What Grows On in Rhode Island ~ News Blog

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2009 Beautiful Landscape Award Recipients Announced ~ November 17, 2009

From The East Providence Beautification Commission:

The East Providence Beautification Commission has selected four City properties to receive the 2009 Beautiful Landscape Award.  This prestigious annual award recognizes organizations and businesses, which add to the aesthetic and environmental beauty of the City. Since 1967 the Beautification Commission has acknowledged those organizations, whose well-maintained properties exceptionally reflect pride of residence in East Providence. All neighborhood organizations are considered.

The 2009 Beautiful Landscape Award recipients are:

Farm City, City Farm: An Evening with Two Urban Farmers ~ November 12, 2009

From Southside Community Land Trust:

Farm City, City Farm: An Evening of Trials, Tribulations, and Triumphs of Two Urban Farmers

Southside Community Land Trust and Slow Food Rhode Island

Sponsor Discussion of Urban Agriculture on Thursday, November 12th

Who: Slow Food Rhode Island and Southside Community Land Trust

What: Farm City, City Farm: Tales in Urban Farming from Farmer-Author Novella Carpenter and Farmer Rich Pederson

When: Thursday, November 12, 2009, 7pm

Where:  First Unitarian Church of Providence, 1 Benevolent Street

Join us for a evening of stories – trials, tribulations, and triumphs - from two talented urban farmers; Novella Carpenter, author of Farm City: the Education of an Urban Farmer, and Rich Pederson, Southside Community Land Trust’s City Farm Farm Manager.

Novella and Rich will take turns sharing their urban agriculture experiences with us, with their unique perspectives influenced by each of their environments; Novella’s in Oakland, California, and Rich’s here in Providence. They’ll follow their story telling with an audience question and answer period, which is sure to be entertaining and informative - and quite likely very funny as well.

A $10 donation ($5 for college students) is requested. Funds will support Southside Community Land Trust and Slow Food Rhode Island.
 
Southside Community Land Trust (SCLT) provides access to land, education and other resources so people in Greater Providence can grow food in environmentally sustainable ways and create community food systems where locally produced, affordable, and healthy food is available to all. For more information, please visit www.southsideclt.org
 
Slow Food Rhode Island is the local chapter of Slow Food USA. The volunteers of Slow Food Rhode Island work to promote the values of good, clean, fair food, including education, biodiversity projects, and social activism. For more information, please visit http://slowfoodri.blogspot.com.
 

Climate Change Hearing & Presentations ~ November 10, 2009

Hearing of the House Committee on Global Warming and Climate Change that I‘ll be hosting in Seekonk to discuss the national security and environmental impacts of global warming.
 
We will have two speakers:
 
David Janik, South Coastal Regional Coordinator for the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, will be giving a presentation on “Climate Change Impacts on Coastal Communities and Infrastructure.”
 
Alex Cornell du Houx, Campaign Director of Operation Free whose mission statement is “Secure America with Clean Energy,” will be presenting on “Security Implications of Climate Change.”  He is also a representative in the Maine State Legislature.
 
The hearing is open to the public.  I encourage you invite anyone who might be interested in attending.
 
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Seekonk High School Auditorium
(261 Arcade Ave., Seekonk, MA)
 
Steve D'Amico
State Representative, 4th Bristol District
State House, Room 39
Boston, MA  02133
Rep.StevenD'Amico@Hou.State.MA.US
T: (617) 722-2014
F: (617) 626-0855

Film ~ A Sense of Wonder (about Rachel Carson) ~ November 20, 2009

The Women's Sustainability Series Committee invites you to experience
 
~   a sense of wonder   ~
 
a film about Rachel Carson's love for the natural world and her inspirational journey to protect it.
 
Date:    Friday, November 20th, 2009
Time:  5:30-8:00 p.m.
Place:  Metcalf Auditorium
RISD's Chace Center
20 North Main Street, Providence, RI
Ticket Price:  $35* per person, cash bar
R.S.V.P. Required:  Sharon Paul (401) 331-7110 ext.10
*Ticket Price is not tax deductible
 
Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres will be served during the discussion following the film.  Please bring a friend.
 
The Women's Sustainability Series offers inspirational presentations on global and
local sustainability issues that affect our daily lives.
 
Women's Sustainability Committee
 
Dominique Browning, Linda Doberstein, Linda Green, Elizabeth Grumbach, Gail Ballard Hall,
Ann-Marie Ignasher, Marnie Lacouture, Sharon Linder, Janis Nepshinsky, Joanne Riccitelli,
Maura Sayre, Julie Sharpe, Linda Wood

Film Showing on Chinese Environment ~ November 12, 2009

Road Ahead: The First Green Long March
A film screening with award-winning documentary producer  
Michael Raisler, Creative Director, CINEREACH
In collaboration with the Golden Jasmine Chinese Film Festival and the Department of Science and Technology of Bryant University
November 12, 5-6:30 p.m.

Room 2AB, Bryant Center

A film screening and discussion will take place Thursday, November 12th at Bryant University. The Road Ahead: The First Green Long March, an official selection of the Hamptons and Cleveland International film festivals and winner of Best International Documentary at the Queens International Film Festival, is the hopeful story of a group of Chinese college students who mobilize to spark their own environmental movement in rural China in the months leading up to the nation's 2008 "green" Olympic games.

