Massachusetts is a Hotbed for Alternative Energy: How You Can Get Involved

Massachusetts is a Hotbed for Alternative Energy: How You Can Get Involved

Posted on Thursday, May 22, 2014 at 4:33:00 PM

Thanks to advances being made in alternative energy, going green and saving money no longer have to be mutually exclusive—now especially for those living in Massachusetts.

The demand for alternative energy continues to rise and, as such, consumers stand to gain. The price of solar energy, for example, fell 15 percent between 2012 and 2013, even as it accounted for 29 percent of all new electricity generation capacity that same year.

The Bay State is a particular hotbed for alternative energy, finishing fourth in the nation for its 237.2 megawatt-increase in capacity in 2013. A driving force behind solar adoption is that it is less expensive for companies to produce than other energy sources. Additionally, solar is generally more accessible and thus easier to harness.

Massachusetts residents can get in on the action by participating in the state’s growing alternative energy movement. Here are a few ways MA citizens (or citizens of any state, for that matter) can do so:

• Embrace affordable green energy: Make an energy choice that makes a difference. Moving from a “brown” energy supplier to a green supplier is a great way to begin making a change that works for you. Start your process by exploring suppliers that cater to your area.
• Get involved in the community: It’s easy to get involved in the “green scene." For example, participate in state or town fairs or simply shop local and organic. In Massachusetts, the Boston Greenfest will be taking place at the Boston City Hall Plaza from August 15-17, representing the region’s largest environmental festival.
• Cut down energy usage in other ways: If for any reason you can’t make the move to a green energy supplier, there are things you can do around the home to decrease your footprint—and energy bill. This can include keeping your air conditioning at a minimum this summer and unplugging devices even when they are off, as this still draws energy.

Residents of Massachusetts should be proud of the strides that their home state is making in the green realm. If you don’t live in the state, make sure you’re doing your part to help your state, city or hometown get to this level of involvement. Remember: it all starts with you. take part of renewable energy click HERE 

Do you want Save Money on your energy bill and do something great for the planet

Do you want to save money on your energy bill and do something great for the planet? Are you a homeowner with a mostly sunny roof facing south, east or west? Then you owe it to yourself to consider going solar, and Viridian gives you the power to do it – yes, even those of you in the often gray and rainy Northeast. Better than that, we make it easy. To learn more Click Here 

Future is now for green energy switch

Future is now for green energy switch

Even among those who believe strongly in sustainability, renewable energy as a major percentage of production may seem like a futuristic, far-off goal, one to strive for but which may only be seen by the next generation. Those in the industry, though, know that the future is rapidly arriving, and some recent news shows that, when it comes to renewable energy, the future is now.

Austin boosting renewable energy use
Austin, Texas, home to popular music festivals and University of Texas, has long been famous for its atmosphere, and has taken strong stands on many forward-looking issues. When it comes to renewable energy, it's been at the vanguard of adopters. Only a few years ago, Austin Energy, the city-owned utility company upped its focus on renewable energy, hoping to boost its efforts ingreen energy switch and hit a benchmark of 35 percent of its energy being renewable by the year 2020. An ambitious and noble goal, certainly, but 2020 was still years away. The company, though, may not even need that long.

According to a recent article in the Austin American-Statesman, Austin Energy is about to sign a pair of contracts that would put the company past its 35 percent goal by 2016. 570 megawatts of wind generated capacity, stemming from the Texas Gulf Coast, would be added in contracts worth $1.4 billion and lasting 25 years. The new wattage would sufficiently increase the company's renewable work and break it into a new frontier. With the 35 percent barrier behind it, it may have bold new ambitions to take on next.

Other great news for renewable energy
Around the country, other good news about renewable energy continues to come out. Nebraska recently signed into a law a bill aimed at pushing renewable energy in the state higher through tax incentives, such as exempting certain renewable energy costs from the 5.5 percent sales tax the state has in place. The law also requires renewable energy companies to put at least $20 million into certain properties in the state in order to receive the tax benefits. According to an article from ReedSmith, Nebraska has the fourth-highest wind-energy potential in the nation, but has hardly capitalized on this and remains 26th in the nation in wind-energy production. Hopefully, the bill will take wind energy production in Nebraska to the next level, and help bring America further into a future of green power.

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KENTUCKY HIGH SCHOOL RADIO STATION IMPLEMENTS SOLAR POWER

Green energy solutions are increasingly finding themselves incorporated into various daily processes. Residential and commercial properties are having their lights, heat and technology powered with the of the sun. Corbin High School's radio station is now broadcasting over the wavelengths using solar energy.

