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.

Strawberries have come and gone all too quick, but blueberries now are hitting their prime. Here is a new place to get them, at a good price, if you don't already have a tried-and-true source:

The Blueberry Place, 44 Hope Street in Seekonk, is open for business now through mid- to late-August.  Hours are Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 8:30 AM to noon and 4:00 PM to dusk. Berries are $2 a pound pick your own; $1.90 seniors over 65.  Pre-picked are $3 a pint.  This is an opportunity to support local agriculture!

From Providence, drive east on Rte. 44 (Taunton Ave).  Just past Leonard’s Antiques, turn left onto Hope St. and go to the third house on left.

You can find dozens of other pick-your-own sites around the state at the Farm Fresh Web site. 

Blueberry painting courtesy of the awesome Providence painter Shawn Kenney.

Brown University researchers have discovered a nanomaterial that can absorb the mercury emitted from a broken compact fluorescent lamp (CFL). The researchers, led by Robert Hurt, professor of engineering, and engineering student Natalie Johnson, have created a mercury-absorbent container lining that can be used commercially. The packaging invention, for which Brown has applied for federal patents, would relieve a major concern with CFL use and comes as CFL sales are projected to skyrocket. 

Brown University engineering students Love Sarin (left) and Brian Lee display a nanoselenium-enriched cloth that can capture mercury vapor from broken compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). Brown has applied for federal patents covering the invention and plans soon to begin commercial negotiations.

Click on "More..." for the full text of Brown's news release. 

Blue State Coffee, on busy Thayer Street in Providence, was founded to be a socially responsible coffee company, selling freshly roasted organic and Fair Trade coffee. They are also eco-responsible, now offsetting all their electricity use with 100% wind power from People's Power & Light. The café has also completed a successful experiment to test a workable method to compost its coffee cups, on its way to a goal of running a “zero-waste” business.
 
“We pay extra for 100% wind power, but it turns out to be only the cost of one latte per day,” said Blue State Coffee manager, Alex Payson. “If one more person comes into the shop because we’re green, it’s worth it.” 

To find out more about Blue State Coffee and their awesome projects, and more about PP&L's new wind fund, click on "More..."

If you've been worried about how to dispose of your compact flourescent lights once they die, it should now be less of a problem, presuming you have a Home Depot nearby -- and who doesn't?

The giant home-supply company announced today that all of its stores will accept dead CFLs for recycling, just drop them off at the Returns desk. Click here for the full story. If you're not sure where the nearest Home Depot is, click here for a store finder.

Strawberry season arrives just once a year, and now is that time! We've had great weather so far for our local farms, a bit short on rain, but not too short; warm and sunny but not too warm; no major problems, so a great crop is expected.

Click here to find your local Farmers Market -- there are more and more every year --  or go straight to the farm and pick your own, or buy from a farm stand. The folks at Farm Fresh have made it amazingly easy to find whatever you want, any time, from their phenomenal Web site.

Okay, it's too hot for this early in the summer... the ocean is still so cold for swimming! ... but there are plenty of other ways to cope with the heat.

If you're downtown, you can look for an ice-cream cart in the park outside Hemenway's, or watch for it at Waterfire and other events -- and try the brand-new Rhode Ilin Ice Cream, made with local ingredients. Watch for lots of fruit flavors as the local berry harvest starts.

Another local favorite is GaGa's SherBetter, a sherbet/ice cream hybrid sold by a Warwick-based company. The stuff isn't made in R.I., but it's all-natural, and has won awards for its lemon flavor. SherBetter provides the richness of premium ice creams with way less fat. A brand-new flavor just out is Rainbow. You can find it at Dave's markets, Whole Foods, Shaw's, and lots more. Click here for more info including a listing of stores.

And there are plenty of other local ice cream shops worth a visit. Gray's, in Bristol and Tiverton, is a great one. Click here for more ice-cream greatest-hits from an article in last summer's Rhode Island Monthly. 

Relief is on the way, according to Susan Genett's Daily Bay Forecast, with lower temps and humidity in the works for Wednesday and Thursday, with plenty of sunshine. Click here for the details! 

Businesses have lagged behind in recycling here in R.I., and the DEM announced a while ago that it's time for that to change. With the landfill reaching capacity, the more junk that can be deflected to recycling instead, the longer the space we have left will last.

So, to help businesses do a better job, the RI Resource Recovery Corp and DEM have launched a new Web site called the Green Zone. Recycling and reducing waste can help businesses save money. For those of us who've been frustrated that while we recycle to the max at home, we can't even find a recycling bin at work, this is good news! We can all help to make this happen by showing support for recycling at work.

Click here to check out the Green Zone, click here for the DEM press release, and click here for a recent story in PBN on the topic.