News : March 2012
Rain Garden Just One of The Many Green Features for Regeneration Park
Mar 29, 2012Published in Exeter Patch
Written by Jim Cavan
When Simply Green turned an abandoned Route 1 Toyota dealership into a thriving green-oriented business campus – aptly named Regeneration Park – they recognized one of the biggest challenges would be figuring out what, exactly, to do with the expansive, worn down parking lot.
Joel Bobbett and the rest of the Simply Green team knew they wanted whatever measure they took to be in keeping with Regeneration Park’s impressive green ethos, which already included myriad recycled materials, efficient lighting and heating, and other measures.
It was getting from here to there that posed the real challenge...
To read more, click here!
Business Profiles:
Local green businesses partner for April 15 beach cleanup
Mar 26, 2012Published in Foster's Daily Democrat and The New Hampshire
By David Anderson
HAMPTON BEACH — With literally tons of litter being left behind on New Hampshire's beaches, there is a real need for local volunteers to help cleanup after the over 1 million people who visit popular Seacoast destinations like Hampton Beach each year.
That's why two local eco-minded entrepreneurs, Johnmark O'Brien of the York Harbor-based Green Maids and Nathan Johnson of Visions Kitchens and Design in Hampton, plan to celebrate Earth Day a bit early this year by organizing a beach cleanup at Hampton Beach on Sunday, April 15. They invite local residents and visitors alike to come out and volunteer from 10 to 11:30 a.m.
Read the full article in Foster's Daily Democrat and in The New Hampshire here.
Business Profiles:
Solar Technology an Old Hat for Atlantic Green Energy Co-owner
Mar 26, 2012Published in the Exeter Patch
By Jim Cavan
It’s hard to imagine an industry spoken of in more futuristic, 21st century terms than the renewable energy sector.
Indeed, given the enormous leaps – in terms of both efficacy and affordability – made by solar, wind, geothermal, and other green-driven technologies in recent years, such narratives would seem fitting.
But ask Jack Haritas, co-owner of the Seabrook-based Atlantic Green Energy, and he’ll tell you the ideas and concepts are as tried and true – and rooted in old fashioned American ingenuity – as it gets.
Read the full article here!
Business Profiles:
Energy efficient mortgages touted as right tool at right time
Mar 26, 2012Published in Fosters
By Jim Cavan
For years, those who wished to bolster their home's energy efficiency often had to take out additional loans, or recoup what they could from the myriad government rebates available for certain retrofits or improvements. Now, the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) is offering a way for homeowners — both existing and prospective — to bundle energy efficiency improvements into their mortgage.
Aptly named Energy Efficient Mortgages (EEMs), the tools allow the borrower to increase their mortgage to cover energy related improvements, and can be used for existing homes, new construction and refinancing.
Read the full article here.
Business Profiles:
Pixels & Pulp to lead next Green Business Learning Series
Mar 26, 2012Published in the Portsmouth Herald.
By Michael McCord
PORTSMOUTH — The Green Alliance has taken the next step in its evolution to not only develop a regional green economy but to help its member businesses adopt more innovative and profitable practices.
The third session of the Green Business Learning Series, launched in January, will be held Wednesday, March 28, at the Congress Street headquarters of the four-year-old organization. The learning series is a modern variation of the "all for one, one for all" vision of the Three Musketeers in which business success can be assisted and multiply.
"We are always looking for new and more ways to provide value to both our business and consumer members," said Sarah Brown, director of the Green Alliance. "But we've realized lately that the businesses themselves are an enormous wealth of knowledge, and that we should be fostering the sharing of that knowledge for the benefit of everyone."
To read more, visit the Portsmouth Herald.
Business Profiles:
Now is a good time to weatherize home
Mar 23, 2012Published in Portsmouth Herald
Written by Deborah McDermott
If you live in York County, Maine, and you have been thinking of weathering your home or buying an energy-efficient furnace, now may be the time to take the plunge.
The nonprofit Seacoast Energy Initiative is offering excellent terms on loans up to $15,000. To wit: Zero percent interest for the first three years, 3.5 percent interest after that for up to 10 years, and no closing or application fees, which are typically $200.
Also, energy auditors have agreed to reduce their normal price of $500 an audit to $350.
SEI calls it the "Warm up with a cool, low-interest loan" program.
To read more visit: www.seacoastonline.com
Business Profiles:
Energy savings realized
Mar 23, 2012Published in Portsmouth Herald
Written by Deborah McDermott
KITTERY, Maine- Two wood pellet boilers installed in the fall at Kittery's wastewater treatment plant have already saved $5,000 in fuel costs- and are among the first steps toward a goal of becoming energy self-sufficient.
George Kathios, superintendent of wastewater services, said the pellet boilers replaced a 2-year-old "very inefficient" oil furnace and six propane heaters.
