Celebrating Our Third Anniversary

by Roy Chatalbash
Originally published in Weston Town Crier, October 22, 2009

This November, the Weston Climate Group celebrates its third anniversary. From its founding, a few people gathered together to shares concerns about global warming. To a community of over 100 today, we have engaged the larger community to clarify the urgency of our work. In this article we will review some of our initiatives with the hope that you might be inspired to join our cause.

Our latest project is called the Carbon Crunch Challenge, a friendly competition among families to reduce electricity usage. We hosted a kickoff party at the Weston Library last month and were delighted by the enthusiasm of more than 40 parents and kids. That excitement has continued to grow – there are 70 households currently participating in the contest!

We worked with the selectmen’s office to create the Environmental Baseline Committee, to measure Weston’s ecological footprint – water consumption, energy use and waste generation. Once we build this baseline, we can establish meaningful goals for improved environmental practices.

We worked collaboratively with the Permanent Building Committee to incorporate feasible "green" building concepts into town projects such as a highly efficient geothermal heating and cooling system, a rainwater harvest system and a day-lighting scheme to reduce electricity use. By establishing a goal of a 10-year payback, we insured these initiatives were not only ecologically responsible, but financially responsible too.

These three activities represent only a fraction of our endeavors over the last three years. We have also hosted a film series at the library, led energy efficiency workshops and written articles in the Town Crier, to name a few more.

We look forward to continuing our work, helping residents recognize the need to address climate change, and insure a healthy planet for future generations.