Speakers and Workshops

This list of workshops for the 2008 North Country Sustainable Energy Fair is nearly complete at this point. All workshops are 45 or 90 minutes, although we do offer some longer hands-on workshops.

A full schedule of times with descriptions of the workshops and biographies of presenters will be available April 8th on the WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS AND SCHEDULE page.

2008 SATURDAY AND SUNDAY WORKSHOPS

KEYNOTE SPEECH (Saturday, April 26 at 10 am in the Auditorium)

Richard Heinberg PEAK EVERYTHING: Navigating the Transition from Fossil Fuels to Renewables

Humankind has been on a growth binge for millenia, but prior to the industrial revolution we were limited to yearly solar energy income. With fossil fuels, previous limits to expansion of population and consumption vanished. But now, at the dawn of the 21st century, those limits are reasserting themselves via Climate Change and Peak Oil. Our survival test as a global society will be to end our fossil fuel addiction before it ends us.

What does the future hold for supplies and prices of oil, gas and coal? Which alternative fuels show the most promise? How will evolving national and global climate policies influence energy markets? How can public officials and citizens plan to deal with higher energy prices and the prospect of shortages, while investing in energy sources of the future?

Richard Heinberg is an internationally-known author of the most widely read books on energy consumption and peak oil: The Party’s Over, PowerDown, The Oil Depletion Protocol and Peak Everything. Regarded as one of the world’s formost Peak Oil educators, he provides a visionary response to the coming energy famine and a humane assessment of the likely realities of life after fossil fuels. His is a clear call to cooperative solutions based on the conviction that realism must trump self-delusion in matters of cultural survival.

• Dean Anthony Affordable Solar Strategies for Northern New York
• ‘Crazy’ Jerry Bartlett This Old House Take Two: Creative Off-Grid Retrofits
• ‘Crazy’ Jerry Bartlett Shades of Green:An Inconvenient Color
• John Bosworth Harvesting Rainwater in the North Country
  
• Matt Bullwinkel Solar Hot Water A to Z
• Roy Butler Solar Photovoltaics
• Roy Butler Advanced Solar Photovoltaics Hands On Workshop
  
• Roy Butler & Bob Ellison Homeowners Guide to Wind Power
• Jerry Cherney GreenGold: Grass Pelleting in the North Country followed by discussion of upstate New York pelleting possibilities and initiatives
• Coakley’s Hardware Do It Yourself Weatherization
• Scott Gordon Finding and Troubleshooting Biodiesel
  
• Ann Heidenreich Reducing Energy Consumption: Why We Must and How To Do It
• Kirk Herander Grid-Tied Solar Systems
• Tom Huber Homesteading in the 21st Century: A Permaculture Approach
• Michael Kerfoot Composting Toilets
• Jim Juczak How To Build an Off-Grid $20,000 House - Part 2
  
• Jim Juczak How To Build a Wind Turbine Hands-On Workshop
  
• Jim Juczak and Richard Douglass True Sustainability: Why Change Your Lifestyle
  
• Gerry Loch Save Energy, Save Dollars: It’s 10 AM: Do You Know What Your Water Heater Is Doing?
• Gerry Loch Sustainable Energy on the Farm
  
• Melissa Madden & Michael Burns (Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute) Intro to Permaculture - both regular and longer Hands-On Workshop
• The Martin Family Using Vegetable Oil in Diesel Vehicles: The Details
• Steve Meyer BIOHEAT: Using Biodiesel in Your Furnace–A to Z
• Steve Meyer Make Your Own Biodiesel Hands-On Workshop
  
• Greg Murray Gasification Boilers–The Clean Woodburning Technology
• Mike Newtown Energy for Everybody: An Intro to Renewables
• Mike Newtown Assess Your Home Site and Energy Use for Solar - Hands-On Workshop
  
• Aileen O’Donoghue The Science of Climate Change: What Can We Know
• Bill Olsen Wood Gasification
• PANEL: Jerry Bartlett, Moderator Using Alternative Vehicles (Biodiesel, Veggie Oil, Hybrids, Electric, Wood Gasification, Recumbant and Electric Bicycles)
• PANEL: Alliance for Municipal Power Owning Our Power: Creating a Regional Public Power Authority
• PANEL: Jan Hutslar, Moderator: Living Off-Grid: The Day-To-Day Reality
• PANEL: Luke Martin, Moderator: Back to the Future: Radical Sustainability
  
• PANEL: GardenShare: Hungry For Answers: Community Supported Agriculture
• PANEL: William Serafin, Moderator: New Paths for Transportation (Rooftop Railway, Public Transportation, Electric Bicycles)
  
• Dr. Susan Powers Sustainability of BioFuels: Are They Good or Bad?
  
