There will be an organizational meeting to coordinate various groups' plans for Earth Day/Earth week/Earth month. If you are planning any festivities in celebration of Earth Day, please come to the meeting so that we can all be on the same page about what events will be taking place.
Date: Thursday, April 1st
Time: 9 p.m.
Location: Woodhead Lounge
Monday, March 29, 2010
Manage a farmers' market in NYC
Grace Peterson '09 sends this information in about a job for graduating seniors or anybody interested in local sustainable food systems and environmental work:
Greenmarket, of GrowNYC, is looking for seasonal market managers to manage markets in all five boroughs. Individuals familiar with farmers' markets in the city know that they are large, well-run, well-publicized, and spread out over the city. The position would comprise of operations and promotion. They are looking for candidates that are outgoing, decisive, detail-oriented, flexible, and early-risers. Strong communications skills are necessary. Training begins in May and pay is $14/hour with no benefits.
Check out the job description
Please contact Grace at gepeterson@wesleyan.edu if you have any questions or would like her to pass your information on. Applications should be submitted in the next three weeks or so. You may also visit www.GrowNYC.org.
Greenmarket, of GrowNYC, is looking for seasonal market managers to manage markets in all five boroughs. Individuals familiar with farmers' markets in the city know that they are large, well-run, well-publicized, and spread out over the city. The position would comprise of operations and promotion. They are looking for candidates that are outgoing, decisive, detail-oriented, flexible, and early-risers. Strong communications skills are necessary. Training begins in May and pay is $14/hour with no benefits.
Check out the job description
Please contact Grace at gepeterson@wesleyan.edu if you have any questions or would like her to pass your information on. Applications should be submitted in the next three weeks or so. You may also visit www.GrowNYC.org.
Free film screenings
Hey EON,
Interested in putting together a film screening on campus? Campus Progress has put together 10 films that can be screened for free at college campuses. Check out how here. They are as follows:
The Garden
Directed by Scott Hamilton Kennedy
Running Time: 80 minutes
The Garden is an engaging and powerful film about the famous political and social battle over the largest community garden in the United States, located in South Central Los Angeles. The film follows the plight of farmers, most of them immigrants, from the tilled soil of their urban farm to the polished marble of City Hall. The Garden shows how the politics of power and greed — backroom deals, land developing, green politics, money — tragically clash with the needs of working class families who rely on this communal garden for their livelihood. The Garden exposes fault lines in U.S. society and raises crucial and challenging questions about liberty, equality, and justice for the poorest and most vulnerable among us.
Interested in putting together a film screening on campus? Campus Progress has put together 10 films that can be screened for free at college campuses. Check out how here. They are as follows:
The GardenDirected by Scott Hamilton Kennedy
Running Time: 80 minutes
The Garden is an engaging and powerful film about the famous political and social battle over the largest community garden in the United States, located in South Central Los Angeles. The film follows the plight of farmers, most of them immigrants, from the tilled soil of their urban farm to the polished marble of City Hall. The Garden shows how the politics of power and greed — backroom deals, land developing, green politics, money — tragically clash with the needs of working class families who rely on this communal garden for their livelihood. The Garden exposes fault lines in U.S. society and raises crucial and challenging questions about liberty, equality, and justice for the poorest and most vulnerable among us.
Trailer: http://www.thegardenmovie.com/trailer/
FLOW : For Love of Water
Directed by Irena Salina
Running Time: 93 minutes
Irena Salina’s award-winning documentary builds a case against the growing privatization of the world’s dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel. Interviews with scientists and activists reveal the rapidly building crisis, at both the global and human scale, and the film introduces many of the governmental and corporate culprits behind the water grab. Beyond identifying the problem, FLOW also gives viewers a look at the people and institutions providing practical solutions to the water crisis and those developing new technologies, which are fast becoming blueprints for a successful global and economic turnaround.
Trailer: http://www.flowthefilm.com/trailer
King Corn & Big River
King Corn directed by Aaron Wolf
Running Time: 88 minutes
Big River Directed by Curt Ellis
Running Time: 27 minutes
In King Corn, best friends Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis move to the heartland of Iowa to learn where their food comes from. With the help of friendly neighbors, genetically modified seeds, and powerful herbicides, they plant and grow a bumper crop of America’s most- productive, most-subsidized grain on one acre of Iowa soil. But when they try to follow their pile of corn into the food system, what they find raises troubling questions about how we eat—and how we farm. In their follow-up film, Big River, they return to Iowa with a new mission: to investigate the environmental impact their acre of corn has sent to the people and places downstream. In a journey that spans from the heartland to the Gulf of Mexico, Ian and Curt trade their combine for a canoe––and set out to see the big world their little acre of corn has touched.
