Windsor Goes Green Eco/Green Committee News October 9th 2008 In this Issue Source to Sea Cleanup - October 11th How Clean is My Wood Stove? Land a Man on the Moon? Is Nuclear The Answer? Signup Important Dates October 11th - Source to Sea Cleanup October 11th - Chili Challenge October 15: 3rd Presidential Debate (Watch online at www.cnn.com/live.) October 9th - Green Committee News Happy Fall! After a August/September break, Windsor Green Committee is back. There is a lot going on. Please let me know if you'd like to get together to meet. In the meantime, I hope you'll consider going to the Chili Challenge this weekend. Windsor Sanitation has graciously donated a dumpster so ALL of the booths will be recycling. There is also Connecticut River cleanup event happening (scroll down) and we could certainly use help. Source to Sea Cleanup - October 11th Join thousands of individuals, clubs, troops, students, and businesses to clean up the Connecticut River and its tributaries. The Source to Sea Cleanup is a one-day, coordinated effort in four states to highlight a cleaner Connecticut River. Contact your local Connecticut River watershed cleanup group at: Call 285-1987 or email groff@townofwindsorct.com - Cyd Groff, Environmental Planner How Clean is My Wood Stove? Source: http://www.epa.gov/woodstoves/refp.html Two months ago I asked what people thought about switching to wood heat. Several had very valid concerns about the air quality. Being an engineer, I did a little research. The EPA requires "certified" stoves to put out less than 7.5 g/hr of particulate emissions. Though a really clean stove may emit 1/10th that much. Older wood stoves tend to be MUCH worse. A dirty fireplace on the other hand may emit 16x more. Thus 150 clean wood stoves would emit less emissions than 1 dirty fireplace. Oil and Gas on the other hand emit much less emissions. But since they use non-renewable energy sources, they contribute to green house gasses, acid rain, and global warming. Land a Man on the Moon? I've been waiting for a presidential candidate to challenge us to "land a man on the moon". On Wednesday's debate one came close. But we don't have to wait until November 4th. The world needs green technology. America, it's time to roll up your sleeves and produce it. I'm tired of seeing Chinese solar parts cost 1/10th the cost of American ones. Here's a book that might get you started. Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution--and How It Can Renew America by Thomas L. Friedman Is Nuclear The Answer? Source: www.word-nuclear.org Both presidential candidates are promoting nuclear energy. America seems to be warming up to the idea. Europe is more comfortable with the idea. I even heard rumors that the president of Greenpeace supports the idea. (this turned out to be false) On the other hand, the waste is toxic and hard to handle. And, no one wants a nuclear plant in their town. What do you think? Is it really much cheaper to build a nuclear plant than a solar plant? Windsor Chamber of Commerce