Going Green!

Anne Powell of ResortQuest Real Estate has been awarded the National Association of Realtors (NARs) Green designation, the only green real estate professional designation recognized by NAR.

For Craig Littleton, who was born and raised in the Bethany Beach area, it feels good to be working with the one thing that makes the beach what it is — the sun. Littleton, a former construction industry project manager, is now owner/operator of Project Resources, a solar and wind company located right at the foot of the Assawoman Canal bridge, just west of Bethany Beach.

Gerald “Jerry” Mueller, with Jerry Mueller Real Estate in Bethany Beach, has been awarded the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR’s) Green designation, the only green real estate professional designation recognized by NAR.

Two bills that would help renewable energy systems become more commonplace in Delaware neighborhoods are moving quickly through the General Assembly.

The first bill (House Substitute 1 for House Bill 70), sponsored by State Rep. Bill Oberle (R-Beecher’s Lot), would prevent local governments and homeowner associations from adopting any measures restricting the installation of wind turbines.

To promote more attendance at their meetings, the Fenwick Island Environmental Committee will meet in the evening next month. Their July meeting will be held on July 8 at 7 p.m.

As a way to fulfill executive orders and federal mandates to use more renewable resources, the Army National Guard station near Bethany Beach has set their sights on wind power.

When plants grow, they consume nutrients from the earth just like people consume food. These nutrients must be replenished in order for a garden or field to continue to yield healthy plants and crops. People often use expensive fertilizers in aiding this process, but with a little bit of work and some time they can instead turn to the process of composting to create a nutrient-rich soil additive known as compost.

There has been a lot of talk about green building lately, from structurally insulated panels to geothermal heating and air. But a lesser-known industry, at least in terms of green, is now on its way to earning a reputation as more efficient and eco-friendly: pile driving.

“Where is a great place to eat?”

Thirteen young members of Saint Ann’s Youth Organization (SAYO) gathered recently under the direction of their coordinator Dawn Zimmerman and used part of a school holiday to listen to a teaching by Andy Zampini of the Wilmington Dicocese Office of Justice. Zampini talked about the Catholic Church’s seven principles of Social Justice, the seventh having to do with protecting “green justice.”

The Citizens Advisory Council to the Center for Inland Bays heard from DNREC representatives at their April meeting about the remedial plan of action at Burton’s Island landfill near Indian River.

Tucked away on the east side of Cedar Neck Road, across from the main entrance to the James Farm Ecological Preserve, the Slough’s Gut marsh enhancement project has quietly been completed after years of monitoring, evaluation, planning, design and, finally, construction.

The Town of Ocean View got a special Earth Day present when workers from Sposato Landscaping showed up last week to do some pro bono landscaping.

Good Earth Natural Market and Organic Farm held its annual Earth Day celebration this past Saturday, April 25.

Volunteers are needed to assist with the 2009 survey of the spawning horseshoe crab population in the Inland Bays.

The public is being invited to attend the Citizens’ Advisory Committee Meeting of the Center for the Inland Bays on Tuesday, April 28, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the CIB located on Inlet Road in Delaware Seashore State Park, just north of the Indian River Inlet Bridge.

Delaware Renewable Energy is hosting their second annual Renewable Energy Fair on Saturday, April 18, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Bay Center in Dewey Beach. At last year’s event, they had about 275 guests and about 10 vendors. This year, the number of vendors has more than doubled, and they hope to have more guests, as well.

Fenwick Island and its residents are no novices when it comes to the environmental movement or the idea of “going green.” The town has had an environmental committee for more than five years now, and they have a successful oyster-gardening program. Just recently, on March 29, they also celebrated the first anniversary of the culmination of their “tree triage” program.

Much like the grassroots campaign known as Earth Hour (which was celebrated only for the third time on Saturday, March 28 — with a goal of reaching more than 1 billion people — in which people all across the globe turned out the lights in a stance against global warming), Earth Day started small, with big goals.

In an auditorium speckled with both supporters – some holding signs that read “Hear Bill Zak,” and “Coal Ash is Toxic” – and DNREC officials and employees, Bill Zak of Citizens for Clean Power made his case to the state’s Environmental Appeals Board.