Decarb the Passage One Day At A Time


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August 17th 2017
Published: August 18th 2017
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FROM AMA LOG: Thursday, 8/17/17

Port McNeil



WEATHER: Mostly clear, sunny day, light winds, temp. about 75˙



PILOTAGE: Another no travel day in lovely Port McNeil. We fill our day, walking the town (BB) and finishing repairs (PW). While we are still waiting for the inverter to arrive, we enjoy tourist activities here and get to know our neighboring sailors on the docks.



Peter has just about perfected his elevator pitch about the Inside Passage Decarbonization Project (IDPD). Thankfully, people are interested! Lots of good questions and shared stories about what they are already doing. Solar panels are commonplace in the boating community but now we are hearing of all kinds of other ideas. We’ve seen high tech wind generators on the fancier boats. Boaters are rigging heat exchangers, engine generated water heaters (like on Ama) and water capturing systems.



One of Port McNeil’s city councilors has asked for a letter to share with his fellow council members. He been helping with our electrical issues (he’s also a marine electrician), and is excited about their city providing alternative power supply to their marina and possibly their whole town. They are lucky enough to be using hydropower so are already ahead of most communities but their fuel supply, like every other station on Vancouver Island, comes from the Alberta tar sands oil fields, some of the dirtiest petroleum on the planet. This is where he thinks his town can do better.



Port McNeil could be the first town to develop waste-based renewable fuels that would produce local jobs while producing clean, toxic-free fuel supply! Canfor Pulp, a Canadian pulp and paper company, has funded a clean technology project to develop clean fuel from their waste. In their case, it’s wood pulp waste from their pulp mill. There are many examples of this kind of innovative thinking on land, now it’s time for water-connected towns and communities to start changing the fuels they make available to users on the water.


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