Upcoming Green Building Conference in Boone, NC

There will be a green building conference entitled “Community Based Facilities, With Sustainable Values” on Monday, June 21, 2010 to Tuesday, June 22, 2010 in Boone, NC. This conference will focus on how businesses and institutions can implement practical solutions to reducing environmental impact and energy cost savings opportunities. A discussion of green building standards will also take place. Appalachian State University, federal/state agencies and designers with real world experience will combine resources and provide valuable examples of solution that work. This conference will focus on the economics of sustainable design and life cycle cost vs. first cost. There will also be field trips to solar, wind, geothermal and other energy efficient projects during the conference. Scholarships are available for public agencies that have limited resources. The conference is sponsored by the North Carolina chapter of the Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI). Click here to find registration details. Click here to link directly to the event website. About Nancy...

Lessons from Britain’s Appalachia?

Grist’s Jonathan Hiskes wrote recently about Wales, dubbed ‘Britain’s Appalachia’, and its intentional journey towards a post-coal future. While Hiskes makes a few surprising comments, including the suggestion that U.S. coal-dependent communities differ from Welsh communities because they “just haven’t hit the rough patch yet”, the model of an economic transition beyond coal is certainly of interest to Appalachian and other coalfield communities. Hiskes indentifies several key elements of infrastructure, like Cardiff’s rejuvenated waterfront and a landmark historic building, that appear to be key anchors in creating what is essentially a tourist-oriented new economy. Additionally significant are local restaurants and craft beer establishments that Hiskes notes in the comments section of his original article are a significant element of attracting travelers, referencing a Washington Post piece calling Wales the ‘greenest place on Earth’. Together, the historic buildings and local dining resources create a celebration of place that acknowledges the historic legacy of coal, but also seeks to create a future that goes beyond mining. Acknowledging that his interest in Wales did not stem from a burning desire to learn about the communities there, Hiskes says “I didn’t go because I was interested in Wales, no disrespect. I went to learn about the future of West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, Wyoming’s Powder River Basin, and other coal-dependent parts of the United States.” The experience he had during a his brief trip highlighted key, relevant aspects of the Welsh transition for a possible American one. The backbone of the Welsh transition is,...

Pine Mountain Settlement School Symposium: Registration Deadline April 26...

From Randal Pfleger at the Pine Mountain Settlement School: Greetings from Pine Mountain Settlement School! Registration Deadline for the Sustainability Symposium has been extended to Monday April 26! Event Announcement and Details below: Sustainability Symposium at Pine Mountain Settlement School May 14-16, 2010 For more information and to register, visit http://www.pinemountainsettlementschool.com or call Randal Pfleger at (606)-558-3594. The intersection of jobs, the economy, and the environment present significant challenges today and for the future of Southeastern Kentucky and Appalachia. Sustainable agriculture, energy, and forestry embody the backbone of a response to these challenges. On May 14-16, 2010, Pine Mountain Settlement School will host a Sustainability Symposium designed to bring together specialists, practitioners, educators, and organizers to share their experiences and learn about model projects throughout Southeastern Kentucky. These projects and initiatives build on local knowledge and experience and point to the potential for a healthy and prosperous future. We will celebrate the greatest regional assets: the people, mountains, water, forests, farms and gardens, and clean energy. The participatory, solutions-oriented, and fun Symposium will include hands-on trainings, workshops, woodland hikes, and garden tours with local and regional experts working on food, energy, and forest issues. The Symposium has been endorsed by the Appalachian Centers at the University of Kentucky, Berea College, Eastern Kentucky University, and Southeast Community College, the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development, Community Farm Alliance, High Road Initiative, and Kentuckians for the Commonwealth. Symposium highlights include a Friday keynote address from Justin Maxson and Anthony Flaccavento on...

Win-Win-Win for Rural America

New legislation filed recently in Congress would go a long way toward helping people and businesses in rural areas like Central Appalachia save money and energy and create jobs. The Rural Energy Savings Program, filed as H. R. 4785 and S. 3102, would assist rural electric cooperatives in offering “on-bill” financing to their customers. On-bill financing allows families and businesses to repay energy efficiency improvements to their homes and buildings through the resulting savings on their monthly energy bills. It sets up a program of energy audits to identify cost-effective improvements and financing that doesn’t require ratepayers to take on additional personal debt—payback simply becomes an aspect of a participant’s utility bill. While many energy efficiency improvements to homes and businesses are cost-effective, most ratepayers lack the up-front capital needed to pay for such improvements. The Rural Energy Savings Program would support on-bill financing by authorizing funds to the USDA Rural Utility Service that rural electric co-ops could access and by setting up a national infrastructure to support local co-op on-bill efforts. Primary House sponsor Rep. James Clyburn stated, “This bill provides for energy conservation, job creation and cost-effective upgrades that will improve consumers’ quality of life. There is such broad support for this initiative because it is a win-win-win proposition.” The Rural Energy Savings Program would create between 20,000 and 40,000 jobs across rural America. With $1 billion in appropriations, the bill will leverage $4.9 billion in consumer efficiency upgrades. The bill is supported by the National Rural...

