Enviro-Doc at RAW

Coming to the Real Art Ways Movie Theater in Hartford:

PLAGUES & PLEASURES ON THE SALTON SEA

Directed by Chris Metzler and Jeff Springer

Narrated by John Waters

The film plays through December 13th at REAL ART WAYS

56 Arbor St Hartford, CT 06106 *

"Weird and wonderful." - The New Times

"A heartbreaking, sidesplitting parade of humanity." - Village Voice

"One-of-a-kind documentary... A startlingly funny portrait of Gothic Americana." - Christian Science Monitor

"Historically thorough and thoroughly hysterical." - L.A. Weekly

"Droll, deadpan... A fascinating, nutty story, a kind of Chinatown gonewrong (or gone more wrong.) - Chicago Tribune

"An interesting, disturbing, and humorous look at environmental disaster." - The Berkeley Daily Planet

"A hilarious and kindly ode to a fallen paradise." - SF Weekly

"Four stars! Offering you a vacation like you've never had before... in this charming, yet sad documentary." - Film Threat

Fabulously offbeat and refreshingly upbeat, this lovable film gets friendly with the natives of the Salton Sea, an inland ocean of massive fish kills, rotting resorts, and 120 degree nights located just minutes from urban Southern California. This award-winning filmfrom directors Chris Metzler and Jeff Springer details the rise andfall of the Salton Sea, from its heyday as the "California Riviera" where boaters and Beach Boys mingled in paradise to its present stateas a decaying, forgotten ecological disaster. From wonderland to wasteland, PLAGUES & PLEASURES ON THE SALTON SEA captures a place far more interesting than the shopping malls and parking lots of suburban America, a wacky world where a beer-swilling Hungarian Revolutionary, a geriatric nudist, and a religious zealot building a monument to God all find solace and community. Crisply and hilariously narrated by oddball auteur John Waters, and featuring music by desert lounge rockers Friends of Dean Martinez,PLAGUES & PLEASURES ON THE SALTON SEA melds high camp with stark realism, offering both a sobering message about the consequences of tampering with nature and a heart-warming tale of individualism.

Interfaith Power and Light is a religious response to global warming with chapters in 25 states and Greater Washington, D.C. Find a link to your local chapter at http://www.theregenerationproject.org/State.
Find discounts on energy saving products at http://www.shopipl.org/

Cornwall Energy Fair Nov. 17

Cornwall is the site of an AWESOME Energy Fair on November 17 from 10 am to 4 pm. The location is the Consolidated School, Rt. 128 and Cream Hill Road. Events/exhibits include:

Vendors inc. lighting, energy companies, local food

Auto show inc. electric, vegetable oil, hybrid and diesel

Kids program 10:30-noon (caluculate your ecological footprint)

Panel Discussion about Global and Connecticut Warming
-Roger Smith, Clean Water Action speaking to State Initiatives and home monitoring
_Rebecca Meye Rep. NE Utilities speaking to Green and Sustainable Building
-Jon Harkness, EBM Services

House Tour 1-4 pm featuring solar and geotherman

Film Festival 1-4

An Inconvenient Truth
Al Gore Interview with Charlie Rose
Too Hot Not to Handle
Warming of Connecticut

Barry Commoner's Hope

The New York Times is featuring a conversation with environmentalist Barry Commoner, excerpted below:
Q. In 1970, around the time of the first Earth Day, you said, “We have the time — perhaps a generation — in which to save the environment from the final effects of the violence we have done to it.” What’s your assessment now?
A. We’ve really failed to do more than a few specific things. We don’t use DDT on the farm anymore. We don’t use lead in gasoline anymore. Environmental pollution is an incurable disease. It can only be prevented. And prevention can only take place at the point of production. If you insist on using DDT, the only thing you can do is stop. The rest has really been sort of forgotten about. Except that now, global warming has sort of consolidated the independent environmental hazards that many of us had been working on all of these years.
Q. So you don’t think global warming is detracting from other concerns?
A. No, it’s the other way around. If you ask what you are going to do about global warming, the only rational answer is to change the way in which we do transportation, energy production, agriculture and a good deal of manufacturing. The problem originates in human activity in the form of the production of goods.
The Chinese like to say, “Crisis means change.” It means you can get things done. Unfortunately, I think that most of the “greening” that we see so much of now has failed to look back on arguments such as my own — that action has to be taken on what’s produced and how it’s produced. That’s unfortunate, but I’m an eternal optimist, and I think eventually people will come around.
Q. What do you think of the debate over the extent to which humans are primarily responsible for global warming?
A. No one in his right mind would deny that we’re getting warmer. The question is, is this due to things that people have chosen? And I think the answer is that all of the things we have chosen to do include the release of materials like carbon dioxide, which affect the retention of heat by the planet.
You could argue that maybe this is a high point in a heating/cooling cycle. Well, we’re adding to the high point. There’s no question about it. So it seems to me the argument that there are natural ways in which the temperature fluctuates is a spurious one. If we accept that we’re in a cycle, it’s idiocy to increase the high point.
Q. There’s been some second-guessing about using nuclear power instead of fossil fuels. Do you agree?
A. No. This is a good example of shortsighted environmentalism. It superficially makes sense to say, “Here’s a way of producing energy without carbon dioxide.” But every activity that increases the amount of radioactivity to which we are exposed is idiotic. There has to be a life-and-death reason to do it. I mean, we haven’t solved the problem of waste yet. We still have used fuel sitting all over the place. I think the fact that some people who have established a reputation as environmentalists have adopted this is appalling.
Q. There’s also been some reconsideration of using DDT selectively against malaria, rather than as a mass-quantity pesticide. Have you rethought this?
A. Well, you know, I had something to do with the ban. I think there are situations in which you could use DDT surgically. I don’t want to put anybody into a position of avoiding the use of something in a particular life-and-death situation. But there are many ways of solving the malaria problem, including reparations. Malarial regions ought to be given more money by wealthy countries. Until we get to the point where there is no other way to do it, I don’t see any sense in it.

