Autumn 2008 Edition

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IN THIS ISSUE:

Help CET build a great new website!
National magazine names Pittsfield a top green city
More than 15 minutes of fame
Green business makes $ense
All snuggled up and ready for old man winter
2008 Green Buildings Open House
Green communities lead by example
BEST program expands reach
Don't miss the bubble wrap recycletree!
New faces at CET

Help CET build a great new website!

We’re about to embark on building a spiffy new web site that we hope will be easier to use, make it easier to find what you’re looking for, provide exciting new dynamic content, and much more. We’ve developed a survey that we invite you to take - it’s just 14 questions, but your answers will help guide us in this exciting endeavor.

National magazine names Pittsfield a top green city

With CET’s help, the city of Pittsfield was able to stake its claim as one of the top 25 green cities in U.S. Country Home magazine. What makes Pittsfield so green? The city uses energy-efficient equipment, invests in green building, promotes farmers markets and supports bicycle travel. Pittsfield Mayor James Ruberto cited CET’s work in the community as one of the factors that helped move the city into the top 25.

More than 15 minutes of fame

The ReStore crew are national TV stars! The ReStore was featured on the first two episodes of the new season of This Old House. Our deconstruction team dismantled a 1,900-sq.-ft. home in Weston, MA and salvaged more than 85 percent of the home’s materials. A lot of these materials were then used in the construction of two Habitat for Humanity homes in Springfield. Are you or someone you know planning to demolish a home or redo a kitchen? Now you know who to call. The ReStore: 413-788-6900

Green business makes $ense

Reps from 20 different companies came in early October with open minds and sharpened pencils, eager to learn the myriad ways of making their businesses greener. At CET’s Greening Your Business seminar they also learned how being green could reduce their operations costs. Attendees were treated to an in-depth slide show on energy efficiency, waste management and recycling strategies, and each received a packet of checklists and resources to take action on going green. We’re ready to take this workshop on the road, with a bit of help from sponsors. For more information contact Peggy MacLeod at 413-586-7350 ext. 26.

All snuggled up and ready for old man winter

Winter can punch a hole in your home heating budget, but there are some things you can do to make that hole smaller. CET recently offered four home weatherization workshops to help folks save money and energy this winter. We explained how homes lose heat, demonstrated simple hands-on weatherization techniques, and outlined the incentives and rebates available statewide through the utility funded MassSAVE program. Support for the workshop came from National Grid. Workshop co-sponsors include the Shutesbury Energy Committee, North Quabbin Energy Group, Williamsburg’s Energy Committee and GREEN Northampton. For more information contact Tomasin Whitaker at 413-586-7350 ext. 25.

2008 Green Buildings Open House

On October 3, an enthusiastic crowd gathered to hear about solar and geothermal energy at the Berkshire Museum at Building Green in the Berkshires, our kick-off event for the 2008 Green Buildings Open House. The next day the Green Buildings Open House drew hundreds to a diverse array of green buildings in the Berkshires. Among the new sites on the tour this year were Caretaker Farm, showcasing a 10 kW pole-mounted solar array, the Stevenson home with both photovoltaic and solar hot water evacuated tubes, and the Reinauer home featuring passive solar design. This year CET also collaborated with GREEN Northampton to host a series of green building and renewable presentations at the Northampton Senior Center, which is working toward LEED certification. GREEN Northampton hosted 25 bicyclists on a tour of five homes where residents provided insights into their eco-friendly lifestyle choices. At the last house, CET presented an in-depth show-and-tell about how a home performs.

Green communities lead by example

Town officials and members of energy and climate action committees from nearly 50 towns and cities throughout western Massachusetts attended Greening Your Community: Leading By Example workshops held on two separate dates in October at Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield and at Fish & Wildlife Headquarters in Hadley. Attendees heard from their peers as well as representatives from regional and state agencies, utility companies and non-profit organizations about actions they can take to reduce energy and greenhouse gas emissions, and found out what resources are available to help them meet their goals. Contact Peggy MacLeod at 413-586-7350 ext. 26 for more information.

BEST program expands reach

Three more schools are now participating in the Berkshire Bank Berkshire Environmental School Teams (BEST) program. Nessacus Middle School in Dalton, Egremont Elementary in Pittsfield, and Muddy Brook Elementary in Great Barrington are new partners in this innovative educational program coordinated by CET and funded by Berkshire Bank Foundation. CET helps the teachers develop programs that use the school setting to engage students in learning about current environmental issues like energy conservation, renewable energy and waste reduction, composting and recycling. The goal of the program is to strengthen the science and technology curriculum by enabling students to bring what they've learned at school to their homes and communities. For more information, contact Cynthia Grippaldi at 413-445-4556 ext. 25.

Don't miss the bubble wrap recycletree!

Thanks to artist and CET supporter Joe Wheaton for helping us out with the CET tree, which is now on view at the Berkshire Museum's 24th Annual Festival of Trees. CET is a partner in the festival this year, and the theme is, well, green. More than 200 trees are creatively decorated with natural materials and reused, recycled, repurposed, and reclaimed objects. The CET tree, located in the Crane Room, includes ornaments crafted from recycled materials (like egg cartons!) created by students from BEST schools Egremont and Muddy Brook Elementary School. CET also has a Pedal-A-Watt display where Festival goers can hop on a bicycle and find out how much pedaling it takes to light a tree!

New faces at CET

Welcome to our army of new energy advisors and air sealing technicians… soon coming to an attic or a crawlspace near you! Joe Pagano, Frank Panetta, Cody Durant, Matt Turcotte, Kirk Swiss, Harper Vinkemulder, Chris Krezmien, Ethan Jackson, Mike Crand, Dan Zobel, Jenn Cranshaw, Debi Bird, Max Weinreich, and Lucy Bruce.

And a warm welcome to our former AmeriCorps*VISTA volunteer Amanda Dubrowski, who has moved into the full-time role of receptionist and administrative assistant.

Signing up for a utility funded energy audit or getting your house insulated? Then you’ve probably spoken to either Jen Maggio, Michael Atkins, or Nikki Coffee, all new and enthusiastic audit service administrators.

Last but not least, we'd like to welcome former employee Alyssa Nelson back into the fold. Alyssa is processing all the Berkshire Gas rebates for high efficiency heating systems, water heaters, windows and thermostats, and providing our Pittsfield staff with all manner of sinfully delicious confectionary.

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For over 30 years, CET, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, has worked to improve the economy, ecology and health of western Massachusetts. Visit www.cetonline.org to find out more about our programs and to make a secure online donation to CET. Your tax-deductible contribution will help sustain our community work.