Now there’s another reason to buy a hybrid besides helping Mother Earth.

Free Preferred Parking at Sierra-at-Tahoe.

Guests who drive a hybrid to Sierra will be rewarded with more than just great skiing. You get rock star parking!

It’s all part of the resort’s PROJECT: GREEN SIERRA program that includes easy ways for skiers and snowboarders to help the resort curb global warming, like this:

• Take the free daily shuttles.
• Purchase green tags through the Bonneville Environmental Foundation to help offset your trip.
• Join the Sierra Rideshare band wagon – click here to find fellow mountaineers to car pool with to save gas and the environment.

These are just a few of the many ways Sierra is helping to Keep Winter Cool like changing all of their lights to LEDs, adding auto light sensors, recycling all of their waste from paper to motor oil, and using eco-friendly cleaning products.

Click here to learn more about PROJECT: GREEN SIERRA so you can join the band.

On October 1, Tahoe boat inspections will move to select launch ramps and winter hours will begin. Tahoe RCD inspectors will be performing inspections and decontaminations at Cave Rock and Lake Forest boat launches from 6am to 4pm seven days a week, and inspections only (no decontaminations) are available at Sand Harbor, Thursday through Monday from 6am to 2pm.

Boats with attached wire seals and valid Tahoe inspection stickers will be permitted to launch during these times, but any new inspections and decontaminations are required to take place during daylight hours. Boats with intact seals will still be permitted to launch at Obexer’s and Tahoe Keys Marina, but no inspections or decontaminations will take place at these locations.

“It is more efficient to move inspections back to the boat ramps with the decrease in boater traffic during the slower fall and winter months,” said Ted Thayer, Aquatic Invasive Species Program Manager at TRPA, “but we expect to continue operations of roadside inspection locations for the 2012 summer boating season. We appreciate the continued cooperation from Lake Tahoe boaters in helping to protect our amazing recreational resources from the growing threat of aquatic invasive species.

Inspection and boat ramp hours are weather permitting, and may close during winter storm conditions. Boaters are encouraged to arrive Clean, Drained and Dry and to confirm hours and inspection locations online at TahoeBoatInspections.com or by calling the Tahoe Boat Inspection Hotline toll-free at 888-824-6267. Private launch facilities should be contacted directly for hours and closures.

“Inspecting boats for aquatic invasive species (AIS) at the off-highway stations will help to avoid delays and congestion at the boat ramps,” said Carlos Leonzo, Watercraft Inspection Program Manager at Tahoe RCD. “New high capacity equipment will also make decontamination of high risk vessels more convenient and expedient.”

“The Lake Tahoe AIS Program is fortunate to be able to fund invasive species protection and control projects here in the Tahoe Basin,” said AIS Program Manager Ted Thayer of the TRPA. “We’d like to extend a thank you to boaters, visitors and residents for supporting the program and the efforts of Tahoe RCD, TRPA and our partners in protecting the Lake Tahoe Region’s amazing resources. We’d also like to thank US Fish & Wildlife Service, which provides major funding for Tahoe’s boat inspection program.”

Do your part on every craft – kayak, canoe, sailboat, motor boat, jet ski, even a raft. Please CLEAN, DRAIN, DRY, AND FLUSH your boat and toys in between every body of water, every time.

According to Slow Food USA, it’s “an idea, a way of living and a way of eating. It is a global, grassroots movement with thousands of members around the world that links the pleasure of food with a commitment to community and the environment.”

With values like that, it’s no surprise we have a chapter based in Truckee.

In a nutshell, Slow Food is an international movement to counteract our fast paced lives. Slow Food is good, clean and fair food.  Slow Food members believe that food should taste good and be produced in a clean way that does not harm the environment, animal welfare or our health; and that food producers should receive fair compensation for their work.

