NEW SPECIAL DISCOUNTS

The “Co-op” is offering a $50 payment to any current Member who recommends a new Supplier Member who is subsequently accepted into the Coop and $30 to any Member who is able to get a friend or other person to become a new individual coop member.

Additionally, we recently signed up two new individual Members under this deal at the event at the Mindfulness Center.

Speed Design from Amicus Green!

by Miranda Hitchcock

For those of you who aren’t familiar with them, Amicus is the Co-op’s Supplier of green building and home materials. From no VOC paints to smart powerstrips and CFLs to cabinetry, Amicus can help you green your home.

For many of us, going green at home is a daunting task because we don’t know how to start. We know we should turn off lights and use power strips, but when we have a bigger goal (or a bigger problem!) we need to go to the experts. From now until the end of November, consider this GREAT deal from Amicus!

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Speed Design: Green on a Dime, a Deal and a Stopwatch
Bring your plans and your problems and we’ll give you 30 minutes of expert help to come up with a solution- or at least get you a long way there.

Your issue could be coming up with a plan to redesign a room (kitchen? bath? bedroom?); making your basement usable; a general energy or comfort problem (got a super hot room or cold basement? Sick of the utility bills?); or greening up your great outdoors.

Regular: $100
Special deal: $45 (55% discount)
Mention Sourcecode: MDCOOP

Please email (store@amicusgreen.com) or call (301-571-8590) to schedule an appointment. Meetings can be done at either Amicus location (Kensington store or U Street design office).

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Miranda Hitchcock is the Implementation Manager at the Maryland Energy & Sustainability Co-op

Tonight, Tonight!

by Miranda Hitchcock

In case you haven’t heard yet, we’re having an amazing Open House tonight! Come meet our Suppliers and out Members and get info about the Co-op. Drink some fabulous wine and eat some artisan cheese while you mingle and enjoy. You could also win one of our many doorprizes- from green home products to money off your electric bill- with hundreds of dollars in prizes waiting for you to walk through the door!

The first 12 to register as Members will also receive a $20 gift card to Amicus and a 100W CFL bulb. You won’t want to miss this one!

http://tinyurl.com/2cc2v4f

Miranda Hitchcock is the Implementation Manager at the Maryland Energy & Sustainability Co-op.

Meet Our Supplier: Aquabarrel

by Miranda Hitchcock

You know that the Co-op has amazing Suppliers- businesses that have been pre-qualified as the greenest and most community-oriented in their category. They supply everything from solar panels to eco-friendly paper, and truly support their local communities. But who are these mysterious Suppliers? Visit our blog frequently for “spotlight” pieces on each of our Suppliers.

This week we focus on Aquabarrel- the Co-op’s Supplier of rain barrels. Barry Chenkin, the owner, answers some interview questions to give you a look into what drives him (and Aquabarrel) to be green in the community!

Co-op: How would you describe Aquabarrel and what you do?
Barry: Aquabarrel is dedicated to supporting Water Conservation through the use of Rain Barrels and water conservation products for the home.  Products are offered via  website for shipment through out the USA and Canada.

Co-op: How did you get involved in this business, and what drives you to do it well?
Barry: While watering the plants in my yard with the garden hose one day, my wife asked if I knew what a rain barrel was. To my dismay, I had to admit that I had no idea… With my interest peaked, I spent many hours researching on the internet…. Following the traditional concepts of a rain barrel, I proudly made my own. When the first thunderstorm came I was giddy with excitement as the traditional rain barrel began to fill…. My excitement turned to shock as the barrel, now filled with rainwater, was overflowing out the top of the barrel, running down the sides and pooling at the foundation of our home. Watching this soggy disaster unfold convinced me that a few significant modifications were in order…. Every time I needed to water my yard with the traditional rain barrel I was faced with challenges that left me saying, “There’s got to be a better way!” The current Aquabarrel is the result of correcting several serious failures found in other designs.

Co-op: Why do you think you were chosen to be a Supplier?
Barry: There are a few rain barrel fabricators in the Metro area but none of them produce a product that functions as well as the original Aquabarrel Classic Rain Barrel.  None of the local purveyors of rain barrels offers the vast selection of rain barrel sizes, shapes, colors, designs or the depth of accessories for completing even the most basic of installations.

Co-op:What made you decide to become a Supplier?
Barry: Mike is a nice guy and it’s hard to say no to him!  I see the opportunity for groups to leverage their buying power with pre-screened vendors…. Folks that join the Co-op are interested in purchasing the products and services of the Co-op. As a Supplier Member the membership base are likely to… want to purchase the products we offer and would like a better value for their money (since they are part of the Co-op).

Co-op: We know that going green can save you money and improve quality of life- how much can your services really save someone, and what other benefits do you provide?
Barry:On a true cost per gallon it is pretty hard to compete with WSSC and other water companies for processed potable water. But your plants don’t have teeth or medical issues that they need all that fluoride, chloride, xanax and who knows what else that’s in drinking water! Give them what they really want – unprocessed rain water. Save the baby raindrops^TM is more then a catchy slogan – we have to take rain water and storm water management seriously. If we don’t increase our  management of this resource we will have greater problems to solve later.

Co-op: If you could get one message out to the community, what would it be?
Barry: Make a decision to take action today and follow through and reward yourself for taking action right now.

