You Ask, Patch Answers

How Can I Unsubscribe From Bulk Mailings?

There are several options available for people who want to start clearing out their mailbox.

One good thing about bulk mail is that unlike its distant cousin, the telemarketer, it can’t wake you up or interrupt your dinner. But that said, it does have a way of clogging up your mailbox in any given week with lots of paper and not necessarily much else of interest. So what can you do about unwanted bulk mailings? A call last week to a Boston-area post office confirmed there are some “Do Not Mail” options to go along with the “Do Not Call” list. The Federal Trade Commission has a page with various links for people to use, depending on what kind of mail they wish to stop receiving. For example, OptOutPreScreen.com, an official credit industry site, will allow you to stop receiving pre-screened credit and insurance-related offers. The …

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7 Jobs that Make the World a Better Place

Want to make a real difference in the world? Consider one of these seven "green" careers that help protect—and improve—our planet. Provided by Jobs at AOL.

  The following story was provided by AOLJobs.com  By Debra Auerbach for CareerBuilder Have you ever had an itch to quit your job and instead do work that makes a real difference in the world? In honor of Earth Day on April 22, we've compiled a list of seven jobs that help people live a better life – from the buildings they work and live in, to the energy that fuels their homes, to the air they breathe.  1. Conservation scientist: Conservation scientists are hired to help preserve and protect natural habitats. They usually work with landowners and federal, state and local governments to find the best ways to use and improve the land while conserving the environment.* If you’re looking for a green job in Somerville, check out our jobs page…

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How Can We Make Every Day Earth Day? (Sponsored)

Here are some family activities you can do to foster environmentalism. Sponsored by Sony.

Very few events are celebrated around the globe, but Earth Day is. This year, it’s come and gone. But we’re here to ask: What can we do to show our love of the earth on that day, and every day? On May 31st, Sony will release After Earth, an action-packed movie that takes place 1,000 years after cataclysmic events forced humanity to leave. It’s the kind of scenario that makes you want to donate to Greenpeace, recycle everything, and start biking every where, immediately. So, in honor of Earth Day, Patch has teamed up with Sony to present these ideas for making every day Earth Day. How can we make every day Earth Day? Begin with little things. Easy things. Obvious things. Things we take for granted each day, and use and/or abuse because of …

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Somerville's Green Businesses Expo Scheduled for April 4

The annual B2Green Expo lets Somerville's environmentally friendly businesses show off what they do.

Somerville's B2Green Expo is set to take place April 4, according to the Somerville Chamber of Commerce website. The expo features "green" businesses and non-profits from around the city, and this year marks the fifth year the Somerville Chamber of Commerce has organized the event. It takes place at the Holiday Inn.  Check out some photos of last year's expo. The deadline for businesses and organizations to register for the event is Friday, March 22, according to the Somerville Chamber of Commerce. Those interested can email Rebecca Schrumm at rjschrumm@hotmail.com or Stephen Mackey at smackey@somervillechamber.org.

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You Ask, Patch Answers

Where is Somerville's Closest Electric Car Charging Station?

NSTAR and crowd-sourced websites offer tips and locations for charging electric cars.

Considering a switch to an electric vehicle? Do you already own one and need a place to charge your ride? In Somerville, the closest charging stations are in Cambridge, accoridng to a crowd-sourced website, carstations.com. One of your best options for charging might be the Porter Square Shopping Center. You can also try: Carstations.com allows users to upload new car charging locations to a Google map and (when applicable) provide information about the stations. According to the site's About section, "this website is designed to encourage participation and welcomes user interaction in the form of comments, updates and user generated content." There are also more official sites providing electric car charging information. This week, NSTAR …

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No Decision Yet on Proposed Somerville Styrofoam Ban

Some members of the Somerville Board of Aldermen want to examine the economic impact of the proposed ban.

