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		Katie Alvord Profession: Freelance writer

Katie Alvord is a local freelance writer and the author of a book about transportation reform, Divorce Your Car! Ending the Love Affair with the Automobile. Over the last 20 years her articles and essays have appeared in a variety of publications, including the Boston Globe, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Sonoma Index-Tribune, Upper Peninsula Post, E Magazine, Northern Lights, Orion Afield, Silent Sports, Sonoma Business, The Urban Ecologist, Utne Reader, Wild Earth and Wine Country Magazine. 

Katie holds a Bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences from the University of California at Davis and a Master's in Library and Information Studies from the University of California at Berkeley, where she also studied journalism. She has lived in the Copper Country since 1994.

News

Businesses feel the heat: Lake Superior warms up, part 3

By Katie Alvord  Posted 06/30/2007


HOUGHTON -- On June 21, the Senate passed an energy bill that would increase average vehicle fuel efficiency, a measure meant at least in part to combat global warming. Meanwhile, in the Copper Country, some businesses -- particularly those based on winter tourism -- might already have been feeling global warming's effects. In this final segment of a three-part series on climate change in the Lake Superior Basin, Katie Alvord looks at ways local businesses have already been affected by warming temperatures, how some have responded with potential solutions and what some scientists say about the future of winter in our area. more
Photo: Making snow at Mont Ripley Ski Hill near Hancock. In warmer winters, ski areas rely more on artificial snow. The tall, slanted pipe in left foreground is newer, more energy-efficient snowmaking equipment. (Photo © 2007 and courtesy Mont Ripley.)

Lake Superior Basin feeling heat: Part 2

By Katie Alvord  Posted 06/03/2007


HOUGHTON -- The next G-8 summit starts on June 6 in Germany; and, with climate change high on the agenda, George W. Bush has responded to European pressures by announcing his own counter-proposals for stemming greenhouse gas emissions. As world political leaders debate what to do about climate change, several scientists from around Lake Superior say local plants and animals are already showing the effects of rising average temperatures. Their findings range from northward shifts in bird and small mammal ranges to unexpected plankton blooms to a diminishing moose population on Isle Royale, and some are expressing concern about what a warming climate might mean for our future. more
Photo: Isle Royale moose shows areas of skin rubbed bare due to tick infestation. Moose lose fur when they rub against trees in an attempt to remove ticks. Warmer temperatures favor ticks and make moose more vulnerable to winter tick infestations.  (Photo © 2007 John Vucetich. Reprinted with permission.)

Second renewable energy forum attracts large crowd

By Katie Alvord  Posted 05/21/2007


HANCOCK -- A larger-than-expected turnout at a Hancock renewable energy forum caught the organizers by surprise -- again. Well over 100 people flocked to the April 17 forum, "Renewable Energy: Reducing Home Energy Costs, Part 2," held at Lakeview Manor and organized by the Keweenaw Sustainability Project (KSP). The April forum featured talks by Terry McNinch about solar photovoltaics; Terry Kinzel on solar, hydroelectric, and wind power; Mike Benda on his large residential wind system; and Dave Bach about retrofitting homes for energy efficiency and conservation. The forum was a follow-up to the KSP renewable energy forum held in February, which also attracted a large crowd. KSP also sponsored a Solar, Wind and Retrofitted Home Tour on May 19, during which visitors were able to see some of the energy systems presented at the forums. more
Photo: More than 100 interested residents attended the April 17 forum, "Renewable Energy: Reducing Home Energy Costs, Part 2," held at Lakeview Manor in Hancock and organized by the Keweenaw Sustainability Project (KSP). (Photo © 2007 Gustavo Bourdieu. Reprinted with permission.)

