District Government Offers Funding for Solar, Wind Energy Projects

District residents, businesses, nonprofits and private schools may now
apply for up to $33,000 in assistance to install renewable energy
systems on their buildings. The Green Energy DC Incentive Program is
the first of a series of upcoming initiatives to support clean energy
technology. The District Department of the Environment (DDOE) will
provide up to $2 million for each of the next four years, beginning
immediately with solar photovoltaic and wind turbine systems.

Incentive payments are based on the amount of electricity the
renewable energy system generates. Projects must be completed within
six months of application. DDOE expects to be able to offer incentives
for solar thermal, geothermal, biomass and methane recovery systems in
the next several months.

For more information and a downloadable packet of application
materials, visit Green Energy DC

For more information, contact the DDOE Energy Office at (202) 673-6700 or greenenergy@dc.gov

Recycle your used Brita Filters

Preserve Recycles Brita Water Filters We are proud to announce that we have teamed up with Brita and, beginning in January, will recycle all Brita pitcher filters returned to our Preserve Gimme 5 program. The No. 5 polypropylene plastic from the casing will be used in our products. The filter ingredients – activated carbon and additional ion-exchange resin that reduces lead, mercury, copper, cadmium and zinc that might be found in tap water – will be regenerated for alternative use or converted into energy. Starting in January, you can drop off your used, dry Brita pitcher filters at participating Whole Foods Market stores or mail them directly to Preserve Gimme 5. Full details and instructions on both options, including a complete list of Gimme 5 stores, will be available at www.brita.com in early January 2009. To read more visit http://www.brita.com/pr/recycling.pdf

DC EXPANDS RECYCLING PROGRAM

DC EXPANDS CURBSIDE RECYCLING PROGRAM

DC Mayor Adrian Fenty has announced that the DC Department of Public Works recycling collection crews will accept an expanded list of items for recycling, especially plastics. As of October 6, residents can now recycle:

• Aerosol cans
• Milk and juice cartons
• Plastic bags, e.g., grocery bags, newspaper bags, shopping bags (Please “bag the bags” by placing all the bags into one bag.)
• Rigid plastics: plastic milk/soda crates, plastic buckets with metal handles, plastic laundry baskets, plastic lawn furniture, plastic totes, plastic drums, plastic coolers, plastic flower pots, plastic drinking cups/glasses, plastic 5-gallon water bottles, plastic pallets, plastic toys, and empty plastic garbage/recycling bins
• Wide-mouth containers: peanut butter, margarine/butter tubs, yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, whipped topping, and prescription and other medicine bottles.

For a comprehensive list of allowable items for recycling, click here.

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DC HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE/E-CYCLING DROP-OFF SITES

DPW operates two weekly household hazardous waste (HHW) /e-cycling drop-off and free personal document shredding sites at the Benning Road Trash Transfer Station (3200 Benning Road, NE) and the Fort Totten Trash Transfer Station (4900 Bates Road, NE). Both are open on Saturdays, except holidays, 8 am to 3 pm. These weekly drop-off sites replace the semi-annual HHW/e-cycling collection events. Residents also can bring documents to be shredded.

If you cannot make it to either site, residents can call 311, the Mayor’s Citywide Call Center, for a bulk collection appointment.

Accepted Household Hazardous Waste includes: Leftover cleaning and gardening chemicals, small quantities of gasoline, pesticides and poisons, mercury thermometers, paint, solvents, spent batteries of all kinds, antifreeze, chemistry sets, automotive fluids, and asbestos tiles, fluorescent light bulbs, polishes, and moth balls.

Unacceptable items: Ammunition, bulk trash, wooden TV consoles, propane tanks, microwave ovens, air conditioners and other appliances, as well as radioactive or medical wastes.

Residents can also e-cycle end-of-life consumer electronics, including audio-visual equipment, televisions, VCRs, cell phones and home office equipment such as computers, computer parts, printers, photocopiers and fax machines. These machines will be broken down into their component parts (plastic, glass, toxic metals) and recycled or disposed of safely. More Info >>

Al Gore’s National Challenge on Energy and Climate

Vice President Gore will be issuing an unprecedented challenge to policymakers and entrepreneurs. He’ll push the “reset” button on how we think about energy and climate. And how we create American prosperity.

This event will be held at DAR Constitution Hall (1776 D Street, NW) at noon on Thursday, July 17th.

Tickets are free, but space is limited. Please complete the form to get your ticket (you won’t be admitted without photo identification and a valid ticket).

