Climate Rally bus from Charlottesville

Roanoke Valley Cool Cities Coalition is a supporting partner of what we expect will be the biggest rally in history for action on climate change. We hope that many of our affiliate members will plan to be there. Here are details:

WHAT – Supporters for action on climate change will gather in our nations capital. There will be a rally with high profile speakers and entertainment, followed by a march to the White House and returning to the National Mall for more entertainment and camaraderie.

WHERE – The rally will be staged near the Washington Monument at Constitution Ave. & 15 St.

WHEN – Sunday, February 17 (Presidents Day week end) – rally starts at 12:00 noon – plan to be there by 11:30 or earlier to get a good spot.

WHO – Dozens of organizations are partners in this event. For a list of all of them, see
forwardonclimate.org (click the PARTNERS menu item)

RSVP - Visit the rally web site forwardonclimate.org and fill out a brief form to register. Volunteers are needed, and you can indicate that from the same page. Look for other details and news on the Cool Cities Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/47868112541/

GETTING THERE:

Driving - It is STRONGLY recommended that you park your car in one of the outlying Metro stations (Vienna is right on I-66). Take the metro to Metro Center station and walk a few blocks to the rally.

Public Transportation - Amtrak (from Lynchburg), Megabus (from Christiansburg), Greyhound (from Roanoke) and United Airlines have direct service to Washington. Unless you fly, you should plan to come up the day before. The Rally web site forwardonclimate.org has information on finding lodging in Washington.

Charter Bus – at this time, there are no plans for a charter bus from this area, but the event web site will post any that emerge.

Lea Lupkin, who served on the original Cool Cities board when she was a student at Roanoke College, has taken yet another exciting job in the world of sustainability. She is now Sustainability Coordinator at Greener U, a unique energy and sustainability services company dedicated to helping colleges and universities reduce energy costs while lowering carbon emissions and becoming climate leaders. Through innovative and large-scale energy efficiency, renewable energy, cogeneration, behavior change and climate projects, the company brings a highly tailored approach to the higher education community. Lea reports that she work on “the development and implementation of Sustainability Services at this growing company which works with higher education institutions to reduce their carbon footprint and create good environmental stewards. My duties include:
- Conduct research on best practices in campus sustainability, write reports or present findings, and manage internal content management system. Integrate findings into our portfolio of service offerings. As the types and amount of content handled grows, drive improvements to tools and processes.
- Develop, customize and edit sustainability and energy efficiency programs for schools.
- Track and analyze key performance metrics.
- Prepare polished client-facing deliverables.
- Ensure published information is correct, communicated effectively, and targeted appropriately.
- Support the CEO and business development team as needed for marketing, hiring, communication, programming, and more.
- Collaborate with technical and non-technical team members to develop and test innovation ideas.
- Ensure the company is acting on its values, making decisions internally that minimize environmental impact, and optimizing the office space for employee productivity and enjoyment.

Roanoke Valley Wine company cut the ribbon for the biggest private solar array in Southwest Virginia today in Salem. Joyce Waugh of the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce was part of the ribbon cutting team. See more about the project here http://www.rvwc.com/solar-cooling-system.html

Please join us in welcoming Risa Pesapane  as the new Executive Director at the Cabell Brand Center, effective November 1, 2012. Risa earned Bachelor’s degrees in Wildlife Science (2006) and Biology (2007) from Virginia Tech as well as a Master’s degree in disease transmission dynamics at the interface of human and wildlife populations (2011). Risa is passionate about interdisciplinary research and educational outreach endeavors. She was the President and founding member of the Nation’s first Interdisciplinary Research Honor Society, striving to promote and facilitate collaborative and integrative approaches for creative solutions to modern problems. Risa also chaired a novel mentoring initiative at Virginia Tech and participated in the university’s strategic planning process. For her graduate research, she partnered with a non-profit organization aimed at sustainable community development, mitigating wildlife conflict, managing human and wildlife health, and overall improving the livelihoods of local citizens. As a professional, Risa has several years of experience in researching human and wildlife health, project management, office administration, and business. She currently serves as Project Director for Rural System, Inc., Blacksburg. Risa’s interests include dynamics of human and wildlife interaction, ecology, water quality and health, sustainable development, zoonotic diseases, global health, wildlife conservation, mentoring and educational outreach, urban agriculture, and non-profit management.

