Posts Tagged ‘Member Groups’

10 Nov

2010 Annual General Meeting

Posted by alaskaconservationblog in Conservation. Tagged: , , .

Annual General Meeting

By Betty Jo Pritchett

This week is Alaska Conservation Alliance’s ‘Annual General Meeting’. As the umbrella group of approximately 40 conservation groups around the state, we are the powerful voice for the conservation community to decision makers around the state.  However, in order to be the powerful voice, we have to have our finger on the pulse of what the conservation community in Alaska wants.  We ‘take their pulse’ at our Annual General Meeting (AGM).  At this year’s AGM, our member groups will vote on the common agenda priorities for 2011. The common agenda priorities serve to unite our member groups and to focus our work for the upcoming year.  

This year, as in previous years, it is no easy task.  The member groups themselves submit proposals and present them at the AGM. The body, made up of representatives from all of our member groups, asks questions and really digs into the bones of the proposals, then, they vote to decide which proposals will become the common agenda priorities.  Many criteria are taken into consideration such as the viability of proposals and the timeliness of the issue.  The member groups try to pick conservation issues that are important to Alaskans and that have to be acted on soon.  

There are a number of really strong proposals up for consideration this year, issues that affect all Alaskans.  Keep watching our website to see what the common agenda priorities for 2011 will be and click here to read more about last year’s common agenda priorities.

8 Nov

ACE’s Local Food Campaign

Posted by alaskaconservationblog in Conservation. Tagged: , .

A summary of the Alaska Center for the Environment’s Local Food Campaign

By Betty Jo Pritchett

As Alaskans we all know that sometimes living in this great state comes with limitations.  We can’t hop on a plane and visit our loved ones in the lower 48 and be there in a few hours; it’ll take a day.  We can’t order an item from our favorite catalog on a Monday and expect to receive it in the mail by Wednesday; it’ll take more than a few days and shipping will cost a fortune.  Many of us also find it difficult to buy local, healthy food in Alaska.  Hopefully we can find a solution to this last problem soon.

One of the Alliance’s member groups, Alaska Center for the Environment (ACE), has started a campaign committed to providing access to locally grown food for Alaskans.  ACE, like many of us, believes that locally grown food is better for our health, our economy, and our environment.  With their sights set on abundant access to locally grown food, ACE is using a three-pronged approach revolving around policy, infrastructure and gardening.

This summer ACE convened the first meeting of the Alaska Food Policy Council who will be ‘tasked to systematically identify obstacles to building a viable local food system in Alaska, propose solutions, and draft a strategic plan to implement these solutions through policy recommendations’, according to ACE’s website.  They are also working on infrastructure, specifically the need for an Alaskan processing facility and resources for small scale growers.  Finally, ACE is promoting gardening.  This summer they partnered with another Alliance member group, Alaska Community Action on Toxics (ACAT) to host a community garden.  With the help of some great volunteers they had a summer filled with fresh veggies and many local food themed celebrations.

To find out more about ACE, their Local Food Campaign and what you can do to help, click here to be directed to their website.

27 Sep

Stand Up for Pacific Salmon

Posted by alaskaconservationblog in Conservation. Tagged: , .

Stand Up for Pacific Salmon

By Betty Jo Pritchett

Alaska Conservation Alliance is an umbrella group for approximately 40 member groups with a collective membership of 38,000 Alaskans across the state.  Our member groups are each very unique and work on a multitude of issues that run the spectrum of all things conservation.  Most of the campaigns and initiatives that they participate in are extremely important to Alaska.

One of the Alliance’s member groups, Prince William Soundkeeper, is currently participating in a campaign called ‘Stand up for Pacific Salmon’.  The program asks consumers to boycott Atlantic-farmed Salmon and to ask their retailers to do the same.  ‘Stand Up for Pacific Salmon’ is striving to bring awareness to the issue of net pen farming, to promote Pacific salmon, and to implore Costco, Safeway, Trader Joe’s, Tesco, Kroger and Super Value to stop selling Atlantic salmon.  They are asking those retail giants to follow the lead of Target who in January, voluntarily pulled Atlantic farmed salmon from their shelves.

