Have you ever thought, “This might be the right time to work on climate?” If you are young and handy, under-employed, needing retraining, retired seeking to save (or invest) or simply want to be secure about passing on a livable earth to children, stay tuned.
This weekly series, “Clean and Green,” will take you on a tour of what is happening in our hill-and-valley region. I and occasionally other guest writers will offer an introduction to people engaged in projects from installing residential solar hot water to farmers generating electricity from manure.
The column will explore imaginative green projects that are already preparing for a changing future. Through interviews, we will share a vision, seek opportunities and anticipate legislation being voted.
We can turn opportunity into reality by working together.
Right now, the climate is being detrimentally impacted by fossil fuel consumption — that is, energy-yielding fuel like oil, propane and gas that is purchased for heat or used to generate the electricity and heat hot water. These are fuels that are extracted and burned.
Nature cannot renew these fuels.
Worse, as they are burned, they emit polluting gasses that add carbon or methane to the atmosphere. This is terrible for humans, who need oxygen to breathe, but good for trees (up to a point) because trees “breathe in” carbon dioxide and “breathe out” oxygen.
But so far, CO2 has been far outpacing oxygen.
For thousands of years, the earth was at about 300-350 CO2 atmospheric parts per million. Now, it’s at around 450 parts per million and climbing rapidly. Scientists tell us that even though it’s so high, we won’t feel the impact for years (although we are already seeing an increase in severe storms, fires, etc.). Science also tells us we have about 10 years to make significant changes or life on our planet will not survive.
By 2050, we need to get the carbon levels back down to 300.
The good news is that renewable energy sources like wind and sunshine don’t negatively impact the environment. We just need to build infrastructure that can make use of it. Every step helps.
So, let me start at the beginning with my own 1950s cape house in Greenfield. Purchased in 2012, it had a great south-facing side, a big-enough garden and it was affordable. I am a retired elder, a woman who is not technically inclined or mechanically-minded, just curious.
My goal was to rehab the 1,250-square-foot Cape to be nearly fossil fuel free. I did it bit by bit with my partner, Loren Kramer, over a few years. Interest-free loan programs were non-existent back then, so I used savings.
Looking back, we didn’t plan out renovations all that well.
Perhaps our experiences will save others time and money. Here is what we did — in the order we should have used — for a three year green renovation plan:
First, figure out finances. Check with local credit unions like Franklin First Credit Union and UMassFive College Federal Credit Union, which now fund subsidized loans for many solar projects. It is financially far better to buy systems and pay them off with the money saved from minimal heat and electric bills. Benefiting as early adopters, we saved, paying the loan back in five years.
Remove water from the basement. Install gutters, slant the grade around the foundation; if necessary, add a French drain. Avoid mold. Install effective ventilation with a humistat. (A heat pump hot water heater also de-humidifies.)
Now put in serious (better than Mass Save) insulation. (The roof should be rated at least R-50 or 60; plus walls.) Don’t forget: insulate the basement to grade level and the floor joists.
As opportunity arises, buy high efficient appliances — especially, a heat pump and a mini-split. Skip the energy-hog dryer, hang dry the laundry.
Evaluate back-up heating appliances such as a wood stove or existing furnace that is scarcely used.
Consider windows: Three-pane windows that collect solar heat could be worth it.
Install solar electric and solar hot water. In Massachusetts, this can be purchased with zero interest loans or tax credits. They generate electricity (or heat water) from sunshine.
Now install that mini-split and the house will be winter-warmed, summer-cooled, and cost (nearly) zero for heating, cooling and hot water. It will be free or nearly free from fossil fuel usage, eliminating both the costs and rising tide of greenhouse gas.
Pam Kelly has lived in Franklin County for nearly two decades. She is a retired executive director of the national Unitarian Universalist Association’s economic justice network. Topics that will be covered in the next few weeks include: How a student at Greenfield Community College built a beautiful fossil fuel-free house, and green jobs at Pioneer Valley Photovoltaics. Have a suggestion for a future article? Email: pamelaskelly@comcast.net.