Next 'Green Living' lecture to address wind power

Print Story | Email Story
NORTH ADAMS – The Berkshire Environmental Resource Center (BERC) at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) will continue its series of 14 “Green Living” seminars this Thursday, Feb. 14, at 5:30 p.m. with “Wind Power: Need for Setting Guidelines,” in Murdock Hall conference room 218. The series, “Achieving Energy Sustainability for the 21st Century: Choices and Challenges,” is free and open to the public.

Narain Schroeder will be presenting “Wind Power.” He is the director of land conservation at the Berkshire Natural Resources Council, where he guides the Council’s efforts to preserve and protect land in the Berkshires.

Schroeder grew up in Vermont on a small beef farm in a community sustained by farming, logging and maple syrup production. He has a degree in planning from the University of Colorado, and a master’s degree in environmental biology from Antioch New England Graduate School. The Green Living series aims to inform students and the community about strategies for meeting our growing demand for energy and to encourage debate around several energy options, including those involving water, wind, hydrogen and nuclear power.

The series will continue on Thursdays through April 24 in Murdock Hall conference room 218 at MCLA. For more information, go to www.mcla.edu or contact Elena Traister, (413)662-5303.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

15 People Displaced in Pittsfield Home Fires

Staff Reports

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Fifteen people were displaced after 2-alarm home fires this weekend on Springside Avenue and Elaine Drive. 

On Friday evening, the Fire Department responded to a structure fire at 209 Springside Ave., which took a four-hour battle to extinguish and resulted in a partial roof collapse. The next day, on Saturday evening, crews knocked down a fire at 121 Elaine Drive in about an hour. 

The garage and part of the single-family home on Elaine Drive were gutted to the frame, along with a vehicle parked in the driveway. On Springside Avenue, the top level and porch of the multifamily were burned through.  

A GoFundMe has been started for the family of the Elaine Drive home, which includes several young children.  The fundraiser, with a $5,500 goal, explains they lost their home and all of their belongings. (iBerkshires.com does not confirm or endorse fundraisers; they are provided as information only.)

There were no civilian or firefighter injuries, and both incidents are under investigation.  One dog was rescued on Springside Avenue. 

On Oct. 10, around 6:15 p.m., PFD responded to the Springside Avenue home for a reported structure fire and saw a 2 1/2-story wood frame multifamily with a heavy blaze showing from the second-floor front porch, extending out. 

The building suffered a partial roof collapse, which prolonged extinguishment. The fire was brought under control after about four hours.

“An aggressive offensive attack was mounted by first arriving crews stretching hose lines into the building as well as primary searches that proved negative. Ladders were placed around the structure to provide access as well as escape if needed. An off-duty Fire Captain had also been on scene early in the incident to help evacuate the structure and rescue a dog,” PFD wrote in a press release. 

View Full Story

More North County Stories