Lake Superior warming fast: Researchers surprised by strong trends

By Katie Alvord  Posted 05/03/2007


HOUGHTON -- A growing number of regional officials and researchers have been examining how climate change may already affect air, water and ice within the Lake Superior basin. This regional work is taking place as the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) completes its Fourth Assessment Report on the state of the world’s climate. The IPCC is releasing its 2007 assessment in segments, and the next will be released Friday, May 4. In the first in a series of articles on climate change, Keweenaw Now guest writer Katie Alvord reports recent climate changes affecting Lake Superior, as researched by scientists at the University of Minnesota Duluth and Michigan Tech University and as observed by meteorologists and by officials at Isle Royale National Park and Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. more
Photo: Ice melting along the Lake Superior shoreline in late March 2007. (Photo © 2007 Katie Alvord. Reprinted with permission.) 

"Power is in Our Hands Walk" calls for reducing carbon emissions

Posted 04/19/2007


HOUGHTON -- About 30 people attended a talk and pinwheel parade with the theme "The Power is in Our Hands" on a sunny Saturday, April 14, in Houghton. The event was part of a national campaign called "Step It Up, Congress -- Cut Carbon 80% Or More by 2050." More than 1,300 other "Step It Up" events took place across the country on this same day. The Houghton event started with a talk at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. Anne Newcombe, who organized the event, talked of the need for laws to restrict carbon emissions; and Barry Solomon, Michigan Tech professor specializing in energy issues, gave advice about home conservation techniques. The parade walkers carried a banner stating, "Step It Up, Congress - Cut Carbon 80% by 2050," signs and pinwheels and walked from Houghton to Hancock and back. Some came by bike to protest fossil fuels. more
Photo: "The Power Is In Our Hands" walkers carry a banner expressing solidarity with the national "Step It Up, Congress" event to address climate change. The walk from Houghton to Hancock and back was a family-friendly community event coordinated with over 1,000 other related events around the country. (Photo © 2007 Gustavo Bourdieu for Keweenaw Now.)

Renewable energy events draw local crowds

By Katie Alvord  Posted 04/07/2007


HOUGHTON --  A growing number of Copper Country residents like the idea of renewable power, if turnouts at recent meetings are any indication. A wind energy talk by Calumet Girl Scouts attracted attention in January. A Hancock forum on solar, wind, and energy conservation, sponsored by the Keweenaw Sustainability Project (KSP), drew a larger-than-expected crowd in February, as did a Small Wind Seminar sponsored by Michigan State University  Extension in Houghton in March. KSP will sponsor another forum, "Energy Costs, Part 2," at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Apr. 17, at Lakeview Manor in Hancock. The forum will include presentations on solar power, wind power and retrofitting older homes to save energy. more
Photo: This 10 KW wind turbine helps offset electricity needs for the adjacent home, which is also connected to the power grid. (Photo © American Wind Energy Association and courtesy Lynn Hamilton.)

Proposed Trans-Superior Cable would hit Keweenaw Peninsula

Posted 05/07/2002

THUNDER BAY, ONT. -- As part of "bold new expansion plans" announced this spring, an electrical utilities group in Canada hopes to lay a power transmission cable across Lake Superior from a projected petroleum coke power plant in Thunder Bay, Ontario, across a tip of Isle Royale, to the Keweenaw Peninsula. Guest reporter Katie Alvord investigates possible impacts of the Cdn$9 billion project. more

Afghanistan: War for oil? Local voices weigh in

Posted 03/16/2002

HOUGHTON -- This month, as Congress considers a sweeping energy policy bill and the Bush administration continues to push for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the debate over United States energy security raises questions about the role of oil in the current Afghan conflict. Guest writer Katie Alvord explores these questions with experts at Michigan Technological University. more

Michigan registers warmest winter on record

Posted 03/07/2002

HOUGHTON -- Guest writer Katie Alvord reports that preliminary numbers indicate this was the warmest meteorological winter -- through February -- ever measured for the state of Michigan. The National Weather Service says the last four months have been the warmest November through February on record in Marquette, with the average temperature hitting 27.2 degrees. more