Green Home: Futuro Builders Broaden Future of Green Building

From Fosters Your Home

By Tricia Dinkel

Over the years, the term development has evolved to mean far more than just the addition of cookie-cutter compounds and skyscrapers. As the world becomes more attentive to the environmental impacts of building, sustainability and efficiency initiatives emerge as priorities for the industry's future. For business owners Jesse Ware and Craig Briggs, the future of sustainable building is simply called, Futuro.

In 2011, industry veterans Briggs and Ware combined their years of experience and unwavering commitment to sustainability to launch Futuro Builders. From commercial projects to residential homes, Futuro Builders is a building firm that doesn't promote environmental sustainability as the future, but rather as the standard.

Co-founder, Jesse Ware, is honest about the green direction of Futuro Builder. "We approach our work the way we do for many reasons. The biggest reason, though, is we believe in it. It is at the core of our values," Says Ware. "For both Craig and I, creating something that is healthier, more efficient, and has less impact on the Earth is always going to be the right thing to do."

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Exeter's EZ Bikes Touts New Line

 From Exeter Patch and Portsmouth Patch

By Jim Cavan

The growing appeal of electric bicycles isn’t difficult to grasp: As many Americans continue to feel the effects of unstable gas prices, having a more efficient secondary or tertiary transportation alternative can go a long way in easing pocketbook strain.

But for as effective and efficient as many electric bikes are, they continue to harbor – fair or not – something of an aesthetic stigma.

“The way a lot of models are built, you can kind of tell they’re electric,” says Teresa Hemenway, co-owner of the Exeter-based EZ Bikes and Scooters. “Now, for some people, the functionality is all that matters. But younger people are always looking for something with style.”

Just last week, EZ introduced two new lines of electric bikes – The Neo Race, manufactured by E Motion; and the Outlaw SS – made to be as eye-poppingly hip as they are fuel-efficient.

Hemenway said that the Bikes – one of which, the Outlaw SS, is made in the United States – are more reasonably priced than many of their competitors.

Designed to compliment traditional road racing bikes, the Neo Race offers what Hemenway calls a “purist appeal.”

“It’s a great way for traditional riders who want to cover the same distance in a shorter period, or for people who want to better keep up with a partner who is used to covering longer distances,” she said. “So you have the look and feel of a road bike, but with that extra boost when you need it.”

To read the full article on Exeter Patch, click here!
To read the full article on Portsmouth Patch, click here!

RGGI will let the region thrive

From The Portsmouth Herald

By Chris Meyer

Back in 2008, one year into the Great Recession, I started a brand-new business.

Crazy?

Just the opposite.

My company, Yankee Thermal Imaging, makes money by helping New Englanders save money on energy. We test buildings with cutting-edge technology that zeroes in on leaks, and then send crews to fix the problems. We've helped scores of families and more than a dozen municipalities save what will likely turn out to be tens of thousands of dollars in energy waste.

The economic downturn raised a lot of awareness about energy costs, and how much thriftier we can be with the right up-front investments. Even as it ebbs, I doubt Americans are likely to turn back. It's not just that we're saving money, we're also helping clean our air and water, and strengthening our nation by reducing our dependence on foreign oil.

All this also helps explain why I support the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, RGGI, the pioneering pact that joins New Hampshire and eight other states in a smarter regional energy strategy. In the next few weeks, our lawmakers will vote on whether to stay in the 3-year-old project. I hope they understand how much RGGI has been strengthening the state economy — and not just clean-energy businesses like mine. The pact provides major incentives for firms to improve their efficiency, which saves money for other efforts, like hiring and investing, which make our economy grow.

To read the full article, click here!

Cast off with the Thomas Laighton for fun, festivities and exploration

From Foster's Daily Democrat and The Portsmouth Patch

By Heikki Perry

PORTSMOUTH — Among the most enduring signs that summer lies just around the corner is the sight of the M/V Thomas Laighton plying its way around Portsmouth Harbor. And while residents and visitors alike associate the vessel with fun and exploration, the Thomas Laighton is also an exemplar of environmentalism in action.

The Thomas Laighton is the cruise ship of the Isle of Shoals Steamship Company, an iconic Seacoast institution. Having been in Portsmouth since 1962, the ISSCo. is truly part of the community. Originally founded as Viking Cruises by Arnold Whittaker, the Steamship Company is still in the family, having been passed along first to Bob, Arnold’s son and most recently, in 1999, to Arnold’s daughter-in-law, Robin Whittaker.

The company offers a variety of tours to New Hampshire’s historic Isles of Shoals and throughout Portsmouth Harbor and the Greater Piscataqua Region, and is thoroughly committed to preserving the amazing history and heritage of the Seacoast.

Beyond those iconic tours, the company also charters the famous Thomas Laighton “party ship,” where during the summer hundreds pack the vessel to hear the best in local music — everything from rock cover bands to reggae to DJs — all while taking in the crisp evening air of summertime on the Seacoast. The company anticipates offering three or four “party cruises” a week this summer.

Running mostly private events for the month of the May, ISSCo. offered its first public cruises on May, for a Cinco de Mayo event with a DJ, proceeds going to the Make A Wish Foundation, and, as part of Pro Portsmouth, on May 5, ISSCo. hosted a Children’s Day an event it does every year...

For the full story in Foster's, Click Here!

For the full story in Portsmouth Patch, Click Here!

For more information on Isle of Shoals Steamship Company, Click Here!