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Seattle, WA (1/20/10) -  McKinstry strives daily to live up to its reputation as a national model for how a business can integrate sustainability into every aspect of its operations.

From LEED Gold facilities to providing important thought-leadership on creating jobs for the burgeoning clean energy economy, McKinstry has been on the cutting edge of the sustainability revolution.
 
Certified Green Plumbers

Now, the service arm of this Seattle company is taking it one step further, arming its plumbers and pipefitters with GreenPlumbers Accreditation. To become certified GreenPlumbers, candidates must undergo 32-hours of training in such subjects as climate and water care, solar hot water, water efficient technologies, and more.
 
In this challenging economy, homeowners are looking for innovative, cost effective ways to save energy and protect their assets. GreenPlumbers certification represents one more avenue for McKinstry to deliver the quality of service that saves clients energy and money, while earning their continued loyalty and satisfaction.
 
"The GreenPlumbers training provides our plumbers with the necessary tools and resources to present multiple solutions to help our clients save water, energy and money," states Bob Frey, McKinstry's VP of Service.
 
The GreenPlumbers program is a partner of the EPA WaterSense program, Alliance for Water Efficiency, the California Center for Sustainable Energy, the California Urban Water Conservation Council, as well as other industry leaders that share its mission of bringing environmental training to plumbers. More information about GreenPlumbers can be found at www.greenplumbersusa.com.
 

SPLASH!: A Celebration of Water Conservation and Craft Brewing at Discovery World Museum,
Milwaukee,
October 26, 2009

Local "craft" businesses such as breweries and specialty cheese making and local restaurants can collaborate on local celebrations of "local business".  When combined around a water conservation theme, or an energy conservation theme...you can educate while providing valuable marketing opportunities for local businesses.

One such celebration is being developed in Milwaukee:

SPLASH!, a celebration of conservation and craft brewing, presents craft beer and cheese tastings and dinner catered by Bartolotta's at the Discovery World Museum, Pier Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, on Monday, October 26, 5-8 PM.

The event features representatives from leading conservation groups, artisan cheesemakers with sustainable operations, and craft brewers.

The special guest speaker is Jake Leinenkugel, president of the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co., Chippewa Falls, WI, the Platinum sponsor of the Great Lakes Craft Brewers & Water Conservation Conference, with in-kind support from Beer Capitol Distributing, Inc.

SPLASH! is the public portion of the Great Lakes Craft Brewers & Water Conservation Conference, which brings together water policymakers in the Great Lakes and experts in water-saving systems from Bridgeport Brewing Co. (Jeff Edgerton), New Glarus Brewing Co. (Dan Carey), Odell Brewing Co. (Doug Odell) and Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. (Fred Strachan). Guests at SPLASH! will be able to meet and mingle with the craft brewers attending the conference.

Artisan cheesemakers that will be present at the event include Crave Bros. Cheese Company of Waterloo, WI; Saxon Farmstead Creamery of Cleveland, WI; and the Cedar Grove Cheese Company, with a display about the biodynamic "Living Machine" wastewater treatment developed by cheesemaker Bob Wills.

Several conservation groups, such as Clean Wisconsin, Gathering Waters Conservancy, Milwaukee Riverkeepers, Shedd Aquarium's Great Lakes Conservation program Listen to Your Lakes, and the National Wildlife Federation, will showcase conservation tips and tools. The Shedd Aquarium will give away free shower timers made of 100% recycled plastic. This tool helps you shorten your morning ablutions to five minutes or fewer, to save water at home.

The event includes a buffet dinner catered by Bartolotta's Catering, with recipes from "The Best of American Beer & Food" cookbook (Brewers Association, 2007). Tickets for the event are $45 each; purchase with PayPal online, at http://www.conserve-greatlakes.com, or prepaid by check made payable to: F&B Communications LLC, and mailed to Lucy Saunders, F&B Communications LLC, 4230 N. Oakland Ave. #178, Shorewood, WI 53211.

Online registration and more conference details are available at http://www.conserve-greatlakes.com. For more information, contact lucysaunders@mac.com, or call 800-760-5998.

The EPA's Community Action for a Renewed Environment program is a competitive grant program that offers communities an innovative way to address the risks from multiple sources of toxic pollution in their environment. The program encourages local organizations, including non-profits, businesses, schools and governments create partnerships that implement local solutions to reduce releases of toxic pollutants and minimize people's exposure to them, improving the environment through local action.

$93,256 in Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) program funding has been awarded to the Waianae Coast of Hawaii for a great start on this important community project to protect local streams and ocean waters.

