CEA canvassing interns: Stephanie, Mira, Danit, Trevor, Federico, Laurence

On July 7th CEA’s six volunteers took to the streets for the first time, canvassing businesses in Inman Square, and eastward on Cambridge Street. Over the next three weeks, they would reach out to over 440 people in small local businesses—barber shops, cafes, hardware stores, book stores, florists, bars, convenience stores, restaurants, bike shops, you name it—in North Cambridge, Leslie and Porter Square, Harvard Square and Church Street, Mount Auburn and Brattle Street, Dana Hill, Bow Street, Central Square, Lafayette, Concord Ave, Huron, East Cambridge, and Broadway.

In 90+ degree heat, over previously unfamiliar terrain, and sometimes through rain storms, the teams of interns  met with over 190 business owners and discussed energy efficiency opportunities—programs and incentives from… [view entry]

CEA canvassing interns: Trevor, Laurence, Stephanie, Mira, Danit, Federico

Starting Wednesday, July 7th, a city-wide canvass will be visiting Cambridge business squares, bringing money- and planet-saving opportunities to the doors of hundreds of small businesses.  Canvassers will talk with business owners about what they can do to make their businesses more energy efficient, supplying them with ample information about which programs to employ to best suit their needs. During these short interactions, businesses will have the chance to sign up for a free energy assessment, and connect with other community resources including:

The City of Cambridge Facade Improvement Program provides technical and financial assistance to property owners or tenants seeking to renovate or restore commercial building exterior facades.

The City of Cambridge Better Retail Practices Program helps Cambridge retailers

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On March 6th, 84 residents at Peabody Terrace participated in an incandescent light bulb swap for compact fluorescent bulbs. Residents received one free CFL for every incandescent bulb they turned in—over 200 efficient CFLs found homes. The CFLs were provided by the Cambridge Energy Alliance and Harvard Real Estate Services (HRES). HEET, CEA, and HRES organized the promotion and logistics of this successful competition.

During the swap, residents learned about other ways to cut their carbon emissions—seasonable tips also available—and many signed up for a two-month long competition to see who can reduce them the most.

The results are in!

Apartments reduced their electricity use by an average of 11%
The top six winners reduced their electricity use by 30%
And the first place prize winner reduced electricity

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Clear Conscience Café, Toscanini’s Ice Cream and the Central Square Business Association will sponsor “Clean Up Central Square” Sunday, April 25, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.

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On Sunday, February 21, eighteen volunteers participated in a community canvass campaign to spread awareness about simple home improvements to save money, energy, and the planet. The event organized by the Home Energy Efficiency Team and the Cambridge Energy Alliance sought to help cut carbon emissions in East Cambridge through a CFL light bulb exchange.

Exchanging incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescents is one of the easiest and effective ways to reduce energy use at home. A compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) will save about $30 over its lifetime and pay for itself in about 6 months. It uses 75 percent less energy and lasts about 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb. If every Massachusetts household would exchange just one incandescent light bulb to an energy saving CFL,… [view entry]

This past Sunday, August 9th, 24 Community members traveled door to door in the Riverside neighborhood of Cambridge distributing free energy efficient compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs and efficiency resources to hundreds of homes. These volunteers exchanged a total of Four hundred and forty-two CFL bulbs over the course of four hours, the equivalent of saving 132,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions from being emitted into the atmosphere per year. A great Success!

This community event, organized by the Cambridge Energy Alliance (CEA) and the Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET) , was held in order to help residents lower their home energy consumption and cut carbon emissions in Cambridge. The HEET organization regularly participates in community barn raising events to help Cambridge residents lower their carbon footprint by implementing… [view entry]

Lilah Glick & Alexandra Soto

My name is Alexandra Soto, I’m going to be a high school senior in Puerto Rico. I aspire to eventually become a successful, respected, businesswoman. In order to get ahead in my future goals, I decided to appreciate my summer as best as possible. Therefore I enrolled in Summer Discovery at Northeastern University, a high school student’s enrichment program where one can take college credit classes or participate in a summer business internship. I chose the business internship part of the program and had the opportunity to volunteer at the Cambridge Energy Alliance.

The CEA is a non-profit environmental organization, currently working to reduce Cambridge’s carbon footprint.  During the course of my internship I feel that I enriched greatly in… [view entry]