Green Scene Edition 10

THE GREEN SCENE: Edition 10
The Green Scene is Wesleyan's new environmental newsletter. Look to us for weekly updates on relevant news, lectures, conferences, meetings, and other interesting little environmental tidbits.
*If you have anything you would like included, please submit it to weseon@gmail.com each week by Monday afternoon*

Events/Lectures:
~Vote for Your favorite Recycled Sculpture!
-The City of Middletown Public Works Department is hosting its 7th Annual Children’s Recycled Sculpture Contest!
-Sculptures are on display in the lobby of City hall. Votes will be taken Monday and Tuesday, November 23 and 24th for the People’s Choice Award. Come see the sculptures and vote for your favorite!! Anyone can vote, but please vote only once. Winners will be announced on Tuesday, Dec. 1st! The public can come to City Hall the week of Nov. 16th to view the sculptures and then vote on Nov. 23 and 24 from 8:30 am. – 8:00 p.m.
-For more information, contact the City Recycling Coordinator at 344-3526 or kim.orourke@cityofmiddletown.com.

~ECS Prize!
~The Energy Conservation Showdown Prize (aka the ECS or “X” -Prize) is a competition to discover the best student-created ideas to reduce Wesleyan‘s energy consumption. Teams of students will compete to win cash prizes by submitting reports of at least three pages in length on how to best cut back on greenhouse gas emissions while also saving the University money.
-The members of the first place team will receive $600; two runners up will each receive $200. Additionally, the top-scoring submissions will be forwarded to President Roth for implementation, to help both the planet and Wesleyan’s finances.
-The recently created ECS-Price presents a great opportunity for members to break up into pairs or small groups to draft proposals for energy conservation on campus. -We have a great chance to win this prize!

~Crude Showing this Week in Hartford!
-Crude is an incredible documentary on the huge environmental lawsuit going on between Chevron and 30,000 indigenous Amazonians in Ecuador
-It is showing NOW in Hartford at the Real Artways cinema until Thursday, November 26th
-For more information, http://www.crudethemovie.com/ and http://www.realartways.org/cinema.htm - crude


Group Meeting Times for the Week:
~WesRUM: Monday, November 30th at 9pm in the Woodhead Lounge

FYI:
~Uneven Terrain
-New Urban Online TV Series features the hidden, underground, and forgotten corners of our globe
-This week's episode takes Viewers into LA’s Network of Secret Oil Wells, Sequestered in Fake Office Buildings, Disguised as Palm Trees and Artificial Islands
-The debut episode centers on Los Angeles where viewers gain an unprecedented look into the city’s network of secret oil wells that dot residential neighborhoods and clandestinely sit near schools, malls and beaches. Twenty billion barrels of oil sit beneath Los Angeles. Hidden in plain sight, thousands of wells pump day and night all over the city covered by hollow office buildings, camouflaged next to high schools, and concealed behind shopping malls
-Watch it here: http://www.vbs.tv/palladium/oil-of-l-a--2

~City of Middletown Announces Expansion of Plastic Container Recycling
-In an effort to encourage Middletown residents to recycle more, the City of Middletown is excited to announce that it will accept #3 - #7 plastic containers at its Recycling Center for recycling. Currently the City accepts plastic containers with a #1 and #2 on the bottom. Starting immediately, residents can also bring down other plastic containers that have a #3-7 on the bottom of the container. It can include various food containers such as deli and yogurt containers, shampoo bottles and Styrofoam containers.
-This is currently limited to the City Recycling Center, although they do hope to eventually expand it to curbside collections
-The The City Recycling Center is located on the corner of Johnson St and North Main St. It is open Monday – Friday 7 am – 3pm and every Sat. through November 7am – 12 noon. December – March it is open only the first and third Sat of the month 7am – 12 noon. A residence pass must be obtained to bring in free recyclables. This can be obtained at the Department of Public Works in City Hall upon presentation of your vehicle registration.
-For more information on the plastics recycling or the Recycling Center, contact Kim O’Rourke, the City Recycling Coordinator at 344-3526.

~Want to live in Earth House?
-If you're looking for somewhere to live next semester and you're a sophomore, junior, or senior, consider Earth House!. Contact Josh Levine at jslevine@wesleyan.edu as soon as possible for more info. The deadline is soon so get on it!

~Service Week Next Semester
-The Senior Class Officers are putting together a "Service Week" for next semester that will allow students to participate in giving back. They are coordinating with agencies/organizations in the North End of Middletown to host service projects each day of the week at their various locations during a time frame of 3 to 6 PM. Students will be able to sign up for these activities online.
-They are also hoping to plan service projects that can occur during lunch hours at the Usdan Center. Ideally these projects will include activities such as making cards for a nursing home, assembling goodie bags for a health center, envelope stuffing, etc. These activities would be one-time service projects that would allow students to drop in at their leisure.
-Interested in hosting or participating in a lunch-hour project? Contact Joanna Humphries (jhumphries@wesleyan.edu) with any ideas or suggestions

~Industrialized Nations Unveil Plans to Rein in Emissions- NY Times
-http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/20/science/earth/20climate.html?ref=earth

~Storm over the Chamber- NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/19/business/energyenvironment/19CHAMBER.html?ref=earth

~Chinese Solar Panel Firm to Open Plant in Arizona- NY Times
-http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/17/business/energy-environment/17solar.html?ref=earth

Action On Campus!
~Tell Lieberman We Need Strong Climate Legislation
-Senator Lieberman is one of the KEY people shaping our country's climate change legislation.
-He is expected to release a compromise framework in the next few weeks.
-Call him today to ask for STRONG climate legislation in the Senate.
-Here is a script you can follow:
To reach Senator Lieberman:
Phone: 202-224-4041 (if that doesn’t work, try 860-594-8463)
Hi, I’d like to speak with Senator Joseph Lieberman.
(NOTE: You are likely to speak with an aide or an answering machine.)
My name is ___________ and I am a student at Wesleyan University.
I am calling to ask Senator Lieberman to strengthen the Senate’s global warming legislation.
This means:
-Protect and strengthen emission reduction standards.
-Enact a Renewable Energy Standard of at least 20% by 2020.
-Protect the EPA’s authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate coal-fired power plants.
Can you tell me Senator Lieberman’s position on these three issues? Thank you for your time, Good-bye.

Outside Opportunities:
None known at this time

Job Announcements:
None known at this time

Thanks for reading this week! Make sure to send in any submissions for next week's edition by Monday afternoon! Have a great, safe, and environmentally friendly break everyone! Try to carpool as much as possible!

"It's a job that's never started that takes the longest to finish." - J.R.R. Tolkien