Spring 2010 Edition
Celebrating 10 Years-
Delivering Solutions to Global Warming
Left to right, Roger Dower, CA-CP Board Chair; Gibby Waitzkin, CA-CP Board; David Borden; Joanne Lamprey; Chris Skoglund; Adam Markham, CA-CP CEO; Tom Haas, host and owner, Great Bay Aviation.
Clean Air-Cool Planet is celebrating 10 years in the business of solving the global warming problem, and kicked off an 18-month campaign - Delivering Solutions to Global Warming - at a gala and awards gathering on May 4th.
The evening included presentation of awards to three new Climate Champions - New Hampshire residents who have been outstanding leaders on climate and energy work. Awards were presented by CA-CP Board Chair Roger Dower, president of the Johnson Foundation, and Adam Markham, president and CEO of CA-CP. Partners and funders, board members and staff packed the 100 Club at 100 Market Street for the event, which was hosted by Tom Haas, owner of Great Bay Aviation.
David Borden, a state representative from New Castle, Joanne Lamprey of Rye, president of Lamprey Brothers, an oil and HVAC company, and Christopher Skoglund of Durham, a transportation and air quality planner with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, received the awards at the event.
Clean Air-Cool Planet began work in 2000, providing hands-on assistance to companies, campuses, communities and science centers, from its Portsmouth, NH and New Canaan, CT offices, while developing and promoting economically efficient and innovative federal climate policies through its Washington, DC office.
"We opened our headquarters here ten years ago," said Markham, "and we wanted to begin our celebration of ten years of action by honoring local actors who have done great things to help solve the global warming problem."
We gave some, we got some-
CA-CP building energy efficiency work lauded with two awards
 Just days after we gave our three new Climate Champion Awards, we received awards for our work to reduce energy use - and carbon emissions - from residences and historic buildings.
 Julia Dundorf of Clean Air-Cool Planet and Denise Blaha of UNH received the EPA's Environmental Merit Award, in recognition of their exceptional work in creating the three-year-old New England Carbon Challenge program.
CA-CP's Anne Stephenson was on hand at the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance's annual meeting to receive their award for outstanding achievement in preservation, which went to Clean Air-Cool Planet for advocacy and education for publishing Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy and Historic Preservation: A Guide for Historic District Commissions.
CA-CP Hosts 2nd Annual Local Energy Solutions Conference June 19th
Curt Spalding, new administrator for EPA Region 1, will give the keynote address and officials from New Hampshire cities and towns will relate their hands-on experience at the second annual Local Energy Solutions conference, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, June 19th, at the Grappone Center in Concord, NH.
Registration is only $25 for one; $45 for two; $60 for three people, and registration is available online.
Following a morning plenary on the New Hampshire state climate action plan, morning workshops on energy inventories and planning implementation will precede roundtable discussions on topics from the morning.
Administrator Spalding's keynote will be at lunch time, followed by afternoon workshops including community partnerships, building audits, and financing, as well as a workshop on actual local energy projects in NH.
"At the first local energy conference last June, more than 350 people from across the state came to exchange ideas and get new ones," says Julia Dundorf, Manager of Community Relations and the Residential Carbon Challenge at Clean Air-Cool Planet, which is organizing the conference.
"We had such a great response that we decided to do it again this year, expanding on our topics from last year, and offering more in-depth presentations in key areas of local action."
The conference is designed to provide local officials and individuals, including energy, planning and budget committee volunteers, town administrators, employees, select board members with the kinds of information they need to more forward on energy efficiency and renewable energy projects and policies, according to Dundorf. Legislators, school staff and facility managers and interested citizens are also encouraged to attend.
"We will have workshops and presentations on everything from Ways to finance your energy projects and measuring municipal, school and residential energy use to energy planning and how to use the results of inventories and building audits to maximize the effectiveness in choosing measures and energy projects", Dundorf says.
A link on the registration site encourages attendees to carpool to the event, which is sponsored by the NH Office of Energy and Planning, Public Service Company, and TRC, as well as the USEPA, New Hampshire Electric Cooperative, Unitil, LighTec, Inc., the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, and the New Hampshire Green Building Council.
Supporters of Clean Air-Cool Planet Go Shopping at
Whole Foods Markets on Earth Day
Raise $70,000 for Clean Air-Cool Planet
 We asked you to shop in support of solving the global warming problem - and you did!
In honor of Earth Day 2010, 17 Whole Foods Market stores in greater Hartford and greater Boston teamed up to support Clean Air-Cool Planet's programs for households and communities.
Each participating store pledged 5% of its net sales on April 22 or April 27, 2010 to Clean Air-Cool Planet, and assisted the organization in publicizing the event among its networks. Response from Clean Air-Cool Planet supporters was robust - shoppers flocked to Whole Foods Market on Earth Day, driving a record-breaking $70,000 in total donations.
