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    • Four Corners Recycling InitiativeThe mission of the Four Corners Recycling Initiative is to promote sustainable living through waste diversion and recycling, education and outreach, and economic opportunities without increasing the tax burden on those we serve.




    World Clock and Earth StatisticsYou need Flash installed to see this.



    Search Saves
    the Rainforest

  • The more you search, the more trees survive !!
  • Read about it here

    • San Juan RC&D
    Area Plan Survey

    San Juan RC&D (M-CAN’s 401C-3 umbrella organization)

    The Area Plan is their 5 year Strategic Plan that helps guide the Council into the future. One of the most important parts of the revision process is to gather public input from our communities. The San Juan RC&D would like to invite you to provide us with your ideas and comments on the needs and opportunities that you see in your communities.

    The San Juan RC&D has prepared an On-Line survey and would like to ask you to take about 3 minutes and provide us with your input on what you feel is important in your community.

    Please provide us with your thoughts and ideas as to what areas you feel need addressed. Feel free to add any comments or additional ideas as to what you feel the needs of your community are.

    Below is a link that will take you directly to the San Juan RC&D survey. You do not need to supply your name if you wish, but your ideas are important for the Council to determine what direction they will take to assist our area in the future.

    Thank you for your input and feel free to contact me if you have any problems or ideas.

    Doug Ramsey
    Coordinator
    San Juan RC&D Program
    Durango, Colorado
    970-259-3289 ext 111     is looking to the future and is working on updating their Area Plan.

    (click here) to take the survey.


    Check out the latest on Feed In Tariffs

    Wind Works Paul spoke at the "Creating Jobs for the Local Economy" FIT triple−feature Wednesday, September 15th, 2010. He spoke at the LPEA Board Meeting, again at the Green Roundtable Luncheon, and yet again at the Sasco Community Workshop, "FIT for Colorado". Paul is an internationally recognized authority on the FIT. is Paul Gipe´s website.

    Stop the Junk Mail Monster

    Eco-Cycle Do-It-Yourself instructions
    41pounds.org Hands off, 100% guaranteed, 5 year, non-profit service costs $41

    Check Your Appliance Power Use

    Check out Kill-a-Watts at
    Mancos Public Library Do you know what your refrigerator, freezer or other household appliances are costing you per month? Empire Electric and the Mancos Public Library have teamed up to help you determine how you are using your electricity in your home. Empire Electric has donated KILL-A-WATT METERS that you can check out just as you would a book. Take it home, plug it in and test your electric consumption! It is free but electricity is not.

    Lotsa Useful Links

    Citizen Action

  • New! Ft. Lewis College Environmental Center

    The EC has five goals that guide our work

    * Empower students
    * Make sustainability a community effort
    * Strengthen community-based learning and research
    * Encourage innovation
    * Integrate environmental and social justice issues (read more)
  • Montezuma County Conservation District,

    Partners in protecting the agricultural lifestyle in Montezuma County.

    (read more)
    Dolores and Mancos Conservation Districts
  • LaPlata Climate and Energy Action Plan

    The La Plata Climate and Energy Action Plan project provides a concrete and systematic way for concerned citizens to volunteer and get involved right now in identifying the many ways, large and small, that our community, individuals, governments, businesses, and other groups can reduce greenhouse gasses throughout La Plata County.

    (read more...)
  • 4CORE The Four Corners Office for Resource Efficiency (4CORE) mission is to promote resource conservation, energy efficiency, and the use of clean, renewable sources of energy in order to decrease the emission of pollutants, protect public health, and strengthen the economy.
    Four Corners Office for Resource Efficiency
  • Scientist James Hansen Proposes His proposal calls for a "simple, honest" carbon fee, collected from fossil−fuel companies upon the first sale at the mine, wellhead or port of entry. The money collected via this fee would be distributed to the public as a monthly "dividend" or "green check."
    Read more...     "People´s Climate Stewardship Act": A Simple Carbon Fee with Revenue Returned to Americans
  • Carbon Tax Center Why revenue-neutral carbon taxes are essential, what´s happening now, and how you can help
  • Citizens´ Climate Lobby At Citizens Climate Lobby, we believe that our national policy on climate change should be a match for the science. Toward that end, we offer the following legislation that will achieve the critical goals needed to avert catastrophic climate change. We believe this legislation can achieve these goals while at the same time shielding Americans from the financial impact of transitioning to a clean−energy economy.
  • Price Carbon Campaign A price on carbon would be the quickest and most effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create incentives for renewable energy and efficiency, and generate green jobs. Fees could be returned to citizens as payroll tax relief or as dividends to promote economic equity.