Slow Food Lake Tahoe hosts the popular Dinners in the Barn events and promotes regional farmer’s markets and community supported agriculture (CSAs).  They even list some healthy tips and recipes for veggies on their website.  And, fundraisers help the Truckee Tahoe Nutrition Coalition which promotes optimum health through nutrition and physical activity such as Fun Food Days, Harvest of the Month, and Fit, Fueled, Ready to Move and the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District Student Wellness Policy.

Slow Food Lake Tahoe is committed to promoting the environmental and health benefits of slow food and these four key ingredients:

1. Good: Naturally delicious food created with care from healthy plants and animals.

2. Clean: Grown and harvested with methods that have a positive impact on ecosystems and biodiversity.

3. Fair: Produced by people who are treated with dignity and justly compensated for their labor.

4. Fun: Connecting with like-minded community members who savor good food and good times.

To learn more and how you can get involved, please visit www.slowfoodlaketahoe.org.

Growing up in Kings Beach you see, Bob always shared something in common with his neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Bear.

Trash.

Yes, Bob loves trash.

However, Bob quickly realized that trash was killing his fellow Tahoe natives.  So he got to work collecting scraps of metal, discarded pieces of whatever – old car pieces, wood, anything – and he started to weld and create some beautiful one-of-a-kind bear boxes that made Smokey proud.

Bob calls his recycled bear boxes “an amalgam of the past, a multi-layered quilt of metal that lived a former life in a completely different context.” Considered art, Bob’s Bear Boxes are completely functional and not only help reduce the waste in our landfills, but they may just help keep our Tahoe bears alive by keeping them away from last night’s dinner.

To learn more about Bob’s Bear Boxes and to see his custom, intricate designs, click here.

Who said ski resorts don’t care.

Most of the Lake Tahoe ski resorts have launched ride sharing programs to reduce emissions including Kirkwood’s K-Pool.

And, who knows – you may meet a new friend.

Here’s how it works.

Click here for the Carpool Forum and sign up. Through the K-Pool online forum you can find other skiers and Kirkwood employees with similar schedules and plan your carpool to the resort. You can search by date, time, departing destination and other details in order to contact drivers or riders with similar schedules. You can also personalize your profile so you’ll be sure to ride with your kind (i.e. smoker/non-smoker, early-riser/noon club, skier/snowboarder, likes to leave @ noon/Last Chair!, etc.)

And, if stopping global warming isn’t cool enough, Kirkwood will be giving incentives all season long to those who sign up.

Kirkwood’s entire Share the Road program is expected to take 1,000 cars off the highway each season. In 2007, Kirkwood invested $425,000 to subsidize daily employee shuttles from South Lake Tahoe, provided employee carpool incentives, and leased vehicles for carpooling eliminating 500 cars from the road.

Sign me up!

Following family and friends, Bret’s passions include protecting the playground he enjoys daily by practicing what he preaches, and through his new green business, Healthy Home Consultants.

Bret Hackett, local builder and designer of the first LEED home in the Tahoe Basin, discusses the ten key elements that make a house green. And, he should know.  Bret won the 2008 Best in Basin Awards for the “Best Green Building Project” presented by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.  Congratulations Bret!

As the principal of a green design and build company, I receive a lot of questions from clients regarding the green-ness of products and design principles.

Considering past projects and future designs, there tends to be one commonality.

Unless one is looking at a large array of solar panels or a residence that resembles a green house made from tires and adobe, the common response is: What’s Green about that?

Green building is not rocket science, nor is it as complex as nanotechnology. In fact, green building has a closer resemblance to the homes of our ancestors than the homes we live in now. In the words of David Johnson, a green building consultant in Colorado, Green Building is simply “applied common sense.” In this article I will give ten examples of Green Building. The photos will not show endless rows of solar panels or geo-thermal heat pumps, rather, the examples will display simple and elegant solutions to creating a healthy, efficient, and bomb-proof home. Yes, a Green Home.

The ten examples below were all implemented on a recent project which was designed and built by my company, Healthy Home Consultants, in South Lake Tahoe. This home is the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certified Home in the Tahoe Basin.

