New website coming soon...

Stay tuned for my new website coming soon...

In the meantime, visit the following pages for more info about me and my entrepreneurial endeavors:

Iorio Italian Ice  www.iorioice.com

Sells gourmet Italian ice, sorbetto, and gelato (retail, catering, and wholesale)

My acting profile and headshots

http://www.nextcat.com/profile/MyNextcat.aspx

I am also on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter 

Have a great day!

Ann Arbor: A Hotbed for Sustainable Energy?

On Wednesday recently retired Ann Arbor City Energy Coordinator David Konkle spoke on the University of Michigan campus. His presentation highlighted the sustainable energy projects Ann Arbor has pursued over his career. Though I knew of several of the projects going into the session, by the end of his presentation I was more aware and proud to live in such a progressive community.

Some of the innovative projects Ann Arbor is involved with include:
- GO Solar Seminars
- Ann Arbor Hands On Museum Energy Exhibit
- Solar hot water heaters on fire station
- Recycle Ann Arbor's EnHouse and Green Building Resource Center
- 2 active hydro-electric dams (Barton and Superior)
- Landfill Gas Facility
- Glendale Road, AA with LED lighting display
- LED lampposts downtown (see photo)
- Ann Arbor Farmer's Market Solar Roof and future solar education station. UNI Solar is providing the shingles after only exporting its products overseas before!
- Ann Arbor is a Solar America City
- Ann Arbor Energy Fund (a revolving energy fund that invests the savings from energy efficiency projects back into seed funding for new projects)
- Eco Sense Program airing on cable television
- 5,000 Solar Roofs by 2015

As you can see there are a number of sustainable energy happenings in Ann Arbor. I have yet to visit all of the displays throughout the city! To learn more about Ann Arbor's energy involvement and displays check out the city's webpage on energy. Ann Arbor is more of a hotbed for sustainable energy than I thought!








Photo courtesy of Sustainable Design Update.

Windmill School

Last week I attended “Windmill School” in St. Ignace. Dr. Mary Ann Heidermann, Regional Land Use Educator at the Michigan State University Extension Office spent a little over two hours covering planning and zoning for wind energy. Her presentation focused on wind facility siting and regulation. Though wind energy will be an important part of Michigan’s push to develop sustainable energy sources many cities no not have clear policies and regulations concerning wind energy. Some local ordinances do not even address wind turbines, making them difficult for companies and landowners to determine the best course of action. Wind energy is a large financial investment and the uncertain policies make it even riskier. The packet given to attendees included a copy of Dr. Heidermann’s presentation, model ordinance, guidelines for siting wind energy systems, Huron County’s ordinance, and landowner guidelines for evaluating wind energy production contracts.

Some interesting facts I learned at the workshop include a few general facts about wind energy. he "Michigan Land Use Guidelines for Siting Wind Energy Systems" addresses many concerns about developing wind farms, including, but not limited to, noise, bird deaths, and shadow flicker. These issues are important to consider when incorporating wind energy into local ordinances. TFor instance, local government is responsible for setting local rules about excessive sound or noise. Since noise is a subjective judgment, some people may enjoy sounds that others do not. There are no directly applicable federal or state laws mandating noise levels, but state and local governments commonly use the EPA's advisory document published in 1974 to guide their decision making. When it comes to bird deaths, more birds are killed by house cats in a year than turbines. MSU Extension's Guidelines reports a 2005 estimated annual bird mortality range between 75 to 100 million deaths from house cats, and only 20 to 30 thousand deaths from wind power developments. Enough said. Shadow flicker is a less publicized concern, but may be as, if not more, disturbing than others. Shadow flicker describes what happens when rotating wind turbine blades come between the viewer and sun, creating a shadow. Some people argue that shadow flicker may cause epileptic seizures. Even though there are no documented health affects associated with shadow flicker, the Michigan Siting Guidelines for Wind Energy Systems suggest utility grid systems submit a shadow flicker analysis when requesting a permit.

Though the presentation targeted city planners, wind energy policies will more than effect local officials. Landowners, companies, government officials, and future generations will all be effected by decisions made today about wind energy. I advise anyone concerned about Michigan's energy future to educate themselves about forthcoming energy policies.

For those interested in attending similar events in the future I recommend contacting the MSU Extension Office before registering, to determine if a workshop will be held close to your residence. The workshop set me back $110 (for two seats) and about five hours of drive time. Though I didn’t leave the workshop with a diploma, I left with a better understanding of the challenges and obstacles to developing wind energy in Michigan.

Re-Welcome - Michigan Energy Leadership

After careful exploration of the blogosphere I recognized that my current blog direction will not fulfill a need as I would like it to. There are several existing blogs that offer tips on how to lead a more sustainable lifestyle, most notably Ideal Bite and TreeHugger. I started exploring alternative topics that are interesting to me and also fill an untapped niche. After surveying my interests it hit me on the head like a windmill blade (well...not quite that hard!) Energy! I am very interested in sustainable energy technologies, the economics of energy, implications on society, and more. As a Michigan resident I am particularly interested in ways Michigan can jump start its economy and pursue a clean energy future. Wala - Michigan Energy Leadership. Still spells MEL, but is more unique. I will periodically throw in some 'Environment,' 'Economics,' and 'Entrepreneurship' to really encompass the 'E' for 'Everything!' The plan will also be to expand to 'Midwest' in the future.

I hope this blog will provide a source of information for those interested in sustainable energy particularly in Michigan/Midwest and create a network of readers passionate about making positive change!

Stay tuned for more on MEL!

Ticket for a Tree?

