Go Solar

June's Sustainable Living Tip

Go solar for abundant clean energy. You can start with simple steps like growing a kitchen garden -- the closer to home your food is grown, the less dirty fossil fuel required. Or you can make the switch to heat and power your home completely by clean solar energy. The sunlight falling on just one acre in Portland could support all the energy needs of one hundred and sixty Maine families.

Facts about Solar Energy

1. By some calculations, the typical meal eaten in Maine requires more than its own weight in fossil fuel for transportation, storage, packaging and synthetic fertilizer. Growing your own food or supporting local organic farmers is a delicious way to "go solar," relying more on the sun than oil for your personal energy.
2. Every year each acre in Portland, Maine, receives over 24,000 gigajoules (GJ) of solar energy. This is 160 times greater than the total annual energy (heating, electricity and transportation) needed by an average family living in Maine.
3. The average Maine family burns 900 gallons of heating oil in a 78% efficient boiler, using about 100 GJ of energy for space heating and hot water annually. That energy can be collected every year by about 21 square meters -- about half the size of a two-car garage -- of solar thermal collectors operating at 80% efficiency.
4. Solar thermal collectors collect the sun's heat. Then fans blow air or pumps circulate liquid to bring this heat inside where it can be used for space heating or hot water.
   
5. The average sized Maine home (200 square meters) built to super-efficient standards would require less than 11 GJ for space heating per year. This would require just 2 square meters -- a little bigger than the hood of a Volvo station wagon -- of solar thermal collectors.
6. The average family in Maine uses about 20 GJ of electricity annually (around 500 kilowatt hours per month). That energy can be collected every year by about 17 square meters -- about 10 feet by 18 feet -- of photovoltaic solar panels operating at 20% efficiency.
7. Photovoltaic (PV) panels directly convert sunlight to electricity. This electricity can then be fed into regular house current, or can be stored in batteries. Maine has a "net metering" law which allows homeowners to "spin their meters backwards" when sending excess electricity to the grid.
   
8. If a family could reduce its monthly electricity consumption to 350 kilowatt hours per month (for example, by replacing an inefficient refrigerator and using clothes drying racks instead of an electric dryer), their annual electricity needs could be met by just 12 square meters of PV panels -- about 10 by 13 feet.
9. The average family in Maine burns 1,300 gallons of gasoline in vehicles that are about 20% efficient at converting fuel to motion, using about 31.5 GJ of energy for personal transportation annually. Most of the energy released by burning gasoline in an internal combustion engine is wasted as heat.
10. It is difficult to use solar energy to produce liquid fuels (such as ethanol) that can replace gasoline. Serious concerns have been raised about the sustainability of growing corn as an ethanol feedstock.
11. If a family could purchase an electric car, which could be easily recharged with electricity generated by solar power, 26 square meters of PV panels -- about 10 feet by 28 feet -- could satisfy their annual transportation needs.
12. Switching from internal combustion engines to electric motors in our cars will allow us to switch from gasoline to solar power for our transportation needs. The batteries in our electric vehicles will allow us to store solar power for use when it is needed. The first all-electric, mass-market cars are expected to be widely available in the United States starting in 2012.
    
13. More solar energy reaches Maine in four hours than our entire state economy uses in a year.
14. Enough solar energy falls on just the 23,450 miles of public road in Maine to power an economy that uses three and a half times as much energy as our state's does. We could stop using all other sources of energy except solar and still have plenty of capacity to grow our economy.
15. More than half of the electricity generated in Maine already comes from renewable energy sources -- primarily hydropower and wood -- that are forms of stored solar power.
16. Per square meter, over one thousand four hundred times more energy is available per year by directly collecting solar energy than by harvesting firewood. In other words, cord wood is approximately 0.07% efficient at storing solar energy. One acre of solar thermal collectors is the energy equivalent of a 1,400 acre wood lot .
    
17. Super insulated water tanks, such as the Marathon hot water heater, can store solar energy for up to two weeks. This allows solar hot water systems to provide hot water at night and during weeks of inclement weather.
    
18. Solar panels capture more energy than is used to manufacture them. Depending on the manufacturing process and how much solar energy is available for the panel to collect, it takes between one and six years for the panel to "pay back" the amount of energy used to create it. Since panels last for up to twenty years, almost every solar panel in use is providing a net energy benefit over its lifetime. Solar panels are now providing the energy to make more solar panels.
19. Wind power derives from solar energy because winds are primarily due to uneven heating of the earth's surface.
20. Although there is much less solar energy available in the winter in Maine than in the summer, the winds in certain locations are stronger in winter. Wind power, hydropower and tidal power can complement solar power by being available at night, in winter, and during overcast periods.
21. In general, solar power is much more reliable than wind power and much easier to install on a wide variety of existing buildings without adverse visual and noise impact. Wind power, on the other hand, lends itself to economies of scale and is generally a cheaper way to generate large amounts of electricity intermittently at specific places, particularly offshore and along ridges.
22. Solar power is easy to incorporate into consumer electronics. Our store sells solar-powered clocks, radios, flashlights and battery chargers. These are fun and easy ways to try out solar power on a small and affordable scale.

Going Solar

Join us on Thursday, June 10, from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm here at F.W. Horch Sustainable Goods and Supplies, 56 Maine Street, Brunswick, for a talk by John Capron, of ReVision Energy, titled "Going Solar: Energy from the Sun." Free and open to the public.

Five hundred square feet of solar electric panels on a sunny, south-facing roof in Maine generate 100% of an average family's annual consumption (about 6 million watt hours of electricity per year). Thousands of Mainers have already decided that the risks of remaining dependent on fossil fuels -- none of which is produced here in Maine -- outweigh the cost of harvesting clean and reliable energy from their own rooftops in perpetuity.

"Solar energy is one of the best investments you can make for your children and grandchildren," says John. "If we do not begin solving our energy problems today, we will leave them a legacy of fossil energy pollution, scarcity and geopolitical conflict."

John's talk will explain the basics of harnessing the sun for heat and power. You'll learn how solar power systems work, how much solar energy is available at different times of the year for space heating, hot water and electricity, and how much different options cost. The talk will also cover common questions and concerns, such as how you can find out if your location is sunny enough, how long an installation will take, how reliable is solar equipment, how to integrate solar energy into existing house plumbing and wiring, how to participate in Maine's net metering program to "spin the meter backward," and how to qualify for the myriad financing options, tax credits and rebates available.

ReVision Energy is a full service renewable energy company offering design, sales, installation and service. Formerly known as Energyworks, ReVision Energy has emerged as an industry leader in northern New England, having installed more than half of all solar energy systems in Maine for the past four years. Their engineers from MIT and Brown University have a combined 25 years experience in the design, installation and service of renewable energy systems.

This talk is part of the F.W. Horch series on sustainable living. Each monthly talk is held on the second Thursday of the month at the F.W. Horch Sustainable Goods & Supplies store, 56 Maine Street, Brunswick. Space is limited, so if you are interested in attending, please call the store at 729-4050 to reserve a seat.

For more information, please visit www.FWHorch.com.

Be Prepared

May's Sustainable Living Tip

Be prepared. Create an emergency kit, make a plan, and stay informed. Start with a short-term plan for yourself and your family, but don't stop there. What is the long-term plan for your community and our society to avoid unnecessary emergencies and survive unavoidable ones?

Facts about Emergency Preparedness

1. The US Department of Homeland Security asks you to be prepared to survive on your own for three days in the event of a serious emergency.
2. You can find a list of supplies to include in your basic emergency kit at www.ready.gov.
3. One of the most important items to have on hand is at least three gallons of clean, drinkable water per person in your family.
4. If you would like a free, 5 gallon HDPE #2 plastic container with a handle and spigot, please call us at 729-4050 or email us at newsletter@fwhorch.com to arrange for pick up at our store. We have empty containers that held non-toxic, plant-based dish and laundry soap from Earth Friendly Products. When thoroughly rinsed and filled with tap water from a municipal supply, these containers are suitable for storing water for emergency use. If you use well water, most authorities recommend adding two drops of liquid chlorine bleach to help prevent microbial contamination.
   
5. Your kit should also contain non-perishable food, a first aid kit, and a wrench or pliers to turn off utilities.
   
6. For dependable light, you may want a shake flashlight that is water proof and does not require batteries.
7. To hear emergency broadcasts and weather reports, you may want a hand crank radio.
8. Beyond the basics, you should prepare a list of essential items, like prescription medicines or eye glasses, that are unique to your needs.
9. Along with your kit, make a plan of what to do during an emergency. Identify an out-of-town contact that all members of your family can call in case you become separated. Decide on a meeting place if you need to leave your home.
   