King Corn Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiCRwMMh9k8
Big River Trailer: http://vimeo.com/6760135
Oil on Ice
Directed by Bo Boudart Boudart
Running Time: 56 minutes
Oil on Ice is a vivid, compelling, and comprehensive documentary connecting the fate of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to the decisions the United States makes about energy policy and transportation choices. This film shows the beauty and grandeur of ANWR against the political backdrop of oil exploration and development, and its impact upon the culture and livelihood of Gwich’in Athabascan Indians, Inupiat Eskimos, and the migratory wildlife in this fragile ecosystem. Oil on Ice exposes the risks of oil extraction in this extreme environment. The issue of oil extraction from ANWR brings into sharp focus the broader debate over energy conservation vs. unbridled consumption and global warming.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcdzUdVVifc
A Snowmobile for George
Directed by Todd Darling
Running Time: 94 minutes
When President George W. Bush reversed regulations that would have banned the two-stroke snowmobile, filmmaker Todd Darling asked the question: why would he bring back a machine that pollutes dozens of times more than any automobile? Baffled by this regulatory change, Darling straps his own family’s sled onto a trailer, and drives across the United States looking for the answer. Along the way he digs into de-regulation and looks at how changes in environmental laws have affected a wide range of Americans, from West Coast salmon fishermen to Wyoming cowboys to New York City firemen. His trip culminates in Washington DC, where the damage to the environment unmasks the political agenda of de-regulation and the pervasive role of corporate lobbyists.
Trailer: http://www.asnowmobileforgeorge.com/view_trailer.html
Earth Days
Directed by Robert Stone
Running Time: 90 minutes
It’s now all the rage in the age of Al Gore and Obama, but can you remember when everyone in America was not “Going Green?” Earth Days looks back to the dawn and development of the modern environmental movement—from its post-war rustlings in the 1950s and the 1962 publication of Rachel Carson’s incendiary bestseller Silent Spring, to the first wildly successful Earth Day celebration in 1970 and the subsequent firestorm of political action. Earth Days’ secret weapon is a one-two punch of personal testimony and rare archival media. The extraordinary stories of environmental pioneers are beautifully illustrated with an incredible array of footage. This film is both a meditation on man’s complex relationship with nature and an engaging history of the revolutionary achievements—and missed opportunities—of groundbreaking eco-activism.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsdKxew6FM8
Garbage Dreams
Directed by Mai Iskander
Running Time: 79 minutes
Garbage Dreams follows three teenage boys born into the trash trade and growing up in the world’s largest garbage village, on the outskirts of Cairo. It is home to 60,000 Zaballeen, Arabic for “garbage people.” Far ahead of any modern “green” initiatives, the Zaballeen survive by recycling 80 percent of the garbage they collect — compared to just 30 percent in Western cities — creating what is arguably the world’s most efficient waste disposal system. This innovative and successful recycling system costs the city of Cairo nothing. However, when their community is suddenly faced with the globalization of its trade, the boys are forced to make choices that will impact their future and the survival of the community.
Trailer: http://www.garbagedreams.com/
Burning the Future: Coal in America
Directed by David Novack
Running Time: 89 minutes
Burning the Future: Coal in America examines the explosive conflict between the coal industry and residents of West Virginia. Confronted by emerging “clean coal” energy policies, local activists watch a world blind to the devastation caused by coal’s extraction. Thousands of people living in Appalachia are under environmental assault. Their land is destroyed, their loved ones are ill, and the mountains they love are being blown away – in the name of “cheap energy” for the United States. Faced with toxic ground water and the obliteration of 1.4 million acres of mountains, the residents launch a fight to arouse the nation’s help in protecting their mountains, saving their families, and preserving their way of life. But with every new coal-fired power plant proposed, their fight becomes harder.
Trailer: http://www.burningthefuture.org/page.asp?s=burningthefuture&content_id=14092
A Convenient Truth: Urban Solutions from Curitiba, Brazil
Directed by Giovanni Vaz Del Bello
Running Time: 52 minutes
There is hope! A Convenient Truth: Urban Solutions from Curitiba, Brazil is an informative, inspirational documentary aimed at sharing ideas to provoke environmentally-friendly and cost-effective changes in cities worldwide. The documentary focuses on innovations in transportation, recycling, social benefits like affordable housing, seasonal parks, and the processes that transformed Curitiba into one of the most livable cities in the world. The film shows a city where urban solutions are not just theory, but a reality. Cities should be a solution, not a problem for humans, and Curitiba has demonstrated for the past 40 years how to transform problems into cost-effective solutions that can be applied in most cities around the world.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swQTTG3NcYY
The Greening of Southie
Directed by Ian Cheney
Running Time: 72 minutes
What happens when you’re asked to build the city of tomorrow… today? Set on the storied streets of South Boston, The Greening of Southie is a feature documentary about Boston’s first residential green building, and the men and women who set out to construct it. From wheatboard cabinetry to recycled steel, bamboo flooring to dual-flush toilets, The Macallen Building is something different––a leader in the emerging field of environmentally friendly design. But green building has its challenges, and the jobsite has its skeptics. And when things start to go wrong, a young developer has to keep the project from unraveling. The Greening of Southie is a story of bold ideas, new environmentalists, and the future of urban America.
Trailer: http://vimeo.com/3125436
Summer Job: Fund for the Public Interest
The Fund for the Public Interest is a national non-profit organization that works to build support for progressive organizations across the country. We run campaigns for the Sierra Club, the Human Rights Campaign, USPIRG, and Environment America. This summer we will be in over 50 cities, working and lobbying to help win environmental and social justice campaigns.
