Want to see if you have enough wind on your property for a turbine?

“There’s an app for that…”

Thanks to Amy over at Mariah Power, manufacturer of the Windspire turbine, for the heads up on Windspire Me, their new (free) iPhone app. I haven't downloaded it (sorry, no iPhone in my pocket), but the feedback at the iTunes Store shows that a few folks have been interested in getting their wind on.

This is a great example of leveraging new(er) consumer engagement technology and trends to connect with potential customers and bolster your business. The Windspire Me app exudes a pretty decent "cool" factor too.

What to do after you thrust your iPhone in the air and find you’re in a sweet spot for wind? You can check out Mariah’s dealer listing for starters. I put “02878” into the zip code finder and the closest dealer was Rhode Island Power in Middletown.

With that in mind, it’s good to remember that federal and state tax credits and rebates are out there for residential renewable energy projects. The federal government provides a tax credit of 30%. Overviews of state-level financial incentives for residential projects are here for Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

Are you thinking about renewable energy project for your home? Installed a solar array, solar hot water unit or turbine lately? Leave a comment and tell us about the process and outcomes!

Farmers' Market Withdrawal

Because of the weather today, we decided to hang back and not head up to Pawtucket for the Wintertime Farmers' Market. With the market closed last week due to the holiday, we were bummed knowing it would be another week before being able to get some local fare.

That got me thinking: Why not a more locally situated wintertime farmers' market? According to Farm Fresh RI, there are three wintertime markets running in the state each weekend: the one in Pawtucket has the north part of the state covered; the Coastal Growers Market in North Kingstown and its counterpart in South Kingstown/Peacedale handle the southern end of things. Something in the Sakonnet/Aquidneck area would do wonders for the eastern part of the state.

A good number of the growers/producers in Pawtucket each week are from Sakonnet/Aquidneck area (list here). Enough to surely cover the gamut of wintertime offerings. Honestly, it's probably more a factor of two things: demand and logistics.

Could enough traffic be drummed up to drive sales at a level that makes it worth while for the growers? And where is there an indoor facility suitable for housing the market? Pawtucket has both of these covered nicely.

While I have nothing to substantiate it aside from observations at the Aquidneck Growers, Sakonnet Growers, and Colt State Park markets, I think there is enough interest and demand for local food to warrant a wintertime market in these parts. As for location, why not tap one of our local schools? The "cafetorium" at the Tiverton Middle School comes to mind as a great open space.

I know there are a few readers of Sustainable Sakonnet close to the Sakonnet Growers Market. Any thoughts on this? I would be willing to lend a hand in thinking it through if you're interested.

How about other readers? Would you like to see a wintertime farmers' market closer to home?

Happy New Year

Hard to believe it's a new decade, but here we are. What next?

I'm optimistic about 2010, both personally and at the community level. There is a lot going on and even more in the pipeline.

On the home front, I'm committed to doing even more to lessen our environmental footprint -- and sharing what we're doing with all of you. Be on the lookout for a new blog series I'm going to call (for now, anyway) "Back to Basics" -- a forum for learning a sharing some things both big and small to help live more simply and sustainably.

In the community, there is much to be done with many things starting to make their way to the forefront -- from Pay as You Throw to municipal renewable energy projects to long-term economic development opportunities. What should the agenda be with our elected officials? Take the January Poll (at right) and start to lend your voice.

2010 is also the year that I hope to make Sustainable Sakonnet more than just a blog. There are many like-minded folks out there and ample opportunity to help connect us a bit more -- to share, to learn, to organize and galvanize our community around topics that are important to the long-term vitality and sustainability of our little neck of the woods.

As for the blog, we'll keep trucking along. This Blogger platform is becoming a bit limiting so I'll be exploring other options (e.g., Wordpress) to enable better organization of the content.

In the meantime, I'd like to try a few new "features" to further seed the dialogue: Up first, a "Book of the Month". Sounds hokey, yes, but why can't the good ol' fashioned book club concept work here too? Stimulating thought provoking (virtual) conversation has never been a bad thing. Check it out (at right). I'll be getting a post up soon to serve as the discussion chain. Perhaps a Movie of the Month is not far behind.

So until next time, I wish you and yours the best for the New Year. Thanks for your support of Sustainable Sakonnet! As always, I love to hear from you -- your thoughts and ideas are always welcome and appreciated!

Freecycling Rocks!

I'm addicted to freecycling.

OK, maybe "addicted" is a strong word, but my affinity towards this untapped weapon in the war on planned obsolescence just keeps growing by the day.

After the debacle with Freecycle Tiverton/Little Compton, Sara stumbled upon its much-better-off cousin, Freecycle Newport (RI, of course) on Yahoo!. Since then, we've been up and running -- getting stuff we need and giving stuff we don't need a new home. The site boasts over 2,000 members and depending on your preferences when you "join" the group, you can get regular emails with all the new listings. Folks post for things they want, as well as for what they want to give away.

It's been fantastic, having scored a few things for the baby as well as some old greenhouse panels I plan to use building new cold frames in the spring. On the flip side, we've given away everything from an old stairway railing to a weight bench that I'm sorry to say has seen more action from the dust in the basement than me and the dumbbells.