10. Once you've assembled your emergency kit and have a short-term emergency plan, think about ways you can help avoid unnecessary emergencies in your home, community and the world.
11. Minimize localized flooding by installing rain barrels and rain gardens to divert water from storm drains. This also helps prevent pollution from being washed into our lakes and streams.
    
12. Ensure greater food security by planting a row for the hungry in your home garden. Vegetables with good storage life are best, such as beets, cabbage, carrots, turnips, and winter squash.
    
13. Help avoid power outages by reducing your electricity consumption. During times of high demand, avoid running your electric clothes dryer (use a drying rack instead), toaster, air conditioner or space heaters.
14. Prevent frozen pipes in your home by insulating pipes near exterior walls, or by moving plumbing runs to central locations during a renovation. Remember, your home freezes from the top down and from the outside in. Pay particular attention to sealing leaks that may allow cold air to circulate around a pipe.
15. Consider installing a solar space heater for emergency or unattended heat. Solar space heaters require no fuel or electricity, just sunlight to help maintain warm indoor temperatures in homes, schools and businesses that are well insulated. They can be installed on a south-facing wall or a roof.
    
16. Make a long-term plan to transition away from fossil fuels. Coal, oil and gas are already unnecessary for home heating; you can heat with solar, wood or electricity instead. Save up for a plug-in electric car, which you likely will be able to buy here in the United States by 2012.
17. According to the Energy Information Administration, Maine, along with much of the U.S. Northeast, is vulnerable to distillate fuel oil shortages and price spikes during winter months. Maine’s per capita petroleum consumption is high due to the widespread use of fuel oil for home heating during the long, cold winters. About four-fifths of Maine households use fuel oil as their primary energy source for home heating, a higher share than in any other State.
    
18. In July 2000 the President directed the U.S. Department of Energy to establish the Northeast Heating Oil Reserve. The Reserve gives Northeast consumers adequate supplies for about 10 days, the time required for ships to carry heating oil from the Gulf of Mexico to New York Harbor. The Reserve's storage terminals are located in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and Groton and New Haven, Connecticut.
19. Maine has no fossil fuel reserves but has substantial renewable energy potential. Maine generates a larger share of its electricity from nonhydroelectric renewable resources than any other State.
20. Renewable sources, mainly wood and wood waste and hydroelectric, account for almost half of Maine’s net electricity generation. Maine’s residential electricity use is low compared with the rest of the Nation, in part because demand for air-conditioning is low during the cool summer months and because few households use electricity as their primary energy source for home heating.
21. If we start harnessing clean renewable energy for our needs, maybe future headlines about offshore disasters would read like this one posted in jest online: "Large Air Spill at Offshore Wind Farm. No Loss of Life or Environmental Threats Reported. Some Claim to Enjoy the Extra Breeze."

Top Bar Beekeeping

Gold Star Honeybees will present "How and Why to Keep Bees in Top Bar Beehives," a beekeeping discussion and demonstration, at our next sustainable living talk here at our store, F.W. Horch Sustainable Goods and Supplies, 56 Maine Street, Brunswick on Thursday, May 13 at 7 pm. The event is free and open to the public. Both experienced beekeepers and "wannabee" beekeepers are encouraged to attend.

"It's not about the honey, Honey," says Christy Hemenway, founder of Gold Star Honeybees in Bath, Maine. "It's about the bees!"

According to Christy, "Top Bar" beekeeping is a simple, bee-friendly, beekeeper-friendly, planet-friendly, and sustainable way of stewarding one of our most important pollinators. At the talk, she will discuss the simplicity of working a Top Bar Beehive and the advantages of this method of beekeeping.

Gold Star Honeybees manufactures a kit to build your own Top Bar Beehive using the most environmentally friendly components available. Gold Star Honeybees also offers a Beekeeping Service for folks who like the idea of having bees on their property, but are not able to dedicate the time and energy it requires to keep bees. For more information about the kit and beekeping service, visit www.GoldStarHoneybees.com or call 207-449-1121.

The demonstration on Thursday will take place inside, featuring an empty kit without the actual bees. Space is limited, so those interested in attending are encouraged to call the store at 729-4050 to reserve a seat.

This event is part of the F.W. Horch series on sustainable living. Each monthly workshop is held at the F.W. Horch Sustainable Goods & Supplies store, 56 Maine Street, Brunswick on the second Thursday of the month.

For more information about the F.W. Horch sustainable living series, please call 729-4050 or visit www.FWHorch.com.

From Tax Day to Earth Day

April's Sustainable Living Tip

April 15 is tax day and April 22 is Earth Day. Take advantage of government programs like Energy Star and Efficiency Maine, putting your tax dollars to work to help save the planet.

Facts about Planet-Saving Government Programs

1. Energy Star is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy that is intended to help us all save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices.
2. The Energy Star label was established to reduce pollution caused by wasted energy, and to make it easy for consumers to buy more efficient products without sacrificing performance, features, and comfort.
   
3. A product with an Energy Star label should meet strict specifications established by the EPA: the product category must contribute significant energy savings nationwide, products must meet consumer expectations for performance, a higher purchase price must be offset by lower operating costs, energy consumption and product performance must be measurable and verified with testing, and an Energy Star label must effectively differentiate more efficient products from less efficient ones.
4. In addition to helping you find Energy Star products like light bulbs and kitchen appliances, the Energy Star web site includes sections on Home Improvement, New Homes and Buildings & Plants.
   
5. If you purchase an energy-efficient product or renewable energy system for your home, you may be eligible for a 30% federal tax credit.
   
6. Some, but not all, Energy Star qualified products qualify for a federal tax credit. Energy Star distinguishes energy efficient products which, although they may cost more to purchase than inefficient models, will pay you back in lower energy bills within a reasonable amount of time, without a tax credit.
   
7. The State of Maine will implement a mail-in rebate program that will help residents replace older, inefficient water heaters and home heating and cooling equipment with new, efficient Energy Star qualified models. The program is tentatively scheduled to begin in May 2010, and will run until funds are depleted. Federal funding for this program is $1,263,000.
   
8. On March 5, 2010, the Government Accountability Office issued a report titled, "Covert Testing Shows the Energy Star Program Certification Process Is Vulnerable to Fraud and Abuse."
9. In light of these findings, EPA is taking the following steps, effective immediately:
   products may no longer be labeled by manufacturers until a lab report is submitted to and approved by EPA, EPA’s automated review process has been suspended, and new Energy Star partners will no longer be granted access to the Energy Star mark upon joining the program. Going forward, the Energy Star mark will be made available to partners only after a qualifying product is submitted and approved.
   
10. 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.
    
11. The Efficiency Maine Home Energy Savings Program offers incentives up to $3,000 to homeowners at all income levels for pre-approved energy-efficiency upgrades done by participating contractors. The program is funded by a grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (“Stimulus” dollars). Both our March and April sustainable living workshops here at the store have been on the topic of how to qualify for this program.
    
12. Thanks to an award of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds, Efficiency Maine will offer a Residential Heating / Cooling Appliance Replacement Program to start April 15, 2010. The Program will offer incentives for the replacement of existing Central Air Conditioners, Gas and Oil Boilers, Gas and Oil Furnaces, Air Source Heat Pumps, Electric Heat Pump Water Heaters, and Gas Tankless Water Heaters. Because funding for the Program is limited, a reservation system, based on signed contracts for installation by a licensed heating technical will be required. Additional information will be available the week of April 11, 2010, from Efficiency Maine.
    
13. Replace an old air conditioner, dehumidifier, clothes washer, refrigerator or freezer with selected Energy Star appliances and you could receive rebates of up to $75 through the Efficiency Maine Appliance Rebate Program. Obtain a mail-in rebate form from a retailer at purchase time to submit with a copy of your receipt.
14. Efficiency Maine's Residential Lighting Program enlists the participation of and works closely with manufacturers and lighting retailers to encourage them to produce and sell energy efficient lighting products to the residents of Maine. Our store, for example, is currently offering a $1 per CFL bulb instant rebate.
15. Our store also participates in the Efficiency Maine CFL Recycling Program. You can bring burned out CFLs to our store for proper recycling at no cost to you.
16. Maine has a net metering law that entitles customers to a billing credit for generating electricity for the grid using fuel cells, tidal power, solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, biomass, generators fueled by municipal solid waste in conjunction with recycling, and high-efficiency combined heat and power (CHP) systems. If you are connected to a public electricity grid and your system produces more energy in a billing period than you use, you receive credit at the retail rate for the excess. (In effect, your meter "runs backwards".)
17. Maine is one of a handful of states, including California, Massachusetts, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington, that have authorized neighborhood net metering. This allows groups of customers to take advantage of net metering from a single renewable energy facility owned jointly (e.g., residents of a neighborhood served by a community-owned wind turbine).
18. Neighborhood net metering allows customers who would not otherwise be able to take advantage of net metering to do so, such as homeowners whose roofs are too shaded to permit installation of solar panels. Neighborhood net metering can also permit aggregation of load to facilitate larger systems which exhibit economies of scale.
19. Net metering requires a subsidy from other customers because the participating customers are paid a retail rate for the power they sell to the electric company. This power displaces power that the electric company could buy at a wholesale rate. The subsidy tends to be regressive, since the customers who install renewable energy systems and benefit from net metering are usually better off than the average electric company customer.

