Archive for the ‘NOLA Wise’ category

Global Green Room Interview: Randy Chambliss

March 25th, 2013

interview_randyGlobal Green’s NOLA Wise program is our program with the City of New Orleans to provide project management services for homeowners wanting to retrofit their homes to make them more comfortable and energy efficient. The program provides vetted contractors, access to exclusive financing, and quality assurance of completed work. Randy Chambliss is a NOLA Wise certified contractor from No Limit Energy Solutions, LLC.

How did you become environmentally conscious?
Through Hurricane Katrina. The storm was a big eye opener to the economy and to weather. You began to hear a lot more about global warming and Hurricane Katrina was affected by that.

What would surprise us about your work?
We strive for customer service – it is our number one goal. We make sure we are on time, stay on budget, and leave the homeowner with an impression that we are part of the family.

How have you worked with Global Green USA?

NOLA Wise helped to supply funding and training through the organization. It brings quality, targeted leads to our firm. Once we make the phone call, it is an easy transition between an energy audit and contract for work. The biggest contribution to our firm is that NOLA Wise acts as a third party and provides comfort for the homeowner in making a decision to move forward. Global Green’s NOLA Wise plays a big part because after Katrina, construction was a big thing. And part of construction is the word “con.” NOLA Wise makes the homeowner feel more comfortable and provides a third party to mediate. I sit down with the client and tell them that they can call Global Green with any questions or concerns and to use NW as a resource. It is also reassuring to the client that final payment is not due until they have a quality assurance inspection.

Who is your hero?
Robert Kiyosaki. He published the book, “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” and talks about having financial education, which is critical in our economy today.

What has been a recent work success or accomplishment?
Our biggest accomplishment is that, as of two and a half weeks ago, we now offer solar energy systems to the community at affordable prices!

If you had the power to make one global and green change, what would it be?
For the masses to become more green.

New NOLA Wise Commercial

January 14th, 2013

Check out our new commercial for NOLA Wise, including our promotional $750 cash-back incentive.

TV Time: NOLA Wise Featured

January 11th, 2013

Camille Lopez, Program Manager of NOLA Wise, was on WGNO-TV this week to talk about our work to help New Orleans residents save energy at home.

Map It: Energy Efficiency in New Orleans

November 20th, 2012

Tracking our progress with NOLA Wise home upgrades, our New Orleans team made this map — already more green houses to represent.

Making Businesses More (Energy) Efficient

October 16th, 2012

no_nw_biz_announcementWe’re helping to make even more buildings energy-efficient — while creating more green jobs and protecting the planet — with news of our new NOLA Wise expansion.

Local New Orleans news channels WDSU, WGNO, WVUE, and WWL joined the City of New Orleans, the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA), and our NOLA Wise team today for the announcement of our expansion. We’lll now be offering commercial services with the availability of a new loan program designed to help local businesses make energy-saving improvements.

Fidelity Homestead Bank of New Orleans will offer the commercial loan product, which builds on the homeowner lending products currently available to New Orleans residents through NOLA Wise. Together, these programs will present a total energy investment opportunity of $15 million for the community.

As part of Fidelity and SEEA’s partnership with NOLA Wise, SEEA has invested $300,000 to serve as a first-line loan loss reserve, which will guarantee up to $3 million in loans. Now New Orleans building owners seeking to make their property more energy-efficient will be able to work with NOLA Wise and Fidelity to secure lending for their projects. The NOLA Wise commercial loans will be available at Fidelity on a first-come, first-served basis to commercial property owners within the NOLA Wise program.

MORE: Good Times-Picayune story on the announcement

TV Time for NOLA Wise

September 17th, 2012
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Beth Galante on Fox 8

Two TV appearances aired last week with Beth Galante, Director of New Orleans and Gulf Coast Initiatives, on the benefits of our NOLA Wise program with the City of New Orleans to help residents save energy and improve the comfort of their homes.

WGNO-TV for ABC 26′s “It’s Easy Being Green” report : Galante was interviewed along with Michael Gonzales, a NOLA Wise client whose house now has solar panels, improved insulation, and plexiglass around its windows. As a happy client, Gonzales talked about how the improvements have made his house stays cool longer — reducing his air conditioner use.

Fox 8, WVUE New Orleans segment: This report informed viewers of the NOLA Wise process, from the $35 home performance evaluation to making the energy-saving home upgrades. Galante stressed how the program is a smart investment that makes it easy for homeowners. ”We are here to do all the work for the homeowner. A one-stop-shop is what we’re aiming for — to make it simple and inexpensive as possible,” she said.

Home Improvements: Post-Isaac Plans

September 11th, 2012

no_beth_on_wwl_post_isaacIt’s been a media whirlwind for Global Green New Orleans since Hurricane Isaac landed. Last Friday, Director of New Orleans and Gulf Coast Initiatives Beth Galante appeared on WWL TV’s morning news in New Orleans, along with Maryann Miller of the Preservation Resource Center, to discuss tips on finding reputable contractors for restoring homes post-Isaac. Our team at NOLA Wise has vetted contractors who are nationally certified in green construction, and who can also make home repairs. Galante pointed out that this can be a good opportunity to make your house more energy-efficient and healthy while you make any necessary post-Isaac repairs.

