What Grows On in Rhode Island ~ News Blog

$7 Million for RI Private Agricultural and Woodland Owners ~ Deadline Oct 30, 2009

Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Program Workshop is October 13.

If you cannot attend this workshop, call Paul Boisvert at NRCS for further information ~ 401-397-9421

Over $7 million is available for private agricultural and private forestry or woodland owners! Although NRCS accepts applications for assistance throughout the year, our next milestone application deadline is October 30, 2009. Come learn about how NRCS grants provide financial and technical assistance that address:

*Composting animal and plant wastes
*Protecting crop fields
*Preventing soil erosion
*Enhancing your woodlands
*Eradicating invasive plant species
*Managing your manure
*Improving your pasture land
*Reducing your irrigation water use
*Improving your water quality
*Protecting and enhancing wildlife areas

Whether or not you are familiar with NRCS’ programs, technical and financial assistance available, have completed an application, or plan on completing an application, the workshop will provide valuable information including:

*Summary of programs available to address common conservation needs
*Review Application Process
*Review Planning Process
*Review Contract Process

October 13, 2009
6 PM - 8 PM
Laurel Grange, Corner of Snake & Sawmill Roads, Harmony [Exeter], RI

Please contact Paul Boisvert at 401-397-9421 to register.

World Climate Awareness Day in RI ~ Workshops & Write-a-thon ~ October 24, 2009

World Climate Awareness Day

In conjunction with “350.org”

Workshops and Write-a-thon
Saturday, 24 October 2009 - 9:00am - 12:00pm

First Unitarian Church Parish House, Providence.

Want to help tackle the world climate crisis?

Join us for a morning of workshops and a write-a-thon as part of 350.Org's World Climate Awareness Day.

 Our event's objective is to raise awareness about the need to reduce atmospheric CO2 from the current level of 388 PPM (parts per million) to less than 350 PPM, the safe upper limit for CO2.  

Join the following workshop leaders as they describe methods to limit our own CO2 emissions, push for large scale policy change, and affect public opinion through networking and media OpEd pieces.

Dr. Polly Walker - Associate Director, John Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Topic - How Individual Food Choices can Impact Our Environment.

 

Mr. David Brown - Independent Energy Consultant –

Topic - Home Energy Conservation Strategies

 

Mr. Robert Whitcomb - Providence Journal Editorial Editor,

Topic - How to Write an OpEd Piece and Get It Published
 

Dr. David W. Oliver - Phd. MIT Physics, Corporate Strategy Consultant and Environmental Policy Activist

Topic - Must Have Standards in Energy Legislation

 

Mr. Ben Schreckinger and Mr. Sydney Ember- Brown University Students

Topic - Using the New Media to Build Public Opinion

Take action on what you learn at the workshops by participating in a write-a-thon held throughout the morning.   Use speaking points to craft your own letters or base your thoughts on model letters urging President Obama to establish enforceable emission standards reducing CO2 to less than 350 PPM by the year 2050 at the December 2009 Copenhagen World Climate Conference. 

Knowledgeable letter writers will be encouraged to include suggestions on how CO2 reduction can be accomplished with measures such as national policies requiring replacement of fossil fuels with renewable energy technology and energy conservation measures.

Participants will leave the event with a better idea of both what to do individually and how to advocate for policy change in reducing CO2 emissions.

Press Release from Senator Whitehouse ~ Whitehouse: Report on Politicization at EPA Demands Congressional Oversight ~ April 23, 2008

From Senator Sheldon Whitehouse:

Press release received April 23, 2008 from Senator Whitehouse's office:

Whitehouse: Report on Politicization at EPA Demands Congressional Oversight
Union of Concerned Scientists Releases Survey of EPA Scientists

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, said Congress should look further into repeated instances in which the Bush administration put politics before science, a subject detailed in a report released today by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). 

The report documented numerous cases in which work by scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was edited, manipulated, or undermined by Bush administration political appointees.  Whitehouse has been an outspoken critic of EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson and the Bush administration’s environmental policy.