"It's about time we stopped talking about becoing independent from fossil fuels and take action to accomplish that goal," Kathios said
To read more visit www.seacoastonline.com
Business Profiles:
Eco broker expects big things from USGBC's NH chapter
Mar 23, 2012Published in New England Real Estate Journal
Written by Jim Cavan
As the Seacoast's first-ever certified "Green" Realtor, Hilary Gaynor knows a little something abot green construction. Over the years, she's brokered dozens of deals for real estate clients based on the merits and features of green homes and properties throughout the region.
But as the newly elected vice chair of the U.S. Green Building Council's New Hampshire chapter (USBGCNH), Gaynor is gaining experience in a sector whose growth and vitality is inextricably linked with her own.
"From the get-go, I wanted to connect with an organization that has a similar mindset and perspective on a lot of the things I care about," says Gaynor who received her Master's in Marriage and Family Therapy from UNH and worked in the field for years before switching to realty full time. "Now I'm trying to expand that to include other like-minded organizations throughout the state"
To read more visit:http://digital.turn-page.com/issue/59215/60
Manchester Monarch Go Green Night.
Mar 22, 2012Written by Jackie Driscoll
Published in the Portsmouth Patch
Get your family geared up and hit the ice on March 25 with the Manchester Monarchs. For the first time the Monarchs are hosting a Go Green Night. What does it mean when Hockey goes green? Well, for Green Alliance members it means discounted tickets for family and friends to an action-packed evening of hard hits and fast paced hockey fun.
The Monarchs are offsetting the carbon footprint of the event by working with the green company, Carbon Neutral. At 3 p.m. the player’s blades score the smooth ice, as the Monarchs take on the Worcester Sharks.
However the GO GREEN extravaganza starts at 1 p.m., with a green networking event. For an additional cost businesses and individuals are encouraged to engage in a free market exchange of green and sustainable ideas and practices.
Read the full article here.
Move Means Bigger Space, More Opportunities for Greenovations
Mar 19, 2012Everyone knows what it’s like to need a change of scenery. Sometimes, even a successful business can benefit from a move onward and upward.
Two years after launching Greenovations – a catch all store chock full of environmentally-friendly home improvement products – owner Christopher Ring recognized that a different, bigger space was becoming more and more of a necessity.
To that end, the store plans to move out of its current Bowl-A-Rama Plaza digs, and into a larger space just off Route 1 in York, Maine at the end of this month.
“There were a lot of things I wanted to do with the space that I just couldn’t,” says Ring, who also cited the new store’s abundant natural sunlight as a real draw. “Now I’ll have a lot more room to work with, and that should open up a lot more opportunities.”
Read the full article in the Exeter Patch as well as the Portsmouth Patch.
Business Profiles:
Eric Flaim Cautions Perspective in Wake of MF Global Scandal
Mar 13, 2012Published in Seacoastonline and ExeterPatch
By Jim Cavan
When former New Jersey Governor and M.F. Global CEO John Corzine confided in front of a Senate Finance Committee in late 2011 that he wasn’t quite sure how $1.2 billion of his former company’s holdings had suddenly disappeared, it was a statement as incredible and dark as the near four-years financial context in which it unfolded.
Four years removed from the collapse of AIG, Lehmann Brothers, and the near sinking of myriad other Wall Street powerhouses, the mysterious circumstances surrounding MF Global’s out-of-nowhere bankruptcy had many wondering how far our country’s financial regulatory system had really come.
For his part, Eric Flaim, Financial Advisor with Ameriprise, counts himself as someone at once shocked and disappointed by MF Global’s wholly suspicious collapse...
Business Profiles:
'Eco-Realtor' looks to build up Green Building Council's state chapter
Mar 12, 2012Published in The Portsmouth Herrold
By Jim Cavan
PORTSMOUTH — As the Seacoast's first certified "green" Realtor, Hillary Gaynor, an agent with the Bean Group, knows something about green construction.
Over the years, she's brokered dozens of deals for real estate clients based on the merits and features of green homes and properties throughout the region. But as the newly elected vice chairwoman of the U.S. Green Building Council's New Hampshire chapter, Gaynor is gaining experience in a sector whose growth and vitality is inextricably linked with her own.
"From the get-go, I wanted to connect with an organization that had a similar mind-set and perspective on a lot of the things that I care about," said Gaynor, who received her master's degree in marriage and family therapy from the University of New Hampshire and worked in the field for years before switching to realty full time. "Now, I'm trying to expand that to include other like-minded organizations throughout the state."...
Business Profiles:
Thirsty Crowd Lines up for Kate the Great
Mar 9, 2012Published in The Portsmouth Herrold and Seacoastonline
By Rachel Forrest
March 5th, 2012
PORTSMOUTH — They came to taste one of the world's best beers. The line to sip a glass of the Portsmouth Brewery's 2012 release of Kate the Great Russian Imperial Stout snaked outside and around the corner from the restaurant on Market Street beginning at 2:55 a.m. By 10:50 a.m. when the doors opened, it was close to 500 strong, at least double last year's number.
