The Interfaith Resource Center for Peace and Justice
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Please join us for our Monthly Discussion Group this Thursday & Come to the Cookie Exchange next Thursday!
Reclaiming the Holiday Season - Simplifying the Holidays When: Thursday, December 8th at 7:00 p.m. Where: Wayne County Chamber of Commerce , 32 Commercial St., Honesdale Spending too much time running around buying things instead of enjoying peaceful times with friends and family? Can you be "green" without being like the grinch? How can we consume less, shop more sensibly and stress-free, and have more time for the treasures of family, song and worship? Come share ideas for how you've simplified your holidays or to seek advice from others.
Community Cookie Exchange When: Thursday, December 15th at 7:00 p.m. Where: Wayne County Chamber of Commerce , 32 Commercial St., Honesdale Please join Transition Honesdale for a holiday cookie exchange. Bring a plate of cookies to share and leave with a plate of new ones! Someone will teach us how to make beautiful bows out of old magazines too. Bring your friends (especially if they are great bakers!).
Hope to see you there!
Greetings Members & Friends! We're hoping that both your bellies and your hearts are full... Please visit Fertile Grounds' online holiday gift shop~ Heirloom Tomato Bloody Mary Mix, Latke-Lover's Homemade Hanukkah Applesauce, Garlic Gift Jars, and much more!
Please join us for our upcoming Monthly Discussion Groups
Hard economic times and how to face them When: Thursday, November 10th at 7:00 p.m. Where: Wayne County Chamber of Commerce , 32 Commercial St., Honesdale
Individuals are invited to share personal experiences of difficult times and successful tools for how to deal with them. We also welcome ideas about what can we do as a community to help our neighbors and to build resilience so we are less susceptible to economic turmoil. How can we work toward a financially secure future for our families and our community?
Reducing the Stress of the Holidays When: Thursday, December 8th at 7:00 p.m. Where: Wayne County Chamber of Commerce , 32 Commercial St., Honesdale Spending too much time running around buying things instead of enjoying peaceful times with friends and family? Can you be "green" without being like the grinch? Come share ideas for how you've simplified your holidays or to seek advice from others.
Please join us for one or more of the upcoming SkillShare workshops:
Saturday, November 12th, Handmade Holiday Gifts, at The Cooperage, 1030 Main Street, Honesdale, 1 – 5 pm.
Thursday, November 17th, Repair What You Wear, Nest, 15 Main St. Narrowsburg, NY, 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Sunday, November 20th, Home Meat Processing, at Hardler’s Farm, 11 Hardler Farm Rd. Honesdale, PA, 1 – 4 pm. Hope to see you there!
Hi Everybody,
I have just seen a memo from Barbara Romanansky of the North Branch Land Trust (See below). She tells us about a meeting of the Building One Pennsylvania coalition. In general, the subject is to slow urban sprawl and protect critical natural lands. The meeting will be in Lancaster, PA on Thursday October 27th, from 1-3 PM. You can find out more about it at http://buildingonepa.org/.
It certainly seems that this is an issue that is important to the Transition Towns movement.
Barbara will help set up carpools if they are necessary. I have not talked to her yet, but I will for myself and anyone else who is interested.
Len Gellman
Hi Everybody,
I would like to suggest that you check out "Above the Fold" at
Every day (7 days a week) this site links us to articles about dangers to our health and environment. It gives a short synopsis, but also a link for the entire article that the info comes from. One of the things I really like is that I have learned about many sources that I did not know about. [I admit ignorance -- because I certainly should have known.] Some are:
Mother Jones Climate Spectator, and the Center for Public Integrity
There's no way we can all keep track of everything that is going on. This site helps a lot.
LG
Honesdale SkillShare | October 2011 Schedule
Sunday, October 16 @ Augusta Acres Farm, 10 am-1pm Inaugural Skillshare Workshop: Backyard Chicken Processing Intro to backyard chicken raising, butchering demo and homestead tours. Suggested donation $10. Fresh birds for sale (bring a cooler!) Please visit transitionhonesdale.org for more info &directions. RSVP to transitionhonesdale@gmail.com
Thursday, October 20 @ Beech Grove Grange, 6:30 pm SkillShare Craftluck! Salve Making...PLUS! Featuring Calendula and Comfrey. Bring a snack or drink to share, and some little containers so you can take goodies home. Feel free to bring any oils, herbs or beeswax you might have lying around and join us for some creative kitchen chemistry! Salves, lip balm and more! Please visit transitionhonesdale.org for directions and more info.
Sunday, October 30 @ Unity Grange, 1:00-4:00pm, Pickle and Sauerkraut Workshop:Preserving the Harvest with Lacto-Fermentation (with salt rather than vinegar) suggested donatinon $10, sponsored jointly by local chapter of Weston A. Price Foundation and Transition Honesdale. Taught by Lucia Wright and Roger Hill. RSVP to lucia@lrw.net or 570-224-4653.
What did you do when the lights went out and the waters rose?
