energy independence film festival at uwgb

From Gerard McMullen:

Energy Independence Film Festival

Did paying over $3.00 for a gallon of gas this summer make you wonder about the future of our oil supply and dependence upon other countries? Have you heard the buzzwords "biodiesel" and "wind power" and want to learn more as they begin to appear in Green Bay? Or are you a skeptic of climate change and want to know the other viewpoints? Governor Doyle has declared UWGB as one of three campuses to move toward energy independence, and its students have an opportunity to be a part of and learn from the process. Would you like to know more? Join us for three nights of award-winning films that span the topics of biodiesel, environmental justice, resource extraction, alternative energy, and climate change.

On October 30th from 6 to 9pm the films will include "Oil on Ice", a portrayal of Gwich'in culture and the need to protect the fragile Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), "French Fries to Go" about the "Granola Ayatollah of Canola" and his homegrown biodiesel project, "Homeland" featuring five Native Americans and their fight against environmental injustices, and several enlightening and entertaining shorts. Films will be shown in Mary Ann Cofrin Hall, room 111.

Additional films will be shown on November 6th in MAC 111 and November 20th in the Christie Theater from 6 to 9pm. The film festival is sponsored by the Sierra Student Coalition in conjunction with the Environmental Science and Policy Graduate Program Capstone course and Campus Energy Independence Project. For more information contact Marci Johnson (johnsoma@uwgb.edu) or check http://www.uwgb.edu/biodiversity/classroom/calendar.htm for updates.

300,000,000

The Press-Gazette carried an excellent AP article (with contributions from Paul Brinkman) about the U.S. Population reaching 300,000,000.

300 millionth birth renews energy-use, sprawl worries

Population growth is an issue in the Green Bay area, but the real problems come from the patterns of growth and how we deal with it, said Mark Walter, executive director of the Bay Lake Regional Planning Commission.

"The Green Bay metropolitan area is growing out into southern Oconto (County) and other areas," Walter said. "If you travel Highway 41 during rush hour, there are traffic jams going north and south. That's something new — it's only gotten that way in the last few years."

Dealing with that growth requires coordinated, regional answers from all the players involved, including village governments, county officials, planners and developers.

One answer is to encourage smart development, like building where streets and sewers already exist. Another solution is redeveloping urban areas — like the new condominiums in downtown Green Bay.

"Condominiums in rural areas for seasonal use can create additional costs," Walter said. "But condo development in downtown Green Bay can really be a good thing. It pulls people back into the urban core, where they already have services."

In other words, new condos in downtown Green Bay don't require new fire stations or libraries — they already exist.

Some experts argue that population growth only partly explains America's growing consumption. Just as important, they say, is where people live, what they drive and how far they travel to work.

Join Us For "Green Drinks" - Oct 19

Green Bay, WI Green Drinks

Green Bay Green Drinks is a monthly 'social space' born about one year ago. Its 16th meeting is Thursday Oct 19, 2006 at Kavarna, in Green Bay's near westside downtown. [FYI-- We meet there on the third Thursday of every month.]

It happens that the same evening this month the author of a new book on Fox Valley environmentalism will be speaking at the nearby Brown County Central Library! Greg Summers, UWSP environmental historian, speaks at 7-8:15pm there. Come to Green Drinks before or after his talk.

==Also, for everyone--Pick up a book about the environment; books and magazines are freecycled by other GD members every month

If some people suggest that "green" is your middle name, you'll probably find value in Green Drinks Green Bay. At this monthly event, people who have a passion for anything "environmental" meet for friendly conversation. Since we started in April 2005, we've been visited by folks with a wide variety of interests: science, art, politics, music, film, health, psychology, nutrition to name a few. Many work in an environmental field as professionals, educators, entrepreneurs or neighborhood activists.

If you look elsewhere on the website www.greendrinks.org , you'll see that "Green Drinks" is an international movement. We start to gather shortly after 6pm, but don't worry if you can't show up until much later. Peak attendance has been 7:30-8:30pm so far. The hours you attend will influence who you may meet, however. People come and go all evening until Kavarna closes at 10pm. Kavarna is a smokefree vegetarian coffeehouse/restaurant that sells bottled beers and wine. All ages welcome. Feel free to bring your kids.

See www.kavarna.com for directions to 112 S. Broadway, located on downtown Green Bay's near west side. Soups, salads, chai and juices are among the many offerings.

rooftop gardens

One of the ideas that the Sustainable Green Bay Task Force is kicking around is the establishment of some rooftop gardens.

Here is a treehugger post about what is happening in a New York City neighborhood (-Soon to be seen in Green Bay?):

Green Roofs on Apartment Buildings

-Another treehugger post on the benefits of rooftop gardens with links to a few articles:

How Green is Your Roof?

Jessica's latest column

If you did not see our own Jessica Garrels' latest column in today's Press-Gazette, here it is. Nice job, Jessica!

It's time to invest in renewable energy

Greg Summers at the library

This is part of the library's Local History Series

Central Library Auditorium
515 Pine Street, Downtown Green Bay
Thursday, October 19
7:00-8:15 P.M.

A River of Paper? Early Environmentalism in the Fox River Valley: 1850-1950

Presenters: Greg Summers

Economic growth vs. environmental quality.

An interesting an unexpected connection exists between the efficient use of natural resources and the desire to protect them.

This program will reveal the history of this decades-long debate over the industrial pollution of the Fox River and the struggle to clean it up including a 1945 courtroom battle between the Izaak Walton League and the paper industry.

Presenter: Gregory Summers is Asst. Prof. of History at UW-Stevens Point. He received his Ph.D. from UW-Madison where he specialized in American environmental history, the history of Wisconsin, and the history of technology. He is currently at work on a second book, entitled “The Comforts of Nature: A Natural History of the American Home.”

Come to "Green Drinks" afterwards!!!!

green bay's toxic trio

The Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters recently released their legislative scorecard for the 2005-06 session. Three of our legislators who are up for reelection received pathetically low scores:

Judy Krawczyk (920-469-4364) = 6%
Phil Montgomery (920-496-5953) = 6%
Karl Van Roy (920-662-0804) = 6%

Yes, that is correct. 6%. You almost have to try to be that bad. Who are these people listening to anyway? Can you say "corporate lobbyists"?

You know what to do! Please call Judy, Phil or Karl and tell them how upset you are about their dismal conservation voting records. If you are not sure which one represents you click HERE.

Then, donate to or volunteer your time for one of their opponents. These people need your help! Their contact info:

Jim Soletski 920-468-5921 (running against Krawczyk)
Rich Langan 920-490-1086 (running against Montgomery)
Gary Froseth http://www.garyfroseth.com/ (running against Van Roy)

On the other hand, Assemblyman Tom Nelson has a very good environmental voting record. He was scored at 82%. Go to Tom’s website and donate or sign up to volunteer to help his campaign. He deserves to be reelected and needs your help.

To see the the complete WLCV Scorecard and for a detailed analysis of legislative voting records click HERE.