Flanked by Congressman Fred Upton and representatives for Gov. Jennifer Granholm and U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow at the dedication and start-up of the newly erected wind turbine recently, DeHaven faced the inevitable question, “What’s next?”
DeHaven is the Vice President for Economic and Business Development at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, where the turbine is located. What’s next, he said, is a 26-week training
academy to create jobs in wind-energy industry.
DeHaven believes this training opportunity will bring people from all over the United States to Kalamazoo County. The KVCC Wind Turbine Academy will be certified by Bildungszentrum fur Erneuerebare Energien (BZEE) the leading trainer for wind-turbine technicians across Europe. In English, that translates to "Renewable Energy Education Center." According to DeHaven, the community college will be the first institution of higher learning in the United States to obtain BZEE certification credentials.
Governor Granholm has set a goal for Michigan of getting 45 percent of its energy from renewable resources by 2020.
‘Wind power technology is about to explode,” said Jeff Patton, Chairman of KVCC’s Board of Trustees.
Entegrity, the wind systems company that sold the turbine to KVCC, announced that it will be basing most of its sales and manufacturing training in the Kalamazoo area through KVCC. Entegrity’s offices and plants, however, will remain in Colorado and Alberta, Canada.
While the celebration was supposed to conclude outdoors with the start-up of the turbine, light wind and heavy rain forced attendees to watch the 145-foot tall start up manually from the foyer of the building.
Want to donate old office equipment, supplies or even an computer to a nonprofit organization, but don’t want to go searching for who might want your hand-me-downs?
ShareKalamazoo.com has done the research for you.
And, thanks to the Greater Kalamazoo United Way, Goodwill Industries and Habitat for Humanity, the process should be fairly painless for you.
The United Way, at (269) 343-2524 serves as a clearinghouse for more than 40 nonprofits who may be able to use that old file cabinet or desk. Among those nonprofits are the Red Cross, Boys & Girls Clubs, Salvation Army, Girl Scouts, Senior Services and the YMCA.
The Habitat for Humanity Restore, at (269) 381-5523 is also happy to put your old office furniture to good use. With free weekly pickups, an unwanted desk or chair can be hauled off for a good cause with just a phone call.
If you’ve tried to get rid of an old computer, you know the process is even more trying. But, Goodwill Industries, thanks to its partnership with Dell, will accept your used electronics, working or not. Electronics which work are sold, and the proceeds support other community work through Goodwill. Nonworking electronics/computers are stripped for parts , with unwanted parts properly recycled. Goodwill’s number is (269) 382-0490.
There’s another good reason to recycle electronics. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 45 million computers become obsolete annually, with between 80 to 8 percent of them ending up in landfills. This is a large contributor to the fastest growing portion of U.S. waste, now known as e-waste. This e-waste contains materials such as lead, mercury and chromium, all of which are harmful to the environment.
If you have other suggestions for ways to dispose of used office furniture and electronics that are safe, effective, and benefit the community, please let us know here.
In these days of dwindling energy sources, communities are beginning to take a closer look at new potential sources for energy. Wind power is a popular candidate in Southwestern Michigan, where strong winds blow ashore year 'round.
Researchers at universities and colleges seem to agree that the energy harnessed by wind turbines from Michigan’s ‘lake effect’ could provide clean, lasting, and safe energy. According to Michigan State University study, Michigan could produce more than 10 times the amount of electricity needed during a peak-use period if 10,000 offshore wind turbines operated along the Great Lakes.
Kalamazoo Valley Community College is leading the wind energy movement in the region, erecting the first of four fully operational, 120-foot tall, wind turbines in the Kalamazoo area. KVCC received its special-use permit and approval of a site plan from the Texas Township Planning Commission in early December, and could have the first wind turbine producing energy as early as January.
In addition to the energy benefits, KVCC is using the turbine as a learning resource. Wind energy will be incorporated into the college's technical programs, and there are plans to establish a Wind Energy Center in the near future.
“An educational institution leading by example is the way I see it,” said James DeHaven, vice president for economic and business development. DeHaven believes the KVCC Wind Energy Center will have educational, job-training, employment, entrepreneurial, and research-and-development ramifications for this part of the state.
Currently, wind power represents only one percent of the nation’s total energy output. With the free winds that come across Lake Michigan, Michigan may be geographically situated to head the movement toward wind power as a significant source of energy. With energy resources diminishing, and Michigan’s economy in trouble, advancing this industry may be a shot in the arm that southwest Michigan could use. These turbines and the educational programs attached to them at KVCC are a big step in making this a reality. It may be interesting to note that Kalamazoo was once known as “The Windmill City.” It was home to several manufacturers that, at their peak, made 4,000 windmills annually and sold to 1,500 overseas markets in the early 20th Century. So, in a sense, it's "back to the future."
This
week’s tip: Reduce your use of packaging materials.
• Limit your use of bottled water. Research shows that the quality
is not necessarily better than tap water. Furthermore, America’s
use of plastic water bottles requires the use of more than 1.5 million
barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel approximately 100,000 US cars for
a year.
• Buy bulk products. It saves CO2 and money that would be wasted
in the packaging process. If everyone bought 15% of their groceries in
bulk, it would be equivalent to taking more than 850,000 cars off the road
for a year.
• Buy concentrated products – they require less packaging and
less energy to transport.
• When it’s time for gifts, consider a gift of an activity,
class, or service. There’s no packaging involved at all!