Happy Holidays to All!

prof g

http://www.pbn.com/DEM-get-15M-for-solar-panels,63090

Click on “Read More” for the list of what foods you should try to buy organic (to avoid pesticides) and which it doesn’t matter so much (at least not for your own intake).

Organic on a Budget

In a perfect world all your food purchases would be organic. In our world of unemployment, cutbacks, and tanking 401(k)s, however, compromises often have to be made. Given limited resources, how can green consumers get the most from their shopping dollars?

The “Shoppers Guide to Pesticides” (foodnews.org), by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group, distills 87,000 government studies into two simple lists. The “dirty dozen” are the foods most important to buy in organic form, because conventional versions are so laden with pesticides. The “don’t worry” list is for those you don’t have to fret about–they either face few pest threats (and thus avoid pesticides) or have impermeable skins that are customarily removed prior to eating. –P.R.

THE DIRTY DOZEN: Peaches, Apples, Bell peppers, Celery, Nectarines, Strawberries, Cherries, Kale, Lettuce, Grapes (imported), Carrots, Pears

DON’T WORRY: Onions, Avocados, Sweet corn (frozen), Pineapples, Mangoes, Asparagus, Sweet peas (frozen), Kiwis, Cabbage , Eggplant, Papayas, Watermelons

source:

http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200905/grapple.aspx#organic

Prof G

Click here for the story.

Remember, we may not be good at predicting the future, but we can be certain of this — it will be what we make it to be, and if we can envision a better world — a world without plastic dumps in the ocean, with solar panels (and maybe new nukes!) instead of fossil fuels, with electric cars and organic food for all — there is nothing to stop us from creating it.

If you have any late work to get in, please email it to me by December 16. Any questions, etc., email me anytime, the email link is in the right-hand column on this page.

Happy Holidays!

Prof G

Clean The Bay

Also worth checking with them if you are looking for something to do next summer… they used to take on a few volunteers or even paid helpers now and then, not sure if they are still doing that.

Also, click here for a story about the tidal-power proposal for Galilee that was floating around a few years ago, that we mentioned in class… The state invested $500,000 in this project, using technology from Energetech/Oceanlinx technology from Australia, but then it never got built. I couldn’t find too much info about it online… apparently, in 2008, the state asked URI to begin research on the impacts of offshore projects, with the resulting data to be used as the groundwork for ocean zoning or a criteria for permitting offshore renewable projects. The Providence Journal  said the Oceanlinx project will be put on hold for 18 months, until the studies are completed. (source: Renewables Offshore)

I found this powerpoint online from that study (the Ocean SAMP project) and it seems to imply that there is not enough power potential in RI waters to justify investing in wave-generated power projects. A proposal is in the works though for the Cape Cod Canal, read about that here.

One is to explore a topic that you’d like to know more about. Choose a topic and narrow it down. This should be just a few pages, and maybe five minutes or so to report to the class and discuss.

The other approach is a kind of thought experiment. How do you envision our environmental future? What will change in our environment, our technology, our ways of thinking, over the next 50 years? Can you see solutions ahead to some of the problems of today? Can you imagine a world 50 years from now where some of today’s problems are solved? What will it take to make that happen? What will be different in that world from the world of today? Be creative. You should end up with a report of a few pages, and list your sources.

In either case, your process should involve some exploring on the Web, to look for information and ideas and inspiration. Keep track of sites you visit that have useful information and report those sources in your paper.

I’m also open to other ideas for this final short project, but you should run them by me before you forge ahead. My email link is in the right-hand column of this blog. Any questions, let me know!

Click on Read More for some links and ideas, plus a few other things, including an expanded discussion of global warming.

————–

Last class, I wanted to talk about a couple of topics, that we didn’t really get to in detail.

One is about how we consume a lot of stuff, and then have to get rid of it all somehow. We touched on this a few times, and I mentioned to you “The Story of Stuff.” This a website with a few short videos that do a good job of describing the environmental impact of our consumer culture. Click here to go to The Story of Stuff. The video is 20 minutes long, but well worth it.

The other topic I wanted to talk about was biodiversity. I have a powerpoint on this topic that includes a few short videos. This is another topic we could easily have spent the whole semester on! It is one of the most important issues regarding our environmental impact, yet is often overlooked. Click here for the powerpoint.

