What Happens at Energy Council? Here's Rep. Berta Gardner's Take

About 28 Alaskan legislators went to DC for the "Energy Council" Conference in Washington DC last week. I did a short post on this last week, but most information I could find seemed to be the same descriptions being quoted and requoted. I couldn't find an "Energy Council" website. I did find PNWER - Pacific Northwest Economic Region but I couldn't find any clear links between it and the Energy Conference. I mention this because Rep. Gardner mentioned PNWER as the sponsor. Their site presents them as a non-partisan coalition of states and provinces, not as an industry backed organization.

But Gardner did say the conference is a conservative, pro-development organization and that she was disappointed at the 'gratuitous attacks' on the Obama administration. It's not clear to me at all who organized and paid for the conference, but the Alaska legislators who went used state money to go. Gardner said (not on the video) that the House Minority decides how its travel money is spent.

A key point Gardner made was that they did a lot more than energy issues while in DC.  They took advantage of the trip to talk to national level legislators about a myriad of issues important to Alaska.  You can hear her take on the conference in the video tape below.  It's about ten minutes long so I've taken advantage of Viddler's comments function to mark different topics.  There are little white dots on the blue play bar under the video.  If you put the cursor over the dots, you can see the topics I've marked.  (Actually, anyone can add a comment, so if anyone does, there will be more dots.)




I did ask, off camera, about legislators getting a slanted view since they are getting the story from one side. She said that can be a problem if legislators don't know enough about the topic or aren't critical. In one part of the video Gardner talks about shale gas in Pennsylvania and how much progress the industry has made on this. I wonder what she'd say about this if a more balanced presentation were made. (She does say air pollution is becoming a big problem with this technology.)

Others I've talked to question state money (they said tax payer money, but, of course, individuals do not pay state taxes in Alaska) going to send legislators to industry sponsored conferences like this. I see no problem if the same legislators also go to hear what the other side has to say. After all, we elect officials to become educated on the issues. If they aren't smart enough to get it, that's the fault of the voters, isn't it?

"Does you hotel have any vasectomies next week?" Auto-correct Laughs

Laugh break time.  Someone sent me these two links.  I'd never seen this site.  For some reason these hit my funny bone hard.  Here's a screen shot of one of these phone text messages that auto-correct corrupted:

This was from either the ten best of December or  fifteen best of January from a site called "Damn You Auto-correct."

OK, I know they aren't that funny on their own, but imagining the two people in the conversation working through these messages  - I did have to laugh pretty hard.  Thanks L.

This reminds me that I was able to use spell check to save myself from embarrassing typos.  Since I used to write the words 'public administration' a lot, I realized that if I removed 'pubic' from my spell check, then it would get caught if I accidentally left the 'l' out. 

Todd Poage on Tok School Biomass Project

I've said this many times, but once again, if you hang around the State Capitol and talk to folks, you'll meet lots of interesting people doing interesting things. 

Here's Todd Poage, Superintendent of the Alaska Gateway School District talking about the Tok School Biomass Project. 



I asked for a link to a website, but instead got a newsprint size paper with bits and pieces of information and photos.  Things like:

• The Eagle Trail Fire incinerated more forest fuel in five hours than the biomass boiler at Tok School will use in 30 years
• Tok Forestry recommends the removal of 200 acres of hazardous [I think this means it's a fire danger] fuel each year.
• The costs of heating Tok School with an oil furnace averages $12,600 per month at current oil prices.  
• The costs of heating Tok School thru biomass, at $40 per ton, averages $3200 per month.

Others have covered this.  The Alaska Journal of Commerce wrote Dec. 10:

...In the past 25 years, nearly 2 million acres in the area have burned, costing more than $60 million in fire suppression and causing six evacuations, according to the state. Last year, the Eagle Trail fire scorched 18,000 acres.

"The fire history in Tok has basically demonstrated that Tok is going to burn unless we take action," said Jeff Hermanns, Tok area forester and a spearhead of the boiler project.

A recent wildfire protection plan recommended that 3,000 acres of black and white spruce forest in Tok be removed to make the community safer, including an area around the school, Hermanns said. Foresters usually try to sell or repurpose good wood, but the trees were junk wood, he said.

"Most of them aren't any bigger than three inches. Most people won't cut that tree for firewood. It's too small. You can't sell board out of it," Hermanns said.

Foresters thinned 100 acres of trees around the school and stacked them into decks. Then they set them on fire, a pricey and smoky last resort.

