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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.  Please let me introduce myself, my name is Meyo Marrufo, I am a tribal member and have been working for Robinson Rancheria Environmental Center on and off for about seven years.  The purpose of this project is to fill the information voids and promote Tribal Energy efficiency, employment opportunities and economic opportunities on Tribal lands through energy resource and energy efficiency development.   But let’s cut through the grant language and let me tell you about our tribal project. …..we are trying to find ways to lower the energy usage on the tribe. Lower energy usage means lower energy costs and with the price of energy rising, this makes sense.  With that in mind, I pulled together some energy tips to start lowering your energy use/bill

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

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!

 

 

 

 

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. 

Since my start date on October 3, 2007 I have been following up on the three main grant objectives and seeking new funding resources. The Three main objectives of the Robinson Rancheria NAGPRA grant are:
  
1. Training and Technical Assistance: This includes implementing the NAGPRA process, networking with related museum and federal agencies. Understanding museum inventories, make visits to Museums and Universities NAGPRA collections and Identify and authenticate NAGPRA items.

2. Cataloguing and Handbook: Maintain and Update Robinson Rancheria NAGPRA Inventories revise NAGPRA handbook.   

3.Develop NAGPRA Protocol: Develop a protocol for storage of NAGPRA and Archeological items. 

 

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

 

12,000 YEARS OF CULTURAL CHANGE IN THE CLEAR LAKE BASIN

A Cultural chart by Dr. John Parker.  

 

Dr. Parker received his Ph.D. in archaeology from UCLA in 1994 and is a Registered Professional Archaeologist with more than 35 years of field, lab, and research experience. He has worked in all areas of California and held archaeology positions with many local, state and federal agencies; including the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Caltrans, State Parks, city and county public works, school districts, etc. Dr. John Parker has taken his experience in Archeology and developed a timeline for 12,000 Years of Cultural Change in the Clear Lake Basin.  He has documented changes from the Paleo Indians to the Historic Period.