I would just like to start by apologizing for that title. It sounds like something Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character would say in that horrible batman movie. That being said, in a positive turn of events, two supermarket chains that are either based in or with a major presence in New England have joined with EPA to show that protecting the stratospheric ozone layer is cool — literally! (again sorry, the shame is overwhelming).

The two supermarket chains, Hannaford Brothers (based near Portland, Maine and with more than 160 stores throughout the New England region) and Whole Foods (with more than two dozen stores in New England states) have joined EPA’s GreenChill Partnership.

EPA and the supermarket, refrigeration equipment and chemical refrigerant industries launched the new GreenChill Advanced Refrigeration Partnership – a voluntary program to promote green technologies, strategies, and practices that protect the stratospheric ozone layer, reduce greenhouse gases, and save money.

Whole Foods and Hannaford Brothers are two of the ten founding partners nationwide who have pledged to go above and beyond regulatory requirements by establishing an inventory of current refrigerant emissions that may affect climate change and the stratospheric ozone layer, and then setting reduction targets for these emissions. Partners will also participate in an industry/government research initiative to assess the performance of cutting edge “green” technologies in terms of energy efficiency, reduction of ozone-depleting refrigerant charges, and minimization of refrigerant leaks.

The EPA estimates that widespread adoption of advanced refrigeration technologies, best practices, and improved equipment design and service could reduce refrigerant emissions by one million metric tons of carbon equivalent per year, the equivalent of taking 800,000 automobiles off the road every year. I will of cource be more impressed when they reach these numbers, but it does show you that there are lots of way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions besides cars and power plants, and that it is worthwhile to pursue them.

To counteract the depletion of stratospheric ozone, which protects earth’s hapless citizens from the sun’s evil skin charing UV rays, partners guarantee to use only ozone-friendly alternatives and advanced refrigeration technologies in all new and remodeled stores.

The EPA believes that GreenChill partners’ adoption of advanced refrigeration technologies will lead to increased energy efficiency and reduce operating expenses to the industry by over $12 million annually. The stores save a bunch of cash, can brag about how green they are being, and we reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ozone depleting nasties. Hurrah!

So right about now you are saying “well thats great, how can I help?” Before I tell you how you can help I think it’s time for another “Sietch Science Moment!” You might not know this, but glass, it is transparent, that means that you SEE THROUGH IT. So the next time you are at the grocery store in the frozen food isle, don’t open the door and spend half an hour looking at all the food, instead look through the glass find the food item you want, THEN open the door and select it. This will keep all that cold air from spilling out into the store, meaning that the cooler will work less hard, and the ice cream isle door wont be all frosty from the condensation freezing keeping me from being able to see what ice cream is on sale this week…just saying.

If that snarky bit of sarcasm wasn’t helpful enough you can find more information about the EPA’s GreenChill Partnership here.