The Cranberry Isles Sustainability Initiative now has a new site:
www.cranberryisles.wordpress.com
Please visit, post a comment, read about our projects and learn about solutions that will help us decrease our negative impact on the environment.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Monday, February 4, 2008
January meeting Minutes
3rd meeting
January 23, 2008
Focus: Cool Cities, Energy Audit and Alternative Energy Study
Amanda Ravenhill has been appointed an Island Institute Fellow for the Cranberry Isles and will work through August with a job emphasis on island sustainability.
She began the meeting by describing the “Cool Cities Program”, cities that have made a commitment to stopping global warming by signing the U.S. Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement. There will be a warrant article at our 2008 town meeting asking that TCI become part of this group. Mentioning that our area has been tagged “the tailpipe of the country” as industrial emissions gather over Maine, Amanda stressed the need for individual, community, and government efforts.
Amanda also addressed the following:
- Shopping smart: buying local, recycling, considering
packaging
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – think before throwing – be mindful!
- Buying “green power”, Interfaith Power and Light
Bruce Fernald spoke about energy savings with front-loading washers.
Courtney Chaplin suggested looking into building codes for future construction in TCI.
Cynthia Lief:
- Raised the concern of marine scientists regarding the disposal of medications into septic systems which leach into the ground water
- Suggested finding a location to dispose of CFLs on island
- Will continue looking into residential energy audits (now available free for municipal buildings and businesses
- Proposed compiling a survey of what TCI residents are already doing for sustainability (clotheslines, composting, etc.)
FEBRURARY 11: Spearheaded by Gary Friedman, an event will be held in Bar Harbor to enlist all MDI towns in joining the Cool Cities program. Representatives from TCI will attend.
Cindy Thomas: Look into cistern collection for water.
Bruce Fernald questioned the % of electricity usage going to water pumps.
Skip Stevens asked about the impact of hydroelectric usage.
Amanda stated:
--lowhead uses a smaller turbine with no fossil fuel involved
--Maine’s Lisbon Falls project meets the highest standards and the more local, the lower the cost and less impact on wildlife
Cindy Thomas:
--Turn lights out when leaving a room
--Insulate sockets on outside walls
--Bring a mug to meetings rather than using paper
Barbara Fernald spoke about using a Britta filter rather than letting water run before drinking as protection from older pipes which may contain lead.
Bill Mcguinness suggested that vehicles not idle while waiting for barges.
Soos: Buy in bulk and bring own containers
Anna Fernald described her commitment as avoiding plastic with the use of ceramic containers and using cloth versus paper napkins.
Barb Fernald suggested reusing plastic produce bags – don’t knot
Moving into a discussion of alternate energy, Bil Mcguinness said that 4 out of 15 Maine islands are actively pursuing large wind turbines and others, like the TCI are seriously researching projects.
Jeff Cramer’s presentation on alternate energy:
--2.4kw needed to get 1kw to the user. Islesford used approximately 500,000 - 700,000 kw per year.
--There is a need to understand the science and the economics of wind versus solar versus tidal power and the value to TCI. (See Samso island off coast of the Netherlands.)
-- We need to do an alternate energy feasibility study and discover where we are today.
[Dan Lief said a warrant will appear at the Town Meeting to allow up to $10,000 for the selectman to allocate for such a study.]
--Municipal governments should set the playing field and communities should choose the path.
--In Maine, there is the possibility of cooperative turbines to lowering the price.
Alison Mayo, working for the Island Institute on Great Cranberry will facilitate a meeting for interested residents to learn about the Sustainability Initiative, to contribute, and be involved.
Jeff Cramer stressed the importance of being creative due to our location and population. Working together produces results and any research would be available to benefit all.
Anne Fernald invited the group to hold the February meeting, date to be announced at her home.
January 23, 2008
Focus: Cool Cities, Energy Audit and Alternative Energy Study
Amanda Ravenhill has been appointed an Island Institute Fellow for the Cranberry Isles and will work through August with a job emphasis on island sustainability.
She began the meeting by describing the “Cool Cities Program”, cities that have made a commitment to stopping global warming by signing the U.S. Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement. There will be a warrant article at our 2008 town meeting asking that TCI become part of this group. Mentioning that our area has been tagged “the tailpipe of the country” as industrial emissions gather over Maine, Amanda stressed the need for individual, community, and government efforts.