When: Tuesday, October 4, 7:00 p.m. Where: Wayne County Chamber of Commerce Community Room, 32 Commercial Street, Honesdale
Free event open to all. No need to RSVP. Hope to see you there!
Come share your experiences during the recent hurricane power outages and the flooding events that followed. We invite you to come to discuss your own as well as our community’s emergency preparedness status and to talk about how you handled the situation in your home and in your neighborhood. We also will discuss how we might reach out to those who have been most directly affected by the flooding throughout the Susquehanna River Valley.
Save the Date for Transition Honesdale's 3rd Annual Potluck
WHEN: October 15th at 6 pm
WHERE: Grace Episcopal Church in Honesdale
If you would like to help plan the event, you are welcome to join the planning meeting:
A vast resource for those looking for an introduction, inspiration or to further their understanding. Whether you skim or dig deep into the archives you'll no doubt be inspired by the ideas Permaculture brings!
Electronics Recycling Program sponsored by Wayne County YMCA
When: Friday, Sept. 9th from Noon to 4PM for businesses and households and Saturday, Sept. 10th from 9am to 2pm for households only.
Where: Honesdale National Bank, Route 6 Mall location
Households $10 per carload
Computers, servers, monitors, printers, keyboards, VCR’s, batteries, cell phones, terminals, cables, wires, power supplies, fax machines, radios, modems CRTs, corded and cordless phones, TVs, CPUs, copiers, scanners, cassette-CD-&DVD players, typewriters, stereo equipment, and more.
More information: Tina M. Hoehn, Wayne County YMCA, 570-253-2083
Dear friends,
Last week we had a small but excellent meeting to discuss an interfaith presence and action as part of events being planned for Wednesday and Thursday, September 7-8 this fall, in relation to the national convention of Big Oil/ Big Gas -- what we might call the "Frack Marcellus Shale Business Association."
We agreed for this interfaith planning committee to meet again -- this time at Summit Presbyterian Church at the kind invitation of Rev. Cheryl Pyrch. The church is at Green and Westview Streets in West Mt. Airy. We'll meet from 1 to 3 p.m. on Thursday, June 23, and again we will have a delicious lunch.
Especially with lunch plans in mind, please RSVP to both Cheryl and me at the addresses above.
To sum up our information and thoughts at last week’s meeting: A broad coalition of organizations opposed to fracking, or committed to securing strong regulations on it to protect the earth and water of our region, is planning a large rally and related events in September.
The national and global companies that are trying to turn the Marcellus Shale region into a major gas drilling center will be having a major business convention with star speakers, etc., at the Convention Center on those days.
The coalition plans to bring about 2500 people from throughout Pennsylvania, New York State, Ohio, West Virginia, New Jersey, and Delaware into a peaceful and permitted rally at the Convention Center from 8 am till noon on September 7; to hold a permitted march through the city to some crucial decision-making offices; to hold an open-air concert with high-profile singers and performers that evening at Penn’s Treaty Park at the edge of the Delaware River (along Columbus Blvd near I-95), and to hold on Thursday a conference to plan strategy for the movement to prevent destruction of our region, our drinking water, etc., by the fracking industry.
The ideas we discussed for participation by faith-based groups were these: Holding a “Blessing of the Waters” at Penn’s Treaty Park for about an hour before the concert.
2. Having a speaker, a blessing, etc., at the rally on Tuesday morning.
3. Seeking overnight sleeping space in congregations for participants from out of town.
4. Providing support materials (adult ed, sermons, etc) for congregations for use before & after these events.
We’d be glad to have other possibilities on the table. And these need fleshing out into actuality.
Agan, let me remind you: Please RSVP about the June 23 meeting to both Cheryl and me at the addresses above.
Shalom, salaam, shantih, peace -- Arthur
Rabbi Arthur Waskow, director, The Shalom Center http://www.theshalomcenter.org; newest book, co-authored with R. Phyllis Berman, is Freedom Journeys: The Tale of Exodus & Wilderness across Millennia (Jewish Lights).
SEEDS & Transition Honesdale, two local non-profit organizations, are opening an office on Main Street in Maude Alley. We want you to help us celebrate. And we also need your help to raise enough money for our rent.
Please come to our party, enjoy some snacks and beer, have some fun, and donate what you can!
P.S. Come early and visit the Main Street Farmers Market across the street, which closes at 6.
This looks like a good event for us to participate in. The first step would be to decide on something specific to concentrate on. Anybody got any ideas?
LG
Dear friends,
The momentum building for September 24th’s Moving Planet day of action is extraordinary: hundreds of big, ambitious events are already planned all around the world.
Many of you have organized some pretty big demonstrations with 350.org in the past (OK, really big -- CNN called our mobilization in 2009 “the most widespread day of political action in history”), but this one might be the most impressive yet. Click here to sign up an event or see what’s happening in your community: www.moving-planet.org
Hi Everybody,
I just found out about this source, and thought you might be interested. It reports on how much pesticides are in the foods we eat.
