Following the resolution of a year-long contractual standoff between the University of Massachusetts and the state Department of Environmental Protection, a number of long-delayed reports on the health of the Vineyard’s ponds are again on track for completion.
The long dispute over who owned data used for computer modeling of water quality in bays and estuaries drastically slowed work on the federally-mandated effort to assess and then reduce pollution problems.
As Vineyarders are bogged down in renewable energy regulations and the Cape Wind project languishes, some Island kids are well aware of what adults are just beginning to understand; “solar ovens/ and solar cars/ will make you all/ into stars/ . . . to prevent global warming/ you can turn off lights/ when it’s storming/ you don’t fly your kites.”
These rhyming, truthful lines are part of the Energy Rap, a song composed by the campers at Sense of Wonder Creations, a day camp in Vineyard Haven run by Pamela Benjamin.
The Vineyard Conservation Society executive director Brendan O’Neill has been named the 2008 recipient of the Nicholas A. Robinson Environmental Award for his placed-based environmental work on Martha’s Vineyard. The award recognizes significant public service contributions in the environmental field by a graduate of the environmental legal studies program at Pace University School of Law in New York.
Mr. O’Neill shares this year’s honor with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., also a Pace graduate.
Cups will runneth over this weekend when COMSOG, the Community Solar Greenhouse located at 114 New York avenue in Oak Bluffs, holds its annual Fall Festival on Sunday, Oct. 4 from noon to 3 p.m.
Two top fisheries research scientists from South America will deliver a talk on sustainability in small-scale fisheries at the Chilmark Public Library this coming Monday, Oct. 12 at 3 p.m. Ana M. Parma and Jose Orensanz are research scientists working with the Argentine Council for Science and Technology and have both been chosen to participate in the prestigious Pew Fellows in Marine Conservation program.
The future for living local is moving beyond eating Island-grown vegetables and fruits. Vineyarders are already eating Island-raised poultry on an increasingly large scale, and a growing group of farmers would like to see that expanded to include local beef, pork, lamb and venison.
In a special forum at the Living Local Harvest Festival on Saturday at the Agricultural Hall in West Tisbury, three farmers and a local chef spoke about their hope for a slaughterhouse on the Vineyard, despite a daunting array of government restrictions.
350.org invites Vineyarders to gather at the East Chop Lighthouse to express support for stabilizing Earth’s CO2 level at 350 parts per million (ppm) at a Climate Vigil on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 10 a.m. Some experts claim that Earth’s CO2 level is presently at 387 ppm, and must be reduced to 350 ppm in order to halt catastrophic climate change. This can be accomplished by embracing an assortment of measures, including weatherizing our buildings, driving less, shutting down fossil-fueled power plants, and harnessing the clean energies of sunlight and wind.
Squash Meadow Construction of Oak Bluffs is holding a Green Building Forum at the first LEED certified residence in Oak Bluffs, followed by a question and answer session with a tour of the LEED house. The forum takes place on Wednesday, August 19 at 5 p.m. at 15 Green avenue in Oak Bluffs. All are welcome.
Up Island Paint has introduced Vermont Natural Coatings PolyWhey wood finishes, an environmentally safe alternative to traditional polyurethane, available in floor and furniture formulations. Co-owner Rachel Baumrin calls the product nontoxic and safe for family and pets.
Great Rock Windpower installed and commissioned the first off the production line endurance model S-343 wind turbine in Edgartown last week. The S-343 has a rotor area of 343 square feet, runs at 166 RPM and is rated at 5.3kW. It is designed to produce more power at lower wind speeds than its predecessors.