Archive for the ‘Local Events’ Category

VEGGIE PRIDE PARADE:
SUNDAY, MAY 16, 2010 info@vivavegie.org….•….212-242-0011

photo via 350.org

Treehugger has been all over President Obama’s shocking announcement that he is willing to trade opening up more offshore drilling for support of a climate bill. Brian Merchant did a great run down earlier today that highlighted the breadth of Obama’s move–the East Coast, Gulf and Alaska will all be open for business for Big Oil. Many greens are feeling let down and confused, but take heart that some environmental groups are organizing efforts to express outrage. The incomparable 350.org, the group behind some of the largest climate mobilizations in history, invited its activists today to send a letter to President Obama or call the White House to express their outrage.

350 is inviting people to join a Facebook group to protest the decision. 350′s action alert is here. It reads:

Earlier today, President Obama announced a significant expansion of offshore drilling–it’s a move that is bad for the climate, bad for our coastal areas, and will not lead the United States towards energy independence.

Choosing to drill offshore is a huge concession to the oil companies, and a symbolic step away from a carbon-free future–a future with a safe climate, a future at 350. Let’s join together and let President Obama (and Senators from many of the affected states) know that we’re paying attention, and we’re outraged.

Take 2 minutes to send a letter and take a stand — together, we can deliver the call from tens of thousands of people accross the country that offshore drilling is not a solution.

Green Products and Ideas on April 21 will offer Central New Yorkers a chance to look at and ride in a GM fuel cell vehicle, expert advice on green-living tax credits and incentives, and much more. The Sustainability Fair will run 4 to 8 p.m. April 21 in SUNY Oswego’s Campus Center arena. It is free and open to the public, and parking will be available.

The one-day exposition will feature exhibitors displaying, discussing and demonstrating green products and services to enhance sustainable solutions for home, property and life. The Sustainability Fair will run 4 to 8 p.m. April 21 in SUNY Oswego’s Campus Center arena. It is free and open to the public, and parking will be available.

Among the features:
- General Motors will provide a fuel cell vehicle. GM reported last fall that its Chevrolet Equinox hydrogen-to-electricity vehicles have passed a million miles in testing, emitting only wisps of water vapor from the tailpipe. A GM representative will be on hand to answer questions and give rides.
- Chris Carrick of the state Energy Research and Development Authority will promote a range of environmentally responsible initiatives NYSERDA has in the works, and will provide information about home energy efficiency and tax incentives.
- SUNY Oswego’s Office of Facilities will display information about the new apartment complex, The Village, rapidly rising next to Glimmerglass Lagoon on campus, and all the components qualifying it for LEED Gold, a top U.S. Green Building Council certification for building design and environmental sustainability.
- A variety of vendors will have exhibits and information on such green services and products as wind and solar contracting, community farming and gardening, green cleaning, and much more.

The event is sponsored by SUNY Oswego as a part of the Quest Day of Research and Creativity. Underwriting is provided by the American Chemical Society and SUNY-Oswego’s Auxiliary Services. For more information about the fair, visit http://www.oswego.edu/sustainabilityfair or contact Thad Mantaro at 312-3492 or thaddeus.mantaro@oswego.edu. For vendor registration information, contact Thad Mantaro.

Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million homes and businesses turned their lights off for one hour to make their stand against climate change. Only a year later and Earth Hour had become a global sustainability movement with more than 50 million people across 35 countries participating. Global landmarks such as the, Sydney Harbour Bridge, The CN Tower in Toronto, The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and Rome’s Colosseum, all stood in darkness, as symbols of hope for a cause that grows more urgent by the hour.

In March 2009, hundreds of millions of people took part in the third Earth Hour. Over 4000 cities in 88 countries officially switched off to pledge their support for the planet, making Earth Hour 2009 the world’s largest global climate change initiative.

Earth Hour 2010 takes place on Saturday 27 March at 8.30pm (local time) and is a global call to action to every individual, every business and every community throughout the world. It is a call to stand up, to take responsibility, to get involved and lead the way towards a sustainable future. Iconic buildings and landmarks from Europe to Asia to the Americas will stand in darkness. People across the world from all walks of life will turn off their lights and join together in celebration and contemplation of the one thing we all have in common – our planet. So sign up now and let’s make 2010 the biggest Earth Hour yet!.

It’s Showtime! Show the world what can be done.

