<![CDATA[Sustainable Duxbury - Blog!]]>Thu, 24 May 2012 01:20:51 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[May is National Bike Month]]>Wed, 16 May 2012 15:10:40 -0800http://www.sustainableduxbury.org/1/post/2012/05/may-is-national-bike-month.htmlA great article has appeared on the Sierra Club website: http://sierraclub.typepad.com/michaelbrune/2012/05/national-bike-month-bike-to-work-day-bicyles.html

To quote the article:
On a bike, you can smell the flowers, feel the wind in your face, beat the traffic, and even help the climate.

Here is the article:
05/14/2012
Share the Road AND the Future
In San Francisco we celebrated Bike to Work Day last week, but so many people are riding their bikes to work here that every day seems like Bike to Work Day. Bicycle ridership is up by 72 percent in the past six years. This has become a much more bicycle-friendly city during the past decade, but the upward trend is national, too: Bicycle commuting in the U.S. was up by 40 percent from 2000 to 2010, and in the largest "bicycle friendly" communities (as identified by the League of American Bicyclists), it was up by 77 percent.

That's great, but it's only scratching the surface of how biking could transform our country. Most people don't commute to work by bike. Most of us don't even use bikes for any of the relatively short trips we make to and from our homes. Forty percent of all car trips are to destinations less than two miles from home. If every American driver made just one of those trips each week on a bicycle instead of a car (going to church, for instance, or to the health club), we would collectively save nearly 2 billion gallons of gas in a year (not to mention about $7 billion).

So why don't we do it?

I suspect that if you asked people why they don't use a bike for those short trips, you'd hear one answer more than any other: "I just don't feel safe riding in traffic." That's understandable, because most of our roads and cities have been engineered for the safety and convenience of drivers -- not bicyclists. The solution is twofold: Better education for both drivers and cyclists on how to safely share the road and, even more important, an investment in reconfiguring our transportation infrastructure so that bicyclists and pedestrians can both feel and be safer.

We need to do this not just because it saves on gas, helps the environment, and makes us healthier. We need to do it because many Americans do not drive at all -- about 100 million as of 2009 (and that number will increase as our population ages). Walking or biking (as well as public transit) are the only ways these people can get somewhere on their own.

After decades of assuming that only cars matter, we really should be playing catch-up on behalf of other transportation modes. Currently, Americans make about 12 percent of all trips by biking or walking. So what if we invested 15 percent of our federal transportation funding on bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure? Too generous? How about 10 percent?  Five percent? Believe it or not, five percent would still be more than three times as much as we're currently investing now, which is a measly 1.6 percent.

Unfortunately, Big Oil's political allies think that even 1.6 percent is too much.



]]><![CDATA[HAPPY EARTH DAY!!! Sunday, April 22, 2012]]>Thu, 19 Apr 2012 17:44:46 -0800http://www.sustainableduxbury.org/1/post/2012/04/happy-earth-day.html
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Earth Day: Five small steps
1. Recycle
Start recycling at home. Reuse jam jars and ice cream tubs as storage box for cookies and other food stuff. You may be surprised by how much can be recycled or reused!

2. Go paperless
Try to use paper as little possible. Of course while print outs should be avoided it is best to use recyclable printer cartridges, since recycled replacements are cheaper than new ones. Use cloth napkins instead of paper ones.

3. Efficient electricity
Use compact fluorescent bulbs instead of incandescent ones. LED lamps also use less energy.
Many appliances have “standby” settings that draw power. Sometimes this takes as much as 15 or 20 watts, even when they’re turned off. To make sure that computers, monitors, printers, photocopy machines, televisions, VCRs, DVD players, and microwave ovens are not wasting any energy turn the appliance off and pull the plug rather than just flipping the switch on the machine.

4. Enjoy the sunshine!
By far, the best and most economical source of light is the sun. Make the most of daylight by keeping your blinds and curtains open when light is required during day. Sunlight not only lights up the room, but morning sun rays are also supposed to be anti bacterial. It is not uncommon for interior air to be more contaminated with toxic chemicals than the air outdoors. Wooden furniture, carpeting, and paint are common sources of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a family of chemicals that pollute the indoor environment. VOCs have been linked to birth defects, endocrine disruption, and cancer.

5. Turn off the lights!
As efficient as your lighting equipment might be, it doesn’t make sense to have lights and fans on when no one is around. If you use an air conditioner, set the temperature to 26 degrees or higher and make use of the timer to turn the machine off when the room has cooled.
Every little step makes a difference so tell your family and friends about how they can help too!
Not only will you be saving the earth but you will save a few dollars on your electric bill as well!
What are you doing to make a difference?