Roanoke Valley Cool Cities Coalition is a partner in the Save a Ton Campaign. Take a look at the website here http://saveaton.org/. Roanoke County, the cities of Roanoke and Salem, and the town of Blacksburg are also involved in this program.

Your challenge: take a look at the calculator and see how to save a ton of money, energy and carbon dioxide emissions all at once.

If you have a group that is interested in a presentation about lighting choices from Cool Cities, including Consumer Reports ratings and real examples of bulbs (plus a few free bulbs), contact dianak16@earthlink.net and ask about Lighten Up! This is part of the valley-wide Save a Ton campaign.

A recent CR survey shows that about 90 percent of Americans have now tried CFLs or LEDS, with almost 75 percent continuing to use CFLs and 26 percent using LEDs. Only 7 percent have switched back to using only incandescent bulbs.

Philips bulbs are big winners among LED producers with a 60 watt equivalent bulb for about $22 and a new 75 watt equivalent bulb costing $40. Both are dimmable, can be used outdoors if not exposed to moisture, and are rated to last over 22,000 hours. Another highly rated LED is the $24 EcoSmart A19 60W Bright White 400674 Dimmable (Home Depot) , which is dimmable, can be fully enclosed and works with a timer

Perhaps the most interesting new bulb is the Philips L Prize LED, winner of the US Department of Energy’s L Prize competition for bulbs that meet high standards for brightness (940 lumens), cast warm light evenly, last at least 25,000 hours, are highly accurate in rendering color, use 10 watts or less, are dimmable and can be assembled or partially manufactured in the US. The L Prize currently costs a whopping $50, but the price could come down dramatically in the next year.

At this time, CFLs remain the best buy, particularly the EcoSmart 60 Watt Soft White 423-599 ES5M8144 (Home Depot) at under $2 per bulb. This bulb works in a fully enclosed fixture and can be used outdoors if not exposed to moisture

IMPORTANT CAUTION. Bulbs that lack the government Energy Star rating or testing from a group like Consumer Reports may have serious problems. One example is the MiracleLED Un-Edison 60W Equivalent Frost which is being sold for about $28. Although the manufacturer claims that this bulb can replace a 60 watt incandescent, it actually produces less light (359 lumens) than a 40 watt bulb, and the light itself is at the blue end of the spectrum. Buyer beware!

Look for the Energy Star label or similar testing before assuming that a bulb is a good choice.

While a new movie is talking about Franklin County’s bootlegging past, educators are taking Franklin county’s students into the future.

The first PassivHaus public school in the United States has just been awarded LEED Platinum status, the highest possible rating. The Center for Energy Efficient Design (CEED), a Cool Cities affiliate and past Cool Citizen award winner.

According to Dr. Kevin Bezy, principal of the Gereau Center. “This is primarily due to the hard work, perseverance, and expertise of Adam Cohen.”

Cohen, a principal in Structures Design Build and a certified Passivhaus consultant, has been internationally recognized for his pioneering work in energy-efficient design in the United States. His firm is also a Cool Cities affiliate, and he is a past Cool Citizen award winner.

LEED certification provides independent, third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at achieving high performance in sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, locations and linkages, awareness and education, innovation in design and regional priority.

Congratulations to all!

See more about this story here: http://www.thefranklinnewspost.com/article.cfm?ID=22966

“It is clear from extensive scientific evidence that the dominant cause of the rapid change in climate of the past half century is human-induced increases in the amount of atmospheric greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide (CO2), chlorofluorocarbons, methane, and nitrous oxide. The most important of these over the long term is CO2, whose concentration in the atmosphere is rising principally as a result of fossil-fuel combustion and deforestation. While large amounts of CO2 enter and leave the atmosphere through natural processes, these human activities are increasing the total amount in the air and the oceans. Approximately half of the CO2 put into the atmosphere through human activity in the past 250 years has been taken up by the ocean and terrestrial biosphere, with the other half remaining in the atmosphere. Since long-term measurements began in the 1950s, the atmospheric CO2 concentration has been increasing at a rate much faster than at any time in the last 800,000 years. Having been introduced into the atmosphere it will take a thousand years for the majority of the added atmospheric CO2 to be removed by natural processes, and some will remain for thousands of subsequent years.”

http://www.ametsoc.org/policy/2012climatechange.pdf