Clearinghouse Overview

This website is designed to provide a central location for the collection, classification, and distribution of data, information, and tools addressing energy supply and use on Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket, both now and in the future. The objective is to create a credible, useful, community-based resource to inform individual, municipal, and regional decision-making. To accomplish this goal, participants in the Cape & Islands Renewable Energy Collaborative (CIREC) are

• Highlighting the connections among energy supply and use and diverse economic, environmental, and social conditions in Cape & Islands communities;
• Engaging individuals, communities, and stakeholder groups in developing, reviewing, providing, and using energy-related data, information, and tools; and
• Organizing coordinated community planning processes.

CIREC was founded in 2000 to bring together diverse individuals and organizations with common interest in achieving a sustainable energy future, both locally and globally. CIREC participants and affiliates include citizens, advocacy groups, research centers, businesses, and educational institutions based in the Cape & Islands region, as well as representatives from government agencies. Ultimately, it is hoped that the clearinghouse will help support the shared objective of CIREC participants, which is to maximize the benefits and minimize the adverse impacts associated with present and future energy supply and use throughout the Cape & Islands region.

Site Structure
The website is organized into three main areas:

• The Energy Present: data and information characterizing the current energy situation in Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket, including adverse impacts and risks
• Tools for Managing the Transition: data, information, and resources to support the transition away from fossil fuels and other sources and toward cleaner and green energy supply and use options
• The Energy Future: information characterizing alternative energy futures for the Cape & Islands region, highlighting some cleaner and green projects, and exploring the promise of a sustainable energy economy

Content
The website provides individual audiences with customized content:

• Homeowners: resources and tools for reducing energy costs and making informed decisions
• Voters & Taxpayers: resources and tools for making a difference at the local, regional, state, and federal levels
• Businesses & Organizations: resources and tools for reducing energy costs and making informed decisions
• Students & Educators: resources and tools for education, training, and workforce development
• Municipal & Regional Officials: resources and tools to support coordinated community analysis, planning, and decision-making processes
• Entrepreneurs, Consultants & Developers: resources and tools for identifying business opportunities, supporting community planning and development activities, and fostering innovation

For a comprehensive look at the website’s content, click on the Site Map link at the bottom of the page.

Contact Information
For more information about the Energy Information Clearinghouse project or CIREC, contact
Chris Powicki
Principal, Water, Energy & Ecology Information Services
Box 382, Cummaquid, Massachusetts 02637
508.362.9599; chrisp@weeinfo.com

Content Guide
Homeowners
Students & Educators
Voters & Taxpayers
Businesses & Organizations
Municipal & Regional Officials
Entrepreneurs, Consultants & Developers

Dirty Roof

Conventional asphalt shingles are
the cheapest roofing material around but, as is usually the case, there is a cost: They are manufactured using petroleum by-products and, once they reach the end of their useful life, they must be landfilled as construction debris or “downcycled” as road materials or in other low-value uses. Credit: Houston Advanced Research Center

More Facts

Current Vision

Green Roof

Thatching represents an attractive and sustainable roofing solution. This thatched roof, gracing a barn in Yarmouthport, transforms an invasive wetland plant (Phragmites sp.) into a useful, biodegradable shelter.

More Visions