Earth Hour by WWF

Earth Hour is organized by WWF. With almost 5 million supporters and a global network in over 100 countries, it’s one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organizations. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth’s natural environment and build a future where people live in harmony with nature.

Earth Hour timeline

Turn back the clock on Earth Hour and discover why, how, where and when it all started.

Why get involved?

Put simply, because our future depends on it!

Earth Hour has done a lot to raise awareness of climate change issues. But there’s more to it than switching off lights for one hour once a year. It’s all about giving people a voice on the future of our planet and working together to create a sustainable low carbon future for our planet.

The future can be bright

New economic modelling indicates the world has just five years to initiate a low carbon industrial revolution before runaway climate change becomes almost inevitable. But it can be done, and the long term benefits will be enormous.

So now’s the time to take a stand and give world leaders the mandate they need to make the right climate deal.

Source: www.earthhour.org

Transition To Green Bi Monthly Community Event – Burbank / Toluca Lake

Mark your calendars! The theme for for TToG’s next bimonthly meeting on March 27th is Spring Cleaning and Organizing.

We will learn about the difference between toxic and non-toxic cleaners and the effects on your health and home. Plus we will have a professional organizer from Under The Clutter come in and speak about cleaning, de-cluttering and organizing your home. We will also have someone from Got Junk? to help figure out what to with all the stuff you cleaned, organized and de-cluttered!

Let’s get together to learn, meet one another, play some games & win some prizes. TToG will pay for your refillable type beverages only. You may order & buy food if you are hungry. If you are a vegan or a vegetarian Mo’s has a great salad selection. The management is interested in learning more about making a transition to green, so let’s help them out. Remember your first meeting is free.

Transition To Green is a non-profit organization and all dues collected help cover expenses of the meetings.

We look forward to seeing you there!

For more information, see website linked above, or www.meetup.com/Transition-To-Green-Community-Clubs/calendar/ 12659088/

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The “Transition To Green” Community Club’s mission is to educate and help people to become more aware of all the green alternatives that exist in the marketplace today. To effect real change, we need to effect the supply and demand in favor of eco-friendly products. Our dollar votes going towards those choices will create a demand for manufacturers to switch out their practices and come on board faster. Individual transitions to green can happen over a period of weeks, while businesses and corporations tend to lag behind for years. So the sooner we make the changes in our lives, the sooner the rest of our economy will follow.

Source: Ecopalooza

Food Fight – The LA Premiere

New York, NY – The growing community of Battery Park City now has its own library. On March 18, The New York Public Library will open its Battery Park City branch, an environmentally friendly library which provides a wide range of services for the community. The public is invited to celebrate the branch’s opening with a morning ceremony, an architectural tour of the library, and a day of free events for the entire family. The 10,000 square-foot, two-story branch is located at 175 North End Avenue.

“The striking new environmentally friendly library in Battery Park City is sure to quickly become a beacon for the community,” said Paul LeClerc, President of the New York Public Library. “At a time when people are depending on libraries more then ever for free resources and job assistance the library is a crucial resource for the neighborhood. We are deeply grateful to our elected officials, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, and City Council Member Margaret Chin for their support of the branch’s construction. We also greatly appreciate the generous private funding provided by Goldman Sachs & Co.

Photo: Tim Furzer

With light streaming through broad windows and glimpses of the Hudson River the $6.7 million Battery Park City Library provides a vibrant and welcoming atmosphere for the public. The 88th branch of the New York Public Library will anchor the bottom two floors of the city’s greenest residential high-rise to date. Designed by the architecture firm 1100 Architects, the branch includes 24,000 items, 36 public access computers, and separate reading areas for children, young adults, and adults. A multipurpose programming room on the second floor is also featured, as well as two self-checkout machines for public use. The Library was constructed with a focus on environmental sustainability and will be the first GREEN Library in Manhattan. The branch is expected to receive LEED Gold certification from the U. S. Green Building Council. Some of the features contributing to the branch’s environmental efficiency include:
 

• an efficient technologically advanced low-energy heating/cooling system

• low-flow sanitary fixtures which reduce water consumption

• low-energy lighting system

• use of recycled and renewable building materials including a wood floor constructed with off-cuts from window frame manufacture, carpets constructed from old truck tires, millwork made from recycled cardboard composite, and terrazzo with recycled glass and mirror aggregate

• the inclusion of a dedicated area for the collection and storage of all recyclable materials accumulated during the day to day operations of the branch

• use of a large number of the products that are low emitting in order to help the overall indoor air quality.

