<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>Energy 2.0</title>
	<atom:link href="http://energytwodotzero.org/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://energytwodotzero.org</link>
	<description>Energy &#38; Environment</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:07:41 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/</generator>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
			<item>
		<title>MA Supreme Court OK&#8217;s Cape Wind</title>
		<link>http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/09/02/ma-supreme-court-oks-cape-wind/</link>
		<comments>http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/09/02/ma-supreme-court-oks-cape-wind/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:03:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>LMcCloskey</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Electricity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Massachusetts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics & Policy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Utilities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wind power]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Energy Use]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://energytwodotzero.org/?p=6029</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
<!-- TEXT: &lt;p&gt;&lt;img class=&quot;alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-6033&quot; title=&quot;wind.turbine&quot; src=&quot;http://energytwodotzero.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/wind.turbine1-150x150.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Small wind turbine&quot; width=&quot;150&quot; height=&quot;150&quot; /&gt;In an August 31st ruling, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts voted 4-2 in favor of developing a wind farm in the Nantucket Sound. Despite the positive ruling, many obstacles remain in the establishment of 130 wind turbines off the coast of Cape Cod; the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.saveoursound.org/site/PageServer&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound &lt;/a&gt;strongly opposes &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.capewind.org/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Cape Wind&lt;/a&gt; and vows to continue its court battle against the wind energy project. In addition to community group opposition, Cape Wind must also win the approval of the Department of Utilities, as &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.nationalgridus.com/aboutus/a3-1_news2.asp?document=5163&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;National Grid&lt;/a&gt; plans to purchase half of the electricity generated by the wind farm. For a full description of how this ruling impacts the Cape Wind project, check out these articles:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Boston Globe- &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/green/articles/2010/09/01/sjc_ruling_gives_cape_wind_project_green_light_to_build/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;SJC Ruling Gives Cape Wind Project Green Light to Build&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Environmental News Service- &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/sep2010/2010-09-01-091.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Cape Wind Completes Massachusetts Permits with Legal Victory&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Nature.com- &lt;a href=&quot;http://blogs.nature.com/news/thegreatbeyond/2010/08/massachusetts_court_propels_wi_1.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Massachusetts Court Propels Wind Farm Forward&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
 -->
<!-- LESS: &lt;p&gt;&lt;img class=&quot;alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-6033&quot; title=&quot;wind.turbine&quot; src=&quot;http://energytwodotzero.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/wind.turbine1-150x150.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Small wind turbine&quot; width=&quot;150&quot; height=&quot;150&quot; /&gt;In an August 31st ruling, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts voted 4-2 in favor of developing a wind farm in the Nantucket Sound. Despite the positive ruling, many obstacles remain in the establishment of 130 wind turbines off the coast of Cape Cod; the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.saveoursound.org/site/PageServer&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound &lt;/a&gt;strongly opposes &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.capewind.org/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Cape Wind&lt;/a&gt; and vows to continue its court battle against the wind energy project. In addition to community group opposition, Cape Wind must also win the approval of the Department of Utilities, as &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.nationalgridus.com/aboutus/a3-1_news2.asp?document=5163&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;National Grid&lt;/a&gt; plans to purchase half of the electricity generated by the wind farm. For a full description of how this ruling impacts the Cape Wind project, check out these articles:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Boston Globe- &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/green/articles/2010/09/01/sjc_ruling_gives_cape_wind_project_green_light_to_build/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;SJC Ruling Gives Cape Wind Project Green Light to Build&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Environmental News Service- &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/sep2010/2010-09-01-091.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Cape Wind Completes Massachusetts Permits with Legal Victory&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Nature.com- &lt;a href=&quot;http://blogs.nature.com/news/thegreatbeyond/2010/08/massachusetts_court_propels_wi_1.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Massachusetts Court Propels Wind Farm Forward&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
 --><div class="advanced_excerpt"><p><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-6033" title="wind.turbine" src="http://energytwodotzero.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/wind.turbine1-150x150.jpg" alt="Small wind turbine" width="150" height="150" />In an August 31st ruling, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts voted 4-2 in favor of developing a wind farm in the Nantucket Sound. Despite the positive ruling, many obstacles remain in the establishment of 130 wind turbines off the coast of Cape Cod; the <a href="http://www.saveoursound.org/site/PageServer" target="_blank">Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound </a>strongly opposes <a href="http://www.capewind.org/" target="_blank">Cape Wind</a> and vows to continue its court battle against the wind energy project.&#8230;</p></div>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/09/02/ma-supreme-court-oks-cape-wind/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Green Business Transportation Workshop- 8/25</title>
		<link>http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/08/26/green-business-transportation-workshop-825/</link>
		<comments>http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/08/26/green-business-transportation-workshop-825/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Aug 2010 06:05:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>JesseGorden</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Massachusetts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Transportation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://energytwodotzero.org/?p=5987</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
<!-- TEXT: &lt;div id=&quot;attachment_5990&quot; class=&quot;wp-caption alignright&quot; style=&quot;width: 310px&quot;&gt;&lt;img class=&quot;size-medium wp-image-5990&quot; src=&quot;http://energytwodotzero.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/2010-08-25-Green-Transport-Wkshop-300x225.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; /&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;wp-caption-text&quot;&gt;Brad Winnett from MassRIDES discusses green alternatives while other panelists look on.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;On Wednesday August 25th, the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cambridgeenergyalliance.org&quot;&gt;Cambridge Energy Alliance&lt;/a&gt; and the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnboston.org/sbn15/&quot;&gt;Sustainable Business Leader Program&lt;/a&gt; hosted a Green Transportation Workshop. Panelists discussed ways to make a key facet of business operations, employee transportation, &#8220;green.&#8221;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Stephanie Anderberg from &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cambridgema.gov/cdd/faq.html&quot;&gt;Cambridge Community Development&lt;/a&gt; discussed how businesses can support alternative transportation with help from&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Pre-tax Commuter Benefits&lt;/strong&gt;. Basically, these are ways in which businesses can pay for their employees&#8217; green travel (e.g. shuttles, vanpools, biking, the T) before taxes are considered. These can be administered in several fairly easy ways, including giving vouchers or using a 3rd party administrator.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Jim Gascoigne from the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.charlesrivertma.org/&quot;&gt;Charles River TMA&lt;/a&gt; opened with a significant statistic: a staggering 67% of people in Cambridge &#8211; an environmentally forward-thinking city &#8211; get to work by driving in cars alone. Mr. Gascoigne went on to explain that while the Charles River TMA&#8217;s purpose is to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality, it&#8217;s also to help Cambridge citizens reach for more environmentally responsible solutions. Specific services Jim discussed were the public $1 per ride &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.charlesrivertma.org/program_ezride.htm&quot;&gt;EZride shuttle&lt;/a&gt;, which goes to areas around Cambridge that the T does not reach, and an Emergency taxi Ride Home voucher for members.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Brad Winnett from &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.commute.com/&quot;&gt;MassRIDES&lt;/a&gt; spoke about how his state-wide organization works individually with businesses to incorporate customized combinations of transportation programs that suit their unique circumstances. These combos include ride-sharing, vanpools, biking, walking, the T, and &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.commute.com/employers_teleworking.shtml&quot;&gt;tele-working&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Shane Jordan presented for &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.massbike.org/&quot;&gt;Mass Bike&lt;/a&gt;, a state-wide bicycling advocacy group that supplies many services.  Mass Bike Provides three different kinds of 1-hour workshops &#8211; general biking, bike maintenance, and one for winter bike-riding. Shane mentioned that Mass Bike has a valet bike parking service, as well as a consulting service. Lastly, Mr. Jordan suggested that if an organization wanted to perform a biking event but didn&#8217;t have insurance, they could &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.massbike.org/services/massbike-spins-ride-insurance/&quot;&gt;partner with Mass Bike&lt;/a&gt; to be covered under Mass Bike&#8217;s insurance.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.zipcar.com/&quot;&gt;Zipcar&lt;/a&gt; is a membership-based car-sharing service, and was represented on the Green Transportation panel by Matt Kurkowski.  Mr. Kurkowski discussed the various benefits of the multiple Zipcar programs and options. Zipcar was what helped one audience member (Janie Katz) transition from 30 years of driving her own car to a no-car diet; others discussed the convenience of the service when traveling for business or for emergencies. For businesses, the Zipcar program is significantly more cost-effective than it might be for the already-affordable personal accounts, making this a great business choice.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;After this, &lt;a href=&quot;http://metropedalpower.com/&quot;&gt;Metro Pedal Power&lt;/a&gt; (unable to be represented at the event) was discussed thoroughly by the hosts as well as multiple panelists. This company is a local, bike-powered delivery service that provides regularly scheduled as well as on-call deliveries of up to 500 pounds, in all weather. This service makes sense for so ma&lt;a href=&quot;http://metropedalpower.com/&quot;&gt;&lt;img class=&quot;alignleft size-medium wp-image-6002&quot; src=&quot;http://energytwodotzero.