BAINBRIDGE COOLMOM NEWS

July 2009

Upcoming meeting:Thursday, July 23, 7:30PM  

The Treehouse Cafe
4569 Lynwood Center Road N.E.
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 US   

This month, as we end our “Power Down” series, I invite you to slow down and enjoy an evening with us, just chatting and exchanging ideas and advice about sustainable living.  If you haven’t yet had an opportunity to attend one of our meetings during our first year, this will be a wonderful opportunity to find out who we are and let us know what specific subjects you are interested in learning more about in the upcoming year.

We will take August “off” as the summer ends, and we all gear up for the upcoming school year.  Our next meeting will be on Thursday, September 17th.  In addition, I will have to slow down a bit myself this year.  I’m wondering if anyone would be interested in assisting me in organizing events and meetings.  Please let me know if you are interested.

Please RSVP to Sonja Fritts, sfritts@seanet.com

June 2009

John Grinter from the Bainbridge Island Non-Motorized Transportation Advisory Committee spoke about biking on Bainbridge Island and action to improve and expand those trails.  For more information, visit Bainbridge Island’s guide to walking, cycling and paddling, put together by the Non Motorized Committee: , and a website about Island trails, with great maps, sign up opportunities for trail work, and other trail events at bainbridge Island trails.

May 2009
 
Hi CoolMoms and Dads,
 
We are continuing our three-month part series entitled “Power Down,” focusing on slowing down and reducing our energy consumption.  At our last meeting in May, we learned about how to reduce our energy consumption and save money.  We also toured the new building at the Bainbridge Island High School and learned about all the eco-friendly features.  I learned a lot at both of these events, and I hope you all read below for more information.  You may be surprised and hopefully inspired at what you learn and how our high school, especially the students, are supporting the environmental movement.
 
Our next meeting is on Thursday, June 18th.  John Grinter, who is a member of the Bainbridge Island Non-Motorized Transportation Advisory Committee, will speak to us about how to choose and maintain the proper bike for your intended use.  We’ll also learn about bike trails around Bainbridge Island and what action is being taken to improve and expand those bike trails.
 
Please feel free to forward our newsletter to anyone you think may be interested in implementing some of these tips or joining CoolMom.
 
Power Down!
 
Reduce Your Energy Consumption at Home
 
In our last meeting, Executive Board President and Treasurer of Community Energy Solutions, Tammy Deets, spoke to us about how to reduce our own energy consumption at home.  Tammy also provided us with free copies of the Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings.  I have a few extra that I will pass out at our next meeting on a first come, first serve basis.
 
Here is a summary of what we learned:
 
First, we learned about alternative energy sources.  Did you know that during the summer months, the Seattle region receives as many hours of sunlight as Los Angeles?  Installing solar panels in this area makes sense, especially since it is during those same summer months when our rivers are low.  On the other hand, installing wind turbines in the Seattle area does not make sense.  Studies have shown that we simply do not get fast enough winds consistently.  Because our rivers are low in the summer, our electric companies which usually create electricity from our hydroelectric sources, are forced to purchase electricity from other companies, which use coal, nuclear, or other carbon dioxide and emission-producing sources.  It costs about $7,000 to $9,000 to install 1 kgw on a building.  Community Energy Solutions installed 5 kgw of solar panels at Sakai School.  For more on the Sakai School solar system power generation, go to www.cenergysolutions.org, and click on the Green Electrons button.
 
After discussing alternative energy sources, we discussed home energy use.  Ideally, everyone should have an energy audit done of their home.  They cost about $400 to $500.  The problem is that no one is trained to go into homes and perform all the types of tasks that need to be done to improve home energy efficiency in accordance with an audit.  In addition, at this time, there is no funding set up for residential home owners to make such improvements.  (CoolMom member, Diane Landry, shared her experience:  After she had an energy audit conducted of her home, she asked who she could hire to make all the changes the audit suggested and was told that there was no one around here and only one guy in Bremerton who performed that kind of work.)  Tammy explained that Community Energy Solutions is currently working on a proposal to use the funds designated for Kitsap County by the Obama Administration to increase energy efficiency to tackle these problems.  Hopefully, we’ll see their plan implemented within the year.  Kitsap County has been allocated over 2 million dollars to increase energy efficiency.
 
Steps to Reduce Energy Usage and Save Money!
 
In the meantime, there are steps that you can take.  First, to increase your home energy efficiency AND reduce your utility bills, go to www.pse.com for a home energy analysis.  You need your electricity bill to enter your account number.  After entering your account number, click on the “Energy Center” tab.  Enter your home profile information.  The website will then show you your average energy use by day of the week, where your energy dollars go, how your usage has changed since last year, and how your costs compare to similar homes.  You can then click on the “Home Energy Tools” tab to learn about ways to reduce your energy usage and save on your energy bill.
 
Second, get a carbon analysis of your home and lifestyle.  Go to http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_calculator.html.
 
