Decarb Bridget
DecarbBridget
Decarb Bridget
Bridget Bayer is the first mate of Ama Natura. Along with Captain Peter Wilcox, her husband, they are a couple of experienced sailors, activists, leaders and are lucky enough to perfectly complement each other in a daring and rock-solid relationship now primarily focused on a project to eliminate the use of petroleum in the NW Inside Passage.
Check out news & information about Inside Passage Decarbonization Project: https://www.decarbthepassage.net
The Inside Passage Decarbonization Project is about dramatically reducing carbon in the waterways of the Inside Passage. We are banding together with fishermen, tribes, ports, dealers, and boaters to construct a cleaner, greener waterway in the state of Washington, British Columbia and SE Alaska. Our strategy is to bring motivation, education, and support for those developing sustainable resources because our children, wildlife and future generations are counting on us.
Our first, of three goals, is to start now. It takes one boat, one station or one port to take action. We ask boaters to be carbon-free by using bio-lubricants and asking for bio or renewable diesel fuels. Boaters can add solar panels or wind generators and also ask for electric charging stations at dock.
Second, the demand for renewable and biodiesel fuel needs to be met by adding infrastructure at ports, marinas, and marine fuel stations. We recruit government partners to ease regulations for adding simple, non-flammable fuel tanks and support strategies for business investment.
Third, we encourage the development of local, waste-sourced, biofuels and utility-scale tidal, solar, wind or hydro-produced power so that ports can take advantage of their local waste streams to produce fuel while also creating local jobs. We support policies and incentives that will be necessary to sustain and accelerate this citizen involvement and green capital investment.
Bridget is an author and community organizer who has worked to create vibrant main street business districts that support local economies. Bridget believes the best way to build community is through events and that activities are a catalyst for positive change. Her professional work fosters community involvement by creating shared events that enhance communication, form long-term interests and support existing or start-up non-profit organizations. At home, she focuses on innovative ecological practices, hates waste and never gives up finding ways to eliminate it. After 25 years in the restaurant industry, she still loves to cook especially with locally sourced veggies, homegrown from her garden.
Captain Peter Wilcox, a Cascadia Fellow and now honored as a Canadian Coastal Champion, initiated the Inside Passage Decarbonization Project (IPDP) after 17 years of employing biodiesel and 7 years of renewable lubricants in successive vessels. He designed Ama Natura, a boat built by the NW School of Wooden Boats, inspired by a sailing salmon troller and built as a platform for testing and perfecting low-carbon and water protection strategies. Peter is an energy efficiency expert who has no plans to retire though working for free appeals more to him these days. When not sailing, they live on a floating home on the Columbia River in Portland with the lovely Luna, a favorite cat.