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/MetroPedalPower-300x88.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; height=&quot;88&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;ny members of the community who may need to transport something only across town, but would otherwise have to ship via UPS or FedEx, whose warehouse check-in point might even be out of state. The service is cost-effective because of the lack of spending on gasoline, and you are reducing the carbon you emit by keeping fossil-fuel-burning vehicles off the road.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In addition, Janie Katz-Christy, the director of the Green Streets Initiative shared how businesses and employees can get involved in &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.GoGreenStreets.org&quot;&gt;Walk/Ride Days&lt;/a&gt;. Walk/Ride Days are on the last Friday of each month, when people can use sustainable transportation and get rewarded by local businesses for doing so. Walk/Ride Days have had excellent results for all kinds of large and small businesses and the Fed DOT is now funding a project to spread Walk/Ride Days to 6 Boston-region communities.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The last mentioned service was that of the downtown-Boston-based &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.urbanadventours.com&quot;&gt;Urban Adventours&lt;/a&gt;, who offer bike tours throughout the city. This is a great way to get people introduced to the concept of biking as an alternative transportation, as well. For organizations who need bikes to get started, this is one of the bike rental providers in Boston.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&#8212;&#8212;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This workshop was full of organizations who, as a combination, can comprehensively make our community more fossil-fuel independent than ever. I strongly urge you to take advantage of some or all of the services detailed here- and tell your friends!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;As always- you may comment here, or email me personally at jgorden@cambridgeenergyalliance.org if you have further questions.&lt;/p&gt;
 -->
<!-- LESS: &lt;div id=&quot;attachment_5990&quot; class=&quot;wp-caption alignright&quot; style=&quot;width: 310px&quot;&gt;&lt;img class=&quot;size-medium wp-image-5990&quot; src=&quot;http://energytwodotzero.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/2010-08-25-Green-Transport-Wkshop-300x225.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; /&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;wp-caption-text&quot;&gt;Brad Winnett from MassRIDES discusses green alternatives while other panelists look on.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;On Wednesday August 25th, the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cambridgeenergyalliance.org&quot;&gt;Cambridge Energy Alliance&lt;/a&gt; and the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnboston.org/sbn15/&quot;&gt;Sustainable Business Leader Program&lt;/a&gt; hosted a Green Transportation Workshop. Panelists discussed ways to make a key facet of business operations, employee transportation, &#8220;green.&#8221;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Stephanie Anderberg from &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cambridgema.gov/cdd/faq.html&quot;&gt;Cambridge Community Development&lt;/a&gt; discussed how businesses can support alternative transportation with help from&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #000000&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Pre-tax Commuter Benefits&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;. Basically, these are ways in which businesses can pay for their employees&#8217; green travel (e.g. shuttles, vanpools, biking, the T) before taxes are considered. These can be administered in several fairly easy ways, including giving vouchers or using a 3rd party administrator.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Jim Gascoigne from the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.charlesrivertma.org/&quot;&gt;Charles River TMA&lt;/a&gt; opened with a significant statistic: a staggering 67% of people in Cambridge &#8211; an environmentally forward-thinking city &#8211; get to work by driving in cars alone. Mr. Gascoigne went on to explain that while the Charles River TMA&#8217;s purpose is to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality, it&#8217;s also to help Cambridge citizens reach for more environmentally responsible solutions. Specific services Jim discussed were the public $1 per ride &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.charlesrivertma.org/program_ezride.htm&quot;&gt;EZride shuttle&lt;/a&gt;, which goes to areas around Cambridge that the T does not reach, and an Emergency taxi Ride Home voucher for members.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Brad Winnett from &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.commute.com/&quot;&gt;MassRIDES&lt;/a&gt; spoke about how his state-wide organization works individually with businesses to incorporate customized combinations of transportation programs that suit their unique circumstances. These combos include ride-sharing, vanpools, biking, walking, the T, and &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.commute.com/employers_teleworking.shtml&quot;&gt;tele-working&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Shane Jordan presented for &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.massbike.org/&quot;&gt;Mass Bike&lt;/a&gt;, a state-wide bicycling advocacy group that supplies many services.  Mass Bike Provides three different kinds of 1-hour workshops &#8211; general biking, bike maintenance, and one for winter bike-riding. Shane mentioned that Mass Bike has a valet bike parking service, as well as a consulting service. Lastly, Mr. Jordan suggested that if an organization wanted to perform a biking event but didn&#8217;t have insurance, they could &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.massbike.org/services/massbike-spins-ride-insurance/&quot;&gt;partner with Mass Bike&lt;/a&gt; to be covered under Mass Bike&#8217;s insurance.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.zipcar.com/&quot;&gt;Zipcar&lt;/a&gt; is a membership-based car-sharing service, and was represented on the Green Transportation panel by Matt Kurkowski.  Mr. Kurkowski discussed the various benefits of the multiple Zipcar programs and options. Zipcar was what helped one audience member (Janie Katz) transition from 30 years of driving her own car to a no-car diet; others discussed the convenience of the service when traveling for business or for emergencies. For businesses, the Zipcar program is significantly more cost-effective than it might be for the already-affordable personal accounts, making this a great business choice.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;After this, &lt;a href=&quot;http://metropedalpower.com/&quot;&gt;Metro Pedal Power&lt;/a&gt; (unable to be represented at the event) was discussed thoroughly by the hosts as well as multiple panelists. This company is a local, bike-powered delivery service that provides regularly scheduled as well as on-call deliveries of up to 500 pounds, in all weather. This service makes sense for so ma&lt;a href=&quot;http://metropedalpower.com/&quot;&gt;&lt;img class=&quot;alignleft size-medium wp-image-6002&quot; src=&quot;http://energytwodotzero.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/MetroPedalPower-300x88.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; height=&quot;88&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;ny members of the community who may need to transport something only across town, but would otherwise have to ship via UPS or FedEx, whose warehouse check-in point might even be out of state. The service is cost-effective because of the lack of spending on gasoline, and you are reducing the carbon you emit by keeping fossil-fuel-burning vehicles off the road.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In addition, Janie Katz-Christy, the director of the Green Streets Initiative shared how businesses and employees can get involved in &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.GoGreenStreets.org&quot;&gt;Walk/Ride Days&lt;/a&gt;. Walk/Ride Days are on the last Friday of each month, when people can use sustainable transportation and get rewarded by local businesses for doing so. Walk/Ride Days have had excellent results for all kinds of large and small businesses and the Fed DOT is now funding a project to spread Walk/Ride Days to 6 Boston-region communities.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The last mentioned service was that of the downtown-Boston-based &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.urbanadventours.com&quot;&gt;Urban Adventours&lt;/a&gt;, who offer bike tours throughout the city. This is a great way to get people introduced to the concept of biking as an alternative transportation, as well. For organizations who need bikes to get started, this is one of the bike rental providers in Boston.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&#8212;&#8212;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This workshop was full of organizations who, as a combination, can comprehensively make our community more fossil-fuel independent than ever. I strongly urge you to take advantage of some or all of the services detailed here- and tell your friends!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;As always- you may comment here, or email me personally at jgorden@cambridgeenergyalliance.org if you have further questions.&lt;/p&gt;
 --><div class="advanced_excerpt"><div id="attachment_5990" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 310px"><img class="size-medium wp-image-5990" src="http://energytwodotzero.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/2010-08-25-Green-Transport-Wkshop-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Brad Winnett from MassRIDES discusses green alternatives while other panelists look on.</p></div>
<p>On Wednesday August 25th, the <a href="http://www.cambridgeenergyalliance.org">Cambridge Energy Alliance</a> and the <a href="http://www.sbnboston.org/sbn15/">Sustainable Business Leader Program</a> hosted a Green Transportation Workshop. Panelists discussed ways to make a key facet of business operations, employee transportation, &#8220;green.&#8221;&#8230;</p></div>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/08/26/green-business-transportation-workshop-825/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Interview with Cambridge Recycling Director Randi Mail, Part 2</title>
		<link>http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/08/20/interview-cambridge-recycling-director-randi-mail-part-2/</link>
		<comments>http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/08/20/interview-cambridge-recycling-director-randi-mail-part-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 Aug 2010 16:25:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>BrendaPike</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cambridge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Recycling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[compost]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://energytwodotzero.org/?p=5984</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