The funding will be used for the Ka Wai Ola O Waianae Moku project to assess how human activities near and in streams are adversely affecting subsistence and recreation use of near-shore waters along the Waianae Coast.

The Pacific American Foundation will be assisting the community in managing the project. An additional $50,000 worth of EPA Pacific Southwest Region contractor assessment funding is also being put toward the effort.

"The project will involve stakeholders and community members throughout the Waianae Coast in assessing and prioritizing potential toxic risks in their streams," said Yoshii. "This is the first step toward reducing the toxic impacts in the local area. I am pleased that EPA can play an ongoing role in these efforts to reduce toxics and achieve a healthier environment here on the Waianae Coast."

The project will focus on four streams - Nanakuli, Ulehawa, Kaupuni, and Makaha - by gathering and consolidating existing water quality data and conducting site walks to gather visual data.

The project goals include:

• · Engaging youth at intermediate, high school and university levels to understand the risks associated with pollutants. The goal is then for the youth to engage their communities to reduce risks associated with environmental pollutants.
• · Wai`anae Coast community members will be assembled to develop locally-appropriate indicators, select benchmarks, create issue profiles, rank issues, and set priorities.
• · The final product will be the development of an action plan to address water quality issues in the four streams and near-shore waters along the Wai`anae Coast, which will serve as a basis for further funding through the CARE Level II cooperative agreement proposal.

Fear of Swimming in Streams and Ocean

"The water in the streams used to flow. We swam in the streams in the summer because it was so hot. It was clean, peaceful, with no rubbish. But today, we are afraid to swim in our streams and ocean," said Waianae Coast residents, Pake Salmon, Christina Cunningham, and Rochelle Lendt. "We appreciate the EPA funding Ka Wai Ola O Waianae Moku to help us restore our streams. We need to bring awareness and education to the community on how their activities impact our land and steams."

For more information on CARE please visit: http://www.epa.gov/air/care/index.htm

Plants in our cities are as environmentally important as those in our wild areas. They provide oxygen, homes to wildlife, and cooling without burning fossil fuels. Plants clean our air and water, prevent erosion, and reduce glare and noise pollution. On the most basic level our landscapes are a green urban ecosystem mitigating the effects of intensive urban and suburban living. As California grows, the environmental challenges will increase. Plants are our most important assets for protecting and enhancing our environment.

Urban plants provide many benefits such as:

Clean Air

Natural Cooling

Clean Water

Wildlife in our Communities

Quieting the City

Healing

The California Green Industry Council (CGIC) is a multi-billion dollar industry that not only provides a large percentage of jobs in California and contributes to the state's GNP but provides a more beautiful and healthy environment for California. The California Green Industry Council's member organizations all contribute to make California the beautiful and thriving state that it is today.

California Association of Pest Control Advisers (CAPCA)

California Assn. of Nurseries & Garden Centers (CANGC)

California Golf Course Superintendants Assn. (CGCSA)

California Landscape Contractors Assn. (CLCA)

California Landscape & Irrigation Council (CLIC)

Western Plant Health Association (WPHA)

California Sod Producers Association (CSPA)

Irrigation Association (IA)

Pesticide Applicators Professional Assn. (PAPA)

The professionals in the 'Green Industry' include sod producers, nurserymen, pest control advisers, pesticide applicators, landscape contractors, irrigation specialists, landscape architects, golf course superintendents, fertilizer and compost manufacturers and many others. Many of the professionals in the 'green industry' are required to have state licensing and certification and/or have professionally managed certification programs.

By working together in trade associations and councils of diverse trade associations, information about standards, issues of mutual interest or that cross multiple professions and multi-disciplinary working teams can be created.  And the more diverse the communications, the more likely our natural resources such as fresh water, native habitat, wildlife, and human communities can be understood and managed for sustainability.

California Green Industry Council

The environmental, economic and societal benefits of plants in our communities are profound. We need them to make it possible to live together in dense urban and suburban communities. As California's population continues to grow, we must increase the amount of plants making our human habitat habitable.

 

Careful planning and site evaluation are the first steps in applying this concept.Florida is a diverse state that includes multiple climatic zones. Soil types, temperature ranges and rainfall patterns differ dramatically from region to region. Different conditions often exist on the same property.

Monitor landscape service provider.
Review your landscape service and maintenance agreements to place a high priority on water conservation. Check when irrigation systems are operating to insure they are not watering sidewalks and driveways.

Choose the right plant for the right place.
Planting the right plant for each location, decreases the amount of water needed. When planning your landscape or garden, select and group plants according to their needs for sunlight and water. Obviously, plants in the full sun will require more water than those in shaded or partially shaded areas.

