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I was contacted today by Wallace J. Nichols, an expert on marine turtles who appeared in The 11th Hour, who said that his father's town (his dad was the Mayor) is the focus of the Tea Party's protest "Trashcare."  Inspired by The 11th Hour, Mayor Nichols started to green his town during his tenure as mayor, see link: http://11thhouraction.com/wallacenichols 
It looks like the town is continuing its green policies but now for some reason the Tea Party sees recycling as an "Assault on Capitalism."   I hope that the town prevails and goes for long-term thinking rather than succumb to really clueless ideas that are coming from the frightened and angry far-right. 

if you belong to a group that needs to raise money, there may be no more fun or green way to do it than selling Smencils!  Instead of selling junk food, you make a huge difference for the planet.  Instead of using wood to make Smencils, they use recycled newspapers that are hardened so that they can be sharpened just like a regular pencil.  They also use fun scents like orange and root beer.  How cool is that??

If your school needs to raise money (and what school doesn't?), then you need school fundraisers.  This year, instead of selling cookie dough or candy bars, why not check out some eco friendly fundraisers?  It's a great way to raise all of the money you need and have a positive impact on the planet all at the same time.

We are finishing our film, Urban Roots, about the urban farming revolution in Detroit, and we are discussing the role that small, individually-owned urban farms have in "saving a city." We've run into some opinions that say that the thought that urban farms could save a city is somewhat naive, that, in fact what is needed are large-scale efforts to turn a city around.  "Scale" is needed, and "big profits."  The problem with this thinking I think is that it is stuck in the same mindset as the thinking that created the problem in the first place.  And the problem of saving a city is found in diagnosing the problem correctly. 

The problem of cities like Detroit is that the effort to preserve and grow big entities like corporations requires actions like what we witnessed - moving manufacturing overseas because labor was cheaper, cutting costs where-ever possible to bolster the bottom line and profits. Cutting costs and making profits, growing companies fast and big are what is heralded to be the goal and these things are rewarded by the stock market and by our culture in general.  Now, we are not against profits, but what is not helpful is to run a company, city or country with the bottom line/profits only in mind.  What is left out is the human element, the vitality of a company and a city and a country is the well-being of the people, the humans that live and work in it.  The mindset of our companies and country has so shifted to devalue the human element and value profit and size that we have run the very thing that makes the whole thing work - people - away. Look at Detroit, half the population has left, neighborhoods are empty, weeds grow in the playgrounds, schools have collapsed.  The mindset has killed off the community, has driven the people away. 

Now, out of this situation the remaining people have a choice and some of them have said they want to empower themselves by growing their own food and in some cases selling it to others. These farms are an acre or under, not thousands of acres.  How they benefit the city is that the empower a community, they give people ownership in their lives and each other, it gives them an income stream that cannot be taken away.  Some say scale is needed, but that brings in the same old mindset, put thousands of acres under cultivation under one group and the individual is yet again at the mercy of decisions beyond their control. And if the scale is too large, then yet again, the only way to sustain the size will be to minimize the human element and increase through non-human efficiencies like chemicals, and low wages.  How can small farms save a city?  They can do it one neighborhood at a time, slowly and hopefully with the help of city regulators who so often seek a quick fix and so often end up right where they started or oftentimes they end of worse off. Small farms bring in a new mindset, one of cooperation, barter, community, well-being, slowness but happiness perhaps.  It remains to be seen, we will be watching and we are open to the discussion!

Bad news first - we can't count on anyone to bail us out of climate change. 
Good news - we can help mitigate and adapt to it locally. 
GREAT NEWS is that Model Forest Policy Program is training communities in climate change adaptation through Climate Solutions University. 
To apply to the 2011 Climate Solutions University program, please follow the link below - and please pass this on to other entities who may benefit from our program!  Qualified applicants receive $10,000 to cover the time and input of the people they involve in the project, as well as consulting and educational services valued at $50,000.  The outcome - a locally-tailored climate adaptation plan as well as the education and training necessary to make it last.

Follow this link to download the application, and pass it on to others who are interested in helping their communities take action to adapt to climate change.

http://www.mfpp.org/Climate_Solutions_University/2011.html

It's a big world, big universe and beyond.  My posts may not fit within the subjects listed above. I don't know what to call myself except for ............label free. Sometimes I push the limits. I question, question, question. I think environment includes sharing a smile, the chance to laugh, the opportunity to see something a different way, creativity and to share life experiences.  To just plain lighten up and make the most of life.

I would like to thank 11th Hour for allowing me to follow my own path sometimes. There is hope in self-awareness and self-expression. In truth and honesty. In celebrating our unique characters, our differences and making room for every one. The kindest heart can go hand in hand with difficult truths seasoned with humour.  I can take it, I hope you can too.

Why do you try so hard to fit in when you were meant to stand out? 

The more life throws you curve balls, the better you get catching them.

People need to be told more often they possess a talent and it could be anything from something creative to the ability to make others feel good. Praise in other words............ 

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance.  

Helping people benefits the planet as a whole. You never know when just a smile may alter a life and all that touches that life. 

My space song -  Don't Walk in a Field of Eggs with Your Mouth Open .

Peace and Love

Don't forget to laugh

It's a big world on planet hope.

Sweetbomb

An essay is usually a short piece of writing which is quite often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition of an essay is vague, overlapping with those of an article and a short story. Almost all modern essays are written in prose, but works in verse have been dubbed essays (e.g. Alexander Pope's An Essay on Criticism and An Essay on Man). While brevity usually defines an essay, voluminous works like John Locke's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding and Thomas Malthus's An Essay on the Principle of Population provide counterexamples.

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