Sustainably Crafted Spirits
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ISSUE 57 • September - November 2019 – HARVEST, HEATING SEASON, CLIMATE STRIKE – FREE! SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS FOR VT, NH, MA, NY, ME and Beyond R S! EA Y 10 Energy Independence, Energy Efficiency, Sustainable Living and MORE! www.greenenergytimes.org | 802.439.6675 A Step in the Right Direction SUSTAINABLY CRAFTED SPIRITS Meet the Companies That Are Upcycling Ocean Plastic Appalachian Gap Distillery Gets It Right to Turn the Tides on Shoe Manufacturing Chris Gillespie Adidas When it comes to In 2015, iconic carbon emissions, sportswear brand the textile indus- Adidas partnered try is the world’s with Parley for second biggest the Oceans with polluter behind the goal of using the oil and gas ocean plastic to industry. A signifi- make high-quality cant portion of the athletic wear that textile industry’s would be indis- footprint comes tinguishable from from footwear. With Adidas Parley mid-sole is 3D printed from recycled ocean goods made with their multi-material waste. Image:www.arch2o.com. virgin plastic. designs, paper- Nearly five years intensive packag- later, Adidas and Parley have sold over a ing and short-sighted style and durability, billion dollars’ worth of shoes crafted from an overwhelming amount of the 25 billion upcycled ocean plastic and have helped pairs of shoes manufactured each year are keep over 2810 tons of plastic waste out of not made with sustainability in mind. the ocean. In addition to this, Adidas has Fortunately, apparel and footwear begun incorporating recycled plastic into companies around the world are realizing their clothing, completely eliminated plastic that they can lessen their own carbon Tasting room entry. Recycled timbers and a used culvert form the entry roof. Inset: Sign and solar panels. Note the bags from their stores and aims to use 100% tiny solar panel used for signage lights. All images courtesy Lars Hubbard. footprint while simultaneously working to recycled polyester in their products wher- help solve another environmental crisis: ever possible by 2024. Jessie Haas the amount of plastic in our oceans. After Learn more at adidas.com/us/parley. What’s in the name, which doesn’t recovering, or in some cases, intercepting, In 2010, two Vermont home-brewing automatically imply Vermont to many? The discarded plastic from coastal habitats, Sperry enthusiasts, Lars Hubbard and Chuck Burkins, AppGap website reminds us that the Green As a brand that specializes in boat shoes manufacturers are able to upcycle the took a weekend distilling course in New Mountains are part of the Appalachian and other nautical-inspired footwear, plastic into materials which can be used to York State, which turned into a new, sustain- range. According to local usage, a ‘gap’ is an Sperry feels a special obligation to keep the make most, if not all, of a brand new shoe. able business. Appalachian Gap Distillery in opening between mountains that runs east oceans that their products evoke clean and With this in mind, if you or your family Middlebury, Vermont produces hand-distilled to west; the gap in question is on VT. Route healthy. Earlier this year, Sperry released are in the market for new shoes this fall, rum, gin, whiskey, and other spirits using 17, the highest point on the road between their new Sperry BIONIC ® Collection, which whether for back-to-school or for early 100% solar power and are available for sale on Bristol and Waitsfield. creates shoes using BIONIC’s signature yarn holiday shopping, consider supporting line and in Vermont liquor stores, as well as at Appalachian Gap produces hand-crafted which is spun from plastic one of these innovative, ocean-friendly locations in Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, spirits made with mostly local recovered from marine and shoe brands. Cont’d on p.37 and Illinois. Cont’d on p.39 IN THIS ISSUE: FARMS, HARVEST AND CLIMATE CHANGE e-Buses pp.4-5 Jessie Haas growing, and in many places, e-Bike to Work p. 7 “A dry year you worry, a wet fruits and berries ripened two year you starve,” goes the cheery weeks to a month later than Lithium vs Lead-acid Batteries p. 9 old Vermont saying, and it’s normal. Best Roofs for Solar p.12 worse lately. These are stressful Soupy springs often lead times for farmers, with the anni- into hot dry summers. Knee- Pond-Loop Geothermal p.16 versary of Tropical Storm Irene a high corn and other more Green Home Market Value p.18 reminder that the placid stream mature plants are in a position beside your field could someday to benefit from hot sun, but Sustainable Lebanon pp. 20-21 leap its banks and sweep that young, tender plants do better Masonry Heaters p.22 field away. with cooler weather. Farmers The Northeast has seen a 71% can plant