Haines Gardeners & Farmers

Seaweed: A "Brown" or a "Green"?

2009-02-13T09:14:00.000-08:00

Last night at least 21 Haines gardeners gathered at the library - called together by Master Gardeners George Figdor, Alexandra Feit, and others. It was fun. There were prizes - (where there is George, prizes are nearly always nearby!) - generously donated by Haines Home Building.

This question came up: Should seaweed be considered a nitrogen source (a "green" in lasagna gardening lingo) or a carbon source ("brown")? Opinions differed.

Feeling feisty, I was quite willing to offer my first born to defend my position that seaweed does not belong in the "green" group. But I did and do feel guilty about being so opinionated backed up only by memory of previous research. So here is a little new news about seaweed and it's role in the development of the nitrogen content of your soil.

W. A. Stephenson, in his classic book, Seaweed in Agriculture & Horticulture states:

Basically, the addition of seaweed leads to a temporary diminution of nitrogen available for crops, then a considerable augmentation of the nitrogen total.

When seaweed, or indeed any undecomposed organic matter, is put into the soil, it is attacked by bacteria which break the material down into simpler units -- in a word, decompose it. To do this effectively the bacteria need nitrogen, and this they take from the first available source, the soil. This means that after seaweed has been added to the soil, there is a period during which the amount of soil nitrogen available to plants is reduced. During this period seed germination, and the feeding and growth of plants, can be inhibited to greater or lesser degree. This temporary nitrogen deficiency is brought about when any undecomposed vegetable matter is added to the soil. In the case of straw, for example, which is ploughed in after harvest, bacteria use up soil nitrogen in breaking down its cellulose, so that a 'latent' period follows. Farmers burn stubble after harvest to avoid this latent period, and the short-term loss of available nitrogen which causes it. But such stubble-burning is done at the cost of soil structure, soil fertility, and long-term supplies of nitrogen which ultimately would have been released from the decomposed straw.

So, seaweed, through the bacteria it adds to your soil, facilitates nitrogen, but it, in and of itself, doesn't "contain" nitrogen in any appreciable amount. The quote also adds the cautionary note about that period of time when the carbon you add to the soil takes up nitrogen and your soil, if tested during that period, will test "nitrogen deficient." It's really not. It's just busy. But it also explains why fresh seaweed put on your garden during the growing season is not a soil amendment. It's good for mulch; but as an amendment, let it compost first.

Stephenson's book, and other neat books about seaweed, is available at Acres subtitled, "The original Eco-Ag bookstore."
Check it out. There are at least 4 reasonably priced items on seaweed.

Don't Miss The Haines Energy Fair! Saturday, February 28, 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM

2009-02-08T13:41:00.000-08:00

Come to the first ever Haines Energy Fair! This is a celebration of energy conservation, energy efficiency, and renewable energy. To help, the Haines Borough Assembly declared a sales tax holiday for all products related to energy conservation, efficiency, and renewable energy sold at the Fair. That's a 5.5% discount!

A couple of highlights....

There will be a compact fluorescent bulb (CFL) exchange. Bring an incandescent energy slurping bulb and trade it in for an energy sipping CFL.

Get a look at the spacey LED streetlights the Haines Borough is considering. Step into a dark room and compare them to the conventional high pressure sodium (HPS) lights now installed. The LEDs consume 65-78% less energy than the HPS, but...do you like them? Check it out!

Holiday Lights

2008-11-15T14:32:00.000-08:00

I love holiday lights. When I was mistress of my own power system, I turned on strings of little incandescent lights as soon as it got dark. Why not? I was running a 5KW Northern Lights diesel generator and I was told that it could use the “load.” Then I went on the grid. I couldn’t be happier, but I had to get smarter. It turns out that those incandescent lights are little suckers – perfect when I wanted to put a load on the generator, not so great when I am paying per KWH for the pleasure of the twinkling ambiance.

So I set out to figure out how much I was paying for my incandescent holiday lights. According to Save Energy, the traditional incandescent bulb used for holiday lights is called a C7. Each bulb on a string uses 6 watts. So a typical strand of 50 lights uses 300 watts or .3 KWH. We pay for our electricity per KWH. At the AP&T current residential rate of $.1444/KWH, one strand of incandescent lights costs $.04 an hour. Not bad. But hey, who has just ONE strand and who leaves the lights on for just ONE hour? Today, for example, I turned my lights on at noon! I don’t expect to turn them off until I go to bed – 11 maybe. So that’s $.44. And guess what? I don’t have one strand! No. I have 6! So, that’s $.04 x 6 x 11 or $2.64. And that’s just today. But realistically, let’s say on average I turn these lovely lights on for 6 hours each day during the holiday months of November and December. Thirty days has November, but December has 31. So that’s 61 x 6 hours x 6 strings x $.04/KWH per string = $87.84!! That’s quite a bump in my electric bill.

So, here’s what I’m going to do. I’m not giving up lights. I’m just giving up incandescent lights. I’m switching to LEDs. Let’s see how this work out. Each LED bulb uses .08 watts, so a 50-bulb string uses 4 watts, which is .004 KWH. (Convert watts into kilowatt-hours by dividing watts by 1000). At our residential AP&T rate of $.1444, .004 KWH is $.00058. Let’s see. Using the same formula as I did with the incandescents, $.00058 x 6 x 6 = $.02088 for 6 strands of LED lights on 6 hours. If I ran them for 61 days at that rate, I will add $1.27 to my electric bill – a savings of $86.57 – almost enough to pay for the 6 new strands of lights which cost me $14.99 per strand at a Howser’s here in Haines. Presto. The “savings” nearly pays for itself. And oddly, the longer I leave them on the more I “save.”

I have to point out that the most savings would come from not having any holiday lights on at all! It’s been said, and I can’t deny it, that the cheapest unit of electricity is the one you don’t use. That means don’t plug in those incandescents AND don’t buy the new LEDs. If you decide to plug in your old lights because after all, they still work, don’t they? – you are burning a lot of money with absolutely no return to yourself in savings – because in addition to using very little electricity to glow, LEDs have an exceptionally long life.

But it’s the holidays and holidays are for a little splurging – however, in these tough economic times, I’m for a splurge that ends up in a save. How about you?

The "Rack"

2008-10-12T13:04:00.001-07:00

My blogging has been pre-empted by my new job as coordinator for the Haines Borough Energy & Sustainability Commission. I have been buried in numbers. I know exactly how many gallons of heating fuel municipally owned facilities consumed over the past 2.5 years; and exactly how many kilowatts were used. And exactly how much it costs. Next stage: how to reduce that use by 5-7% percent. Stay tuned.

But right now, let's consider the "rack," because Thursday, October 16, at 9:05 AM I have to introduce the rack to the Haines Borough Library Board of Trustees. Not that they aren't already well aware of the rack. They have, in fact, rejected the rack. At the September Board meeting, the Board declined to allow Cooperative Extension materials to be available, in the rack, at the Haines Borough Public Library. The reason: if one organization is allowed to disseminate materials at the library, then all organizations should be allowed a similar privilege. Then it follows that the library may be overwhelmed, and, perhaps, even forced to become host to some unacceptable broadsides.

There's a little history here. Interest in Cooperative Extension services and information was re-awakened in Haines as a result of the Master Gardener's class that was held in May, minting 17 new Master Gardeners, adding to the group graduated about 5 years ago. We re-discovered the volumes of Alaska-centered growing, gathering, and preserving information published by the University of Alaska, Cooperative Extension Service. It used to be that you could browse these publications in Enid Verbon's Community Education Office, or in the Garden Shed at Haines Home Builders. No longer, no more.

After leaving Haines, the Cooperative Extension service notified me that they had received a grant to buy pocket shelves to put materials in outlying sites. Would Haines like to put a shelf in its library? I checked with the former director, who checked his policies, and said, "Sure. That works." Time passed. The rack and materials arrive. The director moves on. The status of the rack is brought before the Board in September and the Board says, "No, that won't work," for the reason stated above.

What am I to do with the rack? I would like the Library Board to reconsider. I think making University of Alaska Cooperative Extension materials available in the Haines Borough Public Library signals a linkage between the University and the Library - a sensible linkage, perhaps even the beginning of a meaningful partnership. I think that the offer of the rack by the Cooperative Extension Service is an opportunity and it would be a shame to miss it. What do you think? Take the survey. Thanks.