WYMT TV reports that the high school, located in Corbin, Kentucky, was able to make the switch to solar energy thanks to a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission for $10,000. Now, brand new solar panels will begin to collect the sun's energy to power the 100 watt transmitter needed for the school's radio station.

Teachers claim that the introduction of solar energy for the radio station is just one move the school is making to include green energy technology and sustainable solutions into the educational facility. Promoting sustainability at a high school may get students thinking about the consequences of their energy use and the energy solution solar and other renewable sources offer.

Students are encouraged to learn about solar energy, according to the news source, and how it integrates with the broadcasting system.
"I've never seen any solar power around here, especially since we're in such a coal area, and since you can run something like this from solar energy is just awesome," student Tanner Broughton, told the news source.

The integration of solar panels into the radio tower required special hookups.

"We do want to make some hard connections to the electric back-up there just to make sure, but at this point the batteries are now fully charged and we're ready to go solar," radio station manager David Colvin, told the news source.

Officials and faculty at Corbin High School are hopeful that solar energy will soon be incorporated into the school's science curriculum, reports WYMT TV.

Green Rankings winners do more than switch electricity

Green Rankings winners do more than switch electricity

Posted on Friday, September 28, 2012 at 4:09:46 PM

For the last few years, Newsweek has been publishing its list of the most environmentally friendly organizations, those that go the extra mile to use green energy and switch operations to more eco-conservative measures, creating a competitive landscape for businesses. In order to rank up on the list, some businesses are making a final push to increase their standings.
Daily Finance wrote that Sprint is working on building more green initiatives and making these programs public, earning more attention for its clean programs. The company is making 100 percent recycled devices available for purchase, as well as pushing its customers to bring unused electronics back to stores for that purpose. The company has previously earned accolades from the EPA for this drive, as the company is making a dent in the over 2 million tons of electronics sent to landfills every year.
This shows how tough it is to move up in the Green Rankings list, as The Daily Beast wrote. Simply adding more green energy to power portfolios is not enough - businesses must challenge themselves to find ways of cutting costs, reducing waste and making cleaner operations. In this case, the winning company not only gains more public attention and prestige, but the environment wins as well.

Cutting energy use in hospitals with renewables

Cutting energy use in hospitals with renewables

The U.S. Department of Energy's Commercial Buildings Program and National Renewable Energy Laboratory announced that they are working with the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers and the general buildings industry to research means to reduce the energy used by high-level consumers such as large hospitals, schools and retail buildings. The partnerships resulted in a series of guidelines for energy design that could help facilitate a 50 percent savings for buildings designed for high-level consumers, achievable by making electric choices that are designed to be "easy to implement."
Shanti Pless, NREL Senior Research Engineer and Chair of the Advanced Energy Design Guidelines project, revealed that the AEDG series "represents the best practices in industry for energy efficiency in buildings."
Given the fact that U.S. hospitals spend more than $5 billion a year on energy, which on average equals 1 to 3 percent of a hospital's budget for operating, Pless said, "We felt this industry needed resources, and there weren't many out there helping them to achieve 50 percent savings in energy."
The NREL has been operating for roughly 35 years, aiming to help facilitate the emergence of the green energy industry, and is reportedly the only national laboratory that is dedicated to advancing the renewable energy industry and energy efficiency technologies from the initial concept phase through to commercial applications.

Sustainability changes for every organization

Sustainability changes for every organization

Climate and sustainability expert Bob Doppelt wrote a recent article published in Business Review USA, in which he offered up six changes that he said every organization is capable of making to cost-effectively reach sustainability.
Doppelt noted the need to revise the classic "more and cheaper is better" approach to business, offering up an alternative mantra for personal happiness and economic success, saying, "sustainable is better, healthier, morally just - and essential to sustain life on the planet."
Doppelt's six cost-effective changes for sustainability begin with his recommendation for businesses to complete a Life Cycle Analysis to fully explore the effects the company's goods and services have on the environment and society. Then, Doppelt advised undertaking an analysis of the company's carbon footprint for all production facilities, and to simultaneously perform an energy audit. These beginning steps are key for helping companies inexpensively discover where there is room for improvement and new ways to save money.
The next change Doppelt offered up was to hold a company-wide dialogue with the goal to establish clear ethics to help manage the company's activities around sustaining the natural environment.
Fourth on Doppelt's list is arguably his boldest suggestion, telling companies to set an ambitious target - something similar to either increasing efficiency or reducing energy use by 30 percent - in an effort to show commitment to the company's initiatives.
The fifth change is to have the company establish a plan to reduce its use of coal across its value chain, completely eliminating coal use in a period of five to 10 years. Doppelt maintains that this is achievable by transitioning to renewable energy sources such as wind or solar while simultaneously working to increase energy efficiency.
Doppelt's final change involves setting yet another ambitious goal, this time to reduce company waste that goes to landfills through the gradual building up of recycling and reuse at facilities.
Once organizations have gone through Doppelt's six changes, he advises them to then continue approaching goals like these in a similar fashion until they have gone through the company's entire value chain.
Today, companies around the globe recognize the necessity to restructure their sustainability efforts, residential households are making individual efforts to do their parts, and entire cities are taking on the sustainability challenge. For example, a recent article in Peoria new source the Peoria Times described how that city developed a sustainability initiative in 2009 in an effort to counter financial hardships and have "positive, lasting effects" on Peoria's future.

