IERE News

Energy Update #19
22 March 2006

Dear friend,

The efforts towards energy independence are underway here on Vashon. A citizens group, Citizens for Vashon Public Utilities has been formed, led by Cliff Goodman. They are working towards comprehensive conservation and renewable energy here. If you want to help, you can contact Cliff at cliffncara@centurytel.net.

In cooperation with Sustainable Vashon and several other island organizations, IERE sponsor a showing of The End of Suburbia, a film about peak oil production at 1:00 p.m at Vashon Theater. We anticipate continuing our local education efforts about the potential for energy independence on the island and legal mechanisms for getting there.

While we were not able to purchase the historic Beall property last year, we have been very busy moving forward to address some major issues that were uncovered with our study last year. The lack of a workforce trained in conservation and renewable energy installation and maintenance, and the lack of vehicle alternatives fueled by renewable energy are both barriers to a renewable future. We are working with South Seattle Community College (SSCC) to integrate sustainability issues into the curriculum of the all the apprenticeship programs they manage. Funding for the first steps comes from the Seattle Parks District, and from The Russell Family Foundation. SSCC teaches about one third of the apprentices in the state.

IERE is a founding member of the Advanced Vehicle Initiative, a coalition aimed at bringing the retrofit and new vehicle manufacturing capacity for alternative fuel and plug hybrid vehicles to the State. You can learn more at http://www.ncwctc.com/205.html.

We continue with our other programs, such as the American Center for Life Cycle Assessment. This program is the professional society for life cycle assessment in the USA. The fifth InLCA/LCM conference will be held in Washington, DC this year. More information can be found at www.lcacenter.org.

Of course, none of this could happen without the generous support of our donors and Volunteers. Meg Gluckman, a renewable energy engineer, has generously donated six months of her time here. Some of you may have already met or spoken with her. Her enthusiasm and knowledge have certainly given us a boost.

This year the IERE experimental garden will add bee hives to its activities and we hope to increase our donations to the Food Bank. If you are interested in helping, please contact Meg at meg@iere.org. Thanks to all of our supporters. Your financial gifts are important to us. To donate, please go to www.iere.org and click on donate.

Thanks for you support.

Rita Schenck
Institute for Environmental Research and Education
PO Box 2449
Vashon, WA 98070

Phone 206-463-7430
Fax 206-279-1570
www.iere.org

We invite you to share this note with anyone you believe would be interested. You can subscribe and unsubscribe from the newsletter page: http://iere.org/energy/updates.html



	Energy Update #19 22 March 2006 Dear friend, The efforts towards energy independence are underway here on Vashon. A citizens group, Citizens for Vashon Public Utilities has been formed, led by Cliff Goodman. They are working towards comprehensive conservation and renewable energy here. If you want to help, you can contact Cliff at cliffncara@centurytel.net. In cooperation with Sustainable Vashon and several other island organizations, IERE sponsor a showing of The End of Suburbia, a film about peak oil production at 1:00 p.m at Vashon Theater. We anticipate continuing our local education efforts about the potential for energy independence on the island and legal mechanisms for getting there. While we were not able to purchase the historic Beall property last year, we have been very busy moving forward to address some major issues that were uncovered with our study last year. The lack of a workforce trained in conservation and renewable energy installation and maintenance, and the lack of vehicle alternatives fueled by renewable energy are both barriers to a renewable future. We are working with South Seattle Community College (SSCC) to integrate sustainability issues into the curriculum of the all the apprenticeship programs they manage. Funding for the first steps comes from the Seattle Parks District, and from The Russell Family Foundation. SSCC teaches about one third of the apprentices in the state. IERE is a founding member of the Advanced Vehicle Initiative, a coalition aimed at bringing the retrofit and new vehicle manufacturing capacity for alternative fuel and plug hybrid vehicles to the State. You can learn more at http://www.ncwctc.com/205.html. We continue with our other programs, such as the American Center for Life Cycle Assessment. This program is the professional society for life cycle assessment in the USA. The fifth InLCA/LCM conference will be held in Washington, DC this year. More information can be found at www.lcacenter.org. Of course, none of this could happen without the generous support of our donors and Volunteers. Meg Gluckman, a renewable energy engineer, has generously donated six months of her time here. Some of you may have already met or spoken with her. Her enthusiasm and knowledge have certainly given us a boost. This year the IERE experimental garden will add bee hives to its activities and we hope to increase our donations to the Food Bank. If you are interested in helping, please contact Meg at meg@iere.org. Thanks to all of our supporters. Your financial gifts are important to us. To donate, please go to www.iere.org and click on donate. Thanks for you support. Rita Schenck Institute for Environmental Research and Education PO Box 2449 Vashon, WA 98070 Phone 206-463-7430 Fax 206-279-1570 www.iere.org We invite you to share this note with anyone you believe would be interested. You can subscribe and unsubscribe from the newsletter page: http://iere.org/energy/updates.html