Mon, Aug 11, Nature Tours with The Trustees of Reservations on Chappaquiddick are offered daily, including Fishing Discovery tours, Cape Pogue Natural History, Lighthouse or Quest tours. For details and reservations, call 508-627-3599.

Osprey have become a beloved Island bird, with hundreds of nests built all over the Vineyard. Follow Rob Bierregaard as he tags these beautiful raptors and outfits them with GPS transmitters.

Amanda Wallas
Plum TV

http://vineyard.plumtv.com/videos/
osprey_fish_hawk_marthas_vineyard

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) is inviting communities to submit applications for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Grants. These competitive grants are available to assist communities with hazard mitigation planning and the implementation of hazard mitigation projects prior to a disaster. The program goals are to reduce overall risks to the population and structures, and reduce the reliance on taxpayer-funded federal assistance for disaster recovery. FEMA mitigation grants cannot be used for maintenance, repair, or projects already in progress. See the full announcement on CZM’s StormSmart Coasts Funding page. Applications are due by November 21.

There is a vast worldwide potential for cutting carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by reducing the use of materials. This begins with the major metals—steel, aluminum, and copper—where recycling requires only a fraction of the energy needed to produce these metals from virgin ore, and with the recycling and composting of most household garbage. It continues with designing cars, appliances, and other products so they are easily disassembled into their component parts for reuse or recycling.

http://www.earthpolicy.org/Books/
Seg/PB3ch11_ss6b.htm

When the Island Plan’s Built Environment Work Group asked people about our buildings, neighborhoods, streetscapes, and public spaces, we heard four main concerns.

• How can we protect significant older buildings and areas, including those that don’t have official “historic” status?
• How can we ensure that new buildings fit into the community character of neighborhoods and the Island as a whole?
• How can we make new and existing buildings more environmentally sound? How can we improve “opportunity areas” that might accommodate new development?
  
  Go to the Island Plan section for the rest of the summary

THE FEW climate-change "skeptics" with any sort of scientific credentials continue to receive attention in the media out of all proportion to their numbers, their qualifications, or the merit of their arguments. And this muddying of the waters of public discourse is being magnified by the parroting of these arguments by a larger population of amateur skeptics with no scientific credentials at all.

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/
editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/08/04/
convincing_the_climate_change_skeptics/

Cape trees were largely spared the scourges of that voracious triumvirate — the winter moth, forest tent, and gypsy moth caterpillars — this summer.

"There were some localized pockets, but there wasn't any widespread defoliation," said Roberta Clark of the Cape Cod Cooperative Extension. But that doesn't signal an end to the plague. Next year, given favorable weather conditions, the pests could be back in greater numbers.

http://capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/
article?AID=/20080804/NEWS/808040311/-1/NEWS01

A big drawback of solar power is that it doesn’t work at night or on cloudy days. But researchers at MIT say they now have an inexpensive way to store solar energy when the sun isn’t out.

Daniel Nocera, a chemistry professor at MIT, and Matthew Kanan, a postdoctoral fellow in Mr. Nocera’s lab, have developed a catalyst made from cobalt and phosphate that can split water into oxygen and hydrogen gas. When used in conjunction with a photovoltaic solar panel, their system can use water to store the sun’s energy.

http://features.csmonitor.com/environment/
2008/08/01/mit-researchers-attain-solar-nirvana/

This week’s Almanac begins a series of educational pieces intended to inform Vineyarders on protecting our water resources. These articles are excerpted from “The Island Blue Pages, A Guide to Protecting Martha’s Vineyard Waters. “The Blue Pages” was produced by individuals representing many Island organizations including VCS.

Your Septic System: How Does it Work?

Human wastes carry pathogens (bacteria and viruses) and must be disposed of with care to eliminate potential contamination of drinking water, as well as streams and ponds. Human beings have a long history of disposing of their wastes into the ground. This method isolates wastes and allows chemical and biological processes to break down solids and destroy pathogens. A properly designed and maintained septic system will accomplish this by removing disease-causing pathogens and dissolving the remaining solids enough so they can be absorbed in the soil without reaching groundwater.

Go to the Water Section for the rest of the piece.