Stems, Weeds, Purple Cows, and Flowers Gone to Seed

2008-09-15T15:13:00.000-07:00

Thanks to a grant from the State of Alaska, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Agriculture, I attended the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers 2008 National Conference, Growers’ School, and Trade Show in Portland, OR, Sept. 8-11. Within minutes of starting Growers’ School at 8 AM, I began to build a new frame of reference for my incipient flower growing business. I am a flower “farmer” and my dahlias, lilies, cosmos, snap dragons are my “crop” from which I produce "stems." I also learned about two routes to success: you might be able to grow a “purple cow” or perhaps just as good - produce a crop that “grows like a weed.”

A “purple cow” is a crop that you can produce that no one else is producing. But you know what happens to purple cows – they can become quickly common and lose their advantage. The orange calla lily is apparently a purple cow gone awry. Pat Zweifel of Oregon Coastal Flowers had so many orders for orange callas last year he couldn’t fill them. Reasonably, this year he doubled his crop, and as these things seem to go, suddenly interest in orange callas dropped off. But still, callas must be the right crop for Zweifel because they seemed, at least to me, to “grow like weeds” on his place in Tillamook. From start up in 1994, Oregon Coastal has become the largest supplier of fresh cut callas in the United States.

The owner of Bear Creek Floral, also in Tillamook, introduced us to a reigning purple cow that also grows like a weed: the purple artichoke. Despite the fact that Bear Creek’s fields were inundated with two feet of water last December, this year’s artichoke crop is a good as ever. Apparently, Bear Creek is enviably cloud-covered, more so than lands a half-mile to the east or west, and the misty days are exactly what are required for tasty artichokes. The situation at Bear Creek illustrates the edge a farmer can have when a crop is chosen that is suited to the microclimate and soil type. Actually, that is the secret to weed-like crops. Know your soils; know your microclimate. Although I might absolutely love to grow carnations, I better huddle up to my sedum if I want a profitable field grown crop. More on sedum later.

Back to the artichoke. It has more relevance to the flower grower than you might at first think. It represents a multiple use crop. If you “miss” the correct harvest time for the edible artichoke, let it go to seed and harvest the gorgeous artichoke flowers. Or let’s say the petals on a flower get tattered, making it otherwise unattractive. Pull them off. Use the center. Use the foliage. Sometimes florists even prefer this. Apparently there is a market for Echinacea centers. Same thing with cosmos. The petals shatter quickly. Pick ‘em off. Use the foliage. The whole idea of using seedpods, centers, and foliage without its flower in arrangements was new to me and has opened up a whole new set of possibilities for my flower bouquet business aspirations.

Well, artichokes will definitely not “grow like weeds” in my fields in Haines, Alaska, but I do have other plants that grow amazingly well in my location: cosmos, dahlias, lilies, monkshood, iris, astilbe, mint, hosta. And when I saw an acre of sedum growing at Oregon Flowers, Aurora, Oregon , I nearly flipped. I have a new appreciation for this plant, which not only “grows like a weed” for me, but has felt like one too. Look for it in my future flower arrangements!

Upper Chilkat Valley Garden Tour

2008-07-31T16:27:00.000-07:00

Haines Master Gardeners and friends toured four gardens Monday, July 28: Klukwan Community Garden, Lani Hotch's garden, the Gunn/Kistler Garden at 36 Mile, and the Ramsey garden at 9 Mile Haines Highway. There are a few pictures posted at the end of the blog.

I took away a sense that we eaters are in good hands.

Spinach bolts for me and my beets are bitty. Not so in the Klukwan Community Garden. Lani showed us the Savoy and New Zealand spinach with leaves bigger than my hand; and beets ready to eat. Mardell showed us kohlrabi, purple broccoli, and red ripe tomatoes.

Mandy introduced us to her pea experiment: she soaked some peas in ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) and some she just soaked. The peas are planted as side by side as possible to control for environmental differences. Neither was treated with innoculant. The vitamin C soaked peas are patently larger plants. Stay tuned to see if they produce more succulent peas! See the photo below.

We were lucky to have Charlotte Jewell come along with us. She was over for the Fair from Jewell Gardens in Skagway. I loved hearing Charlotte humbly offer the scientific names of plants. Centaura montana, what I call "wild bachelor button." I confessed to her that I have made, repeatedly, 3x5 cards identifying the scientific name of my crops and favorite flowers endeavoring to commit those elegant terms to memory - to no avail. Maybe it's because I don't understand the system. Why are cabbage and kale and rape coles and brassicas, but broccoli is only brassica? So much to learn. Charlotte has graciously invited us to tour Jewell Gardens. We organized quickly to take up her offer. Seventeen of us are Skagway bound Friday.

We were also accompanied by Darren Snyder from the Cooperative Extension Service, Juneau office, also in Haines for the Fair. We peppered Darren with questions about plants that seem to be diseased. Powdery mildew seemed to be a common affliction - perhaps because this season has been exceptionally moist and cool. This unattractive fungus literally sucks the life out of its host. Anchorage gardener and photographer, Fran Durner (Talk Dirt to Me, A Cure for Powdery Mildew?) writes that, "Once infected, it is unlikely you will ever rid your plant of the fungus though you can try to control it with good horticultural practices and fungicides, either commercial or organic." Based on the description of the disease cycle from Cornell University, it seems like it might be a good idea to just pitch out the infected plant.

The fungi which cause powdery mildew are spread by spores produced in the white patches. These spores are blown in the wind to other parts of the plant or to other plants during the growing season. ... During the winter the fungus survives on infected plant parts and in debris such as fallen leaves. It may produce resting structures known as cleistothecia, which resist harsh winter conditions. These will appear as small black dots within the white powdery patches. The next spring, sexual spores (ascopores) are released from the cleistothecia, shot up into the air, and carried by air currents to leaves of plants where new infections will begin. During the growing season, the fungus produces asexual spores (conidia) that help the fungus to spread and infection to build.

But if you are brave or just love that plant, cut off the diseased tissue, then try to dislodge some of those spores. Durner recommends hosing off the plant early in the morning to remove spores and then treating the plant with a fungicide. Fungicides don't have to be as nasty as they sound. Durner gives this recipe from the Integrated Pest Management Office of Alaska. (Here is the link to Alaska Integrated Pest Management, but the page labeled "Insects & Diseases" is currently "under construction." It's worth bookmarking the site, though. It should be valuable when it is finished.)

Mix 1 tablespoon baking soda, 2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil with one gallon of water. Shake this up thoroughly. To this, add 1/2 teaspoon of pure castille soap. Spray the upper and lower leaf surfaces and spray some on the soil. Repeat every 5-7 days as needed.

I am sure that every gardener returning from the Upper Valley tour went home and inspected their own with a critical eye. I know that George Figdor did. And right away, he recognized powdery mildew on his zucchinis! Turning to the Internet, he discovered that a spray of skim milk, applied early in the morning is the recommended "fungicide." Others spray with milk as well. According to Durner, Camille Williams of the Anchorage Garden Club uses a mixture of 1 part milk (any kind) to 3 parts water for years.

And that's why we make these field trips: to learn from each other how to recognize and treat trouble before we are sunk. And to lavish praise and appreciation on the artistry and hard work underlying every single garden. Thanks so much to our hosts Lani Strong, Doris Peck, Bonnie Sears, Mardell Gunn, and Mandy Ramsey.

Will This Lasagna Recipe "Work"?

2008-07-27T19:25:00.000-07:00

Check it out. What will happen to the seeds and pansy plant planted in the "lasagna garden" during the Southeast Alaska State Fair, July 25th? What will happen to the beds themselves? Will the 30-inch high beds de-compose significantly? When will the layers settle into 6-8 inches of workable soil as advertised?

Leanne Converse and I, two newly minted Alaskan Master Gardeners, constructed a 12 x 60 x 30 inch high lasagna bed in the Community Garden during the Southeast Alaska State Fair last Friday. Keeping our materials wet was easy. It rained. A lot.

We started "traditionally" with a 2-3 inch layer of cardboard and newspaper, soaked over night. Then we covered that that with a 2-inch layer of forest soil and peat moss. After that, we added a twist. We made stew: two batches - a huge carbon stew and another huge nitrogen stew. The carbon stew consisted of equal parts (by volume) of seaweed, leaves, straw, and shredded paper. The nitrogen stew was equal parts coffee grounds, kitchen scraps including egg shells, and grass clippings. So, our beds are layered as follows: carbon stew, soil/peat mixture, nitrogen stew, soil/peat mixture - repeated, ending with a carbon stew covered with a soil/peat mix.

Most "lasagna garden" instructions do recommend that you use a variety of nitrogen and carbon ingredients, but generally this is understood to be separate layers of different nitrogen mediums and separate layers of different carbon mediums. For example, you might have seaweed, soil, grass clippings, soil, straw, kitchen scraps, soil, and so on.