We want to make sure that people are not victimized as they were following Hurricane Katrina, so it is important to get a good contractor. For energy efficiency work, NOLA Wise uses a third party to carefully check the quality of the work done in the homes of our program participants. Homeowners do not make a final payment until we verify that they received the quality energy-efficiency upgrades that they expect. We are here to save you money, too, with one of the best loan programs in the country (provided by Fidelity Homestead Savings Bank), and a commitment to ensure that homeowners can access every incentive available to lower the cost of improvements.

Be sure to keep in mind that you can save money now and for years to come by investing in basic storm-proofing for your home. The State of Louisiana has information on savings: up to 30% on insurance premium discounts, as much as $5,000 in state tax credits, and tax deductions for storm shutters. You can find out more from NOLA Wise.

Crosstown Conversations: Isaac, Air Conditioning, Energy Efficiency

September 11th, 2012

no_crosstown_conversationsBeth Galante, the Director of New Orleans and Gulf Coast Initiatives, joined Jeanne Nathan on Crosstown Conversations on Thursday, September 6. She and Timolynn Sams from the Neighborhood Partnership Network spoke with Nathan about Hurricane Isaac and the lessons to be learned on storm preparation and response.

New Orleans seemed to experience a city-wide rise in tempers (not just temperatures) due to extreme discomfort caused by the lack of air conditioning. Galante, Sams, and Nathan all asked the question: How did people live in New Orleans before air conditioning? It is hard to imagine now, but that once was the case. We now must work on storm preparation and recovery tactics.

The State of Louisiana offers impressive incentives and tax cuts for homes retrofitted to be better protected against storms and hurricanes. Many of the measures also save energy. Storm proof windows, for example, happen to be very energy-efficient.

“Energy efficiency and storm resiliency are very closely connected,” said Galante, noting that she was cooler than most of her neighbors after five days without power because of the actions she has taken to weatherize her home– with insulation, sealed windows, and more. This is great news for our NOLA Wise weatherization program for homeowners. In the coming months and years, we hope to help even more New Orleans homeowners with making their homes both more energy-efficient and more storm resilient.

Table Time with the Mayor

August 17th, 2012

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Before setting the city’s budget for 2013, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu is holding “Annual Budgeting for Outcomes Meetings” in each district, to allow city residents to voice their opinions and requests for the city and their neighborhoods. For the gatherings, the mayor has invited NOLA Wise and other community organizations to represent their programs. We attended the first one this week, held in District B, with upwards of 700 people in attendance — a perfect opportunity for us to speak about our NOLA Wise home weatherization program and connect with residents about how we can help them make their homes more comfortable and energy-efficient.

The subject of greening homes and buildings also came up in a question addressed to the Mayor. On the topic of blighted buildings and what the community seemed to think was the slow rate at which they were being taken down, one speaker asked why demolition had to be the answer. Mayor Landrieu seemed to agree by mentioning sustainability and the option of fixing the buildings instead of clearing the lots. It was great to hear that sustainability was on the minds of concerned citizens and the Mayor.

Global Green Room Staff Interview: D. Adrian Manriquez

August 16th, 2012

staff_adrian_mMeet D. Adrian Manriquez, NOLA Wise Program Associate in our New Orleans office.

What would surprise us about your work?

I spend most of my time administering Salesforce. I don’t find most of my work surprising. What do you think I do? That might help to surprise you.

Who is your hero?

Carl Sagan or Neil Degrasse Tyson. I like physicists, in particular of the astronomical variety, because they inspire me to continue to learn and to remember that we all spend our entire lives in “a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam,” to quote Sagan. It’s sobering stuff, and yet it calls us to live fully and totally in the time here and keep perspective.

What has been your greatest success?

Well, we’re a new program, so we’ve got a lot of challenges and a lot of little successes. At this point, getting my weekly reports to pull correctly sends me home with a smile on my face. That and getting a contract signed that keeps one of our guys working.

What about a failure or challenge?

Our biggest challenge was relying on an IT solution and program design that came from outside our office. We constantly work with other entities and some are structurally less effective than we need. By facing these challenges, we’ve been able to grow stronger, and I think we will be able to offer Louisiana a better model for Home Performance Contracting.

Favorite green book?

“The Web of Life” by Fritjof Capra — and anything by Fritjof Capra. I love this book because it reminds us how interconnected the world is, and how systems can change suddenly given the right inputs.

Favorite green movie?

“Fern Gully.” I don’t even know why anyone has to explain this. There’s a listless New Yorker, Robin Williams as a bat, and evil corporations being defeated.

Favorite way to spend a free day?

Biking around town, with literally nothing else to do. Just seeing and hearing and listening.

If you had the power to make one global and green change, what would it be?

Such a difficult question! With “green” being such an interactive field, how could one change make a difference if it wasn’t coupled with a half a dozen other changes? I think limiting paid work to 30 hours a week would be a great first step. Being busy is resource-intensive. I could take a train if I had enough time off work, I could garden organically, I could make music and culture — and we all could be more connected to the world around us.