The Montana Climate Action Project is a collaboration of partners in Montana working to find solutions, create opportunities and empower people around the issue of climate change. Our goal is to provide Montana citizens with the information and tools they need to understand climate change and make personal changes that will have a positive effect on the climate change crisis.
News
Alliance looks to unlock energy potential
By Erin Madison, Great Falls Tribune, 7/10/08
Northcentral Montana is sparsely populated but has huge energy potential, an expert told members of the National 25x'25 Alliance Steering Committee on Wednesday. Northcentral Montana has the potential for wind, oil and gas, coal and thermal energy, said Greg Kegel, dean of the College of Technological Sciences at Montana State University-Northern. It already has a huge natural gas pipeline that runs through it.
"We are rich in energy," Kegel said. The 25x'25 alliance spent Wednesday touring the Hi-Line, visiting energy-related projects. The alliance is working toward the national policy of supplying 25 percent of the nation's energy needs through renewable energy by 2025.
Missoula urged to hire sustainability coordinator
By Keila Szpaller, Missoulian, 7/8/08
Hire a sustainability coordinator in Missoula to take on global warming, that's the message the city is hearing from a few different fronts.
In Fayetteville, Ark., adding such a position a year and a half ago did wonders for the bottom line. There, sustainability coordinator John Coleman said the first year he was hired, he paid for his own salary, and then some, in energy cost savings. Folks there took small steps the first year, like turning off computers and using daylight, he said.
Following the sun: Solar power isn't free, but it has backers
By Tom Lutey, Billings Gazette, 7/4/08
CUSTER - Even now there are places on Montana's sagebrush-covered plains where modern electricity never caught on. George Larsen's ranch is one of them. Where the road to Larsen's 20,000-acre property turns to gravel, the power lines do not follow. Larsen's parents, turn-of-the-century-sodbusters, harnessed the wind and power from a secondhand, 32-volt generator bought from a country school to electrify their place. The power generated from those two sources charged a system so eccentric that headlights served as indoor lighting in some buildings. And that's the way it was right up until recently, when George decided to go solar.
Meeting puts state's renewable energy projects in spotlight
By Karl Puckett, Great Falls Tribune, 7/2/08
The National Steering Committee of the 25x'25 Alliance, which promotes renewable energy development across the country, will meet next week in Great Falls. The committee also will tour solar, wind and biomass projects in northcentral Montana.
Cascade County Commissioner Peggy Beltrone, a committee member, is eager to show off the state's renewable energy efforts, particularly those of Montana State University-Northern in Havre, which has a Bio Energy Innovation and Testing Center.
West's governors plan climate strategy for next leader
Washington Post, 7/1/08
TETON VILLAGE, Wyo. — Citing the lack of any comprehensive federal policy to address global climate change, Western governors said Tuesday that they will work over the next 12 months to craft such an initiative for the next president.
Residents of the West, said Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., are in a unique position to lead the way."We are the most energy-relevant region in the world when you take a slice of western Canada right through the Western United States, and who isn't going to listen to this part of the world speak out on energy issues?"
While several states in the region are participating as observers in a regional carbon cap and trade initiative, for example, the larger consensus was that a national system developed at the federal level is needed in order to avoid "balkanization."
"We have a group of governors who will be coming together with their staffs and putting together a plan of action that we will be sending to the next administration," Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat, said in a closing news conference at the Western Governors' Association annual meeting. "It would be pre-emptive for any of us here today to presume that we're weighing in on one tool in the toolbox over another."
Weather, low water keeping boats off lake
By Jordan Dawson, Bigfork Eagle, 6/26/08
Now that summer has officially arrived boat enthusiasts around the valley are eager to get out on the lake, but multiple weather related factors are making that difficult. The late snow and cold weather has forced the PPL, which operates Kerr Dam, to keep the lake level down due to flood risks from late snow run off. The late runoff has also caused more debris to be in the lake much later than usual.
Price of natural gas to be 'signficantly higher' this winter
Missoulian, 6/23/08
HELENA - The price for natural gas is hitting historic highs, and members of the Montana Public Service Commission worry it will continue to climb, translating into huge home-heating bills this winter. "We think we're approaching a crisis," said Commissioner Bob Raney, D-Livingston. "We know that the cost of gas this coming winter is going to be significantly higher than it was last winter, all across the country. We have to pay for it, or figure out how to use less."
Natural gas is used to heat more than 250,000 Montana homes. During the summer, demand for natural gas usually is low and prices are too. However, residential customers of NorthWestern Energy, the state's largest natural gas utility, are paying $14.91 per dekatherm for natural gas this month. That's well above last summer's price of $9 to $10, and about as high as prices have been in the past decade. During winter months, a household with natural gas heat may use 15 to 20 dekatherms. At current prices, that means a $300 monthly bill.
"Montana Meadows as Indicators of Climate Change”
By Laura Bell, Big Sky Weekly, 6/18/08
On Friday, June 27th, the Big Sky Institute (BSI) will cut the ribbon and officially open their new office in Westfork Meadows, next to the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce Building. The Big Sky Institute is a science, education and outreach institute created by Montana State University and the community of Big Sky. BSI’s goal is to better understand large intact ecosystems—like the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem—in order to better understand our changing world.
BSI programming wouldn’t be complete without the traditional Mountains & Minds lecture series, which kicks off on July 8th at the new BSI office. Join Professor Diane Debinski for her presentation of "Montane Meadows as Indicators of Climate Change.” This free lecture begins at 7 p.m. Diane Debinski is a professor of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology at Iowa State University. She has done extensive research in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, looking at topics from prairie restoration to species distribution in the mountains. She will talk about her local research and there will be ample opportunity for questions and discussion.
Act Now!
Climate change and you. What you can do now! The U.S. EPA recommends these few small changes in your home and yard that can lead to big reductions of greenhouse gas emissions and save money.
- Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs)
- Look for Energy Star products
- Heat and cool smartly
- Seal and insulate your home
- Use green power
- Reduce, reuse, recycle
- Be green in your yard
- Use water efficiently
- Spread the word
Learn more:
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/downloads/wycd-home.pdf
