Community Energy Ambassadors

Twenty community members in Somerville's Climate Forward Ambassadors program meet with staff six times to learn together about climate change and what can be done about it. There's an hour of advance reading, a presentation and group discussion. Participants agree to do an individual or group activity in town related to climate change, and the program ends with a public celebration.

https://www.somervillema.gov/climateforward/ambassadors

See also -
https://www.a2gov.org/departments/sustainability/Sustainability-Me/Families-Individuals/Pages/Get-Involved.aspx

#LocalClimateAction

I like Hannah Ritchie's regular free podcasts and emails from: Sustainability by numbers - Using data and research to understand what really makes a difference.

https://hannahritchie.substack.com/p/welcome-to-sustainability-without

(She's also the Head of Research at Our World in Data.)

#sustainability #LocalClimateAction

David Roberts recently did a podcast on the new 120V induction stoves, which include a 4 kWh lithium-iron-phosphate battery. It provides boosted power for the stove; may let you avoid hiring an electrician; can be installed in the factory efficiently and more cheaply; offers a way to power a refrigerator and the stove for several days if the grid goes down; and might even be used to provide grid services at some point...

https://www.volts.wtf/p/induction-stoves-with-batteries-built

#InductionStoves #LocalClimateAction

New York City has a on-line map with the location of each tree in the city, and information about it. People can care for trees and record their contributions on the map, and can get permits to plant trees in empty street tree beds. The website also estimates the environmental and CO2 sequestration benefits of the city's trees.

https://tree-map.nycgovparks.org/tree-map

Avazea sells software like this, based on an open source project, to cities.

https://www.opentreemap.org

#LocalClimateAction #UrbanForests

WindowDressers has brought community volunteers together to produce 9,000 low-cost insulating interior-mounted storm windows in 50 New England towns. Wood frames wrapped with clear polyolefin film shrunk tight with a hair dryer create an interior airspace for additional insulation. A foam gasket on the edge lets you slide them into place in for the winter, improving warmth and comfort, lowering heating costs, and reducing CO23 emissions

https://windowdressers.org/

#LocalClimateAction
#Retrofit

The University of Maine recently used 3D-printing with bio-based materials to produce a 600 sq.ft house. The floors, walls, insulation, and roof were made of wood fibers and bio-resins. Printed in four modules, highly insulated, and assembled on site in half a day, the house is completely recyclable.

#AffordableHousing
#3dPrinting
#LocalClimateAction

The Fort Collins, CO municipal utility runs a one stop shop service supporting home and rental energy efficiency upgrades. It provides assessments and recommendations, rebates, financing options with on-bill repayment, Epic Certificates documenting the completion of recommended upgrades and the building's energy score before and after those changes, and an education and certification program for real estate agents.

https://www.fcgov.com/utilities/epichomes

https://climatetoolbox.info/energy-concierge-service/

#LocalClimateAction

Upcoming webinar - "QuitCarbon: Lessons Learned as Carbon Concierges"

QuitCarbon has been drafting “Quitting Plans” for home electrification retrofits in the Bay Area for 11 months. They work with contractors and homeowners to find the best solutions, recommendations, and incentives. Focuses on lessons learned, how municipalities and utilities can support residential electrification, etc.

Register: https://buildingdecarb-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYsf-mhpzsoEtKmn2bQr26MAyyITUaWnjKf?

#LocalClimateAction
#EnergyConcierges

Drawdown’s Neighborhood is a series of short on-line documentaries featuring the stories of diverse climate solutions heroes, city by city.

The first season was about people and projects in Pittsburgh; the new season focuses on Atlanta.

https://drawdown.org/programs/drawdown-stories/neighborhood

#LocalClimateAction
#ClimateArt

@drvolts

Upcoming induction stoves with battery built in, providing improved performance, allowing you to avoid a panel upgrade if you don't have room for a 40 Amp circuit, and maybe eventually providing behind the grid storage for other applications.

https://techcrunch.com/2022/11/15/impulse-series-a/
Also:
https://twitter.com/sdamico/status/1592553422284521472

#inductionstoves
#LocalClimateAction

Climate Change Theatre Action

Worldwide series of readings and performances of short climate change plays presented to coincide with the COP meetings. The Arctic Cycle commissions fifty 5 minute plays on a theme from playwrights around the world and makes them available free to community groups willing to present at least one. This year's theme - Envisioning a Green New Deal. (They have anthologies of previous plays.)

http://www.climatechangetheatreaction.com/about/

#LocalClimateAction #ClimateArt

Lowering EV buyers' costs for loans by taking incentives, lower operating costs, and higher expected resale values into account - and bundling charger installation costs into the loan.

https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/electric-vehicles/startups-draw-on-data-driven-insights-to-slash-the-costs-of-ev-ownership

#EV
#LocalClimateAction