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Who We Are

Greensburg GreenTown is a charitable nonprofit organization working in Greensburg, Kansas to rebuild the town following the devastating tornado in May of 2007. The town has made a remarkable comeback, reinventing itself as a model for sustainable building and green living now recognized around the world. GreenTown’s mission is to make green building and living easily understood, appealing and accessible to all.

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Wednesday
Jul282010

Greensburg the Focus of July 28 GreenExpo365.com Webinar

DateWednesday, July 28, 2010 at 01:42AM by AuthorJoah Bussert

(PLEASE NOTE CORRECTED STARTING TIME OF 11 A.M. PACIFIC/NOON MOUNTAIN/1 P.M. CENTRAL/2 P.M. EASTERN)

Join Ron Jones, Founder and Editorial Director of Green Builder Media, as he continues looking at how builders and architects are using green building techniques and materials to help rebuild after natural disasters. This multi-part series started in June looking at New Orleans, and will continue with Greensburg, KS, and Haiti.

Ron JonesIn this second installment, Ron will visit with Daniel Wallach, the Executive Director of Greensburg GreenTown, to talk about how our small town in Kansas picked itself up after a devastating tornado and chose to build green. You want to hear this motivating story, Wednesday July 28, 1 p.m. Central time in the GreenExpo365.com Auditorium.

Space is limited, so be sure to click the link within the "Live Presentations" area of the auditorium early on the event day to lock in your spot! This is a FREE webinar!

**If you are unable to attend, the session will be recorded and available for on-demand viewing following the event. **



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Monday
Jul262010

Arts Center Begins Energy Monitoring

DateMonday, July 26, 2010 at 03:43PM by AuthorJoah Bussert

5.4.7 Arts Center

Last month, the 5.4.7 Arts Center made a big change in their renewable energy generating system. With a grant provided by The University of Kansas Energy Council, the Center has employed the services of Enphase Energy, a solar energy company based out of Petaluma, CA, to improve the efficiency of their 1.5 kilowatt solar array. One of the most exciting features of Enphase’s services is the energy monitoring capabilities that the company provides. Click here to go to the Art Center monitoring page and see how the panels are performing right now.

The Arts Center is now able to track the performance of each individual solar panel with real-time data. This will give them a better idea of how much energy the panels are providing for the building over the course of each day, week, month and year. It will also allow them to track the efficiency of each panel and quickly identify any problems that may come up. This is an excellent educational tool as well, as the data provided puts the energy savings into understandable and measurable comparisons. As of June 16, when they began monitoring the panels, they have produced enough energy to power 829 light bulbs or run 274 computers for one day.

Click to read more ...

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Monday
Jul262010

Why is Green Important to Greensburg?

DateMonday, July 26, 2010 at 03:17PM by AuthorAdministrator

For a recent issue of the local county newspaper, GreenTown's Director, Daniel Wallach, wrote an article about the continuing importance and relevance of the local Green Initiative. Many of the points he made are highlighted here.

It is 3 years since the tornado and the establishment of the Green Initiative in Greensburg. We have found varying levels of enthusiasm for the concept among local residents. Many folks think it is great, the lifeblood of the new Greensburg, and some think it is a gimmick and a fad, and they are tired of it.  Of course, there are many people on the continuum in between. But ask anybody in Greensburg, and they have an opinion.

The Green Initiative has brought a tremendous volume of positive public relations to this town of fewer than 1,000 - PR that big cities would pay millions for. While Greensburg has still not yet landed a large industry, it is very well positioned to do so as the economy recovers. Tourism is likely the best economic hope this town has for the future. Retail businesses in town can tell you - visitors spend money.

Click to read more ...

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Wednesday
Jul142010

Cutting-Edge Electric Riding Mower Donated

DateWednesday, July 14, 2010 at 01:29PM by AuthorCatherine Hart

Excel's Andrew Braun (l) presents the Hustler ZEON to GreenTown's Daniel Wallach (r)

Here’s another feather in Greensburg’s cap: a state-of-the-art electric riding lawn mower has just been donated to GreenTown. The generous people from Excel Industries in Hesston, Kansas have presented us with a Hustler ZEON, the world’s first zero-turn all-electric riding mower. This unit has a list price of $6,999, so this represents a sizable gift to the community. We offer a special thank-you to Paul Mullet, Excel’s President and CEO, for making this donation possible.

Click to read more ...

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Wednesday
Jul142010

Local Green Coffee Shop Highlighted

DateWednesday, July 14, 2010 at 12:01PM by AuthorCatherine Hart

 

Kari Kyle, Proprietress of the Green Bean Coffee Company

In the current issue of Specialty Coffee Retailer, writer Alan Richman sings the praises of the local Green Bean Coffee Company, owned by Kari and Tim Kyle. Kari's attention to sustainability is highlighted, from the large commitments (carrying Green Mountain's organic and fair trade coffees) to the small, everyday acts (bringing reusable shopping bags to the grocery store). It is a very inspiring piece and a nice example of how the local business community has made a comeback - with a green twist.