Green Parties

The Hartford Courant offers tips and suggestions for eco-friendly entertaining in this article:

Greening your next party doesn't mean giving up electricity or preaching to your guests. "It could be just purchasing locally grown food or using a caterer who uses local food," said Paul McRandle, deputy editor of The Green Guide, a newsletter devoted to environmental lifestyles. "You don't have to make a big deal out of it."Experts offer these tips for greener home entertaining:Invitations: Paper-free invitations like those offered at evite.com are greenest. However, there are special occasions for which the cyber card just doesn't cut it. In that case, look for recycled paper. "You can't tell the difference and it's a better choice," said Feldman. "If it's a baby shower, look for flower seeds embedded in the paper. Print at the bottom, 'After you read this, please plant. This sheet of paper will sprout wildflowers."' She recommends printing your own invitations on Plantable Papers by Bloom (www.plantablepaper.com). If you are having the invitations printed professionally, ask for vegetable-based ink, advises The Green Guide's McRandle. Many standard inks are petroleum derivatives.Flowers: Shop local at the farmers' market, if possible. Amy Stewart, author of "Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful in the Business of Flowers" (Algonquin Books, $23.95) says 78 percent of the flowers sold in the United States are imported and often grown with harmful pesticides or on farms with poor labor practices. She advises looking for flowers with VeriFlora certification, a new eco-label certifying flowers are grown environmentally. Ask for them from your florist or buy them online at www.organicbouquet.com.Candlelight: Go with soy based or beeswax candles. Feldman says soy, "are nontoxic, clean burning and they don't pollute. They're easy to get and not more expensive. It's a no brainer." Soy candles are widely available in home stores, online and at specialty grocers such as Whole Foods. Aroma Naturals offers a line of soy- and vegetable-oil candles scented with plant oils (www.aromanaturals.com). Beeswax candles, such as those from Candle Bee Farms (www.candlebeefarm.com) may be slightly more expensive than petroleum-based paraffin candles. Danielle Venokur, owner of dvGreen, a sustainable party planning service in New York, recommends battery-operated LED "candles" that flicker for thousands of hours within glass votives.Plates: If you can't use regular plates, look for eco-friendly paper plate replacements such as those made with corn, sugar cane or soy that are biodegradable. Earthshell makes biodegradable, disposable plates and bowls from potatoes, corn and limestone and is available at major retailers such as Target and Wal-Mart (www.earthshell.com). Simply Biodegradable sells sugar cane-based plates and cornstarch utensils (www.simplybiodegradable.com). Clear Creek Compostables sells 90 percent sugar-cane pulp and 10 percent paper plates that can hold boiling water (www.clearcreekcomp.com).Napkins: If you can't use fabric napkins, look for recycled napkins. "With recycled materials look for a high percentage use of 'post-consumer materials,"' advises The Green Guide's McRandle. Those are papers that would otherwise be put in a landfill. Most producers that use a high ratio of recycled materials will indicate this on their packaging. Seventh Generation, for example, uses a minimum of 80 percent post-consumer recycled paper, including its napkins that are naturally brown or bleached white without harmful chlorine (www.seventhgeneration.com). If you have more time and want more impact, scour the thrift shops for vintage dresses and cut and hem them into unique cocktail napkins, says dvGreen's Venokur.Water: Look for bottled water that comes in biodegradable water bottles. BIOTA spring water in bottles made from corn was offered backstage at the Academy Awards (www.biotaspringwater.com).Wine: Serve local wine or, if unavailable, organic or biodynamic wines that don't use harmful chemicals during farming. New York wine expert Michael Green suggests several good and affordable biodynamic wines including Chateau Maris "Minervos" 2003 from France (about $10), Badger Mountain Syrah 2002 from Washington's Columbia Valley (about $13) and Frey Biodynamic Zinfandel from California (about $17).Glasses: "Where possible, use glassware, things that can be washed and reused," advises McRandle. "You can rent them from a catering service if you don't have them." Throwing a bridal shower for 20 champagne sippers? McRandle suggests buying the glass champagne flutes and then giving them to guests as gifts or donating them to charity.When greening your next party, choose one or two areas to go eco and build on the results. "Greening parties is a process," says New Leaf's Feldman. "Don't do it all at once. I'd rather have someone ease into it. Doing a little goes a long way."

