Local Environmental Scene - April Events

Saturday, April 5 -- 'Eat Locally, Act Globally', a talk by Wendy Holm, from 10:30-12pm at the Curtis Memorial Library. Holm is an agronomist from British Columbia and leads trips to Cuba to bring together farmers and chefs to learn from each other about sustainable agriculture. See www.brunswicktrinidad.org or email tlphillips@suscom-maine.net FMI.

Saturday, April 5 -- 3rd Annual Local & Sustainable Foods Conference: Growing Our Skills and Our Community, 9:30 am - 8 pm, Unity Performing Arts Center, Unity. Sliding scale cost. The conference features skill and issue based workshops, panel discussion, a Maine FEEDS Maine style breakout session and two keynote speakers, both of whom are working to protect their food independence. Sessions followed by a local foods dinner. foodformainesfuture.org/blog/

Wednesday, April 9 -- "Thwings Point Archaeology", a talk by Maine Historic Preservation Commission archaeologist, Lee Cranmer. Join Friends of Merrymeeting Bay (FOMB) on Wednesday, April 9th, 7:00 p.m. at the Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick for the seventh presentation of their 2007/2008 Winter Speaker Series. www.FriendsOfMerrymeetingBay.org

Wednesday, April 9 to Sunday, April 13, and Wednesday, April 16 to Saturday, April 19 -- Tour a LEED Platinum House in Freeport, Maine. The Cranberry Ridge home is the first in the Northeast, and only the fourth in the country, to receive LEED-H platinum status, as awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council. House is open for self-guided tours between 10 am and 4 pm. Cost is $15; proceeds benefit Freeport Community Services. www.FreeportUSA.com/leedhouse.html

Saturday, April 12 -- Maine Garden Day Workshops, Educational Displays, and Trade Show, 7:15 AM to 3:15 pm, Central Maine Community College, Auburn, Maine. We'll have a table there for F.W. Horch, so swing by and say hi! www.umext.maine.edu/mainegardenday/

Friday, April 18 and Saturday, April 19 -- Midcoast Sustainable Energy Expo, Central Lincoln County YMCA, Damariscotta. Friday, 12:00 - 6:00 pm, Saturday, 9:00 - 4:00 pm. Last year's Sustainable Energy Expo was an unqualified success. Over 2,000 visitors came to see over 45 exhibits and participate in various educational programs. Based on this success, the Expo is now an annual event. This year will bring together people who are marketing, designing or manufacturing renewable and sustainable energy products or offer services to improve the efficiency of existing energy systems. We'll have a table there for F.W. Horch; hope to see you at the Expo! www.midcoastgreencollaborative.org/expo.html

Saturday, April 19 -- South Portland Earth Day Clean Up, 9 am - 12 pm, at various locations throughout South Portland. The South Portland Land Trust is teaming up with local groups in the area and are asking individuals and organizations to participate. Groups can choose whatever locations they prefer. Contact Richard Rottkov at rrottkov@yahoo.com

Monday, April 21 to Saturday, April 26 -- Earth Week 2008 at Frontier Cafe in Brunswick. Films and discussions all week long at 7pm. Additional show times on Friday and Saturday. www.ExploreFrontier.com

Tuesday, April 22 -- Earth Day Celebration, 10 am - 2 pm in Portland's Congress Square. This year's theme is Transportation: "You CAN get there from here!" Lots of fun and information, with the square closed off to car traffic until 2 pm. The Portland Bike Meetup group will be providing valet bike parking.

Thursday, April 24 -- "Renewable Energy from Maine's Forests", talk by Pete Didisheim, Natural Resources Council of Maine, 7:30 pm Shannon Room, Hubbard Hall, Bowdoin College. Didisheim will talk about opportunities for renewable energy projects from Maine's northern forests.

Saturday April 26 -- Brunswick Bike Fair, 11 am - 2 pm, Downtown Mall. The Brunswick Sustainability Group invites you to take part in a Bike Fair in Brunswick. The goals of the Bike Fair are to encourage attendees to view bicycling as a viable means of transportation in and around our community, to motivate people to get on their bikes, and to celebrate current bikers. Our hope is that the fair, through gear and safety demonstrations, group rides, and information by a number of organizations, will motivate people to view and ride bicycles as more than just a form of exercise but as an effective and efficient form of transportation. F.W. Horch is proud to be a supporter of this event! BSG Bike Events Contact: Maggie Soulman, ecosquirrel@hotmail.com, 617.512-0437.

Saturday, April 26 -- Chewonki Foundation Pathways to a Sustainable Future, Sustainable Energy Conference, 8:30 am-4 pm, at the Chewonki Foundation in Wiscasset. This unique and vibrant program is responsible for developing materials and demonstration projects on a wide range of topics, from solid-waste management to the use of renewable fuels, such as solar, wind, hydro, bio-fuels and hydrogen. $48- $58 to register, see www.chewonki.org/pathways/pathways_conferences.asp.

Sunday, April 27 -- The Great Maine Bike Swap, 10 am - 2 pm, Sullivan Gym at USM. 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. Valet bike parking provided. See www.bikemaine.org/bikeswap.htm.

Sunday, April 27 -- Green Streets Earth Day Bike Parade, 12:30 - 2 pm, Sullivan Gym at USM. In conjunction with the Bike Coalition's Bike Swap (see above). This is a fun event for for all ages and abilities! The parade will run in a loop from the Swap at USM’s Sullivan Gym, down to and around the Back Cove Trail, and then return to the Swap (complete with police escort!). portlandgreenstreets.org

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

News from ReVision Energy

Pat Coon of the newly-named ReVision Energy writes,

I've got a couple of things I'd like to get out to the world of energy aware citizens:

1. Brite Built Barn. This is a net zero building we've been working on that has a cool blog and tracks a neat project. We'll share more info on this project next time...

2. Adam Cote is running for the first district's seat. He has worked in renewable energy and seems like an excellent candidate. I'd like to get out the word about his candidacy.

3. Here's a link to a green build course put on by Waterfall Arts in Belfast. It should be really good. Check it out here.

