News : January 2010
Spotlight: Diversions listings
Jan 29, 2010Featured in the Portsmouth Herald
MIKE MACDONALD'S NINTH ANNUAL COMEDY XXTRAVAGANZA, 8 p.m., featuring Jim Lauletta, Robbie Printz, Kelly MacFarland and more, presented by Cuzin Richard Entertainment Associates, to benefit the Green Alliance and the Peirce Island Enhancement Fund, $34-$37, on sale now, The Music Hall, 28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth, 436-2400, www.themusichall.org.
Business Profiles:
Green Home Expo coming to Portsmouth
Jan 28, 2010Featured on Newburyportbiz.com
The 1st Annual Seacoast Green Home & Living Show will be held on Feb. 27 & 28 at The Frank Jones Center in Portsmouth, NH. The Seacoast's largest green consumer event will feature vendors that offer practical and simple solutions designed to reduce home energy bills and the area's largest selection of green and local products.
This year's Green Home & Living Show will include 20 seminars from industry experts, demonstrations on sustainable cooking, yoga and massage therapy sessions, as well as raffles and prizes – all covering over 21,000 square feet and three expo halls. Read the full story here!
Reducing your impact
Jan 26, 2010Featured in The Wire
can Seacoast residents be like 'No Impact Man'?
When Colin Beavan decided to eliminate his personal impact on the environment for a year, one of his greatest challenges was also one of the best rewards—convincing his family to join him.
No impact meant eating vegetarian and buying only local food. It meant eliminating use of elevators, television, cars, buses, planes, toxic cleaning products and electricity. It also meant not throwing anything away. Complicating this goal was the fact that his family lives in Manhattan.
The No Impact Project had an unforeseen impact of its own when Beavan’s espresso-guzzling, retail-worshipping wife Michelle and their two-year-old daughter were dragged into it. Read the full story here!
Waterline Industries looking to the sun
Jan 26, 2010Featured in the Portsmouth Herald
Waterline Industries Corporation's initiative to "go green" commenced with much fanfare on Dec. 14, with the installation of an American-made solar system to their corporate headquarters in Seabrook.
Completed four days later on Dec. 18, the installation was conducted by Waterline's Alternative Energies affiliate staff of electricians and installers. To build the system, two 11-foot pole mounts — supplied by Power-Fab of New Mexico — were ground-mounted at the headquarters location, with six panels connected on each. The total solar array of each pole stands at 15 feet tall. Read the full story here!
Business Profiles:
Acorn Organic salon launches line of all-natural beauty products
Jan 26, 2010Featured in the Portsmouth Herald
Since 2008, Acorn Organic Salon has helped the Seacoast look great and go green. It will celebrate a new product line with a launch party from 4 p.m. to midnight Saturday, Jan. 16. Dover Mayor Scott Myers and WOKQ's Mark Ericson will kick off the party by receiving an "inaugural shampoo" using the products.
"At Acorn, we're committed to using all-natural, chemical-free products for our customers, so creating our own product line was a logical step," said Laura McKay, co-owner of Acorn Organic Salon. Read the full story here!
Business Profiles:
New 'green' police garment sold locally
Jan 22, 2010Featured in the Portsmouth Herald
After deciding his patrol officer's uniform was “outdated,” Officer Sean Evans went shopping, found a fleece jacket he liked better and convinced police brass to approve it as an official PPD garment.
A couple dozen officers have since followed suit, prompting the local “Green Alliance” to promote the patrol officers as “men in blue” turning “green.”
The waterproof fleece jackets are made from recycled plastic bottles and sold by Warehouse Clothing Outlet on West Road, said Sarah Brown, project coordinator for Green Alliance. The Alliance certifies local businesses as “green,” said Brown, who commended the clothing store for stocking the line of fleece garments made from melted plastic bottles that are spun into fabric. Read the full story here!
Former journalist creates New Hampshire green cooperative
Jan 22, 2010Featured on SmartPlanet.com
A year ago, former journalist Sarah Brown thought it would be a neat idea to help local businesses better communicate their green business ideals to potential customers in her Portsmouth, N.H., community. She saw herself as sort of a sustainability coordinator for hire. She never dreamed that 80 small companies would jump on board — despite the wicked bad economy.
Brown’s Green Alliance organization focuses on helping local companies of all types assess their business practices and figure out where they can become more green or more sustainable. Businesses that invest in becoming a Business Partner are required to undergo a 60-question sustainability evaluation AND be willing to have the results shared with the outside world on the Green Alliance web site. Stuff that gets considered are sourcing strategies, alternative energy usage, the company’s willingness to help educate customers about green issues, and so on. Read the full story here!
Business Profiles:
'Green' is the new blue : Portsmouth police sporting jackets of recycled materials
Jan 21, 2010Featured in the Foster Daily Democrat
PORTSMOUTH — While it may not have been their original intent, many of the men and women in blue are going green thanks to a new "soft-shell" jacket made of recycled plastic bottles turned into a woven yarn.
Portsmouth Police Officer Sean Evans said upward of two-thirds of the members of the city's police force are now wearing earth-tec "soft-shell" jackets purchased for their warmth, but praised for their use of recycled materials. Read the full story here!