Energy Saving Workshop

Join us on Thursday, April 8, at 7 pm here at the store for a workshop by Howard Nannen titled "Maine Pays You to Save Energy." The workshop is free and open to the public.

"Mainers are about to learn of an exciting new state program called the Efficiency Maine Weatherization Program," says Howard. "The State-O-Maine will pay you to weatherize your home. But as they say, 'Certain restrictions and requirements apply,' so we will help guide you through program requirements in our talk at F.W. Horch this Thursday."

Howard works with Energy Solutions For Maine, Inc. of Scarborough. The company is owned by Hugh Savage of Brunswick. Principal auditor, Aaron Despres of Harpswell performs home and commercial energy audits, as well as management of recommended energy efficiency improvements.

In his talk, Howard will explain how the Efficiency Maine Weatherization Program works. Incentive payments of $1,500 are available to homeowners who achieve a 25% savings in energy consumption, and a $3,000 incentive payment is available to those who achieve a 50% energy savings. When coupled with tax credits and utility rebates in some areas of the state, this new program provides a strong incentive to invest in weatherization to improve the heating efficiency of homes and businesses.

You'll learn how to qualify for Maine's weatherization rebates while making your home more energy efficient to save money on heating bills. Not only does weatherization pay off in dollar savings year after year, but it also results in a safer, more comfortable home.

Free refreshments and handouts will be provided.

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

Plan a Kitchen Garden

March's Sustainable Living Tip

Plan a kitchen garden to grow fresh, organic food to feed your family and share with neighbors. Roger Doiron, founder of Kitchen Gardeners International, reported that in one year on 1/25th of an acre in suburban Scarborough, Maine, his family grew 834 pounds of organic food worth more than $2,000.

Kitchen Gardening Facts

1. If you're new to kitchen gardening, a great little book to get you started is Grow Your Own Food Made Easy.
   
2. You can connect with a community of 20,000 kitchen gardeners from over 100 countries through Kitchen Gardeners International, a non-profit organization founded in Maine. It's free to register for their web site and email list.
   
3. Free gardening advice is available year round from the University of Maine Cooperative Extension.
   
4. In addition to providing information and publications, University of Maine Cooperative Extension offers a Master Gardener Volunteer horticultural education program to all interested Maine residents.
   
5. You don't need a large garden to grow good food. You can sow seeds in containers for lettuce, greens and fresh herbs, or even put plants on a sunny window sill indoors. For best results, give your plants 16 hours of light each day, using a fluorescent lamp as necessary.
   
6. Memorial Day is the traditional date to start planting outdoors in New England. However, the last frost date has been occurring earlier, and your microclimate (exposure to sun and wind) may allow you to plant sooner.
7. As soon as the ground can be worked in early spring, you can plant seeds for endives, lettuce, peas, radishes, and turnips. In case of a late killing frost, protect seedlings by covering them with a plastic milk jug or soda bottle cut in half. For a quick overview and a timing chart for what to plant when in Maine, see Vegetable Gardening: Are You in a Box?
   
8. You can extend your season with hoop houses (bars bent over garden rows covered with clear plastic) or cold frames (boxes covered in glass or clear plastic). These work especially well over raised beds, which allow the soil to warm up more quickly.
   
9. Essential ingredients for kitchen garden success are healthy soil, full sun (or grow lights) and adequate water.
   
10. It can take years to build healthy soil. You can buy an inexpensive home test kit to check your soil's pH, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, or you can carefully observe which plants are already growing well. You may want to get started by buying a load of good loamy soil and finished compost.
11. An effective and easy way to convert a patch of grass to a garden is to put down cardboard and then bring in new soil on top of the cardboard to form a raised bed. The cardboard will prevent grass and weeds from coming up, then slowly decompose in place. There's no need to till, dig up or pull out grass if you can put new soil on top of it.
    
12. Every year you'll need to feed your soil with composted organic material. Your plants may need fertilizer as well. It's best to use organic fertilizers that contain micronutrients as well as the three macronutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium). Compared to synthetic fertilizers which provide immediate results, a slow-release natural fertilizer will deliver long-term benefits and is less likely to dissolve in water and run off to pollute local rivers and lakes.
    
13. It's easy to make your own compost from kitchen scraps. There's no better way to handle food waste than to turn it into healthy garden soil!
    
14. Don't be afraid to grow more food than your family can eat. According to the USDA, 10% of Maine households (141,000 people) are "food insecure." You can help alleviate this problem by planting an extra row of produce each year and donating the surplus to local soup kitchens and food pantries. Now is a good time to contact them and find out what fresh vegetables they want that you could grow.
15. The "Plant A Row for the Hungry" program for Maine is open to all interested gardeners and is coordinated through University of Maine Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Volunteer program. For more information contact Barbara Murphy at 743-6329, 1-800-287-1482 (toll free in Maine) or e-mail, bmurphy@umext.maine.edu.
    
16. If your yard doesn't have a sunny spot for a traditional garden, think about planting in containers on your porch, patio or along sidewalks. A fun way to grow tomatoes and strawberries is in an "upside down" planter that you can hang from a balcony or post. Not only is it easier to pick fruit this way, but when plants are up off the ground it's easier to control insects and slugs without resorting to toxic chemicals.
17. A rain barrel is a great way to keep water on hand, especially for watering pots and containers. Put your barrel up on blocks so you can fill a watering can from the spigot at the bottom of the barrel.
    
18. Growing plants from seeds is rewarding and affordable. Choosing open pollinated varieties instead of hybrids allows you to save seeds that will breed true. You may find it more interesting to grow rare and heirloom varieties than conventional mass-market hybrids. Plus, you'll be helping to preserve the diversity of our food supply.
19. Genetically modified organisms (GMO) or genetically engineered (GE) seeds are a controversial new practice. Genes from unrelated species, typically bacteria, are spliced into the plant genome. Among other things, this allows scientists to design plants that produce insecticidal toxins in their tissues, reducing the need to spray pesticides. In effect, a field of genetically engineered plants becomes a pesticide factory. This puts selective pressure on local insect populations, resulting in resistant strains of pests that can no longer be controlled by conventional pesticide use. GMO and GE seeds with patented genes are an intriguing new prospect for investors in seed companies, because they allow companies to earn larger profits and constantly introduce new types of seeds that express new types of pesticides as existing pesticides become ineffective. While this approach provides clear financial benefit to large corporations with the capital to develop and market genetically engineered seeds, it provides little or no benefit to gardeners or society as a whole. When you buy seeds or plants, carefully consider whether you want to support businesses that are exploiting this technology.
20. Controlling insects, weeds and disease without the use of synthetic chemicals or genetic engineering requires knowledge, common sense, and close inspection. Consult books or gardeners in your community to learn which plants to put together to thwart insects and fungi. Rotate your crops to break the cycle of disease transmission. Mulch to smother weeds after they emerge. Provide the sun, soil and water your plants need to be healthy.
21. Above all, enjoy the satisfaction of eating and sharing fresh, delicious, and nutritious food you have grown yourself!

What You Need to Know About Maine's Weatherization Rebates

Our next sustainable living workshop will be "What You Need to Know About Maine's Weatherization Rebates" by DeWitt Kimball of Complete Home Evaluation Services on Thursday, March 11, at 7:00 p.m. This workshop is free and open to the public. Please join us!

DeWitt Kimball has worked in the building profession for over two decades and has extensive knowledge of building science, including green home construction. He is working closely with state officials as they roll out the new Efficiency Maine Weatherization Program. Funded by the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the program offers up to $3,000 in incentives for the first 4,000 homes that complete energy-efficiency projects meeting minimum energy savings requirements.

One of the most qualified professional property inspectors in Maine, DeWitt is a certified HERS rater, a BPI and Maine Home Performance with Energy Star energy analyst, as well as a certified mold tester, home inspector, radon tester, and boiler/furnace analyst.

Learn how to qualify for Maine's weatherization rebates while making your home energy efficient and structurally impervious to environmental conditions. You'll also have an opportunity to ask questions about new home construction, remodeling for improved comfort and energy efficiency, and the renovation of historic buildings.

Enjoy free refreshments and handouts.

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

DIY Energy Audit

February's Sustainable Living Tip

Use cold weather to your advantage by conducting your own home energy audit. When the temperature drops, spend some time feeling around doors, windows and exterior walls for cold air entering your home. Keep a checklist of areas you have inspected and problems you've found.

