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| <back | home SHORTS Following are short vignettes that disturb, en-lighten, inspire, congratulate, and help activists network with other organizations throughout the tri-county area. If you have some news, websites or summaries that you would like to be included here, please jot us an email at hopedance@aol.com. GAS GUZZLING FOOD: HOW TO CREATE AN ENERGY-EFFICIENT DIET “It takes about 10 fossil fuel calories to produce each food calorie in the average American diet. So if your daily food intake is 2,000 calories, then it took 20,000 calories to grow that food and get it to you. In more familiar units, this means that growing, processing and delivering the food consumed by a family of four each year requires the equivalent of almost 34,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy, or more than 930 gallons of gasoline (for comparison, the average U.S. household annually consumes about 10,800 kWh of electricity, or about 1,070 gallons of gasoline). In other words, we use about as much energy to grow and transport our food as to power our homes or fuel our cars.” --- Buy locally grown foods. Thomas Starrs - Chair of the American Solar Energy Society http://www.organicconsumers.org/btc/gasfood112105.cfm CALIFORNIA MILLION SOLAR ROOFS CAMPAIGN UPDATE A short update on the campaign for the California Million Solar Roofs program: Vote Solar has been working with our partner organizations to launch a public outreach campaign to support the passage of the Million Solar Roofs program at the Public Utilities Commission. We’ve had an unprecedented number of groups turn their members loose on the PUC, and it’s making history. In the last two months, more than 43,000 people have now contacted the CPUC in support of passing the Million Solar Roofs program. This is the highest number of public comments that the CPUC has ever received on any issue they have considered, including the California energy crisis. It’s making a difference. On November 15, Administrative Law Judge Kim Malcolm issued an interim decision to increase solar funding to $300 million for next year, the largest it has ever been, and the rebate will be set at $2.80/watt. Approval is expected after the 30-day public comment period. On December 13, the PUC is expected to release its proposed decision to create the full ten-year, $3 billion solar incentive program. If it is passed in January, this will be the second largest solar program in the world, after Germany’s. Go to http://www.votesolar.com Michael Lind Solar Energy Consultant Renewable Energy Concepts, Inc. The Fund For Santa Barbara’s 2005 Year End Grant Awards Congratulations to the Following Fall 2005 Grant Recipients: AFFIRM (Adolescent Females for Intervention Reform Models) - $8,500 Alliance for Pharmaceutical Access (APA) - $4,960 Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Ind’gena Oaxaque–o - Santa Maria - $5,000 Community School / Committee for Social Justice (CSJ) / Youth Newspaper - $7,800 Gay-Straight Alliance at Lompoc High School / Start Up - $3,850 Growing Solutions Restoration Education Institute / Soil to Oil - $1,950 SBCAN / Santa Barbara County Progressive Response Roundtable (PRR) - $5,100 Santa Ynez Valley People Helping People / Organizacion de Familias Latinas - $7,800 UC Regents (MultiCultural Center, El Congreso & S.C.O.R.E.) / Race Matters Series -$6,300 UC Regents (Resource Center for Sexual & Gender Diversity [RCSGD]) / LGBT Youth Leadership & Advocacy Institute - $5,500 Women In Black-Lompoc / Peace Activities - $4,000 EXCHANGE your canvas totes for A CHANGE Collect your canvas totes from the back of your closet and donate them to a project that is changing the landscape of Africa. A frequent traveler to Africa, Lori Robinson is always mesmerized by the beauty of the African landscape but at the same time, disturbed because everywhere one looks is littered with plastic bags. They line the roadsides, and hang from trees and bushes. The bags are ingested by livestock who then die, collected rainwater on the bags breeds malarial mosquitoes, and the bags cost money, adding to an already bleak economic condition. But your canvas totes are changing all of that. Lori carries donated totes from the US to Africa. In exchange for your old canvas bag, a person in Africa has to collect 25 plastic bags from the environment. Their newly acquired tote will now prevent the need for purchasing plastic bags, thus eliminating hundreds of thousands of new plastic trash ending up in the environment. If you are inspired to help please send your totes to P.O. Box 31199, Santa Barbara, CA 93130. Charitable donations can be made to Tribal Trust Foundation. Shipping is our biggest challenge. We need ideas and travelers who can carry a box of bags to Tanzania, Africa. Lori Robinson lori@robinsonvaluegroup.com (805)898-4436 Why you’ll pay through the nose to keep driving. According to an economist writing in Slate: http://www.slate.com/id/2126981/ The Grip of Gas: Why you’ll pay through the nose to keep driving. By Austan Goolsbee <<Will they? High fuel prices make the question a natural one. Conservation advocates, along with policy-makers and the press, have been grasping for evidence that the answer is yes. Here’s what they’ve collected so far: Toyota’s announcement that Hurricane Katrina boosted demand for hybrids, the D.C. Metro’s strong ridership last month, and a report of large SUVs sitting unsold on a car lot in Texas. Unfortunately, the economics suggests a pretty clear answer to what this adds up to: not much.