League of Women Voters to honor Bill Nowak at Annual Luncheon

The League of Women Voters of Buffalo/Niagara

Annual League Luncheon

June 14, 2014 at Noon

Protocol Restaurant

6766 Transit Road, Williamsville, NY

Featured Speaker: Mike Connelly, Editor, The Buffalo News

Honoree: Bill Nowak

We invite you to join us at this year’s Annual League Luncheon.  The theme, Celebrate Service, is especially appropriate as we recognize Bill Nowak, leader for environmental and social justice issues, as recipient of the League of Women Voters Making Democracy Work Award.  Each year we pay tribute to a local citizen for outstanding efforts to uphold democratic ideals in our community and are honored to celebrate Bill Nowak’s outstanding work.

      Reservations for each guest of the League:               $  30.00               

      Reservations for League member/students:               $  25.00

      Reservation for a table of ten people named above:  $ 275.00
      Your organization name will identify the table you have reserved.
                    
Profits from this event will be used for our local League Education activities that include publication of the 2014 Voters Guide; 2014 They Represent You, a brochure providing contact information for elected officials; and First Vote, a pamphlet distributed to new citizens at monthly naturalization ceremonies and at voter registration drives.

Return Form for Reservations: Click Here
 

PUBLIC FORUM: Shift to Clean, Renewable Energy

Superstorm SANDY has a message:
Clean, Renewable Energy Now! 

The League of Women Voters and the Sierra Club-Niagara Group are presenting a forum to offer a plan, in the aftermath of Sandy, for how we can use FITs *(Feed-In Tariffs) to transform our energy system from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energies right now and creates good jobs in the process.

TIME:   Wednesday, November 14, 2012; 4:30 pm – 6:15 pm

PLACE: Burchfield Penney Art Center, Buffalo State College, 1300 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo.

The event is free and open to the public.

PROGRAM: The forum will explain how FITs work, and why, in the aftermath of Sandy, they are the best method for rapidly bringing new business and new jobs to a region along with promoting clean, renewable energy. 

Bill Nowak, a member of the Sierra Club Energy Committee and author of the Clean Fit Report, will present a PowerPoint on FITs to kickoff the forum. A panel with representatives from labor, business and environmental groups will follow.
   

Panelists include Peter Black, Director, Brant Renewable Energy, Ontario, CA; Thomas Fleckenstein, Co-Founder, Niagara Wind & Solar, Niagara Falls, NY; and Frank Hotchkiss, United Steelworkers, District 4; Representative and Political Coordinator. A demonstration project for a FIT in Western New York, as proposed by the Sierra Club Niagara and the United Steelworkers, will be discussed as well.

Parking is free in the adjacent Burchfield Penney lot, and in the Psych Center lot next door, which is accessible from Elmwood.

Let's Bring Clean Energy to WNY!

By Bill Nowak

I am writing to let you know about a local clean energy initiative.

The Sierra Club Niagara Group Energy Committee has been looking at places that have been successful at bringing wind, solar and other renewables on line.

I was commissioned to write a paper on the subject. The paper is called "CLEAN-FIT - A Program to Unleash Renewable Energy and Create Jobs in New York State." It's available on line.

I really hope you'll download this paper and look though it.

We will presenting much of this information as part of a forum on Saturday, April 21st at the Burchfield Penney Art Museum on Elmwood Avenue next to Buff State from 2 to 4 PM. A flier on the forum is here.

The forum is presented as part of Peace on Earth Month (POEM).

While the paper is on renewables for NY State, we have designed an innovative campaign to make WNY a demonstration project for creating green jobs in the solar, wind and other clean energy sectors.

We'll be unveiling it on the 21st. Please save the date.
We're hoping you'd like to be part of this campaign and whether or not you're able to make it on the 21st.

Please save the date of Monday, April 23rd at 6:30pm when we'll be holding a information/training session on the WNY demonstration project.  If you want to volunteer to help or just learn more, please attend:

• WHAT: Public Information Campaign on Renewable Energy -- 'CLEAN-FIT'
• WHEN: April 23, 2012 at 6:30pm
• WHERE: TriMain Building Rm.401, 2495 Main St, Buffalo

SEE: "CLEAN-FIT - A Program to Unleash Renewable Energy and Create Jobs in New York State." It's available on line. 