<!-- TEXT: &lt;p&gt;On &lt;a href=&quot;/2010/08/18/cambridge-switches-singlestream-recycling/&quot;&gt;Tuesday&lt;/a&gt;, I shared my conversation with Randi Mail, recycling director for the City of Cambridge, about Cambridge’s new &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cambridgema.gov/TheWorks/departments/recycle/singlestream.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;single-stream recycling&lt;/a&gt; program. In the process we touched on some general waste and recycling questions that I thought I’d share here. If you have any other questions  or want to attend the recycling facility tour, let me know in the comments and I’ll pass it on to Randi.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Are there any plans for collecting compost in the future?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The limiting factor on that right now is that there is no facility  within reasonable driving distance of the city that can handle the kind of volume of food scraps that we’d get if we had a curbside collection program for residents. There are a few private companies that are moving  forward with plans to build new facilities for the Boston area, so that  needs to come first. We need a facility that can process yard waste and  food waste together, similar to the way that the San Francisco and the Seattle programs work. The programs in place for businesses and for the drop-off program, that food waste is being taken to farms that are basically at capacity. They can’t handle the kind of volume that we’d  get with the curbside program.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What farms are they being taken to right now?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;There’s &lt;a href=&quot;http://rockyhillfarm.net/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Rocky Hill Farm&lt;/a&gt; in Saugus and Brick-Ends Farm in Hamilton. They’re large-scale  facilities, but they’re small when we’re talking about providing  collection to everybody in Cambridge. I’ve estimated that we’d see at  least 3,000 tons a year; it could be three times that. The food waste drop-off program is basically 50 tons a year—we’d be doing about 50 tons  a week.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The farms are doing outdoor composting in windrows, long piles they turn every day. It would be impossible, I think, to site an outdoor  composting facility in the Boston area. You’ve got neighbors and odor  concerns. So the companies are looking at this technology called  anaerobic digestion, where you can do composting indoors in an  environment where there’s no oxygen, and they can capture the methane  that is emitted during that composting for electricity or fuel. The city of Toronto has a few of these, and it’s very popular in Europe in urban  areas.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The city is watching what the private sector is exploring. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.casella.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Casella Recycling&lt;/a&gt;, is looking at anaerobic digestion, as well as &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.savethatstuff.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Save That Stuff&lt;/a&gt;, a local hauler. There are a few other projects that are being considered.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I think within the next two to three years we’ll be in a better  position to consider curbside organics collection. We’ve had the  drop-off program for residents for two years, and businesses have had  the curbside organics for four years. We get a lot of questions about  this, and I hope we will be in a position to offer it.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The best option, of course, is to try to compost at home. If you have  backyard space, DPW sells compost bins for $50. Apartment dwellers can compost indoors with a worm bin.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;If you’re not sure whether something is recyclable in your  town, is it better to toss it in the bin for them to sort at the center or should you just not include it?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Well, the top items that are not accepted are food, plastic bags,  Styrofoam, VCR tapes, liquids, and light bulbs. We don’t take glass  dishes or cups, and no plate glass, like picture frames or windows, which can be leaded glass. Currently no pizza boxes, but the new program  is going to accept empty pizza boxes. Other than those items, we do  accept a lot of materials: all paper, all plastics, glass bottles, metal can, and cardboard. With the new program, any stiff plastic will be  accepted, even if it doesn’t have a number on it.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Ultimately, if you’re not sure, I’d say, “When in doubt, throw it out.” But call or visit the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cambridgema.gov/TheWorks/departments/recycle/materials.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;website&lt;/a&gt; and check. The big no-nos are plastic bags and food waste.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Anything else about the program that you want to share?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I’d love to get the word out about the recycling tours. We’ve got one a month: September 29, October 28, and November 18. They’re open to the public, and it’s a really great way for people to see the recycling  process in action and feel confident that what they’re putting in their  bin is really getting sorted and sent to companies to be made into new products. Recycling is real, and it’s an important industry in our  economy. We have a six-minute &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.casella.com/what-we-do/recycling/zerosort-recycling&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;video&lt;/a&gt; on our website of the recycling processes in Charlestown, so if you can’t make the tour, you can also watch that. To sign up, e-mail &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:recycle@cambridgema.gov&quot;&gt;recycle@cambridgema.gov&lt;/a&gt; or call 617-349-4815.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;em&gt; Cross-posted on &lt;a href=&quot;http://pragmaticenvironmentalism.com/&quot;&gt;pragmaticenvironmentalism.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt; -->
<!-- LESS: &lt;p&gt;On &lt;a href=&quot;/2010/08/18/cambridge-switches-singlestream-recycling/&quot;&gt;Tuesday&lt;/a&gt;, I shared my conversation with Randi Mail, recycling director for the City of Cambridge, about Cambridge’s new &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cambridgema.gov/TheWorks/departments/recycle/singlestream.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;single-stream recycling&lt;/a&gt; program. In the process we touched on some general waste and recycling questions that I thought I’d share here. If you have any other questions  or want to attend the recycling facility tour, let me know in the comments and I’ll pass it on to Randi.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Are there any plans for collecting compost in the future?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The limiting factor on that right now is that there is no facility  within reasonable driving distance of the city that can handle the kind of volume of food scraps that we’d get if we had a curbside collection program for residents. There are a few private companies that are moving  forward with plans to build new facilities for the Boston area, so that  needs to come first. We need a facility that can process yard waste and  food waste together, similar to the way that the San Francisco and the Seattle programs work. The programs in place for businesses and for the drop-off program, that food waste is being taken to farms that are basically at capacity. They can’t handle the kind of volume that we’d  get with the curbside program.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What farms are they being taken to right now?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;There’s &lt;a href=&quot;http://rockyhillfarm.net/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Rocky Hill Farm&lt;/a&gt; in Saugus and Brick-Ends Farm in Hamilton. They’re large-scale  facilities, but they’re small when we’re talking about providing  collection to everybody in Cambridge. I’ve estimated that we’d see at  least 3,000 tons a year; it could be three times that. The food waste drop-off program is basically 50 tons a year—we’d be doing about 50 tons  a week.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The farms are doing outdoor composting in windrows, long piles they turn every day. It would be impossible, I think, to site an outdoor  composting facility in the Boston area. You’ve got neighbors and odor  concerns. So the companies are looking at this technology called  anaerobic digestion, where you can do composting indoors in an  environment where there’s no oxygen, and they can capture the methane  that is emitted during that composting for electricity or fuel. The city of Toronto has a few of these, and it’s very popular in Europe in urban  areas.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The city is watching what the private sector is exploring. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.casella.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Casella Recycling&lt;/a&gt;, is looking at anaerobic digestion, as well as &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.savethatstuff.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Save That Stuff&lt;/a&gt;, a local hauler. There are a few other projects that are being considered.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I think within the next two to three years we’ll be in a better  position to consider curbside organics collection. We’ve had the  drop-off program for residents for two years, and businesses have had  the curbside organics for four years. We get a lot of questions about  this, and I hope we will be in a position to offer it.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The best option, of course, is to try to compost at home. If you have  backyard space, DPW sells compost bins for $50. Apartment dwellers can compost indoors with a worm bin.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;If you’re not sure whether something is recyclable in your  town, is it better to toss it in the bin for them to sort at the center or should you just not include it?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Well, the top items that are not accepted are food, plastic bags,  Styrofoam, VCR tapes, liquids, and light bulbs. We don’t take glass  dishes or cups, and no plate glass, like picture frames or windows, which can be leaded glass. Currently no pizza boxes, but the new program  is going to accept empty pizza boxes. Other than those items, we do  accept a lot of materials: all paper, all plastics, glass bottles, metal can, and cardboard. With the new program, any stiff plastic will be  accepted, even if it doesn’t have a number on it.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Ultimately, if you’re not sure, I’d say, “When in doubt, throw it out.” But call or visit the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cambridgema.gov/TheWorks/departments/recycle/materials.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;website&lt;/a&gt; and check. The big no-nos are plastic bags and food waste.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Anything else about the program that you want to share?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I’d love to get the word out about the recycling tours. We’ve got one a month: September 29, October 28, and November 18. They’re open to the public, and it’s a really great way for people to see the recycling  process in action and feel confident that what they’re putting in their  bin is really getting sorted and sent to companies to be made into new products. Recycling is real, and it’s an important industry in our  economy. We have a six-minute &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.casella.com/what-we-do/recycling/zerosort-recycling&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;video&lt;/a&gt; on our website of the recycling processes in Charlestown, so if you can’t make the tour, you can also watch that. To sign up, e-mail &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:recycle@cambridgema.gov&quot;&gt;recycle@cambridgema.gov&lt;/a&gt; or call 617-349-4815.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;em&gt; Cross-posted on &lt;a href=&quot;http://pragmaticenvironmentalism.com/&quot;&gt;pragmaticenvironmentalism.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt; --><div class="advanced_excerpt"><p>On <a href="/2010/08/18/cambridge-switches-singlestream-recycling/">Tuesday</a>, I shared my conversation with Randi Mail, recycling director for the City of Cambridge, about Cambridge’s new <a href="http://www.cambridgema.gov/TheWorks/departments/recycle/singlestream.html" target="_blank">single-stream recycling</a> program. In the process we touched on some general waste and recycling questions that I thought I’d share here.&#8230;</p></div>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/08/20/interview-cambridge-recycling-director-randi-mail-part-2/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Cambridge Switches to Single-Stream Recycling</title>
		<link>http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/08/18/cambridge-switches-singlestream-recycling/</link>
		<comments>http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/08/18/cambridge-switches-singlestream-recycling/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 18 Aug 2010 19:01:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>BrendaPike</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Other]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://energytwodotzero.org/?p=5972</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