>> OIL CHANGE Inspired by the film Syriana there is a new campaign called Oil Change Oil addiction: It saps America’s economic strength, pollutes our environment, and jeopardizes national security. We need to break that addiction. The good news is, we have the technology to dramatically reduce our dependence right now, technology like hybrid cars and renewable energy. With ingenuity, we can turn those technologies into thriving new businesses that will make America safer, cleaner and more prosperous. It all begins with the choices we make as individuals. Instead of oil dependence, let’s choose Oil Change! Go to http://www.participate.net/oilchange/issue for details. At the website you will also find <<Renewable Energy as a Human Right http://www.participate.net/oilchange>> <<Discussion: Oil Change (http://www.participate.net/oilchange/discussion)>> <<The World Renewable Energy Assembly 2005 (WREA: http://www.wrea2005.org/) just finished up in Bonn, Germany, and one of the documents emerging from the conference is something called “The Human Right to Renewable Energy (http://www.wrea2005.org/final_communique.php).” It’s a communiqué that manages to be both awkward and inspiring, as its old-style 20th century activist prose doesn’t quite match some of the document’s more provocative and forward-looking ideas. The communiqué captures the transition now underway for global environmentalism, the shift from demanding a cessation of problems to encouraging the development of solutions>> <<Learn How To Reduce Your Dependence On Oil at http://www.participate.net/oilchange/tips>> Thanks to Jim Dee from the Palm Cinema for sending this info. The Most Destructive Crop on Earth Is No Solution to the Energy Crisis By George Monbiot (The Guardian UK ) Tuesday 06 December 2005 <<By promoting biodiesel as a substitute, we have missed the fact that it is worse than the fossil fuel burning it replaces. Over the past two years I have made an uncomfortable discovery. Like most environmentalists, I have been as blind to the constraints affecting our energy supply as my opponents have been to climate change. I now realize that I have entertained a belief in magic.>> For the rest of the story please go to: http://tinyurl.com/b8t4y Alternative Energy Gets Real Pricey oil and gas are heating up industrial interest in renewable sources Renewable energy is booming. The use of solar power has been growing by more than 30% a year and, except for a hiccup in 2004 -- when Congress delayed renewing a tax credit -- so has wind power. Ethanol is heading for record production levels. And there’s no end in sight, given high oil and gas prices, an increasing number of government mandates and incentives, and the first real steps toward tackling global warming. Clean Edge Inc., a research and strategy consultant, predicts that the total clean-energy market will grow to $92 billion by 2013, about seven times its current size of $13 billion. “The investment community is starting to see real opportunities,” says Ron Pernick, co-founder of Clean Edge. For the whole story go to http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_52/b3914456.htm SLO Mayors to Sign Climate Agreement? Sierra Club Invites SLO Mayors to Sign Climate Agreement The Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club is asking the mayors of Arroyo Grande, Pismo Beach, Grover Beach, Paso Robles, Atascadero, Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo to sign onto the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. Since the agreement was initiated by Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels on February 16, 2005 – the day the Kyoto Protocol on global warming went into effect everywhere in the world but the one country where it is most needed -- 183 mayors nationwide representing nearly 40 million Americans in 38 states have pledged to reduce global warming carbon dioxide pollution in their cities below 1990 levels by the year 2012. Nearly forty California cities have signed the agreement, including Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz. No city in San Luis Obispo County has yet signed. Go to www.santalucia.sierraclub.org, click on “Has your mayor signed the climate agreement?” and follow the simple instructions on how to help your city be part of the solution instead of part of the problem. Ask your mayor to sign the U.S. Mayors Agreement on