Senator Whitehouse to Address Cool Aquidneck Island Energy Challenge

Aquidneck Island will wrap up the at the Grand Finale Awards event in Middletown this Friday night. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse will be the keynote speaker.

In his address, Whitehouse will speak on future Congressional action regarding national energy policy, as well as his own energy and climate change initiatives.

The 14-month-long Cool Aquidneck Island "Neighborhood Energy Challenge" is a program that encourages Aquidneck Island and Jamestown residents to cut down on fossil fuel-based energy usage. The challenge officially ended on Dec. 31. Friday night's awards ceremony will celebrate and acknowledge the 120 people who participated.

The program was open to all Rhode Island residents but was targeted towards Aquidneck and Conanicut Islands. The web-based challenge was “volunteer driven, free, and locally oriented,” said program director Beth Milham.

“Motivation for participants spanned issues including concern about global warming, the desire to save money on heat and utilities, concerns about national security and dependence on foreign fuel sources, and the desire to win awards and prizes provided by the program,” Milham said.

Early data, which is still under analysis, show that together, the 120 participants earned almost 1.7 million points. In the challenege, one point is equal to one pound of carbon dioxide saved from entering the atmosphere. Some ways participants gained points were driving hybrid cars and having energy efficient home insulation.

“Many participants entered the challenge, but never logged their points, or logged just a few months’ points, so the actual total is probably a great deal higher than the above calculations,” Milham said.

Energy Action: Aquidneck & Jamestown, a community outreach program of National Grid, Aquidneck Island Planning Commission, The Newport Energy and Environment Commission, , RI Interfaith Power and Light, Alliance for a Livable Newport, the Channing Green Congregation Committee, Cool Aquidneck Island, and the New England Grassroots Environment Fund, has shown support for the program.

The event will be held Friday, Feb.4, at 7:30 p.m., at the Portofino Dining Room, 425 East Main Road, Middletown.

The deadline for reservations was Thursday, Feb. 3. For more information, please contact Beth at info@NeighborhoodEnergyChallenge.org or 847-7637.