Vineyard Conservation Almanac

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In This Issue:

Local News:
The Results of flipping the switch on Martha’s Vineyard;
"Earth Hour" goes global

Feature:
Mass. leads bid to limit greenhouse emissions

Calendar:
New England Environmental Education Alliance, 2008 Annual Conference;
U.S. Rep. William Delahunt will sponsor a Forum on Biofuels;
Edgartown Annual Town Meeting;
more...

Save The Date:
Vineyard Conservation Society's 16th annual Earth Day Beach Clean-up;
Island Grown Initiative, (IGI's) Farm to School Community Meeting

Energy Update:
Edgartown's tidal energy plan okayed;
Aiming to put fuel cells to work

Climate Change Update:
Gore announces anti-warming effort

Genetically Modified Food Update:
GM seeds can 'last for 10 years'

Sustainability Update:
Groundfishing's future looks 'scary'

Wind Update:
Wind Power That Floats

LOCAL NEWS

The Results of flipping the switch on Martha’s Vineyard
By Marnie Stanton, Vineyard Conservation Almanac

Lights Out Martha’s Vineyard was a dark success! Lots of Vineyarders who have already taken the reality of global warming and the need to be aware of individual energy use to heart participated in the worldwide effort to turn off all non-essential lights from 8-9 PM on Saturday, March 29th. For many others it was an eye-opener – an opportunity to learn about the issues and participate in a warm candle-lit hour with millions of people in countries world-wide. People not only turned off their lights but chose to pull the plug on their favorite TV shows and online video games in support of this worldwide demonstration.

Go to the Energy section for the rest of the article

"Earth Hour" goes global

http://www.reuters.com/
article/idUSSP28389220080330

Feature

Mass. leads bid to limit greenhouse emissions
By Beth Daley and Stephanie Ebbert Globe Staff / April 3, 2008
Boston Globe

18 states ask court to press EPA on car, truck gases

Eighteen states, led by Massachusetts, filed an unusual legal petition in federal court yesterday to pressure the US Environmental Protection Agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks - a move that could lead the automobile industry to produce cleaner-burning cars.

http://www.boston.com/news/
local/articles/2008/04/03/
mass_leads_bid_to_limit_greenhouse_emissions/

Energy Tip
How green is my PC?
Personal computers have become so entrenched in our daily lives that it's hard to remember what life was like pre-PC. Rumor has it that people took quizzes with pencil and paper, and that scoring was accomplished through a tedious manual procedure. No longer! Now you can test your green PC knowledge in a mere eleven clicks with this special "binary" true/false "How Green Is My PC?" quiz. So sharpen your cursor and test your knowledge of how your PC affects the environment:
http://www.sierraclub.org/howgreen/PC/

Calendar

New England Environmental Education Alliance, 2008 Annual Conference

Mon, April 7, New England Environmental Education Alliance, 2008 Annual Conference Please submit your proposals by April 7th for your workshop to be considered for the 2008 NEEEA Conference on Oct 3-5, 2008 at the Sargent Center for Outdoor Education, Hancock, New Hampshire. Submit proposals to Wendy Schorr at gaia12345@hotmail.com with "workshop proposal NEEEA 2008" in the subject line. Call Ruth Smith (603-783-4656) or Wendy Schorr (603-634-3315) with questions.

U.S. Rep. William Delahunt will sponsor a Forum on Biofuels

Tues, April 8, U.S. Rep. William Delahunt will sponsor a Forum on Biofuels at Yarmouth Town Hall. The event will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Speakers include experts and businesses familiar with the use of ethanol as a fuel for transportation, according to a statement from Delahunt's office. Further information on Tuesday's forum may be obtained from Clay Schofield at 508-362-3828.

Edgartown Annual Town Meeting

Tues, April 8, Edgartown Annual Town Meeting: 7PM Old Whaling Church, Annual town election: Thurs. April 10th, 10 AM - 7 PM, Town Hall

Surfcasters Club Meeting

Tues, April 8, Surfcasters Club Meeting 7 pm, M.V. Rod and Gun Club, Edgartown. M.V. Surfcasters Association; Fishing club open to adults and juniors. 508-693-3360.

Oak Bluffs Annual Town Meeting

Tues, April 8, Oak Bluffs Annual Town Meeting, 7 PM, MVRHS Performing Art Center. Annual Town Election: Thurs April 10, 10 AM – 7 PM Oak Bluffs Public Library Meeting Room

Candidates' Forum

Thurs, April 10, Candidates' Forum 7 pm, Chilmark library. League of Women Voters hosts.

Garden Lecture

Sat, April 12, Garden Lecture 11 am, Vineyard Gardens, West Tisbury. Starting plants from seed. Weekly themes through July 19. 508-693-8511.

Osprey Festival

Sat, April 12, Osprey Festival 11 am-3 pm, Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary, Edgartown. 15th annual event; celebrate return of osprey to M.V. Crafts, walks, live birds, food, refreshments. Rain date: April 13. $6; $3 for members. 508-627-4850.

Compost Workshop

Sun, April 13, Compost Workshop 1-2 pm, The Trustees of Reservations Islands Regional Office, Vineyard Haven. How-to demonstration; includes pre-packaged take-home kit. $20. Pre-register: 508-693-7662.