<!-- TEXT: &lt;p&gt;&lt;a rel=&quot;attachment wp-att-5973&quot; href=&quot;http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/08/18/cambridge-switches-singlestream-recycling/logo_new/&quot;&gt;&lt;img class=&quot;alignleft size-full wp-image-5973&quot; title=&quot;DPW Logo&quot; src=&quot;http://energytwodotzero.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/logo_new.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;163&quot; height=&quot;107&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;On October 25, Cambridge is switching to &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cambridgema.gov/TheWorks/departments/recycle/singlestream.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;single-stream recycling&lt;/a&gt;.  Also called zero-sort recycling, this method allows residents to throw  all recyclables into one bin, rather than separating paper and cardboard  from plastic, glass, and metal. It’s a method that’s already been  adopted by many urban areas worldwide, with great results. To find out  more about it, I talked to Randi Mail, recycling director for the City  of Cambridge.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What are the benefits of single-stream recycling?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Single-stream means that residents can mix clean bottles and cans,  paper, and cardboard together in the same bin, so people don’t have to  sort recycling anymore. Across the country, communities have seen that  when you don’t require sorting, you get a lot more participation. It  makes it easier for people. We’re also switching to a different type of  truck that can take any size cardboard, so people won’t have to cut  their cardboard or flatten it down to three feet by three feet, which is  a huge reason why a lot of cardboard in Cambridge doesn’t make it into  the recycling truck.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;There are also going to be new materials that are going to be  accepted as part of the single-stream program: empty pizza boxes; big  plastic items like laundry baskets, buckets, plastic toys; spiral cans  like those that potato chips, coffee, or nuts come in; and empty paper  coffee cups.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The city is going to be providing large recycling toters on wheels to  all residences. Providing a bigger container also increases the amount  recycled. Sometimes when people’s bins fill up, the rest goes in the  trash. So the bigger the bin, the more recycling we’ll get. The toters  are easier to move to the curbs; they don’t require lifting. I think the  sidewalks are going to be clearer, and the trucks themselves will be  safer because they’re going to empty those toters into the back of the  truck, rather than over the top. There are a lot of different benefits,  from minimizing the trash to cleaning up the streets and just making it  easier for people to participate.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;How much do you expect recycling to increase?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Cambridge has a pretty high recycling rate already, at about 35%.  That includes yard waste, electronics, and food waste that we collect  through our composting program. We are expecting between a 10% and 25%  increase in recycling tons. We’ve worked with the state to project what  the increase will be, and they believe that we’re going to see a 25%  increase. We hope to see at least 10%. If we achieve more than that, it  will be fantastic.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Have other towns seen increased recycling rates?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Yes. The City of Boston has switched neighborhood by  neighborhood—they’ve just finished up—and they are looking at almost  doubling their recycling rate across town. Communities in Massachusetts  and across the country, like Newton and Worcester, Everett and Chelsea,  Quincy and Framingham, every one is seeing a huge increase. You  definitely see more when you give out the large toters; some communities  have not given those out and they don’t see as big of a jump.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Do you think contamination is going to rise with single-stream recycling?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;As always, bottles and cans must be emptied and rinsed out. No food  waste is accepted. As long as people are recycling correctly, there  shouldn’t be any increase in contamination. It’s not acceptable now, and  it’s not going to be acceptable in the single-stream program. If  recycling bins have trash, food waste, or other unacceptable items,  drivers have the ability to reject them by leaving an orange sitcker. We  try to be proactive about educating residents when they’re not  recycling properly, to make sure they know what to do right the next  week.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Cambridge recycling is pretty clean overall. Our processor is &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.casella.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Casella Recycling&lt;/a&gt;,  they’re based in Charlestown, and they consistently report to us that  we have no more than 3% contamination, which is very low, and they’re  able to handle that. They’ve told us that we’re probably the cleanest  load in the Boston area, and they take from about 50 communities.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Clean recycling is important because the material is marketed to  companies that use new products. Good education and immediate feedback  to the residents is key. Casella won’t accept loads with more than 7%  contamination, that’s part of our contract, and our drivers don’t want  to get their trucks rejected, because that causes problems and delays.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The first quality check is the education of residents, because if  people know what to recycle, they’re not going to put the wrong stuff in  the bins. The second check is when the drivers can reject the bins. And  then the third check is at the recycling facility, where there’s  sorting going on with different technologies and people. They’re sorting  that material and selling it back to markets, so contamination isn’t  acceptable. They’ll remove that stuff, whether it’s trash or dirty  recycling.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;How much is this whole process costing the city?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We’re looking at about $700,000 to purchase toters for 1-5 unit  buildings, and the recycling collection contract is increasing a little  bit, but really it’s going to present a savings to the city overall,  because the more that we recycle, the more the city saves. There’s about  a $60 difference between the cost to throw a ton of waste out versus  the cost to recycle a ton, so with an increase in recycling we’re going  to see disposal savings.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;How long will it be until the savings makes up for the outlay?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A few years, definitely, but long term, the city is committed to  recycling. And overall, especially with the new vehicles, I think it’s  going to make things a lot easier for residents. There are different  ways to try to increase recycling, and we’ve decided that single-stream  is going to be the one way that we definitely can do. Other communities  have implemented pay-as-you-throw systems, where residents pay for each  bag of trash that they throw out. That really hasn’t been a program that  the city has been able to consider seriously. It’s difficult to  implement with so many multi-family units, and I don’t think there’s the  political will for that kind of program. By making recycling easier and  providing bigger containers, I think we’re going to see the kind of  jump in participation that we’re looking for.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What’s happening to the old bins?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;People can continue to use the bins inside their houses if they want  to fill them up and then empty them in the toters, which would be kept  outside. If not, we’re going to be collecting bins at the curb the day  after collection through November. There may be broken bins that we  recycle, but the other ones we’ll clean, and those will be available to  people who are going to continue to use bins.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;There are basically three options for recycling come October 25.  We’re going to be providing toters to residents. If they feel that they  don’t need them or can’t fit them on their property, they have other  options. People can convert a trash can for recycling, and we have  stickers that people can put on their cans similar to the yard waste  program. And the third option, which is really the last resort, is  continuing using the small bins.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;There are two sizes of toters. Single-family homes are going to get  one small, 65-gallon toter. That’s the equivalent of 3 ½ bins.  Two-family homes are going to get two small toters, and three- to  five-unit buildings are going to get two large toters. Those are 95  gallons, and they can fit the equivalent of over 5 bins. The amount of  recycling that we see out of households is definitely going to increase  because cardboard’s going to be much easier, and we’re taking those  large plastics, so they’re going to take up more space.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If people want to change the size of their toter, they need to &lt;strong&gt;contact us by Septembe&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;r 1 &lt;/strong&gt;at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:recycle@cambridgema.gov&quot;&gt;recycle@cambridgema.gov&lt;/a&gt; or 617-349-4815, when we’re going to be putting the order in. We’ve  heard from almost 400 households who want to go bigger, go smaller, or  share a bin with a neighbor.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;em&gt; Cross-posted on &lt;a href=&quot;http://pragmaticenvironmentalism.com/&quot;&gt;pragmaticenvironmentalism.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt; -->
<!-- LESS: &lt;p&gt;&lt;a rel=&quot;attachment wp-att-5973&quot; href=&quot;http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/08/18/cambridge-switches-singlestream-recycling/logo_new/&quot;&gt;&lt;img class=&quot;alignleft size-full wp-image-5973&quot; title=&quot;DPW Logo&quot; src=&quot;http://energytwodotzero.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/logo_new.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;163&quot; height=&quot;107&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;On October 25, Cambridge is switching to &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cambridgema.gov/TheWorks/departments/recycle/singlestream.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;single-stream recycling&lt;/a&gt;.  Also called zero-sort recycling, this method allows residents to throw  all recyclables into one bin, rather than separating paper and cardboard  from plastic, glass, and metal. It’s a method that’s already been  adopted by many urban areas worldwide, with great results. To find out  more about it, I talked to Randi Mail, recycling director for the City  of Cambridge.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What are the benefits of single-stream recycling?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Single-stream means that residents can mix clean bottles and cans,  paper, and cardboard together in the same bin, so people don’t have to  sort recycling anymore. Across the country, communities have seen that  when you don’t require sorting, you get a lot more participation. It  makes it easier for people. We’re also switching to a different type of  truck that can take any size cardboard, so people won’t have to cut  their cardboard or flatten it down to three feet by three feet, which is  a huge reason why a lot of cardboard in Cambridge doesn’t make it into  the recycling truck.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;There are also going to be new materials that are going to be  accepted as part of the single-stream program: empty pizza boxes; big  plastic items like laundry baskets, buckets, plastic toys; spiral cans  like those that potato chips, coffee, or nuts come in; and empty paper  coffee cups.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The city is going to be providing large recycling toters on wheels to  all residences. Providing a bigger container also increases the amount  recycled. Sometimes when people’s bins fill up, the rest goes in the  trash. So the bigger the bin, the more recycling we’ll get. The toters  are easier to move to the curbs; they don’t require lifting. I think the  sidewalks are going to be clearer, and the trucks themselves will be  safer because they’re going to empty those toters into the back of the  truck, rather than over the top. There are a lot of different benefits,  from minimizing the trash to cleaning up the streets and just making it  easier for people to participate.