Business Profiles:
Portsmouth police gets jackets made from recycled plastic bottles
Jan 21, 2010Featured on GreenDiary.com
Taking a stroll around Portsmouth may leave you spotting many men and women in blue sporting green. Portsmouth police’s newest winter jackets are made using recycled material. The new earth-tec soft-shell jacket is not only being praised for being warm, but also for contributing to the environment. Two-thirds of the members of the city’s police force can be seen wearing these green jackets made from recycled plastic bottles.
In an attempt to outfit officers with new, warm jackets that could replace their outdated ones, the department’s uniform committee came across the local Warehouse Clothing Outlet, which offered fleece-lined, water-resistant, economical and most importantly eco-friendly jackets. Each piece cost the department less than $40. Read the full story here!
'No Impact Man' brings environmental message to Music Hall Jan. 21
Jan 15, 2010Featured in Fosters Daily Democrat
Can you imagine lessening your impact on the environment by 25 percent? How about 50 percent — driving half as much, using half as much heat? Ok, how about 100 percent — no television, no elevators, no cars, buses or trains, no cleaning products and no garbage? Impossible? Not for one New York City resident.
In No Impact Man, a documentary film released in September, Manhattanite Colin Beavan attempted just that: to live, along with his wife and young child, impact free for a year. The film is slated to be featured at the Portsmouth Music Hall on Thursday, Jan. 21. To read the full story click here!
Business Profiles:
Portsmouth Wins Carbon Challenge
Jan 8, 2010Featured in Foster Daily Democrat
Although Portsmouth was officially proclaimed the winner of its N.H. Carbon Challenge with Keene on Monday, city residents still can take the quick online survey to learn how to save up to $800 annually and reduce their carbon footprint.
According to the numbers, Portsmouth handily beat Keene in the friendly competition that began on Earth Day 2009, April 22, and ended last Friday. However, the survey at www.nhcarbonchallenge.org can still be taken by anyone from any community to learn how to save money and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Read the full story here!
Business Profiles:
NH Volkswagen Dealer Adopting Wind Energy
Jan 7, 2010Featured in Business NH Magazine
Waterline Alternative Energies, a New England-based water and wastewater construction firm, is partnering with Seacoast Volkswagen of Greenland to install the first wind turbine at a NH car dealership. The project broke ground in November and was completed earlier this month. Waterline's licensed electricians and installers ground-mounted a 2.5 kilowatt vertical axis Helix Wind turbine, which replaced an existing Volkswagen light tower. Lighting was then re-installed on the wind turbine pole, which will both reduce the dealership's carbon footprint and demonstrate the dealer's committment to the environment. Seacoast Volkswagen had already taken steps to minimize its hazardous waste generation in its service department. Read full story here!
Business Profiles:
Build Green and Save
Jan 7, 2010Featured on Filife.com
Saving the environment may be the best reason to be green, but it's no longer the only reason. The cost of both building materials and home heating fuels is rising, which makes going green a smart investment for anyone building or upgrading their home. There are many ways to accomplish energy efficiency, from new windows and siding to insulation and high-efficiency heat sources. But there are also obstacles -- some builders claim to be green when they really aren't, while others cut corners on installation practices. An important part of being green means doing the homework that will pay off down the road. Read full story here!
Business Profiles:
Feeling the savings and comfort of insulation
Jan 7, 2010Featured on Filife.com
With summer officially upon us, the mercury is bound to rise over the next few months. For many people, this means turning on the air conditioning full blast to cool down the house, or buying an over sized unit to get the job done. However, there is one solution that will keep the energy you've already used inside your home. You'll save on bills, repair costs, and help the environment. The key is better insulation. Read the full story here!
Business Profiles:
Clay Hill Farm preps for second "green" wedding giveaway
Jan 5, 2010Featured on Seacoast Online
Clay Hill Farm, the award-winning restaurant and wedding venue, is holding its green wedding giveaway for the second annual year. The contest, which opened in late October, will provide to the winning couple a July wedding for up to 100 guests, free of charge. Most of the wedding services will be locally obtained, such as the flowers, cake, music, invitations and even the honeymoon.
The idea for the giveaway grew out of a need to discover the meaning of "green" and how the term applies to Clay Hill Farm. In March of 2008, the restaurant was recognized as an environmental leader by the state. To Jennifer Lewis-McShera, the restaurant's manager and co-owner, the certification demanded action: how could Clay Hill show its green hue and inspire the community to commit to the environment? The Green Wedding Giveaway, which celebrates a lifelong commitment to love and to the environment, was the answer. Read the full story here!
Business Profiles:
Portsmouth Brewery makes New Year's resolution to trim waste
Jan 5, 2010Featured in the Portsmouth Herald
Anyone who's been to the Portsmouth Brewery on a Friday or Saturday night can appreciate what a busy restaurant looks like. Particularly during the summers, it's not uncommon to be waiting in line down Market Street for up to an hour for the brew pub's libations and eats.
But after you and the hundred or so other patrons have filled up on beer and food, what happens with all those leftovers — the scraps that are too much to finish, but too little to save for tomorrow's lunch? Until recently, much of it would simply end up in a landfill. But 2010 is set to find the Brewery making good on a new and ambitious resolution: to compost all food waste and turn their entire restaurant into a zero-waste facility. Read the full story here!
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