I just learned about this organization and wanted to pass it on. It's about addressing food and agricultural challenges throughout the world.ee will address food and agriculture challenges through cross-sector dialogue, stakeholder engagement and best-in-class research Here is the link: http://www.foodandagpolicy.org/
Have a good day,
LG
AGree is a bold new initiative that brings together a diverse group of interests to transform U.S. food and agriculture policy so that we can meet the challenges of the future.
From enhancing access and availability of nutritious foods for a growing global population, protecting the natural resources that sustain us, and ensuring that farmers and rural communities succeed economically, our work focuses on finding innovative and meaningful solutions.
Re:Transition Honesdale community garden at Ellen Memorial
Greetings all! The first community garden of Honesdale is now underway and we need YOU! Your name has come up as someone who might be interested in volunteering to help with the garden. Ellen Memorial Health Care Center is partnering with Transition Honesdale to install an organic vegetable and flower garden on the grounds of the health care center. It would be a garden for residents of Ellen Memorial and their families to use and as a garden opportunity for low income families of Wayne County and nearby residents who do not have garden space of their own.
The plans are in the works for a fenced-in garden approximately 110' x 50', with 25 raised beds, a shed with a concrete patio and arbor and a perennial garden. 10 of the beds will be 4' x 8', and 15 of the beds will be 4' x 16'. The shed, patio area and perennial garden will all be wheelchair accessible, and 2 raised planting boxes will be wheelchair accessible. We will be doing this in 2 or 3 phases, as financing allows.
We are looking for a strong show of support for this garden and its programs and need you to help us by coming to the garden on the next few weekends in order to build the garden. The garden has been staked out but we need help to move forward from here. We are looking for people to volunteer to make this happen. We want to have everything ready for planting by the end of May! Will you help? If you have time and enthusiasm for such a project, please join us!
WHEN: Saturdays and Sundays - April 30th and May 1st at 10 am, May 7th at 1 pm, May 8th at 10 am
WHERE: Ellen Memorial Health Care Center on Golf Hill Road, Honesdale
BRING: A cordless drill if you have one, a sturdy hammer or small sledge hammer, work gloves, sun protection, and wear work clothes and the right shoes (we will be working on grass, not dirt, but it could still be wet with all the rain we've been having). Bring drinking water and some snacks if you will be staying long. Also, if you have some extra wire hangers that we can convert into "staples" for landscape fabric, bring them!
RSVP: Please email Katie Baxter at auntkate55@gmail.com so that we know if we have enough people on each day and if we need to let you know about any schedule changes due to rain.
Feel free to bring friends -- the more, the merrier!
If you are unable to join us for the work parties but would still like to be involved, please contact Katie.
Hello, Transition Friends! There's been a lot going on this month with our Transition Honesdale group, and we'd love to share what's happening with all of you! Some of the projects we've started are the Community Garden at Ellen Memorial health care center, our recycling survey of downtown businesses in Honesdale, our hiring of a newsletter coordinator, starting a skill-share survey, and planning some special events for the summer. Each of our "action groups" will give us a "heads-up" on what's happening with their group and let us know how we can get involved, if we'd like.
Then Katie Baxter will lead us in some "visioning" exercises to help us see what we'd like our community to look like in 2020...then brainstorm about how we might see ourselves getting there!
Hope many of you can join us for a stimulating, thoughtful, and mutually supportive evening of community building...at the Chamber of Commerce in Honesdale from 6 to 8 PM on Thursday, April 21st.
Also...mark your calendars for Saturday, April 23rd -10 AM to 2 PM. Join us at the Miller Pavilion on Main Street (next to the former Yoga Cafe) for a fun and educational celebration of Earth Day with members of Transition Honesdale, SEEDS and PASA. More details to come!! ***
Join local organizations at an Earth Day Celebration on Saturday, April 23 in downtown Honesdale at the Fred Miller Pavilion, Seventh and Main Streets at the Park and Shop lot, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Sign-up for Honesdale’s new community garden. Buy trees and plants to spruce up your yard. Learn how to build a rain barrel. See how beehives work and get information about beekeeping. Sample some local honey. Buy organic potting soil and organic fertilizers for your veggie garden. Learn about composting.
Talk to members of Transition Honesdale, SEEDS and PASA about the work they are doing in Wayne County, and share your vision for a more sustainable future for our region.
Transition Honesdale works to promote environmental sustainability and build self-sufficiency both at the community level and for individual community members, SEEDS — Sustainable Energy Education and Development Support is committed to developing a renewable energy infrastructure in Northeast PA and promoting a more sustainable lifestyle. PASA — Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture works to transform agriculture and food systems in Pennsylvania and beyond in a way that makes our farmers more viable, improves the land and restores the health and wellbeing of all our citizens.
The Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition is presenting "Life in the Gas Fields," the third in its "Educational Series for an Informed Citizenry" at 7 p.m. April 27 in the Bergman Auditorium of Temple B'nai B'rith, 408 Wyoming Ave., Kingston.
Dish, Texas Mayor Calvin Tillman and Decatur, Texas resident Tim Ruggiero will talk about their experiences living among natural gas drilling, compressor stations and pipelines and what environmental and health risks they pose.
