On 13 October 2012 from 10-3, hundreds of residential homes and commercial buildings fro Maine to Pennsylvania will invite the public to tour their structures and learn about each property’s sustainability features. The tours are completely free. See a list of tour locations and the annual energy savings (in dollars) which accrues to each. The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association sponsors this annual Green Buildings Open House.
Category Archives: Energy
Green Drinks friend Natalie B writes, urging us to:
LEAVE THESE PRODUCTS ON THE SHELF!
Did you know that the manufacturer of these products gives financial support to:
- Alec (American Legislative Exchange Council) that supports the “Stand Your Ground Laws” and the Tea Party
- Wisconsin Gov. Scott who is a union buster
- Funding voter suppression bills
If you are middle and working class in America these products are not your friends. Leave them on the shelf!
- Angel Soft toilet paper
- Brawny paper towels
- Dixie plates, bowls, napkins and cups
- Mardi Gras napkins and towels
- Quilted Northern toilet paper
- Soft ‘n Gentle toilet paper
- Sparkle napkins
- Vanity fair napkins
- Zee napkins
- Construction Products
- Georgia-Pacific paper products and envelopes
- Dense Armor
- Densglass
- Dryguard
- FibreStrong
- FireDefender
- Flexrock
- ToughArmor
Textiles - Antron Carpet Fiber
- Comforel
- Coolmax
- Cordura
- Dacron
- Lycra
- Polarguard
- Polyshield
- SolarMax
- Sommerelle
- Stainmaster Carpet
- Tactel
- Thermolite
Gasoline - Chevron
- Conoco
- Union
- Union 76
More information at treehugger.com
Green Drinks September 2012
In September, Green Drinks discusses
- How to Save the Internet and advocate for an open internet
- Why fracking has such a disastrous impact on our national/local water supplies and why this practice should be ended
- How to build healthy, bikeable/walkable communities
SAVING THE INTERNET & NET NEUTRALITY
Open internet access is one of the great freedom fights of our time. We have to use it so we don’t lose it. This is now a standard topic of discussion at every Green Drinks 3 event. See more at http://thewei.com/kimi/verizon-wants-to-control-your-internet-keep-them-out/
FRACKING AWARENESS RESOURCES & ACTIONS
- http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/water/fracking/fracking-action-center/
- Global Frackdown http://www.globalfrackdown.org/
- http://shalegasoutrage.org/ NJ & Philly on 20 Sept 2012
Newark Green drinks
Meets 1st Mondays at Rio Rodizio Newark except on major holidays.
1st Monday this month was Labor Day, so we didn’t meet.
Hackensack Green Drinks
Monday, 10 Sept 2012 7-9pm (and 2nd Mondays)
At Victor’s Maywood Inn, 122 W. Pleasant Avenue, Maywood NJ
Hackensack Green Drinks will be joined by members of 350.org and Food & Water Watch who will discuss climate actions and tell us about fracking teach-ins happening in September.
Paterson-Clifton Green Drinks
Tuesday, 18 September 2012 7-9 pm (and 3rd Tuesdays)
The Sultan Restaurant, 429 Crooks Avenue, Clifton NJ (outside if the weather’s nice)
Where to find us
Green Drinks 3 http://greendrinks3.org/
Like us on Facebook https://www.fb.com/thegreenwei/
Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/greenwei
Other events and actions
In solidarity with the Global Frackdown Actions taking place, September is Green Drinks 3 Fracking Awareness month.
FRACKING AWARENESS & ACTIONS
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/water/fracking/fracking-action-center/
Global Frackdown http://www.globalfrackdown.org/
http://shalegasoutrage.org/ NJ & Philly on 20 Sept. 2012
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99% SPRING GROUP MEMBERS are welcome at any Green Drinks meeting. We discuss action plans and volunteer opportunities at most Green Drinks events.