Do-It-Yourself Home Energy Audit

1. On a sunny day, go outside and note which way is south. Check to make sure that trees and bushes on the southern side are not overgrown; you want as much sunlight reaching your house as possible. Remove screens in southern-facing windows that receive sun. This will allow more sunlight into your home. Make sure drapes on southern windows are open during the day and closed at night.
   
2. If there is snow on your roof, observe the melt pattern. Note whether you have ice dams forming along the edge of your roof. Ideally snow should melt from the edge of the roof up. If snow is melting higher up on your roof but remaining around the edges, you are losing heat through your attic.
3. Observe how water comes off your roof. Rain and snow melt should be directed away from your foundation.
4. If you have storm windows, check to make sure that they are closed and tight. Note any needed repairs.
5. If you have a dryer vent, check it to make sure it closes to prevent cold air from back drafting into your house. Also check for lint build up and clean it out if needed.
   
6. Check every exterior door to your home for weatherstripping. From the inside with the door closed, feel around the entire perimeter of the door for drafts. Make a note to replace weatherstripping or door sweeps if necessary.
7. Examine windows for drafts. Consider building interior storm windows for those that feel cold.
8. If you have a basement, check the exterior wall for holes and drafts. Look for a gap between the foundation wall (usually rock, brick or concrete) and the sill plate (the piece of wood on top of the foundation wall). This gap should be caulked or foamed. If you can see the space over the foundation wall between floor joists, make sure each of these boxes contain the proper type of insulation. They should be filled with rigid insulation, foam, cotton batting or bagged fiberglass. They should not be filled with loose fiberglass; it allows too much airflow. Make a note to foam around any pipes that penetrate the foundation wall. If you have a bulkhead door, it should be insulated and weatherstripped. If you have any basement windows, make sure that they are all closed and latched.
9. If your boiler or water heater is in an unheated basement, crawl space or garage, make sure that all pipes are wrapped in insulation.
10. If your basement is unheated, check for insulation in the basement ceiling. A vapor barrier should be on top of the insulation, toward the heated space. If the vapor barrier is on the bottom (on the cold side, toward the basement), make a note to fix it. Vapor barriers should always go on the warm side of the insulation.
11. If your basement is heated, make sure that the basement walls are insulated.
12. In the heated parts of your house, check exterior wall electrical boxes and light switches for drafts. Install gaskets to prevent air from blowing through these openings.
13. Feel for drafts along baseboards. Use clear caulk to seal any gaps between the floor and the wall.
14. Make sure that all thermostats are set to the correct temperature. Consider installing programmable thermostats that will automatically turn down the temperature when you are at work or sleeping. You can usually set back your thermostat to 55 degrees without discomfort or risk.
15. If you have a fireplace, check to make sure your flue is completely closed. Consider using a chimney pillow to seal it off when not in use.
16. If you have an attic hatch, make sure it is insulated and securely latches against weatherstripping to prevent warm moist air from entering your attic.
17. Look for light fixtures, especially recessed lighting, that may allow warm air to leak into your attic. All holes in your ceiling should be caulked if possible.
18. If you have any combustion appliances in your house, including a boiler or a gas stove, consider installing a carbon monoxide monitor in your bedroom. This will alert you to unhealthy concentrations of CO, which is a by-product of combustion.
19. Make sure you have working fans in your kitchen and bathrooms to vent moisture to the outdoors. It is important to exhaust moisture from cooking and showers to the outside. Otherwise, this moisture may be trapped in your walls or ceiling and cause mold problems. You want your home to be warm and dry (relative humidity below 60 percent).
20. If you can access your attic, check to make sure that you have a vapor barrier under the insulation (toward the warmth). If you have fiberglass insulation, the vapor barrier is the kraft paper. It should be on the bottom of the insulation, toward the heated part of your house.
21. Look for areas where air is flowing into your attic. If you have fiberglass insulation, you can often see dust in the fiberglass where air is blowing up from below. Caulk or foam as many of these air leaks as possible. Common problems include holes cut for electrical and plumbing work. These holes should be sealed with caulk, rubber gaskets or foam.
    
22. Check that you have at least 16 inches of insulation in your attic. If you have less than this, consider blowing in cellulose on top of your existing insulation.

Environmental Happenings

F.W. Horch hours: Mon by appointment, Tue-Sat 9:30-6, Sun Closed.

Global News

On January 28, the United States informed the United Nations that we will "associate with" the Copenhagen Accord. Our emissions reduction target by 2020 is "in the range of 17%" less than the baseline year of 2005.

Fifty-five countries, including all European Union countries as well as China, Japan, India, Russia, Brazil and Indonesia, have formally made pledges. China and India promised to reduce their carbon intensity, while the U.S. and other countries pledged to reduce actual emissions compared to a base year or compared to "business as usual."

According to Leo Johnson, PricewaterhouseCoopers partner for Sustainability and Climate Change, "The Copenhagen Accord pledges are relatively unchanged from those made prior to the Copenhagen Summit. At 9.7 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, the pledges total just under half the [...] reduction required from business as usual to stay on the low carbon pathway. There is still a big gap between the pledges and the 2 degree pathway."

State News

The implementation of a major home energy efficiency program in Maine was announced in January.

Funded by a federal grant through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the state-run Home Performance Program will offer incentives of up to $3,000 for the first 4,000 qualifying home weatherization projects for all income levels. Details are available at

http://www.efficiencymaine.com/residential_programs_mhp.htm

Local Events

Wednesday and Saturday mornings - Farmer for the Morning, 10 am, Wolfe's Neck Farm, 184 Burnett Road, Freeport. You and your pre-schooler are invited to have fun helping with chores and getting to know the animals. After chores, have story time in the Haze Hut. On Wednesdays, enjoy a farm- or nature-themed craft project. Families may purchase a season pass, which allows kids to develop a relationship with the Farm and the animals over several seasons. No reservations required. $5/child/session. Season pass $40/child. For more information, call 865-4469.

Saturday and Sunday, February 6 and 7 - NRCM documentary film on Maine Public Television. The Natural Resource Council of Maine's documentary film, "Protecting the Nature of Maine: Fifty Years of the Natural Resources Council of Maine," will be broadcast on MPBN three times during the month of February:
* Saturday, February 6 at 11:00 a.m.;
* Sunday, February 7 at 1:30 p.m.; and
* Sunday, February 28 at 10:30 p.m.
The half-hour documentary was produced entirely in Maine and features stunning footage - from Rockport’s Beech Hill to Mt. Katahdin, Moosehead Lake, Acadia National Park and beyond. The Maine Public Broadcasting Network includes: WCBB Augusta Channel 10, WMEM Presque Isle Channel 10, WMEB Orono Channel 12, WMEA Biddeford Channel 26, and WMED Calais Channel 13. For a sneak preview, see the trailer and more at http://www.nrcm.org/NRCM_film.asp

Saturday, February 6 - Canning Skills: Roasted Garlic Jelly, 10 am - 12:30, Wolfe's Neck Farm, 184 Burnett Road, Freeport. Learn (and do!) the basics of water bath canning, and go home with a jar of a delicious preserves. Fee: $20. Materials Fee $3. Work trade option available. For more information, call 865-4469.

Monday, February 8 - "Your Home: Questions & Answers" with Dewitt Kimball, 7 - 8 pm, Freeport Community Library, Community Meeting Room, 10 Library Drive, Freeport. Your home ~ it's one of the most important investsments you have. At this free question and answer session with Dewitt Kimball of Complete Home Evaluation Services in Brunswick you can get answers & learn more about a broad range of home ownership topics. Wondering about mold in your home & how to eliminate it safely? Would you like some Do-It-Yourself ideas of how to make your home more energy efficient and less expensive to heat? Wondering what it means to live "green" and how to make your living environment more green? Dewitt has an extensive background in the building profession and environment studies. He is a certified home inspector specializing in a wide variety of energy and safety related issues.

Tuesday and Wednesday, February 9 and 10 - 9th Annual Soil Quality Conference: Bringing Life and New Understandings to Agriculture, 8:30 am to 5 pm, Bangor Motor Inn, 701 Hogan Road, Bangor. Speakers: Joel Salatin, Norman Uphoff and Paul Hepperly. Presented by The Heart of Maine RC&D. Cost includes handouts, refreshments and lunch each day: delicious, locally grown food from farmers you know! Registration: $145 per person / $240 two people from the same farm. To register, pay online at: www.heartofmaine.org. For more information, please contact Heart of Maine Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) at 947-6622 x 142 or tessa@heartofmaine.org.