Climate Protection! Netflix type of film club for Progressives New liberal-oriented film club is to inspire social action and entertain Joe Garofoli, SF Chronicle Staff Writer Adam Werbach had one of the more public soul-searchings of any liberal in the weeks after President Bush’s re-election last year. The former Sierra Club president nailed a thesis that railed about what’s wrong with the Democratic Party to its national headquarters, and then stirred up the green movement by declaring that “environmentalism is dead.” This week, the San Francisco resident is debuting a different strategy in his quest to help liberals connect with each other: an activist-oriented film club. For a $14.95-a-month membership, Werbach’s Ironweed Film Club will mail a couple of DVDs every four weeks to show at house parties. The offerings will be organized around a theme, with this month’s being “boundaries,” a timely one with President Bush touting his immigration policy. Go to http://www.ironweedfilmclub.com/ GET YOUR HANDS-ON WITH RENEWABLE ENERGY THIS WINTER!! Solar Energy International (SEI) is kicking off its 2006 Renewable Energy Education Program (REEP) with a splash. SEI offers workshops in solar electricity, wind power, micro-hydro power, solar home design, natural house building, and renewable fuels. Early this winter SEI will be teaching Photovoltaic (PV) workshops in California, Arizona and right in your living room with our online courses. Our PV Design and Installation Workshops teach you how to use PV technology to produce electricity from the sun. The workshop focuses on design and installation of residential code compliant PV systems, with a focus on sizing, site analysis, and hardware specification. PV Design and Installation: February 6th - 10th Fontana, California http://www.solarenergy.org/workshops/location.php?id=65 February 20th - 25th Tucson, Arizona http://www.solarenergy.org/workshops/location.php?id=58 March 13th- 18th Occidental, California http://www.solarenergy.org/workshops/location.php?id=59 PV Design Online: Internet January 9th - February 17th http://www.solarenergy.org/workshops/workshop.php?id=14 For a complete description of these and other SEI workshops visit our website at www.solarenergy.org, or give us a call, 970-963-8555. Greening Institutional Procurement “Through the things they buy, institutions wield great influence over the future of our planet.” Pioneers in Green Purchasing “Around the world, growing numbers of universities, corporations, government agencies, and other institutions are reviewing their purchasing habits and incorporating environmental concerns into all stages of their procurements.” See the report at http://www.worldwatch.org/features/consumption/sow/trendsfacts/2004/04/07/ WIND ENERGY SUCCESS STORIES “Representatives from local, privately-owned or cooperative organizations that produce and distribute renewable energy told their success stories and offered tips for avoiding pitfalls to others wishing to develop similar projects. The panel of speakers included John Stulp, Prairie Wind; Jeff Bermann, San Juan Biodiesel; and Jim Lenz, Sterling Ethanol. John Covert, of Colorado Working Landscapes, who moderated the renewable energy panel discussion, told the audience that the emphasis of his organization and of RMFU was to encourage individuals and communities to develop small-scale renewable energy projects within their rural communities. “We do not want to see the renewable energy industry become the domain of corporations, so that business control and revenues are concentrated in just a few hands,” Covert told convention goers. For the whole story go to http://tinyurl.com/doomq Buying Green Power: http://www.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/buying/index.shtm. Unfortunately, California is considered “Restructuring Suspended” and its citizens are not allowed to buy their own green power. Go to http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/chg_str/restructure.pdf for details of other states. March 2001 HopeDance did a special issue on Energy. Go to http://www.hopedance.org/archive/issue27/toc27.htm for the archived material about solar, renewables, wind, public power, Diablo, John Perlin, Duke Energy, Getting Off the Grid, and more. Barbara Kingsolver on Cars Many people have now taken part in the Green Cars Today campaign, many of them thanks to last month’s call-to-action by author Barbara Kingsolver. Read and pass on Barbara Kingsolver’s rallying call for citizens to urge the Big Six automakers to deliver cars that will reduce our dependence on oil and help stabilize the climate at http://www.newdream.org/make/auto/kingsolver.php THE EMOTIONAL SIDE OF PEAK OIL How did you react when you first learned about the serious impact that the end of cheap fossil fuels may have on our planet, our economy, our communities, our current way of life? If you’re like me, you were emotionally stunned and traumatized. My “For the Future” colleagues (http://www.forthefuture.org/) and I saw the “The End of Suburbia” film together, and we came out of the theater literally speechless. Thank goodness we had each other to talk with until we were able to emotionally and intellectually process the implications of what we’d seen and to move into constructive action without succumbing to despair. Peak Oil New York City, aware of the traumatic impact of some of this information, has started two new programs to address the emotional side of peak oil: To address the emotional side of the issue, Peak Oil New York City members Simon and Bill have started a sub-group called “The Clinic / Peak Oil 101.” For many “there is a paralysis that comes when you first start dealing with Peak Oil,” Simon says. The Clinic is designed to help people “start moving.” Once you’ve gotten over the initial emotional reaction you can “start doing practical things. Get out of debt. Learn a new skill. Think about moving to a new place and buying gold.” Phillip adds, “There are no easy solutions. No matter how you tell people about Peak Oil, you’re going to have to change your life. At some point people are going to have to accept the fact that the lifestyle we live here isn’t going to be maintained.” I’ve written to Peak Oil New York City to get more info, but you can also check out (http://www.peakoilnyc.org/#POC) Peak Oil 101/ Clinic (Audience: For those who wish to discuss future scenarios and personal preparations) 1. Peak Oil 101 - conducted by Bill: Using the Socratic method Bill will ask questions of attendees on topics ranging from how Peak Oil will play out, how the economy will be affected and what this will mean to the life of the average everyday person. Responses must be backed by evidence to support their suppositions.(e.g. There was a discussion whether PO will have a hard or soft landing). 2. Clinic - conducted by Simon: A safe place to discuss ways to personally prepare for the situation. This ranges from dealing with the feelings engendered by the unfolding reality of Peak Oil in our personal lives, society and the world to concrete actions we can take to make our lives less perilous and more sustainable and amenable in the face of what’s coming. — from Linda Buzzell. Also, see the article Preparing for the End of Oil by Bob Banner a year ago at: http://www.hopedance.org/new/issues/48/article7.html Wind Co-op Our Wind Co-op is a unique cooperative investing in small-scale wind turbines for farms, ranches and public and private facilities across the Northwest. Through this collaborative effort, 10-kW turbines are being installed at numerous rural sites serviced by publicly owned utilities. Initially supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development program, Our Wind Co-op is creating low-risk opportunities to explore on-farm green power production, distribution, ownership and marketing models to meet local energy needs. • Establish a cooperative model for achieving energy independence, rural economic development and community ownership. • Build familiarity with small-wind turbine technology in rural communities. • Explore the regulatory, financial and technical needs of a dispersed, inter-tied small-wind turbine network. • Link rural, small-wind power producers with urban consumers through aggregated Green Tag sales. • Collaborate on innovative financing opportunities, including public and private grants and loans, utility programs, and manufacturer discounts. Go to http://www.ourwind.org/windcoop/ for more details. Cooperative Community Energy (CCEnergy) is a buyer’s cooperative providing quality solar energy systems to our members at reasonable prices. We are doing this through: • Aggregating the buying power of people and communities. • Harnessing the collective knowledge and expertise of existing renewable energy consumers and businesses. • Providing the means to gather and share information for everyone’s benefit. • Mobilizing solar industry and consumer political power. Our mission and vision. Why a co-op? Join our co-op if ... • You want lower monthly energy bills at a fixed rate. • Your company needs to reduce energy costs. • You believe renewable energy is the environmentally responsible thing to do. • Your business involves solar energy system design or installation. • You want to stop lining the pockets of corporate energy interests. • You are interested in reducing our dependency on foreign oil imports. Call toll free: 877-228-8700 or go to http://www.ccenergy.com for details! Northwest Co-ops and the Power of Cooperation by Doug Boleyn, Northwest SEED Board Member Throughout history, groups of dispersed individuals such as farmers, ranchers, and artisans have formed cooperative groups to strengthen either their purchasing power or marketing power for their products - or both - to be viable in the marketplace and ensure their livelihood. The Northwest Solar Cooperative, operated by Cascade Solar Consulting, and Our Wind Co-op, organized by Northwest SEED and