Sunday, November 11, 2012

Loudoun Transition Initiative Forum



What is the Loudoun Transition Initiative?

Sustainable Loudoun and George Washington University are hosting a public forum at the Loudoun GWU campus on the evening of Nov 30th to discuss the Loudoun Transition Initiative. What is a transition initiative and why should we attend?
Many citizens are concerned about the growing impact of global warming, the long term viability of the local economy, and/or the over-reliance on oil, wanting to understand the options available to address these issues with like-minded individuals and organizations as a community. 
The Transition Movement is comprised of over 600 vibrant, grassroots community initiatives around the world that seek to build community resilience in the face of such challenges as peak oil, climate change and the economic crisis. Transition Initiatives collaborate (not compete) with other sustainability and environmental groups, seeking to mitigate these converging global crises by engaging their communities in home-grown, citizen-led education, action, and multi-stakeholder planning to increase local self-reliance and resilience.

Transition Fun


We are living in an age of unprecedented change, with a number of crises converging. Climate change, global economic instability, erosion of community, declining biodiversity, and resource wars, have all stemmed from the availability of cheap, non-renewable fossil fuels. Global oil production is predicted to irreversibly decline in the next years, and severe climate changes are already taking effect around the world. The coming shocks are likely to impose serious trials on our communities and families, so transition initiatives work to mitigate these risks in a positive manner.

Crowd

Confirmed speakers include:
  • Andrea McGimsey, Climate Reality Project
    • "Climate Reality: Why Should We Care?"
  • Capt. (Navy, ret.) Leo Goff, CNA Military Advisory Board
    • "Energy Resources: A Matter of National Security"
  • Stewart Schwartz Executive Director, Coalition for Smarter Growth
    • Sustainable Land Use and Transportation Potential in Loudoun
  • Will Stewart President, Sustainable Loudoun
    • The Transition Initiative: What it is and Where We are Going…

Doors open Friday, Nov 30th at 6pm.
We will have refreshments and some local vendors in attendance.
Presentations begin at 7pm.

George Washington University, Loudoun Campus
20101 Academic Way, Ashburn VA
Sponsors: GW University, REHAU, Harris-Teeter, Corcoran Vineyards

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Ashburn Green Expo Oct 14 2012!


GREEN EXPO & CONFERENCE
ASHBURN FARM
October 14, 2012
12:00 – 4:00
21400 Windmill Drive
Ashburn, VA 20147

Come by Ashburn Farm Community Center and participate in the FREE family friendly event featuring topics on conservation, sustainability and the environment. Meet with local companies and organizations offering products and services to help you save money and live healthier while also helping the environment. Presentations will be given on interesting, timely and relevant topics including:


    • 10 Myths About Solar Power
    • What Really Happens to My Curb Side Recycling?
    • Eco friendly Landscaping that Costs Less and is Easy to Maintain
    • Easy Conservation Techniques that Save Real Money
    • Tap vs. Bottled Water
    • This just in…On Climate Change
    • Electric Vehicles – Charging into the Future
    • Why, How and Where to Buy Local Foods

Sponsored by :

Organized by: Ashburn Farm Open Space Committee
More details on exhibitors and speakers at:
http://www.ashburnfarmassociation.org/

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Verizon Sponsored recycling Rally May 24th - Ashburn VA

Verizon to Hold Third Annual Recycling Rally May 24 in Ashburn, Va.; Urges Area Residents, Employees to Go Green

All Are Welcome to Drop Off Unwanted Electronics, Other Materials – Including TVs, Computer Terminals – at Verizon’s Ashburn Campus From 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m

ASHBURN, Va. – Verizon employees will gather in the parking lot of the company’s Ashburn campus on May 24 to collect unwanted electronics and other material for recycling.  This Recycling Rally, which is free and open to the public, is part of Verizon’s commitment to protect and preserve the environment by enabling the public to be green at work and at home.  The supplier disposing of the discarded items will adhere to Verizon’s zero-landfill objective, meaning the materials will be reused or recycled so that they do not end up in a landfill.

Recycled items can include glass, plastics and aluminum cans; laptop and desktop computers; CRT (cathode ray tube) and LCD (liquid crystal display) monitors and televisions; computer cables, mice and keyboards; gaming consoles; telephones and answering machines; stereo and audio equipment; paper shredders; alarm clocks; printers; cameras; conferencing equipment; remote controls; earphones; small electronic appliances (such as coffee makers, toasters, toaster ovens and can openers); microwave ovens; vacuum cleaners; and electronic toys without batteries.  Hard drives will not be wiped, and all batteries should be removed prior to turning in any items.

Items that will not be accepted include hazardous waste (such as batteries, inks/toners, mercury bulbs); units containing fluid (such as motors and pumps containing fluid); refrigerators and freezers; medical waste, and radioactive material such as X-ray equipment.

Participants will be randomly selected for Energy/Water-Go Green Kits that include energy-saving items such as a reduced-flow shower head, compact fluorescent light bulb, kitchen aerators and an energy-saving tip wheel.