IREJN is Connecticut's Interfaith Power and Light. Visit us at www.irejn.org.

Senate Defeats Climate Amendment

According to A.M. New York,

The Senate, after one of its first full debates on global warming, on Tuesday defeated a proposal requiring the Army Corps of Engineers to consider the impact of climate change in designing water resources projects.The vote was 51-42 in favor of the amendment to a water projects bill, falling nine short of the 60 votes needed to approve it under the rules set for the debate.

But sponsors of the proposal, led by Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said it was significant that the Senate was finally facing the issue head-on.It was the first time in this session of Congress that climate change had reached a vote on the Senate floor, Kerry said. "Tonight we got a majority of senators to stand up and demand that climate change be taken seriously," he said. With the vote, he said, the Senate "has gone on record about global warming and sent a statement that its impact must be considered in our public policy debates."The proposal would have directed the Army Corps, in drawing up future projects, to use the best available climate science to account for climate change on storms and floods.Wetlands and floodplains act as buffers between hurricanes and other severe storms and coastal communities, said Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., another sponsor. "When Corps projects destroy these and other types of natural barriers, they may put lives at risk."Kerry said the current guidelines for Corps project planning were written in 1983, long before scientists were focused on whether human activities were contributing to the warming of the planet.The amendment was proposed on a $13.9 billion bill that approves hundreds of flood damage, navigation, ecosystem and water recreation projects along the Mississippi River, the Katrina-damaged coast of Louisiana and in almost every other state in the country.

IREJN is Connecticut's Interfaith Power and Light. Visit us at www.irejn.org.

Climate Change Event May 10 at CCSU

Building a Mass Movement to Confront the Climate Crisis

Thursday, May 10th 7:30 PM
Marcus White Living Room, Marcus White Hall
Central Connecticut State University, 1615 Stanley Street
New Britain, CT

From the countless new scientific reports, to radical ecological shifts like the recent cessation of bear hibernation in Spain, to climatic shifts like the near doubling of Katrina-level storms in the last 35 years, and even calls to action by the insurance industry, the threat of global climate change becomes clearer every day.

Study after study points to the same conclusion: If our civilization's carbon emissions do not decrease dramatically in the coming decades the consequences will be catastrophic within the lifetimes of people alive today. Coastal cities all over the world will be submerged in water. Western Europe and Northeast America could experience a new ice age. A new wave of powerful storms will wreak havoc all over the world. Farm land will turn to desert. Millions of people will lose drinkable water. Wars will break out over newly scarce land and resources. A majority of the species on earth will face extinction.
Under current and all recent US governments the situation only worsens. In the last ten years the rate of increase of carbon emissions has only increased, and the US Energy Department plans to continue increasing it.

How can we build a movement to halt global warming in its tracks while maintaining and improving the living standards of working people? What strategies and alliances have successfully furthered environmental movements and how are groups organizing against environmental destruction around the country right now? What roles are labor organizations playing and how could their work in the environmental movement expand?

Come hear labor and environmental activist Christine Frank discuss the need for a mass environmental movement with a working class perspective and describe the efforts currently underway to build it. A discussion will follow.

Frank is the volunteer coordinator of the Climate Crisis Coalition of the Twin Cities, a Co-Convener of the Labor and Sustainability Conference and a member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 13 in the Guthrie Theater Costume Bargaining Unit.

For more information call 860-547-0122
or e-mail http://us.f431.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=dancetothepiper@gmail.comfor directions see:http://www.ccsu.edu/viewbook/find_us.htm

A Socialist Action Forum

Eco-Awareness at Passover

According to an article in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, the Jewish Community Federation of Rochester is promoting eco-awareness for Passover.

