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Earth-friendly in NEPA

by Donna Talarico
Weekender Correspondent

Northeastern Pennsylvania has always been known for its lush, green beauty. But when we take a closer look, past the green mountains and green trees, we see things not so green: urban sprawl, remnants of the coal boom and in many cases, not-so-green practices by citizens and businesses. Like much of the planet, NEPA is guilty of Al Gore’s environmental no-nos. But many in the region are taking cues and doing something about it. Small steps or big steps, local businesses, educational institutions and individuals are planting seeds to make NEPA even greener.

Alternative & Efficient Energy

Several years ago, the region welcomed new residents to its skyline: windmills. While these windmills are not generating energy for local use, it’s a daily reminder for residents as they drive the Cross Valley Expressway and Interstate 81 that there are renewable resources out there.

“The wind power is distributed through PPL Energy to a variety of customers,” said Tom McLaughlin, quality control director of Iberdrola Renewables, which along with two other partners constructed the Bear Creek Wind Farm. “Most of the power is purchased by the University of Pennsylvania and PEPCO Energy Services in Maryland.”

“Sites are selected based upon wind capacity and land availability,” McLaughlin said. “Preliminarily, landowners are contacted in areas where there is sufficient sustained winds, such as mountain ridges, shorelines, etc.

“If a sufficient number of landowners express an interest in leasing their land for a wind farm, a meteorological tower is erected and wind data is collected for at least two years to confirm there is sufficient wind to support a wind farm and to select the best locations for the individual wind turbines.”

The advantages of wind power, said McLaughlin, are the short construction schedule, whereas gas-fueled power plans take years to build. Wind farms also only lease the land, about an acre or two per turbine, so landowners can continue to use their land.

“And then there is the obvious advantage of no fuel costs,” he said. “Besides lessening our dependence on foreign oil, wind power has brought jobs to Pennsylvania.”

For years, people have been installing solar panels in their homes and businesses, but the green movement has really brought this renewable energy source into the mainstream. In May, attorney David Selingo and his wife Tracey, who own Shazaam Realty, opened a totally green office building in Kingston. The Selingos and architect Kyle Kinsman, of Williams, Kinsman and Lewis in Wilkes-Barre, designed the building, which houses several tenants, including Selingo’s law office. Selingo explained that in the early stages of planning they were shown building products that were either recycled or recyclable.

“We looked into those products a little more and shifted our focus toward a green building,” he said.

The finished building is equipped with solar panels on the roof so the building can generate its own energy. Couple that with triple-coated windows and exterior shading, and the building is extremely energy efficient.

“We don’t turn a light on unless it’s absolutely necessary,” explained Selingo.

The office has skylights and light interior paint, which brightens the office so much that there is no need for the lights to be on.

“We have kept our electrical use very low,” he said. “In fact, we have not paid an electric bill in two months.”

Selingo added that having a green building is also more cost-effective.

“From a financial standpoint, we are spending less. It’s a warm feeling every time you open the door. You feel good coming to work,” he said, adding that in the future he hopes more local businesses will look into windmill or solar power.

Another unique way to cut back on energy and waste is being implemented by Aramark, which manages dining operations in many area universities: eliminating use of trays in many of its cafeterias. Tara Lynn, marketing director for Aramark at Bloomsburg University, said her campus has implemented the practice as a part of “Trayless Tuesdays.” She says the practice cuts back on waste threefold. First, it saves on water because less trays and dishes need to be washed. Second, chemical use also goes down. Third, there is less waste.

“One of the most substantial savings has been in food waste. The Scranton Commons is Bloomsburg University’s all-you-care-to-eat facility, and with so many great choices, students tend to take a bit more than they can eat. This results in an average 25 percent food waste per student,” she said. “Going trayless forces students to take a dish, eat it, and then go get more, if they are still hungry. This reduces food waste by over 30 percent.”