• Jon Rosales UN Climate Change Policy: What’s Missing?
  
• Rob Roy Mortgage Free!
  • Timber Framing for the Rest of Us
  • Earth Sheltered Housing & Living Roofs
    
  • Building Stone Circles
  • Corwood Masonry Building
• Erik Schulze Passive Solar Design
• Norbert Senf Masonry Heaters: The Most Efficient Wood Burning System
• Steve Spence How To Install Your Own Solar System
  
• Mel Tyree The Zero Energy/Zero Carbon House
• Gabe Vincelette Wood Pelleting in New York
• Bill Vitek Revolutionary Times in the Age of Rapid Depletion
• Doug and Ginger Storey Welch How We Saved 50% on our Energy Bills in Four Easy Steps!
• Erica Wolchuck How To Repair, Maintain and Safely Ride Your Bicycle Hands-On Workshop

HANDS-ON WORKSHOPS

Workshops listed as HANDS-ON are three hours long and take place at SUNY Canton in Nevaldine Hall (a short walk from the Campus Center). These workshops are by pre-registration only and cost $30, all of which goes to the teacher. To register, email: fair@ncenergy.org or call 315-379-9466 and give us your name, email, phone and address.

• Mike Newtown, ASSESS YOUR HOME FOR SOLAR $30 (Sun. 1:30-4:30) Mike is the head of the SUNY Canton Renewable Energy Program. You will be asked to bring your past energy bills, home size and photos of your site. The class will be divided between visuals and hands-on figuring.
• Steve Meyer, MAKE YOUR OWN BIODIESEL $30 (Sat. 1:30-4:30) Steve has been making biodiesel for many years and heats his home with it 100 percent. You will learn how to make an inexpensive 5-gallon production system, how to get veggie oil, how to brew it from scratch, how to make minor adjustments to your formulas and how to run biodiesel successfully in your vehicles. A CD and handouts will be available free.
  
• Jim Juczak and Steve Spence, HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN WIND TURBINE $30 (Sun. 10-1) Jim is the king of scavenged, affordable, homemade power. He and Steve and their wind turbine were featured on the Science Channel last fall. They will have the parts they use to build the machine. Major systems will be discussed and a sample windmill will be built during this demonstration.
• Roy Butler, ADVANCED SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAICS $30 (Sun., 1:30-4:30) The latest developments and equipment in the solar industry, the future of solar from here, installation techniques and advice, grid-tied or off-grid, and much more.
• Erica Wolchuck, HOW TO REPAIR AND MAINTAIN YOUR BICYCLE $30 (Sun. 1:30-4:30) Bring your bicycle and under Erica’s guidance, give it a spring tune up, plus make minor repairs. Learn about tips of safe riding on local roads from a pro. Examine recumbant and electric bicycles as options.
• Melissa Madden & Michael Burns (Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute), INTRO TO PERMACULTURE $30 (Sun. 1:30-4:30) Learn how to integrate nature’s practical principles of truly sustainable living into all levels of your life and homestead. This workshop is relevant for anyone who wants to create regenerative systems to implement their dreams. It will introduce the design principles that allow people to create productive and ecologically sound landscapes, homes, wood lots and communities. Discussion of how permaculture principles can help workshop participants meet their design needs.
• Matt Bulwinkel, SOLAR HOT WATER A TO Z $30 (Sun. 1:30-4:30) From angles to glycol, thermistors to storage, this is for people considering a solar thermal system for hot water or space heating needs. You will learn how collectors are constructed, how to assess your site, how the systems operate, plumbing, mounting, monitoring and incentives.

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