The home is angled on the lot so that one large gable end is oriented to the South. (see top photo)

This allows passive solar heating which can reduce heating bills. It is accomplished by placing an extensive amount of glass on the south side which brings in the low winter sun to heat the concrete floors. The gable end facing north has few windows to protect against heat loss.

The garage is a separate structure from the home, attached with a covered walkway.

This ensures that the home will have the best indoor air quality possible by keeping chemicals and exhaust out of the home.

The home is sided with corrugated steel and CertainTeed fiber cement.

The steel will weather naturally, and last indefinitely with a mountain style patina which requires no maintenance.

The fiber cement siding was finished in the factory and has a 50 year warranty.

Radiant Floor Heating. The Pex tubing is laid out and ready for a finished concrete floor. The home is heated by circulating warm fluid through concrete floors.

There are five separate zones on the first floor and eight throughout the house.

This gives the homeowner complete temperature control, which improves comfort and saves money.

The home is constructed of Structural Insulated Panels (SIPS) which are stronger, more durable and more energy efficient than conventional building.

Hard at work as the second floor wall panels are craned in. A 6 ½ inch SIP wall has a true R-Value of R-21 compared to a 2×6 stud framed wall with a true R-Value of R-11.

True R-Value is the measurement of a completed wall assembly (studs, insulation, sheathing).

Structure as Finish is a very important green design principle. It unites people with the bones of a building and minimizes resource and material use.

This photo exemplifies how we used two crucial structural elements to create a finished product.

The steel I-beam was left exposed as opposed to being wrapped with sheetrock or wood.

The concrete floor, which holds the energy from the radiant heat, was dressed up for a no-maintenance, beautiful floor as opposed to adding tile or hardwood as a finish.

Daylighting is a green design principle which uses the sun to light a building as opposed to electricity.

Interior glass doors and interior windows located at strategic locations are a vital element in accomplishing daylighting in a building.

This door illuminates an otherwise dark hallway.

One of the basic tenets of green building and sustainability in general, is using local materials and local production.

These counter-tops were made locally (onsite by Healthy Home Consultants carpenters) and produced from locally salvaged wood.

The bar-top is a Juniper slab and the butcher block counters are made from juniper and oak.

In order to supply the home with fresh air throughout the day and night which is essential for Indoor Air Quality, the home has a Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV).

This technology is a must in today’s tight homes.

The heat recovery occurs in the winter; as the HRV exhales stale indoor air it stores the heat in a heat exchanger, thus capturing up to 90% of the heat, and using it to heat the incoming fresh air.

This home’s walls are protected by large eaves which are the extension of roof beyond the wall.

The eaves are 2 and 3 feet throughout the house and garage.

This design feature protects the walls from moisture in the winter and intense sun in the summer.

Creating quality Outdoor Living Space is not only a green design principle, but a fundamental element to every structure.

Areas where one can relax, reflect, and connect with their surroundings are essential for promoting a comfortable and relaxing setting.

This home has outdoor living on both the north and south aspects.

The north facing entry porch gives shelter to skiers, groceries and guests in the winter and a cool spot for conversation and relaxation on the hot summer days.

The deck is oriented to due south to take advantage of the warm Tahoe sun whenever one desires.

To see this LEED home and to learn more about Healthy Home Consultants, contact Bret at 530-412-0316 or bret@healthyhomeconsultants.net

Photos by Bret Hackett

Meet Bret Hackett

Bret Hackett lives and plays in South Lake Tahoe with his wife Rosie, daughter Ruby, and dog Osa. Bret followed the snow from Flagstaff, AZ to serve the local community as a ski patroller at Heavenly and an avalanche educator at Lake Tahoe Community College for 8 years.

In between adventures of rock climbing, mountain biking, skiing, surfing and river running, he has worked in the building trades and studied sustainable building since 1994.

From 1996-1999 he studied Ecological Design at Prescott College both nurturing his passion and expanding his knowledge base for green building.