Jen Hatch from ReVision Energy's Portland office writes,

Happy Spring to all!

April showers bring May flowers . . . and an abundance of trade show events that we will be attending!

Coming up:

MidCoast Sustainable Energy Expo at the Central Lincoln County YMCA in Damariscotta
Friday, April 18^th from 12-6pm
Saturday, April 19^th, from 9-4pm
For more information email: midcoastgreencollaborative@gmail.com

The Chewonki Foundation in Wiscasset presents a Sustainable Energy Conference on April 26^th from 9-5pm. If you have questions regarding the conference, please feel free to contact: pathways@chewonki.org

May 10^th – Smart Energy Expo 12-5pm at the Kennebunk High School
Sponsored by the Maine Partners for Cool Communities
For information contact Jennifer Niese at: turnstone@gwi.net

May 16^th – MEBSR Conference at the Abromson Center, USM from 8 -5:30pm
What is sustainable business and how can your company benefit from incorporating it into your business operations? Come hear the compelling experiences of business large and small as their behind-the-scenes strategies, stories, and bottom line profits are presented from a variety of angles.
We invite all businesses and individuals, members or not, to join us on May 16th at the USM Abromson Center in Portland, for this inspiring gathering in a casual atmosphere to gail tools and skills for building a vibrant and rewarding future for Maine businesses.
MEBSR is a network of Maine businesses working together to achieve sustainable business success. Join today and become part of a business community focused on integrating people, planet and profit.
Contact Sanna McKim for more information: 338-8908

Hope to see you at one of these events! 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: Bokashi and more!

Here are some new products you can find on our web site:

• Bokashi
  With Bokashi, you can convert kitchen scraps into an organic compost soil conditioner through a process of fermenting and pickling. Takes less time than conventional composting methods and produces no odors. Can even compost meat scraps!
  
• Brill Razorcut 38 Push Reel Mower
  The Brill Razorcut 38 Push Reel Mower is a beautifully designed people-powered mower. Using the Brill contact free cutting technique, the blades are precision sharpened to within a hundreth of a millimetre, leaving a lawn cut as if with scissors.
  
• SafePaint Wall Milk Paint
  SafePaint is Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company's new line of organic milk paint for use on walls. Like their regular milk paint, SafePaint is environmentally safe and non-toxic.

Reducing Your Home Energy Costs - April's Sustainable Living Talk

F.W. Horch Sustainable Goods and Supplies, 56 Maine St., Brunswick, will host a talk by Tim Vrabel, Deputy Director, Energy Programs Division of the Maine Public Utilities Commission, titled "Reducing Your Home Energy Costs," on Thursday, April 10, at 7:00 p.m. The talk is free and open to the public.

Vrabel will discuss how to reduce the impacts of increasing home heating and energy bills, with a focus on low-cost or no-cost approaches to improving energy efficiency. He will explain how Maine residents can take advantage of Efficiency Maine incentive programs that help pay for energy upgrades. These programs include instant rebates on compact fluorescent lights and the Maine Home Performance program that guides the homeowner through the process of assessing home energy use to contacting a qualified contractor to make improvements.

Efficiency Maine is a statewide effort to promote the more efficient use of electricity, help Maine residents and businesses reduce energy costs, and improve Maine's environment. Efficiency Maine is funded by electricity consumers and administered by the Maine Public Utilities Commission.

Those who attend Thursday's talk will learn where the heat in our homes and apartments goes, have the opportunity to ask about specific problems they are experiencing, and participate in a straightforward discussion of solutions and costs. In addition, Vrabel will provide an overview of wind and solar renewable energy resources and the rebate and tax incentive programs that are available to help people take advantage of them.

Free refreshments and handouts will be provided.

Space is limited. To reserve a seat or for more information, please call 729-4050.

Saving Water - Sustainable Living Tip for April

The most sustainable source of fresh water falls from the sky. Try a rain barrel to collect and store rain water.

More to know about Water

1. With a roof area of 1,000 square feet, for every inch of rain you can collect approximately 600 gallons of rainwater.
2. During an average year in Brunswick (48 inches of annual rainfall) with a 1,000 square foot roof you could collect 28,800 gallons of water.
3. According to the United Nations Development Program, the average annual water consumption per person in Great Britain is 14,600 gallons, whereas in the United States it is 54,570 gallons.
4. Putting your rain barrel up on blocks will allow you to water any area of your yard that is lower than the barrel spigot.
5. Rain water is ideal for irrigation because it does not contain dissolved salts.
6. Rain barrels should have screens to keep out leaves and mosquitoes.
7. Rain barrels should have tight-fitting lids to prevent children and animals from falling into the barrel.
8. Rain barrels should have overflow diverters to allow excess water to be directed where desired. Multiple barrels can be connected.
9. In winter, rain barrels should be kept no more than 3/4 full to allow room for expansion as water freezes.
10. By capturing storm run-off from your roof, you are helping your local community manage storm water cost effectively.
11. By using rain water, you are protecting your community's other water resources from being depleted.
12. Using rain water saves energy because ground or surface water doesn't have to be pumped to you.
13. Using rain water instead of treated city water saves unnecessary use of chlorine and other chemicals.
14. Fresh rain water carries a much lower risk of chemical or biological contamination than surface or well water, but if you plan to drink your rain water, you may want to filter or boil it just in case.
15. Whether or not you are able to collect rain water, it's still important to use water efficiently. Low-flow showerheads that use less than 2.5 gallons per minute are an easy investment for a more water-efficient household.

Featured Products

Jack's rain barrel is made from a re-used 45 to 55 gallon food-grade polyethylene container, terra-cotta in color, with a screw top lid and bottom spigot for attaching a garden hose. $75 pick up in store only.

