“Know Your Non-Profits” Series, #4: Mass Climate Action Network

In our fourth segment of the blog series “Know Your Non-Profits” Susan Altman from Massachusetts Climate Action Network (MCAN) fills us in on the amazing work the organization is doing around Massachusetts.

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Does this sound like you?

You consider yourself an aware, thoughtful person who cares about your community, your family, your friends, and your world. So far so good, right?

You recycle, don’t use pesticides on your lawn, and give to an environmental cause every so often. Still with me?

And you gave up your car and your clothes dryer. You replaced all your windows with highly energy efficient ones. Solar panels supply all your heating needs. And your entire household is vegan.

Uh oh, I lost you here, didn’t I?

Well, you’re not alone. For most of us, there’s a huge gap between the things we have done to help the environment and the things we think we should do. That doesn’t need to be the case.

So, the Mass Climate Action Network launched the Cool Mass Campaign to bridge that gap. Cool Mass helps you find easy, often inexpensive ways to reduce your carbon footprint (the amount of carbon dioxide you are responsible for), use less energy, save money, and build community. By 2015, we hope that a quarter of our state’s households will have reduced their carbon footprints 25%.

Nine communities are already involved in Cool Mass: Braintree, Jamaica Plain in Boston, Brookline, Dedham, Milton, Newton, and Winchester, as well as Belmont and New Bedford, which have just joined. A central feature of Cool Mass is EcoTeams, small groups that help you choose your own ways to lower carbon and add up your savings.

Here’s a secret: most of the same things that reduce carbon are free or inexpensive to do and also save you money. For example, keeping your water heater at 120°, cutting down on clothes dryer loads, and replacing regular light bulbs with CFLs (compact fluorescents) all use less energy. Energy costs money, so the less you use, the more you can save.

For more information about Cool Mass, contact Susan Altman, Program Manager.

Blazing Eco-Trails At Boston’s Lenox Hotel

Unlike today, hotels weren’t thinking “green” in the late 1980’s, but one Boston hotel was already blazing eco-trails. The Lenox Hotel was on the forefront of the green movement (far before it became trendy) when it helped introduce America’s first linen recycle program. Since then, The Lenox has built a comprehensive sustainability program that reduces the hotel’s environmental footprint while setting the green standard for eco hospitality trends.
“Our dedication to the environment is as rooted in Lenox’s philosophy as is our building in Boston’s rich history,” says Scott Grigelevich, the Lenox Hotel’s Brand Ambassador.  “By marrying luxury with sustainability, the Lenox goes the extra mile, as long as it’s in a hybrid vehicle!”
The Lenox began offsetting all of its carbon emissions as early as 2001. Hybrid vehicles, filtered water stations on each floor, LED roof signs, waterless urinals, state-of-the-art insulated windows, low-VOC paints and an entire hypo-allergenic floor are just some of the more recent innovations. In 2009, The Lenox invited other Boston hotels to join them in converting vegetable oil into biodiesel for operational use in lieu of oil from fossil fuels, a move that can reduce carbon emissions by as much as 74 percent.

Today The Lenox is widely recognized as a pioneer of luxury, urban ecotourism and continues to be lauded for its ongoing commitment to innovative green initiatives.   This commitment has resulted in several awards including HSMAI’s Tourism Cares Sustainability Award, Energy Star Partner of the Year, Condé Nast Traveler Magazine’s Green List, Skål International’s Global Ecotourism Award and chosen by US News and World Report as “1 of the 5 Greenest Luxury Hotels in America.”
——-Built in 1900, The Lenox Hotel is the flagship property of Saunders Hotel Group. Chief Sustainability Officer Tedd Saunders sums up Saunders Hotel Group’s commitment this way: “We are extremely proud that our dedicated team continues to advance the Lenox Hotel’s industry-leading environmental commitment by looking after our valued guests’ needs while helping protect our unique planet.”
To learn more about The Lenox Hotel’s sustainability effort in the hospitality industry, please contact Tedd Saunders at (617) 421-4915.


www.lenoxhotel.com

Down:2:Earth Premieres Short Eco-Films All Weekend

Communicating sustainability through film can be very powerful. Images of environmental injustice or inspiring nature can help us all see a new point of view. At D2E this weekend, we have a dedicated space for viewing the short films submitted from a diverse and passionate group of directors.  We have  a broad range of eco-film shorts this year — on butterflies, recycling, Boston Latin School’s new climate curriculum and green roof project, fair-trade coffee, energy, and a charming stop-action animation film musing on the the effects of environment on who we are.