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;How much do you expect recycling to increase?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Cambridge has a pretty high recycling rate already, at about 35%.  That includes yard waste, electronics, and food waste that we collect  through our composting program. We are expecting between a 10% and 25%  increase in recycling tons. We’ve worked with the state to project what  the increase will be, and they believe that we’re going to see a 25%  increase. We hope to see at least 10%. If we achieve more than that, it  will be fantastic.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Have other towns seen increased recycling rates?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Yes. The City of Boston has switched neighborhood by  neighborhood—they’ve just finished up—and they are looking at almost  doubling their recycling rate across town. Communities in Massachusetts  and across the country, like Newton and Worcester, Everett and Chelsea,  Quincy and Framingham, every one is seeing a huge increase. You  definitely see more when you give out the large toters; some communities  have not given those out and they don’t see as big of a jump.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Do you think contamination is going to rise with single-stream recycling?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;As always, bottles and cans must be emptied and rinsed out. No food  waste is accepted. As long as people are recycling correctly, there  shouldn’t be any increase in contamination. It’s not acceptable now, and  it’s not going to be acceptable in the single-stream program. If  recycling bins have trash, food waste, or other unacceptable items,  drivers have the ability to reject them by leaving an orange sitcker. We  try to be proactive about educating residents when they’re not  recycling properly, to make sure they know what to do right the next  week.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Cambridge recycling is pretty clean overall. Our processor is &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.casella.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Casella Recycling&lt;/a&gt;,  they’re based in Charlestown, and they consistently report to us that  we have no more than 3% contamination, which is very low, and they’re  able to handle that. They’ve told us that we’re probably the cleanest  load in the Boston area, and they take from about 50 communities.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Clean recycling is important because the material is marketed to  companies that use new products. Good education and immediate feedback  to the residents is key. Casella won’t accept loads with more than 7%  contamination, that’s part of our contract, and our drivers don’t want  to get their trucks rejected, because that causes problems and delays.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The first quality check is the education of residents, because if  people know what to recycle, they’re not going to put the wrong stuff in  the bins. The second check is when the drivers can reject the bins. And  then the third check is at the recycling facility, where there’s  sorting going on with different technologies and people. They’re sorting  that material and selling it back to markets, so contamination isn’t  acceptable. They’ll remove that stuff, whether it’s trash or dirty  recycling.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;How much is this whole process costing the city?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We’re looking at about $700,000 to purchase toters for 1-5 unit  buildings, and the recycling collection contract is increasing a little  bit, but really it’s going to present a savings to the city overall,  because the more that we recycle, the more the city saves. There’s about  a $60 difference between the cost to throw a ton of waste out versus  the cost to recycle a ton, so with an increase in recycling we’re going  to see disposal savings.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;How long will it be until the savings makes up for the outlay?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A few years, definitely, but long term, the city is committed to  recycling. And overall, especially with the new vehicles, I think it’s  going to make things a lot easier for residents. There are different  ways to try to increase recycling, and we’ve decided that single-stream  is going to be the one way that we definitely can do. Other communities  have implemented pay-as-you-throw systems, where residents pay for each  bag of trash that they throw out. That really hasn’t been a program that  the city has been able to consider seriously. It’s difficult to  implement with so many multi-family units, and I don’t think there’s the  political will for that kind of program. By making recycling easier and  providing bigger containers, I think we’re going to see the kind of  jump in participation that we’re looking for.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What’s happening to the old bins?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;People can continue to use the bins inside their houses if they want  to fill them up and then empty them in the toters, which would be kept  outside. If not, we’re going to be collecting bins at the curb the day  after collection through November. There may be broken bins that we  recycle, but the other ones we’ll clean, and those will be available to  people who are going to continue to use bins.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;There are basically three options for recycling come October 25.  We’re going to be providing toters to residents. If they feel that they  don’t need them or can’t fit them on their property, they have other  options. People can convert a trash can for recycling, and we have  stickers that people can put on their cans similar to the yard waste  program. And the third option, which is really the last resort, is  continuing using the small bins.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;There are two sizes of toters. Single-family homes are going to get  one small, 65-gallon toter. That’s the equivalent of 3 ½ bins.  Two-family homes are going to get two small toters, and three- to  five-unit buildings are going to get two large toters. Those are 95  gallons, and they can fit the equivalent of over 5 bins. The amount of  recycling that we see out of households is definitely going to increase  because cardboard’s going to be much easier, and we’re taking those  large plastics, so they’re going to take up more space.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If people want to change the size of their toter, they need to &lt;strong&gt;contact us by Septembe&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;r 1 &lt;/strong&gt;at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:recycle@cambridgema.gov&quot;&gt;recycle@cambridgema.gov&lt;/a&gt; or 617-349-4815, when we’re going to be putting the order in. We’ve  heard from almost 400 households who want to go bigger, go smaller, or  share a bin with a neighbor.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;em&gt; Cross-posted on &lt;a href=&quot;http://pragmaticenvironmentalism.com/&quot;&gt;pragmaticenvironmentalism.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt; --><div class="advanced_excerpt"><p><a rel="attachment wp-att-5973" href="http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/08/18/cambridge-switches-singlestream-recycling/logo_new/"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-5973" title="DPW Logo" src="http://energytwodotzero.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/logo_new.jpg" alt="" width="163" height="107" /></a>On October 25, Cambridge is switching to <a href="http://www.cambridgema.gov/TheWorks/departments/recycle/singlestream.html" target="_blank">single-stream recycling</a>.  Also called zero-sort recycling, this method allows residents to throw  all recyclables into one bin, rather than separating paper and cardboard  from plastic, glass, and metal.&#8230;</p></div>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/08/18/cambridge-switches-singlestream-recycling/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>&#8220;The Story of Cap and Trade&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/08/13/story-cap-trade-short-film/</link>
		<comments>http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/08/13/story-cap-trade-short-film/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Aug 2010 16:42:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>JesseGorden</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fossil Fuels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics & Policy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cap and trade]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[carbon emissions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[video]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://energytwodotzero.org/?p=5946</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
<!-- TEXT: &lt;p&gt;&lt;img class=&quot;alignleft size-medium wp-image-5948&quot; src=&quot;http://energytwodotzero.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/The_Story_of_CAP_and_TRADE-300x153.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; height=&quot;153&quot; /&gt;One possible step toward Climate Change mitigation, &lt;a href=&quot;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emissions_trading&quot;&gt;cap and trade&lt;/a&gt; is a prominent topic of discussion among government officials and environmentally-concerned citizens alike. This very short film (by the creators of &lt;a href=&quot;http://energytwodotzero.org/2009/05/28/the-story-of-stuff/&quot;&gt;“Story of Stuff”&lt;/a&gt;)  offers a comprehensive look into the cap &amp; trade system, and carefully questions its legitimacy. This is an informative piece on a very comfortable level that will boost your understanding of what the true philosophies behind, benefits of, and concerns with cap and trade systems are. I recommend taking a couple of  minutes to check it out, and then sharing with your friends.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.storyofstuff.com/capandtrade/&quot;&gt;Or watch here&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
 -->
<!-- LESS: &lt;p&gt;&lt;img class=&quot;alignleft size-medium wp-image-5948&quot; src=&quot;http://energytwodotzero.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/The_Story_of_CAP_and_TRADE-300x153.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; height=&quot;153&quot; /&gt;One possible step toward Climate Change mitigation, &lt;a href=&quot;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emissions_trading&quot;&gt;cap and trade&lt;/a&gt; is a prominent topic of discussion among government officials and environmentally-concerned citizens alike. This very short film (by the creators of &lt;a href=&quot;http://energytwodotzero.org/2009/05/28/the-story-of-stuff/&quot;&gt;“Story of Stuff”&lt;/a&gt;)  offers a comprehensive look into the cap &amp; trade system, and carefully questions its legitimacy. This is an informative piece on a very comfortable level that will boost your understanding of what the true philosophies behind, benefits of, and concerns with cap and trade systems are. I recommend taking a couple of  minutes to check it out, and then sharing with your friends.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;iframe src=&quot;http://player.vimeo.com/video/7908590&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;256&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.storyofstuff.com/capandtrade/&quot;&gt;Or watch here&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
 --><div class="advanced_excerpt"><p><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-5948" src="http://energytwodotzero.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/The_Story_of_CAP_and_TRADE-300x153.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="153" />One possible step toward Climate Change mitigation, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emissions_trading">cap and trade</a> is a prominent topic of discussion among government officials and environmentally-concerned citizens alike. This very short film (by the creators of <a href="http://energytwodotzero.org/2009/05/28/the-story-of-stuff/">“Story of Stuff”</a>)  offers a comprehensive look into the cap &#38; trade system, and carefully questions its legitimacy.&#8230;</p></div>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/08/13/story-cap-trade-short-film/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Are you living in a hot air balloon?</title>
