Category Archives: Sustainable Living

Fairbanks borough requests state subsidies for heating change-outs

From The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Monday, November 22, 2010:

Hundreds of residents are showing interest in subsidies to upgrade to cleaner-burning home heating systems, according to the borough. So the Borough Assembly last week asked the state Legislature for $5 million to keep things rolling.

The incentive program, started with $1 million of federal seed money, is a response to chronic air pollution in Fairbanks. Health and air pollution officials from the local level to the Environmental Protection Agency have various interests in stamping out chronic wintertime air pollution. Studies consistently point to wood-fed heating as a major culprit.

The seed grant, from the 2009 federal recovery act, will mean hundreds of new heating systems, but Mayor Luke Hopkins said Friday many more people are expected to apply. 

What to do about moisture levels in your wood fuel

ASK A BUILDER

By CCHRC Staff

The “Ask a Builder” series is dedicated to answering some of the many questions Fairbanks residents have about building, energy and the many other parts of home life.

Q: Where can I get information on the moisture content of wood for burning in my stove?

Freshly cut wood can be very wet and can contain up to 80 percent moisture.

In terms of moisture for wood burning, 20 percent or less is ideal.

Fortunately, Fairbanks is a fairly dry climate, and if wood is cut in the spring, split, stacked and covered, it should be dry enough to burn by the fall.

However, do not cover a woodpile with tarps that drape over the sides.

Wood should be stored in a woodshed, or covered with a spare piece of plywood, roofing tin, or anything that will allow air to flow through the pile.

Also, stack the wood on pallets to avoid exposure to ground moisture.

The bottom line is, the drier the wood, the cleaner and more efficiently it will burn.

The more moisture in the wood, the less energy will come out of it as heat because the moisture has to be burned off as steam first.

Excessive moisture also creates problems with creosote.

Burning wood with a moisture content of 25 percent or higher the amount of pollution increases in the form of harmful particles exiting the chimney.

A moisture meter can identify how wet wood is.

Moisture meters are handheld devices with prongs that stick into the wood. They can be purchased locally or online and consumer models are relatively inexpensive.

Alaska HomeWise articles promote home awareness for the Cold Climate Housing Research Center (CCHRC). If you have a question, e-mail us at akhomewise@cchrc.org.You can also call the CCHRC at (907) 457-3454.

Nissan Will Sell 500,000 Electric Cars a Year by 2013, Says Chief

From The New York Times,  Tuesday, November 16, 2010:

On the eve of the market debut of the Nissan Leaf electric carCarlos Ghosn, chief executive of the Renault-Nissan alliance, said the only constraint on sales for the next three years will be how many battery packs the factories could churn out.

Deliveries of the Leaf are scheduled to start next month. Mr. Ghosn, speaking to reporters in Washington on Monday afternoon, did not say just how many he expected to sell in the first three years. He said, however, that the Leaf would hit 500,000 units a year in three years. Mass production, he explained, would lower costs enough to make the car a sales success without subsidies sooner than once expected. He said he once thought that number was a million cars a year, but now believed it was from 500,000 to 1 million.

“We’re going to have to put some efforts into selling the car, but the kind of spontaneous demand is going to be driving the sales for the next three years,” Mr. Ghosn said. “There is such a curiosity about the car and attention to the car.”

He predicted that 10 percent of the world car market would be electric vehicles by 2020. “There is no doubt in the minds of anyone in the industry that this is going to be a big factor in the industry,” he said.

Continue reading: Nissan Will Sell 500,000 Electric Cars a Year by 2013, Says Chief

UAF makes progress on sustainability score

From The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Saturday, November 13, 2010:

 The University of Alaska Fairbanks is making some progress in its efforts to go green.

UAF got a C-plus on the 2011 College Sustainability Report Card this month, a grade that attempts to measure an institution’s commitment to sustainable practices. That was an improvement from the C-minus scores the campus received in 2010 and 2009.

The annual survey of more than 300 college campuses is made by the Massachusetts Sustainable Endowments Institute, and are based on a survey about recycling practices, food service and energy efficient building.

UAF established a Sustainability Task Force this year, and also got solid grades for the administration, recycling and transportation.

UAF still lags behind its neighbor to the south, however. The University of Alaska Anchorage saw its score this year climb from a B-minus to a B.

Experimental vegetable oil kiln helps UAF potters stay environmentally friendly

From The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Monday, November 15, 2010:

Art students huddled around a 2,400-degree grease fire behind the university experimental farm in 13-degree weather on Thursday. A big tank of vegetable oil fed the flames inside a fire box and heated their pottery within one of Fairbanks’ newest artistic achievements — a vegetable oil-fired kiln.

