Once a year at the Global Oceans Awards Gala, we have the opportunity to celebrate a true ocean hero, said Julie Barrett Heffington, director of the Seymour Center. Kathy Sullivan may be best known as the first woman to walk in space, but she is also a real hero in the world of marine science and ocean conservation.
As a member of the Pew Oceans Commission, Sullivan was part of a team that called for the immediate reform of U.S. ocean policies to prevent the decline of ocean wildlife and the collapse of ocean ecosystems. The findings and recommendations in the commissions 2003 report, Americas Living Oceans: Charting a Course for Sea Change, continue to guide policymakers today.
A former NASA astronaut, Sullivan is a member of the Astronaut Hall of Fame. She served as chief scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ) from 1992 to 1996 and was president and CEO of Ohios Center of Science & Industry ( COSI ), an interactive science center in Columbus, Ohio. Sullivan currently serves as director of Ohio State Universitys Battelle Center for Mathematics and Science Education Policy and as a volunteer science adviser to COSI. She was appointed to the National Science Board in 2004.
Sullivan is also a proud alumna of UC Santa Cruz. She entered UCSC as a linguistics major and discovered she needed three science classes to fulfill general-education requirements. After trying what she described as every trick in the book to get out of them, Sullivan enrolled in oceanography and Earth sciences classes, which proved a turning point in her life. Discovering a passion for science, she graduated with a bachelors degree in Earth and marine sciences and went on to earn a Ph.D. in geology from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia. Her doctoral studies at Dalhousie included participation in several oceanographic experiments with the U.S. Geological Survey and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. She became a specialist in deep-sea geological research, but ended up entering the space program.
I finished my Ph.D. at Dalhousie and went into the space program thinking I was giving up my dreams of diving in Alvin ( one of the worlds first deep-ocean submersibles ) for the chance to fly in space, Sullivan said. Yet even in space, her oceanographic training came into play. The primary goal of the first of her three shuttle missions was to survey the Earth, the atmosphere, and the oceans.
It is an honor to recognize Kathy for her body of work, her commitment to ocean conservation, and perhaps most importantly, her passion for science education. She is a leader and role model for us all, Heffington said.
Sullivan joins a select group of Global Oceans Heros including former UCSC Chancellor M.R.C. Greenwood, now president of the University of Hawaii; photographer and conservationist Frans Lanting; Bruce McPherson, former California Secretary of State; Leon Panetta, who chaired the Pew Oceans Commission and is now director of the CIA; Marcia McNutt, director of the U.S. Geological Survey; and Brent Constantz, CEO of Calera Corporation.
The Seymour Center will also honor the top two recipients of the Student Research and Education Awards, Abraham Borker and Fabian Batista, both marine science graduate students at UCSC. They received the top scores from among the 17 awardees in the Seymour Centers annual scholarship competition.
This years applications were the best in the 15 years weve awarded these scholarships, said Gary Griggs, director of the Institute of Marine Sciences. Ive never been more impressed with the work our undergraduates and graduate students are doing. I think it bodes well for an exciting future of research and discovery in marine science.
The Global Oceans Awards Gala is held annually at the Bittersweet Bistro in Aptos. Proprietors Thomas and Elizabeth Vinolus will prepare an exquisite five-course meal paired with fine wines from award-winning California vintners. This years event is sponsored by Calera Corporation. Tickets are $150 per person. To make reservations, please call ( 831 ) 459-3694.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
New Brunswick Invites Community Energy Projects
Province has set aside 75 megawatts of renewable energy for communities to harness through new program
KRIS MCDAVID
Times & Transcript Staff
MIRAMICHI - Anybody interested in harnessing the province's new Community Energy Policy should be prepared to sprint out of the gate to grab a piece of the limited energy allocation which is up for grabs.
This was one of the messages that came out of the Miramichi instalment of a series of information sessions being hosted by the provincial Department of Energy around the province over the next few weeks in advance of the energy program.
A handful of interested parties turned up to the workshop last night to learn more about the policy, including representatives from the City of Miramichi, Metepenagiag First Nation, Esgenoopetitj First Nation and Miramichi solar energy firm Southside Air.
Last month Energy Minister Jack Keir announced that 75 megawatts of energy would be available for renewable, community-owned energy projects during the first phase of the policy.
Energy initiatives in wind, solar, biomass, small hydro, and tidal power will be considered, and all qualifying projects must be majority-owned by communities or non-profit organizations as a condition of the program.
Of that 75 megawatt allotment, 25 megawatts will be set aside for First Nation communities whose renewable energy projects are accepted under the province's criteria.
The price paid back to communities for their energy by NB Power will be frozen at 10-cents per kilowatt hour until April 2015, at which point energy costs will ebb and flow as the consumer price index dictates.
Metepenagiag Chief Noah Augustine has stated his intention to try and get on board with the policy through a proposed $70-million plasma gasification plant which is being planned in conjunction with Ontario firm Sunbay Energy on the grounds of the former Nelson groundwood mill in Miramichi.
The plant would churn out 10 megawatts of clean, renewable energy through a high-tech process which would vaporize municipal waste and convert it into energy which is then sold back to the grid.
Augustine said he believes the energy policy is a proactive way for the province to promote New Brunswick as an environmentally responsible province, as well as a means of ensuring renewable energy profits benefit communities first.
He added, however, he's glad that his plasma gasification project is nearly finalized because the decision as to which projects will be able to sign a purchase of power agreement (PPA) with NB Power is on a first-come, first-serve basis.
"So it's essentially to the advantage of the projects that are ready to go now, and to the disadvantage of the ones that aren't as far along," Augustine said.