Currently, we have paid positions open on our campaigns in each of our locations. We require that interested candidates are hard workers and have excellent communication skills.
As a member of our staff, you will fundraise, build membership for our partner groups, and educate and activate citizens on pressing issues. You will also have the opportunity to organize press conferences and build coalitions with other non-profit organizations. While on staff, you gain knowledge of pressing concerns our country is facing, learn how to effectively generate public support, and obtain a firm understanding of the political process.
We will be holding interviews on the Wesleyan campus on March 29th and 30th and April 1st. (This Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday)
- Earn $4000-$6000 working for something you believe in!
- To find out more, call 1-800-75-EARTH, or visit www.JobsThatMatter.org.
Sneaker Recycling
Sneaker Recycling Runs April 1 – May 1st 2010!
Last year, Middletown recycled 1.49 tons of sneakers. All the sneakers are shipped to Nike manufacturers, who recycle the sneaks into athletic surfaces such as basketball courts, tracks and playgrounds.
Last year, Middletown recycled 1.49 tons of sneakers. All the sneakers are shipped to Nike manufacturers, who recycle the sneaks into athletic surfaces such as basketball courts, tracks and playgrounds.
Sneaker recycling starts again on April 1st, 2010. Because of changes at the National Recycling Coalition this program will ONLY be offered April 1st – May 1st
If you have old sneakers, bring them to the Middletown Recycling Center or the lobby of Middletown City Hall.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Green Jobs/Green NY: Helping the Economy and the Environment with the Center for Working Families
WHEN:
March 23, 2010 | 4:00 – 5:30PM
WHERE:
Kroon Hall - Burke Auditorium (195 Prospect Street)
COST:
Free and open to the public
ORGANIZER:
Connecticut Fund for the Environment and the Center for Business and the Environment at Yale
Join Emmaia Gelman, Policy Director of the Center for Working Families who will talk about Green Jobs/Green NY, an unprecedented statewide initiative to retrofit one million homes and small businesses in five years.
Emmaia Gelman guides the Center for Working Families’ portfolio of policy ideas and strategy linking jobs, housing, economic development, equity, and climate change.
This event is organized in collaboration with the Connecticut Fund for the Environment.
If you would like to attend this event online - REGISTER NOW!!!
The Center for Working Families works with community based organizations and policy advocates to provide elected leaders with the research support to make bold policy proposals, and to strategize with organizations and activists to enact them.
One of the Center’s big achievements is the policy blueprint for Green Jobs/Green NY program, an unprecedented statewide initiative to retrofit one million homes and small businesses in five years. The program will make New York homes energy efficient, lower fossil fuel emissions, and combat climate change. It will save households an average of 30-40% of energy consumption, create around 60,000 quality green job-years and obviate the need for new power plants. Most importantly, the upfront costs of the retrofit work will be paid for through third-party investor, such as pension funds or private investors, and fully paid back through energy bill savings — all off of the state’s budget. This public/private initiative is the largest residential retrofit program ever initiated: a model for the nation at a critical moment in national energy planning.
March 23, 2010
4:00 p.m.
Kroon Hall - Burke Auditorium
If you would like to attend this event online - REGISTER NOW!!!
Flim Screening & Discussion: A Chemical Reaction
Kim O'Rourke, Middletown Recycling Coordinator, is pleased to announce the film screening and discussion of A Chemical Reaction on Thursday, April 1, 2010 at 7pm in MIDDLETOWN at the Middletown High School Lecture Hall.
A Chemical Reaction is a documentary movie about how three Canadian provinces came to ban cosmetic pesticides. It started when Dr. June Irwin, a dermatologist, noticed a connection between her patient's health conditions and their exposure to chemical pesticides and herbicides. This is the story of her bringing these serious health concerns to her neighbors and fellow citizens.
Pre-registration is encouraged. Call 860-344-3526 or email kim.orourke@cityofmiddletown.com to register or for more information.
Suggested donation: $5 to help offset the costs.
Great door prizes!
This event is co-hosted by the Project Green Lawn committee and the Middletown Regional Agricultural Science & Technology Center.
It is co-sponsored by the City Recycling Office, the CT River Coastal Conservation District, The Jonah Center, and the Mattabaset FFA Agricultural Communications Team.
Project Green Lawn is a City of Middletown public awareness campaign to encourage residents and businesses to maintain healthy lawns free of chemicals that are harmful to people, pets and the environment. It is a collaborative project of the Middletown Public Works Dept., Resource Recycling Advisory Committee and Conservation Commission, with support from the CT River Coastal Conservation District and The Jonah Center.
After Climategate: Rethinking Climate Science and Climate Policy
The Center for the Study of Public Life is sponsoring a forum on “After Climategate: Rethinking Climate Science and Climate Policy,” on Thursday, March 25, at 7 PM in 001 PAC.
Presenters are Joe Rouse, Suzanne O’Connor, Paul Erikson, and Gary Yohe. There will be time for questions and discussion with the audience.
Please join us to discuss this important topic, and forward this announcement to anyone you know who might be interested.
