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Hurricane Earl's effects on our coast?
As of Thursday evening, tropical storm watches are in effect for multiple counties in Maine and New Hampshire, including but not limited to coastal sections of Rockingham County, NH, and coastal York and Cumberland Counties, ME. If you do suffer damage on to your property, such as tree damage, you may wish to contact one of the Green Alliance's business partners that may be able to help:
Show your support for Clean Air-Cool Planet
The Green Alliance is proud to lend its support to a campaign from our friends at Clean Air-Cool Planet, who are attempting to rally business support for Congress to support climate and energy legislation.
If you belong to a business that would like to support this effort, below is direct text from the letter that Clean Air Cool Planet has drawn up; all you need to do is copy the text, add your company's name and, if possible, logo to a letter, and send it to Bob Sheppard, Clean Air Cool Planet's CFO and VP of their Corporate Program, at bsheppard@cleanair-coolplanet.org.
Thanks in advance, and here's the suggested text from their letter:
Dear Senator XXX,
Ed Henningsen helps Maine residents go green and get some in return
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By Jim Cavan
From its front driveway along the Piscataqua River, Dan Silva’s 1830 federal-style house would appear the poster child for the old saying “they don’t build ‘em like that anymore.”
In many ways, it’s true: from both outside and inside, the home looks as sturdy and as time-tested as any from its era, with an interiorly updated modern sensibility that only enhances its rock-steady appearance. But like many New Englanders who have experienced three years of volatile oil prices, Silva is as determined as ever to make sure the reality matches the perception.
Enter Ed Henningsen, owner of Eliot-based Henningsen Home Inspections. Henningsen’s job? To try and get Silva up to $3,000 cash back from a state program which provides incentives for home and business owners who improve their building’s energy efficiency.
Funded mainly be federal stimulus money, the Efficiency Maine Home Energy Savings Program is designed to help Maine residents and businesses reduce energy costs while improving the state’s environment, covering anywhere from 25 to 50% off costs associated with improvements ranging from weatherization to renewable energy systems to appliances.
So far Efficiency Maine has 500 people “in the system”, meaning they’ve had an audit conducted and are in the process of making the necessary upgrades to apply for the rebates. Meanwhile, 2500 people managed to put in reservations for an additional $1,000 rebate offer, which expired August 31st.
GUEST BLOG: New Hampshire Solar Ups and Downs – Cut to Residential Rebate Proposed, Commercial Rebates Introduced
By Fred Greenhalgh, Revision Energy
New Hampshire is becoming a renewable energy leader in the Northeast thanks to increasingly progressive energy policies and generous incentives for solar installations.
Homeowners have been able to enjoy a $3/watt system rebate up to $6,000, which takes a big bite out of the cost of a solar electric system and brings the ‘simple’ return on the system to under 7 years in many cases (see more on solar electric ROI).
However, in a recent order of notice (DE10-194 – full details here (PDF)), New Hampshire’s Public Utilities Commission has proposed reducing the rebate from $3/watt, $6,000 max to $1.5/watt, $3,000 max.
Here’s an explanation:
The incentive payments are funded through the Renewable Energy Fund (REF), which is supported by alternative compliance payments (ACPs) made by electric service providers who cannot meet their Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) obligations through the purchase of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) …
the REF [has] an uncommitted balance of approximately $1.5 million. Given that the small residential renewable incentive program experiences an average of 20 incentive applications per month, totaling an average of $12,800 per month in incentive payments, or, $1.5 million annually, and assuming this rate of participation will continue at that level, the fund could be exhausted by this program before the end of fiscal year 2011 and would likely exceed the portion of funding that should go to residential programs …
Based on these factors, the Commission proposes to halve the incentive payment to $1.50 per watt and the per-system maximum to $3,000 for small residential electrical renewable energy facilities. Lowering the incentive payment and per-facility maximum amount will allow for the same number of systems that are currently processed for rebates to be eligible for incentives, thus providing continued business for installers of small residential renewable generation systems.
Newmarket Farmers' Market has a little bit of everything
When it comes to beautiful, quaint New England villages, you'd be hard pressed to find a downtown more picturesque than Newmarket. And you'd be equally exhausted finding a more bountiful, dynamic, and popular farmer's market anywhere on the Seacoast.
