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"In Massachusetts, businesses may take a credit against the state excise tax for the purchase and installation of a solar water-heating system. The system must be installed at a commercial building, and the credit may not exceed $300 or 15% of the system cost, whichever is less. This credit expires December 31, 2007. A business may carry over unused portions of the credit for use in taxable year 2007" (DSIRE site). Check out Corporate Credit for more information.

Check out what your community is doing to help the land it was built on:

“CONCORD CLIMATE ACTION” (CCA) LAUNCHED

Coffee, arguably America's most beloved beverage, has become a hot topic due to the incredible strain that growing puts on soil and increasingly unsustainable farming practices. The good news is that 'fair trade' eco-coffee is now widely available. See this comprehensive guide http://www.thegreenguide.com/products/Food&Drink/Coffee for a greener cup of joe and put your mind at peace.

Retro truly is rad, especially these days, and so is putting a stop to the amount of trash our society creates. Instead of buying new clothing or household goods, why not check out a consignment shop the next time you need something? You can even make money consigning goods that you are no longer using (check with specific shops for their buying and selling arrangements). Some local consignment shops include:

Reflections (101 Commonwealth in West Concord) for women's clothing

Tables to Teapots (240 Arlington Street in West Acton) for household goods and other treasures

Not only is carpooling a great way to cut down on the nasty side-effects of gasoline emissions, but it's also a lot more fun to share the grueling Monday commute with a friend. Find Concord carpool options at:
http://www.erideshare.com/carpool.php?city=Concord&state=MA&zip=01742

Trash is everywhere, and it's becoming a problem. So why not answer two green dilemmas at once by transforming your lawn and kitchen leftovers into fertile soil for your vegetable and flower beds. See Concordnet.org for more information on composting.

Dryers are usually the second-highest energy using appliance in the home, which means they're big energy and money wasters. To help combat the gluttonous dryer, you can set up a clothesline or drying rack in your yard or basement to dry clothes without an electric dryer or follow the drying tips at this site:

http://www.worldwise.com/clothesdryers.html

Check at the West Concord Five and Ten for clothesline, clothespins, and drying racks.

These days, computers are the number one way we get our information, but there are ways to make our electronic friends more energy efficient as well:

• Turn off your computer at night or when you are not using it for several hours.
• Enable the Power Management feature for your monitor.
• Turn off your computer monitor when you are not using your computer for 15 minutes or longer.
• If you buy a new computer, consider a laptop. Laptops use only 1/4 the energy of a standard desktop.

Some sites have come out with energy calculators so that you can find out how much carbon you produce. They also offer some ideas for lower impact lifestyle changes that can help the world be a greener place. See Energyrace.com to calculate your carbon footprint!

The phrase "carbon offsets" doesn't tell you a whole lot, which most likely accounts for some of the confusing around the topic. Carbon offsets are, in fact, purchased. Carbon offset organizations are essentially fund raising organizations which take the money you spend buying "offsets" and use it in big ways that individuals may not be able to -- for instance, to fund large alternative energy projects. So the idea is, if you drive your car 1500 miles and produce 1300 lbs of CO2, then you would buy enough carbon offsets to plant 82 trees and negate that 1300 lbs of CO2.