Green Corps 2010-2011 Field School for Environmental Organizing
Time is running out to apply for Green Corps - the field school for environmental organizing. In this one year paid program, you'll receive hands-on training running some of today's most crucial environmental campaigns, and learning the fundamentals of grassroots organizing in the field.
** Applications due April 1st, 2010 – apply online today at http://www.greencorps.org **
Green Corps is looking for college graduates who are ready to take on the biggest environmental challenges of our day.
In Green Corps’ year-long paid program, you’ll get intensive training in the skills you’ll need to make a difference in the world. You’ll get hands-on experience fighting to solve urgent environmental problems — global warming, deforestation, water pollution and many others — with groups such as Sierra Club and Greenpeace. And, when you graduate from Green Corps, we’ll help you find a career with one of the nation’s leading environmental and social change groups.
For more information, read below or visit our web site: www.greencorps.org.
In your year with Green Corps:
You’ll get great training with some of the most experienced organizers in the field: Green Corps organizers take part in trainings with leading figures in the environmental and social change movements: people such as Adam Ruben, political director of MoveOn.org, and Bill McKibben, author and organizer of the “Step It Up” rallies for climate action.
You’ll get amazing experience working on environmental issues across the country: Green Corps sends organizers to jumpstart campaigns for groups such as Rainforest Action Network, Sierra Club, Greenpeace and Environment America in San Francisco, Chicago, Boston and dozens of other places in between.
You’ll have a real impact on some of the biggest environmental problems we’re facing today: Green Corps organizers have built the campaigns that helped keep the Arctic safe from drilling, that led to new laws that support clean, renewable energy, that convinced major corporations to stop dumping in our oceans and much, much more.
You’ll even get paid: Green Corps Organizers earn a salary of $23,750. Organizers also have a chance to opt into our health care program with a pre-tax monthly salary deferral. We offer paid sick days and holidays, two weeks paid vacation and a student loan repayment program for those who qualify.
And when you graduate from the program, you’ll be ready for what comes next: Green Corps will help connect you to environmental and progressive groups that are looking for full-time staff to build their organizations and help them create social change and protect our environment.
In the next few months, we‘ll invite 35 college graduates to join Green Corps in 2010-2011. We’re looking for people who are serious about saving the planet, people who have taken initiative on their campus or community, and people who are willing to roll up their sleeves and work for change over the long haul.
If you think you’re one of those people, visit http://www.greencorps.org/apply to submit your application to join the 2010-2011 class of Green Corps’ Field School for Environmental Organizing.
Green Corps’ year-long program begins in August 2010 with Introductory Classroom Training in Boston, and continues with field placements in multiple locations across the U.S. Candidates must be willing to relocate.
http://www.wicz.com/news/video.asp?video=03-16-10+coal.wmv.flv&zone=News
http://centralny.ynn.com/content/all_news/southern_tier/498982/coal-fired-power-plant-protest
Organizing has proven to be a very fulfilling career for me, and I think it would be great for you as well. I'd love to chat with you about Green Corps over the phone, and answer any questions you have. You can reach me at (607) 592 9500, or by email: miller@greencorps.org. Please let me know when you're available to talk. Thanks!
Miller Nuttle ('09)
Green Corps Organizer
607 592 9500
miller@greencorps
** Applications due April 1st, 2010 – apply online today at http://www.greencorps.org *
Green Corps is looking for college graduates who are ready to take on the biggest environmental challenges of our day.
In Green Corps’ year-long paid program, you’ll get intensive training in the skills you’ll need to make a difference in the world. You’ll get hands-on experience fighting to solve urgent environmental problems — global warming, deforestation, water pollution and many others — with groups such as Sierra Club and Greenpeace. And, when you graduate from Green Corps, we’ll help you find a career with one of the nation’s leading environmental and social change groups.
For more information, read below or visit our web site: www.greencorps.org.
In your year with Green Corps:
You’ll get great training with some of the most experienced organizers in the field: Green Corps organizers take part in trainings with leading figures in the environmental and social change movements: people such as Adam Ruben, political director of MoveOn.org, and Bill McKibben, author and organizer of the “Step It Up” rallies for climate action.
You’ll get amazing experience working on environmental issues across the country: Green Corps sends organizers to jumpstart campaigns for groups such as Rainforest Action Network, Sierra Club, Greenpeace and Environment America in San Francisco, Chicago, Boston and dozens of other places in between.
You’ll have a real impact on some of the biggest environmental problems we’re facing today: Green Corps organizers have built the campaigns that helped keep the Arctic safe from drilling, that led to new laws that support clean, renewable energy, that convinced major corporations to stop dumping in our oceans and much, much more.
You’ll even get paid: Green Corps Organizers earn a salary of $23,750. Organizers also have a chance to opt into our health care program with a pre-tax monthly salary deferral. We offer paid sick days and holidays, two weeks paid vacation and a student loan repayment program for those who qualify.
And when you graduate from the program, you’ll be ready for what comes next: Green Corps will help connect you to environmental and progressive groups that are looking for full-time staff to build their organizations and help them create social change and protect our environment.
