Take Green Action!  Protect your Earth! 

Join us at the 5th Annual New River Earth Day event on Saturday, April 24th, 12:00noon – 6:00pm- Downtown Fayetteville, WV.

Forty years after the first Earth Day, the world is in greater peril than ever. While climate change is the greatest challenge of our time, it also presents the greatest opportunity – an unprecedented opportunity to build a healthy, prosperous, clean energy economy now and for the future.

Earth Day 2010 can be a turning point to advance climate policy, energy efficiency, renewable energy and green jobs. Earth Day Network is galvanizing millions who make personal commitments to sustainability. Earth Day 2010 is a pivotal opportunity for individuals, corporations and governments to join together and create a global green economy. Join the more than one billion people in 190 countries that are taking action for Earth Day.

Original post by Earthday.net.

Discover your carbon footprint and ways to reduce it at The Nature Conservancy.

Keep your green resolution by signing up for a group challenge — and getting eco-encouragement from fellow environmentalists.

Made a resolution for the new year yet? If you’re looking for last-minute green goals to challenge yourself with in 2010, check out these green group challenges you can join. Fellow resolved environmentalists can help keep you on your green path and toward your eco-goals:

Current Green’s ONE GREEN THING New Year’s challenge. If you already have a general green goal — but are afraid it’s not specific or task-oriented enough — try Current Green’s program. This flexible challenge basically lets you set whatever goal you want — but also offers a more specific 5-step programs to turn your nebulous ideas into real eco-action.

The Compact. Started a few years ago by a group of Northern Californians who pledged not to buy anything new for a year, this eco-lifestyle challenge and its thrifty members are still going strong. Recently, longtime Compact member Katy Wolk-Stanley wrote about her un-consumer lifestyle at Fake Plastic Fish. Read about her experience to see if you’re up for the challenge!

The No Impact Experiment. Started by Colin “No Impact Man” Beavan’s eco-nonprofit No Impact Project, this experiment invites all to sign up for a week-long eco challenge, with the goal to “help you live a happier life that will result in a happier planet.” If long-term commitments aren’t your strong suit, starting with this week-long dealio might help you kick off 2010 with an eco-success under your belt. An added bonus: The challenge has iPhone apps!

The 2010 Happiness Challenge. Like the happiness idea behind The No Impact Challenge — but need a longer-lasting program? Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project, is running a year-long happiness challenge — complete with ahappiness project toolbox — that’ll tackle a new area of life each month. This challenge isn’t eco-specific, but is customizable — so remember to inject your own green motivations into the project.
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Original Post by Siel Ju at Mother Nature Network.

With all the gifts being sent to us this Christmas, we are dealing with a lot of packaging materials.  The newspaper we can recycle from home but all the plastic is a problem. 

However, yesterday I received a box that was packaged with inflatable plastic packaging and I was excited.  On the plastic itself was instructions on how to recycle it.  It lead me to the website Sealed Air.  There I found all I needed to do was pop holes in the inflatable plastic, fold it up, put it in an envelope with a stamp, and send it off to the address shown.  It was that easy to recycle.  

Upon receipt of the material, it will be ground up and re-pelletized, so it can be used to make a variety of products from trash bags to automotive parts, which can also be recycled.  They also have other packaging that can be deflated and reinflated for use in the future.

So as you are recieving Holiday packages this year, check the fine print on all of your plastics and recycle or reuse if you can!

Enjoy a Happy and Green Holiday Season!

Not only can pellets heat homes they can also produce electricity. Mingo County, WV in partnership with FRIEnergy plans to build a 2.4 megawatt biomass power plant that will burn lumber mill and wood industry waste and produce enough electricity to power 1200 homes. Elsewhere in the world, pellets burn alongside coal in coal-fired power plants to produce electricity. Cheaper than solar or wind for producing electricity, pellets and biomass, with prices similar to lignite coal, offer the fastest way to a renewable energy economy.

So what’s stopping us from making the switch from fuel oil heaters to clean pellet stoves? Primarily, the US lacks domestic demand for home heating and electricity generation from pellets. In 2008, Green Circle Bio Energy Inc. opened a pellet manufacturing plant in Cottondale, FL which creates over 500,000 tons of pellets a year, most of which is shipped to Europe where it’s used to create electricity. Europe’s high demand comes from a mandate that 20% of electricity production must come from renewable sources by 2020. Though slightly more expensive than coal, pellets are far cheaper at providing consistent electricity than solar or wind farms. With similar mandates in the US, Green Circle Bio Energy may turn from shipping pellets internationally to shipping them domestically.

Do your part to provide a cleaner, energy independent U.S. and buy a pellet stove today or write your congressman and tell them we need more pellet manufacturing plants and a mandate to produce more renewable electricity domestically.

