‘Tis the season for gift giving and with it comes large amounts that can be recycled before it goes in the trash. Remember the trash limit is 3 bags; so recycling makes even more sense. More than 60% of trash can be recycled so if you are putting more trash out than recycling, there is more you can do.
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"Depending on who you talk to, there's something like 19 provisions in total that could benefit solar energy," Chleboski said.
One provision would lift a cap on federal tax credits for solar-powered hot water heaters, Artner said. Heat-Flo of Hopedale manufactures these devices, and Jay Santello, a Franklin contractor who installs solar equipment, said he uses a sun-powered hot water heater at his own home year-round.
"My hot water is fantastic and my gas bills have gone down substantially," Santello said.
The stimulus plan also would make it possible to convert certain commercial tax credits for solar grants. These credits might have been attractive to companies in the past, but they became less so as companies saw tax bills drop anyway because of diminishing profits, Chleboski said.
Read the full article on renewable energy in the Milford Daily News here
The days of 6-inch, 500-page School Committee packets are gone, replaced by the much greener option of e-documents and laptops.
Aiming to save the environment, cash, and set an example for the rest of the district, the School Committee has decided to "go green."
At the suggestion of Annie Sullivan Middle School Principal Beth Wittcoff, a member of the paperless Southborough School Committee, the Franklin School Committee did a pilot run at its first meeting, and gave it rave reviews, said Chairman Jeffrey Roy.
Members discovered a minor glitch - that their laptop batteries died once the meeting hit the 2-hour mark. The town has since put electrical outlets at the meeting table, Roy said.
"Everybody loved it, so we jumped on it from there," said Roy.
Read the full article about the paperless efforts in the Milford Daily News here
The Green Energy Fair is a free event that will be held at the First Universalist Society of Franklin, 262 Chestnut St., on Thursday, Feb. 5. It will feature information from a Wrentham organic farmer, vendors selling green products and energy-saving tips.
The Global Warming Cafe will be held Sunday, Feb. 15, at 2:30 p.m., at the First Universalist Church in Franklin. The cafe is open to the public and is an informal gathering to discuss global warming and how to stop it.
For more information about the low-carbon diet, logon to www.350.org.
To sign up for news of future FACT events, e-mail FranklinAreaClimateTeam@yahoogroups.com
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
Frightened that an "environmental catastrophe" is looming after conducting research on global warming, Remington Middle School students launched a public awareness campaign yesterday on the benefits of using compact fluorescent lights.
To combat energy waste, Team Titans, a group of 50 sixth-grade Remington students, made arrangements with Franklin stores J.D. Daddario, Stop & Shop, and Aubuchon Hardware to keep recycling bins on the premises.
Now people can drop off their used compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), which are energy-efficient but contain a small amount of mercury, at the same place they purchase replacements.
If every American household replaced one incandescent light bulb with an Energy Star-qualified compact bulb for a year, enough energy would be saved to light more than 3 million homes and prevent greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of more than 800,000 cars, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Web site.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News
