A Message from the
President 
Our SmartPower Interns
Why doesn’t winter ever go by as fast as summer? Wasn’t it just the Fourth of July? And yet here we are bidding farewell to our interns as they pack up to head back to their college campuses. It’s like they just arrived—and already they’re on their way home.
Yet—the impact they’ve had on SmartPower and our work has been significant! This summer’s interns—Jessica Conyers (University of West Georgia ’09); Lauren Ellis (University of California—Berkley ’11) and Ryan Lichtenstein (Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, ’11) have been true standouts. Over these past few months, you’ve likely read their blog postings, you’ve viewed a couple of their videos for America’s Greenest Campus and you may have even scratched your head wondering what the hell “LOL Plant” is all about.
But the bottom line is that our three interns this summer represent the best of the “Echo-boomer” Generation. They are committed, focused and engaged in doing everything possible to help their generation become a real part of the climate solution.
This year we decided to challenge our interns with the Intern of the Year Award. In essence, whoever was the “best” intern would win a one-year consulting contract with SmartPower. It’s really a win-win—we get to keep hold of the best intern and have them continue to help us promote America’s Greenest Campus, while they get some cold hard cash in their pockets. Not to mention, they get a job that can keep them out of trouble.
But trouble came on our end, when we simply couldn’t pick just one intern to make our Intern of the Year. So we did the smart thing—we picked THREE Interns of the Year and I’m really pleased to say that Ryan, Jessica and Lauren will each be awarded a one-year consulting contract with SmartPower!
So the best news is that even though the days are getting shorter and summer is slipping away – our interns will be sticking around! Granted, they’ll be working from their colleges—but they’ll remain a key part of the SmartPower team!
Have a great summer—and let’s get energy smart!
| Volume 4 :: Issue 4 :: August 2009 |
| Click Here to view newsletter archives. |
> Introducing Western Mass Saves! |
SmartPower Launches the first in the nation test pilot -- Western Mass Saves! |
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On Wednesday, August 19th SmartPower, Efficiency 2.0 and Western Massachusetts Electric Company (WMECO) launched Western Mass Saves, a brand new project and website, www.WesternMassSaves.com, to encourage energy efficiency in the WMECO service territory , showing people like never before how making small changes can lead to big savings. By logging onto www.WesternMassSaves.com, WMECO customers will be led to a program customized to their age group, encouraging young home owners, college students and even high school students to get involved by learning to save energy through everyday actions.
Using sophisticated algorithms, the Web site can calculate just how much savings—in dollars and in CO2—a person can achieve by tweaking daily habits. For example, by drying clothes on a rack twice a week instead of in a clothes dryer, a person could save $30 and 192 pounds of CO2 per year.
College students throughout Western Massachusetts will also have the opportunity to compete in the America’s Greenest Campus contest by committing to such energy saving actions. The winning school can get up to $20,000.
High school students will also be able use the Climate Culture program to create their own virtual world. The site allows students to visualize unique simulations of how their energy savings help the planet.
And homeowners, renters and their families can use WesternMassSaves.com to learn precise ways to save money on their energy bill each month.
“This is an extraordinary, first-of-its-kind opportunity for our company to reach out and empower young people to make a positive change,” said John Walsh, Senior Project Administrator with WMECO. “We hope that moving our messages online will reach a new user, and will help the younger generation get accustomed to energy efficiency so it comes naturally to them when they become homeowners and larger consumers.”
SmartPower Vice President Jonathan Edwards said, “This is another way SmartPower is using our experience in community marketing to get folks on board with the renewable energy movement in America. The more we make energy saving a regular part of people’s lives, the more it will be commonplace in every town and every home. It creates massive energy savings for consumers and a cleaner environment.”
WMECO and SmartPower have also called on the help of local environmental groups to promote WesternMassSaves.com and the energy saving features it offers. Curtis Fischer, Northeast Regional Director for the National Wildlife Fund, was enthusiastic about the WMECO and SmartPower pilot program. “We think it’s great to get younger people involved, because they care about the environment so much. But they don’t always think about leaving the computer on all night as part of the problem.”
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> The Hits Keep Comin’ |
America’s Greenest Campus has been shrinking carbon footprints this summer like eco-witchdoctors, with now over 12,000 participants from campus communities learning to save energy through daily actions.
A big help in this movement has come from engaged campus media, many of whom have reported on America’s Greenest Campus throughout the summer to keep this important contest in the spotlight.
From UCLA to Ithica, University of Texas to University of Wisconsin, and schools all over the country in between, campus media coverage has proved to be huge.
Check out a list of AGC media hits here.
