suzanneb

1

189 Pleasant Street, Easthampton, MA, Saturday, August 28th, 2010, 8 AM- 12:30 PM.

Project Retrofit of the Western Mass Green Consortium is holding its 2nd 2010 Workshop to involve community voices in strategies to grow the “green economy.”

$992 Million Dollars in Federal Stimulus money has been spent in 4 Western MA Counties in the past 18 months.

How can we collaborate & work together to build an economy in Western MA that works for ALL of us. Help us build a vibrant Green Economy that builds upon what we have done AND outlasts the Stimulus Funding.

February 13, 2010 was the first Project Retrofit Workshop to identify regional barriers to growing the energy efficiency/retrofit industry.  This meeting will bring together individuals, businesses, and community organizations at a morning planning session to begin implementation of the needed tools identified in February.  

Participants who arrive at 8 and stay until 12:30 are welcome to stay for a party and BBQ, as well as guided tours of the sustainable designed property.  Please bring a dish to share.

For a complete agenda, to volunteer, or for more information visit www.westernmassgreenconsortium.org.

Continue reading Strategies to Grow the Green Economy in Western Mass
Categories , Tags , , , , , ,

0

To add insult to injury to working America, in came the earnings reports from Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase. At these mega banks, balance sheets are healthy, profits are up and bonuses for top executives are bigger than ever. JPMorgan Chase just reported $11.7 billion in profits and $26.9 billion in compensation and bonuses. Goldman Sachs made a record-high profit of $13.4 billion in 2009 and is slated to hand out $16.2 billion in compensation and bonuses – the equivalent of $500,000 per employee.

These are some of the same institutions whose predatory and unethically risky actions brought our economy to its knees. But, thanks to billions of dollars in government resuscitation, they seem to be recovering nicely from their near-death experiences.

Continue reading The Earnings Report for Main Street– By Prakash Laufer
Categories Tags , , , , , , ,

2

Standing in a Home Depot in Alexandria, Va. on December 15th, President Obama announced that weatherization is “sexy.” Despite efforts to erase unsavory mental images, American curiosity was piqued about energy efficiency.  People are seeking info on rebates and tax credits for improvements to save money and cut greenhouse gas emissions, while exploring additional support on the state level.    

A big green bubble of money is headed right for us.  Care should be taken to ensure it doesn’t pop and leave us with an expensive mess.

Massachusetts has been a national leader in energy efficiency policy since 1997 when state law required electric companies to offer efficiency programs to ratepayers.  On July 2, 2008, Governor Patrick signed the Green Communities Act, which required electric and natural gas companies to file energy efficiency plans every three years.  The Department of Public Utilities (DPU) ensures that energy efficiency programs “are delivered in a cost-effective manner capturing all available efficiency opportunities, minimizing administrative costs to the fullest extent practicable, and utilizing competitive procurement processes to the fullest extent practicable.”

In March of 2009 The Zero Net Energy Buildings Task Force, also established under the Green Communities Act, outlined a strategy for growing the energy efficiency sector in “Getting to Zero.”  This report guides universal adoption of zero net energy buildings for new residential and commercial construction by 2030.  It also outlines goals and hurdles for retrofitting existing buildings for increased energy efficiency.

“Getting to Zero” identifies 5 barriers to growing the retrofit industry, which are echoed in the more recent federal report from the Vice President’s Middle Class Task Force October 2009 “Recovery through Retrofit;” a simpler, less ambitious, version of our state-level publication.

#1 The high upfront cost of effective energy efficiency improvements to the homeowner.

#2 The lack of a consistently and well-trained energy efficiency workforce.

#3 A lack of building performance information to provide reliable projections for financing and marketing energy efficiency improvements.

#4 Building operator and occupant behavior can undermine building improvements.

#5 Regulatory and permitting barriers can stall and prevent retrofitting projects.

Continue reading Are the stimulus jobs too “green” ?
Tags , , , , , , , ,