A different Spill in our Oceans...

Compost Diversion

Another little success story in the making here at NOCA are our compost operations.  In an attempt to reduce the amount of cardboard sent 50 miles down valley for recycling, we are composting a portion of it on site.  Recycling is a wonderful thing and it is also a process that has heavy green house gas emissions.  One way we at North Cascades can reduce the emissions from cardboard recycling is to limit the amount of cardboard that comes into the park, initially.  Asking our vendors to ship less packages, less often is ideal.  But like any business, we need "stuff" and we need it fast.  Perhaps a more realistic idea, is to compost as much of it, on site, as we can.  This will mitigate not only the emissions associated with the 50 mile haul to the nearest recycling center, but the many hundreds of miles it will travel thereafter (not to mention emissions from the recycling centers).  Did I mention that the compost will have local applications, such as use in park landscaping projects, the native plant nursery and as fill?

Now, by no means am I saying we ought to not recycle.  I am trying to show, however, that we ought to think about emissions diversion.  Can we decrease the amount of trips down valley to the recycling center by composting more on site?  Can we reduce our emissions in the process?  Thinking critically and analytically in this manner is the first step, in my opinion, towards true emissions reduction.  We ought to challenge and question the mitigation actions we are familiar with and experiment with our own.  What's the worst that will happen?  We'll have more compost than we'll know what to do with?

Step 1: Shred Cardboard.

 Step 2: Weigh Cardboard.

Step 3:  Transport Cardboard (using a zero emissions vehicle, of course)

Step 4:  Mix thoroughly with plenty of fresh horse manure and yard trimmings.  Cover.  Lather.  Rinse.  Repeat.







To date, nearly 200lbs of cardboard have been diverted from the trip down valley.  Nearly 60lbs of shredded office paper have also made their way into the compost process, primarily as feed for worms in our vermicompost bins.  The office shreds are non recyclable and up until today, have been thrown in the trash, in a plastic bag.  Not anymore!  We have a primitive, yet sophisticated process for collecting, transporting, inventorying and storing shredded office paper from Park Headquarters in Sedro-Woolley, Administration and other buildings on Marblemount as well as the Visitor Center in Newhalem.  All office shreds are accounted for, diverted from landfills and will be a part of a tangible, usable and Earth friendly product.  Compost!!!

Lessening Impacts.

Greetings!  Much has been going on here at NOCA to speed our efforts in reducing emissions and making smarter choices in our everyday actions.  Figured it be time for an update.

 As a park and a part of the global community, we can no longer deny our footprint, contributing to human forced climate change.  We are here to preserve and protect the cultural and natural resources the North Cascades contains and our actions ought to reflect our mission statement.

 As the summer season is right around the corner, perhaps revisiting our Climate Action Plan will help you gain insight into what kinds of steps we here at the Park are taking.

 Feel free to take a look at the North Cascades Climate Action Plan, download, print it on 100% post consumer recycled paper with organically grown, soy-based ink and take it on the commuter bus to work. 

Our goals in the Action plan are simple, yet challenging. 

• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions that result from activities within and by the park.
• Increase climate change education and outreach efforts.
• Develop and implement a plan to adapt to a changing climate.
• Continuously evaluate and improve performance in the Climate Friendly Parks program.

As you can see from our emissions source breakdown, the majority of our emissions come from visitor transportation.  So how can visitors reduce their emissions?  Certainly, we want to encourage park visitation, not discourage it.  Here are some simple behavior modifications we can all take part in to lessen our impact while at the park and in our (hopefully not) everyday driving.

• Plan your trip before leaving home.  
• Offer rides to friends or folks you know will be visiting the park the same time as you.
• Drive efficiently and drive the speed limit.  Limit sudden stops and avoid peel-outs.
• DO NOT IDLE - THIS INCLUDES RVs (See "The Idle Idol" from February)
• Ask others to not idle if you see them, including park employees!!!

WEBINARS

There are new webinars listed in the 2010 Climate Change Webinars link in the right hand column, below.  If you missed any that were of interest or want to see some that were held in the past, go to archived webinars - you can stil  either download them or view/liten to them online.

Remembering Kate Heuther

This afternoon, I've been thinking about a SCA Alumni, Kate Heuther.  Kate was a Conservation Intern at Mt. Rainier during the summer of 2006, where she worked for the Interpretation division.  Her body was found this past Sunday afternoon below Table Mountain in the Columbia River Gorge on March 14, ten days after she had left to go hiking.  Kate was 24 years old, studying at Portland Statue University.