Niagara Chrome Showerhead. The 2.0 gpm adjustable spray of this showerhead delivers a broad, rain-like spray or a focused, pulsating massaging spray. More info >

Green Beams

GREEN BEAMS – INTEGRATING GREEN DESIGN INTO MAINE BUILDINGS

Tuition: $200; scholarships available

I. Green Benchmarks: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design System (LEED)

Tuesday class, April 1; Site visit, Sat April 5: Presenter:

Ayola Greene
Contact info: 323-6874 (c)
ayola@eacarchitecture.com

Site visit(s) are planned for Cranberry Ridge, a platinum-certified LEED house in Freeport that is having an April 5 open house to benefit Freeport Community Services. Possibly another house in Freeport.

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System is the nationally accepted benchmark for design and construction of "green" buildings. It was developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) which is a non-profit organization. On April first, we will discuss the line items that help a residential building fit within this system. LEED is mostly energy focused - we can also discuss items that are not included in this rating system.

There are 178 LEED certified buildings in the United States and Canada; seven are in Maine. On April fifth, we will tour one of them, Cranberry Ridge. Cranberry Ridge is a spec house designed by Richard Renner and built by Wright Ryan Construction. It achieved the highest rating - platinum. It is still on the market and is open for the benefit of Freeport Community Services. We will be able to see first hand what items helped this house achieve LEED platinum status. Also, the house is furnished by local craftspeople with sustainable products.

Bios:
Ayola Greene is an architect, living in Belfast and working with Eric Chase Architecture in Brooksville. She joined the USGBC in New York City in 1998 and continues participating in the Maine chapter on the program committee. Her main interests in the sustainable field are indoor air quality (IAQ) and material beauty, composition and life cycle.

Danuta Drozdowicz was the LEED provider project manager of the Cranberry Ridge while working with Fore Solutions. She has recently established an new organization centered around sustainable issues and consulting called Context Collaborative. [Danuta will be showing us around the place.]

II. Integrated design theory - Tuesday, April 15; site visit, Sat., April 19 Presenter: Matt O’Malia

matthew omalia design office llc
Work: 338-1566
91 Cedar St., Belfast, Me. 04915
mtomalia@verizon.net

Site visit: a home in Belfast/Searsmont area

To build in an environmentally sustainable way requires that we make smaller more efficient buildings that respond directly to occupant comfort as well as a specific climate. The more demands we put on our buildings in terms of their comfort, environmental performance and longevity, the more complex the design of the building and its components become. Integrated design theory addresses this complexity, and seeks design solutions that incorporate it into a seamless whole. The first half of the presentation will look closely at defining the specific issues of building in this climate assuming specific energy goals. The second half will look at the design opportunities, exploring ways to use the built form to integrate the factors of climate, site, orientation, massing, construction, program, and heating/ cooling into a coherent design solution.

Bio:
Matthew O'Malia received his Bachelor in Environmental Design from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio in 1993 and a post graduate degree in Architecture at the Staedelschule Kunst Akadame in Frankfurt in 1997. Matthew joined Elliott Elliott Norelius Architects in 1998 and worked there as a project architect until 2007, and in the same year founded Matthew Omalia Design Office llc, a multi disciplinary design office in Belfast Maine.

III. Green by the Numbers – class, Tues, April 29; site visit, Saturday, May 3:

Presenter: Alan Gibson

Gibson Design/Build, Inc
163 Moosehead Trail
Waldo ME 04915
mobile 323-3079
home 722-3079
work agibson@pivot.net

Site one described below; Working on a second Belfast site to visit

Green by the Numbers will look at the potential energy savings in a typical 2,000 sq. ft. home by comparing a standard-built house with a “super-built” house. Through energy modeling I will show that the “super” house uses 20% of the energy for space heating that the standard house uses. I will describe the changes to the envelope required to achieve this level of energy reduction, and the class will go through the process of determining heat loss and solar heat gain with energy calculations. For the field trip we will visit a house I built recently in Belfast to these specifications.

Bio:
Alan Gibson is the owner of Gibson Design/Build, Inc., a general contracting and design company based in Waldo. For many years, he’s been trying to crack the nut of highly-efficient design coupled with affordability in home building.

IV. Pushing the Envelope - Best Practices for Energy Efficient, High- Performance Buildings – class, Tuesday, May 13; site visit, Sat., May 17; Presenter: Richard Riegel Burbank,

Evergreen Home Performance
328 Main St, #207
Rockland, ME 04841
Office: 207-594-2244, 1-877-538-2244
Fax: 1-877-429-5458
Cell: 207-691-6517
richard@evergreenhp.com
www.evergreenhp.com

Site visits: one would be a energy analysis of WA building, plus a second bldg in Belfast, tbd

In the US, buildings are responsible for almost half (48%) of all energy consumption and green house gas emissions annually; globally the percentage is even greater. Improving energy efficiency of buildings is crucial with the dramatic increases in oil prices and concern over global warming.

While there is great interest and glamour in alternate energy sources like solar, a building’s outer shell, or “building envelope”, determines how much energy is required to keep the interior comfortable. Maximizing the envelope’s performance can dramatically reduce the demand for energy, whatever the source.

We’ll discuss the building envelope and how it is a crucial detail for achieving energy efficiency in any new construction or renovation. Focus will be on state of the art practices that integrate a well-insulated, air-tight building envelope with good ventilation for indoor air quality.

We will discuss the pitfalls and potential building failures when striving for energy efficiency in a construction or renovation project.

Maine’s large stock of older homes have lasted for 100 years and more precisely because they are drafty and burned lots of fuel to heat through the winter. Making an older home comfortable and efficient requires insulating and sealing drafts as well as a plan to address moisture, ensure good indoor air quality and prevent mold and rot.

Burbank will demonstrate how high-tech diagnostic tools, including the infrared camera and the blower door, can help assess the performance of a building envelope. During the site visit, these tools will be demonstrated on the Waterfall Arts building to show lack of insulation in the walls and air leakage through the building.

Some recent projects in new construction and retrofit will be presented including a new super efficient dormitory project at College of the Atlantic, a local home energy and building performance renovation project, and an elementary school air leakage reduction project.

