| ~~ Earth Day~~ Choose 5 Challenge! |  |
This April, choose 5 steps to become informed, take action, and win prizes!
10 GREAT PRIZES! |
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| Out & About | |
You can find OES at these upcoming events:
May 1:
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| Sustainability Commission Members |  | |
Don Briggs
Chairman
 Fred Ugast Vice-Chair
Steve Chafitz
 Annmarie Creamer Dept. of Solid Waste Management
Sally Fulmer
Lisa Gaver
Mark Lancaster
Lancaster Craftsman Builders, Inc.
Margie Lance
Housing & Community Development
Richard Maranto
Will Morrow
Whitmore Farm
Winifred Palmer
Kim Roberts
Janice Wiles
Friends of Frederick County
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| Items of Interest |
April 23:
Going Green Night at Frederick Keys
April 24:
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OES Director, Hilari Varnadore (center) with new Sustainability Program Coordinator, Lisa Orr (left), and Sustainability Intern, Kelli Goetz (right).
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| Greetings!
The Frederick County Office of Environmental Sustainability (OES) is excited to launch our first e-newsletter! Since our inception in January 2009, we have made a lot of progress and we want to bring you up to speed on staff additions and program developments. As you may know, we started as a 1-person office in 2009, but thanks to a grant from the U.S. Dept. of Energy, we have been able to add staff and build programs, even during the economic downturn.
Last fall, we were awarded a $659,800 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG). This three-year grant supports a coordinated program of energy audits, retrofits, renewable energy installations, and community energy and green building initiatives aimed at reducing the greenhouse gas emissions attributed to the building sector.
To conduct Frederick County's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory, we hired Kelli Goetz in November 2009. Kelli is a grad student in Hood College's Environmental Biology program. Lisa Orr, former Executive Director of Volunteer Frederick, joined OES in January 2010 as our Sustainability Program Coordinator. Lisa will be coordinating the EECBG community energy and green building initiatives. Finally, we welcomed Isabella Lombardo, a senior at Middletown HS, to the office in January. Izzie is working on a Green Resource Directory for the county through a mentorship program with FCPS.
We hope that you enjoy our e-news format. We'll keep you informed of OES programs, Frederick County Government's achievements, and the work of the Sustainability Commission. We'll also link you to community events and resources that advance sustainabilty efforts.
Enjoy!
Hilari Varnadore
Director, OES |
| Breaking News! County Awarded $500,000 in Sunburst Funds |  On April 16, Governor O'Malley informed Frederick County of a $500,000 Project Sunburst grant award through the Maryland Energy Administration. The funding will support installation of solar photovoltaic systems at Linganore and Oakdale High Schools. The schools will host renewable energy systems and contract for the electricity generated through a long-term power purchase agreement.
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| Choose 5 Challenge! Prize Drawing! |  What are you doing for Earth Day?
Choose 5, fun, web-based actions that can help you save money, green your lifestyle, and win prizes! Each action only takes 2 to 20 minutes to do! Prizes include back yard composters, a rainbarrel, a free oil change, and more! Click here to view all the prizes and Take the Choose 5 Challenge!
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| Frederick County's Greenhouse Gas Inventory |  Setting a baseline...
Frederick County is in the process of conducting a baseline inventory of greenhouse gas emissions for the calendar year 2007. The inventory will quantify the emissions associated with the energy consumed by county government operations and the community-at-large (residential, commercial, industrial sectors). This 2007 baseline inventory will identify the greatest sources of county emissions and be a useful tool for tracking and forecasting emissions, developing and setting reduction goals and targets, and measuring the progress of the county's emission reduction activities and energy efficiency programs. Inventory completion is expected in late spring of 2010.
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| Sustainability Commission Update |
Will Morrow of Whitmore Farm in Emmitsburg is the newest appointee to the Sustainability Commission. | The Board of County Commissioners established the Frederick County Sustainability Commission by Resolution No. 09-02 on March 26, 2009. The 13 appointed members met for the first time in July 2009. Since then, the commission has adopted a vision, mission statement, bylaws, and work plan. Commission chair Don Briggs has made it a priority to meet with community partners to find ways to achieve shared goals. This action-oriented commission meets April 21st to begin discussing how to implement their work plan. Join them for the discussion and provide input on how you believe they can accomplish their goals.