The program is free and open to the public. For information, visit www.gdacoalition.org or call 570-266-5116.
Read more: http://citizensvoice.com/news/drilling-coalition-to-host-third-educational-program-1.1129657#ixzz1K4Pv7XXW *** Here at Food & Water Watch, we're sowing the seeds for a Fair Farm Bill. We know the change needed to fix our food system is going to start small and that we'll need nothing short of a national movement to fight the corporate special interests that have been dictating our bad farm policies for decades. It's time to get started. Join us by signing our petition and backing our vision for a better food system!
The Farm Bill is a massive $300 billion piece of legislation that affects nearly every federal program that deals with food. It's passed every five years and dictates how our food is produced, sold, and distributed, and who has access to healthy, sustainable options for their families. The process of passing this bill has historically been dominated by corporate agribusinesses that push the interests of small farmers and consumers aside in order to secure huge profits.
Many of us do our best to oppose industrial agriculture by buying local sustainable food, but not everyone in the U.S. has that option. Voting with our forks isn't enough to fix the huge problems facing our food system and improve access to fair food for everyone. We know that good, healthy, and sustainably-produced food is possible — let's get started by taking a stand for policies that will level the playing field for small farmers and provide healthy food for our families.
Here's our vision for the next Farm Bill:
1) Level the playing fields for all farmers, so that huge multinational corporations and mega factory farms don't control our food system;
2) Create food system infrastructure that will support new markets for farmers and eaters in every part of the country to make sure that everyone has access to healthy, safe, affordable and sustainably produced food;
3) Protect and build upon the progress we made in the last Farm Bill that promotes sustainable agriculture, local food systems and fair contracts for farmers.
This won't be easy — our opponents are very powerful — but with your help, we can build a nationwide network of activists who will take action in their communities, demand our elected officials support a fair Farm Bill, and ultimately make our food system better for you and the people who produce our food. This weekend hundreds of people will be involved in their local communities as part of our national day of action, "Sowing the Seeds of a Fair Farm Bill."
You can help build the momentum for fair food by taking the first step. Sign the Fair Farm Bill Vision:
Wenonah Hauter Executive Director Food & Water Watch goodfood(at)fwwatch(dot)org *** Hi Everybody, Here's some things to think about. LG Tips for reducing your personal ecological footprint (From New Belgium Brewing Company)
1. Have patience – Remember when we were taught that patience is a virtue? Convenience can be a crutch to justify less-than-thoughtful, need-displacing, impulse shopping. The more patience we have in our lives, the more time we will have to contemplate our true needs and the repercussions from thoughtless actions we will create. The next time you are going to buy something, stop and think about what it will bring to you and your community as a whole. Ask yourself: Can I get this used? Can I barter for it? Where was it made? Was it made by someone treated with the dignity they deserve? Am I honoring life by purchasing this? Patience and mind-full living will greatly enrich your life and reduce chaotic clutter.
2. Hang your clothing to dry – The clothing-dryer is the 2nd-most energy consumptive household appliance after the refrigerator and arguably the most frivolous (after the vibrating belt exercise machine) when living in the desert. Even if you don’t have space for an outdoor clothesline there are indoor racks that are compact and work like a charm.
3. Love your neighbor –Not just the Jones’ down the street but also the flowers, the foxes, the birds, the mountains, and the rivers. All things are inexplicably connected, and if we can begin to treat our wider neighbors with the respect that we strive to treat other humans, the results will be beautiful. Live with an astute awareness of your actions and their affects on the whole.
4. Put on a sweater – When the temperatures drop, rather than throwing another log on the fire (or coal in the power plant) throw on a sweater, put on some soft booties, and sip a steamy hot drink. It’ll make you feel all warm and fuzzy.
5. Bicycle, walk, take the bus, or just stay home and relax – Try to wean yourself from America’s addiction to the automobile. Set goals, like “this year I will only drive my car once a week.” It’s fun!
6. Support Local Agriculture – Shop at the Farmers Market, join a C.S.A (Community Supported Agriculture) Farm, or grow a garden. Eating is a divine act—who created your meal?
7. Drink tap water – Shipping bottled water around the world in plastic bottles burns a heap of fuel, pollutes our air, and puts more plastic into an increasingly plastic-sheathed world. If tap water is not up to your standards, there are very high quality filters available at much more affordable prices than the cost of purchasing bottled water.
8. Use your own shopping bag – Next time you’re asked, “Paper or plastic” say “Neither, I have my own bags.”
9. Unplug - Turn off your computer when you are not using it. Turn off your chargers. Most cell-phone chargers continue to draw electricity even when the phone isn’t plugged into it. If your cell-phone charger averages five watts per hour and is plugged in all the time, that means a total of more than 40 kilowatt hours every year, or about 93 pounds of CO2. The same problem applies to your other electronic equipment—your laptop, iPod, digital camera, television, and BlackBerry. Unplug everything when not in use.