Sustainable Resources & Growing Greener

Attending an urban campus doesn’t mean pavement basketball courts, parking lots and rows and rows of dorms and classroom buildings with no breathing room in between. At least not at Wilkes University, which is giving a touch of nature to its downtown campus.

In the school’s recent alumni magazine, “Wilkes,” the cover story, “Blue, Gold and Green,” highlighted its environmental efforts. For starters, in May 2007 University President Tim Gilmour joined 587 other college presidents in signing the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment, pledging Wilkes’ promise to eliminate greenhouse emissions on campus. Gilmour’s ACUPCC signature spawned many on-campus efforts from research in the environmental science and engineering departments to business decisions made in the campus facilities office, to students and volunteers putting on their gardening gloves and getting dirty.

Marleen Troy, associate professor of environmental engineering at Wilkes, has been heavily involved with these efforts. But she is not alone. When she spoke with the Weekender, she touted the name of nearly all of her colleagues in the environmental science and biology departments and some project they were involved in, from studying the unique soil in the mine lands so they can one day be re-vegetated to studying the effects of the recently discovered Marcellus Shale to improving air quality and waste water management in the region.

Troy sees many of her environmental engineering students using their required senior capstone as a way to do research to improve the greenness at Wilkes. One of those projects, which has been passed down to a set of new students to continue the research, is the Green Roof project. Portions of the Stark Learning Center’s roof is covered with square garden patches. The plants on the roof can reduce the amount of energy needed to cool the building. While the project is in testing mode, it has the potential to be a practice Wilkes, and other buildings in the area, can adopt to conserve energy.

The Wilkes campus is also a lot greener in color. In October, the university unveiled The Labyrinth, a greenspace filled with native plants. According to the article in “Wilkes,” native plants will attract wildlife and require less maintenance than non-native plants. It’s not only about making the campus and city look greener, though. The university has also created resources to promote the sustainable lifestyle, with two SPIN farms, one on campus and one on a donated plot of land at Shavertown’s Hillside Farms. SPIN stands for Small Plot INtensive farming, and Wilkes’ SPIN farm at Hillside produces crops like tomatoes, radishes, squash, potatoes, beets, pumpkins, beans, chard, turnips, salad mix, eggplant and a mixture of herbs. These crops were then sold to local restaurants and catering companies, including Sodexo, which runs the dining facility at Wilkes.

The Three Rs & Everyday Habits and Practices

Troy believes it’s all about raising awareness when it comes to getting people to go green. And awareness is happening, she explained, as the green movement is at the forefront of the news media.

“It’d be great if we could put solar panels on everyone’s home, but we can’t,” she said. “It’s the little things that add up. It can’t change overnight.”

Troy continued that once people get into the habit, it becomes second nature to be more energy conscious. She suggests some starting points.

“When you leave the room, shut the light off. Unplug your chargers when they are not in use. Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs. Look at labels and be aware, if you have a choice to make, go with [the more energy-efficient].”

It’s not just individuals that can make a difference. As shown above with Selingo, workplaces can be more green — a practice that may inspire workers to take home. According to Troy, going green is not just a healthy earthly gesture. She agrees with Selingo that it’s also smarter business.

“Everyone is starting to see how much sense this makes,” said Troy. “It makes good operational and business sense, because you want to run as efficiently as possible. When you reduce use of energy, resources like water and cut back on waste, it’s good for your pocketbook, too.”

Tips from Your Green Neighbors

Audrey Korshoff of Pittston, a mother of four school-age children, feels good about green practices she’s implemented and also sees the rewards in her bank account.

“I find the best way to look at green living is to look back in time,” said Korshoff. “The more simple you can live — less processed foods, less driving, more walking, more preparing things yourself — the easier it is to not only live a more green lifestyle but also save a lot of green!”