Amanda also addressed the following:
- Shopping smart: buying local, recycling, considering
packaging
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – think before throwing – be mindful!
- Buying “green power”, Interfaith Power and Light
Bruce Fernald spoke about energy savings with front-loading washers.
Courtney Chaplin suggested looking into building codes for future construction in TCI.
Cynthia Lief:
- Raised the concern of marine scientists regarding the disposal of medications into septic systems which leach into the ground water
- Suggested finding a location to dispose of CFLs on island
- Will continue looking into residential energy audits (now available free for municipal buildings and businesses
- Proposed compiling a survey of what TCI residents are already doing for sustainability (clotheslines, composting, etc.)
FEBRURARY 11: Spearheaded by Gary Friedman, an event will be held in Bar Harbor to enlist all MDI towns in joining the Cool Cities program. Representatives from TCI will attend.
Cindy Thomas: Look into cistern collection for water.
Bruce Fernald questioned the % of electricity usage going to water pumps.
Skip Stevens asked about the impact of hydroelectric usage.
Amanda stated:
--lowhead uses a smaller turbine with no fossil fuel involved
--Maine’s Lisbon Falls project meets the highest standards and the more local, the lower the cost and less impact on wildlife
Cindy Thomas:
--Turn lights out when leaving a room
--Insulate sockets on outside walls
--Bring a mug to meetings rather than using paper
Barbara Fernald spoke about using a Britta filter rather than letting water run before drinking as protection from older pipes which may contain lead.
Bill Mcguinness suggested that vehicles not idle while waiting for barges.
Soos: Buy in bulk and bring own containers
Anna Fernald described her commitment as avoiding plastic with the use of ceramic containers and using cloth versus paper napkins.
Barb Fernald suggested reusing plastic produce bags – don’t knot
Moving into a discussion of alternate energy, Bil Mcguinness said that 4 out of 15 Maine islands are actively pursuing large wind turbines and others, like the TCI are seriously researching projects.
Jeff Cramer’s presentation on alternate energy:
--2.4kw needed to get 1kw to the user. Islesford used approximately 500,000 - 700,000 kw per year.
--There is a need to understand the science and the economics of wind versus solar versus tidal power and the value to TCI. (See Samso island off coast of the Netherlands.)
-- We need to do an alternate energy feasibility study and discover where we are today.
[Dan Lief said a warrant will appear at the Town Meeting to allow up to $10,000 for the selectman to allocate for such a study.]
--Municipal governments should set the playing field and communities should choose the path.
--In Maine, there is the possibility of cooperative turbines to lowering the price.
Alison Mayo, working for the Island Institute on Great Cranberry will facilitate a meeting for interested residents to learn about the Sustainability Initiative, to contribute, and be involved.
Jeff Cramer stressed the importance of being creative due to our location and population. Working together produces results and any research would be available to benefit all.
Anne Fernald invited the group to hold the February meeting, date to be announced at her home.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Local, Organic, Fair Trade...
Here's an informative article from worldchanging.org
Eat Organic! Eat Local! Eat...What?
Erica Barnett
November 23, 2007 12:59 PM
First, we were all told to "buy organic" food because it's better for our health, and for the earth. Then we were told that buying organic wasn't enough, because organic standards vary from country to country (and even within countries), making it difficult to know what you're really getting. And then there are the greenhouse gasses emitted by shipping all that organic produce thousands of miles -- from China, say, to the United States. Those lengthy "food miles" obliterate much of the environmental benefit of buying organic in the first place.
So next we were told to buy locally produced foods (and organic, if possible), in order to eliminate those global warming concerns. Plus, purchasing food grown locally benefits small farmers and local economies, is better for air quality and pollution, and supports responsible land development. And it gives people weaned on supermarket food -- i.e., most of us -- a chance to taste food that's both seasonal and impeccably fresh. So "buy local" has become the refrain, and not just among hardcore sustainability advocates: "locvaore" was the New Oxford American Dictionary Word of the Year for 2007.
But it turns out eating local can have unintended consequences as well. Recently proponents of strengthening fair trade markets in emerging economies have pointed out that the trend toward "eating local" may hurt farmers who depend heavily on overseas markets to make a living. As Walter Moseley, a geography professor who does research in Africa, wrote recently,
If the local food movements in Europe and North America reduce their demand for organic and fair trade products from afar, the most likely consequence is that African farmers who have entered these niche markets will return to producing their export crops in the conventional, pesticide-intensive manner. While local food markets can provide some income for these farmers, they still are reliant on export opportunities for the bulk of their cash income.