Will our "stew" approach make any difference - positive or negative? Belatedly, the Juneau agent for the Cooperative Extension Service, Darren Snyder, gently pointed out that it is going to be hard to tell since we did not build a "control" bed in the more typical fashion. Although I have thriving lasagna beds at home, built earlier this summer using single layers of each carbon or nitrogen rich element, they are not comparable to the bed Leanne and I built at the Fair given the differences in size, location, date of inception, and materials. If I were still teaching, I think I would propose a year long science project, setting up systematically varied beds this fall on the school grounds.

There are other questions too. For example, should a lasagna garden end with a soil covered nitrogen layer, or a soil covered carbon layer? We ended with a soil covered carbon layer, thinking that a nitrogen layer might grow too "hot," thus inhibiting the growth of the seeds or burning the roots of the plant. Leanne has a compost thermometer and plans to take the bed's temperature occasionally.

Try to stop by and check it out. Make some observations. Oh, and by the way, if you see some escaped shredded paper, please forgive us. That stuff is hard to control!

Slug and Moose Resistant Landscaping

2008-07-06T14:36:00.000-07:00

I love hostas. And up 'til now I guess I've been fairly lucky. No rampaging slugs; no nibbling moose. I started to wonder why these two plagues had, for the most part, passed over my Kochu Cove garden.

Slugs are hosta enemy #1. Hostas and slugs share a preference for shady, moist environments. By some good fortune, I seem to have collected "slug resistant" hostas. This is purely accidental or maybe actually, when I think about it, probably the result of more informed nursery people. I knew I wouldn't remember either the common or botanical name - so I just tossed that little plastic tag that came with every one of the hostas I've purchased. Too bad. I'll bet those tags might have indicated that I was picking one of the slug resistant cultivars - which happily, also tend to be the most attractive - and though it may seem socially shallow, when gardening, beauty is my bottom line.

According to Flower Gardening Made Easy, if I had read those nursery tags, I might have noticed that the hostas I selected were labeled "slug resistant," "slug proof," or as having "good substance, " meaning "thick, dense leaves with a good waxy coating" making them somewhat impervious to slugs.

Hostas are generally classified into blues, greens, golds, and variegated.

The blues that are most slug resistant are: "Elegans, "Krossa Regal," "Love Pat," "Blue Moon," "Blue angel," "Blue Umbrellas," and "Halcyon.
Slug resistant gold varieties are "Gold Edger" and "Sum and Substance."
The best slug resistent green varieties are "Invincible" abd Hosta tardiflora.
In the variegated hostas, try "Reversed," "Shade Fanfare," or "Grand Master."

The blue leafed hostas are alledgedly the most slug resistant of all. Slug resistant - yes, so far; but not moose resistant. This hosta, the only one out of at least 50, was browsed the other night - though delicately - perhaps in a style deserved by so regal a plant.

Unfortunately, maybe the reason that this particular hosta attracted attention is a function of its variety. By deduction (because, as you know, I don't have the nursery tag), I have concluded that this is a "Blue Angel" - one of the largest varieties of hostas. And though you can't tell from the photo, it does out do the others in breadth and height. It's size may be its doom.

Although moose will go down on their knees or spread their legs like giraffes to feed at ground level, they are really built to feed at a certain height. I am betting that the giant "Blue Angel" was exactly the right height for the mooselings and high enough off the ground to be easy pickin's for mama.

But the question remains: why not sample the other 50+ hostas that pepper my landscape? Anchorage moose, at least, find hostas to be so tasty that a blogger for the Anchorage Daily News calls hostas, kale, cabbage, and tulips just before they bloom, "moose bait."

It might be the mint. Evidently, moose seem to hate the smell of mint. Some time ago, in my innocence (uh...ignorance, maybe?), I thought it would be nice to have some mint. I guess I should have limited it to a container. I didn't. It now pops up everywhere. Mint is incredibly invasive - and it may be protecting my beloved hostas. I hope so. It turns out that the moose munched blue is regally by itself - not a sprig of mint anywhere nearby. That will change. But I think what I'll do is put the mint in strategically placed containers this time.

You can find a list of plants, trees, and shrubs that are somewhat resistant to moose browse in the July 2004 issue of Under the Canopy, the Forestry and Forest Products Newsletter of the Alaska Cooperative Extension Service. I can vouch for the fact that moose have not eaten the following from my landscape:

Columbine
Larkspur (Delphinium)
Foxglove
Iris
Narcissus, Daffodil
Tulip (after it blooms)

In addition, I have also seen moose here give a pass to easily accessible Monarda (Bee Balm), Monkshood, Bishopsweed, Asiatic and Oriental Lilies, and Day Lilies. It seems like there are lots of landscaping choices that are not choice moose morsels - that is, if the moose isn't desperately hungry and if there is alternative foraging material - like the enormous field of fiddle head fern that borders the enclave I have carved out of the forest.

More Moose

2008-07-02T11:28:00.000-07:00

I was just wrapping up a tender phone call with my beloved last night when I heard an unusual "clunk." I looked down from the 3rd floor just in time to see a mooseling trip across my deck, through a rock garden and down the path to the "kitchen" - which is how I've come to think of the area around my house.

I think I am glad I did not see Mama moose lead the way - which I am sure she did. However, she must have skirted the rock garden, while baby went straight through. Somehow all the damage that was done is one two-inch deep depression - with a squished pansy plant at the bottom. I've come to understand that the long stride of these animals mitigates damage. When moving, they pass over much - much better than the mess left behind by a roving porcupine. How the little one managed to avoid colliding with the trellis for the canary vine at the top of the rock garden beats me. But I'm grateful. It's one of the mysteries of human/wildlife interaction. Maybe they have sonar.

Though I love these animals; though my Medicine Cards tell me that moose medicine is "knowing what to say, when to say it, and to whom" - medicine which I sorely need - I wanted this particular moose family to move on. But the local pantry was just too appealing. I began to wonder if they had their eyes on the fresh straw I just used for garden mulch. It took me the better part of an hour - and the application of multiple methods - to convince them to leave.

As a last resort, I started my skill saw. It's very noisy. The little ones skittered away. Mama ambled after them completely unconcerned about the noise - only, presumably, about keeping her offspring in sight. But, as she went, she looked over her shoulder as if to say, "I'll be back." I am choosing to think that she is both pest and protector - as long as she is around, my more ferocious friend, the grizzly, isn't. That's good. I hope to never see them in the "kitchen" together. That might be a terrible mess.

Alces alces gigas and Mooselings

2008-06-30T09:39:00.000-07:00

I've been told that most scientific names are straight forward. With respect to the specific descriptor "gigas" for moose (Alces alces), I'd have to agree. Gigas is Greek for giant. Like so many words, it can also mean other things - like one billion, as in gigavolt, meaning one billion volts. In this case, multiple meanings converge into one easily understood concept: BIG. See a special note about Alces alces at the end for the "wordies" out there.

So, a giga moose and her twins, sometimes called "mooslings," were browsing around my garden at 6 AM this morning. How did I know? Was I perchance awake and having coffee at 6? No, not me. Clark, my gigas dog, woke me up huddling next to the bed, having "broken" into the house from his assigned bed in the attached greenhouse. Although he weighs more than I do, Clark is a total sissy when it comes to moose. He's a little braver about bear. He barked furiously at the giant grizzly strolling through at 3 AM a few mornings ago. Unlike the moose, the visiting Griz (Ursus arctos horribillis) stayed on the path and ate nothing, and was easily dispersed with a blast from my air horn.

Not so with mom and mooslings. They came for breakfast and stayed - despite my Fish & Game authorized moose dispersal implement: a BB gun. It's worked before but in this case all my BBs accomplished was reciprocal defensive posturing. I was glad I had a house backing me up. The twins were a little more skittish. They wheeled to leave but one tangled for a moment in the hose draped over the fence. Big yank - all along the length of the hose, ordinarily attached to a faucet at the house. It's a long run, but the tension, provided by 200 pounds of tug, rippled the full length. By some stroke of good luck, I had disconnected it, so no damage was done, to calf or to hose or house.

Having failed in my initial moose be-gone strategy, I tried the air horn. No effect. This second attempt with the air horn was actually a scientific experiment. Last summer, hiking back alone from Seduction Point, armed with air horn and dog, I encountered a moose, in of all places, Moose Meadows. I sounded my air horn. All that it did was bring A. alces gigas closer to investigate. And it sent my dog scurrying in the other direction. I followed the dog. My current working hypothesis is that air horns have no effect on moose, but are dandy deterrents for grizzlies. (If you have any data on the relative effect of air horns on moose, maybe we can put our stats together and publish. Of course, I can't remember any one of any authority ever telling me to use an air horn to deter moose.... )

By now, the twins were really getting busy. They started to play with a green plastic Adirondack chair. Maybe they thought it was a big plant. Hooves were precariously near dahlias. Roses were being pruned by mom. Though I have plenty of equisetum (horsetail), a favorite moose food, domestic ornamentals were definitely the preferred snack. So I resorted to the classic strategy: clanging metal against metal. That seemed to do the trick - that or they were just done with breakfast.

