Excerpt and photo (actors Dan Delventhal, Gary Craig and Kent Williams in Sensory Perception movie) from Fairfield University's website news: Interview by Meg McCarthy with Dan Delventhal, MBA Student:
When Dan Delventhal isn't taking graduate courses at Fairfield University's Dolan School of Business, he's an actor, film producer, eco-minded entrepreneur, and software executive specializing in "BCP in the cloud."
"It's worth noting that my ongoing MBA studies have helped me be more
successful in a variety of areas - day job, hobby company, acting
hobby, even in basic relations," said Delventhal, of Fairfield, Conn. "I
am a big fan of the program."
A recent project in his busy schedule has been "Sensory Perception," a
film entirely shot in Connecticut. A science fiction drama, it centers
on a recovering drug addict who is trying to get his life back in order
while having visions of the future. Delventhal's part in the movie is
one of two principal appearances in area made films for him. His MBA
studies have also helped inform him in his role as a producer of
"Sensory Perception." His other side project, "Aphids," is an
independent movie filmed at the former Cedarcrest Hospital in Newington,
Connecticut. He plays a doctor in the drama, which is set to come out
in the fall. Several years ago, he played knuckleball pitcher Charlie
Hough in the ESPN production, "The Bronx is Burning," a drama about the
1977 New York Yankees. Long ago, Delventhal fell in love with acting, so
the work has been personally fulfilling.
Most of Delventhal's time is devoted to overseeing global marketing and
sales for the Trumbull, Connecticut-based RecoveryPlanner.com, provider
of risk, business continuity and incident management software. His
entrepreneurial spirit led him to found MowGreen five years ago in order
to blend athleticism and environmentalism. Essentially a push mower
lawn care service, MowGreen has avoided the equivalent CO2 emissions of
cars driving a total of 500,000 miles, or 15,000 pounds of air
pollution. That translates to 350 acres of grass being mowed without
gas.
The MowGreen HydroMow™, our Solar to Hydrogen conversion of gasoline equipment project was mentioned in an online article in Irrigation and Green Industry Magazine, February, 2012. Here is the link: http://www.igin.com/article-2656-alternative_fuels.html
I recently had the pleasure to meet Antonio Valverde, professional trainer, high end men's-wear designer/tailor, all around athlete and scholar, and family friend.
MowGreen represents a convergence between fitness and ecology and he is a fan who loves the fitness features of reel mowing. He has shared a fun photo entitled "GymSwag". The MowGreen Embroidered Fleece Cap): Antonio Valverde, A most Fit, and Stylish Gentleman:
Hey, there's two great gyms in the area - Antonio @ EliteCityFitness & our lawns (MowGreen.US)!
"Dan Delventhal signs his emails “Dan QuiMOWte,” a play on the title
character from the classic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. The nickname is
apt because Delventhal, like Don Quixote, is on a quest to take down
machines with loud, spinning blades. But the Fairfielder’s enemies
aren’t windmills — they’re lawnmowers...."
To spread the word and promote earth-friendly lawn care, MowGreen will be exhibiting this Spring at the following events: Fairfield Garden Expo March 19th & 20th, 10am-4pm Fairfield Ludlowe Highschool
MowGreen has now launched its own newsletter, to keep the community up to date on the latest development and offer tips on green lawncare. The March issue included news about MowGreen New Haven's organic certification, reviews of earth-friendly snow-removal gear, and a call for friends of MowGreen to get the word out and help shrink pollution.
To view a copy of the March MowGreen Gazette online, please click here. If you would like to receive future issues in your e-mail inbox, please send an e-mail to mow@mowgreen.us and we will include you in the list!
The MowGreen customer base grew by over 100% for the fourth year straight. The revenue growth rate was slightly higher, representing an increasing amount of ancillary services beyond the traditional Mow, Trim, Edge, Sweep routine, including hedge trimming, leaf cleanup, weeding, over seeding, etc.
We hope to maintain high growth rates (80-100%) through 2015, a year when we will reduce air pollution by the equivalent of 20 Million auto-emission miles! 2010's reduction was 100,000 miles!
Dan QuiMowte says "congratulations to all of MowGreen's conscientious customer and service provider partners - cleaner air and sanity in lawn care is less the impossible dream thanks to you!
