Larry Chretien is the Executive Director for Mass Energy Consumers Alliance and People’s Power & Light. This blog is the first in a series about the Chretien family’s experience purchasing an electric car. Read the entire series up until now in our e-book.
Happy Earth Day! To celebrate this year, we compiled a list of 10 energy saving tips from Mass Energy and People’s Power & Light members. We’ve chosen to focus on energy efficiency because it is one of the most important things you can do to fight climate change and preserve the planet.
Have you been thinking about replacing your heating system? Most people wait until their system collapses, but recent improvements in heating system designs means that you might be throwing away good money if you wait to replace your heating system until you have to. And now, Mass Save is offering incentives for upgrading older furnaces and boilers.
As a non-profit committed to making energy more affordable and environmentally sustainable, we’re positive that energy efficiency is a home run. That’s why we are using Earth Day 2014 to get the word out about how our members are saving energy—and how you can too!
Rhode Island was one of the first states in the country to establish a renewable energy standard, a requirement for electricity suppliers to include an increasing percentage of power from sources such as local wind turbines and solar. The standard has worked well, changing the mix that Rhode Islanders get, whether they purchase from National Grid or through a competitive supplier. The standard is scheduled to increase by 1 or 1.5% per year. However, we were disappointed in December to learn that the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), appointees of Governor Chafee, voted 2–1 to delay a scheduled increase in the state’s requirement. What it means, very simply, is less renewable energy purchased by Rhode Islanders. And that means less green power on the New England grid because generators cannot get financing to build projects unless there is sufficient demand.
If you haven’t heard about Mothers Out Front (MOF), it was only a matter of time. Mothers Out Front is a local non-profit organization gathering hundreds of parents in numerous communities to confront climate change. Motivated by the love of their children, grandchildren, and their commitment to protect them, MOF is working hard to convey the dangers climate change poses for future generations and the necessity of switching to clean energy.
If you work for a non-profit organization in Massachusetts, this survey can help. Do you think your organization is losing valuable dollars to leaky buildings or old heating systems? Are chilly offices making your staff and clients uncomfortable? There may be help on the way. At Mass Energy, we are working to help non-profits with energy management.
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) released the 2013 City Energy Efficiency Scorecard, a report that ranks 34 of the most populous U.S. cities on policies to advance energy efficiency. Boston took top honors doing the most to save energy! Other top-scoring cities include Portland, Oregon, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle and Austin.
On March 2nd, Toxics Action Center’s Local Environmental Action Conference 2014 attracted a diverse group of environmental activists and sustainability professionals.
Over the weekend, we saw how political turmoil in Ukraine was followed by Russian military action. Today, we are seeing one result – sharply rising prices on the spot market for natural gas and oil. Heating oil has increased over 6 cents. Markets are responding as thousands of Russian troops solidified control over Crimea in the Ukraine. The U.S. warned Sunday that Moscow could face economic penalties unless it retreats.
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