One of the greatest mechanisms to bring about awareness and change is excited and engaged school kids. Kids have often played the role of the most successful evangelists and change-makers. They motivated their parents to stop smoking, helped make drinking and driving un-cool, and made seatbelt laws habitual practice. After Russia beat the U.S. to space with Sputnik, kids galvanized around science, with the help of funded educational programs, science books, and science toys. An entire generation went ‘space-crazy’.

A similar opportunity exists to deputize kids in and around energy savings and sustainability values and practices. Meet Green My Parents. Green My Parents is a national movement that activates 1+ million kids to turn them into the household energy expert, energy monitor, and green-maker. This movement empowers and enlists kids to lead their families in measuring and reducing energy use and saving money in their homes. Imagine your child saying, “Mom, can we look at our heating, cooling, and electric bills? I think I can help shave off 20%”. Now, imagine the total energy and money savings, and lasting benefits to the economy and to the environment, if 1 million youth save over $100 for their families off of these bills.

Green My Parents will officially launch for Earth Day (April 22, 2010) with tools and resources – all to be distributed across the social Web – to mobilize youth to educate their peers and families and take energy-saving action in their own homes.

You can play a critical role and help right now. Green My Parents has entered the Pepsi Refresh Project with the aim of receiving enough votes to be awarded a $250,000 grant to continue building the resources the movement needs. Support and VOTE for this important cause and tell your friends to do the same today. We need to be in the top 2, and we’re in place 48 right now.

Follow Green My Planet on Twitter. Become a Green My Planet fan and supporter on Facebook. Be part of doing something big, and right.

Serious Materials CEO Kevin Surace will have the opportunity to speak to the House Democratic Caucus tomorrow morning, discussing the critical role energy efficiency can play in re-energizing the U.S. economy. Members of the U.S. House of Representatives Democratic Caucus will convene at Democratic Caucus Job Summit to focus on job creation and innovation. Kevin will outline how energy efficiency innovations, manufacturing, and building retrofits can aid the recovery of our nation, create millions of jobs, and fuel America’s long-term prosperity and energy independence. In Kevin’s view, we are in the midst of the next industrial revolution – the revolution that America must and can lead.

We will be posting Kevin’s speech on our blog tomorrow. Follow @housedemocrats for updates throughout the day and watch the Democratic Caucus Job Summit page for coverage as well.

On October 29th, 2009, from the beautiful campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara, Kevin Surace, Chairman & CEO of Serious Materials, gave an important and rivoting talk on The Green Economy and how it’s key for the future of America. It was part of UCSB’s Fall 2009 Distinguished Lecture Series: “The Tomorrow Makers” Change & Challenge for Entrepreneurs & Innovators. You can watch the presentation here.

Regular readers of this blog know that Kevin, a noted speaker and writer on climate change and the built environment, is on a mission to significantly reduce the use of fossil fuels and their effect on the environment. As CEO of Serious Materials, Kevin leads the company in its mission to reduce energy usage and CO2 generation of the world’s largest contributor, our buildings. By developing new materials and processes that require little energy to manufacture, and advanced products which dramatically improve the insulation and comfort of homes and offices, a worst-case climate and energy catastrophe can be avoided. Kevin’s passion, as always, is clearly on display during this lecture.

CEDA uses high R-value SeriousWindows to deliver greater energy and cost savings for income-eligible households in Illinois

Serious Materials, a leading energy-saving building materials company in the U.S., today announced that the largest weatherization agency in the United States, the Community and Economic Development Association of Cook County (CEDA), is using its super-insulating, high R-value SeriousWindows for the Illinois Home Weatherization Assistance Program. Use of SeriousWindows will increase savings for income-eligible families on their heating and cooling costs. SeriousWindows are being installed to demonstrate the enhanced energy efficiency that can be achieved in income-eligible multi-family projects administered by CEDA in Chicago and suburban Cook County. CEDA now plans to install super-insulating windows in most or all multi-family housing units that qualify for weatherization. By including super-insulating windows in CEDA’s weatherization program, hundreds of new local manufacturing and installation jobs can be created. If all weatherization agencies nationwide were to include super-insulating windows in weatherization programs, thousands of jobs would be created.

“I commend the dedication and shared aspirations of CEDA, Serious Materials, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the U.S. Department of Energy, and all agencies involved in this project to create jobs, save energy and money, better the lives of our citizens, and improve the energy security of our nation,” said Illinois Governor Pat Quinn. “We look forward to sharing our weatherization success and experience using super-insulating windows throughout the Midwest and across America.”

CEDA’s use of SeriousWindows demonstrates that super-insulating windows are a cost-effective measure as part of the Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). WAP’s mission is to reduce energy costs for low-income families by improving the energy efficiency of their homes while ensuring their health and safety. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 allocated $242.5 million in
weatherization funding to the State of Illinois over the next two years. With the additional funding, CEDA says it expects to triple the number of homes it can weatherize annually over the next two years, increasing its production from 3,000 to 9,000 households.

A key effort enabling the first installation of SeriousWindows into CEDA Weatherization projects was to update the rigorous energy assessment and economic analysis software, WeatherWorks, used by the State of Illinois. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) recently updated the software, which previously could not assess high-insulating windows. The updated model is now available to all weatherization agencies in Illinois.

