>>ANNOUNCER: Promoting a healthy environment
It's the air we breathe
Clean, safe water
Responsible management of our natural resources
We protect and restore
For a sustainable future
Environment Matters
>>JEFF THOMAS: "the more people learn to appreciate what's in their backyard we think that will
go a long way in helping to protect those resources."
>>NARRATION: A river, once nearly dead, now teaming with life -- we'll visit an exhibit
that shows just how much the water quality in one West Virginia river has improved.
Plus: >>SARAH NICHOLS: "A lot of children learn
best when they get to actually, physically interact with whatever they're studying so
they actually remember things like this.
>>NARRATION: Some hands on lessons about preserving our environment.
>>GREG ADOLFSON: Hello everyone and welcome to Environment Matters.
I'm Greg Adolfson with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.
Economy, Energy and the Environment -- those are the three E's that make up the E3 West
Virginia program.
For the past three years, E3 West Virginia has helped businesses and local governments
find ways to save energy, save money and reduce pollution and thanks to that success, the
program has just gotten a big boost.
>>NARRATION: With the stroke of a pen, E3 West Virginia took a big step forward as 19
signatories representing county, state and federal government entities, utilities, manufacturers
and academic and community development organizations signed on to the E3 Charter.
E3 West Virginia partners work together to promote sustainable environmental and energy
practices and economic growth throughout West Virginia.
The program provides energy and environmental assessments.
So far 56 industrial facilities and 22 local governments have taken advantage of the program
-- with a potential energy savings of $3.6 million dollars.
>>Jim Fawcett: "From our perspective, the E3 is a good dovetail for us to work with
-- the DEP's customers are our customers and it's an opportunity for us to work with them.
They provide the assessments; we have energy efficiency programs that provide rebates to
the customers.
The rebates can be utilized to do lot of the measures that are recommended by the assessments."
>>NARRATION: And that's the purpose of the E3 West Virginia charter -- to bring together
the resources -- the programs and the know-how under one umbrella -- in essence, a one stop
shop for businesses and communities alike.
>>Mindee Osno: "what we're doing here is we're building partners and collaborations.
Everybody has resources but what we need to do is share our information about the resources
and see how they can bring value to the E3 partnership..."
>>NARRATION: And that collaboration is the key to success...
>>Judy McCauley: "Well I think historically we were stove piped and I only know about
our programs and USDA only knows about their programs and to give the customer the best
that we can we need to understand all the programs that are available to our customers
and then refer them, either to whoever has the best product for them.
I think that with the assessments they've done so far, they're starting to understand
even the other needs of the small businesses and helping them save so much money and brought
in all the other resources to say hey you know what they may need a loan, the may be
interested in contracting, let's take them to the next level as we go to the next level."
>>GREG ADOLFSON: By investing in local communities, addressing energy and sustainability challenges
and focusing on real world solutions, the E3 West Virginia program aims to help lead
the state toward a sustainable future.
Several other groups have expressed an interest in joining the E3 West Virginia Charter and
program managers say they are encouraged by the response.
Speaking of energy savings, you wouldn't leave a window of your house open when the cold
winter weather arrives, would you?
Well, the truth is most of us are guilty of that -- so to speak.
According to the US Department of Energy, the average home has enough air leakage to
equal a two foot square hole which is like leaving a medium sized window open 24/7.
A recent study found that if all the houses improved air sealing, it could save $33 billion
-- that's billion with a "B" -- in energy costs -- and saving energy also means reducing
air pollution.
We spoke to a local home improvement expert about what causes some of the biggest problems...
>>Greg Paxton: "One of the first places I'm going to look is I'm going to look at your
attic access.
I'm going to look at your pull down steps.
I'm going to look at the pass through hatch at the top of a closet ceiling or wherever
that may be.
Those are notorious for leaking air from our conditioned space inside our home up through
our attic.
Many times we see -- many studies have been made that we lose 10 to 12 percent through
our windows and doors.
The numbers differ but not that much -- about 40 percent straight up through our ceilings.
So we're looking at those attic access hatches, the pass through, the can lights and all the
penetrations for the plumbing and electrical goes up in the attic.