In the next few months, we‘ll invite 35 college graduates to join Green Corps in 2010-2011. We’re looking for people who are serious about saving the planet, people who have taken initiative on their campus or community, and people who are willing to roll up their sleeves and work for change over the long haul.
If you think you’re one of those people, visit http://www.greencorps.
Green Corps’ year-long program begins in August 2010 with Introductory Classroom Training in Boston, and continues with field placements in multiple locations across the U.S. Candidates must be willing to relocate.
A Message from Wes Alum, Miller Nuttle '09:
I graduated from Wes last year, and started Green Corps last fall. I've had an awesome time so far, and learned way more than I thought possible in such a short period of time. I'm now working on Binghamton University's campus with the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign - working to transition the campus heating plant away from coal to renewable energy. We held a press conference yesterday for National Clean Air Day. Check out our coverage:http://www.wicz.com/news/
http://centralny.ynn.com/
Organizing has proven to be a very fulfilling career for me, and I think it would be great for you as well. I'd love to chat with you about Green Corps over the phone, and answer any questions you have. You can reach me at (607) 592 9500, or by email: miller@greencorps.org. Please let me know when you're available to talk. Thanks!
Miller Nuttle ('09)
Green Corps Organizer
607 592 9500
miller@greencorps
Recycled Art Supplies
Want to make some cool art from recycled materials?
A local resident has some recycled materials that could be used for art projects. If you have any interest in them or know of someone who might be, please pass this on.
A local resident has some recycled materials that could be used for art projects. If you have any interest in them or know of someone who might be, please pass this on.
The items are:
-1 trash bag of bubble wrap
-1 box of foam peanut
-The equivalent of 2 full rolls of wallpaper Please contact the resident directly:
Jennifer Weymouth at jaweymouth@yahoo.com.
New England Climate Summer
NEW ENGLAND CLIMATE SUMMER:
What are YOU doing this summer?
The climate movement is at a crossroads. Copenhagen was a failure of leadership from polluting nations, especially the United States. Legislation pending in Congress fails to meet the emissions reductions demanded by physics and chemistry. Passing bold legislation will require a genuine people's movement arising outside of Washington, DC demanding real change, and we here in New England must be the drivers of that movement to achieve 350.
New England Climate Summer puts students on the bike seat of the movement, working as the catalyst to alter our political landscape to make real change possible. Teams of students in every New England state will bike from town-to-town for two months, knitting together student organizations, environmentalists and faith communities. Teams will spend a week in each town, implementing a rigorous program of relationship building, training and public events. Participants will live and work closely with trained and motivated peers, forming bonds that will endure long after the program ends.
Climate summer is the most fun summer internship you'll ever find. You'll get serious and effective training in community organizing theory and put it into practice for two months. Housing and a food stipend will be provided for all participants.
This is your chance to put serious bricks and mortar in the foundation of the movement for a just and stable future for all. Find out more at http://www.
"Thinking back on this past semester and summer, I wouldn't be where I am now had it not been for Mass Climate Summer... I will not pretend that I have any idea what will happen in the future, but I do know that 2009 has been the most intense, surprising, meaningful, sad, happy, and self-realizing of my life so far. Climate Summer played a large role in that." -Heather Bulis, Climate Summer '09 Participant
Brazilian Ecosystems Program
Antioch Education Abroad's Brazilian Ecosystems Program, a 16-credit fall semester undergraduate program, is NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS.
This is an outstanding opportunity for direct field experience with biodiversity concepts and real world conservation problem solving in Brazil.
Students return to campus inspired and energized about continuing their education towards more realistically defined career goals.
The program travels to the Atlantic Forest, Cerrado Savanna, Amazon Rainforest and Pantanal Wetland, across 6 different states: Paraná, Bahia, Goiás, Pará, Amazonas, and Mato Grosso.
Internship also included.
Program dates: 31 August - 5 December
Now accepting applications! Please encourage your classmates to learn more about this ultimate field experience in biodiversity conservation by directing them to aea.antioch.edu/brazil
For more information, contact:
Suzanne Kolb, Ph.D. Ecology
Associate Professor of Environmental Science
Director, Brazilian Ecosystems Program
T 937-769-1018
M 937-751-9506
skype: suzanne.r.kolb
Antioch Education Abroad
Antioch University
150 E. South College Street
Yellow Springs, OH 45387
35th Peter A. Leermakers' Symposium: Green Energy and Biofuel Technology
The 35th Peter A. Leermakers’ Symposium will be held on May 7, 2010 at Wesleyan University. This years’ symposium, entitled Green Energy and Biofuel Technology, will feature an outstanding program of talks from leaders in government, industry and academia. Additionally, all attendees who conduct biofuel and energy research are encouraged to participate in the poster session.
Online pre-registration is open through May 1st. The registration fee includes a box lunch and a reception at the conclusion of the symposium; $15 for students, $35 for others ($5 discount for all poster presenters). There will be a promo code for members of the Wesleyan Community. With this code, Wesleyan Non-Students will pay just 10 dollars (enough to cover the cost of lunch and the reception) and Wesleyan Students are free.
Space will be limited, so please pre-register soon to obtain the reduced rate. On-site registration will be available for an additional fee, but cannot be guaranteed without pre-registration.
