Farmington Area Kids Spread Green Message in 'Be the Solution' Video

Peace Love & Planet reaches out to high school audience, encouraging collective action to help the environment.

With a half-day off from school, scores of Farmington area students gathered at Heritage Park in Farmington Hills Monday to help create a video series with an environmental message.  Working with a grant from the newly formed Farmington/Farmington Hills Education Foundation, Northville-based nonprofit Peace Love & Planet (PLP) is creating a series of videos especially for high school students.  "It's that idea of collective action," PLP founder Gina Adams-Levy said, "and realizing is does make a difference."  Filming will be done in schools next month; the videos are expected to be released by the time school starts in the fall.  Did you take photos or video at yesterday's event? Share them by clicking on the "Upload Photos and Videos" …

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CBS Report Features Owner of Farmington Hills-Based Ecotelligent Homes

Amanda Godward was featured in CBS Detroit’s Great Lakes Innovation and Technology Report.

Ecotelligent Homes’ owner Amanda Godward was recently featured in CBS Detroit’s Great Lakes Innovation and Technology Report (GLITR) for utilizing her mechanical engineering degree to create greener homes. Godward earned her mechanical engineering degree from Kettering University in Flint and worked for eight years in the auto industry before starting Ecotelligent Homes in 2009. The GLITR article "Kettering Alum Creates Company for Greener Homes", by Matt Roush, highlights the development of Ecotelligent Homes and details the science behind improving the comfort and energy efficiency of homes. Building science is the industry term used to categorize the science and engineering used to diagnose comfort and energy efficiency issues in a home…

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Shop Smart: Don’t Be “Green-washed” by Misleading Products

Consumers can use eco-labels to purchase household goods that are water and energy efficient.

Being good stewards of the environment is important to many people. Many marketing campaigns recognize this importance and use “green” to describe their products. Sometimes marketing and reality are one in the same, but other times environmental claims are excessive, based on fallacies and amount to “green-washing.” Be a smart consumer and learn how to evaluate home products so that you use your money in a way that reflects your values. Start by reading labels. According to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension, eco-labels can result from: The three major government certifications are WaterSense, EnergyGuide and ENERGY STAR labels: It is possible to make decisions that help the environment in your everyday life. Choosing water and …

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Replacing Refrigerators Leads to Cash Savings

A Hills resident takes advantage of Detroit Edison's refrigerator replacement program.

We are all familiar with the saying, “If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.” Well, I recently had one such experience; however, it ended much better than I expected. At the 2011 Green Expo held at Farmington Hills City Hall, I found out that Detroit Edison would not only remove my old refrigerator and dispose of it free of charge but, if it was in working condition, no matter how old, they would send me a $40 check! Using this information, I purchased a new refrigerator to replace the 40-plus-year-old refrigerator that had been kept in my basement. I found a new Energy Star 16 cubic foot refrigerator on sale reduced to $200. I did a quick calculation by using the kilowatt usage of each refrigerator and discovered that by …

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Farmington Hills Receives Lighting Grant for Energy Efficient Lighting

Funds will be used to replace lights at city hall and the police department.

The City of Farmington Hills recently received a grant for more than $80,000 from the Michigan Energy Office to purchase new, more energy efficient lighting. According to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Farmington Hills was one of 14 Michigan cities, villages, and counties that received a total of over one million dollars for lighting projects. The Advanced Lighting Technology Demonstration Grants were awarded from the Michigan Energy Office through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for projects that create and retain jobs, save energy, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The new LED (Light Emitting Diodes) lights to be installed in Farmington Hills will feature the latest in advanced commercial lighting …

Gill Mom Has Passion for Going Green

Gina Adams-Levy won tops honors in a Moms Who Make a Difference contest.

It started with garden plastic. Northville resident Gina Adams-Levy, whose children attend Gill Elementary School in Farmington Hills, had been saving plastic pots and trays used in gardening, under the mistaken belief that she could recycle it. When she realized she couldn't, Adams-Levy said, "That was kind of the 'light bulb' moment." In Farmington and Farmington Hills, the Resource Recovery and Recycling Authority of Southwest Oakland County (RRRASOC) won't accept garden plastics or wide-mouth plastic containers. Adams-Levy gathered 500 signatures asking the recycling authority to make a change, but to no avail. Rather than throwing up her hands, Adams-Levy went on a mission, collecting 500 pounds of garden plastics the first year. She …

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