10. Unplug, really… - Take regular hiatuses from the cyber world that has crept into nearly all aspects of modern American life. Schedule them if you must, but really unplug for a while. Leave your iPod at home, don’t bring your cell phone every time you leave the house, keep your computer off for the entire weekend, don’t get in your car, and refrain from using any power at all for even a ½ day. Your body, heart, and mind will thank you. ***
The Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition Mission statement: The Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition, Inc. is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to informing the citizens of Luzerne County about natural gas drilling. We are an alliance of people from all walks of life & professions, working together for the protection of our communities and environment from exploitative gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale region of Northeast PA. The Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition is presenting "Life in the Gas Fields," the third in its "Educational Series for an Informed Citizenry" at 7 p.m. April 27 in the Bergman Auditorium of Temple B'nai B'rith, 408 Wyoming Ave., Kingston.
Dish, Texas Mayor Calvin Tillman and Decatur, Texas resident Tim Ruggiero will talk about their experiences living among natural gas drilling, compressor stations and pipelines and what environmental and health risks they pose.
Fertile Grounds is a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Farm with land and members in Luzerne and Wyoming Counties of Northeastern Pennsylvania. We grow our crops using environmentally friendly, non-certified organic methods.
Supported Agriculture, also known as “subscription farming,” is a food system in which people pay to become members of a farm. In exchange for annual subscription fees, members receive a weekly share of fresh, locally grown produce all season long. Members share the rewards and the risks of their farmers.
Once a week from the beginning of June to the end of October, members come to pick up a share, either at The Lands at Hillside Farms in Shavertown, or in Downtown Wilkes-Barre. Every week, each share includes 5-8 different crops, which vary depending on what’s in season. Interested in becoming a member of Fertile Grounds for 2011? Please see our website for details! www.fertilegroundscsa.com
We are taking members on a first-come, first-served basis until we reach capacity, so we encourage you to sign up now!
This spring Transition Honesdale is embarking on an exciting new project, and we invite the participation of any of you who enjoy getting your hands in the dirt, building something (raised beds!), participating in a worthwhile project with other community-minded people, growing your own vegetables, or just getting out in the fresh air and helping create something beautiful!
That something beautiful is Honesdale's very first community garden, a joint venture between Transition Honesdale and Ellen Memorial Health Care Center on Golf Hill Road just a mile outside Honesdale. The garden will feature a perennial bed of flowers, berry bushes and fruit trees with benches and handicapped accessible ramps so nursing home residents and their visitors can enjoy sitting and viewing the garden. A native plant garden and a butterfly garden are also planned. The rest of the space will consist of 25 raised-bed garden plots of varying sizes for area residents to rent to grow their own vegetables and share them with the nursing home kitchen. Anyone can apply for garden membership, with priority given to nursing home residents, families, and staff, and low-income residents like those participating in the WIC and SNAP programs. Memberships will be on a sliding scale according to ability to pay.
We are looking for prospective members and volunteers to help prepare the garden for planting!
The building of the raised beds will begin in mid-April, and work days will be scheduled on two or three Saturdays, and perhaps some Sundays as well. We need to know now whether and when you are available and willing to help with the building of the raised beds. Specific work dates will be provided soon. Separately, are you interested in a plot in the community garden?
To apply for membership in the garden, also contact Jackie.
To support the garden with donations of tools, plants or supplies, please RSVP to Barbara Lewis at 570-253-8475 or lewis.barbara13@gmail.com.
To make donations to the garden: Make your check payable to SEEDS (Transition Honesdale's fiscal sponsor, a local 501(c)3 tax-exempt non-profit organization) and write "Transition Honesdale" or "Community Garden" on the memo line. Mail checks to Barbara Lewis, Transition Honesdale, 419 14th Street, Honesdale, PA 18431 or call me with questions at 570-253-8475.
Thank you for whatever help you can provide!
Barbara Lewis
[The following is making the rounds via social networking -- Thanks to Shannon and Barbara for posting:]
Received this from a friend of a friend. It's pretty illuminating. From my cousin in Sendai, Japan where she has lived for the past decade teaching English. Very moving!!
