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Green Star E-News
Recognizing Alaska organizations committed to environmental responsibility. * Shining Stars ================================== Welcome New September Enrollee! Raven’s Brew Coffee, Inc. Thank you to all vendors, sponsors, and participants who were part of Green Star’s Energy Efficiency Expo. Be sure to visit www.greenstarinc.org for a list of participating sponsors and vendors as well as information about how to take Green Star’s Lighting Energy Efficiency Pledge (L.E.E.P.). ================================= Recycle Electronics with Total Reclaim – Saturday, October 13, 1oam – 6pm, Bartlett High School, 1101 Muldoon Road. For more information, contact Total Reclaim at larryz@totalreclaim.com or 561-0544; Green Star at info@greenstarinc.org or 278-7827; or visit www.greenstarinc.org. THIS IS THE LAST NEIGHBORHOOD DROP-OFF EVENT OF THE YEAR! Renewable Energy Alaska Project Bi-Monthly Forum – Thursday, October, 18, 6-8pm. Location TBA. Free event. Keynote Speaker, Jeff Deyette, is an energy analyst for the Union of Concerned Scientists. He will discuss Smart Climate Solutions: Using Clean Energy to Reduce Global Warming Emissions. For updates, visit www.alaskarenewableenergy.org or www.alaskaconservationsolutions.com. 4th Annual Bioneers in Alaska – Friday, October 19 through Sunday, October 21. Join other Alaskans in workshops and networking to educate, connect and inspire people toward practical solutions and innovative strategies for restoring the Earth’s ecosystems and healing human communities. Visit www.sustainak.org for location and registration details, a schedule of local and “via satellite” events, speakers, and other activities. Take the L.E.E.P. – Green Star’s Lighting Energy Efficiency Pledge is online and ready for businesses to take the L.E.E.P. to save energy. Simply count your inefficient lights and pledge to make changes, and Green Star will calculate your potential savings. Visit www.greenstarinc.org to take the L.E.E.P. Volunteers Needed: Help String Holiday Lights in Town Square – October 16. Get out of the office for a few hours and help Green Star string LED holiday Lights in the trees in Town Square. For more information, contact Noah at 278-7857 or intern@greenstarinc.org. Staff a Information Booth at Hockey Games – October 19 and 20. Please join Green Star at the UAA vs UAF Hockey games Oct 19th and 20th and spread the word about "plugging at 20." For more information, contact Jessica at 278-7819 or Jessica@greenstarinc.org. ================================= Green Star and its programs continue to evolve to meet the needs of the business community. Starting in January 2008, members will see another change in Green Star’s core Awards program. Instead of two Awards to choose from, there will be only one – the original Green Star Award. The organization’s other award – the Air Quality Award – was unveiled in 2000 and focused on outdoor air quality improvement activities. Over the years, the Air Quality Award has been given to fewer than ten members, compared to more than 150 Green Star Awards. To encourage more businesses to address air quality issues, Green Star is incorporating Air Quality into the core Green Star Award to make it a more comprehensive award in environmental excellence. With this change, the Green Star Award will go from eight standards to ten. The two new air quality specific standards will focus on Encouraging Alternative Transportation and Reducing Vehicle-related Pollution. Any business or organization working the meet the Green Star standards in the new year will need to take into consideration these two new air quality initiatives. Anyone meeting the Standards this fall can choose either the current standards or the revised version. Visit www.greenstarinc.org to preview the new standards. ================================= We’ve all sat nervously in the lobby of a repair shop waiting to hear why our vehicle won’t start, and worse...how much it’s going to cost. Well, the best way to keep the tow truck away is regular vehicle maintenance. Besides the high cost of repairs associated with a lack of maintenance, a poorly maintained vehicle will emit 100 times more pollution than the same well-maintained vehicle. “The bottom line is that a properly maintained vehicle is safer, more dependable, more fuel efficient, less polluting and more valuable,” says Rich White, executive director of the Car Care Council. Unfortunately, just 10% of our nation’s vehicles cause 50% of vehicular pollution. Here are three steps to help you keep your car or truck out of this polluting category:
Help Green Star keep our air clean! The link below leads to a survey about your commute and vehicle maintenance habits. The survey consists of eight questions and takes about five minutes to complete. Once you complete the survey, you’ll be entered to win a car care gift basket! http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=6ZDGgcgF5iwr95s15Av0jA_3d_3d Additional Resources http://www.carcare.org This summer, several interested individuals got together to come up with a solution to the waste created by the downtown street food vendors. What came out of the planning was a long-term project for a local social services organization – a partnership with the Municipality that provides jobs and provides a recycling collection service for City Hall. When representatives from City Hall, Green Star, and Alaska Conservation Solutions (AkCS) met to talk about how to get the street vendors to recycle their cans and bottles, no one could have imagined the partnership that resulted. The challenge was to find a way to make it easy for the vendors to collect and transport their recyclables from downtown to the recycling center in south Anchorage. That’s when the idea of working with Bean’s Café came about. Mary Walker with AkCS was making sandwiches at Bean’s Café. “A gentleman offered me a sandwich, which I politely declined because I had to ‘get to work’.” With yearning in his voice he replied, “you have a job?” It was at the moment that I realized that a recycling program could actually help the environment while simultaneously helping people in need,” said Walker Bean’s Café, located in the Ship Creek