Maryland Goes Green – Conservation

Download the booklet HERE! The Annual Solar Tour of Homes is organized by a staff of dedicated volunteers to educate the public on the positive aspects of solar energy and sustainable design. This year we have over 60 solar and green homes on tour (see map below). Homes are open from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, […]

Ecologia (www.ecologiadesign.com) founder Michael Judd has spent nearly 20 years working throughout North and South America to promote edible and ecological landscape design. In Nicaragua his non-profit organization Project Bona Fide helps to develop solutions to provide food security and sustainable crops with higher market values in rural communities. He has recently published his first […]

Proverbs 22:9 A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor. The idea of CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) is nothing new, but by truly putting the community first Seed of Life Nurseries has set themselves apart from the competition. For less than $23 a week a family of four […]

Sometimes it’s impossible to see the changes in the world around you from the ground. You have to get a different perspective. That’s exactly what SkyTruth (www.skytruth.org) a local nonprofit accomplishes with their compelling satellite photographs showing environmental impacts from around the world. SkyTruth’s mission is to empower citizen scientists, government bodies and research organizations […]

Originally published, 2014 Maryland Solar Tour guide by Ellen Post. The world’s carbon-based economies have a problem. Scientists say we must limit global warming to 2°C to avoid catastrophic climate change. To meet this goal, we can burn only 565 gigatons more carbon. But the fossil fuel industry has 2,765 gigatons of carbon in their […]

Originally published, 2014 Maryland Solar Tour guide by Shannon Moore. Your yard is a heaven where dogs frolic, flowers bloom, and a lush green carpet of grass creates a sense of order and calm. It’s also a source of pollution from pet waste and fertilizer. The hot water coming off your roof, walkways and driveways […]

Originally published, 2014 Maryland Solar Tour guide by Ron Kaltenbaugh. The first weekend in October – little did I realize six years ago that this weekend would become so important to me. Discovering the solar tour has sent me down a path leading to many changes in my life, our house, our driving habits, and even […]

Originally published, 2014 Maryland Solar Tour guide by Emily Stiever. Over the last year more than 500 homeowners from the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area have organized themselves into solar co-ops to go solar together and save money! Working with local non-profit Community Power Network (CPN), the co-op members leverage their collective buying power and […]

The Annual Solar Tour of Homes is organized by a staff of dedicated volunteers to educate the public on the positive aspects of solar energy and sustainable design. This year we have 46 solar and green homes on tour. Homes are open from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, October 4 and 5. Plan your trip in […]

A few hundred years ago only royalty could afford to have gardens that didn’t produce food. After centuries spent on gardens that exist only for aesthetic value there is finally a movement towards arranging attractive and edible plants to produce spaces that are feasts for the eyes and the mouth. Edible landscaping is a specialized […]

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) was conceptualized by a small group of Japanese women in the 1960’s who were concerned about the effects of pesticides and processed foods on their communities. The Teikei Movement, as they came to be called, connected consumers with local growers. Teikei translates to mean “partnership or cooperation” but the members of […]

Maryland ranked number nine in the nation in terms of total installed capacity in 2012. We broke into the Top Ten, even though we are a small state. The previous year (2011) Maryland was 12th. In 2012, we more than doubled our installs from 2011 and put in 80 megawatts (MW) of capacity, passing up […]

“Climate change is real. Scientists agree. It’s happening now. It’s harmful and human-caused. We can make a difference through our actions.” These are the opening words of Maryland’s “Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act Plan”, released by Governor Martin O’Malley in July of this year. The Governor noted in his speech that Maryland is especially vulnerable to […]

Interested in going solar but not sure where to start? Want to connect with other solar enthusiasts in your area? Then check out a solar network in your state!   Citizens in DC, MD, VA and WV have recently formed solar networks as part of an effort to build support for solar in their states. The […]

In his June 25 climate address, President Obama stated: “Convince those in power to reduce our carbon pollution. Push your own communities to adopt smarter practices. Invest. Divest.” The Divest Montgomery County campaign aims to do that, and ultimately encourage installation of solar energy in the County and across the nation. The County’s Employee Retirement […]

The Annual Solar Tour of Homes is organized by a staff of dedicated volunteers to educate the public on the positive aspects of solar energy and sustainable design. This year we have over 48 solar and green homes on tour. Homes are open from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, October 5 and 6. Plan your […]