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Help Protect National Forests
America’s national forests provide essential habitat for lynx, grizzlies and other wildlife — and clean water for millions of Americans. Yet new rules could threaten the sanctity of these special places, paving the way for more logging and more destructive development on our national forests. Help protect these special places. Sign the petition online at: http://dfnd.us/vYt93D
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Prevent racism from blocking the Latino & Black vote
Watch the 4 minute video by Van Jones’ Rebuild the American Dream team
http://thewei.com/kimi/racist-romney-gop-move-to-block-the-latino-black-vote/ )
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SHOE DONATIONS FOR HAITI
Collected at Stride Rite Wyckoff location ONLY
Monday-Saturday 10am-6pm
319 Franklin Ave, Wyckoff NJ
Stride Rite of Wyckoff is accepting worn/used shoes, children’s and adults for donation. All donations are sent to Haiti. We have received hundreds of pairs of shoes to date, but the need is much greater.
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After Rio+20: Moving Beyond 2015
RSVP at http://j.mp/rio20plus
15-19 OCT 2012 (9am – 5pm only)
COST: FREE
Ramapo College, 505 Ramapo Valley Road, Mahwah, NJ
In the campus Student Center Room SC 137
The speakers for this event series are all key players from Civil Society Organizations and from the United Nations, collectively engaged in planning for a post-Rio+20 future. The purpose of the workshop series is to lay out the framework for a road map to plan for a Global Citizens Movement to help us move beyond the major United Nations Rio+20 conference held earlier this year in June.
In this intensive workshop, the many dimensions of the UN Conference in Rio de Janeiro will be explored, and a coherent path forward will be charted.
As you may be aware, by most conventional accounts, Rio+20 was at least a disappointment, if not a failure. We argue that real, path-breaking, and innovative solutions began to emerge from the grassroots level out, and we will present many dimensions of these solutions, as well as strategize a way forward into a more sustainable future.
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Support the Ramapough Indians.
Tell the EPA to clean up Ford’s mess in Ringwood.
Journalist Jan Barry started the research on the tragic and intentional pollution of a housing development which was home to members of a tribe of Ramapough Indians in Ringwood, NJ, and collaborated with HBO to create Mann v. Ford, a moving documentary about the crushing impact this has had on the health of tribe members as well as the water source for the entire region.
The site was prematurely de-listed by the EPA from its Superfund cleanup status, and several years later became the first site to be listed for a second time. Ford has resisted taking responsibility for the poisonous effects on tribe members of the toxic paint sludge it trucked in under cover of nightfall every day for many years, and has also resisted funding the cost of cleanup.
Make sure the EPA knows you support the clean-up of the Ramapough Indians by (Action 1) signing the Change.org petition and (Action 2) sending a letter to the EPA. Petition and sample letter available at
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Click to give Hackensack Riverkeeper the chance to win a grant from Chase Community Giving
(must have a Facebook account)
Click on http://j.mp/gd4hrk2012
Click on “VOTE”
Click Accept the APP
Click “VOTE” again and a pop-up window should appear.
You get two votes, so use your second vote for any other organization
How can you get extra votes to vote for us?
• Share the special link you get with your Facebook friends – you may get an extra vote. (Make sure you use both of your original 2 votes so you can use the extra vote)
• Chase customers automatically get two more votes by logging in from the Chase Community Giving home page accessible through the Chase website
Learn more about Hackensack Riverkeeper’s amazing ecological advocacy and nature tours and cleanups at http://hackensackriverkeeper.org
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Click to give Morris County Hispanic-American Chamber of Commerce the chance to win $30,000
(You get 10 votes just for having an email address)
Click on http://j.mp/mchaccvoh
MCHACC was selected as a Voices of Health finalist for its commitment to the health of ethnic minority individuals in the northern New Jersey area. Learn more about the chamber at http://mchacc.org.
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OUR SPONSOR
MENTION GREEN DRINKS FOR 20% OFF Online or at the store
Eco Galleria at the Historic Oradell Train Station
400 Maple Avenue, Oradell, NJ
201-447-GIFT (4438)
http://www.ecogalleria.com
Eco Galleria carries fun or fine items handcrafted by artists from throughout the Americas in many price ranges. Including eco-friendly jewelry, pottery, glass, wood, fiber, watches, bags and more. Call ahead to have your gift boxed, wrapped and ready for pick-up or shop online at http://ecogalleria.com
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Interested in sponsoring Green Drinks? If you have a good cause or service, we have a contact base of about 6000 that can learn about your through our meeting announcements. Contact Kimi for information mailto:kimi@thewei.com or 862-203-8814
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NASA explains global warming in 5 min video
Why was the past decade the hottest ever? NASA Explains in this 5 minute video on global warming, and points out: the future depends, “on the choices we make.”
