I’ve highlighted a number of cheap or free ways to find leaks in your home in earlier posts (and of course a free energy audit from Mass Save is always a top-choice.) Here’s one more: If your hearing is good, … Continue reading →

A short post on this, the first snowfall of the year, even if it is only a dusting. If your roof has stripes like this, you’ve got a problem. Either your insulation is failing/missing or you’ve got an air-sealing problem … Continue reading →

There are two weatherization barnraisings in Waltham on MLK weekend. Sat. Jan. 14th A low-income home 1 Spruce Street 10 am – 2 pm If you recall the post a few weeks ago about a family spending $280/year to keep … Continue reading →

If you haven’t heard Paul Eldrenkamp, head of Byggmeister Inc., or even if you have, try to make his talk in Belmont, MA on Wednesday, February 1st. Byggmeister isn’t an ordinary construction company and Paul isn’t an ordinary builder – … Continue reading →

DISCLAIMER:  We buy things from EFI but we don’t get anything special from promoting them. Just want to make that clear. UPDATE: EFI informed me that the program changed – the new flyer (linked below) is accurate as of 12/28/2011. … Continue reading →

“My name is Jeremy and I have a humidity problem.” Solving moisture problems in the home can seem like a 12 step process. First, you need to need to admit there is a problem. This time of year, many people … Continue reading →

**UPDATE** Discounted smart strips available through our friends at Energy Federation Inc. Today I helped audit a home in Waltham. The family had a large, but not unusually large entertainment center. TV, DVR, DVD player and one or two other … Continue reading →

We don’t promote conspicuous consumption, but the one place we get some of our more advanced efficiency items is having a sale. EFI, located in Westborough and online is having a sale. See below for details, and tell ‘em A-HEET … Continue reading →

This summer I kept more than 1,000 lbs. of “garbage” from getting hauled dozens of miles away in a 3 mpg vehicle to an incinerator. I also saved money and got great compost. Spurred by a question from JP Greenhouse, … Continue reading →

There are a lot of stupid things spinning around, particularly on the internet. On the energy side, one piece of advice that always annoys me is to ‘reverse your ceiling fan in winter’ because it is supposed to circulate the … Continue reading →

Gerry Palano Renewable Energy/Energy Efficiency Coordinator, Department of Agricultural Resources View Gerry's Complete Bio If you have been following this blog, you are already aware that the Patrick-Murray Administration has set ambitious renewable energy and efficiency goals for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. If you are a farmer, you may want...

David Cash Commissioner, Department of Public Utilities (DPU) View David's Complete Bio Ever wonder what you’re paying for every month when you get your bill? There are basically four parts of your electric bill. 1. The Commodity used to make the electricity (Blue). The commodity - natural gas, coal, or...

Mark Sylvia Commissioner, Department of Energy Resources (DOER) View Mark's Bio This week, President Obama and Governor Patrick both confirmed their visions for our clean energy future. In the State of the Union speech, the President talked about the “promise of clean energy,” and said “nowhere is the promise of...

Susan S. Kaplan Marketing & Outreach Coordinator, Department of Energy Resources View Susan's Complete Bio With winter drawing to a close we’re bound to get some end of season cold snaps before we get to spring. Sign up to follow our Energy Smarts Twitter feed at @maenergysmarts for tips on...

Dan Burgess Clean Energy Fellow, Department of Energy Resources View Dan's Complete Bio Five years ago, Massachusetts had just 3.5 megawatts (MW) of solar power installed. Today, thanks to the leadership of the Patrick-Murray Administration, there are now 72 MW of solar power capacity installed in Massachusetts - enough to...

Secretary Richard K. Sullivan Jr. Secretary, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs View Secretary Sullivan's Bio One of the things I’m focused on is reducing energy use at state facilities. By investing in energy efficiency, the Patrick-Murray Administration hopes to not only...

Dan Burgess Clean Energy Fellow, Department of Energy Resources View Dan's Complete Bio Old brick mill complexes are abundant along major rivers in New England. These historic buildings, once major hubs of manufacturing, often sit empty for years as it can be difficult for property owners to establish contemporary building...

