NRCM Blog

How to keep cool and save energy this summer

Something we use to save a bunch of global warming gases and $$$

Tip: After insulating our house we now...

Manipulate the windows and oversize thick curtains and blinds to take advantage of temperature changes during the day.

In warm weather, we watch the thermometer, and when it cools, we open most of our windows to let in the cool air.  Then in the morning we close all the windows, blinds and curtains until it re-cools in the evening - thus trapping in the cool air.  Then we repeat the process.

In cold weather, we reverse things - we open all the south, west and east facing blinds and curtains during the day, and close them at night.

We use overhead and window fans to increase the effect.

It is nothing for us to raise or lower the temperature in our house by 4 to 5 degrees.  We have used the air conditioning one day this year, and we live in Virginia when we are not in Maine.

By the way, we usually take the train to Boston, and the bus to Bangor when we visit Maine.  We us an econo rental car to get around.

Greg and Catharine Moser
Richmond, VA

What are you doing to save energy in your home and workplace this summer?  We would love to hear from you.  Post your tips on our blog and check back often at http://blog.nrcm.org to learn about what others are doing.

Bicycling to work: less carbon, less money, more exercise, and more ice cream!

I thought it was about time to share with you all my adventures in bike commuting from Great Pond in North Belgrade to our office in Augusta this summer! I’ve been meaning to post an entry but it seems that the only time I’ve had to write has been while I’ve been riding my bike! I began longer distance bike commuting last summer when I decided to move out to our family’s camp on Great Pond. I found an excellent deal on a road bike on Craig’s List, got some shoes, new bike helmet, and some spandex and hit the road. I’d done some bike commuting previously when I lived in Boulder, CO, and Burlington, VT, but my trips were never longer than 10 miles round trip. Now that I moved out to camp I had a 20-mile ride each way! Because I wasn’t as comfortable on one of the roads which had a narrow shoulder, I decided to ease into it by driving 7.5 miles and parking my car at Christie’s on Rte. 27 and biking the remaining 12.5 miles to work. I probably did this an average of 2-3 times per week and worked from home one day per week. I thoroughly enjoyed this time on my bike, and became more comfortable as the summer passed by....

Motorcycling Saves Dollars and Makes Sense

I have always been a wee bit more adventurous than some, and had been considering buying a motorcycle to cut down on the gasoline I burn.  We American citizens have all been too cavalier about our fuel consumption.  Now that our prices are catching up with those in the rest of the world, we are forced to find new ways to cut back.

Since I am now 55 years old, and am not quite as fearless as I once was, I decided to take a motorcycle driver education class.  I wanted to make sure I had some instruction in proper riding and safety issues, and truthfully, I wasn’t certain that I would even enjoy riding a cycle at this stage of life.  I took a very thorough 2-day instructional class, actually riding a bike through training lessons.  I highly recommend anyone who has never ridden to go this route; you learn a lot about handling the motorcycle as well as rules and regulations.

After taking the class, I decided to buy a bike of my own.  I purchased a Suzuki 250.  It is a size that I am very comfortable with, and where I used to put about $60.00 worth of gas into my SUV, I now ride the bike to work and around town for errands, including to my grandchildren’s sporting events.  I estimate that it has saved me about 25 gallons of gas per week, and leaves a much smaller ecological footprint.  Another added benefit is that as I ride along, I notice many things I never did in my closed-in vehicle, such as the sight of an eagle flying along the river, the smell of fresh-cut grass, the feel of patches of warmer or cooler air, to name a few.

Cheryl Maschino

Scooter Update - Gas savings and grocery shopping

It has been well over a month and a half since I purchased my Milano scooter to save on gas as well as help reduce my carbon footprint on this beautiful earth we must all share! 

I find it very relaxing to cruise around town on my scooter. It is also much more entertaining when I have to run my errands.  I am having conversations with people I may have never met or spoken to before.  Just today I was at Staples running an errand for work and while getting on my scooter a nice couple approached me asking how I liked it, how far I go, how fast it goes and a bunch of questions that they too have been curious about. I am more than happy to take a few moments out of my day to express my enthusiasm for riding my scooter. 

Today I would like to share with you news of my previous shopping trip.  Here is a photo to show you that if you do decide to purchase a scooter, it is still possible to do your quick errands and grocery shopping at the end of a work day.  The photo shows all of the food that I picked up in one quick trip to the grocery store: 1 gallon of milk, 2 boxes of cereal, a loaf of bread, check mix, ice cream, 2 packages of chocolate chip cookies, Pop Tarts, 3 cans of food and some sugar free grape Kool-Aid, a package of Snickers, Three Musketeers and some popcorn!  Those all fit nicely into my bag and my seat on my scooter.  I could have even picked up a few smaller items but I didn’t want to push my luck! 

