‘Reducing Our Carbon Footprint‘ is a five-part webinar series led by the Juneau Commission on Sustainability and AARP Alaska Community Action Team volunteers. The series focuses on steps that people can take to reduce their carbon footprint and build climate-resilient communities. The next webinar installment “We’re Runnin’ on Rain – Exploring Electrified Transportation” is Wednesday,…
AARP/JCOS Carbon Footprint Series
Join the 2nd session of the AARP / JCOS 5-part ‘Carbon Footprint’ series! Wednesday, March 26, 6-7:30pm ‘Reducing Our Carbon Footprint‘ is a five-part webinar series led by the Juneau Commission on Sustainability and AARP Alaska Community Action Team volunteers. The series focuses on steps that people can take to reduce their carbon footprint and…
Heat Pumps for Peace and Freedom
Yeah…kind of a funny article title, but tell me when the last time you found Bill McKibben to be wrong? Joe Biden Could Damage Putin Badly–and He Doesn’t Have to Ask Joe Manchin It’s widely known that switching home heating from a fossil fuel system to an electric one can remove fuel cost volatility from…
Progress on the Docks – Thanks Are Due!
Thanks are due to Juneau’s Mayor, City Manager, and Assembly members for their recent support and forward-thinking action on a long-simmering downtown issue. Last Monday they announced strong support for the use of annual marine passenger fees to move ahead with the electrification of Juneau’s cruise docks. “I agree with spending the passenger fees and…
A Flawed Study
Renewable Juneau has sent the city our comments on the recent draft study on dock electrification from the CBJ Docks and Harbors Committee. In short, it needs a great deal of work. The dock electrification study was funded by the CBJ Assembly in 2019 to begin design and construction of dock electrification infrastructure and provide objective information and policy…
The Year of the Electric Pickup
It’s shaping up to be the year of the electric pickup truck. Both the Rivian R1T and GMC Hummer EV are now reaching paying customers, and the Ford F-150 Lightning is entering production this spring. Ford has so many reservations for it—200,000 at last count—that they’ve adjusted production targets from 40,000 to 150,000 units annually. I’ve never really needed a truck, or…
EV or Heat Pump? Let Us Help You with Your New Year’s Resolutions!
It’s that time of year again. Time to make a few set-in-stone, unbreakable, do-good, self-improvement, save-the-world promises to yourself and those around you, maybe even to your community or the greater world at large. These annual resolutions can be agonizing, especially when they reach beyond yourself. 2022 will make this process no easier as your…
Solar Canopies over Parking Lots! Innovation or Common Sense?
Solar farms are proliferating on undeveloped land, often harming ecosystems. But placing solar canopies on large parking lots offers a host of advantages — making use of land that is already cleared, producing electricity close to those who need it, and even shading cars. If Walmart installed solar panels over the parking lots of…
The White House wants a robust electric vehicle charging network. Here’s the plan.
The Biden administration recently announced a multi-billion dollar plan to beef up the nation’s electric vehicle charging system. The White House has pledged $7.5 billion from a bipartisan infrastructure law to go toward improving and increasing the national charging network. The plan would create new public chargers both for local commuting and longer-distance traveling. The announcement comes…
Skagway works to pioneer one of the first electric ferry programs in the country
The Skagway Assembly passed a resolution that establishes an electric ferry pilot program. The resolution comes on the heels of a major announcement by the federal government that $250 million of the roughly $1 trillion federal infrastructure bill would be earmarked for such programs, with at least one of them in Alaska. Skagway’s ferry committee…