Sustainable Belmont is a task force of the Vision 21 Implementation Committee of the Town of Belmont, Massachusetts. Our mandate is to work with the Belmont community to implement one aspect of the town's vision: “We will be an environmentally responsible community.”
We meet the first Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. in the Belmont Memorial Library, 336 Concord Ave., Belmont. Meetings are open to all. For information on joining Sustainable Belmont, click here.
Read our latest e-Newsletter and meeting notes (for archived newsletters and meeting notes, click here). If you would like to receive the e-Newsletter as email, please contact sustainablebelmont@gmail.com.
Sustainable Belmont is a member of the Massachusetts Climate Action Network (MCAN).
*What's New*
*Deep Energy Retrofit*
| On June 21, 2010, Sustainable Belmont attended a tour of a Belmont two-family house in the process of receiving a deep energy retrofit (learn more). Photo by Judy Otto and Jan Kruse. |
*Recognition*
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Sustainable Belmont has received an Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Merit Award for outstanding efforts in preserving New England’s environment. We would like to extend our gratitude to former Selectman Paul Solomon, who in his role as Chair of the Vision 21 Committee, nominated Sustainable Belmont for this distinction (learn more). Photo courtesy of EPA New England. |
| Jan Kruse, former chair of Sustainable Belmont, received a 2010 Unsung Heroine award from the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women. Learn more at “Belmont's Kruse: An outstanding leader,” Belmont Citizen-Herald, June 3, 2010 <http://www.wickedlocal.com/belmont/features/x775079942/Belmonts-Kruse-An-outstanding-leader>, and “A Sustainable Hero for the Earth,” Belmont Patch, May 12, 2010 <http://belmont.patch.com/articles/a-sustainable-hero-for-the-earth>. Pictured: Jan Kruse and State Representative Will Brownsberger. Photo by Bet Lee. |  |
Sustainable Belmont also received recognition in a resolution from the Belmont Board of Selectmen and Town Meeting at the Wednesday, April 28, 2010 session of Town Meeting. Sustainable Belmont was recognized for its development of the Climate Action Plan, the passage of its two major recommendations of reducing greenhouse emissions 80% by 2050 and the formation of an energy committee for the Town, its recent EPA environmental merit award and as “a superb example of an organized, collaborative, comprehensive, ‘grassroots’ approach to a worldwide concern.” Thank you to everyone whose hard work made this possible.
*Cool Mass*
Sustainable Belmont's application to the Cool Mass program has been accepted! We would like to thank our 19 partnering organizations. The Cool Mass program provides training, information, and other help for households who wish to reduce their carbon footprint. For more information on the Cool Mass program, see MCAN's Cool Mass page.
*BMLD donates Kill-a-Watt meters to Belmont Public Library*
Kill-a-Watt meters are small, easy-to-use devices which measure the energy used by electrical appliances and electronics. They may be borrowed by library patrons. For more information, see the BMLD press release.
*New Articles*
Sustainable Belmont gives tips on using your clothes dryer less (to appear in Watt's Up?, a newsletter distributed by the Belmont Municipal Light Department).
Sustainable Belmont member Tony Alcorn answers questions about low-cost ways to stay cool while drastically reducing air conditioning use. (Schiavone, Christian. “Q&A: Belmont's Alcorn cuts costs while keeping cool,” Belmont Citizen-Herald, posted June 6, 2010 <http://www.wickedlocal.com/belmont/features/x1332184821/Q-A-Alcorn-cuts-costs-while-keeping-cool>.)
Sustainable Belmont member Judy Otto offers tips on how to save water in “Sustainable Belmont: Reduce your water bill,” Belmont Citizen-Herald, posted June 29, 2010 <http://www.wickedlocal.com/belmont/news/opinions/x1609341810/Sustainable-Belmont-Reduce-your-water-bill>
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