We look forward to seeing you and your posters at the symposium. For more information on presenting a poster or general inquiries contact me directly or refer to the symposium web page.
http://www.wesleyan.edu/chem/
Contact Professor Erika A. Taylor with any questions:
Assistant Professor
Chair, 35th Peter A. Leermakers’ Committee
eataylor@wesleyan.edu
(860) 685-2739
SIERRA STUDENT COALITION’S SUMMER PROGRAM (SPROG) SUMMER 2010: BE A FORCE FOR CHANGE
SIERRA STUDENT COALITION’S SUMMER PROGRAM (SPROG)
SUMMER 2010: BE A FORCE FOR CHANGE
APPLY NOW
Questions? trainings@ssc.org
Make an investment in yourself, in your world and in your future. Attending Sprog will provide you the opportunity to learn and hone your skills for improving your community and your world.
SPROG is a week-long youth leadership and grassroots organizing training program, led by the nation's top youth organizers. You’ll develop your organizing and leadership skills, network and bond with fellow young change-makers, engage in fun activities, and enjoy tasty vegetarian cooking. Not only will you come away changed, you'll have the skills and confidence to be a FORCE for CHANGE!
There may be a dozen other things you could choose to do this summer…so why choose to take a week for SPROG? Here’s why:
Right now, we’re seeing our future slip away. Many of our leaders are failing to react to the gravity of climate change and the impact it will have on our future. We can’t sit back and let our future be fueled by fossil fuels, when we know there are better alternatives. If we don’t raise our voices and take a stand, our future will be one choked with coal, oil-slicked water, and communities living in fear of nuclear catastrophe.
But we CAN reclaim our future and rebuild our communities and our economy! Imagine communities coming together everywhere, insulating and weatherizing every home, putting solar panels on every roof, and erecting windmills across the horizon.
Change only happens when we organize, and organizing is a craft that must be learned like any other. As youth, we have a special role to play in demanding more from our leaders, in becoming tomorrow’s leaders today. At Sprog, you’ll learn the skills you need to be a FORCE for CHANGE:
- Public Narrative: The art of telling your story in a way that moves others to act;
- Leadership Development & Team Building: Engaging volunteers, helping them become leaders, and developing an effective team;
- Strategic Campaign Planning: Setting goals and devising a winning strategy, planning and implementing your campaign for change;
- Communication Skills: How to frame issues and talk about them in a way that speaks to values; use the media to get your message out;
- Anti-Oppression: Examining how dynamics of power and privilege play out in our organizing work, and exploring how we can become more inclusive, diverse and welcoming; and
- Grassroots Tactics: Strategically applying various tactics like tabling, event planning, coalition building, fundraising, and more!
This summer, we can go on with our normal, busy lives, and watch our future slip away…OR, we can choose to rise to the greatest challenge we have ever faced, come together to learn the skills we need to create the future we all deserve. It’s your choice!
Questions? trainings@ssc.org
More Details:
- Our Time is NOW: Why you should attend--the choice is yours.
- 2010 Locations & Dates
- Testimonials: What have other people said about their experience?
- Costs: Tuition rates, deals, and scholarship info.
- APPLY NOW!
Walk for Water
Live Earth is proud to partner with Walking for Water, a school-based program to raise awareness around World Water Day on March 22nd. Participating students are sponsored by friends and family and commit to walking 6 kilometers, carrying 6 liters of water in backpacks to raise funds to finance water projects in developing countries. In 2009 this program raised more than 1 million Euros to support clean, safe, drinking water projects!
Click here to read more and click here to get your school involved and to download the free information.Climate Action + 10 seconds = Free Music
Take 10 seconds right now to let our leaders know climate and energy issues should be a top priority and you will receive an entire album of music FOR FREE from artists like Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, Jack Johnson, O.A.R., Wilco, Deathcab for Cutie, Phish and more!
You work hard on climate and energy issues every day, so consider this a well-deserved reward from some bands who share your values and commitment to action.
Click here for more info.
You can help solve the world water crisis by participating in the April 18, 2010 Dow Live Earth Run for Water.
Sign up now at http://liveearth.org/run.
Join the Socially Responsible Investing Coalition (SRIC)
The Socially Responsible Investing Coalition (SRIC), which formed earlier this semester on Wesleyan's campus, is comprised of a group of individuals who have come together on common purpose: to foster greater campus involvement in Wesleyan's corporate invesments and to gear those investments towards companies which respect basic levels of social responsibility. They believe that many of Wesleyan's current investments violate these principles, especially when it comes to issues of environmental degradation and sustainability. Please take a moment to read the SRIC's mission statement (see below)
They would like to invite you to join our growing coalition of multi-issue activists working to change our investment strategy. Based upon initial research into our current visible security holdings, they have uncovered numerous worrisome investments which speak to incredibly destructive environmental practices. Among these, Wesleyan invests in companies which engage in tar sands oil extraction, natural gas "fracking," crude oil drilling, deforestation, and agribusiness. They believe these practices cause significant social injury, as to warrant corporate engagement and/or divestment strategies.