All this freecycling has me thinking on a couple different levels: On the home front, I wonder to what extent we could supply what we need around the house with freecycled goods from others. How's that for a budget-saving strategy?

Much more broadly, imagine what would happen if manufacturing (and all that other supply chain activity) as we know it were to suddenly stop, eliminating any "new" stuff from being produced. Is there enough good "stuff" already out there to provide the masses here in the U.S. with what they need? Maybe -- if folks could reach beyond deep-rooted consumption-laden behaviors and seize back the concept of "need" versus "want". Tack on some fleeting know-how for fixing what's broken (instead of reaching for the garbage barrel) and you might just have a recipe for success.

Of course, that's a bit of hyperbole, but you get the picture.

In any case, the fact still remains that freecycling works, especially when empowered by this lovely thing called the Internet. It's a virtual camaraderie in the fight against the behemoth engine of consumption. And coming off the holiday season, I'm sure we all have a thing or two (or three) that we could pass on in this way.

Saving Suburbia (Part III): Ditching the Car

Over the last few weeks I've been giving a lot of thought to another one of those big(ger) ideas for saving suburbia: alternative transportation options. Or put more simply: Ditching your car/truck in favor of a less-impactful way of getting around town.

"No way," I'm sure you'll say. "Can't be done."

I admit, the idea of a suburban lifestyle sans the car is a tough one to sell. The inherent layout and design of your typical suburban town is self-limiting: Disconnected neighborhoods spread out over a large land area; roads built primarily for four wheels and little else; small pockets of limited economic and business activity that cause consumers to drive long distances to get what they need, when they need it; a general car-centric mentality that's so engrained it's tough to buck.

All that aside, a few things have happened recently around town that do provide a glimmer of hope:

• News that Stafford and Crandall Roads will be receiving new "Share the Road" signage courtesy of of the RI DOT that aim to raise awareness of and promote bicycle traffic. This is in addition to new signage that was a part of the Main Road corridor improvement work that happened over the summer.
• Last week's passing of new business zoning regulations that will set the stage for transforming the north end and Bliss Four Corners parts of town into more pedestrian-friendly and inviting community-scapes.
• Continued development of the new artists' community at Sandy Woods that showcases the effectiveness of mixed-use neighborhood and community design.

Clearly, this will not enable all of us to leave the cars at home and still get things done. But what else do we need? Here are my two-cents:

• Continued partnering between Town Planning and Economic Development entities that look to shape other pockets of value-added business development in town. Basically, cut down on the distances that people have to travel to secure the necessities of living while promoting local businesses. Start with basics such as food, then go from there with a preference for small, mom-and-pop style endeavors. This could be at the macro, multi-neighborhood level, or in the case of the Sandy Woods project, at the micro, single neighborhood level.
• Partner with local businesses and/or the town to install bike racks to encourage car-less travel
• Continue to repair/install sidewalks
• Renewed enforcement of speed limits and other safe driving behaviors to create a safe environment for walking, biking, etc.
• Exploration of in-town public transportation (e.g., small-scale bus or shuttle services) to get people to these new town centers
  
• Take additional cues from other urban-based transportation planning playbooks

This problem won't be solved overnight and I'm firmly grounded in the reality that we're not going to wake up one morning and not need our cars, but improved suburban transit could benefit us on so many levels: environmental, health, economic and so on.

What about you? Would you ditch your car once or twice a week if the infrastructure was in place?

November Poll Results; December Poll Launches

Once again, I seem to be about a week behind on the new monthly poll. So it goes...

November's poll tapped into your interest/willingness to go at a really local food diet. While only five people chimed in, 60 percent said they would with the balance split between "maybe" and "no". That's still positive in my book. Looking at all the stuff we picked up at the Pawtucket Farmers' Market yesterday, I'm still convinced that even now, a good part of our diet can come from local producers. I've started compiling listings for a local food guide and hope to be able to share an early version in the coming weeks.

Now for December's poll: Last week's Sakonnet Times reported on the passing of new zoning codes for business in Tiverton. These new codes aim to transform sections of town such as North Tiverton and Bliss Four Corners into replicas of downtown Bristol or Warren (my comparison, not the paper's), with their walkable, more community-friendly approach to integrating store fronts, roadways, sidewalks, and parking. What do you think?

Old Buildings. New Lives.

Tomorrow night, the Tiverton Town Council will be holding a special workshop to discuss future plans for the old Nonquit and Ranger schools. The meeting, which starts at 7:00 at Town Hall (Highland Road), is open to all.

Now, I don't know the details of what it costs to maintain/operate these buildings, but it would be a shame to lose them to a knee-jerk decision that only sees the short-term gain and not the long-term value to the community.

In a previous post I've mentioned that Nonquit would make a wonderful home for a community arts center. As for the old Ranger (where I went to elementary school), perhaps it could recycle itself into a new, bigger, and better town hall? With all the development happening in the Bliss Four Corners area (library, recreation center, etc.), relocating Town Hall to this neck of the woods could go a long way in redefining this (sort of) center of town.

The bottom line: With all the history and character that these buildings exude, to lose them for the wrong reasons would be a shame. Please lend you support. Can't make it to the meeting? Drop a note to Town Clerk, Nancy Mello ahead of the session at town_clerk@tiverton.ri.gov.

[Images Source: Town of Tiverton website]