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This week in conservation
November 9, 2009
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In This Issue:

Local News:
Oceans Management Act;
In dead Vineyard oaks, a warming warning

Feature:
Democrats Proceed With Committee Debate On Climate Bill Despite GOP Boycott

Calendar:
Tuesday After School at the Farm Institute;
Toddler Time;
Farmers-in-Training at the Farm Institute;
More...

Save The Date:
Greens Workshop with Judy Bryant

Announcement:
VCS Calling Attention to Climate Change

Grant and Other Opportunities:
Coastal Pollutant Remediation Grant Program;
Nonpoint Source Pollution Conference—Call for Papers

Climate Change Update:
Democrats Push Climate Bill Through Panel Without G.O.P. Debate;
Follow the science on climate change;
Mt. Kilimanjaro Ice Cap Continues Rapid Retreat

Wind Update:
State presses wind projects;
Nantucket Sound may get new status

Energy Update:
President Obama Announces $3.4 Billion Investment to Spur Transition to Smart Energy Grid
The Almanac is brought to you FREE thanks to a generous grant to the Vineyard Conservation Society. That grant will soon run its course. We welcome your thoughts on potential funding sources as we explore how to keep this valuable service to the community going. Fiscal reality requires that, with this issue, the Almanac move to a bi-weekly blast. Please spread the word: the Almanac needs your help!
 
LOCAL NEWS
Islanders are deeply concerned about the fact that the MVC decision making powers as it relates to the Oceans Management Act off shore development has been fast tracked to the Energy Siting board stripping the Commission of any recourse. For the VCS view on this issue go to www.vineyardconservation.org
In dead Vineyard oaks, a warming warning
By Beth Daley
Globe Staff / November 2, 2009
WEST TISBURY - Ever since a vast tract of Martha’s Vineyard forest died two years ago, visitors who stumbled upon the graveyard of gray stalks have called it eerie, bizarre, and sad.

Now scientists are calling it something else: a possible climate change lesson.

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/
green/articles/2009/11/02/
5000_years_later_a_new_warming_warning/
Feature
Democrats Proceed With Committee Debate On Climate Bill Despite GOP Boycott
 November 3, 2009
Kris Alingod - AHN Contributor
Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) was the sole Republican who attended the Senate Environment panel's first day of debate on a climate change bill crafted by Committee Chair Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA). The GOP had said on Monday they would boycott the markup because they had not received an analysis of the measure from the Environmental Protection Agency.

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/
7016885431#ixzz0W05ZaA9J

Ideal Bite
Use a laptop
Since laptops are designed to maximize battery life, they’re about 80% more efficient than equivalent desktops. If 25% of the desktops in the US were replaced with laptops, we’d save 20 billion kWh of electricity each year. That’s equivalent to NOT burning over 8,000 railcars of coal — a third of the average coal power plant’s annual consumption.

Courtesy of: A Brighter Planet

 

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Calendar
Tuesday After School at the Farm Institute
Tues, Nov 10, Tuesday After School at the Farm Institute: Hands-on learning about our food systems, sustainable agriculture and taking care of the land for ages six and up is from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Farm Institute in Katama. Cost is $15 per session, $120 for the season. Register on-line at farminstitute.org or call 508-627-7007, extension 104.
Toddler Time
Wed, Nov 11, Toddler Time is from 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.
Farmers-in-Training at the Farm Institute
Thurs, Nov 12, Farmers-in-Training at the Farm Institute, for young people ages 11 and up with prior experience at the Farm is from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Farm Institute in Katama. Cost is $15 per session, $120 for the season. Register on-line at farminstitute.org or call 508-627-7007, extension 104.
Girls in the Woods
Thurs, Nov 12, Girls in the Woods is at Sassafras Earth Education in Aquinnah from 4 to 6 p.m., for girls ages 9 to 14. Cost is $20. Program includes looking at wild flowers, edible plants, crafting, games and stories. For details, call 508-645-2008, or visit sassafrasmvy.org.
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Save The Date
Greens Workshop with Judy Bryant
A Greens Workshop with Judy Bryant will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 1st from 9:30 to 11:30 at the Wakeman Center.

