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GreenTown kicked off its Jan. 9th community meeting with an eye on saving energy.  More than 30 people gathered at the Neutra House to hear about GreenTown’s 2013 Energy Program. Mike McTighe, Chair of the Leadership team, kicks off the meeting. Surprising data on energy conservation: The Power’s in the Plug. Literally. Whether you plug in or not, is apparently the key to savings, so noted energy expert Steve Schmidt from High Energy Audits.  Schmidt described his historic success with home energy assessments, noting average homeowners can save hundreds of dollars with little or no expense.  How?  Though helpful, it’s not just about more insulation, weatherstripping or turning down the thermostat.  The power, so to speak, is squarely on plug loads –  anything plugged in and the electricity they use.  Often they draw electricity even when they are seemingly “off.”  And that’s not all.  Schmidt suggested looking at recurring demands such as air conditioners, pool pumps and space heaters, noticing if bills are unusually high year to year – perhaps signaling a need for maintenance or repair.  Schmidt’s program can analyze smart meter bills for the past year to show you areas of waste, without a single home visit necessary.  With Schmidt”s help, average savings for Los Altos Hills residents was $740 per year!  GreenTown likes this program so much that we have an offer to pay for an online energy assessment for the first 50 Los Altos residents who sign up http://bit.ly/XwyojE.  The Town of Los Altos Hills is also offering this program to Los Altos Hills residents.  Visit the Town’s web page on sustainability http://bit.ly/VUQ09J Plug in knowledge so you can start saving now…..why wait? Charting our future: Climate Action Plans so Our Kids Breathe Easier. Don Bray, Chair of the Los Altos Environmental Commission, presented the city’s work on a Climate Action Plan (CAP) with the goal to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to at least 15% below 2005 baseline levels by 2020.  Bray explained existing efforts will bring us about half way to the 15% target (set by California’s Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006,  AB32) including: improved mileage efficiencies mandated by the federal government, and state regulations, such as the renewable portfolio standard (RPS), which requires utilities to supply 33% of their electric power with renewable energy by 2020 improvements to Title 24, the state’s building energy code, and city efforts already underway, such as the green building code new waste handling contract with Mission Trails. Next steps will be presented at February 11th’s Environmental Commission Meeting.  This very much work in progress will greatly benefit from your valuable input.  If feasible, we can even stretch our goal to 25%.  Don also presented results from a recent community survey showing top users of gas, electricity and water use far more than the more frugal folks.  The transportation survey revealed much car travel is for short trips in town – in fact about 2,500 miles per year, the equivalent of driving to Atlanta every year.  Some of those trips could be by bicycling or walking.  With 50% of green house gases generated by transportation, reduction is key and a focus of both GreenTown and the Climate Plan teams. Rapt audience Promote Electric Vehicles (EVs) and the EV infrastructure. Gary Hedden, Lead for Los Altos’ Energy Program, explained GreenTown’s interest in hosting an event showcasing electric vehicles (EVs) this year.  Options include working with a group like Charge Across Town – they held a very successful rally in San Francisco last year – or hosting an event on our own, in conjunction with other local organizations.  The details need to be worked out, but with a large contingent of avid EV users and supporters in the audience, we are optimistic it will be a huge success. For more info, contact energy@greentownlosaltos.org. Your Chance To Help the History Museum with exhibition “A Place to Call Home.” This exhibition, scheduled to open April 17, will look at the evolution of home styles and uses from the late 1700s to today and beyond.  Gary Hedden and Margie Suozzo are working on the home of the future section and if you’re interested in learning more or helping out – contact Gary at energy@greentownlosaltos.org. Creating a successful energy program requires YOUR energy, so please join us. Email energy@greentownlosaltos.org to find out how you can get involved. #energy #LosAltosHistoryMuseum #energysaving #climateaction #saveenergy #GreenTownLosAltos #energyplan #EVs #electricvehicles