Korshoff reuses her containers as many times as she can and shops at ALDI to not only save money but also because the store requires customers to bring their own reusable bags. When her kids were babies, she used cloth diapers and baby wipes. And here’s something for the daring woman, a little outside the Tampax box:

“Instead of using tampons, I prefer the Diva Cup ( www.divacup.com). It’s safer… and more economical — you can rinse and reuse it for years,” she explained.

Karen Snyder of Ashley implemented some green cleaning practices and also learned a few recycling lessons.

“I learned a great green cleaning tip this year. Use ice cubes and Coca-Cola to clean the garbage disposal in your sink,” she said. “Oh, and that pizza boxes aren’t recyclable. They are contaminated with food, so they can’t be recycled. I didn’t know that. Old greeting cards can be cut up and used as decorations on Christmas presents or as gift tags.”

Sarah Karlavage-Rocchio, who now lives in Providence, R.I, after attending school in Wilkes-Barre, passes on the petroleum.

“Don’t buy plastic water bottles from vending machines. Use reusable plastic, or better yet, aluminum water bottles,” she suggested. “Rethink petro chemicals! Do you really want to wash your clothes in commercially produced laundry detergents made out of petroleum? Buy vegetable-based laundry detergents like Arm & Hammer or Purex; they are the same price as other brands. Also, think twice about putting petroleum jelly on your chapped lips. Consider products made out of bees wax, like Burt’s Bees.”

There are thousands of actions people can take to reduce their carbon footprints. Here are a few ideas to start with.

10 SIMPLE THINGS YOU CAN DO

REDUCE

1. Hold off on that laundry!

Use a bath towel more than once. Wear those jeans a few times. Hang clothes up to air out and freshen up. Cutting back one load of laundry per week can save a lot of energy.

2. Don’t leave the faucet on!

While brushing teeth at the three times daily the dentist recommends, don’t leave the water running. This will cut back on water considerably over time — like 2.5 gallons each time you scrub those pearly whites.

3. Shut it down!

Computers generate a lot of energy, even when they sit idle. Shut down the computer when it’s not in use rather than leave it on all day and night. Even unplug it overnight to save even more electricity.

4. Share a ride, or better yet, bike or walk

Coordinate a work carpool, or take mass transit a few days per week. Luzerne and Lackawanna counties both have great transportation options. Better yet, those who live close enough to work can walk or bike, getting in better shape at the same time.

REUSE

5. Forget the quicker picker upper!

When handwashing the dishes or counters, use a reusable rag, cloth or sponge instead of paper towels or those disposable cleaning wipes to cut down on waste. Simply wash and reuse the dishrag over and over rather than continuing to buy value packs of name-brand paper towels. This will save lots of money, too!

6. Use cloth shopping bags instead of plastic

Did you know that it’s estimated that we use 500 billion plastic bags per year? And that it takes about 11 barrels of crude oil to produce a ton of said bags? That’s why Ireland instituted a plastic bag tax. Retailers like Wegmans, Rite Aid and others sell cloth shopping bags, which customers can bring to the store on each shopping trip.

7. Redneck Tupperware?

Instead of tossing sturdy plastic containers that hold items like yogurt, margarine, cottage cheese and instant meals, reuse them for taking lunch into work or for leftovers. This will eliminate the need to buy new storage containers, as well as eliminate waste.

RECYCLE

8. The usual

Start recycling your aluminum cans and plastic containers. Many municipalities in NEPA provide recycling pickup. Citizens of those that don’t should attend a board meeting and ask why.

9. Think outside the recycling box

Before creating waste by tossing away old sports equipment or clothes, if they’re still in usable condition, consider donating them to a charity or reselling at a consignment shop or on CraigsList.com or Ebay.com.

10. Don’t toss it … fix it

Rather than toss out electronics that seem broken or furniture that seems outdated or won’t fit with a remodeled decor, salvage them. Eliminate that waste (and energy to haul away) by getting more mileage out of the items. Sometimes a repair job, paint job or upholstery service will cost less than you think. Thinking like this could even save a pair of shoes!