Energy Program

Robinson Rancheria submitted a Department of Energy Grant for a Multi-Tribal Energy Program.  We were approved for this application and I was hired as the DOE Project Coordinator to perform the work plan tasks.   We are nearing the end of the fiscal year for the First Steps Energy Grant from Department of Energy. We will have completed a strategic energy plan for each of the Lake County Tribes.  These plans will include information and costs for large scale energy production and identify  possible locations.  A map is being developed to locate all future energy project sites.

 Easy low-cost and no-cost ways to save energy.

• Set your thermostat comfortably low in the winter and comfortably high in the summer. The best temp is 68 degrees when your not home.

• Use compact fluorescent light bulbs.

• Turn off your computer and monitor when not in use.

• Plug home electronics, such as TVs and DVD players, into power strips; turn the power strips off when the equipment is not in use (TVs and DVDs in standby mode still use several watts of power).  
• Lower the thermostat on your hot water heater to 120° F.
• Take short showers instead of baths.
• Wash only full loads of dishes and clothes.

Tips to find air leaks in the home - How Does the Air Escape?

Air infiltrates into and out of your home through every hole, nook, and cranny. About one-third of this air infiltrates through openings in your ceilings, walls, and floors.

Sources of Air Leaks in Your Home

Warm air leaking into your home during the summer and out of your home during the winter can waste a lot of your energy dollars. One of the quickest dollar-saving tasks you can do is caulk, seal, and weatherstrip all seams, cracks, and openings to the outside. You can save as much as 10% on your heating and cooling bill by reducing the air leaks in your home. Areas that leak air into and out of your home cost you lots of money. Check the areas listed below.

1 Dropped ceiling    5 Water and furnace flues  9 Window frames   2 Recessed light   6 All ducts   10 Electrical outlets and switches   3 Attic entrance   7 Door frames   11 Plumbing and utility access   4 Sill plates   8 Chimney flashing and Sealing Air Leaks

NAGPRA Project

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) is a Federal law passed in 1990. NAGPRA provides a process for museums and Federal agencies to return certain Native American cultural items -- human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony - to lineal descendants, culturally affiliated Indian tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations. 

For information on NAGPRA call Jim Brown, NAGPRA Coordinator at 275-0205  jbrown@robinsonrancheria.org    Photo's Maude Boggs Feather Baskets located on the Dorothy Hill Collection at the Chico State Web-site

Tips for Sealing Air Leaks

• First, test your home for air tightness. On a windy day, hold a lit incense stick next to your windows, doors, electrical boxes, plumbing fixtures, electrical outlets, ceiling fixtures, attic hatches, and other locations where there is a possible air path to the outside. If the smoke stream travels horizontally, you have located an air leak that may need caulking, sealing, or weather stripping.

• Caulk and weatherstrip doors and windows that leak air.

• Caulk and seal air leaks where plumbing, ducting, or electrical wiring penetrates through exterior walls, floors, ceilings, and soffits over cabinets.

• Install rubber gaskets behind outlet and switch plates on exterior walls.

• Install storm windows over single-pane windows or replace them with doublepane windows.

• When the fireplace is not in use, keep the flue damper tightly closed. A chimney is designed specifically for smoke to escape, so until you close it, warm air escapes—24 hours a day!