Save The Date

Vineyard Conservation Society's 16th annual Earth Day Beach Clean-up

On Martha's Vineyard, our beaches are among our most precious resources. For 16 years, the Vineyard Conservation Society has helped protect them by sponsoring an annual Earth Day Beach Clean-Up. This year's event is on Saturday, April 19th, from 10 to noon—so bring your family and friends to your favorite beach, where we'll have volunteers on hand with everything you'll need, ready to show you what to do. Then afterwards, come join us at SBS for a free community lunch, with animals, kids' games, and lots of community spirit. To learn more, go to vcsmv.org or call 508-693-9588. Together we can make a difference.

Island Grown Initiative, (IGI's) Farm to School Community Meeting

Tues, April 15, Island Grown Initiative, (IGI's) Farm to School Community Meeting 7PM, Island Co-Housing Common House, West Tisbury Everyone welcome, parents, teachers, students, farmers, eaters! contact: noli taylor, noli@islandgrown.org, or 508.645.9557 for more information

Kick the Habit: Chemical Free Lawns

Saturday, May 31st
Kick the Habit: Chemical Free Lawns
On Saturday, May 31st The Polly Hill Arboretum and The Vineyard Conservation Society welcome Paul Tukey, founder of SafeLawns.org, an international coalition promoting environmentally friendly lawn care, for a lively discussion on organic lawns.

Perfect lawns are often treated with an arsenal of chemicals, but at what expense? Yours, your children's, our environment's? Based on his best-selling book, The Organic Lawn Care Manual, Paul will offer great information on how you can kick the chemical habit and turn your lawn into an ecosystem teeming with life. Paul is on a national campaign to educate consumers about natural alternatives, including organic fertilizers, weed killers, biological pest controls, water conservation and environmentally friendly turf grass.

Paul Tukey is the publisher of People, Places, & Plants magazine and well known to millions of Americans through his popular gardening program of the same name on HGTV. In 2006, the American Horticultural Society named him the winner of its annual Horticultural Communication Award.

The Polly Hill Arboretum is a 70 acre public garden with a mission to further the experimental tradition in horticulture established by Polly Hill by sharing knowledge of plants through educational programs, research, and plant conservation. The Arboretum promotes environmentally informed horticultural practices that allow for diversified, resilient, and beautiful gardens without the use of intensive chemical inputs.

The Vineyard Conservation Society is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to preserving the environment of Martha's Vineyard through advocacy, public education and resource protection. An alarming rate of development, insufficient waste management planning and chemicals in lawn care products and fertilizers are contributing to pollution of our aquifer (our shared drinking water supply), and our streams and ponds.

The Vineyard Lawn Initiative will offer the public alternative lawn care options that will reduce inputs of nitrogen and other contaminants in our water. Preservation of the Island's land and water is not possible without the help of community members like you.

Together we can make a difference. Please join us on May 31 from 10am – 11:30am at the Polly Hill Arboretum. Cost is $10 per person. For more information call 508-693-9426.

The program is from 10am to 11:30am at The Polly Hill Arboretum. Cost is $10 per person. Call 508-693-9426 for more information.

Energy Update

Edgartown's tidal energy plan okayed
By Steve Myrick - April 3, 2008
MV Times

Monday, March 31, was a very good day for a team of Edgartown officials, private citizens, and university researchers who want to establish a tidal energy project in the waters east of Chappaquiddick. The news in their e-mail in-boxes was so momentous that, had it come one day later, they might have suspected an April Fool's prank.

http://www.mvtimes.com/2008/04/03/
news/edgartown-tidal-energy.php

Aiming to put fuel cells to work
By Robert Gavin Globe Staff / March 31, 2008
Boston Globe

Acumentrics in Westwood is developing units for the home that create energy and heat through chemical reactions, not traditional technology

A powerful winter storm swept across northeastern Ohio in early January, knocking out power for nearly 60,000 customers. But in an isolated one-story building, tucked among the trees and fields of Cuyahoga Valley National Park, the lights stayed on.

http://www.boston.com/business/
technology/articles/2008/03/31/
aiming_to_put_fuel_cells_to_work/

Genetically Modified Food Update

GM seeds can 'last for 10 years'
By Richard Black
Environment correspondent, BBC News website

Seeds of some genetically modified crops can endure in soil for at least 10 years, scientists have discovered.

Researchers in Sweden examined a field planted with experimental oilseed rape a decade ago, and found transgenic specimens were still growing there.

This was despite intensive efforts in the intervening years to remove seeds.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/
hi/science/nature/7324654.stm

Sustainability Update

Groundfishing's future looks 'scary'
By TOM BELL, Staff Writer
April 2, 2008

But a buyout plan that would reduce New England's fleet by 25 percent could provide help.

Some Maine fishermen are leading an effort to develop a $100 million buyout plan for New England's struggling groundfishing industry.

Fishermen would give up their fishing permits and destroy their boats in exchange for cash. The plan would reduce the fleet's fishing capacity by at least 25 percent, giving the remaining boats a chance to catch more fish.

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/
story.php?id=179194&ac=PHnws

Wind Update

Wind Power That Floats

Advances in floating platforms could take wind farms far from coasts, reducing costs and skirting controversy.

Offshore wind-farm developers would love to build in deep water more than 32 kilometers from shore, where stronger and steadier winds prevail and complaints about marred scenery are less likely. But building foundations to support wind turbines in water deeper than 20 meters is prohibitively expensive. Now, technology developers are stepping up work in floating turbines to make such farms feasible.

http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/20500/

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