Wednesday, February 10 - On Deposit: Maine Vessels and the 19th Century Guano Trade, 7 pm, Bath City Hall Auditorium, 55 Front St., Bath. Join Friends of Merrymeeting Bay (FOMB) as Local Maritime Historian, Bud Warren, shares some lesser-known but colorful chapters in our nation’s maritime history. For thirty years or so the Guano Trade kept a number of Maine ships in service and made fortunes for those involved. But then, as so often has happened to "inexhaustible" supplies of natural resources which have been there for the taking, the guano ran out and the trade faded into history. To receive more information on FOMB’s programs call Misty Gorski, Executive Coordinator, Friends of Merrymeeting Bay, at 737-8508 or fomb@gwi.net.

Thursday, February 11 - Seed Starting Workshop, 7 pm, F.W. Horch, 56 Maine Street, Brunswick. Come learn learn how to start garden seeds and build your own low-cost light stand. "We'll show you how to grow an indoor salad and at last have real baby greens!" says master gardener volunteer Brett Thompson, who will be conducting the workshop. For more information, please call (207) 729-4050. Free and open to the public.

Tuesday, February 23 - Citizen Action Day, 8:30 am - 2 pm, NRCM, 3 Wade Street, Augusta. Learn firsthand from Natural Resource Council of Maine staff about their priorities for the upcoming legislative session, participate in the legislative process by meeting your legislator during our visit to the State House, and meet other NRCM members and activists who care about Maine’s environment. A tentative schedule (subject to change):
* 8:30-9:00 am Arrive at NRCM’s office
* 9:00-9:15 am Brownie Carson, NRCM’s executive director, welcomes you
* 9:15-10:00 am NRCM project leaders provide an overview of environmental priorities
* 10:00-10:30 am Expert advice on speaking with your legislators
* 10:30 am Walk to State House for brief tour. NRCM staff will help you find your legislators.
Then back to NRCM for lunch and debrief. Expect to wrap up between 2 and 2:30 pm. To participate, please contact Leisa Dennett at leisa@nrcm.org or 430-0111.

Tuesday, February 23 - "The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the End of the American Dream", 7:30 pm, Frontier Cafe, Brunswick. Suburbia, and all it promises, has become the American Dream. As we enter the 21st century, serious questions are beginning to emerge about the sustainability of this way of life. With brutal honesty and a touch of irony, The End of Suburbia explores the American Way of Life and its prospects as the planet approaches a critical era, as global demand for fossil fuels begins to outstrip supply. Tickets cost $5; a work exchange at Wolfe's Neck Farm in Freeport is an option.

Thursdays, February 25, March 4, 11, and 18 - Top Bar Beekeeping 101, 6 - 8:30 pm, Freeport Adult Education. Here's your chance to get the buzz on why top bar beekeeping is so green... and why it makes sense, AND get a good close look at the Gold Star Top Bar Hive. Registration is required. Gift Certificates are available. Tuition Fee is $75 (non-RSU5 $85). For details, call Christy Hemenway at 449-1121.

Friday, February 26 - How Permaculture Can Save Humanity and the Planet, but Not Civilization, 6:30 pm, greater Portsmouth area (location being confirmed). Toby Hemenway, author of the acclaimed "Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Homescale Permaculture" will be giving an evening lecture co-sponsored by the Portland Permaculture Group and the newly formed Greater Seacoast Permaculture Group. In his talk Toby will examine the question of whether "Sustainable Agriculture" is an oxymoron. Feeding ourselves is not only central to our culture but central to our survival and this will be a rich look back as well as a look forward at the options and pathways before us. Attendees will gain a solid understanding of basic permaculture concepts as well as the context within which it is experiencing a renewed interest. For details, please visit http://www.meetup.com/portlandpermaculture/

Sunday, February 28 - Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and Community Supported Fisheries (CSF) Fairs, 1 to 4 pm, statewide. Come to one of the 12 fair locations statewide to learn about buying a share, become acquainted with local seasonal foods, meet your local farmers and fishermen, and discover how you can grow a relationship with them. (Community Supported Fisheries may not be represented in all locations.) The fairs are sponsored by Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, the Maine Council of Churches, and local organizations at each site. Free admission. Each location will have its own local flavor including local produce and other farm products, light refreshments featuring local, seasonal foods, a Seafood Throwdown cooking competition with local chefs and more. For more information, contact Melissa White Pillsbury, MOFGA's Organic Marketing Coordinator, by email at melissa@mofga.org or by phone at 568-4142.

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Local permaculture groups in Brunswick and Portland have several events planned. You can learn more about these groups and their events using the Meetup web service. Check them out at

• http://www.meetup.com/Brunswick-Permaculture/
• http://www.meetup.com/portlandpermaculture/

For more news about Maine's environment, check out Maine Environmental News

Seed Starting Workshop

We will host a seed starting workshop, "Grow Your Own Organic Food," by master gardener volunteer Brett Thompson on Thursday, February 11, from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm here at our store, F.W. Horch Sustainable Goods and Supplies, 56 Maine St., Brunswick, Maine. The class is free and open to the public.

"We'll show you how to grow an indoor salad and at last have real baby greens!" says Brett, a leader in Maine's master gardener volunteer program.

Attendees will learn how to start garden seeds and build a light stand for under $11 in parts. Including shop lights, the total cost is under $40. With this stand one can start seedlings of organic vegetables, fruits and flowers. Class participants will also learn how to plant seeds directly in trays or in paper pots that home gardeners can make themselves.

Space for the class is limited, so those interested in attending are encouraged to call the store at 729-4050 to reserve a seat.

This class 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, Maine, on the second Thursday of the month.

For more information, please call 729-4050.

Think Locally to Act Globally

January's Sustainable Living Tip

You've heard the adage, "Think Globally, Act Locally." But there are a surprising number of global problems that can be solved if more of us paid closer attention to little, local details. Imagine the global impact if everyone adopted the following New Year's resolutions!

New Year Resolutions: Think Locally to Act Globally

1. Vote for green electricity. If you are a CMP or Bangor Hydro customer in Maine, you can choose which electricity suppliers get paid to generate power for the grid. Until recently, you had the opportunity to choose a 100% green power option. Under this plan, clean power generators get the contract to supply the grid and receive payment from you. If everyone signed up for green power, clean power providers would have the money and the mandate to build new power plants (using renewable water, wind and solar energy), and dirty coal, nuclear, and natural gas power plants would be forced out of business. Now that the market in Maine is no longer offering a clean power option, using your vote in local elections may be the best strategy to clean up our power grid.
   
2. Switch off the lights when you leave a room. There are more than 500,000 households in Maine. If every household in Maine happens to leave just one 100-watt light bulb turned on unnecessarily, that requires 50 MW of power -- which is more power than the entire Mars Hill wind farm produces. As we build wind farms and install solar panels to make the transition to clean power, let's be sure we're using it for something worthwhile!
3. Hang dry your laundry. Do a load of laundry, set up a wooden drying rack by the wood stove, and dry your clothes without using a penny's worth of electricity. Even if you don't have a wood stove, clothes dry quickly indoors in winter because the relative humidity is low. When the Maine Yankee nuclear power plant was supplying our grid, its entire output (2,700 MW) would just about equal the demand if every household in Maine used an electric clothes dryer at the same time. Imagine that, we can dry our clothes with a nuclear power plant, or with the free energy already in our homes!
4. Swap out disposable batteries for rechargeable ones. Each rechargeable battery can be recharged up to 1,000 times. Not only will you save money, but you'll also keep lots of unnecessary garbage out of our landfills and incinerators. And when your rechargeable battery no longer holds a charge, bring it to a proper recycling location. Here in Brunswick, Curtis Memorial Library is a convenient downtown location that accepts rechargeable batteries for recycling. Unfortunately, disposable batteries are not collected for recycling. Believe it or not, our local public works department recommends you throw disposable batteries in the trash -- there's no other way to dispose of them!
5. Compost everything that rots, including paper waste. Have you ever seen a mound of one million paper towels? If you've ever been to your local landfill, like the one here in Brunswick, chances are you have. About 40% of the waste sent to landfills and incinerators in the United Sates is paper. It could all be sustainably used to build fertile soil in backyard composters. After all, paper was once part of a living thing; given the right opportunity it could live again. Facial tissue, paper napkins, and paper towels are often overlooked as compostables, but they are easy and safe to compost in backyard compost bins. If you are concerned about chemicals in the paper leaching into your soil, buy paper products with the Green Seal certification. Certified products use less toxic bleaching and dyeing methods. Or consider buying unbleached paper products. They are a little rougher (bleaching whitens and softens wood fibers) but a lot easier on the planet.
6. Walk more. Simple things, like parking in the first spot you find instead of driving and idling an extra thirty seconds to find a spot closer to the door, really add up. There are almost 200 million registered drivers in the United States. If each of us shaved just one minute off our driving time each week, that totals almost 175 million hours of engine time per year. With an average fuel economy of about 25 miles per gallon, the average car in America burns about two gallons of fuel per hour. So everyone in the US resolved to drive one less minute per week, we could save 350 million gallons of gas per year. At $2 gallon that's only an extra $700 million dollars in our pockets. But if gas goes back to $4 per gallon that's $1.4 billion dollars per year. A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking about some real money.
7. Grow some of your own food. Probably the easiest place to start is with sprouts or salad greens. If you buy lettuce in the grocery store in winter in Maine, chances are good that it has traveled hundreds and perhaps thousands of miles to reach you. A large percentage of fresh greens sold in the Northeast in January are grown in California and Mexico. Assuming it costs you $1 per pound to ship things from California to Maine, you could send two heads of lettuce or 372,000 lettuce seeds. In other words, for $4 you could send eight heads of lettuce or you could send enough seeds to grow more than a million heads of lettuce -- enough for every single person in Maine. Beyond the cost savings, growing your own food is a great way to ensure you're eating fresh, healthy and organically-grown produce.
8. Bring your own bag. Choosing paper bags ranks right up there with recycling as one of the "environmental myths" that curmudgeons delight in debunking. Try a web search for "paper or plastic" and you'll find hundreds of thousands of news articles and blog posts discussing the issue. The reason this question gets so much press is the ubiquity of bags in our modern lifestyle. According to one source, over 4 trillion (4,000,000,000,000) plastic bags are manufactured each year. Bags (or more precisely, small fragments of plastic bags) are now covering virtually the entire surface of our planet -- to the extent that ocean phytoplankton have to compete for sunlight with floating plastic detritus that won't break down for another 1,000 years. Americans are now using on average about 19 disposable bags per week -- about three every day. Here's an experiment to try at home: guess how many bags you use each week, then find out by saving every single disposable bag (both paper and plastic) over the course of seven days. Then try bringing your own bags -- little nylon stuff sacks are especially handy -- to see how few disposable bags you really need. Even those who scoff at the idea of recycling understand that reusing a bag to eliminate the need for a disposable bag really does make a difference. Even if each bag saved is just a penny earned, saving them all adds up to 40 billion dollars every year.

