green news NEWSLETTER OF GREEN DECADE / NEWTON

VOL.24 - NO. 4 JULY/AUG 2014

Over 24 Years of Environmental Leadership 1990 - 2014

Screening of “Gasland Part II”Fri, July 11 - 6pm NewTV, 23 Needham St. Newton In this explosive follow-up to his Oscar®-nominated film GASLAND, filmmaker Josh Fox uses his trademark dark humor to take a deeper, broader look at the dangers of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, the controversial method of extracting natural gas and oil, now occurring on a global level (in 32 countries worldwide). The film argues that the gas industry’s portrayal of natural gas as a clean and safe alternative to oil is a myth and that fracked wells inevitably leak over time, contaminating water and air, hurting families, and endangering the earth’s climate with the potent greenhouse gas, methane. There will be a Q&A with the director before the Screening. Free and open to the public.

food and games for the kids. Get tips on how to live a “green” life style. See exhibitors with green products, services and ideas. See how far electric cars can take you before you have to switch to gasoline. See the advanced Tesla electric car. Find out how you can convert to solar electricity and reduce your electric bills without spending thousands. Have a green lawn all summer without watering and only cut once a month. This year’s EXPO will include games and activities for kids. Solar Flair Energy, Inc. is the first sponsor to sign up for this year’s EXPO. Solar Flair is a Mass. based company that was selected for the Solarize Mass Newton program by the City. Look for more of Green Solutions EXPO on www.greendecade.org

At Newton Centre with Newton’s Harvest Fair Sunday, October 19 - 10am-5pm

This year’s Newton/Needham Chamber of Commerce EXPO showcases solutions you can use to reduce your carbon footprint and over 50 exhibitors in one area. Come enjoy the Newton Harvest Fair which also features continuous entertainment,

Green Solutions

-

Newton’s recycle bin sticker project! Green Decade Newton, in collaboration with Newton’s Department of Public Works, continues to recruit volunteers to walk around Newton’s neighborhoods on trash collection days, while adhering “recycling education stickers” onto all residential green bins. The Project was officially launched on June 11, 2014 when volunteers met near Weeks Field in Newton Centre to receive instructions from Courtney Forrester, Newton’s Recycling Manager in the Division of Environmental Affairs. After maps and recycle stickers were distributed to each volunteer, they set off on their walks and in just a couple of hours, sticker labels were placed on the lids of hundreds of (City owned) green bins. Over 3,000 green bins received their stickers in the first week alone! Several residents have signed up to volunteer to work on this community-wide service project, which will continue… until over 20,000 of Newton’s green bins receive their recycling labels. This project will help remind all residents of the items that should or should not be placed in our green bins. For instance, residents are asked to recycle plastic bags only at the supermarket and not put them in the green bins, because they jam the recycling processing equipment. Funding for the stickers was provided by Green Decade Newton, Whole Foods Markets Newton and Waste Management. The project’s goal is to raise awareness about recycling, not only to benefit our environment, but also to reap substantial financial savings on the cost of disposing the City’s trash. Residents who enjoy walking in the early morning hours and would like to volunteer may sign up by contacting the Recycling Committee of Green Decade at info@greendecade.org.

Volunteers from left to right: Courtney Forrester, Lucia Dolan, Marcia Cooper, Sunwoo Kahng, Miles Smith, Diane Roazen, Jon Todd and Marilyn Broyles