“Libraries play an important role in communities throughout the city, serving as a place for people to gather, attend readings, access the internet and more,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “The new environmentally-sustainable Battery Park City branch will be a model for future branch designs and an asset for the local community for decades to come.”

“Expanding literacy, arts and education to any neighborhood in New York City is an issue we at the City Council feel is one of the most vital for New Yorkers,” said Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn. “Having access to these materials is essential to the growth of our neighborhoods. Battery Park for so long did not know what it was to have these resources available to them down the street from their homes. Now, residents downtown and throughout the City will be able to enjoy this new branch and the new resources it brings to this beautiful area of our City.”

“The opening of the Battery Park City library is another big step in the continuing progress of the community as one of the great neighborhoods in our city,” said New York State Senator Daniel Squadron. “Public libraries are more important than ever in the 21st century, in which broad, democratic access to information–whether printed or digital–is more important than ever.”

“I am delighted to join Battery Park City residents in welcoming the newest branch of the New York Public Library to the neighborhood,” said United States Congressman Jerrold L. Nadler. “I am proud of this terrific New York institution and believe that it profoundly enriches the lives of those who use it. As a lifelong enthusiastic reader and library patron, I hope that residents will enjoy this library as much as I have always enjoyed my local libraries and read to their hearts’ content.”

“I am thrilled to be joining the New York Public Library and the residents of Battery Park City in opening this beautiful new library,” said Councilmember Margaret Chin. “To have a public facility like this, in a community like Battery Park City, is really wonderful, especially with the construction’s focus on environmental sustainability and what we hope will be a LEED Gold certification. It’s important that we teach our children about the environment as we instill in them a love of reading and learning, while providing a great place for our seniors and others in the community to read and gather. I also want to specifically recognize my predecessor, Councilmember Alan Gerson, without whose work this library simply would not exist, and also the work of Community Board 1 Battery Park City chair Linda Belfer, a tireless champion of all things Battery Park City.”

“As Chair of Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Intergroup Relations, I am ecstatic that this library has been finished,” said Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer. “Any day that a library opens is a very good day for the community it serves. This library will enhance the educational and cultural life of the neighborhood.”

“The new Battery Park City library and the expansion of New York Public Library services means the promotion of literacy, education and technology for local residents,” said New York City Council Member Vincent Gentile. “Public libraries, particularly ones developed in an environmentally friendly way like this one, enrich the neighborhoods in which they’re placed; it’s a joy to see all the benefits that come along with a new public library being introduced to a neighborhood that didn’t have those resources at their fingertips before.”

Library Hours
The Battery Park City Library will be open: Monday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesday, 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Thursday, 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Grand Opening Celebration

Thursday, March 18, 2010
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Free and open to the public
175 North End Avenue

10 a.m.,
Opening ceremony and ribbon cutting, with elected officials and special guests.

11 a.m.,
Architect’s tour and overview of environmental features

11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.,
Crafts with Linda DeCresenzo, program for children of all ages.

2:30 p.m.
Poetry Reading

3:30 p.m.
“Birds of Prey”, a program for the whole family that examines such birds of prey as hawks, owls, falcons or other species! Patrons will get to touch raptor artifacts and a lucky volunteer may get to help with some of the demonstrations. Presented by the New Canaan Nature Center.

Source: New York Public Library

LOS ANGELES — A California lawmaker wants to make his state the first to ban incandescent lightbulbs as part of California’s groundbreaking initiatives to reduce energy use and greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.

The “How Many Legislators Does it Take to Change a Lightbulb Act” would ban incandescent lightbulbs by 2012 in favor of energy-saving compact fluorescent lightbulbs.

“Incandescent lightbulbs were first developed almost 125 years ago, and since that time they have undergone no major modifications,” California Assemblyman Lloyd Levine said Tuesday.

“Meanwhile, they remain incredibly inefficient, converting only about 5 percent of the energy they receive into light.”

Levine is expected to introduce the legislation this week, his office said.

If passed, it would be another pioneering environmental effort in California, the most populous U.S. state. It became the first state to mandate cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, targeting a 25 percent reduction in emissions by 2020.

Compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) use about 25 percent of the energy of conventional lightbulbs.

