Promoting sustainable living in our Brooklyn neighborhood and beyond.
BLOGGERS TO UNITE ON BLOG ACTION DAY All Blogs Invited to Take Part in Joining Voices to Help Environment “For just one day, we’d like to unite as many of the millions of bloggers around the world and speak about one issue – the environment,” […]
Why do I find this photo so exciting? Because here is a woman taking a full load of children to their destination, completely human-powered, casually dressed, like it’s the most normal thing in the world. And in Copenhagen, it is. photo by Zakkaliciousness For more […]
Today Al Gore, together with the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, received the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his work to alert the world to the threat of global warming. From the NY Times article:
Mr. Gore “is probably the single individual who has done most to create greater worldwide understanding of the measures that need to be adopted,†the Nobel citation said, referring to the issue of climate change. The United Nations committee, a network of 2,000 scientists, has produced two decades of scientific reports that have “created an ever-broader informed consensus about the connection between human activities and global warming,†the citation said.
photo: Filmweb
This morning I received an email from Senator Chuck Shumer (wow, how did Chuck get my email address?), with a link to website where I could sign a card congratulating Al Gore for the honor he had just received. And guess what? Al wrote me right back!
Dear Anne,
I am deeply honored to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. This award is even more meaningful because I have the honor of sharing it with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change–the world’s pre-eminent scientific body devoted to improving our understanding of the climate crisis–a group whose members have worked tirelessly and selflessly for many years. We face a true planetary emergency. The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity. It is also our greatest opportunity to lift global consciousness to a higher level.
My wife, Tipper, and I will donate 100 percent of the proceeds of the award to the Alliance for Climate Protection, a bipartisan non-profit organization that is devoted to changing public opinion in the U.S. and around the world about the urgency of solving the climate crisis.
Thank you,
Al Gore
Now that we’re on a first-name basis, maybe Al would like to do the “Inconvenient Truth” presentation here in Flatbush!
Okay, all kidding aside… 2007 has been a momentous year for climate change awareness, and Al Gore surely deserves all the recognition he has received for his part in this. One great way to respond to his effort is to take the Alliance for Climate Protection’s 7-Point Pledge, which describes concrete steps we can take as citizens to translate awareness into action. We have a lot of work to do in 2008.
Trash is no trivial issue. Last month I attended a conference at Baruch College called A Panel On Long-Term, Sustainable Solutions For Managing New York’s Refuse, sponsored by State Senator Liz Kreuger; this discussion explored many angles of the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle mantra. One that […]
“What I Did On My Summer Vacation” really was life-changing. It was exhilarating to face the physical challenges of long-distance cycling, camping, and eating vegan food (hehehe!) each day. It was inspiring to see concrete examples of sustainable living, and this made me more determined […]
“How I Spent My Summer Vacation” continues, with more photos and anecdotes from the sustainability bicycle tour I went on in August…
Maitreya Eco-village, Eugene, OR
The trip began in Eugene, where we camped for the first few nights at a place called Dharmalaya. This is a privately owned home with land that hosts a yoga and meditation studio and acts as a community center for concerts and educational events. It is also an experiment in sustainable living, with an organic garden, composting toilets, and greywater reuse system. (More on Dharmalaya, including their ups and downs with the Eugene zoning board, here.) We visited a community called Maitreya Eco-Village, where we received some lessons in green building techniques (specifically straw bale and cob construction) from founder and architect Rob Bolman. We dropped by the factory and showroom of Bike Friday, manufacturer of world-famous sublime folding bikes, and got to take a few for a spin around the parking lot. We also checked out Eugene’s Center for Appropriate Transport, which hosts a community bike workshop and educational programs that teach kids how to build and design bikes and bike accessories.
Center for Appropriate Transport, Eugene, OR
Once this show actually got on the road, the distances each day were pretty significant for my wimpy self. (One point of pride was that I did actually RIDE up the hilliest portion of the trip, albeit at approximately 1.5 miles per hour.) I discovered that I like traveling by bike very much, and am looking forward to doing more in the future. It’s a great way to see the countryside, silently self-propelled, while still actually covering some distance in the course of a day. The weather was fantastic and Oregon’s Willamette Valley is a beautiful place.
Willamette River Valley, Oregon
We camped at organic farms and spent some time with the farmers who shared the reality of their work and lives with our group, including some delicious produce! We got our hands a little dirty on these farms too (though I personally can’t claim to have been very useful). Seeing both the beauty and the difficulty of this life made me more determined than ever to support the people whose labor and dedication brings beautiful healthy food to the rest of us.
Cyndi gives her chickens lots of love!
Next: “How What I Did On My Summer Vacation Changed My Life”... for real!
Okay, I can actually say it: by popular demand, the “How-I-Spent-My-Summer-Vacation” thread must go on! A lovely woman named Lisa sent me an email asking about the Oregon bike trip I went on in August, referenced in an earlier post. Thus, I will attempt to […]
GreenHome NYC’s annual tour of green buildings has several options this year, offering bus, bike and walking tours in three boroughs, plus an afterparty beginning at 2 pm at Habana Outpost in Brooklyn. (See the list of tours here.) The Brooklyn bike tour features the […]
The Great Change: The World Beyond Petroleum
An evening with Albert Bates
Where:
Friends Meeting House
15 Rutherford Place, Manhattan
(15th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues)
Sponsors:
Sierra Club NYC Group
Beyond Oil NYC
Neighborhood Energy Network
Tri-State Food Not Lawns
Friends in Unity with Nature
Cost:
free, but donations to support Albert’s travel costs welcome
With a style both humorous and deadly serious, Albert Bates walks us through the challenges that lie ahead for the United States and the world: climate change, peak oil, and global economic meltdown creating conditions for civil unrest, recession and hardship. Picking his way through the minefield of unrealistic expectations, Bates pulls together a picture of a very different future, consciously created and far better than anything we might have imagined before. (more…)
