Vineyard Conservation Almanac

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In This Issue:

Local News:
Power Struggle Looms in Plans to Regulate Wind Turbines at Sea

Feature:
US agriculture interests split over energy bill

Calendar:
Felix Neck Kayak Quest;
Toddler Time;
Horseshoe Crab Basket Demonstration;
More...

Save The Date:
The 3rd Annual Living Local Harvest Fest

Water Update:
Acid grip

Climate Change Update:
Climate trouble may be bubbling up in far north;
Arctic reverses trend, is warmest in two millennia

Environmental Education Update:
Expedition to link students in support of climate action

Wildlife Update:
MOSQUITO VIRUSES POSE THREAT IN REGION;
State's early hunt would cull resident geese

LOCAL NEWS

Power Struggle Looms in Plans to Regulate Wind Turbines at Sea
By JIM HICKEY
Vineyard Gazette

Finding themselves at a historic crossroad between embracing renewable energy technologies and protecting the Vineyard, Island planning and conservation leaders gathered Wednesday to discuss two legislative initiatives that would put the Vineyard on the front line of an ambitious state plan to build large-scale wind farms on land and at sea.

Gov. Deval Patrick is aggressively promoting the development of green energy technologies in separate initiatives: the draft Oceans Management Plan, which outlines areas to build large-scale commercial wind farms, and the Wind Energy Siting Reform Act, which would streamline approval of land-based wind turbines around the state.

http://www.mvgazette.com/article.php?22845

Feature

US agriculture interests split over energy bill
By MARGERY A. GIBBS
Associated Press Writer

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Legislation to confront climate change could be an economic godsend to farmers and ranchers. Or it could be an enormous financial burden.

It depends on whom you ask, and not even farmers and ranchers agree on the matter.

Those who are against the bill say it would lead to skyrocketing fuel and fertilizer costs, cutting into farmers' and ranchers' already unpredictable profits. Those who support it contend any losses would be more than made up for through a provision that would allow companies to meet their pollution targets by investing in offset projects, such as farms that capture methane or plant trees.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/
U/US_FARM_SCENE_CLIMATE_FARMERS
?SITE=MAHYC&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
&CTIME=2009-09-01-07-28-58

Cooking food accounts for about 5% of the energy we use in our homes, so make sure your culinary skills aren’t draining resources unnecessarily. Cook in Batches: If you’re cooking from scratch, prepare enough for several meals, and freeze or refrigerate the remaining portions. It will take much less energy (and time and effort) to reheat the leftovers than to cook new meals. Work on a number of levels: Cook several items on top of each other in a stacked steamer to get the most out of each burner’s energy.

Courtesy of How To Reduce Your Carbon Footprint.

Calendar

Felix Neck Kayak Quest

Mon, Sept 7, Felix Neck Kayak Quest 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Enjoy Sengekontacket Pond at your own pace on this self-guided tour. Kayaks, paddles, lifejackets and quest materials are all included. Cost is $40, or $30 for members, per boat. For details, call 508-627-4850.

Felix Neck Kayak Quest

Tues, Sept 8, Felix Neck Kayak Quest 1 to 3:30 p.m. Enjoy Sengekontacket Pond at your own pace on this self-guided tour. Kayaks, paddles, lifejackets and quest materials are all included. Cost is $40, or $30 for members, per boat. For details, call 508-627-4850.

Toddler Time

Wed, Sept 9. Toddler Time, 10 a.m. to noon at Native Earth Teaching Farm, 94 North Road in Chilmark, with animal visits and farm crafts. Weather permitting. The farm is also open for tours Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For details, call 508-645-3304 or see nativeearthteachingfarm.org.

Horseshoe Crab Basket Demonstration

Wed Sept 9, Horseshoe Crab Basket Demonstration at the Aquinnah Cultural Center from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Learn about these prehistoric creatures and see how their shells can be used to make baskets. For details, call 508-645-7900.