Now a note for my fellow "wordies." It turns out that Alces alces is Latin for "elk." In fact, in Europe "moose" are called "elk." According to Wikipedia

The name moose is derived from the Algonquian Eastern Abnaki name moz, meaning "he trims, shaves."

A moose, as we all know so well, is also translated as "eater of twigs." And there are twigs a plenty where I live. I have no doubt A. alces gigas and children will be back.

The Cost of Energy Ratings for the AHFC Home Energy Rebate Program Skyrockets

2008-06-03T16:02:00.000-07:00

I feel a little bit like Michael Moore.

Do you remember when families could have their babies down at the clinic? I do. It was nice. No trips to Juneau, Whitehorse, or Anchorage for the birth; no need for house sitters; pet sitters. Waddle down to the clinic with friends and family and then go proudly home 4-6-8 hours later, babe in arms. Sweet. That sweet situation came to a screeching halt sometime after 1982 for a variety of reasons – one of which was the bone shattering cost of malpractice insurance.

Fast forward to 2008 and again, the insurance industry may be the unfriendly element in an otherwise incredibly consumer friendly program. The Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) Home Energy Rebate Program, which I gushed about May 14 (Reach for the Stars – Energy Stars) has just become too expensive for me – thanks, apparently, to insurance requirements.

When the program was launched in April, AHFC posted regulations that said:

The cost of ratings done after May 15, 2008 will be reimbursed by AHFC directly to the rater, up to $500 for the As-is and Post Improvement ratings combined. The energy rater will be paid 65% of the reimbursable cost of the rating ($325) for the pre-, or As-is rating, and 35% ($175) for the Post Improvement rating.

A week or so ago, regulations were changed to this:

The cost of ratings done after May 15, 2008 will be reimbursed by AHFC to the homeowner, up to $500 for the As-is and Post Improvement ratings combined. The homeowner will be reimbursed by AHFC 65% ($325) for the pre-, or As-is rating, and 35% ($175) for the Post Improvement rating.

Do you see the difference? Under regulation “A”, the rater gets his fee from AHFC; under regulation “B”, he gets it from me – the homeowner. Under B, the rater can charge any amount he wants.

This all came to light when the energy rater 10 of us convinced to come to Haines told us his fees: $550 for the first rating, and $200 the second post-improvement rating. Wow. Huge, up front fees when we expected what? - no fees.

What’s an extra $225, you say, when it allows you to get reimbursed for supplies up to maybe $10,000? Think of it as an "entry fee." Exactly. The problem is that a $225 "entry fee" may be chicken feed for Wally Hickle – who also qualifies for this program – but it is a big chunk of change for me. It is in fact 17% of my monthly income. Now you know. I don’t think I am the only one in this income bracket in Haines.

Why the switch? According to Rosie Ricketts, AHFC Home Energy Rebate program manager, the culprit is insurance requirements. Someone, presumably in the State AG’s office, advised AHFC that if AHFC paid the raters directly, each rater would have to procure professional liability insurance to protect the state from any errors the rater might make.

Ted Veal, an energy rater from Homer, Alaska wrote in a 2 June email:

The raters met with AHFC about this program and were notified that if AHFC was to pay us directly we would have to have insurance to cover AHFC. Some raters reported from their investigation that the insurance available to meet AHFC’s requirements was in our opinion exorbitant. One reported that he was quoted $20,000.00 per year!

Thus the switch to regulation “B.”

I started checking energy rating fees around the state. The fee for the initial AS IS rating varies by as much as $200! So far, Carol Perkins from Active Inspections & Energy Ratings in Chugiak is the rater I would choose if I could. Her fees coincide exactly with the amount AHFC is willing to reimburse the homeowner.

Anchorage, Fairbanks, Homer, Seward, Chugiak, Palmer, Soldotna are flush with raters. You know what that means: competition tends to keep prices on the low side. Presently, we have three active raters in Juneau - Charlie Ford, Marquam George, and Craig Moore - none in Haines. I have emailed 23 raters around the state asking about rates. So far, Mr. Moore’s are the highest of those reporting back.

Two Haines men have qualified to be trained as energy raters. One starts his training this week. He will be back amongst us the week of June 11. I don’t know what his rates will be but I would love it if he followed Carol Perkin’s lead and charged the reimbursable amount. I hope it works out for him to do this.

So, until then, what is a girl to do? You better believe I have been asking. For one thing, I learned that the present regulations are temporary. AHFC will hold a public hearing on them June 25. According to Ms. Ricketts, time and place should be advertised on the website and in the newspaper. I have written to AHFC and Representative Thomas and to the Mayor and to the Haines Borough Assembly asking them to consider requesting AHFC to reimburse the fee for an energy rating on a sliding scale based on income guidelines up to 100% of the cost – whatever that cost may be. You could do that too. Here are email addresses if you are interested:

Rosie Ricketts, Home Energy Rebate Program Manager, AHFC, rricketts@ahfc.state.ak.us
Representative Bill Thomas, through Jesse Badger, Jessie_Badger@legis.state.ak.us
Email address for the Haines Borough Mayor and members of the Assembly can be easily accessed through the Haines Borough website.

You also might be interested, as I am, in the AHFC Low-Income Weatherization program. If you are accepted into this program, all services will be paid - from inspection through implementation of improvements. Haines is served by the Alaska Community Development Corporation. Download an application and submit it right away. The ACDC person I spoke to said that ACDC is coming to Haines this summer. The glitch is that the work might not be able to be performed before this winter.

Low income weatherization work is performed by a contractor contracted by the State. That process takes time. In contrast, the Home Energy Rebate Program improvements can be done by you, or anyone you choose, right now– if you can afford the initial energy rating.

I’ve lived long enough now to feel like “low income” isn’t low any more. Or at least it isn’t low compared to 26 years ago when my husband and I built our house.

According to ACDC, I would qualify for the program – living alone as I do – with an income of $47,700 or less. I qualify. Be warned, the income guidelines posted on the Alaska CDC home page are not the income guidelines now being used for the program. They are using FY 2008 HUD Income Limits for Alaska, effective April 15, 2008. Get these at the Weatherization Program. Click where it says “Click here for Weatherization Program Income Guidelines.”

Maybe the insurance industry isn't to blame for the change in the regulations. Blaming anyone or any group for anything is probably not a very useful thing to do. What is useful is working constructively to change a situation that seems inequitable. The date for that work is June 25 - the date of the public hearing for the AHFC Home Energy Rebate regulations. I hope to discuss solutions to what I perceive to be a problem with the Energy Rebate Program's entry fee - the fee for the required Energy Rating. Join me. We can turn this around. I believe everyone wants this program to work.

NOW AVAILABLE: 680 Master Gardener Volunteer Hours or "Lasagna, anyone?"

2008-05-29T12:23:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, Haines added 680 hours to its volunteer "bank account."

After completing a 40-hour Cooperative Extension course, 17 Haines women and men qualified as Alaska Master Gardeners. In addition to the $50 participants pay for materials, each commits to 40 hours of community service on behalf of gardening - any which way. It can be hands-in-the-dirt planting and weeding, think-tank type stuff planning a landscape, gardening grant writing, one-on-one side-by-side gardening with a novice or a child, or even blogging about gardening just like this.

In no particular order, our Master Gardeners are: Mandy Ramsey, Beth MacCready, Donna Walter, Jean Smith, Courtney Culbeck, Debi Knight-Kennedy, Alexandra Feit, George Figdor, Penny Stoddard, Christy Lengsdorf, Mikail Denker, Art Jess, Leann Converse, Lani Hotch, Melissa Aaronson, Rene Ghallagher, and me.

Our instructor, Michele Hebert, has promised to return - because despite our newly minted status as "masters," there is still so much to learn. (She also admitted that she is a water child, temporarily stranded in Fairbanks and longs to live by the sea. Haines does that to people.)

One of the topics we began to explore is the structure of the soil. It turns out that it is teeming with life - life that one really ought not to disturb with a rototiller. It is estimated that one-fourth teaspoon of a fertile soil (about one ml) contains:

50 nematodes
62,000 algae
72,000 protozoa
111,000 fungi
2,920,000 actinomycetes
25, 280, 000 bacteria.

