Community Power Outperforms Expectations
Energy, Community, Environment Yolanda Baumgartner Energy, Community, Environment Yolanda Baumgartner

Community Power Outperforms Expectations

Recent news from the Community Power Coalition of NH (CPCNH) contained some surprises. Community power programs, including our own Hanover Community Power (HCP), are surpassing expectations held in April 2023 when Hanover launched as one of ten communities in the first wave of CPCNH programs. Over the first 16 months, HCP customers saved $643,000 compared to what they would have spent for utility supplied electricity. 

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How to Make “Black Gold”
Environment Lynn Sheldon Environment Lynn Sheldon

How to Make “Black Gold”

A Home Composting Workshop was held in the Mayer room at the Howe Library on September 19th. It featured Cat Buxton who runs the “Grow More Waste Less Organization” (website: https://www.growmorewasteless.com/) and was sponsored by the Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission (UVLSRPC) and hosted by Sustainable Hanover. Cat is an educator, community organizer and advocate for changes in the food system from food  production to waste disposal. 

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EVs on Long Trips
Energy, Environment Ben Steele Energy, Environment Ben Steele

EVs on Long Trips

If you are interested in getting an electric vehicle (EV) but apprehensive about how to charge it on a trip longer than the battery will supply, our recent trip to Maine might answer a few of your questions.

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WHO KNEW Y-O-U Might NOT Know About Sustainable Hanover’s Many Interesting Articles With Info You Can Use?
Community, Energy, Environment Judith Pettingell Community, Energy, Environment Judith Pettingell

WHO KNEW Y-O-U Might NOT Know About Sustainable Hanover’s Many Interesting Articles With Info You Can Use?

One of Sustainable Hanover’s initiatives is to publish a short piece called a WHO KNEW every Tuesday in the Hanover listserv focusing on a wide range of topics that might be useful to you. Sustainable Hanover archives all these pieces accompanied by photos on its website.

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Window Dressers Update
Energy Dennis Robison Energy Dennis Robison

Window Dressers Update

The Norwich/Hanover Windows Dresser Build finished its fourth year a day early!  Scheduled September 29-October 2 at the Norwich Congregational Church, 115 volunteers built 237 inserts for 25 households and rewrapped 15 inserts for 6 households.  Finishing a day early is likely due to having many more experienced volunteers.

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Dartmouth Leads & Hanover Supports
Energy, Environment, Community Judith Colla Energy, Environment, Community Judith Colla

Dartmouth Leads & Hanover Supports

Anyone driving through Hanover this summer has surely noticed the construction along East Wheelock, especially the once very deep and huge holes in front of the New Hampshire and Topliff dorms. “It looks like the College is building a subway system,” my husband commented.

Prominently displayed signs suggest otherwise. “Turning the corner from steam to hot water,” says one. “In the trenches to reach our goal,” says another. This construction is the initial stage of a $500m effort by Dartmouth to decarbonize.

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Decarbonizing Concrete
Environment Sustainable Hanover Environment Sustainable Hanover

Decarbonizing Concrete

Most people don’t realize that concrete accounts for 7 percent of all greenhouse emissions.  It does so in two ways.  First, the chemical transformation of limestone into cement, the main ingredient in most concrete, emits carbon dioxide.  Second, this chemical process requires a very hot kiln, almost always using fuel that emits carbon dioxide. This is bad news given how widely concrete is used in our buildings and infrastructure.  The good news is there are a growing number of ways to significantly reduce its carbon emissions and even use new mixtures of concrete to store carbon removed from the atmosphere. 

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Yard Sale 2024!
Community Susan Edwards Community Susan Edwards

Yard Sale 2024!

For the 13th year, dozens of local residents, having paid a small fee, gathered in the Dewey Lot to sell their excess stuff. In spite of an ominous weather forecast, the weather stayed fine.  Many wonderful volunteers came together to help throughout the month, the few days before and especially on the big day. 

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Window Dressers Returns!
Energy Dennis Robison Energy Dennis Robison

Window Dressers Returns!