Check out the teaser  and video below.

The “Art for Water” documentary, made by Natalya Waye, is about the water crisis and artist/activist Christine Destrempes’s work with a class at Franklin Pierce College that decided to create an art installation to bring about change on their campus.  D2E will be the premiere of the full-length 8-minute documentary.

“Art For Water” Teaser

Annalise Littman’ film, from ICA’s Fast Forward Teen Film program, is a powerful take on endocrine disruptors in our environment.

Xenoestrogenia

See these films and more at Down:2:Earth Friday, April 9 through Sunday, April 11 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston.

D2E Boston 2010 Update!

We have less than a month to go before the third annual Down:2:Earth Expo (April 9-11!) and we are committed to making it the most valuable and entertaining event to date. We’ve been hard at work this year to provide you with the very best in green information and exhibits.

Keynote Speaker James Hansen

This year we have something for everyone! Check out the highlights below including talks by James Hansen and Mayim Bialik, workshops on everything from the future of energy to butter-making and special features such as our Local Bites event and a Water Sculpture by Christine Destrempes.

Spread the word!

We’ve also been highlighting opportunities for the greater Boston community to come together around green lifestyle online, by bringing you updates, promotions and info on our facebook page, via twitter and here on our blog. Be sure to friend and follow us to contribute to the conversation! Watch for special discounts and promotions from us and our exhibitors over the next month!

In addition to over 100 exhibitors this year, we also have seven areas for workshops and activities, including the D2E Main Stage, Green in Action room, Thought Leaders Room, Spring Eco-Garden Stage, Kitchen Theater, Kids’ Block and Video Project Theater.  See below to learn more:

Climate Change

We are delighted to have James Hansen – noted climate scientist and author of “Storms of My Grandchildren” – join us to discuss the urgent crisis we currently confront.

Green Living Speaker and Celebrity Mayim Bialik

Homes and Families

• Mayim Bialik of the hit 90s tv show “Blossom”, will be talking about her commitment to green living and parenting on our main stage.

• Natural Home and Garden Magazine Editor In Chief Robyn Griggs Lawrence, will take you on a virtual tour of the greenest homes in the US.

• Local green home experts Laura Catanzaro and Paul Marquis will teach you how to green your small condo, dorm or apartment.
  

Local Business

NPR’s WBUR host Robin Young joins us for an in-depth interview with Laury Hammel, executive director of the Sustainable Business Network.

Jobs

Find a career path that contributes to the green economy at our jobs workshop.

Energy and Water

• Learn about the future of energy with our panel of clean energy experts.
• Teens – find out what clean energy means and how you can learn more.
  
• How sustainable are your water practices? We’ll dive into regional issues with our expert panelists.

Food

• Oleana Chef Ana Sortun and Siena Farm’s Chris Kurth join us for a unique cooking demo.
  

• Our Local Bites Party brings together local sustainable chefs, food producers, green restaurants, sustainable wine and beer to celebrate Boston\’s thriving local food culture.
  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/left-hand/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

Garden

• Learn about organic lawn care at our Safe Lawns session sponsored by Mahoney’s.
  

• We will have an entire garden area set up at the show. Don’t miss it!

Check our full schedule for more related events.

Check out our exhibitor list for related green products and services.
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Get your tickets now and get ready for D2E 2010!

Friday, April 9 – 5:00pm-9:00pm: Local Bites Party
Saturday, April 10 – 11:00am-7:00pm
Sunday, April 11 – 11:00am-5:00pm

Join NEXUS this Saturday for Green Holiday Tips!