Hello My Lovely Family and Friends, First I want to thank you so very much for your concern for me. I am very touched. I also wish to apologize for a generic message to you all. But it seems the best way at the moment to get my message to you. Things here in Sendai have been rather surreal. But I am very blessed to have wonderful friends who are helping me a lot. Since my shack is even more worthy of that name, I am now staying at a friend's home. We share supplies like water, food and a kerosene heater. We sleep lined up in one room, eat by candlelight, share stories. It is warm, friendly, and beautiful. During the day we help each other clean up the mess in our homes. People sit in their cars, looking at news on their navigation screens, or line up to get drinking water when a source is open. If someone has water running in their home, they put out sign so people can come to fill up their jugs and buckets. Utterly amazingly where I am there has been no looting, no pushing in lines. People leave their front door open, as it is safer when an earthquake strikes. People keep saying, "Oh, this is how it used to be in the old days when everyone helped one another." Quakes keep coming. Last night they struck about every 15 minutes. Sirens are constant and helicopters pass overhead often. We got water for a few hours in our homes last night, and now it is for half a day. Electricity came on this afternoon. Gas has not yet come on. But all of this is by area. Some people have these things, others do not. No one has washed for several days. We feel grubby, but there are so much more important concerns than that for us now. I love this peeling away of non-essentials. Living fully on the level of instinct, of intuition, of caring, of what is needed for survival, not just of me, but of the entire group. There are strange parallel universes happening. Houses a mess in some places, yet then a house with futons or laundry out drying in the sun. People lining up for water and food, and yet a few people out walking their dogs. All happening at the same time. Other unexpected touches of beauty are first, the silence at night. No cars. No one out on the streets. And the heavens at night are scattered with stars. I usually can see about two, but now the whole sky is filled. The mountains are Sendai are solid and with the crisp air we can see them silhouetted against the sky magnificently. And the Japanese themselves are so wonderful. I come back to my shack to check on it each day, now to send this e-mail since the electricity is on, and I find food and water left in my entranceway. I have no idea from whom, but it is there. Old men in green hats go from door to door checking to see if everyone is OK. People talk to complete strangers asking if they need help. I see no signs of fear. Resignation, yes, but fear or panic, no. They tell us we can expect aftershocks, and even other major quakes, for another month or more. And we are getting constant tremors, rolls, shaking, rumbling. I am blessed in that I live in a part of Sendai that is a bit elevated, a bit more solid than other parts. So, so far this area is better off than others. Last night my friend's husband came in from the country, bringing food and water. Blessed again. Somehow at this time I realize from direct experience that there is indeed an enormous Cosmic evolutionary step that is occurring all over the world right at this moment. And somehow as I experience the events happening now in Japan, I can feel my heart opening very wide. My brother asked me if I felt so small because of all that is happening. I don't. Rather, I feel as part of something happening that much larger than myself. This wave of birthing (worldwide) is hard, and yet magnificent. Thank you again for your care and Love of me, With Love in return, to you all,
Anne
Bill McDonough's idea basically is that everything should be made of parts that can be disassembled at the end of the item's useful life and then reused to make other things. It's a great way to look at things. Re-use instead of recycle.
On Mar 21, 2011, at 3:48 PM, J Collector wrote:
Hi everyone,
I've recently learned about "cradle-to-cradle" or C2C. A big part of it is a book by William McDonough & Michael Braungart, a couple of architects. However, it seems to be a lot more. I need to check out the basic web site, but it looks like it might provide some guidance on how any given community can work within a natural framework. Lots of people think its a good way to go.
Coal: Pennsylvania's Clean Green Energy January 4, 2008 It includes: links to articles and news stories related to greenwashing and other environmental issues.
Hi, With Spring coming, here's some things to think about. LG -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Some Happenings at Wilkes Date: Mon, 14 Mar 2011 12:13:09 -0400 Were you aware of this lecture at Wilkes U.? It should be a good one. I'm planning to go. ============================================== Gary Hirshberg, "CE-Yo" of Stonyfield Farms will be be speaking at Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, PA on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 7:30 P.M.
Topic: “Win-Win: Why 'Good For All' will Save the Planet” Location: Dorothy Dickson Darte Center for the Performing Arts Cost: Free and Open to the Public Contact: 570.408.4330
---------------------------------------------- and Are you a member of your organization's "green team?" Are you interested in enhancing your sustainability management skills? Check out the Wilkes University Sustainability Management Certificate Program - offered completely on-line; For more info: http://www.wilkes.edu/pages/3436.asp =============================================== Hi, Here's more info on Solar. LG -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Re: Build it Solar website a treasure trove I think the best solution is to go to the website and, once there, to explore their index. so try this link: BuildItSolar: Solar energy projects for Do It Yourselfers to save money and reduce pollution www.builditsolar.com Margaret
Transition US is committed to enabling action-oriented programs at the national level. The 350 Home and Garden Challenge is just such an opportunity. Inspired by the the amazing work done in Sonoma County, CA last May where over 600 gardens were planted, we have decided to make this available to Transition communities across the US this May 14th & 15th.
In coordination with our friends in Sonoma County we are going to help make it as easy as possible for YOU to bring this incredible challenge to your community. One of the reasons Transition US was founded is because we recognize the power of the collective. This is the perfect opportunity for Transition communities across the country to come together on a single weekend and show their solidarity.
Organizing a 350 Home & Garden Challenge in your town (or city, village, county, parish, island) not only helps raise awareness and continue to build local resiliency, it offers an opportunity for your citizens to be a part of something much larger. So what exactly is the 350 Home & Garden Challenge? You as an Individual in your community identify a specific project in one of the four challenge areas: Food, Water, Energy and Community or volunteer on a community project -- either way, we challenge you to get involved and make a difference. All we ask is that you register your project so we can show the world just how powerful we are as a movement.
Sign-up as a Community Organizer. What we learned last year is that success at the community level really was due to the efforts of an organizing team. With this in mind we are creating a "toolkit" to help these organizing teams be successful. This is another path to participation and we are looking for one person from each Transition community to sign up as a Community Organizer. This doesn't mean you have to do it yourself (what fun would that be?). We just need one person from each Transition community to be a key point of contact.
