Meeting Minutes

March 16, 2000

Micah Allen, SUNY AB Dymaxion Eco-House Club

Joshua Alter, Insite Design/Division of Planning

Jeannine Conley Baran, BERC

Dana Bobincheck, League of Conservation Voters

Joan Bozer, WNY Renewable Energy Association

Jean Brun, Community Foundation for a Greater Buffalo

Drew Eszak, Erie County

Joe Gardella, ESI/CAS

Andy Goldstein, Erie County Green Party

David Kaczor, Buffalo-Niagara Partnership

Tony Luppino, Office for the Environment

Randi Mail, Green Gold Intern

James Mariano, US Department of Commerce

Alexandra McPherson, Great Lakes United

Mark Moser, Lake Front Recycling

Kelly Nedwick, SUNY AB Dymaxion Eco-house Club

Bill Nowak, Council Staff

James W. Pitts, Council President

David Tomasello, Lake Front Recycling

Len Wrona, Hatch Associates

Ed Zielinski, www.environment-buffalo.org

• A geo-desic dome, a spherical shape composed of triangles, the only known structure that gets stronger as it gets larger.
• Straw bale insulation, which has an incredibly high R-value to resist the cold.
• A retaining tire wall composed of half tires jammed with clay situated against a berm.
• An external lever system to regulate heat intake and loss.
• Drums filled with water to serve as thermal mass in order to absorb and radiate heat.
• Overhead greenhouse space to experiment with organics.

University Facilities has agreed on a site by the Chilled Water Plant and offered to pour a concrete foundation. Prior to building, once the ground thaws, Dymaxion is looking for materials and other community resources to contribute to the project. Joan Bozer was excited and suggested that the structure be included in the Tour of Solar Homes that takes place every October, as well as suggesting that the project be incorporated somehow into the upcoming Pan-American Exposition. In addition, Lakefront Recycling offered to donate wood, which will be needed for the interior frame.

James Mariano, Director of the Buffalo Export Assistance Center of the US Commerce Department, highlighted many of the assistance programs offered to businesses to address exporting initiatives. The commerce department strives to defeat the myth that companies, which do not export should. Rather, businesses that are "underexporting" are commonly dealing reactively by limiting themselves to certain markets.

The Commerce Department helps such businesses explore the opportunities in other markets by determining the exportability of the product. Commerce assesses markets through such means as the National Trade Data Bank and other web resources that offer market research information, country guides, etc. Also, the Department finds representation and distribution networks for businesses while offering credit checks. Mariano offered the following advice to businesses interested in exporting:

• Use an international bank.
• Seek out good legal, insurance, and accounting help.
• Make exporting a commitment since it is very profitable.

For more info visit www.usatrade.gov/buffalo

Joan Bozer from the WNY Renewable Energy Association presented the idea that Buffalo take an aggressive approach in stimulating the photovoltaic market here in the states. She stressed how other countries are way ahead as far as employing renewable energy technologies, such as Germany and Switzerland. Right now, the US exports 85% of the PV cells manufactured in the states. This statistic demonstrates the unequal use of energy sources in the United States and points to our antiquated reliance on fossil fuels.

Joan pointed out a relevant quote, "We shouldn’t put all of our eggs in the oil basket." Bringing a PV manufacturer into the area will not only provide a new job base, but will help stimulate jobs in our community and will garner enthusiasm about our area. Mr. Pitts warmly accepted the idea and motioned for the creation of a committee to collaborate on a package to appeal to PV manufacturers. Several key players were already identified in this project including NYSERDA, ECIDA, BERC, BNE, DEC, and of course Green Gold. Anyone interested in this initiative should contact Joan Bozer @ 881-1639 or Bill Nowak at 851-4361.

The Environmental Society Institute’s Global Sustainability Conference planned to take place in the fall at UB welcomes the idea to make it a joint event with Green Gold. Conference plans have a good intellectual framework and an Environmental Trade show and career fair by Green Gold would complement it well. The conference will hopefully have Gro Bruntland from the World Health Organization as the distinguished speaker. However, her availability will not be known until sometime in April.

UB’s conference steering committee led by Paul Reitan is excited about joining resources with Green Gold so that the conference will offer many perspectives and activities. While Joe Gardella explained that the primary conference events would need to occur at the North Campus because of the facilities available, many board members along with Mr. Pitts felt that other activities and events could be planned to bring conference attendees downtown. Mr. Pitts also suggested the idea of using resources offered by the Telecommunications office to make the event accessible on TV.

James Pitts noted that the high school essay contest is underway and submissions are due on March 23^rd. Despite the fact that the conference has been postponed, this project was important to establish a connection with the school system and Mr. Pitts suggested that this be an annual contest modeled after the A. Philips Randolph contest. Several board members volunteered to act as essay judges, including Tony Luppino, Dana Bobincheck, and David Hahn Baker.

Dana Bobincheck presented an outline for what promises to be an exciting event. Organizers are hoping for thousands of people to attend on April 22^nd if the weather is nice. It will be a family style event. Council President and Green Gold Board Chair James Pitts, County Executive Giambra, and possibly First Lady Hillary Clinton will be among the keynoters. The winners of the Green Gold essay contest will read their essays.

Dr. Gardella reviewed Dr. DeSimone’s presentation on the use of supercritical CO2 as a dry cleaning fluid. There were two presentations cosponsored by Green Gold and the Environment and Society Institute. Seven dry cleaners showed up between the two, along with students and interested parties from the community. Local dry cleaners noted that they had recently been required to make expensive improvements to their PERC systems, so they are not in a position to make new investments that would make their PERC equipment superfluous. They were also unenthusiastic about the franchise system that Dr. DeSimone is using to introduce the CO2 technology. Dr. Gardella noted that this is a superior technology in many ways and that the Hangers Franchise system is growing. It may well be the wave of the future.