"All of those BTUs, all of that energy, just went up in smoke," Hermanns said. "By the school using this material, it's saving me a minimum of $1,000 an acre."...

Green Turbine, a Dutch blog that appears linked to a company that makes small turbines reposted some of the Journal article.

Putting this into a larger context is a 2009 United States Department of Agriculture report on Wood Energy in Alaska:  A Case Study Evaluation of Selected Facilities.  Here's the abstract:

Nicholls, David. 2009. Wood energy in Alaska—case study evaluations of selected facilities. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-793. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 33 p. 

Biomass resources in Alaska are extensive and diverse, comprising millions of acres of standing small-diameter trees, diseased or dead trees, and trees having low- grade timber. Limited amounts of logging and mill residues, urban wood residues, and waste products are also available. Recent wildfires in interior Alaska have left substantial volumes of burned timber, potentially usable for biomass energy. Moti- vated, in part, by rising fuel prices, organizations across the state—including busi- nesses, schools, and government agencies—have all expressed an interest in wood energy applications. Numerous sites have pursued feasibility studies or engineering design analysis, and others have moved forward with project construction. Recent advances in biomass utilization in Alaska have been enabled by numerous factors, and involve various fuel sources, scales of operation, and end products. Already, thermal wood energy systems are using sawmill residues to heat lumber dry kilns, and a public school heating system is in operation. Management policies on national forests and state forests in Alaska could determine the type and amounts of available biomass from managed forests, from wildland-urban interface regions, and from salvage timber operations. Biomass products in Alaska having potential for development are as diverse as wood pellets, cordwood (firewood), compost, wood-plastic composite products, and liquid fuels. In addition, new technologies are allowing for more efficient use of biomass resources for heating and electrical generation at scales appropriate for community power. This case study review con- siders successes and lessons learned from current wood energy systems in Alaska, and also considers opportunities for future bioenergy development.
Keywords: Alaska, biomass, bioenergy, wood energy, renewable, cordwood, sawmill residues.

Douglas Island, Treadwell Mine Trail

More from Sunday afternoon:

Dennis, a blog reader, had invited me to check the beach trail over on Douglas Island, across Gastineau channel from Juneau.  Dennis is a long time Juneau activist (curmudgeon according to some) whose grandfather came here to help set up the mines. I find him a great source of everything Juneau. He's a living guide book.
And he drives this taxi. For anyone who needs a taxi when they come to Juneau, he'll give you as much history of Juneau as you can handle with your ride.  And lots of tips on things to see.  (He objected to my taking a picture on Sunday before he gets the van washed Monday morning.  I thought it looked pretty good considering how slushy the roads are now.) 



Across the bridge, the trail to the historic Treadwell Mine starts from the south end of town at the end of the road.  A Juneau Empire article says:

At its height, the Treadwell Mine was the largest and most advanced gold mine in existence, employing approximately 2,000 men and women and producing $70 million worth of gold.

Today there are some old ruins and twisted metal visible.

Here's Dennis leading down to the water.

The trail winds down to the waterfront where there are signs of old docks.  The sun was gone on the Douglas side, but still on the tops of the mountains south of Juneau.

And then back along the beach past the old salt water pump.

There's a big log chime on the beach.

To keep up the history tour, we had dinner at the Island Pub. Dennis related how this place opened in the 1920's during Prohibition as a speakeasy.

Mike, the owner, brought in liquor from Canada via the Taku River.  Later it became a popular steak and shrimp restaurant.

Now, under new ownership it's a bar with it's own pizza ovens.

Both the walk along the Juneau waterfront earlier and this trip to Douglas were a nice break.  It was good to spend more time out of doors.  Legislators should be back from the Energy Council Conference in DC and the legislature will be back in session.

I've got a DELTA steering committee meeting this week and Thursday night I'm scheduled to fly home.  This is too long to be apart.

Beautiful Juneau is Back

After a week of cold and wind and snowy streets, it's warmed up into the low 30's, the wind is negligible and the sun was warm.  The sidewalks and streets do still offer an array of icy obstacles for pedestrians. 

But Conservatives and Liberals, bankers and bank robbers, students and teachers, rich and poor, everyone - except maybe vampires - could agree it was a beautiful day.  So, here's the conventional picture of that beauty. 




But other views that caught my eye as I walked along the waterfront while the cruise ships and tourists are still home planning their trips. 

