Hi everybody... Technical advisor Elizabeth here!
I just wanted to let you all know that you can now log on/post stuff using this email address as the Login ID:
shiresenvironmentalalliance@gmail.com
Then just enter the password (email Theo (theo.talcott@mail.sit.edu) or me (el2382@barnard.edu) if you don't remember it) and you are all set to post!
If you have any questions about the blog, or about how to make things snazzy, email me at el2382@barnard.edu, and I will get back to you really quickly.
Alliance out! (*special handshake*)
Elizabeth
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
film
The movie for at teleion holon on thursday sept 4th is really coming together
it has been added to
http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/deep-eco/ESA/.
click on "schedule' and check details for the event
Also there is a good chance that Ruth will hook up with an Aussie environmental singer songwriter for the events on the east coast. that would be awesome if we had some wonderful music too.
Info and flyers etc are also at the above url, have a look around...let me know what you think... sally
it has been added to
http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/deep-eco/ESA/.
click on "schedule' and check details for the event
Also there is a good chance that Ruth will hook up with an Aussie environmental singer songwriter for the events on the east coast. that would be awesome if we had some wonderful music too.
Info and flyers etc are also at the above url, have a look around...let me know what you think... sally
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
transition town videos
Here are the transition town videos for Rob Hopkins. Our area should really do this!
part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B0zQ1pJAaY
part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhyIl_YBQz0
part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wimiLJHRe6s
part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B0zQ1pJAaY
part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhyIl_YBQz0
part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wimiLJHRe6s
HOW TO POST STUFF
Hi Allies
As my homework, I said I'd write up a bit about how to use this blog. Here it is.
1. First, click on "sign in"
2. sign in, using my email "theo.talcott@mail.sit.edu" and our superdouble secret password " "
3. when you do that, it will open up to the dashboard, where you click on "New posts"
4. If you want to move a chunk of text with cutting and pasting, I found clicking on "edit Html" at the top let me do that.
5. write freely!
6. hit preview to check out what you've written and edit if you want, then hit "publish post"
As my homework, I said I'd write up a bit about how to use this blog. Here it is.
1. First, click on "sign in"
2. sign in, using my email "theo.talcott@mail.sit.edu" and our superdouble secret password " "
3. when you do that, it will open up to the dashboard, where you click on "New posts"
4. If you want to move a chunk of text with cutting and pasting, I found clicking on "edit Html" at the top let me do that.
5. write freely!
6. hit preview to check out what you've written and edit if you want, then hit "publish post"
7. did I mention that Bill McKibben confirmed he'd come to our conference on Nov. 7th at midday?
in green,
Theo
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Proposal for a Green Commerce Trail Thru Manchester
Please imagine this...
a family walks into Mountain Goat store and sees light green podium near the front door that says “the Green Path”. On top of the podium is a big dark green folder that says “Green stuff that this store has”. Inside is a background on all the products in the store with green credentials. For example, the Patagonia fleece is made of recycled bottles, and the company preserves biodiversity in Chile. At the end of the folder, they can see other parts of the Path. They see that Manchester Woodcraft is using wood that is certified to be sustainably harvested. Further, the Sirloin's salad bar is organic.
With this organizing tool, companies would be encouraged to bring organic, healthy, green stuff to Manchester. Students and designers could walk through town on educational tours of where green commerce is at.
Further, a website could list all the products, so somebody types in handbag, and up pops “Ralph Lauren’s fair-traded beaded by a woman’s cooperative in Zaire Evening Bag”. A website could support the Green Path, and be available on laptops in some of the stores.
The green commerce pathway could include stops at the downtown recycling center that took compost. The farmer’s market could be a stop. We could set up an ‘end of life cycle’ return spot, where people could drop off things for return to their companies. (Logistically complicated, but end-of-life returns are central to encouraging companies in green product design.)
This Green Path would allow people to walk through town with a green guide in mind, allow people to “vote with their dollars” more effectively, provide educational opportunities, encourage companies to bring their green stuff to Manchester.
Getting commerce onboard with a sustainable future is key to humanities survival. Giving visitors ways to identify green products would push that market segment.
Manchester should rebrand as town centered around the idea of sustainability and ecological commerce.
