What Grows On in Rhode Island News

BuildEnergy Early Bird Registration Ends ~ February 7, 2011

Register now, while early bird pricing is still in effect. Early bird ends February 7.
 
BuildingEnergy is an annual event organized by the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA). It is the nation's oldest and largest regional conference for renewable energy and high performance building professionals, with participants from across the US and Europe. It will take place this year March 8-10, 2011, at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston, MA.

NESEA RI Meeting Canceled Tonight ~ February 2, 2011

UPDATE - NESEA RI Event Tonight
 
We're canceling the event tonight but that doesn't mean you have to miss the early bird discount for NESEA's BuildingEnergy 2011 (BE11) - the industry leading conference on renewables, energy efficiency and whole systems thinking.

March 8-10 at the Boston Seaport World Trade Center

Sign up before rates go up next week.
 

You'll recognize a number of the BE11 speakers, exhibitors and organizers from NESEA RI events including:

• Paul Eldrenkamp - Byggmeister Inc (PassiveHaus)
• Chris Benedict – Architecture and Energy Limited, NY
• Joe Haskett/Peter Gill Case – Box Office
• Robert Leaver – New Commons
• Ken Payne – RI Office of Energy Resources
• Fred Unger – Heartwood Group
• John Jacobson – JTJ Investments
• Kurt Teichert – Brown University Environmental Studies
• Karina Lutz – People Power & Light
• Bob Chew – Alteris Renewables

Don’t miss this opportunity to advance your career by networking and learning from the best and the brightest in the industry.
 
If you have any questions, please let me know.  Hope to see you there!

Jo Lee
Green Machine PR
NESEA Board Member
http://www.greenmachinepr.com
401.338.5445

Neighborhood Energy Challenge Celebration ~ February 4, 2011

Share the celebration of the completion of The Neighborhood Energy Challenge by joining us for a presentation by our Keynote Speaker, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse

Friday, February 4, 7:30 PM
 
Portofino Dining Room,
Royal Plaza Hotel
425 East Main Road, Middletown
 
Seating is limited.
RSVP by Feb. 3
[email protected], or 847-7637

Climate Change & Energy Films Available for Screening & Workshops ~ January 2011

RI Interfaith Power and Light has a DVD library of films concerning environmental issues ranging from discussions of the morality of climate change to technical presentations of energy-saving techniques. They have speakers for film discussions, sermons and for Climate Change & Energy related workshops on request:

• The moral questions raised by global climate change
• How to green your house of worship
• How your congregation members can understand and reduce their "carbon footprint"

Send them an email or give them a call to let them know when and where your congregation wants to host the film screening and discussion.  RI-IPL volunteers are available to help with your event upon request. 

Host a film screening:  The DVD library ranges from discussions of the morality of climate change to technical presentations of energy-saving techniques:

• New - Fall 2010 Release Carbon Nation - a fast-moving, informative and solutions-oriented portrayal of the range of issues connected to climate change.  90 minutes.
• Award-winning Renewal by Marty Ostrow and Terry Kay Rockefeller. This 90 minute documentary inspires viewers with individual stories "about what different religions are doing about the awesome devastation of Earth's life systems now taking place..."  - Thomas Berry
• Kilowatt Ours: A Plan to Re-Energize America by Jeff Barrie. "What would you find if ... you traced the wires from your switch to their energy source:  Mountaintop removal, childhood asthma, or ... hope?" 55 minutes.
• God's Creation & Global Warming - A National Council of Churches, Eco-Justice Program film short.  A 15- minute discussion of the stewardship of creation, acts of mercy and acts of justice,  and climate science from an interfaith perspective within the Judeo-Christian tradition.
• Food, Inc. - A 2009 Robert Kenner Film.  "Doing for eating what former Vice President Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth did for global warming." - The Kansas City Star.
• Fighting Goliath - Texas Coal Wars - A short film produced by Covenant.
• Too Hot Not To Handle - A 2006 HBO documentary on the effects of global warming in the United States (53 minutes).  The film is directed by Maryann DeLeo and Ellen Goosenberg and stars Michael Oppenheimer, Donald Kennedy and Stephen Schneider.
• Green is the New Red White and Blue - A Discovery Channel presentation narrated by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman on the globally inconvenient truth and grassroots solutions.
• This is Your Home - A film for young people by the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Contact them to discuss a convenient time and place for your event.

Got Grease? Newport Biodiesel at NESEA RI ~ December 7, 2010

Get ready for Newport Biodiesel at NESEA RI tomorrow – Tuesday, December 7.
 
Newport Biodiesel is one of the top five sustainable biodiesel producers in the United States and the largest in New England.
 
Update – Nat Harris, founding member and production manager at Newport Biodiesel, will be joining us instead of Chris Benzak.
 
When:  Tuesday, December 7 at 6pm
 
Where: BRAVO (Downtown PVD)
123 Empire Street
Providence, RI 02903
 
This event is free and open to the public.  Food and drinks will be available for purchase.
 