Hungary Modifies Media Restrictions Enough for Ropi to Start Blogging Again

Ropi left a comment on an old post today to announce he was blogging again.  I went to his old site, but it was still inactive.  So I checked the link to his name and found his new blog:

Half a Loaf is Better than None

Here's the opening of the first post today:

In December, some people were disappointed, because I stopped blogging and even more was relieved that I stopped online littering. However I am back. This afternoon during my Maths break I checked our media law for curiousity and last week it was modified in a way that blogs and videoblogs are not under the control of the authorities. So I am here.

Ropi started blogging as a high school student in Budapest, going to a school where English was the medium in many classes.  He's now a first year University student studying economics.   He has a bent for Roman History.  And his blog gives people outside of Hungary an interesting view of the day-to-day life of one student in Budapest.  Just the fact he's blogging in English tells us something about the world.  How many US born high school students whose parents' native languages are both English, could blog about a wide range of topics in a foreign language?

Ropi didn't cite the exact clarifications in the law.  I was able to find an undated letter from the Minister of Public Administration and Justice, Dr. Tibor Navracsics, in response to a January 21, 2011 letter from Neelie Kroes, the Vice President of the European Commission, which cites a 2007 Constitutional Court decision.

Here's a section of that letter that says that non-economic activities and specifically videoblogs are exempt from the law:

In line with paragraph (21) of the preamble of the AVMS Directive, the scope of the MC or MA does not apply to private communications. (“For the purposes of this Directive, the definition of an audiovisual media service should cover only audiovisual media services, whether television broadcasting or on-demand, which are mass media, that is, which are intended for reception by, and which could have a clear impact on, a significant proportion of the general public. Its scope (…) should not cover activities which are primarily non-economic and which are not in competition with television broadcasting, such as private websites and services consisting of the provision or distribution of audiovisual content generated by private users for the purposes of sharing and exchange within communities of interest.”) Accordingly, the obligation of balanced coverage in case of “audiovisual blogs” that cannot be qualified as services of economic nature is not a requirement.  [Bolded emphasis added]

Another section of the letter raises an interesting issue that could be tempting to some in the US.  Sounds a little like the fairness doctrine the FCC used to have. 

In the Decision mentioned above, the Constitutional Court emphasized the importance of balanced coverage in Hungarian law as follows: “Preventing the development of information monopolies is a constitutional objective. By the dynamic development of broadcasting technologies, the primary threat posed by the information monopolies is the emergence of »opinion monopolies«, and therefore the Constitutional Court acknowledges the requirement of ensuring the pluralism of opinions as a legitimate objective. This is the objective for which the editing freedom of the broadcaster is restricted by the requirement of balanced information. As generally accepted, the opinion forming force of radio and television broadcasts and the convincing influence of motion pictures, voices and live coverages is the multiple of the thinking-inductive force of other services in the information society. Therefore, it is justified in the case of the electronic media to provide for special regulations on multi-sided information, in order to allow the members of the political community to develop their views after getting familiarised with the relevant opinions about the issues of public interest.”

Welcome back to the blogosphere Ropi.  We missed you.  I'll update the link in my "Blogs of Friends and/or Acquaintances" section in the right hand column.

New Hampshire Bill Would Make TSA Patdowns Sexual Assault

I've been reading so much stuff on the TSA 'enhanced Pat-Down" (enhanced is supposed to mean made better, isn't it?) that my head feels clotted with all the information and I'm trying to figure out where and how to write about this coherently.   A series of short specific posts seems the better approach - more focused, more likely to be read.  But an integrated look at the big picture needs to part of this too. 

I'm at the point where I believe it is truly outrageous for people who have a medical prosthetic to be singled out for the new scanner and the 'pat-down' without any other reason to believe they are terrorists.  (The 'without any other reason' is important.) In fact, with strong reasons to believe they are NOT terrorists.  I read today a story in one of the emails to Rep. Cissna's from a woman who'd just had a mastectomy

"I had two very aggressive TSA officers in _____ insist that they were going to rifle through my bandages to look for explosives.  I finally just pulled up my shirt and let them look at the tubes, bandages and blood collectors, and felt completely humiliated.  It had been less than a week since my double mastectomy and removal of my ovaries, (in fact I still had drains in, and my hospital ID bracelet on my wrist) and I was not in the mood for any of it.  I just wanted to get home, as I was in soooo much pain from all of the traveling."

This was two years ago - before the new enhanced 'pat-downs.' That's just one of many similar stories, though a bit more graphic than most.  You can see how common sense is not allowed to interfere with the rules that require . . . well I'm not sure what the rules require.  It seems the rules require that if you have metal in you, you get both a body-scan AND a pat-down. Even if you travel weekly.  Even if you have a card from your doctor.  Even if a cursory check online would show you to be someone in a responsible position and a pillar of the your local American community.  The machine, not reason, decides you must be searched. 