Learn more about energy news here 

Saving Electricity

Saving Electricity

By making modest changes, individuals can conserve electricity, take advantage of substantial savings on utility bills, and contribute to sustainability for the planet, according to a recent Demand Media article published by National Geographic.
One of the easiest and most cost-efficient changes that individual homes can make is changing light bulbs from incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescent light bulbs. A 20-watt CFL not only uses less energy to produce the same amount of light as a 75-watt incandescent bulb, but it also produces less heat and can last seven times as long.
Another easy tip for saving electricity is to plug all devices, chargers, televisions and computers into a power strip. This allows the entire strip to be turned off with one simple switch when devices are fully charged or not in use.
Electricity consumers can implement two easy changes depending on the seasons. In the cold winter months, wearing a sweater indoors could keep individuals just as warm as raising the thermostat would. In the summer months, a ceiling fan is capable of circulating the air in the entire room which creates a "wind chill factor" indoors, and makes the room seem considerably cooler than it would be otherwise.
In another article by Demand Media published in National Geographic recommended purchasing green power and energy efficient appliances, as "not all energy sources come at the same price to the environment."

read more Energy news here

Viridian earns Rising Star Award at the DSA 2012

Read Meredith Berkich's Thoughts below:

Viridian earns Rising Star Award at the DSA 2012

SVP Meredith Berkich & VP Bob Ulrich in Dallas, Texas

Tuesday night, June 5, 2012, at the Direct Selling Association awards banquet in Dallas I had the incredible opportunity to accept an award that is the most coveted recognition a young company in the Network Marketing channel can ever hope to receive. In the surprise and excitement of the moment of hearing Viridian's name called, going on stage and being asked to say a few words, I don't think anyone articulates exactly what they would have said had they had time to prepare for such an honor.

I wish I could say I was as precise as the copy below (what I actually said in those brief moments was definitely in the body of the text below somewhere) but regardless - over 800 industry peers now clearly have a better understanding of what the Viridian brand represents. I wanted to share the words I would have said had I been give three minutes and a teleprompter - as this award belongs to all of the people of Generation V; our corporate staff, field Associates and customers and we should not let this moment in our history pass without giving it due reflection.

It is with humility and gratitude I accept the Direct Selling Association's Rising Star Award for 2012 on behalf of the Viridian Community and our CEO and Founder, Michael Fallquist. I thank the DSA for their continuing efforts to protect this great industry that empowers ordinary people to experience extraordinary results.

I joined Viridian a year and a half ago, over a year after Michael birthed his vision to create a new category in the energy space merging affordable green energy with renewable energy development. Our 7 Continents in 7 Years initiative clearly demonstrates our commitment to global sustainability initiatives as we annually take our top field leaders on Voluntourism trips combining service projects with celebration of their successes. We have planted trees in the Amazon of South America, installed solar panels on schools and clinics in villages in Africa, and next year we take them to Asia.

We believe our Associates have the power to change the world - this is not just a sensational statement but a core belief. To give you an idea, last year the Customers that our Associates enrolled made individual choices to switch to Viridian that resulted in a collective impact of preventing over 208 million pounds of carbon emissions from being released into our atmosphere. This equates to 2.4 million trees being planted - 18,525 cars being taken off of the roads - 1.1 billion 2-litre plastic bottles being recycled.

Our Associates, like to say that "we did not inherit this planet from our ancestors; we are borrowing it from our children". Their belief in us and our mission makes it our sacred trust as Direct Selling Executives to empower these courageous entrepreneurs with steadfast vision, a unique selling proposition, high quality support tools, comprehensive education, and a lucrative time/value proposition.

I have been in the Direct Selling industry for over 20 years now; I know the power of the network - not only for taking products to market or for profitability but for the greater good of humankind. Together we can - together we will - make a difference. We are, Generation V.

Learn more abour Viridian www.vpurpose.info

Viridian Mass Leadership Dinner

 

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David Fernandes 

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