• Photo

Leigh Anne Weitzenfeld explains conservation landscaping at the Green Living and Energy Expo last week in Roanoke.

Sphere IT

Save This Page

Reader Reaction

digg it

Expo encourages green living

By Roger Mannon
Staff Writer

Things are looking a lot greener. And it’s not just because of recent autumnal rains.
Floyd County was a part of the Green Living and Energy Expo, held Friday and Saturday at the Roanoke Civic Center. The Expo was sponsored by the Association of Energy Conservation Professionals.
This was the eighth annual staging of the Expo. “Response has been good,” said Billy Weitzenfeld of Floyd, the AECP Executive Director.
“Last year we had 50 exhibitors. This year we have 70. We had an attendance of about 1,500 last year and are expecting to have about 2,000 this year.”
The exhibits and displays presented a wide variety of green themes. They included green building, wind and solar power, insulation and weatherization, indoor air quality and green investing.
H&R Block had a booth for those interested in navigating the tax code for tax breaks and credits for environmental activities. There were plenty of giveaways of pens and notepads. One booth was handing out Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs, which save on electricity.
Several conservation seminars were also a part of the expo. There were also hybrid cars and an electric mini-truck, which goes 40 m.p.h. and costs 2 ½ cents a mile to operate.
The expo is designed to promote energy conservation, energy efficiency, renewable energy, green building and sustainable living.
Weitzenfeld said the date for next year’s AECP Expo will probably be announced in February. “We work very closely with Virginia Tech and we’ll wait until the Tech football schedule is announced and we know what dates are open.”