Patrick Cloney Chief Executive Officer, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) View Patrick's Complete Bio Right here in Massachusetts we have thousands of examples of individuals and organizations that have made energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements to benefit our environment and society for generations to come. One such example is...

Dan Burgess Clean Energy Fellow, Department of Energy Resources View Dan's Complete Bio This week on the blog, we are launching a new effort to highlight some of the amazing clean energy and energy efficiency efforts happening across Massachusetts. To do this, we’re going to use numbers. These numbers will...

Secretary Richard K. Sullivan Jr. Secretary, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs View Secretary Sullivan's Bio This past October I joined several state officials on the campus of North Shore Community College (NSCC) to celebrate the completion of the largest and first...

The Obama administration has opened East Coast wind power sweet spots to energy development.

BERLIN -- A new virus is threatening herds of sheep, cattle and goats across the European continent, meaning potential big losses for several farming industries.

Could limiting the size of new retail spaces in effect re-design an urban neighborhood--or restore its character to that of a fabled past when quirky products and shops were valued?

Capital Bikeshare has been a hit in Washington, D.C. Now the company wants to add stations to suburban communities. Will bikeshare work in the 'burbs?

General Motors has turned to the selling power of four-armed aliens to boost interest in its Chevy Volt electric car during Super Bowl XLVI.

In an editorial published [Wednesday] in the journal Nature, University of California at San Francisco doctors Robert Lustig, Laura Schmidt, and Claire Brindis argue that the ballooning rates — and costs — of obesity, diabetes, and other diseases, mean it’s time for regulators to lump sugar into the same category as booze and cigarettes and put similar restrictions on its sale and availability. — ABC News

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I just caught on that an audio recording I made about my food story at a food-and-health festival last summer is posted on the "Let's Talk About Food" website. It's about 5 minutes, I guess.

Jill Escher, author of "Goodbye, Club Perma-Chub," includes 10 tips to overcome sugar addiction during a podcast interview by Erin Chamerlik (Get Better Wellness). 

I've written about Jill before, and expect I will again. She is a voice of informed reason.

When I published my broadside yesterday about registered dietitians, I said that it reflected views I’d held for a while but that they’d boiled over in the past little while.

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Based on my early experience with them, and on what I've heard from others of their experiences, I have long held opprobrium for registered dietitians. But it has recently bubbled over again.

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Historically speaking humans have always had a special interest in music and long to be surrounded by it as much as possible. Discoveries of primitive instruments, as well as paintings of instruments being played, journals detailing specific rituals or even songbooks, have opened the eyes of modern man to the many thousands of years of musical prominence in almost every imaginable society and culture. In addition to these finds we see amazing advances in musical portability over the past forty years indicating desire to evolve even further toward complete immersion in melody and song.

In the northern Pacific Ocean swirls a circular current known as the North Pacific Gyre and within it resides the largest accumulation of toxin emitting plastic debris on the planet. With over 80% of this plastic having come from land, it is high time we educate ourselves and reduced our dependence on non-biodegradable, disposable plastic products.

Just as the Industrial Revolution and Information Age spawned a surge of jobs on a global level, the boon toward protecting our Earth has opened new doors into the creation of viable employment opportunities. The global market is redefining what it means to make a living with the introduction of the Green Collar market.

In the current housing market there is a growing trend to leave the ideals of the past behind and move toward a new way of thinking -- green design. Environmentally sustainable products are growing in popularity with the building trades and many people are taking advantage of their availability, from large corporations to the every day homeowner, sometimes utilizing them for the construction of an entire home. Now that is thinking outside the box.

When the concept of time, time zones and Daylight Savings were invented it is unlikely our forefathers considered how many electronic devices would be in use in each home across the United States. As we increase our technology based devices the use of energy creates a serious impact on our planet. Using Daylight Savings Time to its best advantage will ensure an environmentally positive impact on energy usage during the entire year.