WHEN:                                                 Thursday, May 24, 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

WHERE:                                               Verizon’s Ashburn Campus, 22001 Loudoun County Pkwy. 
                                                                (Visitor parking lot on right at Loudoun County Parkway entrance)

Verizon will mark the unofficial arrival of summer with a May 24 recycling rally at its Ashburn campus on Loudoun County Parkway.  Details are included in the advisory below.  One key change this year: They are accepting CRT (cathode ray tube) monitors and televisions this year for the first time.  So you finally can get rid of that half-ton Sony Trinitron you’ve been keeping in the basement… 

Verizon’s Chief Sustainability Officer Jim Gowen will be at the Ashburn event and would be happy to talk with you about the rally and Verizon’s commitment to improving its carbon/sustainability footprint.

Last year’s Ashburn rally was quite successful; they collected more than 15,000 pounds (7.5 tons) of personal recyclable material from several hundred participants.

Our May 24 Ashburn recycling rally is one of many similar events Verizon is holding across the country as part of Verizon’s comprehensive sustainability program, which also includes energy conservation, adding alternative-fueled vehicles to our fleet and reducing the use of paper. 

A few factoids on Verizon’s efforts in sustainability may be of interest:
·         Saving a forest of 436,000 trees annually with two initiatives to cut pulp use.  Paper-free billing to both wireline and wireless customers, and waivers in nine states to cease automatic delivery of residential white page directories.  (This move away from automatic residential White Pages directory delivery alone will save an approximate 1,640 tons of waste from Virginia’s waste system each year.
·         Business cards made from recycled paper that is 100 percent post-consumer waste. This will save the equivalent of 2,000 trees.
·         Verizon recycled 71.2 million pounds of paper and cardboard in 2011.
·         The goal for its 38,000-vehicle service fleet is to have 15 percent of vehicles running on alternative fuel by 2015.  They added 667 such vehicles in 2011,roughly halfway to that goal.
·          
Also of note: For the past three years, Verizon has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index, which lists North America's leading companies as measured by governance, social and environmental performance.  For more information on Verizon's environmental initiatives, visit www.verizon.com/sustainability
.  Customers interested in signing up for paper free billing can visit www.myverizon.com.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Sustainability Awards Ceremony - April 25th

 Sustainability in Loudoun

“Energy and Environmental Sustainability” Award Ceremony

Presented by
Sustainable Loudoun (LCCSS)
and REHAU

Wednesday, April 25, 2012
5:00 - 7:00 pm
Doors open at 4:45

At REHAU
1503 Edwards Ferry Road, NE
Leesburg, VA
First building on the right, fourth floor

Evening Program

Reception

Welcome

Mike Maher, REHAU
Tony Noerpel, Sustainable Loudoun/LCCSS

Presentation

• The Role of Materials in Energy Efficient Building Design –
Professor Stephen Hsu, George Washington University

• Questions and Answers
Awards Ceremonies
Introduction – Dr. Edgar B. Hatrick, III
Superintendent, Loudoun County Public Schools

Energy and Environmental Sustainability Awards
Presentation of Awards: Tony Noerpel, Mike Maher

• 1st Place $500:
Ehsan Jafree, Stone Bridge High School
Academy of Science
“The Relationship Between Impervious Surface Percent Cover and
Stream Health in Loudoun County, VA”

• 2nd Place $300:
Nial Hasan, Briar Woods High School
Academy of Science
”Investigating the Effects Surface Area of Electrodes Has on
Output of Microbial Fuel Cells”

• 3rd Place $200:
Saieh Bijani, Dominion High School
“Enhancing Frustule Development in Diatoms to Remediate
Aquatic Carbon Dioxide”

• Honorable Mention:
Shubham Patil, Stone Bridge High School
“The Effect of Solar Cell Curvature on Voltage Output”

 

Monday, March 19, 2012

Movie night Wednesday, March 21st

This month's Greenflik movie, at Tally Ho this Wed night is Mother Nature's Child.

The event starts at 6:30 pm with refreshments and conversation and the film begins at 7:30 pm. 

Solar Game Changers

A San Jose, CA based company called Twin Creeks Technologies recently announced what could be a game changer in the solar photovoltaic industry. They have developed a technology which can produce solar cells using only 1/10th of the silicon of a conventional cell. The company claims that this capability will reduce the cost of solar cells to 40 cents per watt which is less than half the current cost. The new ultra thin silicon wafers are in so thin that they are flexible. The company claims that this characteristic will enable solar panels to be produced using encapsulation materials other than glass which means they could be significantly lighter. You can check out a video of their new Hyperion 3 machine on their website. This machine exists today and they are ready to sell it. They have a commercial demonstration plant in Mississippi.

Even more recently, another company called Ampulse has announced a new method to produce solar cells for < $.50 per watt, again using much thinner silicon wafers. They are currently prototyping this process at the National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden, CO.


Solar PV is currently around $1.30 per watt, reducing that to $0.50 means a savings of $0.80 per watt. That's a $4,000 savings on a 5 KW system, based on panel prices alone. If the panels can be made lighter, that could also help lower installation costs.


The 'grid parity' moment for solar is already here in some places, getting closer in others.


For the record, I don't have any stake in either of these companies, nor do I know the owners. I just think this is a good thing for the world.

Meeting Thursday, March 22 @ Rust

The next Sustainable Loudoun general meeting is Thursday, March 22 @ 7pm at Rust Library in Leesburg.