Richman further gives a good overview of the Green Initiative and lists some of the corporate donors that have been instrumental in helping Greensburg residents get on their feet again with some very green products. We are grateful for how these gifts keep on giving - from the water-saving bathroom fixtures from Caroma and Evolve, to the green cleaning influences of TADgreen, Quick n Brite, and the OneCleanWorld Foundation. Also spelled out in the article are the contributions from Viega, the Glass reFactory, Ogden Publications, and several other generous donors. We've said it before, and we'll say it again: Greensburg is being rebuilt on a foundation of generosity.

Note: Hit CONTINUE on the page where you're taken when you click the Specialty Coffee link and you should get to the article.

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Thursday
Jul082010

City of Greensburg Nominated for VH1 "Do Something!" Award

DateThursday, July 8, 2010 at 11:29AM by AuthorAdministrator

The City of Greensburg has been nominated for special recognition in the City category of VH1’s 2010 Do Something! Awards.

Since 1996, DoSomething.org has been recognizing young adults and teenagers who go above and beyond in taking action to enact social change. They honor acts of volunteerism and encourage teens to get involved and make a difference both at home and in other communities as well. We in Greensburg have been the recipients of a remarkable level of generosity and outpouring of volunteer help. Over 25,000 volunteers have come to Greensburg to offer their time and skills in a multitude of ways towards the rebuilding effort here. In fact, we are still receiving requests and placing volunteers throughout the community more than three years after the tornado.

Click to read more ...

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Monday
Jul052010

Moving Ahead with Biodiesel

DateMonday, July 5, 2010 at 12:07PM by AuthorCatherine Hart

Local people have perhaps noticed GreenTown’s newly-purchased utility vehicle parked alongside the Silo Eco-Home. This little truck will be running on biodiesel, thanks to Healy Biodiesel, located in Sedgwick, Kansas (just north of Wichita).

There are a lot of misconceptions about biodiesel. Many people get it confused with the straight vegetable oil that is recovered from restaurants. It is designed to be used in standard diesel engines (with few if any modifications), and is distinct from the waste oils that are used in converted diesel engines. It can be used alone, or blended with petrodiesel.

There is an interesting history behind the development of the diesel engine . . .

Click to read more ...

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Monday
Jun212010

Popular Science Puts Greensburg on the Map

DateMonday, June 21, 2010 at 01:49PM by AuthorCatherine Hart

In an article posted on Popular Science magazine's website on June 17, Greensburg is touted as one of the nine most promising carbon-neutral communities in the world. The town is depicted as the "Best U.S. Project", with its plans for achieving neutrality by 2017. The amount of carbon to be offset is equivalent to the planting of 825,000 trees. (That would be quite the jungle in our 1.5 square mile burg!)

Click to read more ...

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Friday
Jun182010

DOE Releases New Video of Greensburg Progress

DateFriday, June 18, 2010 at 01:48PM by AuthorCatherine Hart

The Department of Energy recently released a new video which gives an overview of Greensburg's commitment to green rebuilding. Featured community representatives include City Administrator Steve Hewitt, 5.4.7 Arts Center Director Stacy Barnes, GreenTown Director Daniel Wallach, and GreenTown Project Manager Stephanie J. Peterson. Readers who have been following Greensburg's story are aware that DOE's National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) has been an invaluable resource to local residents, business owners, and government officials as they have taken on the massive job of getting the town on its feet again.

A couple of program notes: The current population is estimated between 900-1,000. The Greensburg Wind Farm mentioned in the piece opened for business in March and since that time has been providing full-time renewable energy not only for the entire town, but also for thousands of additional homes in other parts of the state.

We also invite readers to check out our recently updated photo library, under the "Community Resources" drop-down menu. Thanks to GreenTown's Joah Bussert for adding a host of new images.

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Monday
Jun072010

Greensburg Welcomes Green Cleaning Experts

DateMonday, June 7, 2010 at 10:33AM by AuthorCatherine Hart

Catherine Hart introduces Richard Haymes and Michael DeJong to the audience

GreenTown had a nice attendance on June 2 for two green cleaning and book signing events featuring our special out-of-town guests. We were pleased to welcome from New Jersey Michael DeJong, author of Clean: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing, and Richard Haymes, founder of the OneCleanWorld Foundation. Michael and Richard have donated 600 copies of the Clean book to the community, which are being distributed free to area folks through GreenTown’s Green Visitors Center. (Read more about their gift and the Foundation here.) The user-friendly tomes are chock-full of tips and recipes for cleaning using just five natural ingredients: baking soda, white vinegar, salt, lemons, and borax.

Click to read more ...

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