A University of Alaska Fairbanks ceramics class designed and built the kiln during the summer at “kiln city,” an outdoor clearing between the reindeer pens and the university ski trails. Kiln City also contains four wood-fired kilns.

Few universities have vegetable oil kilns because they are a relatively new concept and take up lots of space. Most use indoor electric kilns.

The kiln, which was paid for with a $6,000 grant from the university sustainability committee, will lessen the carbon footprint of ceramics and offer a new aesthetic to artists. The experimental design also tests how the technology fares in cold weather.

Fairbanks churches try energy audits to save money

From The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Monday, November 15, 2010:

It’s a sign of the times in religious circles — caulking and sealing parties.

This new congregational activity will soon begin at Christ Lutheran Church and University Community Presbyterian Church.

Both houses of worship underwent sanctuary energy audits this past week, and as soon as they receive itemized reports, they will begin performing the simpler energy-saving tasks to reduce their energy consumption. Some larger projects might have to be contracted out.

“We found we were leaking like a sieve,” said the Rev. Susan Granata, pastor at Christ Lutheran.

Each church was motivated to take a closer look at its aging buildings for both stewardship and financial reasons.

“It was kind of a hard decision to have this audit. It was not inexpensive,” Granata said.

The financial drain of fuel and electricity costs became painfully apparent a couple years ago, when oil prices skyrocketed.

Hydro dam site recommendation to come next week

From The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Friday, November 12, 2010:

Analysts in state government who have spent months studying two options for a proposed large-scale hydroelectric dam in Alaska will recommend one next week.

The Alaska Energy Authority officials prefer one site over the other and will name that project as early as Tuesday.

A dam has long been discussed for Southcentral, which is connected to Fairbanks by electric grid. A year-old plan cited Chakachamna Lake, west of Cook Inlet, and the Susitna River as two top spots for the multibillion-dollar proposal.

Karsten Rodvick, a spokesman for the authority, said the agency plans to release its preference in a detailed recommendation next week. It will compare cost estimates, outline detailed construction plans, cite risks expected through permitting processes and list environmental concerns linked to both options.

“The intent of this is not only ultimately to be providing affordable, reliable, sustainable power to the Railbelt,” but also to meet the state’s goal of producing half its power from renewable resources by 2025, he said. He said the agency will post more information about the recommendation on its website following next week’s announcement. It will hold public workshops later this winter

How to Go Green: Thanksgiving Day

From PlanetGreen.com:

With all the planning, cooking, and cleaning, the last thing you want to think about is greening your Thanksgiving, right? But this is the perfect time to reflect and reassess your holiday preparations with a nod to sustainability.

It’s not as hard as you might think: Do you typically put a wreath on your door and a cut flower arrangement on your table? Try buying organic, or better yet, find living succulent wreaths for both. Is your centerpiece a turkey? Find a heritage breed, or consider a vegetarian alternative. Find out how to shop your local farmers’ markets for your feast, and find recycled elements for your holiday decor.

We’ve broken it down to make Thanksgiving an easy, eco-friendly, and fun holiday for all involved. Follow our countdown and you can make an easy transition to a more sustainable holiday tradition. With extensive tips on menu planning, decorating, shopping, cleaning and more, we’ve got you covered from now ’til leftovers.

There can you find an heirloom turkey? Where are cranberries grown? How much food do Americans normally waste? We’ve got the answers and lots more questions about Thanksgiving in our quiz: Do You Give Thanks With Minimal Impact? Click on over to get started and learn tons of great green knowledge along the way.

Continue reading: How to Go Green: Thanksgiving Day

Anchorage opts out of home weatherization program

From The Associated Press, Thursday, November 4, 2010:

The city of Anchorage is getting out of the home weatherization business.

The work can be done more efficiently by others, Mayor Dan Sullivan said Wednesday.

The city is withdrawing from the program at the end of March when its contract expires with the Alaska Housing Finance Corp.

Nonprofit organizations doing the work in other parts of Alaska will likely pick up the work in the city, AHFC Executive Director told the Anchorage Daily News. The Alaska Community Development Corp. and the Rural Alaska Community Action Program could gear up to handle Anchorage too.

In 2008 the Legislature approved $200 million for weatherization and $160 million for energy rebates.

The state is paying to caulk, replace furnaces and boilers, and otherwise improve the energy efficiency of 500 households in Anchorage and 7,000 more in the rest of Alaska this year, Fauske said.

The municipality has been administering the weatherization services in Anchorage since 2007 and employs 17 people in the program who are paid through a state grant.

Continue reading: Anchorage opts out of home weatherization program