The Newmarket Farmers' Market is now in its second year and growing every week. With only a few weeks left in the summer / autumn season, now's your chance to experience first hand the Seacoast's growing orientation towards locally made, harvested, and grown products.
Every Saturday between now and October 9th -- and once a month during the winter, starting in November -- come on down to Newmarket and get your hands on delicious local food, see your friends and Seacoast neighbors, and enjoy the music beside the beautiful, historic Stone Church Meeting House! Featuring the freshest locally grown fruit & vegetables, gourmet mushrooms, goat's milk cheese & yogurt, eggs, breads & pastry, wines made from 100% NH grown fruits, jams & jellies, 2010 maple syrup, fresh roasted coffee, pastured fed antibiotic-free chicken, beef, lamb, pork, rabbit, locally harvested oysters, soaps, art, agricultural crafts and specialty products -- the Newmarket Farmers's Market has everything you'd ever want and more!
Pick up fresh corn, cantaloupe, crisp mixed greens, juicy tomatoes, sweet carrots & garlic. Then, sit in the new cafe with a cup of locally roasted coffee and a fresh pastry, all while listening to talented local musicians strum away under the warm fall sun. Learn more by clicking here!
Last chance for $25 membership!
The promo ends at midnight tonight: act now and join or renew for just $25! Support our community as make the Seacoast a model for other areas on how to make "green" the differentiator that businesses have been looking for.
More reasons to eat local food
Generally, I don't like to blog about the same subject multiple times, but bear with me on this one. As discussed in a previous blog post, there have been a series of food recalls recently, including a massive recall of eggs, as well as a smaller recall of deli meats. Before we get back to the egg recall, we've got a new recall on our hands - one that sickened a few folks from right here in Maine.
You can read the full details here, but the bottom line is that BJ's Wholesale locations in 4 New England states, including NH, ME, and MA, received potentially tainted ground beef prodcued by Cargill, a truly awful company whose products should be avoided if at all possible.
Will Hurricane Earl make for an uphill (indoor) climb?
While the Seacoast gets hot as a firecracket during midweek, the big talk now centers on the possible arrival of Hurricane Earl, which is currently forecasted to pass by the Outer Banks of North Carolina, then curve Northeast towards the Seacoast. While Cape Cod is under the biggest risk for strong, potentially damaging winds, it appears likely that the Seacoast will get some (still) needed rain.
That's good news, but the timing is not great for Seacoast businesses: the rain is scheduled to start falling early evening on Friday night, then showers and gray skies (and strong tides!) will likely continue into Saturday afternoon. This is obviously less than ideal for Seacoast residents and visitors during a busy Labor Day Weekend. So what might be a good indoor option for Friday night or Saturday?
Register now for the Kittery PTA Seaside 4-Mile Road Race!
Registrations are now being accepted for the Kittery PTA Seaside 4-Mile Road Race on Sunday, September 19, which promises to be a fun event for everyone involved at this family-friendly event: there's a free kids' fun run at 9:30! Awards will be presented to the fastest male and female pirate (in multiple age categories), as well as best-dressed pirate.
In fact, register before September 12, and pay just $15 - a $5 discount off the normal $20 registration fee! And that special price is available for either runners or walkers. The 4-mile walk begins at 8:00 AM, while the runners start at 8:30. For more information, and to register, click here!
Guest Blogging from Paul Keegan, the Green Guru
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We just wanted to let readers of the Green Alliance blog know that in the coming weeks, we anticipate a few "guest-blog" entries from Paul Keegan, owner of 1 World Trading Co., which specializes in organic, fair trade, and locally-made products, including clothing, jewelry, home décor, hemp shoes, biodegradable cups and plates, New Hampshire-made maple syrup and chocolate, or books and CDs from local writers and musicians. Paul is sometimes known as the Green Guru because of his committment to green business practices, and his committment to sharing his message in a variety of ways.
Register for the "Lean & Green" Awards ceremony, 9/14/2010, Portsmouth Harbor Events & Conference Ctr.