Co-op Members receive a 10% discount on all products and services. In addition, several state and local incentives may apply to your purchase with Aquabarrel. For more information, email Barry or contact us. Aquabarrel is another incubator company at Bethesda Green.

Miranda Hitchcock is the Implementation Manager for the Maryland Energy & Sustainability Co-op

I’ve Got the Power!

by Miranda Hitchcock

Electricity is everywhere. We use it to watch TV and keep our food cold, and to charge our cell phones and laptops. Electricity keeps our traffic lights working and powers our hospitals. Never do all of these uses become more apparent than when the electricity suddenly disappears. For many Maryland residents, this is what happened for days last month when a series of storms blew through the area. Pepco customers, in particular, were unhappy with the reliability of their electric transmission and even held public hearings to voice their concerns.

These reliability problems are not new, and they are certainly not specific to Pepco. Unfortunately, much of our nation’s electric grid is outdated, built upon infrastructure that has begun to falter under our ever-growing population and energy needs. The Obama administration has pledged billions of dollars to modernize the grid, but like all enormous systems, this takes time.

When I first saw the news about the Pepco hearings, I thought, “This is a perfect time to get people thinking about their energy options- like our Supplier, Electric Advisors.” So I posted a tweet, “MD is tired of Pepco’s unreliability. http://dlvr.it/4TPwW (from @BethesdaNews) It’s time to get clean wind energy from Electric Advisors!” 10:56PM, August 30^th. At the time, I did not realize how confusing this might be- until I got a concerned message from a reader. She said, “I’m concerned that this tweet could mislead someone about how purchasing ‘green power’ actually works;” and she was absolutely right! Choosing to invest in clean, mid-Atlantic wind energy with Electric Advisors does NOT mean leaving Pepco’s distribution system.

The point that I was hoping to make (and it’s hard in 140 characters!) is that our electric infrastructure is out of date, and that even if you take freak storms out of the mix, our current infrastructure has been degrading over time significantly. This is also true for the behemoth coal plants that make most of our energy. Switching to Electric Advisors or another clean option sends a message to the industry that people are interested in new, more efficient and clean sources of energy- which will hopefully lead to a more significant switch from coal to renewables and a MUCH needed overhaul of our energy infrastructure. So I didn’t intend to say “move from Pepco to wind” but rather, “aren’t you sick of the way things are now? Change what you CAN now, and push the industry to make moves.”

But our reader was absolutely right that this could be confusing, particularly when most of us aren’t quite sure of how purchasing clean energy really works. Because our organization aims to provide education as well as discounts, I thought this would be a perfect time to talk about Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) and how they work with our system! To get an expert point of view, I emailed Eric Coffman at the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection, who provided a link for an excellent description of the system.

The basic idea: Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) represent a certain amount of energy being produced from clean, renewable sources like wind. Most utility companies are now offering a choice to their consumers about where their energy should come from, using these RECs as a trading method. Someone using Pepco, for example, can choose from a list of clean energy brokers who connect you to the actual suppliers or generators. (The Co-op’s choice is Electric Advisors!) You don’t actually purchase the energy itself from Pepco, but rather from one of these competitive energy suppliers. Pepco still distributes the energy to you, but you pay your chosen company (a broker, who pays the supplier) for electricity. It is important to note that the electricity from many sources (the one you chose, the one your neighbors chose, and the ones Pepco has as a default) gets combined and sent down the wires. So even if you sign up for 100% wind energy, the electricity entering your home is still a mix. You’ve simply purchased a “clean energy equivalent” to your share of consumption. So don’t worry that if the wind stops blowing, you won’t get power! You will still get service from the grid. This also applies if Pepco’s service goes out- your power will go out when everyone else’s does, even if you’ve bought wind. This is a very simplified description that may not fully explain the system, so if you have questions or comments, please shoot us an email or contact the environmental/energy authority in your area.

In Pepco’s words:

“The restructuring of the electric utility industry allows you to select the electricity supplier that best fits your needs. If you don’t choose a supplier, Pepco buys electricity for you and charges you according to rates approved by your state Public Service Commission. This is called “Standard Offer Service” (SOS), and appears under “Supply Charges” in the Electric Charges portion of your bill. Customer bills are broken down to indicate charges for supply , the actual electricity, and delivery, the process of getting that electricity to end users. Pepco continues to deliver the electricity to all customers, no matter who they choose as their supplier. For many years, Pepco was the sole electricity supplier in suburban Maryland and Washington, D.C. We generated electricity and delivered it to you at rates set by regulatory commissions. In 2000, Pepco’s electricity market changed. We no longer generate our own electric power, and competing electricity suppliers are allowed to market their electric supply to Maryland customers.”

We chose Electric Advisors as our Supplier of clean energy for several reasons. First, they have a commitment to this community and a drive to support it. Second, they are truly local. While many clean energy sources will gladly sell you wind, much of it comes from Texas and other areas halfway across the country. Electric Advisors, on the other hand, supplies wind energy from right here in the mid-Atlantic region.

For more information, you can also check out cleanpowermarkets.com or other green energy websites. For more detailed information, go to the EPA Green Power Partnership website and download the Renewable Energy Certificates PDF. As always, please feel free to contact us with any comments or questions!

Miranda Hitchcock is the Implementation Manager at the Maryland Energy & Sustainability Co-op.