		<link>http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/08/11/living-hot-air-balloon/</link>
		<comments>http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/08/11/living-hot-air-balloon/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 11 Aug 2010 14:44:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>JPierce</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Conservation & Efficiency]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Home]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Saving Money]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[windows ventilation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://energytwodotzero.org/?p=5937</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
<!-- TEXT: &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/heartlover1717/208565068/&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm1.static.flickr.com/88/208565068_145138829c_m.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Pittsfield Hot Air Balloon Rally - 2006 by Heartlover1717&quot; width=&quot;240&quot; height=&quot;180&quot; class=&quot;alignright&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; Although double-hung windows are quite common in the Boston area, it seems many people do not take full advantage of their features. With proper use, windows can increase comfort, and all but eliminate the need for air conditioning; and on the odd days where lemonade and mind-over-matter won&#8217;t cut it, visit a local library or catch a movie.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;How can you take full advantage of windows? If you have two, placing a fan in one to blow warm air out during the evening will pull cool air in the other, especially with a closed door. If you have only one window, a window fan with two fans blowing in opposite directions will also pull air through a space. These are rather obvious practices, but there is a no-cost technique particular to double-hung windows: opening the top sash.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/dawniecakes/3983067964/&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3437/3983067964_d30170df26_m.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;IMG_1548 by dawniecakes&quot; width=&quot;180&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; class=&quot;alignleft&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; If you have but one window, open both the top and bottom sash&#8217;s part-way. If you have two windows, you can open the top sash of one and the bottom sash of another. Using the top sash allows for a natural convection current to develop. Since warm air rises, it can more easily flow out of the top sash, while cooler air replaces it from the bottom. If you open only the bottom sash air above the window is caught in a bubble (like a hot air balloon), and will only cool down through dilution as the air in the top and bottom of the room slowly mix.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Storm windows can complicate the procedure of getting windows into the above configurations, but the problem is not insurmountable. You may also be concerned about bugs, since many double-hung windows only contain a single screen. Use the screen to cover the bottom opening. Since bugs naturally fly up to escape windows, any errant insects will be able to easily evacuate your home over the top sash.&lt;/p&gt;
 -->
<!-- LESS: &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/heartlover1717/208565068/&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm1.static.flickr.com/88/208565068_145138829c_m.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Pittsfield Hot Air Balloon Rally - 2006 by Heartlover1717&quot; width=&quot;240&quot; height=&quot;180&quot; class=&quot;alignright&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; Although double-hung windows are quite common in the Boston area, it seems many people do not take full advantage of their features. With proper use, windows can increase comfort, and all but eliminate the need for air conditioning; and on the odd days where lemonade and mind-over-matter won&#8217;t cut it, visit a local library or catch a movie.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;How can you take full advantage of windows? If you have two, placing a fan in one to blow warm air out during the evening will pull cool air in the other, especially with a closed door. If you have only one window, a window fan with two fans blowing in opposite directions will also pull air through a space. These are rather obvious practices, but there is a no-cost technique particular to double-hung windows: opening the top sash.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/dawniecakes/3983067964/&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3437/3983067964_d30170df26_m.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;IMG_1548 by dawniecakes&quot; width=&quot;180&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; class=&quot;alignleft&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; If you have but one window, open both the top and bottom sash&#8217;s part-way. If you have two windows, you can open the top sash of one and the bottom sash of another. Using the top sash allows for a natural convection current to develop. Since warm air rises, it can more easily flow out of the top sash, while cooler air replaces it from the bottom. If you open only the bottom sash air above the window is caught in a bubble (like a hot air balloon), and will only cool down through dilution as the air in the top and bottom of the room slowly mix.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Storm windows can complicate the procedure of getting windows into the above configurations, but the problem is not insurmountable. You may also be concerned about bugs, since many double-hung windows only contain a single screen. Use the screen to cover the bottom opening. Since bugs naturally fly up to escape windows, any errant insects will be able to easily evacuate your home over the top sash.&lt;/p&gt;
 --><div class="advanced_excerpt"><p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/heartlover1717/208565068/"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/88/208565068_145138829c_m.jpg" alt="Pittsfield Hot Air Balloon Rally - 2006 by Heartlover1717" width="240" height="180" class="alignright" /></a> Although double-hung windows are quite common in the Boston area, it seems many people do not take full advantage of their features. With proper use, windows can increase comfort, and all but eliminate the need for air conditioning; and on the odd days where lemonade and mind-over-matter won&#8217;t cut it, visit a local library or catch a movie.&#8230;</p></div>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/08/11/living-hot-air-balloon/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Human body: Enough phosphorous for 2200 matches and&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/08/06/human-body-phosphorous-2200-matches/</link>
		<comments>http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/08/06/human-body-phosphorous-2200-matches/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 06 Aug 2010 21:12:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>JPierce</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Other]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://energytwodotzero.org/?p=5831</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
<!-- TEXT: &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/tranpalitu/2419054235/&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3120/2419054235_8bc54063f7_m.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Bisphenol_A by marcospozo&quot; width=&quot;91&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; class=&quot;alignleft&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&hellip;lots of unsavory chemicals according to the latest biennial &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cdc.gov/exposurereport/&quot;&gt;National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals&lt;/a&gt; from the &lt;acronym title=&quot;Centers for Disease Control&quot;&gt;CDC&lt;/acronym&gt;. One finding that is getting a lot of attention is that 90% of the people assayed had the endocrine disruptor Bisphenol-A (BPA) in their systems. Many of you are probably aware that BPA can be found in polycarbonate bottles and some &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.uspirg.org/home/reports/report-archives/healthy-communities/healthy-communities/no-silver-lining-an-investigation-into-bisphenol-a-in-canned-foods&quot;&gt;canned goods&lt;/a&gt;, especially those of acidic foods such as tomato paste where it is used in corrosion prevention coatings. A less obvious route of exposure? &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2010/07/29/con-bpa-receipts.html&quot;&gt;Many cash register and ATM receipts&lt;/a&gt; from thermal printers are covered in BPA which may &lt;a href=&quot;http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2010/07/29/bpa-found-on-store-receipts-group-says/&quot;&gt;deeply penetrate the skin&lt;/a&gt; in casual contact.&lt;/p&gt;
 -->
<!-- LESS: &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/tranpalitu/2419054235/&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3120/2419054235_8bc54063f7_m.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Bisphenol_A by marcospozo&quot; width=&quot;91&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; class=&quot;alignleft&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&hellip;lots of unsavory chemicals according to the latest biennial &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cdc.gov/exposurereport/&quot;&gt;National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals&lt;/a&gt; from the &lt;acronym title=&quot;Centers for Disease Control&quot;&gt;CDC&lt;/acronym&gt;. One finding that is getting a lot of attention is that 90% of the people assayed had the endocrine disruptor Bisphenol-A (BPA) in their systems. Many of you are probably aware that BPA can be found in polycarbonate bottles and some &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.uspirg.org/home/reports/report-archives/healthy-communities/healthy-communities/no-silver-lining-an-investigation-into-bisphenol-a-in-canned-foods&quot;&gt;canned goods&lt;/a&gt;, especially those of acidic foods such as tomato paste where it is used in corrosion prevention coatings. A less obvious route of exposure? &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2010/07/29/con-bpa-receipts.html&quot;&gt;Many cash register and ATM receipts&lt;/a&gt; from thermal printers are covered in BPA which may &lt;a href=&quot;http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2010/07/29/bpa-found-on-store-receipts-group-says/&quot;&gt;deeply penetrate the skin&lt;/a&gt; in casual contact.&lt;/p&gt;
 --><div class="advanced_excerpt"><p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tranpalitu/2419054235/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3120/2419054235_8bc54063f7_m.jpg" alt="Bisphenol_A by marcospozo" width="91" height="240" class="alignleft" /></a>&#8230;lots of unsavory chemicals according to the latest biennial <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/exposurereport/">National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals</a> from the <acronym title="Centers for Disease Control">CDC</acronym>. One finding that is getting a lot of attention is that 90% of the people assayed had the endocrine disruptor Bisphenol-A (BPA) in their systems.&#8230;</p></div>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/08/06/human-body-phosphorous-2200-matches/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Paid not to extract oil: Ecuador Sets Environmental Precedent</title>
		<link>http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/08/05/paid-extract-oil-ecuador-sets-environmental-precedent/</link>
		<comments>http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/08/05/paid-extract-oil-ecuador-sets-environmental-precedent/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 05 Aug 2010 18:54:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>trevort</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fossil Fuels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics & Policy]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://energytwodotzero.org/?p=5919</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
