much larger share of the goods and services needed to run their stores from other local businesses.
4. Locally owned businesses are more likely to advertise in local newspapers than national chains.
5. One study has found that small businesses give more than twice as much per employee to charitable causes as do large companies.
6. Locally owned businesses create and support more jobs in the communities they serve than do national chains.
7. The idea that national chains, by bringing shoppers to town, boost sales at surrounding retail stores is a myth. Data analysis shows that Maine communities that gained a Wal*Mart supercenter in the 1990s experienced a decline in retail "pull factor."
8. Studies show that national chains put smaller local stores out of business, resulting in job losses that exceed the jobs available at the national chain stores.
9. National chains have much higher employee turnover rates than locally owned businesses.
10. Locally owned businesses fill downtown retail spaces too small for national chains.
11. National chain stores typically build "big-box" new buildings to suit their needs, leaving existing retail space vacant as smaller locally owned stores are forced to close.
12. A typical big box store requires 1,000 parking spaces and generates 10,000 car trips every day. Even smaller-scale chains, like Walgreen's and Borders, favor locations and store designs that foster driving and discourage walking and public transit.
13. A recent analysis in Barnstable, Massachusetts, found that big box stores require nearly $800 more in public services per 1,000 square feet than Main Street businesses.
14. The two main factors behind the higher costs were greater expenditures for road maintenance (due to a much greater volume of car trips per 1,000 square feet) and greater demand for police services (compared to small businesses, big box stores generate a much larger volume of police calls for crimes like shoplifting and check fraud, as well as parking lot accidents).
15. Small manufacturers with innovative products are more likely to obtain shelf space in small locally owned retail stores.
16. Two national chains control nearly 45 percent of the hardware and building supply market in the United States.
17. Two national chains currently capture half of all bookstore sales in the United States.
18. Maine residents today log three times as many road miles for shopping and errands as they did a generation ago.
19. A national study by Cornell University found that counties where small businesses dominated economic activity had greater income equality, more owner-occupied homes, lower levels of worker disability, higher educational outcomes, lower crime rates, a larger independent middle class and higher rates of civic engagement, as measured by voter turnout and membership in community organizations.
20. Small-scale, locally owned stores help to sustain vibrant, compact, walkable town centers—which in turn play an essential role in limiting sprawl and automobile use, and reducing related problems like habitat loss and air and water pollution.

News From ReVision Energy

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

ReVision Energy has done some recent installations worth noting. One was for a new Portland home through the Habitat for Humanity organization. The project was a solar hot water installation matched with a high efficiency gas boiler. ReVision Energy and its purveyors provided the Habitat project with parts and materials. The staff from ReVision Energy took time out of one of their weekends to volunteer the work needed to install these systems. The project is to provide the new homeowners with long term energy savings. You can view more about this project by clicking here:

http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=96043&catid=2

ReVision Energy also recently completed an installation through York County Shelters in Alfred, Maine. The York County Shelters is a living facility for the homeless. This new construction is the first of its kind for homeless shelters in Maine to integrate the cost of renewable energy systems into its building designs. The additional upfront costs are justified as these systems will offer long term savings on their energy usage. The York County Shelters is utilizing a high efficiency gasification wood boiler with thermal storage tank, solar hot water collectors, and a 4kW solar electric system. To read more, click here:

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=224603&ac=PHnws

December 13^th, I will give a presentation entitled Introduction to Active Solar at the Shelter Institute in Woolwich. The class is free, but space is limited, so pre-registering is suggested. Please click here for more information: http://www.shelterinstitute.com/ActiveSolar.htm

We hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season. We would like to remind everyone that we do work throughout the winter. We are able to do indoor work when the weather conditions are poor and save the roof work for when the weather is more favorable. We are still running a half off special on our site evaluations from now until the New Year. Our site evaluations allow us to design and propose a renewable energy system to integrate into what you have now. If you move forward with a job, 100% of your deposit goes towards it.

As always, please call ReVision Energy at 221-6342 with any questions you may have. We would be more than happy to help you find a long term solution to your energy saving needs.

- Jen