Here are more NASA climate education resources
Protect our world – say goodbye to dirty fuel & coal
The Sierra Club tells us that coal industry is heavily subsidized by American taxpayers to the tune of tens of billions of dollars and it’s clear that this industry’s power is not diminishing. But it should diminish. In fact, it’s so dangerous that it should be done away with altogether. In the process of mining, coal destroys waterways, ecosystems, trees, miners’ health and the health of residents of nearby communities. A well-documented example of this is the tragedy of mountain-top mining in the Appalachian Mountains, a practice which Robert Kennedy Jr., affected citizens and environmental activists continue valiantly fighting to bring to a permanent end.
When it’s burned, coal puts massive amounts of carbon in the air, and this is a main contributor to global warming which brings on drought, soaring temperatures, the rising of seas that will take over island cities and coastal areas, tsunamis, floods and drought. Coal is also a dirty fuel, so burning its puts heavy pollutants in the air that lead to poor air quality and acid rain.
Why aren’t people all over the world staging huge protests to ban coal mining and replace it with clean energy sources? It boils down to this: we’ve been supporting coal so long it’s become sort of a global institution. We can’t imagine a world without a massive coal industry any more than we can imagine a world without gas-powered vehicles, so we protect the industry even though it’s killing both us and our Earth Mother. World citizens protect our institutions. But, the truth is that clean energy is our future: it’s environmentally friendly, health friendly. It’s a massively growing jobs industry, is economically friendly and it’s also cool (in more ways than one). Can you say, win-win-win-win-win? There’s nothing wrong with protecting institutions but they need to work for us. It’s so clear that we need to give up on the old fuels that are destroying us and turn to clean energy with open arms.
For those worried about the impact that embracing clean energy will have on our economy and jobs, just look at the evidence. The Boston Herald reports,
“The growth of Massachusetts’ renewable energy economy is outpacing the overall economy nearly tenfold, according to a new report that measures clean energy sector employment and the number of businesses that use clean energy practices.”
Avaaz is working to prevent horrific environmental destruction in Australia. Please sign the petition.
Australia could let mining magnates build one of the world’s largest coal ports on top of the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem – opening access to 8 billion extra tonnes of planet-killing coal and risking the survival of this entire amazing world heritage site.
US laws which address environmental issues are the Clear Air act and Clean Water Act. They need to be strengthened and expanded.
The Clean Water Act
http://www.epa.gov/lawsregs/laws/cwa.html
The River Network’s Course on using the Act to protect local waterways
The Clean Air Act
http://www.epa.gov/air/caa/peg/
Other Proposed Legislation
2009 Waxman-Market Climate Energy bill (Died)
Everything you always wanted to know about the Waxman-Markey energy/climate bill — in bullet points and ejmatters.org/docs/Waxman-Markey_bill_summary_6-2-09.pdf
H.R. 724, the Security in Energy And Manufacturing (SEAM) Act (sponsored by Congressman Steve Rothman). If enacted, this legislation would make needed investments in a clean energy economy by rebuilding the U.S. manufacturing sector. It provides a 30% tax credit or grant to companies that open new or expanded facilities that manufacture a wide range of clean energy products, including wind turbines, solar panels, hybrid vehicle systems, carbon capture and sequestration systems, and biofuel refinery components, among others in the U.S. I strongly believe that this is the path we must take to end our dependence on both foreign and domestic oil and move toward a secure clean energy future. H.R. 724 is currently pending before the House Committee on Ways and Means.
