GreenerLiving Bethesda

Concerned about climate change and growing energy costs? Together we can make a big difference!

Join your friends and neighbors in Bethesda Green’s GreenerLiving program and learn concrete, practical steps you can take to impact the environment by saving energy in your home and on the road.  Free spaces limited to first 50 enrollees.  RSVP with name, address and telephone to info@bethesdagreen.org.

The GreenerLiving Program is an educational program that can help you:

• Measure and track your energy use
• Learn how your energy use impacts the environment
• Reduce your energy use
• Save money
• Gain control

It’s up to you how far to go. GreenerLiving can help you track your energy use automatically with online tools at EarthAid.net and offers discounts on home energy audits. With your individual energy profile in hand, you can do as much or as little as suits you. GreenerLiving can help show you the way through workshops, website information and other educational tools.

From replacing light bulbs to making energy efficiency upgrades or even installing a solar or geothermal system in your home, the GreenerLiving program will provide guidance to help you:

• Understand your options
• Choose a good vendor
• Take advantage of tax and financing programs and incentives
  
• Learn and share best practices
• Obtain special discounts on products and services
• Calculate potential savings, payback periods and environmental impact

Join us for the first workshop and orientation

At Bethesda Green, 4825 Cordell Avenue, Bethesda, second floor above the Chevy Chase Bank branch.  Please choose one workshop and RSVP to info@bethesdagreen.org.

– Saturday, October 24, 10-11:30 am, or
– Wednesday, October 28, 7-8:30 pm

Ongoing classes on Saturdays, Nov. 7, 21 and Dec. 5, starting at 10 am.

 

Sustainable design presentation at Bethesda Green

John Spears, president of Sustainable Design Group

Ecological pioneer John Spears kicked off the first of what will be monthly Bethesda Green lunchtime discussions October 13 with an informative presentation about building energy self-sufficient homes.  Nearly 20 attendees learned about a variety of renewable energy sources and the financial paybacks for investing in them.

Spears, president of Sustainable Design Group, is an internationally recognized expert with 30 years experience in energy conservation, renewable energy systems, indoor air quality and sustainable design.  He provides design and consulting services in the areas of residential and commercial building energy conservation, renewable energy systems, “Green Building” design, indoor air quality and sustainable community development.

Bethesda Green is featuring a number of Upcoming Events in October on Energy Efficiency, including an introductory 101 workshop Wednesday, Oct. 21, 7-9 pm.

Bethesda Green's Solar Decathlon visitors

After the Spears presentation, a group headed down to DC to visit the Solar Decathlon, which runs until Oct. 18.  The Solar Decathlon, an event sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, presents the powerful combination of solar energy, energy efficiency, and the best in home design.  Set up on the Washington Mall, the event joins 20 college and university teams in a competition to design, build, and operate the most attractive and energy-efficient solar-powered house.

 

Successful Grand Opening Kicks Off New Schedule of Programs

Cutting the invasive-species ribbon at Bethesda Green are, from left to right: Bethesda Green Executive Director Dave Feldman, Honest Tea TeaEO Seth Goldman, County Councilmember George Leventhal, County Executive Ike Leggett, Maryland State Senator Brian Frosh and Maryland State Delegate Susan Lee.

Our Grand Opening was a big success!

The festivities began with a VIP reception the morning of October 1, followed by a “ribbon”-cutting ceremony on Cordell Avenue. County Executive Ike Leggett gave a short speech, as did Honest Tea TeaEO Seth Goldman, Bethesda Green Executive Director Dave Feldman, County Councilmember George Leventhal and a few others. A representative from the governor’s office presented a proclamation declaring October 1 “Bethesda Green Business Incubator Day.”

The dignitaries then cut a “ribbon” made from an invasive-species vine donated by American Plant.

Several hundred people visited our newly renovated Education Center and Green Business Incubator that day and hundreds more came the next two days. A team of our student volunteers helped collect recycling at the Taste of Bethesda, October 3. Check out our news page for clips about the Grand Opening event.

Thanks to all the supporters, donors and volunteers who made the event happen! The large turnout reflects the huge amount of community support and interest we’ve received. And this is just the beginning!

Each month we’ll host a series of panel discussions, workshops and seminars around a green topic — October’s is ‘Energy Efficiency: Reducing Your Carbon Footprint.’ Our offerings include a Green Your Business seminar series and the GreenerLiving Bethesda educational program.

To see what else we have on tap, check our events calendar or the upcoming events page.

November’s programs will focus on the theme of ‘Healthy Harvests: Local and Organic Food Options.’ We hope to see you at Bethesda Green!

 

Bethesda Green Recycling Team

Recycling Team gathers before taking to the streets at the Taste of Bethesda October 3, 2009.

Among many of the wonderful highlights from the past weekend’s launching of the Bethesda Green Education Center and Green Business Incubator — a three-day celebration that included a ribbon-cutting ceremony October 1, hundreds of  visitors to our Open House showcase,  and recognition from Gov. Martin O’Malley — was the extraordinary effort by our Bethesda Green Recycling Team of high school volunteers.

Led by Volunteer Coordinator Rosalie Grazzini,  the team helped with recycling during the Taste of Bethesda street festival October 3, gathering discarded paper and cardboard in large laundry carts (pictured above) provided by Perfect Settings.   Moving their carts from block to block behind restaurant booths and weaving among the estimated 40,000 Taste of Bethesda attendees, the recycling team collected a flat bed truck full of paper and cardboard and 30 trash bags full of plastics — an enormous volume of waste detoured from the landfill.

The large turnout of students made an impressionable impact on both the vendors and the patrons, raising awareness of the commitment needed to sustain this important environmental movement.   Great job!