Those are really, really important to seal off.
Air movement is what we need to do before we begin to think about insulation."
>>GREG ADOLFSON: Paxton says products like caulk, weather stripping and spray foam are
all effective when it comes to sealing off air leaks -- and in many cases they're something
a homeowner can do in a weekend.
He says most insulation is designed to reduce the transfer of heat but allow air to pass
through.
Bottom line, your house will be more comfortable winter and summer, and you'll see a noticeable
difference on your utility bills if you just take care of those air leaks first.
Another energy waster -- now that colder weather is here: under-inflated tires.
The average tire loses one to two pounds of air pressure for every 10 degree drop in temperature
-- that means the tires that were properly inflated in August when it was 90 degrees
can become seriously under inflated on 30 degree November mornings.
Under inflated tires increase friction -- causing your engine to have to work harder, burn more
fuel and create more air pollution.
Driving around on under inflated tires is like paying an extra 10 cents for every gallon
of gasoline you buy, so it pays to keep your tires properly inflated.
It's not every day that you see a smallmouth bass swimming on Kanawha Boulevard, but if
you were in downtown Charleston a couple of weeks ago, you were treated to an up close
look at just how diverse and healthy the fish population in the Kanawha River is these days.
The DEP's Sarah Alford joins us now from Charleston, and Sarah -- this demonstration was put on
by ORSANCO, the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission.
>>SARAH ALFORD: Greg, ORSANCO was established in 1948 to control and abate water pollution
in the Ohio River and its tributaries.
The group represents West Virginia and seven other states that make up the Ohio River basin
and was in Charleston recently for a commission meeting.
>>NARRATION: It takes more than a garden hose to fill up this 22-hundred gallon portable
aquarium, so it took a little help from our friends at the Charleston Fire Department.
ORSANCO's traveling "Life Below the Water Line" exhibit features two five foot by ten
foot viewing areas that give folks a close up look at what's just under the surface of
the Kanawha and how much it's improved in recent years.
>>JEFF THOMAS: "Things used to be pretty bad back in the 40's , 50's, even thru the 60's
-- the clean water act came in in the 70's, EPA was formed and things have really improved
quite a bit.
People don't really get to see that though -- they see the water and maybe it's a little
bit clear most of the time but they don't really get to see the improvement."
>>NARRATION: It wasn't that long ago the oxygen levels in the river were too low to support
any life as seen in this documentary from the early 1960's...
>>MOVIE ANNOUNCER: "And then there are drippings and droppings, samplings and spills and leaks
and leavings that are cleaned up with hose and water -- everything that could flow moves
inexorably down drains, through pipes, out slices and tumbles into the Kanawha, then
of course into the Ohio."
>>NARRATION: But the Kanawha has made a remarkable comeback...
>>PAT CAMPBELL: "There are multiple species of game fish in the Kanawha now -- it's a
destination for people.
There are bass tournaments held there, people catch catfish, crappie, walleye, sauger, smallmouth,
largemouth -- it's a robust fishery and it means a lot to the economy here in our local
area.
The synergy of the states in ORSANCO was important back in the 40s and 50s when things were in
really bad shape and that continues today.
There are still problems on the river, these legacy problems -- newer challenges that come
along and these states work together -- they worked together back in the day and they're
still working together under this framework today to again manage the rivers as a system.
>>SARAH: It's important to think of the river as part
of a much larger system -- which is why the health of the Kanawha River has an impact
that's felt downstream on the Ohio, the Mississippi and to the Gulf and beyond.
In Charleston, I'm Sarah Alford for Environment Matters.
>>GREG: Thanks Sarah.
The Life Below the Waterline traveling aquarium is just one of several educational programs
operated by the organization.
To find out more, you can check out their website: ORSANCO.org.
Coming up: >>Kim Maxwell: "They're kind of learning in
disguise.
I don't even thing they realize how much they're getting out of this festival."
>>NARRATION: Taking class outside of the classroom for a little hands on learning...
Plus: Getting in shape for this year's Envirothon
-- those stories and more when Environment Matters continues.