Pre-travels June 22- ERRCO (Environmental Rescource Return Corp.), Epping NH, www.errco.com. Toured the site and learned the amount of construction debris that is reclaimed and turned into one of three products -wood chips for power plants -road dirt for land fill roads, and -cover for land fills. It's great to see companies give economic alternatives to simply dumping construction debris into the landfills, but since the containers of waste are so mixed once they arrive it's difficult to create top quality products. Future hopes are to have cardboard and plastic recycling as well. These type of transfer stations are needed to process "waste" and reclaim salvageable materials.
June 22-MIT meeting with Professor --Department of Architecture, Building Technology- Currently researching materials to create a data base for architects. A wonderfully interesting discussion regarding the importance and upswing of Industrial Ecology and the expansion of accurate information within the building fields.
June 24-July 2. NATURAL BUILDING COLLOQUIUM, PeaceWeavers, Bath, NY. www.peaceweavers.com
A wonderful week learning the techniques of strawbale construction, straw clay infill, earthen floors, and natural plasters. Hands on workshops and lectures to fill in the gaps, along with helping in the kitchen to prepare vegan meals for 150 people left me exhausted, but very content. The aray of people participating was outstanding and enriching converstations occured at every meal, and every job site.
July 17- SOLAR FEST, Tinmouth, VT www.solarfest.org
A day with my family at the Solar Fest, filled with presentors, booths, and music to get further aquainted with the possibilities of renewable resources within Vermont.
ROAD TRIP 2005
Day 1- July 20, 2005-NYC
Day 3-July 22, TOXIC TOUR 2005, thanks to Kara's connection at the Natural Resource Defense Council I got to hop on their driving bus tour of the solid waste transfer stations and sewage treatment plants for NYC that are located in Brooklyn. Local activists toured us around and talked about the problems in these communities because the trash from Manhattan is trucked over to them, creating unhealthy streets, noise, and lots of extra truck traffic. It's amazing how the wealthier communities can simply put their trash out on the street and a garbage truck will come and "take it away". This very unconventional tour of NYC made me realize even more how merely combating the existing problem isn't enough, cities and infrastructures need to be redesigned to reduce waste and inefficiencies from the on set.
Day 4-July 23, BRINGING THE WORLD HOME: A RETREAT FOR GLBALLY CONSCIOUS YOUNG LEADERS, Yale University. Sponsored by Americans for Informed Democracy (AID).
Interesting speakers and workshops that were aimed at increasing global awareness within the US.
Day 5-July 24, Washington DC
Day 6- July 25, NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LAB, www.nrel.gov
-head energy consultant and -Principle Energy Analyst
Talked about the possibilities of wind, solar, and ethanol developments, about the road blocks caused by our current consumptive lifestyles, and how enacting all the necessary players to create more energy efficient technologies, legislation, and then actions has yet to be truly affective. NREL main goals are to develop the information on these renewable energy technologies and then that information is dispersed through other orgainizations. I look forward to visiting the research and design headquarters in Colorado of NREL.
TAKOMA VILLAGE-Cohousing in Takoma, MD. www.takomavillage.org
Intentional community, with geothermal heating/cooling technologies, (one woman stated a $55 bill including electricity last month when it was very hot!). 43 units, and a range of occupants from crawling babies to senior citizens. Renewable materials in construction, large overhangs on windows, communal washers and driers. A vibrant community that of course has to deal with group dynamics, but has created a sense of community within the context of an urban suburb.
