NORTHEAST CLIMATE CHAMPIONS FIELD STRATEGIES TO FIGHT GLOBAL WARMING

Clean Air-Cool Planet Study Finds Top 24 Businesses, Cities, Universities Not Waiting for Federal Action on Climate Change

Portsmouth, NH (June 6, 2001) - A study released today by Clean Air - Cool Planet, a non-profit group working to find effective ways to address climate change, shows that a diverse array of businesses, municipalities, universities and nonprofits in the Northeast have developed successful strategies to combat global warming - and in the process to alleviate growing fears of a national energy crunch.

The Report, Cool Solutions to Global Warming, highlights 24 of the best examples of on-the-ground methods and technologies to cut back on emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, and includes case studies from each state in the region.

"We've identified the best of the best-across a wide range of endeavor," states Clean Air - Cool Planet Executive Director Adam Markham. "Each of the two-dozen made the list for three basic reasons: it's innovative, it's working, and it's a model for what others can do. Given all the talk about energy in Washington, it is gratifying to see that in the Northeast everybody from huge regional corporations to small communities is quietly rising to the challenge of emissions reductions — and setting a path for others to follow."

The Clean Air - Cool Planet report recognizes organizations that have shown ingenuity in the face of climate change. For example, Guilford of Maine, a major fabric manufacturer, found a way to turn discarded plastic soda bottles into material for office workstations, helping the company cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 9,800 tons a year. As a result of switching to PET instead of virgin fiber and computerizing the manufacturing process, Guilford has saved $3 million on its energy and water bills.

The study also highlights Sun Power Electric, an alternative energy firm that formed a creative partnership with BJ's Wholesale Club in Massachusetts, siting photovoltaic arrays on BJ's huge, flat, sun-flooded roofs to provide green power for those BJ's stores and to other electricity consumers. And Connecticut-based Whyco Technologies cut its carbon emissions by inventing a new barrel for its electroplating operation. It is now selling the technology to other firms across the country - and making money in the process.

The report's two dozen case studies describe programs and projects that individuals, companies, cities, agencies, universities, churches and nonprofits have designed and implemented to reverse the signs of climate change. Intended to serve as models for others, they encompass a diversity of strategies and approaches, affecting an equally broad spectrum of players, economic sectors and locations. One project is a working wind farm set in the middle of a cornfield in upper New York State. Another is generating carbon-reduction credits by subsidizing the construction of low-impact, straw-bale homes in China. A third has drawn Connecticut electricity consumers to a shopping mall and convinced them to trade in more than 5,000 highly inefficient halogen lamps for lighting that is safer, cheaper and cleaner.

Additional examples:

• The Mohegan Nation, a Native American tribe in southern Connecticut, has developed a fuel cell offset program to cut carbon dioxide emissions by more than 1,200 tons a year.
• Maine Interfaith Power & Light will help families reduce carbon emissions by forming a buyers' cooperative to purchase clean, renewable electricity.
• Shaw's Supermarkets is deploying a comprehensive energy conservation program in its 166 stores, and cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 34,500 tons a year. This is the same as taking 4,500 cars off the road forever.
• The state of New Jersey is heating the visitor's center at Monmouth Battlefield State Park by tapping into geothermal energy from the earth's crust.
• At 48 stories, Four Times Square in New York City is the nation's first office tower built to battle global warming. Its multiple energy-saving features will reduce climate change emissions by more than 9,000 tons a year.
• Stonyfield Farm, the New Hampshire yogurt manufacturer, has eliminated all of its recent carbon dioxide emissions through offsets, including the recovery of coal bed methane gas in Ohio and reforestation in Oregon.
• Brown and Tufts Universities and Middlebury College have either built new highly energy-efficient classrooms or laboratories, or completed a major retrofit of an existing building.

A copy of the complete report, Cool Solutions to Global Warming, 24 Success Stories from Across the Northeast, and its executive summary may be reviewed or downloaded from the Clean Air - Cool Planet website, www.cleanair-coolplanet.org.

Founded in 1999, Clean Air - Cool Planet inspires coordinated action among citizens, businesses, government and leaders to achieve reductions in greenhouse gases throughout the Northeast. A nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization, Clean Air - Cool Planet is based in Portsmouth, N.H.

About Clean Air-Cool Planet
Clean Air-Cool Planet inspires coordinated action among citizens, businesses, government, and community leaders throughout the Northeast to achieve reductions in greenhouse gases. CA-CP has forged effective partnerships with major businesses and corporations in the region, including Shaw’s Supermarkets, The Timberland Company, and Verizon. Visit www.cleanair-coolplanet.org.

Contact: Clean Air-Cool Planet
Bill Burtis, Communications Manager, (603) 422-6464 ext. 105
bburtis@cleanair-coolplanet.org