by jboullion | Aug 5, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an announcement made by Focus on Energy:
Two FREE opportunities to see how farms are using new technologies and how they have made their operations more energy efficient.
What does being energy efficient mean? Focus on Energy has helped more than
3,000 farms in Wisconsin save thousands of dollars on their energy bills. Saving energy isn’t the only benefit, increased productivity and higher profits are also realized.
Visit two farms — Pfaff’s Prairie Diary, Melrose, and Ted Janke Farm, Histon — to see two perspectives on using technologies to save energy and money!
by jboullion | Aug 5, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Stefanie Scott in Wauwatosa Today:
Program outlines steps to energy improvements
Going green may seem like a daunting task. But it doesn’t require saving the world or even making major lifestyle changes overnight.
A new Green Neighbor Program – a collaboration of the city’s Energy Committee, local Sierra Club chapter and Renew Wisconsin – encourages residents to start small and look at energy usage within their households.
The program aims “to get people to think about energy efficiency and the environmental impact in their own homes and what specific actions they can take to for improvement,” said John Bahr, chairman of the committee’s Energy Efficiency efforts.
One-on-one advice
Free home energy-efficiency consultations will be offered Aug. 18 at Wauwatosa Public Library. Professionals from the energy and home improvement fields and experienced homeowners will meet one-on-one with interested residents.
Consultants will address problems areas such as drafts, cold spots and high heating bills. Then they will discuss typical solutions such as do-it-yourself projects or appliance purchases that may qualify for tax credits or rebates.
Homeowners should bring a recent utility bill or WE Energies account number so consultants can review energy expenses and compare them with typical expenses for similar-sized homes in the area, Program Coordinator Michael Arney said.
“The homeowner benefits by having a more comfortable home and lower energy bills,” Arney said. “Energy efficiency increases property values and, on the broadest level, it reduces our fossil fuel dependency and our carbon emissions.”
Consultations are meant to serve as a starting point.
by jboullion | Jul 29, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by in the B. C. Kowalski in the Wausau Daily Herald:
If all goes according to plan, the former Eagle Plumbing building is in for a makeover.
The Stevens Point Plan Commission on Monday will consider allowing a plan to build apartments at 1000 Third St., the former Eagle Plumbing site. The plan also would encompass adjacent property at 941 Portage St.
Arc Central has proposed converting the existing structure into a two-story, eco-friendly apartment building, company co-owner Jim Lucas said.
“Our interest is to build an energy-efficient building,” Lucas said. “The brick walls tend to lend themselves to that.”
Lucas said Arc Central also is considering amenities such as catching rainwater, solar panels, tilled gardens and outdoor bicycle storage.
“I think most building owners want energy-efficient buildings,” Lucas said. “It’s not a matter of promoting green; it’s just a matter of good design. Nationally, more energy is consumed from heating and cooling than transportation.”
by jboullion | Jul 23, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by US-Cooperative Extension, Fond du Lac County:
The public is invited to attend a Local Energy Tour on Saturday, July 31st from 8:30 am – noon organized by the Fond du Lac County and the Green Lake County UW-Extension offices.
Fond du Lac County businesses have made this area a unique place to learn about cutting edge energy technologies, and the tour allows participants a chance to see these technologies in action and learn what difference they are making in the financial, environmental, and social bottom lines of these companies. Participants will also discuss the land use consequences of energy production and ways to minimize the negative consequences and maximize the economic benefits.
This guided bus tour will visit:
• Mercury Marine
• Wildlife Acres subdivision
• Vir-Clar Dairy
• Cedar Ridge Wind Farm
• Pheasant Run
• a home with a geothermal pond system installed.
Energy use is a serious economic concern for our region, state, and nation.
• Wisconsin residents spent $22.5 billion in 2008 on imported fossil fuels. This amounts to $9000 per household.
• Unfortunately, it is the energy sources on which we are most dependent right now (coal, oil, & natural gas) that are becoming increasingly volatile in price and limited in availability around the world.
• The only energy expenditures that stay in-state is the amount spent on renewables, because that is the only type of energy we are able to produce locally.
• Only 4.5% of our total energy use in Wisconsin comes from renewable, locally-produced fuels.
A virtual tour including pictures, video, and fact sheets about the sites is available online at www.SustainFDLCounty.org.
Limited seating is available. The tour will begin at and return to Prairie Fest on the campus of UW-Fond du Lac, rain or shine. Email Diana.Tscheschlok@ces.uwex.edu or call 920.929.3173, 920.748.7565, or 920.324.2879 to register.
by jboullion | Jul 12, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a commentary by Michael Vickerman:
Commentary
by Michael Vickerman, RENEW Wisconsin
July 12, 2010
About 100 people gathered in downtown Madison in early July to take part in “Hands Across the Sands,” an internationally organized protest against continued oil drilling in and along the world’s coastal waters. Against the backdrop of the weed-choked waters of Lake Monona, they joined hands for 15 minutes to express their fervent desire to see a cleaner, less destructive energy future emerge from the liquid melanoma spreading across the Gulf of Mexico.
No doubt the protestors would like to do more, much more, than simply engage in ritualized protest in front of a few camera crews. But we live in a society that is organized around the expectation of a limitless supply of nonrenewable hydrocarbons feeding concentrated energy into our economic bloodstream. Most of us have not bothered to comprehend the yawning gulf that lies between our best intentions and our abject dependence on the wealth-producing properties of petroleum. Nor how this addiction fills us with delusions of godlike mastery over our environment while blinding us to the reality that we humans have grossly overshot our planet’s carrying capacity.
For those who read and still remember the science fiction classic Dune, the “spice” on Arrakis remains the quintessential literary analogy to the reality of Earth’s oil. Like our oil, the spice held a special place in that world as the ultimate prize worth waging wars and plundering hostile environments for. . . .
Need I mention that once you begin to appreciate the finitude of the Earth’s endowment of petroleum, there’s nothing to stop you from taking immediate steps to curb your personal consumption of this irreplaceable fuel. Whatever you do to lessen your dependence on petroleum will turn out to be a much more satisfying and meaningful response to our energy predicament than any canned protest promoted through Facebook.
As for myself, I made two resolutions since the Macondo well erupted. The first is to go through this summer without activating the household air-conditioner. So far, so good, I can report. (Luckily, we were spared the triple-digit temperature swelterfest that gripped the East Coast last week). It wasn’t that long ago that life without air-conditioning was the norm rather than the exception. If we all resolved not to turn on air-conditioners, we could force the retirement of two to three coal-fired plants in this state.
The other change was to ratchet up my reliance on my bicycle and make it the default vehicle for all my local travels, irrespective of weather conditions. I have been a fair-weather bicycle commuter for many years, but after watching everyone on TV blame someone else for the catastrophe, I felt the need to push myself a little harder. My objective here is to regard my car as a luxury that one day I might do without.
Though the extra perspiration and the occasional dodging of raindrops may take some getting used to, you are going to sleep better at night. Trust me on this.
If the oil spill has prompted a similar response from you, feel free to describe them and send them to the moderator of our Peak Oil blog or post them in a response.
