Manitowoc Common Council endorses 25x25 Resolution Unanimously

In July 2006, Governor Jim Doyle made an historic announcement, the “Declaration of Energy Independence” which charts a new course for clean energy in Wisconsin. A few months later, in April of 2007, Governor Doyle issued Executive Order 192 creating the Office of Energy Independence (OEI) to lead the state’s effort to advance clean energy and bioproducts. This was the beginning of an effort to become the nation’s leader in the drive toward energy independence, moving us away from our addiction on foreign oil.

The OEI is committed to supporting Wisconsin's goal of generating 25% of its electric power and transportation fuels from renewable resources by 2025, capturing 10% of the emerging bioindustry and renewable energy market by 2030, and leading the nation in groundbreaking research that will make clean energy more affordable and will create good paying Wisconsin jobs.

On April 6, 2009, the City of Manitowoc joined many other communities around the state in its support of the 25x25 endeavor by passing a resolution supported by the Sustainable Manitowoc Committee stating the following:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Mayor and Common Council of the City of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, that the City of Manitowoc hereby declares itself a partner with the State of Wisconsin in pursuit of the “25x25” goals for energy independence, and directs staff to prepare and submit to the Wisconsin Office of Energy Independence for a grant to create an Energy Independent Community 25x25 Plan.

Sustainability Committee Contacted Mayoral Candidates

Hi, Dave and Justin! :-)

I am writing to you on behalf of the Manitowoc Sustainability Committee. We are very excited to get to work making Manitowoc a more sustainable place to live!

We would love to get some feedback from each of you regarding your views on sustainability. As the chair of the committee, I was asked to send you the following three questions. With your permission, I would like to post your answers on the Sustainable Manitowoc blog, which you can find here: http://sustainablemanitowoc.blogspot.com/

Thank you for taking the time to let us know how you stand on these issues:

1. What actions have you personally taken toward becoming more environmentally responsible?
2. Manitowoc is an Eco-Municipality. How do you plan to continue that vision?
3. Do you support the use of taxpayer funding for sustainability projects?

Best Regards,

Jen Glowaski
Chair
Manitowoc Sustainability Committee

President Obama featured Manitowoc's Orion Energy Systems during his Clean Energy Press Conference

Orion President and CEO speaks at the White House about innovation, clean energyPresident Obama talks about Orion Energy Systems and energy-efficiency.

To watch the video of President Obama’s comments, visit here: http://www.oriones.com/

MANITOWOC, Wis. - March 23, 2009 - Orion Energy Systems' (Nasdaq: OESX) President and CEO Neal Verfuerth on Monday participated in a panel discussion at the White House addressing innovation and clean energy.Following the panel, President Barack Obama addressed the media, panelists and those attending the discussion - including venture capitalists, scientists and entrepreneurs - touting clean energy, energy efficiency and his proposed budget that includes $150 billion over 10 years for clean energy and energy efficiency.Obama talked about Manitowoc’s Orion Energy Systems and gave a brief history of the company during his 12-minute speech, which was broadcast live on national news programs, and can be seen on the Orion Web site at http://www.oesx.com/ "Innovators like you (Orion Energy Systems) are creating the jobs that will foster our recovery and creating the technology that will power our long-term prosperity, so I thank you for your work," Obama said. "You are helping us to build a cleaner, brighter future, and stronger, more prosperous economy and my administration and your country will support you in your work. "We face an economic crisis unlike any we've known in a generation. You're helping us overcome this crisis."Orion's direct renewable Apollo(tm) Light Pipe was displayed on stage during the panel and Obama's comments. The Apollo(tm) Light Pipe harvests daylight and focuses it to a facility floor using no electricity. The light-capturing device has been proven to reduce a company's light-related energy costs to zero for up to 10 hours a day.The panel moderator was Van Jones, a special advisor to the President on the White House Council on Environmental Quality and who is helping shape policy to get as many jobs as possible out of President Obama's climate and energy proposals. Jones is the founding president of Green for All, "a national organization dedicated to building an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty," according to Jones' Web site.Orion has deployed its energy management systems in 4,387 facilities across North America. Since 2001, Orion technology has displaced more than 423 megawatts, saving customers more than $514 million and reducing indirect carbon dioxide emissions by 4.3 million tons. Orion's technology was recently internationally recognized with a Platts Global Energy Award for the single most innovative and sustainable green technology of 2008. Orion Energy Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: OESX) is a leading power technology enterprise that designs, manufactures and implements energy management systems, consisting primarily of high-performance, energy-efficient lighting systems, controls and related services for commercial and industrial customers without compromising their quantity or quality of light.