“We are pleased to work with Serious Materials to help make homes more energy efficient,” said CEDA President/CEO Robert L Wharton. “They supply a product that is unique to weatherization, and we believe this will greatly benefit not only the families we serve, but the local economy as well through job creation.”

“CEDA is leading the nation in adopting advanced energy-saving technologies in weatherization programs,” said Kevin Surace, CEO, Serious Materials. “With CEDA’s commitment, we expect to supply large volumes of our cost-effective, super-insulating SeriousWindows and create more jobs in our Chicago factory. Efforts like CEDA’s have the potential to create thousands of US manufacturing and skilled labor jobs. This is exactly what we need to do across the country to save energy, save money, and rebuild America’s economy based on home-grown manufacturing innovation and leadership.”

The ability to evaluate super-insulating windows was added to WeatherWorks because windows are the biggest source of heating and cooling energy loss in buildings. Earlier this year, the National Energy Audit Tool (NEAT) was also updated to account for super-insulating windows. Serious Materials launched SeriousWindows WAP Series in July, the first high-performing replacement window designed specifically for WAP needs as a cost-effective, high energy savings solution.

“The single greatest immediate impact on the environment that we can have as a nation, and the world can have, is weatherization. That’s the immediate biggest bang for the buck. It has the advantage of creating jobs, jobs right here in America,” said Vice President Joe Biden while speaking at Serious Materials Chicago window factory in April 2009. “This is a story about how we inspire a better tomorrow. You’re making some of the most energy-efficient windows in the world, I would argue, the most energy-efficient windows in the world.”

According to NEAT, SeriousWindows WAP Series can create up to twelve times more energy savings per household than other common weatherization measures. By replacing existing windows with super-insulating, high R-value SeriousWindows, families can dramatically reduce their heating and cooling bills. R-value measures the thermal insulation of, for instance, windows and walls.

About Serious Materials

Serious Materials develops and manufactures sustainable green building materials that save energy, save money, improve comfort, and aggressively address climate change. Super-insulating high R-value SeriousWindows™ reduce heating and cooling energy costs by up to 40%. SeriousGlass™ industry-leading insulating commercial glass have been installed in thousands of projects and offer the highest energy savings in the industry. QuietRock® soundproof drywall reduces material use, enhance livability, and support dense urban construction. EcoRock™ is the only true green alternative to gypsum drywall. Serious Materials products are manufactured in the company’s five facilities across North America. SeriousWindows and SeriousGlass support energy efficiency funding programs as outlined under The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) including Weatherization (WAP), Green Federal Buildings, State Energy Program (SEP), Energy Efficiency – Conservation Block Grants, Energy Tax Credit for Consumers, and Tax Deductions for Commercial Buildings. The company was commended by both President Obama and Vice President Biden for its advanced energy-saving materials and the work it is doing to re-create American green manufacturing jobs. For more information, visit www.SeriousMaterials.com.

About Community and Economic Development Association of Cook County (CEDA)

CEDA is one of the nation’s largest non-profit organizations that serves more than 375,000 individuals annually and operates over 40 programs throughout Cook County in the areas of education, housing, economic development, family and children services, health and nutrition, and several others.

© 2009 Serious Materials, Inc. All rights reserved. Serious Materials, SeriousWindows, the Serious Materials logo, Quiet Solutions, QuietRock, QuietPutty, QuietSeal, QuietSeam, QuietWood, QuietFoam, QuietPad, QuietHome Windows, QuietHome, QuietGlue, QuietCoat, QuietTile and QuietRoom are trademarks or registered trademarks of Serious Materials, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Information subject to change without notice.

The US Department of Energy held the 2009 National Weatherization Training Conference in Indianapolis from July 20-23. Serious Materials was there to help people understand how our new super-insulating, affordable window line, SeriousWindows WAP Series™, created specifically for Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) agencies and states to be able to source into low-income housing projects as replacement windows, fit into the Weatherization program.

We hope we helped people understand how important windows are to weatherization. By replacing existing windows with super-insulating, high R-value SeriousWindows, families can reduce their heating and cooling bills by up to 40%. (R-value measures the thermal insulation of, for instance, windows and walls.)

The graph below compares the cost savings that families can enjoy when windows are replaced vs. other forms of weatherization.

But the best part of the conference was meeting people in the field and learning from them. We created a video featuring visitors to our booth answering two questions: What is the biggest challenge you face as the Weatherization program has changed? And If you were President Obama for a day, what would you change about the Weatherization program? We thought this content was interesting and compelling enough to share with readers here.

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley commends the dramatic turnaround of Serious Materials Chicago. Watch the video of the mayor’s speech here.

Senator Dick Durbin praises Serious Materials for reopening the Republic Windows & Doors plant, saving hundreds of jobs. “The federal investments in the Recovery Act are paying dividends in Illinois at a time when we need as many jobs as possible.” Watch the video of the senator’s speech here.

Senator Roland Burris discusses the impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which has provided “the first step to re-igniting the great American economic engine through targeted tax relief, job creation, infrastructure, [and] education projects.” Watch the video of the senator’s speech here.

Frank Edwards of Serious Materials welcomes Vice President Joe Biden to the Chicago plant. Watch the video of Frank here.

Serious Materials’ CEO, Kevin Surace, welcomes Vice President Joe Biden along with United States Senators Dick Durbin and Roland Burris and Mayor Richard Daley to its most recently acquired windows manufacturing plant in Chicago. Watch the video of Kevin’s opening remarks here.