By chipping away at our waste line and energy consumption, we hope our local efforts are joining a larger, worldwide movement.
Tag: solar power
It’s Not That Simple: Where should solar power installations be sited?
This column is a companion to the WSBS radio call-in show, “It’s Not That Simple.” Every other Friday at 9:05 we will discuss and dissect issues that the citizens of Great Barrington are talking about. Click here to listen to a podcast of last week’s show. * * * Have you ever
Of plastic bottles and ‘marijuana wars’: a Great Barrington year in review
2018 has provided enough Great Barrington news to keep journalists busy and observers of town politics highly amused, signaling that the community dubbed “best small town in America” by Smithsonian Magazine continues to be a place in transition.
Egremont Country Club eyed for large solar array, causing great concern from neighbors
The commissioners emphasized that, at the moment, there is no proposal. And besides, their charge was a narrow one: to interpret and enforce the state Wetlands Protection Act. Further approvals would likely be the purview of the planning board.
Legislators compromise on clean energy legislation; net metering cap for solar left unchanged
“I definitely share in the disappointment about the lack of net metering increases. I understand there are a lot of folks in the Berkshires and in my district who are vocal proponents of lifting and even eliminating the cap on metering credits.”
— State Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli
News Briefs: Amatul-Wadud in Sheffield; FY19 conference budget report approved; Mass. solar, wind power increase
Among the issues Amatul-Wadud is raising in her run for Congress are climate change; universal public education; and affordable, high-speed internet access for every resident of the 1st Congressional District.
An energetic U.S. Sen. Markey talks taxes, guns, nukes and suing FERC
Markey cited solar and wind power as future drivers of the economy and he questioned why the Trump administration did not see it as a source of jobs for unemployed workers, especially the blue-collar workers Trump purports to represent.
Large solar project hits GB zoning roadblock, heads to ZBA for appeal
Building Inspector Edwin May said the property did not have sufficient frontage for a building lot and is not by right since it sits in a residential/agricultural zone.
Housatonic solar field reduces power costs for Great Barrington, Cheshire
The solar field below the Rising Paper Mill in Housatonic, built last year on a brownfield, is saving the town and the Berkshire Hills Regional School District each between $70,000 and $90,000 in annual electricity costs.
Mass. solar energy boom may falter without revised state policies
There are already signs that Massachusetts’ solar industry has slowed in response to a limit on a key program known as net metering.
— Environment Massachusetts Research and Policy Center and Student MASSPIRG
Lulu ‘n’ Hershey
For their Cafe Perspectivo, Lulu and Hershey are going solar, but they’re not enthusiastic about the solar panels’ appearance.
Bits & Bytes: Garden mural for Ramsdell; solar workshop in Sheffield; Fairgrounds cleanup; Rufus Wainwright at Mahaiwe; Shakespeare & Young Company; Snowden Wright at Mount
In addition to being a celebrated contemporary pop singer, Rufus Wainwright has made a name for himself in the classical world. His much-acclaimed first opera, titled Prima Donna, premiered at the Manchester International Festival in 2009.
Berkshire-based relief efforts seek donations to aid stricken Nepal
There are two organizations with roots right here in the Berkshires that already have boots on the ground in Nepal and are up and running, hard at work with crucial relief efforts.
For those who would like their donation to have a direct effect rather than be swallowed up in one of the giant relief funds, please consider donating to these two local organizations
“Kathmandu is in chaos. The aftershocks are powerful and continuous and people are living in the streets because they are afraid to go back into their houses, even if there has been no damage. Some of the major charitable organizations are calling us, asking if we can help because they are not yet here and are not set up. Our people have been working around the clock and we are doing all we can, but the task is enormous.”
— Anya Cherneff, founder of Empower Generation, aiding recovery efforts in Nepal, and daughter of Hester Velmans and Peter Cherneff of Sheffield