Dear GAzette Readers: Earth Day turned 41 on April 22, but the environment was not foremost on the minds of federal and state lawmakers who spent last month culling 16 percent from the EPA budget and slashing DOE investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy by 18 percent. Locally, the NH House proposes to cut 15 percent from the Department of Environmental Services budget, paid for in part by eliminating the state’s Shellfish Program. The move could lead to the closure of all recreational and commercial shell fishing areas, shuttering local businesses and bringing an end to an industry that has helped to define the Seacoast way of life for centuries. Luckily, protecting the environment remains a top priority for the Green Alliance. Last month, Frisbie Memorial Hospital hosted their 2nd annual Earth Day event, handing out free tree seedlings and offering local vendors a chance to show off their green wares. Clay Hill Farm became the first local business to participate in an innovative new program designed to support local farms while bringing a local, organic, free range option to school lunchrooms. Cornerstone Tree Care launched an aggressive program to help replant Brazil’s rainforest and Earthtec began an innovative recycling scheme to green-up local races. So while our elected leaders may be distracted, we are not. The voice of sustainable commerce and green consumers is more important than ever – help turn our song into a booming chorus: join us today!   Sincerely, Sarah Brown GA Project Director

  

Frisbie Memorial aims to curb carbon footprint

Where would we be without hospitals? Indeed, it’s hard to imagine a functioning society without them.

But for as much as hospitals help save lives and advance health and human wellness, one noted criticism of these necessary giants has always been their relatively large environmental impact.

At least here in the U.S., hospitals don’t have a choice when it comes to much of that refuse; hazardous materials like surgical tools, instruments, needles, and human waste must be thrown away. After all, it’s not as if any of them can be recycled – at least not without prohibitive cost and the lingering risk of contamination.

Frisbie Memorial Hospital, located in Rochester, might never completely eliminate its carbon footprint. But that’s not stopping them from trying.

In 2009, Frisbie launched its Green Team, which includes staff from Surgical Services, the Café, as well as the Materials, Facilities, and Emergency departments. At first, the initiative began with the idea of cutting both costs and waste. But when they started realizing that the two could go hand-in-hand, “going green” became that much easier....read more in our blog here!

Save 10% on everything in Frisbie's Gift Shop! Click here to learn more!
 

Save 20% on all food from the regular nightly menu and 10% on Holiday or special events menus at Clay Hill Farm! Also get $100 off the facility charge for a wedding! Click here!

Throughout his adult life, three passions have guided local business owner Dennis Randall more than any other: green issues, apparel, and sports.

Randall had already successfully combined the first two, having launched the Portsmouth-based sustainable apparel company Earthtec -- a company specializing in clothing made from recycled plastic bottles -- in 2008.

Then in March, Randall’s Earthtec acquired the Massachusetts based Athletes for a Fit Planet, an organization dedicated to helping green various events, thereby completing the career “hat trick”.

The seeds of the partnership were sewn during February’s Second Annual Pond Hockey Classic (PHC), an outdoor tournament that drew upwards of 1000 participants.

Held on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee, this year’s PHC added a new wrinkle, with the help of Randall himself: a comprehensive green program featuring visible Earthtec recycling stations, sustainably made organic shirts and hats (including offerings from Randall’s own Earthtec line), and an organized recycling and cleanup effort throughout the tournament as well as on the final day.

“Our goal was to leave the site cleaner than we found it,” said Randall.... read more here!

Get 10% off everything at Earthtec! Plus, purchase a Green Alliance Green Card at Earthtec, and receive a swag bag with $100 worth of gifts! Click here!

Throughout the financial crisis of late 2008 – and even beyond – few businesses bore the brunt of more scorn than those in the financial industries.Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America Corp. topped the list of those who benefited from the federal government’s bailout. And few of them won any popularity contests with the American public at the time.

Given how broad and all-encompassing the country’s fiscal problems seemed to be, customers – millions upon millions of them – understandably began to worry if their money and assets were safe.

But here on the Seacoast, patrons of the Maine-based Kennebunk Savings have lately been witness to a far happier headline: this past December, their bank was named Financial Institution of the Year by the Finance Authority of Maine (FAME).The award is given banks who work closely with FAME to provide reliable financing for small business, startups, and individuals, in the process helping bolster Maine’s economic growth.