Bio:
Richard Riegel Burbank founded Evergreen Home Performance LLC in 2006. The company provides building diagnostics and building envelope installation and renovation. Projects range from installing cellulose in new construction and retrofit, air leakage reduction in residential and commercial buildings, and moisture mitigation in basements and crawlspaces. He is one of the first Building Performance Institute certified analysts in Maine, and an affiliated contractor with Maine Home Performance with Energy Star and ZeroDraft.

V. Energy Systems Integration – class, Tues., May 27; site visit, Sat, May 31 Presenter: Pat Coon

ReVision Energy
90 W. Main St.
Liberty ME 04949
Pat@ReVisionenergy.com
www.ReVisionenergy.com
589-3234
323-1805

Site visits: Thanhauser house needs confirmation, working on a second site in Belfast area

We'll explore various techniques to produce the energy necessary for a modern, efficient home. We'll look at the competing interests of simplicity, efficiency and up front costs in the design process. What technologies are available and when should each be used? Specific attention will be placed on biomass for heat (wood and pellets), solar electricity, solar thermal energy, wind, and fossil fuels.

I'd like a field trip to include the Thanhauser residence in Belfast, new construction that heats with wood, and has solar hot water and Photovoltaic Electricity. Another field trip can be to the ReVision Energy shop in Liberty, where we heat with a high efficiency wood boiler, and have solar hot water for domestic hot water, plus lots of fun things to play with.

Bio:
Pat Coon is a founding Partner in ReVision Energy, formerly Energyworks, the state’s leading installer of renewable energy systems.

VI. Putting it All Together: Case Studies – class Tuesday, June 10; site visits, Saturday, June 14;

Presenters: Sarah Holland and David Foley

Holland & Foley
Work: 338-9869
232 Beech Hill Rd.
Northport ME 04849
david@hollandandfoley.com
sarah@hollandandfoley.com
www.hollandandfoley.com

Site visits: Northport office, Camden house

Putting it All Together: Case Studies will be a presentation of several projects which incorporate processes and techniques discussed in previous classes as well as new ideas. David and Sarah will focus on three different projects and have time for Q &A afterwards. The field trip will include visits to two of these projects. The first is our new office in Northport, which is currently under construction. The second is a new house completed last year in Camden.

Bios:
Sarah Holland is a registered architect with over 20 years of experience. She worked with several firms in New England before entering private practice. Sarah attended the State University of New York at Buffalo in the ‘80’s and graduated from the Boston Architecture Center in 1988. She has held an interest in solar design and environmental building throughout her career.

David Foley has worked in environmental building since 1980, as a designer, builder, researcher and teacher. He worked for several architecture firms before joining Sarah. He has a Masters of Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley, a Masters of Professional Studies in Resource Economics from the University of Maine, and a Bachelor of Arts in Community Design from Dartmouth College.

Holland & Foley Architecture L.L.C. was founded in 1994 as a firm focusing on environmentally responsible design. Together, David Foley and Sarah Holland have worked on numerous residential, institutional and commercial projects throughout Maine, which share a common thread of energy and environmental mindfulness.

Local Environmental Scene -- What's Happening

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

Wednesday, March 19 -- 2008 Maine Water Conference, 7:30am-4:00pm, Augusta Civic Center, Augusta, Maine. The Maine Water Conference was founded in 1994 by the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed Research at the University of Maine as an annual forum for water resource professionals, researchers, consultants, citizens, students, regulators, and planners to exchange information and present new findings on water resource issues in Maine. For more information, visit www.umaine.edu/waterresearch/mwc/

Friday, March 21 and Saturday, March 22 -- F.W. Horch's first annual Spring Green Sale. Here's your chance to buy green and save some green! Save on all close-outs and overstock items, and get a sneak peek at the new products we'll be bringing in for the spring and summer. 56 Maine Street, Brunswick. 729-4050.

Saturday, March 22 -- Bicycle Film and Auction Fundraiser, 11am - 1pm, Eveningstar Cinema. To raise funds for the upcoming Brunswick Bike Fair, the Brunswick Sustainability Group is screening the film Return of the Scorcher and holding a silent auction. This half-hour documentary looks at bike culture and bike lifestyles around the world, with beautiful and inspiring scenes of bike use filmed in China, The Netherlands, Denmark, and the U.S. After the film screening, we will be auctioning entertainment items, including movie tickets from the Eveningstar Cinema, sustainable living goods from FW Horch, landscaping design services, gift certificates from area restaurants, and more!

Monday, March 24 -- Monthly Brunswick Sustainability Group meeting. 7-8:30 pm in the Morrell meeting room at Curtis Library in Brunswick.

Monday, March 25 -- Cool Cities: Film and Discussion Series, part 1: 'Toast' (on oil dependance) and 'The True Cost of Food' (on sustainable agriculture). 7-8:30pm Topsham Public Library. The Sierra Club and Maine Partners for Cool Communities, Topsham Conservation Commission, Topsham’s Future and the Topsham Public Library will sponsor this series designed to provoke discussion about grass roots efforts to protect the environment. Contact Helen Tomer at the Topsham Public Library at 725-1727 FMI.

Wednesday, March 26 -- Vanessa Levesque, the Natural Resources Planner for the Town of Brunswick, is looking for 30 volunteers to help with a mapping survey of vernal pools in the Brunswick area this spring. The data will be key in planning -- both to help plan development that is near these features and to help target conservation efforts to high priority areas. There will be a two hour training session for volunteers on Wed. March 26th in the early evening (most likely starting at 6pm), food provided. If you're interested, please email Vanessa at vlevesque@brunswickme.org.

Thursday, April 3 -- The Governor's Energy Efficiency Summit: Revitalizing Maine's Business and Energy Climate, in the Augusta Civic Center, Augusta. For more information, visit www.maine.gov/governor/baldacci/policy/EnergySummit.html

Saturday, April 5 -- 'Eat Locally, Act Globally', a talk by Wendy Holm, from 10:30-12pm at the Curtis Memorial Library. Holm is an agronomist from British Columbia and leads trips to Cuba to bring together farmers and chefs to learn from each other about sustainable agriculture. See www.brunswicktrinidad.org or email tlphillips@suscom-maine.net FMI.

