Reducing local government energy costs

http://is.gd/8Dmr

Be Present in Your Own Life

Turn off your TV.

It's amazing how much time you have to participate in your community, to garden, to read, to connect with your family, when you put the box in a closet and only bring it out for things you specifically plan and schedule time to watch.

In the upcoming difficult period we will be experiencing for the indefinite future, one of the most important things you can is your own thinking, something that's next to impossible if you've got the TV on.

If you have kids, getting them weaned from TV is one of the best things you can do for their future, and your own stress levels.

How do we get into that chicken outfit?

What chicken outfit is that?

That's the outfit of cities who have decided, sensibly, that people smart enough to pay taxes are smart enough to be allowed to own chickens.

Like Ann Arbor, Michigan (among others, including Portland, Ore.)

If you read the Must-Read Essay on Our Energy Future, you know what a great idea some food independence and relocalization is. And chickens are about the perfect small animal husbandry project for urban environs. [And if you didn't, please do so now.]

Waste Incineration: The self-inflicted wound

Sid Friedman of 1000 Friends writes:

Physicians for Social Responsibility sent along this information about a planning meeting they're having on Thursday about the Brooks incinerator. I'm sending it along in case you're interested in attending or know anyone who might be interested in attending. If so, please pass it along:

Planning meeting- November 20th, 6:30-8:30 at Willamette University, Olin Science Center 214

The League of Women Voters of Marion/Polk Counties, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), Waste-CAN supporters and possibly other interested parties in Salem plan to sponsor three community forums in the Winter of 2009 on Marion County's Solid Waste Management Plan with particular attention to the waste incinerator in Brooks, Oregon.

Our goal is to share tangible information on the current waste management plans in Marion County, alternatives to burning of municipal waste, the continuation of the waste incinerator, the promotion of waste prevention, and several vital issues related to the incinerator's environmental and financial sustainability.

We must have considerable help to carry out the large-scale public awareness and community empowerment project. We collectively need to learn and apply tools for making positive impacts on the County's waste management decisions, including the ability to focus attention on public health outcomes of waste management policies.

Another goal is to invite Professor Paul Connett, an international expert on "zero waste" and the toxic effects of waste incinerators to be a keynote speaker and educator for our community.

Join us in this adventure to protect each other and our State.

Please respond with your availability and interest in joining this valuable cause to info@oregonpsr.org. Thank you for your time!

Sid Friedman - Willamette Valley Advocate.
1000 Friends of Oregon - 189 Liberty St NE, #307A - Salem OR 97301
(503) 371-7261 phone - (503) 371-7596 fax - www.friends.org

If you aren't aware of why waste incineration is such a bad idea, here's a short video to help you get the idea.

The MUST_READ essay on our energy future

http://is.gd/7WSD

Good Idea: Sufficient Bike Parking

Tree Hugger - New York City, which has been working hard to promote cycling of late, has now proposed "bicycle parking rules that could be among the toughest in the nation, requiring one secure bike parking space for every two units in new apartment buildings and one space for every 7,500 square feet in new office buildings."   This comes on the heels of city-sponsored bike rack design competition, the unveiling of a new cycling master plan and several initiatives which have resulted in a rise in bicycle commuting in the Big Apple. The new proposal, if approved, would help ease one of a significant "stumbling block preventing New Yorkers from cycling to work or to perform errands:" a lack of secure parking for bicycles.   Both the League of American Bicyclists and Transportation Alternatives support the initiative, which would "require weather-protected, lockable bike parking spaces at apartment buildings with at least 10 units, at commercial office buildings and at stores, hospitals, universities and automobile parking garages."

A seasonal reminder

Though I don't presume that everyone celebrates Christmas, I know of few in Salem (or anywhere else in America for that matter) who are entirely unaffected by the madness of the Christmas machine; even total abstainers from religion suffer from living in an economy that is so desperately focused on encouraging --- nay, demanding --- overconsumption from a huge portion of the populace, an unbalanced economy that wastes both capital and energy and produces mountains of useless, unwanted, unneeded stuff.

There's a great book on the subject: Unplug the Christmas Machine.

Worth a look now, before another round through the mill.

