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
flm GASLAND, flmmaker 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 flm argues that the gas industrys 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 earths 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 years
EXPO will include games and activities for kids.

Solar Flair Energy, Inc. is the frst sponsor to sign
up for this years 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 Newtons Harvest Fair
Sunday, October 19 - 10am-5pm
This years 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
-
Newtons
recycle bin sticker project!
Green Decade Newton, in collaboration with Newtons
Department of Public Works, continues to recruit
volunteers to walk around Newtons neighborhoods on
trash collection days, while adhering recycling education
stickers onto all residential green bins.
The Project was offcially launched on June 11, 2014
when volunteers met near Weeks Field in Newton Centre
to receive instructions from Courtney Forrester, Newtons
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 frst 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 Newtons 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 projects goal is to raise
awareness about recycling, not only to beneft our
environment, but also to reap substantial fnancial savings
on the cost of disposing the Citys 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
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Annual Green Decade environmental leadership awards
Organization Business
The High Performance Building Coalition was
formed at Green Decade/Newtons 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 specifc 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 fve-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-profts. 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 refllable water bottles have
been given to all freshmen, and water flling 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/Newtons 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 individual
Nathan 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.
Nathans 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 Modifed 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 Monsantos 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 worlds 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 modifed
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 Im 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 Farms 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 dont pick them up
because were 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
its your neighborhood (or city or planet!), that youre
setting a good example for your kids, that sometimes
being green means picking up after people who
arent (yet!). And where does Newton trash go after its
picked up? Its 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 healththen 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
wont 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)
Pawas 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 inficting on our planet! by Marcia Cooper
The Mayors 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
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NEWSLETTER OF THE GREEN DECADE / NEWTON PAGE 5
Eco-friendly goods
Save 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 years 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 years 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 2014
PAGE 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 fuids 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 landflls 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 Wares
bamboo set.
Produce containers can be brought back to the Farmers
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 dont go away, how
disposable plastics harm your health, the economic
injustice of plastic, and keep fghting 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, refective 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 rides
Newton 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 fnd 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 fnancing with no money down via the
HEAT Loan.
After each completed assessment, NSL donates $10 to
support Green Decades 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 Farmers
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 Farmers 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 Decades Farmers
Market booth, caterpillars
Keeping Rachel Carsons
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 selfess service to nature, our environment
and public health.
Carsons 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 Carsons death from breast cancer April 14, 1964.
Green Decade Newtons Committee for Alternatives to
Pesticides (GreenCAP) promotes the annual recognition
of Rachel Carsons legacy on her birthday, May 27.
GreenCAP was organized by a group of concerned
Green Decade members in 1994 after Dr. Rita Ardittis
presentation about cancer as an environmental disease.
Dr. Arditti, a biologist, educator and activist, was a co-
founder of the Womens 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 Carsons message
Prevention is the Imperative and that Silent Spring is
as current today as it was in 1962.
Green Decade Newtons programs are designed
to provide education and empower citizens to take
personal and civic action for energy effciency, pollution
prevention, and conservation of vital resources. For
more information visit the Green Decade table at
Newtons Farmers 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, theres 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 Farmers
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 frst Tuesday of July. It is open
from 1:30 -6; pick your time to help us out.
helpful information on topics, including energy
effciency, 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/renew
online at
www.greendecade.org/join
Green Decade is proud of its 24 year history and our
organizations 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, Recycling
John Bates, at large
Ann Berwick, at large
Eric Bobby, School Outreach
Jack Cheng, Transportation
Marcia Cooper, President
Sharon Cushing, Treasurer
Michele Davis, Recycling
Lucia Dolan, Clerk, Transportation
Paul Eldrenkamp, at large
Paul Holt, at large
Sunwoo Kahng
Ira Krepchin, Newsletter
Lois Levin, Transportation
Ken Mallory, Library Speakers
Eric Olson, at large
Jim Purdy, Vice Pres, Energy
Myron Rosenberg, Development
Dan Ruben, Chairperson
Mindy Sieber, Membership
Peter Smith, Newsletter; Chamber
Karen Albert
Ana Zarina Asuaje Solon,
Louise Bruyn, Past Pres.
Sheila Clawson
David & Elva Del Porto
Bev Droz, Past President
Dianne Dumanoski
Kevin Dutt
Katherine Gekas
Bonnie Glickman,EcoTeams
Ellie Goldberg, New TV
Fred Gordon, MCAN Bd.
Barbara Herson, Past Pres.
Francoise LaMonica
Brooke Lipsitt
Jean MacRae
Matt Pawa
Annabelle Ship
Rohna Shoul
Heather Tausig
Maeve Ward
LED street lights update
You may have noticed crews at work on the Citys
street lights. Thats because theyre replacing the
existing lights with LEDs. There are 8,406 street lights
illuminating our Garden Citys 310 miles of road. The
current high-pressure sodium lights come in fve
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
signifcant 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 signifcant. 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 fulflls 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 Robinson
DONORS: Ana Zarina Asuaje Solon, Ronda & Joshua
Jacobson, Debra Minard
PATRON: Anonymous
BUSINESS FRIENDS: First Unitarian Society Social Action
Committee, Susan Opton
BUSINESS 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 fnd local, convenient
recycling 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 emissions
and release 64% fewer greenhouse gases into the
atmosphere. They are also price-competitive with
conventional vehicles, and super fun to drive. Visit
www.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 auditorium
See photos
on page 5