Wind energy workshop Bethel

I hope they discuss small scale (on the household or even a group of households level) and not just municipal wide. Alaska Battery (ABS) has long advocated wind generators for battery storage.

Notice from the excellent WHAT’S UP – January 2, 2008- Compiled Weekly by Peg Tileston
On behalf of the Alaska Women’s Environmental Network (AWEN), Alaska Center for the Environment (ACE), and Alaska Conservation Alliance (ACA)

Deadline January 10 & 11 2008
BETHEL – BETHEL REGIONAL WIND DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP will be held at the Bethel Cultural Center. Following meetings held in Bethel in 2005 and 2006 and in light of rising diesel prices, strong community interest, and successful wind-diesel projects in Toksook Bay and Kasigluk this meeting will bring together leaders from across the Yukon & Kuskokwim River deltas to discuss approaches that can be initiated to expand the use of wind energy throughout this Region. There is no registration fee however we are asking that people register no later that January 3. Limited travel scholarships are available. For more information or to register visit:
www.windpoweringamerica.gov/calendar.asp or contact Hannah Willard of REAP at 907-929-7770 or Martina Dabo of AEA at 907-771-3000. To see the agenda, go to
(pdf file) http://www.akenergyauthority.org/wind/BethelWindSeminarAgenda12-11-07.pdf

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Anthropology in a climate of change, war, and internecine environments 2

[In process]
Background*
Part 1**

Part 2*** From a follow-up to the newslist discussion about anthropology and climate change–

Q. “So…what can we do to solve this problem? Can we think like engineers?”

Please, don’t. Not even anthropological engineers. For example, see this —

Anthropology in a climate of change, war, and internecine environments 1

[In process]

Background*
Part 1**
Part 2*** [separate post]

* Background

I think there is a need for anthropological perspective in any issue of human existence.

It is a sad irony that the discipline (science) which is most comprehensive and fundamental (science is a human activity and the basic science of human activity is anthropology) has often seemed through its profession association to be narrowly focussed and consequently irrelevant.

Last month, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) accompanied the chairwoman of the Disaster Recovery subcommittee, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) to another hearing, in Anchorage, about the few places in Alaska designated for US Army Corps of Engineers environmental management [sic].

The anthropologists are about to have their annual conference in Washington DC and will be exercised about the U.S. Army recruiting anthropologists (Human Terrain Systems). On the other hand, Barack Obama is hip to Margaret Mead “Obama demonstrated that he understood the reasons why America for decades (think of the Bay of Pigs invasion) has made gravely serious national security decisions based on laughably inaccurate intelligence.”

Meanwhile, none of our western Alaska or Mississippi deltas is taken seriously. “Rush Limbaugh adds Alaskan to polarizing efforts.”

The best the state of Alaska has done so far is issue an official pass to a non-existent mass disease shelter in the region’s pandemic preparedness exercise this year (flu shot clinic).

I think if Governor Palin actually had a scientific advisor to her environmental sub-cabinet especially from rural Alaska or if Landrieu and Stevens could earmark enough funding out of the millions for the Corps mission in Alaska to pay for scientific support for the Unorganized Borough [over half of Alaska’s area, 970,500 km² (374,712 square miles), an area larger than France and Germany combined], this actually would be more effective than the endless photo-op and news stories about polar bears without ice.

How do we bring attention to the need for comprehensive analysis, assessment, and action on environmental change? No one would think of building a levee without an engineer, why are we doing relocation and reconstruction of communities — in Alaska and Louisiana / Mississippi — without a human scientist / human ecologist (anthropologist)?

[This analogy would work better if I didn’t already know that someone in DC thought of managing emergencies with a horse show announcer.] At the very least we need to aggregate the existing knowledge that we know full well must be included, whether for a northern or a southern delta.

It may not be a direct plus for NOLA– my records precede Katrina and I read Voices of New Orleans. If all the people and power and money there can’t get trailers that the Feds are allowed to inspect — but I think the imaginative scale in Alaska would be easier to actually test many of these concepts and approaches.

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Beautiful Bethel beaches

First inhabitants were told by the first people not to set up a permanent residence on this bank. They didn’t listen then or now. Many people still think throwing heavy metal contaminated vehicles into a river will save their skivvies.

| Where is… Bethel coastline 22nd century |

Beautiful Bethel postcard courtesy of Tom Sadowski and Jimmie Froehlich
Go to TomSadowski.com where you can click on the “postcards” link.

There, I would like to say would be many postcard stories with which to regale yourself. However, the postcard link does not work because I haven’t even started on that page!

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