Tisdale Environmental Education Awards Close November 20, 2009

From Environment Council of RI:

Attention RI Middle School and High School Science Teachers, Science Club Supervisors, and environmental organizations working in schools:

The Environment Council of Rhode Island Education Fund (ECRI Ed Fund) is pleased to announce the application period for the Fifth Annual Loraine Tisdale Environmental Education Fund awards.
 
The Loraine Tisdale Fund honors a woman whose energy for a just and healthy environment is legendary. Mrs. Tisdale held an undergraduate degree in chemistry and a degree in nursing. For many years she led an organization that addressed safety and health issues concerning pesticides.

We are pleased to offer 3 grants of up to $250 to teachers or environmental organizations for support of projects that
1.      Have student participation
2.      Lead to measurable improvement in the environment
3.      Involve the community beyond a school in some way

The application deadline is November 20, 2009 and awards will be made in January 2010 for projects to be undertaken in the Spring of 2010.

Please see http://www.environmentcouncilri.org/tisdale10.html for further details.

Wintertime Farmers' Markets Begin ~ November 7, 2009

It's sad to see the 40-some-odd Summertime Farmers' Markets fade away, but not to worry, Rhode Island ~ there are now at least 3 markets that continue throughout the winter!


SATURDAY MARKETS: In Pawtucket the Farm Fresh RI market at Hope Artiste Village opens for its second season tomorrow, November. The Coastal Growers Market moves inside to Lafayette Mill in North Kingstown beginning on November21.

ED NOTE: This isn't going to happen this year because of permitting problems, but maybe next year! -- SK (11/10/09) SUNDAY MARKET: Nearby in North Attleboro, MA, another winter market will open this Sunday, November 8, at the Masonic Lodge. This market includes artisan producers as well as farmers.

A couple of summertime markets are braving the elements and continue until the week before Thanksgiving. See the Calendar for details.

Free Screening of Film "Tapped" at Brown University ~ November 10, 2009

Free Screening of "Tapped" at Brown University


"Tapped" is a 2009 documentary about the effects of the bottled water industry on America's economy, environment, and public health.  A coalition of Brown University student groups and the Environment Council of Rhode Island are sponsoring a free, public screening of "Tapped" on Tuesday, November 10, at 8:00 pm in the Salomon Center on the Main Green (91 Waterman Street).

Americans spent $15 billion on bottled water in 2007, a 30-fold increase in consumption per capita since 1976.  Producing these bottles used the equivalent of 17 million barrels of oil, excluding the cost of transportation.  Whereas bottled water costs $7.50 to $11.00 per gallon, tap water costs $0.01 per gallon.  24% of bottled water sold in the US, including Dasani and Aquafina, is not spring water but simply purified, repackaged tap water.

Compared to bottled water, tap water is regulated more rigorously and tested more frequently by the EPA.  Bisphenol-A, the chemical from which 5-gallon water cooler jugs are made, has been linked in 200 independent studies to illnesses including obesity, prostate cancer, breast cancer, diabetes, and brain disorders.

Newport Biodiesel Hosts Green Drinks ~ November 5, 2009

From Newport Green Drinks:

Newport Biodiesel to Host November’s Gathering of
“Green Drinks Newport”

Guest Speaker: City of Newport’s Clean City Coordinator
 
WHO:  Newport Biodiesel, Rhode Island’s sole producer of biodiesel
Kristin Littlefield, Clean City Coordinator, City of Newport
 
WHAT:    Monthly gathering of Green Drinks Newport
 
WHERE:   312 Connell Highway, Newport, RI (Driveway to complex shares the entrance to Gate 4 for the Navy Base)
(401) 846-1117
 
WHEN:    Thursday, November 5, 2009 5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
 
DETAILS:  Join us for drinks and appetizers, provided by Newport Biodiesel, and take tours of the facility. Additionally, Kristin Littlefield, Clean City Coordinator of the City of Newport’s Clean City Program will be speaking.
 
Green Drinks is an international organization that allows people in the “green” and environmental community to come together. Through this network people have made friends, found jobs, exchanged information, developed new ideas and have helped others in the field with special projects. Most of all, people have fun!
 
MORE INFO:            Visit: www.greendrinks.org or contact Green Drinks Organizer, Kara DiCamillo.

Non-Utility Scale Renewable Energy Program Review Meeting ~ November 5, 2009

From RI Office of Energy Resources:

The Rhode Island Energy Review Team will be hosting a Public Community Review Meeting on the draft regulations for the ARRA State Energy Plan (SEP)  Non-Utility Scale Renewable Energy Program on Thursday November 5, 2009. 

Purpose: The purposes of the meeting are:

1. This Community Review Meeting will be an opportunity for interested persons to ask questions about and provide input with regard to the draft regulations for the disbursement of $8.395 million for non-utility scale renewable energy projects.
2. An overview of the draft regulations will be provided, and comments of a general nature taken. This overview will be followed by a page by page review and discussion of the regulations, and will provide an opportunity for questions and answers.
3. The non-utility scale renewable energy program can provide funding for: residential, commercial and industrial, community and institutional renewable energy projects
4. The draft regulations will be posted on the RI Office of Energy Resources website (energy.ri.gov) on Monday November 2, 2009.

The meeting is an opportunity for the public and interested parties to get the “lay-of-the-land” as the implementation of this ARRA State Energy Plan (SEP) program commences in Rhode Island.

Charles Hawkins
Planning and Outreach Coordinator
RIOER
chawkins@energy.ri.gov
574-9124