For more information, email Richard at r_bisbee@msn.com.

Representatives from various local organizations will be on hand to answer questions, discuss their current projects and talk about ways the public can be involved.

For more information, contact Sally Lider, City of Edmonds, at 425-771-0227 or email lider@ci.edmonds.wa.us
.

RSVPs are requested to Robin.everett@sierraclub.org. For more information, contact Robin Everett at 206-378-0114, Ext. 308.

To learn more, visit http://climatesolutions.org/nw-states/washington/ppc_onepagers.

Photo of the boat fire early this morning, courtesy of Fire District 1.

Steve Tholl took this photo of the burned boat that did not sink.

Damage from an early Saturday morning fire at the Edmonds Marina involving two 50-foot motor yachts and the nearby dock is expected to total more than $600,000, said Leslie Hynes, public information officer for Snohomish County Fire District 1.

Fire investigators now are working to determine how the fire started. “The boat where the fire started sank and will have to be raised. Investigators do not expect to have a cause today,” Hynes said.

As firefighters were putting out hot spots, crews from the Port of Edmonds set up containment booms. The state Department of Ecology is on the scene working to control and prevent environmental damage.

The two-alarm fire was reported by a janitor working in a nearby business just before 4 a.m. “Two boats moored next to each other were engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived and flames were shooting 50-feet in the air,” Hynes said.

No one was aboard the burning yachts, but a man and a woman staying overnight in another yacht moored at the same dock had to be rescued by firefighters. “The burning boats were moored in the first two slips of the dock, and the flames cut off the couple’s access to the shore,” Hynes said,. “They were stuck at the far end of the dock in the smoke. A fire rescue boat brought them to the shore.”

An aid car transported the man and woman to Swedish/Edmonds Hospital, where they were both treated for minor smoke inhalation and released a few hours later.

Firefighters from Lynnwood and Shoreline responded to assist Fire District 1. At the peak of the fire, about 40 firefighters were on the scene. “The docks were very icy and slippery, which was a challenge for firefighters,” Hynes said. “They used an overhead water stream from a ladder truck and firefighting foam to smother the flames.”

It took firefighters about 30 minutes to get the fire under control, but crews continued to battle hot spots for about an hour as the boats smoldered and fuel ignited. One of the boats sank.

Solar panels installed on the Frances Anderson roof.

The Edmonds Community Solar Cooperative announced via Facebook Friday that it has reached its goal of selling $30,000 worth of shares in its rooftop solar effort by the end of 2011. As a result, the cooperative has qualified for $180,000 in federal incentives for Community Solar, enabling the installation of a larger 60-kilowatt system on the Frances Anderson Center roof before summer 2012.

The Edmonds Community Solar Cooperative was formed under a partnership between Sustainable Edmonds, a volunteer civic group, and solar project developer Tangerine Power. On Dec. 9, Sustainable Edmonds board member Carlo Volli took to the roof of the downtown Edmonds Fabric of Life store — located just a few blocks west of the Frances Anderson Center — for a weekend to raise awareness of the project and encourage solar energy supporters to buy shares, known as SunSlices, in the cooperative.

The Edmonds cooperative is the first citizen-owned community solar cooperative in Washington state. In August, the cooperative installed its first system — 4.2 kilowatts — funded through investments from 37 co-owners/members. It’s estimated the system will produce 60,000 kilowatt hours annually – a significant share of the Frances Anderson Center’s electrical use. The city is leasing roof space to the solar cooperative and will buy electricity from the project at discounted rates until 2020.

Carlo Voli on the rooftop of the Fabric of Life building Friday afternoon. (Photos by Bryan Briscoe)

Voli's solar oven cooking brown rice.

From Wall Street to the streets of Seattle, there’s been a lot of talk lately about the “Occupy” movement. On Friday, Edmonds community solar activist Carlo Voli added another concept to the list: “Occupy the Rooftop.”

From Friday through Sunday afternoon, Voli will live on the rooftop of the Fabric of Life building at 523 Main St. The goal is to both raise awareness of solar power’s benefits and grow membership in the Edmonds Community Solar Cooperative — and expand the solar-powered system now installed on the Frances Anderson Center rooftop.

The cooperative recently installed its first 4.2 kilowatt system, funded through investments from 37 co-owners/members, and is working sell additional shares — known as SunSlices — to install a larger 60 KW system on the Frances Anderson Center roof before summer 2012. There is some urgency to the effort: To qualify for the federal incentives for Community Solar, the Edmonds-based Solar cooperative needs to raise at least $30,000 in SunSlices by Dec. 17.

So Voli — a cooperative board member who purchased the project’s first SunSlice — decided to generate publicity by pitching a tent on the Fabric of Life building rooftop, an appropriate venue given that another community activist, Fabric of Life owner Carol Schillios, spent more than three months on the same roof in late 2009 to create awareness of global poverty issues.

Voli is equipped with a 123-volt solar panel connected to a marine deep-cycle battery and an inverter, which powers lights, a cell phone and laptops. He also brought a solar oven, and before our interview had just taken advantage of the sunny afternoon to cook a pot of organic brown rice. He has a warm sleeping bag and “lots of layers” for warmth while sleeping overnight, he said.

Voli, an international marine equipment sales manager and father of two, said it’s easy to explain the connection between the “Occupy” movement and “Occupy the Rooftop.”