These elements are part of the "glue" that holds soil together. I wince to think how I have repeatedly sent these little creatures spinning with the tines of my Mantis. Soil is best left alone. I have become so convinced of this that when asked to borrow my rototiller I said, "No, you can buy it." Just kidding. Like a lot of gardeners, I think it is fun and satisfying to till - but I now know that it is not necessary to successful growing.

Michele illustrated her technical lesson about soil with a true story of three farms. The farmer in the middle practiced "no till" farming. His crop was abundant - more so than that of the farmers to the east and to the west. He began to sell off his fossil fuel equipment. But despite the evidence of his year after year abundance, through drought and other natural calamities, his neighbors clung to tradition. Like me, they liked to till. I guess some activities, even if limited in their usefulness, we do just because we like to. I will, however, henceforth, till more judiciously - gently, a little, not a lot.

"Lasagna gardening" is a no-till method particularly well suited to places where soil is minimal. Melissa Aronson gardens on the north side of Mt. Riley, along Beach Road. She is showing us her "lasagna" in the picture above. The concept of lasagna gardening arose from the systematization of an accident. One year, Patricia Lanza was too busy to remove sod, dig, double-dig, till, etc. so she dumped all the compost, peat moss, and barn litter in one spot and planted on top. Every time she mowed the lawn, she mulched with grass clippings. See Lasagna Gardening: A New Layering System for Bountiful Gardens: No Digging, No Tilling, No Weeding, No Kidding! (Read about the book at Amazon, but please buy it from Babbling Books in Haines. So far, it is not included in the resources at the Haines Borough Public Library.)

Here's a very brief lasagna recipe:

1. Stomp down or otherwise level your garden spot. Mow maybe.
2. Layer One: smother the area with an inch or two of newspaper, 6 or 7 sopping wet sheets at a time. You can also use cardboard.
3. Layer Two: spread a 2-3 inch deep layer of moistened peat moss or high carbon material to cover paper. High carbon material tends to be brown, like straw, leaves.
4. Layer Three: spread a 4-8 inch layer of high nitrogen material (fresh grass clippings, livestock manure, compost, kitchen vegetable wastes - "green").
5. Layer Four and beyond: Repeat Layers Two and Three until you have a bed 18-24 inches high.

You can plant the garden right away with transplants or seeds. If transplanting, pull the mulch away to form a hole, insert plant, and firm the mulch back around its roots. To sow seeds, sift a little compost or soil over the surface of the mulch, put down seeds, cover and press in with a bit more mulch.

Lasagna is usually cooked before it is eaten and just so, you can "cook" a lasagna garden before you plant. Cover with black plastic and let it sit for 6 weeks, then plant. The soil will be crumbly. But who has 6 weeks to spare in our short season? I say, assemble and plant!

If you are wary, call on one of the 17 Master Gardeners to help. They'd love to.

The AEA "Challenge:" Identify Local Sources of Renewable Energy and We Will Come

2008-05-15T08:45:00.000-07:00

The idea is that there are untapped energy resources in the Chilkat Valley: hydro, wind, tidal, geothermal, biomass. So the Alaska Energy Authority (AEA) mailed us two maps: a USGS map of the Haines Borough (less the southern most portion, including Excursion Inlet); and a Wind Map of the Chilkat Valley.

AEA wants us to answer two questions:

What do you know about local energy resources and which resources do you think could possibly be developed to help lower costs?

Which resources do you prefer not to develop, and why?

Then they will return with data gathering equipment and assess the potential of the resources identified. They will apply some science to our hunches. This data is the first step toward additional sources of energy for the Haines Borough.

So the maps and a notebook are at the Haines Borough Library. Put your ideas on the maps; your comments in the notebook; and I will ship it all back to Steve Haggenson, AEA Executive Director. This is important. Other communities are having Energy Hall Town Meetings; we have maps. We need to come forward in order to move forward.

Go mark the maps, please.

Reach for the Stars - Energy Efficient Stars

2008-05-14T15:25:00.000-07:00

This year the Alaska State Legislature appropriated $100 million for Home Energy Rebates (SB 256). They struck a nerve.

According to Scott Anaya at Alaska Buidling Science Network (ABSN), and Scott Waterman, at Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC), the response is nearly overwhelming – overwhelming because a homeowner has to have an energy rating before and after implementation of efficiencies in order to qualify for the rebate. So AHFC and ABSN are scrambling to train energy raters in a hurry. Let’s talk about how the rebate program works, and then let’s talk about two methods for Haines to get ahold of energy raters.

For starters, download the Home Energy Rebate Grant Program guidelines. (Scroll down the page until you get to "Click here for program guidelines.") Note that the rebates are available only to homeowners who are year-round occupants of the upgraded home.

The amount of the rebate is based on moving up the Alaska Home Energy Rating star steps. The system moves from one to five stars, two steps per star, so ten steps altogether. There are maximums on rebates. If you move just one step, the maximum rebate is $4000; if you move five or more steps, the maximum is $10,000.

The rebate reimburses recommended energy efficiency expenses only. For example, if you are able to move 6 steps for a mere $3500, you get $3500, not $10,000.00. You are allowed to do the work yourself.

There is no doubt about it. This is an awesome program. It is a spend-to-save program. And the savings will keep on coming in the form of reduced heating and electricity bills long after the money has been spent.

Now back to that one essential person: the certified Energy Rater. To participate, your home must be evaluated by an AkWarm rater. None of the 4 dozen raters live in Haines. Four live in Juneau. AHFC recognizes that this is a problem. More raters are needed, so right now, if you qualify as an applicant for the energy rater training (2 years experience related to residential construction, weatherization, etc.) you can get trained for free! Unfortunately, although AHFC will pay tuition, there is no funding for transportation, housing, or meals. I asked. But when I described this situation at last night's Haines Borough Assembly meeting, a member of our community approached me and offered to help pay transportation and housing for a Haines applicant! So I think we can make this work. Please don't let finances deter you if you have always wanted to be an Home Energy Rater! This is a very good time to add that skill set to your resume.

The Energy Rater class calendar will be posted on the Alaska Building Science Network website. Classes will be held first in Anchorage and Fairbanks - later in Southeast – probably Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan. According to Scott Waterman at AHFC, the initial focus is up north because the building season there is shortest. To get started, download and submit an application.

Meanwhile, Mr. Waterman challenged me to identify 6 Haines homeowners willing to get an AkWarm Energy Rating on their residences. If I do that, then I can call him up, and he will send a rater down to get us started. Count me in! How about you? Give me a call at 766-2718.

Hydro or Diesel Today? In Haines, It's Hard to Tell.

2008-05-09T13:45:00.000-07:00

When the AP&T diesel generators, located in the heart of down town Haines fired up, we all knew it. That was hard to miss, even though the thrumming sound soon receded into the background. Cock an ear, and you could tell. When those generators were running, no one could stand down town and confidently state, “We’re on hydro.” But now that more fuel efficient diesels in Skagway are running, that’s exactly what can happen. In Haines we can believe we are on hydro when we are not. It happened yesterday.

I wanted to talk to a local mover and shaker about the Alaska Energy Authority’s decision not to hold an Energy Town Hall Meeting in Haines (see "Left Out," April 25), and the VIP basically said he was unconcerned because, “We’re on hydro.” That’s just the point. We’re not. But we don't know it.

Starting on or about April 28, and for the subsequent 4 weeks, we will be on 50% hydro electiricty, 50% diesel generated electricity. (Personal email from Stan Selmer, AP&T Regional Manager located in Skagway).

The more diesel AP&T has to use, the higher the Energy Charge. It’s gone up twice since January, from $.0770 to $.0831 to $.1061. The Electric Rate is $.1243 per KWH. THAT’S the rate for hydro. The extra 10+ cents is for diesel. The Energy Rate itself is a combination of the price of diesel (ever rising) and how much diesel is used (also apparently rising). This is a problem for rate payers because the utility simply transfers the cost of the fuel it needs to power the grid to us.

Most tariffs (rates) utilities set, or change have to go through a public hearing process. Not so for Energy Rates, known in the industry as COPA. In the early 70’s when fuel prices were rapidly rising, the Alaska State Legislature decided public notice for Energy Rate or COPA filings was not necessary.

3 AAC 52.504:
(d) For a COPA filing under (b) of this section, an electric utility is not required to give public notice under AS 42.05.411 . However, if an electric utility seeks, outside of a general rate case, a change to its COPA methodology, a change to a COPA cost element, or a change to its COPA that the commission considers to be of significant interest to the public, the commission will require notice to the public in a form that the commission considers sufficient for the particular changes proposed.