We're just about 2 weeks away from Business NH Magazine's 2010 "Lean and Green Awards" ceremony on Tuesday. September 14 from 8:00 - 10:00 AM at the Portsmouth Harbor Events & Conference Center. The awards categories include "Green Product", "Green Building", "Small Process" and "Large Process", "Nonprofit Large Process", and "Early Adopter" awards.
Funky Fall Foliage Cruise with the Green Alliance on Sunday, October 3, 2010!
The Green Alliance is very pleased to be co-hosting a special "Funky Fall Foliage Cruise" on Sunday, October 3, 2010, from 3:30 - 7:00 PM aboard the Isles of Shoals Steamship Co's Victorian style, 348 passenger M/V Thomas Laighton!
Our co-host WXGR 101.5 FM will provide entertainment through their own DJ, while green drink specials and spectacular views will be "served" at this all-ages event. Bring the whole family during one of the Seacoast's nicest times of the year, with comfortable tempearutures, low humidity, and sparkling foliage from Portsmouth Harbor to Dover Point!
$25 Membership Drive for the Green Alliance Ends Tomorrow Night!!
If you aren't already a member of the Green Alliance, act now and join or renew for just $25! But hurry, as this promotion ends tomorrow. Don't miss your chance to save $10 off the regular $35 price, and save thousands at a vareity of green businesses across the Seacoast!
With a little help from its NH arm, DiggersList grows by leaps and bounds
By Jim Cavan
The past few years haven’t exactly been kind to craigslist. Having been embroiled in numerous scandals that have tarnished the website’s already ambiguous reputation, people have been fleeing even the site’s more benign classifieds sections.
Luckily for the DIYers and home improvers out there, one California website is filling one of those previously empty niches – and getting attention for all the right reasons.
They’ve been featured in Star magazine’s “Hot Sheet”, Family Handyman’s “The Stuff We Love” section, made appearances on both the Live Well Channel’s “Gotta Know” as well as on a Charleston, South Carolina ABC affiliate’s morning news show, and their story has been scooped by dozens of blogs and other websites nationwide.
What is this handyperson’s craiglist?
It’s called DiggersList, and it’s a California-based website that’s become the go-to classifieds for building and home improvement materials, supplies, and services – all at cut rate cost, and all tailored to specific regions and cities.
The website, launched in October 2009, already houses individual sites for dozens cities across the country, including one for the New Hampshire Seacoast.
To say that DiggersList is growing would be a drastic understatement: the site has already tripled the number of affiliate cities and, according to its founder Matt Knox, more than 600 cities from across the United States, Canada and the U.K. put in requests to be next on the list just last month alone.
In fact, in the fifteen minutes this reporter spent talking on the phone with Knox, three more citizens had sent inquiries wondering when their city would find its way to a site which, according to its owner, includes 70,000 active users.
GUEST BLOG: Anti-Hodes TV ads make grossly misleading claims
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From the Concord Monitor
By Charlie Niebling and Jim Rubens
August 25, 2010
A pro-fossil fuel political group, the American Action Network has spent a whopping $450,000 over the past three weeks on TV and radio ads attacking Congressman Paul Hodes for his vote for the American Clean Energy and Security Act. The ads also support Kelly Ayotte, Hodes's leading opponent to fill Sen. Judd Gregg's Senate seat.
One of us is a Republican who has publicly endorsed Kelly Ayotte, and the other an independent who has yet to endorse a candidate. We both believe the ACES bill could have been greatly improved, but we also strenuously object to the ads' grossly and dangerously misleading claims.
The bad information in these ads rely on a study published by the Heritage Foundation asserting that the ACES bill would have increased electric rates by 90 percent and gas prices by $1.38 a gallon, and kill 2 million jobs over its first two decades. Heritage's analysis is likely tainted by its heavy reliance on funding from anti-climate science fossil fuel interests: $200,000 from ExxonMobil from 2005-09 and over $1.6 million from Koch Industries, the nation's second largest privately-held company.
The real facts are that New Hampshire bleeds over $3 billion each year - 6 percent of our state's annual economic output - purchasing imported oil and coal. Our dependence on these fossil fuels exports jobs and weakens national security by flowing our dollars directly into the pockets of America's adversaries, such as Venezuela and Iran.
Become a Green Alliance member today and START SAVING on local, green goods and services! JOIN NOW
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