• recycled materials logo
    Recycle,  Reuse

    Closing the Loop

    Put the “Cycle” in Recycle Let’s say you’re at an office supply store shopping for copy paper. You locate a ream, and the label says it’s Recycled paper. “That’s great!” you think. “This must be made from the waste paper I put in my recycling bin at home!” Right? Nope. Or at least not likely. The paper you’re holding was indeed made from recycled material. But it was sourced from mill broke, aka “trimmings,” or the scraps left over from the paper manufacturing process. This isn’t a new thing; recycling “Pre-Consumer” material has been a conventional practice practically since paper was invented. A product label could also say it’s Recycled…

  • Decarbonize,  Energy Conservation,  Go Electric,  Heat Pumps,  Heating & Cooling

    Decarbonize Your Life (Part 3)

    Heat pump water heaters are one example of low-hanging efficiency fruit as they are 2-4x more efficient than other water heaters. This is the third article in a four-part series showing how, with modest steps and a middle-class income, a family has dramatically reduced emissions and is sequestering what remains through a small reforestation project. Their life is better for it. Decarbonize Your Life (part 1) Decarbonize Your Life (part 2) Many organizations have charted a path to a decarbonized world by 2050 and broken down required action into four areas or “pathways.” In past issues, we discussed the first two pathways–Decarbonizing Electricity and Electrifying Everything–and how individuals can take…

  • BUILDING,  Business,  Community Investment,  Community Readiness,  Go Electric,  Housing,  Preparedness

    100% Carbon Free, Climate Resilient Living

    This is the future of the grid happening right here in Vermont Imagine living in a home that’s all-electric, fossil fuel-free, and is fully storm-resilient. That’s the reality for the 155 families who will move to Hillside East in South Burlington, Vermont. This is a first for that state– a whole neighborhood that is resistant to power outages thanks to a Resiliency Package of in-home Tesla Powerwall batteries for seamless backup power, rooftop solar panels to recharge, and extend the batteries’ backup capability, and a neighborhood microgrid for extra backup power as needed. O’Brien Brothers, a Vermont-grown property development company for over six decades, turned to Green Mountain Power when…