Present:  Aimee Rist, Thomas Rist, Lily Kay, Rebecca Smith, Savanna Lyons, Erin St. John, Gabe Pena, Scott Fanello, Lorien MacCauley, Doug Arbogast,  Carl Thompson, Patty Korn, Ginger Danz

Topics of Discussion:

Rain Garden:  Scott Fanello met with Wetlands expert Tom Biebighauser regarding Fayetteville High School site.  Scott estimates that construction will take place in late August and planting will follow in September.  We are in need of plants and seeds, preferably low-maintenance perennials such as purple coneflower, Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susan) and tiger lilies.  Contact:  Scott_Fanello@partner.nps.gov

Green Bridge Day: Gabe Pena reported that this is the last week to gather information for next year’s proposal.  This year’s focus will be recycling and GREAT will be conducting a trash audit immediately after the event.  He indicated that volunteers are needed for the day of the event and the next day’s trash audit.  Contact:  gabe53_02@yahoo.com Savannah agreed to check into an informational booth for GREAT during the event.

501C3 Thomas Rist presented revised by-laws, a motion was made to accept by-law changes and the motion was seconded.  Changes to the by-laws consisted of naming officers (President: Aimee Rist; Vice-President: Carl Thompson; Secretary: Ginger Danz; Treasurer: Thomas Rist) and  naming the term of officers and Board of Directors (1 year).

Articles for Publication: Sue Plumley (absent) has requested that GREAT members submit relevant articles for publication.  Savanna Lyons offered to edit articles and organize submissions.  Each member present agreed to write an article to be submitted to Savanna before August 10, 2009.  Contact: savanna.may@gmail.com

ICLEI: Rebecca Smith reported that after a few minor issues are attended to, GREAT will be ready to present data to Bill Lanam and Mayor Akers and other local groups (Rotary, PAN).  Gabe Pena reported that he met with Lanam and Akers and they suggested that he contact Chris Perkins (Superintendent of Fayette County Schools).  Mr. Perkins has prepared a power point presentation outlining the energy inefficiency of local schools.  We discussed the possibility of inviting Mr. Perkins to present his information to GREAT members.

Weatherization: Savanna Lyons discussed the possibility of a GREAT collaboration with members of Coal River Mountain Watch to provide citizen-based home energy efficiency education.  She is planning an informational meeting for August 10^th or 11^th (to be announced).

PAN Vista Lily Kay (a regular GREAT meeting attendee) announced  an upcoming PAN meeting entitled “Project Wolf Creek: A watershed-based approach to clean water in our back yard.”  The meeting will be held Tuesday August 4^th from 7:30 to 9pm at the Fayetteville Presbyterian Church on West Maple Street in Fayetteville.

Lily also provided a template from PAN regarding organizational structure.  Aimee Rist will review it and we will address it at our next meeting.  GREAT officers will complete a mission statement which will also be open for discussion.

Next meeting: Monday August 31, 2009, 6:30 pm at the Fayetteville CVB on Court Street

Tip for kids (and playful adults)

Play outside! By exploring the great outdoors you’ll learn about nature and save electricity at the same time.

Kids can check out more environmental tips and take an environmental challenge at http://www.davidsuzuki.org/kids/.

If you have tried to stock your wardrobe with planet friendly choices, but find that many eco-friendly fashions are not very friendly on your wallet, you are in for a pleasant update. Check out these under $50 fashion-forward finds from familiar stores, like Target. So affordable you might be able to wear nothing but “green.”

• H&M – in addition to its plan of upping its organic cotton use by 50% over last year (note: it doesn’t label most of its organic apparel as such), on Earth Day H&M will debut a line made partially from recycled plastic bottles (many pieces under $50).
• Loomstate for Target – full line of limited-run men’s and women’s casual-cool clothes (jeans, dresses, even swimwear) from Loomstate;starting Sunday – ending mid-May ($45 and under).
• Zoe&Zac – Payless’s new line of casual footwear, bags, and jewelry made with materials like hemp, organic cotton, and water-based glues; designed with help from eco-model Summer Rayne Oakes, available now. For every pair you buy between now and May 4, Payless will donate $1 to plant trees ($30 and under).
• Urban Outfitters Urban Renewal – bid on hand-picked vintage clothing, many from big-name designers; available now with new stuff every week (starting at $10; note that items may get bid up beyond $50).

Adapted from Lisa Booth at examiner.com

Important meeting tonight at the Fayetteville Convention and Visitor’s Bureau office.  Please join us at 6:30pm to discuss the future of the Green Advisory Team.  Get involved in your community and help make a difference!

We also appreciate Matt Wender and Bill Lanham for helping us get this info too!