its partners, are forging ahead with a new type of cooperative. These cooperatives link together individuals and small renewable energy systems to produce clean, renewable energy “by and for the people” of the Northwest, and are defining the phrase “the power of cooperation.” Click to continue <http://www.nwseed.org/publications/newsletter/v2_i2_04.asp#two> For Washington’s Low-Income Families, a Breath of Fresh Air by Sarah Peterson With the growing wind energy industry poised to provide significant amounts of new, low-cost, sustainable energy for the Northwest, an A W.I.S.H <http://www.awish.net/> partnership including NWSEED is undertaking a new initiative to bring clean renewable energy to households in need while also increasing the effectiveness of low income energy assistance programs. Click to continue <http://www.nwseed.org/publications/newsletter/v2_i2_04.asp#three> Our Wind Co-op: A Closer Look at the Numbers In this section we take a look at the past year of energy production from the first 5 turbines installed in the small turbine cooperative organized and assisted by Northwest SEED. Review new maps, graphs, photos and more... <http://www.nwseed.org/publications/newsletter/v2_i2_04.asp#four> LIBERTY & WIND POWER FOR ALL Rethinking Wind Power and Energy Use in Montana by Thom Wallace The Liberty County Commissioners didn’t just stumble across the idea of putting up a wind turbine. It swept them off their feet. Wind in the Hi-Line region of Montana is a constant presence and has long been a nemesis to many. These days, however, if the wind stops blowing for just a moment, residents anxiously await its return. A commissioner in Liberty County for the last year and a retired aeronautical engineer, Don Marble has considered the potential for wind power in the region during his thirty or so years living in Montana. Other commissioners started to take notice when monitoring and recording of heat, wind and precipitation for tracking drought showed exactly how powerful wind was in Liberty County. The commissioners formulated a plan to install a wind turbine, along with Northwest SEED and Our Wind Cooperative, that would bring both renewable energy and awareness to the local community. When the County’s Bergey 10 kW turbine construction was completed a year ago a swarm of community members, including politicians and school children, attended the “Energy Independence” dedication to celebrate the installation. Liberty County’s plan has succeeded beyond all expectations, and the process has changed the community’s relationship with energy usage. The moment the turbine started spinning at the County shop this past winter, employees started spinning their own ideas. “The generator made everyone around here aware of what energy use is all about,” said County Road Director Sean Norick. “It was the realization of what we were not doing [to save energy] that was the real surprise to us,” he added. Norick didn’t say that just to sound good. In April 2003, the Liberty County shop used 1615 kWh for the entire month. One year later, in April 2004 with their turbine generating 680 kWh and some creative energy efficiency tactics, the shop purchased only 470 kWh. That is an 1145 kWh energy savings, or close to a $100 savings for that month from the previous year. Electricity produced by the wind turbine accounts for 60% of the reduction in electricity purchased from the utility. Conservation measures account for the rest. “You don’t mind the wind blowin’ now!” - Shawn Norick, Liberty County Road Manager Employees of the Liberty County shop stand outside the shop on a beautiful Montana day. The County’s Bergey 10 kW wind turbine is creating more than power; it’s building energy awareness in the Liberty Community. (photo caption) Go to http://www.nwseed.org/publications/newsletter/v2_i2_04.asp for the whole story Engineair Vehicle Engineair develops an air-driven burden carrier for Melbourne Market Authority August 2004 The Di Pietro motor, developed by Engineair in Brooklyn, Victoria, offers an outstanding reduction in air consumption compared to conventional air motors, and together with its high torque capability makes a mobile application such as the market burden carrier technically and economically feasible. The carriers are powered by the energy stored in compressed air. The compressed air is held in tanks mounted under the loading floor. Engineair will develop a new burden carrier, driven by compressed air, for use at the Melbourne Wholesale Fruit & Vegetable Market. The Melbourne Market Authority has offered Engineair a grant to develop and build a prototype for a new carrier driven by a compressed air motor. The air drives the air motor without any combustion or exhaust gases, which makes this a zero-pollution mobility concept ideal for enclosed areas such as the market or factories and warehouses. Go to http://www.engineair.com.au/development.htm for details Local Energy Local Energy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Our