The Commission meets on the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 3:00 p.m. in the 3rd floor meeting room in Winchester Hall. All meetings are open to the public. For more information about the Commission, click here.
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| Looking for Ways to Assess Your Home's Energy Performance? Check out Allegheny Power! |
OES is in the process of developing its Green Challenge for Homes program. While this program will include home energy audits, it won't be ready to roll out for several months. In the meantime, take advantage of some great free and low-cost opportunities through Allegheny Power's Watt Watcher Home Performance Programs.
Take advantage of a free in-home Check-Up by accepting a free energy efficiency kit! The Check-Up includes a walk-through consultation and report from a certified home energy auditor, and the kit includes CFLs, a low-flow showerhead, and faucet aerators.
Sign up for a Comprehensive Audit with a certified home energy auditor at the reduced price of $140 (if you accept the free energy efficiency kit). This audit includes a blower door test and use of an infrared camera to detect both air and thermal leakage. The retail value of such an audit is in the range of $300-$500.
Electric heating customers also qualify for a 15% rebate, up to $1,000, on additional ceiling insulation costs.
For more information, or to schedule a Check-up or Comprehensive Audit, call 1-877-928-8928.
Here's another reason to take advantage of these programs! Costs to implement these programs will be recovered though a monthly EmPower Maryland surcharge paid by all Allegheny Power customers. You can see it on your monthly bill!
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| Clean Energy Loan Program (CELP) | For Homes & Small Businesses
Are you interested in a major energy efficiency retrofit or renewable energy system for your home or small business? Are you concerned about the large expense and the fact that you may not stay in your current location long enough to get a good return on your investment? If so, CELP may help overcome these concerns and obstacles.
Frederick County's CELP, which is still under development, would provide financing for homeowners and businesses to make energy efficiency retrofits and install renewable energy systems. The Maryland Clean Energy Center, which administers the loans, has provided initial seed funding of $250,000 each for both Frederick County and the City of Frederick. Loans are associated with the property, not the property owner(s) and are paid back through the property tax mechanism. When properties are sold, the loan transfers with the property and new owners will continue to pay on the loans through their property taxes.
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| Mythbusters! | 
Blizzards signal that there is no such thing as Climate Change
 OES heard many people talking about myths associated with blizzards and climate change during our recent winter storms. Our in-house Mythbuster, Izzie Lombardo, found this information during her search for answers:
The 2009 U.S. Climate Impacts Report found that large-scale cold-weather storm systems have gradually tracked to the north in the U.S. over the past 50 years. While the frequency of storms in the middle latitudes has decreased as the climate has warmed, the intensity of those storms has increased. That's in part because of global warming - hotter air can hold more moisture. So when a storm gathers, it can unleash massive amounts of snow. Shouldn't climate change make it too warm for snow to fall? Eventually that's likely - but not for a while. In the meantime, warmer air could be supercharged with moisture and, as long as the temperature remains below 32 degrees, it will result in blizzards. More on this topic. Have you heard a myth or urban legend related to sustainability and the environment that you would like resolved? Send it to sustainability@frederickcountymd.gov and we'll get to the bottom of it!
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| Top Picks: Online Tips & Resources for Sustainability |  For Energy Conservation:
You may be using a power strip to power up and shutdown multiple electronic devices at once and save energy -- that's good! But did you know that a Smart Strip can save you even more energy and money? Watch this 3 minute video to learn more!
 For Kids:
Ollie's World is a child-friendly resource center for sustainability. Characters and activities are incorporated into a fun and stimulating website that includes comprehensive information, movies, games, quizzes, greeting cards, web-page authoring, and much more. Resources for adults and educators too!
 For Businesses:GreenBiz.comŽ provides more than 8,000 resources on green business. Channels, including GreenerBuildings.com, GreenerComputing.com, and ClimateBiz.com, provide depth for professionals who are seeking to improve the environmental performance of their organizations.
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The Frederick County Office of Environmental Sustainability advances practical solutions for protecting the environment, conserving energy, and living sustainably in Frederick County.
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