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This week in conservation
November 5 - 11, 2007
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In This Issue:

Local News:
Seawalls, Jetties, Groins Starve Beaches, Marine Scientists Say

Feature:
Handicapping the Environmental Gold Rush

Calendar:
Martha’s Vineyard Water Alliance meeting;
Seed Cleaning Project;
Alpaca Farm Days

Announcements:
Lights Out Martha's Vineyard!

MVTV:
Jim Powell Show

Climate Change Update:
At the Poles, Melting Occurring at Alarming Rate

Energy Update:
NStar plans get 'green' light;
Aquinnah Tests Energy DCPC

Sustainability Update:
Organic food is healthier and safer, four-year EU investigation shows

Recycle Update:
New York may join crackdown on plastic bags
LOCAL NEWS
Seawalls, Jetties, Groins Starve Beaches, Marine Scientists Say
By MIKE SECCOMBE
Vineyard Gazette

The irony of Oak Bluffs is that people so loved its beaches, they set about destroying them. They built so close to the ocean’s edge they had to defend their development with a seawall. And the seawall prevented the natural replenishment of the sand, so the beach eroded away.

http://www.mvgazette.com/article.php?14359
Feature

Handicapping the Environmental Gold Rush
By JEFFREY BALL
October 29, 2007
Wall Street Journal

In the race to profit off the scramble to go green, there will be winners and losers. Here's how the players currently stack up.

The green stampede is on. As a global economy powered by cheap fossil fuel comes under intense pressure to change, corporate executives are racing to stay ahead of the tectonic shift in their world.

http://online.wsj.com/article/
SB119335097973072106.html?mod=2_1329.htm_1e

Ideal Bite
Energy Tip
Occupancy Sensors
Motion Sensor Switches automatically turn lights ON when you enter a room and OFF when you leave. In addition to the convenience of hands-free switching, motion sensors ensure that lights are not left ON unnecessarily for hours at a time. In rooms where the lights are frequently left on or rooms are left unoccupied for large periods during the day or night, an occupancy sensor can cut lighting costs by as much as 50%. According to the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) of the U.S. Department of Energy, in a small, private office, an occupancy sensor can reduce energy use by almost 30% shaving 100 kWh off the annual energy use. In a large open office area, energy use can be reduced by approximately 10%.

http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/
ibeCCtpSctDspRte.jsp?section=15983&minisite=10022

http://www.wattstopper.com/products/
ap.html?bt=7&app=45

http://www.lutron.com/products/
OccSensors.aspx?pid=Models&cid=0

 

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Calendar
Martha’s Vineyard Water Alliance meeting
Wed, Nov 7, 2007
MVC, OB at 12:30 PM
Seed Cleaning Project
Thurs, Nov 8, 2007
3-5 pm, Hoft Farm Field Station, Lambert's Cove Rd., Vineyard Haven. Nature Conservancy needs help cleaning and sorting seeds from native plant nursery. Also Nov. 13, 9-11 am; Nov. 16, 1-3 pm. 508-693-6287, ext. 15.
Alpaca Farm Days
Fri, and Sat, Nov 9 & 10, 2007
11AM-5PM, 1 Head of the Pond Rd., Oak Bluffs. Meet the alpaca, see the new babies. 508-693-5554.
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Announcements
Lights Out Martha's Vineyard!

Save the date! Lights Out Martha’s Vineyard is now officially launched. It is an island-wide energy conservation event taking place on Saturday, March 29, 2008, when Islanders are encouraged to join the nation in turning out non-essential lighting for an hour between 8:00-9:00 pm. This event is being held in conjunction with Lights Out America (www.lightsoutamerica.org).

Lights Out America estimates that turning lights out in America for even one hour could save as much as 15 percent of the energy consumed on an average Saturday night. These electrical savings will reduce carbon emissions into our air and help preserve our natural resources.

Lights Out Martha’s Vineyard promotes energy-saving, such as turning off non-essential lights and encouraging Islanders to install compact fluorescent light bulbs in homes and offices before the event.

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MVTV
Jim Powell Show

Mon. Nov. 5, Jim Powell Show on channel 13 at 7PM. Watch an interesting discussion on Regional Transportation Issues, with members of the MVC Transportation, Cape Cod Commission Transportation, and Falmouth Transportation committees.
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Climate Change Update
At the Poles, Melting Occurring at Alarming Rate
By Doug Struck
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, October 22, 2007; Page A10

For scientists, global warming is a disaster movie, its opening scenes set at the poles of Earth. The epic already has started. And it's not fiction.

The scenes are playing, at the start, in slow motion: The relentless grip of the Arctic Ocean that defied man for centuries is melting away. The sea ice reaches only half as far as it did 50 years ago. In the summer of 2006, it shrank to a record low; this summer the ice pulled back even more, by an area nearly the size of Alaska.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/
article/2007/10/21/AR2007102100761.html?nav=emailpage
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Energy Update
NStar plans get 'green' light
By Patrick Cassidy
STAFF WRITER
October 30, 2007
Cape Cod Times

Cape Light Compact customers can expect more than a change of season next March.

Come spring they will find an additional one-line message from the Compact on page two of their electric bills.

"That's something that we did not have before," Joseph Soares, senior power supply planner with the Compact, said yesterday. "We never had access to the bill."

Access came as part of an agreement with the Compact that NStar filed Friday with the state Department of Public Utilities.

The one-liner may be used to market the Compact's "green" energy program or to encourage customers to take advantage of energy efficiency programs, Soares said.

http://capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/
article?AID=/20071030/NEWS/710300314/-1/NEWS01
Aquinnah Tests Energy DCPC
By JACK SHEA
Vineyard Gazette
The town of Aquinnah, known for being progressive in planning, this week moved a step closer to adopting a townwide energy conservation district.

Town selectmen on Wednesday submitted a nomination to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission to designate Aquinnah as an energy district of critical planning concern (DCPC). The nomination was filed by Camille Rose, chairman of the selectmen.

http://www.mvgazette.com/article.php?14353
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Sustainability Update
Organic food is healthier and safer, four-year EU investigation shows
By Emily Dugan
Published: 29 October 2007

A £12m EU-funded investigation into the difference between organic and ordinary farming has shown that organic foods have far more nutritional value.

Up to 40 per cent more antioxidants, which scientists believe can cut the risk of heart disease and cancer, could be found in organic fruit and vegetables than in those conventionally farmed.

http://environment.independent.co.uk/
green_living/article3106906.ece
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Recycle Update
New York may join crackdown on plastic bags
Mon Oct 29, 2007 5:33pm EDT
By Edith Honan
Reuters
NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City may follow an international trend and crack down on plastic shopping bags, seeking to cut their use with a plan officials hope will be a model for other cities.

http://www.reuters.com/article/
consumerproducts-SP/idUSN2945142420071029
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