Vineyard Conservation Society's Conservation Almanac - A Weekly Newsletter with the latest environmental news and events for Martha's Vineyard

Weekly News

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In This Issue:

Local News:
VCS Walk Turns into a Wet and Wild Winter Adventure

Feature:
U.N. Climate Talks ‘Take Note’ of Accord Backed by U.S.

Calendar:
Toddler Time;
Local Foods Dinner;
Alpaca Farm Open House;
More...

Announcement:
CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS for The Working Waterways and Waterfronts National Symposium on Water Access 2010

MVC Update:
Wind Restrictions Could Thwart Farmers’ Plan to Power Schools

Climate Change Update:
Under the icy north lurks a ‘carbon bomb’

Water Update:
Cape secures $22 million in water funds

Land Update:
Foes Unite to Support Bill on Old-Growth Forests

Energy Update:
Biden tells Obama that 40 million U.S. homes will have smart meters by 2015

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Thank you!

LOCAL NEWS

VCS Walk Turns into a Wet and Wild Winter Adventure

The skies were gray and the wind was howling on Sunday, December 13 as 30 brave Islanders gathered at the Gay Head Lighthouse for a VCS Winter Walk. After an ambitious, windblown tour of the light house, walkers made the trek down a steep and winding path to a private beach on the north side of the Gay Head cliffs.

About a mile into the walk, the winds picked up, storm clouds rolled in, and hail added an unexpected element. Despite the inclement weather, slippery rocks and rising tide, walkers continued to round the southwest corner of the Vineyard.

Although cold, wet and out of breath, everyone made it back to the parking lot for some well-deserved cookies, hot cider and a winter memory not soon forgotten.

Feature

U.N. Climate Talks ‘Take Note’ of Accord Backed by U.S.
By ANDREW C. REVKIN and JOHN M. BRODER
Published: December 19, 2009

COPENHAGEN — With the swift bang of a gavel on Saturday morning, a prolonged fight between nations small and large over an international pact to limit climate risks that was forged the night before by the United States and four partners came to a somewhat murky end.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/20/science/
earth/20climate.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=global-hom

Uncle Sam Wants YOU to Save Energy
Greentips: November 2009
First in a two-part series
Have you been wanting to green your home, but don’t have the green to do it? As part of the federal stimulus package, the government is offering a tax credit on various products that will help boost your home’s energy efficiency. The tax credit covers 30 percent of the purchase price—and, in some cases, the installation cost as well—of eligible products “placed in service,” or put into use, in existing primary residences (not new construction) between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2010. The maximum credit you can receive for all qualifying products during this period is $1,500.

http://www.ucsusa.org/publications/greentips/

Calendar

Toddler Time

Wed, Dec 23, 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. For details, call 508-645-3304 or see nativeearthteachingfarm.org.

Local Foods Dinner

Wed, Dec 23, Local Foods Dinner, at Zephrus Zeafood & Grill, A 3-course prix-fixe menu of locally grown foods is offered with 20% of the proceeds to benefit the Island Grown Initiative.

Alpaca Farm Open House

Sun, Dec 27, Alpaca Farm Open House, 10:00 AM Spinning demo, refreshments plus a pack of alpacas.

Announcement

CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS for The Working Waterways and Waterfronts National Symposium on Water Access 2010

http://www.wateraccessus.com/
September 27-30, 2010, Portland, Maine
Submissions due: Friday, January 22, 2010 at http://www.wateraccessus.com/callforpapers.html

The symposium will provide a forum to help communities, organizations, businesses, and individuals address waterfront access challenges by showcasing successful models and tools from around the country. For submission questions, please contact Kristen Grant, Maine Sea Grant and University of Maine Cooperative Extension kngrant@maine.edu; 207-646-1555 x115

The Working Waterways and Waterfronts National Symposium on Water Access 2010 Sponsors http://www.wateraccessus.com/sponsors.htm

MVC Update

Wind Restrictions Could Thwart Farmers’ Plan to Power Schools
By JIM HICKEY
Vineyard Gazette

A small group of Island farmers appeared before the Martha’s Vineyard Commission last Thursday to voice concerns over a proposal to nominate nearly all of the air space over the Island as a special protection zone to control the development of land-based wind turbines.

http://www.mvgazette.com/article.php?23948

Climate Change Update

Under the icy north lurks a ‘carbon bomb’
By Beth Daley
Globe Staff / December 13, 2009

Tropical deforestation is a climate change crisis, but scientists fear for boreal wilderness, too

OTTAWA - North of Canada’s capital, underneath an endless expanse of spruce, pine, and birch, ticks what some scientists are calling a carbon bomb: Peat. A thick layer of the black spongy soil, the remnants of ancient forests, wraps the globe’s northern tier. Deeper than 15 feet in places, the peat layer extends over more than 6 million square miles across Russia, Scandinavia, China, Canada, and the United States.

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/
green/articles/2009/12/13/under_the_icy_north_lurks_a_carbon_bomb/

Water Update

Cape secures $22 million in water funds
By Karen Jeffrey
kjeffrey@capecodonline.com
December 17, 2009

HYANNIS — Money to restore salt marshes and improve water quality on Cape Cod was approved yesterday by a U.S. Senate committee, clearing the way for what some say will become the largest project of its kind in New England.

The Cape Cod Water Resource Restoration Project, which includes 76 individual environmental efforts from one end of the Cape to the other, carries a price tag of $22 million and is set to be completed over a 10-year period.

http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/
article?AID=/20091217/NEWS/912170316/-1/NEWS01

Land Update

Foes Unite to Support Bill on Old-Growth Forests
By LESLIE KAUFMAN
Published: December 16, 2009

Calling a truce in a long and bitter battle, timber executives and environmentalists united Wednesday in supporting legislation to codify and expand current protections for old-growth forests on federal land in eastern Oregon.

After nearly eight months of talks, representatives of both groups joined Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, at a news conference in Washington as he introduced a bill that would ban cutting of trees more than 21 inches in diameter and protect delicate watershed areas.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/17/
science/earth/17timber.html?hpw

Energy Update

Biden tells Obama that 40 million U.S. homes will have smart meters by 2015

A new report by Vice President Biden, which President Obama mentioned briefly in an appearance Tuesday, projects that the number of U.S. homes with smart meters will jump from about 8 million now to 40 million by 2015.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/
greenhouse/post/2009/12/
biden-tells-obama-that-40-million-us-homes-will-have-smart-meters-by-2015-/1

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