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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released a list of 25 U.S. metropolitan areas with the most Energy Star certified buildings in 2012, highlighting how owners and managers of commercial buildings across the country are taking action on climate change while delivering real financial savings to the bottom line.
California leads with six cities on this top 25 list, more than any other state.
For the fifth year in a row, Los Angeles continues to hold on to first place, with 528 buildings. San Francisco ranks No. 6 with 291 Energy Star buildings; San Diego, No. 15, with 123 buildings; San Jose, No. 16 with 114 buildings; Sacramento, No. 20 with 97; and Riverside, No. 24, with 69 buildings.
In Northern California alone, the more than 500 Energy Star certified buildings have helped save nearly $140 million in annual utility bills while preventing greenhouse gas emissions equal to emissions from the annual electricity use of more than 50,000 homes, the EPA reported.
“Through their partnership with EPA, the owners and managers of Energy Star certified buildings are helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions while saving on utility bills,” said EPA Acting Administrator Bob Perciasepe. “With Energy Star, cities across America are helping achieve President Obama’s goal to cut in half the energy wasted by our businesses over the next 20 years.”
Nationally, more than 20,000 Energy Star certified buildings across America helped save more than $2.7 billion in annual utility bills while preventing greenhouse gas emissions equal to emissions from the annual electricity use of more than two million homes in 2012.
Energy use in commercial buildings accounts for 17 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions at a cost of more than $100 billion per year. EPA continues to see an increase in buildings applying for and earning Energy Star certification each year.
The cumulative number of Energy Star certified buildings has increased by more than 24 percent compared to last year, representing more than 3 billion square feet of floorspace nationwide. In 2012 alone, more than 8,200 buildings earned EPA’s Energy Star certification.
Also on this list is Washington, D.C., landing in second place with 462 buildings. In third place, with 353 buildings, Chicago has risen through the rankings each year, starting in sixth place in 2008 and increasing the number of buildings certified by an average of 32 percent each year. Phoenix broke into the top 10 for the first time, with 202 buildings.
Commercial buildings that earn EPA’s Energy Star must perform in the top 25 percent of similar buildings nationwide, as verified by a professional engineer or a registered architect.
Energy Star certified buildings use an average of 35 percent less energy and are responsible for 35 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than average buildings. Fifteen types of commercial buildings can earn the Energy Star, including office buildings, K-12 schools, and retail stores.
Launched in 1992 by EPA, Energy Star is a market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency.
Over the past 20 years, with help from Energy Star, American families and businesses have saved more than $230 billion on utility bills and prevented more than 1.8 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
Today, the Energy Star label can be found on more than 65 different product categories and more than 1.4 million new homes, in addition to the more than 20,000 commercial buildings.
LUCERNE, Calif. – The Lucerne Alpine Senior Center has hired a new executive director who plans to appeal a decision handed down late last month that ended the center’s nutritional services contract.
Rae Eby-Carl accepted the executive director position from the center’s board of directors on Monday, March 4, succeeding Robert Clifton.
Eby-Carl has many years of experience managing programs, meeting guidelines and monitoring service quality.
She served for 13 years as the senior deputy director of Lake Family Resource Center, a position she left earlier this year, and also was with Lake County Juvenile Hall for 12 years.
“Eby-Carl’s experience in administering programs was a prime factor in placing her at this critical time for the center,” said Lucerne Alpine Senior Center Board Chair Ted Shimizu.
The board for the Area Agency on Aging of Lake and Mendocino Counties terminated the Lucerne senior center’s $66,000 annual contract for nutritional and outreach services at its meeting on Thursday, Feb. 28, after a state auditor determined that the center was a “high risk” food provider, as Lake County News has reported.
After the decision, Clifton told Lake County News that the center didn’t plan to appeal the decision, which goes into effect at the end of March.
It was anticipated at that point that the center would no longer provide Meals on Wheels services, with the Lakeport and Clearlake Oaks senior centers pledging to step up and cover the more than 100 people for whom the program had provided nearly 16,000 meals since last July.
However, on Monday, Eby-Carl said that upon taking the executive director’s position she immediately began exploring an appeal of the Area Agency on Aging board’s decision.
“I worked with the board and listened to what mattered to them, and this is just much too important of an issue not to go through the appeal process,” Eby-Carl told Lake County News.
The appeal is expected to be heard this month, Eby-Carl said.
At last month’s Area Agency on Aging Board meeting, it was noted that the appeal process – which has been rarely used – would be handled by an independent hearing board.
Eby-Carl said the center is correcting all reported deficiencies in the nutritional program.