They would like to have environmental concerns be at the forefront of the effort towards responsible investment and re-investment.
Questions? Contact Mica Taliaferro '11
They would like to invite you to join our growing coalition of multi-issue activists working to change our investment strategy. Based upon initial research into our current visible security holdings, they have uncovered numerous worrisome investments which speak to incredibly destructive environmental practices. Among these, Wesleyan invests in companies which engage in tar sands oil extraction, natural gas "fracking," crude oil drilling, deforestation, and agribusiness. They believe these practices cause significant social injury, as to warrant corporate engagement and/or divestment strategies.
They would like to have environmental concerns be at the forefront of the effort towards responsible investment and re-investment.
Questions? Contact Mica Taliaferro '11
Socially Responsible Investing Coalition (SRIC)
Mission Statement
Mission Statement
Wesleyan’s Socially Responsible Investing Coalition (SRIC) is a grassroots, student-led initiative whose mission is to ensure that Wesleyan’s core values are reflected in our corporate investments. We strive to build a diverse group of students, faculty, and staff encompassing a wide range of political, environmental, and social justice causes, who come together on the common belief that the Wesleyan community should have greater control and influence over our University’s investments.
The goals of the SRIC are threefold:
1. Engage with the newly formed Committee for Investor Responsibility (CIR) to facilitate corporate engagement, letter writing, proxy voting, or divestment strategies to constructively influence socially irresponsible corporate behaviors.
2. Work within the Wesleyan community in order to engage and educate those around us on responsible investment issues. While our primary initiative will be to work through the CR, we also commit to operating campaigns for socially responsible investing which seek to alter our investment strategy through other means.
3. Build a sustainable, diverse coalition of multi-issue grassroots organizers who come together to reconstruct our investments in a responsible manner, gearing our endowment towards investments which bring about positive changes in our world.
Wesleyan University has a longstanding history and dedication to social justice, and we believe that the University’s investments should reflect this commitment. We challenge the assumption that monetary investments are politically neutral. Many of the security holdings of this University currently rest in companies that violate the CIR’s provisions against causing “social injury.” We seek to use this institution’s shareholder leverage to pressure these corporations to change their policies or, if it becomes necessary, to remove our complicity from their socially reprehensible practices. We emphasize socially responsible re-investment of funds into environmentally friendly, human rights-based mutual funds and corporations that will aid efforts for worldwide sustainability and social equality.
Become a Summer of Solutions Fellow (or volunteer)!
The Summer of Solutions is a program run by Grand Aspirations to train youth leaders to create, implement, and strengthen community-based solutions to climate change, economic recession, and environmental injustice. We bring young people together for a summer to learn not only about the problems of dirty energy, the economy, and environmental discrimination, but also to figure out solutions that create livelihoods for ourselves and our communities. They work to create solutions through energy efficiency, community-based energy, green industry, urban farming, smart design, and more. The program began in 2008 in St. Paul, MN, and has since expanded through our diverse national network to 13 programs nationwide.
This summer, they're running programs in:
Asheville, NC
Austin, TX
Burlington, VT
Cleveland, OH
Corvallis, OR
Dallas, TX
Fayetteville, AR
Harrisburg, PA
Iowa City, IA
Detroit, MI
Santa Fe, NM
Twin Cities, MN
Worcester, MA
Austin, TX
Burlington, VT
Cleveland, OH
Corvallis, OR
Dallas, TX
Fayetteville, AR
Harrisburg, PA
Iowa City, IA
Detroit, MI
Santa Fe, NM
Twin Cities, MN
Worcester, MA
For more information about specific programs, and to apply, check out the Grand Aspirations website (http://www.summerofsolutions.org ) and their blog (http://solutionaries.net).
Full-time fellows will spend two months working building their skills as green economy innovators through mentorship with existing solutionaries and hands-on practice in creating careers in sustainable community development. Please apply and/or encourage other who you think may be interested to do so. Apply online at www.summerofsolutions.org - deadlines vary by programs (see the website), but are typically in March and April for programs that start in June.
Full-time fellows will spend two months working building their skills as green economy innovators through mentorship with existing solutionaries and hands-on practice in creating careers in sustainable community development. Please apply and/or encourage other who you think may be interested to do so. Apply online at www.summerofsolutions.org - deadlines vary by programs (see the website), but are typically in March and April for programs that start in June.
This spring Solutionaries will be hosting a blog series featuring 1-2 local programs every week. So check them out on Wednesdays for updates, and follow them on Facebook and Twitter for lots of updates about projects running all over the country.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Greenpeace Organizing Term (GOT)
Wes Alum Jean Pockrus '08 sends this info in:
The Greenpeace Organizing Term (GOT) is a semester-long program packed with trainings on grassroots organizing, campaigning, and media skills. Students get a chance to travel and work on real Greenpeace campaigns in the field. Green job growth is on the rise and the GOT provides the skills and training students need to jumpstart their green careers. The GOT has something for every environmentally-conscious student -- whether you're interested in direct action campaigns, community organizing, advocacy, environmental research and reporting, or a host of other fields. Students also participate in a Greenpeace Expedition and travel to meet international activists and take action for the planet. Previous GOT students have witnessed the destruction caused by the Canadian tar sands, campaigned for the climate in Japan, and learned about sustainable agriculture and land rights from Zapatista communities in Chiapas, Mexico.