Currently there is no such thing as wild Atlantic salmon in the US markets.  ALL Atlantic salmon labeled as such is farmed using a technique called net-pen salmon farming.  This technique employs the use of floating pens in the ocean where salmon are raised to maturity.  According to a report called ‘Net-Pen Salmon Farms: A Global Problem’ sponsored jointly by the Fraser RiverKeeper and Wild Salmon Circle, net-pen salmon farms devastate wild salmon stock with sea lice and disease.  Theses ‘farms’, each consisting of 500,000 to 750,000 salmon, also pollute the oceans with huge amounts of waste consisting of feces, uneaten food pellets, drugs and residues, pesticides, fungicides and additives including toxic metals.  According to the report:

            ‘The waste left behind can leave the seabed unlivable for other marine life for up to five years after farms have relocated.’

Unfortunately, many of these farms are in protected areas that are migratory habitats for wild salmon.  Atlantic salmon is a highly invasive species that has escaped the farms in the past and is a threat to the wild Pacific salmon populations.  In Alaska, keeping our wild salmon stocks healthy and thriving is incredibly important.     

To find out more about this program and net-pen salmon farming, please visit the Prince William Soundkeeper’s website here.

16 Sep

Member Spotlight: Alaska Community Action on Toxics

Posted by alaskaconservationblog in Conservation. Tagged: , .

Member Spotlight: Alaska Community Action on Toxics

By Betty Jo Pritchett

The Alaska Conservation Alliance is the powerful voice for the conservation community with decision makers around the state.  We are an umbrella group with approximately 40 member groups and a combined membership of over 38,000 Alaskans.  Our collaboration of member groups offers a diverse group of passionate non-profits that span the spectrum of environmental concerns.  You can find a full listing of our member groups with contact information here, but we would like to give you a more in-depth view of one of them today.

Alaska Community Action on Toxics, or ACAT, has been with the Alliance for many years.  Their executive director, Pam Miller, is a good friend of ours and ACAT does excellent work.  Their mission, as follows, is one that everyone strives to achieve for their children and grandchildren.

‘To assure justice by advocating for environmental and community health.  We believe everyone has the right to clean air, clean water, and toxic-free food.’

You can find more information about ACAT’s specific programs at their website, such as their ‘Pesticides Initiative’.  Personally I like their ‘Good Clean Fun: Green Cleaning Guide and Recipe Book’.  The recipes in the guide show you how to make toxic-free substitutes for your every day household cleaners.  Most of the ingredients are very inexpensive making the toxic-free substitutes actually CHEAPER than the cleaners you currently buy.  Having switched to the ‘green’ cleaners almost 6 months ago, I can attest that even though they don’t contain chemicals, they are still extremely effective at keeping germs at bay. 

As we enter into the holiday season, ACAT offers tips to make it less toxic.  They also allow you to download fact sheets about Triclosan (a pesticide used as an antibacterial chemical in health and beauty products) and BPAs (a chemical used in production of some plastics), both found to have serious health repercussions, and publications such as ‘Reproductive Health and the Environment’ and ‘Hazardous Chemicals in Health Care’.  These are must-reads for anyone trying to keep their family healthy.

The Alaska Conservation Alliance’s role is to build power for the conservation community and we couldn’t do what we do without the support of fantastic member groups, like ACAT.  We praise them for their excellent efforts and look forward to working with them again this year.  For more information about Alaska Community Action on Toxics please contact info@AKaction.net.

19 Aug

Conservation Community meets with Dr. Majumdar, Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agendcy (ARPA)

Posted by alaskaconservationblog in Conservation. Tagged: , , .

Conservation Community meets with Dr. Majumdar, Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) – Energy

On Tuesday, August 17th, members of the Alaska conservation community had the pleasure of meeting with Dr. Arun Majumdar, Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) – Energy.  Dr. Majumdar talked about the work that his agency will focus on and possible roles for Alaska’s incredible energy resource potential.  For more information on APRA – Energy and Dr. Majumdar, visit http://arpa-e.energy.gov/. 