Going forward the center’s nutritional program will follow dietary guidelines and meet expectations of government agencies, including the Lake County Health Department, California Department of Aging, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture, she said.
The center expects a fair hearing with the Area Agency on Aging and will present all corrections and plans for monitoring services closely, Eby-Carl said.
More than a third of seniors have incomes below the federal poverty level and count on quality nutrition through programs like Lucerne Alpine Senior Center, she said.
While Eby-Carl said meals to Northshore seniors could be provided from other areas, she emphasized the importance of the center itself, which she said is at the heart of the nutritional program. It’s also a place where seniors can socialize.
“People come in there to eat and the contacts are important, and knowing the contacts are nearby, I think, is very important,” she said.
According to Area Agency on Aging figures, since last July the center has served 2,658 congregate meals to 156 individuals.
As such, Eby-Carl said reducing hunger and food insecurity will continue to be goals of the center, which wants to continue to offer Meals on Wheels services to the Northshore.
She said the center’s dedicated staff and volunteers are committed to healthy and nutritious meals as well as outreach services.
Lunches are served on site Monday through Friday, as well as breakfasts on Saturday. A food pantry is available for emergency nutrition needs.
As part of National Nutrition Month, Eby-Carl said the center is taking part in local efforts to fund Meals on Wheels.
She said donation cans in Northshore communities will be available for collecting funds, with all donations going to Meals on Wheels.
For more information about the center, call Eby-Carl at 707-274-8779.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
Far beyond the orbits of Neptune and Pluto, where the sun is a pinprick of light not much brighter than other stars, a vast swarm of icy bodies circles the solar system.
Astronomers call it the “Oort Cloud,” and it is the source of some of history’s finest comets.
One of them could be heading our way now.
Comet Pan-STARRS was discovered by the Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System atop the Haleakala volcano in Hawaii.
Astronomers use the massive 1.8 meter telescope to scan the heavens for Earth-approaching objects, both asteroids and comets, that might pose a danger to our planet.
In June 2011 a comet appeared, and it was named “Pan-STARRS” after the acronym for the telescope.
In early March, the comet will pass about 100 million miles from Earth as it briefly dips inside the orbit of Mercury. Most experts expect it to become a naked-eye object about as bright as the stars of the Big Dipper.
“But,” said Karl Battams of the Naval Research Lab, “prepare to be surprised. A new comet from the Oort Cloud is always an unknown quantity equally capable of spectacular displays or dismal failures.”
The Oort cloud is named after the 20th-century Dutch astronomer Jan Oort, who argued that such a cloud must exist to account for all the “fresh” comets that fall through the inner solar system.
Unaltered by warmth and sunlight, the distant comets of the Oort cloud are like time capsules, harboring frozen gases and primitive, dusty material drawn from the original solar nebula 4.5 billion years ago. When these comets occasionally fall toward the sun, they bring their virgin ices with them.
Because this is Comet Pan-STARRS’ first visit, it has never been tested by the fierce heat and gravitational pull of the sun.
“Almost anything could happen,” said Battams.
On one hand, the comet could fall apart – a fizzling disappointment. On the other hand, fresh veins of frozen material could open up to spew garish jets of gas and dust into the night sky.
“Because of its small distance from the sun, Pan-STARRS should be very active, producing a lot of dust and therefore a nice dust tail,” predicted Matthew Knight of the Lowell Observatory.
“However,” he cautioned, “it could still be difficult to see. From our point of view on Earth, the comet will be very close to the sun. This means that it is only observable in twilight when the sky is not fully dark.”
The best dates to look may be Tuesday, March 12, and Wednesday, March 13, when Pan-STARRS emerges in the western sunset sky not far from the crescent Moon.
A comet and the Moon, together, framed by twilight-blue is a rare sight.
“My guess is that the primary feature visible to the naked eye will be the gaseous coma around the head of the comet,” said Knight. “The comet’s tail will probably require binoculars or a small telescope.”
Comet Pan-STARRS should not be confused with another, even better comet coming later this year.
In November 2013, Comet ISON could shine as brightly as a full Moon in broad daylight when it passes through the atmosphere of the sun: video.
“Two bright comets in one year is a rare treat,” said Battams. “This could be good.”
Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The future use of Middletown’s Gibson Library building will be the focus of the Middletown Luncheon Club meeting on Wednesday, March 20.
The meeting begins at noon at the Middletown Methodist Church Social Hall, 15155 Armstrong St.
Lunch will be offered at $5 per person by the Girl Scouts, who get the receipts plus a donation from the club.
Gibson Library, located at 21267 Calistoga Road, opened in 1930, the land having been donated by the Luncheon Club and the funds for construction of the small building donated by Chauncey W. Gibson, who had owned a resort on Cobb Mountain.