Perhaps you have been to an event or at least heard about events trying to become more environmentally-friendly. For instance, Dave Matthews Band partnered with the Nature Conservancy to plant trees to "offset" their carbon intensive tour and used organic cotton in their t-shirts. Other events, such as the Green Festivals, offset their carbon emissions, use biodegradable cutlery, and celebrate sustainable organizations.

Surely there are different methods to "green" events, whether it be offsetting, fair trade souvenirs, or organic food. For the sake of this post I want to focus on the tree-planting idea. Last year I spent about nine months researching voluntary carbon instruments, primarily carbon offsets and renewable energy certificates. Since there are no uniform standards, you can invest in wind energy, methane-capture projects, or plant a tree, for an array of prices. Without going too in-depth on the details (you can read my entire report here) I want to propose an alternative for events to pursue.

Consider any event, let's examine an NBA basketball game. Rather than calculating the game's "carbon footprint" and releasing an article to the local newspaper, how about empowering each individual to make a positive environmental impact. Use the money that would have spent investing in some renewable energy project on the other side of the country to purchase little trees or compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). As everyone leaves the gym employees can hand out their complimentary gift. During the game, messages on the big screen can get fans excited about what they can do with their tree or CFL. You may be thinking, how is a tree of CFL related to basketball in anyway? The truth is, they are not really related. Not directly at least. But fans could receive a lot more perks if the arena spent less paying for electricity by using CFLs or LED lights. Want to make it more relevant? Customize the product presentation to fit the NBA team. The CFL packaging or tree itself are prime for any promotional material.

Sports' team paraphernalia does one thing: it appeals to the majority. Most people attending the games have at least one thing in common: they like basketball and/or they like the team playing. Kids will not be too thrilled with the idea of receiving a tree or light bulb instead of a plastic bobble head toy. Fortunately, this is just an example and could be more easily implemented at business conferences or sustainability-related event.

Personally, I would pick a CFL over a bobble head any day! But then again I am not a twelve year old boy wearing a Detroit Piston's jersey during the NBA finals.

I would love to hear your suggestions for greening events without greenwashing them. Please leave any and all your thoughts in the comments section.

Beyond Recycling - What to Do with Old Newspapers?

When my younger brother had a weekly paper route I tried to make use of his regular surplus of newspapers. Using them as a buffer during messy projects or to project the floor of the dogs' room was not enough for me, so I tried to reuse the old papers by soaking them in water, with the intention of creating paper pulp to make new paper. Really the papers just soaked for weeks on end because I never got around to finishing the project.

I started thinking about my "newspaper project" yesterday at the first annual Elkton Wind Turbine Day. I picked up a pamphlet titled "80 Uses for Old Newspapers," information that would have been gold a few years ago during my initiative to reuse the papers. For anyone who has similar goals and would like to put old newspapers to use, I will share the most helpful from the list below:

1. Protect car seats from muddy or wet clothing.
2. Put into loose shoes to tighten.
3. Stuff in leather shoes to preserve shape.
4. Stuff in wet shoes overnight to dry and deodorize. (I found this extremely helpful during my track and field season)
5. Crumple and place in suitcase for couple of weeks to remove stale odors.
6. Store records between sheets.
7. Use as padding under a table cloth.
8. Cover furniture when sanding or painting. (And put over window-panes before painting)
9. Spread on floor underneath rug when shampooing.
10. Place in closed windows to eliminate wind rattle.
24. Stuff under doors and in cracks to stop cold wind from coming in. (Bonus: Energy-saving tip!)
25. Protect table when children are painting or gluing. (Or anything messy is going on)
26. Make paper mache handicrafts, party hats, paper dolls, paper chains, kites. (Great way to keep kids entertained!)
27. Use to remove heavy grease from oven.
28. Sharpen pencils by rubbing the point on newspaper.
29. Spread out between garden rows to discourage weeds.
30. Use to wrap green tomatoes to ripen.
31. Cover plants during a frost.
32. Put under car wheels when stuck in snow, mud or sand.
33. Line storage boxes, bottom of bird cage, shelves, waste baskets, pet's sleeping box.
34. Use as mat for wet, muddy boots.
35. Wrap and store Christmas tree ornaments.
36. Wrap around ice cream to keep frozen.
37. Place on windshield to prevent icing.

Use the tips above to maximize your papers' utility. Whatever you do, do NOT throw newspapers away! Newspapers are recyclable and, as outlined above, have many other uses besides reading. In fact, if all you do is read the newspaper, consider reading it online. My mom taught me that simple paper saving trick. You can read newspapers from other cities, states, and even countries online! Visit Online Newspapers to search for the publication(s) you are interested in reading. Reading the paper online will save paper, time, and money!

If you have any additional ideas for reusing newspapers please share them in the comments section.

mel

meet mel

i am mel. i consider myself a modern everyday leader. everyday encompassing many things that start with the letter e, such as environmental, entrepreneurial (combined to be ecopreneurial), efficient, economical, eccentric, and so forth. it is no coincidence that my initials are also mel. passionate about living a healthy and sustainable life, i created mel-theblog to help answer your questions about how to live a triple punch life - achieve environmental, social, and economic success - all while having fun and living life to the fullest!

part of the success of this blog depends on you! i welcome & encourage you to send your questions to me, & i will answer them in my posts. want to spend less on gas? wondering how to finance your new venture? looking for an organic cotton shirt? an electric snowplow? mel is here to save the day!

whether you're a student, professor, budding entrepreneur, or CEO of a Fortune 500 Company, send me your burning questions and I'll put in regular two cents as per how you can lead the way to a sustainable future!

please send all comments, questions, &/or suggestions to mel at mel.theblog@gmail.com