Energy Conservation
Related References

BLUERBLUER is an ad-hoc committee formed by the West Chester Borough Council in winter 2006; BLUER’s mission is to help our entire community— including our municipal and County government operations, residents, businesses, and nonprofits— reduce greenhouse gas pollution 10% over 2005 levels by the year 2015. Take the OnLine BLUER Business Survey.

Scranton High School Students Winners of First Greensylvania Recycling Competition — DEP Northeast Regional Director Michael Bedrin recently presented the “Greensylvania Recycling Award” to the team of seventh and eighth graders from Scranton High School, winners of a five-week pilot recycling competition sponsored by DEP, EPA, the Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania and Lackawanna County.

Natural gas rush stirs environmental concerns — Advanced drilling techniques that blast millions of gallons of water into 400-million-year-old shale formations a mile underground are opening up unconventional gas fields touted as a key to the nation's energy future.

DOE and EPA Release an Energy Efficiency Action Plan for States — Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have released an updated version of the National Action Plan Vision for 2025: A Framework for Change, which lays out a proposed energy efficiency action plan for state policy makers.

Landscapes2 Related References

CCPC NewsletterPlanning Commission's Fall Newsletter — As part of the Planning Commission’s ongoing efforts to keep our services relevant and contemporary, we are in the process of shifting from a printed newsletter to an electronic format. The new format, known as an eNewsletter, will offer several benefits to you; more timely, more environmentally friendly, and more cost effective.

PennDOT to launch pilot program to display travel times on message signs in Chester County. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced the launch a of a pilot program on Monday, Nov. 17, to display travel times on eight dynamic message signs in Chester County to provide real-time travel information to motorists driving on routes 202, 30 and 100.

Reliving County history on rails — Stations like these were the crown jewels of their towns — they were the path to prosperity when trains were the fastest things on land.

Cleveland's much anticipated Bus Rapid Transit project opened in October. Buses now have their own travel lane stretching 6 miles between Cleveland's downtown and their medical research center. The $200M project,known as the "Health Line", has spurred $3.4B in proposed redevelopment within the city. It is a highlighted a National example of using Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) to give priority to transit vehicles and function similar to Light Rail operations.

Making things happen with Bus Rapid Transit: Part I — an innovative approach to public transportation. Part II — highlighting the success of BRT.

Brown is going Green — UPS First in Industry to Purchase Hydraulic Hybrid Vehicles.

Planning Related News and References

Top 10 Planning Books of 2009 — With titles covering some of the most timely issues in planning -- from form-based codes to exploding growth in China -- the list gives readers an overview of the best ideas and writing in the field.

East Goshen Township Recognizes Training by the Planning Commission — Members of the East Goshen Township Planning Commission were recognized this month for completing the Master Planner Program sponsored by CC202, West Chester University and the Chester County Planning Commission. George Martynick, Albert Zucarello, and James McRee were honored for completing the three course presented by the Pennsylvania Municipal Planning Education Institute. The Township’s goal is for all planning commissioners to complete this training.

Google — likely the world's largest single user of IT hardware, has designed its own servers and data centers in such a way as to use an estimated 5 times less energy than typical data centers.

Chester County Receives Award for Trail Planning Program — The Chester County Planning Commission received the 2008 Planning Excellence Award from the American Planning Association - Pennsylvania Chapter for its Trail and Path Planning Guide. This guidebook presents ways that municipalities can address trail and path planning in their comprehensive plan, official map, zoning ordinance and subdivision and land development ordinance.

Andy Paravis wins Elected Official of the Year Award — North Coventry Township Board of Supervisor Chairman Andy Paravis was selected as the 2008 Official of the Year by the American Planning Association - Pennsylvania Chapter. Andy was recognized for his tireless efforts at promoting cooperative planning amongst municipalities in Chester and Montgomery Counties. He participates on both the Northern Federation and Pottstown Metropolitan regional planning groups. Photo: Supervisor Paravis is flanked by Ronald Bailey, Executive Director (right) and David Ward, Assistant Director of CCPC (left).

Governor Edward G. Rendell is thanking voters for approving a clean water referendum that will support jobs and enable communities to make critical repairs and upgrades to their water and sewer systems. It authorizes a $400M bond issue to allow the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority, or PENNVEST, to award grants and loans for water treatment systems and pipelines.

Office of Urban Policy — Plans are underway to establish a White House Office of Urban Policy in order to better coordinate federal efforts to help America's cities. At the local level is where to impact change and local government can play a vital role as we try to jump start our economy.

Pennsylvania Recycling Markets Center Offers Green Share Program for Business and Industry — The Pennsylvania Recycling Markets Center (RMC) is offering both technical and financial project assistance towards enhancing the demand for use of recycled commodities in Pennsylvania. Provided primarily to manufacturers or commercial enterprises, the RMC Green Share Program enables Pennsylvania companies to increase competitive advantage by using recycled materials in processes and products.

DEP Secretary Says Time Remains to Apply for Illegal Dump Cleanup Grant. The grants are available on a competitive basis to any existing local government or incorporated nonprofit organization located in Pennsylvania. An applicant cannot, in any way, be responsible for creating any illegal dump located in Pennsylvania.

Attracting transit-oriented development (TOD) is a goal of many new projects, particularly those seeking funding through the federal New Starts program. A recent crop of new mixed-use developments shows the potential of bus rapid transit (BRT) to catalyze TOD and economic development in North America, and has significant implications for transit agencies and federal policy on transit funding.

Upcoming Events and Training

Clean, Fresh Water: Connecting Costs and Challenges — December 16, 2008 5 to 9 pm with light supper included.

Chester County Greenhouse Gas Reduction Task Force — The Board of County Commissioners has created a task force to investigate ways we can reduce energy demands and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Chester County. Please mark your calendar for Wednesday, December 3rd to hear about the findings of Chester County's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Task Force.

Links

Technology Corner

Certified Emission Reduction

Biofuels

Geothermal Power

Green Technology (Environmental Technology)

Mixed-Use Development