Also, recently I came across a trailer for a new documentary about mountaintop removal mining. For those of you not familiar with this, it’s worth a look. It’s a reminder that all the stuff we use, comes at a price not just to our environment, but to communities as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5wmUkpOCKE

One other interesting source I came across recently is this new project by the Rocky Mountain Institute, a research group that focuses on energy issues. They say that we can run a 158%-bigger U.S. economy in 2050 with no oil, no coal, no nuclear energy, one-third less natural gas, and no new inventions. This would cost $5 trillion less than business-as-usual—in addition to the value of avoiding fossil fuels’ huge but uncounted external costs. Check out their data here and see what you think.

Also, I worry that when we talk so briefly about climate change, students might end up more confused than when we started. I have written up a more detailed explanation of my view of this ongoing controversy, I hope it helps you to make sense of it. I welcome any questions! Click here to read it.

But for next time, please think about up to three questions for topics you still have questions about for an open discussion. This could be to ask about a topic we havent covered yet, or some aspect of a topic that we covered that you’re still wondering about, or just about anything. Write these down and bring them with you, but passing them in is optional. We’ll also be covering several short topics in class that we haven’t gotten to yet. If anyone has a special request for a topic they’d like to get covered, feel free to email me!

Also, for our next class after that one, Dec 5, which will be our last class, our focus will be on the environmental future. How will people meet the challenges of finding ways to use resources sustainably, while still meeting human needs? There are real challenges ahead, but also a lot of options and lots of creative ideas and new technologies. So this might be something you want to start thinking about.

Happy Thanksgiving! see you next week.

Prof G

ENVIRONMENT RHODE ISLAND INTERNSHIP

Application Deadline: rolling until Friday, December 2

If you want to spend the semester learning how to make a real impact on the decisions that affect the energy we use, the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the places we love, apply for an internship with Environment Rhode Island.

Environment Rhode Island’s mission is to research and advocate the policies and build and mobilize the public support necessary to win positive change for the environment––nationally, such as through our Clean Cars Campaign, and locally, like with our work to protect Narragansett Bay from toxic chemicals and sewage pollution. Most recently, Environment Rhode Island won an important victory by settling our federal Clean Water Act lawsuit against the city of Newport. As part of the settlement, Newport agreed to eliminate illegal runoff and discharges into the bay.

Environment Rhode Island is one of twenty-nine state groups that make up Environment America, a national environmental advocacy group. With nearly 100 professional staff and 1 million citizen members, activists, and allies in the states and in Washington, D.C., we make the case and build the support necessary to overcome the opposition and win real results for the environment.


The results of our work include:

• more solar and wind power in twenty-nine states
• policies to cut energy use in twenty-two states
• state-wide caps on global warming pollution in six states
• a regional cap on power plant pollution in ten Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states
• the nation’s first ever limits on global warming pollution from cars and trucks
• bans on disposable plastic bags and Styrofoam containers
• action to preserve, protect, and expand national parks from Mt. Rainier to Acadia, from the Grand Canyon to Glacier
• bans on offshore drilling in the eastern Gulf and along the Atlantic coast
• strong protections for waterways from the Puget Sound to the Great Lakes to Narragansett Bay

But it’s going to take a lot more work to meet and overcome our remaining environmental challenges. That’s where Environment Rhode Island’s internship program comes in.

Internship Description:

Each semester, Environment Rhode Island runs an internship program that gives students the opportunity to learn how to make a real impact on critical environmental issues. Interns research and analyze environmental problems and legislation, organize citizens and local organizations to build public pressure, generate media buzz through press releases and letters to the editor, and attend meetings with coalition partners and lawmakers. Prospective interns should select a focus issue listed below.

Clean Energy Internships:

Environment Rhode Island is working at the state and federal levels

to promote clean energy solutions that will cut global warming pollution

while protecting public health and growing our green economy. In this

internship, you will work to implement renewable energy and energy

efficiency policies, to enact plans with specific emissions reduction

targets, and broadly to ensure that politicians are pushing for policies

that do what science says is necessary to prevent the worst effects of

global warming.

Preservation Internships:

Rhode Island is one of the most developed states in the country, and

every month we lose more and more acres of farms, forests, and meadows

to development, threatening our state’s ecosystems and natural beauty.

In this internship, you will put public pressure on our elected

officials to not just make sure more of Rhode Island’s remaining open

spaces are permanently preserved, but also to redirect growth into

existing communities by increasing the livability of our cities through

public transportation and smart development.

