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It's Energy Awareness Month!
Join our social networks today to find out how you can save electricity.
Make a tax-deductible donation TODAY using our convenient, online form
and
your credit card.
Discover the environmental impact of your donation using our Benefits Calculator,
find out your vehicle's Carbon Footprint or Green Up your event.
In this issue:
NC GreenPower events!
NC GreenPower has a number of opportunities to educate North Carolina citizens on our program.
We hope you'll sign up today to be an NC GreenPower volunteer Speakers Bureau member!
Email the Green Team at: speaker@ncgreenpower.org to sign up for event updates.
NC GreenPower is a part of more than 100 events each year. Thinking about volunteering
as a member
of our Speakers Bureau? Visit our events calendar and sign up to volunteer today.
We offer free trainings throughout the year and across the state.
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Did you know?
In the United States, an estimated 5-10% of residential electricity is used as “phantom” power. According to the Department of Energy, that wasted 5% amounts to an annual energy loss of 64 million megawatt-hours of electricity — an amount of energy equivalent to the output of 18 typical power stations and at a cost of over $3 billion. If we could stop the use of all that “phantom” power, we could keep 100 billion pounds of CO2 out of Earth’s atmosphere each year.
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Stop by and see us at the State Fair!
Volunteer spots filled up quickly this year in advance of the 2010 NC State Fair (October 14-24). The mission of the Green NC exhibit, located across near Gate 11, is to use informative and interactive experiences to demonstrate energy efficient and sustainable practices in an entertaining environment.
You can learn about sustainable agriculture, water quality and conservation, recycling, alternative fuels and eco-friendly living. Interact with environmental organizations, learn about “green” topics through hands on activities and participate in a Green Pledge Scavenger Hunt. Scavenger hunt participants will attend a Green NC stage show, answer environmental questions and make “green” pledges, and as a reward for exploring ways to make North Carolina a little greener, earn a prize!
Open daily from 9 a.m. to 9:45 p.m.
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Upcoming Community Events
Announcing Triangle Business Journal's Green Awards & Expo!
Don't miss this year's awards luncheon and expo recognizing those in the Triangle who have successfully incorporated environmentally sustainable practices into their businesses and in their communities.
Embassy Suites in Cary
201 Harrison Oaks Blvd
Cary, NC 27513
October 19, 2010
Expo: 10:00AM - Noon, 1:30 - 2:00PM
Awards: 11:30AM - 1:30PM
Expo booths available starting at just $325! Go here to register: tbjevents.com/green
- The expo is free to attend but does not include lunch and the awards program
The RSVP deadline is October 12, 2010. No refunds after the deadline date. Any questions should be directed to Becky Sandefur at bsandefur@bizjournals.com or 919.327.1004.
Read more: Green Awards & Expo - Triangle Business Journal
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The Charlotte Business Journal and the Charlotte Chapter of the US Green Building Council will be recognizing those who are going green!
Charlotte Convention Center
501 S. College Street
Charlotte, NC 28202
October 12, 2010
Networking: 8:00 AM - 8:30 AM
Panel discussions: 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Expo: 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM
Awards: NOON - 1:15 PM
The event will honor those in the Charlotte area who make efforts to incorporate environmentally sustainable practices into their businesses and community work. By doing so, they show others how to strengthen the environmental health of our region.
Reserve your booth today to showcase your sustainable products and services! For more information, call Frank Harlow at 704-973-1136 or email fharlow@bizjournals.com
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October 13, 2010
Seminars: 8:00 AM - noon
Luncheon: Noon - 1:30 PM
Expo: 1:30PM - 7:00 PM
Hilton, downtown Wilmington
The Green Living Conference & Expo is a one-day event for individuals and businesses interested in green trends and lifestyles. The event includes a free expo, seminars, a keynote lunch and the Visions of Green Wilmington awards. Click here for more information and registration.
The Expo will feature a range of companies, organizations and other local groups that help people live and work in a green way. For information on how to become a GREEN LIVING sponsor or exhibitor, contact Sales Manager Judy Budd at (910) 343 8600 x212 or JBudd@WilmingtonBiz.com.
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Please help us spread the word…
  
Charlotte Green Team Meeting and 2010 Vendor Fair
Charlotte Convention Center- Crown Ballroom
501 South College Street
Charlotte, NC
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Meeting - 3:00-4:15 p.m.
Vendor Fair - 4:15-6:00 p.m.
*Visit us at www.charlottegreenteam.com for more details.
Application deadline is October 20th.
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Green up!
This month we bring you 10 tips for going green on Halloween!