Finally, have an energy audit of your home conducted.  Depending upon your own skills, you can implement some of the changes yourselves.  You can also hire a handyman or contractor to perform specific tasks, such as installing insulation.  One of the ways most energy is wasted in homes is by cold air leaking into the house and warm air leaking out of the house.  Other changes that will increase energy efficiency include the following:
 
Energy Saving Tips*
 
Install an on-demand or solar-powered water heater.**
Install a heat pump.**
Turn everything off not in use.  If you don’t want to unplug appliances and other items, plug them all into surge protectors and turn them off every night.
During hot months, use window treatments to reduce solar gain, especially in south and west windows and skylights.
In cold months, use window coverings at night to create a dead air space and reduce cold air radiation and drafts.
Install low-flow shower heads and sink aerators – 1.5 gal/minute or less.
When cooking, keep lids on pots and use a microwave or conduction cook top for improved efficiency.  Don’t use the self-cleaning option on electric ovens.
Keep fireplace flue dampers closed and use glass doors, insulation or a flue balloon to reduce heat loss through the flue.
Set your programmable thermostat to turn back during the day and at night.  If you do not have a programmable thermostat, install one.  These typically cost less than $100.  Having a well-programmed thermostat can cut your heat bill as much as 15%.
Turn down heat in rooms you do not use.  Use zoned thermostats or the damper controls on heat registers.
Lower the temperature on your water heater.  110-120 degrees is plenty.  (Our on-demand water heater is set at 106 degrees, which is high enough.)  When you leave town, shut your water heater off.  Most gas heaters have a “vacation” mode.  Electric water heaters can be shut off at the circuit breaker.
Insulate all hot water lines in your home, especially within 6 feet of the water heater.
Install compact fluorescent lights wherever possible.  Regular light bulbs waste 95% of the energy as waste heat.  Replace your 5 most common used light bulbs and save up to $60/year.***
Get rid of the old refrigerator in the garage that has one can of old beer in it.
 
*Source:  Most of these tips come from Low-Cost Energy Saving Tips by Community Energy Solutions and Speech by Tammy Deets.
 
**If you are interested and want to see what these items look like or how they function, I have both of them in my own home.  I would be more than happy to show you.
 
***Whenever possible, install LED lighting.  For more information, please read this article in the NY Times:  http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/30/science/earth/30degrees.html?em.
 
New Eco-Friendly Building at Bainbridge Island High School
 
Assistant Dean, Dean Fritts, led us on a tour through the new building at the High School, explaining not only the eco-friendly features of the building but also the exciting process the school community engaged in to achieve a great goal.  The highlights include the following:
 
The design company met with faculty, students, and members of the community before designing the high school.  Many of the faculty and students’ requests were incorporated in the design.  For example, the students were particularly concerned about reducing waste.  As a result, there are waste and recycling bins throughout the building.  The school’s goal is to reduce its paper waste by 50% during the first year.  It also plans to go paperless within the next two to three years.
The new building is constructed of only three natural materials - metal, wood, and concrete.
The building is designed to allow as much natural light into the building as possible to reduce energy use and cost.  To that end, the space is open and huge windows and skylights are installed throughout the building.  It really is beautiful.
The floor and much of the walls are concrete.
The building is heated by radiant flooring.
The lights all contain sensors and are connected to a computer grid which adjusts the lights as needed according to the amount of natural sunlight streaming into the building and classrooms.  The grids are arranged in such a way that the lights closest to the windows in the classroom next to the windows will go off when there is enough sunlight while the lights farthest away from the windows will turn on dimly as needed.
There are four green roofs.  (The school district wanted to make the entire roof a green roof, but could not afford it.  The amount of steel that would have been required to satisfy building codes would have been too costly.)
Absolutely no water run off from the new building goes into the Puget Sound.  There are several rain gardens planted around the building that soak up all the water run off from the roof.
The new building also has a huge commercial composter.  The school will compost all of its food scraps, which will then be used to fertilize the surrounding grounds.  Extra compost will then be sold to the community.
 
A couple of additional, inspiring facts:
 
The school district purchased chairs designed specifically to allow students to move (rocking back and forth) while sitting in class.  Studies have shown that people learn better when they can move.  (We sat in the chairs, and they are incredibly comfortable.  These are not your high school chairs or desks.)  The chairs are very expensive, but the school district was able to pay for the chairs by saving on other costs, such as installing rain gardens instead of a holding tank for run-off water, which would have cost about one million dollars.
 
Here is another inspiring story.  As many of you might know, there were five, old cherry trees outside of the old building.  The Japanese-American community on Bainbridge donated these trees to the High School shortly after WWII.  The construction company was able to keep two trees on the site.  Three trees were moved to Woodward.  One died, but the other two are flourishing.  Because of the community’s concern and the school district’s efforts, four of the five trees were saved.
 
You may notice that there are young cherry trees that now line the new building.  When the plans were first being discussed for the new building, the late and beloved Junkoh Harui (founder of Bainbridge Gardens) nurtured starts from the original five trees.  All of the young cherry trees lining the new building have grown from those starts.
 
