Author Archives: clothilde

About clothilde

Living in Cambridge since january 2010, Clothilde worked for a European Union Program in France as the Project coordinator, called LEADER. This program supports innovative and sustainable local rural development projects. It aims to improve quality of life and economic prosperity. Very interested in energy efficiency topics, she decided to contribute with the Cambridge Energy Alliance.

All Target stores now have a Recycling Center

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My "red" Target greenbag! by cpt_comet Since the beginning of April, 2010, Target has launched a massive nationwide recycling initiative in its 1,740 U.S. stores. The recycling stations will accept aluminum, glass and plastic beverage containers, plastic bags, MP3 players, cell phones and ink cartridges. Making it easier for some communities without curbside recycling to reduce the amount of material burned or buried, and for others to recycle some specialized goods.

“The launch of store recycling stations allows us to continue to partner with [our guests] to curb unnecessary waste in our stores and our communities,” said Shawn Gensch, vice president of brand marketing.

Target is developing all kinds of sustainability programs to improve its green image, including programs to green its supply chain, use less energy and produce less waste. Of course, one of the motivations of Target is to become more sustainable than its megastore competitor, Walmart, contributing to a ‘race to the top’. But Target isn’t just copying some existing sustainability programs, they’re forging their own path with some unique programs of their own, recently announcing they would no longer sell farmed salmon.

For more information : Target Opens Recycling Centers in All 1,740 Stores

Also, don’t forget that the City of Cambridge also has a mandatory curbside recycling program, with DPW drop-off for many other kinds of items.

Existential Crisis of a Plastic Bag

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Helen Smith, A few facts about plastic bags by Topsy at Waygood “The Plastic Bag” directed by Ramin Bahrani, this 18-minute film chronicling the life of a plastic bag, and questions the environmental impact of consumerism in a world that treats it like trash. “The Plastic Bag” has been screened at many film festivals, and was commissioned by the Independent Television Service through a project in which 11 filmmakers were asked to examine issues in the United States and dramatize the potential consequences. The series includes another environmentally themed film called “Seed,” about a future in which genetically modified seeds dominate the world and organic seeds are illegal.

recycled plastic cheesecake factory bags basket by sarahracha Of course plastic bags don’t have to be modern tumbleweeds. Besides being easy to recycle there are several interesting projects one can do with them including making your own messenger bag or crochet as in the image at left. Apropos, San Francisco’s bag ban is being reviewed in court.

And then there’s the equally problematic cousin of the bag, the plastic bottle…

How to support Green Nonprofits ?

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New_Gen_SmileSign by k2lunainthesky New Generation Energy (NGE) is a Boston-based nonprofit that operates in six states of New England, and supports energy efficiency and all types of renewable energy including solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal. Their goal is to make communities greener, healthier, and more economically vital through the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.

NGE announced the launch of a microdonation website to support local green energy projects and lower carbon emissions of nonprofits. A unique feature of this new website is that donors can pre-select donation amounts that save a specific amount of carbon. For example a donation amount can be selected that eliminates one ton of CO2.

Similar to popular microlending sites such as Kiva.org, NGE’s microdonation website allows people who don’t make millions to become philanthropists and get involved to support local green energy projects. NGE’s site offers a variety of environmental local nonprofits to choose from, and projects such as weatherization, lighting, and high efficiency equipment.

Cambridge-based HEET (Home Energy Efficiency Team) will become one of the first nonprofits to be listed. HEET, a 2009 EPA (Environmental Merit Award) winner, organizes weatherization parties in homes to lower energy bills and carbon emissions. All the work is done with volunteers. In three hours of work, they lower the heat and electric bills by 10%, an effect that should last for a decade. At the same time, they teach volunteers hands-on skills. 76% of their volunteers continue to do work in their own homes, multiplying the carbon reductions. Microdonations made thought NGE’s website will pay for materials such as CFLs (Compact Florescent Light Bulbs) or caulk needed for HEET to work on low-income homes.

Clean up Central Square on Sunday, April 25!

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Prince street, Cambridge, MA Spring Cleanup, CleanCambridge.org by Clean Cambridge Clear Conscience Café, Toscanini’s Ice Cream and the Central Square Business Association will sponsor “Clean Up Central Square” Sunday, April 25, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.

The Central Square Cleanup will kick off at 8:30 am at Clear Conscience Cafe, 581 Mass Ave, where the owners of the café, Daniel Goldstein and Jack Kutner, will treat volunteers to organic, fair-trade coffee and tea before the clean up begins. From 9am to 11:30, participants will clean; supplies will be provided by the Department of Public Works and by volunteers. For Daniel Goldstein, the cleanup is “a sign of the times and feels like a rebirth of citizenry and businesses to be stakeholders in a clean, well kept square.” After the cleanup, Toscanini’s will host the cleanup team for ice cream.

All are invited to join the effort on Sunday April 25th.

For more information, visit www.centralsquarecambridge.com.

LEDs for a smarter street lighting

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The light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are becoming more and more common in traffic lights and are moving into streetlights.

LEDs produce three or four times more light per watt of electricity than standard incandescent lamps do, and they are more than 4 times as efficient as Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs, typically lasting  up to 50,000 hours.

The Dialight Corporation, of Farmingdale, N.J., a subsidiary of a British company,  has about one-third of the United States market for LED traffic signals, and is now looking forwards on another target: street lamps. Edinburgh and Pittsburgh are already trying this new lightning system. Even if LED street lamps doesn’t produce much more light per watt than a conventional lamp, it’s strength is to shine in only one direction whereas other lamps shine in all directions. So energy can be save in using smaller and smarter lamps.

