Dear Neighbors

Here’s some good news and bad news.  I’ll give you the bad news first-because, well, it’s not that bad.  Don’t jump before you get to the good news.  Ooh.  That’s a bad sentence.  Don’t jump at all, even after you get to the good news.  That’s better.

Oh, and thanks to at least two of you for voting to make me an Anchorage Press Pick as Anchorage’s “Favorite Legislator”.  Maybe even more than two of you sent in votes?  I’ve been trading this award with Mike Doogan, I think, um, because most of those Anchorage Press newspaper racks are in our districts?

Glass Recycling

Last week we wrote that you can recycle glass in Anchorage again.  Well, you can, despite some rumors that are going around.  BUT, the capacity is limited.

Target stores are currently accepting “reasonable household” amounts of clean glass.  They only have one shipping container they can use to back haul the glass to recycling centers out of state.  So – if everyone were to flood Target with their glass, Target informs us they would just have to cut folks off until their next shipping opportunity comes along.  Rumors that Target is only accepting glass from customers or glass bought at Target are inaccurate. 

Target welcomes your clean glass, according to their managers.  They aren’t able to welcome businesses with high volumes of glass to use their service.  And they don’t want 500 empty bottles of beer from your bachelor party.  Sorry.  You’ll have to build some glass counters out of those, or drink box wine or, gasp, canned beer (of which there is some good locally produced stuff, but I’m not allowed to mention brands under our ethics rules).  So, Target will, as long as they are able, accept what they term “reasonable household” amounts of glass.  They’ll determine when they’ve reached capacity.  Contrary to some rumors, managers at their Anchorage and Wasilla stores will still roll out the welcome mat as they are able.

In the meantime, Alaskans for Litter Prevention and Recycling (ALPAR) is working to see if we can find a better solution.  I hope the Mayor is too, so you should let him know if this is a concern of yours. And we received a suggestion from one reader that DOT incorporate the use of more ground glass into road construction. If that works, is safe, and doesn’t decrease the life or increase the cost of our roads (which rut too early as it is), then that’s a good possibility for glass recycling at the local level.  We’ll contact DOT about this idea to see if they’ve looked at it.  But if it makes road surfaces less safe, it’s not a good idea. 

And, thanks again to my aides, Allison Holtkamp and Rose Foley for cluing their (insert adjective here) boss in to this glass recycling option.

Home Energy $aving$ and $tate Rebate$:  October is Energy Awarene$$ Month.

I got carried away with the $$$$$’s a little bit there.  The Alaska Energy Authority has a great website, www.akenergyefficiency.org, which offers you energy and cost savings tips.  Their theme this year – and this is them getting carried away, not me – is, “It’s Common $ense.”

During the last Legislative session, I strongly supported the Legislature’s increase in funding for the popular home energy efficiency upgrade program, which offers state rebates if you upgrade the efficiency of your home.   I was critical of the Governor’s proposal to underfund this program, for which there had been long waiting lists of homeowners who wanted to take advantage of this support to upgrade home energy efficiency.  His proposal would have vastly increased those waiting lists.  The Legislature added funding to reduce waiting lists, and thankfully the Governor did not veto that funding.  In the long term we will all benefit with lower energy usage and demand, and lower energy expenses.  For more information on this popular rebate effort, call AHFC at 1-877-257-3228 or look at their website.

There are also some energy efficiency tax credits available on the federal level. You could upgrade your windows, insulation, or HVAC system. Check out the products that are eligible for federal tax credits through 2011 here.

Here are a few ways to get involved:

The Alaska Energy Authority has asked us to educate Alaskans about simple steps you can take to save energy and money,  www.akenergyefficiency.org.  Activities will include trainings, speakers, local community events, the “Energy Efficiency is Sexy” photo contest, and the “Energy Efficiency Makes $ense! Video Contest” for all Alaskan high school students.

Under the “It’s Common $ense” theme, Alaskans will be urged to follow three calls to action: “get an energy audit,” “switch your lights,” and “seal tight and ventilate right.”  Alaskans who take these steps will help make positive strides toward the new state energy efficiency goal of 15% improvement between 2010 and 2020.

The statewide “Energy Efficiency Makes $ense! Video Contest” challenges high school students to produce a 30-second public service announcement that raises awareness of at least one of the three calls to action.  Details about the competition are available at www.akenergyefficiency.org. 

Alaska Energy Awareness Month is organized and sponsored by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Working Group, which represents more than 30 nonprofit, public and private organizations from all parts of Alaska.

A calendar of events for Energy Awareness Month is being assembled at http://akenergyefficiency.org/calendar/2011-10.

That’s it for now.

Be well.  Save Money.  Save the Planet.  And regardless, call us if you have any questions.

My Best,