 July-August 2006 Newsletter Contents: Guest Highlight Alliance to Save Energy Column State Updates
The 2006 Georgia Energy Star Sales Tax Holiday
In 2005, the successful ENERGY STAR Sales Tax Holiday featured public service announcements by Governor Sonny Perdue promoting both the Sales Tax Holiday as well as Energy Star’s Change A Light Campaign. Organizations including AGL Resources, the Alliance to Save Energy, the Clean Air Campaign, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Georgia Department of Revenue, Georgia EMC, the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority, Georgia Power Company, the Georgia Retail Association, Marietta Power and the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia have come together both last year and this year to support this opportunity. Consumers have the opportunity to save on ENERGY STAR qualified appliances that cost $1500 or less - including dishwashers, clothes washers, air conditioners, ceiling fans, fluorescent light bulbs, dehumidifiers, programmable thermostats, refrigerators, doors and windows. Many ENERGY STAR qualified appliances use 30% less energy than conventional models without sacrificing features, style or comfort. Some products, such as energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps, save as much as 80%. By replacing old, inefficient appliances with ENERGY STAR qualified models, Georgians can help protect the environment while saving money and energy. Consumers can better understand the options and benefits of ENERGY STAR qualified products by visiting the “ENERGY STAR @ Home” interactive tool at www.energystar.gov. In addition to the ENERGY STAR Sales Tax Holiday, consumers can save money by taking advantage of federal tax credits on doors, windows and other energy-efficient products. The Energy Policy Act of 2005, signed into law on August 8, 2005, authorizes tax credits on a variety of products designed to save energy, save money and protect our environment. These tax credits are currently available through December 31, 2007. More information on the federal tax credits is available on the Alliance Web site, at www.energytaxincentives.org or at www.energystar.gov. For more information on Georgia’s ENERGY STAR Sales Tax Holiday, visit www.gefa.org.
University Students Excel in Promoting Campus Energy Efficiency
The student intern coordinators of the UC Santa Barbara Green Campus Program were honored for holding a successful, year-long, campus-wide energy competition; facilitating a class on purchasing practices in the University of California system; assisting on numerous LEED-EB projects; and successfully campaigning to pass The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF) ballot measure, which creates a student-fee increase that will fund future energy-efficiency and renewable energy projects. The student intern coordinators of the CSU San Bernardino Green Campus Program were recognized for their success in fostering environmental awareness on a campus that does not have a tradition of environmental activism. CSU San Bernardino Green Campus interns have directly reached thousands of students and staff through five campus-wide events, where they disseminated information and promoted energy efficiency; partnered with facilities and Environmental Health and Safety staff to save thousands of dollars by reducing the energy usage of campus vending machines; and incorporated energy conservation into the training for campus resident advisors. This is the second year that Best Practice awards have been given out, with Green Campus schools winning in the Student Energy Conservation Programs category both years. Last year’s winners were Humboldt State University and UC Berkeley. The two state-wide university systems have aggressively and creatively pursued energy efficiency on the 23 CSU campuses and 10 UC campuses. As part of the California Public Utilities Commission’s $2 billion 2006-2008 energy-efficiency initiative, a partnership between the UC and CSU systems, and the four major investor-owned utilities (Pacific Gas and Electric, Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas and Electric and Southern California Gas) are setting the stage for long-term sustainability and best practices. Students have contributed to the efficiency programs in a number of ways, both on a policy level and on the grass-roots level of dorm room management and student education. The UC-based California Student Sustainability Coalition lobbied for a comprehensive Green Building and Clean Energy standard for the entire UC system, which included standards for renewable energy, purchasing energy from green energy sources, green building standards for all new buildings except acute care facilities, and an ambitious goal for reduction of total energy consumption on UC campuses. The comparable CSU student organization, Renew CSU, has also lobbied for a sustainability policy, an effort that contributed to the Revised Policy on Energy Conservation, Sustainable Building Practices, and Physical Plant Management. Announced in September, 2005, the revised policy stipulates LEED-equivalency for all new CSU buildings and sets ambitious new benchmarks for energy-efficiency and renewable energy, including 10 megawatts of on-site renewable generation
Alaska House Bill 30 California Assembly Bill 32 Assembly Bill 993 Assembly Bill 2647 Assembly Bill 2021 Assembly Bill 1012 Assembly Bill 2160 Assembly Bill 2576 Assembly Bill 2756 Senate Bill 1368 Illinois Senate Bill 1705 Louisiana Senate Bill 503 Michigan Senate Bill 1333 New Jersey Senate Bill 2114 Senate Bill 2074 New York Assembly Bill 11644 Senate Bill 8316 North Carolina Senate Bill 2051 Pennsylvania House Bill 2253 Rhode Island House Bill 7610 House Bill 8025 The Alliance Wants to Hear from You!
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From August 3 to 6, Georgians can save money, save energy and protect the environment during the second statewide ENERGY STAR Sales Tax Holiday. The holiday, inspired by Georgia’s successful “Back-to-School” Sales Tax Holiday, exempts select ENERGY STAR qualified product purchases up to $1,500 from both state and local sales tax.
California college students are demonstrating how campuses can “walk the talk” of campus sustainability. Two universities participating in the Alliance To Save Energy’s Green Campus Program won the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) Higher Education Energy Efficiency Partnership Best Practices in Sustainable Operations competition this year. The University of California, Santa Barbara, and California State University, San Bernardino received the awards in the Student Energy Conservation Programs category. Awards were presented during the UC/CSU Sustainability Conference, held June 25-27 at UC, Santa Barbara.
