Environment -- Boston Metro   

The Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Conventions catalyzed a broad range of individuals, non-profit organizations and businesses to minimize the local and global environmental footprint of the Democratic National Convention held in Boston in July 2004.  The four day convention was the cleanest political convention ever, with efforts made to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, decrease waste, encourage walking. promote the use of public transportation and low emissions vehicles, and endorse environmentally preferable products and services.

• Renewable energy powered the entire 2004 Democratic National Convention
• Installation of fuel cell helped power the media pavilion
• Recycled more than 88% of construction materials used
• Use of hybrid vehicles to transport delegates

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Environment -- Boston Metro     

The Boston Natural Areas Network (BNAN) established the City Natives Nursery, a half-acre nursery for plants native to the Boston metro area, in Mattapan.  The nursery includes a greenhouse that raises plants for community gardens and re-vegetation projects in Boston's natural areas.  It also includes a Learning Garden, where people can learn strategies for urban vegetable growing through interactive workshops with expert gardeners. Both the plants grown in the garden and the funds raised from selling them support BNAN's efforts to preserve and expand community gardens in Boston neighborhoods in order to help reinvigorate low-income communities and provide them with inexpensive and healthy food options.

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Environment -- Boston Metro     

EDAW with The Cecil Group, Oehrlein & Associates, Selbert Perkins Design,
Judith Nitsch Engineering, LIM Consultants, Robert W. Sullivan, Inc

The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway is the crowning achievement of the biggest construction project ever in America, the Big Dig.  Moving the Artery underground has freed up 27 acres of open space that will connect downtown Boston back to its waterfront. Design plans for the three major sets of parks are well underway, along with plans for major new cultural institutions such as an arts center, the Darwin Project and a new YMCA. When finished, the Greenway's parks and adjacent cultural institutions will be one of the most striking visual, environmental, and economic enhancement projects in the city's history.

• 27 acres of open space in heart of Boston
• Connecting urban core with waterfront
• Strong potential for community involvement & cultural use
• Reclaiming land from elevated highway demolition 

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Environment -- Boston Metro     

The new 300,000 square foot global corporate headquarters for the Genzyme Corporation combines innovative design and cutting-edge technology to create a desirable and environmentally-responsible workplace. The Genzyme Center demonstrates innovative uses of solar technology, including a sophisticated "light-enhancement system" that uses computer-operated window blinds and hanging mirrors to decrease reliance on artificial lighting.  The Cambridge building will use only a fraction of the energy, water and other resources used by a conventional office building.

• Provides workplace for 900 Genzyme employees
• Achieved U.S. Green Building Council's premier LEED Platinum rating

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Environment -- Boston Metro     

Hull, Massachusetts provides a powerful example of how wind can supply a town with renewable energy and gain public acceptance.  Online since December 2001, the turbine produces 1.5 million kilowatt hours annually, eliminates the town's street lighting and traffic light bills, and reduces the amount of electricity the Municipal Light Board must buy from conventional, privately-owned generators.  Because the turbine is sited near the town's high school, sound and aesthetic issues were crucial.  Standing under the turbine today, people talk in normal tones, with only a soft "whoosh" above their heads.

• Owned and operated municipally
• Generated over 5 million kilowatt-hours to date
• High community support & involvement, with plans to build a second turbine
• Produces 1.5 million kilowatt hours annually

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Environment -- Boston Metro       

The Forbes Park Redevelopment proposal would build 225 residential units and 20,000 square feet of commercial, restaurant and office space on 17 acres of old industrial waterfront property in Chelsea. The proposal includes a unique element: the first "eco-lofts" proposed in the Greater Boston market. The project would use environmentally sensitive design methods and construction that exceed the standards of the state energy code to create earth-friendly, mill style, loft dwelling units built entirely of durable, natural, renewable materials.

• Targets people who are committed to "Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability"
• Heavy utilization of passive solar, using large windows to maximize natural light and air
• 75 kW cogeneration system would be used for heat and electricity

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Environment -- Boston Metro      

The Cape Wind project proposed for the Nantucket shoals would be the first offshore wind farm in the United States, bringing to America a timely innovation in clean renewable power.  The wind farm would consist of 130 turbines and would generate 420 megawatts of power, nearly equivalent to the peak load for the Cape and Islands.  The potential environmental benefits are substantial: eliminating tons of noxious gases, greenhouse gases, and particulates per year compared to coal-fired power-plants.