area, was interested and willing to collect the aluminum cans, which the clients then delivered to the recycling center and received the cash value of the scrap metal. Green Star provided recycling bins for the vendors for the summer, through its Green Events program. However, the downtown vendors pack up for the season at the beginning of October, leaving a gap in the newly formed partnership. To fill that gap, The Municipality of Anchorage is pleased to announce that it is teaming with Bean’s Café to keep Bean’s in the recycling business. The Municipality will pay Bean’s Café $200 per month for recycling pick-ups from City Hall, including plastic, aluminum, and glass. On top of this compensation, Bean’s Café also keep any money from the cans they recycle. The initial contract will be for two ths with a goal of a year-long contract shortly after that, if all goes well. “The Municipality is very excited about the collaboration with Bean’s Café and social services with City Hall and the recycling world,” says Nick Moe, Renewable Resources intern at City Hall. “This is a great opportunity to showcase some of the best of a community often ignored while recognizing Bean’s Café’s large contribution to downtown Anchorage by keeping it a clean and safe place.” Organizers hope that Beans Café can add several more recycling pick-ups to their schedule in the downtown area. ================================= And we’re not just talking about the PFD. Buy Alaska is launching the all-new buyALASKA.com web site, and as a Green Star supporter, you are invited to be among the first to list your business or non-profit and take advantage of this powerful new resource. If you operate a business in Alaska, you qualify for a Buy Alaska listing. If every adult in Alaska switched just $100 of purchasing power each year from Outside purchases to local businesses, $30 million would be added to our State’s economy. Sign up at www.buyalaska.com for your free full-page presence in Alaska’s most comprehensive and popular business/product/service directory. And if you list your business before October 18th, you’ll be included in the Grand Opening of the all-new buyALASKA.com on Alaska Day, October 18, AND have a chance to be featured on the home page! ================================= The U.S. Department of Energy announced last month that it will make up to $2 million available to 15 Native American tribes and Alaskan villages. The selected tribes and villages will negotiate for the awards to support advancing renewable energy technologies on tribal lands and rural Alaskan villages. Six of those selected will study the feasibility of using renewable energy technologies on tribal lands, while nine will take first steps in implementing such technologies. DOE's Tribal Energy Program also will provide technical assistance for the projects. The projects will take place in Alaska, California, Montana, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, and Wisconsin. Most of the selected tribes and villages will have some cost share in their projects. In Alaska, the following entities received funding: Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments – This consortium, consisting of ten Gwich’in and Kouyukon Athabascan tribes settled along the Yukon River, will conduct a feasibility study of biomass-generated heat and power. The region is rich in forest resources, but electricity costs approximately 46 cents per kilowatt-hour compared to 8.5 cents per kilowatt-hour in Fairbanks. NANA Regional Corporation – The NANA Region of Alaska plan to establish a strategic energy plan and analyze energy options available to tribal members and shareholders. The region includes eleven communities totaling 7,600 people, many of whom are of Inupiat Eskimo decent. With this project, the corporation plans to promote the use of renewable resources, especially its abundant supply of wind and geothermal resources, to heighten the tribe’s self-determination, while maintaining Inupiat traditional values. Visit http://www.eere.energy.gov/tribalenergy for more information about the projects. ================================= Green Star's Lighting Energy Efficiency Pledge (L.E.E.P.) encourages businesses to take the L.E.E.P. to energy savings. L.E.E.P. is an 18-month program (October 2007 through March 2009) designed to encourage businesses and organizations to reduce their energy use through lighting upgrades and retrofits. ================================= Green Star could not exist without the generous financial and in-kind support of many individuals and leading local businesses and organizations. To become a Green Star individual member or corporate sponsor, please call 278-7827 or visit our web site http://www.greenstarinc.org. A huge thank you to our 2007 sponsors! Platinum ($10,000+): BP, ConocoPhillips, GCI, Municipality of Anchorage Department of Health & Human Services, Municipal Light & Power, Rasmuson Foundation, Total Reclaim, Inc., University of Alaska Anchorage, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Gold ($5,000-$9,999): Anchorage Daily News, Anchorage Media Group, Chugach Electric, Silver ($2,500-$4,999): REI Bronze ($1,000-$2,499): Anchorage School District, Best Buy, Frames Etc., Petroleum News, University Center Green ($500-$999): Alaska Building Science Network, Clear Channel, Eric McCullum, Lockheed Martin Alaska Office, Peppercini’s, Princess Tours, Syntax Productions Supporter ($250-$499): ARAMARK, Cellular One, Subway Contributor (up to $250): Alaska Energy Savers, Alaska Mountain Bike Source, Alaska Mountaineering & Hiking, Alaska Rock Gym, Anchorage Guest House, Bear Tooth Grill, Chain Reaction Cycles, Chugach Electric, Chugach Optional School, Clear Channel Radio, Free Spirit Wear, Girdwood Ski & Cyclery, Great Harvest Bread Company, Hartig Rhodes Hoge & Leskisch, The Imaginarium, Kaladi Brothers Coffee, McDonald Waste, Mini-Brute, Moose’s Tooth Pub and Pizzeria, Odom Corporation, Pacific Environmental Corporation (PENCO), Paramount Cycles, Pepsi-Cola Bottling Group, Sacks Café & Restaurant, Skinny Raven Sports, Snow City Café, Studio One Pilates, Sunshine Sports, The Bicycle Shop, WeBike Bicycle Repair, ==================================
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