Green Bay Earth Week 2007--Storytime and Green Drinks

Green Drinks at KaVarna coffeehouse

Green Bay East Environmental Club raises awareness at Barnes & Noble

All about frogs!

Take a look at my red-eyed tree frog!

Green Drinks at KaVarna inspires conversation about living economically and sustainably.

Kagen and the Fox River

a GREAT column in today's Press-Gazette:

Kagen right to question plan to cap Fox River PCBs
By Andy Buchsbaum

I could not have said it better myself.

Step It Up 2007 Green Bay

Participate in the NATIONAL DAY OF CLIMATE ACTION! Go to the link below to RSVP!

Step It Up Greenbay!

Green Bay, WI

April 14, 2007 12:00PM to 12:30PM

Event Description:

FINALIZED PLAN: Everyone meet out in front of the courthouse downtown at NOON. Bring your hybrid, walk, etc. I think it would be great to line the streets with hybrid cars and bicycles! If you want to bike, meet at KaVarna at 11 am, we will be leaving KaVarna at 11:30 am, and biking throughout downtown and then meeting at the courthouse. Wear whatever you want, bring signs, do what you feel you need to do in order to show your support!

Location:

100 South Jefferson Street, Green Bay

Directions:

It's at the corner of Jefferson and Walnut in Downtown Green Bay

first sighting 2007

I had my first "Green Bay" white pelican sighting of the year today. Very exciting. MORE exciting than seeing the first robins. I know they have been back for awhile but I did not see any until today.

Earth Week Events

Green Bay-area Earth Week 2007!

Monday, April 16th
6:00-7:30pm--Durga Kar of ADIRE on renewable energy and sustainable living in rural India
UWGB, Mary Ann Cofrin Hall (MAC Hall), Room 206
Free to attend.

Tuesday, April 17th
6:00-7:30pm--Fred Schnook, former Mayor of Ashland, on bringing together business, government, & environmental interests
UWGB, MAC Hall, Room 210
Free to attend.

Wednesday, April 18th
6:00-7:30pm--Laura Manthe on sustainable living on the Oneida Reservation
UWGB, MAC Hall, Room 223
Free to attend.

Thursday, April 19th (kid-friendly, student volunteer hours)
All Day--Leave Your Car at Home Day challenge!!!
City-wide! Bus, bike, walk, or carpool to work or school!
Click here for participation guidelines, and here for the Mileage-Saved recording chart.

6:00-10:00pm--Green Drinks at Kavarna
112 S. Broadway, Green Bay
Free to attend.

7:00-8:00pm--Storytime and Live Frogs at Barnes & Noble
2498 S. Oneida St, Ashwaubenon
Free to attend.

Friday, April 20th
4:30pm--School Recycling Weigh-Off! (All schools encouraged to participate!)
Port & Solid Waste Department, 2561 S. Broadway, Green Bay
Click here for participation guidelines.

6:30-9:00pm--Free showing of An Inconvenient Truth, discussion to follow
Brown County Library, 515 Pine Street, Green Bay
Saturday, April 21st (kid-friendly, student volunteer hours)

9:00-Noon--Baird Creek Clean-Up!!!
Preble Park, near Sunrise Ct and Skyline Blvd off Finger Rd, Green Bay
Light breakfast provided. Free.

9:00-Noon--Riverside Clean-Up for Paddlers--bring your own canoe!
Optimist boat landing, end of Lazarre St. where Monroe/57 intersects
Snacks and water provided. Free.

8:00-Noon--East High School hosts Joannes Park Clean-Up
Meet at front of East High School on E. Walnut & S. Jackson, Green Bay
Free to attend. Plastic bags provided, but bring your own gloves!

Noon-4:00pm--EcoBingo on Broadway, plus kids crafts, petting zoo, fishing games and more!
Pick up your Bingo card at the AmerIndian Center, 407 Dousman St, Green Bay
Free.

Noon-3:00pm--Bay View Middle and Bay Port High Schools host Pamperin Park Clean-Up!
Meet at Pamperin Park, 2477 Shawano Ave, Green Bay
Free.

5:00-Midnight--EcoJam Concert, featuring Augie & the Sandwich Factory, Copper Box, and Burnt Toast & Jam! Plus, presentation of Environmental Hero Award and Leave Your Car At Home Day trophy!
Holiday Inn City Centre, 200 Main St, Green Bay
Cost is $3 for students, $5 for adults, and free with a UWGB or WPS ID.

Sunday, April 22nd (kid-friendly, student volunteer hours)
Noon-4:00pm--Izaak Walton League's 'Bear Hunt in Bellevue!'
Osprey Point, on Hwy GV, about 1 mile south of 172
A family 'hunting license' costs $10.

Sustainable Green Bay

Mayor Schmitt's Sustainable Green Bay Task Force recently completed their initial report. A press conference will be held in the near future. If you want a paper copy of the report let me know! Any feedback would be greatly appreciated by the group. In the meantime, the Sustainable Green Bay website is now online.

urban sprawl

In yesterday’s Press-Gazette, there was an article about urban sprawl called “Urban growth a threat to state agribusiness”. It offers some interesting statistics about the loss of Wisconsin farmland during the last ten years. What struck me was the apparent inevitability of it all. The article was peppered with these phrases: “you can’t stop progress”, “you really couldn’t stop it, it was going to happen”, and it “can snowball in a hurry”.

I have also heard local environmental leaders comment that this problem really can’t be solved, that it is something that is just going to happen. I disagree. I think that urban sprawl and the loss of forests and farmland are very solvable problems. Some cities around the country, such as Missoula, MT, have begun to deal with it by enforcing some very strict planning and zoning laws that protect a green ring of countryside around their cities.

Chuck Lamine, Brown County’s planning director, hints at solutions when he discusses the Smart Growth plan. In the article, he talks about how we need to encourage higher-density developments in order to protect agricultural land. Unfortunately, our Smart Growth Plan is not due until 2010. After that, leaders have to decide to follow the plan and give it some teeth.

Urban sprawl needs to be dealt with now. Green Bay does need to encourage high-density community style developments as opposed to McMansions on the hill with huge lots and big boxes. We need to permanently set aside large areas of farmland that are still within our city’s boundaries on the east side. (We’re going to need it!)

-and while I’m at it: We should not build a new suburban “Taj Mahal High School”. The proposed new high school would be sure to trigger a lot of new development and draw people away from the inner city. If a new facility really is necessary, it should be built in town and should be used as part of a plan to draw people to and keep people in the city.

It takes a lot political courage for our leaders to stand up to the powerful development interests in this area and deal with this issue. They need to know that many people see this as a problem. As the article makes clear, sprawl is not progress.

eddy out,
rich