Phot

ogra

pher

Mar

gare

t For

dPh

otog

raph

er K

en M

allo

ry

PAGE 2 JULY/AUG 2014

Phot

ogra

pher

Max

Ham

ilton

Annual Green Decade environmental leadership awardsOrganization Business

The High Performance Building Coalition was formed at Green Decade/Newton’s request during discussions about whether to renovate Newton North or build a new high school. It introduced sustainable design as a goal and convinced the city to include sustainability language in job descriptions for project manager, architect and construction manager. Coalition members attended design team and design review meetings, successfully lobbying for pre-construction testing of proposed external envelope design for energy savings and air sealing. The Coalition includes engineers, architects and build-ing contractors who are knowledgeable about energy- and money-saving construction methods. It has always emphasized evaluating design and construction options based on the long-term, life-cycle cost rather than the low-est initial cost. The Coalition urges designers to focus on how entire building systems function for the occupants’ well being. The Coalition worked on the Lower Falls Community Center project and currently tracks the school construc-tion projects for Angier, Zervas and Cabot. It has devel-oped sustainability guidelines for new city construction projects and continues to urge the city to include them as well as specific energy modeling requirements in the design process. The Coalition works collaboratively with the admin-istration through the Sustainability Director and Public Buildings Department, the Aldermen, Energy Commis-sion, and the Designer Selection and Design Review Committees and the School Department. Representatives of all these departments and agencies periodically attend coalition meetings.

Boston College has been working to have its entire campus of buildings meet high environmental standards. In 2013, it achieved energy star status for four facilities. They have replaced 750 shower heads saving water and energy. In Higgins Hall, BC replaced lighting, saving 600,000 kilowatt hours and more than $108,000 in annual costs. In the Law Library and East Wing, BC installed a new boilers and controls saving more than $200,000 annually. BC plans to build all new buildings with a goal of achieving a minimum LEED Silver, and higher when feasible. Students in residence halls have been participating in a national energy competition to see who can reduce the most energy and electricity use during a five-week period. This year students saved 30,436 kilowatts of electricity. In Recycle Mania, a national collegiate competition aimed at reducing waste and increasing recycling rates on the campus, BC has ranked in the top 10 schools in several categories out of 523 colleges. BC composts 300 tons of food waste each year. Also BC donates leftover food to a veterans’ organization. At the end of the year move-out, a program called BClean, repurposes and reuses unwanted items left by students and gives them to non-profits. During three years, 13,110 items have been repurposed, 52,469 pounds of clothes have been reused and 4,620 pounds of food has found a use. For the past two years refillable water bottles have been given to all freshmen, and water filling stations are being added.

For the next newsletter, please send submissions by e-mail to Ira Krepchin, irapk@alum.mit.edu, by Mon, July 28, 2014. Thanks for making this newsletter possible to Managing Editor Ira Krepchin, Editor Peter Smith and article authors. Many thanks to our mailing volunteers.

Thanks ! and next newsletter deadline

HPBC chair, Jonathan Kantar, smiles as he holds the community organization award with High Performance Building Coalition members in the background

Peter Smith congratulates business winners Left to right: Boston College, Dir of Sustainability, Robert Pion, John MacDonald, Bruce Dixon & Terance Leahy.

Please visit and “Like” Green Decade/Newton’s Facebook page at :https://www.facebook.com/greendecadenewton . . . .and then pass it on to your friends.

NEWSLETTER OF THE GREEN DECADE / NEWTON PAGE 3

Environmental leadership award to an individualNathan Phillips is a pro-fessor in the Department of Earth and Environ-ment at Boston Univer-sity. Most recently he directed B.U.’s Sustain-able Neighborhood Lab. He has mapped more than 3,300 street-level gas pipe leaks in Great-er Boston, prompting repairs at some poten-tially explosive sites. In May, 2011 in Newton, he found a leak spewing 400 cubic feet of gas per day. According to the gas-mea-suring meter company, “The average household uses about 200 cubic feet per day, so that leak was equivalent to two households opening their gas stoves and heater without igniting them.” Currently, Nathan is completing a science and tech-nology fellowship with the California State Senate Trans-portation and Housing Committee. As a consultant, his expertise is called upon for topics including high-speed rail, renewable fuels and zero emissions vehicles, ride-sharing technologies and regulation, and legislation pro-moting sustainable communities and affordable housing. His work also includes writing and analyzing legislation related to bikeway funding, and electric bicycles. Nathan’s research suggests that 7 to 15 percent of recent emissions of methane in the atmosphere come from urban emissions. These gas leaks, sometimes fatal to trees, represent other potential safety risks and cost consumers millions of dollars in lost fuel. Also, methane can be 20 to 50 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. Nathan “walks the walk” in his own life. He com-mutes by bicycle between Auburndale and BU. He supports the work of Green Decade and serves on the Steering Committee of Bike Newton.