A To Do list for your refigerator:

  • GO TO AN EARTH DAY EVENT! (check out www.earthday.org)
  • Write my government in support of green legislation
  • Eliminate the use of pesticides and toxic household cleaners
  • Get an energy audit and do what it says (come to our energy audit workshop May 8 at the library)
  • Change incandescents to LED bulbs
  • Plant a garden at home or school
  • Take public transit at least one day each week.
  • Bicycle or walk to do errands more often
  • Check out A Billion Acts of Green on Facebook: https://apps.facebook.com/billionactsofgreen/



]]><![CDATA[Sustainable South Shore Events]]>Wed, 04 Apr 2012 13:29:57 -0800http://www.sustainableduxbury.org/1/post/2012/04/sustainable-south-shore-events.htmlSeveral of us attended the Sustainable South Shore meeting last Thursday, March 29. There are several happenings around the area that we thought our members should be aware of.

Sustainable Hull is hosting a film called "Carbon Nation" on April 30 at 7 PM at Temple Beth Sholom. Carbon Nation is a documentary movie about climate change SOLUTIONS. Even if you doubt the severity of the impact of climate change or just don't buy it at all, this is still a compelling and relevant film that illustrates how SOLUTIONS to climate change also address other social, economic and national security issues. You'll meet a host of entertaining and endearing characters along the way. You can go to their website (www.sustainablehull.org) for more information.

REACH, the Responsible Energy Alternatives Coalition of Hingham, has run a film series this winter. Their last film in the series is "Revenge of the Electric Car" on April 14. Information about the movies can be found at: http://www.wickedlocal.com/hingham/topstories/x1676720051/HINGHAM-REACH-Sustainability-film-series-starts#axzz1r6XDJ62s. Check out their website: www.hinghamreach.org.

Mass Energy Consumer Alliance gave a talk about buying renewable energy and saving money on energy bills. You can visit their website for more information: www.massenergy.org. It gets very confusing but there are ways that you can buy more directly from renewables and these programs will put money into the system and encourage the growth of renewable energy. There are different programs with National Grid and NStar. Good luck! We may be having someone come and talk to us from Next Step Living and that will help shed more
]]><![CDATA[Wind Turbines on Duxbury Beach]]>Sat, 31 Mar 2012 16:33:34 -0800http://www.sustainableduxbury.org/1/post/2012/03/wind-turbines-on-duxbury-beach.htmlFollowing up on the recent article in the Duxbury Clipper, we have created an editorial cartoon about this massive turbine project.

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Scroll down......








April Fool's Day!

]]><![CDATA[Breaking Ground On Community Garden!]]>Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:38:44 -0800http://www.sustainableduxbury.org/1/post/2012/03/breaking-ground-on-community-garden.htmlDespite the snow, Jim Savicki and Mike Wilson were out rototilling the ground at the Steward Farm on Bayridge Lane preparing plots for the gardeners participating in our community garden program. They were folding in compost and manure and getting the soil in tip-top condition for our gardeners. The site of the farm is wonderful—what a great place to gather with friends and family and garden. There are only 8 plots left, so let us know as soon as you can. We will also have a table at Farmers' Market this summer and can sell any donated vegetables. Contact Jim Savicki: 781.585.8041.

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Mike and Jim rototilling the garden dispite the odd occurence of snow!
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]]><![CDATA[Why the Global Warming Skeptics Are Wrong]]>Wed, 29 Feb 2012 15:14:57 -0800http://www.sustainableduxbury.org/1/post/2012/02/why-the-global-warming-skeptics-are-wrong.htmlhttp://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/mar/22/why-global-warming-skeptics-are-wrong/

Please go here and read. Take your time. It is worth it to know the truth.

