MIPL masthead
 Promoting environmental justice and care of creation
with the community of faith
in Massachusetts

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February, 2007 Newsletter
Volume 6, Issue 1

In This Issue
First Parish, Chelmsford: MIPandL completes Environmental Stewardship Assessment (ESA)
You're NOT Green If...
Bio-Fuel How To's
What NOT to Do: Every Picture Tells a Story
Don't Miss It!! Coming Events
Join Our Mailing List!
Quick Links

Greetings, MIPandL members and friends!

Welcome to the February edition of the MIPandL e-newsletter! We hope you'll find useful information here, and new ways to join MIPandL and faith communities throughout Massachusetts in promoting environmental justice & stewardship! This month we introduce our new e-newsletter format, and welcome long-time Boston faith community colleague Mary Downes as MIPandL's new Communications Manager. Please feel free to email Mary with any questions, concerns, suggestions, ideas or requests for further information!

We're also eager to hear your own environmental stewardship success stories! Have you installed a new, energy efficient boiler- or started a recycling program in your place of worship? Cut down dramatically on electricity usage? Switched to bio-fuel? Installed automatic thermostats and interior storm windows? Had your first energy audit?

Drop us an email and tell us about it! We'd love to hear from you. Your personal witness makes a huge impact on others and inspires them to step up!


So, enjoy our newsletter- and share the info with your friends! Come out and join us at some of the upcoming events you'll read about here- and be sure to check our our website for updates.

And remember:  "Act as if what you do makes a difference.  It does."  ~William James

Or, as MIPandL puts it: If we don't, who will?


1st Parish Chelmsford boilerFirst Parish, Chelmsford
Unitarian Universalist
 

First Parish, Chelmsford's Environmental Stewardship Assessment, recently completed by MIPandL, revealed that they have it right when it comes to "on- demand" Domestic Hot Water (DHW). See their wall-mounted unit in the photo? This is a gas-fired "boiler" that only comes on when there is a "call" for DHW.  This sort of equipment increases efficiency (up to 92% as compared to around 65% for standard tanks) and reduces use to "only when needed."

AND this works at home too.

It's even better if you have hot water heat, as there are highly
efficient (over 90%) boilers that have an on-demand capability. So you have maximum efficiency for both heat and hot water from the same piece of equipment.

Want to see more ESA's? Click here:  MIPandL ESA's
For more information on a MIP&L ESA for your place of worship, visit the MIPand L website:


old thermostatYou Know You're NOT Green, if:
                   
           Y
ou've got single pane windows
                       You haven't had a home energy audit
         You have a manual thermostat
                      Your boiler/furnace is a teen-ager-or older
                                              You've got "oil heat" but don't use BIO-FUEL
                                             You don't offset your car fuel use
                          You don't know what PV means
         You use incandescent light bulbs
                                                You don't know what's in your paint
                                                       You don't know about wind power
                            You don't know where your old carpet goes
                                               You've got more than one DHW tank
                                                

MIPandL can help! Visit 
our website
  and find out about all of the resources available to you to complete your EXTREME ENERGY MAKEOVER!


 
BIO-FUEL IS HERE!
AND YOU CAN GET IN ON THE ACTION!

When was the last time you broke into a smile when you saw the oil truck pulling into your driveway? Probably never.

But across Massachusetts, thanks to a program spearheaded by the Massachusetts Energy Consumer's Alliance, the dreaded oil truck is being replaced by the bio-fuel truck- delivering a mix of petroleum fuel and soybean oil to happy customers and a grateful planet.  Here's what to do:

  1. First: Join an oil buying co-op
  2. Then, use the money you'll save to buy Bio-Fuel AND renewable energy!

Learn more about bio-fuel from Mass Energy

A SCENE FROM STEPHEN KING'S NEW NOVEL:
"THE BOILER?" 
Bad BoilerWith more than 120 members and growing, when it comes to energy systems, MIPandL has seen quite a few shining (rusty?) examples of what NOT to do!

So if this "boiler nightmare" looks like the boiler in your home or your house of worship, don't despair- even the worst cases of systems inefficiency and/or deterioration can be improved- with enormous economic and spiritual benefit to your worship community - and the entire human community!

MIPandL can help!

Don't Miss It!  Coming Events
  • Beginning this month on PBS, tune in to This Old House for this unprecedented "green" renovation. This Old House
NESEA conference
  • March 13-15  Join MIP&L at the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) Conference, Building Energy 07. Seaport World Trade Center, Boston. NESEA Conference 
  • March 16 - Mar 21 Interfaith Walk (Northampton to Boston!) for Climate Rescue. More info: Interfaith Walk

BE SURE TO CHECK BACK WITH US AT THE MIPandL website
for news, updates, resources & tools to support your energy transformation!