    • Environment Tech Sites

  • New! EPA page on Navajo Generating Station Proposed Actions
    Four Corners Power Plant

    October 6, 2010 − Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Best Available Retrofit Technology Determination for Four Corners Power Plant

    EPA proposes to cut NOx emissions at nation’s largest source, Four Corners Power Plant
    ... Read More
  • More Energy News from MIT's Technology Review Among the most technically interesting and accurate eneregy news sites.
  • Skeptical Science Scientific skepticism is healthy. Scientists should always challenge themselves to expand their knowledge and improve their understanding. Yet this isn´t what happens in global warming skepticism. Skeptics vigorously criticise any evidence that supports man-made global warming and yet eagerly, even blindly embrace any argument, op−ed piece, blog or study that refutes global warming.
  • Global Warming
    Union of Concerned Scientists Global warming is one of the most serious challenges facing us today. To protect the health and economic well−being of current and future generations, we must reduce our emissions of heat−trapping gases by using the technology, know−how, and practical solutions already at our disposal.
  • Global Climate Change − NASA's Eyes on the Earth 2009: Second warmest year on record
  • Public Technology Institute
  • Energy Information Administration, an independent agency within the U.S. Department of Energy.


    • Nasa's Global Climate Change Site contains the latest information regarding climate change in very readable format. The site is by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at Cal Tech.

    Other’s Newsletters

  • Mountain Studies Institute
    June 2010 NewsletterRead it here if you didn´t get it by email.
  • Archived MSI Newsletters in pdf format
  • Archived GEO Newsletters in pdf format

    • Local Environment Tech

  • Ozone Readings in Cortez − Real Time !! Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment provides ozone readings for the past 12 hours.
  • Ozone Readings in Cortez − Long Term Table Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment table of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th maximum 8hr average ozone readings as well as 3 year average of 4th maximum values.
  • Colorado Ozone Tech. Support Document Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment PDF document contains ozone requirements and a great deal of general information about areas of the state including Montezuma county. Search the document for 'Montezuma'.
  • Mountain Studies Institutes´ 2009 San Juan Air Quality Forum Presentations

    • Local, State, National
    Renewable Energy Links and Incentives

    Term Definitions

    GEO − Governor’s Energy Office
    SDHW − Solar Domestic Hot Water

  • Empire Electric’s Green Power Program
  • City of Cortez "Grants to Citizens" page
  • City's SDHW Rebate page
  • GEO SDHW Rebate Program Application Forms and checklist.
  • List of GEO approved SDHW contractors working in Montezuma County.
  • U.S. Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency
  • Database of Colorado Incentives for Homeowner Renewables and Efficiency
  • U.S. Federal Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency
  • Green Made Simple provides one-source information about rebates, tax credits and other incentives which is searchable by zipcode.

    • Solar Links

  • Build It SolarThis website is a wealth of DIY solar info. Great site! Diy Solar

    • Solar Domestic Hot Water

    On This Site

  • Small system diagram
  • More complex system
  • Two panel system
  • Large drainback system
  • Eric Walker's SDHW pdf

    External SDHW Links

  • DIY SDHW links

    • Photo Voltaic Solar

  • Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Systems This site has a lot of useful PV project info including writeups of individuals projects.

  • PV Basice, Physics, Devices, Systems, Payback Times This DOE "Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy" Photovoltaic page has lots of useable information... particularly the "Energy Payback Times for Photovoltaic Technologies" summarized for various PV technologies in Table 1.

  • Solar Panel Sizing Information
  • PVWatts PV Production Calculator
  • Solar Module retail price ranges by Solarbuzz
  • New Low Cost Solar Panels Ready for Mass Production Sept. 10, 2007 -- Colorado State University's method for manufacturing low-cost, high-efficiency solar panels is nearing mass production. AVA Solar Inc. will start production by the end of next year on the technology developed by mechanical engineering Professor W.S. Sampath at Colorado State. The new 200-megawatt factory is expected to employ up to 500 people. Based on the average household usage, 200 megawatts will power 40,000 U.S. homes.

    • General Solar

  • Solar DIY Space Heating Projects Plans for a wide variety of solar space heating projects you can build.

    Solar space heating can be 25 or more times more cost effective than solar electric (PV) systems, and the systems are excellent DIY projects. Payback for these low cost solar heating systems can be as little as one year...(more)

  • Solar for Home or Office: Decision-making Tools U.S. DOE, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

    Here are some decision-making tools to aid you in the process of learning about and using energy-efficient and solar electric technologies and products.
  • American Solar Energy Society
  • Florida Solar Energy Center
  • International Solar Energy Society
  • The Solar Living Institute Website
  • Institute for Local Self-Reliance
  • Bubble Wrap Window Insulation
  • Climate and weather animations as well as many other educational animations.
  • mapawatt "Your resource for energy and water conservation" (and sustainability and local foods and lots of other stuff!)
  • ´The Age of Stupid´: a wakeup call on climate is a newly released video.
  • "Fuelly" is a free website where you can track your vehicle's mileage.

    • Wind Links

  • The National Wind Technology Center
  • American Wind Energy Association
  • WindTurbines.netA Social Network for the Wind Energy Community

    • General Links

  • Electricity Basics 101, U.S. Energy Information Administration
  • National Renewable Energy Laboratory
  • US DOE Energy Effeciency and Renewable Energy Home Effeciency Guide
  • Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
  • Home Power Magazine
  • Department of Energy
  • Green Power Network
  • Alternative Energy News
  • Alternative Technology Association
  • The Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Letter
  • Resources for the Future: Energy
  • World Energy Council
  • Fuel Cell Development Information Center
  • Fusion Energy Sciences Homepage
  • Renewable Fuels Association
  • Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion
  • Ecoseed, the global green portal


    • Recycling Facts

    According to this Alcoa press release
  • Recycled aluminum requires 95 percent less energy to produce and can be recycled a multitude of times.


