Posts tagged renewable energy

ST and Finger Lakes Bioneers cosponsor Empowered screening on December 7

Dec 1st

Posted by admin in Events

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Cinemapolis will be screening the latest version of the new film EMPOWERED on Wednesday, December 7th at 7pm followed by a panel discussion. EMPOWERED is an independent, locally-produced feature-length documentary that showcases the many ways in which Tompkins County residents are embracing renewable energy. This event is co-presented by Finger Lakes Bioneers, Ithaca Green Building Alliance (IGBA), Sierra Club Finger Lakes Group and Sustainable Tompkins. Tickets are $10 or $8 for members of Sustainable Tompkins and IGBA.

Director Shira Golding Evergreen (Frac Attack) and Producer Suzanne McMannis have collaborated to illustrate vividly in EMPOWERED that it is our friends and neighbors who are pioneering alternative energy. Right here in Tompkins County, so many have already taken the leap to a sustainable future, and in EMPOWERED they enjoy the opportunity to tell their stories to the public: what inspired them; what first steps they took; how things are working. Read the rest of this entry »

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Join Sustainable Tompkins at Green Fest, August 5-7

Aug 4th

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Meet up with Sustainable Tompkins at Green Fest August 5-7, 2011 at Alfred University in Alfred, NY. On Saturday August 6th, from 4-5 pm, join Gay Nicholson for her workshop: Finger Lakes Energy Challenge: Taking Responsibility for Our Fossil Fuel Consumption. Most of the folks showing concern about gas drilling are also interested in living more sustainably – but how do we prove it? How can we demonstrate that we “walk our talk” when it comes to opposing drilling for natural gas? This presentation will showcase Sustainable Tompkins’s Finger Lakes Energy Challenge, an online platform to demonstrate your commitment to reducing fossil fuel consumption (and give you the tools to do so). Read the rest of this entry »

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GreenNotes

May 7th

Posted by franker in Blog

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An occasional feature of the Sustainable Tompkins Community Blog
By Richard W. Franke, Board Member, Sustainable Tompkins

Lester Brown’s recent (2011) book, World on the Edge: How to Prevent Environmental and Economic Collapse, contains a number of unexpected “facts” (observations?). I selected a few of them: how many surprised you? Don’t believe him? You can download the entire book free here. Click here for his online documentation of everything he claims below.

  • The actual cost of gasoline in the United States is $15 per gallon
  • In 2009 the number of cars in the US declined for the first time in a century (except for WWII period when cars were not produced)
  • China now has 459 “cancer villages”
  • Between 1994 and 1999 China’s Gobi Desert grew by an area equal to half the state of Pennsylvania
  • If the Greenland ice sheet melts entirely, sea level could rise 23 feet; if the West Antarctic Ice sheet breaks up, seal level would rise another 16 feet
  • Of the one million Hurricane Katrina refugees from New Orleans, 300,000 did not return to their homes
  • The summer 2010 heat wave in Russia was the most intense in 130 years of record keeping; the wheat harvest shrank from 100 million tons to 60 million tons
  • 90% of the original forests of the Indus River Basin are gone
  • Pakistan has 185 million people living on an area equal to 8% of the US land area
  • From 1950 to the present, per person income worldwide increased 4 times while the world economy grew 10 times Read the rest of this entry »
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The Truth About Energy Security

Apr 11th

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By Gay Nicholson, Ph.D., President of Sustainable Tompkins

The theme of our recent Energy Fair was community energy security. Real energy security.

Most of us associate “energy security” with fossil fuel industry lobbyists who try to convince Americans that we will be more secure if we stop relying on imports of foreign oil and just let them expand drilling offshore or in the rural lands of America.

But is that really a plan that will make us more secure?  Consider this:

Energy efficiency has never polluted the Gulf of Mexico or slimed the shores of Alaska.

Solar panels never gave a child asthma or blew off a mountain top.

Wind turbines have never threatened millions with cancer-causing radiation.

Energy conservation has never polluted drinking water supplies or destroyed a rural landscape.

We’ll never be really secure if we continue to base our economy and our way of life on fossil energy.  We know it’s a tightening noose with constantly rising prices and amplifying environmental damages. Read the rest of this entry »

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Energy Fair and Pledge-In for Finger Lakes Energy Challenge

Mar 24th

Posted by admin in ST Events

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April 6, 2011  -   6:30-9:00 pm
Womens Community Building Auditorium, 100 W. Seneca St., Ithaca, NY

Don’t miss the Energy Fair on April 6 where we’ll explore the math behind eS = mc2 !

True energy security is the result of motivated community cooperation to reduce our dependence on risky fossil fuels.

Every citizen has an important and necessary role in phasing out wasteful energy consumption and investing in efficiency and local self-renewing energy sources.  Energy is tied into almost everything we do.  Together we can make sure our families are secure and our economy resilient.  Together we can transform the energy marketplace and support our growing number of green collar workers.  Sustainable Tompkins and its partners are proud to host you and your family for an evening devoted to community energy security.  Download the Energy Fair poster and share widely! Read the rest of this entry »

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Cortland Energy

Mar 20th

Posted by Noa in 2010 Awardees

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A new not-for-profit organization, Cortland Energy, began a community education program to teach Cortland County residents about renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency techniques that can save money on energy costs. The program will help Cortland County reach its overall goal of becoming carbon neutral.

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Joe Solar

Jan 30th

Posted by Noa in 2010 Awardees

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Joe Solar is a company specializing in solar thermal technology, installing solar heating and hot water systems in homes.

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Intelligent Green Solutions

Jan 30th

Posted by Noa in 2010 Awardees

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Intelligent Green Solutions “identifies, designs, and installs systems that will dramatically slash both the operation cost and carbon footprint.” IGS offers installation of solar thermal energy, photovoltaic energy, small wind systems, and offers project management and consultation.

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Community Biomass Energy (CBE)

Jan 30th

Posted by Noa in 2010 Awardees

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Community Biomass Energy (CBE) works to transform locally produced biomass into sustainable energy products.  The group clears land for free and harvests biofeedstock to make into grass pellets for energy-efficient pellet stoves. This process provides jobs for the community, reduces carbon emissions by eliminating long-distance timber shipments, and provides a source of renewable fuels. CBE sells 100% recycled kiln dried wood fuel bricks, made with no binders or additives. Producing less than 1% ash, each ton of wood bricks has an equivalent heating value of a cord of average firewood, but takes up far less space.

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Beating the Marcellus Blues

Mar 9th

Posted by admin in ST Events

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lightbulbEnergy Fair and Pledge-In a Great Success!

Our Marcellus Challenge pledge-in and energy fair on March 3 was just what we needed to counteract a long, snowy winter and a protracted battle over gas drilling.  About 150 people crowded into the auditorium at the Womens Community Building to listen to a series of excellent speakers “connect the dots” on consumer demand for fossil fuels, and talk to local energy experts before taking their pledge.  Lisa Wright of Shaleshock Action Alliance wrote us to say “Thanks for the opportunity to take part in a fabulous and fun event.  The more we reframe our circumstances from victims to empowered citizens, the more effective we will be in controlling our destinies in the face of this daunting challenge from Big Oil and Gas.  This was a great success! Thanks, everyone!!”  We are working now on taking the Marcellus Challenge on the road across our region! Read the rest of this entry »

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