If you get a chance to tour the high school, please do so.  It is beautiful and amazing!
 
Class on Maintaining and Riding Bikes around Bainbridge Island – Thursday, June 18th
 
Have you been playing around with the idea of commuting by bike but not sure what to do?  Would you like to ride a bike for recreation but not sure where to start or go?  Please join us for CoolMom meeting on Thursday, June 18th.  A member of the Bainbridge Island Non-Motorized Transportation Advisory Committee, John Grinter, will speak to us about types of bikes and bike maintenance, bike trails on Bainbridge Island, and action to improve and expand those trails.  For more information, visit Bainbridge Island’s guide to walking, cycling and paddling, put together by the Non Motorized Committee: http://www.ci.bainbridge-isl.wa.us/island_guide_to_walking_cycling_paddling.aspx, and a website about Island trails, with great maps, sign up opportunities for trail work, and other trail events at http://www.bainbridgeislandtrails.org/.
 
Date:  Thursday, June 18th
Time:  7:30 to 9:00 p.m.
Location:  Bainbridge Yoga House, 11588 Arrow Point Dr. N.E., Bainbridge Island
 
Please RSVP to Sonja Fritts at sfritts@seanet.com by Tuesday, June 16th.  Please carpool or park at Battle Point Park.  I will give you a ride to the Bainbridge Yoga House from Battle Point Park.  Of course, biking would be ideal!
 
Miscellaneous
 
Our suggested reading for this series is Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World by Richard Heinberg.
 
Learn about Smart Grid Projects around the country!  Read http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/06/06/us/politics/AP-US-Smart-Grid-ABRIDGED.html?ref=global-home.  It turns out, PSE is using Bainbridge Island as a smart grid project!  I will find out more information and pass it on at our next meeting.
 
Looking for some good recipes for those fresh vegetables from the Farmer’s market, CSA, or your own garden?  Visit http://eatingsmallpotatoes.wordpress.com/.  This is a blog started by one of our own CoolMom members, Anne Willhoit.  She has some delicious recipes!  Be sure to check it out.
 
Summer Camp for Kids – Create!
 
Announcing a great summer opportunity! Create! is an all day camp for kids, ages K-5.  The goal of the camp is to help students grow creatively and cooperatively through activities, free play, and ample time to think, make, and do.  In the morning, kids will participate in activities that focus on music, drama, and movement.  In the afternoon, the kids will have time to create and put together some kind of performance piece - anything they choose!  Remember the neighborhood play?  When kids would come together and create a backyard show?  That's the goal of Create!  Two separate sessions will meet on the campus of Voyager Montessori (High School Rd.): June 22-26 and Aug. 17-21. Email CreateDayCamp@gmail.com  Cost is $170 plus $10 material fee.  A brochure is attached.
 
I am looking forward to seeing you all these next few months.  Power Down!
 
Sonja Fritts
Coordinator

Hi CoolMoms and Dads,

1. Sell or donate your motorized lawn motor and purchase a pushmower.  Every weekend, 54 million Americans cut their grass, using more than 800 million gallons of gasoline annually.  Switching from a gas-powered lawn mower to a reel mower will keep 80 pounds of CO2 out of the air every year per mower.
2. Start commuting by bike and/or encourage your spouse to commute by bike.  If you have older kids, encourage them to get around by bike.  Spend time on the weekends biking around as a family.
3. Unplug your toaster!  Your toaster and other appliances draw power simply because they’re plugged in, which accounts for 5 percent of residential energy use and costs U.S. consumers over $4 billion per year.  So, unplug that toaster, stereo, entertainment system, computer, and hairdryer.  It only takes a few minutes each evening and quickly becomes habit.
4. Choose the cold cycle on your washing machine.  Roughly 90 percent of the energy consumed by your washing machine is used to heat the water.  Choosing the “cold” setting uses significantly less energy and is just as effective as hot water for cleaning clothes.
5. Run outside instead of getting on the treadmill.  A 30-minute workout on the treadmill uses approximately .75 kWh of energy per day.  Run outside twice a week instead, and over the course of a month, you’ll conserve the amount of energy required to watch television for 12 hours or do 24 loads of laundry.
6. Hang your clothes out to dry.  Dryers account for 6 percent of total electricity consumed in the United States and cost an average of $80 per year to perate.  Continue saving energy in the winter months by investing in a drying rack.
7. Lower your home thermostat to between 60 and 65 degrees when you are home and 55 degrees when you are gone.
8. Plan your vacation this summer by taking a “green” vacation.  One option -- take the train to Glacier National Park.  In 1850, Glacier Park had 150 glaciers.  Today, there are only 26, and if global warming continues at the current rate, there will be no glaciers by 2030.  Show them to your kids or grandkids before they disappear.  For more information about the Park click here and for tips on vacations by train with kids check this out.  For more ideas about how to travel with a carbon-light footprint click here. 

April 2009 

March 2009