Great Portal page to Green Issues

http://www.organicconsumers.org/ Follow this link to a great portal page with a full spectrum of news and views about sustainable eating and other issues

Greening Articles

I noticed this morning when looking up some things a few new articles of interest regarding "greening" your home...I encourage you all to take a look at these ideas for ways that you too may be able to change some of your habits at home!

How to Green Your Kitchen

MSN now has a whole section on being green

Check them out if you have the chance!

how much food is wasted?

I'm on a green food kick, and this article from The New York Times raises important questions about how we use--and more importantly waste--the food that's available to us. 

thinking and acting green

Now that the semester is winding down, I'm beginning to read more eco-literature in preparation for the theme next year. Last night I was reading some of Wendell Berry's essays, and found quite a few gems of wisdom to pass along. For those of you unfamiliar with Berry, you can find more information on him here. Berry himself does not have a website because he famously rejects computer technology, and is critical of technology and industrialization. 

This passage is from his essay "Think Little," and it encourages us to make little changes in our own lives to have a considerable environmental impact, rather than waiting for big ideas and bureaucracies to make changes. Enjoy!

"For most of the history of this country, our motto, implied or spoken, has been Think Big. I have come to believe that a better motto, and an essential one now, is Think Little. That implies the necessary change of thinking and feeling, and suggests the necessary work. Thinking Big has led us to the tow biggest and cheapest political dodges of our time: plan-making and law-making. The lotus-eaters of this era are in Washington, D.C., Thinking Big. Somebody comes up with a problem, and somebody in the government comes up with a plan or a law. The result, mostly, has been the persistence of the problem, and the enlargement and enrichment of the government. But the discipline of thought is not generalization; it is detail, and it is personal behavior. While the government is 'studying' and funding and organizing its Big Thought, nothing is done. But the citizen who is willing to Think Little, and, accepting the discipline of that, to go ahead on his own, is already solving the problem. [...] A man who is willing to undertake the discipline and difficulty of mending his own ways is worth more to the conservation movement than a hundred who are insisting merely that the government and the industries mend their ways. " 

Berry, Wendell. "Think Little." The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays of Wendell Berry. Ed. Norman Wirzba. Washington, D.C.: Counterpoint, 2002. 81-90.

What do YOU think about Berry's ideas? Can individual action make a big impact? Is there value in Thinking Little over Thinking Big? Do we need to think BOTH Little and Big? 

We are On the Map -

A marker for UW -Manitowoc has been placed on the Sundance Channel's Greezine Eco Map feature - Noting a Green Action Taken"  go to: http://www.sundancechannel.com/thegreen/#/homepage and click on "eco-munity" - 

good news for the lakeshore!

Wisconsin legislature passes the Great Lakes Compact: http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=751119

And, it's passed the Michigan Senate as well. Only Pennsylvania and Ohio left...

Summer Opportunity

http://www.unity.edu/Academic/Workshops/Orion/OrionWelcome.aspx

If you haven't booked your whole summer - this looks really interesting

Green Lunch, Monday, May 12, Noon-ish, Commons

Wear your favorite Green shirt and join us in the Commons at lunchtime to brainstorm ideas for next year's theme!

I hope to see you there! If you can't be there, you can check back here for a synopsis of the meeting.

*The Green Campus*

Check out this book review from the Chronicle Blogs....

Sundance Channel Goes Green

Here's a great link from Berel Lutsky for a wealth of Green Resources and nifty tidbits at the Sundance Channel's website.

Urban Gardening Program, May 7, 6:30-8:30, Stumpjack Coffee Company

Here's another exciting event to attend! You can learn about urban gardening, local foods, as well as meet others in the community who are interested in these topics. I know it's the same day as Dr. Trask's "Last Lecture," but consider coming for a little while! I'm looking forward to attending both events! And, if you've never been to Stumpjack, you're in for a treat! It's a coffee shop but they also have local beer:)

Welcome Back, Manitowoc Farmers' Market!

Spring's first vegetables and fruits...
Plants for abundance in the coming months...
Artwork....
Baked goods...
Egg Rolls....
Conversation with you neighbors and friends after a long winter indoors...

Let's celebrate the opening day of the Manitowoc Farmers' Market, this Saturday, May 3, from 7 am to 1 pm. (the market also runs on Tuesdays, same hours). The market is located in the parking lot along Lake Michigan, across from the Public Library.

I hope to see you there!

Simple Steps to Reduce Our Impact!

Last Night's global warming speaker, Robert McAfee, gave a wonderful presentation. Of course, the news is dire, but he provided some very simple changes we can make to help conserve energy:

* drying clothes outside rather than in a dryer
* changing your lightbulbs to CFLs
* using powerstrips or unplugging appliances to negate phantom energy
* keeping your car tires inflated to the proper level
* installing low flow shower heads (Seinfeld come to mind?)
* taking shorter showers

What other suggestions do YOU have for minimize your environmental impact?