Food miles, then, are not the single most important measure of responsible food consumption; how our food choices shape local economies (including those thousands of miles away) may be just as important.
In the long run, solutions need to merge economic, social and environmental concerns -- for instance, international bodies need to make and enforce rules governing working conditions on farms worldwide, and promote organic farming practices through subsidies and other assistance (which have typically been offered to conventional agriculture through international aid and development schemes). But until those changes come, writes Walter Mosley, "it is a cruel joke to condemn developing world farmers to commodity crop production and then remove the only hope they have for higher returns -- organic and fair trade crops and products."
The United Kingdom Soil Association has attempted to address the inconsistency between promoting local consumption and supporting fair trade by requiring all organic food imported by air to meet fair trade standards, something we’ve covered in the past. However, this hardly addresses all fairly traded produce, because it still applies only to products that are certified organic. Traditional farmers in poor African nations use virtually no pesticides on edible produce; their crops are organic in all but name. But that name, when it comes to satisfying export regulations, is sometimes all that matters.
The solution, then, is to push for stronger regulations on working conditions and better assistance for farmers in developing economies. In the meantime, we would do well to eschew zealotry -- organic, locavorean, or fair-trade -- in exchange for a mix of all three. Throwing up our hands and buying out-of-season, conventionally grown and paid-for produce is far worse than choosing fair trade over local, or vice versa.
Eat Organic! Eat Local! Eat...What?
Erica Barnett
November 23, 2007 12:59 PM
First, we were all told to "buy organic" food because it's better for our health, and for the earth. Then we were told that buying organic wasn't enough, because organic standards vary from country to country (and even within countries), making it difficult to know what you're really getting. And then there are the greenhouse gasses emitted by shipping all that organic produce thousands of miles -- from China, say, to the United States. Those lengthy "food miles" obliterate much of the environmental benefit of buying organic in the first place.
So next we were told to buy locally produced foods (and organic, if possible), in order to eliminate those global warming concerns. Plus, purchasing food grown locally benefits small farmers and local economies, is better for air quality and pollution, and supports responsible land development. And it gives people weaned on supermarket food -- i.e., most of us -- a chance to taste food that's both seasonal and impeccably fresh. So "buy local" has become the refrain, and not just among hardcore sustainability advocates: "locvaore" was the New Oxford American Dictionary Word of the Year for 2007.
But it turns out eating local can have unintended consequences as well. Recently proponents of strengthening fair trade markets in emerging economies have pointed out that the trend toward "eating local" may hurt farmers who depend heavily on overseas markets to make a living. As Walter Moseley, a geography professor who does research in Africa, wrote recently,
If the local food movements in Europe and North America reduce their demand for organic and fair trade products from afar, the most likely consequence is that African farmers who have entered these niche markets will return to producing their export crops in the conventional, pesticide-intensive manner. While local food markets can provide some income for these farmers, they still are reliant on export opportunities for the bulk of their cash income.
Food miles, then, are not the single most important measure of responsible food consumption; how our food choices shape local economies (including those thousands of miles away) may be just as important.
In the long run, solutions need to merge economic, social and environmental concerns -- for instance, international bodies need to make and enforce rules governing working conditions on farms worldwide, and promote organic farming practices through subsidies and other assistance (which have typically been offered to conventional agriculture through international aid and development schemes). But until those changes come, writes Walter Mosley, "it is a cruel joke to condemn developing world farmers to commodity crop production and then remove the only hope they have for higher returns -- organic and fair trade crops and products."
The United Kingdom Soil Association has attempted to address the inconsistency between promoting local consumption and supporting fair trade by requiring all organic food imported by air to meet fair trade standards, something we’ve covered in the past. However, this hardly addresses all fairly traded produce, because it still applies only to products that are certified organic. Traditional farmers in poor African nations use virtually no pesticides on edible produce; their crops are organic in all but name. But that name, when it comes to satisfying export regulations, is sometimes all that matters.
The solution, then, is to push for stronger regulations on working conditions and better assistance for farmers in developing economies. In the meantime, we would do well to eschew zealotry -- organic, locavorean, or fair-trade -- in exchange for a mix of all three. Throwing up our hands and buying out-of-season, conventionally grown and paid-for produce is far worse than choosing fair trade over local, or vice versa.
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