You may have seen Mike McTighe around town.  At 6’8” he stands out in a crowd and often can be spotted pedaling his bike from one location to another.  Mike recently took over as Chair of the Leadership Team for GreenTown Los Altos, filling the considerable (though smaller in physical size) shoes of Margie Suozzo. Mike McTighe Mike has extensive experience in community service.  He is a current member of the Transportation and Planning Commission for the City of Los Altos, volunteers at El Camino Hospital, and chairs the GreenTown Los Altos Bike/Walk program. Prior community service includes work with the homeless community and the Chamber of Commerce in the City of Roseville. Mike is also an Eagle Scout and says that “Scouting gave me a respect for the land and living sustainably, something I deeply connect with GreenTown Los Altos.” Mike has lived in Los Altos for a total of 14 years and is the father to two children. His daughter is a junior in Boston College and his son is an 8th grader at Blach Middle School. “I’m excited to be leading GreenTown Los Altos as it enters the next phase of its development. We have established ourselves as a credible, collaborative organization working with a variety of groups in Los Altos and Los Altos Hills to promote environmentally friendly behavior,” said McTighe. “Our next big challenge is to put in place a sustainable fundraising plan that enables us to continue having a positive impact on environmental health and vibrancy.” In addition to his community service background, McTighe has worked as a manager in technology companies Oracle and Informix and has experience in the financial services industry as a registered investment advisor. He holds dual B.A. degrees in Computer Science and Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is a graduate of the Leadership Education Advancement Program (LEAD) provided by the Los Altos Community Foundation. “Mike’s enthusiasm, his background in business and finance and his ability to connect with the members of the community will serve GreenTown and our residents and businesses well,” said Margie Suozzo, who is turning over the leadership to McTighe. Suozzo will continue as part of the Leadership Team at GreenTown Los Altos, focusing on local environmental policy as Chair of the Government Affairs Program. If you see Mike around town, stop and say “hello” and let him know how you think we can improve the environmental health and vibrancy of the Los Altos and Los Altos Hills community. #bike #BikingtoSchool #GreenTownLosAltos #WOWWalkorWheel

Lehigh Permanente Quarry Photo: Anne Ernst Lehigh Quarry and Cement Plant located at the base of Black Mountain in Santa Clara County, is in litigation with Sierra Club, Bay Area for Clean Environment (BACE), Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD) and Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) stemming from its air and water emissions.  The main source of contention is the unusually high levels of mercury and selenium within this deposit of limestone. Compounding their emissions are weak regulations grandfathered for this seventy year old plant.  A GreenTown Los Altos meeting on December 6 hosted two speakers on Lehigh emissions, Gary Latshaw, Air Quality Chairman for the Loma Prieta Chapter of the Sierra Club and Alice Kaufman, Legislative Advocate for Committee for Green Foothills. Mercury, a powerful neurotoxin linked to autism, Alzheimer’s disease, and other brain disorders, becomes airborne in the kiln during clinker  process of cement production.  Airborne levels of mercury measured six times higher during Lehigh production as compared to non-operational periods.  Latshaw presented rates of autism in neighboring school districts –  Cupertino Unified showed statistically higher levels of autism as compared to other Bay Area districts.  Nitrogen oxides, sulfuric oxides and particulate matter are other airborne emissions that exceed regulatory levels and correlate to health deprivations.  Alarmed by health risks for its residents, the towns of Los Altos and Los Altos Hills have jointly hired a consultant to propose abatement improvements to Lehigh’s emission stack. Selenium, a reproductive toxin for aquatic life and their avian predators, leaches out of limestone when exposed to air or water.  Lehigh’s selenium rich limestone has been mined below groundwater resulting in formations of selenium rich ponds which are discharged to Permanente Creek at rates of 250,000 to 2,500,000 gallons/day. The Water Quality Objective for selenium is 5 µg/l but levels as high as 100 µg/l have been measured on site.  Selenium levels ranging from 13 to 81 µg/l in Permanente Creek are noted in Sierra Club’s lawsuit.  In humans, high levels (>350ug/day) of selenium can lead to kidney, liver, nervous and circulatory disfunction. Permanente Creek, listed as an impaired creek by Regional Water Quality C Board (RWQCB), also shows unhealthy levels of mercury, nickel, sulfates and molybdenum. Sierra Club lawsuit trial is scheduled for summer of 2013, if a settlement has not been reached. Take Action: Write your council members, county supervisors, Bay Area Air Quality Management District, California Environmental Protection Agency Air Resources Board , California State Water Resources Control Board Stay Informed: GreenTown Los Altos, Bay Area for Clean Environment, San Francisco Bay Area Regional Water Quality Control Board webpage on Lehigh. The following slideshows and documentation contributed by Alice Kaufman and Gary Latshaw. Summary Dec 2012 los altos greentown.pages by Gary Latshaw Presentation Comm Hall August 12, 2012 by Gary Latshaw Presentation December 6 2012.docx by Alice Kaufman #PermanenteCreek #selenium #AirQuality #LehighQuarryandCementPlant #BayAreaAirQualityManagementDistrict #GreenTownLosAltos #SierraClub #MidpeninsulaRegionalOpenSpaceDistrict #Mercury #BayAreaforCleanEnvironment