• Could save New England $800 million in energy costs over the next two decades
• Would create between 600 and 1,000 new jobs
• Would eliminate millions of tons of greenhouse gases per year

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Environment -- Boston Metro      

Youth working in one of The Food Project's urban gardens
(courtesy of The Food Project)

The Food Project uses sustainable agriculture practices in both its rural farm, located in Lincoln Massachusetts, and its two urban gardens, in the Roxbury/North Dorchester area, to grow produce for local consumption.   Programs are designed to encourage youth participation in growing the food.  Of the produce grown, 40% is donated to homeless shelters and soup kitchens in the Boston area, while the rest is sold through The Food Project's Community Supported Agriculture program or through local farmer's markets to raise money to support their rural farm and urban gardens. 

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Environment -- Boston Metro     

Child holding guidebook to MA plant and animal life

Each spring since 1998, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs has sponsored Massachusetts Biodiversity Days. Residents are encouraged to become scientists for a day: finding, identifying, and recording information about plant and animal life in their neighborhoods and in state parks. The goal of the program is to familiarize people with their environment, but the data they collect is also put into an online database and used to document species behavior and habitat changes. Although the program lost its funding in 2004, it is scheduled to return this June.

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Environment -- Boston Metro     

Investing in clean and renewable energy for both the environmental and economic benefits.

The Renewable Energy Trust is one of the nation's leading examples of state support for the renewable energy industry. As of 2004, only three states had larger commitments to utility-scale renewable projects. The Renewable Energy Trust seeks to maximize environmental and economic benefits for the Commonwealth's citizens by pioneering and promoting clean energy technologies and fostering the emergence of sustainable markets for electricity generated from renewable sources. Trust programs include:

• Clean Energy Program
• Green Buildings and Infrastructure Program
• Industrial Support Program
• Policy Unit

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Environment -- Boston Metro     

Evergreen Solar, the second largest renewable energy industry employer in Massachusetts, has developed a new way to build solar panels that costs less without losing effectiveness or reliability. Using String Ribbon^TM technology, the company is able to produce twice as many solar cells from silicon as conventional production methods. The solar panels are used to generate power for telecommunications, water pumping, rural homes and other dispersed or remote off-grid applications.

• Manufactured and shipped over 50,000 solar panels
• Achieved record revenues of $5.6 million in 3rd quarter of 2004
• Awarded workforce expansion grant from the Renewable Energy Trust

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Environment -- Boston Metro   

Founded by the Massachusetts Energy Consumers Alliance, the New England GreenStart^SM program allows customers of Massachusetts Electric to choose clean energy on their utility bill by paying a small premium each month. A portion of this premium is tax deductible through the Clean Energy Choice Program (www.cleanenergychoice.org). Energy sources in New England GreenStart come from 100% renewable generators located right here in New England, including wind, solar, biomass and small hydroelectric. Mass Energy offers another clean energy option for customers outside of Mass Electric territory called New England Wind^SM. By choosing this option, consumers can support local wind energy generators. New England Wind payments are also tax deductible.

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Environment -- Boston Metro     

In 2003, the world's first green convention center opened in Pittsburgh. The building reduces energy costs by using natural light and ventilation. Skylights and glass walls produce diffused light and keep the temperature uniform. The convention center's unique design captures the airflow from the Allegheny River for natural ventilation to cool the building. The convention center demonstrates that you don't have to sacrifice aesthetic design to reduce energy use.

• Reduces energy costs by 35%
• Water reclamation system reduces potable water use by 60%
• Awarded Gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification

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Environment -- National/International

graphic courtesy of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe undertook an eight year, $1.2 million project to build a wind turbine in order to gain a low-cost energy source and grow the reservation's economy. They secured funding for the project by selling renewable energy certificates representing the power that the wind turbine would generate once it went online in March 2004. Currently, the tribe is planning a 30-megawatt wind farm with 18 turbines that should go online in January 2006.

