The public is invited to the Boston Urban Forest Council meeting at the office of Boston Natural Areas Network, 62 Summer Street, Boston, on Tuesday evening, January 24 at 6:30 p.m. One goal is developing a resident based stewardship & advocacy group whose goals are to promote, plant and care for trees in Boston. Read more here.

Sustainability Almanac - January 12 - January 19, 2012 http://www1.umassd.edu/sustainability/almanac/2012_01_12.htm

SOMERSET -- A solar panel project has been proposed for the site of the former Somerset Family Drive-In Theater off Brayton Point Road.

The proposal includes 1,571 solar panels spread in four locations across the site of nearly 7 acres. It would be built on wooded land on the east side of Brayton Point Road, behind Stop & Shop, Home Depot and Horton'9s Gym. Read more here.

Sustainability Almanac - January 12 - January 19, 2012 http://www1.umassd.edu/sustainability/almanac/2012_01_12.htm

FALL RIVER -- City officials will gather Tuesday to celebrate the completion of the first phase of a project aimed at saving the city millions of dollars.

The completion of the Silvia Elementary School 76-kilowatt solar panel installation marks the end of the first phase of a multi-phase energy efficiency initiative for Ameresco, Inc. to design, build, own, operate and maintain four solar photovoltaic electricity generating systems. The project also features a comprehensive Energy Savings Performance Contract that is expected to save the city more than $2.7 million in energy savings during the life of the contract. Read more here.

Sustainability Almanac - January 12 - January 19, 2012 http://www1.umassd.edu/sustainability/almanac/2012_01_12.htm

NARRAGANSETT - For a state so small, you would think it would be common knowledge that a nuclear reactor sits in the middle of a public university. But even at the University of Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay campus, some students aren't aware that the white, cement, box-shaped building is an atomic research facility, officially named the Rhode Island Nuclear Science Center. Read more here.

Sustainability Almanac - January 5 - January 12, 2012 http://www1.umassd.edu/sustainability/almanac/2012_01_05.htm

Yard trimmings and food waste make up about 26 percent of what goes into our landfills. That's a lot of waste that could instead be made into useful, environmentally beneficial compost.

Composting will save you money on trash bags and garden fertilizer. Use it in your garden or mix with regular dirt to pot your indoor plants. Composting also saves energy and landfill space by transforming food scraps and yard trimmings from waste into a usable product right at home. Compost enriches soil and can even help clean up contaminated soils. Read more here.

Sustainability Almanac - January 5 - January 12, 2012 http://www1.umassd.edu/sustainability/almanac/2012_01_05.htm

Believe it or not, there's a U.S. state that has so reformed the way its municipal employees purchase health insurance that cities and towns will now save their taxpayers a whopping $100 million statewide per-year. It's the same state that will save $5 billion over the next 30 years by reforming its public employee pension system. It's also the state that hasn't had a tax increase in almost three years, even as it has held a sales tax holiday for retailers annually.

That state is Massachusetts. Read more here.

Sustainability Almanac - January 5 - January 12, 2012 http://www1.umassd.edu/sustainability/almanac/2012_01_05.htm