The Somerville Board of Aldermen is gathering more information before making a decision about a proposed ban on polystyrene takeout food containers, according to Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz. Gewirtz, who chairs the Board's legislative matters committee, said some on the committee, which met Wednesday, had questions about the economic impact of the proposed ban on local businesses. She spoke Thursday night at the Board of Aldermen meeting. Gewirtz felt switching from polystyrene cups to an alternative cup might not cost businesses a fortune. "Maybe it's a consumer cost of two extra cents per cup," she said. The proposed ban would also affect the Somerville public school system, which uses about 885,000 polystyrene trays a year, …

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mary

2:53 pm on Friday, March 15, 2013

That "perfectly good product" takes hundreds of years to biodegrade. Exposure to polystyrene damages people's nervous and reproductive systems. When heated, polystyrene leaches harmful chemicals into food and drinks. You may want to read up on the research before you endorse such a harmful product. Litter is one thing, but the environmental and health effects caused by styrofoam are pretty …   more ›

Somerville, State Have Little Control Over Ethanol 'Bomb Trains'

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation is studying public safety in regard to freight trains carrying ethanol but has little control over the trains themselves.

Some Somerville residents fear what happened in Columbus, Ohio, could also happen here. In Columbus, a freight train carrying ethanol derailed and exploded in July of 2012, causing authorities to evacuate a mile-wide area around the blast. One Columbus resident said it "looked like the sun exploded." "The fireball was visible from like 10 miles away," said Somerville Ethan Contini-Field, who heard about the explosion from friends who lived in the Columbus area. People a quarter of a mile away "singed" their eyelashes, he said. What's more, putting out flames from an ethanol explosion requires a special type of alcohol-resistant foam, which is, itself, environmentally hazardous. Besides, fire departments in the Somerville area don't …

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Monday: Somerville Hosts Meeting on Ethanol Trains

The trains could bring 1.8 million gallons worth of ethanol through Somerville's borders twice a week.

Somerville is hosting a pubilc meeting on ethanol trains Monday. The meeting, organized by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, will provide information about plans to ship ethanol on trains—dubbed "bomb trains" by some activists—through Somerville, Cambridge, Boston, Chelsea, Everett and other communities on their way to the Global Oil terminal in Revere. Ethanol is used as a fuel additive in gasoline. The Somerville Board of Aldermen has opposed the trains, which could bring 1.8 million gallons of ethanol twice a week along Commuter Rail lines past dense neighborhoods in the city. Members of the Board of Aldermen and activists elsewhere have argued the trains are dangerous. Other communities have also opposed the trains. The …

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Best 'Somerville Spring Clean' Design Could Win $200

The city will use the logo to promote its spring cleanup event.

Somerville is asking local artists to submit logos for the Somerville Spring Clean, and the winning logo could win a $200 stipend, according to an announcement from the city of Somerville. The winning logo will be used on T-shirts, the city's website, social media and in the local print media, the announcement says. "The City seeks an image that conveys the environment and civic clean-up in Somerville; but one that is not too 'busy,'" according to the announcement. The logo can use the words, "Somerville Spring Clean-Up," but it doesn't have to, and use of color is encouraged. Artists interested in submitting a design should submit a sketch or low-resolution JPEG file to Carlene Campbell-Hegarty, director of community relations, at …

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Dunkin' Donuts Opposes Proposed Somerville Styrofoam Ban

Somerville aldermen grilled representatives from Dunkin' Donuts and the Dart Container Corporation at a hearing about a proposed ban on polystyrene takeout food containers.

Representatives from Dunkin' Donuts, the Dart Container Corporation and the Plastics Foodservice Packaging Group, among others, spoke out Wednesday night to opposed a proposed ban on polystyrene takeout food containers in Somerville. Meanwhile, several aldermen, residents, and representatives from groups such as Somerville Climate Action and 350 Massachusetts spoke in favor of the ban, while a few members of the local business community seemed skeptical about the proposal. At a public hearing before the Board of Aldermen's legislative matters committee, Dunkin' Donuts argued it's been "working hard" to find a replacement for polystyrene—commonly known as Styrofoam—cups, but hasn't found one yet, according to Christine Riley, director of …

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