Herald Times Reporter Article http://www.htrnews.com/article/20090324/MAN0101/903240460/1984

Earth Day at UW-Manitowoc

Earth Day 2009

Celebrate Earth Day on
Saturday, April 18, 2009 from 10am—2pm
at UW-Manitowoc Campus, 705 Viebahn Street, Manitowoc
No Cost.

SCHEDULE
11am, Renewable Energy—Wind Energy by Jenny Heinzen and Doug Lindsey of LTC.
NOON: Nature Hike
1pm: $1 a bag Rummage Sale

Drug and Sundry Disposal batteries, old athletic shoes, plastic bags, compact fluorescent bulbs, mercury thermometers, ink/jet printer cartridges and pharmaceuticals will be collected.

Participants include:
Art & About
Bay Lakes Eco Water
Cartridge World
Discovery Farms
Glacial Lakes Conservancy
Go Green Manitowoc
Green Sky Energetics
Lakeshore Natural Resources
Lakeshore Technical College
League of Conservation Voters
Manitowoc Farmers Market
Mtwc. Co. Lakes Association
Mtwc. Co. Recycling Center
Manitowoc Public Utilities
Orion Energy Systems
Rolling Acres Landscaping
Roorbach’s Flowers
Silver Lake College
UW—Manitowoc
Wal-Mart
WI DNR
WI Maritime Museum

For more info: 683-5014
www.manitowocrecycles.org

Teach Your Children Well

Teach your children well about sustainability.

Children who learn to reduce, reuse, recycle and rethink in regards to the resources of our earth will choose to live sustainably.

Guide children so that the ABC’s of sustainability are as natural a part of their consciousness as the ABC’s themselves.

It’s not too early to reinforce “cradle to cradle” thinking while still in the cradle.

Help children to understand the connection between the environment and their actions.

By understanding the current state of the environment, the causes of environmental destruction, and ways to solve these problems kids learn that it is possible and desirable to redesign the world for a sustainable future.

And kids can have fun learning too.

Check out some of these fun resources:

kidsforfuture.net

Pbskids.org/eekoworld

Olliesworld.com

Planetpals.com

Epa.gov/kids

Ecokids.ca

Electrocity.co.nz

kids.nationalgeographic.com/Games/ActionGames/Recycle-roundup

Manitowoc Sustainability Committee

The City of Manitowoc has appointed a Sustainability Committee to advise the Mayor and Common council on implementation of sustainable practices and strategies.
Members of the Committee include:
Paul Braun, Deputy City Planner
Jen Glowaski, Manitowoc Public Utilities
Ryan Holl, Orion Energy Systems
Jenny Heinzen, LTC Wind Tower Program
Kelly Eskew, Woodland Dunes
Sherrie Richards, Manitowoc Farmers Market
Bobbi Schuetze, Manitowoc County Recycling Center
Tony Fodden, Architect
Georgia Lusk, Interested Citizen

This is a great step forward towards the sustainability of sustainability in Manitowoc :-)

Obama Pushes Higher Fuel-Efficiency Standard

In his first major environmental acts as president, Obama directed his Environmental Protection Agency to review a California application to regulate greenhouse gases and told his Department of Transportation to begin implementing fuel efficiency standards passed last year but not implemented by the Bush administration.

Obama, who has consistently urged U.S. automakers to produce more fuel-efficient cars, is likely to accelerate the timeline for raising the nation's corporate average fuel economy for cars and trucks. The Transportation Department guidelines must be issued by April in order to affect the 2011 auto fleet.

