Category Archives: Northern Living

TV series follows electric car to Argentina

From The Associated Press, Friday, December 31, 2010:

An eight-part BBC series that begins airing Saturday follows an electric car on its 16,000-mile trip from Alaska to Argentina.

In “Racing Green,” filmmaker Claudio van Planta follows postgraduate engineering students from England on their journey that began at Chena Hot Springs on July 1. They reached Argentina in 136 days.

Van Planta tells the Daily News-Miner the goal of the trip was to prove that electric cars have a place in the world today.

Fairbanks borough pollution plan goes before assembly for final touches

From The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Wednesday, December 29, 2010:

An air pollution plan that has so far taken more than a year to push through for the Fairbanks North Star Borough will no longer carry any fines or enforcement power if a revised version is approved next month.

Borough Mayor Luke Hopkins revised the air quality ordinance to comply with a ballot measure passed in October banning the borough from regulating home heating devices. The proposed ordinance will go before the Borough Assembly for first reading Jan. 13.

“We had an air quality plan passed. We barely entered winter, to see if it would have an effect on the large emissions we have in our airshed, when voters said ‘No thanks’ in October,” Hopkins said.

Now enforcement falls to the state and could end up being tougher than local control would have been, Hopkins said.

An advisory panel unanimously approved the updated plan Monday, but only because it had no choice, said Charles Machetta, chairman of the Air Pollution Control Commission. The updated version reduces a mandatory program based on hard limits and penalties to a voluntary program based on education and expert assistance.

“It’s a pretty toothless document,” Machetta said. “The sentiment of the commission is, we hated the document, we hated what happened with Proposition A (the ballot measure) and our hands are completely tied.”

The revised plan also transfers enforcement power to the state, which abides by similar air quality regulations and could enforce compliance through civil action rather than fines.

Continue reading: Fairbanks borough pollution plan goes before assembly for final touches

Nenana may be getting experimental in-river power turbine

From The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Monday, December 27, 2010:

Federal regulators are reviewing plans for a submerged, in-river power turbine. It’s a pilot project energy researchers and the developer think could help communities across rural Alaska, where electric costs run exponentially higher than in urban hubs.

Two similar projects have been tested in Ruby and Eagle. This one, lined up for use near Nenana, would be bigger — between 50 and 300 kilowatts, via small turbines and an underwater transmission cable in the Tanana River. It would operate a little less than half the year.

Monty Worthington, a project development director for the Anchorage-based ORPC Alaska, said he hopes to have the system up and running in 2012.

Fairbanks borough could begin recycling program by January

From The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Monday, December 28, 2010:

The Fairbanks North Star Borough is negotiating to launch a pilot recycling program at three transfer sites and the landfill next month, according to borough mayor Luke Hopkins.

If the deal with K & K Recycling Inc. is inked, bins would be put out at the landfill, the transfer site in North Pole and two transfer sites on Farmers Loop for collecting paper, glass, plastic, aluminum and tin.

The pilot program likely would last three years. If it is successful, Mayor Hopkins said residents could see recycling bins at more transfer sites, the trash drop-off locations for people who don’t have trash collection at home.

Experts recommend chimney upkeep, furnace inspection

From The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Saturday, December 25, 2010:

Charlie Whitaker has cleaned chimneys of boilers, furnaces, fireplaces and wood stoves through his company, A Chimney Sweep, for 27 years.

“Boilers and furnaces can malfunction at a moment’s notice,” he said.

While he did not inspect the chimney of Alyson and Mike Padilla, which leaked carbon monoxide into their home last week, he offered some common advice for maintaining and detecting problems in oil-fired boilers and furnaces. He also explained the common causes of soot in these systems.

The National Fire Protection Association recommends you have your chimneys inspected and tuned (if they require it) annually.

State takes lead in limiting Fairbanks pollution

From The Associated Press, Saturday, December 25, 2010:

Since North Star Borough voters eliminated fines for pollution-causing heating devices, the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation has taken up the responsibility.

