Come talk about your dreams for a community garden in Richmond, hear other ideas, and eat homemade cookies.

When: Thurs., Sept. 24, at 5:30 p.m.
Where: The Orchard Room in Runyan Center, on the campus of Earlham College

Free, Childcare provided.

We’re up and running! CEC was recently granted a FuelMeister II which converts ordinary used cooking oil (aka: french fry grease) to useable, clean biodiesel! Stop by to see the new equipment, learn about the process and get the latest about ways we are using it to “green” our daily operations.

Date: Wednesday, May 20th
Time: 5:00-6:00pm
Place: CEC, 4910 Shoemaker Road, Centerville

You're invited to the upcoming Green Energy meeting hosted by the Whitewater Valley Lean Network, April 21, 2009, 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

We’ll start off with an overview of “Green”: what is it, sustainability & global conditions, material use & solid waste mgmt, energy mgmt, chemical waste generation, climate/air emissions mgmt, supply water/wastewater mgmt, environmental business mgmt, and how to develop an action plan.

Then we’ll dive a little deeper and talk about ways to save energy, save money and add sustainability at the same time! We’ll share many success stories - projects implemented by local companies trying to save money and go green. Presenters: Jon Guenin, Purdue MEP, Harry Phillips, RPL, Gus Duke, RPL.  continue reading »

Join us for an informative afternoon that will have benefits for your business. RP&L General Manager Steve Saum will outline rate trends for 2009 in a program starting at 1:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12, in the auditorium at Johnson Hall at Ivy Tech Community College. Following his presentation the program will focus on ways to reduce costs by eliminating wasted energy use—and how to pay capital costs for improvements.

1:30 p.m.—Richmond Power and Light will explain their electric rates for next year. RP&L will also detail its energy audit and cost-reduction services.

2:30 p.m.—Jim Weaver, a consultant who specializes in helping companies identify wasted energy and then find ways to pay for improvements, will explain his program.  continue reading »

CEC to put used cooking oil to work! Will run tractors and mowers on biodiesel produced on the property!

Centerville, Indiana - Cope Environmental Center was recently awarded a grant from the Norcross Wildlife Foundation to purchase a FuelMeister II. This piece of equipment will convert used cooking oil (from restaurant fryers) to biodiesel suitable for use in tractors, lawn mowers, and even vehicles. CEC will be partnering with the local Elks Lodge and Country Club to make this long-awaited effort a reality. “I’m really looking forward to this project and partnership. Hopefully, this will help us both and do something good for the environment at the same time,” said Glen Alexander, General Manager at Elks.  continue reading »

A Premier Educational Event in Indianapolis for Food Consumers, Small Farmers, Gardeners, and Energy Users Who Want A More Sustainable Lifestyle.

This gathering will be a source of information about simpler lifestyles. Locate sources of food that is less processed, grown closer to home, constitutes a healthful diet and supports a clean environment.

Discover options for renewable energy technologies for your home. Watch a demonstration of biofuel production that anyone can do. Mingle with farmers that can supply food from local farms. Network with other like-minded people. Visit our trade show of resources and educational exhibits.  continue reading »

This blog entry is a repository of personal "action items" that I suggest when I give my talk entitled "Going Local: Building a Self-Reliant Richmond, Indiana," first presented in its current form in November, 2007. As I say in the talk:

• You may already know a lot of this stuff
• I don't like telling people how to live, and I very much still aspire to practice some of these things myself, so I don't offer these up with any sort of moral authority
• This can be thought of as a menu of possibilities, rather than a list of imperatives or instructions

If you're not completely sure why it might be a good thing for Richmond to become self-reliant or why these action items might help, then please invite me to give the talk for your group or organization. It's chock full of great information about the energy crisis, climate change, the economy, and the implications for life in Richmond and Wayne County, Indiana. I also tell some jokes.

Now, on to the list, which is largely centered on reducing our dependence on and usage of fossil fuels:  continue reading »

Learn how to live well using far less oil. Hear about tactics for helping your community make the transition. Each year this event attracts hundreds of educators, activists, and community leaders from around the country – including those who are making changes in their own lives.  continue reading »

Whitewater Valley REMC invites member participation in a public hearing to be held at the Union County 4-H Building, 411 Patriot Blvd., Liberty, IN, on July 10, 2007 at 9:00 a.m. The meeting will consider the opportunity for REMC to support net metering, the practice whereby power customers generating their own energy (through alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power) can distribute surplus amounts of that energy back to the larger power grid, and receive financial credit for doing so. Some power companies have been traditionally resistant to this idea but are now considering it more openly. Please come share your thoughts on this important aspect of sustainability and energy independence.

As a part of a series of columns on agribusiness issues, Director of Wayne County Zoning and Planning Steve Higinbotham wrote an article today on the growing local interest in renewable energy sources and solicits feedback from the public on these issues.

The city of Richmond and its plan commission is currently updating its land use ordinances. The discussions have included regulations for wind towers, confined feeding operations and ethanol production facilities. The Wayne County Plan Commission has recently introduced these topics for discussion in its meetings as well. The Richmond/Wayne County Chamber of Commerce agribusiness committee will serve in a capacity to network, educate and address these specific issues. If you have a comment that could play a part in developing land use criteria for Wayne County, please contact any of these organizations, because there is no doubt that what was once old will be new again.

You can read the full article.