“Just like taking money from big banks and putting it into the credit union, you’re taking power away from big banks by creating clean, renewable energy,” he said. While not everyone has $1,000 to buy a SunSlice, “many do,” he said, and often that money is invested in funds that support traditional power sources like oil or coal. “Take some of that money out and invest in a clean future,” he said.

Voli noted that a neighbor recently purchased additional SunSlices for each of his children, “as an investment in their futures,” and he encouraged those who are able to consider doing the same for their children and grandchildren.

“We want to motivate residents, businesses, and organizations in Snohomish County, to be part of the solution and join the solar co-op,” Schillios said.  “It’s time to occupy all the rooftops in our state with locally-manufactured solar panels to create clean renewable energy and jobs.”

The Edmonds Community Solar Cooperative is the first citizen-owned community solar cooperative in Washington state.

It’s estimated the system will produce 75,000 kilowatt hours annually – a significant share of the Frances Anderson Center’s electrical use. The city is leasing roof space to the solar cooperative and will buy electricity from the project at discounted rates until 2020.

For every $1,000 invested in a SunSlice purchase, cooperative members will receive $100 back each year for the remaining nine years on the Cooperative’s lease with the city.  But Voli hopes the group’s reach will extend beyond the Frances Anderson roof, to placing solar systems on many other roof tops in Edmonds. “It’s an expansion of people power,” he said. “Even if you don’t have a south-facing roof or money to invest in a solar system for your home, you can support community solar.”

More information on the Edmonds Community Solar Cooperative can be found here.

Light winds forecasted for Wednesday and Thursday are expected to reduce air pollution in the Puget Sound region, which built up this past week. Agency forecasters will continue to monitor weather conditions and air quality. If air pollution levels rise again later this week, another burn ban may be necessary. People are encouraged to check current air quality and burn ban status before they burn, as conditions can change quickly this time of year. Visit www.pscleanair.org or call the burn ban InfoLine at 1-800- 595-4341.
 
For those who heat with wood, remember that it is always illegal to emit excess chimney smoke or to smoke out your neighbor. According to the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, you are burning properly when you don’t see any smoke coming from your chimney.

New Edmonds Mayor Dave Earling expresses his support for the coal train opposition effort.

A meeting to organize opposition to the construction of a coal export terminal in Bellingham — and the resulting coal train traffic that such a terminal would generate through Edmonds –drew a crowd of more than 60 people to the Edmonds Library Plaza Room Thursday night.

Elected officials attending included City Council President Strom Peterson, Councilmembers-elect Joan Bloom and Frank Yamamoto and newly elected Edmonds Mayor Dave Earling, who welcomed the crowd and stated his support for the group’s efforts to fight against the Cherry Point Coal Terminal.

Volunteer citizen group Sustainable Edmonds organized the meeting as a follow-up to the Oct. 26 “Cold Hard Truth” forum. Peterson outlined the Edmonds City Council’s recently-adopted resolution that pointed out that increased coal train traffic through Edmonds will have both health and environmental effects on local residents, and as a result the opinions of Edmonds residents deserve to be considered during the decision-making progress.

Linda Lyshall of Sustainable Edmonds divided the attendees into volunteer groups, where they brainstormed action plans for media, community outreach, group speakers, business outreach and health professionals outreach. Each group worked on their own set of goals and actions for the upcoming year, as well as taking some time to get to know their concerned neighbors.

The teams of volunteers will be working more in the coming months to organize the Edmonds community and businesses to oppose the Cherry Point Coal Export terminal, even though the construction company, SSA Marine, has yet to officially file a request to build it.

Citizens who want to learn more about the proposed project can visit CoalTrainFacts.org.

– Report submitted by Todd Cloutier of Sustainable Edmonds

The meeting is a follow up to the Edmonds Coal Hard Truth Forum sponsored by the Sierra Club and Sustainable Edmonds in October. It will be in the Plaza Room, 650 Main St., above the Edmonds Library. RSVPs are requested to Robin.everett@sierraclub.org or you can call her at 206-378-0114, Ext. 308, for additional information.

Both groups are opposing the proposed nine daily trips of coal trains traveling from Montana and Wyoming to the Columbia River and then through Seattle, Edmonds, Mukilteo, Everett and north to Bellingham, then returning empty.

During the Wednesday night “Coal Hard Truth” forum, you can hear current news and an update on the proposed Bellingham Port expansion to accommodate coal shipments, plus the possible ramifications for cities along the path of the one-and-a-half-mile coal trains: increased noise and traffic impacts; environmental issues with air, water and fisheries; health issues; and jobs and the economy. You can also why other cities have rejected offering their ports for coal shipments due to past shipping failures.

Speakers including Seth Ballhorn of the Sierra Club; Strom Peterson, Edmonds City Council president; Kabran Chapek, Edmonds naturopathic doctor and Todd Cloutier of Sustainable Edmonds. The meeting is located in Room 202 of Woodway Hall on the Edmonds Community College campus, 20000 68th Ave. W., Lynnwood. The event begins at 7 p.m.; refreshments will be served at 6:30 p.m.

For questions or to RSVP for the Coal Hard Truth Forum, contact: seth.ballhorn@sierraclub.org or call 206-378-0114, Ext. 302.

To learn more about the Bellingham-based Gateway Pacific Terminal project, visit the project website here. For another perspective, you can also read the Oct. 5 story from Crosscut here.