 Are you tired of all the plastic that comes with your groceries?
Supply Bulk Foods now brings more than 200 plastic free products including, pasta, coffee, nuts, dried fruit, snacks, bakings needs and so much more to Dedham for pick up. Consider groceries without the waste. Consider getting local friends and neighbors to order online and take turns driving to Dedham for the pickup at Boston General Store. Love the ditching plastic idea and carpooling to get it is appealing! Plus, they are a local company. Thursday, Sept. 5th: Lower Your Energy Costs, Increase Comfort and Health, Capture Incentives & More8/27/2024
 Do you want to:
Wellesley residents aged 60 and above are invited to a presentation and Q&A session on Thursday, September 5th from 1:30-2.30 p.m. at Wellesley’s Tolles Parsons Center (500 Washington St.). Members of the Town of Wellesley’s Climate Action Committee and Sustainable Wellesley will share information on the Town’s no-cost Energy Coaching Program and how home energy upgrades can reduce your home energy costs, increase comfort, and make you eligible for rebates and tax incentives. Register by calling (781) 235-3961. This Wellesley Council of Aging (COA) event is open to residents aged 60+. Healthy snacks will be provided. About Climate Action in Wellesley The Climate Action Committee (CAC) fosters awareness and mobilizes the collective action of residents, businesses, educational institutions, and town employees in Wellesley to combat the existential crisis of climate change. Through education and advocacy, the CAC strives to reduce carbon emissions, promote renewable energy, and cultivate a resilient environment for present and future generations. The Town’s Climate Action Plan provides a roadmap for reaching the Town of Wellesley’s goal to reduce the town’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to net-zero by 2050, in concert with the state of Massachusetts and the nation’s carbon neutrality goals. The Wellesley Municipal Light Plant (WMLP) delivers environmentally sustainable and highly reliable electricity and telecommunication services at competitive rates and provide financial and in-kind support to the Town. The WMLP leads many carbon reduction efforts including the Town’s Energy Coaching Program. Sustainable Wellesley, is a nonprofit organization that engages Wellesley residents, businesses, and the Town of Wellesley to take sustainable actions to protect our climate; reduce pollution of air, land and water; preserve biodiversity; minimize waste; and ensure environmental justice.  Wellesley resident and NCDS senior Fiona Jabson is probably similar to some of you. She often had conversations with friends, cousins, classmates about being “sustainable.” As the conversations evolved, those people close to her would ask her what that really means and how does that play out in a teenagers' life.
Fiona took those discussions seriously and created a sustainable clothing resource website called Earthos. Earthos is there to empower consumers like you - and her community - to shop for attractive, timeless, and quality products that you can feel good about in terms of their environmental impact. This year long project is now ready for YOU. You can shop for anything from Jeans + Pants to makeup and everything in between. She is not getting any financial cut from this but offering a way to shop with an environmental impact in mind. Way to go Fiona for making it that much easier to do the right thing.  Sustainable Wellesley shares a variety of ways you can make an impact.