An aside:  I also found a law suit making pretty much the same argument - that scanners that show your nude body and pat-downs should not be the primary screening method to travel by air in the US.  I'll do another post on that. 

I just wanted to give you some context for why I'm sympathetic to the sentiment behind this new legislation.  I'm not sure this is the best way to go - it clearly would set up a show-down between federal and state agents - but it's a sign of how strongly people feel and how powerless they feel.  The March 1 report from WMUR New Hampshire says there's little support for this bill.

CONCORD, N.H. -- Lawmakers and residents engaged in heated debate Tuesday over a bill that would make random airport security pat-downs and body scans criminal in New Hampshire.

The bill (HB628-FN) "makes the touching or viewing with a technological device of a person’s breasts or genitals by a government security agent without probable cause a sexual assault," according to the introductory text of the bill.

"Let's put their name on the sex offender registry, and maybe that will tell them New Hampshire means business," said bill co-sponsor Rep. Andrew Manuse, R-Derry.

"That is a crime in this state, and we should charge them every single time," said bill co-sponsor Rep. George Lambert, R-Litchfield.

There's video at the link as well.

Alaska State Rep. Pete Petersen on Peace Corps' 50th Anniversary

This past week, March 1, 2011 to be exact, marked the 50th Anniversary of John F. Kennedy signing into law the US Peace Corps.  There is a lot happening all year and Alaskan Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs ) are planning a number of events. 

The only Alaska legislator I can find who is also an RPCV is Pete Petersen.  He served as an agricultural volunteer (he grew up on a farm in Iowa) in the Dominican Republic.  I talked to him about what he'd gotten out of the Peace Corps.  My sound card was full Thursday, so I went back again on Friday.  But I only got a bit of our conversation on video.  Here's a bit of that bit. 

Juneau 2010 and 2011 and Avalanche Video

March 4, 2010

We knew that last year was a warm year in Juneau when we were here.

This year it's been in the teens for about a week now with very strong to moderate winds downtown.  But today, it was sunny and one of my hosts and I went for a walk up Basin Road.  I was well wrapped.  But I've gone back to find a couple of pictures I posted on March 4, 2010, like the one above.  It had rained and then in the morning there was a light snow cover.  You can still see the grass.

March 4, 2011

This picture is about two blocks away from the previous picture, a year later.  The plowed snow edges the roads and roof snow curls downward.

Basin Road 2011

A little ways up, Basin Road at this point was almost always bare of snow last year.

Basin Road Feb. 3, 2010

This one on the right was the closest match I could find.  It was taken Feb 3, 2010 just after it snowed.  Flakes were still coming down. There's more snow than this part of the road had most of the three months we were here.  Last year, when it snowed, it was gone within a day or two.





But it was great getting up the road and past the houses.  It wasn't long before we realized that there was a a snow waterfall on the far side.   With my tiny camera, it's obvious we weren't in any imminent danger, but you can see, in the video, the snow tumbling down the mountain.  It went on for quite a while.  In the video there are shots of it from two different locations.

One Person Making a Difference - The Iron Dog and Suicide Prevention in Rural Alaska

There are so many issues to write about here in Juneau when you wander around the Capitol.  It's hard to know where to start and how to shape a post so it reaches people.  I'm just going to throw this one out and try to follow up with more on it.

I've been talking to an ordinary, remarkable woman who works in Rep. Alan Dick's office.  After noting a rash of suicides by young men in rural Alaska in a short period, she got desperate.  She and her husband own the village store in Tanana and she sees and hears a lot from all the people coming into the store.

While legislators sit in Juneau and argue abstractly about wording, and worry about who will get credit for a bill, and how it all will affect their next election, Cynthia couldn't stand it any more and last November she sent this letter:

November 20, 2010

Dear Family and Friends,

I am writing a letter with sadness and concern. Many of you have heard of our rash of suicides in our Alaskan Villages, all young men; many our friends and dear family members. In a village, especially with us in our store business, you see these baby boys grow into young men and they are part of your everyday life year round. This is a serious epidemic in all rural Alaska villages: we need to do something immediately. We need to start talking about it! Everyone needs to step out of their comfort zones, stop being self-centered and selfish. We need to go beyond the call of duty to help our children, and village to survive this disaster. There are many people who should be doing something and they are NOT! We as individuals, moms, dads and concerned community members need to bring this demon to light, and the time is now! Actually, yesterday!