Please save the date of the 23rd and think about joining us to bring more green jobs and clean energy to WNY.

Bill Nowak, Energy Committee, Sierra Club Niagara Group
882-9237

Non-Profit Organizations: Cut Electricity Bills by Going Solar

No Up-front Costs -- Savings are Guaranteed!

Non-profit organizations, like churches, schools, social and community service groups, can realize immediate savings on their electric bill by leasing solar panels and generating their own electricity. With leasing, there are no up-front purchase costs and no additional charge for installation.

Bill Nowak is working with Solar Liberty to bring solar PV energy systems to non-profits and community-oriented organizations. Solar Liberty will install a 25 kW system for no money down and lease it to the organization for $100 a month for 15 years. Savings over previous electric bills are guaranteed.

At the end of the 15 year term, the organization is free to negotiate a new lease, buy the system at a fair market price, or have Solar Liberty take the system back.

All of the electricity generated by the system - approximately 26,000 kWh per year, valued at more than $3,000 per year at today’s prices, belongs to the organization for the $1,200 per year lease payments - the difference is money they would have been paying the utility company. Please see a Solar Liberty flier here.

This works because of some favorable incentives offered by the federal and state governments, which are set to expire on December 31, 2011.

This is a great opportunity for our community!

If you’d like to learn more about this program, Solar Liberty is holding FREE WEBINARS on June 23rd and 28th at 10 AM and June 30th at 2:00 PM. Sign up here.

Please send Bill Nowak any leads you may have with local non-profits or community organizations that own their own buildings or have a long term lease on their building. The roof space on the building needs to be fairly large (around 3,000 open feet) to qualify for this offer.

Contact Bill Nowak by e-mail here or phone him at 716-882-9237.

A Friend in Need

Bill Nowak is well known in the local community for his outstanding character and good works. Among his many talents, he has been a leader in informing and motivating people around environmental issues dealing with renewable energy and the green economy. He was named "Environmental Citizen of the Year" in 2009 in appreciation for his dedication to environmental quality.

Bill Nowak is looking for work, since his job ended yesterday when Senator Thompson conceded the 60th Senate District election.

Bill's strengths include his work ethic, ability to communicate both verbally and in writing, leadership qualities, a good knowledge of local environmental problems and opportunities, strong contacts throughout our community and good computer skills.

A copy of Bill Nowak's résumé is posted here.

If you have any leads or ideas for Bill, please send them to him by e-mail at bill.nowak2@verizon.net.

Here is a link to the "Environmental Citizen of the Year" award.

Environmental Citizen of 2009

[click image to enlarge]

To see the full Award Poster from the Erie County Environmental Education Institute, click here.

NEW SERIES: Business Gets Green

Business Gets Green is a new monthly series, sponsored by Buffalo's Green Gold Development Corporation, where businesses get to talk with each other, showcasing and discovering green products, services and initiatives. Come hear what the leading businesses and thinkers in our region are doing!

Business Gets Green will be held on the 3rd Thursday of each month at the Buffalo Museum of Science. Sessions will include an opening half hour where the first 20 businesses to register each get a quick minute to introduce themselves and what they do, followed by lively 15 minute presentations by 2 businesses, a local environmental organization, and a public official. The sessions will last no more than 2 hours and will close with the presenters fielding questions. If you want to become part of this emerging sector of our economy, want to network with other businesspeople who are 'getting green', or are curious about how you might fit in, Business Gets Green is the place for you.

If you would like a chance to introduce your business at the beginning of the session, please be sure to pre-register by contacting Bill Nowak, Green Gold Executive Director, at bill.nowak2@verizon.net . The introduction slots will be on a first come, first served basis, and will be cut off at 20.

Admission to this session will be free! Please arrive before 5:30 so we can start on time.

Guest post by Bill Nowak

.........................................................................................................................

The first session of Business Gets Green is set for Thursday, May 15th from 5:30 to 7:30 PM at the Buffalo Museum of Science with the following lineup:

• Michael Gainer, Executive Director, Buffalo ReUse, Inc.
• Julie Barrett O'Neill, Exec. Director, Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper
• Earl Aragona, Vice President, Ecology & Environment, Inc.
• Brian Reilly, Buffalo's recently hired Chief Economic Development Officer

For a printable flyer, click here.