Funny. To my way of thinking, the rapid rise of fuel prices should TRIGGER public notice, not prevent it. I am hoping that the last sentence (d) will enable us to persuade AP&T to give notice of its intent to raise (or lower. That has happened.) Energy Rates. They are required to file quarterly Energy Rates/COPA notices with the RCA but can file more frequently if conditions warrant. Let’s see. The announcement today that fuel prices are rising in Skagway just might trigger an early filing.

If AP&T doesn’t publish its intent to file for higher COPA rates in Haines and Skagway, but does file, how will you find out? After the fact. Ex post facto. It will show up on your bill. Opps. You will have been blithely consuming at one rate, and find out, after the fact, that you were actually paying a higher than expected rate. That seems backwards to me, and just a little unfair. Isn’t that what Juneauites protested when AEL&P suggested that their billing procedure would end up in having the higher rates applied to some consumption that took place before the avalanche? I think so.

So let’s get together and kindly request AP&T to let us know if they are going to have to charge more for the diesel they are using. That’s what I did. It’s the first step in the RCA informal complaint procedure. I sent an email to Mary Jo Quandt (maryjo.q@aptalaska.com), AP&T Vice President in Port Townsend, WA with a copy to Stan Selmer (stan.s@aptalaska.com). Very non threatening. Email me (sscott@aptalaska.net) if you would like a copy.

My argument is that the more consumers know about the cost of energy, the more choices they can make. Maybe if we knew that our electricity costs were going to go up we might use less (conserve) or we might even decide to buy that energy efficient appliance. Given the rising cost of power, the new appliance is more likely to pay for itself.

Knowing the cost of something BEFORE you buy it is simply good sense. I think this should apply to electricity as well as to gas and groceries. Can you imagine going to the store, picking out food, piling it at the check out counter, giving the grocer a blank check, and walking out with your food – only knowing what it cost when you get your bank statement at the end of the month? Impossible you say. But that’s what happens with your electric bills when you are notified of a rate change after the fact. And that’s the current state of affairs with respect to the Energy Charge. Let’s change that. We can.

Kilowatt Creep

2008-05-04T17:31:00.000-07:00

The first full month I was hooked up to AP&T’s grid, I used 91-kilowatt hours. Then I went to the Middle East to work – mostly to recoup the expense of hooking up. While I was gone, a very frugal young woman stayed at home to mind the plants and animals. Her usage was extraordinary: 50, 40, and a “high” of 67 kilowatts a month in December, which, probably can be chalked up to my return Jan. 4. (The usage period included 13 days in January.)

I left my house sitter with all toys in place: refrigerator, answering machine, stereo, freezer, AC pump in the well, blender, mixer, TV/DVD player, vacuum, washer, dryer, and of course, lights which are exclusively CFLs. Clearly, my house sitter was not an energy hog. Alas, I am.

It’s true that I have installed a few new – and, ahem, “essential” – electronics. I have added a microwave, a laser printer, an “airport” for wireless Internet, and a DSL router.

What’s going on? Well, I haven’t been minding my watts; nor have I been doggedly turning lights and appliances off like my house sitter must have been; like folks in Juneau certainly are.

Sierra Kaden, a former Juneauite, now happily transplanted to Haines, sent me an Excel spreadsheet of the wattage of appliances and the cost of operation per hour at Juneau’s new rate: $.54 per kilowatt hour (KWH). Trusting that the wattages are at least in the ballpark for the appliances (no brand names are given), a friend made a version of the spreadsheet using Haines rates, with and without the Power Cost Equalization (PCE) Credit. Our base rate is $0.2304 per KWH. The PCE program drops our rate down to $0.0846. (Juneau is not in the Power Cost Equalization Program.)

Here are some estimated per hour costs from the spreadsheet. If you would like the complete Haines spreadsheet, please email me and I will send it to you (sscott@aptalaska.net).

Coffeemaker, automatic brew-cycle, 880 watts per hour @$0.13/hour
Coffeemaker, drip brew-cycle, 1500 watts per hour @ $0.22/hour
Freezer (16.cu.ft) manual defrost, 333 watts per hour @$0.05/per hour
Refrigerator, new (14 cu.ft), 130 watts per hour @ $0.02/per hour
Microwave, 1000 watts per hour @ $0.15/per hour
Range, 12,000 watts per hour @ $1.75/hour
Toaster, 1100 watts per hour @ $0.22/hour
Clothes Dryer, 5000 watts per hour @ $0.73/hour
Television, color, 120 watts per hour @ $.02/hour
Computer, 120 watts per hour @ $0.02/hour

Considering that refrigerators, freezers, and answering machines run 24/7, my house sitter’s frugality is even more amazing. My personal best in kilowatt usage is 122. To get back there, I need to shave 29% off of this past month’s usage. Why bother? Well, for one, it’s fun. I’ve always loved those Timex challenges – you know, how fast can you do this or that. I’m one of those people who sets a timer to see how many wheelbarrow loads of wood I can bring in 20 minutes. But there’s another, more serious, reason.

I hooked up to the grid September 2006 because I thought that AP&T was hydro. I traded in my solar panels, my huge lead-acid batteries (I couldn’t even move them), my 5 KW Northern Lights Diesel generator for a cleaner, more environmentally responsible power source. Silly me. I feel very very foolish. Right now, this very minute, 50% of the electricity I am using is being generated from costly, polluting (both air and noise) diesel. So I am determined to do my part by using as little power as I can. If everyone were to take on a similar challenge, maybe AP&T could satisfy more of our demand with its presently limited hydro capacity, thus using less and less diesel. Let's see, exactly what is in our control? The level of Goat Lake? Probably not. The level of our consumption? Probably so. When Goat Lake is low we can either put on diesel, or use less electricity. Which will it be? Even without considering the impact of diesel emissions on climate, the soaring cost of diesel pretty much makes the answer obvious.

I am inspired by Juneau. Juneauites have cut demand by 20%. Admittedly, they are motivated. There is a world of difference between eight cents (Haines) and 54-cents (Juneau) per kilowatt hour. We are so lucky. But that is no reason to be piggy about power. I am going to try to slim down.

Let X Mark the Spot - May 13, Haines Borough Assembly Meeting

2008-05-02T13:18:00.000-07:00

I just got off the phone with Steve Haggenson, Executive Director of the Alaska Energy Authority. His enthusiasm for helping communities locate and develop renewable sources of energy is exciting. It is, in fact, “energizing.” Still, AEA is not going to schedule a Town Hall Energy Meeting in Haines. Too bad. I think that Steve’s enthusiasm and “can do” attitude could galvanize our leadership, could galvanize “us.”

Haggenson was formerly the CEO of Golden Valley Electric Association. He knows electric utilities. I mentioned that some folks in Haines were interested in forming an energy coop. Now, this seems like a daunting proposition to me. Not to Mr. Haggenson. In fact, he said, you could do it with 10 people. No municipality required.

When I asked Steve how that might be done, he rattled off a scenario based on dollars and cents. Looking at AP&T’s current rates in Haines, he suggested a rate we could offer to sell power to AP&T that would be profitable for our power coop and still be attractive to AP&T. He explained how, once we had an agreement with AP&T, that agreement would be considered “bankable,” and could be the basis for a loan for the development of the infrastructure. Maybe, if we did the feasibility work, AP&T might even offer to do the development themselves!

And that’s where AEA comes in. The purpose of the Energy Town Hall Meeting is to gather local information on renewable energy sources. The AEA folks will put up maps and locals will draw circles on them: “this is a good wind spot,” “snow never melts there, that’s probably a good geothermal spot,” “…strong 15 knot current there – tidal power maybe.”

AEA is also interested in sources of waste heat. They want to know what temperatures are coming off the water treatment plant. How hot is the heat generated by the solid waste reduction operation at Community Waste Solutions? As he said, they have a building full of experts in Anchorage who want to help communities assess and develop their resources and they are relying on us to tell them what we have. Then they will come.

Well, AEA is still NOT coming to Haines for an Energy Town Hall meeting. (I just can’t seem to let this go, can I?) But they are going to do the next best thing. They are sending us maps. We can put them up and draw our circles - Let X mark the spot. Haines Borough Mayor Fred Shields is going to allow time for me to explain the AEA request for energy source information at the May 13 Borough meeting. I’ll hang the maps. You can draw the circles! Then we will send the information back up north to AEA; in turn they will send down equipment-laden analysts and we will let science go to work. A data-based analysis of our resources will help us know where best to focus our human and financial efforts. That seems very sensible.

By the way, Mr. Haggensen said that he would like to come to Haines. Maybe we can get a meeting together in July. In the meantime, please come May 13, 6:30 PM, and add your local knowledge to the Haines renewable energy resource maps. We will have lots of red pens.

