Solar-powered homes in and around Anacortes will be showcased during the Anacortes Summer Solar Tour on Saturday, June 12th.  This event will focus on how solar and other renewable energy systems work, through educational workshops and the display of solar, wind, and solar hot water systems in action.

The tour kicks off at 10 am at the Anacortes Senior Activity Center at 1701 22nd St.  At the kick-off tour participants can attend solar workshops and pick up tour maps and other information.  Tour sites will be open from 11 am – 3 pm.  There will be 13 tour sites on Fidalgo and Guemes Islands featuring solar PV systems for generating electricity, solar thermal or solar hot water systems, and wind technologies.  All tour sites will be staffed by system owners to answer questions.

The event is co-sponsored by Skagit Beat the Heat, Power Trip Energy of Port Townsend, and Whidbey Sun & Wind of Coupeville.

“The goal of the solar tour is to show how home and business owners on Fidalgo and Guemes Islands are investing in renewable energy and saving money on their electric bills at the same time,” says Jeff Randall of Power Trip Energy.   “The tour will be a great way to have fun and learn a great deal about renewable energy in a short period of time.”

The tour will also feature a Solar Scavenger Hunt with free prizes awarded to participants.  Scavenger hunt forms will be available at the tour kick-off event and prizes donated by local businesses will be awarded at the end of the day.

The solar tour and all educational workshops are free and open to the public.  All workshops will occur at the Anacortes Fidalgo Center and are  scheduled for 11 am – 1 pm, repeating at 3 pm – 5 pm.  Spread the word – bring a friend!!

To learn more about the Anacortes Solar Tour, please call Jeff at 360-643-3080 or visit www.solarwashington.org.

On October 24, the Intl Day of Climate Action, Skagit Beat the Heat held a Climate Cafe in Anacortes and the Skagit Climate Stewards hosted one in Mt. Vernon. Over 150 people participated at the two events, forming at least 23 teams representing over 100 households who will take on the challenge of lightening their carbon load by at least 5000 lbs.

The Cafes launched the Skagit Cool Community Campaign, a county-wide effort to help residents reduce their carbon footprints. Though folks may have the best of intentions, making change is much easier – and more fun! – when done in peer-support groups. Teams are following the “Low-Carbon Diet” book, sharing progress and problems with each other, and each team received a “kill-a-watt” meter to check their “phantom loads”.

If you’d like to learn more, we’ll be winding up phase 1 of the campaign on January 9, 2:00 PM at the Senior Activity Center in Anacortes, 1701 22nd St and starting to recruit teams for the second phase. In the meantime, check out a kill-a-watt meter at Pelican Bay Books, 1104 9th St ($30 deposit required) and start to save money by plugging those energy leaks!

Sarah Davis of Project Porchlight has contacted us about participating in an Anacortes event on Sunday, August 2, 2PM to walk various neighborhoods (with a buddy) and hand out energy-saving light bulbs to residents.  She is looking for at least 20 volunteer pairs to visit 50 homes and encourage people to replace their incandescent bulbs.  The project launches at the Anacortes Library at 2 PM, where we’ll receive instructions, bulbs and handouts.  Sarah says this is the easiest volunteering she’s ever done, and it’s also one of the easiest ways to get people to start saving energy.

Please read her invite below, and reply to evelynadams1@verizon.net if you will join us.  Thank you!!

Hi from Project Porchlight!  We’re a nonprofit that empowers people to believe that simple actions matter and to make smart choices that conserve energy. On August 2nd, Project Porchlight, and our partner Puget Sound Energy, will be distributing FREE energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) to residents in PSE’s residential electric service area in Anacortes. If every person in America replaced one old-fashioned bulb with a CFL, it would result in an energy savings equivalent to 800,000 cars being taken off the road.  That’s a huge impact, and we hope to do our part here in Anacortes!!

Please join us at the Anacortes Public Library on August 2nd to hand out FREE low-energy bulbs. We’re looking forward to saving Anacortes residents a lot of energy and money through our efforts.  Bring your walking shoes and be prepared to walk door-to-door for two hours to deliver free bulbs.  Bring a friend, family, or co-worker to be your walking buddy.  Snacks and drinks will be provided.  We’ll see you there!

Simple actions matter!!!!!
www.projectporchlight.org

Anacortes High School is in the process of installing a 1.1 kilowatt solar electric system on the alcove over the front of the school.  The project will demonstrate the ease of generating electricity from solar energy at the high school as well as kindle awareness of climate change issues and reinforce the need to shrink our carbon footprint.

When completed, the project is expected to generate an annual 1100 kilowatt-hrs of electricity.  It will also serve as the foundation for several class curriculums in Physics, AP Environmental Studies, and Principles of Technology.  Faculty and students hope to create a real-time data website, monitor the system’s performance, set up a real-time display case, and perform energy audits.

The AHS Solar PV Project is actively soliciting donations and will also apply for grants to pay for the purchase of equipment and hardware.  Please consider donating to this worthwhile project and help pave the way for future generations to move away from electricity generated by fossil fuels.

Contact Person:  Eric Shen, 360-299-8553,  sydster2@wavecable.com

From Science Debate 2008 News Release: Washington (August 30, 2008) – Barack Obama today answered the 14 top science questions facing America, according to ScienceDebate2008.com, the group leading the effort to make key science issues a larger part of the election.  John McCain has said he will also answer the questions and his answers will also be posted when available.  Visit the website below to read the responses. 

http://www.sciencedebate2008.com/www/index.php?id=40

The top 14 questions address energy policy, national security, economics in a science-driven global economy, climate change, education, health care, ocean health, biosecurity, clean water, space, stem cells, scientific integrity, genetics, and research.
 
The 14 questions were developed from over 3,400 questions submitted by more than 38,000 signers of the ScienceDebate2008 initiative.  The questionnaire is a joint effort led by ScienceDebate2008, with Scientists and Engineers for America, AAAS, the National Academies, the Council on Competitiveness, and several other organizations, together representing over 125 million voters.
 

Kevin and Daryl Maas of Farm Power NW LLC will give a special presentation on a manure digester plant scheduled to be online next spring west of Mt. Vernon. According to Kevin, “we’ll produce enough power for 500 houses using manure from 1,500 cows. Better yet, we’ll be eliminating current methane emissions from manure stored in lagoons–equivalent to about five metric tons of CO2 per cow annually. ”

Learn more about this exciting project at Skagit Beat the Heat’s general meeting August 13, 6 PM, upstairs at Village Pizza, 807 Commercial, Anacortes. Everyone is welcome!