H.R. 3307, the American Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit Extension Act of 2011 (co-sponsored by Congressman Steve Rothman). If enacted, this bill would provide a clean, 4-year extension of the existing production tax credit (PTC) for wind, biomass, geothermal, small irrigation, landfill gas, trash, and hydropower. This tax credit was created in the Energy Policy Act of 1992 and has frequently been extended in year-end packages of expiring tax provisions, as well as in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The current incentive is set to expire this year for wind and in 2013 for other renewable energy forms. Historically, at least six to eight months before the tax credit expires, financial lenders hesitate in providing capital for projects because of the uncertainty created by the pending expiration of the credit, stalling projects from coming online. This is why many of my colleagues and I believe it is imperative to pass H.R. 3307 now as our economy continues to recover. If the PTC is not renewed, those projects working under the credit will be reduced in size, will not be completed or will add costs, resulting in higher electricity prices for consumers. This measure is currently pending before the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Cap & Trade – an emissions reduction strategy
The Environmental Defense Fund wrote the cap-and-trade approach to sulfur emissions into the 1990 Clean Air Act. A similar program has become law in California to limit carbon emissions, where implementation will begin in 2013. The cap part of the program is an incrementally rising cap on the legally allowable limits for carbon emissions factories produce. The trade portion allows companies that reduce their emissions to a lower level than the legal mandate to use the difference as a credit that a company exceeding the legal limit can buy to bring itself into the compliant range of emissions output.
The EDF explains the history of cap-and-trade, which started in 1990
Traditional, top-down government regulation would have simply directed every plant owner to cut pollution by a specific amount in a specific way. But this method, critics said, would cost too much, impede innovation and ignore the knowledge and initiative of local plant operators.
The way forward, EDF experts argued, was to harness the power of the marketplace. Our cap-and-trade approach, written into the 1990 Clean Air Act, required that overall sulfur emissions be cut in half, but let each company decide how to do it. And power plants that cut their pollution more than required could sell those extra allowances. A new commodities market was born.
Under this market-based plan, sulfur emissions have gone down faster than predicted and at one-fourth of the projected cost. By 2000, scientists were documenting decreased sulfates in Adirondack lakes, improved visibility in national parks and widespread benefits to human health. The Economist called it “the greatest green success story of the past decade.”
EDF explains that the California cap-and-trade market for greenhouse gases addresses is modeled after their plan.
In October 2011, the California Air Resources Board voted to create a cap-and-trade market for greenhouse gases, as required by AB32, the state’s landmark bipartisan 2006 climate bill, which EDF cosponsored and defended in court.
AB32 aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions in California, the world’s eighth largest economy, to 1990 levels by 2020, while generating one-third of its electricity from renewable sources like solar and wind.
The cap-and-trade market alone, which begins operating in 2013, will slash the state’s warming emissions by an amount equivalent to taking some 3.6 million cars off the road.
The LA Times reports
Environmental justice groups oppose aspects of the program, arguing that cap-and-trade’s market allows refineries, power plants and other large-scale facilities to continue polluting poor neighborhoods as long as they purchase credits or offsets ..
and gives details about how the carbon cap-and-trade program will work in California
Emissions caps were established by collecting three years of emissions data from the state’s largest industries. Those businesses were grouped into sectors and assigned an average emissions benchmark. Businesses are allowed to emit up to 90% of that amount in the first year. Companies that operate efficiently under the cap may sell their excess carbon allowance on the market; companies whose emissions are above the benchmark must either reduce their carbon output or purchase credits or offsets.
Offsets are a way of turning carbon “savings” into tradable equities. For instance, a forestry company may change its practices so that its forests store more carbon. That increase in carbon storage can be turned into a marketable credit. An independent entity would verify that the carbon savings are real. That additional storage must be maintained for at least 100 years. No carbon offsets may be purchased from non-U.S. sources.
Are We Going to Have An Energy Crisis?
J asks: “Hi Kim, I I just read a book call Long Emergency about peak oil. How serious is this really? The book predict that our economy which is base on cheap oil will collapse when the oil runs out in 10-20 years. Are you making preparations for this crisis?”
J, that a great question! But, it seems to me that the bigger problems we’re having may be climate change and a diminishing supply of clean water, since basically oil is a fuel and there are fuel alternatives we can use in their place that are cleaner and also renewable. I do think our economy and lifestyles will dramatically change in the future, because now so much of our lives revolve around consumerism and extravagant consumption, and we’re damaging the earth too much by living this way.
If we stop amassing money to make purchases, making the purchases, thinking about what we’re going to purchase next, thinking about how to “manage” our money and assets, thinking about how to acquire more items and assets than the next guy and managing pollution and other problems related to the discharge of chemicals we use and produce and the absurd amount of items we discard: that will leave huge chunks of time open in our lives, and we haven’t thought a lot about how we would fill those open spaces with something better.