Saturday April 26 -- Brunswick Bike Fair, 11 am - 2 pm, Downtown Mall. The Brunswick Sustainability Group invites you to take part in a Bike Fair in Brunswick. The goals of the Bike Fair are to encourage attendees to view bicycling as a viable means of transportation in and around our community, to motivate people to get on their bikes, and to celebrate current bikers. Our hope is that the fair, through gear and safety demonstrations, group rides, and information by a number of organizations, will motivate people to view and ride bicycles as more than just a form of exercise but as an effective and efficient form of transportation. BSG Bike Events Contact: Maggie Soulman, ecosquirrel@hotmail.com, 617.512-0437.

Spring Green Sale

Don't miss our Spring Green Sale--our only sale of the year!

Save 10% - 50% on seasonal and clearance items
Friday, March 21 9:30 - 7 pm
Saturday, March 22 9:30 - 6 pm

Books 10% - 50% savings
50 watt solar kit $580 $290
AustinAir air purifier floor model $445 $222.50
American Pride paint 50% savings
DC lighting and equipment 50% savings
Holiday LED lighting 25% savings
Earthworm Castings 10% savings
Ice melt 10% savings
Draft stoppers 25% savings
Camping water filters 25% savings
Pest control 25% savings
Rechargeable batter chargers 25% savings
Natural wood finishes 10% - 50% savings
Selected spring cleaning supplies 10% savings
Clearance items 50%+ savings

... and lots more!

Save money and help us make room for all the great new products we're finding!

New Products: JoraComposters, Push Lawn Mowers, & more!

We are continuing to bring in new products, with our focus now on spring. Yes, it's really coming! Here are the new products you can find now on our web site:

• JoraComposters
  We finally have an answer for those of you who want to compost outdoors all winter long here in Maine! The JK 125 Insulated Composter (and its larger sibling, the JK 270) were designed in Sweden to enable composting all year long, even in the winter of a cold climate. It has two separate compartments for composting. While one is fully composting, you fill the second compartment. By the time you've filled the second compartment ,the first will be ready to empty and add to your garden or green space. Because of the insulation and high heat achieved during decomposition, meat and fish can also be successfully composted in the JoraComposter.
  
• Sunlawn Push Reel Mower
  Mow your lawn quietly, without any gasoline, and give yourself some exercise as well. The Sunlawn LMM-40 Push Reel Mower is one of Sunlawn's lightest, quietest and easiest to maneuver mowers. A perfect way to sustainably care for your lawn.
  
• Neuton Battery-Powered Lawn Mower
  If you have a small lawn, 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.

Earthworm Castings - Sustainable Living Tip for March 2008

Earthworm castings are a gentle, slow-release, natural fertilizer that works especially well for seedlings. Mix 1 part castings to 3 parts potting soil to start seeds, or line the bottom and sides of seed furrows with 1"-2" of castings to give your little plants a healthy head start.

More to know about Earthworm Castings

1. Unlike synthetic fertilizers, which require the unsustainable consumption of petroleum for their production, worm castings rely on worms and soil micro-organisms, resources that are plentiful and renewable.
2. You can make your own worm castings from kitchen scraps. In a few months, worms in a bin can turn twenty parts kitchen scraps into 1 part castings.
3. Worms eat about half their weight a day; the more worms you have, the more waste they can consume.
4. The best type of worms to use for indoor worms bins are red wigglers (Eisenia foetida).
5. In warmer weather, you can grow worms outside. They will multiply happily between 60 and 85 degrees, but most will not survive at temperatures below 40 degrees.
6. If you need worm castings sooner than you can make them, you can purchase them. A little goes a long way!
7. "Finished" worm castings that are ready for use as fertilizer have a pleasant, earthy smell.
8. For a highly effective liquid fertilizer, soak 1 part worm castings in 3 parts water for 24 hours. Stir well, then use to water fruiting, flowering, or difficult-to-access potted plants.
9. Unlike synthetic fertilizers, worm castings do not lead to run-off pollution because the nitrogen in them is mostly water insoluble.
10. In our store in Brunswick we sell worm castings, breeder packs of red wigglers, worm bins, and books about how to raise your own worms.

Interested in starting a worm bin to make your own worm castings? Worms Eat My Garbage is an essential resource.

Local Environmental Scene -- What's Happening

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

Monday, March 3 -- The Brunswick Town Council may consider taking action on its Cool Community Pledge to reduce global warming emissions. If you feel that Brunswick should develop a plan to reduce its carbon footprint, contact your Councilor or come to Monday's council meeting to express your opinion. Public support is critical to convince our Town's elected officials and professional staff to take meaningful action!

Tuesday, March 4 -- Environmental Health Lobby Day at the statehouse in Augusta, hosted by The Alliance for a Clean and Healthy Maine. For more information, visit www.cleanandhealthyme.org

Saturday, March 15 -- Spring Growth 2008, 9am to 4:30pm at MOFGA’s Common Ground Education Center, Unity, Maine. A full day focusing on energy, agriculture and climate, featuring what to expect for Maine’s climate in the future and breakout sessions on energy efficiency and renewables. Keynote Speaker: Tim LaSalle, Director, Rodale Institute. For more information, visit www.MOFGA.org

Wednesday, March 19 -- 2008 Maine Water Conference, 7:30am-4:00pm, Augusta Civic Center, Augusta, Maine. The Maine Water Conference was founded in 1994 by the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed Research at the University of Maine as an annual forum for water resource professionals, researchers, consultants, citizens, students, regulators, and planners to exchange information and present new findings on water resource issues in Maine. For more information, visit www.umaine.edu/waterresearch/mwc/

Friday, March 21 and Saturday, March 22 -- F.W. Horch's first annual Spring Green Sale. Here's your chance to buy green and save some green! Save on all close-outs and overstock items, and get a sneak peek at the new products we'll be bringing in for the spring and summer. 56 Maine Street, Brunswick. 729-4050.