For now, these lights are sold between $600 or $700 each, which is at least double the price of a conventional light. According to Roy Burton, the company chief executive, the pay back would take 6 or 7 years. But these smarter lights will be easier to manage, as the company is developing a cluster of lights that communicate wirelessly with one master light equipped with cellphone technology. That should reduce the number of crews out looking for failed lights, he added.

LED can be an innovative solution to reduce light pollution and increase energy savings.

Commonwealth Challenge’s Campaign running until Earth Day

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Retrofit Revolutionaries! by Peter Papesch, AIA

The Commonwealth Challenge is a campaign to collectively save 100,000 kWh of electricity by Earth Day, April 22. Free air sealing for basements or attics is one of the benefits of participating in this campaign to retrofit homes and address poverty and climate change throughout Massachusetts. The campaign has a goal for residents of all income levels to cut their electrical usage by 5 percent, while saving money, reducing pollution, and creating good local jobs.

The participants can:

  • Sign up for a free home energy screening
  • Retrofit their home at a group discount (20 partnered organizations across the state are giving discounted and free home insulation services to all participants)
  • Track and compare their energy use with neighbors, see also Smarter Cambridge—it’s not just for Cantabridgians!

These services are offered as part of NStar and National Grid’s utility programs and also include access to over $2,000 in rebates for insulation work and a seven-year term, zero-interest loan of $15,000 to complete more extensive home retrofitting work.

According to Josh Lynch, Commonwealth Challenge coordinator, “this campaign is about connecting issues of pollution and poverty before this 40th Earth Day”. He continued “We also have an economic crisis in this country that affects people in low-income communities and communities of color first and worst. The climate crisis and economic crises are connected. People that live in pollution also often live in poverty.”

To find out more information about the campaign visit CommonwealthChallenge.org and The Leadership Campaign.

Sustainable Business Leadership Graduation Ceremony – Cambridge

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Eleven Cambridge companies were certified as “Sustainable Business Leaders” on Thursday April 1, 2010, for completing the Sustainable Business Leader Program (SBLP)—a program of the Sustainable Business Network (SBN) that provides guidance, support and technical assistance to facilitate the “greening” of small and medium-sized businesses. The special certification ceremony, which was held at the Cambridge City Hall Annex, was co-sponsored by the City of Cambridge, Cambridge Local First and the Cambridge Energy Alliance in partnership with the Sustainable Business Network.

The first Cambridge graduating class included:

Cambridge Naturals, 1369 Coffee House, Veggie Planet, Stone Hearth Pizza, Irving House, Greenward, Harvest Co-Op Markets, Harvard Bookstore, The Fishmonger, Cambridge Brewing Company and Economy Hardware.

Graduates earned their SBLP certification by completing the rigorous six-step SBLP process and reducing their collective carbon footprint, plus they received window decals to demonstrate their leadership to the public.  Measurable and significant changes were identified and implemented in various areas, including Energy Efficiency, Water Conservation, Waste Reduction, Transportation Management, Pollution Prevention and Sustainability Management.  Many companies saw financial savings as a result of lowering consumption of energy and water and diverting their waste stream into recycling and compost.

Mayor David Maher was the first to congratulate the businesses, followed by Vice Mayor Henrietta Davis, Susanne Rasmussen, Director of Environmental and Transportation Planning and Energy, Lilah Glick of the Cambridge Energy Alliance and Rachael Solem of Cambridge Local First.

With over 60 participating companies, the SBLP continues to grow and assist small to medium sized businesses “green” their operations, collectively reducing their carbon footprint in Boston, Cambridge and Somerville.  The Sustainable Business Network of Greater Boston (SBN) launched the Sustainable Business Leader Program (SBLP) in 2008 through a partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA). The objective of the SBLP is to provide guidance, support and technical assistance to facilitate the ‘greening’ of small and medium-sized locally owned businesses in Massachusetts.

Can the solar power-assist prototype for buses be a sustainable solution?

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The Californian Sunpods Inc manufacturing company produces innovative, modular and tested solar power stations. One of their latest projects, is to build the first solar power-assist for buses. This system will help Bauer Intelligent Transportation meet strict anti-pollution standards laid down by the State of California. Diesel vehicles are not allowed to remain idle for more than five minutes after the passage of  the California Anti-Idling law in 2008. California joined 17 other states in passing anti-idling legislation.

Sunpods Inc ‘s solar power-assist system is made up of four solar panels which are fixed on the roof of the bus. They can charge an on-board battery bank to power the air-conditioning and wireless connectivity equipment when the bus is inactive. Tested on a Bauer Intelligent Transportation bus since January 2010, this solar power-assist system is already demonstarting success, respecting anti-idling standards without discomforting passengers.

China Leads U.S. in clean energy investment

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Rape Flowers & Wind Power Plant , Jeju Island, KOREA by daejeonThe recent report of The Pew Charitable Trust shows that for the first time China is spending nearly doubled in clean energy  investments compared to the United States. In 2009, China invested $34.6 billion in wind power, solar energy and other forms of renewable energy, whereas United States only invested $18.6 billion dollars. The United States lagged behind 10 G20 members in percentage of gross domestic products. The report explains that Spain invested five times more than the United States last year, and China and the United Kingdom three times more.

Phyllis Cuttino, who directs the Pew Environment Group’s Global Warming Campaign explained that, “Having built a strong manufacturing base and export markets, China is working now to meet domestic demand by installing substantial new clean energy-generating capacity to meet ambitious renewable energy targets”. For Cuttino “Our nation has a critical choice to make: pass the federal policies necessary to position us as the world leader in the large and growing global clean energy market or continue to watch China and other countries race ahead”. Only time will tell if the United States President Barack Obama substantiates his past promises to propel a clean energy economy throughout the nation.