Source: http://www.wecansolveit.org/page/s/tickets

The Most Important Number in the World: 350

From: The Seventh Generation 7Gen Blog

By the Inkslinger – June 30, 2008

Three hundred and fifty. 350. That’s the most important number in the world. Learn it and remember it, because it represents the atmospheric line in the sand that we cross at our own peril. In order to live sustainably, we need to make sure the air we breathe stays below 350 parts per million (ppm) concentration of carbon dioxide.

350 is also the name of a new group spearheaded by our writer and activist friend Bill McKibben that intends to help us get to the safe side of that number. We support this group and think you should, too.

We know that the climate crisis is pretty hard to get your head around. It involves a lot Byzantine atmospheric science that can be difficult to follow, and we can’t see it the same way we can see polluted water or mountains of solid waste. But it is definitely affecting us, causing weather extremes, slowly rising sea levels, and arctic melting, to name a few disasters-in-the-making.

But 350. Now there’s a number we can understand, a way to make this big amorphous thing feel real and tangible and part of our lives. Currently, atmospheric CO2 levels are about 387 ppm. We’ve already crossed the line, and 350.org is going to work to pull us back from this brink. They’ve got some good ideas, some great energy and some excellent info. But mostly what they’ve got is the meme we’ve been looking for. 350. That single bite-sized piece of information that instantly crystallizes an amazingly complex idea for effortless consumption and motivated action. It’s really quite an extraordinary thing. 350. Take it. Spread it. Share it.

And check out 350 the group. It is an effort we all need to make together.

Source: The Seventh Generation 7Gen Blog

organic food is healthier…

We told you once, we told you twice, and here is it is again: organic food is healthier. After £12M and four years of study, it has been announced that organic fruit, vegetables and milk are more nutritious than non-organically produced. They may also contain higher concentrations of antioxidants which ward off cancer and heart disease. Apparently, “the health benefits were so striking that moving to organic food was the equivalent of eating an extra portion of fruit and vegetables every day.”

read more | digg story

TOTAL DENIAL SCREENING IN DC!

Total Denial screening in Washington, DC today, tomorrow and Wednesday October 22, 23 & 24!

Milena Kaneva, film maker of Total Denial: Doe vs. Unocal is making an Oscar run with her award winning documentary and rolling out the film for Theater screenings in several major cities including Washington, DC.

If you haven’t had a chance to see the film, you can check it out for the next three afternoons at the Avalon theatre in Washington, DC at 2:15pm and 4:05pm for the next three days.

The Avalon Cinema
2.15p.m. and 4.05 p.m.
October 22, 23 & 24
5612 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington, D.C. 20015
http://www.avalon.com/

Please come out and support Burma and EarthRights International while enjoying this ground breaking documentary. You can also snag a Total Denial t-shirt to show your support for the film and the people of Burma.

Hope to see you there!

EarthRights International Staff

Former BP gas stations in DC

EPA and B.P. Products North America Resolve Underground Storage Tank Violations at Four Former D.C. Gas Stations

Contact: Donna Heron 215-814-5113 / heron.donna@epa.gov

PHILADELPHIA (October 15, 2007) – B.P. Products North America Inc. and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have resolved underground storage tank violations at four of the company’s former gas stations in Washington, D.C.

B.P. will pay a $6,350 fine for failing to perform corrosion protection inspections every 60 days at three of its four facilities, and for failing to provide release detection oversight for two small waste oil underground storage tanks at two of the facilities.

The inspection violations occurred from November 2003 through March 2005.  While the company often did the inspections, they weren’t always done within 60 days of the prior inspection as required by law.  B.P. discovered the inspection irregularities, changed its underground storage tank inspector contractor, and came back into compliance before the facilities were inspected by EPA in May 2005.

The release detection violations for one of the two waste oil tanks were confined to several months in 2005 although the release detection violations for the other facility occurred over several years from 2002 to 2005.

BP sold these four facilities in December 2005. The company has neither admitted nor denied EPA’s factual allegations.

For more information, go to: http://www.epa.gov/swerust1/overview.htm

Zipcar Membership

Join Zipcar and get $50 in free driving!

Just Some Miscellaneous Activism Thoughts

First, don’t forget to visit the DC Green Festival (www.greenfestival.org) Saturday and Sunday! While your there, or even if you don’t go, you might want to learn a few new tricks for making things happen.

 I(Chet) have another WordPress blog where I write about creative thinking, decision making techniques, social innovation, and problem analysis. The posts aren’t nearly as intimidating or dry as they sound! I promise )

Here’s the link: http://chetdavis.wordpress.com