In addition to the bag I have bungeed onto the back of my scooter I have a stretchable bungee net that fits over anything to help keep things on the scooter.  That was a great investment as well.  If something is too long to put in the seat or the bag then I simply bungee it to the bag!

I would love to hear your stories if you have decided to purchase a scooter, motorcycle or bike for alternate means of getting around. Happy Riding!

Leisa

Churches Going Green

I was really interested to read the article in yesterday's Kennebec Journal about the new Cathedral Church of the Twelve Holy Apostles in Whitefield.  The congregation has built a "green" church with solar panels and other energy efficient design elements.  My favorite quote from the story is this: 

"I have a conviction that it is immoral to waste energy, especially today," [Rev.] Wright added.

Many churches have begun to have energy audits or have begun to "green" their churches with CFL bulbs, solar panels, etc.  Since there are churches in practically every community in the state, I think that churches are great places to start making energy efficient upgrades as an example to other community organizations and businesses - showing that anything you can do to increase the efficiency of a building is a step in the right direction.

The New England Conference of the United Methodist Church, of which I am a member, recently passed a global warming resolution that directs all of our camps and churches to have energy audits and switch to CFL bulbs.  The resolution also urges people to carpool to church meetings, recycle at churches and church sponsored events, and use efficient building standards when constructing new buildings. 

I would love to hear from others whose faith communities are taking steps to increase their efficiency and reduce their carbon footprint.  Please share with us your ideas and thoughts about what is happening in your community. 

Beth

Scooter Update: 13 Days and 139 miles!

It has been 13 days and 139 miles since my scooter purchase.  You didn’t just read the miles wrong.  That is right… 139 miles for just under 2 weeks of riding around town!  I have put a total of $5.80 in gas into this scooter.  I have reduced the use of my SUV significantly. Usually in 2 weeks' time I would have put about $80 in gas into my SUV!!!  If that isn’t a huge savings, I don’t know what is. 

My husband and I both use the scooter for running the majority of our errands.  I find I have plenty of room in the seat and the duffle bag I added to the back rack to carry around some last minute groceries and other items. 

In the past two weeks I have used the scooter to ride to and from work, quick personal and work errands, and a quick visit to my parents' house in South Gardiner to get a mechanic lesson and find out what is what on this scooter.  The break adjustments and idle adjustments are very easy. If I can do it, anyone can!  Also Pushards in Chelsea, Maine works on and sells scooters and scooter accessories. If they don’t have the item in the store they will quickly order for you and call you when it is in!  I just ordered a couple of new mirrors for $12!  I also got my helmet there.  Minor repairs are very easy and you can probably do them yourself. I watched a couple videos that I found on Google that helped me fine tune my scooter a bit.

Scooter Savings - how I saved money and reduced pollution

With rising gas prices, most of us are wondering how this will fit into our budgets. I drive a few miles to and from work 5 days a week, I run errands on my lunch breaks and sometimes after work as well. My local commute to and from work is not as far as others. However, when filling my SUV GMC Jimmy that averages 16 mpg according to www.fueleconomy.gov I started thinking about how I can cut my global warming pollution and expenses when gas hits $4.00 a gallon or more. 

I considered riding a bike. Then I considered the pros and cons. I would get quite a bit of exercise daily, which would be great! BUT when the weather gets extremely hot, will I actually continue to get on that bike daily or into the gas-guzzling SUV?  Living on a long steep hill as well caused some hesitation. I would be pushing my bike up the hill when I got home. Being in a time crunch or needing to carry a few items home would be difficult as well. I considered walking.  Then I thought about how early I would need to get up to be to work on time. Also, when doing daycare pick up, could I walk home or ride home quickly enough to get the vehicle that holds the car seat?

With all of these things to consider I started re-thinking my options. This led to my recent purchase of my 49.9 cc 2004 gas saving scooter/moped.  I started looking at Uncle Henry’s and Craigslist.com and weighed the options.  If you purchase a 50 cc or under, there is no need to get a motorcycle license according to the Maine state laws http://maine.gov/sos/bmv/registration/scooter.html. Once you register and insure it, you are out and about on the main roads with your new scooter, the exception being that you can not take a 50cc or smaller vehicle on the Interstate. These scooters get roughly 80-100 mpg (the tank holds about a gallon and a half of gas).