Please bring clippers. Everything you need to make a wreath will be provided. We will be making a wreath using greens that have been collected on the Vineyard. You may bring any greens that you have growing around your house and we will help you incorporate them into you wreath. Any questions please call Judy Bryant 693-4924 or e-mail cw622@comcast.net Cost: Members $15.00 Guests $20.00.
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Announcement
VCS Calling Attention to Climate Change

IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS, we have the power to avert the worst impacts of climate change. Failure to act will mean a very different world for future generations. That was the message VCS communicated in a gathering at the East Chop Lighthouse on October 24, one of more than 5,000 similar events involving people in 181 countries around the globe. Photos of these events can be seen at http://www.350.org/

For the rest of this article please visit: www.vineyardconservation.org
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Grant and Other Opportunities
Coastal Pollutant Remediation Grant Program

CZM is seeking proposals for the Coastal Pollutant Remediation (CPR) grant program. For Fiscal Year 2010, the CPR program will provide up to $400,000 to municipalities located in the Massachusetts Coastal Watershed to assess and remediate stormwater pollution from paved and unpaved surfaces and to design, install, or upgrade boat pumpout facilities. As much as $125,000 may be requested, and a 25% match of the total project cost is required. To view the Request for Responses (RFR), visit the Comm-PASS website and search for solicitation number "ENV 10 CZM 01." In November, CZM will host two informational meetings to discuss program eligibility, desired projects, timelines, and more. The meetings will be held on November 12 from 10:30 a.m. to noon at Plymouth Town Hall and November 13 from 10:00 a.m. to noon at the CZM Office in Boston. Applications are due by December 4, and projects must be completed by June 30, 2010.
Nonpoint Source Pollution Conference—Call for Papers
On May 17-19, 2010, the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection will hold the 21st Annual Nonpoint Source Pollution Conference in Plymouth. Submissions for conference presentations are due by December 9.
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Climate Change Update
Democrats Push Climate Bill Through Panel Without G.O.P. Debate
 By JOHN M. BRODER
Published: November 5, 2009

WASHINGTON — In a step that reflected deep partisan divisions in the Senate over the issue of global warming, Democrats on the Environment and Public Works Committee pushed through a climate bill on Thursday without any debate or participation by Republicans.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/06/us/
politics/06climate.html?_r=1&hpw
Follow the science on climate change
 November 1 2009
As next month’s Copenhagen conference approaches, politicians should not be distracted by the apparently growing volume of sceptical voices challenging the need for global action against climate change. Some of the sceptics may have scientific backgrounds but they are not in the mainstream of contemporary climate research. The real experts – hundreds of scientists worldwide who are examining the link between climate and carbon dioxide emissions – have no doubt that man-made global warming is a real crisis that must be addressed urgently.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/
ec04319c-c703-11de-bb6f-00144feab49a.html?nclick_check=1
Mt. Kilimanjaro Ice Cap Continues Rapid Retreat
 By SINDYA N. BHANOO
November 2, 2009
The ice atop Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania has continued to retreat rapidly, declining 26 percent since 2000, scientists say in a new report.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/
world/africa/03melt.html?_r=1
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Wind Update
State presses wind projects
 By David Abel
Globe Staff / November 3, 2009
Bill aims to ease gridlock around appeals process

With more than a third of the major wind-energy projects in Massachusetts stalled by lawsuits or permit appeals, the Patrick administration has proposed a landmark bill that would streamline the state’s appeals process and make it possible to win approval of such projects much more quickly.

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/green/
articles/2009/11/03/
mass_seeks_easier_review_process_for_mired_down_wind_energy_projects/
Nantucket Sound may get new status
 Beth Daley
Globe Staff / November 6, 2009
Massachusetts’ top historic preservation officer has dealt a setback to the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm, ruling yesterday that the body of water is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places because of its cultural significance for two Native American tribes.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/
articles/2009/11/06/nantucket_sound_may_get_historic_listing_delaying_wind_farm/
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Energy Update
President Obama Announces $3.4 Billion Investment to Spur Transition to Smart Energy Grid
October 27, 2009
For more information on Smart Grid technology go to the Department of Energy web site. It is especially interesting since The Vineyard Energy Project is now one of the recipients of a Smart Grid Investment grant.

Applicants say investments will create tens of thousands of jobs, save energy and empower consumers to cut their electric bills

ARCADIA, FLORIDA – Speaking at Florida Power and Light’s (FPL) DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center, President Barack Obama today announced the largest single energy grid modernization investment in U.S. history, funding a broad range of technologies that will spur the nation’s transition to a smarter, stronger, more efficient and reliable electric system. The end result will promote energy-saving choices for consumers, increase efficiency, and foster the growth of renewable energy sources like wind and solar.

http://www.energy.gov/8216.htm
http://www.oe.energy.gov/smartgrid.htm
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