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Cleaner energy, lower emissions; Regional plan aims for

 By RICHIE DAVIS Recorder Staff Published: Friday, October 26, 2007 Regional planners took their first look Thursday night at a draft plan to cut the Pioneer Valley's energy use and greenhouse gas emissions while siting new ''clean energy'' generation. The Pioneer Valley Clean Energy Plan, proposed by the Franklin Regional Council of Governments and Pioneer Valley Planning Commission sets four broad gals: Cutting the region's total energy demand back to 2000 levels by...

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Put Your Laundry Outside to Dry

It's one of the easiest ways to conserve energy, lower your utility bills, and keep your house from heating up:  hang your laundry out to dry. But did you know that many communities ban laundry lines?  Winnipeg Free Press published this story about speaking out for Laundry Line Rights. Ever since dryer sheets took the place of the summer breeze, clotheslines seemed to have gone the way of the porch radio — quaint traditions of previous generations, now confined to black-and-white...

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More About Mow Don’t Grow

Piyali, who appears in our Mow Don't Grow series wrote: “Originally from Calcutta, India, I was actually once a lover of city life. Years back, I came to the US to study English literature, but  at this point in my life, sustainability and fun are my passions.  I now avoid cities like the plague and live in a small town in western Massachusetts with my (former farmer) husband and six-year-old son. I'm taking courses toward a nursing degree and am quite content muddling around at...

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October 20 is Lights Out San Francisco

Activists in San Francisco are gearing up for a city-wide energy-saving event.  From 8 to 9pm on Saturday, October 20th, all non-essential lights will be turned off and they're hoping the entire city will participate.For more information on “1-night, 1-hour and 1-bulb” go to www.lightsoutsf.org Plus, March 29, 2008 will be Lights Out...

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Video Transcript: Taking Your Bike Makes a Big Difference

Transcript copyright earththrives.com Chris Mason: Massachusetts drivers annually produce 24 million tons of carbon monoxide.  That’s the equivalent of filling up 24 million blimps every year upon every year upon every year– comes out of our tail pipes of our cars and into the air–is causing our world to warm up and the climate to change.  James Lowenth: Every gallon of gas burned in a car causes about 20 pounds of CO2 to be emitted into the atmosphere. So I figure by not driving...

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Video Transcript: The Gas Money Jar

Transcript copyright earththrives.com Beth:  One day a week I pick the boys up at the school. I would always walk over there.  It’s about a half mile from where I teach over to their school, and I would walk. The days I showed up, Eliot would say as soon as he saw me–just frown and grown and moan and complain at me–and I was just tired of it. So I said I am not the only one who’s going to walk and pick them up. So I got Garrett to say, “Okay,  yeah, we can walk.”  So we walk home...

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Video Transcript: Ride Your Bike the Way You’d Drive Your Car

Transcript copyright earththrives.com Gina:  I took a bike safety course.  The most important things that I took away from the class was being confident on the road and not being scared of cars. If you are in a place with a lot of cars on the road and you’re very clear about what you’re doing and you drive your bike as if you would drive your car and follow the rules of the road then they know to expect. James:  A couple of very important rules on the road: very, very simple rules of the road...

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Video Transcript: Good Talks While Riding with My Kids

Transcript copyright earththrives.com Gina:  One of the things I like best about riding my bike with my children because they seem to have so much fun riding and I really have to talk to them on the ride. Things we notice as we ride along–the cars, the people, the smells–that we would completely miss if we were in a car. (They get ready to go for a bike ride.) Gina: How are your brakes? Son: They're fine. Gina: Yours seem to be ok. Youngest son: That’s because of last time when...

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October 15 was Blog Action Day

Earth Thrives is working hard to combine the grass-roots of environmental change with a world reach.  The heroes you see are local, but here on the web, we hope people all over the world will find inspiration in our videos. There's another similiar movement happening in the blogosphere.  Yesterday, October 15th, was Blog Action Day.  And the action item?  You guessed it, the Environment. Go check out their site for more information and browse through over 19,000 bloggers who all wrote...

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Earth Thrives Launches New Site

We liked our last site, but we love this one: Check out our new Video Gallery where every episode is one easy click away. We've added a new section, It's Easy Being Green, where we'll share tips for going green the easy way. Head down to More About Local Heroes for additional resources on each of our series of videos. Plus, stay current on events, and submit information on your own green events, with our Calendar...

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