Currently, Bret is paving the way for green building in the mountain environs of the Sierra Nevada. In 2008, he designed and built the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) home in the Tahoe basin. Bret continues to serve this beautiful mountain town with stunning architecture and high quality craftsmanship with his company Healthy Home Consultants.

That’s right.

Located in Incline Village, the U.C. Davis Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences building has received a Platinum LEED Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

What a perfect tribute to our preservation efforts.

TCES is the first building in Nevada to earn the recognition, one of 5 laboratories and one of only 26 facilities in the world to have earned the highest tier of recognition for energy and environmental design excellence under the LEED program for New Construction (LEED NC.). LEED is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

To achieve this designation, the project design had to achieve over 52 credits in 6 subject areas:

• Sustainable Sites
• Energy & Atmosphere
• Water Efficiency
• Materials & Resources
• Indoor Environmental Quality
• Innovation & Design Process

TCES got 56 points – OVER ACHIEVER!

The 45,000-square-foot facility housing UC Davis’s research laboratories, a public education center; Sierra Nevada College laboratories and classrooms; and office space for the Desert Research Institute and University of Nevada, Reno’s Academy for the Environment. To learn more, visit their website.

All of these functions are focused on understanding and preserving the unique ecology of the Lake Tahoe watershed. Achieving the Platinum certification not only shows congruence with that focus, but proves that sustainable, energy-efficient design is possible even for complex, critical-use buildings such as laboratories.

Some highlights:

• The TCES building uses 60% less energy than a building of the same function, climate and size.
• Potable water use was reduced 65% through the use of drought-tolerant native plants, water-efficient plumbing fixtures, and the use of treated rainwater for toilets.
• Retention basins were used to slow down and treat storm water runoff and reduced areas of site disturbance during construction.
• Building materials included high levels of recycled content and materials from local sources (reducing environmental impacts of transportation).
• Over 85% of the construction waste was recycled.

Check it out this engineering marvel.

Take a Tour of the TCES building or Thomas J. Long Education Center.

Location:

The Education Center is located in the TCES building on the campus of Sierra Nevada College located at:
291 Country Club Drive
Incline Village, Nevada

Hours: TCES building is open Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. with special appointments available.

During peak months the Education Center will be open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

Tours: Volunteer docents are available for guided tours of the Education Center and TCES building, questions about exhibits, operation of 3-D Visualization Lab, and general information. Regular tours are available on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Contact: Stop by during our regular hours, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., or schedule a docent-led tour.

Call 775-881-7560 for more information.

Photos by Chris Talbot

Shop Green

You can support local green businesses this holiday season by shopping with the participants of the “Keep the Sierra Green” Program. Need a unique gift; a fun specialty item? How about a gift card to a local coffee shop or restaurant? Need lift tickets, a demo package or more gear? Massage, manicure or pedicure more your speed? KSG businesses can provide you with whatever you need, and you will feel great knowing your purchases support businesses who are community leaders in waste reduction and sustainability.

Simply go to www.KeepTheSierraGreen.org to search the database of area businesses who are participating in this regional green business certification program.

Green Actions

Forget the paper or plastic bags and use cloth bags, every time. It seems more and more of us are remembering our cloth bags when shopping at the local grocery store. Now it’s time to keep those bags with you when shopping for other retail items. Reusable shopping bags also make great gifts.

Purchase gifts with minimal packaging. Although not always an easy task, do what you can do to purchase items that don’t come overly protected in huge amounts of plastic, paperboard, or styrofoam. Keep in mind that the plastic and paperboard packaging is recyclable, however Styrofoam and plastic wrap is not. Gift cards are a great alternative if you are not positive what someone on your shopping list really desires.

Purchase durable gifts that can be reused and/or made from recycled content material. For people on the go – a great gift is a stainless steel water bottle or reusable coffee mug placed in a reusable cloth bag.

