Winter 2007
No. 10
GreenStart members make “tons” of change this year
The new year begins with an exciting announcement
for the GreenStart program. Membership continues
to grow, with currently over 7,000 households and
businesses choosing the non-profit clean energy
option. Since the program started in 2003 members
have prevented emissions from the major global
warming contributor, carbon dioxide, to the tune of
38,485 tons! To put that huge amount of carbon
into every day terms: it is equivalent to each
member taking more than 1 car off the road for a
year or having planted over a 100 trees!
The cleanest kilowatt hour is still the one not
generated. GreenStart members, however, are so
appreciated for their contribution, they receive a
discount on energy efficiency products, such as
winter insulation materials by entering the
promotion
code
of
“2-4-6-8”at
www.energyfederation.org/sreenstart.
Important tax deduction
letter enclosed
GreenStart members can feel better about their
electricity and now can feel better about tax season. A
letter is enclosed along with this Currents Newsletter
stating the amount that members can deduct from
federal income taxes as a charitable contribution if you
itemize. This information can also be viewed on a special
“members only website”. The site also includes
information about total electrical usage and receipts for
any donations to the oil bank program.
MA: www.MassEnergy.com/Extranet
RI: www.RIPower.org/Extranet
GreenStart member elected Lt. Governor,
receives Mass Energy award
Incoming Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray accepted Mass Energy’s Member of the
Year award in recognition for his work as Mayor of the City of Worcester,
most notably for leading the City Council to commit the City to meet twenty
percent of its electricity needs with renewable energy by 2010. At the Mass
Energy annual meeting and awards ceremony on Nov. 20th at the IBEW
local 103 union hall in Dorchester, Lt. Gov Murray spoke about encouraging
citizens of Worcester to choose renewable energy themselves. He also
leads by example: the Murray family joined Mass Energy’s New England
GreenStart program—matching 100 percent of their electricity needs
through clean, renewable energy.
Clark University students also received an award for their leadership in
promoting clean energy . Their contribution of $10,000 to the New England
Wind Fund will also be matched back to the community of Worcester.
Larry Chretien, Mass Energy executive
director, presents awards to Lt.
Governor Tim Murray and Lily Acunzo,
Clark University student.
GreenStart members can contact their local, state, and federal elected
officials, asking them to lead by example, too, by joining GreenStart and
sponsoring renewable energy legislation. Congress.org lists officials’
contact information.
No. 10
Page 2
Documentary spikes GreenStart joins, more in future
Tomasin Whitaker of CET attended many showings of “An
Inconvenient Truth” documentary to promote clean energy.
Several hundred households joined GreenStart in
Massachusetts and Rhode Island after showings of Al
Gore’s global warming documentary “An Inconvenient
Truth” at which CET, PP&L, and Mass Energy
volunteers and staff handed out information.
An effort in western MA was particularly successful
thanks to the Triplex Theater in Great Barrington,
Academy of Music in Northampton, and Images
Cinema in Williamstown which welcomed CET to
provide information, tips, and financial incentives to
save energy and sign-up for New England GreenStart.
The presence of CET, the Williamstown COOL ("C02
Lowering") Committee, Williams College Climate
Protection Initiative, helped educate residents about
the role renewable energy plays to reduce climate
change and to move to action by joining GreenStart.
Now, the documentary has been released on DVD and
showings at churches, libraries, and even the MA
state house have become popular.
Members are encouraged to contact their local
GreenStart partners to arrange for materials at a
showing of the movie or for a presentation about
solutions to global warming.
Western Massachusetts
[email protected] 800-369-3333
Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island
[email protected] 800-287-3950
Help! My TV Ate my Energy Savings!
Depending on what you received for holiday gifts,
January’s electricity bill might be more shocking than
anything on TV. According to the Natural Resources
Defense Council, a new TV might use twice as much
electricity as your old one, and if you keep the old
one, 10% of your electricity will be swallowed by your
televisions and their peripherals.
For a long time, the truism in energy savings was, if
you want to really save a lot of household electricity
look to your refrigerator, the biggest electricity user in
the home and often the most wasteful. Get efficient:
buy a new model that meets the latest federal
appliance efficiency standards. Better yet buy
EnergyStar and you might save more than half of the
electricity it uses, depending on how old your existing
refrigerator is. And conserve: if you have a second
refrigerator running in the basement or garage, turn it
off until party time, or get rid of it.
But there’s a new rule of thumb: look to your TV. The
new plasma screen and high definition televisions
(HDTV) that are all the rage this holiday season are
energy hogs on the level of the refrigerator. A
Many HDTVs use much more electricity than the ordinary,
cathode ray tube TVs—on average twice as much, or 500 kWh a
year. Add to that the peripherals and a second TV, and use
might top 1200 kWh. Source: NRDC, “TV” Issue Paper 2005.
combination of increased TV watching, greater
numbers of TVs per household, standby losses when
the units are “off,” and the new generation of plasma
TV’s has energy use soaring.
Currents is printed on recycled paper using soy inks