A Penny Saved

2008-05-01T09:57:00.000-07:00

Last night I applied for a grant – a journalism grant. I think there is about a one in a million chance that I’ll get it, but I had fun dreaming up an idea.

Here’s my idea: I’ll get a few power monitor and power use systems; ask women heads of households to work with me to install them in their homes; and then together we’ll tell the story of how knowing exactly how much power your electronics and home is using changes or doesn’t change power consumption practices. I wanted to focus on women because I wanted to whittle away at the stereotype that women fumble when it comes to electrical and mechanical systems. Besides, many of the women I know are very concerned with how rising energy costs are taking up a greater and greater share of the household budget. And finally, women are great networkers. If something is helping, they are going to share that information.

Like I said, getting my idea funded is a long shot, but getting these power monitors and power use systems into homes in the Haines Borough is as easy as ordering one of the monitoring devices. It would be great if one of our building supply outlets would pick these up so that we look at them and ask questions before we purchase them.

Tim June demonstrated a power monitor last Sunday for Earth Day celebrations at the Haines Borough Public Library. What you do is plug it into your outlet and then plug your appliance into it. You can then see how much electricity your appliance is using. Models for 110V appliances to look for are Kill A Watt (seems to cost between $18-24) , the Kill A Watt EZ, about $70, and Watts Up? . The Watts Up? product line has a range of models, including a model that can interface with a PC computer via a USB cable. Windows supported software allows access to the data table, offers charting and payback analysis, and permits the export of data. This product line seems to start at $100 and ranges up to $270 for the model that interfaces with a computer.

A power use system monitors the total electrical consumption of your home – all use rolled into one. It is not appliance specific. There is Cent-a-Meter, Power Cost Monitor (each about $160), or the Energy Detective (about $190). Brochures for all these instruments can be downloaded from the Power Meter Store.

People like to say, “You can’t manage what you don’t measure.” I think this is true. Power monitors give us the opportunity to measure daily use and make the changes we want to make, BEFORE we get the electricity bill! It’s a way, as they say, to “get rich slowly.” But before you pop for a power meter, consider this saying, "The cheapest unit of electricity is the one not used." Habitually unplugging will also help you "get rich slowly." That's what I'm going to do.

Thanks to John Hunt, KHNS, News Director, for the link J-Lab’s McCormick Tribune New Media Women Entrepreneurs initiative .

Saving Oil in a Hurry

2008-04-30T11:46:00.000-07:00

What if we had a sudden disruption of our supply of transportation fuel? What if there was an even steeper price hike? What if we were running out of gas like Juneau ran out of electricity? If this happened, it would be good not to flail around trying this, experimenting with that – wasting precious fuel in a trial and error approach.

In 1995 the International Energy Agency published Saving Oil in a Hurry. This report outlines the fuel savings that would be realized by the implementation of a variety of policies and the cost of implementation of the policies. For example, transitioning the workforce to telecommuting has a large impact on oil consumption, but it can require investment in infrastructure. The savings realized depends on what is required in terms of infrastructure to facilitate implementation. Car pooling and compressing the workweek turn out to be two polices that are very inexpensive to implement and have very large and large fuel savings respectively.

It is text like these that we should ask our Borough leadership to have in their energy tool-kit. You never know when you might need them. Thanks to Mike Denker, former chair of the Haines Energy Task Force, for the tip about the IEA publication.

Learning from Juneau's Electricity Crisis

2008-04-29T13:12:00.000-07:00

Alan Meier, a scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, CA, Gayle Wood, AEL&P, and Charlie Food, CBJ, fielded questions yesterday on KTOO’s Juneau Afternoon – Our Electricity Crisis. Here are some tips for saving electricity in a hurry:

Turn down the thermostat on your electric heat and electric hot water heater.
Turn off the drier.
Wash clothes in cold water.
Turn out the lights in rooms you are not in.

Juneau has cut its electrical consumption nearly 20% and consumers have yet to see a bill. Dr. Meier thinks this might be an unbeatable record for rapid reduction.

Meier shed light on some nagging questions for power conservation: Is it more efficient to wash dishes by hand or in the dishwasher? Answer: A systematic comparison of hand dishwashers to mechanical dishwashers in Europe showed a huge range of energy consumption by the hand washers. In the end, the study concluded that it was more efficient to turn off the drier on the dishwasher, fill it up, and use it.

Another question: Do you use more energy turning lights off and on again than just leaving them on? Answer: It is ALWAYS better to turn a light off. No, lights don't use more energy to turn on; not even compact fluorscents.

Dr. Meier is an international expert on standby power, a major source of power consumption in homes and businesses. He recommends that you

unplug everything that you can conveniently unplug to reduce “leakage,” sometimes called “vampire energy:” electricity that you are paying for, but power you are not using.

Dr. Meier cited studies that show a typical California home has over 40 products that are consuming power all the time even if they are switched off. Most homes have 10 to 50 of these products that add up and can represent as much as a month of an electricity bill. Unplug or reconfigure them so that they are truly off.

During a CNN conversation about standby power between Alan Meier and Assistant DOE Secretary Alexander Krasner, these culprits were brought to light:

A washing machine uses about 2 watts in standby power to keep the electronic keypads ready to go even when it looks completely off.
A DVD player that isn’t even playing a DVD consumes 11.32 watts with the power on; when it is turned off, it draws 6 watts.
An electric toothbrush draws about 1.8 watts.
A home computer, just standing by draws 65 watts.
A microwave showing those two little dots is responsible for 3 watts.

Dr. Meier is speaking tonight 6 PM, in the commons at the Juneau-Douglas High School. The title of his talk is Saving Energy in a Hurry! His visit is sponsored by the J uneau Economic Develop Council. Dr. Meier also edits Home Energy Magazine – an excellent source of energy savings information.

Information Saves Power; Saving Power Saves $$

2008-04-28T10:27:00.000-07:00

Over this past weekend , starting Friday, 25 April, AP&T was running diesel for 60% of our power. In an email to me this morning, Stan Selmer, AP&T manager, said that AP&T anticipates running 50% diesel, 50% hydro for the next 4 weeks. When Goat Lake goes down, our rates go up. (Don't don’t use your drier. ) But it’s good to know what’s going on, isn’t it? Knowing, you can conserve; not knowing, it’s business as usual. If we are on diesel, not knowing might lead you to inadvertently rack up higher and higher electric costs.

I first learned about Friday’s switch to diesel by accident. I was talking to the Borough manager, Robert Venables, about the Alaska Energy Authority meetings (see my 25 April blog, “Left Out!”), and the manager mentioned that Mr. Selmer called the Borough to advise on the diesel/hydro status.

Apparently there isn’t any established protocol for letting the communities know about such a shift. I asked the Borough manager what he did with the information and he said he sent out an email to the members of the Assembly.

I understand that levels at Goat Lake come and go. And when they go, we go on diesel. But there is another component to why we have to go to expensive diesel. Our consumption. We have a voracious appetite for electricity, but we are not addicts. When there are negative consequences of use, we can cut back. Higher rates are negative consequences. When we go on diesel, our costs go up proportionately. Is it just way way too simple to think that one response to Goat Lake’s reduced flow is to reduce our consumption of electricity?

But someone has to let us know what is happening with the hydro/diesel equation. This morning Mr. Selmer said,

Stephanie, sorry but I don't have time to give you daily reports on hydro/diesel usage. We anticipate the diesel hydro mix to be about 50/50 for the next 4 weeks. Hope that gives you enough information.

I don’t blame him for sounding a little peckish. I’ve been bugging him. I just wanted to know how much diesel we were using. I think it’s a reasonable request from a consumer, but I do agree that it would be a hassle to respond to every consumer individually. So, I have asked one of AP&T’s biggest consumers – our Borough government – to formally request notification from AP&T when a switch to diesel is anticipated. I submitted a letter to the Assembly 24 April suggesting the following:

I think the community of Haines would be well served by receiving notification in advance of AP&T’s need to go to diesel. Given notification, it might very well be possible to prevent the need to fire up diesel. For example, notified that diesel will be necessary if consumption continues to exceed hydro capacity, users could institute planned conservation measures. Big users, like the Borough and the school district, might make a big difference. Theoretically, we might avoid the tipping point. We might avoid diesel.

I would like the Borough Assembly to do two things:

#1. Request AP&T to provide notification in advance of activating diesels. This could be done with a phone call to the Borough, to KHNS; by an alert on the AP&T website.

#2. Request AP&T to help educate consumers with well thought out conservation tips. Perhaps AP&T could “borrow” from the Ketchikan Public Utility Internet site. KPU has an excellent list of 20 “tips” from “turn off the lights when you leave the room,” to “perform energy audits.”

