October 8, 2009 to October 10, 2009
DILLINGHAM – ENERGY EFFICIENCY: THE FIRST STEP TO RENEWABLE ENERGY is the topic for the Bristol Bay energy summit that will be held at Dillingham Middle School gym. Workshop topics include lighting and appliances, wind/diesel, biomass, energy retrofits, energy audits, generation efficiency, advanced lighting technology and Alaska energy efficiency challenge. Presentations will be offered from National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Alaska Center for Energy and Power, Renewable Energy Alaska Project, Alaska Energy Authority, Alaska Housing Financing Corp., and Bristol Bay Campus. For more information call Bristol Bay Native Association’s Tribal Energy at 907-842-6231 or 800-478-5257.
October 7, 2009
4:30 pm to 6:30 pm
PALMER – SMART POWER LIGHT EMITTING DIODE (LED) WORKSHOP will be held at Matanuska Electric Association (MEA), 163 Industrial Way, from 4:30 to 6:30pm. The workshop will relates the latest in LEDs both residential & commercial and cover lighting applications inside and outside for LEDs. The mystery of when price will be as prudent as LED technology may be answered. In addition to residential and commercial consumers this workshop will be informative for architects and engineers as well as design people. Free but RSVP is requested. For more information or to respond, contact Lorali Carter at (907) 761-9722.
October 8, 2009
2:30 pm to 4:30 pm
SMART POWER LIGHT EMITTING DIODE (LED) WORKSHOP will be held at Chugach Electric Association, 5601 Electron Drive, from 2:30 to 4:30pm. Smart Power LED workshop relates the latest in LEDs both residential & commercial. It will be directed towards lighting applications inside and outside for LEDs. The mystery of when price will be as prudent as LED technology may be answered. In addition to residential customers this workshop will be informative for architects and engineers as well as design people. Free but an RSVP is requested. For more information or to respond, contact Carol Heyman at 762-4707.
October 16, 2009 to October 18, 2009
ANCHORAGE – The 6TH ANNUAL BIONEERS IN ALASKA: CREATING SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES CONFERENCE will be held at UAA. Registration is available at www.sustainak.org. This year we have invited two great speakers – LADONNA REDMOND and ROSEMARY AHTUANGARUAK. LaDonna Redmond is a community food security activist working on Chicago’s west side. She is the President and CEO of The Institute for Community Resource Development (ICRD), a non-profit, community based organization that assists residents of urban communities obtain access to safe, healthy food through the development of alternative food systems. Rosemary Ahtuangaruak is a Community Health Practitioner and Physician Assistant from the village of Nuiqsut. She is an Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope Regional Tribal Council Member, the Alaska Inter-Tribal Council Executive Council Secretary, former Mayor of the City of Nuiqsut, and a graduate of Univ. of Washington Medex Northwest Physician Assistant Program. Rosemary will be presenting on concerns from Nuiqsut on the impacts of oil and gas development on traditional and cultural uses and health. To see the 2009 satellite (plenary) speakers, go to http://www.bioneers.org/conference. For more information, contact Geran Tarr, Conference Coordinator, Bioneers in Alaska, at 907-360-4047 or email geran@chugach.net.
October 2, 2009 to October 8, 2009
Great Movies Oct 2-8th, 2009
Join Alaska Center for the Environment, the Beartooth Theatrepub & Grill, Delicious Dave Catering, AK Root Sellers, NOLS, and Bioneers Alaska for the first Alaska Local Food Film Festival! The festival will take place October 2nd-8th at the Beartooth Theatrepub in Anchorage, and will feature the Alaska debut of Food Inc, as well as the films The Garden, Eating Alaska, FRESH, and The End of the Line. There will be opportunities to eat fresh Alaskan food and discuss the films, as well as to learn more about how you can get involved with the Alaska local food movement.
The Beartooth Grill will be preparing specials made with local ingredients brought in by AK Root Sellers from the Valley. Ellen Frankenstein, filmmaker and feature of Eating Alaska, will be in town to answer questions after screening her film, and Dave Thorne of Delicious Dave Catering along with Kathy Ciarimboli brings you FRESH the movie with an opportunity for discussion after the film. There will be plenty of opportunities to ask questions and learn more about how you can get involved with the Alaska local food movement! Additionally, Bioneers Alaska will host a dessert, coffee, and Q&A opportunity on the last night of the Film Fest, Thursday 10/8th – stay tuned for details!
Film Schedule
10/2 – 5:30 – FOOD, INC.
10/3 – 5:30 – THE GARDEN
10/4 – 5:30 – EATING ALASKA with discussion w/filmmaker Ellen Frankenstein after the film
10/5 – 5:30 – FRESH with discussion after the film
10/5 – 8:00 – END OF THE LINE
10/6 – 5:30 – THE GARDEN
10/7 – 5:30 – END OF THE LINE
10/8 – 5:30 – FOOD, INC.
October 17, 2009
9:30 am to 6:00 pm
Yupiit Piciryarait Cultural Center
Find it on Facebook! Clicking on the link directs you to the Bethel Fair Fan Page on Facebook.
October 7, 2009
Many thanks to David Badger, of Brown’s Electrical Supply, for his presentation at our Oct. 7, 2009 Monthly Forum on the dos and don’ts of energy-efficient lighting. We had many folks unable to attend. REAP has posted the PowerPoint from his presentation below as well as two information sheets that cover the basics of energy-efficient lighting and what to look for on lighting bulb labels. David made some key points during his presentation. We can’t cover them all. But in the category of never, never do this, he said:
- Do not use CFLs on a dimmer switch unless they are specifically rated as dimmable. This can be a fire hazard. The packaging should say whether they are rated to be on a dimmer switch.
- Do not totally enclose CFL bulbs unless they are specifically rated to be enclosed. Otherwise they can overheat and burn out. Again, look for the information on the package.
- Don’t put CFLs in recessed cans unless they are reflector bulbs. These are the bulbs that are cone shaped and have the silver coating on the back. This will keep the light and heat pointed down instead of wasting it inside the recessed area. It can also cause overheating if you use a bulb not specifically designed for recessed lighting application.
- For outdoor lighting, find bulbs rated to start up in cold weather. Panasonic makes a bulb that has a minimum starting temperature of minus 22 degrees. Wow! Some bulbs are rated to go even colder, down to minus 40 degrees.
Do look for Energy Star-rated bulbs. This is a government-backed program. To get the rating, the bulbs have been indepedently tested on a number of factors including their longevity and that they start up quickly and don’t have that lag time before they come to full strength.
On LEDs, David said they’ve come a long way but are, in most cases, still not cost effective in terms of the amount of light you get compared to cost. They also can produce undesired lighting effects such as halo lighting, where it creates a dark hole in the center of where the light is shining. LEDs are, however, excellent in some applications such as under cabinets for lighting counters, for highlighting items in show cases such as in jewelry stores, and in high, hard to reach spots where people want to minimize the number of times they have to change a bulb.
David relayed lots of humorous personal stories with lighting and brought some fun to look at designs with him. One that drew lots of oohs and aahs was a combination CFL and LED. It had the traditional curlicue CFL, but then inside the curlicue on the base of the light were two small LEDs. With one click, you could have the full strength CFL. Click again and just the two LEDs would come on giving off a nightlight-like glow. That was cool. If you have more questions, feel free to call me at 929-7770 or send an email to s.nowers@realaska.org
More Information:
About CFLs
Reading the label
PowerPoint Presentation by David Badger