About the Advanced Research Projects Agency: 
Recognizing the need to reevaluate the way the United States spurs innovation, the National Academies released a 2006 report, “Rising Above the Gathering Storm”, that included the recommendation to establish an Advanced Research Projects Agency—Energy (ARPA-E) within the Department of Energy (DOE). The America COMPETES Act (PDF 39 KB), signed into law in August of 2007, codified many of the recommendations in the National Academies report. Authorized but without an initial budget, ARPA-E received $400 million funding in April 2009 through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). ARPA-E is modeled after the successful Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the agency responsible for technological innovations such as the Internet and the stealth technology found in the F117A and other modern fighter aircraft. Specifically, ARPA-E was established and charged with the following objectives:

1. To bring a freshness, excitement, and sense of mission to energy research that will attract many of the U.S.’s best and brightest minds—those of experienced scientists and engineers, and, especially, those of students and young researchers, including persons in the entrepreneurial world; 
2. To focus on creative “out-of-the-box” transformational energy research that industry by itself cannot or will not support due to its high risk but where success would provide dramatic benefits for the nation; 
3. To utilize an ARPA-like organization that is flat, nimble, and sparse, capable of sustaining for long periods of time those projects whose promise remains real, while phasing out programs that do not prove to be as promising as anticipated; and 
4. To create a new tool to bridge the gap between basic energy research and development/industrial innovation.

5 Aug

Citizens get a chance to talk Energy with Senator Mark Begich

Posted by alaskaconservationblog in Conservation. Tagged: , , .

Citizens get a chance to talk Energy with Senator Mark Begich

By Caitlin Higgins

On Tuesday, July 27th, a representative of Alaska Conservation Alliance joined a small group of concerned citizens from Anchorage, Point Hope, and Barrow to speak with Sen. Mark Begich, D – Alaska, about the future of energy policy in America. Sen. Begich has been part of the introduction of the Shore Act, which, if enacted, would promote some renewable energy ventures while focusing on holding companies like BP responsible in a larger way when disasters like the Deepwater Horizon spill occur. This was a valuable opportunity to voice the concerns of the conservation community, and we were lucky to be present.

The general feeling of the meeting seemed to be that while the public can’t count on Congress to hold BP and other non-environmentally sound companies like it fully accountable for the damage they’ve done, we can expect improvements in terms of regionally-based oversight in both Alaska and the Gulf and higher liability caps. Hopefully this type of legislation paves the way for a world in which development is always conducted with the input of those closest to it, and where care is taken to prevent tragedies that don’t need to happen

30 Jul

Conservation Community members meet with EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson

Posted by alaskaconservationblog in Conservation. Tagged: , .

Conservation Community members meet with EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson

By Caitlin Higgins

Staff with EPA Administrator

Earlier this week, leaders from Alaska’s conservation community had the honor of meeting with EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson.  Administrator Jackson, who is visiting Alaska for the first time, is on a tour of the state to learn about conservation and resource extraction issues.

The discussion touched on a wide range of Alaskan topics on which the EPA has traditionally played a role.  From coal ash disposal and pesticides regulation to greenhouse gas emissions requirements and clean water standards, conservation leaders advocated on a wide variety of issues important to Alaskans.  Administrator Jackson was responsive to all issues, indicating this was an opportunity to learn directly from those working in the state.

Administrator Jackson spent the next few days in Dillingham and Bethel, exploring views on the proposed Pebble Mine and other conservation and sanitation concerns.  Special thanks to Marcia Combs, Alaska Liaison for Region 10 Administrator for all of her hard work and assistance in facilitating the meeting with Administrator Jackson.

1 Jun

June 1st, 2010

Posted by alaskaconservationblog in Conservation. Tagged: , , , .

1:15PM–Alliance Organizations Act to Protect Alaskan Waters

Alaskans concerned with conservation issues in northern waters are acting to protect the state’s marine ecosystems.  The Alaska Marine Conservation Council has created a website, http://alaskafisheries.org/, dedicated to ocean acidification and other threats to Alaska’s fisheries and both the human economy and wildlife web that depend on them.  The web effort is an educational resource and also a portal for grassroots action to pass climate change legislation that would protect Alaska’s valuable renewable marine resources.