Using pre-loved items is one small way you can do something. Re-using items circumvents the need for manufacturing new items (they have already gone through the resource-intensive stages of production making the product's carbon footprint substantially lower than something new). Plus, re-used items are not ending up in a landfill or incinerators where items release harmful greenhouse gasses, and other pollutants. One item you may have not considered to put into recirculation are bras! A local non profit organization called Dignity Matters collects, purchases and supplies bras, menstrual products, and underwear to women and girls who are homeless or disadvantaged, in order to help them stay healthy, regain self-confidence, and live with basic dignity. They accept new or like-new bras in all sizes, styles and brands (including sports bras and maternity bras). Cup sizes D and up and band sizes 38 and up are needed most. While you are at it, consider donating pads, tampons, pantyliners, menstrual cups, and incontinence underwear. If items are individually wrapped, THEY CAN ACCEPT OPEN PACKAGES. Sanitary pads and incontinence underwear are their most requested items. In addition, feel free to donate new underwear (in original packaging), and new reusable “period underwear” in all sizes, styles and brands. Why is this important? People commonly associate period poverty with developing countries, but it is a significant, hidden and local issue here in US, and, in Ma. Did you know that 1 in 5 college students can't afford menstrual care? A degree and work are out of reach if you miss class or work every time you have your period. There is a donation drop off bin right here in Wellesley at 18 MacArthur Rd! Thanks for all you do to lessen your impact including donating pre loved bras and more to Dignity Matters.  Register for ‘Understanding the Massachusetts MOR-EV Rebate for Electric Cars’ on August 14 & 15
Maybe you know Massachusetts has a rebate for electric cars and trucks called MOR-EV. What you might not know:
Register for August 14 at 7:30pm Register for August 15 at 10am  Habit to Habitat: Lawn to Diversity in WellesleyTake an Eco-Tour in WellesleySat, August 10 @ 10:00am - 12:00 pm
Join Landscape Interactions Principal Evan Abramson for a walking tour of the new Simons Park landscape design in downtown Wellesley. What was once a half-acre lawn is now a highly diverse, highly designed community space to support at-risk bees and butterflies in Eastern Massachusetts. The project features seven unique areas, including a native flowering grassland, bee and butterfly lawn, meadow, woodland edge, reading nook, shaded understory and circular gathering space. Learn about Landscape Interactions’ hands on collaboration with the Wellesley Natural Resources Commission and DPW to restore this landscape to higher levels of biodiversity. Evan Abramson, MSc, is Founder and Principal of Landscape Interactions. A former Land Use and Natural Resources Planner at the Franklin Regional Council of Governments, Evan designed a climate resiliency plan for the Deerfield River Watershed, the first of its kind in the Commonwealth. Prior to earning a Master of Science in Ecological Design from the Conway School of Landscape Design, Evan worked as a community organizer, farmer, environmental filmmaker and photojournalist and author of Pollinate Now: Bioregional Strategy for Habitat Restoration in the Hudson River Estuary Watershed, Lincoln Pollinator Action Plan and Farming for Biodiversity, among other publications. NOTE: There is plenty of free parking at the Wellesley Free Library on Washington Street. The library address is 530 Washington Street, Wellesley, MA. Please park behind the library and meet at the benches between the library parking lot and the adjacent park. NOTE: Maximum number of people is 50; any more and it becomes difficult for people to follow! Please note: Registration for this event is now free for Ecological Landscape Alliance members and $10 for nonmembers.  Inspiration comes in a variety of ways.
Michael T. Roberts found his creative inspiration in a Mitsubishi heat pump, sparking the idea for an R&B ballad that not only entertains, but also educates about the real-life benefits of heat pump technology. Central to the song's success is the collaboration between Mike and his good friend, renowned recording artist, Will Hammond Jr. Their shared vision and commitment to climate action infused the "(I'm Your) Heat Pump" song with an audacious combination of funk, humor, and purpose. The song has now been transformed into an “electrifying” music video that you can watch here. Email us at [email protected]: 1) Let us know what inspires you 2) Ask about how you can get a heat pump 3) Learn about other ways to reduce your home/car's energy usage and costs 4) How you can access all the local, state and federal rebates and incentives  The Massachusetts Senate just passed sweeping climate legislation. This is the third cutting-edge bill that will enable us to build up the clean power supply without taking a big toll on the household budget. Thank you Senator Creem for your pivotal roll in the Clean Heat parts of the Senate bill #S.2829. Now it is the House's turn.