A Sea Change

Wed, Sept 16, The film A Sea Change, a ground-breaking documentary about ocean acidification, will be shown at the Chilmark Public Library at 5:30 p.m. The screening is free and sponsored by the Menemsha Fisheries Development Fund and the Friends of the Chilmark Public Library. Call 508-645-3360 for more information.A Sea Change is the first documentary on ocean acidification, the underbelly of climate change. Imagine a world without fish: if ocean chemistry continues to change because of excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, a bottom-up collapse of the sea food chain could result. The film combines the intimate story of a Norwegian family whose life is bound up with the sea with an investigation into the science of ocean acidification.

Tisbury Waterways Inc. Annual Meeting

Fri, Sept 11, Tisbury Waterways Inc. Annual Meeting, 4:00 to 5:30PM at the Tisbury Sr. Center. The program is entitled “Do We Protect Fish or Fowl?” and will present a panel of experts detailing the scope of the problem of pollution contributed by birds and the regulatory framework that dictates our potential solutions. Dr. Stephen Jones of the University of New Hampshire will present a breakdown of specific pollutants whose DNA he has analyzed from samples taken from Sengekontacket. Two representatives from US Wildlife Services will discuss the importance of regulating the potential overpopulation of waterfowl and other sources of pollution. They will offer tools available to all of us to help us manage contaminants that threaten our environment.The main purpose of this discussion is to give Islanders- fishermen, birders and clammers alike-an opportunity to expand their knowledge and ask questions.Tisbury Waterways Inc. is a citizen’s group that advocates for clean marine water.

Aquinnah Wampanoag Powwow

Sat. Sept 12, Aquinnah Wampanoag Powwow time TBA, Gay Head Circle, Aquinnah. 5th annual event. 508-645-9265.

Fall Plant Sale

Sat, Sept 12, Fall Plant Sale, Polly Hill Arboretum, 10am – 2pm Whether you’re a budding gardener or already have two green thumbs, the Arboretum’s fall plant sale will have something for you. Arboretum staff have chosen and grown plants that are noted not only for their superior ornamental qualities but also for their adaptability to Island life. We plan to offer a selection of trees, shrubs, and perennials including many Island natives.

Save The Date

The 3rd Annual Living Local Harvest Fest

The 3rd Annual Living Local Harvest Fest (LLHF) will be held October 2nd and 3rd on Martha’s Vineyard, presenting a rich program of free community events that aim to increase awareness and accelerate the uptake of sustainable living on Martha’s Vineyard.

The festival is presented by - MV Agricultural Society, Vineyard Energy Project, Island Grown Initiative and the Vineyard Conservation Society.

LLHF will open Friday evening, October 2nd at 7:30PM with a discussion on ‘The Next Generation of Martha’s Vineyard”, at the Grange Hall in West Tisbury.

On Saturday, October 3rd, the festival will be in full bloom, with a packed day of events from 9:00am-3pm at the Agricultural Hall in West Tisbury. These include:

LEARN - forums on leading-edge visions of sustainability: ENERGY: Wind (em)powering Martha's Vineyard, FOOD: The Now and Tomorrow of Small Scale Meat Production in Massachusetts, WASTE: Wither Waste on MV?!, NATURAL RESOURCES: Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head’s environmental education program. Program is sponsored by the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) (http://www.wampanoagtribe.net)

FUN - interactive demonstrations such as: beekeeping/honey extraction, composting, organic gardening basics, Hook & Line, Pot and Net Fishing for Your Dinner and Preserving Food. Program is sponsored by South Mountain (http://www.somoco.com).

KIDS – fun educational activities for kids of all ages on the culture and history of Martha’s Vineyard, farming, pumpkin carving, worm box building, felt making and more! Program is sponsored by the Farm Institute (http://www.farminstitute.org).

