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Middleboro Review 2

NEW CONTENT MOVED TO MIDDLEBORO REVIEW 2

Toyota

Since the Dilly, Dally, Delay & Stall Law Firms are adding their billable hours, the Toyota U.S.A. and Route 44 Toyota posts have been separated here:

Route 44 Toyota Sold Me A Lemon



Sunday, July 27, 2008

Middleboro's Green Committee and Knee-Jerk Reactions

During a Middleboro Board of Selectmen's Meeting, Chairman Adam Bond introduced the subject of the Town of Middleboro creating a Green Committee, which other towns have long since accomplished. Several of those committees have been active and involved in reducing their towns' energy consumption. (There is a public discussion forum on nemasket regarding the topic.)
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The first step in the process of reviewing municipal energy consumption is completion of an energy audit.
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Selectman Marsha Brunelle's immediate response was that 'we did an energy audit' to conceal her historical lack of leadership and planning for the future, as well as her abrogation of fiscal responsibility. Of course, she can't provide the date or the information because it was never done, but then that's consistent with Mrs. Brunelle's response: 'we already did it.' Maybe it's time to be honest and acknowledge there's work to be done.
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During a free Town Hall Lawn Concert, organized by the Health Agent, Jean Spalding, to raise funds for the Park Department and the Animal Shelter, ALL of the interior lights of the Town Hall building were on, including those in locked and vacant offices.
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When I blogged about that observation, I noticed those lights extinguished on subsequent occasions. Kudos to those reading the blogs and acting on the comments!
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But maybe we can adopt those first incremental steps toward energy reduction prior to creation of a committee.
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How about the following? (And I would encourage others to toss out some of the basic simple ideas that work.)
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1. Power strips are available for sale at Ocean State Job Lot for about $3.00. How about working with the IT Director to install those strips on every computer, monitor and printer to shut off those hidden energy VAMPIRES when leaving the office?
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2. If the Town's Web Site were externally hosted, would that allow for the Town's computer to be shut down other than during business hours?
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3. The spotlights on the Town Hall lawn become extremely hot shortly after illumination. Would that be a good location to consider the investment of LEDs?
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4. The rear Town Hall stairwell, exiting the stage, is illuminated like daylight. While illumination is necessary for safety reasons, would it make sense to reduce the level of illumination, install CFLs, and motion sensors on the switches? Maybe someone could work with the Building Commissioner to ensure code compliance, but reduce the energy consumption.
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5. Do all municipal buildings have programmable set back thermostats? During a recent radio program, a Middleboro G&E representative commented that the G&E was only now installing those in the Philander Washburn building. So, in other words, that must mean the building was being heated or air conditioned overnight or all weekend when vacant. Would you do the same in your own home if you went away for the weekend? I was in one municipal building that had ALL of the thermostats set at 72 degrees in the winter.
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6. 2 representatives of the Middleboro G&E spoke during a recent radio program. One indicated that you should turn your thermostat down in the winter and your A/C up in the summer.
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OK. So, I'm an MG&E ratepayer. That's it?
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The Coffee Shop Talk program has been posted on nemasket. It's worth the listen.
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I would like to believe that MG&E spokespersons are at the pinnacle of information and education.
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Did I hear a mention of CFLs or any of the other initial first steps?
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One of those representatives was an elected G&E Commissioner, Don Triner. Now Don, you and I have met. You should know better. Some older folks in Middleboro need solid information and they look to you to provide it. Is that the best you can do? If that's all that you can tell folks, Don, you need to call me. My number is 508 946-9761. Don, we can do better. The information is out there. It's on my blog. It's on the internet. We --- all of us -- need to get the information out to folks to reduce the impact of heating costs this winter and energy usage.
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Let's begin with encouraging folks to install CFLs. Do you have CFLs? They're cheap and will reduce electric bills ~ 10%. Then we look around for the other basics. There's a great deal that can be accomplished to reduce wasted energy consumption. The experts say the first 20-30% is easy and inexpensive.
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Now, Don, you may have a new home at Oak Point that is well insulated. What about other folks who have lived their lives in Middleboro and their homes are not as well insulated? Can't we look around and recognize that some folks need some upgrading? Maybe some insulation? Maybe some weatherstripping? some caulking and tightening? Maybe they need some additional information beyond lowering the thermostat in the winter. What can we do for them?
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The G&E knee jerk response was that 'we don't want to participate with the state pool of $$.' Does that make sense? Have WE, the people discussed it? Voted on it? Are we loosing out on a potential annual $10 million grant/loan? Are we missing $10 Million for a surcharge of $.0025 on our G&E bills?
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The most recent enclosure with the utility bills indicates that the G&E reduced electric expenses for municipal buildings in Middleboro and Lakeville by $250,000. What would happen if that money were instead used to reduce consumption? What would happen if street lights were replaced with LEDs for the $25,000 that is being reduced?
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Maybe all of us should abandoned the knee-jerk mindset and look for some real solutions. What else can we do?

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I missed the show last week so took the time to listen today and appreciate that it was posted somewhere. The G&E people need to do some reading of your blog.

Anonymous said...

Marsha, Marsha, Marsha! OMG!

Will you please explain to this lady that money is it? She thinks there's no money involved in a green committee.

Please help Marsha.

Anonymous said...

Most servers cannot be shutting down servers at night because that is when they are backed up and software updates are applied.

As far as desktop systems are concerned I recommend to my customers to buy “Green Systems” with LCD screens and have the systems “sleep” when not in use. The systems can be “woken up” at night to have software updates applied at night if required. By using technology in this manner energy (and money) and be saved during the day as well as at night.

Anonymous said...

The majority of people are content to believe 'it can't be done' whatever the issue. It's a pity we elected them. They refuse to inform themselves when they speak and sound like dolts.

Anonymous said...

Bolshoi Bob, It sounds like youre recomending a solution for new purchases. What do we do with town computers that arent new? You are also talking about businesses that make financial decisions based on what makes sense. Not all of us are sure this town ever operated that way. My new computer uses energy even when sleeping.

Anonymous said...

You posted a link about that company that earns its money by calling companies that have agreed to shut down use during peak periods. Why isn't that feasable for the G&E? I know residential doesn't make much sense, but if there were an "Opt In" kind of program, I would shut off everything in my house. Maybe that automated dialing system would make sense. The lady from the G&E talked about the cost of buying peak power but I'm not hearing anything of value from her. Sounds like she doesn't know much.

Anonymous said...

We subscribe to alot of the information you have posted and noticed that our monthly electric usage was creeping up. Last year we bought one of those electric meters to monitor what was using electricity and were astonished that the new fax machine was a consumer when turned off, the copy machine was a consumer when turned off and several other things. We put strips on a few things and installed GFCI outlets on the microwave and coffee pot which we use to shut those off. When we recharge the cell phones and other batteries, we make sure to unplug. It's sounds petty, but has made a big difference.
The hardest part was training my husband so I won't sign my name, but our teenagers understood why it's important and did their part making sure that Dad remembered. They have even turned it into a challenge to employ the new ideas they find. They thought your post about flushing made good sense.

Anonymous said...

Snarky comments were deserved after that meeting. Striars mess has been ignored for years with Wayne Perkins' brush off and Marsha was no better. Is this the best we can do for leadership?