That’s not to say Kennebunk Savings was completely immune to the 2008 financial crisis – no bank was. But according to Brad Paige, President and CEO of Kennebunk Savings, their relative conservatism – in the fiscal sense – went a long way in protecting the bank and its customers...

Open a Kennebunk Savings Free Checking Account (including at their new Portsmouth branch) with direct deposit and receive a $50 bonus deposit into your account! Click here!

Water season has arrived in the Seacoast. That means increased water usage for many property owners and managers during lawn and garden season. It also means higher water bills.

But while many people accept expensive water bills as part and parcel of home ownership, Portsmouth-based Seacoast Ace Hardware, right off Route 1 on Heritage Avenue, sells a simple, yet remarkably effective product to sharply reduce the water usage of one of your home’s biggest water hogs: your toilet.

It’s called the HydroRight™, and Seacoast Ace Hardware owner John Ozberak swears by it…and so do his customers.

“The HydroRight is just another button that’s easily installed on your toilet, and lets you use a fraction of the water that your toilet normally uses,” Ozberak exclaims. “You still have the option of using your toilet’s normal water capacity, but for situations when you don’t need the full 3 gallons to get the job done, this $25 device pays off in spades as far as saving water and reducing your water bill.”

Ozberak’s idea to stock HydroRight, which can save up to 70% over conventional toilet flushing, among the hundreds of products he carries came from an unlikely source – his children.

“My daughter spent time in Turkey, where water conservation is essential,” Ozberak recalls. “When I visited her and saw these simple devices, I was determined to carry them at my store.”...

 

Paint your home green with Any Season Painting

When Jay DeVincenzo started Any Season Painting after graduating from the University of New Hampshire back in 2005, saving the environment was not at the top of his to do list. Today, with more than ten years of experience under his belt, DeVincenzo is proud to say that going green has not only improved the health and productivity of his workers, it has improved his bottom line.

Exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can lead to both short-term and long-term health problems ranging from headaches to liver, kidney, and central nervous damage. It’s a lesson DeVincenzo learned first hand. “There were times when I’d be spraying a house outside without a mask on,” he recalls. “I started experiencing what felt like really bad allergies at night.”

Concerns about his own health and that of his workers helped convinced DeVincenzo to make the switch to eco-friendly alternatives. Using low VOC paints and SOY-Gel, an odorless paint remover made from 100% American Grown Soybeans, has become standard operating procedure for Any Season Painting. “It does not cost anymore than buying high VOC paints,” notes DeVincenzo. It’s a change his employees support....read more here!

Get $350 off an exterior paint job (house and trim), or $350 off an interior paint job of four rooms or more with Any Season Painting! Low or no-VOC options included! Click here to learn more!


Insurance agents of savings, change

Home, auto, and boat insurance are the types of products and services we buy, but hope to never use. As such, many people know little about how the insurance business works.

That’s unfortunate, because what they don’t know could be costing them hundreds of dollars annually.

Jon Merwin, owner of New Hampshire-based Portsmouth Atlantic Insurance, is trying to help people overcome costly misconceptions.

“Unlike other industries, where ‘buying direct’ can save you money, that’s not necessarily the case with insurance,” explains Merwin, whose agency represents multiple insurance carriers, including Met Life, Progressive Insurance, and Hanover Insurance. “When customers come to me, I can shop for the best rate on their behalf. My job is to get the best rates and policies for my customers, not show loyalty to any one particular carrier.”

It’s understandable that people may believe that by purchasing an insurance policy directly, they’ll eliminate the “middleman”, and get lower rates. But the reality of the insurance business isn’t that simple... check out the full story in our blog by clicking here!

Get a FREE tote bag for every policy purchased by GA Green Card holders! Also, any GA member who purchases a policy will have a tree planted on their behalf through plantabillion.org! Click here to learn more!

 

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Local artist Ali Goodwin is not about to let breast cancer prevent her from living her life.

“… went to yoga this week for the first time since the New Year, chest port be damned,” she wrote on her blog on April 8, just days before undergoing what she calls a “nipple sparing bi-lateral mastectomy with full reconstruction” at York Hospital.