Reel Mowing the Two Acre Lawn - Feasibility Testing Update
Ultra Successful Grass - Final Stage Organic Program - High Speed Spring Growth Challenges Reel Mowing Adequacy
We reported earlier that testing push reel mowers for feasibility on a 2 acre lawn was a success, not only as an aesthetic and healthier alternative, but also as an economically and humanly possible achievement. Natalie Johnson and Jack Besel, two marathon-running, athletic and nature-loving college students had successfully mowed a two acre lawn with push reel mowers in 3 hours, including trimming and cleanup. However, as this lawn is in the final stages of an organic treatment program including over-seeding, and considering the healthy rain supply and balmy spring weather, the grass has thickened and taken off like nothing we have seen. Is organic treatment a superior alternative? Uh, yeah, this lawn is thicker and growing faster than any other lawn MowGreen has mowed to date. And it has now become difficult to complete a mowing visit in under 5 hours for two people. Uncle! We need power gear! Mind you we have dozens of other lawns that are easily done with reels, but this one has become a challenge. There are good lessons in this challenge; 1. Organic treatment, when applied for 3 years is the best alternative for maximum results, 2. Come on! Lighten up on the treatments, it's not as if we are growing food here!-), 3. Self sharpened ("grit back-lapped") reel mowers may decline in effectiveness, and 4. grass gets healthier and thrives when mowed by reels. The big surprise of this ultimate test of viability came when a new Scott's reel mower was deployed and it seemed to cut the grass "like butta " compared to the other older reels.
Some benefits of reel mowing are: lightest eco impact option available with no fuel and no weight to the equipment (less compaction), and low cost as well. It has a small transportation footprint which helps rid our roads of trucks and trailers and more emissions and traffic! So in going to power gear, we proceed with caution, opting to maintain a small transportation footprint and capital cost (although higher than reels, much lower than mongo units and trailers). Cordless battery powered self propelled residential oriented units may provide some relief. They are quiet like reels, yet the material mining for the batteries and power to charge them and the disposal or recycling of them has a heavy eco impact (better than gasoline - hello Gulf Spill!). MowGreen.US is unique in that it has converted gasoline systems to burn hydrogen, and has a source of inexpensive hydrogen supplied by solar power. Although these systems are loud like gasoline systems, they burn hydrogen and a little oil - lower emissions and less gasoline consumption and spillage! We tested a self propelled mulching residential mower units there as well. A problem with them is time consumed changing and filling tanks of hydrogen. Another problem we discovered was that this lawn was so healthy and lush that the 4 day growth also choked back the 6.5 horse power Hydromow rendering it less useful than the new Scott's 20 inch reel which cut better than any other reel we have seen previously. We believe it has been re-designed or something.
By using reels as much as possible, and by augmenting them only when necessary with small footprint cordless battery powered electric units and gasoline to hydrogen converted small systems. MowGreen hopes to remain as a viable alternative to the gas guzzing, fume spewing, gas spilling, road congesting fleets that plague us today - on a large scale, including lawns as large as 2 acres. If all our reels worked like the new Scotts we just tried out, this nightmare (for mowers) lawn could still be viable without the need for large power equipment. But the situation does obviate the counterproductive relationship between fertilizing lawns and mowering required. Always, the more you fertilize the lawn, the more money you need to spend (and often, pollution you need to create) to grow a non-food crop in a world tormented by hunger, no less.
Did I mention gasoline powered blower noisemakers? Well they ought to be illegal. We don't use them. We use quiet cordless battery powered units with fast chargers. They blow 120 MPH - that is good enough to move a little grass off the walks, patios and porches!-)
We look forward to more technological advancements like highly efficient reels, push and pull reel gangs, gasoline to hydrogen converted systems, and if we must, battery powered systems. Although lawncare is just 5 to 10% of our air pollution problem, we hope to make a difference environmentally and to spread the practice of fitness and philosophical consistency through reel mowing.
About MOWGreen.US:
MowGreen.US reduces pollution, consumption, noise, gas spillage, dust, traffic, obesity and unemployment with reel mower lawn services - at similar prices as conventional “dirty” lawn care (5 to 10% of US air pollution), while encouraging lawn reduction with native plants and organic gardens.
Established in 2007, MowGreen.US is in Fairfield, Litchfield & New Haven Counties in CT and expanding. MowGreen seeks territory owners/partners to grow, offering extremely modest licensing fees. Please visit www.MOWGreen.US , for more information, or call 203.209.5979.