Stores that participated included the two West Hartford locations and the Glastonbury location in Connecticut and, in Massachusetts, three locations in Cambridge, two in Boston and others in Andover, Bedford, Brighton, Dedham, Medford, Newton, Newtonville, Wellesley Hills and Woburn.
If any of these stores are part of your shopping routine, please take a moment to thank them for their support of Clean Air-Cool Planet!
Community Catalyst Fund Supports Grassroots Sustainability Projects
With support from the Overbrook Foundation, Clean Air-Cool Planet launched this spring the Community Catalyst Fund, a small grants program for local energy committees, student groups and other grassroots organizations in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
The Fund offers microgrants ranging from $250-$2,500 to organizations, both formal and informal, that hope to improve the environment, health and economic well-being of their communities by reducing wasteful energy and resource consumption. Clean Air-Cool Planet developed the fund jointly with the Overbrook Foundation, after noticing that promising and creative community sustainability projects were languishing for lack of seed money. In order to fill a niche that was not being met by existing grantmakers, the Community Catalyst Fund was designed to ensure a simple, rolling application process and a prompt response to all proposals.
To date, the Community Catalyst Fund has made more than $14,000 in grants, to organizations from Hamden, CT to Groton, NY. In Hamden, the Fund is supporting Gray Is Green, a Connecticut-based non-profit organization dedicated to engaging older Americans in the fight against climate change. It was started by residents of the Whitney Center,  a retirement community in Hamden, CT, who were interested in improving the environmental performance of their community, but found very few sustainability resources that applied to their demographic. With Community Catalyst Funding, Gray is Green plans to hire an intern to develop educational materials, training sessions, and energy efficiency guides, and to teach local volunteers to perform audits and develop recommendations for efficiency measures at local retirement and senior living communities.
The Fund's latest grant went to a rural public school in Groton, NY, with a total of just under 1,000 students in grades K-12. This grant will be used to expand a student-run organic garden, now in its third growing season. At the Groton Central School, students in grades 6-12 are involved with every stage of the garden including composting, sowing, weeding, harvesting, and preparing vegetables for cafeteria use.
"Through the Community Catalyst Fund, we are supporting groups that share some of our core beliefs - that local action makes a real difference, that inspiration often comes from the bottom up, and that the best way to lead is by example," says Adam Markham, President and CEO of Clean Air-Cool Planet. "We're very proud to be able to offer financial resources to these groups in addition to the tools and advice we've offered them for a decade now."
For more information on the Community Catalyst Fund, or to apply, visit http://www.cleanair-coolplanet.org/smallgrants/ or contact Amanda Muise at amuise@cleanair-coolplanet.org.
2010 Fellows Program
Six new Climate Fellows begin work
On Wednesday May 26th at Laudholm Farm in Wells, ME, Clean Air-Cool Planet welcomed its third class of Climate Fellows at a staff reception and cookout.
"We are lucky to have another exceptional group of people working with us on great projects this summer," said Anne Stephenson, fellowship coordinator. "We have a strong focus on community work this year, and we're excited to have fellows working with two local partners on the Seacoast in New Hampshire.
"One of fellows will also be working with Claire Roby, our carbon accounting coordinator, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, concentrating on further development of the CHarting Emissions from Food Services (CHEFS) tool - and helping to green Tulsa."
2010 Climate Fellows: back, left to right, Harry, Leah, Julie, and Ben; front, Steve and Corey
This year's Fellows are:
Ben Lake, a recent graduate of Bowdoin College and a resident of Portland, Maine, who will be working on Municipal Energy Efficiency and Cooperative Purchasing Planning with municipalities in the Greater Portland region to help them identify and reduce their energy use and emissions. A biology major at Bowdoin, involved in campus energy and sustainability issues, he is interested in addressing climate change and environmental sustainability by conserving resources through waste reduction and energy efficiency improvements.
Corey Johnson is going into his senior year at UNH as a business administration major with a minor in sustainable living. He has collaborated with CA-CP in the past on the development and implementation of the Small Town Carbon Calculator (STOCC). Most recently, he has been involved with research for a business sustainability textbook, and he will be helping local businesses reduce their environmental impact through a project Greening the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce.
Harry Alper is earning an undergraduate degree in anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis, where he is involved in environmental justice efforts and "grateful for every chance to ride bikes with friends and to serve dinner on my front porch." He will be working this summer on The Seacoast Science Center's Carbon Challenge - helping the Center to make the Challenge part of their climate education offerings.
Julie Monro, who will be working with Claire Roby in Oklahoma on Charting Emissions from Food Services (CHEFS) and Greening Tulsa, is a new graduate of American University in Washington, D.C., where she was "very active in campaigning for campus sustainability and I helped to establish a community garden, farmers' market, and Clean Energy Revolving Fund on campus."