Power Alternatives by Steve Prestegard, MarketPlace Magazine

marketplacemagazine.com

Innovation in energy has been part of Manitowoc’s history, dating back to when the city purchased its electric utility. Manitowoc — both the city and its businesses and institutions — is generating its own reputation today for innovation in alternative forms of energy.

"We’re sitting here in Manitowoc where we have a pretty interesting energy cluster," says Manitowoc Mayor Kevin Crawford, who points out that the city purchased Manitowoc Public Utilities ("Power for their people," Marketplace, Feb. 27, 2001) in 1914 "so poor people could have electricity."

Today, Manitowoc is "the only city in Wisconsin that exports 25 megawatts of electricity" per day. MPU’s value has increased from an estimated $50.7 million in 1989 to an estimated $242.9 million in 2008.

The city’s role in renewable energy begins at MPU, where its coal-burning power plant also burns charcoal and paper pellets. MPU and other utilities are required to generate 10 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2015.

Several wind projects are in the works outside Manitowoc ("Wind power’s windfall," Marketplace, Dec. 2, 2008). But Manitowoc is the only city in Wisconsin that now allows wind generation projects up to 400 feet high to be built within the city limits.

"Many local governments busy themselves with political pandering rather than the facts regarding wind power," says Crawford. "This small city’s advocacy that will result in the installation of wind structures on the shore of Lake Michigan will hopefully not only expand our local and state ‘green’ economy, but also change the focus of wind generation discussions by ‘electeds’ from politics to renewable energy policy."

The impact of the wind energy industry extends not just to generating electricity in the Manitowoc area.
"We are home to a major cluster of impressive green manufacturing businesses: Tower Tech, a builder of wind towers; Orion Energy, in the business of energy efficiency and renewables; Manitowoc Cranes, building wind generation erection equipment; and the long list of organizations that support them," says Crawford. "Our location on the Niagara Escarpment coupled with the incredible wind plume generated by Lake Michigan make us not only a great place to build the key components of the wind industry, but also a great place to generate electricity using the wind as well."

The first company to take advantage of the new ordinance will be Orion Energy Systems ("Clean light," Marketplace, March 20, 2007), which will be installing a microturbine at its new corporate headquarters, expected to open in February.

Orion vice president Steve Heins says the company expects to be able to sell electricity back to Manitowoc Public Utilities. Orion’s manufacturing plant uses several of the company’s products and systems. Orion’s corporate headquarters, now under construction next to Orion’s Manitowoc plant, will include a technology management, demonstration and training center.

Lakeshore Technical College in Cleveland has begun a Wind Energy Technology associate-degree program, designed to train installers and repairers of wind turbines. The first class, held last fall, attracted 25 students, 21 of whom are taking the second course this spring.

Lakeshore Tech has had a wind turbine on its campus since 2004. The technical college installed a photovoltaic solar project in 2007, with 70 kilowatt-hours of electricity — or the equivalent of the energy use of seven Northeast Wisconsin homes — generated between the wind turbine and the solar project, according to LTC officials.

The wind project, intended only as a demonstration, sparked the interest of an LTC student who wanted to work with its maintenance crew. Doug Lindsey, LTC’s dean of agriculture, apprenticeships, trade and industry, says the technical college created a one-credit course for the student.

Since a photo was taken of the student on Lakeshore Tech’s tower and the photo was transmitted to newspapers and Web sites via The Associated Press, "the phone still hasn’t stopped ringing," says Lindsey.
Twenty-five students took the first Wind Energy Technology course this past fall. Twenty-one of those students are moving on to the program’s second course this spring, in which students climb up a wind turbine for the first time. Another 10 to 12 students will be taking the introductory class of the 2½-year program this spring, Lindsey says.

LTC also is working with wind turbine manufacturers on training for the manufacturers’ employees. Lakeshore Tech first worked with Gamesa, a Spanish manufacturer with facilities near Milwaukee, on Occupational Safety and Health Administration training. The technical college now is working with Vestas, the Danish wind turbine manufacturer, to get two wind turbine sections for safety instruction and training, Lindsey says.

A study of wind power’s economic effects from the U.S. Department of Energy estimates the creation of 12 construction jobs and 34 operations jobs for every 100 megawatts of new wind energy construction. The same study estimates $296,000 of wages of construction workers and $1.23 million of operations wages for every 100 megawatts of new construction.