Theo
a family walks into Mountain Goat store and sees light green podium near the front door that says “the Green Path”. On top of the podium is a big dark green folder that says “Green stuff that this store has”. Inside is a background on all the products in the store with green credentials. For example, the Patagonia fleece is made of recycled bottles, and the company preserves biodiversity in Chile. At the end of the folder, they can see other parts of the Path. They see that Manchester Woodcraft is using wood that is certified to be sustainably harvested. Further, the Sirloin's salad bar is organic.
With this organizing tool, companies would be encouraged to bring organic, healthy, green stuff to Manchester. Students and designers could walk through town on educational tours of where green commerce is at.
Further, a website could list all the products, so somebody types in handbag, and up pops “Ralph Lauren’s fair-traded beaded by a woman’s cooperative in Zaire Evening Bag”. A website could support the Green Path, and be available on laptops in some of the stores.
The green commerce pathway could include stops at the downtown recycling center that took compost. The farmer’s market could be a stop. We could set up an ‘end of life cycle’ return spot, where people could drop off things for return to their companies. (Logistically complicated, but end-of-life returns are central to encouraging companies in green product design.)
This Green Path would allow people to walk through town with a green guide in mind, allow people to “vote with their dollars” more effectively, provide educational opportunities, encourage companies to bring their green stuff to Manchester.
Getting commerce onboard with a sustainable future is key to humanities survival. Giving visitors ways to identify green products would push that market segment.
Manchester should rebrand as town centered around the idea of sustainability and ecological commerce.
Theo
Monday, July 7, 2008
join us
we are meeting on Wednesday at 7:00 for a potluck at Theo's
and wish all who are interested to join us..
we vision a locally sustainable community and would like to invite
all who share that vision to please come
and wish all who are interested to join us..
we vision a locally sustainable community and would like to invite
all who share that vision to please come
Sunday, July 6, 2008
SEA INTENTIONS
SEA
what is the SEA?
The Shires Environmental Alliance is a local environmental group working together to heal the planet. We try to help the big picture with our small piece of the puzzle. We intend to be a NGO that organizes people and community for the planet’s benefit. We intend to maintain integrity and dedication to nonviolence, peaceful methods. We intend to be solution orientated.
Our first year goals...
-write up a vision for the Shires in 1 year, 5 years, 20 years, 100 years. For example, in one year, all the restaurants will compost and have biodegradable doggie bags. In 5 years, all the houses will be well insulated. In 10 years, there will be well-used big paths through the community. In 20 years, all the towns energy will be generated from local resources. And so on.
Here we can be at our most effective, recreating the tabla rasa of Manchester in our imaginations, seeing into and thus forming the future. One of the Bible’s proverb’s says “Where there is no vision, the people perish”. Let’s help provide a vision.
- We will host environmental conference, on Nov 15th, inviting Bill McKibben,
- We will advocate for best practices through the community by identifying them, and creating a letter campaign to ask local institutions to adopt them. For example, we’ll ask Casella to deal with e-waste, for in town recycling, and composting.
- We will put big ideas on the table, like the windmills on Equinox being spun again, but this time owed by a citizen cooperative of local residents. ( I heard of this exciting business model at Findhorn lecture!)
- We will put out a restaurant guide, assessing who is green, providing benchmarks.
- We’ll participate in the parades, build the trash deva puppets, establishing a lighthearted presence in the community.
For a SEA mascot, I nominate this great solar flashlight. (www.sunnightsolar.com). It took me years to find a good solar flashlight. The ones you shake don’t really work. But this one works. I once heard it said that “the future is hear, it’s just not well distributed.” This is true. There are lots of solutions. We want to encourage them. Also, these flashlights might make a good fun-raiser. We could buy a case for 15$ a piece and sell them for thirty, with each .
additional ideas...
- SEA encourages Manchester towards a different developmental direction: away from expensive clothes for tourists, towards green commerce and actual community. We aspire to rescue this central town from it’s developmental dead-end, and community erosion due to town center commerce overload. manchester might reinvigorate if it’s central gathering idea wasn’t clothes but was solutions for sustainable world, like fair trade stuff and organic items.
- I think it’ important that we get moving right away with stuff we can actually do. But also to spend a good amount of time envisioning.