Saturday, March 22 -- Bicycle Film and Auction Fundraiser, 11am - 1pm, Eveningstar Cinema. To raise funds for the upcoming Brunswick Bike Fair, the Brunswick Sustainability Group is screening the film Return of the Scorcher and holding a silent auction. This half-hour documentary looks at bike culture and bike lifestyles around the world, with beautiful and inspiring scenes of bike use filmed in China, The Netherlands, Denmark, and the U.S. After the film screening, we will be auctioning entertainment items, including movie tickets from the Eveningstar Cinema, sustainable living goods from FW Horch, landscaping design services, gift certificates from area restaurants, and more!

Wednesday, March 26 -- Vanessa Levesque, the Natural Resources Planner for the Town of Brunswick, is looking for 30 volunteers to help with a mapping survey of vernal pools in the Brunswick area this spring. The data will be key in planning – both to help plan development that is near these features and to help target conservation efforts to high priority areas. There will be a two hour training session for volunteers on Wed. March 26th in the early evening (most likely starting at 6pm), food provided. If you’re interested, please email Vanessa at vlevesque@brunswickme.org.

Thursday, April 3 -- The Governor's Energy Efficiency Summit: Revitalizing Maine's Business and Energy Climate, in the Augusta Civic Center, Augusta. For more information, visit www.maine.gov/governor/baldacci/policy/EnergySummit.html

Saturday April 26 -- Brunswick Bike Fair, 11 am - 2 pm, Downtown Mall. The Brunswick Sustainability Group invites you to take part in a Bike Fair in Brunswick. The goals of the Bike Fair are to encourage attendees to view bicycling as a viable means of transportation in and around our community, to motivate people to get on their bikes, and to celebrate current bikers. Our hope is that the fair, through gear and safety demonstrations, group rides, and information by a number of organizations, will motivate people to view and ride bicycles as more than just a form of exercise but as an effective and efficient form of transportation. BSG Bike Events Contact: Maggie Soulman, ecosquirrel@hotmail.com, 617.512-0437.

New Products: BioBricks, NatureMills, and more!

It's not easy being green when you run a retail store. We are constantly evaluating product ideas. It's a time-intensive process to do the research to find products that really are practical and really do help save the planet. But we've been hard at work tackling our backlog of hundreds of product ideas and customer requests from our first year of operations.

We now have more than a dozen new products on our web site, including:

• BioBricks
  Heat your home with clean and efficient compressed sawdust bricks. (Limit 4 per customer due to limited supply.)
  
• Night Logs
  Keep your wood stove going all night with a compressed sawdust log--more than twice the density and half the moisture content of cord wood. (Limit 2 per customer due to limited supply.)
  
• Power Logs
  Enjoy a clean-burning, environmentally-friendly fire in your fireplace, without the hassles of cord wood. (Limit 3 per customer due to limited supply.)
  
• The Happy Farmer Bokashi Ktichen Composter
  Anaerobically "compost" meat scraps indoors without odors.
  
• NatureMill Plus Indoor / Outdoor Composter
  Plug in this electric composter to compost up to 120 pounds of food waste per month (including meat scraps) quickly and efficiently all year round, indoors or out.
  
• NatureMill Pet Friendly Composter
  Placed on a deck or back porch, this electric composter can handle up to 120 pounds of food and pet waste per month.
  
• NatureMill Pro Indoor/Outdoor Composter
  Choose a heavy-duty electric composter with stainless steel components for continuous duty in a large family or small cafe. (AVAILABLE IN MARCH)
  
• Doggie Dooley Pet Waste Composter
  When warmer weather arrives, plan to install one of these in-ground composting systems to safely and conveniently eliminate pet waste.

News from ReVision Energy

Jen Hatch of the newly-named ReVision Energy writes,

In like a Lion
March is nearly here, and spring is almost amongst us. I happen to love the winter but I can image that many are looking forward to transition from this particularly snowy season.

The snow has not slowed us down this winter; in fact I think people's increased concern for alternative solutions to their rising energy bills has given rise to the awareness of solar. We have been fortunate to work with many homeowners to reduce their energy bills by supplementing that source with solar energy.

As summer is not too far off the horizon we continue to stress the benefits of solar energy. If you are a homeowner who is burning oil or gas during the months between May to October, where there is little to no call for heat, you may be interested to know that a solar hot water system will turn that furnace off, and keep it off, unless of course there is a particularly high demand for hot water, or if there is an extended period of time without sun. Think about how much oil or gas you use during those months, and you can think of that as a start to your savings.

Did you know that if you are a commercial business the state will pay for 35% of your solar hot water system, capped at $10,500? We recently held a seminar geared for restaurant businesses, as we feel that restaurants, with their continuous and extensive usage of hot water, are excellent candidates for a solar energy system. Any business that wishes to find out how a solar application can benefit them should contact our office. The state rebate is incredibly favorable at this time for commercial systems.

Not only is there a state incentive, there is also an incentive on the federal level, 30% uncapped of the remaining cost of the system. With these rebates the payback is hard to beat.

ReVision Energy recently worked with WPXT-TV and Efficiency Maine as part of the 'Green Team' that helped to give the Wright family in Falmouth a home efficiency makeover. Jed Wright was selected out of 100 nominees for the first ever green make over show provided by WPXT-TV. ReVision Energy provided the labor and materials for the solar hot water installation. You can view an article that ran in the Press Herald at the link provided below:

Going Green In More Ways Than One

And last, but certainly not least, we are pleased to tell you that we have finished the Yarmouth High School solar photovoltaic installation. This summer students from the Yarmouth High school worked on writing a grant provided by the public utilities commission for a demonstrative solar electric system to be installed on the roof of their school. The proposal not only included panels for the roof but also a data monitoring system that will track what the panels are doing and will be able to be read and utilized in the classroom.

The students demonstrated that a solar electric system benefits not only the school but the community as a whole. They were awarded the grant money last fall and were recognized by the governor for their ambition and hard work. The forecaster has been keeping tabs on this project, this is their most recent story highlighting the installation.

Sun shines on Yarmouth High solar project

As always, please call our office to find out how a solar application may benefit you, 221-6342.

