Boston GreenScene

ARE YOU A PARENT? ARE YOU AWAKE?

by Heather Burns

I only needed to open the door a few days ago to my child's gymnasium and take one whiff of the newly polished floor to be reminded of how much work still needs to be done to create awareness, turn inaction into action and create real change when it comes to the toxic environment our children are exposed to. 

And while I may not be able to instantly control what school administrators put on floors, on the lunch menu, or on the school yards - I can create change to the degree I feel comfortable, have time for or feel compelled. 

Healthy Child, Healthy World is a stand up organization helping keep "conscious" parents like me well informed so I can make sound choices on behalf of my children. 

EVENT: HEET WEATHERIZATION BARNRAISING: 9/11

Looking to take part in the 9/11 Day of Service?  Here's a perfect way to volunteer in a green way:

Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET) is a grassroots nonprofit that organizes free weatherization parties to teach volunteers hands-on how to lower their energy bills and carbon emissions.  HEET consults with energy experts to pass on accurate information and aims to build community, create social marketing for energy efficiency and help facilitate exchanges of ideas.  Volunteer work includes weatherizing doors, sealing windows, caulking air leaks, and programing thermostats.  You can pitch in to help a neighbor, learn skills to help you save money at home, fight climate change, and meet other concerned Bay Staters!   No previous work experience required.

Who: Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET) 

When: Saturday, September 11, 2010, from 12:30-5:00pm

Where: Tot-Lot DayCare and Home - 65 Chestnut Street, Cambridgeport, MA 02139

Contact: heet.cambridge@gmail.com, heetma.com

Cost: Free

Money for your old appliances.

by Sylvia Rozwadowska

NSTAR offers you $50, and helps you save an additional $150 dollars a year!

The Appliance Recycling Program offers NSTAR customers $50 and free pick up and removal of second fridges and freezers in your basement or garage. The program is a great way to remove your appliances safely and appropriately.

Chances are, the older second refrigerator or freezer in your basement or garage is costing you up to $150 a year to run. Instead, recycle it, reduce your energy use and keep harmful materials out of landfills. They'll pick it up free and you'll pick up $50.

To sign up for a free pickup, call 877-545-4113 or visit www.MassSave.com/recycle for more information and program requirements.

5 Ways Boston Could Be More Environmentally Friendly

by Louise Baker

The city of Boston, Massachusetts is one of the most historically significant in the entire United States. From the Boston Tea Party to the famous ride of Paul Revere, Boston was a focal point for America in its fight for Independence from the British. Well known as a center for higher education, Boston and the immediate surrounding area is the home of Harvard, MIT, Boston University, Northeastern and dozens of other colleges and universities. It is also a very beautiful and picturesque city. While there is widespread consensus that it is important to keep Boston beautiful, talk is not enough. Following are 5 ways Boston could be more environmentally friendly. 

Alternative Transportation

The city of Boston could pass a law requiring more use of environmentally positive modes of transportation. They would reward good behavior and penalize non-compliance. You don't have to drive a car to get around the city. Cars are a major source of air pollution and discouraging their use could have a very positive effect on the environment. Boston has a very good public transportation system that can get you just about anywhere you want or need to go. Instead of driving, you could decide to take the "T" (Boston's subway system) when traveling around Boston and the surrounding cities. Buses can move a large number of people in a much more efficient way than an automobile. As a college town, taking a bike to get from point A to point B, is pretty common and it is environmentally friendly. Finally, Boston is a great walking city. Quincy Marketplace, Cambridge and the riverfront are great places to take a stroll and leave the car behind. 

Driving Fuel Efficient Cars

Boston could have an incentive system for driving more fuel efficient cars. They might offer free parking if you have a fuel efficient car or give you a break on your city taxes. Most people still need to drive. If you are going to drive around the city, think about replacing your gas guzzling SUV with a more efficient, smaller car. If you can get 30 miles per gallon, you'll be using less fossil fuel and also saving a bunch of money at the gas pump. Small cars. Hybrid Cars. Electric cars. Buy one and you'll be doing your small part to help Boston be a little more environmentally friendly. 

Replace Incandescent Lighting with High Efficiency Lighting

The city of Boston could require all buildings to have energy efficient lighting or you could get fined. This is a very simple way to have a big impact on energy usage in Boston. Lighting technology has been advancing rapidly in recent years. Those "twisty" light bulbs are now selling for much more affordable prices then when they were first introduced. Fluorescent lighting consumes far less energy than incandescent lighting. The most promising new lighting that can have a mass appeal is LED lighting. If all the businesses in the tall buildings in the downtown area eventually converted to LED lighting, it would take only a small fraction of the energy it now takes to light up the city.