Additionally, check out a couple of the latest entries to the $10,000 Energy Smart Ad Challenge that’s also part of AGC.
JBonMan offers us a pretty clear depiction of what phantom load is all about. And corngreaterthanwheat gives an entertaining play off of vampire power and the movie Blade.
All Energy Smart Ad Challenge videos can be seen on our group page. And if you still want more SmartPower online content, there’re plenty of goodies here.
So join our America’s Greenest Campus Facebook group, and help spread the word about campaign that can help millions of students learn to get energy smart.
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> SmartPower Welcomes New Team
Member |
 SmartPower is excited to announce that we’ve hired Jessica Bergman to serve as the Outreach Coordinator for our Western Mass Saves Program. Jessica is a recent graduate of Boston University, with a degree in communication studies. Having worked with the Special Olympics of Massachusetts for the past 7 years as a member of the management team, planning their annual fundraiser, Jessica has a long history of involvement in the nonprofit sector. Jessica began as the youngest member of the team and is now event director for a new collegiate fundraiser. She also spent a year interning for the Sierra Club and recently finished an internship at the Massachusetts State House.
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> Clean Energy Communities
Campaign Bringing Solar to
Communities Throughout
Southeast PA |
PA State Senator Stewart Greenleaf (PA-12); Elizabeth Finocchio, Manager -
Marketing Promotions, PECO; PA Representative Tom Murt (PA-152); Andrew
Voris, Communications Manager, SmartPower; Jules Mermelstein, President,
Upper Dublin Township Board of Commissioners; Sue Caskey, lead community
organizer UDT CEC Campaign; Thurm Brendlinger, Program Director, Clean Air
Council; Larry Glick, Outreach Director, Congressman Patrick Murphy; Glenn
Burd, Manager, Solardelphia |
It’s difficult to say what is the best part of a SmartPower Clean Energy Communities Campaign. Is it when a local government shows the political will to lead on clean energy, and agrees to take the SmartPower commitment of 20% clean energy by 2010? Perhaps it is the grassroots marketing collaboration between SmartPower organizers and local volunteers when they work at events and in neighborhoods throughout their community to sign up customers for utility-provided clean energy?
Certainly it’s hard to beat the sweet moment of success when a community signs up enough customers to reach its Campaign goal and becomes a Clean Energy Community. The only thing that could top it is when that community receives its $10,000 solar energy system award from the Sustainable Development Fund and SmartPower.
As of deadline for this story eight Pennsylvania Clean Energy Communities have new solar photovoltaic (PV) systems from SmartPower and SDF. Cheers to the communities of Abington Township, Middletown Township (Delaware County), Lower Makefield Township, Swarthmore Borough, Jenkintown Borough, Upper Dublin Township, East Bradford Township and Tredyffrin Township.
The PV systems awarded to these communities through the Pennsylvania Clean Energy Communities Campaign not only generate clean, renewable energy for the community, they serve as perhaps the best public awareness, education, and marketing tools for clean energy anyone could ask for.
“These communities in southeastern Pennsylvania know that there’s no better billboard for solar energy than a solar panel,” said Andrew Voris, SmartPower Communications Manager and lead organizer for the Pennsylvania campaign. “These PV systems are big trophies. They’re going up on park buildings, libraries, town halls, and all these amazing places where everyone is going to see clean energy technology working.
“Our bet is that most people who see those solar panels will say That’s pretty cool! Why don’t we have more?,” added Voris.
So start planning your clean energy road trip through Southeastern Pennsylvania. These eight systems are just the beginning of a series of solar installations from the Campaign that will dot the landscape throughout the region—showing that towns big and small, rural and suburban, are joining the call: Let’s Get Energy Smart!
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> Thank You |
As we send off our talented group of summer interns, SmartPower would like to highlight some of the great work they have contributed.
 Jessica Conyers
Time for a “Dark Party!”
by Jessica Conyers
Posted on June 30, 2009
When I was a kid, I remember having this fascination with the dark. I would run around the entire house shutting off ALL the lights, covering anything that produced light (the oven, microwave, etc) and screaming “DARK PARTY”. Read the full post. |
 Ryan Lichtenstein
“LOL Plant”
To watch one of Ryan's
videos, click here. |
 Lauren Ellis
Harnessing The Power of Human Sweat
by Lauren Ellis
Believe it or not, staying in shape is one of the easiest ways to reduce your carbon footprint. A recent study conducted in the United Kingdom compared obesity rates between the 1970s to prospective 2010 levels, discovering that the UK consumes 19% more food than 40 years ago and the average body mass index (BMI) rose from 26 to 27.3. Read the full post
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