Recycling, Recycling, Recycling

How about giving the gift of free recycling to a friend, neighbor or relative by purchasing them a case of blue bags? Blue bags are used in all the Lake Tahoe and Truckee recycling programs – a universal gift for the planet and community members!

The following items can be recycled curbside by utilizing blue bags:

• Paper – newspapers, magazines, catalogues, junk mail, paperboard (remove liners and plastic film), computer paper, paper towel rolls, toilet paper rolls, office paper, colored paper, non-foil wrapping paper.

• Aluminum, steel and tin cans. Clean aluminum foil.

• Glass bottles and jars – all colors.

• Plastics numbered 1-7 with the exception of Styrofoam and plastic bags. Plastics bags can be recycled at Safeway, and Raleys. Styrofoam is not accepted for recycling.

• Unnumbered Rigid Plastic – this includes hard plastic packaging and hard plastics (such as snow sleds) where the number is absent.

• Cardboard – break down and cut up the boxes to place in blue bags, or tie in a secure bundle. If you have a large amount of cardboard, break it down and take it to one of several area drop-off locations.

Don’t Forget:

• Please make sure you have clean materials. Rinsing off food residue is very important!

• Fill your blue-bags with all your mixed recyclables. TIE the blue bag securely.

• Curbside blue bag recycling is picked up free and in unlimited quantity.

• Call your area solid waste provider if you have any questions.

Free Christmas Tree Recycling

Several programs are operating including curbside and drop-off programs – please contact your local solid waste service provider for more information.

Free Recycling of Old Electronics & Christmas Lights

Electronics including batteries, televisions, computers, DVD players, stereos, iPods, cell phones and even old strands of Christmas lights may be dropped off for free recycling at area HHW and Electronics Collection Programs -please contact your local solid waste service provider for more information.

Remember Our Bears:

The bears remain active in the winter, especially if they can get food or garbage. Never place food related garbage outside–except on service day or in a bear resistant container. Keep the garage doors and dumpster locked except for immediate use. It only takes one incident to get a bear hooked on garbage and condemn it to an early death.

But electricity causes pollution, right? Not if you tap into the wind like some of our ski resorts.

Recognizing that electricity is a major polluter, some of our local ski resorts are buying wind power to balance our needs with the environment.

Ski resorts across the country and in Lake Tahoe are getting serious about fighting global warming. Many are purchasing renewable energy credits equal to the resort’s entire electricity usage.

By embracing wind power as a clean and renewable source, participating ski resorts counteract millions of pounds of carbon dioxide emissions we emit by driving our cars to the resorts every year. Now that’s cool.

Buying Wind. How does that work?

Since it is physically impossible to deliver electricity straight from a wind farm to a ski resort, renewable energy credits make purchasing wind power possible. Wind energy credits ensure that the amount of electricity the ski resort uses is replaced onto the power grid with wind power. Wind farms sell renewable energy credits to better compete with fossil fuels, allowing consumers to choose clean sources of electricity.

Here’s what a few of our local ski resorts are doing to reduce their use of electricity, and to keep Tahoe cool.

Alpine Meadows
Alpine Meadows purchases 100% renewable wind powered energy from Colorado-based Renewable Choice Energy, a wind power provider. Using this amount of wind energy is equivalent to not driving a car 1,822,061 miles. That’s three and a half round-trip tickets to the moon!

Heavenly
All 5 of the Vail Resorts, including Heavenly, are 100% powered by the wind, making them the second largest corporate purchaser of wind power in the United States. Like Alpine Meadows, Vail has also partnered with Renewable Choice Energy.

Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe
Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe has joined the SkiGreen program and purchased enough renewable energy to match the annual electrical load of the Northwest and Zephyr chairlifts. This represents over 610 megawatt–hours of renewable energy produced from non-polluting resources – equivalent to the annual electricity used by about 50 average homes. That’s the approximate carbon dioxide reduction equivalent of planting 115 acres of trees or not driving 73 cars for one year.

