Sustainable North

From Alaska Dispatch, Friday, February 26, 2010:
It’s a smelly, messy job, but some of teacher Scott McKim’s students have decided they’re up to the task. Welcome to the world of composting 101.
The group of sixth, seventh and eighth graders are on a mission to reduce the amount of uneaten food and packaging waste accumulated at [...]

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From The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Thursday, February 25, 2010:
Lawmakers are weighing a huge expansion of construction work to improve the energy-efficiency of public buildings across the state.
The Legislature two years ago set aside an unprecedented $360 million for household-level energy efficiency projects.
A comparable figure could go toward contractors to cut energy consumption at public buildings [...]

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From Alaska Dispatch, Tuesday, February 23, 2010:
On Tuesday, the village of Unalakleet, seated on Alaska’s northwest coast, celebrated the town’s newest energy force — turbine number six. The awakening of the high-tech wind catcher completes the installation of the town’s new wind farm, which has already saved the village tens of thousands of dollars since [...]

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From The Tundra Drums, Wednesday, February 17, 2010:
What might be the only commercial farm in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta will expand this summer, despite early worries that the new potato field near the airport would increase the threat of bird strikes.
To prepare the field for farming, Bethel resident Tim Meyers scraped away two acres of frozen [...]

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From The Associated Press, Saturday, February 20, 2010:
A proposed new rule in Fairbanks would fine people at least $300 for using wood- and-coal-fired stoves that belch out dense smoke, part of an attempt to curb air pollution in the area.
The Fairbanks News-Miner reports that Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor Luke Hopkins is sponsoring the measure, [...]

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From The Tundra Drums, Wednesday, February 17, 2010:
Houses in Quinhagak battered by decades of fierce wet winds might soon be replaced by a new model that hearkens back to traditional Native sod houses.
At a meeting last week, village leaders in the Southwest Alaska community accepted a preliminary plan for an energy-efficient home that could be [...]

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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’ve read LED lights perform well in cold temperatures. What about in Alaska?
Absolutely. LEDs are generally pretty tough. They are shock and [...]

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From The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Tuesday, February 16, 2010:
Public administrators and senators Monday steered what could be the start of much scrutiny of a major energy bill.
The bill, the proposed Alaska Sustainable Energy Act, addresses a broad slate of demand- and supply-side energy production and efficiency issues. It would, among other things, update outlines for [...]

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From Alaska Dispatch, Thursday, February 11, 2010:
In terms of punctuation marks, Railbelt natural gas supplies are a bit of question mark, and fuel prices in the Bush are a big exclamation point. So, it’s safe to assume Alaska’s electricity producers and consumers would appreciate a little stability. At least one company wants to transform Alaska’s [...]

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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: How can I keep condensation off my windows in the winter?
Condensation is a product of the relationship between humidity and temperature.
The warmer [...]

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