It was at Zev Yoga in Portsmouth that Goodwin first met local yoga instructor and Green Alliance member Jonas Amberger and his wife Amylyn Fairchild-Amberger. The three grew to become close friends. “She’s such a picture of vibrancy and health, and she embraces all sorts of experiences,” Fairchild-Amberger recently told Seacoast Online. Her words reflect the way Goodwin has chosen to live her cancer.

Goodwin has been blogging about her life with breast cancer since early January, when the illness brought an early end to her adventures as an American artist exploring Berlin, Germany. Her passionate words make breast cancer seem real in a way that no number of pink ribbons ever can. ... Read more by clicking here!

Local arborist Micum Davis is using the Internet to send an important Earth Day message to his customers. “Help me in my goal to replant one million trees in deforested sections of the Atlantic forest in Brazil,” Davis asks in every email he sends. “$1 plants 1 tree through The Nature Conservancy.”

“I’ve been looking for a low cost way to help customers replace the trees we remove for them,” says Davis, who owns the Portsmouth based Cornerstone Tree Care. The solution came in the form of PlantABillion.org, a Nature Conservancy website that enables donors from around the world to help replant the shrinking Brazilian rainforest for just $1 a tree. Davis was such a big fan of the idea that he started his own fundraising page on the site.

Brazil’s Atlantic Forest is home to 23 species of primates, 1,000 species of birds, and 20,000 species of plants. It also serves as habitat for 60 percent of the South American nation’s endangered species, many of which are found nowhere else on the planet. Once the size of the U.S. eastern seaboard from Maine to South Carolina, deforestation has left only 12 percent of the Atlantic Forest intact. The Nature Conservancy is working with local partners to save this critical habitat from extinction by restoring a million acres of land – a task that will involve planting one billion trees. In the process, the campaign is expected to create 11,000 green jobs for the rainforest’s inhabitants...read more here!

If you drive into Kittery on the morning of May 22, do not be surprised to see fire trucks and hundreds of people running. What you are witnessing is not an emergency – it is the 5th Annual Kittery Fire Association 5K Run and Walk.

Kittery’s volunteer Fire Department turns 101 this year, giving the entire community plenty of reason to celebrate. The fun kicks off on Saturday, May 21 with a $5 Pancake Breakfast at the new Fire Station located on Gorges Rd, off the Route 1 Bypass. Firefighters will be flipping flapjacks and serving them up to the community from 7:00 to 10:00 AM. Adult runners and walkers will then have about 24 hours of digestion time before the 5K departs from the same location at 9:00 AM Sunday.

A total of 40 local businesses have signed up to sponsor this year’s 5K. Beach Pea Baking Co., a local member of the Green Alliance, will donate snack bars and cookies. Baked from scratch, these wholesome culinary delights are sure to be a big hit among hungry walkers and runners. “We have been donating leftover baked goods to the Fire Department every Tuesday for the past nine years,” notes Beach Pea’s Mariah Roberts. “They have plenty of hungry mouth’s to feed.” Not much goes to waste at the bakery, which composts 100% of food waste and also offers recycling at its State Street location.

Reducing the amount of waste generated by the race is also foremost on the minds of the organizers. “We want to recycle everything possible this time around,” Hale emphasizes. To meet this goal, the Green Alliance will make recycling stations available at the event. “The bottles and cans we collect will be brought to the local recycling center, generating another 5 cents a piece for the Kittery Fire Association,” says Sarah Brown, the group’s Project Director... read more here!

Green Alliance members who register for the Kittery Fire Association 5k Run and Walk get $5 off their registration fee! Visit www.kittery5k.com, and punch in "kittery5k" to get your GA discount!

