Brooklyn, NY — November 1, 2009 – Boro Fuel Oil Co., Inc., a Brooklyn fuel and energy services dealer for 80 years, is going green.

      On November 1^st the company will introduce BioGreen™ – a new premium biofuel that’s kind to both heating systems and Mother Nature. Boro Fuel Oil is the first heating oil dealer in New York City to offer BioGreen™.  A blend of traditional heating oil and 10% soybean oil, eco-friendly BioGreen™ premium biofuel is clean, renewable, biodegradable, and non-toxic. BioGreen™ is also kind to the American economy: Domestically produced from soybeans grown in the U.S.A., BioGreen™ helps to support American agriculture and reduces our dependence on foreign oil.

     BioGreen™ also offers heating oil customers the following benefits:

• BioGreen™ burns cleaner than conventional heating oil – it contains almost no sulfur, and significantly reduces emissions that contribute to air pollution and global warming.
• BioGreen™ has the highest BTU content of any alternative fuel, for satisfying warmth.
• BioGreen™ lubricates heating system parts more thoroughly and efficiently – resulting in fewer service calls and a longer heating system lifespan.
• BioGreen™ costs the same as conventional heating oil – and consumers don’t need to modify their heating equipment or change their warranties.

      BioGreen™ users will also be rewarded financially, thanks to New York State’s Bioheat^® Tax Credit, which allows Boro Fuel Oil customers a direct tax credit of 10 cents for each gallon of BioGreen™ they buy through 2011.

     “We are proud to be at the forefront of the green energy revolution with our eco-friendly BioGreen™,” says Jeff Cohn, President of Boro Fuel Oil.  “And, of course, we’re proud to be the first heating oil dealer in Brooklyn to offer this breakthrough product. Not every fuel company out there offers a green, clean fuel like BioGreen™. It’s one more way we’re helping our customers save energy … which also saves them money.”

     “BioGreen™ is just another way Boro Fuel Oil has been going green,” continues Cohn.  “For decades, we’ve been helping our customers save energy – whether by installing the latest high-efficiency comfort equipment, performing annual tune-ups to keep their heating systems working at top condition, or offering conservation advice to help them reduce their carbon footprint.”

     “With the introduction of BioGreen™, we’re making New York City a greener place to live,” says Cohn.

     Boro Fuel Oil is particularly pleased to enter the exciting world of biofuels. Available to residential and commercial customers, the company is rolling out its BioGreen™ brand with a dedicated Web site, www.BioGreenNY.com and phone number, (888) OK-BIOGREEN, as well as a promotional campaign that includes newspaper, radio and television advertising.  For additional information on BioGreen™, contact Jeff Cohn at (718) 854-7500 or (888) OK-BIOGREEN.

     Founded by Joseph Cohn in 1929 with offices in Borough Park, Brooklyn, Boro Fuel Oil is a family-owned and operated energy company serving Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan. In addition to heating oil and diesel fuel delivery, Boro Fuel Oil installs and services oil- and gas-fired boilers and furnaces, hot water heaters and oil tanks for its residential and commercial customers. Jeff Cohn is also a principal in Great Eastern Energy, providing discounted natural gas in seven states and from twenty different utilities.

CONTACT:

Jeff Cohn, President
Boro Fuel Oil Co., Inc.

(718) 854-7500 or (888) OK-BIOGREEN

www.borofueloil.com ? www.BioGreenNY.com

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Permaculture Design Certification
in New York City
with Andrew Faust and Guests

11 Sessions - July to October 2009

Presented by The Center for Bioregional Living and Andrew Faust

This course will cover the core 72 hour Permaculture Design curriculum, including additional hours of in class and out of class activities to adapt this course to our region and to contemporary ecological issues in the United States. You will learn how to apply Permaculture principles to a diversity of settings and issues with an emphasis on urban and temperate environments.

This Permaculture design course provides a positive and empowering vision for social and ecological transformation. Come be inspired by the possibilities of today and not by the fear of tomorrow!

Permaculture

• is an ecological design science that provides insights and practical techniques for living a fruitful and abundant life.
• is addressing the major issues of our day from a whole systems perspective.
• is a worldwide movement that is helping to regenerate local ecologies and economies.
• is a solution oriented ecological approach to retrofitting our societies.

This course is perfect for a diversity of individuals who wish to use Permaculture in Urban environments as well as a diversity of other environments.