The first fans in line were on a mission.
“We're doing a Web TV show about beer release days and this is our first one,” says Ron Johnson from San Francisco. He and Dave Hering from Boston launched 3guysandabeer.com to tap into beer fans' interest in rare, single-release and highly rated beers like Kate the Great. “We had a 2010 bottle and it had a smooth creaminess — lovely creamy and smooth,” said Hering. “I just had to try it on tap.”...
Read the full story at Seacoastonline.
Business Profiles:
Winter Pruning Helps Protect Trees Facing New Threats
Mar 8, 2012Published on Portsmouth Patch
By David Anderson
Spring fever is arriving a bit early this year thanks to a largely snowless winter, and early March is the perfect time to invest in preventative tree care that will help keep trees healthy and green all spring and summer long.
“Because the leaves are gone, late winter provides an opportunity to clearly see the structure of a tree, and identify what should be removed for its health,” according to Portsmouth arborist Micum Davis of Cornerstone Tree Care.
“The dormant season is also the best time to trim a tree from a biological standpoint, in large part because harmful funguses are also dormant right now too,” he says.
Get the full scoop on Portsmouth-NH.Patch.com
Business Profiles:
$25 Bulb Boasts High Efficiency
Mar 7, 2012When Philips unveiled its new line of EnduraLED lighting, it wasn't pulling any punches.
"The new LED lighting from Philips is here, and it can change everything," boasts a brochure at The Lighting Center by Rockingham Electric in Newington.
The first LED replacement for a 60-watt incandescent light bulb, the EnduraLED A19 certainly looks different than a traditional light bulb. When unlit, it's yellow. And at about $25 a pop, its price tag may seem a bit out of the ordinary. But then, this isn't your grandparents' light bulb.
In awarding the EnduraLED A19 the very first Lighting for Tomorrow Prize, the American Lighting Association, Consortium for Energy Efficiency, and U.S. Department of Energy heralded its ability to "save a business or commercial property up to $120 over the course of the life of the lamp." These savings stem from the EnduraLED's ability to use only 12.5 watts of energy to produce the same amount of light — 806 lumens — as a 60-watt incandescent light bulb.
Read the full article at Seacoast Online or on Portsmouth Patch
Energy Efficient Mortgages Offer More Flexibility, Opportunity
Mar 6, 2012Published in the Portsmouth Patch
By Jim Cavan
For years, those who wished to bolster their home’s energy efficiency often had to take out additional loans, or recoup what they could from the myriad government rebates available for certain retrofits or improvements.
Now, the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) is offering a way for homeowners – both existing and prospective – to bundle energy efficiency improvements into their mortgage.
Aptly named Energy Efficient Mortgages (EEMs), the tools allows for the borrower to increase their mortgage to cover energy related improvements, and can be used for existing homes, new construction and refinancing.
Read the full article at the Portsmouth Patch!
Business Profiles:
After 25 Years, Clay Hill Farm Embraces Values Old and New Alike
Mar 5, 2012Published in the Portsmouth Patch
By Jim Cavan
For most businesses, the opportunity to celebrate 25 years of open doors and happy customers is a testament to sticking to what you do best.
But for Jennifer Lewis-McShera, co-owner of Clay Hill Farm, the York, Maine restaurant hitting its Silver Anniversary has just as much to do with the ways in which they’ve embraced change – particularly of the green variety.
“We’ve always been a family business, and in a lot of senses we’ve always done things the same way, and are proud of that,” says McShera, who’s managed the events in the 220-year-old farmhouse-turned restaurant and bird sanctuary since 1986. “It’s just that now a lot of those old fashioned values – taking care of the land, doing things locally – have much more of a modern flavor.”
Read the full article in the Portsmouth Patch
Business Profiles:
Eco Broker expects big things from NH Green Building Council
Mar 5, 2012Published in Foster's.com
By Jim Cavan
As the Seacoast's first-ever certified "green" Realtor, Hillary Gaynor knows a little something about green construction. Over the years, she's brokered dozens of deals for real estate clients based on the merits and features of green homes and properties throughout the region.
But as the newly elected Vice Chair of the U.S. Green Building Council's New Hampshire chapter (USGBCNH), Gaynor is gaining experience in a sector whose growth and vitality is inextricably linked with her own...
Read the full story at Fosters.com here!
Business Profiles:
Building Energy 2012 and its Participants Establish Building Blocks for the Future
Mar 2, 2012Published in Exeter Patch
By Emma Groves
‘The Only Way to Predict the Future is to Design It’ may only be the title of the keynote speech for the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) Building Energy 2012 conference, but it undoubtedly encompasses the spirit behind the entire three day event.
NESEA is an organization built on membership and driven by the increasing support or responsible energy use in the building sector. The Building Energy 2012 conference brings together professionals in the renewable energy and high performance building field and 170 vendors for a premier networking, educational and social event...
Read the full story at the Exeter Patch, here!
Business Profiles:
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