|
|
|
| | Global Warming Action Coalition
| | Bedford, Massachusetts
|
|
News
February 22, 2010
Bedford has been awarded an Energy Efficiency and Block Grant (EECBG)
sub-grant in the amount of $150,000 for its grant application seeking
funds to establish Thermal Efficiency at the Lane School. Funds for
this award were made available by the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 through the US Department of Energy's
Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block grant program. The
Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER)
developed and is responsible for administering this sub-grant program.
The award is intended to provide an incentive to districts working to
create a green energy future for the Commonwealth. DOER and its Green
Communities Division will work with Bedford to implement the Lane
School project.
Special thanks to Richard Jones, Director of Facilites, and Brenda
Kelly, a member of Bedford's Energy Task Force for procuring this
competitive grant for our schools.
Copenhagen Climate Conference
BedfordGWAC members Roger and Susan Shamel are in Copenhagen
for the Climate Conference. Roger has been sending reports:
- Date: Mon, 7 Dec 2009 10:52:38 GMT
-
Hi Everyone,
Susan and I have arrived safely in Copenhagen, followed at last, by
our luggage!
Everything here is about climate change--especially for the next two
weeks. Also, around the world, some 56 major newspapers have
headlines today about the climate conference--including one paper in
the US: The Miami Herald. I guess they can see the rising sea
lapping at the shore, close at hand. We are staying with a nice
Danish family in the center of town, and are learning a lot.
Building codes here include strict requirements for heavy
insulation. There are incentives to conserve energy. Most people
are aware of climate change, and how it must be dealt with. It is a
refreshing change from the `land of oblivia' from whence we came. A
very interesting trip,and it's only just begun! Plans are going
well for our candlelight vigil in Bremen Germany on the 11th, in
cooperation with the folks at www.350.org. (We've already had a
response from some Germans who plan to join us there, along with our
friend Katie, and others!)
It's time to go. We will try to keep good notes and share what we
can learn here.
Warm regards,
Roger
- Date: Thu, 10 Dec 2009 01:54:45 GMT
-
Hi Larry,
Thanks for forwarding this. It's great to see that folks at home
can share in the COP-15 Conference via the Internet if they wish.
Still, there's no substitute for being here, and meeting some of the
people who's very lives are being impacted by climate
change. Tonight, for example, Susan and I went to see a half dozen
short videos about how the shifting weather patterns caused by
climate change have resulted in domestic animal deaths, and crop
failures for the citizens of several different continents. Yes, the
people in the videos were there to answer questions. There are a
lot of emotions at play here, and I need to get some sleep, but it's
perhaps interesting to report that, for better or worse, many of
these impacted people believe that they have failed to be good
guardians of the the Earth,and that they are now being punished for
their lack of stewardship. (Knowing, as I do, that they have
contributed very little to climate change, while we Americans are
responsible for some 20+ percent of the cummulative GHGs in the
atmosphere, I felt somewhat ashamed.)
Another thing we learned: when wild fires occur in California, the
media here regularly mention climate change as a possibility!
Warm regards,
Roger
- Date: Thu, 10 Dec 2009 23:46:51 GMT
-
Hi All,
Sorry to say that our camera developed a problem, so we can't send
photos. (We bought a disposable camera so that we hope to have some
photos eventually.) We have only seen a glimpse of the sun through
the clouds.
We went to a great series of lectures today, contributing an American
perspective to the discussions that followed. There are many outdoor
and indoor exhibits around the city, relating to climate change and
its impacts. One was a life-sized polar bear made from ice placed
over a skeleton. As the ice melts, the skeleton becomes more and more
obvious, the bear less so. It's thought provoking. Another showed
100 places on the planet that are threatened, etc.
Tomorrow morning we begin the long trip home, traveling through many
cities by train, and doing our 350.org vigil in Bremen, before
visiting friends, then jumping from Hamburg to Lyon to Amsterdam to
Boston by plane on Monday.
All the best,
Roger
- Date: Sat, 12 Dec 2009 00:11:56 GMT
-
Hi Aubrey,
You can see our Bremen vigil
at www.donci.de. Our new German
friends had a digital camera and posted some photos on their blog at
this address. We had many people observing our vigil, and some
fruitful discussions.
Roger
Bedford Plant Fair, May 16, 2009

Leslie Lowry seated at GWAC table.
Earth Day, April 22, 2009

Susan Shamel talking with Paula Waterman (of Whole Foods) at our table at Whole Foods in Bedford.
Salem Coal-Fired Electric Power Plant Demonstration, March 2, 2009
Bedford Day, September 20, 2008

Bedford GWAC in the Parade
Leap Day, February 29, 2008
We had a table at Whole Foods event to celebrate their
transition from plastic bags to reusable paper bags.
Julie Turner captured coalition member Don Marshall manning the table.
Don and Roger Shamel spent the day encouraging Whole Foods patrons to sign up for the
Massachusetts Technology Collaborative initiative in support of wind technology.
Communities who enroll residents in the program are eligible to receive a solar panel
for every 150 participants.
Clean Energy Choice
Selectmen's Meeting, January 7, 2008
I am happy to announce that the Selectmen agreed last night to form an Energy Task Force.
My take is that they had already decided beforehand that this was the right thing to do.
So, it was really the pre-meeting conversations and actions that made this possible.
Our discussions with the Petitioners Committee, Cathy Cordes, Rick Reed,our TM artilce,
the signatures we obtained and the turn out of support at the meeting last night
demonstrated a seriousness that had a positive impact on the final result.
Next steps:
1)The Selectmen want us to make a presentation at TM so that people know what's going on
and are told how they can apply to become a Task Force member.
The group will start forming before that date, however.
The Volunteer Committee will include the TF in its list of committee opportunities
and there will be an article (written by Patrick Bell, the reporter,
and other forms of notification in the Minuteman. In terms of the composition of the TF,
I have promoted the idea of diverse skill sets as being most advantageous:
those working on or knowledgeable in the alternative energy field; grant writers;
social marketers; publicists; those with politically savvy.
If you know of anyone who would be interested in joining the TF, please let them know about it.
They can call me and I will be glad to get back to them with process info as soon as
I understand it fully myself.
2) Cathy Cordes and I will be working on a Task Force mission statement and
chain-of-command diagram so that everyone is clear on the what and the how.
All the best,
Kim
|