Welcome to Volume 8, Issue of EcoBytes, the Center for Ecological Technology's (CET) email newsletter. EcoBytes updates you on CET's accomplishments in waste, energy and environmental education. Visit us at www.cetonline.org to learn more about our programs. For mailing list changes or deletions, please contact johnm@cetonline.org

IN THIS ISSUE:

• Reach One - Teach One
• CET Heating Oil Coop is Greener and Cleaner
• Connecting the Dots - With Sheetrock
• Convenient Action from - An Inconvenient Truth
• Summer’s Almost Gone, Winter’s Coming On
• Welcome New Staff
• Upcoming Events

Attention all you EcoBytes subscribers! A number of you have asked for more frequent updates about environmental workshops and special events that a quarterly newsletter like EcoBytes, our quarterly newsletter, So we have created EcoUpdate, our new occasional email list that will provide timely come out whenever there is some timely announcement on environmental events in the area. Sign up now! We anticipate sending announcements no more than once per month, and you can unsubscribe at any time if you wish.

Also, please keep an eye out for our Annual Fund Special Edition EcoBytes to come out in a few weeks, where we will ask for your support. We hope you'll respond to our email fundraising efforts and help us move closer to a paperless system with its environmental and cost-saving benefits. Thanks in advance!

Reach One - Teach One

We know that each time we help someone with environmental information and assistance, they will be more likely to make a positive change.  Did you ever wonder how many people CET reaches in a year?  Last year alone, CET directly served over 11,000 individuals through one-on-one assistance, workshops, classroom presentations and more. In addition, we reached tens of thousands through public and commercial radio, cable access television, news broadcasts and the print media. Hundreds of individuals attended our solar and wind energy workshops and tours, and now many are installing renewable energy systems on their homes, farms, schools and libraries. Hundreds more participated in municipal household hazardous waste collection days and a textile drive coordinated by CET- disposing of products and clothing in an environmentally responsible way. Youth across western MA learned to be stewards for the environment through CET-sponsored teacher training sessions, the "Earth Stewards" after-school program for at risk students, enhanced school recycling programs, activities showcasing newly installed solar panels and the Junior Solar Sprint solar car race.

CET Heating Oil Coop is Greener and Cleaner

This winter, we can feel a bit warmer on the inside as well as the outside.  Environmentally-friendliery Bio-Heat is now available to CET Heating Oil Co-op members in the Berkshires. The CET Heating Oil Co-op brings fair pricing for home heating oil by full-service, local dealers.  Now, we are delighted that those who heat with oil can now choose a product that has less harmful effects on our air and environment, promotes refined vegetable oil, and reduces our dependence on imported oil. Bio-Heat is a blend of vegetable based oil (from U.S. grown soy beans)(5%) and petroleum-based #2 heating oil (95%).  Sign-up today.Contact Alan Silverstein for more information.

Connecting the dots - with sheetrock

When Rich Hamblin of The North Adams Housing Authority had surplus sheetrock from a recent job he contacted CET’s Jamie Cahillane, with whom he had worked on waste management projects.  Jamie knew the materials were a good fit for CET’s ReStore in Springfield, and called to arrange for a donation from the Housing Authority. 150 sheets of 12 foot sheetrock is a great donation, but a bit of a bear to store. Enter Jonathan Bates, CET Energy Advisor, who called Peggy Macleod, CET Marketing Director for Energy Star and LEED homes.  Peggy put John Grossman, ReStore Manager, in touch with Greg Simpson, a contractor who needed sheetrock for converting the Lenox Shops into residential condominiums that achieve meeting EnergyStar standards. And just like that - the ReStore team picked up the sheetrock in Adams, delivered and sold it right off the truck in Lenox. Sheetrock was diverted from the landfill, the housing authority saved money on disposal, and the Lenox Shops saved money while scoring LEED points for their resource-efficient new building. In this high-tech world, it’s still people who make the connections! Contact John Grossman for more information.

Convenient Action from "An Inconvenient Truth"

Leave it to Al Gore to make green energy as popular as a Hollywood movie star! In response to viewing "An Inconvenient Truth" this summer, western Massachusetts membership in New England GreenStart surged.

The Triplex Theater in Great Barrington, Academy in Northampton, and Images Cinema in Williamstown welcomed CET to provide information, tips and financial incentives to save energy and sign-up for New England GreenStart (CET’s renewable energy offering) and the New England Wind Fund. CET, community groups and volunteers passed out literature on clean energy and gave a brief presentation before the showings.  This information about how supporting clean energy helps to reduce climate change was often greeted with applause.

Viewers in Great Barrington made small donations to purchase a Renewable Energy Certificate that matched 1,000 kWh of the energy used for the showings at the Triplex Theater. At the Images Cinema, 10 lucky winners won a cloth bag containing a compact fluorescent bulb and Betsy Kolbert's book, Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change.

Many people came back to see the film again, often bringing their older children and friends.  The presence of CET, the Williamstown COOL (C02 Lowering) Committee, Williams College Climate Protection Initiative and many, many community volunteers, helped educate residents about the role renewable energy plays to reduce climate change.  CET is grateful to the Triplex, Images and the Academy for helping their customers move from energy to action. Contact Tomasin Whitacker for more information.

Summer’s almost gone, winter’s coming on

Now’s the time to purchase those low-cost energy-saving products - like compact fluorescent light bulbs, energy star set-back thermostats, caulks and foams, weatherstripping, water conservation devices and more. Shop online at the EFI/CET store and save 10%! To earn the a 10% discount on orders, please use CET10 as the source code when you checkout.

Welcome New Staff

We are delighted to welcome new talented and committed staff members to provide environmental education and program services in the community!

Jayme Alaimo - ReStore Staff
Mandie Bull - Administrative Assistant
Patty Gillis - Customer Service
Dan LoPresto - Energy Advisor
Megan McDonough - Builder Services Administrator
Meg Moynahan - ReStore Marketing and Outreach Coordinator
Krystal Rios - ReStore Staff
Johnathan Scofield - Energy Advisor
Susan Slattery - Director of Marketing and Development

And a special welcome to Shannon McDonough - CET’s AmeriCorps*VISTA member in the Berkshires to help with waste management activities and environmental education.

Upcoming Events

This fall, there’s lots to see and learn. CET’s website events page, has more information on the following upcoming events: Wind tours at the Searsburg wind energy facility, workshops in the Valley and Berkshires, a Green Buildings Tour, and Household Hazardous Waste Collections. Come join us!