Lectures, extensive and diverse handouts, field trips and hands-on activities will explore: Methods for regenerating local economies and regional self reliance, the economics of globalization, providing individuals with practical tools for creating positive social change, inner-city gardening techniques, indoor and apartment gardening, making fermented foods, whole foods, Living Machines and natural wastewater treatment, biogas generators, ecological niche market and value added business ideas, passive integrated water systems, rain gardens that alleviate flooding while addressing sewage treatment plant overflows and clean water, living roofs, rooftop gardens and regional energy systems.

Other topics include:

The evolution of agriculture, Biodynamics, natural history of Eastern woodlands, passive solar and natural building techniques, Biodynamic orchards, fruit and berry production, watershed health, the integration of animals into cultivated ecosystems, indoor mushroom cultivation and solar oven and portable rocket stove construction.

2 girls 1 cup

To receive a certificate students must attend all 11 classes and present a final Permaculture site design. Students will be given the option to present their final design individually which is a different approach than most PDCs. In our experience, and from what our growing number of students say, this contributes to a more practical, professional and intellectually stimulating learning experience. As a result a number of our students final presentations have gone from paper (or Powerpoint Presentations) to actualized, real-world designs.

View Syllabus

All classes are on either Saturday or Sunday, from 9am to 5pm, and will be held in two locations:

July 25th and August 8th sessions will be held at:

Curious Pictures
440 Lafayette St. 6th floor
Manhattan

The remaining days:

August 1st, 15th, 16th, 29th
October 3rd, 4th, 17th, 25th, 31st

Will be at:

Sixth Street Community Center
Lower East Side Manhattan
638 E. 6th Street between Ave B and C

Andrew Faust is one of the premier Permaculture teachers and designers in North America with 17 years of Permaculture experience, 10 years as a certified alternative school teacher (Upattinas-Glenmoore, PA) and 8 years living off-the–grid in rural West Virginia. Living in Brooklyn since August 2007 he has been applying his knowledge to urban needs and working on the development of The Center for Bioregional Living in Ellenville, NY, a pilot campus for his New York City students and clients. Andrew has taught the PDC course over 13 times at Yestermorrow Design/Build school in Warren,VT. This will be his fourth PDC course in New York City.

Guest speakers will include:

Keith Morris is an organic farmer, builder, and environmental educator. For the past five years, he has been designing and establishing an edible forest garden and ecological homestead in Johnson, Vermont along the Lamoille River. Prospect Rock Permaculture combines reforestation, wildlife refuge, and ecological restoration with food production and community building, while educating about and experimenting with sustainable techniques and ways of building.

Lisa DePiano is a certified Permaculture designer and co-founder of the Montview Neighborhood Farm, a human-powered farm and edible forest garden in the Connecticut River Valley. She has a Master’s degree in Regional Planning from the University of Massachusetts and likes to ride with the worker owned Pedal People in Northampton, MA.

Rafter Sass of Liberation Ecology has facilitated workshops on social project design, Permaculture design, the economics of globalization, mycology, and wild foods and medicines. In his own words, “I do this work because I want to be in conversation with people who are hungry for change, and the tools for making it.”

Bill Young of Young Environmental LLC is a recognized leader in the environmental field with more than 25 years of experience as a project manager, designer, and wetland specialist. His expertise includes habitat restoration on disturbed lands, wetlands monitoring and construction, botanical inventory, wildlife assessment, streambank restoration; and erosion and sediment control.

Lars Chellberg of CENYC and Water Resources Group builds and maintains low cost Rain Water Harvesting systems across the five boroughs and leads educational workshops on sustainable water practices. He will be leading a tour of one of the systems he designed for a community garden in the Lower East Side.

Paula Hewitt Amram is the founder of Open Road Park and will be talking to us about the transformation of a former bus depot/brownfield into the thriving community garden it is today.

Adriana Magaña a certified Permaculture Designer and Horticulturist will be leading the hands-on workshops. She is working with Andrew Faust to create The Center for Bioregional Living upstate on their 14 acres of property in Ellenville, NY.

Together this teaching team brings a wealth of wisdom and a diversity of experience ranging from city to country, from forests to deserts and beyond. Come and learn from the premier practitioners of ecological design in the Northeast and be a part of the growing community of cutting edge designers and community leaders!

Before July 10th $1000
After July 10th $1200
$100 paid in advance to reserve your spot
Register early for discount!

For more information go here or to register email andrew@homebiome.com
Andrew Faust
The Center For Bioregional Living
www.homebiome.com
Ellenville / Brookyn, NY

Learn how to build a lightweight green roof and save thousands of dollars when you install it yourself!

By taking our workshop Saturday, June 27th, you will not only learn the process how to build a green roof, you’ll actually build one too!

