Detroit residents packed in the UAW Local 7 building on Conner Street on Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2010, to hear from Council Member Kenneth Cockrel, Jr., and several others about lowering utility bills.
The forum, which was put together by The Heat and Warmth Fund (THAW) and the Detroit City Council Green Task Force, even featured a number of booths from various local vendors who were present to share about their companies.
After refreshments and networking time, Cockrel kicked off the session with a warm welcome to all guests and shared his vision for the night’s events.
“The focus of this meeting tonight clearly is on helping people who need assistance with outstanding bills and helping people to lower energy cost so they can save money and keep themselves warm, and keep their families safe while doing it,” he said.
Throughout the course of the evening, representatives from many different businesses in the area expressed ideas, gave tips and advice and took questions from audience members on a number of utility bill issues.
One of the speakers of the event was George Highgate from the WARM Training Center, who teaches green education in and around Detroit. He gave the attendees some tips for low-cost energy savings that could be helpful in many areas of the home.
“There are things that we can do to save some money, and it starts with you,” he said. The helpful hints he shared ranged anywhere from saving money on water bills to being more energy efficient by purchasing Energy STAR appliances. He also noted the importance of getting energy audits to save even more money each month.
Christopher Gilbert, the Midwest region district manager for Home Depot, also had a few words to say about the things his company is doing to help people be more sustainable and economic. He shared that Home Depot is a place that holds free clinics to teach people how to do things like change a light bulb, install a new thermostat, install tile and many other do-it-yourself projects that “make your home a place that you want to live.”
Representatives from the City of Detroit Health and Human Services, DTE Energy and Detroit Medical Center Friends and Family were also present, and a number of raffle prizes were given away to audience members at several times during the forum.
Source: GreeningDetroit.com
Author: Jennifer Griffin