sustainableflatbush.org

Wondering if you can convert your house to solar?

Come to the…

Neighborhood Solar Forum
for single family homes

sponsored by Sustainable Flatbush

July 16th @ 8pm
Ditmas Workspace
535 East 17th Street (corner of Ditmas)
http://www.ditmasworkspace.com/

Peter Landy will speak about his experience converting his house to solar power.

Chris Neidl of Solar One will speak about current legislation and initiatives to make residential solar power affordable.

RSVP requested (but not required) to anne@sustainableflatbush.org
Special Thanks to Liena Zagare and Ditmas Workspace

*Spread the word to friends and neighbors!

**The next Solar Forum will focus on multi-family apartment buildings, including co-ops.

IMPORTANT DATE CHANGES:

There will NOT be a meeting for the Flatbush (Comm)Unity Garden tomorrow (July 8th).
Sorry for any confusion and inconvenience!!

The next Sustainable Flatbush monthly meeting
will be held on Tuesday July 22nd… and it’s gonna be a BARBEQUE!
Come out, meet your environmentally-inclined neighbors, and bring something to eat, drink, or toss on the grill.

Thanks to a reader for sending in this very good news: Home Depot announced on Tuesday that they will start accepting CFL bulbs for recycling. Any instance of producers and retailers taking responsibility for the end-of-life disposal of the products they make and sell can only be a good sign; this will ultimately drive the trend toward creating products made from materials that do less harm and are either recyclable or biodegradable. It’s the same idea of Extended Producer Responsibility that we talked about regarding e-waste recycling legislation in New York City a few months back. This is the way design and manufacturing has got to go! Just ask the Cradle to Cradle guys.

Here’s a snippet from Home Depot’s press release:

ATLANTA, June 24, 2008 - The Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement retailer, today expanded its long-term commitment to the environment and sustainability by launching a national in-store, consumer compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb recycling program at all 1,973 The Home Depot locations. This free service is the first such offering made so widely available by a retailer in the United States and offers customers additional options for making environmentally conscious decisions from purchase to disposal. The Home Depot Canada launched a CFL recycling program in November, 2007.

At each The Home Depot store, customers can simply bring in any expired, unbroken CFL bulbs, and give them to the store associate behind the returns desk. The bulbs will then be managed responsibly by an environmental management company who will coordinate CFL packaging, transportation and recycling to maximize safety and ensure environmental compliance.

The press release goes on to tout Home Depot’s energy conservation programs, Eco Options product labeling, etc. I know that the cynics among us will question Home Depot’s motives for doing the right thing, but personally I am not so concerned about WHY they do it as long as they do. Let the Big Box stores be the first to take responsibility for All That Stuff they sell to us. (And if you’re really concerned/cynical put your money where your mouth is: don’t buy all that stuff!) When producers and retailers bear the burden that these products create after their useful life, a lot of things will change.

More perspectives on this announcement:
NY Times
Boston Globe
Grist

More on CFLs and recycling:
Grist

More places to recycle various objects (see links for details):
Staples: computers and peripherals, printers, other office electronics, rechargeable batteries, cell phones, printer cartridges
Best Buy: appliances, computers, televisions, cell phones, a/v equipment, batteries, printer cartridges
Whole Foods: glass and plastic bottles, plastic bags, batteries

Obama Assails Remarks by McCain on Offshore Oil Drilling

Obama laid into McCain over his proposals to ease energy prices through offshore oil drilling, specifically his statement that it would provide “psychological benefit” — since the oil industry is already leasing land that it for some reason chooses not to drill on, and since experts agree that the benefits of offshore drilling would be minimal, temporary, and take several years to be felt….

“ ‘Psychological impact’?” Mr. Obama said. “In case you’re wondering, that’s Washington-speak for ‘It polls well.’ ”

The article is full of zingers from Obama; another favorite, referring to McCain’s idea to offer a $300 million prize to any scientist who can develop a longer-lasting car battery (presumably to make electric cars more viable):

“When John F. Kennedy decided that we were going to put a man on the Moon, he didn’t put a bounty out for some rocket scientist to win,” he said. “He put the full resources of the United States government behind the project.”

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Rethinking the Country Life

Higher fuel prices are finally moving some Americans to start reconsidering their choice of sprawling suburban and exurban homes, far from their jobs, and with no public transportation.

“Living closer in, in a smaller space, where you don’t have that commute,” he said. “It’s definitely something we talk about. Before it was ‘we spend too much time driving.’ Now, it’s ‘we spend too much time and money driving.’ ”

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Brazil Seizes Livestock to Protect Rainforest

In global environmental news, Brazil is making moves against cattle ranchers illegally grazing their herds on protected rainforest:

“No more being soft,” [minister of the environment Carlos Minc] told reporters in the capital, Brasilia. “Those that don’t respect environmental legislation, your cattle are going to become barbecue for Fome Zero,” he said, referring to the government’s food program for the poor.

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Pink Maraca (photo by Themis Boaventura)

Saturday’s Newkirk Avenue Block Party was a great day of fun. In addition to a full schedule of live music (courtesy of Make Music New York, and coordinated by Mannix Gordon), we had Solar One, Brooklyn Compost Project, Alive Structures, and Transportation Alternatives represented; plus a paper casting workshop by Flatbush artist Kathy Levine, fitness activities with Midwood Martial Arts, and the ever-popular Recycling Game.

Recycling Game (photo by Themis Boaventura)

But the best part of the day was the simple fact that the street was closed to traffic, allowing everyone to enjoy a new (albeit temporary) public gathering place.

Street Games (photo by Anne Pope)

Midwood Martial Arts (photo by Themis Boaventura)

Face Painting (photo by Themis Boaventura)

More photos here at our Flickr Gallery!