"Seventy-five megawatts won't last very long -- once the gates open up everybody is just going to go for it."
Business development officer Theo Losier agreed that initiatives which are further along in the process -- which includes various assessments, feasibility studies, capital requirements, environmental permitting, land agreements and a host of other steps -- will be at a distinct advantage.
Losier said the communities who wish to submit an official expression of interest in pursuing the policy have a limited amount of time to make up their minds, noting that the list will be posted to the department's website in May.
"This is for you guys, this is for the communities," Losier said. "The more projects we have, the better it is."
After hosting three previous sessions in windy locales such as Bathurst, Dalhousie and Caraquet to much fanfare, Losier estimated that about 90 per cent of the discussions so far have revolved around wind developments.
With the province already boasting a 96 megawatt wind farm in Kent Hills near Moncton, and a 99 megawatt farm at Caribou Mountain west of Bathurst, the appetite and expertise to extend wind energy is already there.
One of the aims of the energy policy, specifically relating to wind energy, is to allow individual communities to experience the financial windfall of the increasingly appealing technology rather than allowing all of the financial benefits to go to the large international energy corporations that currently own the province's two wind farms.
Carl Brothers, a P.E.I.-based wind energy guru, said while building even a small wind farm is no easy task; it can be accomplished successfully by communities as long as they do their homework.
A shining example of this is the recently completed 12 megawatt St. Eleanor's wind farm, located in and owned by the City of Summerside, P.E.I.
Brothers said the city was able to secure the proper funding through various loans and grants, and persevered through the many challenges that arise with projects as ambitious as wind farms.
A representative from Esgenoopetitj First Nation also expressed interest in pursuing wind energy in that community.
A similar forum is slated to take place from 6-8 p.m. at the Hampton in on Mapleton Road in Moncton on March 18.
KRIS MCDAVID
Times & Transcript Staff
MIRAMICHI - Anybody interested in harnessing the province's new Community Energy Policy should be prepared to sprint out of the gate to grab a piece of the limited energy allocation which is up for grabs.
This was one of the messages that came out of the Miramichi instalment of a series of information sessions being hosted by the provincial Department of Energy around the province over the next few weeks in advance of the energy program.
A handful of interested parties turned up to the workshop last night to learn more about the policy, including representatives from the City of Miramichi, Metepenagiag First Nation, Esgenoopetitj First Nation and Miramichi solar energy firm Southside Air.
Last month Energy Minister Jack Keir announced that 75 megawatts of energy would be available for renewable, community-owned energy projects during the first phase of the policy.
Energy initiatives in wind, solar, biomass, small hydro, and tidal power will be considered, and all qualifying projects must be majority-owned by communities or non-profit organizations as a condition of the program.
Of that 75 megawatt allotment, 25 megawatts will be set aside for First Nation communities whose renewable energy projects are accepted under the province's criteria.
The price paid back to communities for their energy by NB Power will be frozen at 10-cents per kilowatt hour until April 2015, at which point energy costs will ebb and flow as the consumer price index dictates.
Metepenagiag Chief Noah Augustine has stated his intention to try and get on board with the policy through a proposed $70-million plasma gasification plant which is being planned in conjunction with Ontario firm Sunbay Energy on the grounds of the former Nelson groundwood mill in Miramichi.
The plant would churn out 10 megawatts of clean, renewable energy through a high-tech process which would vaporize municipal waste and convert it into energy which is then sold back to the grid.
Augustine said he believes the energy policy is a proactive way for the province to promote New Brunswick as an environmentally responsible province, as well as a means of ensuring renewable energy profits benefit communities first.
He added, however, he's glad that his plasma gasification project is nearly finalized because the decision as to which projects will be able to sign a purchase of power agreement (PPA) with NB Power is on a first-come, first-serve basis.
"So it's essentially to the advantage of the projects that are ready to go now, and to the disadvantage of the ones that aren't as far along," Augustine said.
"Seventy-five megawatts won't last very long -- once the gates open up everybody is just going to go for it."
Business development officer Theo Losier agreed that initiatives which are further along in the process -- which includes various assessments, feasibility studies, capital requirements, environmental permitting, land agreements and a host of other steps -- will be at a distinct advantage.
Losier said the communities who wish to submit an official expression of interest in pursuing the policy have a limited amount of time to make up their minds, noting that the list will be posted to the department's website in May.
"This is for you guys, this is for the communities," Losier said. "The more projects we have, the better it is."
After hosting three previous sessions in windy locales such as Bathurst, Dalhousie and Caraquet to much fanfare, Losier estimated that about 90 per cent of the discussions so far have revolved around wind developments.
With the province already boasting a 96 megawatt wind farm in Kent Hills near Moncton, and a 99 megawatt farm at Caribou Mountain west of Bathurst, the appetite and expertise to extend wind energy is already there.
One of the aims of the energy policy, specifically relating to wind energy, is to allow individual communities to experience the financial windfall of the increasingly appealing technology rather than allowing all of the financial benefits to go to the large international energy corporations that currently own the province's two wind farms.
Carl Brothers, a P.E.I.-based wind energy guru, said while building even a small wind farm is no easy task; it can be accomplished successfully by communities as long as they do their homework.
A shining example of this is the recently completed 12 megawatt St. Eleanor's wind farm, located in and owned by the City of Summerside, P.E.I.
Brothers said the city was able to secure the proper funding through various loans and grants, and persevered through the many challenges that arise with projects as ambitious as wind farms.
A representative from Esgenoopetitj First Nation also expressed interest in pursuing wind energy in that community.
A similar forum is slated to take place from 6-8 p.m. at the Hampton in on Mapleton Road in Moncton on March 18.
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