Researched and compiled by Champion Organic Communications, © 2012. Here are some tips for making your holidays just a little greener: Newspaper wrapping from simplemom.net Use creative “eco-wrap.” Use comics, old maps, sheet music, fabric/wallpaper scraps. Visit local recycler, FabMo, 2423 Old Middlefield Way in Mountain View for high quality designer materials. Use tins and pretty empty food boxes for gift containers. Reuse wrapping paper, or use recycled brown wrapping paper with a sprig of green for a natural look. Last-year’s holiday cards make great tags! Don’t wrap oversized gifts. Hide them and give clues. Make gift-giving into a treasure hunt. Avoid, reuse or recycle foam peanuts. For alternative packaging materials, try shredded paper, popcorn or candy canes. If you end up with foam packaging materials, reuse them, donate them to your local UPS store or recycle them at the Postal Annex Service Center 2310 Homestead Rd in South Los Altos. Give the gift of time or talent. Take someone to a play, concert or movie. Make your own gift certificates. Offer your talents like photography or financial planning. Give your favorite recipe and include ingredients. Help your friends go green. Give planet-conscious gifts like compost bins, can crushers, water timers, programmable thermostats, rain barrels, light timers or bird feeders. Be smart with your holiday lighting. Buy outdoor light strands that are wired in parallel – if one bulb goes bad, the others still work, so you won’t be throwing away entire strands. Or better yet, switch to energy-saving LEDs. Japanese fabric wrapping, “furoshiki,” from thenewecologist.com Keep it simple. One thoughtful gift is better than six wrapped packages of unwanted gifts. Plan “previously-loved” or homemade gift exchanges. Books, a restored piece of furniture or a rebuilt bike can be cherished for many years and by many people. And homemade body care or food items such as jams, cookies and dried fruits are always a welcome gift at the holidays. Stuff stockings with sentiment. Have family members write a note to every other person, saying one thing they really love about that person. Opt out of unwanted mail. Eliminate unwanted junk and catalog mail at www.catalogchoice.org. Compost your leftover food. It’s easy and makes for a great fertilizer! Invest in communities and the environment. For as little as $10 you can invest in a “micro” loan at www.globalgiving.org or www.kiva.org. Consider charitable gift giving to make a difference at www.heifer.org. or purchase a gift at http://www.ethicalocean.com. And donate to local charities and nonprofits ­– may we suggest GreenTown Los Altos? Our sincere thanks to GreenTown volunteers for our 2012 Eco-Wrapping Extravaganza for their time and donations and to our partners, Los Altos Forward, Passerelle Investments, and Thai Silks (silk donations). Have a blessed holiday season!