What is a GMO? Genetically Modified Organisms are bacteria and/or virus genes that are forced into the DNA of crops like soy and corn, and of those crops, around 80% are engineered to withstand normally deadly doses of herbicides, primarily Monsanto’s Roundup. GMO corn varieties are also engineered to produce their own toxic insecticide that breaks open the stomach of insects and kills them. GMO plants either drink poison or produce poison. Multiple independent studies raise questions about links to allergies and other serious potential health risks. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not require independent safety studies of genetically engineered foods. GMO Labeling is endorsed by: American Public Health Association, American Medical Students Association, American Academy of Environmental Medicine, Physicians for Social Responsibility, California chapters, California Nurses Association and other leading health organizations. Over 90% of Americans polled want GMOs labeled, a right enjoyed by 40% of the world’s population in 49 other countries. GMO information provided on: http://geneticroulettemovie.com/

A letter written to Green Decade President Marcia Cooper, from State Senator Cynthia Creem. Reprinted with permission from Senator Creem.Dear Marcia, Thank you for letting me know of your support for H3996, An Act relative to the labeling of seed. I agree with you that the public should be able to determine whether their food contains genetically modified materials, and I am pleased to provide you with an update on this issue. H3996 creates the Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act, which would require the labeling of genetically engineered food. When enough Northeastern states adopt labeling requirements, the law would go into effect, and I’m pleased to inform you that Connecticut and Maine have already passed similar laws. This will allow our region to act in a collaborative way to enforce new regulations. H3996 was favorably released from the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture and is now before the House Ways and Means Committee. Please know that I support this bill. Again, thank you for letting me know of your support, and please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of assistance in the future.

Sincerely,

Senator Cynthia Creem

Farm stand open at Newton Community Farm Looking for fresh, locally-grown produce? Then shop at Newton Community Farm’s on-site farm stand on Winchester Street on Saturdays from 9:30 am to 1 pm. The farm stand is also open Tuesday through Friday from 1:30 to 6 pm. NCF is selling our crop of greens and other vegies grown at the Farm! NCF is located at the corner of Winchester St and Nahanton St. The Farm accepts cash, checks, Master Card, and Visa.

Professor Nathan Phillips, PhD

PAGE 4 JULY/AUG 2014

Pick it up! My neighbor picks up litter. He loads his two small children into the stroller, puts a leash on the dog and off they go to the village, picking up trash along the way. Talk about multi-tasking! While we may not be litter bugs ourselves, we all walk past discarded lottery tickets and soda bottles tossed on the ground. Maybe we don’t pick them up because we’re in a hurry or we think/hope someone else will do it. And what about the trash that falls out of the barrels as they are being emptied into the trucks on pick up day? Who will clean that up? Cities like Newton do a pretty good job of providing convenient trash receptacles, especially in village centers. If you are like me and my neighbor, and you have a dog, you always walk with a bag in your pocket for picking up waste. The next step is remembering that it’s your neighborhood (or city or planet!), that you’re setting a good example for your kids, that sometimes being “green” means picking up after people who aren’t (yet!). And where does Newton trash go after it’s picked up? It’s taken to a waste-to-energy facility in Saugus, MA where it is put through a heating process (not incineration). Thermal energy is recovered in the form of high pressure steam which is then converted to electrical energy and sold to local utilities. So be a good neighbor and an active environmental steward. Make sure the trash goes where it belongs. by Anna Zeusler