"The calculations would have us with well over 100,000 jobs in wind energy by 2030," says Lindsey.
Lakeshore Tech also is working with Northeast Wisconsin Technical College on a new nuclear technology program, funded by a $1 million three-year U.S. Department of Labor grant. The grant makes tuition free to students.

Lindsey says LTC is moving ahead on creating a photovoltaic-energy certification program. The college’s campus will have an interactive kiosk, duplicated on its Web site, www.gotoltc.edu, to show the amount of energy the college’s wind and photovoltaic plants are generating.

Both the wind energy and the nuclear programs include classes taught in LTC’s Electro-Mechanical Technology associate-degree program.

"It makes a bold statement about our community — I think Manitowoc is well planned to be the epicenter of renewable energies," says Crawford, who is leaving office in April after 20 years as Manitowoc’s mayor. "We’ve got amazingly skilled people, the shops that are necessary — it’s the right place. If you want to hang around inventive people who are working in this area already, they’re already here in Manitowoc."

Writer Lee Marie Reinsch contributed to this story.

Lt. Governor Lawton: Green Entrepreneurship Series Launched at UW-Madison

MADISON - Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton today announced that for this spring semester, the Business, Environment and Social Responsibility (BESR) Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business will offer “Sustainability Meets Entrepreneurship,” a Friday forum series designed to provide UW students and members of the community access to experts on clean technology and alternative energy.

“This new program will give bright entrepreneurs both the vision and tools they need to develop innovative strategies to address the opportunities of developing a green economy,” said Lawton. “Local economic growth and job creation begins with sustainable development. I applaud our UW-Madison School of Business and the campus’s Wiscontrepreneur initiative for targeting green innovators ready to grow new businesses right here.”

The forum series was motivated and inspired by Lawton’s Green Economy Agenda, an agenda to empower smart individual and institutional action related to energy, water and climate change while strengthening Wisconsin’s competitive position in a global economy

“I am approached again and again by people wanting to start up a clean tech or alternative energy business,” said Lawton, who will be the presenter at the Friday, March 27 forum. ”Now they can learn from green business experts who will share their experience – stories of the challenges they’ve met, trends they see and the successes they’ve realized in this growing sector. We want Wisconsin’s entrepreneurs poised to take advantage of the opportunities that can come with a new president who is committed to driving green-collar jobs creation.”

The “Sustainability Meets Entrepreneurship” forums are free and open to the public. However, seating is limited and individuals must register at the following link if they want to attend:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=ptMGgmekZufxXmambvPG_dQ

“We are thankful for Lt. Governor Lawton bringing this idea to UW-Madison’s Wiscontrepreneur initiative, who in turn engaged Dr. Xun Pan, Assistant Professor of Bioenergy and Bioproducts Engineering in the Dept. of Biological Systems Engineering, and the BESR program,” said program co-director Tom Eggert. “We want to highlight some of our amazing entrepreneurs and offer them up as models for others that are seeking to address some of the challenges we are facing while also providing jobs and making money. This community forum is unique in the way it brings the community together with the professionals and students to hear from green business experts and start a dialogue.”
The first community forum is scheduled for Friday, January 30 at noon. UW-Madison professors Tom Eggert and Xuejun Pan will be providing a broad overview about cleantech and alternative energy companies, on-going research, and future opportunities. The forum will be held in 5120 Grainger Hall on the UW-Madison campus. Lunch will be provided.

Subsequent forums will be held on the following Fridays: February 13, February 27, March 13, March 27 (Lt. Governor Lawton), and April 17. Interested individuals will need to register for each of these forums separately at the above internet address.

The BESR forum is part of the Wiscontrepreneur Initiative, made possible in part by a grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and administered by the UW-Madison Office of Corporate Relations. Additional support is provided by the MGE Foundation.

For more information on Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton’s Green Economy Agenda please visit: www.ltgov.wisconsin.gov and click on the “Green Economy Agenda” button.