- We should host another series of events at the Spiral Press to encourage community building, Alliance expansion, and public inclusion.
- We should get our towns to adopt the earth charter. This can happen soon. We don’t have to wait for the Spring to start moving on this. We can start delivering copies of the Earth Charter to people who are on the town boards so they are familiar with it come spring, and get on next year’ ballot way ahead of time. We can post the Earth Charter in public places throughout the community, with a note about voting for the measure at town meeting.
- we can advocate for a local food system. We can put together a big detailed idea, get a grant written, find the funds, build a winter storage facility, get a farmer-to-school network, develop local food infrastructure. It would take some time to build but we should try and promote local food.
in peace
theo
what is the SEA?
The Shires Environmental Alliance is a local environmental group working together to heal the planet. We try to help the big picture with our small piece of the puzzle. We intend to be a NGO that organizes people and community for the planet’s benefit. We intend to maintain integrity and dedication to nonviolence, peaceful methods. We intend to be solution orientated.
Our first year goals...
-write up a vision for the Shires in 1 year, 5 years, 20 years, 100 years. For example, in one year, all the restaurants will compost and have biodegradable doggie bags. In 5 years, all the houses will be well insulated. In 10 years, there will be well-used big paths through the community. In 20 years, all the towns energy will be generated from local resources. And so on.
Here we can be at our most effective, recreating the tabla rasa of Manchester in our imaginations, seeing into and thus forming the future. One of the Bible’s proverb’s says “Where there is no vision, the people perish”. Let’s help provide a vision.
- We will host environmental conference, on Nov 15th, inviting Bill McKibben,
- We will advocate for best practices through the community by identifying them, and creating a letter campaign to ask local institutions to adopt them. For example, we’ll ask Casella to deal with e-waste, for in town recycling, and composting.
- We will put big ideas on the table, like the windmills on Equinox being spun again, but this time owed by a citizen cooperative of local residents. ( I heard of this exciting business model at Findhorn lecture!)
- We will put out a restaurant guide, assessing who is green, providing benchmarks.
- We’ll participate in the parades, build the trash deva puppets, establishing a lighthearted presence in the community.
For a SEA mascot, I nominate this great solar flashlight. (www.sunnightsolar.com). It took me years to find a good solar flashlight. The ones you shake don’t really work. But this one works. I once heard it said that “the future is hear, it’s just not well distributed.” This is true. There are lots of solutions. We want to encourage them. Also, these flashlights might make a good fun-raiser. We could buy a case for 15$ a piece and sell them for thirty, with each .
additional ideas...
- SEA encourages Manchester towards a different developmental direction: away from expensive clothes for tourists, towards green commerce and actual community. We aspire to rescue this central town from it’s developmental dead-end, and community erosion due to town center commerce overload. manchester might reinvigorate if it’s central gathering idea wasn’t clothes but was solutions for sustainable world, like fair trade stuff and organic items.
- I think it’ important that we get moving right away with stuff we can actually do. But also to spend a good amount of time envisioning.
- We should host another series of events at the Spiral Press to encourage community building, Alliance expansion, and public inclusion.
- We should get our towns to adopt the earth charter. This can happen soon. We don’t have to wait for the Spring to start moving on this. We can start delivering copies of the Earth Charter to people who are on the town boards so they are familiar with it come spring, and get on next year’ ballot way ahead of time. We can post the Earth Charter in public places throughout the community, with a note about voting for the measure at town meeting.
- we can advocate for a local food system. We can put together a big detailed idea, get a grant written, find the funds, build a winter storage facility, get a farmer-to-school network, develop local food infrastructure. It would take some time to build but we should try and promote local food.
in peace
theo
notes on posting..
I figured out how to post a cut & pasted piece of text. You have to click on the "Edit Html button and it opens the writing section up, otherwise the pasted text wouldn't appear properly
also, i encourage more discussion on this format. i'm excited to hear what you all are thinking about. the writing doesn't have to be perfect, nor the thoughts finished.
paz
tt
also, i encourage more discussion on this format. i'm excited to hear what you all are thinking about. the writing doesn't have to be perfect, nor the thoughts finished.
paz
tt
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