Sustainable North

From The Tundra Drums, Sunday, November 29, 2009: For the Bethel region of Alaska, the heating fuel of the future might be a throwback to the past. A business and organizations there, including Bethel’s city government, are increasingly turning to firewood in an effort to replace the costly heating fuel that often exceeds $6 a [...]

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From The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Sunday, November 29, 2009: An Alaska teacher’s dream to build a greenhouse so students can grow fresh veggies in the village of Quinhagak will likely become reality thanks to a $10,000 grant from former celebrity talk show host Jenny Jones. In a surprise phone call, Jones rang up teacher Sherry [...]

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From Peninsula Clarion, Tuesday, November 24, 2009: Kenai is doing more than any other city in the state in terms of encouraging wind turbine development within city limits, a leader in Alaska wind energy installation said. On Nov. 4, the Kenai City Council passed an ordinance establishing the rules for building generators in the city. [...]

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From The Associated Press, Wednesday, November 25, 2009: The Cook Inlet Region corporation says it plans to go ahead with the Fire Island wind farm project, despite a split last month with a developer. The Anchorage Native corporation told The Anchorage Daily News it could fund the $165 million project by itself and hopes to [...]

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ASK A BUILDER 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: Is it really necessary to insulate my hot water tank? A: It is. The newer tanks have a high-density polyurethane foam insulation around [...]

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From NPR, Tuesday, November 24, 2009: McDonald’s logo is going green to promote a more eco-friendly image in Europe. It is swapping its traditional red backdrop for a deep green. The company says about 100 German McDonald’s will make the change by the end of the year. Some franchises in Great Britain and France already [...]

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From Treehugger.com: Let’s face it: With all that rushing, consuming, and bargain-hunting, the holidays can be darn stressful. So this year, following the best of the methodology pioneered by the revolutionary Slow Food Movement, TreeHugger is taking them back. We’re putting the brakes on stress and over consumption and making a return to those idyllic [...]

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From The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Monday, November 23, 2009: The university said it will collaborate on a multimillion-dollar study of how climate change could be impacting lakes, rivers and streams in Alaska and Hawaii. The multi-disciplinary environmental research project will focus partly on the influence changes in North Pacific weather systems have on freshwater resources, [...]

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From The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Sunday, November 22, 2009: Hundreds of university chancellors and presidents have signed a pledge to steer their campuses toward a climate neutral policy on greenhouse gas emissions, but don’t expect the University of Alaska Fairbanks to join them anytime soon. Chancellor Brian Rogers said he’s been asked by students and [...]

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From The New York Times, Wednesday, November 18, 2009: The Earth’s oceans, which have absorbed carbon dioxide from fuel emissions since the dawn of the industrial era, have recently grown less efficient at sopping it up, new research suggests. Emissions from the burning of fossil fuels began soaring in the 1950s, and oceans largely kept [...]

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