I put “manage” in parentheses because, of course, we don’t manage our money: we hand it over to the finance and insurance industries. When our investments profit, the companies in those industries profit too, and they use their profits to buy up land and the essential processes and commodities citizens need to run our societies – like the transportation and energy industries, and food production. Having these cards in their pockets makes it easy for these giants to dictate where and how well we live, and it makes it pretty easy for them to exploit the earth and natural resources which really, belong to everyone – or should.
Act For a Permanent Ban on Delaware Basin Fracking
Groups instrumental in advocacy against Marcellus Shale fracking suggest future action towards achieving a permanent ban.
The vote on fracking the Delaware Basin was postponed when Delaware Governor Jack Markell announced before the Trenton rally on November 21, 2011 that Delaware would vote No on the proposal, and New York’s Governor Cuomo had already decided to cast a No vote too. Because there weren’t enough votes to win, the vote was postponed.
The Food & Water Watch Group, which wants fracking banned in New York, asks that people, “please keep the pressure on President Obama to oppose fracking in the basin and urge Governor Cuomo to maintain his opposition by calling
President Obama: 866-586-4069
Governor Cuomo: 866-961-3208
The group has produced a movie exposing false claims that fracking would produce a landslide of jobs in the region. And, they invite people to join a protest against fracking in Manhattan on Wednesday, November 30 at 4:30 pm at the DEC hearing.
The other message was sent out by Environment New Jersey:
Last Thursday, Environment New Jersey helped to deliver an important victory to protect the Delaware River and our drinking water from dangerous gas drilling—and we couldn’t have done it without your ongoing involvement and support.
After months of deliberation, a little-known agency called the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) delayed a proposal to open the Delaware River Basin—and our drinking water —to harmful gas drilling. Why the delay? Because there weren’t enough votes to approve drilling.
It looks like we won by the skin of our teeth—representatives from the Obama administration joined the governors of New York and Delaware to voice their disapproval for any proposal that would put our Delaware River at risk.
But we’re not done yet. President Obama holds the deciding vote on the commission.
Please, “>Email President Obama today, and tell him to stand up for the 15 million of us who get our drinking water from the Delaware.
PROTESTS
Fracking protests around New York
What Is Marcellus Shale/Delaware Basin Fracking?
Fracking is an abbreviation for hydro-fracturing, a practice in which a cocktail is made of chemicals and thickeners mixed with water drawn from local water supplies and injected deep underground to force natural gas trapped in shale to rise to the surface, where it is captured and can be sold. Once used, treated water that rises to the surface cannot be reused because it becomes way too contaminated. Much of the water stays trapped in the shale and can neither rise nor filter down into underground aquifers which would bring it through soil to be cleansed before depositing it into natural bodies of water
There are deposits of shale throughout the United States, but the Marcellus Shale formation is the biggest one in the country and the 2nd largest in the world.
The New York City Council has a great synopsis about why fracking shouldn’t be allowed in the Delaware River Basin where the Marcellus Shale formation sits.
Other Green Wei blog posts relating to fracking:
Dangers of Fracking – Fracturing Shale With Water
Act For a Permanent Ban on Delaware Basin Fracking
Dangers of Fracking – Fracturing Shale With Water
Update: See separate post on actions for moving towards a permanent ban on fracking
The New York City Council has a great synopsis about why fracking shouldn’t be allowed in the Delaware River Basin where the Marcellus Shale formation sits
The Delaware River is the critical water source for over 15 million people — five percent of the U.S. population — including residents of New Jersey, Delaware, Philadelphia, and 8 million New Yorkers. Furthermore, experts agree that hydraulic fracturing could contaminate drinking water, causing irreparable harm and costing taxpayers billions of dollars. The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), an agency composed of representatives from four states and the federal government, is taking steps to finalize regulations for hydraulic fracturing in the area near the Delaware River in Pennsylvania. While thousands of gas wells have been developed in Pennsylvania in recent years, development of hydraulic fracturing has been much more limited in the area near the Delaware River due to the area’s status as a critical drinking water source for five percent of the U.S. population.