Meanwhile, Cook Inletkeeper Board Member Tom Evans is in Houston, calling on Chevron to improve its drilling practices and environmental record in Alaskan waters  http://www.inletkeeper.org/energy/production.htm.  Chevron is the biggest producer in Cook Inlet and pumps nearly 2 billion gallons of toxic waste into Alaskan fisheries annually.

Early in May, Northern Alaska Environmental Center, Alaska Wilderness League, World Wildlife Fund, and other Alaskan conservation stakeholders sent a letter and petition to Secretary of the Interior Salazar urging reconsideration of proposed exploratory drilling in the Arctic this summer in response to the disaster in the Gulf.  Learn more about their efforts at http://northern.org/news/sec.-salazar-urged-to-reconsider-shell-oil2019s-exploratory-drilling-in-arctic-ocean-planned-to-start-in-less-than-60-days and get the latest from a Defenders of Wildlife press release:http://www.defenders.org/newsroom/press_releases_folder/2010/05_26_2010_drilling_must_be_put_on_hold,_defenders_of_wildlife_says.php

These organizations highlight the potential of Alaskans to direct a responsible course that combines smart resource development and conservation with environmental stewardship to guarantee Alaska will remain vibrant for generations to come.

11 Mar

March 11th, 2010

Posted by alaskaconservationblog in Conservation. Tagged: , , .

1:46 PM — Questioning Snow Machines on Dalton Highway

Representative Mike Kelly from Fairbanks has introduced HB 267 “An Act relating to travel by snow machine within five miles of the right-of-way of the James Dalton Highway.” The corridor has been closed since the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and the proposed legislation violates a long standing commitment made by the State of Alaska to protect wildlife and subsistence use on the North Slope.

snowmachine

The Dalton Highway was built for industrial purposes, to provide access to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, countless mining operations and serves as a take off point for commercial guides and tour operators. The road conditions in winter provide hauling industries with the best opportunity to haul their heaviest loads to Prudhoe Bay. Increased traffic and abandoned snow machine trailers along the Dalton Highway pose a serious hazard for industrial truck traffic. None of the industries mentioned are in favor of allowing recreational motorized access in the Dalton corridor.

The eventual need to provide emergency and public safety services in this region begs the question of why there is no fiscal note attached to this bill. Opening the Dalton corridor to motorized access would require increased funding for the Division of Fish & Wildlife for law enforcement, increased funding for the Department of Transportation to include paving, building turnouts and parking lots, and increased funding for the Alaska Department of Public Safety to reinstate  a year-round pilot Trooper in Coldfoot.

Recently the Alaska Board of Game increased the bag limit for caribou in Unit 26B, the unit north of the Brooks Range that encompasses the Dalton corridor from 2 to 5. The increased bag limit combined with the proposed snow machine access will result in increased pressure on the Central Arctic Caribou herd and has serious potential to negatively affect local subsistence users.

The Northern Alaska Environmental Center, Alaska Native organizations and bow hunting groups are urging the State of Alaska to honor its commitment to protect wildlife and subsistence uses along the Dalton corridor, as well as provide a safe environment for industries and user groups that currently utilize the area by not passing HB 267.

5 Mar

March 5th, 2010

Posted by alaskaconservationblog in Conservation. Tagged: , .

8:36 AM – Alaska Mobility Coalition’s “Going is Good” campaign

ACA Member Group: Alaska Mobility Coalition

From Southeast Alaska to Fairbanks and beyond, twelve public transportation systems in Alaska provide more than 7 million passenger trips per year. The “Going is Good” campaign is designed to tell the story of those riders. Newspaper and radio spots feature testimonials of public transportation users talking about why they ride the bus and how it impacts their lives.

According to AMC Executive Director, David Levy, “The objectives of the campaign are to educate the non-riding majority, particularly decision makers, about the benefits which public transportation delivers to individuals and the community as a whole, and to build an awareness of the transit services available, so that when someone needs or desires to try transit, they will know where to turn.”

Resources Here and Here

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