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In the Spring 2007 issue:
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According to the International Ecotourism Society, tourism is the largest and fastest-growing business in the world, employing 200 million people (that's 8 percent of global employment!) and generating over $5 trillion in economic activity each year. The social and environmental impact of tourism, when irresponsibly handled, is staggering, with a “footprint” that can obliterate landscapes and local, as well as, global communities. On the other hand, when approached with a sustainable mindset, tourism can be a conservation tool, educating travelers about the environment and cultivating an appreciation of nature and various cultures. |
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“Ecotourism” is “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the welfare of local people.” How can you do your part as a traveler? The goal is to enjoy travel enrichment without negatively affecting other communities and the environment. With the best-laid travel plans, you contribute rather than diminish.
Of Local Interest |
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City crews in Newton, Iowa, have been busy changing light bulbs - 267 of them, to be exact. The switch of incandescent bulbs in its traffic signals to panels built on light-emitting diode (LED) technology will reduce energy consumption by about 75 percent, or approximately 114,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. That's the equivalent of powering 13 average homes a year. When LED technology first arrived, only red lights were available, which meant that they were useful only in devices with monochromatic color schemes, such as calculators and alarm clocks. Red, green and yellow LEDs are now offered, making them practical for use in traffic lights. While LEDs are initially more expensive than the older incandescent lamps, Newton's public works director David Stewart estimates that they will pay for themselves in as little as four years. |
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In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, workers at Terex Corporation's manufacturing facility worked to replace existing T-12 fluorescent lamps and electronic ballasts with more energy-efficient T-8 lamps and ballasts in the company's 18 buildings. In total, 1,442 light fixtures were replaced. As a result, the company is saving more than 1.2 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year. “After labor and materials, energy is one of the largest costs of doing business today,” said Greg Meng, general manager at Terex. “If we can reduce our energy usage and save money, everyone benefits.” Both projects were funded through Alliant Energy's Performance Edge Program. To read more about the program, which has saved more than 57 million kilowatt-hours of electricity since its inception in late 2001, visit www.alliantenergy.com/performanceedge . |
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As a Second Nature participant, you're already supporting renewable energy each month through Alliant Energy. But have you ever wondered how you could incorporate renewable energy even further in your home or business, but didn't know how to get started? Wisconsin's Focus on Energy Renewable Energy Program can guide you through the steps to make clean and affordable renewable energy your energy source of choice.
The first step in deciding how renewable energy can work for you in your home or business is to learn more about it. Focus provides information about renewable energy system options, costs and financial incentives on its Web site at www. focusonenergy.com/renewableenergy . A good place to start is with the fact sheet, “Renewable Energy Projects: Guiding You Through The Process,” found under the “Info Library” link or by calling the Focus Info Center at 800-762-7077.
Check out future issues of this newsletter for more information on Focus and stories about real life renewable energy installations in Alliant Energy's Wisconsin service territory.
Second Nature Customer Spotlight |
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In this issue, we're shining our spotlight on a business whose foundation is built upon ecologically based living: Wisconsin's Inn Serendipity, which includes both the Inn Serendipity Bed & Breakfast and the Inn Serendipity Woods cabin. The Inn and its organic farm serve as examples of sustainable approaches to agriculture and forestry, “right livelihood,” and ecological design. “As social entrepreneurs,” explain owners Lisa Kivirist and John Ivanko, “we measure wealth not only by dollars and cents, but by the health of the land, the community, and the planet.” |
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A showplace for energy conservation and a sustainable lifestyle, the Inn is a “demonstration home” for Real Goods, approved by the Co-op America Small Business Network and Energy Star Small Business. It's also a certified Travel Green Wisconsin accommodation.
The EPA chose Inn Serendipity as one of 13 national Energy Star Small Business Network Award recipients for 2004, and Natural Home Magazine recognized it in 2005 as one of the “Top 10 Eco-destinations in North America.”
Inn Serendipity Bed & Breakfast, located in Green County, is just outside Monroe, Wis. The Bed and Breakfast, the farm, and the home office are powered by a 10 kW wind turbine, which joined Alliant Energy's power grid in May 2003. Installation was completed through the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA)'s Educational Institute Workshop. The Inn also has a .7kW photovoltaic system that produces electricity from sunlight.
Long before the Inn started producing more energy than it uses, it participated in Alliant Energy's Second Nature program at the 100 percent level. “The Second Nature program was a fast and easy way to help reduce our contribution to global warming based on the energy we used,” says Lisa.
The B & B's farmstead also houses a straw-bale greenhouse, a converted south-facing corn crib/granary. An active and passive solar-heated greenhouse, it was built using recycled sustainably harvested wood, old metal doors, and discarded windows. Besides the solar thermal system for heat, a backup heating system uses a furnace that burns homemade biodiesel processed from local waste fryer oil. Construction took place as part of a workshop sponsored by MREA. The greenhouse is used for growing papayas, bananas, coffee, and other tropical plants.
Inn Serendipity Woods Cabin is located near Hillsboro, Wis., about two hours northwest of the Bed and Breakfast. This 30-acre wildlife sanctuary and rural retreat is near the Elroy-Sparta State Trail and the Kickapoo River (Wisconsin's most crooked!). Cabin guests take showers with water heated by the sun.
A free Farm Open House will be held at Inn Serendipity on July 14, in celebration of “energy independence day.” From 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., visitors can enjoy children's activities, tours, a potluck and campfire, and presentations on topics such as food preservation and biodiesel. Check the schedule of events at: www.innserendipity.com/ruralren/openhouse.html , or give Lisa or John a call at 608-329-7056.
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This year, more of Inn Serendipity's local commuting will be done in an all-electric CitiCar, one of only 2,600 produced in the U.S. from 1974 to 1976. Rising energy costs are one impetus, but a more important one, says John Ivanko, is to further reduce the Inn's ecological impact and operate more sustainably. Electric cars run (quietly) on power generated by an electric motor rather than a gasoline engine. The motor gets its power from a controller, which gets its power from rechargeable batteries. |
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The Inn Serendipity Bed & Breakfast owners will be recharging their electric car with 100 percent renewable energy, including a soon-to-be-completed 48-Volt solar power station on site. The project was completed in close collaboration with neighbors on a nearby farmstead.
View the Product Content Label for the Alliant Energy Second Nature Program.