On September 29th, Councilmember James Gennaro introduced a resolution calling on the DRBC to halt the issuance of regulations for gas production using hydraulic fracturing for water withdrawal for the purpose of hydraulic fracturing within the Delaware River Basin until a cumulative impact study is completed to assess the risks and inform the development of adequate regulations for hydraulic fracturing in the Delaware River Basin.
New York Times writer Eliza Griswold reports on the local environmental dangers of fracking, a practice which in the regions it takes place is ruining water supplies in locations across the country, corroding home and business water delivery pipes and appears to be killing pets and farms animals too. Griswold was directed by a Range Resources spokesman to move away from a “fracking pond” containing chemically treated waste water that had been used in the company’s fracking process which Griswold observed to be sitting in a catch basin at the top of a watershed (EPA definition).
Griswold points out
In Amwell Township, your opinion of fracking tends to correspond with how much money you’re making and with how close you live to the gas wells, chemical ponds, pipelines and compressor stations springing up in the area. Many of those who live nearby fear that a leak in the plastic liner of a chemical pond could drip into a watershed or that a truck spill could send carcinogens into a field of beef cattle. (According to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, 65 Marcellus wells drilled this year have been cited for faulty cement casings, which could result in leaks.) But for many other residents, including Haney’s neighbors, the risks seem small, and the benefits — clean fuel, economic development — far outweigh them.
One of her escorts through Amwell Township was 64 year old farmer and science teacher Ray Day of who, “like most of his neighbors, trusted the companies to use best practices. A man’s word means a lot here. After all, without regulation or oversight, he and other farmers worked together to do things like fence streams to keep cattle out of them.”
I first learned of the danger to water supplies caused by fracking when my friend, Sabastian Belfon, returned from visiting family in Arizona. “Kimi, I kept seeing all these pickups driving around with huge tanks in their beds in the back, so I asked my family what was going on.” They told me that’s how most people have to get their water now – by trucking it in. Because of hydrofracking, groundwater’s contaminated now. Just Google the phrase arizona people truck drinking water frack to produce a long list of problems people in that state are having with their drinking water, which some apparently can ignite simply by putting a flame near the water as it runs out of their kitchen sink faucet. Bob Donnan of Pennsylvania blogs about the water in his region turning putrid due to fracking,
TDS, or total dissolved solids in our drinking water were blamed for its chunky state. But water company officials were quick to tell us that even though it may spot glasses in your dishwasher, there is nothing to worry about — the water is safe to drink. Sure, if you can get past drinking something tasting nearly as bad as the prep for your last colonoscopy!
Turns out some of the low river flow, and much of the TDS chunkiness, resulted from the Marcellus Shale gas boom. Unless you have been sleeping, or residing on Mars for the past year, you know about this madhatter gas drilling boom that’s going on, with the epicenter in Hickory, Pennsylvania. Estimates indicate the Marcellus Shale holds enough gas to supply the entire US for 14 years, so main players ante up like it’s the California Gold Rush.
Water is pumped out of streams anytime, anywhere . . . The Pennsylvania Clean Streams Law is supposed to protect drought- stricken streams from de-watering, but is this law being enforced?
Mark Ruffalo stood with Occupy Trenton at the huge anti-fracking rally in Trenton yesterday (on 11/21) with Josh Fox, creator of the movie Gasland, to address the hundreds of protestors and Green Drinks co-host Sally Gellert was there too. Gasland‘s home page features a FAQ on fracking terms, including:
What is the Halliburton Loophole?
In 2005, the Bush/ Cheney Energy Bill exempted natural gas drilling from the Safe Drinking Water Act. It exempts companies from disclosing the chemicals used during hydraulic fracturing. Essentially, the provision took the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) off the job. It is now commonly referred to as the Halliburton Loophole.What is the Safe Drinking Water Act?
In 1974, the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) was passed by Congress to ensure clean drinking water free from both natural and man-made contaminates.What is the FRAC Act?
The FRAC Act (Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness to Chemical Act) is a House bill intended to repeal the Halliburton Loophole and to require the natural gas industry to disclose the chemicals they use.
Slicing and dicing up the earth for natural gas through fracking = no good, no way.