​CREATING A MORE ENERGY-EFFICIENT HOME:
PERSONAL STORIES from Weston, Wayland and Lincoln residents
November 16, 7:00 p.m. via Zoom
Register here

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, more than half of a home’s energy
bill is spent on heating and cooling. A well-insulated home is a surefire way to
help keep your power bill manageable in both winter and summer (if you have
air conditioning). Once a home is insulated, the benefits of other energy-saving
investments, like new heating and cooling systems, grow. And an energy efficient home is not only better for your pocketbook, it’s better for the
environment too!

Three local residents will tell us about their own efforts to drive down fossil fuel
consumption and decarbonize their homes and properties. In each case they
took a systems approach by making several improvements to their houses such
that both their overall CO2 production and energy costs went down.

Register here to hear personal stories from:
Bill Churchill, Lincoln
Sarah Maas Scheuplein, Weston
Roger Wiegand, Wayland
​
This event is brought to us by MetroWest Climate Solutions. This is a growing partnership between First Parish in Wayland, First Parish Church in Weston, First Parish in Lincoln, the Congregational Church of Weston, Sustainable Weston Action Group, and other communities and individuals. Their mission is to share strategies for moving towards a low- and no-carbon-based society and economy and to suggest activities that enable individuals to help bring about solutions. For more information, visit: www.metrowestclimatesolutions.org.

There are many ways to reduce the impact of your events this season. Thank you Wellesley Green Schools for this helpful Smart Event Guide!

Did you know that 56% of emissions in Wellesley come from our buildings, and more than 50% of those building emissions come from our homes? 

How can we change that?

Get inspired by Sarah Dooling, Executive Director of the Mass Climate Action Network, at her "Better Buildings, Healthy Communities" presentation  on November 19th at 7pm. Register here.  There  are many  opportunities for Wellesley residents to moving off of gas and move towards electrification which  has numerous benefits including:

• Reducing utility costs
• Mitigating climate crisis
• Improving air quality
• Increasing safety
• Increasing energy resilient
• Creating demand for local jobs

Let us know how you have, or plan to transform your building from a polluter to a healthy and environmental protector.   The best way to do that is switch out fossil fuel heating sources. Thus if you, neighbor, friend, work colleague or family member is considering replacing/buying a heater, have them come to this event and/or call the Wellesley's Municipal Light Plant to learn about their Clean Comfort air source heat pump and other incentives initaitves.

Sustainable Wellesley has teamed up with HomeWorks Energy to help spread the word about no-cost virtual Home Energy Assessments.

Eligible Massachusetts residents who sign up for a Home Energy Assessment get a custom home energy report and access to the Mass Save® HEAT Loan, 100% off air sealing, and 75-100% off approved insulation.

​Your home may qualify for same-day instant savings measures like:

• No-cost LED light bulbs 
• No-cost faucet aerators and water-saving shower heads
• No-cost programmable thermostats
• No-cost advanced power strips

As an added bonus, scheduling through the link here provides Sustainable Wellesley with a donation for every completed Home Energy Assessment. Sign up now to save energy and support Sustainable Wellesley!

If you missed the Sustainable Wellesley/Wellesley Books discussion with author Paul Greenberg about his inspiring, accessible book, the Climate Diet last week, you can watch it here.

What a treat for our group to hear directly from the author! "Naked food" and "shipped vs. flown" were just a few of the inspirational stories he shared on ways we can address our own household carbon footprints. As Paul says, "everyone can and should do something," and this book offers a wide array of things you can do.

He calls this book a "peace offering," for adults and teens/millennials that shares ideas that are not only good for the planet, but good for your health and wallet too.

Take some time to read The Climate Diet this summer. Its short, informative and available at the library and the local book store! Then share the book; we all have something to learn.

New,  Updated Gas Leaks Map shows Wellesley still has 250 unrepaired pipeline leaks, emitting a whooping 91 MT of methane (natural gas).  

This puts Wellesley in the state’s top 11 emitters of methane, with the other 10 being much larger cities & towns:  Worcester, Weymouth, Quincy, Newton, Medford, Lynn, Dorchester, Brookline, Arlington and Boston.

Methane has more than 80 times the climate warming power of carbon dioxide during the first 20 years after it reaches the atmosphere.

Leaky, corroded pipes run all over under our town and the entire state.  The estimated cost to repair all if these pipes is enormous, at the ratepayers’ expense.   Despite the fact that 70 pipe lines have been repaired in Wellesley so far, it seems even more leaks have sprung anew.

It’s time to stop using “natural “ gas for our heating and cooking. 
Gas is unhealthy, dangerous, costly (we are paying for all those leaks!), and bad for the environment.

Consider going electric! Email us to learn more!