I think a scooter is a purchase worth considering. Hopefully we will see more and more scooters on the road.  You do need to remember to take caution while in traffic, follow all motor vehicle laws and speed limits and most of all assume you are invisible to other drivers (as my mom says!). DON’T FORGET TO PURCHASE A HELMET.  Your brain is worth protecting! 

Drive Safely,

Leisa Dennett
Advocacy Assistant

Building Code Bill Wins in the Senate!

We just won on the building codes bill in the Senate!  The nail biter first and most important vote was 18-17, then Senator Bryant offered a crippling amendment that would have required enforcement only in towns above 5000.  Senator Bromley requested that the amendment be “indefinitely postponed” (i.e. rejected). Senator Karl Turner supported that motion, and the amendment was defeated 21-14.  For final passage, two senators (Dow and Gooley) switched their votes, giving a total of 20-15.

You can find the roll-call votes here - http://janus.state.me.us/legis/LawMakerWeb/rollcalls.asp?ID=280028350      

Thank you so much to all of you, those who made calls, sent emails, wrote letters, and met in person with your legislators! We could not have achieved this without your support. This is a significant move to increase energy efficiency in Maine. We are one of the last states to adopt this standard, but we are adding good enforcement and training programs so that Maine can surge ahead in reducing fossil fuel use and energy costs.

Please take a moment to celebrate this important victory and then send a quick thank you to your legislator(s) if they voted in support!

You can read our press release about this important legislation here:  http://www.nrcm.org/news_detail.asp?news=2335

NRCM’s Clean Energy Team

Wrap up from Governor's Energy Efficiency Summit - thanks to all who attended!

Hopefully the more than 500 of you who attended last week’s Governor’s Energy Efficiency Summit left at the end of the day as excited as I did.  It was a great day that began with an excellent keynote speech by Thomas Casten of Recycled Energy Development who provide compelling examples of how we can be (and why we should be) more efficient with the production of electricity. Summit participants also received a new report entitled “Energy Efficiency, Business Competitiveness, And Untapped Economic Potential in Maine,” prepared by the Muskie School of Public Service and the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center and presented to the Governor by Charlie Colgan. I attended two of the eight breakout sessions: one about job opportunities and growth in the energy efficiency sector and the other about financing efficiency investment where I learned about the incredible $100 million city project of the Cambridge Energy Alliance. You can find out more about this project by visiting their website at www.cambridgeenergyalliance.org. 

There were also over thirty exhibitors to check out between speakers and breakout sessions. I spent the majority of my time at NRCM’s booth talking to people about LD 2257, “An Act to Establish a Uniform Building and Energy Code,” which was identified as one of the top energy efficiency actions we can take in the state of Maine. (Find out how you can help pass this important energy efficiency legislation here.) Since I didn’t get to spend as much time looking at other exhibits or attend all the breakout sessions, I’d be interested to hear your thoughts. These are just a few high-lights from my experience at the Summit which also included a number of other terrific speakers and panel discussions. I look forward to connecting with the hundreds who attended the Summit as we take what we learned from the day and implement energy efficiency throughout the state, helping us lower our energy costs and our emissions!

Caitlin and I had the opportunity to test drive the two electric cars on display by Kal Rogers of Maine Electric Vehicles in the parking lot when everyone else had gone home. They were fun to drive, especially the Zenn, zipping around the parking lot and would be perfect for city or island living. Check them out for new higher-speed, larger range models.

If you attended the Summit please share your thoughts with us below! And if not, stay tuned for a couple of regional energy efficiency workshops in the coming months.

Sara Lovitz
Clean Energy Outreach Coordinator

Update on LD 2179 - energy efficiency standards for new homes and buildings

Last Thursday, February 28th was a busy day in Augusta; the list of bills being heard was almost too long to keep track of! A few of NRCM’s priority bills were all scheduled for hearings at the same time: LD 2179 energy efficient building codes, LD 2048 toxic toys, LD 2126 no coal, and a few others we are keeping our eyes on.

I spent the afternoon in the Business, Research and Economic Development (BRED) Committee room which was hearing the building codes bill, but the Natural Resources Committee room was also buzzing with activity. The hearing on efficient building codes went quite well, with the number of bill supporters far outweighing the two opponents (who said that they support uniform energy codes but felt the Legislature should slow down in addressing this issue.)