Who says Halloween has to be unhealthy? And who says healthy can't be fun? Green Halloween® is about making Halloween happy and healthy and about creating community traditions we can all be proud of. Halloween is meant to be enjoyed, but somewhere in between “planning” and “cleanup,” many parents find themselves feeling overwhelmed. It might seem that attempting to consider the Earth while planning a great ghoulish party is just too much work and way too expensive. Some fear it might even zap the fun right out of the day. But creating an eco-savvy Halloween doesn't have to be scary, nor does it have to cost an arm and a leg when you follow these pointers:
- Consider your costumes. The truth is, many store-bought costumes and accessories contain toxic chemicals that not only are a potential hazard to your child, but also to the environment and the
people who helped to make them. Choose fabrics such as cotton, wool and silk or make costumes yourself from materials you know to be safe.
- Go au natural. When decorating your home for Halloween, skip the plastic black cats and paper skeleton streamers made in China. Instead, use décor inspired by Mother Earth by choosing fallen leaves, gourds or pumpkins, and 100% beeswax candles.
- Trim your trick-or-treats. Simply hand out less! Preferably your goodies of choice are healthy and/or Earth-friendly, but even if they're not, handing out just one (rather than the conventional handful) of something is better for kids, better for the planet and better for your bank account.
- Apply the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) to all of your holiday choices: costumes, décor, goodies, etc. Of the 3 R's, reducing is the best for the Earth, our wallets and, in regard to food, our waistlines. Rent, borrow, make or acquire used, when possible, to avoid buying new, especially disposables.
- Choose eek-o-décor. Say "no" to disposables and instead, re-use or re-purpose items you already own. Look also for items from nature and don't forget to decorate with food (consumable décor). If you must use disposables, look for products that are compostable and then be sure to compost them. Or, choose recycled, reusable and recyclable items like Preserve products.
- Go kid-powered. Give your child a shakable or hand crank flashlight to light the way.
- Love LEDs. Use decorative Halloween LED and/ or solar lights for trees, outside of your home, and for lighting the path for trick-or-treaters. They come in every shape, theme and color imaginable!
- Bag it, green style. Instead of buying, make your child's goodie bag from a pillow case or anything else you already own that goes with the theme of the costume. Or, purchase a keepsake, reusable Green Halloween® trick-or-treat ChicoBag™. (10% of the sales support the Green Halloween initiative.)
- Get creative. Turn costume making into a creative and fun experience for your child. Hunt through the house, at neighborhood garage sales, or a thrift store for costume-worthy items. Enjoy the process and the product!
- Switcheroo. Instead of allowing your child to eat all the candy he collects, ask him to select a limited, pre-agreed upon amount and then leave the rest out for the Halloween Fairy/ Witch/ Great Pumpkin, who will, while your child is sleeping that night, swap the candy for goodies such as books, games or “pumpkin points” redeemable for outings.
Learn more! For more great tips and tricks sign up for the e-newsletters from www.GreenHalloween.org and www.celebrategreen.net. And don't forget to buy a copy of Celebrate Green!. It features ideas, recipes, crafts, gift suggestions and more. Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are mother and daughter founders of Green Halloween® and co-authors of Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family.
Look for these tips and MORE online - just click below to join one of our social networks!
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Featured Solar PV generator
Through the SECU Foundation, State Employees' Credit Union members have partnered with NC GreenPower on various initiatives including the funding of 1 kWh of Renewable Energy on behalf of each SECU member, or 1,500,000 kWh of green electricity annually for four years. Combined with your personal energy conservation, NC GreenPower helps you create a cleaner and greener environment.
SECU member Suzy Lawrence of Chapel Hill, NC is an NC GreenPower supporter, volunteer and also a solar PV generator (one who converts light into electricity), which helps lessen pollution, lessen greenhouse gases and provide more renewable energy to the power grid in North Carolina. Ms. Lawrence has a 4.8kw solar PV system in her home, as well as a solar hot water system. When she first built her house 14 years ago, she designed it as a solar passive house. She notes, "On sunny days in the winter, the sun warms up my house and from midmorning until evening the electric heat pump rarely turns on. We have brick red concrete floors in the living/dining area, which absorb the sun in winter and provide some radiant heat. We also had extra insulation blown into the attic this spring to cut down on heating and cooling costs and have replaced the majority of our light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs." Her solar PV system should pay for itself within 10 years, thanks to Federal and State tax incentives available up to 35% and her NC GreenPower incentive payments.
For SECU members like Suzy Lawrence who are interested in home energy improvements that have an Energy Star rating or that qualify for Federal or State tax credits, the Credit Union offers a Green Second Mortgage loan. Stop by or call your local branch, contact the SECU Call Center at 1-888-732-8562 or visit www.ncsecu.org for more information on how you can utilize SECU's Green Second Mortgage for energy efficient improvements.
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