Sustainable Williston will host a free Sustainable Gardens tour of local gardens that use little or no chemical help. Here’s a chance to see what other gardeners have tried and talk about what has and hasn’t worked for them and for you.
For full information and to reserve a spot, click here for the Sustainable Gardens project page.
Williston Resident Chapin Kaynor was recently appointed by the Williston Selectboard to the Board of Commissioners of CCTA, the Chittenden County Transit Authority, which runs commuter and local buses throughout the area. Chapin, a habitual CCTA rider and Sustainable Williston member, will represent Williston on the Board and is a great person to talk to about mass transit.
From Clare Innes at Chittenden Solid Waste District:
The Chittenden Solid Waste District (CSWD) is forming a Citizen Advisory Committee to get public input on a proposal to change how trash and recycling is picked up from households in Chittenden County. CSWD has been examining a system called “consolidated collection,” whereby the County is divided into trash and recycling collection districts. Each district would be serviced by one hauler, who will be selected based on how they meet specific criteria.
CSWD is investigating introducing consolidated collection to Chittenden County because of its potential to reduce collection costs and the impact of excessive truck traffic on roads and the environment. Largely due to these economic and environmental efficiencies, consolidated collection is the most common form of residential service in the country. However, residents would no longer be able to choose their hauler.
For more information on consolidated collection, visit http://cswd.net/consolidated-collection.
The Committee of 12-15 members will meet four times, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on July 31, August 14 & 28, and September 11 at CSWD’s Administrative Office in Williston. A light meal will be provided.
If you are interested in serving on this committee, please email the following information by noon on July 16th to advisory@cswd.net (the information will be used to ensure a wide spectrum of participants):
Name:
City/Town/Village of residence:
E-mail address:
Phone number:
Age:
Gender:
Occupation:
Whether you rent or own your home:
Number of units in your building (e.g., single-family, duplex, 4 apartments, etc.):
Whether a hauler collects your trash curbside or you self-haul to a drop-off center:
Name of current hauler:
Have you heard of consolidated collection systems? If so, based on what you currently know, would you support or oppose this kind of system for Chittenden County?
Confirm availability on the 4 dates:
Sustainable Williston, our town’s grassroots environmental group, meets Wednesday evening at 7pm downstairs in the community room at the Dorothy Alling Library, and anyone interested in local environmental issues is welcome.
NOTE: Due to a typo, the meeting was originally listed as occurring on the 26th. The 16th is the correct date.
The Federal government already offers tax credits of up to $7,500 on the purchase of a new, qualifying electric car. This isn’t just a deduction: a tax credit increases your refund or decreases your amount owed rather than just affecting your taxable income. Well, if that wasn’t enough to whet your wallet, now a Vermont organization called Drive Electric Vermont is offering an additional $500 incentive for each electric car.
Tesla Model S
Electric vehicles are sometimes restricted in terms of range, though some (the Chevy Volt, for example) have backup gasoline engines, and others (e.g., Tesla models) have such a long driving range that it generally isn’t an issue. Regardless, owning an electric car means changing some habits, including getting used to charging the vehicle, sometimes over the course of hours, rather than filling gas in minutes.
Chevy Volt
However, electric vehicles are much less expensive to drive in terms of fuel than gasoline or diesel powered vehicles. Regardless of the source of the electricity, they’re also far better for the climate, though of course the most climate-friendly way to go is to charge your vehicle with a renewable energy source like wind or solar.
Many Vermont communities now offer rapid EV charging stations, sometimes for free. For example, my credit union (Vermont State Employees Credit Union) is adding a new charging station at its Montpelier location.
Nissan Leaf
Electric vehicles do tend to be a good bit more expensive than gasoline-powered vehicles, but Federal rebates and this $500 incentive can help take some of the sting out of that.
Disclaimer: Sustainable Williston has no affiliation or direct experience with Drive Electric Vermont.
Sustainable Williston, our town’s grassroots environmental group, meets Wednesday evening at 7pm upstairs at the Dorothy Alling Library, and anyone interested in local environmental issues is welcome.
Topics may include reducing plastic waste, the Williston Farmer’s Market, the Birth Tree Project, and more.
Passed on via VPIRG:
Join us in celebrating local, renewable energy in Vermont and get a chance to see an operational wind facility up close at this year’s Georgia Mountain Community Wind Open House and Wind Turbine Tours. Bring along family, friends and your camera (no pets please). Informational guides will be on site and tours will take you inside the wind turbines.
WHAT: Georgia Mountain Community Wind Open House and Wind Turbine Tours – Celebrating Local Energy and Local Jobs
WHEN: Sunday, June 8th, 1 – 4 pm
WHERE: ALL parking is at the Husky facility located at 288 North Rd. in Milton and shuttle buses will run from 1 to 4 pm. For more information, please visit our website at gmcwind.com or contact us at georgiamtncommunitywind@gmail.com.
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!
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.
The Williston Observer reports on the current slow but steady progress of the Williston Park & Ride project: http://www.willistonobserver.com/park-and-ride-plans-moving-forward/
