Hi, Green Friends,
Some important issues to keep an eye on this week.
The Middletown Planning Board has written a very reasonable wind ordinance, which has been through its first reading, and is running into rough weather. It'll be coming up for discussion again soon, and anyone concerned for sane sources of energy, regardless of residency, should plan to attend.
Personally, I find wind turbines beautiful and graceful. They reap a power source that doesn't rape the environment. We know what's ugly--filthy air, children struggling with asthma, fish kills, blown-off mountain tops and slag-filled waterways, not to mention carbon induced temperature climb, melting polar and Greenland ice, and massive flooding.
The powers that told us two years ago that they opposed off-shore wind, but had not problem with small onshore turbines, now seem to oppose everything wind related.
Even we on the front lines of this battle have no true understanding of the distance we need to go to reverse our carbon dependence. The rest of us aren't even ready for baby steps toward getting started. Let's stop clean energy obstructionism in the name of our precious views. Watch for the next ordinance reading, and stand up for wind.
Meanwhile in Newport, the U-V treatment plant at Easton's Beach will be part of the City Council's annual financial meeting. Informed people have serious misgivings about the planned installation, including already outmoded technology, which is unproven in a storm water situation, huge expense for installation and maintenance, huge electrical usage and the potential for a power outage in a storm, just when it would be needed most, since no on-site generator is planned.
This is a highly technology-dependent plan that treats the the problem at its last possible point, instead of dealing with it upstream, with lower tech Low Impact Design principles. Aquidneck Land Trust has the right idea, piecing together watershed protection with greenways. (Congratulations to them on adding yet another piece to that puzzle with the Easy Street Farm!) The EPA and DEM endorsed these practices at the A. I. Watershed Council Conference last month. Was the city listening?
Also at issue is the reluctance of our neighbors to join in cost sharing, so this is all on Newport's shoulders. If this had come up as a bond issue, it would have been (pardon the pun) dead in the water. Now, it's incumbent on the citizens of Newport to ask serious questions before this project just floats through in the budget. We'll all be paying for it in our water bills.
Watch for that meeting, coming soon. We need to pack the Council Chambers.
And one more reminder that www.NeighborhoodEnergyChallenge.org. is going strong. Check in and sign up! It's free!
With a long climb down from a very tall soapbox,
Beth
Thursday, November 12, 2009
LEED FOR Homes Presentation
Time: 4:30 to 6:30 PM
Location: NE Tech, Student Lounge, 2480 Post Rd., Warwick
Learn about designing and building a LEED™ Home through the eyes of a builder and LEED Home provider. The goal of this presentation will be to provide a basic understanding of how to get a project on the path to certification. The Energy Star Homes program is a major component of LEED Homes; strategies for success will also be discussed. 1 CEU Credit anticipated.
Members - free, non-members - $5, CEU credit - $10.
Can you attend this event? Register at: http://leedforhomespresentation.eventbrite.com/
For more information: http://www.usgbcri.org/, then Click on "Events."
Sponsored by the US Green Building Council - RI Chapter
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Coastal Cleanup
Time: 12 to 2 PM
Location: Tuckerman Right of way, Middletown
Sponsored by Clean Ocean Access.
For more information, contact dmclaughlin71@hotmail.com
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Energy Efficiency Opportunities for your Business
Time: 12 to 2 PM
Location: Newport County Chamber of Commerce, 35 Valley Rd., Middletown
Increasing Your Bottom Line Through Energy Savings.
Presented by Energy Action: Aquidneck Island & Jamestown, A National Grid Community Initiative
Lunch will be served!
Please RSVP to Kathleen Papp, 847-1608
Free for Newport Chamber members
$25 for non-members
RI Interfaith Power & Light Cool Congregations training
Time: 6 to 9 PM
Location: Christ Church, 7 Elm St., Westerly
Help your congregation save Creation by shrinking their carbon footprint at home. Become a Cool Congregations trainer for your congregation! Become better stewards of Creation by understanding your own household's energy usage and learning practical steps to increased energy efficiency. It's fun and informative!
Pizza will be served. Limited enrollment. Call 401-267-0029 by November 14 to enroll. There is a suggested $10 donation but no one will be turned away.
For more information, go to www.riipl.org, and click on "Cool Congregations" on the menu.