A green roof expert will explain the ins and outs of the process and installation techniques.

PLUS you’ll get info on NY State’s green roof tax abatement, a guide book, tour Eco-Brooklyn’s brownstone (22 2nd St; Brooklyn, NY), and more!

Visit our website to learn more and REGISTER ONLINE NOW: www.greenroofworkshop.com

Today’s NY Post Real Estate section features a really nice article — Fresh Start: It’s Easy Being Green — about green building and energy conservation. It’s a great read filled with stats, tips, and real-world examples of New Yorkers going green in their homes or helping develop the green building industry in our city.

As can be expected, Brooklyn is heavily represented. We start with Sarah Beatty, founder and CEO of Brooklyn based Green Depot:

“The last five years have seen exponential growth in the number of high-quality [green] products that have come to market.”

Then me:

One good starting point, says Ethan Oringel, publisher of the greenbrooklyn.com blog, is giving your apartment an energy audit. Take out your heating and electric bills, make a checklist of all the ways you use energy and look to see if any can be made less wasteful.

It sounds mundane, but given that 80 percent of New York City’s greenhouse emissions come from its buildings, making sure your home uses energy efficiently is one of the greenest things you can do.

Then Eitan Baron, the brains behind Brooklyn Greenstone (and the guy in the photo above):

“To me, [proper sealing] is worth as much as any solar panel on the market,” says developer Eitan Baron, who recently did a green renovation on the Park Slope brownstone that houses his 1,700-square-foot duplex. “It’s the parts you don’t see that are the most important.”

[...]

This work hasn’t just helped save the environment — it’s saved Baron money, as well. He estimates his heating bills this winter were about 60 percent less than they would have been in a typical brownstone.

Also mentioned was one of GBK’s favorite companies from last year’s Green Buildings NY convention and expo — green roof and green wall start-up, NYC-based Greensulate.

Check out the full article at NYPost.com.

And many thanks to the author of the article, Adam Bonislawski, for both including myself and the Green Brooklyn website in the article and helping raise awareness about the importance of energy efficiency and green building in NYC.

Owner Sean Meenan’s green labor of love — Habana Outpost — will be kicking off its 2009 season with an Earth Day Expo taking place this weekend, April 18 and 19.  The eco-eatery boasts a Human Powered Bike Blender, picnic tables made from recycled soda bottles, rainwater harvesting that flushes the toilets and irrigates the plants, and a company car that runs on vegetable oil. 

Keeping with the tradition of all things green, Earth Day weekend seemed like the perfect time for the Outpost to reopen its doors to the public.  Some highlights of the 2-day event include: Council Woman Letitia James speaking in the kick-off ceremony, an eco-fashion show, local area vendors giving out free info and samples, and an exclusive screening of enviro-documentary FLOW: For Love of Water. 

Habana Outpost
757 Fulton Street (Corner of South Portland)
C train to Lafayette / G to Fulton / N,R,4,5 to Atlantic–Pacific
E-mail: info@ecoeatery.com
Phone: 718 858 9500

Full schedule of events as follows:

Saturday, April 18, 2009

12 noon
Owner Sean Meenan and Council Woman Letitia James Opening Ceremony

12-3 pm
Kids Corner crafts and games with Habana Works and The Leadership Learning Lab

1-1:30 pm
Kids Eco Fashion Show with the Scrapkins

3-4 pm
Recycled Craft Jam with the Scrapkins

Going on all day 12-6 pm
Live DJ
Face Painting
Free information and samples from local green vendors and companies

Sunday, April 19, 2009

12-3 pm
Kids Corner Crafts and games with Habana Works and The Leadership Learning Lab

2 pm
Exclusive screening of enviro-documentary FLOW, presented by Engineers Without Borders

2-3 pm
Recycled Craft Jam with the Scrapkins

3-4 pm
Kids Bingo with the Scrapkins

Going on all day 12-6 pm
Live DJ
Face Painting
Free information and samples from local green vendors and companies

Local participants include: Alive Structures, Brooklyn Green Drinks, Brooklyn Public Library, Christie Caiola face painting, Engineers Without Borders, FLOW the movie, Funky Lobes, Green Edge NYC, Green Spaces NY, Greene Grape Provisions, Greene Harvest CSA, Imperial Bag and Paper, Leadership Learning Lab, Letitia James, Masani Designs, Rolling Press, Root for Trees, Scrapkins, Solar Energy Systems, Still Hip Brooklyn, Tri State Bio Diesel, Tribal Alphabet, Via Nativa

More here: ecoeatery.com