Earth Day, This Week and Beyond

Myself and Girl Scout Leader Pam Hay at the Composting Demo Table

This weekend Green Redmond Partnership and Girl Scout groups met at Westside Park in recognition of Earth Day and to restore and maintain the forested area of the park.  They invited me to come and talk about composting following each of the two work sessions.  In between my talks, I spoke to one of the Girl Scout Leaders.  She said she has been doing this event for a number of years now at this park.  "It has really made a difference, there are less and less vines and blackberry bushes now."

Green Redmond Partnership Guide Nora


All the tools and gloves were provided by the Partnership.  Upon arrival, the volunteers were met by Guide Norah.  She lead the volunteers into the forested wooded area.   Following the work session, they hiked back up the hill for refreshments and to check out a worm bin/composting booth we had set up.  Here we talked about what options we have for composting on the Eastside, including the City's Food Scrap Program and individual worm bin composting options.

While only slightly amused by my "How to tell which end of a worm is which" type jokes, the kids were interested in seeing how a worm bin was assembled and checking out the wiggly red anglers themselves.

A couple girls shared what Forever Green themed monthly challenges they have been doing this last year in their troop groups.  Nia shared her favorite one, "Nature Vision came out to our school, took us outside to the trail and taught us how to recognize some of the different bird sounds."  Others talked of having made reusable gift bags and green cleaners.  This month's challenge is grow green gardens.  Two girls (and their agreeing dads) were happy to take the worm bins home and start their own worm bin composting.

In continuation of this composting green theme, my talk THIS WEDNESDAY will include information on Eastside composting.  Also presented will be a humorous way at looking at some of the Sustainability challenges we have today, how some of the options can be confusing and how some of the options are just a matter of being more efficient.  Going green doesn't have to mean sacrificing something or having to buy the more expensive product.  In fact, like in composting our food scraps, OUR community actually SAVES money.

Kitchen "Food Scrap Collection" Kit from City of Redmond

Check it out this WEDNESDAY the 25th, 7 p.m., at Soul Food Books in Redmond!  Come by for an enjoyable evening with a cup of tea and some good laughs to go around.  Hope to see you there!

The jokes are all new since I used up all my worm jokes.  Just tickle the worm in the middle and which ever end laughs will tell you which end of the worm is which.  If you can't make it in person, they do live streaming from the Soul Food Tribe website.

Next month, the Girl Scout Forever Green Challenge is similar to other challenges around the area: Transportation!  Cascade Bicycle Club calls it "May is Bike Month."  On their website has information on how to "Join the Challenge today."

Strong Communites are the Seedbed for Successful Sustainable Initiatives!

In preparation for giving a short talk tonight, this concept came through...

If Green Champions are important for spearheading new green initiatives, then strong communities are the seedbed for which these initiatives can grow and flourish.  

In other words, when a green inspiration strikes someone it can be fleeting and be gone in the next moment.  But, put that inspiration next to someone else who was thinking the same thing, then that shared awareness becomes the beginning of what could become a grassroots effort.  For it to move onto the next stage is where the strong community comes in to the equation.  

The two go hand in hand - Strong Communities & Sustainable Actions

In return, these Sustainable Actions give a more holistic feel to the community.

Press Release, Part II, from Cascade Power Group: Recovered heat helps to meet Washington's growing demand

BELLEVUE, WA – Washington can meet its growth in energy demand with thermal energy by 2035, according to a new report by Cascade Power Group.  The 2012 Washington State Clean Energy Roadmap finds that reusing wasted heat can help Washington meet over two-thirds of state climate goals.

“This report offers a new perspective on Washington’s energy resources. Until now, when people talk about meeting our energy needs they think of building more power plants or wind turbines,” said Juliana Williams, co-author of the report.

Heat is produced whenever fossil fuels are burned, and over half it is lost as waste. Waste-heat can be recycled through technologies such as heat exchangers, and in district energy systems and waste-heat to power (WH2P) projects. Reusing waste-heat prevents the need for burning more fossil fuels, thereby lowering overall emissions in the state.

The 2012 Washington State Clean Energy Roadmap presents three scenarios for Washington’s energy landscape in 2035, along with the policy changes necessary to achieve those changes.  The scenarios focus on installing combined heat and power (CHP) on all natural gas combustion; eliminating fuel-oil heating from the industrial, commercial and residential sectors; and achieving full electrification of motor vehicles. Based on the scenarios, Washington would need to develop between 5.6 and 6.4 gigawatts of recycled heat projects such as small-scale CHP and district energy systems.

“Each of these scenarios is ambitious but achievable using existing technologies,” said Chuck Collins, CEO of Cascade Power Group. “We need policy support from lawmakers in Olympia to help remove the project barriers for clean energy technologies.”

The report recommends policy changes such as expanding output-based emissions standards, creating Energy Conservation Credits (similar to Renewable Energy Credits), allowing utilities to rate-base investments in district energy, and adjusting utility ‘standby-power’ rates and is available online atwww.cascadepowergroup.com.

Press Release from Cascade Power Group: Gov. signs bill to include heat in renewable energy options

OLYMPIA, WA – Today Governor Christine Gregoire signed a bill that allows renewable thermal energy to qualify for renewable energy credits. 

ESHB 2664 signing - March 27, 2012
Stan Gent on left, CEO and President of Seattle Steam
Governor in front
Chuck Collins in back, CEO of Cascade Power Group
Megan Lynch-Folkstead on right, she works for lobby firm Martin Flynn Public Affairs

The bill allows utility companies to add thermal energy to the list of alternative energy resources they provide for customers to purchase.  These sources include: biomass heating through boilers; geothermal or ground-source heating; solar heating; heat recovery and reuse at wastewater treatment facilities, and others. 

According to the Department of Commerce, over half of the energy consumed in Washington each year is wasted as heat.  The bill provides additional financial incentive for utilities and private companies to produce useful thermal energy from additional sources beyond natural gas and fossil fuels. 

Sponsored by Rep. Jeff Morris (D-Anacortes), the bill (ESHB 2664) passed the House 97-0 and the Senate 47-1, and was supported by environmental groups, utility companies, municipal organizations and private developers.

“This bill changes the way people think about energy.  Until now, when people said renewable energy they just meant electricity.  Now, we’re changing the conversation to include thermal resources,” said Chuck Collins, CEO of Cascade Power Group, a Bellevue-based energy conservation and renewable energy company supporting the bill.

“We commend the leadership in Washington State for their overwhelming support for this common sense legislation that recognizes the economic and environmental value of thermal energy.  This bill will help to unleash investment in highly efficient and environmentally responsible solutions, strengthen local economies and sets a standard for other states to follow.” said Robert Thornton, CEO of International District Energy Association.

“Sometimes small steps lead to progress faster that giant leaps; today is the first small step in understanding that thermal energy has a much greater role to play in a sustainable energy future than has been  considered in the past.  Understanding how district energy, where renewable heat or waste heat from industry can be used to heat properties, opens the door to new ways to use today’s technology for future cost effective sustainable solution,” said Stan Gent, CEO and President of Seattle Steam Company.

The thermal renewable energy credits will be offered to customers through voluntary utility green power programs, and will not count towards the state renewable portfolio standard.  In 2010, over 50,000 customers purchased over 50 megawatt-hours of renewable energy credits through voluntary utility programs.