Cape & Islands Go Green (CIGoGreen) Campaign Launched

CIGoGreen Campaign Launched by Cape & Islands Renewable Energy Collaborative

Map & Green Pages Made Available; Initial Energy Action Plans Released for Residents, Visitors & Communities

The Cape & Islands Go Green campaign – CIGoGreen – is designed to accelerate progress toward a better energy future for Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket. Developed through Cape & Islands Renewable Energy Collaborative (CIREC), the campaign encompasses a website (http://www.cigogreen.org), a hard-copy brochure/map, and ongoing community planning and outreach activities that reflect three core beliefs: “Everyone is an energy stakeholder. Now is the time to act. Together, we can make a difference.”

The CIGoGreen website and brochure feature the following:

• Green Pages providing listings for local businesses and organizations offering green products and services.
• Map highlighting green buildings, modern and historical renewable energy systems, and noteworthy project possibilities, as well as farmers’ markets, clean fueling stations, and other locations for going green. (See http://www.cigogreen.org/exploring-the-map/ to access a 6MB Acrobat download.)
• Tips identifying things consumers can and should do to reduce energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions.
• Data showing progress in individual communities, including hybrid vehicle registrations, green power consumers, residential solar photovoltaic installations, and municipal climate policies.

The website also specifies initial Energy Action Plans for residents, visitors, and communities (see below) developed through an ongoing stakeholder process. CIREC participants are working on a regional action plan consistent with ambitious but technically feasible goals for 2020: (1) Generate sufficient renewable energy in the Cape & Islands region to meet 100% of net electricity needs; and (2) Reduce direct use of fossil fuels for heating and transport applications in the Cape & Islands region by 50%, relative to 2006 consumption. These goals were established in a “Beyond Cape Wind” visioning session organized through CIREC last December.

“With prices rising, war raging, and the climate changing, green thinking and action offer tremendous economic, environmental, and social benefits,” says Chris Powicki, principal of Water Energy & Ecology Information Services and a CIREC participant. “Residents and visitors can get inspired by seeing green sites throughout the region, and they can use resources available through www.cigogreen.org to begin making a difference.”

The website and brochure were created with grant funding from Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, in-kind support from CIREC participants, and funding from the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce. The brochure may be accessed via http://www.cigogreen.org/exploring-the-map/, and it is being distributed at regional visitor centers and other locations. CIREC was formed in 2000 to bring together diverse individuals and organizations with common interest in achieving a sustainable energy future, both locally and globally. For more information contact Chris Powicki, chrisp@weeinfo.com or 508.362.9599.

Initial Energy Action Plan for Cape & Islands Residents

1. Get an energy audit, and ask a friend or neighbor to as well. Contact the Cape Light Compact or National Grid for a free audit (natural gas consumers on the Cape can also contact Keyspan).
2. Factor energy efficiency into buying decisions. Use the “EnergyStar” and “Fuel Economy” buyer’s guides to satisfy needs and wants at home, on the road, and at work.
3. Use efficiency-related savings to support renewable energy. Invest in Cape Light Compact Green, a National Grid GreenUp Provider, the New England Wind Fund, or the Self-Reliance Oil & Bioheat Cooperative.
4. Reduce your energy and carbon footprints. Use your vehicles wisely, keep your tires inflated, and practice car-free travel. Reduce, reuse, and recycle. Visit farmers’ markets and patronize locally owned businesses.
5. Ask town officials what they are doing to use resources efficiently, harness renewable energy, adopt green design and procurement practices, and address climate change. Visit your community’s website and give your elected and appointed representatives a call.

Initial Energy Action Plan for Cape & Islands Visitors

1. Travel wisely. Arrive and depart at off-peak times, avoid idling, and take car-free trips by using public transit, beach shuttles, bikes, walking, and other low-impact means of getting around.
2. Practice efficiency in local accommodations. Employ water conservation measures while on site and shut off the lights and turn down the air conditioning (or heat) when out and about.
3. Go lightly here. Use refillable water bottles and coffee mugs, carry reusable shopping bags, and recycle everything you can.
4. Live local. Visit farmers’ markets and roadside stands, ask restaurants where they get their fish and food, and patronize locally owned businesses.
5. Reduce your carbon footprint back home. Do all the things listed above, sign up for a free energy audit, buy green power, and get active in your community.

Initial Energy Action Plan for Cape & Islands Communities

1. Set objectives. Adopt overarching energy-related goals and policies relating to efficiency, renewables, cost control, economic development, climate change, and energy independence.
2. Get organized. Establish a committee or task force structure addressing all fuel sectors, all municipal departments and facilities, and energy use and associated impacts at the municipal and community levels.
3. Start counting. Commit to the development of energy and emissions inventories both for municipal operations and on a community-wide basis.
4. Go green. Plan to audit, upgrade, and re-commission existing municipal buildings; to adopt sustainable design and green building practices for new facilities; and to establish green procurement practices for municipal operations.
5. Engage constituents. Encourage residents and businesses to get energy audits, act on recommendations, and employ savings for purchasing green power.