Vineyard Conservation Almanac

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In This Issue:

Local News:
Stepping out for the environment

Feature:
The President and the Planet, On a Budget

Calendar:
Neighborhood Convention;
Environmental Lecture Series;
Martha's Vineyard Agricultural Society annual meeting;
more...

Save The Date:
Cape Light Compact set to hold hearings

Environmental Education Update:
Ron DiOrio, OB Selectman, is taking on Climate Change

Wildlife Update:
Sink rope delayed, float rope fight lost;
Striped Bass Index Drops, Anxiety Rises

Biofuel Update:
From a strange brew, cheaper fuel

Water Update:
Massive waves a mystery at Maine harbor

An Urgent Call for Help on Renewable Energy

The Martha's Vineyard Wind Working Group (members so far listed below) needs our help on an urgent and very important legislative issue that could help the Vineyard move toward self-sufficiency and energy independence through clean, renewable sources.

The recently-enacted Green Communities Act of 2008 has provisions for net metering and power assignment that would allow wind turbines in one location on the Vineyard to power schools and farms all over the Island. It would be possible for the owner of a turbine to assign power generated by that turbine to any NStar account, not just to users directly connected to it.

Unfortunately, there is a "one percent quota"--essentially one percent of NStar's peak load (roughly 50 megawatts)--of projects that will be allowed to use this net metering and power assignment. Regulations will be written very soon by the Massachusetts Dept. of Public Utilities governing which projects will get into this quota and how they will be evaluated.

We have until Monday afternoon, November 10, 2008, to send comments before these regulations are written. After that, we will only be able to respond at a public hearing. Members of the Martha's Vineyard Wind Working Group have already traveled to Boston for the preliminary hearing held by the Dept. of Public Utilities, spoke up successfully for the Vineyard and raised their concerns about schools, farms, and wind turbines. Questions go to www.mvwind.com.

If you are in favor of giving Island schools and farms the possibility of tapping into Island wind-generated power through net metering and power assignment, we need you to act immediately by following the steps below. A hard copy of the document with supporter names must be mailed on Monday, November 10 (because Tuesday is a holiday) to be received by the newly-announced deadline on Wednesday, November 13. Please note: by adding your name in support of this effort, you are not supporting any particular wind project or turbine. You are only supporting the concept that wind projects powering farms and schools should be allowed into the new, limited quota program before projects that are for-profit.

Please cut and paste the message below, add your name, address, phone number and email, and email it to Brian Nelson at briankingnelson@yahoo.com. He will compile a list of names and attach it to the letter from the Martha's Vineyard Wind Working Group to the Dept. of Public Utilities I allow Brian K. Nelson to attach my name to the list of those who support allowing Vineyard schools and farms into the "one percent quota" for net metering and power assignment under the Green Communities Act of 2008.

Thank you for your support.
Martha's Vineyard Wind Working Group

LOCAL NEWS

Stepping out for the environment
By Gwyn McAllister
Published: November 6, 2008

For any environmental group, raising awareness is key, but not always easy. The Vineyard Conservation Society's (VCS) solution is to do more than talk the talk. This season marks the 25th anniversary of the organization's winter walks, educational tours through some of the Vineyard's environmentally diverse areas to illustrate the importance of conservation.

http://www.mvtimes.com/marthas-vineyard/
calendar/2008/11/06/marthas-vineyard-conservation-society.php

Feature

The President and the Planet, On a Budget
By Andrew C. Revkin

President-elect Barack Obama on Jan. 20 will become the most important leader of a species that has exploded in just six generations from a total population of 1 billion (around 1830) to a point today when teenagers alone number 1 billion, a species that is on a path toward more or less 9 billion people by mid-century. In numbers, think roughly of adding two Chinas on top of the one that exists today.

http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/
2008/11/05/the-president-and-the-planet/

Websites - and the challenges they throw down - can help people reduce energy use
By Susan Chaityn Lebovits
Globe Correspondent / November 3, 2008
Whether it's to reduce energy bills or to combat global warming, more people are turning to Web-based tools to track their energy consumption and associated carbon emissions. And companies like Carbonrally in Cambridge hope to turn that interest into a business.

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/
articles/2008/11/03/websites___and_the_challenges_
they_throw_down___can_help_people_reduce_energy_use/

Start saving Energy today by going to the Carbonrally website @
http://www.carbonrally.com/challenges/10

Calendar

Neighborhood Convention

Tues Nov 11, Neighborhood Convention 10:45 am, Tribal Council Headquarters, Aquinnah. Worship: The Wampanoag tribe. Program: Tobias Vanderhoop presents an overview of history and culture. Dessert and beverages provided; bring bag lunch. 508-696-8589.

Environmental Lecture Series

Wed Nov 12, Environmental Lecture Series 7-8 pm, Vineyard Haven Library. Today's Energy Reality with Peter Cabana. Theme: Natural gas. Weekly through Nov. 26. 508-696-4211.

Martha's Vineyard Agricultural Society

Wed Nov 12, The Martha's Vineyard Agricultural Society will hold its annual meeting tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Ag. Hall in West Tisbury to vote on the revision of bylaws.

