Sustainable North

From The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Friday, July 30, 2010: FAIRBANKS — Most sheds aren’t much to look at. But the new cordwood garden shed at the Georgeson Botanical Gardens could almost pass for a Victorian stone building from afar, sitting on a hill among a riot of red and pink poppies and giant sunflowers. It [...]

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From The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Friday, July 30, 2010: The Borough Assembly passed a resolution approving the port authority’s plan to purchase Fairbanks Natural Gas LLC and launch a natural gas trucking operation. A separate measure calling for a public vote on the plan narrowly failed. The $250 million project now goes before the Regulatory [...]

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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: I am building a house using post and pad construction. Since it will be off the ground, do I need [...]

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From The Fairbanks Daily Newsminer, Thursday, July 29, 2010: A plan to transfer Fairbanks Natural Gas LLC from private to public ownership and truck liquefied natural gas to Fairbanks from the North Slope is doomed, according to an Alaska Gasline Port Authority board member. Board member Merrick Peirce wrote in an e-mail that the assumption [...]

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From the US Dept. of Energy: The size of new U.S. single-family homes completed in 2009 declined, dropping to a nationwide average of 2,438 square feet and reversing trend of the past three decades, according to a National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). New single-family homes were almost 100 square feet smaller in 2009 than [...]

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From The New York Times, Wednesday, July 28, 2010: With a cap on carbon dioxide an apparent nonstarter in the Senate these days, some clean energy and climate advocates have shifted their sights to a scaled-back but still ambitious goal: passage of a national renewable electricity standard. Such a law would require utility companies to [...]

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From The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Wednesday, July 28, 2010: Fairbanks businessman Bernie Karl said a decision to transport oil-spill supplies to the Gulf Coast six weeks ago appears to be paying off. Karl, who owns Chena Hot Springs Resort, Chena Power and K&K Recycling, made an expensive gamble to be part of the ongoing cleanup [...]

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From Natural Resources Defense Council, nrdc.org: Use these ideas to help turn any space into a stylish, inviting and eco-friendly venue, whether you’re remodeling a home or designing for a special event. 1. Decorate with Plants Plants can act as natural air filters, removing harmful chemicals like benzene and carbon monoxide from the indoor air. [...]

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From Thedailygreen.com: When you think of sustainable dining, you probably don’t think of fast-food restaurants like Subway, Starbucks and Chipotle. And yet, these fast food chains are some of the few who have successfully pursued LEED certification. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is an internationally recognized third-party certification that a [...]

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From The Associated Press, Thursday, July 22, 2o1o: Alaska Airlines says it’s flown another test flight of landing procedures at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport that can save fuel, reduce noise and cut emissions by a third. The procedures, already used in Alaska and at several Lower 48 airports, use satellite technology to guide a plane to [...]

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