Environment
From the Internationalist announcement list:
LET'S DISCUSS (yell/laugh/cry/protest about) GREENBRIDGE.
A Greenbridge video screening
Sunday, April 13 @3pm
Greenbridge recently produced a documentary on their future vision of
the of Rosemary and Graham street corner.
At first glance, the Greenbridge development embodies progress for
Chapel Hill. The building will utilize some of the newest green
technologies available ie. solar, wind, and geothermal to provide
energy for the building and thereby lessen its carbon footprint. But
in our haste to combat the forces of Global Warming, we may have
overlooked some details, such as marginalizing the surrounding
Northside community.
Come out and join us as we watch the video and enter in open
discussion about what community means to us (taking into account race,
class and ideological differences.)
Date:
Sunday, April 13, 2008 - 11:00am
Location:
Internationalist Books, 405 W Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27516
The elephant in the room that nobody is talking about... factoring rising fuel costs into the equation.
It's mindnumbing that an area that prides itself on sustainability would even be considering a program to export it's own waste. The very definition of sustainability is something that can be maintained into the indefinite future. Is paying to haul waste out of county sustainable in any sense of the word? Is increasing transportation miles at the end of a product's long transportation chain to get to the consumer even sane?
What percentage of trash in the current landfill comes from UNC? What percentage comes from Chapel Hill and Carrboro? What percentage comes from elsewhere in the county? Maybe each district should be required to sustainably deal with it's own waste.
Chapel Hill and Carrboro have sustainable community as their vision. Carolina North has as it's stated vision: "This and other progressive measures will help make Carolina North a model of sustainability — a campus that is socially, environmentally, and economically sound."
Sustainable Transportation: A Future Worth Creating.
Dave
Erb is an automotive engineer who has designed electric and hybrid
electric vehicles, as well as vehicles using gasoline, diesel,
biodiesel, alcohol, and natural gas power trains. An active auto racer
with engineering and business degrees, he will share his excellent
information and experience, his deep commitment to the environment, and
his understanding of its impact on social justice. Come and learn
about the energy balance of all kinds of biofuels, some alternatives to
biofuels, what fuels NASCAR, and more: The Multipurpose Room of
Building 2 at Central Carolina Community College. Sustainable
Sustenance (i.e., organic refreshments). May 14 at 7 p.m.
Co-sponsored by Chatham Alliance for Sustainable Energy
See Building B on this map:
Date:
Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - 3:00pm to 5:00pm
Location:
764 West Street, Pittsboro, NC
For generations, everyone experienced the breathtaking beauty of an
unspoiled night sky, with views into our Universe of thousands of
stars, the Milky Way and even another galaxy. Inspired by the sky,
those who came before us told imaginative stories about the patterns
they saw in the stars. But when many of us go home tonight and look up,
we may not see much more than a washed-out orange glow.
During this program, we'll use the Zeiss VI star projector to
reveal how light pollution--the illumination of the atmosphere by
outdoor lighting--robs us of our heritage of a natural dark sky. And
we'll experience the sky studded with stars--and stories--as our
ancestors did and as our grandchildren might, if we commit to better
designed outdoor lighting.
Following the Star Theater presentation, join us for a short
walking tour (choose North Campus or downtown) to consider how our
outdoor lighting might improve visibility and safety, while also
minimizing energy use. Back at the Morehead Sundial, telescopes will be
active. Be sure to check out Saturn and Mars.
Co-sponsored by UNC Sustainability Office; Chapel Hill Town
Council Committee for Sustainability, Energy, and the Environment; and
CHAOS (Chapel Hill Astronomical and Observational Society).
Free. Part of UNC’s Earth Week celebration.
Date:
Monday, April 21, 2008 - 3:30pm
According to this weeks Time, the Bio-fuel cycle increases the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere over fossil fuels and will have a negative impact on world hunger as well. The main points of the article are:
1) The soaring prices of corn, soy beans etc.. and the bio-fuel mandates are causing an acceleration of deforestation of the rain forests in order to grow these crops.
2) The energy required to produce bio-fuels except for sugar cane causes a net increase of CO2.
3) The movement of land usage to bio-fuel production from the production of food will cause hunger to increase.
The following is a pointer to the article:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1725975,00.html
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