Sustainable North

From The Associated Press, Thursday, October 28, 2009:
The Coast Guard’s plan to move away from oil-fired burners and toward heating with biomass could provide a lift to the timber industry in Southeast Alaska.
Projects are being considered in Ketchikan and Sitka that would convert building heating systems to biomass boilers that burn wood chips. That would [...]

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From the New York Times, published on April 1, 2009:
In honor of spring and the ongoing quest for the perfect lawn, the Green Home asked Bill Duesing, an educator with the Northeast Organic Farming Association, a nonprofit group devoted to sustainable farming and gardening, for tips on achieving an attractive yard without wreaking environmental havoc.
Click [...]

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While meandering along a garden(ing) path through the Internet, I came across a great publication produced by the University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences and the State of Alaska Plant Materials Center. It’s called “Alaska Biofuels Past, Present and Future” and includes a short history of the use of plant [...]

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From the U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy office, posted on 2/18/09, retrieved on Friday, March 6, 2009:
President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 on February 17, and the tax section of the act provides greater tax credits for clean energy projects at homes and businesses and [...]

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From the New York Times on Friday, February 26, 2009:
. . . ‘Cow poop is cow poop,’ admits Ms. Slupecki, who was feeling some frustration at the paucity of workable suggestions by the time they reached dessert and coffee. Half in jest, she blurted, ‘Can’t you guys do something with this stuff — make a [...]

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From the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner on Monday, February 2, 2009:
Businessman Bernie Karl said he’s ready to move ahead with a prototype power system: A small-scale energy plant he’d link to indoor food production and biofuel cultivation.
The project — which he said he started eyeing a few years ago — has drawn recent interest from public [...]

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From Sealaska Corporation (www.sealaska.org), dated September 11, 2008 and retrieved Tuesday, September 23, 2008:
Sealaska Corporation and Viking Lumber Inc. announced today that they have entered into a Letter of Intent (LOI) to examine an alternate energy supply enterprise utilizing wood waste for Southeast customers. Production facilities will be on Prince of Wales Island in Southeast, [...]

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From the Washington Post, Sunday, September 21, 2008:
Bamboo seems like an environmentalist’s dream come true. It’s a self-regenerating plant that grows so fast (without pesticides and with little water) that it’s considered a weed, and it can be used to make products from furniture to coffee filters.
But bamboo, like most things marketed as “green” these [...]

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From the Washington Post, Saturday, September 13, 2008:
As gardeners, we are at the forefront of the new Green Revolution.
Knowing this, gardeners can take steps to promote sustainability in their landscapes. It involves how you use your property — everything you own. 
Thirty years ago, most home landscaping consisted of lawn, foundation plantings, a few trees, and [...]

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From the Fairbanks Daily Newsminer July 19, 2008
Proponents of a plant that would make liquid fuels out of coal say such a facility could be the solution to high energy costs in Fairbanks and Interior villages.
However, a financial specialist warned that private-sector financing will be hard to find without some government assistance, either as cash, [...]

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