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| This week in conservation December 1-7, 2008 |
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| Calendar | ||||||||
| Slow Food Benefit Dinner | ||||||||
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| Energy Fair | ||||||||
 Wed Dec 3, Energy Fair 6 pm, Oak Bluffs Library. Housing rehab funds for critical repairs and energy updates available for O.B. and Tisbury residents. 508-693-3554 ext. 118. |
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| Environmental Lecture Series | ||||||||
 Wed Dec 3, Environmental Lecture Series 7-8 pm, Vineyard Haven Library. Today's Energy Reality with Peter Cabana. Theme: Renewable energy resources. Weekly through Nov. 26. 508-696-4211. |
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| Martha’s Vineyard Water Alliance | ||||||||
 Wed, Dec 3, Martha’s Vineyard Water Alliance, December Meeting Martha’s Vineyard Commission, OB 12:30 PM Comprehensive Wastewater Management Planning: What it Entails for Martha's Vineyard Brian Dudley, MA DEP, David DeLorenzo, MA DEP (At last month's meeting there was a long and circular discussion about this subject. These representatives from the Department of Environmental Protection will help us better understand DEP requirements and answer questions about possible ways to proceed.) |
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| Meet the Technologists: Learning about Clean Energy Technologies as Solutions to Climate Change | ||||||||
 Fri, Dec 5, Meet the Technologists: Learning about Clean Energy Technologies as Solutions to Climate Change, 10:00am - 3:00pm, hosted by Boston Children’s Museum, 300 Congress Street Boston, MA 02210 Presentations: “Wind Energy 101” Lynn B. Di Tullio, P.E. -Program Manager, The Wind Energy Center, Dept. of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, University of Massachusetts & “Solar Energy Science and Technology Exploration” Richard Lawrence -Clean Energy Program Coordinator and adjunct instructor at Cape Cod Community College. Meet the Scientists is a program of the Northeast Science Center Collaborative, which links research institutions to science centers to inform the public about climate change by relating it to where people live and the places they care about. Reserve your seat -Please register as space is limited and seats will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration is $15 with a lunch included. You can register and pay online at: https://www.cleanair-coolplanet.org/backpack06/registration_scientists.php. Directions to the program and an agenda will be e-mailed to registrants. For more information please contact Karin Jakubowski at: kjakubowski@cleanair-coolplanet.org or (203) 966-5693 . |
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| Island Plan Update | ||||||||
| Island Plan Survey on Development and Growth |
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 How much more development do we want on the Vineyard? Where should it be located? How fast should it take place? What can we do shape new projects to maximize their benefit to the community, with respect to issues such as fitting into neighborhood character, protecting open space and threatened habitat, preserving the water quality of coastal ponds, increasing housing affordability, and preserving scenic views? All Vineyard year-round and seasonal residents, as well as visitors, are invited to give their opinion about how the Vineyard community should manage development by participating in the Development and Growth Survey. This survey asks what people think about the amount, location, and rate of growth, as well as about various tools that could be used. You can take the ten-minute survey online by going to the Island Plan website: www.islandplan.org. Alternatively, you can get a paper copy at your library or from the MVC (508-693-3453). |
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| MVC Update | ||||||||
| MVC proposes more stringent DRI energy review |
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| Water Update | ||||||||
| NOAA and NSF Commission National Study of Ocean Acidification |
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| Wildlife Update | ||||||||
| Bald Eagles in Catskills Show Increasing Mercury |
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| Recycling Update | ||||||||
| VCS Island-Wide Recycling Initiative |
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 Email Subscription InformationThe Almanac is provided as a public service by the Vineyard Conservation Society with the intent of providing quick and easy access to the Island's government process and environmental community. You are recieving this free email service because you have subscribed to the Vineyard Conservation Almanac. More information about island conservation issues, meetings and events can be viewed at http://almanac.vcsmv.org. If you do not wish to continue receiving these emails please click here to unsubscribe. Thank you for subscribing to the Almanac! |
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Over the last several years the Vineyard has experienced acceleration in the number of very, very large houses cynically referred to as Trophy Houses or McMansions. Towns have tried various ways to regulate them with little success mostly due to ineffective, random approaches. We at the Vineyard Conservation Society are particularly concerned about this and are in the early stages of developing a strategy to properly regulate Trophy Houses in a consistent way. But first we want to hear from you, the public. What is it that bothers you the most about these houses? 
The worldwide economic crisis is prompting a growing number of countries to back away from pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions and invest in clean energy, just a week before the start of talks in Poland on a new worldwide climate change treaty.
Tues, Dec 2, Slow Food Benefit Dinner 6:30 pm, Détente, Edgartown. 6-course dinner celebrates seasonal local fare. $70; $95 with wine (includes $10 donation to Slow Food). Also Dec. 3, 4. 508-627-8810.
In the future, the Martha's Vineyard Commission (MVC) is expected to factor in energy use and environmental design when deciding whether to permit a project under review as a development of regional impact (DRI). 
The first comprehensive national study of how carbon dioxide emissions absorbed into the oceans may be altering fisheries, marine mammals, coral reefs, and other natural resources has been commissioned by NOAA and the National Science Foundation. “Carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels is not only contributing to atmospheric climate change,” said Dr. Steven A. Murawski, director of scientific programs and chief science advisor for NOAA’s Fisheries Service. “These emissions are being absorbed into the oceans with potentially catastrophic effects on life in our oceans. Some of the most vulnerable species – clams, crabs, lobsters, mussels, shrimp, and scallops - are also some of the most important economically to the United States, representing half of the $4 billion annual value of all fish harvested in U.S. waters.”
Less than two years after the bald eagle was removed from the federal government’s endangered species list, an environmental organization in Maine has found an alarming accumulation of mercury in the blood and feathers of bald eagle chicks in the Catskill Park region of New York. 
The VCS Island-Wide Recycling Initiative is gaining momentum. Building on the flagship collaboration that brought recycling to the Steamship Authority, VCS has started working with various other Island groups to help them more responsibly handle their waste.