Our family has been part of the Iron Dog Snow Machine race, a group of wonderful, hard-working young men, who a lot of our your village boys look up to; they come to the store to pour over the Iron Dog Racing Pamphlet. They pick out their favorite racers, get to the computer to follow their teams and run to the riverbanks to meet and greet them. These racing men are celebrities among the groups of children in the different rural communities. They look up to these men as Heroes. I approached last years Iron Dog Champions; Tyler Huntington of Galena and Chris Olds of Eagle River about this issue of suicide. These two young aspiring athletes are willing to take on the huge task of educating and bringing awareness to the prevention of suicide. I am in the early stage with the boys; developing a strategy to attack this huge problem. I am wishfully thinking, dreaming, kicking around ideas and talking out loud to you about a plan I foresee to help with this cause.

Let’s establish a bank account for donations, get the boys sports cards with their pictures on the snow machines “Team 10” on the back have a catchy phrase such as “take a ride to prevent suicide!” include prevention hotlines, and phone numbers for crisis centers in Alaska or whatever is appropriate. We can have the boys handout the cards and talk in villages with their layovers—McGrath, Galena, Unalakleet, Nome, Tanana etc. We should go to all the newspapers—statewide (Nome, Bethel, Barrow etc.) and publicize this. I would like the funds raised for the awareness be used for a HUGE Educational and Awareness Summit in Galena. I’ve chosen Galena because one, it’s Tyler’s home town; two, there are two hundred rural youth from all over Alaska at the Galena Interior Learning Academy; plus a another school uptown ranging from grades K-12. Galena is also surrounded by many villages in the Yukon—Koyukuk Region that is plagued with this epidemic. This reminds me of the Iditarod race, where people are dying and we all need to work together to get the medicine to our villages to save our children.

What is the future of out villages when we have no young men to lead us? No elder Native men to guide love and nurture our children. Our future looks dim today, it’s very sad. I believe this gathering should bring our problem to light, families are a key and foundation, and they should be included! We need professional people, counselors (esp. Family Counseling), inspirational speakers, young leaders who have succeeded to tell their stories. Open forum discussions, as communities what are we doing wrong? How can we as individuals help? What can we look for? We need an infrastructure put in place to continue support; training needs to be assimilated in the program. We cannot go to meetings, get free travel, free hotels, free car rentals and per diem and not bring anything home to benefit our children and the future survival of our homes. We need to walk our talk, get out from our computer desks; let’s start putting pieces of our puzzle back together; make us whole again.

Initially our Native people were the toughest of the tough! Made to go an extra mile to survive the harshest environments; but look at us today! We are in a slow downward spiral, our children are dying and we are walking away as they cry and need our help. I would like all of you to seriously read this, pray and ponder about it. Do some soul searching; find what you as an individual can do in your corner of the world. Let’s band together as a whole to follow this mission through. Please call or email me, if you can contribute to our mission.

I’ve discussed this with Tyler and Chris, The Iron Dog Director and the Galena School. If any of you know of any financial assistance, donations, grants, counselors, speakers, family counselors etc. in your city, tribal, state or federal offices ask for help; anything will help. I am open to all assistance and suggestions; it will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to read this, please make it your mission. Hopefully through all of our unselfish contributions we can make a good change for our children’s future. It’s time to go to war, get your troops together and meet me on the front lines.

With Much Love,

Cynthia Erickson and Family

P.S. I have e-mailed this to my circle of friends and family, please forward this on to yours.

Once she got started, others helped.  There was a second letter and Cynthia started connecting.  The State of Alaska Suicide Prevention Council got involved and now has information on their webpage about the Iron Dog Suicide Prevention program.

But there is still a lot to do and Cynthia is busy making lists of villages and contacts.  This has to have the cooperation of the villages, but suicide is just one of the symptoms of other problems.  Coming down to Juneau to work in Rep. Dick's office was another big decision for her to meet people who can help change how the State works with rural Alaska. 

I realize this post sounds pretty glowing and I acknowledge that most of the information I got was from Cynthia herself.  But she's pretty convincing and I'm hoping to get some video of her so you can see for yourself why she's got me enthusiastic about this.  She lives in the middle of the problems.  She knows that silence has been a big enemy.  And she knows she has to find ways to break the silence so that people will do something instead of looking away. 

And I would also say that Cynthia wasn't real happy about my taking a picture or focusing on her.  But she's so committed to ending youth suicides that she's let me do this.

How much of a difference has this made?  I'm not sure.  Maybe there are people out there in rural Alaska who can comment on this.