Attend a special holiday event this Saturday, December 12, at NEXUS, a D2E partner. Learn how to green your holiday season. From sustainable food and restaurants, to energy efficiency, to wellness and nutrition, to green cleaning. This is the major green event this holiday season.

For more information, visit NEXUS online.

Tomorrow Saturday October 24th is International Climate Action Day!

The D2E blog is BACK!

Down:2:Earth is coming off a month of diverse environmental events throughout Boston, but we’re looking forward to one this weekend that takes the cake!

As many people already know, this Saturday October 24^th is International Day of Climate Action, organized by the 350 Organization. Founded by Bill McKibben, who kicked off Down:2:Earth in 2008, 350 is dedicated to encouraging social and political change to secure the future of our environment. The number 350 stands for 350 parts per million (PPM), or the scientist-suggested safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.

In December 2009, a meeting of world leaders in Copenhagen will discuss creating a new treaty concerning emission cuts. However, the currently crafted treaty does not require that emissions be lowered to the recommended level of 350PPM. In order to ensure that our voices are heard and that our leaders are held accountable, 350 has organized this grassroots campaign.

So what exactly IS the International Day of Climate Action? The event is made up of thousands of “actions” in thousands of locations around the globe. Actions are whatever you chose them to be from demonstrations to tree planting. 350’s goal is to raise awareness by having this actions take place simultaneously in iconic locations internationally, like the Taj Mahal and Times Square.

This picture was sent to 350.org recently from Korengal Otpost in the Korengal Valley, Kunar Province, Eastern Afghanistan:

Here are a few of the actions taking place in the Boston area tomorrow!

350 on Marsh Plaza, Boston University
Students are invited to take part in forming the number “350” for a photograph.

BYOMug and Drink Coffee!, Boston Common Coffee Co.
Bring in your own mug from 7-9AM and receive half-price coffee!

Mission Hill Energy Fair and Climate Justice Rally
Featuring music, food, vendor and organizational displays, workshops on how to save money by conserving energy, and speakers calling for government and corporate action on energy efficiency and global warming.

Boston “Under Water” 350 Festival
3:00 – 5:30 pm, Saturday, October 24, 2009. Photo at 3:50 pm
Taking place at Christopher Columbus Park by the Aquarium T stop and waterfront, the festival will feature:

• A race to build a wall of sandbags to protect Boston from rising sea leveland stronger storms!

• A massive group photo in front of the sandbag wall!

• Beach and water games!

• Participatory Climate Theater!

• Relay racing!

• Flooding Station: learn about what sea level rise and higher storm surges will mean for Boston.

• Plus blue face-painting, bike-flag making, and more!

For those of you Twittering about the event, the suggested hashtag for this event is #350ppm!

For more information about these and other actions taking place globally visit www.350.org. Find an action in your area and get out there!

Mayor’s Cup Pro Cycling Race & Concert

September 26, 2009

I have attended a few of these bicycle events organized by the City, and they are always a lot of fun. You get to meet some great people. D2E gives this two thumbs up!

More than 200 top professional racers, including Olympic cyclists and national champions, will descend on Government Center for high speed, fast-action racing. On Sunday, nearly 6,000 riders, young and old, beginner and experienced, will take to the streets for the Hub On Wheels citywide ride and festival to help raise money for a great cause.
Saturday will also feature a mascot race, a kids race and a concert.

Contact:
Nicole Freedman
617-918-4456
nicole.freedman.bra@cityofboston.gov
www.mayorscupcycling.org

Women Business Owners Lead the Way

How could I resist re-posting an article with this title? I received the below information from Steven Jones-D’Agostino, who is one of the Energy Freedom Fighters and has been a great supporter of D2E. Thanks Steve!

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Women business owners are at the forefront of leading America toward energy conservation and clean energy. In fact, a majority cite moving to clean energy as our most important energy policy goal, according to a similar survey of 455 women business owners also commissioned by WIPP and WCEE.