Recycle

The city of Boston could subsidize recycling making it more worthwhile to be conscientious and recycle. They might double the going rate for aluminum cans or set up special recycling stations where it would be convenient for the general public. Save your cans, save your bottles. Cardboard and newspaper can be recycled. Clothes can be recycled too. Instead of always going for "new", consider quality used merchandise. 

Stop Littering!

Heavy fines for littering would discourage the careless practice. The city could hire enforcement agents who would be ready to ticket anyone they caught littering. Take it upon yourself to make an effort to throw your trash in a garbage can. When you see a plastic bottle or a stray candy wrapper, pick it up! Deposit it in the nearest receptacle. Do your part to keep Boston environmentally friendly.

Louise Baker is a freelance journalist and blogger who most recently wrote about online degree programs for the Zen College Life blog.

Green Job Growth: What is it? Where is it?

by Anneli C. Olila, Editor-in-Chief of Boston GreenScene / Principal of Olila Documents & Communication Strategies

In my recent discussion of green job hunting myths, I argued against the mystique surrounding the green job industry and the psychological and other barriers this presents to those hoping to transition into a green career.  Responses from readers ranged from disbelief, to hesitant hope, to specific questions regarding qualifications and resources. In this article, I start to provide some data that may be useful to readers in understanding the projected growth of the green job market and where they might fit in.

What Do We Mean by 'the Green Job Market is Growing'?

According to the United States President's Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), green jobs are everywhere, and the growth of the green job market is anticipated to continue to outstrip the growth of other markets. In its July 2009 report, the CEA cited data compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showing projected growth in environmentally-related occupations to be 38% more than all other occupations combined by 2016. This is depicted in the following figure, reproduced from page 8 of their report:

To put this into perspective, it is worth noting that the occupations they considered were actually in a fairly limited range.  Specifically, the BLS projections drawn from in the CEA report are based on data for the following occupations only:

Mayor Menino Raises the Green Roof on Runoff

Harvey the Hoverfly II

by Daniel E. Walsh  Author of Our Sunday "History & Reflections" Series

When I come home feelin' tired and beat
I go up where the air is fresh and sweet (up on the roof)
I get away from the hustling crowd
And all that rat-race noise down in the street (up on the roof)
On the roof, the only place I know
Where you just have to wish to make it so
Let's go up on the roof (up on the roof)

~ Goffin and King

Harvey the Hoverfly* is a little confused. He and his antecedents have hovered around the Hub for eons. Until quite recently things had been tough and growing tougher for the average hoverfly to do what hoverflies do. Pesky humans and their swatting -- unfortunately for the hoverflies, they look like wasps, only smaller, and folks like to whack them.

For the flies in this urban setting there are fewer places to land; there is smoke and bad air to contend with and that music! What’s the point? Why it’s enough to poke your eyes out, all 5 of them! That’s the question raised around the haunts of the hoverfly. But, now I’m into something good, hums Harvey. This is nice - freedom up in the air and plenty of Bailey’s Gold to land on and a surfeit of aphids to eat, say the flies. Hoverfly heaven. From Yarmouth Town to Brockton the buzz abounds. What could be causing all this Diptera fluttering and excitement? Why, it’s the green roofs popping up around Boston!

Boston Organizations Play A Key Role in Corporate Citizenship Initiatives

by Terry Catchpole, Founder and CEO of The Catchpole Corporation
The Catchpole Corporation consults with firms on their executive visibility initiatives in regard to corporate citizenship.

In the face of unprecedented economic uncertainty and rigid fiscal requirements, corporate executives are nonetheless increasingly embracing a traditionally “soft” facet of business practice: corporate citizenship. This practice, also known as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), sees firms allocating scarce budget and personnel resources to address their activities in areas such as environmental impact, diversity practices, and ethical sourcing.

There are several reasons for this unprecedented corporate activity we see in this area, none of them more important than businesses’ escalating concern over climate change and appreciation of the role that they can play in reducing carbon emissions and thereby doing their part in helping to head off the threats of global warming.  Companies are noting the Obama Administration’s commitment to aggressive legislative action as regards climate and carbon, as well as the fact that the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December is mandated to produce a new global treaty, supplanting the Kyoto Protocol of 1997, that could well ultimately have significant impact on global businesses of all sizes, in all markets.