Dr. Stephen Chu named Energy Secretary

Nobel Prize winning physicist Dr. Stephen Chu was appointed Energy Secretary by President-Elect Obama. Dr Chu is a leader in the field of combating climate change using scientific methods.

WI Climate Change Summit

Team Manitowoc attended the Wisconsin Climate Change Summit at UW-Stevens Point hosted by Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton.

Members of Team Manitowoc included:

Ryan Holl, Orion Energy Systems

Mayor Kevin Crawford

Tina Prigge, Go Green Coordinator

Sherrie Richards, Farm Market Coordinator

Georgia Lusk, Citizen Representative

Paul Braun, Deputy City Planner

Kelly Eskew, Woodland Dunes Education Coordinator

Tony Fodden, Citizen Representative

Students Advocate for Going Green

Dear Mr.Crawford,

We think there is a serious problem in our town with the plastic bags. Did you know that about 500 billion plastic bags are consumed each year and only 1% is recycled? The plastic bags get blown when it storms and get caught on animals. The animals can get seriously injured or even die.

We think our city can protect our environment and ban plastic bags. People should begin using cloth bags; doing this will help save money. If we ban plastic bags, more people will want to visit or live in the green city of Manitowoc.

We need to help our environment before it is too late.

Sincerely
Katie, Madde and Colten
5th Graders in Mrs. Jacobson’s homeroom class
from Stangel Elementary School

Students Advocate for Going Green

Dear Mayor Crawford,

Hi! Our names are Larz Luchterhand and Bryce Newberg. We are writing this to you because we saw a slide show about plastic bags. Our class learned a lot about the bags and how bad they are for the environment.
San Francisco and other cities have banned plastic bags. We also learned that if people stop using plastic bags, we could save 1,000,000,000 bags in our lifetime.
And Bryce and I think we should use battery-charged cars and windmills. I also think we should use solar-powered panels to create energy.
Manitowoc should ban plastic bags. Doing this will help the environment and make our city green.


Sincerely,
Bryce and Larz 5th graders in Mrs. Jacobson’s homeroom class at Stangel School!

Students Advocate for Going Green

October 8, 2008

Dear Mayor Crawford,

It has come to my attention that we need to “Go Green.” Manitowoc may be clean, but we can make it cleaner. My idea is to ban plastic bags in Manitowoc. This will also save money for grocery and clothing stores. If we ban plastic bags, other cities in Wisconsin may, too. We can make Wisconsin a better place to live.

Together we can Manitowoc shine!

Sincerely,
Patrick Yetter
Fifth Grade Student
Mrs. Jacobson’s Homeroom
Stangel Elementary

Webbased Clearinghouse for Sustainability and Eco-Municipality Related Information

Great news!!
It is now that much easier to locate information about the ongoing statewide sustainability efforts.
Thanks to the UW Extension Sustainability Team, they have just launched a web-based Sustainable Communities Capacity Center at http://www2.uwsuper.edu/sustainability/index.htm. While it is still a work in progress, it promises to be a valuable collective resource.

Here is the launch message:


The University of Wisconsin-Extension Sustainability Team announces the launch of its "Sustainable Communities Capacity Center" website. The intent of this website, by providing access to educational materials and resources, is to expand the capacity of communities to explore, understand, create, implement, evaluate, and share sustainability strategies.

The web link is: http://www2.uwsuper.edu/sustainability/.

While the capacity center is a work in progress, one topic that received priority emphasis is the "Eco-Municipality" portion of the site. To date, twenty-one local governments in Wisconsin have passed "eco-municipality" resolutions. In these resolutions, they endorse the Natural Step framework, which is a systems- and science-based sustainability planning and decision-making guide, and they agree to apply it, whenever possible, to their planning, policy making, and municipal practices.

Wisconsin has the largest concentration of such "eco-municipalities" of any state in the country. They are located throughout the state and range in size from small towns to larger cities and counties. During two gatherings in April of this year, representatives from these communities and others interested in community sustainability encouraged the Sustainability Team and UW-Extension to provide a resource or capacity center to document and support these efforts. This site is a response to that request.
The team is fully engaged in efforts to expand the content of the capacity center and encourages you to check back regularly. All feedback and content suggestions are appreciated.

