From Mother Earth News:
For a long time, politicians discounted environmentalists. Nowadays, the green vernacular is more widely spoken, but we still are not making much progress toward true sustainability. While we trade our incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescents, we simultaneously allow our population in the United States to grow at a rate that builds [...]
Creating a Sustainable Society: Four Questions We Should Ask
March 2nd, 2010 · No Comments
Category: Sustainable Living
A new life for old food
March 1st, 2010 · No Comments
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 [...]
Category: Alaskan Efforts · Sustainable Living
10 Steps to a Greener Office
February 26th, 2010 · No Comments
From The Daily Green:
Enjoying an eco-lifestyle means living greener in all areas of your life. You may be taking environmentally friendly steps at home, but are you also doing it at work?
People spend almost 90% of their lives indoors, and for those people who work inside that equates to about 40 or more hours at [...]
Category: Recycling · Sustainable Living
Small wind farm pays big
February 24th, 2010 · No Comments
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 [...]
Category: Alaskan Efforts · Energy, Renewable · Northern Living · Sustainable Living
Bethel farmer expands with potatoes
February 23rd, 2010 · No Comments
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 [...]
Category: Alaskan Efforts · Sustainable Living
Video games can be energy hogs. Three tips to cut your power bill.
February 22nd, 2010 · No Comments
From The Christian Science Monitor:
In the US, where 40 percent of homes contain at least one, video game consoles consume 16 billion kilowatt hours of energy yearly. That’s enough to power the entire city of San Diego for about 12 months, say the Natural Resources Defense Council and Ecos Consulting, which conducted a study on [...]
Category: Sustainable Living
New housing design gets Quinhagak approval
February 19th, 2010 · No Comments
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 [...]
Category: Alaskan Efforts · Building Structure · Northern Living · Sustainable Living
Officials scrutinize Alaska Sustainable Energy Act
February 16th, 2010 · No Comments
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 [...]
Category: Alaskan Efforts · Legislation and Policy · Northern Living · Sustainable Living
10 questions for homebuyers who want to go green
February 15th, 2010 · No Comments
From The Wall Street Journal:
For homebuyers, green is fast becoming a priority — whether it’s because they want to reduce their energy costs, minimize their carbon footprint or improve indoor air quality.
Here are 10 questions that prospective buyers or renters ought to ask to find out how green a house or apartment is.
Click here to [...]
Category: Building Structure · Sustainable Living
UAF begins new student fee to promote sustainability
February 10th, 2010 · No Comments
From The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Wednesday, February 10, 2010:
A new $20 fee appeared on University of Alaska Fairbanks students’ records in January to promote sustainability on campus.
If students are unsure exactly where money from the Student Sustainability Fee is heading, the people in charge of it also are working out the details.
“The interest of the [...]
Category: Alaskan Efforts · Northern Living · Sustainable Living