Once you sign up you will gain access to a comprensive toolkit that will walk you through all the things you need to know to make this as success. These tools come straight from the folks in Sonoma County who, in 15 short weeks, made giant strides in forging everlasting partnerships with local governments, businesses, non-profits, and thousands of citizens. Transition US will be hosting dozens of open confernce calls between now and May 14th to help guide you and connect you with other organizers accross the country. Please send us an email if you have any questions otherwise click the link below and sign up as an organizer today.
During this past year I’ve had three instances of car trouble: a blowout on a freeway, a bunch of blown fuses and an out-of-gas situation. They all happened while I was driving other people’s cars, which for some reason makes it worse on an emotional level. And on a practical level as well, what with the fact that I carry things like a jack and extra fuses in my own car, and know enough not to park on a steep incline with less than a gallon of fuel. Each time, when these things happened, I was disgusted with the way people didn’t bother to help. I was stuck on the side of the freeway hoping my friend’s roadside service would show, just watching tow trucks cruise past me. The people at the gas stations where I asked for a gas can told me that they couldn’t lend them out “for safety reasons,” but that I could buy a really crappy one-gallon can, with no cap, for $15. It was enough to make me say stuff like “this country is going to hell in a handbasket,” which I actually said.
But you know who came to my rescue all three times? Immigrants. Mexican immigrants. None of them spoke any English.
One of those guys stopped to help me with the blowout even though he had his whole family of four in tow. I was on the side of the road for close to three hours with my friend’s big Jeep. I put signs in the windows, big signs that said, “NEED A JACK,” and offered money. Nothing. Right as I was about to give up and start hitching, a van pulled over, and the guy bounded out.
He sized up the situation and called for his daughter, who spoke English. He conveyed through her that he had a jack but that it was too small for the Jeep, so we would need to brace it. Then he got a saw from the van and cut a section out of a big log on the side of the road. We rolled it over, put his jack on top and we were in business.
I started taking the wheel off, and then, if you can believe it, I broke his tire iron. It was one of those collapsible ones, and I wasn’t careful, and I snapped the head clean off. Damn.
No worries: he ran to the van and handed it to his wife, and she was gone in a flash down the road to buy a new tire iron. She was back in 15 minutes. We finished the job with a little sweat and cussing (the log started to give), and I was a very happy man.
The two of us were filthy and sweaty. His wife produced a large water jug for us to wash our hands in. I tried to put a 20 in the man’s hand, but he wouldn’t take it, so instead I went up to the van and gave it to his wife as quietly as I could. I thanked them up one side and down the other. I asked the little girl where they lived, thinking maybe I’d send them a gift for being so awesome. She said they lived in Mexico. They were in Oregon so Mommy and Daddy could pick cherries for the next few weeks. Then they were going to pick peaches, then go back home.
After I said my goodbyes and started walking back to the Jeep, the girl called out and asked if I’d had lunch. When I told her no, she ran up and handed me a tamale.
This family, undoubtedly poorer than just about everyone else on that stretch of highway, working on a seasonal basis where time is money, took a couple of hours out of their day to help a strange guy on the side of the road while people in tow trucks were just passing him by.
But we weren’t done yet. I thanked them again and walked back to my car and opened the foil on the tamale (I was starving by this point), and what did I find inside? My $20 bill! I whirled around and ran to the van and the guy rolled down his window. He saw the $20 in my hand and just started shaking his head no. All I could think to say was, “Por favor, por favor, por favor,” with my hands out. The guy just smiled and, with what looked like great concentration, said in English: “Today you, tomorrow me.”
Then he rolled up his window and drove away, with his daughter waving to me from the back. I sat in my car eating the best tamale I’ve ever had, and I just started to cry. It had been a rough year; nothing seemed to break my way. This was so out of left field I just couldn’t handle it.
In the several months since then I’ve changed a couple of tires, given a few rides to gas stations and once drove 50 miles out of my way to get a girl to an airport. I won’t accept money. But every time I’m able to help, I feel as if I’m putting something in the bank.
Justin Horner is a graphic designer living in Portland, Ore. This essay was adapted from a message-board posting on reddit.com.
Here's the latest twist in Monsanto's irresponsible behavior. Maybe they've figured out they're responsible for killing bats or bees or something else with their round-up ready seed.
Please check out the following link. It tells about several TT on-line seminars that will give lots of info to get us on the way to some positive results.
Brian Byrnes, President Santa Fe Community Foundation
“I've attended countless conferences and seminars over the years, but it was not until I was under the Slow Money tent at Shelburne Farms that I found the community of individuals with whom I can truly connect and actually get something done! It was all there: from macro to micro, from climate change to soil fertility, from venture investing to philanthropic investing. The quality of the attendees was remarkable. I'm already collaborating with one of them on investing in farmland near where I live.”
Leslie Barclay, Angel Investor Round The Bend Farm
This energy translated into a remarkable level of investment activity. Since June, almost $4.2 million has been invested in 13 of the small food enterprises <http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=7Jzhp0x1wLHSf2s63sMfsj%2Ff95v10qsj> that presented in the tent at Shelburne Farms. By all accounts, this exceeded expectations and was a threshhold event for us as an organization and a movement.