shorter-season crops Net-Zero Buildings pp.28, 29, 31 increase in heavy precipitation to compensate, but these may Urine for Fertilizer p.37 events over recent decades, be less productive. A switch alternating with droughts. In from annual crops, like corn, to Recycling Furniture p. 38 2019, excess spring rains, fol- Climate-related disasters such as flooding possibilities require adaptation to face perennials, like hay, can be a lowing on a wet fall and snowy our future. Image: agriculturewire.com. strategy but increased humid- winter, lead to delayed planting. ity can make drying hay more Corn should be knee high by the fourth have more frost-free days than we used difficult and affects the harvest of other Please recycle or of July, but this year, in many places, it to, the growing season for many farmers crops as well. was more like ankle high, if it had gotten is actually shorter. But farmers are taking action. Re- share this publication planted at all. With soup-like spring soils And weirder. This spring was cool as searcher Alyssa White, UVM’s liason with when finished becoming the new normal, although we well as wet, plants were slow to start the USDA Northeast Cont’d on p.35 A SOLAR This edition of Green Energy Times is brought to you, in part, from the generosity of these sponsors: G.E.T. IT! POWERED COMPANY Bringing G.E.T. to NY State EEN ENERGY T MES www.nyses.org GR... be energy independent! ™ GREEN ENERGY TIMES (G.E.T.) 1749 Wright’s Mountain Road • Bradford, VT 05033 Explore the power of the past! TABLE OF CONTENTS t/f: 802.439.6675 • [email protected] NEWS AND HAPPENINGS ...................3 G.E.T.’s COMMUNICATIONS TEAM: Take a guided tour of an historic US CITIES CLEAN ENERGY EFFORTS .............. 3 Publisher/Editor/Production ...................Nancy Rae Mallery water- and steam-powered sawmill, General Factotum ............................................ George Harvey gristmill and woodworking shop TRANSPORTATION ............................... 4-7 Coordinating Director ..................................Michelle Harrison AFFORDABLE USED EVS ............................... 4 Copy Editor ...........................................................Ray Brewster in the Catskills. Recreational Editor ............................................... Roger Lohr E-BUSES ARE HERE ..................................... 4 A huge special thank you to all of our contributing writers! Season runs until Oct. 15 INDIANAPOLIS E-BUS FLEET ........................ 4 Dr. Alan K. Betts, David Blittersdorf, John Bos, Randy Bryan, GREENER SCHOOL BUSES ............................ 5 Michael Canavan, Julia Cavicchi, Dan Crosby, EarthTalk® (Doug Woodsmen’s Festival Oct. 5 Moss and Roddy Scheer), David Fried, Jeffrey Gephart, Chris VW ELECTRIC RETROFIT ...............................5 Gillespie,Nate Gusakov, Jessie Haas, George Harvey, Henry Ice Harvest Festival Feb. 1, 2020 Herndon, James Kaplan, David Keefe, Taylor Kimbrell, Nancy CAN EV CHARGE OPERATORS PROFIT? .......... 6 Rae Mallery, Abby Overton, Larry Plesent, Carl Pope, Craig E-BIKE COMMUTING ................................... 7 Quentin, David Roberts, Kai Starn, Valerie Stori, Bob Tortorice, Hanford Mills Museum Jennifer White. 51 County Hwy 12, East Meredith, NY SOLAR/RENEWABLE ENERGY ........... 8-17 Ad Design/Layout .........................Nancy Rae Mallery, PJ Fischer NORWICH UNION VILLAGE SOLAR ................ 8 Printing ....... Valley News W. Lebanon, NH using 100% recycled hanfordmills.org • 607/278-5744 paper & eco-friendly EPA approved environmentally-safe inks LITHIUM VS LEAD-ACID BATTERIES ............. 9 Advertising Team: SOLAR BUSINESS IN A BOX .........................10 From a reader: .................... Nancy Rae Mallery, Bradford, VT 802.439.6675 MANCHESTER BOYS/GIRLS CLUB SOLAR ......11 [email protected] LANDSCAPE COMPANIES AND HOMEOWNERS: BEST ROOFS FOR SOLAR .............................12 ...................Michelle Harrison, Londonderry, NH 603.437.0167 Please take note regarding leaf blower dangers [email protected] SOLAR POWER AND FARMING .....................13 ..................... Don Smallwood, So. Hero, VT 802.373.3309 In response to an article we ran in the [email protected] October 2018 edition of Green Energy Times INCENTIVES ................................ 14-15 Distribution: Sally Bellew, Larry Chase, Johnny Hinrichs, (www.greenenergytimes.org/leaf-blowers), RENEWABLE ENERGY ................... 16-17 Hippo Distribution, Manchester, NH, Daniel Hoviss, George Law- we recently received this comment from John ton, Rosalyn Moore, our New York Team: Joanne Coons, Steve Ellsworth, Wyldon Fishman, Bob Freeston, Peter Hudiburg, in Westchester county, NY: POND-LOOP GEOTHERMAL .........................16 David Kupras, Joan Rech; Russ Lanoie, Alan Phenix, Marty Phil- I live in Westchester