• May 3 & 17– Intro to Permaculture workshop – 6 to 9pm, 61 Locust Street, Dover, NH. Join Sustainable Dover for an Introduction to Permaculture and Permaculture Design Workshop. $50 per person, refreshments included. GA members receive a 10% discount to attend! RSVP to m.alexander@dover.nh.govor call (603)516-6008. 
• May 4, 5 & 12 – Maine Green Hospitality Workshop – 9am to 12pm, Samoset Resort, Rockport, ME and Bluenose Inn, Bar Harbor, ME. Join the Maine Restaurant Association for three workshops and nine speakers that will provide hoteliers and restaurateurs with advice about reducing energy, water, waste and toxins. To register contact Dan Ruben at dan_ruben@usa.netor or call (617)527-7950.
• May 6 (1pm) and 7 (10am)– Modular Housing Plant Tour  –Preferred Building  Systems, 143 Twistback Road, Claremont, NH Join Preferred Building Systems, of the GA’s own Middleton Building Supply, in a tour of their modular housing plant in Claremont, NH. Learn about their EnergyStar compliant homes built in New Hampshire; some of the most energy efficient modular homes on the market. RSVP to efischer@preferredbuildings.com or call (603) 727-8449.
• May 7 – First Portsmouth Farmers Market of 2011 – 8am to 1pm, City Hall on Junkins Avenue, Portsmouth. The Portsmouth Farmers Market renews its great work every Saturday morning, May to early November, from 8 AM - 1 PM! Plenty of fruits, vegetables, eggs, meat, dairy, prepared foods and crafts will be available on a regular basis.For more info visit http://www.seacoastgrowers.org/portsmouth-farmers-market
• May 7 – Pepperell Mill Museum Bean Supper – 4:30 to 6:30pm, Pepperell Mill Campus at 2 Maine Street, Biddeford, ME.  Join the creators of Pepperell Mill Campus’ Biddeford Mill Museum for a delicious bean supper! The innovative developers want to engage the public to help them get the museum started. Tickets for Mill Veterans (former mill employees) are $6, for adults $8, and for children $4. For more info about the museum, visit http://www.biddefordmillsmuseum.org,call (207) 282-5577, or email eastland@northdammill.com. 
• May 7 – Giant Blow Out Yard Sale – 9am to 4pm, Gentiques, 240 US Route 1, Kittery, ME.A Perfect Move's non-profit thrift boutique, Gentiques will be hosting a Giant Blow Out Yard Sale to benefit Kittery's 5th grade D.A.R.E. graduation! Donate your items, or browse the yard sale. For info at kmaloney@gentiques.org or call (207) 438-0421.
• May 7– Make rain barrels with ReVision Energy – 10am to 1pm, 7 Commercial Drive, Exeter, NH. Browse ReVision Energy's new showroom and make your own rain barrel!  ReVision will host a workshop by Dave Anderson of New Hampshire Coastal Protection Partnership (and the GA!) on rain barrel making. Attendees will be trained on building rain barrels made from recycled food grade plastic drums. Tickets are $50; register at www.rainbarrelnh.eventbrite.com, or email dave@nhcoast.orgor call 603-617-0679
• May 11 – United Way Day of Caring – All day, throughout the Seacoast.  The Day of Caring is a community-wide volunteering event where teams of volunteers from local businesses work with local non-profits on projects. A great opportunity to engage in pressing issues facing our community. For more info contact Robin Albert at 436-5554 ext. 136 or at ralbert@uwgs.org
• May 13 – Whaleback Environmental Film & Art Festival – 5:30 to 8:30pm, Portsmouth Gas Light Restaurant, Portsmouth, NH.  Screening of "The Anderson Farm" and "Green Fire". Learn more at www.whaleback.org or contact Dyanna Smith at 603-781-1963 or dyanna@redeft.org.
• May 14 – Whaleback Environmental Film & Art Festival – Little Harbor School, Portsmouth, NH.  Screenings at the Portsmouth Sustainability Fair at 11am and 1:30pm. Learn more at www.whaleback.org or contact Dyanna Smith at 603-781-1963 or dyanna@redeft.org.
• May 14 – Women’s Clothing Swap – 10am to 3pm, Portsmouth Public Library. Head over to the Portsmouth Public Library with a bag of clean women's clothing and accessories, and leave with a bag of new-to-you clothing! For more info contact michelle.smith@goodwillnne.org or jamoore@cityofportsmouth.com
• May 14 – 4^th Annual Portsmouth Sustainability Fair – 10am to 3pm, Little Harbour School, 50 Clough Drive, Portsmouth. All things green on the Seacoast including music, food and kids activities.  This event is a ZeroWaste event! For more info contact lfmc18@aol.comor visit www.portsmouthsustainabilityfair.org