Say “Yes” to a carbon tax! Imagine the world that we are living in a decade, or two decades from now. What would you picture? If you picture a world with Mother Nature at her best—clean air, good health—then you might be disappointed. In fact, the opposite may happen. Carbon dioxide is the primary greenhouse gas affecting climate change today. Our environment is heating, sea levels are rising, pollution is emitted everyday by humans and industries, and negative health effects can only rise with rising carbon dioxide levels. “Doing nothing until we know more” is putting us all at increased risk. If you want to live in a cleaner and environmentally safe world, implementing a carbon tax may be one answer… Carbon tax?! Why would anyone think of being taxed more? Placing a tax on carbon will give people the incentive to consume less in order to emit lower levels of greenhouse gases into our atmosphere. There is a revenue neutral aspect to this tax; therefore, people won’t be taxed as much as they might think. Excess money that is collected from the carbon tax will be returned through lower state income and sales tax. Everyone can start helping their communities now, little by little, to promote safer living and health conditions for our generation and the next generations to come. If this is not enough for you to consider saying yes to a carbon tax, just think of this: Massachusetts is the fourth highest state for asthma in adults and the American Lung Association has given low grades to Massachusetts air quality. Greenhouse gases induce severe seasonal allergies and even increases insect-causing illnesses, such as Lyme disease. 1.4 million people in just the Greater Boston area alone run the high risk of property and land damage thanks to climate change effects. These are just three of many reasons to say yes to a carbon tax if you care about your home, family, and the natural environment that you reside in. Acting now is something everyone must do. We are in this together to promote safer living conditions for all. by Agnes Wong (submitted as part of an environmental class at Babson College)

Pawa’s suit against Exxon/Mobil “Want to Stop Climate Change? Take the Fossil Fuel Industry to Court. Big Carbon is where Big Tobacco was, before it started losing.” This was the headline of a most interesting article by Dan Zegart that appeared in The Nation magazine. Here is a link to the article: http://www.thenation.com/article/179459/want-stop-climate-change-take-fossil-fuel-industry-court Green Decade Advisory Board member, Matt Pawa is featured in the article from the May 12, 2014 edition of The Nation: (Pawa) “brought a suit against ExxonMobil and other carbon majors seeking climate-related damages for an Alaskan Eskimo village that will be largely engulfed by the Chukchi Sea within a matter of decades.” Kudos to Matt for all of your important work to hold businesses accountable for the terrible environmental damage that they are inflicting on our planet! by Marcia Cooper

The Mayor’s Community Prayer Breafast was enjoyed by the Green Decade/Newton group on Wednesday, May 21.

Tee-Shirts (youth sizes only) with the Energy Smart Newton logo imprinted on the front are available for sale from Green Decade at $20 per organic cotton shirt. Please contact info@greendecade.org to place your order.

A Community Partnership

Ene

rg

y Smart New

ton

NEWSLETTER OF THE GREEN DECADE / NEWTON PAGE 5

Eco-friendly goodsSave 5% when you purchase well-designed, eco-friendly clothing, self-care products, jewelry and gifts at UplandRoad.com, and Upland Road will donate 10% of your purchase value to Green Decade/Newton! Use code GDN510 when you check out. Upland Road was started by Green Decade board member Mindy Sieber, with the goal of helping the environment by making it easier to buy quality, eco-friendly goods. This discount/donation is valid through February 14, 2014.

Green Kids - Green Newton - Green World, May 19 This year’s annual Students for a Greener World program in the Newton Library Auditorium celebrated the great environmental work that kids in the Newton schools have been doing all year long. The evening included students and teachers from Cabot, Burr and Mason-Rice elementary schools, Newton North and Newton South high schools and Farmers Market student volunteers, joining with our resident student group - Students for a Greener World. In addition, the 2014 EnviroArt Contest Green Medalists were honored, along with this year’s recipients of the coveted Wild Boar Awards: Rachael Simkins (Zervas Elementary art teacher), Eric Bobby (Green Decade Schools Outreach Committee Chair) and Judy Dore, (Newton Farmers Market manager).