mission is to mitigate the hardships of fossil-fuels resource depletion on communities by helping local residents and businesses develop local, renewable energy resources in ways that provide the greatest benefit to the community. Find out more about us. Go to http://www.localenergy.org/ for more inspirational stories of what that community is doing to become more self-sufficient. Here is one bit from their website: <<In October 2003, Local Energy was awarded a $1.3 million grant from the USDA to design a biomass-fired district energy system for downtown Santa Fe. In association with BIOS Bioenergiesysteme GmbH, an Austrian engineering firm with extensive knowledge and experience in biomass energy systems, we have completed the preliminary design and are continuing to perform economic analyses, as well as investigating a number of smaller systems.>> PG&E’s Solar Schools Program PG&E’s Solar Schools Program and the National Energy Education Development (NEED) Project have teamed up to provide engaging solar energy educational materials, training, and resources to schools in PG&E’s service area. The PG&E Solar Schools Program consists of curriculum for teachers to use called “Energenius” (www.pge.com) and an energy audit and retrofit program (available courtesy of the California Energy Commission) called “Bright Schools.” This program works with school sites to monitor and adjust their energy components to be more efficient and to utilize more renewable energy sources. There is also a program for schools to monitor the photovoltaic systems and to broadcast data and information to the web for student research, design and analysis. The NEED Project has been funded by PG&E to provide teachers with the “NEED Schools Going Solar” education kits for all participating schools. A participating school is one whose electricity is serviced by PG&E and has attended one of the NEED Solar Schools Workshop. The first workshop in our area was held on December 2nd at the Rancho El Chorro Outdoor School which is an environmental education facility operated by the San Luis Obispo County Office of Education. This workshop, all classroom materials and substitute reimbursement is sponsored by PG&E. To find out about future Solar School Workshops and more information about energy programs for schools, contact the CREEC Network. The California Regional Environmental Education Community Network is a program funded by the State Department of Education to connect teachers to environmental education information and resources. Visit our website www.creec.org and visit Region 8 for resources available in the counties of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura and Kern. Davis to Lead Environmental Council into New Era on Alternative Energy The Community Environmental Council (CEC) Board of Directors announced today that Board member Dave Davis has been named interim executive director of the 35-year-old non-profit and charged with continuing to refine the organization’s mission over the next several months. With more than 35 years of experience in community planning and environmental issues - including 25 years as Community Development Director for the City of Santa Barbara - Davis came out of retirement to guide the nonprofit through a recent transition in leadership. “I feel strongly that our country is at a pivotal moment in time,” said Davis. “We need to kick our use of fossil fuels and get on a new energy path - one that focuses on conservation and renewable forms of energy such as solar, wind, and wave power - and we need to do it yesterday.” Citing CEC’s success in promoting other cutting-edge ideas, such as recycling, Davis added: “We are not going to see real federal leadership on energy; it’s going to be up to individual communities to chose a renewable energy path, and up to community organizations like CEC to show the way. CEC has the reputation, the know-how and quite frankly the bravery to tackle this problem head on.” [http://www.communityenvironmentalcouncil.org/] SUSTAINABLE ENERGY IN MOTION BIKE TOUR www.portlandpeace.org Bike hundreds of miles. Meet incredible people. Participate in amazing service projects. Stay on organic farms and work to promote sustainable food growth practices. Study and work with Native American communities. Live with the land and camp under the stars. Change your world, one mile at a time. Web: www.portlandpeace.org phone: 503-239-8426 WE ARE GIVING ONE OF OUR TOURS AWAY -- VISIT OUR WEBSITE TO WIN! This summer, you can take an extraordinary journey. Tune up your bike, pack your bags, and join fellow riders from all over the world for an incredible excursion across Oregon, utilizing the most sustainable method of transportation available: your own bike. If you have the land, do you have the desire? Are you familiar with David Rockefeller’s organic gardening operation in upstate New York? Mr. Rockefeller took the opportunity to have a look into organics, fell in love with