I Love Brookln!, originally uploaded by Sustainable Flatbush.

Yesterday’s Newkirk Avenue Block Party was a great success. More photos and story coming up… but I just couldn’t wait to post this one!

Lots going on (or trying to!) in Albany and beyond on environmental issues. Here are just a few links to support important legislation being considered:

Solar Energy
This week the State legislature approved new tax incentives to encourage the installation of more solar electric (photovoltaic) panels in New York. This is great news, but the lack of opportunity for net metering (selling excess power back to the grid) remains been one of the biggest impediments to the growth of solar in New York State. Under current laws, home solar systems have limited net metering abilities and commercial installations have NONE. This is a huge lost opportunity to ease strain on our electrical grid and prevent power outages during the summer, since the peak demand for power (particularly in NYC) occurs at the time when solar panels are at their most effective: in the middle of the day. What can you do?
Send a message to Albany to loosen restrictions on net metering!

UPDATE from Vote Solar: New York is on a roll. The state also just passed legislation to update its net metering standard, from a claustrophobic 10 kW cap for solar installations, limited to residential only, up to a gold-standard 2 MW, open to all customer classes. This significantly opens the market for large scale solar in New York, and is a critical step towards building a major solar market in the Empire State.

Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
Under the RGGI, New York will make dirty power plants clean up their act by requiring them to cut carbon dioxide emissions and pay a price for any remaining pollution. Polluter Pays… what a concept!
Tell the Department of Environmental Conservation that you support the RGGI

Bigger Better Bottle Bill
A favorite at Sustainable Flatbush (see here and here), this bill passed the State Assembly on June 11th, and must now pass the Republican-controlled Senate. The bill would add 5-cent deposits to non-carbonated beverages such as bottled water, iced tea, and sports drinks, whose market share was nonexistent when our current bottle bill was enacted in 1982. According to NYPIRG, “nearly 3 billion non-carbonated beverage bottles and cans end up in the trash or polluting our state’s rivers, beaches, and neighborhoods each year because they don’t have a deposit”… so the bill’s potential to reduce litter and increase recycling is huge. I don’t have a link to email your Senator, but will update the post if I find one.

Okay, this one is federal, but also very important:
Green Jobs Act and “Green Block Grant” Program
Activist Van Jones (if you don’t know him yet, check him out!) has this to say about the legislation:

A fully funded Green Jobs Act will distribute $125 million per year to identify needed skills, develop training programs, and train workers for jobs in a range of green industries. That’s enough money to train 30,000 people in green trades - every year. It targets a broad range of populations for eligibility, but it has a special focus on creating “green pathways out of poverty.” In other words, this Act can connect the people who MOST need work - to the work that MOST needs to get done.

A fully funded Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program will distribute $2 billion per year to cities and local governments for energy conservation, energy audits, fuel conservation programs, and the use of renewable energy. These “Green” block grants could create tens of thousands of green-collar jobs - accessible to low-income city residents who most need opportunities and careers.

Urge your Congressperson and Senators to support these programs!

Now go have a beer!

I’ve been watching the buildup all day on Streetsblog in anticipation of this exciting announcement:

Emulating similar experiments in Paris, London, and Bogotá, Colombia, New York City will close off to traffic a 6.9-mile route from the Brooklyn Bridge to East 72nd Street on three consecutive Saturdays, giving New Yorkers to a chance to explore and enjoy “car-free recreation corridors” — well, for six hours a stretch, at least. (NY Times)

“We anticipate that hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers and visitors will take advantage of streets temporarily opened for recreation,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “We hope the Summer Streets experiment will become as much a part of the New York experience as strolling the Coney Island boardwalk, participating in the 5-borough bike tour, or listening to the Philharmonic in the park.” (NYC press release, via Streetsblog)

(Photo: John Marshall Mantel for The New York Times

Yes, that’s David Byrne and Lance Armstrong bringing some celebrity power to the proceedings. The dates are August 9th, 16th and 23rd — can’t wait! For an idea of how fun this will be, check out the Bogota’s Ciclovia on Streetfilms. Next… BROOKLYN Summer Streets!!

Another brilliant campaign from the Copenhagen Bike Culture blog. In that Nordic mecca for stylish cyclists, a relaxed bike ride to work, school, shopping, or socializing is just everyday transportation (no Lycra allowed!). I’ve already mastered the “Slow” part, but full membership seems to require stiletto heels.

News from Stacey McCarthy, director of the Cortelyou Greenmarket:

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Hello Flatbush Community -

New this Sunday at the Cortleyou Greenmarket will be eggs and chicken from Knoll Krest Farms in Hyde Park, NY. Jorge Carmona of Amantai Farms will be bringing asparagus and strawberries, plus his lettuce, spinach, greens, zucchini, honey and other items.

Curious about composting? Stop by the greenmarket table between 9am to 1pm and check out Bruni Torras’ worm composting demonstration. See the worms in action and a sample outdoor composting bin.

Farmers in June 8th:

* Hodgson’s, Walden, NY — plants, rose bushes, HERBS
* Red Jacket Orchard’s, Geneva, NY — apples, rhubarb, juices
* Knoll Crest Farm, Hyde Park, NY — Eggs and chickens
* Jorge Carmona, Breinigsville, PA — asparagus, strawberries, lettuce, spinach, greens, zucchini, honey
* Bread Alone, Boiceville, NY — bread, pies, muffins
* Meredith’s Bakery, Kingston, NY — bread, pies, muffins

Coming next week

* Muddy River Farm, New Hampton, NY — Vegetables
* El Mirador Farm, New Jersey — Vegetables

The market is located on Cortelyou Road between Argyle and Rugby Streets. We’re open from 8am to 4pm.

See you Sunday. Thanks so much, Stacey