Environmental Happenings

Global Events

At the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference (the "Copenhagen Summit") in December, the United States, China, South Africa, India and Brazil brokered a non-binding Copenhagen Accord that recognizes "the scientific view that the increase in global temperature should be below 2 degrees Celsius," calls for the establishment of greenhouse gas emission targets by 2020, and asks developed countries to commit new resources "approaching $30 billion for the period 2010 - 2012" to developing countries to implement the The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Unlike the Kyoto Protocol, the Copenhagen Accord has no legally-binding consequences and no clear mechanism establishing sources of revenue. No countries have yet signed on to the Accord. The Conference merely "takes note" of the Accord, which means delegates acknowledged its existence without expressing support for it. By January 31, 2010, developed countries that agree to the Accord will submit emissions targets for 2020 and developing countries will submit "nationally appropriate mitigation actions."

It is unclear which, if any, countries will sign on to the Accord, and what impact it will have on greenhouse gas emissions. The Copenhagen Summit has been described as everything from a "near disaster" to a "home run." One of the critical questions to be decided in 2010 is whether international cooperation to address climate change can be organized successfully under the auspices of the United Nations, or whether more meaningful negotiations will happen among a smaller group of countries in a different context, such as at the Group of Twenty summits in Toronto and Seoul.

Local Events

Thursday, January 7 - Sustainability Across Maine, 7-9 pm, Frontier Cafe, Brunswick. Green Living Project is proud to premier its first multi-media event on unique sustainability projects in Maine. Learn about Maine Huts & Trail's cool new hut-to-hut system, Chewonki's unique sustainability programs, Primo's backyard organic farm, Local Sprout's popular local food movement, Maine Compost School, Inn by the Sea's leading green initiatives, and Island Institute's pioneering wind-energy projects along the islands of Midcoast Maine. Explore cutting-edge sustainability issues and find out how you can get involved. Free and open to the public.

Saturday, January 9 - The Road to Successful Beekeeping, 9:30 am - Noon, Wolfe's Neck Farm, Freeport. This class will walk participants step by step through the process of starting your own hives. Wolfe's Neck Farm is an historic 626 acre farm on the Maine coast dedicated to sustainable agriculture, environmental education, and community well-being through the enjoyment of our natural landscape. For more information about programs at the farm, call 865-4469.

Tuesday and Wednesday, January 12 and 13 - First Annual Maine Association of Building Efficiency Professional’s (MABEP) Training Conference, Holiday Inn By-the-Bay, Portland. The Maine Association of Building Efficiency Professionals has been established to represent and advance the interests of energy auditors, energy retrofit contractors, energy efficient green builders, insulation contractors, weatherization professionals, installers of wind turbine, geo thermal, heat pump, and solar technologies, installers of energy efficiency materials and equipment, installers of non-fossil fuel generating devices, manufacturers and suppliers, home inspectors, architects, engineers, interior designers and all other persons and businesses who seek to improve the energy efficiency of residential and commecial buildings and to reduce our dependence upon fossil fuels. Registration for the training conference closed on January 5, but you can learn more about MABEP at http://www.efficiencypros.org/

Thursday, January 14 - Make Your Own Interior Storm Windows, 7 pm, F.W. Horch, 56 Maine Street, Brunswick. Due to popular demand, we're offering this seminar again! Come learn how to make reusable insulating storm windows to keep heat in and stop drafts. Properly measured, made and installed, interior storm windows will significantly reduce your heating bills year after year. These window inserts can be installed and removed without the use of tools or fasteners. Rendon Sabina of Downeast Interior Storms will demonstrate his affordable design, using wood, polyolefin film, and open cellulose foam. For more information, please call (207) 729-4050. Free and open to the public.

Tuesday, January 19 - Growing Greens in Maine All Winter Long, 1:45 pm, St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, 95 Court Street, Belfast. Imagine -- growing your own fresh greens all winter without a heated greenhouse. For more than six years, NRCM communications director Judy Berk has done so. She will share her secrets, successes, and failures, in a talk at the Belfast Garden Club’s January 19 meeting. The Belfast Garden Club meetings are open to the public. Plan to arrive at 1:00 pm to attend the business meeting and a mini-horticultural talk, or arrive at 1:45 pm for Judy’s 2:00 pm talk.

Wednesday, January 20 - Protecting the Nature of Maine, 6:30 pm, Bates College, Keck Classroom, Pettingill Hall, 4 Andrews Road, Lewistion. Join the Natural Resources Council of Maine for a showing of their documentary film, "Protecting the Nature of Maine," followed by discussion with NRCM executive director Brownie Carson, registered Maine Guide and NRCM board president Bill Houston, and other environmental activists. Free and open to the public. RSVP through email or phone to Gretta Wark 207-430-0108.

Thursday, January 21 - Going Green to Stay in the Black, 6-8 pm, USM Glickman Family Library, Portland. Glen Brand, National Cool Cities Director, Sierra Club as well as Lita Semrau and Andy Hyland of the United States Green Building Council Maine Chapter will speak about green building, what it is, why it is important and how we can make it happen locally in our Maine communities. Anyone interested in green building and policies in their communities -- contractors and construction employees, town officials, and homeowners -- should attend. Refreshments will be served. For more information please contact Sandy Amborn at 761-5616 or email sandyamborn@yahoo.com

Thursday, January 28 - Sustainability: Then and Now, 6:30 pm, Freeport Community Center, Freeport. Local historian Fred Koerber will talk about changes in the use of land and water throughout history. Using examples from Maquoit Bay, he will connect historic land use to our contemporary search for sustainability. Community discussions to follow the talk.

Friday, January 29 - Keeping Foundations Warm and Dry, 9 am - Noon, USM Mitchell Center, 37 College Ave, Gorham. In partnership with the Maine Indoor Air Quality Council, the Maine Association of Building Efficiency Professionals presents a free training for site work and foundation construction. Learn about the physical processes at work below grade and understand how these processes are addressed by the new Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code. Registration by January 22 is necessary. For more information, contact Becky Morgan, 622-4466 or becky@mabep.org.

Saturday, January 30 - Top Bar Beekeeping Demonstration, 10 am - 2 pm, F.W. Horch Sustainable Goods & Supplies, 56 Maine Street, Brunswick. Christy Hemenway of Gold Start Honeybees will be at our store to demonstrate how to keep bees in a top bar bee hive. The Gold Star Top Bar Beehive promotes healthy honey bees by allowing bees to make their own natural beeswax. This helps bees by strengthening their immune systems, helping them to fight off parasites and other bee problems without the use of toxic chemicals in the beehive. Christy will be demonstrating using an empty hive -- you'll have to imagine the bees and the honey!