Feel free to contact either of the team co-chairs.
Jerry Hembd, Team Co-chair, jhembd@uwsuper.edu
Jay Moynihan, Team Co-chair, jay.moynihan@ces.uwex.edu

World Bottle: A Brick that Holds Beer

An eco-design well ahead of its time. A beer bottle designed in the shape of an interlocking brick to reduce waste and provide building materials. Drink Heineken, build with the empties. How this concept never managed to take off, is beyond me. With any luck more companies will consider reusable packaging that benefits the earth.

http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/10/11/heineken-wobo-the-brick-that-holds-beer/

Check out this article at Vestal Designs: http://www.vestaldesign.com/blog/2006/07/heineken-beer-bricks/

A 1950s design for stackable beer bottles was the brainchild of Alfred Heineken, of beer fame.
As the story goes, Heineken was strolling along by the sea in Jamaica, and was shocked at the number of beer bottles littering the beach. He was also concerned with the lack of cheap building materials, and at the resulting living conditions for the poor. Putting two and two together, he envisioned a “World Bottle” which would be imported for drinking but kept for construction.
A 10’ x 10’ shack would take approximately 1000 bottles to build, but the Jamaican tourist industry would likely supply plenty. In addition, glass (and air) are good insulators, though the humid and hot Jamaican climate may not require insulation per se. A unique feature was that the short bottle neck would fit into a depression in the bottom of each bottle. Ultimately though, the idea was either (according to different accounts) voted down by the Heineken board, or vetoed by the bottle companies and the customers. Not much information is available on the World Bottle today, but there have been other attempts to make interlocking “bottle bricks”, even of plastic.

Here's more commentary, "Legos for Adults"!! http://www.designverb.com/2007/11/10/heineken-world-bottle-beer-to-bricks/

Sister-State Chiba Prefrecture's Green Effort

Gaylord Nelson Quotes

If we continue to address the issue of the environment where we live as though we're the only species that lives here, we'll create a disaster for ourselves.

In the state of Wisconsin it's mandated that teachers in the social sciences and hard sciences have to start giving environmental education by the first grade, through high school.

Loads of chemicals and hazardous wastes have been introduced into the atmosphere that didn't even exist in 1948. The environmental condition of the planet is far worse than it was 42 years ago.

The most important environmental issue is one that is rarely mentioned, and that is the lack of a conservation ethic in our culture.

We must recognize that we're all part of a web of life around the world. Anytime you extinguish a species, the consequences are serious.

If we eat the goose that lays the golden eggs, there will be no gold in the future.

FOR MORE GREAT QUOTES ABOUT OUR ENVIRONMENT: http://www.epa.gov/Region2/library/quotes.htm

We Can Be the Change the World Needs -- Paul Linzmeyer

At a recent Great Lake Gatherings http://www.gatheringwaters.org/wilandtrusts_greatlakegatherings.php Paul Linzmeyer gave an insightful presentation regarding the importance of sustainability right now, every day. He talked about the troika of sustainability PEOPLE - PLANET - PROFITS.

PEOPLE: Happiness~over the past 30 years happiness levels have decreased even though amount of possessions (stuff) has increased. A spiritual relationship with the land is essential to happiness.

PLANET: Clean air and water are essential. How do our actions affect other parts of the system? What are we doing to contribute to society? Places to recreate, relax and reconnect with nature are paramount. "Never forget our true relationship with nature." - Linzmeyer

PROFITS: Strong economies are built on a diverse population of talented people. We must learn as a society to live within our means and resist the temptation of over-consumption. Business - Government - NGO together will drive the change to sustainability. Recognize the value in collaboration. Great Lakes Region excels at manufacturing and is home to excellent educational institutions. Incubate water technolgoy and green tech jobs.

WE CAN BE THE CHANGE THE WORLD NEEDS.


The late, great Paul Newman said, "Too often it's about winning and not the moral, ethical action."

KOHL's - Manitowoc

Happy to report that KOHL's Manitowoc located in HarborTown is now OPEN and the new store is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified, illustrating Kohl's commitment to environmental, green initiatives!