Last Sunday, December 2, GreenTown Los Altos held its twice yearly RECYCLE Bike Drive.  With the help of a dedicated group of volunteers, more than 50 gently used bikes were donated, cleaned and repaired at Egan and Blach Junior High Schools.  All donated bikes will bring holiday cheer to those less fortunate in our community.  Thanks to GreenTown’s donors, volunteers and co-sponsors, ACTERRA, Chain Reaction Bicycle, Silicon Valley Bike Coalition and Good Karma Bikes, there will be many BIG smiles on the faces of those receiving a donated bike this holiday season. Kathleen Santora, GreenTown ReCYCLE Bike Drive Chair #Environment #ChainReactionBicycle #GreenTownLosAltos #GoodKarmaBikes #recycle #Siliconvalleybikecoalition #volunteer #bike #Acterra #volunteers

Margie Suozzo, GreenTown Los Altos co-founder and outgoing Leadership Chair was a recipient of a Los Altos / Los Altos Hills Community Volunteer Service Award on Friday, December 7, 2012, along with several other deserving community members. Below is the introduction about Margie, prepared and delivered by Acterra Board Member and GreenTown Los Altos volunteer, Laura Teksler. Congratulations, Margie, on this well-deserved award. We appreciate all you do! Margie Suozzo is the kind of woman that makes me feel inadequate. I volunteer at my kids’ school, serve on a nonprofit Board and generally try to give back to my community. But Margie does all that times ten with grace and style. In 2007 she co-founded GreenTown Los Altos and, since then, has been heavily involved in both the leadership and programs for the non-profit. To top that, for the past eighteen months she has volunteered as chair of the Leadership Team, fulfilling duties that had previously been done by a paid Executive Director. During that time she has still stayed active in the programs, for example contributing substantially to the educational outreach component of the Shaped by Water exhibition at the Los Altos History Museum. Even tonight you will find her at First Friday downtown wrapping holiday gifts with sustainable wrapping. But that’s not all. She is also a very active volunteer at Gardner Bullis School. She serves as a docent for the Living Classroom, a program which she incidentally also serves on the Board of Directors for. She has spent several years as a Brownie and Junior Girls Scout Troop leader, fostering an ethic of giving back by having her troop make and donate blankets to children in need. Of course she also serves on the school’s Bike to School Committee and has been active in Los Altos Hills’ work on a bike path to serve the school. Most amazing to me is she does all this while raising three children and still always has a radiant smile on her face. She combines a rare ability to keep the big picture in mind while attending to the details and making those around her feel inspired and appreciated. Everyone I contacted in putting together this nomination said how well deserving Margie is. So on behalf of all those people you have touched, Margie, congratulation on this recognition! #CommunityVolunteerServiceAwards2012 #LauraTekslar #GreenTownLosAltos #LosAltos #LosAltosHills #MargieSuozzo #Acterra

Passerelle Investment Company has been awarded an official Bicycle-Friendly Business by the League of American Bicyclists!  The full League press release is here.  Passerelle are very excited about this award, and are eager to continue helping make Los Altos a more bike- and pedestrian-friendly community!   You can find out more about Passerelle on their website. #Bicyclefriendly #bike #Passerelle