JULY/AUG 2014PAGE 6

• Use reusable bags when grocery shopping.• Purchase (or make) muslin bags for packing your fruits and vegetables. • Get laundry detergent and dishwasher soap in boxes, not plastic bottles.• Buy rice, pasta, beans, nuts, cereals, granola, dried fruits, etc., in bulk when possible. This reduces all packaging, and you can use your reusable muslin bags or other containers.• Buy food in glass jars (such as pasta sauce, peanut butter, apple sauce, salsa) and reuse the glass container when buying bulk items, or when storing food at home.• Get yourself a reusable water bottle and coffee mug. Stainless steel bottles keep fluids cold for 6 hours, are easy to clean, and are not harmful to your health.• Bring your own “doggie bag” container when eating out. • Use matches instead of cheap plastic lighters. These devises sit for years in landfills and have even been found in the stomachs of dead birds.• Skip the frozen convenience foods at the market. Those cardboard containers are lined with plastic.• Give up plastic forks, spoons, knives, chopsticks and sporks. Keep a set of utensils with you, like Togo Ware’s bamboo set.• Produce containers can be brought back to the Farmer’s Market for reuse.• Use cloth diapers. According to the EPA, 7.6 billion pounds of disposable diapers are discarded in the U.S. each year. Plus, it takes about 80,000 pounds of plastic and more than 200,000 trees a year to manufacture disposable diapers for American babies alone.• Buy large containers of yogurt, and take lunch in a reusable jar. Take an apple instead of small containers of applesauce. Pack your sandwich or snack in reusable bags that are easy to clean for the next day.• Make waxed cloths (like waxed paper, only cloth, which is washable and reusable) and use them to wrap sandwiches, store cheese in the refrigerator, or cover bowls. The warmth from your hands shape the cloth to the bowl.• Learn more about how plastics don’t “go away”, how disposable plastics harm your health, the economic injustice of plastic, and keep fighting to ban plastic bags. • Watch Ted Talk, “The Economic Injustice of Plastic,” by Van Jones. http://www.ted.com/talks/view/lang/en//id/1056.• See also: Ideas from 16 Simple Ways to Reduce Plastic Waste (www.mnn.com) ideas researched by Eileen Kurkoski

BikeNewton Monday bike rides Rides are guided by an experienced leader and sweep; no rider is left behind. Rides usually start at 5:45pm at the Newton Free Library, Homer at Walnut St and bike for an hour, traveling 5-7 miles. Last minute changes may be posted due to weather. Check your tires and ensure that your brakes are in good working order. A helmet must be worn and you are encouraged to wear bright, reflective clothing, bring water and have bicycle lights if you will be biking home after twilight. Bike Newton has high visibility ‘Screaming Yellow’ t-shirts ($16) with their logo on the front - Youth L, Adult S, M, L and XL. Visit www.bikenewton.org

Bike Friday commute ridesNewton Bike/Pedestrian Task force is sponsoring the Boston Bike Friday commute rides, the once-monthly rides from Newton City Hall to Boston City Hall. Visit: http://www.bikefridays.org to find out more. The Needham/Newton/Watertown Route Schedule is as follows: Needham Town Hall- Highland Ave (6:15am), Cutler Park- Kendrick St (6:30am) Behind Newton City Hall- Commonwealth Ave (6:45am), Walnut St and Washington Park (6:50am), California St Footbridge (7:00am). Rides will be on July 18 and August 29.http://www.bostonbikes.org/events/bike-fridays/

No-cost energy assessment During Mass Save home energy assessments, residents receive one free smart power strip, one free LED bulb, free CFL light bulbs and a programmable thermostat. Residents with health and safety barriers, such as knob and tube wiring or heating system issues, can get up to $800 of pre-weatherization incentives. The no-cost home energy assessment (a $300+ value) is part of the Mass Save NSTAR Program. You as a homeowner, renter or landlord living in a 1 to 4 unit building –who have a Mass NSTAR and/or National Grid account– are eligible for the following incentives: • 75% - up to $2,000 – off energy improvements, including additional insulation in each unit, • Air sealing to reduce drafts, • Zero-interest financing with no money down via the “HEAT Loan.” After each completed assessment, NSL donates $10 to support Green Decade’s work. To sign up visit: http://nextsteplivinginc.com/gdn/ or call 866-867-8729. Please mention Green Decade!

Reduce Plastic Waste Simply

Bike Newton has a new supply of high visibility ‘Screaming Yellow’ SHORT SLEEVED t-shirts with our logo on the front. Sizes: Youth L, Adult S, M, L and XL. Available for purchase at our booth at the Farmer’s Market or anytime by email: bikenewton@gmail.com. $16.