• Produces 750 kilowatts of electricity, enough to power 220 homes
• Raised $250,000 selling renewable energy certificates before construction began
• Will reduce greenhouse gas emissions in region by 50,000 tons over the next 25 years
• Wind on reservation could theoretically power 1/12 of the US

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Environment -- National / International

Feeding college students locally-grown organic food to promote healthy eating and sustainable agriculture and limit the ecological costs of food transport.

In September 2003, Yale University responded to student advocacy and opened a dining hall with a fully organic menu at Berkeley Residential Hall. Students planned and planted a one-acre garden with 170 varieties of vegetable, fruits, flowers, and herbs to provide produce for the dining hall. Yale dining services forged relationships with local farmers, ranchers, and food distributors who use sustainable practices to supply food not grown in the garden. The organic dining hall became so popular that Yale expanded it to the rest of the residential dining halls in the fall of 2004. In addition, the program's success has led other universities (including Stanford, Oberlin, and Middlebury) to open organic dining halls.

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Environment -- National/International

Plans are underway to create an underwater "wind farm" of 200 to 300 sleek 15-foot-tall turbines, which would discreetly spin under the surface of the East River.  The Tidal Turbine project would provide about 10 megawatts of electricity, enough to power more than 8,000 homes. In December 2002 and January 2003, Verdant Power successfully deployed a prototype of the turbine system in the river, completing the first phase of a multi-phase project expected to cost $30 million and be completed in 2008.

• Will save equivalent of 65,000 barrels of oil each year
• Will reduce 33,000 tons of C0₂ emissions
• Collaborators include the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority, the New York Power Authority, and Columbia University

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Environment -- National/International

Since 1988, the Intervale Project has been developing small business opportunities within the city of Burlington, Vermont by recycling organic wastes and producing organic food locally, while at the same time improving the health of over 700 acres of previously urbanized land. The mission of the Burlington Intervale is "to develop land and farm-based enterprises to generate economic and social opportunity while protecting natural resources." Intervale's goal is to recycle 10% of the waste and grow 10% of the food consumed in Chittenden county; composting projects have already reduced by 10% the amount of waste received at Burlington's landfill.  Education programs are provided to farmers and small businesses to improve their profitability; the project also has an electrical generating plant that uses wood waste for fuel and will soon recycle waste heat to the agricultural greenhouses.  

• The Intervale Compost Products, Vermont's largest commercial compost operation, diverts over 20,000 tons of organic waste annually
• The Intervale Farms Program and Success of Farms Program have delivered technical assistance and access to equipment, infrastructure and financing to over 40 diversified organic farms
• 12 independent organic farms at The Intervale produce over 500,000 pounds of produce, worth over $500,000 to the local economy
• The Intervale Center for Farm Innovation has developed a methane digester customized for small-scale dairy farmers for nutrient management and for use as an alternative fuel source

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Environment -- National/International

Founded in 1973, TreePeople is a nonprofit organization with the goal of inspiring Los Angeles residents to take personal responsibility for their environment. It runs student education programs that raise environmental awareness and forestry programs to restore watersheds and other fragile habitats in Southern California. These programs help the environment but also develop social networks in neighborhoods and improve inner-city life. TreePeople's Citizen Forestry program trains ordinary people to change the character of their neighborhoods and business districts by planting and caring for trees. The Trans-Agency Resources for Environmental and Economic Sustainability (T.R.E.E.S.) project advocates for public funding of a wide-scale retrofit of the Los Angeles landscape to change the city's approach to urban watershed management. The goal is to install a citywide system of cisterns and infiltrators to help capture water runoff and stop storm water pollution, which brings garbage and chemicals from city streets into inland rivers and the ocean. Already, TreePeople is working with the Los Angeles Unified School District and the city's Department of Water & Power to implement this strategy on school campuses citywide.

• Planted 50,000 trees in Coldwater Canyon Park
• Collected 8,000 smog-resistant seedlings and $10,000 in donations in first three weeks
• Launched Cool Schools initiative to train at-risk youth to plant trees on school grounds
• Cool Schools also diverted $220 million in government funds to pave 400 school playgrounds

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