SITKA GLOBAL WARMING GROUP
Our Mission
Help Sitkans reduce
their carbon footprint
and prepare for the effects of a changing climate
through education and community action.
Exciting
News:
2010
Sitka Green Business Awards are out! Check out our winners on the Green
Businesses page!
EVERYONE is welcome
to attend our presentations and meetings!
Next
Meeting
Wednesday
July 21st at 7 pm at the Career Center on 205 Baranof Street
The agenda for our next
meeting is:
1. What is our group identity?
Sustainable Sitka, or Sitka Global Warming Group?
We are trying to think of ways that
would open up SGWG to more Sitkans in our community -- we would like
to see new and all folks involved in our work. We feel an effective way
to reach out to a more more diverse demographic is by changing the name. It
is debate able but "Sustainable Sitka" is more accurate and
inclusive than "Sitka Global Warming Group." a decision on
this once and for all would be great.
2. Were going to start a Sitka
Climate Action Folder.
The folder will encompass everything
from public outreach in schools to road side clean-ups and parade float ideas.
I would like this to be a major part of our group. I think we should
advertise it and promote it and allow it to carry the group as people come and
go as they always do.
3. How can we utilize public outreach to get more people involved?
Passive and concentrated efforts
will be discussed
The
Previous
Meetings
March Meeting - Saving Fuel on the Waters of Sitka Sound
Looking
for ways to reduce your costs and carbon footprint while out in your boat?
JAn open-forum, panel discussionwith 6 speakers who
shared ideas and experiences about: switching out motors, going electric,
reducing fuel use, self-propelled travel, & more. Our speakers
discussed ways to (and take questions on) save money on
fuel in every kind of boat in Sitka. Topics will range from trollers to
personal and charter boats; from switching to high-efficiency motors
to methods for switching boats to electricity. We discussrd
economic opportunities to ideas on charging batteries through wave
action.
February
Meeting--Ocean Acidification
We appreciated the participation,
attendance, and and media coverage of our ocean acidification education
and action event series (Feb. 9-11). Thanks to all who attended and
thanks to our keynote speaker Dr. Jeremy Mathis, Assistant Professor and
Chemical Oceanographer from University of Alaska Fairbanks (www.sfos.uaf.edu/oa/). Dr.
Mathis did an amazing job of turning complex science into something we
could all understand. His work with school kids in Sitka will be shared
with local parents and the far-reaching communities of Mt Edgecumbe students.
We appreciated the invitation by
many groups like the Sitka Chamber of Commerce, the Sitka Forest Service
office, and the Sitka Tribe of Alaska to bring our speaker and his
important information to their supporters and employees. His talk
with the Sitka Chamber of Commerce was a good reminder that ocean
acidification is not only an oncoming environmental disaster, it will
also have major negative effects on coastal communities and businesses.
But this can't be the end of Sitka's
role in learning about and taking action on ocean acidification through
reducing carbon dioxide emissions. As Dr. Mathis said, "The worst
thing that can happen is inaction." So what can you do? Write
to political leaders at all levels to take immediate action to cut carbon
emissions and support/develop renewable energy. Make personal choices that
use less fuel and produce less carbon dioxide; check out www.sitkaglobalwarming.org
for ideas on reducing your carbon footprint in Sitka. And work locally
on projects that reduce community carbon dioxide emissions. You
can come to the next Sitka Global Warming Group meeting on Wednesday March
10th to learn how to use less fuel while out in your boat and to find out
how to get more involved in local actions. And maybe even help out
with ocean acidification research by collecting water samples this summer; if
Dr. Mathis asks us to collect local data - I'll put out the word! If
we are to reduce our chances of losing our food web and our fisheries for next
several centuries, we must stay engaged and stay active.
Thanks to
Sitka Conservation Society,
Sitka
Sound
Science
Center
, UAS (with the help of a grant
from Sitka Alaska Permanent Charitable Trust ),
and UAF for donations that make these programs possible!
Upcoming Activities
Sitka Global Warming Group Meetings, usually with short
educational presentations, are usually held every 2nd Wednesday of the month at 7
pm. Most meetings are held at Harrigan Centennial Hall.
What can I do about climate
change?
