Fresh AIRE

Join Al Gore's Fight for Climate Change

The We Campaign is an effort founded by former Vice President Al Gore – a campaign started to help bring awareness to climate change (a campaign we’ve discussed in this blog previously).  As I am sure many of you know, the former Vice President has long been a leader in the fight against global warming.  And earlier today, the We Campaign held an event in DC which included a speech by former Vice President Al Gore.  The speech included a portion in which Gore issued an “unprecedented challenge” to politicians as to solving the climate crisis. Check out the details on their website. He hopes to change how the public views and thinks about energy and the effects of the climate crisis on the American economy.  The event will certainly be history making and former Vice President Al Gore may change the American landscape from this moment on.  For more information on the event and the Web Campaign, visit www.wecansolveit.org.

Nate Kresh, Intern with Arlington County and Student at Washington-Lee High School

Eat, Drink & Be Merry...& Talk about Science!

I just learned about a group called Cafe Scientifique Arlington and an upcoming event that is worth sharing:

WHAT: Keeping the lights on and holding electricity cost as low as possible

WHEN: Tuesday, June 3rd — 6:30-8:00PM

WHERE: The Front Page Restaurant, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA,
Located near Ballston Metro on the ground floor of the NSF building. Parking is available under the NSF building or at Ballston Common Mall.

WHO: Dr. Martin Lowery, Executive Vice President, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association 

HOW: Short presentation, followed by Q&A.  No science background required!    Free and open to the public.  Register online here!

ABOUT THE TOPIC: Exploration of ways that technology is helping to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions, what timelines and scenarios are workable in the present regulatory and political climate, and what are constraints and barriers. Discussions of ways that individuals can help address and solve energy challenges.

ABOUT THE CONCEPT: Cafe Scientifique flourished first in the U.K. as a way for the public and scientists to mingle and discuss science issues in an informal setting. 

ABOUT THIS CAFE: The Ballston Science and Technology Alliance, a nonprofit organization, is the sponsor of Café Scientifique Arlington. Since April 2006, the goal of Café Scientifique has been to make science more accessible and accountable by featuring speakers whose expertise spans the sciences and who can talk in plain English. Café is generally held each month on the first Tuesday, at the Front Page in Arlington. 

For more information contact Kaye Breen, kbreen@arlingtonva.us or visit www.arlingtonvirginiausa.com/bsta

Earth Day is April 22nd!

Get your green ready...Earth Day is coming up next week!  April 22nd marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970 and has ever since been declared Earth Day.

We encourage the entire Arlington community to think about things they can do, big and small, to be more environmentally conscious and aware this Earth Day - and every day. There are loads of events taking place on Earth Day and the days leading up Earth Day - come out and network with fellow Arlingtonians.  One such event is taking place tomorrow, April 19th, at Ballston Common Mall.  The mall is celebrating Earth Day with give-aways and information to help educate, promote, and encourage all of us to be better stewards of the environment. 

And for your reading pleasure, check out these sites for more about the fabulous holiday:

• Earth Day Network
• EarthDay.gov
• ENERGY STAR & ENERGY STAR Giving Tree campaign
• Earth Day background from Wikipedia

Happy celebrating!

Turn out the Lights!

It’s just four days away…Earth Hour 2008.  As part of Fresh AIRE, Arlington is urging employees, local businesses and residents to participate in Earth Hour – a worldwide initiative to combat global warming – on Saturday, March 29th at 8 PM.  Individuals, businesses, and entire cities around the world will turn out the lights for one hour from 8 PM to 9PM to take action against global warming.  You can be part of the solution by turning off your lights - wherever you are – on Saturday, March 29th at 8 PM for just one hour.  Together, we make an even greater impact! When Earth Hour was unveiled last year in Sydney, Australia, the city reduced its energy consumption by a whopping 10.2% - that’s equivalent to taking 48,000 cars off the road for a year. Tens of thousands have already committed!  Learn more and make your commitment to turn out the lights today at www.earthhour.org. 

Green It Arlington! Event Series Begins Next Week

Green It Arlington! is a series of workshops to help you make environmentally friendly choices for home, work, and community. The series starts next week!

Eco-Friendly Remodeling on a Budget

Monday, March 24th, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Would you like to make your next home remodel green? Not a millionaire? Don’t despair! Many green building and design choices are available within a fixed remodeling budget. Paybacks include improved health, operating savings, and a safer environment. Join green architect Marta Layseca and homeowner Rob Drucker as they talk about smart tradeoffs and healthy choices they made for a successful green remodel in Arlington. Information about Arlington County’s Green Home Choice program will be provided.

