By Leslie Valentine •
March 10, 2009
Alaskan frontiersman Bernie Karl keeps his ice hotel frozen all summer long with the energy of hot springs. For a hundred years, Chena Hot Springs has attracted tourists who come to soak in its healing waters. But Karl — bearded and bursting with can-do spirit — saw the springs as a natural source of untapped energy. “I always knew that the value was in the hot water; I knew I would make electricity,” says Karl, in an original one-hour Discovery Channel TV special premiering Wednesday, March 11 at 10 pm (ET - check your local listings). Though not your typical energy guru, today Karl is considered a pioneer of geothermal energy.
Karl is just one of the many entrepreneurs and inventors profiled in the Discovery special who are creating new ways to power our planet — tapping sunlight, wind and water, and heat embedded in the Earth. Based on the companion book, The New York Times bestseller Earth: The Sequel, the show details the tremendous strides being made across the nation to solve the energy crisis and curb carbon emissions through new technologies. From start-ups harnessing hydro-power from New York’s East River to solar power in New Mexico’s high desert, the show chronicles dazzling ingenuity and possibility.
By John Ivanko •
December 10, 2008
After a twisting journey up mountain roads or through vineyards, about two hours north of San Francisco Bay area or northwest of Sacramento, and tucked up the side of a mountain, flows the hot springs of what is now Harbin Hot Springs.
The 112-degree Fahrenheit hot springs, one of six distinctive pools of varying temperatures, are the centerpiece of Harbin Hot Springs, a center to experience nature’s beauty while exploring our potential as human beings. A Mecca for healers, sun-worshippers, intentional community seekers, yoga practitioners, over-wired Silicon Valley wizards in need of a break, and droves of people who seek a therapeutic and restorative soak in the springs, embraced by nature.
Historically, the springs have drawn Native American shamans and LSD-tripping hippies. In the 1880s, invalids journeyed to the Harbin Hot Springs Health and Pleasure Resort by stagecoach. Today, Harbin Hot Springs is a thriving intentional community of 175 year-round residents and a growing crowd of over 100,000 visitors each year who come for a soak in the waters, a massage, some bodywork and healing, educational workshops, hikes on some of the 1,160 acres of hiking trails that meander the 1,700-acre property, or some lounging au naturale on the sun decks after cooling off in the pristine, spring fed pool. This is a place to embrace nature, reconnect with your inner self, and enjoy the convivial community.
By Tom Schueneman •
August 28, 2008
If you happened to be in Chena, Alaska last weekend, you may have attended the third annual Chena Renewable Energy Fair, chowed on some hot dogs barbecued on the hydrogen-powered grill, toured the the geothermal power plant, or visited the Aurora Ice Museum that’s kept cool in the summer using the patented absorption chiller.
Bernie Karl is all about renewable energy. Proprietor of Chena Hot Springs Resort, located 60 miles northeast of Fairbanks and 33 miles off the grid, Bernie acquired the ramshackle resort in 1998 from the state of Alaska. From the very beginning Bernie’s vision was to run his operation using only the abundant thermal energy of the surrounding hot springs.
Alaskan frontiersman Bernie Karl keeps his ice hotel frozen all summer long with the energy of hot springs. For a hundred years, Chena Hot Springs has attracted tourists who come to soak in its healing waters. But Karl — bearded and bursting with can-do spirit — saw the springs as a natural source of untapped energy. “I always knew that the value was in the hot water; I knew I would make electricity,” says Karl, in an original one-hour Discovery Channel TV special premiering Wednesday, March 11 at 10 pm (ET - check your local listings). Though not your typical energy guru, today Karl is considered a pioneer of geothermal energy.
