The new Kiowa County Schools campus held its grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony on August 16 in the varsity gym of the facility. Lit by natural daylight, the gym was the perfect setting to give folks their first taste of the school's many sustainable features. Superintendent Darin Headrick, School Board President Ki Gamble, and a host of other speakers were generous in their praise of the enormous team effort that got the school opened in time for the fall semester.

Chicago was the site of the August 7 marriage ceremony between Emily Schlickman and Mason Earles. Readers who have been following the Greensburg rebuilding story from the beginning might remember these two young people, who made their way to Kansas fresh from graduation from Washington University in St. Louis. In the months after the storm, when they heard about the Green Initiative, they started calling Daniel inquiring about internship possibilities. As you might imagine, folks in Greensburg have gotten LOTS of calls from LOTS of people interested in helping. Many of these offers did not pan out, well-meaning as they might have been. But there was something different about Mason and Emily and their dogged determination to get on board with GreenTown. They kept calling, and once we met them, we knew it was a match made in heaven.

We are pleased to announce that the seed funding for the second of GreenTown’s model eco-homes has been secured. Groundbreaking for the Meadowlark House will happen this fall, across the street from our current headquarters in the Silo Eco-Home. Thanks to the generosity of Rob Threlkeld, who heads up his family foundation in Michigan (Raymond C and Anna T Johnson Foundation), the project has been given the green light. Rob and his son Nolan stayed in the Silo Eco-Home this summer, got a tour of the town, and liked what they saw.

Readers might remember that last year GreenTown co-sponsored an international design contest with FreeGreen.com, an internet-based company that offers free building plans for sustainable homes. Meadowlark, designed by Steven Learner Studio in New York, was the winning entry among the 150 that were submitted. The Studio describes Meadowlark as "designed to be both a comfortable and flexible home for a growing family on a modest budget and a demonstration model for sustainable design and technologies". A public voting period on the designs was followed by review by a panel of well-known architects and builders (including Steve Thomas, former host of the TV show “This Old House”). There was consensus among the judges that this was the best choice for a model home in Greensburg.

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. **



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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 . . .