A bit about Nat:
Nat has had a life long interest in the automotive and marine industry.  His career has spanned working in maritime related nonprofits to Porsche and BMW restoration shops. He is an avid boater and lived aboard his 52’ Irish Trawler for three years with his wife Jennifer and two children while managing a marina in Southwest Florida.
 
The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) is committed to the adoption of sustainable energy practices in the built environment. NESEA RI is the local chapter for this organization.
To learn more about NESEA - www.nesea.org.

To learn more about NESEA RI - www.neseari.ning.com

Hope to see you there!

RI Delegation Announces $1.2 Million for RIPTA Solar Project ~ November 5, 2010

Providence, RI – Rhode Island’s Congressional Delegation today announced that the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) has been awarded $1.2 million in federal funds for solar energy projects.  The clean energy funds will be used to install a sun-facing Trombe wall to absorb solar energy and convert it into heating and cooling for the RIPTA Transportation Building where buses are stored.  RIPTA will also use the funds to generate power for the building by installing a roof top photovoltaic system that converts sunlight into electricity.
 
“Rhode Island has the opportunity to be at the forefront of the emerging clean energy economy, and investments such as this will help us get there.  These federal funds will help RIPTA lower costs and reduce their energy consumption,” said U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, and Congressmen Patrick Kennedy and Jim Langevin.
 
“RIPTA is always actively looking for innovative ways to reduce costs, improve service, and benefit the environment.  With critical support from our federal delegation, RIPTA has made significant long-term investments in becoming greener and cleaner.  From new Hybrid buses and trolleys to this solar-powered roofing system, we are looking to improve our service and cut down on energy costs.  This project is not only good for the environment, but it’s also good for RIPTA’s budget and will free up resources to help serve our ridership,” said Al Moscola, RIPTA General Manager.
 
Trombe walls have been found to lower annual heating and cooling costs by more than 20%.  The photovoltaic system will produce 220 kilowatts of electricity, making it one of the largest solar installations in New England.  Combined, these two technologies will produce estimated savings of more than 20% in electricity bills over the lifetime of the project.
 
The funding is administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA) through a program known as the Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction initiative.  The delegation helped appropriate $75 million for this grant program in the Fiscal Year 2010 Appropriations bill to help public transit agencies around the country make capital investments that will improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gasses.

Contact:
Chip Unruh (Reed), 202-224-4642
Seth Larson (Whitehouse), 202-228-6293
Derek Pearce (Kennedy), 401-473-9386
Joy Fox (Langevin), 401-732-9400

Film about Climate Solutions ~ Carbon Nation ~ October 25, 2010

Worried about Carbon Pollution? How about a Climate Solution?
 

Come see Carbon Nation, a film about climate solutions
Monday, October 25 at 6:00 PM
Metcalf Auditorium in the Chace Center at RISD
20 North Main Street
Providence, RI
Buy your tickets online and save! Seats are limited!
 
Attend the Providence premiere of the film Carbon Nation, a documentary about climate solutions. Filmmaker Peter Byck has taken a complex and polarizing topic and made it apolitical, accessible and yes, entertaining. Entertaining because he chose to focus on solutions – and the real, very engaging and hopeful people already putting them in place around this country.

Film ~ Carbon Nation ~ October 25, 2010

 On Monday, October 25, 2010, Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), in coordination with Stonyfield Farms, will be showing Carbon Nation at the RISD Chace Center in Providence.  Carbon Nation is a feature length film made by documentary filmmaker, Peter Byck, that focuses on climate change solutions.  This excellent and entertaining film is now being rolled out, and will be aired for the first time in Rhode Island by CLF.
 
The showing will begin at 6 p.m., and will be followed by a panel discussion and reception with light refreshments. 

CLF hopes that you will encourage your friends, students, and colleagues to hold this date and make time to join us in viewing this important film.

Sustainable Urbanism: A European Perspective ~ September 25, 2010

Meet RI's Green Cos & Orgs at NESEA Annual Meeting, THIS Saturday
 
You’ve probably heard that the NESEA Annual Meeting will include a presentation by one of Europe’s leading sustainable urban thinkers, Joachim Eble, a tour of the new $85M Providence Technical & Training Academy building, a mentoring table manned by NESEA luminaries, and a post-event party at JJ’s award-winning Wolcott Building.
 
But you might not have seen the stellar list of companies and organizations that will be exhibiting.  These are the entities that are reimagining and creating a more sustainable RI, America and world. 

Middletown Town Council Considers Wind Ordinance ~ September 7, 2010

Tonight, the Middletown Town Council will hear amendments to the new Wind Ordinance. These amendments could gut the possibility of siting most wind turbines in the town. Please come to support the future of wind power in Middletown and on the island.

The Council meeting is at 7 PM tonight, Tuesday, September 7, at the Town Hall on East Main Road.

You can read more details in a note from Peter Tarpgaard on the Cool Aquidneck Island Events Board, www.CoolAquidneckIsland.org. The Events Board is in the menu on the left side of the Home Page.

From Cool Aquidneck Island.