Thanks to all of you, our 2011 agenda is full and promising:
• Work continues apace on the launch of the Soil Trust <http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=viVBXWsqd%2FxvvwRCR%2FlC1O8Jtj%2BcaUU%2B> and we are in discussions with major funders about seed funding. • Two dozen local leaders convened for a two-day retreat in Berkeley in early February. Benefiting from the experience of our friends at Slow Food, BALLE, Transition US, and Social Venture Partners, and with the help of a grant from the Blackstone Institute, we are refining the strategy for local slow money initiatives around the country. • With help from Free Range Studios, producers of the much-heralded The Story of Stuff, we are developing a new communications program. • 240 of you contributed $25,600 in the last week of the year, in response to our specific request to fund work on website redesign and upgrade.
As I’ve traveled around the country, it has become abundantly clear that Slow Money holds particular promise for two reasons. First, it is bringing investment capital to the local and organic food movement. Second, in an era marked by disillusionment about Wall Street and Washington, Slow Money offers a sensible, tangible, direct alternative. What could make more sense than the idea of a million Americans investing 1% of their money in local food systems within a decade? It makes so much sense that it gets called a movement and a revolution.
Sure, we’ve got a long way to go.
But when I see the massive Gates-supported study Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century finding, “Earthworms average 19,000 / acre in Boone County, but 1,269,000 earthworms / acre were found on the Thompson farm,” I know we are going to get there.
Media Highlights <http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=3y10DFkh3pYA0vkWGf6A8O8Jtj%2BcaUU%2B> Slow Money continues to make headlines around the world. See a selection of the latest, including great articles on Slow Money in New Hampshire and in St. Louis, Missouri. In the last few months, Slow Money Northwest was featured on NPR, while Slow Money Maine was on the nightly news. We have selected a few highlights for you.
Regional Update <http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=6d7RR3YUjb8yKrPlliVsqe8Jtj%2BcaUU%2B> With local groups coalescing in the US and strong interest in Canada, our network is beginning to take shape. Slow Money groups are assessing their local food system needs and investigating investment opportunities. We brought members of these active groups together this month to discuss the growth and evolution of the organization.
This sounds like Transition thinking - interesting. Margaret
New free audio recording of the book, A Revolution of the Middle… and The Pursuit of Happiness, written by John Ikerd, author of Small Farms are Real Farms and Crisis and Opportunity: Sustainability in American Agriculture.
The current recession is not an ordinary economic correction; it’s a symptom of the end of an era. All economic value comes from nature or society and we are rapidly depleting the productivity of both. Depletion of fossil energy and growing social inequity are but symptoms of an unsustainable economy. Continual economic growth is not sustainable. The sooner we face this reality, the sooner we can return to the true purpose of life – to the pursuit of happiness.
The transition to a new era of prosperity without growth will require a revolution, hopefully a peaceful revolution, but if not peaceful, then violent. The few who benefit from economic extraction and exploitation are both economically and politically powerful. They will not surrender their power without a fight; it must be taken from them. Fortunately, we still have the means of restoring power to We the People; we still have our democratic form of government. We have the power to restore government to its legitimate purpose – to ensuring the rights of the governed. First, however, we must restore the just power of government; we must restore the consent of the governed.
The new revolution ultimately will require that we change virtually every aspect of our lives. To transform our society and economy, we must transform ourselves. We must strive to use our individual gifts, aptitudes, and abilities to realize our highest potentials. To do so, we must respect the basic truths of ecological, social, and economic reality. Living in harmony with the world around us is not only the key to creating a better world; it is the key to finding purpose and meaning in life, our key to the pursuit of happiness.
The wisdom in this book is drawn from forty-years of study, experiences, and observations as an economist at four major state universities and in communities all across North America and around the world. I spent the first half of my career as an advocate of conservative, free-market economic thinking before concluding that the neoclassical concept of capitalism is simply not sustainable. I know where the dominant economic thinking of today is coming from; I have been there. This book is my latest effort to help people understand what we must do, individually and collectively, not only to create a sustainable economy but also to sustain society and humanity.
If you are interested, I hope you enjoy listening to it.
[Question: What is better for the common good? Should we spend money at a national chain “big box” corporate pharmacist or consider moving prescriptions to a local, home-owned pharmacy? ]
Rod, This is Len Gellman. I'm the one who suggested patronizing local businesses.
My idea was initiated when I read a book by Michael H. Shuman called "The Small-Mart Revolution." He points out that money that you spend at local stores is three times as effective in helping your community than money spent at national chains. Money spent at national businesses is immediately funneled to some other part of the country. Money spent locally gets multiplied -- the storekeeper is a reliable generator of jobs (his own accountant, etc.), tax dollars, community wealth, charitable contributions, social stability and many other factors. I probably spend as much money on prescriptions as I spend on groceries. I want it to be spent locally. You can look Shuman up on the internet, and there are several sites where he has spoken.