http://www.nrcm.org/rss.asp?f=1 NRCM Clean Air, Clean Energy bdimond@nrcm.orgFri, 03 Sep 2010 03:20:03 EDTFuzzyRSS 1.0.1 http://www.nrcm.org/news_detail.asp?news=3804UNITY -- A solar panel installed by then-President Jimmy Carter will return to the White House next week, traveling from Unity College.That's the plan of environmental author and activist Bill McKibben, who said Tuesday that he and a group of Unity College students would travel with the panel as part of an effort to get President Barack Obama to put solar panels on the White House.McKibben was exp...bdimond@nrcm.orgWed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EDT http://www.nrcm.org/news_detail.asp?news=3798The best energy dollar ever spent is applied to weatherizing, or tightening up buildings so they can better hold heat. Cellulose in the attic, spray foam around the windows, caulking along the trim, Fiberglas between the floor joists, rigid foam outside the foundation, storm windows, a new door may not be as glamorous as granite counter tops, but it saves money. And every dollar worth of heat it s...bdimond@nrcm.orgWed, 25 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EDT http://www.nrcm.org/news_detail.asp?news=3796I am a small-business owner, the kind you often hear discussed among policy makers. I work hard and employ three people. It has enabled me to buy and sell one house and to build and sell another. I built my shop. I established my business by caring for my employees and my community.I want my business to thrive for two inseparable reasons — to earn a decent living and to build my community. I...bdimond@nrcm.orgSat, 21 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EDT http://www.nrcm.org/news_detail.asp?news=3792BANGOR, Maine — Four years ago this month, as instability in the Middle East threatened to cause big spikes in oil prices, the city hired a southern Maine firm to conduct a comprehensive energy audit of all municipal buildings.Honeywell Building Solutions of Westbrook spent several months surveying 42 primarily oil-dependent buildings, comprising 1.3 million square feet of city-owned propert...bdimond@nrcm.orgFri, 20 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EDT http://www.nrcm.org/news_detail.asp?news=3793The U.S. Department of Energy announced Thursday it will distribute nearly $120 million across the nation to bolster the Weatherization Assistance Program, with $7 million going to agencies in Maine.The additional funding, made available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, comes on the heels of a milestone for the program: More than 31,600 homes nationwide received weatherization upg...bdimond@nrcm.orgFri, 20 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EDT http://www.nrcm.org/news_detail.asp?news=3794Criticism of the wind industry has ratcheted up lately. While there are certainly negative consequences to the construction and use of wind turbines, the discussion of these consequences largely has occurred in a vacuum. Until the benefits and downsides of wind — or any new energy source — are weighed against the pros and cons of our current energy policy, such a discussion is nearly m...bdimond@nrcm.orgThu, 19 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EDT http://www.nrcm.org/news_detail.asp?news=3788Maine will receive $7 million in federal stimulus money to continue its low-income weatherization assistance program, state and federal officials announced today.Maine has weatherized more than 2,000 homes using money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.The state has been a national leader in weatherization, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.“We appreciate the support of...bdimond@nrcm.orgThu, 19 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EDT http://www.nrcm.org/news_detail.asp?news=3783PORTLAND — Drivers who use a new parking lot at the Portland International Jetport won't notice, but their vehicles will be atop more than 11 miles of plastic tubing.If they could slice open the earth, they would see 120 loops extending 500 feet into bedrock. And if they could peer through the tubing, they would see fluid circulating at 500 gallons a minute.Drill rigs will run every day for ...bdimond@nrcm.orgWed, 18 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EDT http://www.nrcm.org/news_detail.asp?news=3784AUGUSTA — Each of us served on the Governor's Task Force on Wind Power Development and supported Maine's Wind Energy Act. We share the belief that wind power must be part of Maine's energy future.But we emphatically disagree with Orlando Delogu's conclusion in his Aug. 1 column ("LURC lacks vision to act on wind") that the Land Use Regulation Commission's treatment of the K...bdimond@nrcm.orgWed, 18 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EDT http://www.nrcm.org/news_detail.asp?news=3785PORTLAND, Maine — A cooperative approach among New England states holds the best hope for meeting the region's renewable energy goals by giving states additional clout and spreading the risk of expensive projects, the top official from the regional power grid operator said Monday.A report by the New England States Committee on Electricity last month encouraged the six states — Maine, N...bdimond@nrcm.orgTue, 17 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EDT