Vineyard Conservation Almanac

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In This Issue:

Local News:
Members of Martha’s Vineyard Water Alliance present concerns about nitrogen in island ponds at All-Island Selectmen’s meeting;
Lawmakers Confirm Cuts in Local Aid

Feature:
Scientists Welcome Obama’s Words

Calendar:
Sustainable Book Club;
Business Lecture;
Blueberry Pruning Workshop

Wind Update:
Cape Wind Project Gets a Green Light

Energy Update:
Following is a list of financial incentives offered to Massachusetts homeowners for renewables and efficiency

Climate Change Update:
Study Warns of Threat to Coasts From Rising Sea Levels;
Fiddling While the Coal Burns

Wildlife Update:
Birds: January surprises

LOCAL NEWS

Members of Martha’s Vineyard Water Alliance present concerns about nitrogen in island ponds at All-Island Selectmen’s meeting
By Bruce Rosinoff, VCS Board member

State Senator Rob O’Leary and newly elected State Representative Tim Madden attended an All-Island Selectmen’s Meeting on January 21st in Vineyard Haven to listen to issues presented by the public and the attending Selectmen. Members of the Martha’s Vineyard Water Alliance used this opportunity to present its concerns for the need to attack wastewater pollution, particularly from an over abundance of nitrogen, that is threatening the health of our coastal ponds.

Melinda Loberg (Tisbury Waterways), Bruce Rosinoff (Mass Estuaries Project), and Bill Wilcox (MV Commission), all charter members of the Water Alliance, made presentations that focused on the work of the Water Alliance in attempting to define the scope of the nitrogen problem, the likely impacts to the Island’s environment and economy if the problem is not adequately addressed, the current status of the Estuaries Project on the Vineyard, and the necessary steps that need to be taken now to begin remediation and protection efforts.

Go to Water section for the rest of the article and Martha’s Vineyard Coastal Pond Systems and Their Mass Estuaries Project Status, Flow chart

Lawmakers Confirm Cuts in Local Aid
By SAM BUNGEY
Vineyard Gazette

Cape and Islands Rep. Timothy Madden and Sen. Robert O’Leary were on the Vineyard Wednesday night to brace town officials for massive cuts to local aid to cities and towns expected in the next fortnight.

http://www.mvgazette.com/article.php?19796

Feature

Scientists Welcome Obama’s Words
By GARDINER HARRIS and WILLIAM J. BROAD
Published: January 21, 2009
NY Times

WASHINGTON — When he vowed in his Inaugural Address to “restore science to its rightful place,” President Obama signaled an end to eight years of stark tension between science and government.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/
us/politics/22science.html

Manage Your Finances Online
Online bill paying and banking help avoid unnecessary energy use from paper production, printing, postage, and waste disposal. And generate a lot less paperwork to clutter up your home.
Courtesy of How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Calendar

Sustainable Book Club

Mon Jan 26, Sustainable Book Club 5:30 pm, Felix Neck, Edgartown. "Last Child in the Woods," by Richard Louv. 508-627-4850.

Business Lecture

Wed Jan 28, Business Lecture 11 am, Oak Bluffs Library. "Going Green to Save Money," by Better Business Bureau. Also Jan. 29, 6:30 pm. 508-693-9433 ext. 145.

Blueberry Pruning Workshop

Sat Jan 31, Blueberry Pruning Workshop 10 am-12 noon, Murphy Blueberry Farm, Chilmark. Hosted by Polly Hill Arboretum. Susan Murphy demonstrates proper pruning. Bring pruners if you have them. $24; $20 for PHA members. Pre-register: 508-693-9426.

Alpaca Farm Open House/Workshop

Sat Jan 31, Alpaca Farm Open House/Workshop 12 noon-4 pm, Island Alpaca Company, Oak Bluffs. Meet newest babies; refreshments; easy lace scarf workshop ($45). Pre-register for class: 508-693-5554.

Wind Update

Cape Wind Project Gets a Green Light
By MIKE SECCOMBE
Vineyard Gazette

After more than seven years of investigation and controversy, Cape Wind’s proposal to build 130 massive turbines across 25 square miles of Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound now seems all but sure to go ahead, following a favorable environmental assessment.

The final Environmental Impact Statement from the federal Minerals Management Service (MMS) found the project posed no serious environmental threat. The 2,800 page final report differed little from a draft report, released almost exactly a year ago, which identified no lasting major adverse impacts on wildlife, navigation, fishing, tourism or recreation.

http://www.mvgazette.com/article.php?19794

Energy Update

Following is a list of financial incentives offered to Massachusetts homeowners for renewables and efficiency

The Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC) provides the Home Energy Loss Prevention Services (HELPS) Program to seventeen municipal utilities in Massachusetts. HELPS offers a house energy audit, appliance and lighting rebates and other incentives for installation and implementation of measures recommended in an audit. Utilities are free to customize the suite of rebates they wish to provide their customers, and as a result, each utility differs in terms of the products that are eligible for a rebate.

http://www.dsireusa.org/library/includes/
maphomeowner.cfm?State=MA&CurrentPageId=1&RE=1&EE=1

Climate Change Update

Study Warns of Threat to Coasts From Rising Sea Levels
By CORNELIA DEAN
January 16, 2009
NY Times

Sea level rise fueled by global warming threatens the barrier islands and coastal wetlands of the Middle Atlantic States, a federal report warned on Friday.

The report, issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Geological Survey and other agencies, is one of a series examining the potential effects of a rising sea level on the nation’s coasts.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/17/
science/earth/17sea.html?_r=1

Fiddling While the Coal Burns
BY BILL MCKIBBEN
16 Jan 2009

Eight years of Bush inaction leave Obama with a near-impossible challenge

Given the sheer number of candidates for "worst legacy of the Bush years," it may seem perverse to pick the hundreds of coal-fired power plants that have opened across China during his administration. But given their cumulative effect -- quite possibly the concrete block that broke the climate-camel's already straining back -- I think they may be what history someday seizes on. And they are emblematic of George W. Bush's utter failure to help the world rein in carbon emissions at what may have been the last possible moment.

http://www.grist.org/feature/2009/01/16/
mckibben/?source=daily

Wildlife Update

Birds : January surprises
By E. Vernon Laux
Published: January 22, 2009
MV Times

Pink-footed goose

While not on the Vineyard, there have been some unique birds found close by recently. Last week, a small pink-footed goose was discovered among a mixed flock of Canada geese and two cackling geese in Salt Pond, just across Vineyard Sound in Falmouth. It was the first pink-footed goose ever found in Massachusetts that is considered to be a "wild" bird, not an escape from a waterfowl collection.

http://www.mvtimes.com/marthas-vineyard/
calendar/2009/01/22/birds.php

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