For the fourth year, Sustainable Hanover and the Norwich Energy Committee are collaborating with the Maine-based nonprofit, Window Dressers (www.windowdressers.org) to make window inserts for Norwich and Hanover residents. The inserts are easy to install, remove and reuse. They let light in, keep drafts out, and reduce heating costs (on average, about 10 gallons of heating fuel per insert per year).

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Sustainable Hanover is Celebrating its 15th Anniversary!
Community Yolanda Baumgartner Community Yolanda Baumgartner

Sustainable Hanover is Celebrating its 15th Anniversary!

Sustainable Hanover (SH) began in 2009 when the Hanover Select Board, citing “a growing body of evidence (that) suggests communities like Hanover must pay increasingly close attention to issues associated with climate change, peak oil consumption and sustainability”, decided to address this need by creating the Sustainable Hanover Committee (later renamed as SH). Hanover’s existing Recycling Committee was re-organized to become SH’s first task force. SH has grown tremendously over these 15 years.

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The Co-op Has Big Goals for Reducing Its Carbon Footprint
Community Barbara Callaway Community Barbara Callaway

The Co-op Has Big Goals for Reducing Its Carbon Footprint

Sustainable Hanover is always eager to hear about sustainability measures that local residents and businesses are planning and implementing.

Recently Nate Osheyack, Facilities Manager, and April Harkness, ESG Manager, for the Co-op Food Stores, spoke to the Sustainable Hanover Committee about the Co-op’s activities and plans to reduce consumption of fossil fuels, increase access to renewable energy, and reduce waste.

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Center for Ecotechnology
Environment, Community Dennis Robison Environment, Community Dennis Robison

Center for Ecotechnology

At the April 4, 2024 meeting of the Sustainable Hanover Committee Abbey Massaro, Senior Waste Reduction Consultant representing the Center for Ecotechnology (CET), gave a presentation about a program developing sustainable practices for rural businesses and schools. CET, a non profit was founded in 1976 in Massachusetts with a focus on energy conservation. It has expanded its expertise and services to include waste related to food and deconstruction due to building projects and its geographical outreach to New England states.

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Composting in Hanover
Environment, Community Dennis Robison Environment, Community Dennis Robison

Composting in Hanover

Hanover households have several options to avoid sending food waste to produce polluting gases in landfill. For residents with the space, backyard composting is an excellent way to recycle food scraps into a valuable soil resource. Interested in learning how to do this successfully?

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Dartmouth College Sustainability
Energy Dennis Robison Energy Dennis Robison

Dartmouth College Sustainability

Sustainable Hanover’s first meeting of the new year featured an important update on Dartmouth College’s sustainability developments and plans. Rosi Kerr (Sustainability Director), Josh Keniston (Senior VP for Capital Planning & Campus Operations) and Abbe Bjorkund (Director of Engineering & Utilities) joined together to present a wide-ranging review of what has transpired in the immediate past and what they foresee for the future.

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EV Tax Credits for 2024
Energy Ben Steele Energy Ben Steele

EV Tax Credits for 2024

The Inflation Reduction Act that extended federal incentives for Electric Vehicles (EVs) until 2032 included a number of changes, some of which went into effect in January 2024. They include some great benefits, but also some restrictions.

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Styrofoam Recycling
Environment, Community Yolanda Baumgartner Environment, Community Yolanda Baumgartner

Styrofoam Recycling

In collaboration with the The Norwich Solid Waste Committee, Sustainable Hanover’s Waste Reduction/Recycling Team held its second annual Styrofoam Collection on January 27, 2024 at the Richmond Middle School. It was, by many measures, a great success.

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Better Bin Recycling App
Environment, Community Teresa Oden Environment, Community Teresa Oden

Better Bin Recycling App

Thanks to its Waste Reduction/Recycling team Sustainable Hanover has launched a new app to help residents stay informed and recycle more effectively. . The Hanover Betterbin app is specially designed for Town residents to provide up-to-date information on both of the local recycling options available to them: having Casella pick up their recyclables curbside on the prescribed weekday for their neighborhood, or dropping off their recycling at the Lebanon Solid Waste and Recycling Facility. When unsure whether a particular item can be recycled or is considered trash, app users can scan a photo of the UPC code on the item and get handling information.

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