NEWSLETTER OF THE GREEN DECADE / NEWTON PAGE 7

Volunteers welcome at the Farmers Market Green Decade welcomes volunteers of all ages at our Newton Farmer’s Market booth, where we distribute

Newton Composting Bins Here in Newton, the city offers two styles of composting bins plus kitchen scrap collection buckets. For more info visit http://www.newtonma.gov/gov/dpw/recycling/composting/bin.asp To purchase a bin, Newton residents can stop by City Hall during open hours (cash and personal checks only). Once purchased, you will receive a receipt and you will pick up your bin at the Rumford Ave Resource Recovery Facility in Auburndale. Check out the Brave New Composter, $55, plus tax and Earth Machine, $43, plus tax.

City offers composters: Brave New Composter (l) and Earth Machine (r)

(above) Main attraction at Green Decade’s Farmer’s Market booth, caterpillars

Keeping Rachel Carson’s legacy alive The City of Newton joined Green Decade/Newton by issuing a proclamation to recognize Rachel Carson, a scientist and celebrated author, for her outstanding, dedicated and selfless service to nature, our environment and public health. Carson’s 1962 book, Silent Spring, alerted the world to the hazards of pesticides and inspired the creation of the U.S. EPA, the U.S. ban on DDT, the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act. 2014 is the 50th anniversary of Carson’s death from breast cancer April 14, 1964. Green Decade Newton’s Committee for Alternatives to Pesticides (GreenCAP) promotes the annual recognition of Rachel Carson’s legacy on her birthday, May 27. GreenCAP was organized by a group of concerned Green Decade members in 1994 after Dr. Rita Arditti’s presentation about cancer as an environmental disease. Dr. Arditti, a biologist, educator and activist, was a co-founder of the Women’s Community Cancer Project in 1989. Their slogan was “Rachel Carson Was Right.” (Dr. Arditti died of breast cancer on Christmas Day, 2009.) At a Carson Centennial event at Newton Free Library in 2007, Dr. Arditti emphasized Carson’s message “Prevention is the Imperative” and that Silent Spring is as current today as it was in 1962. Green Decade Newton’s programs are designed to provide education and empower citizens to take personal and civic action for energy efficiency, pollution prevention, and conservation of vital resources. For more information visit the Green Decade table at Newton’s Farmer’s Market and go to greendecade.org. Find resources such as “Pest Control the Old Way the Best Way” and “Spring Safety Tips.” by Ellie Recycling tip: pizza boxes

You may have learned from Green Decade news -- as I have -- that recycling is for clean materials and items like grease stained pizza boxes should go in the regular trash. But wait, there’s more. Recently I watched as a neighbor (also a Green Decade member) ripped the clean lid off of a pizza box. She then put the clean cardboard in the recycling and the dirty cardboard in the trash. Brilliant! by Jack Cheng

Volunteers needed: BikeNewton will again offer FREE VALET BICYCLE PARKING at the Tuesday Farmer’s Market at Cold Spring Park on Beacon Street. Anyone who bikes to the market can leave their bike with us at the park entrance - no searching for parking spaces on the crowded street and parking lot! If you can spare an hour (or more!) to help host our tent, please email: bikenewton@gmail.com. The market begins on the first Tuesday of July. It is open from 1:30 -6; pick your time to help us out.

helpful information on topics, including energy efficiency, composting and recycling. Our popular Magic Energy Bike and cool nature activities feature the cutest caterpillars in town. Even an hour or two of your time on an occasional basis will be appreciated. Until the last week in October, Farmers Markets are on Tuesdays, 1:30-6pm in Cold Spring Park on Beacon St. and Saturdays, 10am to 2pm on Elm St in West Newton. To volunteer, contact info@greendecade.org or call 617-965-1995.

Students for a Greener World model their new T shirts

PAGE 8 JULY/AUG 2014

617 965-1995 e-mail: info@greendecade.org www.greendecade.org

Printed with soy-based ink on 100% post-consumer waste unbleached recycled paper that is made without a chemical separation process.

