Alling Library Insulation and Weatherization Pay Off

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library insulation

In a note to community members this week, Marti Fiske of the Dorothy Alling Library in Williston said,

It has been a full year since the library’s insulation and roofing project has been completed. We have been collecting usage statistics for electricity and natural gas. Compared to the average usage over two previous years, the library saved an average of 27% in natural gas and 29% in electricity in this last year. When you convert that to dollars saved that is $884 on natural gas and $325 on electricity!

Eco Car Wash Opens Flagship Green Facility in Williston

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The Williston Observer reported this week that Eco Car Wash company owners Aaron Vincelette and David Soons have opened their new flagship facility off Route 2A near James Brown Drive (right by Agway). This place was four years in the making–take a look:

Eco Car Wash exterior

As you probably know, one of the dangers with a business like this is “greenwashing”–that is, adopting a couple of seemingly environmentally-friendly practices while running a deeply unsustainable business and calling it “green.” “Eco-friendly” products have proliferated in recent years that range from questionable to downright horrible in terms of environmental impact. Is Eco Car Wash one of them, or is it a truly sustainable approach to washing cars? From the evidence I’ve seen, this appears to be the real deal.

If the biggest environmental impacts of a car wash are water, energy, construction, and the gas people expend to drive there, Eco Car Wash seems to be a win on all four fronts. They gather rain and snow and process their water on site, relieving the municipal water system of a potentially large impact; their transparent design and high-efficiency equipment minimize electrical use; their building is constructed from recycled and reclaimed materials; and their location is on the commute and errand path of many Williston and Essex residents.

Vincelette and Soons own and operate Eco Car Wash facilities in Milton and Plattsburgh, but the Williston facility is the most ambitious and sustainable car wash they’ve established.

Eco Car Wash interior

Car washes range from $8-$21. Eco Car Wash also offers detailing, gift cards, and a fleet program. This makes its pricing about average for the industry (for in-tunnel washes) despite the ecological advantages, according to StatisticBrain.com.

It makes sense that their prices should be normal even though they have presumably spent much more than the usual amount on constructing the facility, because their energy and water management practices should save them a bundle over time. While a car wash is an unusually obvious example for this kind of practice, it’s an approach virtually any business can take to be more profitable, as demonstrated by the massive energy retrofit done at the Empire State Building a few years ago: see Empire State Building’s Energy Savings Beat Forecast.

If I sound like an advertisement for this business, you’ll have to pardon me: it’s rare that I see a business that takes sustainability to these lengths. I haven’t been to the place already; if you have, leave a comment and let us know what you think of it.

Community Solar Forum in Hinesburg, Tue April 22nd

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From the Hinesburg Energy Committee:

community solar

Community Solar Forum Tuesday April 22nd, 2014   7 PM
Hinesburg Town Hall, Hinesburg Vermont 

Please join us for an evening forum on Community Solar. As our towns and villages shift to renewable energy, homes that do not have good access to the sun and would like to use electricity produced from solar photovoltaic panels can participate in community solar.  Nick Ziter, from SunFarms Community Solar will present along with Jeff Forward from Richmond who has installed a group net metered solar pv array on his property. We will also discuss the financing options for these systems.

Community solar has been demonstrated to be a very viable option for towns and this forum will explore how towns can get started installing their own pv system.

Sponsored by the Hinesburg Energy Committee.  Hinesburg Town Hall Tuesday April 22, 2014 7 PM

For info contact Chuck Reiss 482-3295

Tour Energy Efficient Houses in Burlington and South Burlington April 26th

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From the South Burlington Energy Committee:

Energy Efficient Open Houses-Saturday, April 26th
High heating bills this past winter?
House colder and draftier than usual?
Come visit homes where owners have made energy efficiency improvements to save $$ and to make their homes more comfortable.
Energy Efficiency Open Houses
Saturday, April 26th. from 10AM to 1PM four (4) energy efficient homes will be open.  Visit the homes, talk with the owners and/or the contractor doing the work and learn how you can save $$ and make your home more comfortable next winter.
The Energy Efficient homes are located at:
  • 88 Lakewood Pkwy – Burlington
  • 112 Adams Street –   Burlington
  • 24 School Street –      Burlington
  • 34 Sunset Avenue –    South Burlington
Go to, http://maps.ccrpcvt.org/EnergyTour/ to see an interactive map of the homes locations and a brief description of the efficiency improvements made to each home.
Sponsored by the Energy Committees of Burlington and South Burlington
Contact:  Ron McGarvey, 802-865-4424, RMCGAR864@aol.com

Years of Living Dangerously this Sunday

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350.org has organized viewing parties for the premiere of the new Showtime climate change series Years of Living Dangerously: scroll down for information on where to join others to see it, or check it out yourself at home.

Produced by James Cameron of Titanic and Avatar fame (among many other movies, of course), the series employs correspondents like Harrison Ford, Jessica Alba, Don Cheadle, and others to explore the impacts climate change has already made on the planet. Here’s the trailer:

 

Watch Parties

Venue: My Living Room
Location: Burlington, Vermont, VT
Time: Sunday, April 13, 7:00 PM
You can RSVP here: http://act.350.org/event/years_attend/6963/signup/?t=3&akid=4435.801279.p9L8yy

Venue: AO Glass Studio
Location: Burlington, VT
Time: Sunday, April 13, 4:00 PM
You can RSVP here: http://act.350.org/event/years_attend/6980/signup/?t=3&akid=4435.801279.p9L8yy

Venue: My living room
Location: Charlotte, VT
Time: Sunday, April 13, 7:00 PM
You can RSVP here: http://act.350.org/event/years_attend/7104/signup/?t=3&akid=4435.801279.p9L8yy

Sustainable Williston to Install Tidal Power at Lake Iroquois

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Sustainable Williston has received a grant from the Eccentric Billionaire Foundation to plan and execute a tidal electricity generation facility in Lake Iroquois. The new tidal generation plant, which will take 120 years to build, will be about four times the size of the existing lake.

artist’s conception of tidal power facility

“We anticipate this may limit fishing, swimming, and some recreational activities,” said unofficial SW spokesperson Luc Reid, “but on the up side, with global warming we’ll soon be able to swim and fish in our back yards!”

As a follow-up project, SW is devising plans for a town-wide heating system based on harnessing the frustration of the American people at the inability of Congress to do absolutely anything. “American frustration is an incredible source of untapped power,” said Reid. “The heat generated by a single day of congressional dilly-dallying could warm the toes of 18,000,000 children, or fry a free-range egg omelette reaching from here to the moon.”

Tonight: Free showing of Bag It

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Bag It! poster

An average guy makes a resolution to stop using plastic bags at the grocery store. Little does he know that this simple decision will change his life completely. He comes to the conclusion that our consumptive use of plastic has finally caught up to us, and looks at what we can do about it. Today. Right now.

Watch the trailer: scroll down to or click on this link for the March 11th entry.