In the immediate future, the library will move into its new quarters adjacent to the new Middletown Senior Center, 21256 Washington St.
The venerable old library building, now owned by the county of Lake, will become available for other uses.
The Lake County Historical Society has been approached and its board came last Saturday to inspect the library and consider its use.
At their board meeting, it appeared that their immediate intention would be to substitute the Middletown building for quarters the society now leases in Nice, where it stores assorted research materials and artifacts.
It was suggested that the Gibson building would be opened for several hours three days a week as a museum and historical research center.
Two members of the currently inactive Middletown Historical Society attended the meeting, and protested that a museum in Middletown should feature local artifacts.
The board indicated its willingness to work with a Middletown group to create a museum with rotating exhibits representing south Lake County and the Lake communities.
Another suggestion was that Dr. John Parker, the archaeologist who played a strong role in the preservation of Anderson Marsh State Park, should become curator and work toward retrieving local archaeological artifacts that have been moved to other venues for display.
Apparently a plan for Karen Turcotte to create an art exhibit and study center there is not moving forward. Over the past 10 years Turcotte has masterminded the well-received Eco-Arts Sculpture Walk at Trailside Park, which has become a notable tourist attraction in the area, as well as the Coyote Valley Film Festival.
A number of local residents have indicated interest in a local arts and culture center, with exhibits of local arts and crafts as well as local historical items, and a variety of ongoing classes, speakers and other educational pursuits. Arguments in favor of this approach note that, in all current studies, art tops history in contributing to a local economy.
The challenge is in mustering support by Middletown area residents who, understandably, want the building to reflect local culture.
Whatever manifestation the future occupancy assumes, if local residents want a local entity, they will have to contribute time, effort, labor and funds to making it happen. The immediate need is finding how much Middletown area residents really care, and how well they are willing to follow through.
Moves are under way to revitalize the Middletown Historical Society as a group voice in making residents’ wishes known and a centralized communication point for input and collecting offers to volunteer in any way.
Come to the meeting and let them know what you would like to see happen at the old library building.
Comments also can be submitted online at www.middletownhistory.com ; sent to the Middletown Historical Society, P.O. Box 74, Middletown, CA 95461; or written comments, including your mailing address or phone number, can be left with Jacque Spiker at the Middletown Senior Center.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Child Care Planning Council is in the process of updating and expanding its Lake County Family Resource Guide, and is inviting organizations that offer services to get involved.
In 2008, the Lake County Child Care Planning Council published the first comprehensive Lake County Family Resource Guide, which was used by many agencies and organizations as a valuable resource for their clients and families.
With the update now under way, the Lake County Child Care Planning Council invites organizations that provide a resource, activity or service of any kind for Lake County residents to sign up for a free or paid listing in the Family Resource Guide 2013.
The goal is to include all types of activities and resources that families might benefit from and enjoy.
The guide will be available in print, as well as digitally, for organizations to post on their own Web sites. It also will be available in Spanish.
To view the 2008 version and to be included in the guide, please visit: http://www.lakecountychildcareplanning.com/reports.asp .
The mission of the Lake County Child Care Planning Council is to promote quality child care through community assessment, advocacy, resource development, and collaboration with other organizations.
In the newly released master plan the council describes four desired results for the years 2013 through 2018.
One of these desired results is to provide support and resources for improving the quality and accessibility of child care and early education and resources available in Lake County; and the 2013 update to the Lake County Family Resource Guide is in support of this desired result.
If you have questions or ideas about how to make the 2013 Family Resource Guide an effective tool for all of Lake County, please contact Rosario Morris at
For more information on the Lake County Child Care Planning Council, visit www.lakecountychildcareplanning.com .
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – An early Monday morning fire damaged a Clearlake residence.
The fire, reported, just after 12:30 a.m., occurred in a single family residence at 3051 10th St., according to reports from the scene.
Several callers reported the fire to Central Dispatch, who relayed to firefighters that witnesses saw smoke and flames coming from the back of the structure. The fire also was reported to be close to a propane tank.
Lake County Fire Protection District firefighters arrived on scene minutes later to find the home partially on fire. Radio reports indicated that the home was about 20 percent involved.
Firefighters also requested that Clearlake Police respond to the scene due to “unruly people” in the neighborhood.
Shaky containment was reported at about 1 a.m., with scanner traffic stating that Pacific Gas and Electric was called to pull the home's meter.
Firefighters finished mop up and cleared the scene by 2:20 a.m., according to scanner reports.
Email Elizabeth Larson at