The program takes place in Washington D.C. and San Francisco every Fall, Spring, and Summer, so check out our website and apply now! For info about applying, scholarships, and credits, see our website or feel free to contact our staff: got@wdc.greenpeace
Earth Day Planning
Anne DeBoer '12 send this in...
Since this April is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, we thought it would be great to celebrate it right....the whole month! A whole bunch of environmental groups on campus have things planned / are in the planning stages and if we work together to advertise and brainstorm we can draw a big group of students to get involved. If you have any interest in joining this collaboration or have any ideas please please please get involved! We hope to meet the week we get back from spring break to get this awesomest Earth Month started.
Since this April is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, we thought it would be great to celebrate it right....the whole month! A whole bunch of environmental groups on campus have things planned / are in the planning stages and if we work together to advertise and brainstorm we can draw a big group of students to get involved. If you have any interest in joining this collaboration or have any ideas please please please get involved! We hope to meet the week we get back from spring break to get this awesomest Earth Month started.
Farmer's Market this Wednesday
This week’s Farmer’s Market is the final indoor market (spring is almost here!) and there are lots of great things happening!
There will be live music (provided by Zach Schonfeld ‘13 and Emily Kianka ‘13), apple cider, and your favorite vendors selling fresh produce, baked goods, soaps, jams, honey, goat cheese, spices, and breads! In addition, Maria’s Kitchen Crafts will be coming with homemade soups and preserves! Swipe points or pay cash for a fresh lunch from Bon Appetit (vegetarian option will be available) made with ingredients from the market.
This week’s featured vendors are:
- Hidden Brook Gardens: working towards becoming one of the first organic apple orchards in Connecticut providing a variety of apple products including apple butter, apple sauce, and apple cider.
- Bodhichitta Farms: selling mushrooms and organic green house grown vegetables.
Ohio Student Environmental Coalition summer internship
Join the Ohio Student Environmental Coalition and its partners for a summer of community greening and environmental justice work on Cleveland's near West side! Summer interns will work with community partners in Cleveland's Detroit-Shoreway and Clark-Metro neighborhoods to address structural and material environmental challenges in three basic ways. These three tracks are not mutually exclusive, meaning that program participants will choose to participate in any combination of the following initiatives:
- Proximity to Lake Erie spells harsh winters and hot summers for local residents. Interns will be trained in basic weatherization processes, and spend the summer using their training to effect immediate material change. Using program funding, field teams will work with families to weatherize their homes at no cost, thus investing resources and knowledge in the Detroit-Shoreway and Clark-Metro neighborhoods.
- Although some Cleveland neighborhoods enjoy an abundance of healthy, local food, many lack even a single grocery store. Residents instead rely on overpriced and unhealthy food from convenient stores. These "food deserts" stretch over 90 blocks, and categorize large swaths of Cleveland's East and West sides. OSEC interns will identify ideal locations for urban gardens and work with community members to make local agriculture a reality.
- For 70 years, a highway has severed the impoverished Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood from its valuable lakefront in order to allow West Side suburbanites quicker access to Downtown. The Lakefront West Plan proposed by the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization, and the Connecting Cleveland 2020 citywide plan put forth by Cleveland's Planning Department and passed by the Ohio Department of Transportation, both call for replacing this Shoreway with an all-access, 35 mph street. After years of discussion, however, little of this plan has been put into action. Through research, policy advocacy, and community organizing, summer interns will create much-needed momentum to remedy this structural injustice.
Living on the near west side of Cleveland, interns will also come to love shopping at the West Side Market, volunteering at the Ohio City Bike Co-op, and catching a nice dinner at Ohio's only LEED-certified restaurant. Interns will have the option of living with one another in housing provided by the program. A living stipend of up to $2000 will be available to those who most need it.
By the end of the summer, interns and neighborhood residents alike will have gained knowledge and experience related to home weatherization, urban planning, community organizing, and inter-community bridge-building. All will have enjoyed an unforgettable summer of fun and hard work on Cleveland's Near West Side!
The PRIORITY DEADLINE for applications is Monday, March 22nd at midnight. Those who apply by this date will receive priority in decisions about acceptance and stipends; these decisions will be announced on Monday, April 5th. The final deadline for applications as full-time interns will be Monday, April 19th at midnight; these applicants will be notified on a rolling basis, and will hear back no later than April 26th. The date on which you start and finish your Cleveland Summer of Solutions Internship can be flexible, although full summer internships are expected to last 10 (not necessarily consecutive) weeks.
To apply, please EITHER fill out the online application form, OR send your resume and cover letter to OSECSummer@gmail.com, OR do both. This is your official application, so be thoughtful and concise throughout. If you have questions, you can leave them in the Final Comments box or send us an e-mail. Please note that you cannot save this application and continue working on it later; you may want to write and save your responses elsewhere and then enter and submit this form when you are done. Questions with "*" next to them are required and cannot be left blank.
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