Time to Close Newbury Street?

by Dan Burgess

A recent headline from the Boston Globe read, “As Boston businesses struggle, Menino  looks to fill vacancies”. The image that ran with the online story was painfully fitting for the event: Mayor Menino in a walking cast, standing outside of a vacant storefront. According to the article, Mayor Menino was taking potential investors on a bus tour of the vacant spaces along Newbury Street and around the Fenway area. Menino was quoted to say that he was, “being aggressive in the marketing of our city”.

Along with the Mayor-guided tour, the article indicated that investors who sign a lease before December 2009 would receive ‘advertising space on two outdoor displays in the city’s downtown for a month, a
value of $5,000’.

The Globe piece mentioned that there were almost twenty empty storefronts, and counting, along Newbury Street and in the Fenway area. These areas, especially Newbury Street, are known for having the type of retail shops that are struggling as people see their 401ks drop as drastically as they have in the last 18 months. While investment tours and free advertising offers are a good start toward revitalization, the city and its struggling business community should think green as they attempt
to improve the city’s business climate.

One green initiative that makes sense for Boston, is to close Newbury Street to automobiles and make the street a pedestrian-only shopping district. Ridding a section of Newbury Street of cars would provide numerous benefits for our city. This measure would increase the amount of green space that our city
has and would be a strong sign of our city’s attempt to curb our aggregate carbon footprint. Mayor Menino is actively attempting to do this through his Climate Action Leadership Committee that he recently announced with Former Vice President Al Gore, and this would be an excellent way to draw attention to the carbon reduction cause.

Closing Newbury Street would also attract more people (think consumers) to the shopping district, which would help ease the financial stress that area businesses are experiencing. Boston was recently ranked the third most walkable city in the United States and the fact is that people like to walk our city’s streets. This is true particularly of the Back Bay-Beacon Hill area, which was ranked as the most walkable neighborhood in the city. Despite this, as I wrote about here, the Boston Common (located directly between Back Bay and Beacon Hill) is poorly attended by visitors. The Boston Common is the oldest park in the United States and is located directly between our most walkable neighborhoods, but is only the 37th most visited park in the United States. This does not bode well for any surrounding local businesses and is an obvious indication of the need for change.

Going Green is in Good Taste at Toro

South End Restaurant Reduces Carbon Footprint Without Sacrificing Taste or Money

by David Pierotti, Boston-Based Freelance Writer

 Alyssa Shepherd didn’t set out to be a trendsetter, but all of us should hope she becomes one. Sheperd is the general manager of highly regarded restaurant Toro in Boston’s South End. Toro is one of Chef Ken Oringer’s four area restaurants, the others being Clio (including its attached sushi bar, Uni), KO Prime, and La Verdad. 

You may have seen Oringer’s victorious turn on Iron Chef America, but recently it has been Shepherd's turn to do battle - against waste, pollution, and CO2. She, along with the rest of the management team, has set about greening the restaurant as much as possible. “With the growing awareness of climate change, we just felt that, as a restaurant, we should do our part.”

Anyone who has ever worked at a restaurant (and really, who hasn’t?) knows restaurants consume a lot of just about everything: bottles, boxes, water, energy, and more. From all this consumption comes a tremendous amount of waste. But a growing awareness of climate change and the environmental costs of food production and consumption provoked Shepherd to implement some simple, sensible measures to green Toro.

Shock and Trance: Diagnosing a Culture of Indifference

by Michael Brooks and Joshua Summers, associates at Sati Solutions (Boston, MA), a mindfulness-based consultancy providing strategic guidance to ecologically-minded organizations.

Recently, a flurry of new literature in the meditation world has investigated the link between contemplative practices and perhaps the most pressing issue of the day: global warming. In response to this dialogue, we see the opportunity for a powerful synergy between meditative skill sets and recognizable actions that will supplement and facilitate the aims of sustainability.

As a general overview, there seem to be three categories of responses to the climate crisis: 1) those who get it, are alarmed, and are working like hell to avert catastrophe, 2) those who get it, are alarmed, but who are too overwhelmed by the complications and busy-ness of their everyday lives to take it beyond curb-side recycling, and 3) those who don’t get it, aren’t alarmed and, therefore, scare the hell out of Types 1 and 2. 

Of these three, the group that holds the most potential for environmental change is, obviously, Type 2. One of America’s most eminent meditation teachers, Joseph Goldstein, recently self-diagnosed himself as a Type 2 in Tricycle, the Buddhist Review: “Although I am aware of the magnitude of the problem, perhaps like many others, I have not spent much time reflecting on it or seriously considering what I could do about it. It was this response that then piqued my interest. Why hadn’t I spent time thinking about one of the major problems confronting our planet? Why had it slid to the back burner of my interests?”