On both of these measures, women business owners are even more committed to clean energy than the general female population. They strongly believe wind and solar energy should have an important role in addressing our country’s electricity needs. They are also more aware of nuclear energy’s clean-air benefits—that it is not a cause of global warming and releases no air pollution—than women as a whole, and they are more supportive of nuclear energy than the general female population. Other significant findings are:

- 77 percent of female business owners have cut their electricity use at their businesses in the past few years, and 98 percent have done the same at home.
- Nearly 8 in 10 (79 percent) have made their businesses more environmentally friendly.
- 87 percent favor federal tax incentives – including 52 percent who strongly favor them – to encourage companies to become more energy-efficient and use more clean energy.

Survey Methodology

Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, the international public-opinion research and consulting firm, conducted a national telephone survey of 801 women 18 years or older, and a national web survey of 455 women business owners. The surveys were conducted between May 4 and 18, 2009. The margin of error for women 18 years and older is plus or minus 3.5 percent. The survey was commissioned by Women Impacting Public Policy in collaboration with Women’s Council on Energy and the Environment, and was underwritten through an educational grant by Entergy Nuclear.

Resources for Women

Women can learn more about how electricity impacts their world and their planet by downloading a brochure, Women and Clean Power: Electricity Matters, at www.wipp.org.

About WIPP

Women Impacting Public Policy is a non-profit national bipartisan group with more than half-a-million members. WIPP is the collective voice in Washington, DC, for 48 national women and small business organizations. WIPP advocates for and on behalf of women and minorities in business in the legislative processes of our nation, creating economic opportunities and building bridges and alliances to other small business organizations. WIPP’s policy agenda, the Economic Blueprint, the Women Business Owners’ Platform for Growth, is found on the WIPP Web site. Visit www.wipp.org.
About WCEE

The Women’s Council on Energy and the Environment is a non-partisan policy-neutral organization that focuses on women, energy, and the environment. WCEE’s mission is to provide consistently high-quality, non-partisan and policy-neutral forums for dialogue on cutting-edge energy and environmental issues, and to foster the personal and professional growth and leadership abilities of its members. Visit www.wcee.org.

Available to comment on the survey and findings:
- Barbara Kasoff, President, Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP)
- Sharla B. Artz, President, Women’s Council on Energy and the Environment (WCEE)

For more information or to receive more survey results, please contact:

Kathryn Morris, The Huntington Group, 845-635-9828/914-204-6412, Kathryn.Morris@thehuntgrp.com
Kira Gordon, The Huntington Group 646-243-4920. Kira.Gordon@thehuntgrp.com

Tags: business, Energy, policy, women

D2E 2009: Video Project

For those of you that were fortunate enough to catch some or all of our video project – below is a breakdown of the films that were submitted. We were very impressed with the amount of submissions – as well as their diversity and quality.

PROGRAM 1 Saturday 12:45 am -1:15 pm

Highlights
Peace Garden — John Coyne (3:47)

Sustain+ability – Cary and Yari Wolinsky at Trillium Studios (5:45)

Agent 350 — Scott Cushing and Jordan Murphy, Changents.com (2:58)

Studying toads on Cape Cod — Todd Tupper and Mark Adams (5:00)

Shadow of Time — Catherine Widgery    (6:27)

Climate Change? – Boston Harbor Harbor Island Ambasadors (6:00)

Total running time: 29:57

PROGRAM 2 Saturday 5:00 – 6:00 pm

Peace Garden — John Coyne (3:47). Boston videographer profiles a community garden.

Aquafinito — Annalise Littman and the ICA (10:00) Boston high school student Annalise Littman provides astute documentary analysis of how the consumer market turns water into a commodity at great cost to the environment.

Sustain+ability – Cary and Yari Wolinsky at Trillium Studios (5:45)
National Geographic photographer captures a cross section of opinions on how we are responsible for our own well being.

Studying the toads of Cape Cod – Mark Adams and Todd Tupper (5:00). How the knowledge of amphibians can enhance our enjoyment of coastal landscapes.

B-Flat – Adam Frelin (4:34). A contemplative river journey based on a single note by conceptual artist and associate professor of sculpture at SUNY Albany.