Ever wonder what to do with that still-working-but-no-longer-being-used bike? Here’s a chance to “do good” with those wheels. On December 2, donate your gently used bikes to GreenTown for distribution to local families in need. The reCYCLE Bike Drive will be held from 10am-1pm at Egan and Blach Junior High Schools. The bike drive began in 1997, while Los Altos Hills resident, Kathleen Santora was working with the Community Outreach Program at St. Nicholas School, which her son attended at the time. During the holidays, the program collected and distributed presents for families in need. Noting that many requested bikes, the bike drive was “spun out”, starting a tradition of organizing used bike drives for the needy. Over more than a decade, Santora estimates that the bike drives she organized collected and distributed 600 bikes for community families. To bring the bike drive to the broader community, Santora approached GreenTown Los Altos with a proposal to chair a pilot bike drive last spring. Despite the rain, the event, which was held at Santa Rita last March, brought in 30 bikes of which 9 were distributed to local families. The remainder were delivered to community services agencies. This is the first year that Santora is chairing a holiday bike drive for GreenTown, carrying on the tradition she started at St. Nicholas 15 years ago. Bike Enthusiasts Drive the Event The drive is being organized by a team of bike enthusiasts at GreenTown.  GreenTown’s team is passionate about fostering a shift to more bicycling in our community and hopes to collect and distribute 100 bikes this year. With your help, we want to bring a smile to those who receive our recycled bikes this holiday season. “GreenTown volunteers’ passion about bikes and recycling as means of helping our environment is married to a well-established program to deliver bikes to the needy,” says Santora. “The program dovetails nicely with GreenTown’s goals to use resources wisely, encourage environmentally healthy forms of transportation, reduce car-related pollution and congestion, and build community.” And we all benefit from helping those in need. The GreenTown team’s goal is to get all those gently used bikes collecting dust in our garages into the hands of those in need. Interested in helping out? Bring your “gently used” bikes, Sun. Dec. 2, 10AM-1PM to either Egan or Blach Junior HIgh Schools. Or volunteer that day, washing bikes, filling tires, and repairing bikes. This event is being co-sponsored by Acterra: Action for a Sustainable Earth, Good Karma Bikes and Silicon Valley Bike Exchange.

Some things to think about before choosing a means of transportation for getting to school: 90% of the traffic at a school is from parents dropping off students.  If more students were walking or biking to school rather than being driven, traffic around schools would dramatically drop and make it safer. Studies show students with a half hour of exercise before school are more attentive during school and are able to focus better than students who do not.  If a child has to be driven, perhaps finding a place to be dropped off and walking a few blocks would be better than being dropped off at the front of school (less traffic around too!) The US Dept. of Health recommends children have 60 minutes of exercise a day.  A good portion of that amount can likely be covered when a child walks or bikes to school and back home. Students who have been walking or biking to school from grade K-10 are better drivers when they get their automobile license than those who have not.  The walking/biking students have been learning the ways of the road for many years and understand street patterns when they finally learn to drive. Middle school students start becoming more independent from their parents and want more social time with their peers.  Walking/Biking in groups to and from school helps foster their emotional development. Teaching children safe ways to travel on their own in our neighborhood lasts a life time.  Driving them only lasts a trip. #walkorbiketoschool

By Gary Hedden, Volunteer – GreenTown Los Altos I stepped into Moscone Center in mid November and was overwhelmed.  The exhibit hall seemed to go on forever!  So many people, so many booths – really, it was all too much. GreenBuild sign at Moscone north And then it struck me – they are all interested in our sustainable future. That is so cool. The GreenBuild Show covered everything from building design to product life cycle analysis to energy management tools to the latest and greatest earth friendly materials.  Materials like recycled containers, forest sustainable wood products, glass with a reflective film that birds can see and we can’t, pre-fab net zero homes and efficient toilets.  Lots of toilets. Here are a few of the stops, with links, that caught my eye – out of at least a thousand. Building Design: MBDC – Cradle to Cradle Consulting.  “Practice humility in the face of nature.”  mbdc.com How intelligent is your building?  QAS has software to provide the answer.  qualityattributes.com Quantis.  “…quickly compare your design to a reference building.”  quantis-intl.com UC Berkeley, Center for the Built Environment – “We have developed new tools and methods to measure the performance of buildings…”  cbe.berkeley.edu Energy Management Tools: Checking out toilets Sustainability Dashboards – track your energy use.  green2sustainable.com Modlet.  A simple plug-in wireless control to manage plug loads.  thinkeco.com HVAC controls.  millennialnet.com Integrated facility solutions.  abm.com Sustainably Built Homes: Healthy Buildings Tech Group – located in Napa.  hbtg.com Pre-fab homes.  unityhomes.com Products: Bird protective glass.  ornilux.com Sustainable wood products.  richlite.com Green roofs.  cetco.com Rainwater tanks.  rainharvest.com Efficient toilets.  totousa.com Charge Pro, commercial charger, 30A, 7.2kW@240VAC. semaconnect.com Reference materials: Sustainability Dashboards EDC – “the official magazine for the LEED professional.”  edcmag.com Island Press.  A source for many relevant books, get a 20% discount w/ promotion code 5GBC.  islandpress.org Continuing Education: Pacific Energy Center.  Many free classes, typically one day, offered by PG&E.  pge.com/pec Sustainable Building Advisor Program.  sbaprogram.com Leadership advocacy tools.  emergeleadership.net It was quite a show.  Very inspiring. #buildingdesign #energymanagement #GreenBuildSF #MosconeCenter