Many CFLs have a spiral shape, which was introduced in 1980. By 2005, about 100 million CFLs were sold in the United States, or about 5 percent of the 2-billion-lightbulb market, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

That number could more than double this year. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. alone wants to sell 100 million CFLs at its stores by the end of 2007, the world’s biggest retailer said in November.

While it will not give opinion on the possible California law, the EPA recommends CFLs.

“They save money and energy,” EPA spokeswoman Enesta Jones said. “They are more convenient than other alternatives and come in different sizes and shapes to fit almost any fixture.”

Also, CFLs generate 70 percent less heat than incandescent lights, Jones said.

About a fifth of the average U.S. home’s electricity costs pays for lighting, which means even if CFLs initially cost more than conventional lightbulbs, consumers will save, Jones said.

A 20-watt CFL gives as much light as a 75-watt conventional bulb, and lasts 13 times longer, according to the Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonprofit group studying energy issues.

Southern California Edison, an Edison International subsidiary and one of the state’s biggest utilities, runs a program that cuts the cost of a CFL by $1 to $2.50. In the past year, SCE has helped consumers buy 6 million CFLs, it said.

California Energy Commission member Arthur Rosenfeld said an average home in California will save $40 to $50 per year if CFLs replace all incandescent bulbs.

While not commenting specifically on Levine’s likely legislation, Rosenfeld, winner of the Enrico Fermi Presidential Award in 2006, said the switch from incandescent bulbs became feasible about five years ago when CFL performance improved.

“This is clearly an idea whose time has come,” he said.

Levine, a Democrat from Van Nuys in Los Angeles, last year introduced a bill that will become law in July that requires most grocery stores to have plastic bag recycling.

Source: Reuters By Bernie Woodall

Off The Hook: Why Local Seafood is Sustainable

Saturday, March 13th from 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm at 92 Y Tribeca

Do you want to know what fish are sustainable to eat? Are you confused by pocket seafood guides and competing certification labels? Do you wonder if any fish sold at farmer’s markets are overfished? Greenmarket will bring together fishermen, a regulatory agent, a marine advocate, and a chef to help untangle these questions and talk about what’s being done to promote sustainable fishing practices and why it’s important to support our local fishing families and communities.

Panelists include, Alex and Stephanie Villani from Blue Moon Fish in Mattituck, NY; Christopher M. Moore Chief of the Partnerships and Communications Division in the office of Sustainable Fisheries at NOAA Fisheries Service; Niaz Dorry, Director of the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance (NAMA); and Colin Alevras Chef of the former acclaimed restaurant Tasting Room and now Sommelier at DBGB Kitchen & Bar.

Light local seafood snacks and New York State wine will be served.

Tickets are $10 and available at 92 Y Tribeca  or through the box office at 212-601-1000.

92Y Tribeca is located at 200 Hudson Street, at Canal.

The Green Lifestyle Film Festival is a celebration of filmmakers who dedicate their talents, income and energy to examining what sustainability really means.

From how we birth our young to how we raise children, the construction and design of homes in which we live, to how we deal with illness, how we move about the earth in our physical bodies, and how all this is reflected in how we feed ourselves, to how we treat others in the animal kingdom all in the name of “the perfect steak” the “fashionable coat or accessories” or for entertainment, and its impact on all spheres of life on Planet Earth.

   The Green Lifestyle Film Festival was created to address a concern by the film festival’s founder (Dorit), that medical costs, lack of proper preventive, medical care, allegiance to a failing disease management system, an increasingly industrialized food system and non-distribution of very critical information have become a hindrance to achieving what is our most basic birthright- radiant, robust, vital health and free flow of information pertaining to the sanctity of life and the nourishment of the  human spirit.  This is all reflected in the fear based, violence-ridden films that are box office draws, and a media based culture that projects and perpetuates these very themes.

So much  “green washing” is also taking place, all in the name of rampant consumerism, that fiction and fantasy need to be replaced by integrity and adherence to a compassionate, all encompassing new economy backed by meaningful actions.

The films selected for the Green Lifestyle Film Festival seek to fill that gap. Wisdom and reverence for the Laws of Nature are being presented as options for ignorance and fear based decisions.

The next Green Lifestyle Film Festival (GLFF), which is an international, non profit event, will be held at UCLA’s James Bridges Theatre in Los Angeles, California, USA   from Friday 19th to Sunday 21st March 2010.