Please join/renewonline at www.greendecade.org/join

Green Decade is proud of its 24 year history and our organization’s efforts to help residences, businesses and public facilities become more sustainable. You may also send a $25 payment for a basic membership to Green Decade/Newton, P.O. Box 590242, Newton, MA 02459

Board of Directors Advisory Board Jessica Avery, RecyclingJohn Bates, at largeAnn Berwick, at largeEric Bobby, School OutreachJack Cheng, TransportationMarcia Cooper, PresidentSharon Cushing, TreasurerMichele Davis, Recycling Lucia Dolan, Clerk, TransportationPaul Eldrenkamp, at largePaul Holt, at largeSunwoo Kahng Ira Krepchin, Newsletter Lois Levin, TransportationKen Mallory, Library SpeakersEric Olson, at largeJim Purdy, Vice Pres, EnergyMyron Rosenberg, Development Dan Ruben, Chairperson Mindy Sieber, MembershipPeter Smith, Newsletter; Chamber

Karen AlbertAna Zarina Asuaje Solon, Louise Bruyn, Past Pres.Sheila Clawson David & Elva Del Porto Bev Droz, Past PresidentDianne Dumanoski Kevin Dutt Katherine GekasBonnie Glickman,EcoTeamsEllie Goldberg, New TVFred Gordon, MCAN Bd.Barbara Herson, Past Pres.Francoise LaMonica Brooke LipsittJean MacRae Matt PawaAnnabelle Ship Rohna Shoul Heather TausigMaeve Ward

LED street lights update You may have noticed crews at work on the City’s street lights. That’s because they’re replacing the existing lights with LEDs. There are 8,406 street lights illuminating our Garden City’s 310 miles of road. The current high-pressure sodium lights come in five different wattages depending on road type, with by far the most common the smallest, at 63W. Replacing all 8000+ lights with LEDs results in a significant drop in wattage (power) and therefore energy consumed, for example the 63W bulbs will be replaced by LEDs drawing just 22 Watts. With these lights operating more than 4000 hours/year, the annual savings are significant. Given our current electric rate of 10.59 cents per kWh, we are spending a little over $338,000 to keep the lights on. With LEDs our annual costs drop to just under $107,000 for a savings of 68%. Greenhouse gas emissions avoided: given a rate of 0.91 pound of CO2 per kWh for our area and a total reduction across all lights of 2,176,469 kWh/year, the new LED lights should cut about 990 tons of CO2 annually. This is equivalent to taking nearly 250 compact cars off the road (30 mpg cars driven 12,000 miles per year). With minimum expected rebate from NSTAR, the simple payback period for the investment in LED lighting will be less than 4 years. by Eric Olson,Green Decade board and Newton Energy Commission Chair(The street lighting installation fulfills the vision conceived several years ago by Green Decade board member Stephen Barry, shortly before he passed away.)

Thanks for donations go to:(for contributions received May-June)FRIENDS: Connie & John Adkins, Karen Albert, Beth Brooks & Hankus Netsky, Sam & Margaret Fogel, Daniel Habtemariam, Judi MacKenzie, Josephine McNeil, Norman Richardson, Virginia & Bill RobinsonDONORS: Ana Zarina Asuaje Solon, Ronda & Joshua Jacobson, Debra MinardPATRON: AnonymousBUSINESS FRIENDS: First Unitarian Society Social Action Committee, Susan OptonBUSINESS BENEFACTOR: Next Step Living Inc.

Green Decade board members celebrate with Mayor Warren at the Newton Needham Chamber of Commerce Green Business Awards Breakfast.

iRecycle - a free app for iOS and Android cell phones. The iRecycle app for your cell phone will help you find local, convenientrecycling locations in your area. You start by choosing the item you want to recycle, such as batteries or electronics and then you are given a list of options. This app provides access to more than 1,500,000 ways to recycle over 350 materials!

Electric Vehicle Rebates Massachusetts drivers may now apply for rebates of up to $2,500 for the purchase or lease of new electric vehicles. Electric vehicles have no tailpipe emissionsand release 64% fewer greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. They are also price-competitive with conventional vehicles, and super fun to drive. Visitwww.mor-ev.org for more details. A good tip from Alderman Emily Norton

Green Decade School Outreach Chair and Board Member, Eric Bobby, helps students prepare for their presentation on May 19 at the Library auditoriumSee photos on page 5