<!-- TEXT: &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/dejeuxx/4354008675/&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4042/4354008675_2b9925244d_m.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Reflections, Yasuni by ggallice&quot; width=&quot;171&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; class=&quot;alignright&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; The idea of paying people not to do something is often met with unease and suspicion. However, sometimes it is the only realistic alternative when faced with the destruction of the environment. Even in the United States—a developed, first-world country—some farmers are paid annually not to grow crops in order to preserve soil quality, and this is only one example of many.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A similar program unfolding over the past few months has recently come to fruition. A group of countries—Germany, Spain, France, Sweden, and Switzerland—has agreed to pay Ecuador $1.5 billion out of an eventual $3.6 billion not to drill for oil in the Yasuni Rainforest. The oil reserve contains an estimated $7 billion of oil at today&#8217;s market prices, but it is located under one of the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.wri.org/stories/2009/01/ecuador-proposes-leaving-oil-untapped-protect-forests-and-people&quot;&gt;most biodiverse areas of the world&lt;/a&gt;. In fact, in just 2.5 acres acres of the Yasuni Rainforest, there are as many tree species as in all of the United States and Canada combined.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/joshbousel/4050996821/&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2626/4050996821_53c8b14e9a_m.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Yasuni National Park by joshbousel&quot; width=&quot;240&quot; height=&quot;159&quot; class=&quot;alignleft&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; When one hears of a deal similar to this one, the first words that come to mind are extortion and blackmail: unless other countries pay Ecuador money, Ecuador will destroy the rainforest. However, one must keep in mind that Ecuador is accepting about half of the money that it otherwise would receive if it were to extract the oil. Also, the countries that paid Ecuador not to drill are receiving benefits themselves: &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2010/2010-08-04-02.html&quot;&gt;400 million tons of carbon dioxide will be prevented from entering the atmosphere&lt;/a&gt; and many endangered species of both plants and animals will be protected.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In the end, all benefit. Ecuador receives money &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100525103939.htm&quot;&gt;to promote development and reduce poverty&lt;/a&gt; in compensation for not developing their natural resources, while the rest of us can enjoy a healthier planet. Hopefully other countries will follow in the footsteps of the precedent that Ecuador so that the world will have one more tool in the fight against global warming and species extinction.&lt;/p&gt;
 -->
<!-- LESS: &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/dejeuxx/4354008675/&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4042/4354008675_2b9925244d_m.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Reflections, Yasuni by ggallice&quot; width=&quot;171&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; class=&quot;alignright&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; The idea of paying people not to do something is often met with unease and suspicion. However, sometimes it is the only realistic alternative when faced with the destruction of the environment. Even in the United States—a developed, first-world country—some farmers are paid annually not to grow crops in order to preserve soil quality, and this is only one example of many.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A similar program unfolding over the past few months has recently come to fruition. A group of countries—Germany, Spain, France, Sweden, and Switzerland—has agreed to pay Ecuador $1.5 billion out of an eventual $3.6 billion not to drill for oil in the Yasuni Rainforest. The oil reserve contains an estimated $7 billion of oil at today&#8217;s market prices, but it is located under one of the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.wri.org/stories/2009/01/ecuador-proposes-leaving-oil-untapped-protect-forests-and-people&quot;&gt;most biodiverse areas of the world&lt;/a&gt;. In fact, in just 2.5 acres acres of the Yasuni Rainforest, there are as many tree species as in all of the United States and Canada combined.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/joshbousel/4050996821/&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2626/4050996821_53c8b14e9a_m.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Yasuni National Park by joshbousel&quot; width=&quot;240&quot; height=&quot;159&quot; class=&quot;alignleft&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; When one hears of a deal similar to this one, the first words that come to mind are extortion and blackmail: unless other countries pay Ecuador money, Ecuador will destroy the rainforest. However, one must keep in mind that Ecuador is accepting about half of the money that it otherwise would receive if it were to extract the oil. Also, the countries that paid Ecuador not to drill are receiving benefits themselves: &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2010/2010-08-04-02.html&quot;&gt;400 million tons of carbon dioxide will be prevented from entering the atmosphere&lt;/a&gt; and many endangered species of both plants and animals will be protected.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In the end, all benefit. Ecuador receives money &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100525103939.htm&quot;&gt;to promote development and reduce poverty&lt;/a&gt; in compensation for not developing their natural resources, while the rest of us can enjoy a healthier planet. Hopefully other countries will follow in the footsteps of the precedent that Ecuador so that the world will have one more tool in the fight against global warming and species extinction.&lt;/p&gt;
 --><div class="advanced_excerpt"><p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dejeuxx/4354008675/"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4042/4354008675_2b9925244d_m.jpg" alt="Reflections, Yasuni by ggallice" width="171" height="240" class="alignright" /></a> The idea of paying people not to do something is often met with unease and suspicion. However, sometimes it is the only realistic alternative when faced with the destruction of the environment.&#8230;</p></div>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/08/05/paid-extract-oil-ecuador-sets-environmental-precedent/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>State of the World 2010</title>
		<link>http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/08/04/state-world-2010/</link>
		<comments>http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/08/04/state-world-2010/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 04 Aug 2010 23:15:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>LMcCloskey</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fossil Fuels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics & Policy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Transportation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Utilities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[carbon emissions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Climate]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://energytwodotzero.org/?p=5833</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
<!-- TEXT: &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/get-file.php?report=global&amp;file=map-blended-mntp&amp;byear=2010&amp;bmonth=4&amp;year=2010&amp;month=6&amp;ext=gif&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/get-file.php?report=global&amp;file=map-blended-mntp&amp;byear=2010&amp;bmonth=4&amp;year=2010&amp;month=6&amp;ext=gif&amp;thumb=true/&quot; height=&quot;245&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; class=&quot;alignleft&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.noaa.gov/about-noaa.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration&lt;/a&gt; released its annual &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/?report=global&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;climate report&lt;/a&gt; last week and for the first time, confirmed that &#8220;global warming is undeniable&#8221;. This statement affirming &lt;a href=&quot;http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/climatechange/figure_4.jpg/image_view&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;climate change&lt;/a&gt; is the first by a US government organization and comes three years after the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ipcc.ch/organization/organization.htm&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change&lt;/a&gt; announced in its &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/publications_and_data_reports.htm#1&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Fourth Assessment&lt;/a&gt; that climate change is &#8220;unequivocal&#8221;. The NOAA used a total of 37 measures in the State of Climate report, highlighting ten as especially relevant: humidity, sea-surface temperature, sea ice cover, snow cover, ocean heat content, glacier cover, air temperature in the lower atmosphere, sea level, temperature over land and temperature over oceans. Also, new data released by the NOAA shows that 90% of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases emitted over the past 50 years has been absorbed by oceans. The scientific community has long debated the validity of global warming and despite the fact that most scientists now agree that climate change is occurring, there is no way to know precisely how the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/globalwarming/temperature-change.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;increased carbon levels&lt;/a&gt; will impact the global environment. Some aspects of climate change have already become apparent, such as rising temperatures, melting glaciers and increasing storminess, but no model can exactly predict how the earth&#8217;s global ecosystem will act to balance the unprecedented levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The timing of the release of the State of the Climate 2010 is also interesting, as it comes several weeks after a &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/22/AR2010072203614.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;comprehensive climate bill&lt;/a&gt; suffered a major blow in the Senate.&lt;/p&gt;
 -->
<!-- LESS: &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/get-file.php?report=global&amp;file=map-blended-mntp&amp;byear=2010&amp;bmonth=4&amp;year=2010&amp;month=6&amp;ext=gif&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/get-file.php?report=global&amp;file=map-blended-mntp&amp;byear=2010&amp;bmonth=4&amp;year=2010&amp;month=6&amp;ext=gif&amp;thumb=true/&quot; height=&quot;245&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; class=&quot;alignleft&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.noaa.gov/about-noaa.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration&lt;/a&gt; released its annual &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/?report=global&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;climate report&lt;/a&gt; last week and for the first time, confirmed that &#8220;global warming is undeniable&#8221;. This statement affirming &lt;a href=&quot;http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/climatechange/figure_4.jpg/image_view&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;climate change&lt;/a&gt; is the first by a US government organization and comes three years after the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ipcc.ch/organization/organization.htm&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change&lt;/a&gt; announced in its &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/publications_and_data_reports.htm#1&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Fourth Assessment&lt;/a&gt; that climate change is &#8220;unequivocal&#8221;. The NOAA used a total of 37 measures in the State of Climate report, highlighting ten as especially relevant: humidity, sea-surface temperature, sea ice cover, snow cover, ocean heat content, glacier cover, air temperature in the lower atmosphere, sea level, temperature over land and temperature over oceans. Also, new data released by the NOAA shows that 90% of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases emitted over the past 50 years has been absorbed by oceans. The scientific community has long debated the validity of global warming and despite the fact that most scientists now agree that climate change is occurring, there is no way to know precisely how the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/globalwarming/temperature-change.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;increased carbon levels&lt;/a&gt; will impact the global environment. Some aspects of climate change have already become apparent, such as rising temperatures, melting glaciers and increasing storminess, but no model can exactly predict how the earth&#8217;s global ecosystem will act to balance the unprecedented levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The timing of the release of the State of the Climate 2010 is also interesting, as it comes several weeks after a &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/22/AR2010072203614.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;comprehensive climate bill&lt;/a&gt; suffered a major blow in the Senate.&lt;/p&gt;