If you want to know more about climate change and how it is affecting our lives on a daily basis, WGBH radio has also been running an amazing blog (with audio pieces). Check it out:
http://climatide.wgbh.org/
]]><![CDATA[Sustainable Duxbury is not the AEC]]>Wed, 29 Feb 2012 15:05:54 -0800http://www.sustainableduxbury.org/1/post/2012/02/sustainable-duxbury-is-not-the-aec.htmlThere seems to  be some confusion in town that Sustainable Duxbury and the town's Alternative Energy Committee are one and the same. They are not. Sustainable Duxbury was begun over 5 years ago by a group of individuals in town who were like minded and interested in environmental issues. This group has never been affiliated with the town of Duxbury. We support our own initiatives and projects that we think might help everyone live a "greener" more sustainable life like installing hydration stations in the schools so the kids don't have to buy plastic water bottles. Like raising money and installing solar panels at the Chandler school so the kids can learn about solar energy. Like establishing a community garden in town for everyone to enjoy together. We are volunteers that show up at a monthly meetings to discuss local and national issues that interest us. Some of the work of the AEC over the last 2 years interested us. The members of the AEC are volunteers but are town appointed. They were and are working on ways to save the town money by helping the town become more energy efficient. This topic interested us so we went to meetings to find out what their plans were. We supported some of their initiatives just like a parent supports his kid's soccer team. We went to their meetings occasionally because they are open to everyone in town and it is the best way to gather information and find out what is going on in town. We liked their wind turbine initiative as we support green energy and becoming energy independent. So we supported their ideas. We are citizens that support the town when the town is involved in something we support.
]]><![CDATA[Wind Bylaw Amendments May be Delayed until next year]]>Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:55:05 -0800http://www.sustainableduxbury.org/1/post/2012/02/wind-bylaw-amendments-delayed.htmlThe article to amend the town's wind turbine bylaw may be indefinitely postponed. There will be a committee formed to study the bylaw through the year before next year's town meeting.
]]><![CDATA[Town meeting, Saturday, March 10, 2012]]>Sun, 26 Feb 2012 11:34:29 -0800http://www.sustainableduxbury.org/1/post/2012/02/town-meeting-saturday-march-10-20121.htmlVote YES on the Article on Green Communities participation: “To see if the town will vote to adopt a new Chapter 13 to the General Bylaws to be known as the Stretch Energy Code.”
Adoption the Stretch Energy Code will allow Duxbury to qualify to be recognized by the state of Massachusetts as a Green Community under the Green Communities Act. Eighty-six cities and towns from all regions of the state, ranging in population from 393 to 617,594 residents, are now designated as Commonwealth "Green Communities." Once recognized as a Green Community Duxbury becomes eligible for many state grants used for energy efficiency improvements in town buildings. Since becoming a green community the town of Kingston has received approximately $180,000 that has been used to make energy saving improvements that save the town over $100,000 annually. The Stretch Code will yield significant cost savings for local residents and businesses by making buildings and homes more energy efficient and will increase design and construction firm competitiveness in the growing green building marketplace.
After adoption of the stretch code construction costs are estimated to rise approximately $3,000 for a typical single family home and by 1-3% for commercial buildings; however, when purchasing a home built to the stretch codes, the owner would typically see savings due to reduced energy usage.
Sustainable Duxbury whole heartedly endorses passage of this article.
For more information go to www.mass.gov/energy/greencommunities
]]><![CDATA[Town Meeting, Saturday, March 10, 2012]]>Sun, 26 Feb 2012 11:31:53 -0800http://www.sustainableduxbury.org/1/post/2012/02/town-meeting-saturday-march-10-2012.htmlVote NO on  Article 44 which would Eliminate Wind Turbines in Duxbury
 
Article 44 Amend Wind Turbine Bylaw
 
This article contains amendments to Duxbury’s current wind turbine bylaw. A small group of citizens are seeking through Article 44 to overturn the wind bylaw that was passed unanimously at Town Meeting 2 years ago. The amendments would render the bylaw obsolete. For example, the amendments would change the distance required between a community size wind turbine and the nearest property line to become 15 times the height of the turbine. Current setback is 1.2 times. There is no lot in Duxbury large enough to meet a 15x requirement. The amendments would also change the maximum height of a turbine from the current 250 to 225 feet. Any turbine below 250 would not take advantage of the best wind higher up and thus would not be economically feasible. The Mass. Department of Energy Resources reviewed this article saying that the amendment “appears to not provide any opportunity for wind development to occur.” Neither the Board of Selectmen nor the Planning Board voted to support the article. In fact, the town lawyer thinks it may not be legal and is likely to be overturned by the Mass. Attorney General if approved.
 
Duxbury is signing 10 and 20 year contracts for solar power so there are no plans for a community wind turbine at this time. The Alternative Energy Committee is against this article and recommends waiting until a wind turbine is again under consideration to update the bylaw. At that time, it will make sense to review the bylaw in light of advances in technology and experience in siting community size turbines.
 
If Duxbury votes to eliminate the possibility of wind turbines, it will be making a clear anti-environment, anti-wind statement. Is that the message we want to send our neighbors and our youth?
 

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