Be well,
Jen

Community Supported Agriculture

The families in the Brunswick community who rely on Crystal Spring Farm for their CSA shares will need to find another source of local food this year. To help people connect with other local farmers, we have published a directory of CSA Farms in the Brunswick area. In March we will be creating a local environmental information bulletin board in our store, which will feature CSA information.

Super-Efficient Home Talk

"Design and Build Your Own Super-Efficient Home", Mar 13
Join us at the store on Thursday, March 13th, at 7:00 pm for our next Sustainable Living Talk, "Design and Build Your Own Super-Efficient Home."

We are delighted to have Al Heath back to talk on the topic of super-efficient building. He writes,

"I was a carpenter, designer, and contractor for 12 years before changing careers in 1990. Four years ago when I wanted to build my family a new and much more energy efficient house, I found that not only was it prohibitively expensive, but most of the builders I spoke with didn't really know what "super-insulated, passive solar" meant. I decided to re-educate myself to the new reality and techniques of energy efficiency and build it myself.

My wife and I researched, designed, and built 80% of our new home while sub-contracting the rest. We now easily heat our beautiful 2,000 square foot home on one cord of wood, 75 gallons of kerosene, and all the free/clean sunshine we can get. I have recently installed a solar hot water system that provides a majority of our domestic hot water needs and next, we hope to increase the size of this system for space heating and further reduce our use of firewood and oil.

It is challenging, interesting, and important work but you don't have to be a rocket scientist! I will share everything time allows, including a list of helpful sources and contractors."

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. Space is limited, so we encourage you to call the store at 729-4050 to reserve a seat.

Vampire Loads - Sustainable Living Tip for February 2008

According to Efficiency Maine, 75% of electricity used for home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off. You can use a Kill-a-Watt meter to test which appliances are "vampires"--sucking electricity all night long. Stop them by unplugging them or putting them on a power strip with a switch.

More to know about Vampire Loads

• Electricity in Maine costs about 15.5 cents per kilowatt hour, well above the national average. Leaving a desktop computer in "idle" mode (monitor and hard drive powered down) for a year costs about $183 here in Maine.
• Any device that requires resetting after a blackout is a vampire. Some microwave ovens, for example, draw electricity to maintain clock settings. Try wearing a watch to keep time, then put your microwave oven on a switch outlet so you can turn it off. Ignore the blink when you turn it back on; you can cook with it just fine. The flashing time will remind you to turn it off when you're done. ("It's not a problem, it's a feature!")
• Always unplug cell phone chargers and other transformers from the wall. Any "wall wart" that gets warm to the touch is wasting energy! Don't just disconnect your cell phone or laptop from the charger. Remember to unplug the charger from the wall.
• Consider replacing old-fashioned incandescent night lights with the new Light Emitting Capacitor (LEC) technology. These blue-green nightlights are cool to the touch, consuming only 0.03 watts (that's three one hundreths of a watt). LECs are 8 times more efficient than LEDs and 200 times more efficient than incandescent night lights, saving you about $9.50 per year.
• The best tool to use to measure vampire loads is a Kill-A-Watt meter. Plug this electricity monitor into the wall, then plug your appliance into it. An LCD screen shows you exactly how much electricity the vampire is using.
• Keep in mind that simply turning lights and appliances off can often be a more effective conservation approach than buying the most efficient product and leaving it on all the time. For example, a 100 watt incandescent light bulb on a motion sensor that comes on only when someone comes to your porch will use just 0.1 KWh per day, whereas a 25 watt CFL left on all night will consume 0.25 KWh per day. You'd save 0.15 KWh per day ($8.48 per year) with the incandescent bulb that's on only when needed.
• Consider putting in a timer switch or a motion switch for bathrooms and other rooms where lights can be left on accidentally. A bathroom vanity with three 75 watt light bulbs left on while your family is away for a week's vacation will consume 37.8 KWh, costing you $5.86.
• The average household in Maine uses 500 KWh per month, or about 16 KWh per day. Take a look at your power bill. If you consume more than average, chances are that you have some vampire loads. Make some changes, then see if you notice a change on your power bill -- and in your bank account!
  

Featured Product

A Kill-a-Watt home electricity meter is an indispensable tool in tracking down vampire loads. More info »

Promoting Renewable Energy in Maine

Here's an editorial piece I wrote about how we can promote renewable energy in Maine:

As energy prices increase, many people in Maine are unable to pay their fuel and electricity bills. The long-term solution to this crisis is to heat and power our homes and businesses with the free energy from the sun that is already being delivered every day to every part of our state.

I believe we Mainers should begin weaning ourselves from an unhealthy addiction to foreign oil. We should let the market determine the price of gasoline and fuel oil. Artificially subsidizing the costs of burning fossil fuels through government programs simply makes the problem worse by retarding the necessary investment in sustainable local energy solutions. The rising price of fossil fuel levels the playing field for solar, geothermal and tidal energy.

Although market forces are probably the most efficient way to allocate resources toward viable energy solutions, it is unrealistic to expect politicians to restrain themselves from trying to use governmental power to help people struggling with the unprecedented fossil fuel crisis. Several proposals are circulating now about how to reduce the price of fossil fuels (dragging us further into a hopeless situation) or to reduce the price of renewable energy (arguably moving us closer to a sustainable energy future). All of these proposals suffer from the same problem: lack of government funding to sustain the subsidies in the face of increases in the real costs of fuel.

In particular, I think efforts to re-regulate our electricity market through feed-in tariffs are particularly misguided. Experience with regulated energy markets worldwide shows that central planners are unable to predict real costs and technological advances. As a result, tariff pricing leads to massive inefficiencies, higher prices and poor public infrastructure investments.

A better approach, in my mind, is to pursue our current policy of renewable portfolio standards. Rather than dictating a particular price as in a tariff scheme, regulators dictate acceptable standards for how energy is to be generated. For example, regulators may require energy providers not to pollute, or to use only renewable fuels. The market is then free to set efficient prices and make investments in technologies that meet the production standards set by regulators. Regulators enforce the rules by fining or imprisoning violators.