Arlington Central Library

1015 N. Quincy Street, Arlington

*Virginia Square Stop on Metro Orange line

Free. No reservations required.

For more information contact Stella Tarnay, Manager, Arlington County Green Home Choice Program, Starnay@arlingtonva.us or 703-228-4792.

DailyCandy on the Environment (Films!)

I admit it, I do subscribe to DailyCandy. Most days I don't have time to even open the email -- really. But this day, I did open the DailyCandy Weekend Guide and hit an environmental goldmine. The first thing they list is the upcoming D.C. Environmental Film Festival. On the website, you can view green short films online, find out about green filmaking, join forums and more -- it's way cool. Here are the festival details, from DailyCandy:

What: The annual screening of enviro flicks on topics ranging from melting ice caps to dwindling resources to endangered animals.
Why: Monkey see, monkey do.
When: Now through March 22.
Where: Various locations. Schedule online at dcenvironmentalfilmfest.org.

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--Jennifer K. Smith
Arlington County

TONIGHT: ACE Hosts Local Changes, Global Impact

Join the Fresh AIRE team tonight, March 6th from 7-9:30 p.m. for Local Changes, Global Impact - Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment's (ACE) 30th annual meeting - at the Hilton Arlington at Ballston Metro. Learn about easy ways to green your life, protect the environment, and even save a little green, too with exhibitors like Energy Star and Zipcar.

Think you might be Arlington's greenest resident or live in the greenest neighborhood? The meeting also marks the start of the 2008 Green Living Challenge. So start replacing those incandescent light bulbs with CFLs and learn how to make your home even more energy efficient to rack up the points and win the title.

The greening of my condo building

The AIRE team's "Greening Your Condo Association" seminars and outreach are bearing fruit! Some enterprising folks from my condo building in Clarendon organized a Green Fair, held last night.

What fun! They proved that learning how to go green can be educational and fun, too! When I walked into the building last night after work, the lobby was abuzz. The booths and displays included several of my Arlington County colleagues, who brought CFL demos (and gave away free bulbs) and useful info on recycling, how to buy green power, etc.

Other booths included green-grown wine and coffee (free samples - yum!), a green cleaning service,  Arlington's new "Car-Free Diet," and more. Our building engineer even had a little display! The festive atmosphere made for lively conversation and a fun, communal spirit.

Folks seemed to be very interested in learning how to recycle more and got all sorts of good, practical advice from Jan Guastaferro of our County recycling team. We do recycle in our building, so we're off to a good start, and we can do more. What are other condo buildings doing?

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Diana Sun is Director of Communications for Arlington County, a walking commuter, a new bicylist, and a happy resident of the urban village of Clarendon.

Saving the Environment at the Hospital -- and More

Two things I want to share in this posting -- a little story about my recent hospital visit and some cool events coming up:

Saving the Enviroment at the Hospital
Yesterday, I was at Virginia Hospital Center for a routine check-up. Before the exam, I had to remove my clothes and put them in a large plastic bag the hospital provided. As I was waiting along with several other people, I noticed the trashcan was full of these (used) plastic bags. It occurred to me -- what a waste! It didn't seem the bags were made from recycled materials ... the bags themselves weren't being recycled ... and the hospital was clearly using many, many bags each day.

As I sat there thinking through all this plastic bag stuff, an extremely pleasant manager came by and asked me if I'd like some coffee. (Sidenote: I've had great customer service experiences at the hospital and think it's a fantastic facility.) I declined the coffee but decided I'd take the opportunity to pitch my cause about the bags. I asked if the hospital could explore other options ... Could the hospital recycle the plastic bags they currently use? Could they switch to plastic bags made from recycled materials? Or could they switch to bags made from recycled paper? Are there more environmentally friendly options or processes? The manager I'd cornered was interested (and said she'd heard other concerns in the past) -- she also promised to pass along my feedback to the higher ups. The morale of the story: Take every opportunity to look around you and think about how the situation could be different -- how things could be improved or changed to result in a positive impact on our environment.

P.S. If you have kids, you might want to check out "The Magic School Bus" Holiday Special DVD that's all about how recycling helps save the Earth. We checked it out from the Arlington Public Library I watched it last night with my 4-year-old, Carter, and though she didn't "get" it all, she understood enough and loved it!

Good Events Coming Up
May 19: Solar Open House
May 17: A Sense of Wonder — A One-Woman Play about Rachel Carson (supposed to be awesome!)
May 23: Green Kitchens and Bathrooms (good one of you're thinking about remodeling)

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Jennifer K. Smith, 17-year resident of Arlington,
Arlington County communications mgr. (& AIRE blog manager)