Clean Water Internships:

Our water resources are put at risk by a number of factors, from

industrial uses to unsustainable development to polluted runoff,

threatening the health of our communities and our environment. Here in

the Ocean State especially, water is among our most precious resources.

In this internship, you will work to reduce pollution into Narragansett

Bay and across the country by pressing elected officials and regulatory

agencies to both uphold and strengthen clean water standards.

An internship with Environment Rhode Island also gives you the training and the experience you need to land a job in the environmental movement after graduation. As part of the Environment America network, we annually hire passionate, talented, and committed recent college graduates to join our two year Fellowship Program.


Internship Qualifications

:

We are looking for current college students who care about our

environment and are driven to preserve it for the future. We look for

strong leadership skills, academic excellence, problem solving ability,

top-notch written and verbal skills, eagerness to learn, and a sense of

humor. We have a great training program, so prior organizing experience

isn’t necessary, although if you have some that’s great.


Locations: Environment Rhode Island is hiring interns to work in our Providence office.

=======================================================

MAINE CONSERVATION CORPS POSITIONS

Trail Training

February 13 to August 10, 2012 

Potential for extension to November 9, 2012

Maine Conservation Corps is dedicated to conservation projects, volunteers, education, and leadership skills. MCC engages teams in challenging, high quality trail projects.  MCC is recruiting enthusiastic people to participate in a trail training program starting February 13, 2012

Training topics will include:

• Wilderness First Responder
  
• Outdoor Leadership
  
• Managing Conflict 
• Trail Design, Construction and Maintenance
  
• Chainsaw Safety 
• Carpentry 
• Building with Stone and Stonecutting
  
• Griphoist and Rigging Operations
  
• Camping Skills
  
• Food Planning for groups
  
• Trucks and Trailers.

Successful participants will lead MCC teams from late May until mid August.  Teams are primarily composed of young adults (18 or older).  Team members are both men and women from Maine and other States.

Sample Projects:

• Baxter State Park – rock construction and erosion control projects 
• Appalachian Trail – rock reconstruction of wilderness trails 
• Maine State Parks – historic trail restoration 
• Portland Trails –trail rehabilitation and construction in open space preserves 
• Cutler Coast – ocean path restoration. 

Team Leader Responsibilities:

• Lead and teach trail construction and other projects 
• Provide leadership and training to corps members and volunteers  
• Submit reports 
• Coordinate food, equipment, and transportation for a team of 6 people 
• Camp in tents along with team members during service sessions.

Qualifications: 

• One season outdoor living experience 
• Ability to teach 
• Must be in good health and physically fit 
• Job requires a sense of humor and the ability to maintain a safe and enjoyable work environment 
• Must be at least 20 years old and a US Citizen
  
• Must be able to motivate and work with people of all ages and backgrounds 
• Women and Minorities are encouraged to apply

Benefits: 

• $260 per week (less taxes) during training
• $445 per week (less taxes) upon successful completion of training
• Maine State Park Pass 
• Health Insurance
• AmeriCorps Education Award of $2,675 (if eligible)

Application Deadline:  December 30, 2011

Field Team Leaders – April 30 to August 10, 2012 or April 30 to November 9, 2012

Field Team Members -May 15 to August 10, 2012 or May 15 to November 9, 2012

MCC Teams:

• Have fun and make new friends.
• Live in some of Maine’s most beautiful places.
• Learn outdoor living skills.
• Build experience in the field of Natural Resources.
• Improve fitness through rugged and satisfying outdoor service.
• Help maintain and restore Maine’s Park and Public Lands.

Training topics include:

• First Aid and CPR certification 
• Communication, Conflict Resolution and Diversity Training 
• Introduction to Trail Tools
  
• Safety Practices and Personal Protective Equipment 

Qualifications:

• Have the ability to live and perform strenuous work under challenging conditions 
• Have the desire to learn and serve with others to make a difference
  
• Must be at least 18 years old 
• Must be a US citizen 
• Women and Minorities are encouraged to apply

Benefits:

• $ 260 per week (less taxes)
• Health Insurance
• AmeriCorps Education Award of $1,415 or $2,675 (if eligible)
• Maine State Park Pass

Application Deadline March 30, 2012

To learn more visit http://www.backdoorjobs.com/maine-conservation-corps.html