 --><div class="advanced_excerpt"><p><a href="http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/get-file.php?report=global&#038;file=map-blended-mntp&#038;byear=2010&#038;bmonth=4&#038;year=2010&#038;month=6&#038;ext=gif"><img src="http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/get-file.php?report=global&#038;file=map-blended-mntp&#038;byear=2010&#038;bmonth=4&#038;year=2010&#038;month=6&#038;ext=gif&#038;thumb=true/" height="245" width="300" class="alignleft"/></a></p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.noaa.gov/about-noaa.html" target="_blank">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a> released its annual <a href="http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/?report=global" target="_blank">climate report</a> last week and for the first time, confirmed that &#8220;global warming is undeniable&#8221;. This statement affirming <a href="http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/climatechange/figure_4.jpg/image_view" target="_blank">climate change</a> is the first by a US government organization and comes three years after the <a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/organization/organization.htm" target="_blank">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a> announced in its <a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/publications_and_data_reports.htm#1" target="_blank">Fourth Assessment</a> that climate change is &#8220;unequivocal&#8221;.&#8230;</p></div>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/08/04/state-world-2010/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Green Sells: Energy Upgrades Raise Home Value</title>
		<link>http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/08/04/green-sells-energy-upgrades-raise-home/</link>
		<comments>http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/08/04/green-sells-energy-upgrades-raise-home/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 04 Aug 2010 20:18:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>joshlynch</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Conservation & Efficiency]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Electricity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Improvements]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[energy star]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Real Estate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[resale value]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://energytwodotzero.org/?p=5888</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
<!-- TEXT: &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/2960675738/&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://energytwodotzero.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/houses.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Row of purple Monopoloy houses with a green house in the middle.&quot; title=&quot;Green your home to make it stand out&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; height=&quot;200&quot; class=&quot;alignright size-full wp-image-5914&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;The housing market, like the U.S. economy, is a mess. GDP growth &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/30/AR2010073000806.html&quot;&gt;dropped&lt;/a&gt; from 3.7% to 2.4% in the second quarter. In the housing market shrinking incomes and greater lender restrictions mean fewer qualified buyers are looking, which is driving down prices.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Here is the bottom line: if you want to sell your home without losing your shirt, you need an edge.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;To find an edge, just look to the part of the economy that&#8217;s still growing &#8211; the green sector. In Massachusetts, major utility companies have &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2010/01/mass_unveils_en.html&quot;&gt;stepped up energy efficiency investments this year&lt;/a&gt; with the goal of tripling enrollment in their programs. A &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ren21.net/globalstatusreport/g2010.asp&quot;&gt;recent report&lt;/a&gt; funded in part by the state department states that renewable energy use is at &#8220;a clear tipping point&#8221; for growth. Never before has it been more affordable to green your home.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Green home improvements enhance comfort, make homes more durable, save on monthly utility costs, and reduce pollution. One benefit that people don&#8217;t often think about is higher resale value. While your real estate agent may have asked you to add a fresh coat of paint, refinish your basement, or plant some flowers to spice things up, she probably hasn&#8217;t asked you to upgrade your insulation or qualify your home for ENERGY STAR.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.energycheckup.com/content/IncreaseHomeValue.asp&quot;&gt;recent study&lt;/a&gt; published in The Appraisal Journal indicates that the market value of a home increases by $10 &#8211; $25 for every $1 decrease in annual fuel bills. An ENERGY STAR qualified 3,000 square foot new house can save around $800 per year (around $70/month) on utility bills compared to the standard new home. According to the report, this level of investment in improvements would add $8,000 to $25,000 to the market value. Energy savings and sale value benefits to existing homes are typically even higher because of the greater opportunity to upgrade energy performance. And unlike a new paint job, these investments will actually pay for themselves.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The financial benefits of energy improvements don&#8217;t stop at utility savings and higher market value. The &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.massenergystarhomes.com/&quot;&gt;New Homes with ENERGY STAR&lt;/a&gt; program provides an incentive of $750 to $8000 to homeowners, builders, realtors, or architects who meet standards that are 15-60% more energy efficient than a standard home, depending on the level you want to shoot for. Whoever applies to the program can earn the incentive.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Additions of at least 500 square feet can qualify for ENERGY STAR as well. To qualify, you need a third-party Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Rater to verify that the home is truly energy efficient. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.totalgreenenergysolution.com&quot;&gt;Total Green Energy Solution&lt;/a&gt; will do a HERS Rating for new homes or additions in Massachusetts at a price that is typically fully recouped with program incentives.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;So, as you get ready to unload the biggest financial investment of your life, take the time to sell it right: go green first.&lt;/p&gt;
 -->
<!-- LESS: &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/2960675738/&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://energytwodotzero.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/houses.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Row of purple Monopoloy houses with a green house in the middle.&quot; title=&quot;Green your home to make it stand out&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; height=&quot;200&quot; class=&quot;alignright size-full wp-image-5914&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;The housing market, like the U.S. economy, is a mess. GDP growth &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/30/AR2010073000806.html&quot;&gt;dropped&lt;/a&gt; from 3.7% to 2.4% in the second quarter. In the housing market shrinking incomes and greater lender restrictions mean fewer qualified buyers are looking, which is driving down prices.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Here is the bottom line: if you want to sell your home without losing your shirt, you need an edge.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;To find an edge, just look to the part of the economy that&#8217;s still growing &#8211; the green sector. In Massachusetts, major utility companies have &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2010/01/mass_unveils_en.html&quot;&gt;stepped up energy efficiency investments this year&lt;/a&gt; with the goal of tripling enrollment in their programs. A &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ren21.net/globalstatusreport/g2010.asp&quot;&gt;recent report&lt;/a&gt; funded in part by the state department states that renewable energy use is at &#8220;a clear tipping point&#8221; for growth. Never before has it been more affordable to green your home.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Green home improvements enhance comfort, make homes more durable, save on monthly utility costs, and reduce pollution. One benefit that people don&#8217;t often think about is higher resale value. While your real estate agent may have asked you to add a fresh coat of paint, refinish your basement, or plant some flowers to spice things up, she probably hasn&#8217;t asked you to upgrade your insulation or qualify your home for ENERGY STAR.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.energycheckup.com/content/IncreaseHomeValue.asp&quot;&gt;recent study&lt;/a&gt; published in The Appraisal Journal indicates that the market value of a home increases by $10 &#8211; $25 for every $1 decrease in annual fuel bills. An ENERGY STAR qualified 3,000 square foot new house can save around $800 per year (around $70/month) on utility bills compared to the standard new home. According to the report, this level of investment in improvements would add $8,000 to $25,000 to the market value. Energy savings and sale value benefits to existing homes are typically even higher because of the greater opportunity to upgrade energy performance. And unlike a new paint job, these investments will actually pay for themselves.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The financial benefits of energy improvements don&#8217;t stop at utility savings and higher market value. The &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.massenergystarhomes.com/&quot;&gt;New Homes with ENERGY STAR&lt;/a&gt; program provides an incentive of $750 to $8000 to homeowners, builders, realtors, or architects who meet standards that are 15-60% more energy efficient than a standard home, depending on the level you want to shoot for. Whoever applies to the program can earn the incentive.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Additions of at least 500 square feet can qualify for ENERGY STAR as well. To qualify, you need a third-party Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Rater to verify that the home is truly energy efficient. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.totalgreenenergysolution.com&quot;&gt;Total Green Energy Solution&lt;/a&gt; will do a HERS Rating for new homes or additions in Massachusetts at a price that is typically fully recouped with program incentives.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;So, as you get ready to unload the biggest financial investment of your life, take the time to sell it right: go green first.&lt;/p&gt;
 --><div class="advanced_excerpt"><p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/2960675738/"><img src="http://energytwodotzero.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/houses.jpg" alt="Row of purple Monopoloy houses with a green house in the middle." title="Green your home to make it stand out" width="300" height="200" class="alignright size-full wp-image-5914" /></a>The housing market, like the U.S. economy, is a mess. GDP growth <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/30/AR2010073000806.html">dropped</a> from 3.7% to 2.4% in the second quarter. In the housing market shrinking incomes and greater lender restrictions mean fewer qualified buyers are looking, which is driving down prices.&#8230;</p></div>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://energytwodotzero.org/2010/08/04/green-sells-energy-upgrades-raise-home/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>