    • Recycling Directory

    Take a look at our local recycling directory (pdf). Send us any other recycling locations that should be part of the matrix.



    Kermit Awards 2008

    In recognition of their significant efforts toward greenhouse gas reduction:

  • Cheri Dorshak
  • Sam Carter
  • Shawn Collins
  • Empire Electric
  • Farmers Market Association
  • Greater Dolores Action Group
  • Brett LeCompte
  • JoDee Powers
  • Jude and Addie Scheunemeyer
  • Matthew Keefauver
  • Patsy Smith
  • Organic Growers
  • Osprey Packs
  • Picaya


    • M-CAN Logo












    2010  3rd Annual  Verde Fest

    —By M-CAN—
    Saturday August 21
    Cortez City Park !

    It was bigger and better than 2009

    • More than 1300 folks attended
    • 38 Exhibitors
    • 6 Speakers
    • 2 Food Vendors
    • 5 Children's Activities plus the Solar Roller
    • 4 Bands
    • 100% Biodegradable Food Containers

    Dancin’ to the Band




    Solar Roller


    Empire Electric sponsored the Durango Discovery Museum´s Solar Roller at Verde Fest. The Solar Roller is a mobile discovery center and power plant on wheels... a collection of "Interactive Energy Literacy Exhibits". Kids and adults alike enjoyed this collection of sustainable power demonstrations.




    Joel Glanzberg


    Joel Glanzberg of Regenesis Group, author and educator in the area of permaculture and ecological restoration, conducted a 1/2 day permaculture workshop with a focus on water harvesting on Friday morning, August 20th. It was a well attended hands-on workshop where swales were built and trees planted in them. Many in attendance said it was the best workshop they had ever attended.
    Joel also gave a free introductory talk on permaculture the Thursday evening prior to the workshop at the Mancos Public Library.
    Read more about Joel and Regenesis at www.regenesisgroup.com.





    Segway



    Four Corners Segway and 3D Hydronic Contracting provided several working Segways. Here, Eric Walker of 3D Hydronic Contracting demonstrate and explain Dean Kamen's great electric personal transportation invention.








    Tesla Roadster and Plug-In Prius



    This Tesla all-electric sports car, designed and built by the new American company, Tesla, was kindly loaned to Verde Fest by Mr. Christoph Henkel, owner of the Dunton Hot Springs resort.

    With 288 peak horsepower and 295 lbs-ft of instant torque in a 2723lb carbon fiber Lotus designed chassis, the car goes from 0-60mph in 3.7 seconds. It has an EPA range of 245 miles and gasoline equivalent efficiency of 120 mpg.

    The plug-in Prius conversion was provided by Love Bug Motors (lovebugmotors.net)of Durango.





    Click here to see many more pictures from the 2010 Verde Fest.


     Sponsors:  
  • Ballantine Family Fund
  • City of Cortez
  • Dolores State Bank
  • Ecosphere Environmental Services
  • Empire Electric Cooperative
  • Four States Tire
  • Fraley & Co.
  • First National Bank, Cortez
  • KSJD − Dryland Community Radio
  • Let It Grow Nursery and Garden Mkt.
  • Mancos Valley Bank
  • Osprey Packs
  • Skanska
  • Southwest Seed
  • Steve Keetch Motors
  • Tom Ervin Insurance
  • Triad Construction
  • Vectra Bank


    •  Exhibitors:  

  • Swallow´s Nest Natural Building
  • Four Corners Office for Resource Efficiency
  • Counter Kulture Concrete Studio
  • Mesa Verde Museum Assoc.
  • Durango Compost Company
  • Mesa Verde Country
  • Southwest Solar Ovens
  • Encantos skin care products
  • Cliffrose High Desert Gardens
  • Singing River Farms
  • Montezuma Land Conservancy
  • Let It Grow
  • Sunland Renewable Energy Systems, LLC
  • The Heart Path
  • Simplexity Health
  • Bland Solar Solutions
  • Colorado Peace Ride
  • Cortez Retail Enhancement
  • Economy Nissan
  • Aramark
  • Four Corners Recycling Initiative
  • Multi−Pure Corp. Drinking Water Systems
  • KSJD − Dry Land Community Radio in Cortez
  • Southwest Seed
  • Four States Tire
  • Dolores Conservation District
  • Steve Keetch Motors
  • Four Corners Navajo−Churro Breeders
  • Solar Today & Tomorrow
  • Four Corners Builders Association
  • Southwest Open School Minds in Motion program
  • Hanson Handcrafted Finishes/Handcrafted House
  • 3D Hydronic Contracting


    • A sustainable, regenerative community is one that preserves and restores the integrity of its natural environment, nurtures healthy human and other living systems, and maintains a vital self−reliant economy, generation after generation. A sustainable, regenerative community meets the basic needs of all people, including the needs for food, water, shelter, health, safety, autonomy, connectedness, and meaning.