Results: Calendar of Events
August 20, 2009
Look for REAP Executive Director Chris Rose at Chena Hot Springs this weekend. He is among those testifying at a Senate Energy and Resources Committee field hearing being held there Saturday. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski is chairing the hearing, which is on the status of renewable energy technology with a focus on issues involving rural energy projects.
UPDATE: The hearing, and the Renewable Energy Fair at Chena, received widespread coverage from KTUU and in this story from the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.
FAIRBANKS — Utilize Alaska as a renewable energy laboratory for the nation and place a moratorium on costly, time-consuming federal permits for innovative, renewable energy projects were two of many ideas presented at a U.S. Senate field hearing Saturday, presided over by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski at Chena Hot Springs Resort.
Murkowski is the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.Energy leaders from across the state attended two morning panels, presenting their projects, pitfalls and ideas about renewable energy power sources and production.
The “Clean Energy Revolution” using renewable resources is the biggest revolution since the Industrial Revolution, said Chris Rose, executive director of Renewable Energy Alaska Project in Anchorage…..
Read more
August 19, 2009
Does rooftop wind power have a future? Preston Koerner reports today that four new wind turbines are going up atop a 22-story building in downtown Portland. At first glance, it doesn’t sound like a great deal: The turbines cost $40,000 in all and will satisfy just 1 percent of the building’s electricity needs. But the developers at the helm of the project say they’re mostly just interested in testing out the concept at this stage. To read more, go here.
August 19, 2009
For a brief, shining moment, Spain was the best solar market in the world. Unlike in cloudy Germany, the sun bakes Spain’s southwestern provinces — the brown, hard-packed Extremadura and Andalusía — on the Mediterranean coast. And the Spanish government, eager to fulfill its commitments to renewable energy, guaranteed generous subsidies for any company that met its aggressive deadlines.
While the ministry expected a steady stream of investment, it got a flood, accounting for more than 40 percent of the world’s total solar installations last year. Forced to revise the subsidies — known as feed-in tariffs — that it used to spur photovoltaic power last fall, Spain became one of the principal causes of the downturn in the solar industry. And its faulty regulations have become a watchword for how government renewable-energy programs, poorly conceived, can go awry. To read more, go here.
August 18, 2009
Ocean Policy Task Force Public Meeting
August 21, 2009
1:30 pm to 4:30 pm1:30 pm to 4:30 pm
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Christine Glunz
August 7, 2009 202-456-3469
Obama Administration Officials to Hold Ocean Policy Task Force Public Meeting in Anchorage August 21, 2009
ANCHORAGE, AK – Obama Administration officials will hold their first Ocean Policy Task Force Public Meeting in Anchorage, Alaska on August 21, 2009. The Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force, led by White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley, consists of senior-level officials from Administration agencies, departments, and offices.
The Task Force is charged with developing a recommendation for a national policy that ensures protection, maintenance, and restoration of oceans, our coasts and the Great Lakes. It will also recommend a framework for improved stewardship, and effective coastal and marine spatial planning. The public is encouraged to attend and an opportunity for public comment will be provided.
Who: White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco
Deputy Secretary of the Department of Interior David Hayes
Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen
Deputy Assistant to the President on Energy and Climate Change Heather Zichal
What: Ocean Policy Task Force Public Meeting
When: Friday, August 21, 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.
Where: The Dena’ina Civic & Convention Center
555 W 5th Ave
Anchorage, AK
Note: Public comment can also be submitted online at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq/initiatives/oceans/
Anchorage Green Drinks This Friday: Birds of a feather sticking together.
Greetings!
Green Drinks comes but once a month and this time around we hope to see you there. Come down to the Snow Goose this Friday-August 21- at 5:30ish to celebrate the Summer Sun. There will be plenty of merriment and a great opportunity to meet and greet fellow conservations. We hope to see you there!
Oh, and don’t forget to invite your friends and family to join in on the festivities.