During B.J. Yudelson's family Passover celebration tonight, someone at the table will ask why the Jewish people dip green herbs in salt water.Yudelson, in conjunction with an initiative of the Jewish Community Federation of Greater Rochester, plans to expand on this question, one of the traditional four considered at Passover. As the family talks about how salt water represents the tears of the Jewish slaves, Yudelson will ask her five grandchildren, "Is our Earth crying?"
This Passover, which begins today and will continue through April 10, the Jewish Community Federation of Greater Rochester is asking its members to consider the Jewish mission of "tikkun olam," which means "repair of the world."
The federation sent out a pamphlet printed on recycled paper to almost 6,000 people, offering suggestions for four other questions to be asked at this year's Seder: How can we make this Passover different from all others? Why is the environment a Jewish concern? If the Earth, ha'aretz, could speak at this year's Seder, what would it say? Can our family really make a difference?


IREJN is Connecticut's Interfaith Power and Light. Visit us at www.irejn.org.

The Greening of Palm Sunday

The New York Times has an article on churches moving toward purchasing eco-friendy palms for Palm Sunday.

Slightly more expensive than the average palm, eco-palms are the rage in churches across the United States because of the social and environmental benefits they represent. They are collected in a way that helps preserve the forest, and more of the sale price ends up in the pockets of the people who cut them.
“We want to be a green congregation,” said the Rev. David C. Parsons, pastor of St. John-St. Matthew-Emanuel Lutheran Church in Brooklyn, which purchased eco-palms for the second straight year. “We are conscious of our footprint on the earth. There is a biblical mandate to do that.”
Now operating in a handful of palm-producing areas in southern Mexico and northern Guatemala, the eco-palm project is similar to programs for certified coffee, chocolate or diamonds. But the consumers in this case are churches, and many say that the religious significance of the plant compels them to buy the most wholesome palm possible.
“Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem was accented by the jubilant waving of palm branches,” Lutheran World Relief, one of the groups endorsing the project, says on its Web site. “Unfortunately, for the communities where these palms are harvested, palm fronds do not always represent the same jubilation they do for us.”

IREJN is Connecticut's Interfaith Light and Power. Visit us at www.irejn.org.

Atlantic Ecosystem Changing

Overfishing and climate change are causing rapid changes in the ecosystems of the Northwest Atlantic Ocean from Greenland to North Carolina, according to a study by Charles Green, a Cornell University Professor of Oceanography.

According to an article in Earth Times, "Predicting the fate of these ecosystems will be one of oceanography's grand challenges for the 21st century, [Green] said. Among the ecosystem changes cited in the paper was the freshening of seawater along the North Atlantic shelf."

IREJN is Connecticut's Interfaith Power and Light. Visit us at www.irejn.org.

Ski Industry Not as Green as You May Think

Though ski resorts have made some strides at becoming more ecology-conscious, out of 300 resorts that belong to the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA), only 30 belong to a voluntary sustainable slopes program. Read the full story at Salon.com. (You will be required to watch a short ad if you are not a paid subscriber.)

Visit us at www.irejn.org.

Eco-Aware Clothing

We have become aware of the negative impact on the environment of fast food, but what about "fast clothes?" You know, those cheaply-made, inexpensive fashion fads that fill the racks of stores like Old Navy, only to fill landfills at the end of the season. According to an article in the International Herald-Tribune,

Clothes — and fast clothes in particular — are large and worsening sources of the carbon emissions that contribute to global warming, both because of how they are produced and how they are cared for, concludes a thought- provoking report from researchers at Cambridge University entitled, "Well Dressed?"

The $1 trillion global textile industry must become eco-conscious, the report concludes. It explores how to develop more "sustainable clothing" — a seeming oxymoron in a world where fashions change every few months.

Visit us at www.irejn.org.

Louise Feldman, Jewish Environmentalist

This is a Courant story about Louse Feldman, a longtime supporter of the Interreligious Eco-Justice Network, who died November 5. She will be missed.

Decline of worm spells trouble

The decline in population of the tiny Antarctic nematode spells potential trouble for the atmosphere. The worms are responsible for preventing the release of significant amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Read the full story in the New York Times.

Middle Eastern Environmental Symposium

A 2-day symposium held in Dubai for Middle Easter communities focused mainly on hazardous waste management. Read about it here.

A Scientist Appeals to Pastors

In his latest book, ''The Creation, An Appeal to Save Life on Earth,'' scientist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author E. O. Wilson appeals to Christian believers in hopes of saving the Earth from where he sees it heading--toward the biggest mass extinction since the dinosaurs.

''Pastor, we need your help. The Creation -- living Nature -- is in deep trouble,'' Wilson writes in this letter to an imaginary Southern Baptist pastor. ''You might well ask at this point, Why me? Because religion and science are the two most powerful forces in the world today.''

Read the whole article at http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Religion-Today.html?_r=1&oref=slogin