The Building Need for Responsible Travel

Support for responsible travel continues to grow. In Alaska, the cruise ship industry was surprised to see grassroots support of a legislative initiative taxing their passengers to pay for port infrastructure and environmental compliance oversight. Travelers have concerns over the impact their vacations may cause to the environment. I have written several articles on responsible, clean boating including a new edition coming in the Alaska Sea Grant's Seas and Coasts periodical series on the subject.

Jennifer Miner, a fellow writer at Suite 101, just wrote a outstanding article titled Responsible Luxury Travel Plans: Easy Sustainable Tourism can be Part of Leisure Vacations that offers suggestions for the ecologically aware traveler. As Jennifer says, "…disproportionate amounts of nonrenewable natural resources are used for the leisure of luxury travel - can lead to an uncomfortable feeling of guilt. And who needs guilt when taking a well-earned vacation?

Responsible boating and travel are built on a foundation of respect. Respect for the safety of your passengers, respect for coastal communities effected by tourism and most of all respect for the environment. We should be selfish. Protecting our natural lands and waters preserves them for out future enjoyment.

Tags: Clean Boating, Ecotravel, Environment, Responsible Travel

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Marine Debris in Alaska

I attended the Alaska Sea Grant conference, Alaska's Fishing Communities ~ Harvesting the Future, in Anchorage this last week. The conference was sponsored in part by NOAA Fisheries and one poster presentation struck me as being something I would like to share. The Marine Conservation Alliance (MCA) has established a foundation focused in part on addressing the problems associated with marine debris on our beaches.

The MCA Foundation has started a website at http://www.mcafoundation.org/ that will hopefully go live soon. The foundation first started receiving funds from NOAA to remove marine debris in Alaska during 2004. Work is accomplished by cooperating with fishermen, local communities, and Native governments.

The stated goals of the MCA Foundation effort are:

• Cleaner beaches

• Removal of hazards to navigation
  

• Wildlife protection

• A searchable database of known debris locations available to vessels of opportunity that may be able to pick the material up

I have written about the problems associated with Marine Plastic Pollution and Marine Plastic Pollution Resources at Suite101.

Tags: Alaska, Marine Debris, Plastic Pollution

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Alaska Sea Grant Program Assessment

I had a chance this week to participate in a national program evaluation for Alaska Sea Grant. This is an evaluation conducted every five years to gauge the effectiveness of this program in Alaska and the impact it has had in our communities. Issues I addressed with the Program Assessment Team (PAT) were centered on operation of Alaska ports and harbor. A copy of the poster prepared for the assessment can be seen to the left and I have included a link to it as a PDF file.

Operation of Alaska Ports and Harbors Poster

To quote Sea Grant, "Alaska's ports and harbors are at the nexus of the state's diverse maritime industry. The people who manage our ports and harbors face daunting challenges such as building, maintaining, and expanding facilities; preparing for natural hazards; managing user behavior; training and managing staff; and staying abreast of regulations."

Efforts I have been involved in with the Alaska Sea Grant College Program include:

• Publication of Northern Harbors and Small Ports: Operation and Maintenance
• Development of a Responsible Boater's Handbook on clean and safe boating
• Assistance with the donation of the City of Valdez's 60-ton Marine Travelift to Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana
• Harbor and marina employee online training that utilizes many Alaska Sea Grant publications
• Involvement with the Alaska Association of Harbormasters and Port Administrators

If you have a chance, visit the Alaska Sea Grant Program website and find out more about this great organization. I hope the PAT sees the merits of this group and wholeheartedly support them.

Tags: Alaska Sea Grant, Alaska Ports and Harbors

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Appropriate Use of Technology for Power Generation in Alaska

Natural capital is composed of the many things we depend on which are provided by our world environment. These resources can be renewable or non-renewable materials like oil or timber. Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins attempt to explain the underlying services that natural capital provides for everyday life in the book, Natural Capitalism. The profits of natural capitalism are the benefits we derive from a healthy environment. Examples include clean air and water, food and building materials. The constructs of natural capitalism could be an attractive concept for people living in Alaska.

Alaska’s rural residents are separated by great distances, have limited access to many resources and pay a higher cost of living than urban residents. Improvements to basic infrastructure in rural Alaska could reduce the cost of living and improve the overall quality of life. Consideration could be made for the broad areas of housing quality, transportation and utilities. Improvements made to the community infrastructure and quality of life increase the overall success of economic development efforts. There is a circle of benefits associated with efficient housing, dependable transportation, affordable energy and local employment through new industries. Affordable energy and appropriate power generation technology is one of these important considerations.