Sincerely,
Margaret E. Adsit
Green Drinks Committee
Green Drinks is not for minors. We the Green Drinks Committee do not in any way promote the consumption of alcohol by individuals under the age of 21. That being said we are active imbibers and hope to share a bit of good cheer with all our legal compatriots.
September 16, 2009
7:30 pm to 9:00 pm
Transformational Lecture Series – Cascadia Region Green Building Council – www.cascadiagbc.org
DESIGN FOR ON-SITE RESOURCES, with Dr. John Reynolds, Fellow – American Institute of Architects
Anchorage Museum of History and Art, Wednesday, September 16, 2009, 7:30-9:00 pm
Rather than import all of the energy used for a building, on-site resources can make substantial contributions. For more than 40 years John Reynolds has investigated how people use energy in buildings, and how buildings shape that energy usage. He will talk about buildings in many climate zones that reduce imported energy by using sunlight, breeze and ventilation, cooling with nighttime outdoor air, the very cold sky, and temperatures below the ground. The results are beautiful buildings that are a pleasure to use.
Event is free for Cascadia Region Green Building Council members and full-time students, and $10 for non-members. Cascadia members – please remember to bring your passport for free admission!
To RSVP/register, please go to: http://johnreynoldsanchorage.eventbrite.com/
For more information: Mark Masteller, 907-373-2723, mark@cascadiagbc
August 17, 2009
Many thanks to Carol Heyman, the Manager of Commercial & Community Relations for Chugach Electric Association, Inc., for her presentation at REAPs monthly forum on Aug. 12. Carol talked about Chugach’s energy efficiency work, their Smart Power program, their rebate coupons for energy efficient lightbulbs and plans for the future.
Discussion was lively about how best to spread the message of energy efficiency and encourage people to be energy efficient. Anyone with ideas can send them to Carol at carol_heyman@chugachelectric.com. REAP also has her power point presentation, which I can email if you send a note to me at s.nowers@realaska.org.
August 22, 2009
10:00 am to 12:00 pm
10:00 am to 12:00 pm
10:00 a.m. Chena – Sen. Murkowski, Ranking Republican of the Senate Energy Committee, will chair a field hearing on the future of renewable energy in rural areas.
August 12, 2009
FIRST ANNUAL ALASKA SOLAR TOUR
August 15, 2009
10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Held from 10am to 4pm in various locations around the state. The Alaska Center for Appropriate Technology is sponsoring the Alaska Solar Tour in conjunction with the American Solar Energy Society. The Alaska Solar Tour features more than two dozen home and business sites in our community that showcase installations of Solar thermal, PV (Photovoltaic), green building features, and other renewable and sustainable technologies. At least two homes in Anchorage are on the tour. Other sites include:
*The organic community of Ionia on the Kenai which has replaced $12,000 per year of propane and $3,000 per year of heating oil using renewable energy sources.
*A Wasilla area couple, Karen and David Jones, have reduced their Enstar bill for the past two months to the minimum amount of 1ccf of gas, LESS than a dollar by super insulating their house and using a solar-powered system for heating water.
Find out how your neighbors are trimming their energy bills, generating their own electricity, and improving the future of our planet by living sustainably today. This is a free self directed tour. No registration is required. View the map of host sites at Alaska Solar Tour and get a carload of friends to visit a few of your neighbors open house sites. For more information, go to ACAT.
August 11, 2009
UPDATE: The state Legislature Monday overrode former Gov. Sarah Palin’s veto of $28.6 million in federal energy stimulus funding. The money will fund work to better weatherize homes, provide rebates and other financial incentives for businesses and homeowners to install more energy efficiency equipment. It will also fund research on and education about energy efficiency and renewable energy. The money is expected to provide jobs and allow residents and businesses to cut their energy bills and energy consumption. The 45 to 14 vote was the minimum number of votes needed to override the governor’s veto. It received widespread coverage, including in the New York Times Green Inc. blog and Anchorage Daily News. REAP would like to thank legislators and others for all their hard work on this important issue.