The major risk to both a tariff scheme and a renewable portfolio standard is that the regulators may set an unrealistic target that simply cannot be met by the market in a cost-effective manner. A renewable portfolio standard, however, is better able to allow prices to increase to attract the necessary additional capital to make the required investments. In the end, regulators will have to confront the reality that they can control price or they can control quality, but they can't control both. At this stage in our energy crisis, I believe we must focus the efforts of our regulators on improving the quality of our energy supply and allow prices to rise to reflect the true costs of our energy systems.

There are several ways to capture and use solar energy:

• wood, potatoes, straw, ethanol, biodiesel and other "biofuel"
• passive solar design
• active solar heating
• active solar power
• wind power

Forcing a tariff rate on the various options is likely to be extremely difficult. However, there are clear standards that could be established and enforced by state regulators under a renewable portfolio standard. For example, emissions can be measured and standards adopted that would eliminate coal and wood-fired power plants, shifting investment toward cleaner sources by simply fining or imprisoning producers that exceed pollution standards. We could nudge along the adoption of clean energy systems by expanding our current "net-zero" policy for home-owner clean energy systems to be a "net-positive" policy. Home owners who have installed solar panels on their grid-connected properties should be paid for all of the net power they feed back to the grid, not just a portion of it as is currently the law.

Whatever policy the state adopts, it must take steps to provide long-term predictability to the market. Since we have recently adopted electricity price competition with renewable portfolio standards, I think it would send the wrong signal to go back to a regulated tariff scheme. My message to regulators is this: "Set high standards, enforce them strictly, and give private investors the confidence that the rules of the game aren't in flux."

In the end, our state and we residents must confront the basic fact that fossil fuel prices are out of our control. Sooner or later we should switch to local, clean sources of energy: solar, geothermal and tidal. These are the only energy sources that can sustain our future economic prosperity.

Biodiesel Is Not Corn Ethanol

I burn biodiesel (B20) instead of #2 heating oil in my home boiler. Recently several friends and acquaintances have questioned whether this isn't actually worse for the environment.

It's not.

We had an interesting talk here at the store this summer about this very issue.

Pretty much every study done to date has shown that corn ethanol is a bad idea. Biodiesel, on the other hand, looks much more promising. For several years people in Maine have been studying how to produce biodiesel from wood and potatoes. Recent laboratory studies have been done on producing biodiesel from algae, which could be grown in shallow pools on land which is currently not suitable for conventional agriculture (on the roof of Hannafords supermarket, for example). This would avoid all of the impacts studied in the Science article.

The basic difference between ethanol and biodiesel is that ethanol processes convert sugar to alcohol, whereas biodiesel processes convert oils to biodiesel. Corn is used as a feedstock for ethanol because corn has a high sugar content. Other feedstocks with higher oil content (soybeans, for example) are used for biodiesel.

It's important not to throw out the baby with the bathwater in the biofuel discussion. It's easy to demonstrate that subsidizing ethanol from corn the way it is currently grown is not going to solve our energy or environmental challenges. However, there do appear to be solutions available if we diversify our energy crops and begin to replace petroleum with biodiesel for space heating and other situations where liquid fuels are essential.

Many writers in the popular press don't appreciate the difference between ethanol and biodiesel and inaccurately generalize the findings about corn ethanol to all biofuels. The important thing to remember is that the biofuel that you can buy to replace #2 heating oil is not ethanol and is not made from corn.

So, why is B20 better for the environment than 100% petroleum #2 heating oil?

Three reasons:

1. B20 burns cleaner. More of the fuel is burned, leading to fewer particulate emissions.
2. B20 can be produced locally, so less energy and infrastructure is required to transport it.
3. B20 is renewable. That means we can leave the carbon that is safely sequestered in petroleum in place, and instead pull carbon from the atmosphere to grow more biodiesel. Of course, the devil is in the details with exactly how we grow the biodiesel feedstocks, but we have a lot of options--and no doubt we'll soon have more if the market for B20 continues to expand.
   

Flashlights and Radios

It's safer and more sustainable to rely on battery-free flashlights and hand-crank radios for emergencies. Not only will you save money without disposable batteries, but you'll be able to count on having light and a link to the outside world when you need it most.

More to know about flashlights and radios

1. Look for LED flashlights. Long-lasting LED bulbs are far more durable and efficient than old-fashioned incandescent bulbs.
2. Choose capacitors instead of batteries where possible. High-quality "shake" flashlights have no batteries. Instead, they have magnets to generate electricity and capacitors to store it. Beware of cheap knock-offs that have button batteries and toy magnets. We tested a batch of these, only to discover that when the battery lost charge the flashlights stopped working!
3. Recharge your batteries. Some products require batteries, which can store more energy than capacitors. Be prepared to check and recharge batteries on a regular basis. The most common type of rechargeable battery--nickel metal hydride (NiMH)--loses charge faster than disposable alkaline batteries.
4. Recharge in the sun. If your flashlight or radio has a solar panel, you can leave it in the sun to ensure that it is fully charged whenever you need it.

February 2008 Happenings

Wednesday, February 13 -- Friends of Merrymeeting Bay will present speaker Jamie Silvestri, Program Director, The ArtVan at Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick at 7 pm on Wednesday, February 13, for "Environment; Advocacy Through the Arts", a fun hands-on session for all ages. For more information, visit www.FriendsofMerrymeetingBay.org

Tuesday, February 19 -- Frontier Cafe in Brunswick will show a special screening of Kilowatt Ours, a film about energy conservation and alternative energy. For more information about the film, visit http://www.kilowattours.org/

Monday, February 25 -- Join the Brunswick Sustainability Group for its next monthly meeting on Monday, February 25, at 7 pm at Frontier Cafe. Our group is planning a Brunswick Bike Fair for Saturday, April 26, and a film screening of "Return of the Scorcher" on Saturday, March 22. If you want to see more people in the Brunswick region embrace bicycling as a clean, safe and enjoyable form of transportation, please come and get involved! Everyone is welcome. For more information, visit www.BrunswickSustainability.org