Providing electrical power to a home or business involves four basic areas of interest. They are energy resources, power generation, power distribution and consumers. The hallmark of commercial electrical utility operation is the rate and location of customer pull or use. High concentrations of large users help justify capital investments in large-scale generators and distribution systems. Large power plants are often located near readily available natural deposits of coal, oil or natural gas. Distribution lines transport the power to population centers and industries. High volumes of use or concentrations of users dictate placement of commercial utilities. Large-scale power distribution systems are not appropriate for use in rural Alaska. Technology may provide the ability to better utilize natural wind, tidal, solar and water energy to produce power.

Many rural residents live beyond the economical limits of connection to commercial electric utilities. Insufficient numbers of users and industries exist in most of Alaska to support large-scale utilities. Distribution systems must be constructed in very rough country, which increase costs and accessibility for repairs. Weather can be severe and cause failures in the system. There also needs to be a minimal number of customers served by each power line to justify its cost of construction. Alternative small-scale power systems have a place in rural Alaska. Potential improvements in power distribution, generation and efficiency are available to residents of Alaska.

Distribution performance can be improved by the use of small-scale power generators. Smaller generators can be placed much closer to the actual point of power consumption. Disruptions to the power supply are reduced and access for line repairs is much easier. Short power lines lose less power in transmission, and the power delivered is also “cleaner”, since there are fewer opportunities for broken insulators and lightning storms. The generation of power is changing with improvements to technology.

Small-scale power generation can take many forms. At a village level, there are gas or diesel fired co-generation systems available. Co-generation means there is an effort made to produce power efficiently and utilize the waste heat for community needs. Fuel cells are becoming feasible. Communities that gain access to new natural gas pipelines may make good use of these. Hybrid generation systems seem to make good sense for rural users. A primary generator is powered by diesel or natural gas. By using a computerized inverter, large banks of storage batteries are charged while the generator is running. During periods of low consumption, the generator shuts down and the household runs off of power inverted from the batteries. Trace Engineering builds a system like this that also allows inputs from alternative sources of energy. If there are wind or small hydropower sources available, they can also charge the battery banks.

The efficiency of electrical consumption merits attention by consumers, since much power is lost in electrical systems. If 100 units of energy are used to produce electricity at a large generator, by the time power is transmitted and distributed, there is less than ten units of the original energy left on the consumer’s side of the system. Energy is lost as heat at every point in the generation and distribution of power. Saving energy within a household has the greatest impact on the overall costs for an entire system. There are many ways to save energy in a household. These include super-insulation, using energy efficient light bulbs and appliances, installing high-performance windows and improved conservation techniques.

Rural residents are vulnerable to high costs of power, poor weather conditions, power distribution failures and lack of available support services. The rural versus urban appropriation of state resources will continue to generate debate in Alaska. It is likely funds provided for the power cost equalization program will continue to decline. Small-scale power generation systems that utilize renewable energy resources could be a bright spot in the future of Alaska. Rural residents can expect improvements to their quality of life with the advent of affordable and reliable electrical power. Using appropriate technology for power generation and distribution makes good sense for the natural capitalists living in rural areas of our state.

Tags: Appropriate Technology, Power Generation, Small Scale Power Generation, Alaska

Boating Articles at Suite101

During the last month, I have been writing a number of articles related to boating and boating safety at suite101. Topics discussed include trailering, safety equipment, radio usage, and vessel operations. An index of articles is now available that outlines the topics covered to date.

I have several ideas for future topics. These include cold-water immersion, maritime terminology, GPS navigation, clean boating, and vessel maintenance. The 101 site gives me a good chance to establish a broad reference library of boating articles for its readers. Please contact me with ideas that I can add to the site. I would welcome guest articles for the site. Contact me at boatingsailing@suite101.com with your comments and ideas.

Tags: Boating, Boating Safety, Clean Boating, Vessel Care

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Port Valdez on Google Earth

If you have a chance to use Google Earth, check out Port Valdez. The satellite images for Alaska aren't as detailed as other areas, but it is amazing to look down on the immense landscape. Port Valdez is in eastern Prince William Sound. The City of Valdez is on the north side of the Port and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Terminal is on the south side. The main body of water on the right side of the picture is Port Valdez, the constricted area in the center is called Valdez Narrows and where it opens to the left is called the Valdez Arm. The Gulf of Alaska is 90 miles to the left or west. Anchorage, Alaska is about 100 airmiles or 360 miles by road from here. Valdez Small Boat Harbor is at 61° 7'34.30"N 146°20'38.77"W.

Tags: Port Valdez, Prince William Sound, Alaska