Here are resources to save money and reduce
carbon dioxide emissions:
1) To participate in the Home Energy Rebate Program:
Request
a home energy rating. Sign-up at www.akrebate.com
or contact the
AK-REBATE
Call
Center
at 1-877-AK-REBATE (1-877-257-3228). http://www.ahfc.state.ak.us/energy/weatherization_rebates.cfm
2) Sitka Red-Yellow-Green Light Energy
Status program: http://www.cityofsitka.com/government/departments/electric/index.html
and energy saving tips: http://www.cityofsitka.com/government/departments/electric/EnergySavingTips.html
3)
Information about being IDLE-FREE: http://www.idlefreevt.org/
4)
Information about growing your own food in
Sitka
: http://sitkalocalfoodsnetwork.org/
What can I do in Sitka to reduce my
carbon footprint?
- Come to one of our meetings to
learn more about what Sitkans are doing to increase sustainability and
reduce our carbon footprint.
- Check out our list of the "Top
10" things you can do in Sitka to reduce your carbon footprint for
actions that will have the most impact on greenhouse gas emissions in Sitka.
- Learn more about climate change
and ocean acidification (see Other
links).
- Shop or hire
Sitka Green Businesses. These businesses are making efforts to use green
business practices that increase sustainability and help the environment.
To learn more about our program and local green businesses go to the Green
Businesses hyperlink.
- Volunteer with Sitka Global
Warming Group/Sustainable Sitka on climate action activities. Contact info@sitkaglobalwarming.org
to get involved.
Recent Sitka Global Warming Group News
Date: July 4, 2010
The parade motorcade of electric cars was a success.
There were 5 electric cars and one electric scooter that took part. We
survived the rain
Date: April 15,
2010
Contact: Michelle
Putz, Sitka Global Warming Group
Sitka
Green Business Award
Winners Announced
Date: February 17,
2010
Contact: Michelle
Putz, Sitka Global Warming Group
Sitka
“Garden-match” offered
Do you have a planting bed that you
don’t have the time or energy to cultivate?
Do you wish you had spot to grow some
vegetables, but no place to put them?
Sitka Global Warming Group (SGWG), in
conjunction with the Sitka Local Foods Network, is offering a garden-matching
program to help people who have garden space get matched up with people who want
to plant and tend a garden in an effort to increase the amount of food grown and
eaten locally. SGWG is asking
Sitka
residents who have garden space to share or want a garden space to contact them
at info@sitkaglobalwarming.org.
Provide your name, email address, phone number, size of the spot available or
wanted, and the location of either the spot that is available or the address of
the person who wants the spot. SGWG will collect this data over the
next month and then work to match garden spots with a nearby person who would
like to plant and tend a garden. SGWG will also be collecting names and garden
locations at the March 14 “Let’s Grow Sitka” event taking place at the ANB
Hall from noon until 3:00 pm.
Michelle said that SGWG is not
setting any expectations of either the people who offer garden space or who want
a garden space. Sharing of produce will be encouraged, but won’t be an
expectation. SGWG also does not know how many participants to expect.
“This is the first year that we
will do this. We’ve seen plenty of people who want to grow their own
food but don’t have space to do it, and we have seen a lot of planting beds
and garden spots that go unused during the summer because people are too busy or
lack knowledge or experience in growing a garden. This is a great way to
match those unused gardens with someone who will make them productive and
increase the amount of vegetables being grown in Sitka,” said Michelle Putz
from SGWG. Michelle continues, “Growing food locally has many benefits.
For our group, the benefit is reducing the miles that food is shipped [thus
reducing fuel use and carbon dioxide emissions). But that also makes the
food cheaper and improves the quality and healthfulness of the vegetables since
they are fresher. Growing food locally also improves our “food
security” making a food shortage less likely in case of high fuel prices or
bad weather. And it tastes really good!”
December 2009
Sitka Global Warming Group
Participates in 350.org candlelight vigil for climate agreement in Copenhagen,
Denmark
Local Resources
Sitka Conservation Society
(SCS) has been working to protect the temperate rainforest of southeast
Alaska
and Sitka's quality of life since 1967. SCS has been an active supporter of the Sitka
Global Warming Group.
Recycle
Sitka provides great information on what and how to recycle in
Sitka
City
of Sitka Recycling Center
www.sitkalocalfoodsnetwork.org
can help you learn about growing your own food in Sitka.
Sitka
Rainpower helps Sitkans transition to electric heat from hydropower to
reduce carbon emissions
Click on Other Links to see additional resources on climate change
Contact Us:
info@sitkaglobalwarming.org;
907-747-2708