The details of the story are of little importance for this blog, nor appropriate;  Acknowledging a fellow individual with the heart and passion to help drive the efforts of conservation is important. 

Perhaps a safety reminder to those of us who frequent the mountains after work, on our weekends and extended time off is in order.  Even if it's just for the day, remember to let someone know where you're going, when you expect to return and bring adequate clothing, water and safety equipment.  Accidents happen and we can prepare for them.  Perhaps you don't have a child of your own.  Imagine the flow of emotions you'd epxerience if it were your loved one, best friend, brother or sister who'd gone missing, without any vital information.  It may tag on a few extra minutes to leave a detailed note before you head out on the trail and it may save your life.  It will at the very least not leave those who care about you wondering if you don't come back.

Don't let's forget this story or Kate.  Let's learn from it.

This is the best article I've been able to find online.

Array of Sunshine

This past week, the administrative head quarters building for North Cascades National Park got a bit of a green face-lift.  Solar Panels!  It was a pleasure to see the project be completed in such a timely manner, thanks to Whidbey Sun & Wind, out of Coupeville, WA. 



The company, celebrating it's 10th year in business, is licensed as both a general and electrical contractor.  Not only do they do great work, they are fun to be around! 

The building at 810 State Route 20 in Sedro-Wooley, WA is leased by the Mount Baker Ranger District of the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest with subleases to North Cascades National Park, U.S. Geological Survey, North Cascades Institute and Discover Your Northwest. 

Puget Sound Energy estimates that the 32.2kW solar photovoltaic system will reduce the building's power costs up to 40% and provide about 14% of its power.  With a 35 year lifespan, we're talking significant savings.

Wait...solar in the Pacific Northwest? There's no sunshine up there, just rain clouds and flannel, right?


True, Northwestern Washington does have its fair share of cloudy and overcast days each year.  However, today's Solar array technology paired with efficient PV inverters does not require intense, direct sunlight to capture the sun's energy and convert it to electricity.  In fact, the moderate year round temperatures in the Skagit Valley will wreak much less havoc on the array compared to the fluctuations (freeze-thaw) that occur in higher elevations and actually improve efficiency of the system.  Not only that, they're tough, too. 

"Yeah, they're pretty bomb-proof," says Byron, one of Whidbey Sun & Wind's solar panel installation experts.

"They're really built to withstand impact from stuff like, you know, hail and birds."

Sara Hammond, Sustainable Energy Manager at Point Reyes National Seashore, explains that “higher temperatures increase electrical resistance, which lowers the percentage of power output. This effect is known as Temperature Coefficient of Power. Output begins dropping at 20°C (68°F)."

That said, Sedro-Woolley is in a similar boat.  Cool temps year round mixed with mainly overcast (only 71 days per year of sunshine in Seattle) may just be the perfect recipe for efficient solar panel technology.

Hopefully, the array will attract the attention of visitors to the Park more than our avion friends, but if we have to take out a few pigeons in the process, that's the breaks. 

The south aspect of the building not only is home to the new array but is also the main entrance for visitors. 



Front desk staff will undoubtedly receive questions about the improvement and our staff and volunteers are ready to answer them. 

Hula-hoops, CDs, the ozone layer...

What do these seemingly unrelated items have in common?  Why they all have holes in them!  If you haven't heard of EcoFont and installed it on your Mac or PC, don't get down on yourself.  EcoFont is a sans serif font type that has tiny little holes through its breadth, which does nothing on your computer screen, except appear to be austral-aboriginal.  The font's job is executed when printed, prefereably on 100% post consumer recycled paper with that ever so controversial soy-based ink.  On paper, EcoFont requires 25% less ink than your  usual typeface.

Sans Serif isn't stylish enough for you?  Soon, the company will release software that will allow the user to retrofit other font types to look like swiss cheese, so even your most favorite typeface will be that much greener. 

As of today, EcoFont is offering a discount on the software, if you give them one of your email addresses.  They will use that address to notify you of its release.  Go ahead, download the Panther-with-Spots font and try it out yourself.  There's nothing to lose, except ink and money, of course.

It should be noted that EcoFont should only be used with black and color ink.  In other words, if you are printing white text over a dark background, use another type face.  EcoFont uses more ink than other fonts when printing white on black.