Select plants that require less water.
Many of these will likely be native plants. An additional benefit to using native plants is that they tend to attract wildlife. Many native plants survive only on rainfall. Native and other "climate appropriate" landscape materials can reduce irrigation water use by more than 50%.

Replace mowed landscaping with ground cover.
Plan the landscape with minimal use of grass. Only plant grass that requires watering and mowing where it is necessary for guest satisfaction. Replace grass with ground cover that requires less maintenance and less water. Try to eliminate small areas of grass, such as parking islands and areas between sidewalks and roadways. These are hard to maintain, require a lot of watering and may be replaced with mulch without losing any of the decorative appeal.

Fertilize appropriately.
Fertilize in moderation and only during the growing season. Use fertilizers that contain slow-release, water insoluble forms of nitrogen. Better yet, use organic compost.

Always mulch.
Mulching flower beds, shrub beds and trees has several benefits. It helps the soil absorb water, allows water to better penetrate plants root systems, reduces unwanted weed growth, and insulates plants from changes in temperature. As the mulch decomposes, the organic content of the soil is increased. Mulch also increases the attractiveness of areas.

Recycle yard waste.
Grass clippings, leaves and yard trimmings can be recycled rather than thrown away. By recycling yard debris, we gain free mulch and return valuable nutrients to the soil.

Manage yard pests.
It is unrealistic and unwise to strive for an insect-free yard. Many insects are beneficial, helping to keep pests naturally under control. More and more communities and individuals are successfully managing pests by protecting beneficials and reducing the use of pesticides (known as Integrated Pest Management).

Provide for wildlife.
With more than 1,200 kinds of animals, Florida ranks third in the nation in wildlife diversity. Providing adequate food, water and shelter can increase the number and variety of species that live in your yard.

Maximize mulch.
Mulch keeps moisture in the soil, moderates soil temperature and reduces erosion and weeds. Keep a 2-to-3-inch layer of organic mulch over the roots of trees and shrubs and in plant beds. Create self-mulching areas under trees so leaves can stay where they fall. Use by-products or alternative mulches such as bark, or use recycled mulches when available in your community.

Techiques such as Permaculture or Xeriscape are very beneficial to help you plan for a sustainable landscape.  And don't forget to make your landscape productive -- by including food plants such as trees, shrubs, vines and even ground cover that produce a harvest of delicious nuts, berries or fruit.  By using organic fertilizing and integrated pest management techniques, you can produce some of our own delicious, healthful snacks and meals!

Xeriscape

Xeriscaping was one of the first conceptual approaches developed to promote quality landscaping that conserves water and protects the environment.

The term was devised by the Denver Water Company to promote water conservation. The seven principles are:

• Proper planning and design
• Soil analysis and improvement
• Appropriate plant selection
• Practical turf areas
• Efficient irrigation
• Use of mulches
• Appropriate maintenance

Xeriscape is especially useful for best management practice near driveways, parking lots and recreation areas.  The large amount of hardscape can sometimes cause severe impacts on plants.  The use of mulches, efficient irrigation and practical turf areas are just part of the solution -- the most effective water conservation technique is proper plant selection! 

It just doesn't work to put a water-loving plant in a hot, dry nook that gets no drainage!

Xeriscape is a practical approach to landscaping, especially in small spaces that require careful planning to balance beauty and practical surface treatments.

All too often, landscape irrigation wastes water--up to 1.5 billion gallons every day across the country. WaterSense irrigation partners can help you reduce your water consumption, save money, and maintain a healthy and beautiful landscape. These professionals are certified through WaterSense labeled programs for their expertise in water-efficient irrigation technology and techniques.

If homeowners with irrigation systems hired WaterSense irrigation partners to perform regular maintenance, each household could reduce water used for irrigation by 15%.

That's the amount of water that would flow from a garden hose if it was left running for almost a whole day.

WaterSense irrigation partners can help you design and install a new irrigation system or audit an existing one to minimize the amount of water you use, greening your yard in more ways than one. If there's anyone who can help you with the latest best practies, it's probably someone connected with the EPA's excellent research and educational outreach!  Here you can learn about Integrated Pest Management, plant species best for your location, native plants, soil health...and earthworms, you best underground friends!...and much more.  

Review the list of landscape irrigation professionals partnering with WaterSense!

California Green Solutions is building a robust catalog of professional training courses and certification programs offered by private companies and colleges. You will find this robust catalog covers business law, construction, human resources...as well as engineering and green building...and more.

Visit the Green and Sustainable Job Training Catalog at: CaliforniaGreenSolutions.com