Our next GreenTown monthly meeting will be held on December 6, 2012, 7-9pm at Hillview Community Center, 97 Hillview Avenue, Los Altos. Source: Mercury News, 9/29/2012 Gary Latshaw, retired physicist and Chair of Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter’s Air Quality Committee shares his insights on toxic air emissions from the Lehigh Southwest Cement Permanente Plant in Cupertino. Gary has been actively involved in defining the Chapter’s position on the expansion of Lehigh Cement’s quarrying operation, pointing out the risks associated with toxic emissions such as mercury, chromium VI and water pollution. Come to the monthly meeting to learn more about Lehigh and it’s impacts on our air and water quality. Want more? See this September 2012 article in the San Jose Mercury News.

Call for Materials Attention ALL of you crafters, scrapbookers, seamstresses, teachers, scout leaders and others who gather materials for noble reasons like recycling, re-purposing and saving $$ while saving the planet.  Let us know if you can contribute any of the following materials for GreenTown’s Eco Wrap-a-Rama! green gift wrapping service (wrapping with reusable, recyclable and compostable materials). What: Eco Wrap-a-Rama! Green gift wrapping service When: Friday, December 7, 6-8pm Where: First Friday headquarters, 359 State Street, Los Altos Photo credit: www.corinnavangerwen.com Please drop off any of the following materials at the next GreenTown meeting, December 6, 7-9pm at Hillview Community Center, Room #17 or by prior arrangement with Barb O’Reilly via waste@GreenTownLosAltos.org. Fabric (purchase or get donated) Scarves, napkins, table runners, fabric remnants, furoshiki, in holiday colors (red and green for Christmas, royal blue and white for Hannukah, plus silver/gold for trim) Notions Raffia, ribbons and bows (no plastic please), rick rack, lace, yarn, buttons, cording, string, twine, feathers Containers Cookie or other tins, metal boxes, cardboard boxes, e.g., shoeboxes or interesting sizes and shapes, ready to wrap, decorative jars, bottles Papers and Old Holiday Cards Brown kraft paper (purchase or get donated), white paper, tissue paper, newspaper (no disaster headlines, please) maps of all kinds, (some are so beautiful you can’t toss them out), shopping bags with nice handles (we can creatively cover store logos), old holiday cards (to decorate packages or be cut up for gift tags), tubes – toilet paper, paper towels & up to poster size. Misc. Items to Decorate Packages Small ornaments, computer discs, corks, decorative jars, bottles, etc. for gift recipes. Natural Items Pine cones, Nandia, Holly, or Pyracantha berries, redwood or cedar boughs, herbs (rosemary, mexican sage, bouqui garni), lemons, limes, pomegranites, persimmons. Packing Fillers (to replace expanded polystyrene peanuts) Used wrapping paper, shredded; unsalted peanuts in their shells; air-popped popcorn; pine boughs.