the prospects of eating organically and helping to sustain the planet at the same time. What I am offering you is your opportunity to have your own organic garden/farm, and perhaps we can grow it into something meaningful and contributive. I am seeking an arrangement with a family property for full time management of organic gardens and to produce healthy crops for your family, friends and possibly for sale. We may want to think in terms of a foundation similar to what Mr. Rockefeller has and who knows what legacy we might leave. Come out into the sun, dig in the dirt and find your heart’s home. Eat organic; it’s the best bet for you and your family! May I encourage you to find out more about me? Please have a look at my website www.GoingOrganic.com 700 people view the Wal-Mart film (in one week) in 2counties via HopeDance: <<From Suzanne Arthur: “A local field producer here on the California Central Coast arranged to screen the film 7 times in 4 different cities. We published letters to the editor and opinion pieces in support of the film to help create a buzz. We put up posters and passed out flyers. For our community, the most crucial of these screenings was the premiere scheduled for November 13 in Santa Maria, 48 hours prior to a city council meeting where slick Wal-Mart reps were coming to push their agenda and try to get the zoning code changed to allow for a 55-acre Supercenter on the edge of town. At the premiere, the room was packed. Two days later, city council chamber quarters were overflowing with more than 200 people. For two hours they testified in front of the council. Apparently, this is not a council that has historically shown any interest in paying workers a living wage. But they do care about their downtown center and are trying to revitalize it. Seems they listened to people’s stories about local businesses being swallowed up. Impassioned by the stories in the film by people just like them, the chamber audience got a bit rowdy and applauded after many of the speakers. Wal-Mart failed to get the council members approval, with a vote of 5 - 0. This is in a town that hasn’t elected a Democrat since 1987. You guys rock. Grassroots rocks! Thanks in no small part to your film, your alternative distribution strategy and dedicated locals like Bob Banner here in San Luis Obispo, our “Wal-Mart” field producer, the city of Santa Maria is safe (for the time being) from this savage predator. Our only worry was that Banner was having trouble getting the DVDs in time. We can appreciate that you guys are BUSY! But Brave New Films didn’t fill Banner’s order in time for some reason, although he finally did get them, three hours prior to show time. Close call! He says some field producers he knows never did receive their copies and had to cancel their house parties. We’re all working out the kinks. Overall, this grassroots system is working. Very exciting.” [See her review of the making of the Wal-Mart film in the Reviews Section.]>> Cob Building in Ventura How to Troubleshoot: Once you’ve tried every other possibility, the only thing left must be the answer. by Rachel Morris We were trying to build a garden shed so we could use our garage as a studio. But we just couldn’t find any FSC lumber. Go ahead! Do a Google search and you’ll find it all over the web. “Forest Stewardship Council: Lumber you can Feel Good About.” HomeDepot boasts “Today we sell more FSC certified wood than anyone in North America.” But after weeks of phone tag and time consuming visits, all I got was a reassurance that all old-growth trees are already protected anyway. Lows called managers all over the state, and the local lumber stores got almost hostile. In Southern California, the only natural building supplies I had were dreams and dirt. It turns out, that’s all I need. “Cob,” earth-sculpted buildings, are making a come-back after being the standard for thousands of years. Cozy earthen structures made dirt cheep, are providing valued homes from Europe to Africa. Unusually hardy in earth quakes, they can last for hundreds of years in both wet and dry climates. I liken cob to adobe that you put together wet, more like a pottery bowl than a brick house. Its rounded rooms and arched windows and doors are surprisingly easy to sculpt, and after attending a three-week owner-builder workshop at Cob Cottage School in Oregon, we’ve decided to build in our backyard, from our backyard. Cob Cottage School is sponsoring the project, offering their first ever “Intro to Urban Cob” workshop, here in Ventura this spring (April 27-May 1). Betty Seaman, Cob Cottage instructor and homeowner will be the head teacher. The workshop will cover the basics of cob building, with plenty of mud-stomping and hands-on sculpting as well as practical theory and design. The price of the workshop is $650 including meals. For more information visit www.cobcottage.org or call (541) 942-2005 or (805)648-1267. <back | top^
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