EXTRA...

Environmental Coalition Files Suit Against Cape Wind; Seashore hosts festival at Highlands Center today; Orleans vacation home has green roof, solar panels

TODAY's quote: "We're pleased to have an event at Cape Cod National Seashore that will be a wonderful fusion of the arts, sciences, education and volunteer service." - Park Superintendent George Price.

Cape Cod vacation home has green roof, solar panels

Tessa English remembers childhood days sailing and swimming on Cape Cod's Pilgrim Lake next to the cozy cottage her parents had built in the 1950s. Over the years, the cottage in Orleans, Mass., fell into disrepair. English considered a complete renovation but, given the rotting wood, decided to start over. She and her husband Dan hired Boston-based ZeroEnergy Design, a firm that specializes in green building.

The result, chosen as "This Week's Green House," is a modern, ultra-efficient, solar-powered home, completed last August. It earned the gold or second-highest rating from the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program... USA Today.
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Environmental Coalition files suit against Cape Wind

A coalition of six environmental groups and three private citizens last week filed suit in federal court, claiming that federal agencies involved with the wind farm permitting process violated the Endangered Species Act and other environmental laws by approving the project.

The plaintiffs are Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, National Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), the Connecticut-based Cetacean Society International, the Cape Cod-based Three Bays Preservation, the Lower Laguna Madre Foundation of Texas, Californians for Renewable Energy, and citizens Martha Powers of Yarmouth, Barbara Durkin of Northborough, and Cindy Lowry of Maine... Enterprise.
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Seashore hosts festival at Highlands Center

The Cape Cod National Seashore Park will sponsor its fifth annual "Highlands Fest: Reflections of the Coast" Saturday, July 10, at the Highlands Center in North Truro (rain date Sunday, July 11).

The day's free activities will start at 1 p.m. and continue through the afternoon and evening. Residents and visitors can help kick off the event by volunteering with Barnstable County's AmeriCorps Cape Cod to paint murals on two different Highlands Center buildings.

Kaelyn Modrak, AmeriCorps member and event coordinator, said, "The murals are meant to educate through art, while also engaging our community in service. Visitors will understand the importance of a herring run or coastal change on Cape Cod by enjoying the beauty of the murals"... The Cape Codder.