by Kerrie Kyde and John Snitzer We strongly support the use of solar power, and took advantage of the 2020 Solar United Neighbors cooperative in Montgomery County to install about 8 kilowatts of grid-tied solar production on our Dickerson roof. We have since built a retirement house in Frederick County and installed another solar system, […]
A Tale of Two Systems – Solar On and Off the Grid Read More »
By Doug Boucher In 2013, the Town of Poolesville became the first town in Montgomery County, and only the third in the state, to create its own renewable energy system. Located next to the municipal wastewater treatment plant on the town’s eastern edge, the five-acre solar array was relatively small, generating just 1.13 megawatts of
Poolesville’s Solar Array: ‘Old’ but Still Going Strong Read More »
by Richard Strock After almost 7 years of EV ownership, this past February, while returning home from San Diego, we experienced our first encounter with brutally cold temperatures (2°F), combined with snowfall and gusty winds. Driving a gasoline-powered vehicle in these conditions can be problematic, but driving an EV presents some unique challenges. Unlike a
Encountering Cold Weather in an EV Read More »
By Kerrie Kyde In the classic English fairy tale, three little pigs build themselves houses, one of straw, one of sticks, and one of brick. The Big Bad Wolf comes along and, smelling dinner inside the houses, blows down the ones made of straw and sticks, but he can’t blow the brick house down. Attempting
Rewriting the ‘Three Little Pigs’ Read More »
By Doug Boucher A motto that has guided Americans’ environmental action for several decades is the “Three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.” It tells us how to be better consumers:don’t buy things we don’t need; if we buy something keep using it until it’s worn out; and when we’re through with it, put it in the
Three More Environmental Rs in Poolesville: Repair, Revive, and Retro Read More »
By Doug Boucher In 1987, a wonderful field guide to the trees of Washington, D.C. was published by local author and naturalist Melanie Choukas-Bradley. It was called City of Trees, and a recent article in the Washington Post showed just how apt that title was and still is today. Using data assembled by the U.S.
Trees in the City: Good for Climate, Good for People Read More »
By Jasheen Kaur and Shivom Pandey We all know of the ideal American lawn: spring green, clean trimmed, evenly seeded, and blindingly bright in the sun. Unbeknownst to most, the traditional American lawn is quite detrimental to the environment and—just as important— to your pocketbook! In this column, we’ll talk about both negative and positive aspects
Greener on the Other Side? Read More »
By Richard Strock In the previous article I discussed preparation of the EV and driver. This month I would like to discuss some tools that can help in planning an EV road trip and some possible pitfalls you may want to avoid. The first is A Better Route Planner, or ABRP. It is designed specifically
EV Road Trip Planning Tools Read More »
by Richard Strock [Poolesville Green column for the November 2024 Monocacy Monocle] When friends and acquaintances, even strangers, find that we travel extensively in our EV, we get the same old questions: how far can you go on a charge, how long does it take to charge, and do you have trouble finding chargers? The
Preparing Your EV and Yourself for a Road Trip Read More »
Poolesville Green column for the Monocacy Monocle By Patrick Lee The heat is on this summer. As I write, we’re just exiting several weeks of a brutal summer heat wave and but are still staring down drought conditions in much of our area. If you haven’t received an alert yet, the Town of Poolesville is
“Poolesville’s Water Supply and the Danger of PFAS” Read More »