But, KUAC-FM reports, the DEC must work through several steps before actual enforcement can take place.

The EPA has put Fairbanks on notice to reduce particulate levels by 2014.

DEC acting Air Quality Division Director Alice Edwards said the state’s regulations allow it to issue an advisory that limits the wood-fired heating devices when air quality is low.

“The DEC advisories provide another way for people to find out the status of the local air quality,” Edwards said. “It also allows DEC the ability to follow up on certain compliance concerns that are related to opacity from wood-fired heating devices.”

Violations of the advisory could begin with notices of violations and issuance of nuisance abatements, and could eventually result in civil penalties and civil suits.

Continue reading: State takes lead in limiting Fairbanks pollution

Fairbanks borough administrators rewriting air pollution plan

From The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Thursday, December 23, 2010:

Administrators for the borough are rewriting an air pollution prevention plan following October passage of a voter initiative. The borough’s public pollution control commission will review the changes Monday.

The changes follow commissioners’ request that borough officials try, “as much as possible,” to retain oversight of pollution’s impact on visibility and trans-property boundary effects, Mayor Luke Hopkins said.

The commission meets Monday at 6:30 p.m. at a special venue, Pioneer Park’s Civic Center and Alaska Centennial Center for the Arts.

EPA forms group to increase tribal role in pollution prevention

From The Tundra Drums, Tuesday, December 21, 2010:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is forming a new tribal committee to provide tribes with an opportunity for greater input on issues related to toxic chemicals and pollution prevention, the agency said in a press release.

The move is part of Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s priority to build strong tribal partnerships and expand the conversation on environmental justice.

EPA is establishing a National Tribal Toxics Committee (NTTC) that will give tribes a forum for providing advice on the development of EPA’s chemical management and pollution prevention programs that affect tribes. Given the uniqueness of tribal cultures, communities and environmental problems, the forum will help EPA better tailor and more efficiently address a variety of issues, including preventing poisoning from lead paint, expanding pollution prevention and safer chemical initiatives in Indian country, and better evaluating unique chemical exposures on tribal lands.

“This new committee will help increase our already close collaboration and communication with federally recognized tribes and intertribal organizations on critical issues relating to chemical safety and pollution prevention that affect Native peoples,” said Steve Owens, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. “We are committed to reducing toxic exposures and increasing pollution prevention among tribal communities, and to respecting tribal sovereignty, culture and heritage.”

Continue reading: EPA forms group to increase tribal role in pollution prevention

Anchorage elementary getting wind turbine

From The Associated Press, Tuesday, December 21, 2010:

Begich Middle School in Anchorage has won school board approval to install a wind turbine.

The Anchorage Daily News reports it’s part of a federal program to teach renewable energy. The turbine will generate enough electricity to run up to eight computers.

Alaska is one of 11 states in the Energy Department’s Wind for Schools program.

Sherrod Elementary in Palmer also has a turbine. Schools in Juneau are working with the Coast Guard station’s wind turbine.

Continue reading: Anchorage elementary getting wind turbine

Fire destroys K&K Recycling warehouse

From The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Friday, December 17, 2010:

A Friday morning fire at K&K Recycling destroyed a warehouse after cardboard bales inside the building ignited.

The fire at the 50-by-100 foot temporary steel building was discovered by employees arriving at work about 7:15 a.m. The blaze had fully engulfed the building by the time firefighters arrived soon afterward.

North Star Chief Jeff Tucker said firefighters remained on hand throughout the day to keep the blaze from spreading outside the warehouse, but firefighters and K&K officials decided not to make an active effort to hose it down in frigid conditions.

“We could put it out, but you’d have one giant frozen mess,” Tucker said. “The decision was made just to let it burn down.”

Tucker said it’s unlikely the origin of the fire will be determined because of extensive damage to the building. He said the blaze isn’t considered suspicious.