Water Update

Acid grip
By James Wright, SeaFood Business associate editor

9/2/2009 3:33:50 PM - A change in the chemistry of the oceans was once thought impossible. But now a consensus of oceanographers worldwide now believes it is true — and that little can stop it from progressing. Ocean acidification, a direct result of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from human industrial activity, is now part of the public consciousness and may be the impetus world leaders need to adopt stricter environmental standards. If dying oceans aren’t enough to effect change on a global scale, perhaps nothing will be.

http://www.seafoodsource.com/newsarticledetail.aspx?id=4294968196

Climate Change Update

Climate trouble may be bubbling up in far north
By CHARLES J. HANLEY
AP Special Correspondent

MACKENZIE RIVER DELTA, Northwest Territories (AP) -- Only a squawk from a sandhill crane broke the Arctic silence - and a low gurgle of bubbles, a watery whisper of trouble repeated in countless spots around the polar world.

"On a calm day, you can see 20 or more `seeps' out across this lake," said Canadian researcher Rob Bowen, sidling his small rubber boat up beside one of them. A tossed match would have set it ablaze.

"It's essentially pure methane."

Pure methane, gas bubbling up from underwater vents, escaping into northern skies, adds to the global-warming gases accumulating in the atmosphere. And pure methane escaping in the massive amounts known to be locked in the Arctic permafrost and seabed would spell a climate catastrophe.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/
C/CN_CLIMATE_09_TROUBLING_BUBBLES
?SITE=MAHYC&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
&CTIME=2009-08-31-05-03-44

Arctic reverses trend, is warmest in two millennia
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID
AP Science Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Arctic is warmer than it's been in 2,000 years, even though it should be cooling because of changes in the Earth's orbit that cause the region to get less direct sunlight. Indeed, the Arctic had been cooling for nearly two millennia before reversing course in the last century and starting to warm as human activities added greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/
U/US_SCI_ARCTIC_WARMING?SITE=MAHYC
&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2009-09-03-15-35-25

Environmental Education Update

Expedition to link students in support of climate action
31 Aug 2009
by Tim Bromfield

From right to left: Tim Bromfield, Lynn Morris, and Will Lorimer. The three are tracing the 1-meter countour around the Atlantic Ocean in hopes of educating British students about communities threatened by rising sea levels.Courtesy Atlantic RisingAtlantic Rising is a new charity backed by Britain’s Royal Geographical Society. We are a three-person team creating a network between schools around the Atlantic coastline to raise awareness about the effects of sea level rise on coastal communities.

The network is being launched with an expedition around the Atlantic rim tracing the 1-meter contour line—the Atlantic coastline as it will look in 100 years if sea levels rise as predicted. Along the way I and my colleagues—Will Lorimer and Lynn Morris—will be visiting schools and blogging on Grist from communities confronting sea level rise and its attendant threats of coastal erosion, flooding and salinity.

http://www.grist.org/article/
2009-08-30-atlantic-rising-climate-change-education/

Wildlife Update

MOSQUITO VIRUSES POSE THREAT IN REGION
By PHIL DEVITT
THE STANDARD-TIMES
September 02, 2009

Eastern Massachusetts is at "increased risk" for eastern equine encephalitis after the virus was detected in multiple bird-biting mosquitoes collected in New Bedford and Lakeville in the past week, according to state officials.

In Merrimac, near the New Hampshire border, a mosquito more likely to bite mammals also tested positive for EEE, increasing the chance of human infection, the state Department of Public Health warned yesterday.

http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/
pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090902/NEWS/909020327/-1/NEWS01

State's early hunt would cull resident geese
By Nelson Sigelman
September 3, 2009
MV Times

The Massachusetts early Canada goose hunting season begins Tuesday one half hour before sunrise and ends at sunset on Friday, Sept. 25. The timing of the season is intended to reduce growing populations of geese that have lost their natural urge to migrate with the seasons.

Canada geese feed on young growth and pull vegetation up by the roots. The large birds also produce from one half to a pound and half of droppings per day according to state wildlife biologists.

http://www.mvtimes.com/marthas-vineyard/
news/2009/09/03/early-goose-season.php

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