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Project Goals |
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We’ve already accomplished many project goals, and are working on others: Government: in Feb., 2008, Coventry, CT became a Smart Power Community! Thank you to the Town Council for passing this important resolution, and to all the Coventry residents who signed the CCC petition in its favor! (Also thanks to all the kids who contributed to the CCC campaign to send kids’ drawings to the Town Council in support of Smart Power!) We are also very close to accomplishing our town goal of getting recycling bins into Patriot’s Park (again, thanks to everyone who signed our petitions) and we’re glad to report that the town has upgraded its lighting. The CCC also contributed to efforts to pass several important state environmental bills last session, speaking at press conferences in Windham and Hartford and testifying at the CGA Energy & Technology Committee on February 28, 2008. We are happy to report that the carbon cap bill, HB 5600 An Act Concerning Global Warming Solutions, did pass last spring, and we will keep trying to pass an expanded bottle bill and clothesline (Right to Dry) legislation in the future. We also made donations to the NRDC and CFE climate change campaigns in 2007, and raised money for the WWF “time for change” campaign this year! Business: Congratulations to the town library for upgrading their lighting, and to all the businesses who have completed CCC Business Action Plans! (We were originally aiming for participation from six businesses, but we have already far exceeded that goal!) A big thanks also to Highland Park Market for starting to sell CFLs and for posting the Cool Coventry Club’s Fact Card about their benefits, and to all the town businesses currently distributing our “Things You Can Do” trifold brochures. If you’d like to join the Business Action Plan campaign (its free!) just drop us a line at keepcoventrycool@charter.net Households: One big CCC goal in 2006-8 was to get 100 Coventry households to enroll in Connecticut’s clean energy option, and we did it, earning a free solar panel for the town! (Now let’s get working on that 2nd set of 100 enrollments & 2nd free panel!) If you live in Coventry and would like to enroll, you can learn more & sign up here: http://www.ctinnovations.com/communities/Coventry.php Through our CFL giveaway and sale, we’ve also encouraged hundreds of people to start using “energy star” CFLs! They use 2/3 less energy than regular light bulbs and can last up to 10 times longer, and each bulb can save you as much as $30 in electric costs over time compared with using regular bulbs! Each CFL prevents more than 450 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions. If every home in the U.S. used just ONE, it would be like eliminating the greenhouse gas emissions of almost 800,000 cars! Finally, hundreds of households have taken our Pledge to reduce their energy use & carbon footprint. If you haven’t taken the pledge yet, click on the link to the left—it’s free and easy! Student Groups: We frequently speak to student groups, and thanks to a Do Something Plum Grant, The CCC was able to distribute colorful Things You Can Do booklets to Coventry Grammar School students in 2008. We’d love to do a second printing, if we can raise the funds, and are currently working on developing a Things You Can Do DVD for school distribution. |
