Homegrown Fuel – Discussion Oct 16th

A Panel Discussion on the Economics & Sustainability of Biodiesel
Tuesday, October 16th — 6:30 – 9:00 pm
At the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center, West of Ashland on Hwy. 2, in the Martin Hanson Theater

Panel Members:
• Bob Krumenaker, Superintendent of the Apostle Island National Lakeshore
The AINL is currently using biodiesel in some of their motor boats. Bob will share the pros and cons of using this fossil fuel alternative.
• Herb Schweitzer, Ardizam, Biofuels Operations Manager
Ardizam is considering a biodiesel facility in the Ashland industrial park and has already commissioned local farmers to begin producing feedstock.
• Jason Fischbach, UW Extension Agricultural Agent
Jason has worked with many local farmers and businesses and is knowledgeable of land usage considerations and their impact on the economy.
• Brenda Rowley, Co-Owner of #2 Septic
#2 Septic produces and uses biodiesel in their small business and received a 2007 Environmental Stewardship Award from the BiNational Forum.
• Tim Nolan, MN Pollution Control Agency, Sustainable Development
Tim offers insight from our neighbor state and abroad having given talks on eco-industrial development to international audiences.

Join us for an evening of dialogue and inquiry into the potentials for usage and production of biodiesel in the Northwoods!
This event it co-sponsored by the Alliance for Sustainability and the Ashland-Bayfield County League of Women Voters.

Alliance for Sustainability – P.O. Box 141 Ashland, WI 54806 – (715) 682-1189

Summary on Bayfield Heights CoPar proposal

Offered by Linda Webster—

The owner of the last large plot of land in Bayfield is working with a developer, CoPar Development, to provide the Plan Commission with a conceptual plan to begin building homes of varying sizes on this property. The plan was first presented to the Commission about a year ago. The land owner has asked the Commission to comment on their interest in continuing working with CoPar on this project. The Commission has indicated that there are several issues to be resolved before the plan could be approved:
1) Change the ordinance dealing with the development, so that the Bayfield ordinance will allow a planned development. This will then allow CoPar to continue their request to gain approval to create a PUD (Planned Unit Development). This designation gives the city full reign in reviewing all aspects of the plan and negotiating with the developer.
2) Receive the expertise of a civil engineer who can assess the land and its ravines, to determine whether the plan as described by CoPar is feasible.
3) Ask CoPar to consider a street design other than a grid system, as is used in the rest of Bayfield, as a grid may have many detrimental ramifications for runnoff, etc. The CI can help determine this.

It would be useful to the citizens of Bayfield and surrounding area to keep apprised of this project by reviewing the comprehensive plan that is available for public viewing at City Hall, and to attend relevant Plan Commission and City Council meetings. Meeting agendae are posted on the City of Bayfield website www.cityofbayfield.com
If not found, call City Hall and reques that they be posted.

Two different ideas about boats

Photos by Grandon Harris, member of Sustainable Bayfield.

September Beach

Optimism!

Early spring pic of Rocky island water level

Mostly architecture..

I love houses. One of the magazines I enjoy is DWELL. They have a blog which you might find interesting.

www.dwell.com/daily/blog/9407601.html?

a new product
—Aerogel is described by scientists as the “ultimate sponge,” with millions of tiny pores on its surface making it ideal for absorbing pollutants in water.

a discussion of portable living spaces
—Space-age cubes, rooftop pods, giant caravan cities and garden sheds you can practically live in … the rise of portable architecture….
Californian architect and academic Jennifer Siegal coined a term to sum it up: new nomadism. Architecture is currently one step behind, she says: “We’re working and living in a very different way, and yet our buildings have remained static, heavy structures. Our cars are smart, our clothing is smart, our materials are smart and our buildings are still these heavy boxes.”

This could make Green Searches much easier

Thanks to Bruce Martinsen—

Green Maven, recently recognized by Google as an exemplary custom search engine, searches the Internet for trusted Web sites and news related to environmental and social values.

“People want to go green, but they often don’t know where to start or even what questions to ask,” says Joey Shepp, founder of Green Maven. Green Maven makes searching for all things green as easy as using Google. If you search for socks, you get organic socks. If you search for cars, you get hybrid cars. Their mission is to make it easy for the mainstream to go green.

Businesses can add their sites to the green search engine for free, simply by submitting their URLs to Green Maven’s team of editors for approval. Green Maven was designed with Open Source software by the leading sustainable Web strategies firm, Earthsite.net, developers of Urth.tv and GreenFestivals.org.

Try it out at
ww.greenmaven.com

Anonymous contribution

Great Lake Conference in October

Keeping Lake Superior a GREAT LAKE is the goal of the “Making a Great Lake Superior 2007″ conference to be held October 29-31, 2007 in Duluth, Minn.
“This conference will focus on the most pressing issues facing Lake Superior,” said Liz LaPlante, conference co-organizer with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Great Lakes National Program Office. “We look forward to lively discussions among people from different disciplines. We’ll use facilitated work groups to develop recommendations for research, education, and management.”
Lake Superior Basin residents, educators, resource managers, and researchers are invited to attend this meeting at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center. The two-and-a-half-day program will include a mixture of plenary presentations, contributed sessions, exhibits, posters, evening socials, pre-conference community gatherings, and post-conference field trips.
“Making a Great Lake Superior” will be the first carbon-neutral conference of its size ever held in Duluth. Organizers are taking steps to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, use locally produced products, and reduce waste.

Registration by September 14 costs $150.
Single-day rates and reduced rates for students are available, as well as limited scholarships for teachers and others. For information and registration visit www.seagrant.umn.edu/superior2007 or contact Minnesota Sea Grant at (218) 726-8106.

Conference organizers include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Environment Canada, and the University of Minnesota Sea Grant Program. Twenty-six organizations are sponsoring the event, including U.S. and Canadian government departments, Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute at Northland College, Lake Superior Binational Forum, academic institutions, Sea Grant programs, international organizations, tribal organizations, and watershed groups.

Lissa Radke, US Coordinator, Lake Superior Binational Forum
Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute on the Northland College campus (Ashland)
(715) 682-1489
http://www.superiorforum.info
“Water is life, and the quality of water determines the quality of life.” –Lake Superior Binational Program vision statement