Specifically, this bill will allow Massachusetts to install new solar, wind, and storage as well as charging electric vehicles and powering heat pumps. The bill qualifies moderate-income customers for discounted utility rates and delivers financial relief by curbing the current biases in state law that favor extending the natural gas system beyond its useful life. If signed into law, the legislation will also help us decarbonize buildings and our transit by expanding the mission of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center to include carbon removal, embodied carbon, and nuclear power. In other good news, the Senate unanimously passed the Affordable Homes Act (a Housing Bond bill) offering $150 million allocated for public housing decarbonization and $275 million allocated for green and sustainable housing initiatives.  If you are curious about:
Register for David Green's free "Zero Carbon, Zero Bills" webinar on July 9th at 7PM (Eastern time). Sherborn resident David Green has cut his own home's carbon emissions and bills to zero (making a 15% return on investment) and loves driving his Tesla Model S and Ford F150 Lightning for far less than their gas-powered equivalents, and without range anxiety. The F150 has also powered my house for 24 hours during a grid outage. He has authored two books on cutting carbon emissions (endorsed by both Bill McKibben and Paul Hawken) and has created this webinar that thousands of people have seen seen. David is an energy geek with a BA in physics from Oxford University and a finance nerd with an MBA from Harvard Business School. David has retired from a career in biotechnology (he founded two companies, was CEO of both and took both public on NASDAQ) and does not work for any installer or manufacturer of energy products - his advice is completely independent. The presentation part of the webinar lasts about 45 minutes and then David will stay on the call until the last person's question gets answered.  Wellesley's Municipal Light Plant (WMLP) will be offering a rebate to qualifying residential solar installations starting Monday, July 8th. The rebate amount will be $1,200 per installed kW of solar generation capacity to a maximum rebate of $12,000. WMLP will pay participating residential customers the wholesale rate for excess solar generation.
Solar energy is the most cost-effective way for homes and businesses in Wellesley to lower their energy bills and lock in reliable energy costs from a proven clean energy solution: the sun. Ready to investigate solar electricity for your home? Here is the Process: Step 1: (optional) Estimate your property's potential for solar energy production with this tool. Step 2: Get competing solar quotes from EnergySage, or other local solar installers. Solar installers known to more recently work in our Town but for whom the WMLP does not endorse or sponsor include SunBug/ReVision Energy, Devlin Energy, Trinity Solar, Great Skye, and DeFreitas Enterprises. Step 3: Choose an installer. Step 4: On behalf of the Project Owner, the Installer completes the WMLP Net Metering / Interconnection Service Agreement. The WMLP ISA, along with the Installer's online diagram, and technical specifications for the inverters, must be submitted to the WMLP. Do not install upon WMLP interconnection approval; rebate approval occurs after WMLP approval via this portal. Rebate approvals are issued via a Rebate Reservation email. Any project installed without a Rebate Reservation letter is at the project owner’s risk. Step 5: Submit a rebate application through this portal. Monitor your emails for notifications. Once submitted, your rebate application will await sign-off from WMLP that confirms an approved interconnection. All communication regarding the rebate application is via ENE portal notifications, including requests for additional information and rebate approval, and detailed directions & forms for the completion process. Step 6: Install an ALSO ENERGY Locus Meter. To qualify for the MLP Solar rebate program, you must install an Also Energy Locus Meter. Please contact Also Energy to order your meter and data package: 866-303-5668 / [email protected] Step 7: Rebate Reservation/Installation Approval. Await portal application validation. Provide additional documents, as requested via portal auto-notifcations. The Rebate Reservation letter is approval to install the system. Step 8: Install system and receive a Permission to Operate letter/ document from WMLP. Arrange for inspections by wire inspector; get building permit. WMLP inspects facility and performs witness test. WMLP provides written authorization to operate. Step 9: Submit completion documents to portal application. Await payment. Please note: Customers must apply for the rebate and will not be given the option of enrolling in the full (retail) net metering program. If the customer’s application is denied, the customer would only then become eligible to enroll in the WMLP’s full net metering program without the rebate, provided the customer: 1) submitted the application before the WMLP grants permission to operate the solar system and within 180 calendar days of the new program’s launch date; and 2) the solar system complies with the requirements stipulated in the Interconnection Service Agreement and Approval to Install. After the WMLP’s new solar rebate program has been in place for 180 calendar days, there will be no new enrollments of solar customers in the full net metering program. Resources and Document Links
Federal and State Residential Solar and Battery Storage Incentives
Solar in Wellesley Learn more about the Town of Wellesley's commitment to maximizing solar in town. |
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