Sugar Bowl
In partnership with 3 Phases Energy, Sugar Bowl is supporting California wind farms by purchasing renewable energy to offset 100% of its energy use. This 4,272 megawatt hour (MWh) per year purchase reduces Sugar Bowl’s consumption of fossil fuels, and keeps 4,588,000 pounds of greenhouse gasses out of the atmosphere each year. This is equivalent to planting 310,000 trees or taking 400 cars off of the road for one year.

Want to help? It’s Easy. Buy a SkiGreen Tag.

Several of our ski resorts are selling Mini-SkiGreen Tags with their season pass sales and daily lift tickets. The proceeds from Mini-SkiGreen Tag sales are used to support renewable energy like wind power at the ski resort.

Each Mini-SkiGreen Tag represents enough wind energy to offset the global warming pollution generated from driving an average car around 150 miles.

SkiGreen Tags make a great year-round gift for the planet, your family, friends and yourself. Click here for our local ski resorts that sell them.

These nasty mussels are a few of the destructive Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) that threaten to ruin the pristine waters of Lake Tahoe, and our surrounding lakes and streams.  AIS can also ruin our favorite boating and fishing pastimes, our gear and economy. Thanks to the watercraft inspections and education efforts implemented by the TRPA, Tahoe RCD, USFS, and other agencies and community folks we’ve been able to ward off the mussels, and fight the further spread of existing AIS.  But everyone must do more.

Learn how you can help and how to become a Tahoe Keeper at a free public forum on November 16th in Kings Beach.

Our area’s smartest scientists and planners will present an update on the Lake Tahoe and Truckee watercraft inspection programs, aquatic invasive plant and Asian clam control efforts, the Tahoe Keepers self-inspection program for paddlers, as well as national and regional AIS prevention and control efforts.

Light refreshments will be served from 5pm to 5:30pm, with presentations following from 5:30pm to 7:30pm with a Q and A period.

“A great deal of collaboration, hard work and funding goes into protecting Lake Tahoe and nearby waterbodies,” said Steve Chilton, Lake Tahoe and Northern Nevada’s Aquatic Nuisance Species Coordinator for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. “This forum is a chance for the public to learn about what’s happening on the ground, ask questions and deliver important feedback.”

We’ve all seen the destruction that Eurasian watermilfoil has caused in the Tahoe Keys, entrance to Emerald Bay and the Upper Truckee River and it’s time we all help to stop the further spread of this nasty weed and other AIS. Currently, the most serious threats to the streams and lakes in the Lake Tahoe Rrgion and Truckee waterbodies are Zebra and Quagga mussels, New Zealand mudsnails, and Eurasian watermilfoil and Curlyleaf pondweed. Each of these invaders is spread through the transport of water and/or debris that can collect in cockpits and hatches, bilges, cling to outer hulls, rudders, and paddles, and even hide out on your gear.

The award-winning Tahoe Boat Inspections program has been so successful it is often used as a model for other states. In fact, the state of Maine’s largest lakes organization visited Lake Tahoe in October to seek advice for their AIS management programs from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

Mark you calendar to learn about the most important issue threatening our livelihood and environment and the effective  program developed by the TRPA, TRCD, USFS and other agencies. You’ll be impressed and proud.

Aquatic Invasive Species Community Forum

FREE

Wednesday, November 16, 2011
5:00 pm to 7:30 pm

Refreshments provided – 5:00 pm to 5:30 pm
Presentations 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm

North Tahoe Events Center
8318 North Lake Tahoe Blvd., Kings Beach

Here’s your chance to learn more and submit feedback regarding the future of the Truckee Boat Inspection Program, which is currently a voluntary program operated by the Tahoe Resource Conservation District, but may become a mandatory inspection program in the near future.  Portions of the AIS Fall Forum will be videotaped and available online after the event.

To learn more about the entire Lake Tahoe and Truckee boat inspections program, visit www.TahoeBoatInspections.com