Meanwhile, onto the best holiday of the year, the one that adamantly resists capture by Madison Ave. and Sprawl-Mart --- after all, it's just about impossible to turn a holiday about gratitude for all that we have into a mandatory spending spree.

Outstanding news! Year-round Styrofoam (R) recycling in Salem!

Yay! Someone's figured out a way to make use of trucks deadheading (running empty) between Salem and Portland to make year-round Styrofoam(R) recycling possible here in Salem.

Good job!

Just take your foam to Fresh Start Market on Center St. (past Park St. out towards Hawthorne, on the South side of the street). And if you don't have a covered compost bin for your fruit and vegetable scraps (and coffee grounds, and peelings, and molded bread, and . . . ), you can pick up a good one there as well, for a good price.

UPDATE: Here's a note from Carol Ault of Marion County explaining the program:

Hi all,

At long last we have finally been able to establish an ongoing collection program for Styrofoam! See below for details. Thank you for making the effort to recycle Styrofoam!

Styrofoam Recycling

When: Mondays - Fridays from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Where: Fresh Start Market, 3020 Center St. NE, Salem

Accepted: Only clean, dry block packaging foam, meat trays or egg
cartons.

NOT Accepted:

• Packing peanuts (Call 503-588-5169 for reuse options. Most shipping stores will accept them for free if clean.)
• Packing foam with tape on it
• Construction foam
• Foam that bends in half without snapping
  

Details: This is a free program for residents thanks to PLC Recycling, the Fresh Start Market, and Marion County Public Works - Environmental Services. Businesses will be charged a nominal fee and must pre-register by calling (503) 588-5324.

A great loss noted

Though his inspiration can live on in us today, if we are wise enough to heed his counsel.

Manton A. Carl

April 19, 1917 - November 8, 2008

Arthur Carl was born on April 19, 1917, in a tent on his parents'

property in Hubbard, Oregon, as they were clearing land for their farm. He died 100 feet away in the house they had built.

Throughout his life, Manton worked to preserve agricultural lands and natural resources. In 1939, Manton graduated from Oregon State in Agriculture. He returned to the family farm, where he and his mother had an innovative raw milk dairy, which peddled milk door to door, even into Portland.

Because he was in ROTC at Oregon State, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant when World War II began, and trained as a paratrooper. He married Irene Green on June 14, 1942, when he was stationed in Tacoma, Washington; at his 50th college reunion, he said marriage continued to be "the most interesting event" of his life.

When he was about to be shipped out to the Pacific, his mother died; he went home to keep the farm going. In 1945 he purchased the farm. Throughout the years, Manton worked politically and personally as a steward of the land. He worked with other farmers to support McCall's Senate Bill 100, Oregon's landmark land use bill. He believed that only by protecting farmland would younger generations be able to farm in the Willamette Valley.

Manton always believed that Oregonians needed to look 100 years into the future and strive to preserve resources. Manton served on the Marion County Planning Commission twice, from 1976 until 1984 and from 2000 until 2003. He served two separate times as president of Marion County Farm Bureau. Manton was a member of 1000 Friends of Oregon and in 2004, at the age of 87, he was nominated for a Citizen Activist Award for that organization.

The other great love of his life was his wife, Irene. Both worked incredibly hard on the farm, but loved taking time to swim in the river, seek out hot springs, or attend dances in Mulino. Manton built two ponds on the farm, provided nesting places for wild birds, and with Irene, added over 12,000 evergreen trees to the farm. Manton's dedication to the land and to his wife inspired not only his children but many people, both young and old, who came to visit the farm or lived near the farm. Manton and Irene raised five children, and are survived by all of them . . . .

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, November 22 at the Hubbard United Church of Christ, 2934 H Street, Hubbard. All are welcome. Memorial donations may be made to 1000 Friends of Oregon, 534 SW 3rd Ave., Suite 300, Portland, OR 97204.

Free hi-wattage holiday lights into LED holiday lights recycling program

Guess what?! You can recycle your old "standard" (incandescent) holiday lights for a coupon to get safer, and much more energy-efficient LEDs!! From here: http://www.holidayleds.com/holidayledscom_christmas_light_recycling_program