Energy Bills Lecture

Thurs Nov 13, Energy Bills Lecture 6:30-7:30 pm, Oak Bluffs Library. "How to keep your energy bills affordable" with Chris Fried. Free. 508-693-9433.

Moonrise Meander

Thurs Nov 13, Moonrise Meander, 4:15pm Felix Neck shines under the moonlight! Join us to greet the full moon rising over Sengekontacket Pond as the sun sets over the marsh and fields. Felix Neck's trails provide the views and Suzan Bellincampi will be your guide on this brisk early evening walk. Dress for the weather and bring a flashlight. Fee: $4M, $8NM per person, call 508-627-4850 with questions.

Workshop Series for Decision-Makers: Workshop # 5 Community Planning Processes: Lessons Learned and Best Practices

Thurs Nov 13, Workshop Series for Decision-Makers: Workshop # 5 Community Planning Processes: Lessons Learned and Best Practices Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, 9:00 am – 12:30 pm Description: Providing advanced wastewater treatment will be one of the most important and costly ventures that towns in the Cape and Islands region will undertake in the coming years. Given that a variety of treatment options are available, communities will need to engage in a thorough planning process to select the most appropriate solution(s) for their area bearing in mind technical, social, political and financial realities. This workshop will examine the steps involved in developing a comprehensive wastewater management plan (CWMP) and ways to use this planning process most effectively. Registration: Please register online at www.waquoitbayreserve.org If you have a question about registration, please contact Laurie Tompkins at laurie.tompkins@state.ma.us or 508-457-0495 ext. 108. There is no charge to attend, but registration is required.

Nature Program

Sat Nov 15, Nature Program 11 am-1:30 pm, Polly Hill Arboretum, West Tisbury. Nature and Nurture: Tour the grounds, learn stories and histories of special trees and plants, enjoy soup and soup making demonstration with author Cathy Walthers, "Raising the Salad Bar." $30; $25 for members. Pre-register: 508-693-9426.

Save The Date

Cape Light Compact set to hold hearings

November 07, 2008

BARNSTABLE — The Cape Light Compact will hold a series of public hearings on Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard starting Monday on its energy efficiency program and the Green Communities Act passed into law this year.

http://capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/
article?AID=/20081107/NEWS/811070315/-1/NEWS01

Environmental Education Update

Ron DiOrio, OB Selectman, is taking on Climate Change
By Marnie Stanton, Vineyard Conservation Almanac

Ron DiOrio, Chairman of the Oak Bluffs Board of Selectmen, is determined to effect change within his town through tax policy reform. “Some of these taxes and fees don’t make any sense. We need tax adjustments in order to motivate island residents to change their behavior.” With issues like environmental protection and climate change bearing down on the island, he is determined to do his part to lead Oak Bluffs in a new and innovative direction. “Finance reform and improved service to the public would make the town a more receptive business environment for everyone,” he said.

Go to the Environmental Education section for the rest of the article.

Wildlife Update

Sink rope delayed, float rope fight lost

Commercial Fisheries News
October 2008

GLOUCESTER, MA – After months of negotiations, legal wrangling, and impassioned pleas, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) officially agreed to postpone until April 5, 2009 the implementation date of the sinking groundline requirement in the revised Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (ALWTRP). The final rule implementing the new date was published on Sept. 2. If NMFS had not agreed to postpone the requirement, all trap/pot fishermen working outside of an exemption zone would have been required to use sinking groundline as of Oct. 5.

http://www.fish-news.com/cfn/editorial/
editorial_10_08/Sink_rope_delayed-float_rope_fight_lost.html

Striped Bass Index Drops, Anxiety Rises
By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL
Vineyard Gazette

Striped bass, the Vineyard’s most valued fish, is struggling. A new report shows the number of striped bass spawned in the Chesapeake Bay this year was the lowest seen in well over a decade — and fishermen along the Eastern seaboard, alarmed that striped bass may be overfished, are raising concerns about the future of the fishery.

http://www.mvgazette.com/article.php?19076

Biofuel Update

From a strange brew, cheaper fuel
By Erin Ailworth
Globe Staff / November 3, 2008
Boston Globe

LEBANON, N.H. - What does it take to brew a tank of biofuel?

'I'd like to be [test] driving some vehicles by the end of this year with our product.' BRUCE JAMERSON , Mascoma

At the Mascoma Corp. lab, the recipe might include a dash of enzymes from termite guts, elephant stomach mixed with yeast, a load of pulverized switch grass or paper sludge, and a few days of fermentation.

Anything goes here, as scientists try to find a quicker, cheaper way to make cellulosic ethanol, a "second generation" biofuel that uses non-food plant residue and other waste as its main ingredients, instead of corn or soy.

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/
articles/2008/11/03/from_a_strange_brew_cheaper_fuel/

Water Update

Massive waves a mystery at Maine harbor
By Megan Woolhouse
Globe Staff / November 4, 2008
Boston Globe

Dockworker Marcy Ingall saw a giant wave in the distance last Tuesday afternoon and stopped in her tracks. It was an hour before low tide in Maine's Boothbay Harbor, yet without warning, the muddy harbor floor suddenly filled with rushing, swirling water.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/maine/
articles/2008/11/04/massive_waves_a_mystery_at_maine_harbor/

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