Leah Bamberger did her undergraduate studies in political science and environmental studies at the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC and is now at UMass Amherst pursing a master's degree in regional planning, where her primary research area of interest is planning for climate change mitigation and adaptation. She will work with CA-CP and the engineering firm of Vanesse Hangen and Brustlin on Communicating Carbon Management Strategies across Sectors, looking at how the private sector can learn and adopt mitigation strategies from colleges and universities that have been particularly successful in this area.
Steve Erario is a senior Environmental Policy major at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Since 2007, he has worked to study and improve sustainability in local Maine governments, notably leading to the creation of the Sustain Mid-Maine Coalition. Recently he helped design and write a grant that won $170,000 for an initiative to reduce energy costs in homes and apartments in Waterville and Winslow, Maine. He will be working with the Greater Portland Council of Governments and CA-CP staff and to help produce a Maine Energy Efficiency and Climate Change Handbook for communities.
Clean Air-Cool Planet out front on federal legislation
In a series of events - forums, seminars, meetings, talks, and an ad campaign - Clean Air-Cool Planet has been engaged in a very-public campaign to encourage passage of meaningful federal climate legislation.
As always, our effort has been non-partisan and science based. Last fall, Clean Air-Cool Planet mounted its Hip-Boot Tour to several coastal communities, with a simple message: Sea-level rise will be a threat if we do not reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
We brought scientists and policymakers, along with local officials, to workshops that focused on the science from Greenland and Antarctica and on solutions - federal and international policy initiatives - and adaptation.
The Tour was a success on many levels, and attracted the attention of other organizations interested in promoting the cause of comprehensive federal climate legislation - including the Norwegian government. With much to lose in habitat and natural  resources, Norway has been active in the Arctic Council effort to stem pollution that is accelerating warming and melting in the region.
Beginning last fall in Chicago and Racine, WI, and continuing this spring in cities like Charlotte, N.C., Richmond, VA, Cleveland, OH, and Grand Forks, N. D., CA-CP and the Royal Norwegian Embassy have conducted forums for local business and policy leaders. Again featuring top scientists, including specialists on the Arctic from Norway, CA-CP has provided the economic and political expertise of these events. Also joining CA-CP has been prominent Republican economist Douglas Holtz-Eakin, former director of the Congressional Budget Office for both Bush Administrations and a top economic advisor to the McCain campaign and other Republicans.
Holtz-Eakins's message, that global warming is a threat to national security and that the solution, reducing our dependence on foreign oil, would be good for our economy and our security, resonates with many business leaders. His presentations in South Carolina and New Hampshire and Maine have been important in helping to maintain political support for legislation.
 Clean Air-Cool Planet also hosted a major event, in cooperation with the National Journal, in Washington, DC, in April. Again focusing on the threat of global warming presented by the science (supported by our Science Not Science Fiction ad campaign in several influential DC-based periodicals) the event drew more than 200 influential individuals from the media, politics, academia, NGOs and government. Senator Susan Collins (R, ME) was one of the speakers, along with National Journal editor Ron Brownstein, Dr. Walt Meier from the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado in Boulder, and CA-CP President and CEO Adam Markham.
News Briefs
Ever Popular...
We could - no kidding, here - fill Cool Current with stories about where our "Campus Ladies" - program manager Jenn Andrews (aka Director of Program Planning and Coordination for CA-CP), Campus Outreach and Climate Fellows Coordinator Dr. Anne Stephenson (Who wins, hands down, the contest for letters after her name!), and the Queen of Carbon Counting (and possibly Tulsa, OK) Claire Roby (officially Carbon Accounting Coordinator) - have been and to whom they've been asked to present. It's very impressive; remember Anne and Claire addressed officials in Taiwan?
One example: CA-CP is partnering with the American College and University President's Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) to offer in-depth workshops on how to use the CA-CP Campus Carbon Calculator™ as a climate action planning tool. These trainings will be offered three times in 2010, and information about current workshops can be found on the ACUPCC website. Through the ACUPCC, 685 college and university presidents across the U.S. have committed to tackling global warming on their campuses, both operationally and in their educational offerings.
New Jersey Climate Change Backpack
Attention, New Jersey Teachers!
Following up on an initial grant for the development of a Climate Change Backpack for the mid-Atlantic region, Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) awarded CA-CP $25,000 to help bring the new, mid-Atlantic version of the Backpack to NJ educators.
The grant will support the organization of five training workshops and stipends for 75 educators (the first 15 to sign up for each of the five workshops) to receive a $75 discount on the purchase of a Backpack.
The grant also covers the cost of general outreach around climate science and solutions in partnership with various New Jersey science centers.
The first workshop will be held in early summer and they will continue through the fall.
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