 

Support Green Paper Studio

We recently heard that Green Paper Studio, a Creative Parties’ venture owned by our good friend and Bethesda Green sponsor Tracy Bloom Schwartz, was nominated by Forbes Magazine for their “Boost Your Business” promotion. The winner gets $100,000. Please go to http://boost09.perfectprize.com/voting/ and vote. You will have to confirm your vote via email. They will give you instructions. Also, go to http://www.forbes.com/byb/2009/semi/boost-your-business-contest-09-green-paper-studio.html to see the 30 second video!

Good luck Tracy.  We’re all pulling for you.

 

Green school supplies and waste-free lunches

With back-to-school planning and purchasing kicking into full gear, now’s a good time to consider ways to go green.  Our friends at OrganicMania have assembled a comprehensive listing of back-to-school tips — Green Moms Tell It Like It Is — a great resource for parents.

If you’re interested in getting actively involved in sharing ideas with your schools and PTAs, check out and distribute two great information flyers recently produced by Bethesda Green. One covers green options for purchasing school supplies; the other presents ways to implement waste-free lunches at your school.  Both flyers are PDF files that you can download and distribute electronically.

 

Incubating Green Businesses

This month we saw a marked increase in activity around Bethesda Green.  We officially opened our Green Incubator with six exciting companies confirmed and several more under consideration. The Incubator’s mission is to support the development of young growing businesses that have the potential to create jobs and bring new, innovative green products to market.

Friends of Bethesda Green gather at the Incubator Orientation July 14.

One of Bethesda Green’s key assets for new incubating businesses is the opportunity to network and share ideas.  A fine example was our July 14 orientation/social event, which attracted a large crowd to welcome the new companies.

As part of the larger Bethesda Green Education Center, the Incubator companies will have an opportunity to meet the public at our October 1 grand opening.  More details will follow, but we aim to kick off with a ribbon cutting Thursday morning, followed by a two-and-half day open house.  Once the Center opens, the public will be able to learn about the many programs that Bethesda Green currently offers.  In addition to containing our office space, the Center will serve as an education and events theatre, meeting venue for all our working groups, local “green” solution showcase, and resource Center.

The Incubator serves a diverse cross-section of green, socially responsible, sustainable companies that have a positive impact on our community.  The businesses, as well as other entrepreneurs and non-profits we hope to attract in the future, represent small local companies or larger green companies with a local presence.  The businesses are drawn from multiple sectors, including software development, finance, technology, agriculture, architecture, consulting and distribution and address such issues as energy efficiency, green transportation, planning, design, neighborhood revitalization, and recycling.

For more info about incubators in general and the Bethesda Green Incubator specifically, click here.  For a listing of the businesses in the Bethesda Green Incubator, click here.

 

Nearly 90,000 lbs collected at e-cycling event

Electronic debris -- dropped off for recycling -- lines the Bethesda Chevy Chase High School parking lot.

Bethesda Green’s second e-cycling event in partnership with Montgomery County Division of Solid Waste Services June 7 drew over 700 people, disposing nearly 90,000 lbs of electronic debris at the Bethesda Chevy Chase High School parking lot.  Electronics scrap recyclers E-Structors, under contract to the county, filled more than two 18-wheelers with e-waste.

Electronics recycled included small electronic appliances, computers, copiers, cords and cables (including chargers), fax machines, microwave ovens, printers, telephones, televisions and much more.

E-Structors assures the absolute destruction of all sensitive data and guarantees environmental compliance with 100 percent recycling of processed materials.  For more information, see the Bethesda Green interview with Michael Caulfield, VP Sales for E-structors,  after the December 14, 2008, e-cycling event at Walt Whitman High School

Bethesda Green and Montgomery County plan to host another e-cycling event in the fall.  Stayed tuned for details.

 

Bethesda Magazine considers the future

A bit late in touting this, sorry to say, but the July/August issue of Bethesda Magazine includes an interesting article by Bob Guldin that considers what Bethesda will be like in the year 2020.  Despite the scary-sounding title — “Paradise Lost? By the year 2020, will a growing population and increased urban development hurt the quality of life in the Bethesda area?” — Guldin’s article explores reconciling Bethesda’s New Urbanism with its traditional bedroom community lifestyle.  The article quotes a number of people from the Bethesda Green community, including Executive Director Dave Feldman, County Councilman and Board Member Roger Berliner, and neighborhood leader and Board Member Ilaya Hopkins.  The piece starts on page 85.

Also be sure to check out an item featuring BG Board Co-Chair Seth Goldman and the staff of Honest Tea (page 194 of the “Coolest Companies” article by Hillary Jackson), and last but not least, the Bethesda Green ad executed in kind by Nasuti + Hinkle Creative Thinking and published pro bono by Bethesda Magazine.  The tag line of the ad (pictured) reads “Alternative fuels can come from lots of places.  Even cooking oil.”

 

Recycling jeans for insulation

Working in partnership with Amicus Green Building Center, Bethesda Green was a drop-off point for the Habitat for Humanity Denim Collection drive over the past couple of months.  Old jeans are shredded and used to make insulation in homes constructed by Habitat for Humanity.

The drive ends Monday June 15.  Last year, the Amicus team collected enough denim to make 75,000 square feet of insulation for use in about 85 Habitat homes in the recovering Gulf Coast.  The goal this year is to set a new record.  We’ll let you know the result when we get the final tally.

Thanks to all who dropped off old jeans, in particular Walt Whitman High School students Dana Max, Claire Silverstein, and Sara Allen (pictured), along with teacher Kelly Garton, who delivered more than half the total haul of jeans collected at Bethesda Green (estimated 250 pairs of jeans).