Creativity is not in short supply in Haines. People have come up with suggestions for disseminating our diesel/hydro status. Here are a couple: a digital display at the bank. Envision, temperature F, temperature C, Goat Lake levels. Another person imagined a graphic and continually updated bar graph display on the AP&T website, Goat Lake capacity compared to current consumption. Nice ideas.

If you would like more information from AP&T pertaining to the amount of diesel being used to generate your electricity, perhaps you could also send a note to the Haines Borough Assembly. It works well to email the Borough Clerk, Julie Cozzi, jcozzi@haines.ak.us. The next Assembly meeting is May 13.

Meantime check out the Ketchikan Public Utilities website for good conservation tips. Then you might read a very clear discussion about the power your electronics are consuming even when they are off {Why Your Electronics Suck (Energy)}. And in the words of the Conservation and Efficiency Workgroup for the Fairbanks Energy Strategic Business Plan (2007),

No matter what type of energy is used, its cost to consumers is a function of its unit of energy times the price per unit. When energy is expensive the user has limited choices; pay the high price, switch to a lower cost energy source or reduce energy costs by using less energy. The cheapest unit of energy is the one not used (p.31).

Left Out!!

2008-04-25T12:44:00.000-07:00

The Alaska Energy Authority (AEA) is holding Energy Plan Town Hall meetings in 25 communities throughout Alaska "to discuss local energy resources and which resources they think could possibly be developed to help lower costs "- and Haines is not one of them!! How can this be? Let's see if we can turn this around.

Steven Haagenson, Executive Director of the Alaska Energy Authority, wrote in a 25 April email to me, that he "...would have liked to have met with every Alaskan to engage them in participating in the energy solution. If we went to numerous meetings, we would get bogged down in the process and implementation of our rapid deployment strategy. As the next best solution, we selected 34 communities to visit and then whittled that down to 25. I know your task force has been active, as I have had communications with one of your members."

So I asked Mr. Haagenson (email and phone) what criteria was applied to select communities. I haven't heard back yet. It just seems so odd to me that the only community in Alaska that has bothered to establish a task force to look into energy, that has published a report that is circulating nationally (see Post Carbon Cities), that has a mayor who has stated a goal of creating a model for using renewable resources to power the municipality, that is actively investigating a wood-fueled heating system for its school, that is fielding a request from an electrical power supplier to open up a lake at the head of a fish spawning area for additional hydro capacity, is not considered absolutely RIPE for a discussion about local energy sources, which to develop, "and which they prefer not to develop and why."

Mr. Haagenson has invited us to comment via email (energycoordinator@aidea.org), the postal service or phone calls. That's great, but isn't it way way better for us to hear each other and to altogether hear AEA at a Town Meeting? Obviously AEA thinks it's better for communities to gather around this issue. And I bet they'll figure out a way to come here if enough of us ask them, so please send Mr. Haagenson a little note (shaagenson@aidea.org) saying that you want to come to an AEA Town Hall meeting in Haines to figure out how "to provide stable-cost energy now and ensure affordable, reliable energy for our children and our grandchildren." Just for good measure, copy the Borough Clerk with your request (jcozzi@haines.ak.us). Throw my email in the CC spot too (sscott@aptalaska.net). I'd like to know how you feel about meeting. Thanks.

Haines Farmers Market Vendor Registration Forms

2008-04-23T11:38:00.000-07:00

Haines Farmers Market vendor registration forms have been strategically distributed around town. You can pick one up at

the Post Office
the Borough Office bulletin board inside the foyer
the Library
the First National Bank
Howsers
Mountain Market

or call me (766-2718) or Sid (766-2696) and we'll mail you one (email or snail mail - your choice).

Our vendor categories include locally grown veggies and fruits, garden and house plant starts, wild local food, seafood, home made products, and locally made arts and crafts. Vendors can rent a space (we provide a table) for $5 per market, payable to the Southeast Alaska State Fair. There are 6 markets so we are offering a "deal" - rent space in advance for all 6 markets and get one market rental for free! Ten percent of your sales go to the Farmers Market account to cover publication and management. Prior to each Market, vendors and their products will be advertised along with special events particularly planned for that market.

The Haines Farmers Market is a community organization dedicated to providing a place for local growers, artists, and craftspeople to sell directly to consumers while providing consumers opportunities to buy locally grown produce and locally made products directly from producers. Besides that, the Market aims to enhance the quality of life in the Chilkat Valley by providing a community activity that fosters social gathering and interaction. Whether you participate as a vendor or as a consumer, you will be doing a good thing for Haines!

Don't Have a Garden Spot? Sign up for a Community Garden Plot April 26.

2008-04-22T13:32:00.000-07:00

The Haines Community Garden is located in an extraordinarily sunny spot at the Southeast Alaska State Fairgrounds. This year Katheleen Menke is organizing users. She sent me this announcement today and asked that I post it. So here goes:

There are still spaces - small, medium, and large - available for the 2008 Community Garden. The next sign up meeting for garden spaces will be Saturday, April 26, at 1 PM, at the Community Garden. Spaces are available on a first come, first serve basis. There is a $10 deposit and a plot rental fee - from $4 to $20+ depending on the size of the plot. New and returning gardeners are welcome. Assigned spaces and open spaces are posted at the Garden. Visitors and volunteers are welcome anytime. For more information, call 766-3517. You can also be added to the email list for periodic notices and updates by contacting Kathleen Menke, ci@akmk.com.

In case the Community Garden can't provide enough space for your growing enterprise, consider becoming a "yard farmer." Mike Denker sent me a link this morning to a Wall Street Journal article by Kelly K. Spors: Green Acres II: When Neighbors Become Farmers. Kip Nash of Boulder, CO, is a "yard farmer." He convinced his neighbors to let him turn their lawns into lettuce - or tomatoes, or bok choy, or garlic, or beets.

Between May and September, he gives weekly bagfuls of fresh-picked vegetables and herbs to people here who have bought "shares" of his farming operation. Neighbors who lend their yards to the effort are paid in free produce and yard work.

Mr. Nash works two jobs. Most of us do - two or even more. He is a school bus driver. So he is supplementing his income with yard farming. Think about it. You might be able to feed yourself AND turn dill into dollars using your plot at the Community Garden or by striking a bargain with your neighbor - land for lettuce. In fact, lawn owners who would like to cut less grass and eat more broccoli just might want to contact the Community Garden organizer and let her know that they would welcome overflow gardeners seeking plots.

Money Matters

2008-04-21T12:08:00.000-07:00

There are lots of good reasons to grow your own food. It’s more nutritious than food flown and trucked hundreds if not thousands of miles. Thus if you also can cut down on your trips to town for gardening supplies, you can consider your contributions to the effort to reduce CO2 emissions. Gardening is a good workout; and it probably puts some distance between you and all your electronic gadgets – which might be a good thing. See “Does Power Corrupt?” Electropollution.org

But another good reason is that the cost of food is skyrocketing. According to the United States Department of Labor, Consumer Price Index Survey,

The food index rose at a 5.3 percent SAAR (Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate) in the first quarter of 2008, following a 4.9 percent increase in all of 2007. The index for grocery store food prices increased at a 5.9 percent annual rate, reflecting increases in each of the six major groups ranging from annual rates of 0.7 percent in the index for dairy products to 15.7 percent in the index for cereal and bakery products.

Math is not my strong suit but I do love numbers. Sometimes translating activities into numbers clears things up. I have recently begun to track my expenses. (Some people have been doing this forever, but I am a late bloomer in the world of budgets and personal finance.) Since I have become a responsible spender, I know exactly what I have spent on food Jan., Feb., and March - which is evidently 5.3 percent more than I spent the previous quarter (for which I didn’t keep records.) Doing some backwards math, I had to spend about $85.00 more in the past 3 months to buy the same amount of food that I bought in the previous 3 months. And that’s just for me – a “family” of one.

The truly alarming increase is in cereal and bakery products. Bread – the staff of life. As far as I know, there are very few grain growers in Haines. Nancy Berland grew some oats last year; and I have grown buckwheat; I believe that grain has been grown on the Nelson homestead out Mud Bay too.

The point is, that until we figure out how to produce grain locally, we are stuck with importing flour. But we can offset these costs by growing our own vegetables. It’s not too far fetched to imagine that you can save $100 in groceries over the next three months growing your own salad greens.

And you might just have a chance to recoup some of your gardening costs if you try your hand vending at the Haines Farmers Market. The first Market will be June 14. Information for vendors is now available. Check out the public bulletin boards. Or give me a call and I will send you a registration brochure (either snail mail or email).