Green Economy

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Comment by ValMcCall on September 23, 2009 at 5:48pm

for those of you in the Greater Hartford Area, the Main Branch of the Hartford Public library is hosting a community forum to discuss the Hartford Landfill, providing city residents an opportunity to find out what is happening with the landfill (now defunct) and come up with ideas of what to use the site for. Here's the notice again as it appears above.

Life After Landfill

Sponsored by the Landfill Advisory Committee

Bring your ideas!

On December 31, 2008, the Hartford Landfill stopped accepting all trash. Work is presently underway to close the landfill and to ready it for a new use.

The Mayor has appointed a Landfill Advisory Committee which is charged with making recommendations on the future use of the landfill. The Committee wants to hear your ideas for the future of this important piece of land at the entrance to Hartford. Please attend and share your thoughts with the Committee.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009
5:30 - 7:30 PM

Hartford Public Library
500 Main Street

For more information, please contact Brendan Mahoney at mahob001@hartford.gov or 757-9568.

Comment by Melissa Patterson-Meador on June 5, 2009 at 8:45am

Here the status of HB 6635 & HB 6508. According to the CT General Assembly website the senate did not pass either of these bills this week. The good news is that the Solar Energy Bill did get a "Favorable Review" and was tabled for the senate's calendar. Its senate calendar number is 726.

The Energy Efficiency Bill, HB6508, has a similiar fate. Its senate calendar # is 529. I am still learning what these calendar #s mean. I think this means that these bills are marked to go to the senate floor and be voted on when the General Assembly reconvenes this fall.

Comment by Daniel W. Bender on June 2, 2009 at 9:47pm

The HB 6635 Solar Power bill looks like it's got something for every size user. I like what I see for the Residential consumer. Solar needs heavy subsidies but I believe it's where we need to put our priorities.

Comment by Melissa Patterson-Meador on June 2, 2009 at 5:45pm

Good New for Solar Energy in CT

HB 6635, An Act Concerning Solar Power, passed the House unanimously yesterday. Let’s get it through the Senate and get started installing more solar energy in CT. This bill will create at least 30 megawatts worth of new residential solar, encourage large-scale commercial solar projects, and create a new financing model for renewable energy credits.

Read it here: http://www.cga.ct.gov/2009/FC/2009HB-06635-R000491-FC.htm

Please call your state senator and ask for their support for this Green Energy Economy Bill.

Thanks for all you do!
-Melissa Patterson-Meador
Green Energy Economy Coordinator

Comment by Melissa Patterson-Meador on June 2, 2009 at 5:40pm

Great News! CT House Passes HB 6508- A bill for Adopting Appliance Energy Efficiency Standards. Now we just need to make sure that the CT Senate brings this bill to the floor and passes it. Please call the senate tomorrow at switchboard at 800-842-1420 and ask for the offices of Majority Leader Martin Looney and Energy & Technology Co-Chair John Fonfara. Encourage them to bring this bill to the Senate floor for a vote as soon as possible. Then call your own senators (find them at http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/CGAFindLeg.asp) to ask for their support. and request that they bring this bill to the floor and pass it.

This bill that will streamline the process of adopting new energy efficiency standards for appliances sold in Connecticut. HB 6508 directs the Office of Policy and Management to work with other states on an ongoing basis to identify cost-effective energy standards for new products and adopt them within six months unless an objection is found. It’s a win-win: this bill will save money for consumers and time for the state government and has the potential to cut greenhouse gas emissions by hundreds of thousands of tons over the next decade.

Read HB 6508, An Act Amending Regulations for Portable Electric Spas and Certain Other Products, here: http://www.cga.ct.gov/2009/FC/2009HB-06508-R000817-FC.htm

Comment by Daniel W. Bender on April 8, 2009 at 9:42am

Yes, That's what 85% of people in CT will find for Solar Electric generation. Then you will find a 15-20 year ROI on your portion of the project even after the nearly 50% grants the state provides.

I was very disappointed but not discouraged. That's why I want to monitor what as many people are doing on Residential installations.

Passive Solar & GeoThermal have a 5-7 year ROI with just the Fed. Tax breaks & no grants from the state.

Comment by Maureen Carney on April 7, 2009 at 7:09pm

I had my house evaluated for solar installation under the solar lease program. Unfortunately I would have had to cut down all the trees in my back yard in order to get panels to cover about 1/3 to 1/2 of my electricity usage at a cost of thousands of dollars to cut down the trees and then a lease for 15 years that is more than my entire electric bill each month. I was really disappointed because I plan to buy a plug in hybrid as soon as they are available.

I understand that some people don't enjoy reading but I must tell you that I have learned so much from these books, I have a much better understanding of the issues. If you are interested, I do have Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas Friedman on CDs and I am willing to lend it to people interested. Let me know.

Comment by Daniel W. Bender on April 7, 2009 at 9:28am

Sorry, I'm not into books. Too dyslexic. Hard to focus and read.

I am into what people are doing with residential installations.

Specifically Solar electric generation, Passive Solar, and GeoThermal.

Comment by Maureen Carney on April 6, 2009 at 7:15pm

Hi all you people eager to learn more about Energy and the Earth,

I wanted to give you an update on how the Earth and Energy Book Group is doing.

We had our second discussion last week. We loved The Bridge at the Edge of the World, by James Gustave Speth, who happens to be the Dean of the Forestry School at Yale. He talked a lot about capitalism's impact on the environment. I was struck by a reference he mentions to Psychologist David Myers , who "sees this pattern of soaring wealth and shrinking spirit as 'The American Paradox' with big houses and broken homes, high incomes and low morale, secured rights and diminished civility" (pg 137-138) If you haven't had a chance to read this book, I highly recommend it.

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, April 28th at 6:30 PM. We are actually scouting around for a new location because KOFFEE has been too crowded. We considered Starbucks at the corner of Church and Chapel in New Haven, but we noticed that parking is an issue there. At the risk of sounding like a hypocrite, although we would like to stay centrally located, so far everyone is driving to the meeting, so we do have to think about parking. We are considering the cafeteria at IKEA. I'd love to get your input on this idea.

Our next book is The Green Collar Economy, How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems, by Van Jones. I hear Van Jones has been tapped to work with the Obama team to help create those green collar jobs. He also went to Yale Law School. I'm about half way through the book and I am very glad we picked this one. It seems that every book we have read offers another aspect of history and future of our energy system.

I hope you will invite your family and friends to read along with us and come join in the discussion. I will keep you posted on where the next meeting will be held.

Thanks.

Maureen Carney
(C) 203-675-1675

Comment by Maureen Carney on April 1, 2009 at 6:59pm

In the book "Hot, Flat and Crowded" by Thomas Friedman, he makes reference to "Energy from heaven vs energy from hell" I think this is a perfect description for how I see "Green" energy. The sun and wind come from heaven, fossil fuels come from hell. To me, nuclear energy is very scary. I just remember Chernobyl and how dangerous nuclear fuel can be. Some say nuclear is much safer now, but uranium, in my opinion, comes from hell too and therefore is not green. Once again I am on the run, but I'll be back later to talk more about the Earth and Energy Book Group.

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