Vineyard Conservation Almanac

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In This Issue:

Local News:
Seaport Council grants awarded to two towns

Feature:
Democrats Hope to Take From Oil, Give to Green Energy

Calendar:
VCS Winter Walks Program at Felix Neck

Save The Date:
Seabird Monitoring Program Seeks Volunteers in Martha's Vineyard;
Cape Cod Cooperative Extension

Climate Change Update:
Huge Arctic ice break discovered;
Exxon Accused of Trying to Mislead Public

Energy Update:
The Energy Challenge

Wind Update:
Canada's cutting-edge energy model;
Cape Wind Plan Sees Potential in Year Ahead

LOCAL NEWS

Seaport Council grants awarded to two towns
January 4, 2007
By Susan Vaughn
MV Times

The Massachusetts Seaport Council last month approved grants totaling $57,500 to fund feasibility studies and harbor projects in Tisbury and Edgartown.

http://www.mvtimes.com/news/
2007/01/04/seaport_council_grants.php

Energy Tip
Pollute less.
1/2 of the pollution associated with transporting your food comes from your drive to and from the store (the other 1/2 comes from the transport from farm to distribution center to store). If you fill up your cart and later, your fridge, you'll make fewer overall trips to the store, and save energy, cash and even time in the process.

FEATURE

Democrats Hope to Take From Oil, Give to Green Energy
January 4, 2007
By Steven Mufson, Washington Post Staff Writer
Washington Post

House Democrats are crafting an energy package that would roll back billions of dollars worth of oil drilling incentives, raise billions more by boosting federal royalties paid by oil and gas companies for offshore production, and plow the money into new tax breaks for renewable energy sources, congressional sources said yesterday.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/
content/article/2007/01/03/AR2007010301857.html

CALENDAR

VCS Winter Walks Program at Felix Neck

The Vineyard Conservation Society continues its Winter Walks Program on Sunday, January 14th with a guided walk at the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary led by Suzan Bellincampi, Executive Director of Felix Neck. Suzan will talk about land and ecology, including the state of the Sengekontacket Pond resource.

The walk is free and open to the public, and begins at 1:30pm. Walkers should gather at the main interpretative barn beyond the parking area. The Sanctuary entrance is located on the Edgartown Vineyard Road about 4.6 miles from the Vineyard Haven end and 2 miles from the Edgartown end.

The 350-acre Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary harbors a wide variety of plant, bird and other animal species, and serves as Mass Audubon's year-round natural history education center for people of all ages. The Vineyard Conservation Society has been sponsoring free, guided off-season walks for nearly 40 years. VCS is a local, member-supported environmental organization dedicated to protecting the Vineyard through land preservation, education and advocacy.

For more information on Sunday's walk, call VCS at 508 693-9588

Save The Date

Seabird Monitoring Program Seeks Volunteers in Martha’s Vineyard

Sat. Jan 20, 2007, 4:00 - 6:30pm
Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary
Landmark Program Aims to Protect Aquatic Birds and Prepare for Environmental Emergencies
Martha’s Vineyard Senior Environmental Corps, and Mass Audubon at Felix Neck are teaming up with the Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine’s Seabird Ecological Assessment Network (SEANET) to study the health of seabirds on Martha’s Vineyard through beached bird surveys conducted by volunteers. Tufts faculty will offer training to volunteers. To register and for specific information about the training schedule, contact Dr. Julie Ellis at 508-887-4933 or at: julie.ellis@tufts.edu

Cape Cod Cooperative Extension

Announcing an upcoming series of lectures designed to cover horticultural basics for those Green Industry professionals interested in taking the MCLP exam. This series will also be excellent training for any professional wishing to brush up on basic horticultural principals and practices. Lectures to be held at Yarmouthport fire station meeting room on four Fridays, starting February 2 and concluding on Friday February 23, 2007. The cost is $100.00 payable to Barnstable County. To register and for more information go to www.capecodextension.org. 508-375-6690.

Climate Change Update

Huge Arctic ice break discovered

Scientists have discovered that an enormous ice shelf broke off an island in the Canadian Arctic last year, in what could be sign of global warming.

It is said to be the largest break in 25 years, casting an ice floe with an area of 66 sq km (25 square miles).

It occurred in August 2005 but was only recently detected on satellite images.

The chunk of ice bigger than Manhattan could wreak havoc if it moves into oil drilling regions and shipping lanes next summer, scientists warned.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6218333.stm

Exxon Accused of Trying to Mislead Public
January 4, 2007
By CLIFFORD KRAUSS
NY Times

HOUSTON, Jan. 3 - The Union of Concerned Scientists released a report on Wednesday accusing Exxon Mobil of spending millions of dollars to manipulate public opinion on the seriousness of global warming.

“Many of the tactics, and even some of the same organizations and actors used by Exxon Mobil to mislead the public, draw upon the tobacco industry's 40-year disinformation campaign,” the report said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/04/
business/04exxon.html

Energy Update

The Energy Challenge
January 2, 2007
By MICHAEL BARBARO
NY Times

Power-Sipping Bulbs Get Backing From Wal-Mart

As a way to cut energy use, it could not be simpler. Unscrew a light bulb that uses a lot of electricity and replace it with one that uses much less.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/02/
business/02bulb.html

Wind Update

Canada's cutting-edge energy model
By Colin Woodard, Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

Prince Edward Island aims to generate 30 percent of its energy needs from its own renewable resources by 2016.

ELMIRA, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND – If you want a glimpse of this province's energy future, drive the winding country roads to its eastern tip, take a left at the sign for the village of Elmira, and follow the red dirt track to the right.

Ten wind turbines stand along the trail, each 26 stories tall, with blades as long as 125 feet. When workers finish the last one this month, the new Eastern Kings Wind Farm will generate 30 megawatts of electricity - 7.5 percent of the province's power - by harnessing the strong winds that buffet the island's northern shore.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/
1221/p06s01-woam.html?s=wklyenv

Cape Wind Plan Sees Potential in Year Ahead
By IAN FEIN
Vineyard Gazette

Beginning today, developers of the Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound will face a new political landscape as they continue their bid to build the nation's first offshore wind farm.

Gov. Deval L. Patrick, an ardent Cape Wind supporter, was sworn into office on Beacon Hill yesterday afternoon, minutes after the new Democrat-controlled Congress convened in Washington, D.C., with renewable energy reform as a top priority for the coming legislative session.

http://www.mvgazette.com/news/
2007/01/05/cape_wind_year_ahead.php

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