Agent 350 — Scott Cushing and Jordan Murphy, Changents.com (2:58). Changents profiles a 24-year-old activitist on finding a simple message to engage the public and target carbon emissions.

Shadow of Time — Catherine Widgery (6:27). A public artist based in Montreal, Cambridge and Cape Cod captures a contemplation on the passage of time and the play of light on a pond in India.

Climate Change? — Boston Harbor Island Ambassadors (6:00). Inner city Boston students discuss how climate change affects their everyday concerns and expectations for their future lives as adults.

The Trees Have No Tongues — Linda Price-Sneddon (4:45). An ambient poetic montage of New England forests as the threatened foundation of landscape integrity.

Whiplash –  Cary and Yari Wolinsky at Trillium Studios (4:56). Performance poet Lauren Whitehead of Youthspeaks.org delivers a passionate broadside for environmental justice.

History of Maps — Carlos Ferguson (3:01) Multi media artist and Fellow of the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown constructs an animated vision of the world seen by a beehive.

Running time: 57:02

PROGRAM 3 Sunday 11:30 am – 12:30 pm

Big Green Bus — Earthkeepers, Changents.com (3:58)

Bumpkin Island Tin Can Communication — Sam Smiley, Astrodime Transit Authority (7:31). Boston digital artist Sam Smiley presents a pseudo documentary of appropriate technology in the Boston Harbor Islands.

Portraying Franklin Park’s Gorillas — Justin Freed and Jen Bradley (7:19). Boston videographer Justin Freed profiles artist Jen Bradley and her 10-year intimate quest to capture the personalities of Boston’s gorillas.

The Incoming Tide — Chris Hamilton (5:00). Whale videographer and sailor plays with time and examines the flow of tidewater in a Cape Cod lagoon.

Sweet Crude — and Kate Wolf (6:00). Footage from a forthcoming documentary about how multi-national oil exploitation in Nigeria undermines the lives and livelihoods of African villagers.

Paper Man – Tony Rizzi (4:28) Dancer/choreographer from Boston and Frankfurt explores how a deluge of paper consumes and buries us.

The Ladder/ Fence Thief – Adam Frelin  (3:50). A wry fable on the imperative to organize and frame nature by conceptual artist and associate professor of sculpture at SUNY Albany.

Listen to your Mother — Zoe Lewis and Mark Adams (3:00). Cape Cod singer-songwriter summarizes geologic time.

Jetty Orbit – Ted Olier (3:00). Boston conceptual artist gives a birds-eye perspective of a coastal structure.
Youthcan (5:00). The search to build a curriculum about sustainability for the Boston Schools.

Climate Change? — Boston Harbor Island Ambassadors (6:00). Inner city Boston students discuss how climate change affects their everyday concerns and expectations for their future lives as adults.

History of Popcorn – Carlos Ferguson (1:55) Multi media artist and Fellow of the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown constructs an animated vision of the how popcorn was discovered.

59:10

D2E 2009: Back to Basics

Mayor Menino stopped in to see the expo.

We are all recovering from a full weekend of events, exhibits and discussions. A big thanks to everyone that attended, we hope you left with more information and enthusiasm about your own impact. We’d also like to thank all of our sponsors, exhibitors, presenters, The City of Boston, Mayor Menino and of course, all of the contestants that entered their ideas in our Pitch the City contest. The jury had a hard time each step of the way, since there were so many great ideas. The City has mentioned several times that they plan to coordinate with many of the contestants. We love knowing that we helped catapult your ideas right into City Hall. Small business can make a difference.

We have seen D2E in many blogs around town and love hearing what you all have to say. There was a lot of great talk this past weekend, and I know that the people talking will take action.

Below are some photos to share – enjoy!

Alie and Mimi, two neighborhood kids from JP pitched their idea to Boston.

Adventours brought their bikes and expertise to D2E and offered free bike tours of Boston.

Mayor Menino addresses the crowd and talks about the importance of Pitch the City.

Progressive Management was at D2E to talk about how you can align your investment money with your values - and get ahead.

We have a new car dealer in town: Electric City Cars (scooters & bikes too!)