• May 14 – Run for the Sol – 1pm, Great Bay Community College, Stratham, NH. The Portsmouth High School ECO Club is hosting a 5k road race in collaboration with the Great Bay Community College in order to raise funds for solar panels at the High School. The road race will feature a 5k course at the Pease Trade Port with a start and stop point at Great Bay Community College. Register and learn more at http://www.runforthesol.com
• May 14 –  Sixteenth Annual Garage Dance – 8pm to 12am, AUTOworks, Kittery, ME. The sixteenth annual Garage Dance, featuring Ben Baldwin and the Big Notes! The event is BYOB and tickets are $30 each. Tickets available at Bull Moose Music and AUTOworks. Proceeds will benefit The Marshwood Education Foundation. More info at mabell.mef@gmail.com or call (603) 969-9650. 
• May 15 – Odiorne State Park Cleanup – 9am to 12pm, Odiorne Point State Park, Rye, NH. The NH Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation with the NH Coastal Program and the NH Parks and Recreation for a 1st time joint effort to clean and clear Odiorne Point State Park. Learn about plant identification and local ecology. More info at http://surfridernewhampshire.wordpress.com
• May 15 – Whaleback Environmental Film and Art Festival Awards Ceremony – 5:30 to 8:30 pm, Portsmouth Brewery, Portsmouth, NH. A double feature and awards ceremony for the 3-day environmental film and art festival at the Portsmouth Brewery's Jimmy LaPanza Lounge. For more info contact Dyanna Smith at 603-781-1963 or at dyanna@redeft.org.
• May 16 thru 20 –Maine Commute Another Way Week – All Day, workplaces across Maine. Participate with your business and employees and be counted as part of the solution for improved physical and social health, a cleaner environment, improved mobility, energy conservation, and savings on the high price of gas. Carpool, vanpool, take public transportation, bike or walk. For more info and to register go to www.gomaine.org
• May 16 – New Hampshire No Impact Week – Wherever you may be. The No Impact Experiment is a one-week carbon cleanse, which was inspired by the book and film and person, No Impact Man, Colin Beavan and his No Impact Project.  From May 1st to May 8th, you are challenged to lower your impact in a different way (Monday is trash, Tuesday is transportation, etc.) When you register, you will receive an info guide for with tips and goals for your challenge!
• May 17– Greenovations Living Green Series: Solar Workshop  – 7pm, Portsmouth Public Library. SEA Solar and ReVision Energy discuss solar thermal and photovoltaic basics, designing for a home, investment costs and payback, and federal and state incentives. Free and open to the public.   For more info email greenovations@maine.rr.comor call (603)319-8219
• May 20 – ALIVE! A Swanky Night of Art, Music, Food, and Burlesque to Benefit Ali Goodwin – 7pm, Harbor Events Conference Center, Portsmouth, NH. Join local artists, musicians and businesses to raise funds for the continued care of Ali Goodwin of York, Maine who is battling breast cancer. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased at 1 World Trading Co., Zev Yoga or at http://www.thisblowsmonkeybutt.com
• May 20– Seacoast’s 9^th Annual Bike / Walk to Work Day  – All Day, throughout the Seacoast. The week of May 16-20 is Commute Green Week 2011 in New Hampshire which is being capped off by Seacoast Area Bicycle Route's 9th Annual Bike/Walk to Work Day on the 20th. Get free breakfast for using your own people power! For more info, maps of breakfast locations and bike routes visit www.seacoastbikes.org
• May 21 – Second Annual Amesbury First Festival – 10am to 4pm, Amesbury Chamber of Commerce, Amesbury, MA. The Amesbury First Festival will be themed around sustainability and building a healthy thriving local business community. For more info email chamber@amesburychamber.com.
• May 22 – Fifth Annual Kittery Fire Association 5K Run & Walk – 7:30am, Gorges Road Fire Station, Kittery, ME. 5k to benefit the Kittery Fire Dept.  GA sponsors and greens-up this race with recycling stations!  GA members enjoy $5 off race registration with the code Kittery5K.  Learn more or register at www.kittery5k.com
• May 31– Greenovations Living Green Series: Green Home and Health  – 7pm, Portsmouth Public Library. Andre Cantelmo of Heron Pond Farm and Lindsey Carmichael, author of Greening Your Family will discuss the impact of local farming, local farming versus industrial farming versus organic farming and health in the home: cleaning and personal care. Free and open to the public. For more info email greenovations@maine.rr.com or call (603)319-8219