Burns Park

The Infrared Camera has Landed!!!

admin — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:01:42 +0000

We have most excellent news. Thanks to an Amazing new partnership with homefreeenergy.com, the BPGEA now has full access to a FLIR Digital Infrared Camera….

Because everything has a surface temperature, the camera allows us to see the variances in those surface temperatures. The variances are represented by different color tones, with the color black representing the coldest temperatures, and the color white representing the hottest temperatures. Any color in the red, orange or yellow hues represents warmth, while colors in the green, purple and blue hues represent cooler temperatures. Here are some examples of Infrared thermal images from homes like ours.

Photographs like this will tell you where your home is losing heat, energy and most importantly, money. By taking some steps to seal gaps and add insulation, you can easily save hundreds if not thousands of dollars a year on your home heating and cooling bills.

We are able to offer Burns Park residents an unheard of deal on a set of Infrared photographs. At a recent Lower Burns Park community meeting with 23 households in attendance, ALL 23 signed up for Infrared thermal scans of their homes.

Still have questions? For much more information and to set up an Infrared “photo shoot”, please email nate@burnsparkgreen.org

Announcing the Burns Park Skill and Tool Share!!

admin — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:13:26 +0000

Hey Neighbors,

We at the BPGEA are very pleased to announce the Burns Park Skill and Tool Share. We created this database after a handful of folks started asking “How can we start spending our money, time, and energy more locally?”
A few more took the question further, wondering “How can we foster a deeper sense of community while highlighting the professions, skills and talents found amongst us”? After doing some research, we realized that many communities were already involved in Skill and Tool shares, and reporting great results.

The format is a simple survey that is taken online. The survey is by community invite only.
On the survey you will find spaces to list your professional skills and personal skills, as well as a place to list the tools you have available to share. Once you submit your survey, it is sent to a private google docs spreadsheet. The spreadsheet (list of participants, skills and tools available) will be posted to our neighborhood group page, and hard copies can be printed for all involved.

In doing our research, we’ve found that communities participating in this kind of collective create stronger neighborhood ties, save a ton of money on home and yard projects, and harbor sincere gratitude for the new skills learned and shared in abundance. We are all teachers and we are all students. In that spirit, we encourage you to share your skills, time, and tools with each other.

For more information, and an invitation to the Skill and Tool Share, email nate@burnsparkgreen.org

Agriculture and the Environment, It’s Our Choice

admin — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 15:58:36 +0000

Farmers claim to be stewards of the environment, some would say it’s best friend; others, its worst enemy. The truth is we can be both.
Humans have never left a small footprint, we have always tried to shape the environment to suit our needs. Initially farming had one purpose, food; farming provided a more stable diet than the hunter-gatherer existence.

As we became more “civilized” our effect on the land became more pronounced and more devastating. We thought the oceans were too vast, the soil too deep and the forests so thick that we could never harm them and, of course, we were wrong. Read the entire article here

A Food Revolution in the Making, from Victory Gardens to the White House Lawn

admin — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 22:39:23 +0000

Today, home gardening is on the rise, but most Americans still know very little about where their food comes from, and even less about how the changes in temperature and precipitation associated with global warming may alter national food production. If you break down the fossil fuel consumption of the American economy by sector, agriculture consumes 19 percent of the total, second only to transportation. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been a concentrated effort to mitigate its impact on the climate. If we want to make significant progress in reducing global warming we will need to wean the American food system off its heavy 20th-century diet of fossil fuel and put it back on a diet of contemporary solar energy. Read Michael Pollan’s entire article here

Oil has Peaked: Now begins the Transition

admin — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:30:02 +0000

As The Oil Drum pointed out last week, oil has peaked. We have officially entered the post-oil age in which the transition to lower energy lives is inevitable. This energy transition can happen gracefully with fore-thought and planning, or, if we continue to consume energy at our current rate, the transition will be brought about faster and meaner than home redecoration by Blackwater. Read the whole article Here

Vancouver City Hall Leads the Way to a Sustainable Future

admin — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 17:29:03 +0000

Vancouver City in B.C., Canada is growing local food … on the grounds of City Hall! The underused green grass lawn is to be converted into a community garden that will grow vegetables for food providers in Vancouver’s inner-city neighbourhoods.

“If we want Vancouver to be a truly sustainable city, City Hall needs to lead the way,” said Mayor Robertson. “By converting part of the City Hall lawn into a community garden, Vancouver is walking the talk when it comes to producing local food.”

Growing food at City Hall is one of the ‘Quick Start’ recommendations from the Greenest City Action Team. The team is looking at innovative solutions that tie economic growth to new technology, green solutions, environmental stewardship and vision.

Next on the city’s list is back yard chicken coops . City staff have been directed to study the issue and draft a bylaw amendment that will be presented to the council for a vote within the next couple of months. Who knows, perhaps homeless hens will soon join the squashes and corn flourishing at City Hall!

Household bills to soar because of climate change, claim scientists

admin — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 18:51:12 +0000

Households face soaring bills because of climate change, scientists have warned in claims that everybody will be hit in their pockets by the changes in global weather.

Article published in the UK’s Telegraph. Read the whole piece here

Burns Park Green to Present at Burns Park PTO Meeting

admin — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 04:30:33 +0000

Long time Burns Park resident and Burns Park Green Energy Association founder Nate Ayers will be speaking to the Burns Park PTO on Thursday, March 19th at 7:00 pm in the school Library. All BP community members are invited to attend what will be a very informative presentation. If you are interested in local sustainability, alternative energy, and community building during troubling economic times, you will not want to miss it.

Topics will include:

Certification for BP Elementary as a “Green School” as designated by the State of Michigan

Home Energy Audits

How the Economic Stimulus can and will affect Burns Park

Reinvesting in local community/local resilience in uncertain economic times

Solar Power in Burns Park

Community based gardens and agriculture

The presentation promises to be educational and inspirational. Tell your neighbors, bring your questions, and get there early to get a good seat!

Nate Ayers on the Lynn Rivers Radio Show

admin — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 04:20:24 +0000

Burns Park Green founder Nate Ayers will be a guest on the Lynn Rivers Radio show on Monday, March 9th at 8:00 am and 6:00 pm. The Lynn Rivers show is heard on 89.1 WEMU

http://www.wemu.org/hosts.php?id=38

Topics for the show will primarily revolve around Transition Towns and the philosophy behind the Transition movement. For more info visit www.transitiontowns.org