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Local permaculture groups in Brunswick and Portland have several events planned. You can learn more about these groups and their events using the Meetup web service. Check them out at

• http://www.meetup.com/Brunswick-Permaculture/
• http://www.meetup.com/portlandpermaculture/

For more news about Maine's environment, check out Maine Environmental News

Storm Window Clinic - Repeat Workshop

Back by popular demand, F.W. Horch Sustainable Goods and Supplies, 56 Maine St., Brunswick, will host a clinic by Rendon Sabina of Downeast Interior Storms, titled "Make Your Own Interior Storm Windows," on Thursday, January 14, at 7:00 p.m. The clinic is free and open to the public.

Interior storm windows are transparent, insulating storm windows that can be installed on the inside of any window. They are simply made using wood, polyolefin film, and open cellulose foam. They are affordable, reusable, and will save energy costs year after year.

Interior storm windows are designed to keep heat in and stop drafts. Properly measured, made and installed, interior storm windows will significantly reduce heating bills, particularly in homes with older double-hung windows. In general, they are much less expensive than replacement windows. Unlike plastic films, interior storms are reusable year after year. They can be installed and removed without the use of tools or fasteners.

Attendees at Thursday's clinic will learn how to measure, make and install interior storm windows for their own homes or for friends and family. Storm windows may also be custom ordered through F.W. Horch for those not wishing to make their own.

Free refreshments and handouts will be provided.

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

Extended Holiday Hours

To help you with your last-minute shopping for the holidays, our Brunswick store will be open every day until Christmas. Tell your friends -- we'll be open both Sunday and Monday this week.

• Sun, Dec 20 | Noon - 5 pm
• Mon, Dec 21 | 9:30 am - 7 pm
• Tues, Dec 22 | 9:30 am - 7 pm
• Wed, Dec 23 | 9:30 am - 7 pm

• Christmas Eve
  Thu, Dec 24 | 9:30 am - 2 pm
  

We'll be closed Christmas Day through New Year's, re-opening on Tuesday, January 5, 2010.

We wish you a joyous end to 2009 and a bright beginning to 2010!

Keep Composting Kitchen Scraps

December's Sustainable Living Tip

Set up an indoor composting system to make it easy to compost kitchen scraps all winter long. With the right tools and a little thought, you can keep food waste from going to waste all year long--even in the dead of winter.

Cold Weather Composting Facts

1. According to the US Department of Agriculture, Americans throw away more than 25 percent of the food we prepare, about 96 billion pounds per year.
2. As a nation, we spend about $1 billion per year to dispose of our food waste.
   
3. Less than three percent of our food waste is diverted from the solid waste stream; each year we send 31 million tons of food waste to landfills and incinerators.
4. The three largest solid waste streams are yard waste, paper waste and food waste. All three could be diverted from the solid waste stream and composted instead. Turning garbage into compost would replenish our soils instead of polluting our water and air.
   
5. A goal of composting 100% of your food and paper waste all year round is reasonable as long as you have an outdoor area for storing materials. Indoor options can process quite a bit of material, but you'll probably find from time to time that you have some waste that needs to go outside.
   
6. You can add food scraps to an outdoor composter all winter. Scraps will freeze during cold weather and begin decomposing in the spring. You can also store kitchen scraps in five-gallon buckets for the winter. Some people find it convenient to have buckets on their porch or in their garage, saving them the hassle of getting to their composter in the snow. Just leave a little room at the top to allow material in the bucket to freeze. In the spring, once the path is clear, you can dump your buckets in your compost pile.
7. Insulated outdoor composters can extend your composting season. The tumbling Jora composer, for example, features dual chambers and several inches of insulation for hotter composting. Not only does this heat-trapping design allow for composting later in the fall and earlier in the spring, but it also makes it possible to compost meat and fish which are problematic at low temperatures.
   
8. Having a compost pail in the kitchen is a handy way to store food scraps for a few days, allowing you to plan your treks to your outdoor composter. Look for pails with activated charcoal filters in the lid to eliminate odors.
9. Many people find that a compost pail in the kitchen and their regular compost pile in the yard is all they need to keep composting all winter long. They simply put on their boots and beat a path to the composter.
10. Other people prefer to set up a system for handling food waste indoors. Bokashi buckets, worm bins and automatic composters are three popular options.
    
11. A bokashi bucket lets you collect and store food scraps for several weeks inside. These buckets feature a tight seal and promote anaerobic decomposition of food scraps. Once the bokashi bucket is full, you can transfer the contents to an outdoor composter, or in warmer weather bury the material directly into garden soil, where it completes the decomposition process.
12. You sprinkle bokashi, a dry powder containing dormant microbes, on each layer of waste you add to the bucket. This will innoculate your food scraps with fermenting microbes, preventing unpleasant odors from developing. When opened, a bokashi bucket has a distinctive pickled smell. There should be no odor at all when the bucket is closed.
13. Every so often, drain liquid from your bokashi bucket. This liquid can be diluted and used for watering plants, or it can be poured down your drain. Bokashi liquid can be especially beneficial if you are on a septic, since the microbes living in your bokashi bucket are the same types as those found in a healthy septic system.
    
14. Worm bins are another convenient method for composting indoors. Composting worms completely digest food scraps, producing solid castings which can be used as a soil enrichment for houseplants, lawns or gardens.
    
15. Plastic totes make convenient worm bins. If you make your own, be sure to provide a reservoir for liquid and a way to drain the bin. Tray systems like the Can O Worms are a step up from home-made worm bins, making it much easier to harvest the castings when the worms have finished eating all your food scraps. Holes in each tray allow worms to crawl up to find fresh food in the upper trays, leaving the trays on the bottom full of castings.
16. As with a bokashi bucket, drain liquid from your worm bin every so often. This "worm tea" makes a great liquid fertilizer when diluted with ten parts water to one part worm tea.
    
17. Meat, cheese, and highly acidic foods like pineapple and lemon rinds can cause problems in small worm bins. These food wastes are best handled indoors by bokashi buckets or outdoors in enclosed compost bins like the Jora composter. In general, the larger the worm bin or compost pile, the more variety of materials you can successfully compost. Vegetables, fruits that are not acidic, coffee grounds, and tissue paper are the easiest materials to compost in worm bins. Shredded paper or leaves should be added as a top layer and replaced as necessary.
    
18. Automatic composting machines such as the NatureMill work like waterless garbage disposals. Simply plug them in, toss in kitchen scraps and sawdust pellets, then let them heat and aerate the mixture to produce finished compost every two weeks.
19. NatureMills feature a thick layer of insulation and a small heater, so they can work equally well in heated and unheated spaces. The kitchen may be the most convenient location in terms of adding material to the unit, but a basement or garage may be more convenient in terms of space availability.
20. NatureMills use about 17 watts of electricity, about the same as four strands of energy-efficient LED holiday lights and much less than one strand of inefficient incandescent holiday lights.
21. Besides keeping unnecessary materials out of our landfills and incinerators, winter composting is a great way to get ready for gardening season. Worm castings in particular are great to have on hand when starting seeds. If you plan to start your own seedlings, you can't beat a mix of equal parts potting soil and worm castings to give your plants a healthy start on life.
22. Between four and five gallons of wet kitchen waste produce about one gallon of dry compost in my experience. Assuming you produce one gallon of kitchen scraps every three days, composting for six months would turn 60 gallons of garbage into about 12 gallons of compost. Once you start composting and using compost on your yard and garden, you'll discover that you can always use more. To produce one yard of dry compost, you'd need to start with at least 5,600 pounds of wet kitchen scraps!

Cold Weather Composting Clinic

F.W. Horch Sustainable Goods and Supplies, 56 Maine St., Brunswick, will host a talk by founder Fred Horch and Brett Thompson, Master Gardener Volunteer, titled "Cold Weather Composting," on Thursday, December 10th, from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm. The talk is free and open to the public.

"Promote global worming," says Brett Thompson. "Worms work inside when everything outside is frozen solid, and they make the best compost."

Worm composting is one of several systems for cold weather composting that will be discussed. The goal of the workshop is to help people understand their options for keeping food waste out of the local landfill all year round.

Worm composting (or "vermiculture") is an indoor technique for year-round composting of paper waste and kitchen scraps. Thompson will demonstrate how worm bins work, and answer common questions. Worms and worm bins will be available for sale.

In addition to worm bins, automatic NatureMill composters, anaerobic bokashi buckets, and insulated outdoor composters will be demonstrated. 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 at 7:00 pm on the second Thursday of the month. January's talk will be a workshop on making interior storm windows.

For more information, please call 729-4050.

