because it brings together the
resources of local governments,
property owners and clean energy
contractors and empowers busi-
nesses with the finances they need
right now to make energy improve-
ments,” Levin said. “It also puts
skilled laborers to work. The word
is spreading, and my work is very
gratifying.”
ENERGY-EFFICIENCY GURU
It was only natural for Levin’s long-
time associate Jim Newman, owner
of Newman Consulting Group in
Farmington Hills, to become one
of the many PACE contractors
recently sold used office furniture to
places like the Detroit Zoo and Atomic
Chicken in Detroit.
“When a corporation downsizes,
they want their furniture inventory
gone and off their hands,” Chudnow
said. “What would wind up crushed
and put in a dumpster becomes an
economical way for start-ups and
smaller businesses to furnish their
offices. It’s not easy being green, but
being a child of the ’60s, I like doing
all I can to keep this hard-to-recycle
stuff out of our landfills.” •
Joshua Rubin: continued from page 12
solutions to live more environmentally
sustainable lives.
“Everyone likes the DIY feel of these
barrels,” he said. “I like empowering
my customers with the knowledge
that we live alongside the world’s
largest supply of fresh water. It is our
job to protect it, and we can do that
by catching storm water that flows off
our homes, mixes with oils and other
pollutants on our streets, and flows
into our rivers and streams.” •
now available for hire in Michigan.
Newman is a self-made energy-
efficiency guru sought after for his
knowledge in areas such as indoor
air quality and sick building syn-
drome.
He has been developing his
expertise ever since the 1970s
Arab oil embargo. Newman said
his career has taken him on speak-
ing engagements and projects as
far away as Dubai and as local as
Temple Kol Ami, where he headed
Kol Ami’s LEED Certification proj-
ect. He also served on the board
of the Michigan Coalition on the
Environment and Jewish Life and
on Oak Park’s beautification com-
mission, helping the town turn a
profit on its recycling program.
According to Newman, one of
the biggest culprits to climate
change and to a company’s bottom
line are buildings that leak energy.
Businesses know it; but it’s hard
for them to justify forking over
large sums of money for long-term
energy efficiency when many are
concerned about quarterly profit
margins.
“At least 30 percent of the utility
bill of the average American busi-
ness goes to waste and 40 percent
of the nation’s energy is consumed
by business,” Newman said. “The
problem is that after a business
conducts an energy audit, it knows
what it needs to do to increase
efficiency but does not have the
capital to pay it up front, and the
long-term benefits are hard to
justify the investment in the face
of day-to-day financial burdens of
running a business.”
Just as he does on the job,
Newman walks the green walk in
his Farmington Hills home. The
boiler room in his basement con-
tains a heating/cooling system
that brings outside air directly into
the home’s heating and cooling
system to ease the workload of the
furnace and boiler in hotter and
colder months.
Never tiring of learning new
methods and technologies for
a healthier planet, Newman
describes his long career as a “rest-
less, creative process” of guiding
industries on better energy-use
practices that are beneficial in
multiple levels.
“I guess I am blessed with
unrest,” Newman said. “I love what
I do because I feel what I am doing
is good for the environment but
also good for business and good
for the people who work and live in
these buildings. It is my personal
practice of tikkun olam.” •
INNOVATION.
TECHNOLOGY.
LIFESAVING.
Please join us at the
MAGEN DAVID ADOM DETROIT GALA
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Jonathan Medved
Expert on Israeli Technology
EMCEE
Alan “Big Al” Muskovitz
“Dick Purtan and Purtan’s People” radio show
SPECIAL RECOGNITION OF 2017 MDA VOLUNTEERS
Lauren Goldstein
Samantha Katz
Nathan Klausner
Stephanie Schulman
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2017
5:30 p.m. Cocktails and VIP Reception with Jonathan Medved
6:30 p.m. Dinner and Program
Congregation Shaarey Zedek
27375 Bell Road, Southfield, MI 48034
Cocktail attire. Dietary laws observed.
To R.S.V.P. or for more information, please contact
Sharon Kobernik at 888.674.4871 or skobernik@afmda.org.
Magen David Adom is Israel’s ambulance, blood-services, and disaster-relief organization,
serving as emergency medical first-responders for the state’s more than 8.5 million people.
MDA is the only organization mandated by the Israeli government to serve in this role, but
it’s not a government agency, so it relies on people like you for funding.
jn
October 5 • 2017
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