There's now a way for Rhode Islanders statewide to get their heating oil at a discount from People’s Power & Light (PP&L), and at the same time support this great nonprofit group which has been a powerful supporter of alternative energy projects for our state. Customers in every city and town - except Block Island - benefit from the power of numbers -- PP&L can negotiate better prices for its customers than any of us can get on our own.

“Every day the wholesale price goes down, our retail price goes down,” promises Karina Lutz, PP&L deputy director. The PP&L average price today dropped to $2.592. (The last statewide average reported by the Office of Energy Resources was taken on Oct. 27, at $2.809.) The statewide average was $3.249 on Oct. 14, while the PP&L rate was at $2.899. Click here to sign up online.

For more info, click on "More...".

Although GreenStart has been around for a few years now, lots of Rhode Islanders still don't realize they have the power to choose green energy for their homes right now, and it couldn't be simpler. So even if you have already gone green, tell a friend!

All National Grid residential electricity customers are receiving an invitation to choose green power in their utility bills this month, so it's a good time to reinforce the message with your friends. The utility’s “GreenUp” program gives these customers the choice to switch to green power right on their utility bill by choosing People's Power & Light’s New England GreenStart, a local, nonprofit energy company.

For more details, click on "More..."

It's still Fall here in RI, and while it's getting chilly, some of our local farmers are still in harvest mode. The Pawtuxet Village Farmers Market is going strong with a wide variety of produce, and plans to keep going till November 22. Last weekend they had leeks, lettuce, many varieties of apples, many colors of peppers, pumpkins, potatoes, onions, garlic, shallots, sweet potatoes, celeriac, honey, cherry tomatoes, basil, acorn squash, butternut squash, tomatoes, bread, carrots and eggplant.

So don't forget your local farmers! Check out your local markets and farm stands right through Thanksgiving (click here to find a local market with its current schedule). You will have to wear a coat, but you will not have to worry about your vegetables wilting. And even after your local farmers market closes down, you can find local products at the Providence Wintertime Farmers Market, all winter long. It opens on Saturdays starting Dec. 6, click here for info.

Are your book shelves a bit saggy? Is your study a fire hazard? RI Natural History Survey has got the solution for you! Donate your rarely opened, duplicate, or boring old natural history books to their annual used book sale. You’ll get a happier home, room for new books, and a potential tax deduction to boot.

Donations can be dropped off at the Survey office in the Coastal Institute, Room 101, on the URI Kingston Campus (at the corner of Flagg Road and Greenhouse Road). Please include your name and address and a list of books in the bag or box if you want a tax receipt.  Deadline for donations is Friday, November 14.

The book sale will be held in Swan Hall, at URI Kingston, starting at 6:30pm, Thursday, November 19th, prior to the lecture by Thomas Kunz on “Bats & Wind Energy.”

Questions? Contact Kira at the RINHS administrative office (401) 874-5800 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The local-food movement is blazing here in RI, where many of our marvelous restaurants seem to really "get it," and we all eagerly buy local milk (Rhody Fresh), local cheese (Narragasett Creamery), and all kinds of local produce from our local farmers markets. Now you can buy local RI potoatoes in the grocery store! Look for the white potatoes in the purple bags with the Narragansett label in the produce aisle.

"We think revitalized farm-to-grocer connections will be a foundation for more secure farms and more secure food that will benefit Rhode Island’s farmers and eaters for generations to come," says Noah Fulmer, the executive director of Farm Fresh Rhode Island, and he oughta know.

Find out more at the Farm Fresh Web site or in this recent article from East Bay Newspapers.

Solar energy is happening fast -- though here in RI we are missing out somewhat, due to a lack of state incentives to help make the costs competitive. Our state's biggest solar company, SolarWrights, is exanding like wildfire into neighboring states, while projects here fail to happen. Nonetheless, here is some bright news! SolarWrights is joining forces with Solar Works to create the biggest solar company in the Northeast. The new company brings together the region's leading designer and installer of commercial solar systems with the region's largest residential solar energy provider. Click on "More..." to read the full text of the company's news release. SolarWrights was also featured in a recent New York Times story about the solar biz.

In other news, Bernie's appliance stores in RI now will carry solar systems, the company said this week.

We can all learn how to more efficiently use the energy we need to power our  homes, and a new program from URI aims to help move us in that direction. The Master Energy program, modeled after the school's popular master gardener program, comprises five sessions that will provide you with practical information about how to save money and the environment by optimizing energy efficiency, renewable energy, and alternative fuels in your home.

This course will be taught by Robert S. Cerio, who has 25 years of experience in environmental and energy conservation management. Classes start Oct. 20 at the URI Kingston Campus, and the full program costs $75. For more info, click on "More...."

by Michael Clark

Few things seem so natural and benign as a fresh, green lawn, but in fact, the environmental cost of all that brightness is ridiculously high. Here in Rhode Island, upwards of 80,000 gallons of water go to irrigate just one average quarter-acre lawn just for one season. In one North Kingstown subdivision, where special meters were installed, it was discovered that 95 homes used 5.7 million gallons for outside use during last summer, mainly for lawn watering. That was 78 percent of the total water used.

So, you might wonder, does it matter? Don't we have plenty of water? No, not really. In NK, for example, the main water source is the stressed Hunt River, which virtually ran dry in 2005. Across the state, water use doubles and even triples in the summertime, mainly due to lawn irrigation. The result -- stream flows slow down as water levels fall, damaging aquatic habitats. The economy suffers as new industries find the water systems inadequate for their needs. Demands on infrastructure increase, costing huge amounts of money to increase the supply. Aquatic habitats are further degraded as all that water carries excess fertilizers and chemicals from our lawns and pavements into our lakes and streams and coastal waters.

So what can be done about it? Plenty! and it's not hard. It could even be fun. Click on "More..." for the rest of the story.

It's been an abundant summer for our local farms, and if you're getting piles of fresh produce from your own backyard, or a farmers market or farm share, it can be a challenge to know what to do with it all!

Here are some delicious recipes to share, from Scratch Farm CSA member Ashley Paul, for cucumber soup and lemon basil ice cream. Just click on "More..." for the full details.