More Heat, Less Waste

November's Sustainable Living Tip

Turning down your thermostat during the heating season is the easiest way to save energy. Lowering your setting by one degree for eight hours every night will save one percent on your heating load. For the average Maine household, that will conserve 25 gallons of fuel oil over the season, keeping 550 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere!

But once you've taken the easy step of lowering your thermostats, what else can you do to save energy? Read on for our "greatest hits" list of the most effective ways to enjoy more heat with less waste.

"Greatest Hits" More Heat, Less Waste Ideas

1. If you have an oil boiler or furnace, clean and tune it up every heating season. Watch your technician inspect and clean your boiler once, and you'll have a good understanding of why this is necessary every year!
   
2. If you have a natural gas or propane system, have it inspected annually. These fuels burn more cleanly than heating oil, so you won't have the same loss in efficiency over the course of a heating season. But have a trained professional inspect your system to make sure it is in proper working order nonetheless.
3. Close your flue. A chimney that is open directly to your house, such as in a working fireplace (not a wood stove), is your largest single source of heat loss. Whenever you don't have a fire in your fireplace, the tighter you can close your flue, the better.
4. Cover your windows (part 1). Windows intentionally let energy into your home (in the form of light), but they also unintentionally let energy out. Between September and March, the night is longer than the day here in Maine. If you have curtains or blinds, close them whenever sunlight is not coming in.
5. Cover your windows (part 2). Installing storm windows with good weatherstripping will greatly improve the insulating value of your windows. In older homes, one of the easiest approaches is to install custom-made interior storm windows. These can be made to fit snugly, preventing wind from blowing around loose double hung windows. Install them in the winter, then remove them in warmer weather. Storm windows improve comfort as well as saving energy: they stop cold drafts and they cut down on noise. Interior storm windows are especially helpful in older apartment buildings in urban environments.
6. Cover your windows (part 3). Pay special attention to your indoor humidity levels in rooms where you install insulating drapes or interior storm windows. Your window glass will become much colder, potentially leading to condensation issues. If condensation is a problem, exterior storm windows are a better solution. They will keep your window glass warmer, reducing the condensation problem. Remember, condensation forms when warm moist air reaches a cold surface.
7. Seal your attic hatch. If you have a hatch or door to your unheated attic, make sure it closes securely and has weatherstripping all around it to prevent warm air from escaping up into your attic. For ceiling hatches, a good design is to install weatherstripping around the edge of the hatch and use latches to press the hatch closed on the weatherstripping. Warm air that gets into your attic and reaches the underside of your roof decking will melt snow on your roof, leading to ice dams. Keep warm air out of your attic!
   
8. Seal your foundation walls, windows and doors. If you have a bulkhead door, make sure it has weatherstripping around it. Cold air that seeps in below your house will get sucked up into your home. A tube of caulk and spray foam will go a long way toward preventing frozen pipes, cutting down on cold drafts, and lowering your heating bills.
9. Wrap your ducts and hot water pipes. If you have air ducts or hot water pipes in an unheated part of your home (such as your basement or garage), make sure they are wrapped securely in insulation all the way from the heating source to the destination.
10. Add a mud room. Every house in Maine needs a room for taking off muddy boots! Enclosing a porch so that it acts as an "air lock" will keep cold air from pouring into your home whenever someone comes or goes. It will also cut down on the drafts coming in and around your door all winter long, since wind won't be blowing directly against your exterior door. If you can't add a mud room, an exterior storm door with proper weatherstripping is a good alternative.
11. Hang dry your clothes. You're probably aware that an electric clothes dryer is one of the most power-hungry appliances you can use. But did you ever consider how much air an automatic dryer sucks out of your home? It's about equivalent to leaving a kitchen window wide open. When an automatic dryer runs, it blows hot air out of your home. Cold outside air finds its way in to replace the air that the dryer is sending out. A better alternative is to invest in a high efficiency washing machine that spin dries clothes, then hanging them to finish drying overnight on a wooden drying rack. Drying clothes indoors works especially well during the winter because indoor air humidity levels are low.
12. Clean your screens. Fall is a great time to take down the screens in your windows on the southern side of your house. Clean them and put them away for the winter. Unless you plan on opening your windows, the screens are useless and simply shade sunlight that would otherwise be helping heat up your home. While you're at it, clean your windows, too. You won't notice a huge difference on your heating bill, but every little bit helps! You might also prune branches or bushes that are shading your southern exposure.
13. Look for leaks. As the weather turns colder, air flows more quickly through any gaps in your exterior walls or ceilings. It's easy to feel for cold air leaking in on lower floors, but sometimes more challenging to find how hot air is leaking out upstairs. Just remember that cold air comes in downstairs, and hot air leaves upstairs. If you feel cold air blowing in under a door or around a light switch on an exterior wall, you know that an equal amount of hot air is being squeezed out of your house somewhere else. Spider webs are a good tip off for places where air is leaving. Spiders like to build webs where they will catch dinner, so they look for places where air currents send small insects. Once you find a leak, a bit of caulk is often all that's needed to fix it. If you have access to your attic, you may find that your electricians and plumbers cut holes for their handiwork. These holes are probably letting warm air up into your attic, which can lead to ice dams. You can safely use spray foam to seal gaps around any plumbing or modern electrical wire in good repair. If you find frayed wires or knob and tube wiring (i.e. two wires running through ceramic tubes and wrapped around ceramic knobs), you'd be well advised to call an electrician to replace it. (Knob and tube wiring is safe if properly installed, but often is not properly installed. Hire a professional to inspect it to find out.)
14. See how low you can go. Save energy and money by lowering your thermostat even more. The lower you go, and the longer you stay low, the more you save. If you don't believe it, try experimenting yourself. Most households can safely (i.e. without freezing pipes) turn down their thermostats to 55 degrees at night and during the day when no one is home. You might be able to go even lower. Just make sure everyone in your household is ready for the experience before you touch that thermostat!

Sustainable Home Tour and Talk

Join us on Thursday, November 12 for "Sustainable Home Tour and Talk." Homeowner Dave Tilton will lead a tour and discuss the design features and performance of his high-efficiency, low-impact home. The tour will start at 4:30 pm in Brunswick; a carpool will be arranged to visit the Tilton residence. The talk will start at 7 pm in Brunswick. Both the tour and talk are free and open to the public.

"We wanted to build in terms of what we believe is best for our environment, our earth, and our responsibility for being a part of the human community," says Tilton. "That's why we are continuing to share what we have done and what we are learning about the performance of our energy systems so we and others can improve on what we have done."

The tour gives participants the chance to see how the owners have integrated sixteen design principles into the specific requirements of working with timber frame strawbale construction in a passive solar orientation. This integration includes three active energy systems: grid tied solar photovoltaic power, solar hot water, and a propane fired condensing boiler. All support a full radiant heating system and the usual domestic hot and cold water systems. Installed cost data as well as follow-on performance information will be available. In addition, participants can see how principles of universal design -- handicapped accessibility - have been included where appropriate and feasible.

The Tilton home has been in process since 2005. Occupancy began in October 2006 and "detailing" has been the major task since. The home is a full traditional timberframe with interior revealed structure, wrapped by strawbale walls in a solar orientation. This permits both passive solar supplemented by active solar grid tied PV and an Apricus solar hot water system. Heat for the full radiant floor system is furnished by the integrated solar hot water and Baxi-Luna propane fired condensing boiler system. Main house windows manufactured by Thermotech of Canada are triple paned. There are 588 bales in the house walls and 332 in the garage producing walls 18 inches thick with an R value of 50. The roof system consists of ship lapped boards exposed on the interior, with roof guard, Nudura insulation (7 inches on the house and 3 and 1/2 inches on the garage and connecting section) with strapping and steel roofing on top. The heating system can be supplemented with wood heat with an antique kitchen woodstove and a Vermont Castings Intrepid.

The house is handicapped accessible with three-foot-wide doors, lever handles, pedestal bathroom sinks and interior ramps from garage to main house. Electrical outlets, where possible, are placed higher in the walls. Composting toilets by Sun Mar are in use even though Richmond has town sewer and water systems.

Those wishing to tour the Tilton residence prior to the talk are invited to meet at the F.W. Horch store in Brunswick at 4:30 pm. A carpool to Richmond and back will be arranged. The talk will begin at 7 pm in Brunswick at the F.W. Horch store, 56 Maine Street.

Seating is limited, so those interested in attending are encouraged to call the store at 729-4050 to reserve a space.

This presentation 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. December's presentation will be on the topic of home composting of kitchen scraps during winter.

For more information, please call (207) 729-4050.

Early Bird Sale

Join us Halloween morning for the annual Brunswick Early Bird sale.

6:30 - 7:30 20% off

7:30 - 8:30 15% off

8:30 - 9:30 10% off

Everything in the store is on sale.

(Sorry, no rainchecks or special orders.)

Happy Halloween!