Community Colleges and Green Jobs

As traditional manufacturing industries face a diminishing workforce and offer secure employment to fewer and fewer workers, some employees are going on the offensive seeking out training opportunities in the booming alternative energy sector. Community colleges throughout the country are racing to provide training to workers seeking new opportunities, supported by significant funding resources made available through the Recovery Act. George Berghorn, who oversees the environment, design and building technologies department at Lansing Community College in Michigan has said “It’s a growth area in that where workers previously made ball bearings for a Cadillac, now they can do it for a wind turbine.” Kentucky’s Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) is joining the region’s efforts to provide training opportunities, developing curriculum for residential energy efficiency audits and installations that will position students who complete the curriculum to sit for, and pass, the national Building Performing Institute’s certification written and field-based examinations leading to a Building Analyst certification. The KCTCS program plays a major role in the training portion of Kentucky’s newly announced KY Home Performance Program, which will rely on certified contractors to carry out residential retrofits to qualify for state incentives. Labor unions across the Commonwealth are also making training opportunities available to their members; the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers is drawing on national curricula developed in conjunction with the National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee of National Electrical Contractors Association to train their members in a wide variety of “green jobs”, including retrofitting buildings to improve...

Grow Appalachia

Healthy local food options. Enhanced sense of community through discovery of Appalachian heritage and knowledge. Potential sources of new income. These are some of the goals of Grow Appalachia, a collaborative effort to provide families the resources and support they need to produce more of their own food. Grow Appalachia was initiated by Paul Mitchell CEO and Co-Founder, John Paul DeJoria. Partner organizations include Berea College’s Loyal Jones Appalachian Center, the Pine Mountain Settlement School, Red Bird Mission, the Laurel County African American Heritage Center and the Henderson Settlement. The partners will help families create and maintain productive and economical home gardens by providing educational programs about gardening, cooking for maximum nutrition, and food preservation techniques. Families will have access to grant-funded soil working equipment to till and prepare gardens for initial spring planting and maintain garden plots through the garden season. They will also receive seeds, plants, fertilizers, soil conditioners and soil testing materials. Partners will work with families to help establish local farmers’ markets for vegetables produced in excess of families’ needs. Paul Mitchell will donate $1 to Grow Appalachia for each haircut their schools complete on Earth Day. Consumers can visit any of the 104 Paul Mitchell school locations on April 22nd for a haircut to benefit Grow Appalachia . About Tamara...

Report Shows Major Economic Benefit from Energy Efficiency Implementation in the South...

A report entitled “Energy Efficiency in the South” was released yesterday by the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance; it reflects an in-depth modeling effort to demonstrate the potential impact of energy efficiency policies for residential and commercial buildings and industries throughout the Southern states. The report stresses four major findings: Aggressive energy-efficiency initiatives in the region could stop energy consumption in the RCI sectors from growing over the next twenty years. A commitment to energy efficiency means fewer new power plants would be needed. Increased investments in cost-effective energy efficiency would generate jobs and cut utility bills. Energy efficiency would result in significant water savings. Specifically, the report states that “In 2020, energy bills in the South would be reduced by $41 billion, electricity rate increases would be moderated, 380,000 new jobs would be created, and the region’s economy would grow by $1.23 billion” if the investments in cost-effective energy efficiency modeled in the study were implemented in states throughout the region. The importance of the South—defined by the U.S. Census Bureau to be the 16-state (and District of Columbia) region from Delaware down the Appalachians, including the Southern Atlantic seaboard, Gulf Coast and Texas—is stressed throughout the report, given that the South is the “largest and fastest growing region in the United States, with 36% of the nation’s population and a considerably larger share of the nation’s total energy consumption (44%) and supply (48%)”. The vast majority of the region’s energy comes from fossil fuels. Furthermore, the South consumes...

Appalachia’s Own Revolutionary Cuisine

Jamie Oliver, the British culinary guru behind ‘Naked Chef’, has brought his revolutionary ways to Huntington, WV. The mission is noble; Oliver states “I believe that every child in America has the right to fresh, nutritious school meals, and that every family deserves real, honest, wholesome food. Too many people are being affected by what they eat. It’s time for a national revolution. America needs to stand up for better food! “ Oliver’s effort to embed himself in the city and culture of Huntington is being televised on ABC weekly, and includes an open invitation to the community to show up at a retail/practice kitchen space known as Jamie’s Kitchen in Huntington itself. Reactions from the people of Huntington thus far have been mixed, including some tremendous support and some significant trepidation about what this Brit is cooking up in town. But one aspect that has not yet been addressed by Oliver and the producers of his show is the culinary legacy and historical context of Appalachian cooking. Grist’s April McGreger throws out a challenge to Oliver, tracing the history of outside critiques of traditional Appalachian diets based on (then) new “modern” ingredients such as partially hydrogenated oils, bleached white flour, and margarine–each of which turned out to be worse than traditional ingredients and cooking practices. To avoid making temporary changes or worse, well-intentioned mistakes, Oliver might do well to consider rooting his food revolution in the culinary history of the place as he looks to reconnect the people...