This year has been the best year yet for electric car fans. The Big Auto companies are bringing some great products to market. On the 2012 solar tour, local dealers provided some fantastic examples, such as a Chevy Volt, the Nissan Leaf and a Toyota Prius Plug-in for you to check out! The Chevy Volt […]

NEXUS Homes, Bentz Street Located on a busy street in downtown Frederick, Bentz Street might seem like an unlikely location for some of the most technologically advanced, environmentally conscious housing in the county.  Once you’re inside the model home there’s an immediate quiet, though it might take a few minutes to notice that the cars […]

What is a watershed? A watershed is an area of land that drains to a specific body of water. It can be as small as a few acres or as large as the entire Chesapeake Bay Watershed (64,000 square miles). Precipitation falls onto the land, flowing to streams, lakes, and rivers. Some water soaks through […]

The first weekend in October will be the 3rd annual Maryland Tour of Solar & Green homes. This year we have 36 homes on the tour… including my home! The homes are open from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm on either Saturday (10/6) or Sunday (10/7). Printed copies of the tour booklet are available at several locations for only […]

When you flip a switch, do you care where your electricity comes from? Most of us do not care… as long as the lights stay on and the beer remains chilled. Delivering electricity to our homes is a magical process employing “tubes and wires” and things that are beyond our comprehension. Until we learn to […]

Green smoothies:  They sound gross.  They look gross.  They taste incredible! So what’s so wonderful about green smoothies? You can get an entire serving (or more) of raw veggies for breakfast without even noticing.  Personally, the thought of chowing down on a bowl of spinach first thing in the morning sounds awful.  But, when blended […]

Home Power, my favorite magazine just arrived. It is the only non-digital publication that I receive. For a little over $2 per issue this magazine covers various energy topics: solar, wind, PV systems, electric vehicles, batteries, hydrogen, domestic solar hot water, etc… everything to keep an energy geek occupied for hours. The publishers, Richard and Karen Perez started Home […]

TOMORROW Morning, We’re Carpooling to Annapolis to Speak Out for Off-shore Wind Tomorrow Wednesday, January 11 — 9:30 am training >> Maryland League of Conservation Voters, 86 Maryland Ave, across from City Dock Coffee 10:30 am rally >> Lawyer’s Mall. Sign up to Carpool at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dE5UdFg0emFRU2EyMVRPbm9BekZLNlE6MQ.

Check out the savings! Community Energy Purchase Frequently Asked Questions Round 3 – Spring 2012 1. What rate did you get during the last round of the Community Energy Purchase? For the last round in September 2011, we secured a rate of $.0808 per kWh for institutions that chose 100% green power (and $.0798 per […]

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the average homeowner spends about 45% of their energy bill on heating and cooling their house. For those who use Energy Star appliances and have replaced their incandescent bulbs with more efficient light sources, that number will be even higher. Before ordering photovoltaic cells to reduce your electric […]

A well-sealed and insulated home inhabited by energy conscious people might not shout “I’m Green!” the way a solar panel or windmill might, but its energy savings can be just as rewarding! Energy conservation and efficiency, while not so visible on the outside, are great ways to start going green while saving “green”! With so […]

After continued success on the West Coast, major solar lease companies establish their roots in Maryland during 2011. The residential solar lease has arrived in Maryland! With a mandatory Renewable Portfolio in place and higher than average electricity rates due to natural gas generation, Maryland was a prime target for the expansion of the residential […]

A Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC) is a tradable commodity representing the non-polluting value of 1,000-kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity produced by a solar electric system. The SREC is separate from the value of the electricity itself and permits the owner or purchaser to claim the benefits of the clean energy production by effectively subsidizing […]

In Thurmont, Maryland Denis and Brienne Superczynski have been working quietly for years on a remodel of their three bedroom home. The couple purchased the 1950’s bungalow style home in 2005. The house is located in a quiet neighborhood in Thurmont Maryland. They gained 75% more space and, taking advantage of state and federal incentives, […]

In the countryside of Dickerson, Maryland there are almost as many wind turbines as there are horses. With 10 wind turbines generating about 36 kilowatts, Dr. Carlos Fernandez-Bueno’s farm might be the template for the Frederick County of the twenty first century. His company, Potomac Wind Energy, sells, installs and services wind turbines for residential, […]