Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency Cathy Zoi pushes for Home Star in Congress
House Energy and Environment Subcommittee last Wednesday, and now moves to a full vote in the House Energy and Commerce Committee. On the Senate side, Homes Star was officially introduced, marking another important step in the regulatory process (S.3177). In the Senate, the Bill was sponsored by Democrat Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), but has already gained bipartisan support, with South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham and Virginia Democrat Mark Warner signing on as cosponsors of the legislation. For More Information , Click Here
Organic farmers and outdoor wood boilers: a saga of strange bedfellows
Mother Earth News, the back to the
land magazine has always attracted earthy folks who grow
their own organic vegetables, build their own cabin or yurt and live off
the grid. This is why so many of us love the magazine. But in recent
years, Mother Earth News has become one of the favorite magazines for
outdoor wood boilers manufacturers to hawk their wares. What gives?
EPA 48-Hour Burn Wise Video Contest Starts Today - April 9
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is sponsoring a video contest on Burn Wise, a campaign to help citizens reduce pollution from their wood-burning appliances. With the theme "Learn Before You Burn," the winning 30- or 60-second videos will promote responsible wood-burning techniques that can help citizens save money. Winning videos will be provided to television stations as public service announcements and cash prizes are range from $250 to $2,500. For an informational video and the clues that you must include in your video, click here: http://www.epa.gov/burnwise/contest.html
Participate in a Wood Heat Survey - April 17 deadline approaching
In conjunction with the Antioch University New England Advocacy Clinic,
the Alliance for Green Heat is conducting a survey to assess opinion trends on the use of wood for residential heating. To date, nearly 700 people have taken it and already very interesting trends are starting to emerge between the opinions of men vs. women, Democrats vs. Republicans, urban vs. rural dwellers, etc. Please
participate in this survey- your answers are important. The deadline to take the survey is Saturday April 17, 2010. Click Here.
Early Bird Rates for "Heating the Northeast" End on Friday April 9 at 5:00 PM
April 27 - 28 wood heat conference in Manchester, NH
This year's "Heating the Northeast Conference" will be held in Manchester, N.H. on April 27 and 28. The conference provides a venue for discussing biomass heating in various sectors of the community. The Biomass Thermal Energy Council (BTEC) is the lead organizer of the event, and The Alliance for Green Heat will be co-sponsoring it, along with other organizations.
An article in the Energy Bulletin says the Alliance has brought a "refreshingly non-commercial and political tone to the conversation... [and has] already made its presence felt.Click Herefor more information.
Vermont pellet producer buys and sells in 50-mile radius
A wood pellet producer is staying in business this year with a strategy that many New England pellet producers use: they keep costs down by procuring wood from a 30-mile radius and selling in a 50-miles radius.. For more info Click Here
District Heating and Beyond
These days residents of Finnish cities, towns and villages are kept warm by wood.
Clean, green energy from wood pellets, chips or bio-oil fuels a central
boiler and pipes the heat into the local hospital, schools, and homes. Co-operative district heating models have
brought not only a lower carbon footprint, but the foundation for a
thriving, local economy.
So why aren't the fledging forest towns in Northern Ontario, B.C.
and New Brunswick following suit? For full story, click here.
Wood stove makers win prestigious international award Trees, Water and People, a Colorado based organization that distribute fuel-efficient biomass cook stoves in the developing world was awarded a prestigious award and $200,000. For more info Click Here.
Welcome to Our New Board Member We'd like to extend a sincere welcome to the newest member of our advisory board, John Gulland, the head of the Canada-based Wood Heat Organization. For a full bio click here.
Did you know? The European Union
expects to save 250 million tons of CO2 by 2020 in Europe through the
use of combined heat and power? Combined heat and power (CHP) is when
power plants capture and use the heat associated with making
electricity, instead of wasting it, as virtually all large-scale US
power plants do. When US power plants use biomass, they only get about
20 - 30% efficiency, and waste the majority of the tree's energy. CHP
commonly gets up to 90% efficiency. For more info..Click here
The Alliance for Green Heat is an independent non-profit organization working to promote cleaner and more efficient biomass heating. Please consider making a generous contribution. All donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.
You can make a secure donation online through PayPal by clicking the button below
We would like to extend our most sincere thanks to all of our supporters! Your donations help us advocate for policies to help everyday Americans heat their homes sustainably and affordably.
Founders--Dr. William & Frances Ackerly, the Arbolito Foundation, Family Alliance Foundation, the Ramsay Merriam Fund and Woodpellets.com
Founding members--April Bodman, Ann Down, Steven R. Kaufman & JD Doliner, Tina and Dave Egan, Kim Kaston, John Meeker, Nick Salafsky & Julie Segre, Nina Smith & John Ackerly, Tad Welch & Ali Schultheis and Anonymous.
Mother Earth News, the back to the
land magazine has always attracted earthy folks who grow
their own organic vegetables, build their own cabin or yurt and live off
the grid. This is why so many of us love the magazine. But in recent
years, Mother Earth News has become one of the favorite magazines for
outdoor wood boilers manufacturers to hawk their wares. What gives?
