Sunday, December 03, 2006
Chemical, Health and Safer Shopping
WEB Reference (WWF) - From soap to surfboards, deodorant to DVD players - this site is for people who would like to minimise their exposure to hazardous man-made chemicals found in everyday products, and reduce the contamination of our planet, but don’t how or where to start. http://safershopping.wwf.org.uk/
Business Ideas / Economic Self-Reliance
Your Money or Your Life
ONLINE Study Group, November 2006 (Simple Living Network) - The year end is fast approaching. A new tax season will soon be upon us. As such, this is a great time to begin thinking about transforming your relationship with money -- starting out fresh as it were -- and getting a handle on your finances so that they are in alignment with your values. We still have a number of spaces available in our popular OnLine Study Group for Your Money or Your Life. Your Money Or Your Life presents a simple, nine-step plan that will transform the way you think about, earn and spend money. http://www.simpleliving.net/main/custom.asp?recid=5
DIY Renewables
WEB Reference (Pembina) - Re-energy.ca is a renewable energy project kit that can be downloaded and printed from the World Wide Web — for free! Re-energy.ca explores wind energy, water energy, solar energy, biomass energy and more. Build your own working models from one of five easy-to-follow construction plans, including a wind turbine, biogas generator, solar car and more. Re-energy.ca provides educators with background information, exciting hands-on learning activities, resources and links on renewable energy and sustainable energy technologies. Re-energy.ca is a renewable energy learning experience. Building working models of renewable energy technologies allows students in grades 7 through 12 to discover the fundamental principles of biology, chemistry and physics, and to explore the application of science and technology to social and environmental issues. http://www.re-energy.ca/
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
A new revolution in Grimethorpe: Cuban-style socialist health care
SOUTH YORKSHIRE, October 16, 2006, (Matthew Beard, The Independent) - A former pit worker is to bring Cuban-style health care, administered by Arthur Scargill's daughter, to Grimethorpe, the mining community immortalised on screen by the film Brassed Off. The
Public Interest Research Group News
Radical Randy's Resources – Now Available Online!
Because what we all really yearn for is Community
PORTLAND, Oregon, Web Resource (City Repair Project) - The City Repair Project is group of citizen activists creating public gathering places and helping others to creatively transform the places where they live. City Repair was formed in
Refusing to Be Silenced: A Conversation with the 2006 Courage in Journalism Award Winners
How to Start an FM Community Radio Station
WEB Resource (Community-media.com) - Every year in Canada, at least ten or twenty groups begin the work to start a campus or community radio station. It is, as you probably guessed, a large project, but many people before you have started stations, and many more will follow. This brochure is intended to give an overview of the steps that you will need to take to get your station on the air with an FM radio transmitter. It is by no means exhaustive and should be seen as only a guideline for planning. http://www.community-media.com/startfm.html
Sunday, October 01, 2006
The Magic of Windows
WEB Reference, September 2006, (Gregory Franta, FAIA) - In terms of a building’s energy performance, windows can be either heroes or villains. When buildings are “designed by climate,” windows can be the major contributor to human needs for heating, cooling, lighting, ventilating, and a connection to the outdoors (through views). https://www.rmi.org/images/other/Newsletter/NLRMIfallwinter06.pdf
A New Design Language to Describe the Sense of “Home”
WEB Reference, (Sarah Susanka) - The Not So Big House books (www.notsobighouse.com) explain that the secret to finding a sense of home lies in changing the way we have been taught to think about houses and value -- for example, reevaluating the rooms you need in a home, designing a floor plan inspired by today's informal lifestyle, and building to last. The first book also discussed a few of the basic concepts related to the quality of space, such as shelter around activity, interior views, and doing double duty. Creating the Not So Big House describes even more concepts that can take the experience of living in a house from mere shelter to the art of dwelling. Let's now look at these key spatial concepts - and give them some names. http://www.taunton.com/finehomebuilding/pages/h00017.asp
Room at the top: Modern treehouse eco-dwelling
ENGLAND, August 3, 2006 (Oliver Bennett, the Independent) – Traditionally, treehouses are wooden play-zones for children, but in line with the current fascination for different modes of living, the treehouse now also appeals to the downshifted, ecologically minded adult-at-play, in touch with his or her inner primate and possessed of the inexplicable human desire to leave the ground. http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article1211645.ece
Sustainable Building Projects
What exactly is a Green home?
BOOK Reference, August, 2006, (New Society Books) – Green building is one of the fastest growing sectors in
Friday, August 04, 2006
Free Activism Course at University of Ottawa
EList, July 17, 2006 (GoodWork) – A New Activism Course will be offered this Fall at the University of Ottawa, Ottawa ON. The course is open to all with no fees. Students will not receive university credit for the course. The creation of the course follows the great success of an experimental activism course last fall among students and community members (http://www.ottawaxpress.ca/news/news.aspx?iIDArticle=8094). Possible themes of the course (to be decided by students) include: radical (i.e., at the root) analysis of society and power structures, activism movements and non-corporate cultures; critical examinations of the university and science as institutions that serve power; civil society, resistance and defiance, activism in the workplace; foreign policy, globalization, democracy, environment, social justice, minority rights, first nations rights; and personal and community benefits of activism. If you would like to attend even one class or to receive registration information and speaker announcements, please join the fall 2006 course e-mail list by contacting dgr@physics.uottawa.ca.
Redefining American Beauty, by the Yard
LAKEWOOD, CA, July 13, 2006 (New York Times, Patricia Leigh Brown) – Set among dense pattypan squash plants, cornstalks, and crimson sweet watermelons, a placard reads "The empty front lawn requiring mowing, watering and weeding previously on this location has been removed." The sign is a not-so-subtle bit of propaganda proclaiming the second and most recent installment of Edible Estates, an experimental project by Fritz Haeg, a 37-year-old Los Angeles architect. The project is part of a nascent "delawning" movement concerned with replacing lawns around the country with native plants, from prairie grasses in suburban Chicago to cactus gardens in Tucson. As Mr. Haeg put it, "It's about shifting ideas of what's beautiful, and what happens on that square of land between the public street and the private house. It's about social engagement. I wanted to get away from the idea of home as an obsessive isolating cocoon."
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/071406EC.shtml
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Environmental Entrepreneurship Program Encourages Social Enterprise
WEB reference, July 2006 (SSHRA) - The Environmental Entrepreneurship Program is the Environmental Youth Alliance’s (EYA) new fabulous and federally funded opportunity for young people to get paid support to start up their own green business...to gain skills of self-employment and sustainability! To launch their own business, the aspiring entrepreneur will receive 10 months of skills enhancement, mentorship, contacts and support from EYA in partnership with local business and consultants. For more information visit http://www.selfhelpresource.bc.ca/Community%20Announcements/GreenbizJuly19.JPG.
Exciting New DVD for Social Entrepreneurs
WEBSITE, May 16, 2006 (ASHOKA Innovators for the Public) - Social entrepreneurs are transforming the lives of millions. In this exciting 16-program DVD series, some of the world’s greatest social entrepreneurs share their inspiring stories and strategies – in their own words. They explain how they have built global organizations and movements with unstoppable momentum. They demonstrate how a new kind of commerce can expand the frontiers of companies and citizen organizations, while empowering poor people to access the opportunities of the global market. http://www.dvd.ashoka.org/
Eco-friendly Garden Designs
ELIST Reference, May 16, 2006 (BBC News) – Home grown eco-friendly garden design winners combine relaxing green space for family and friends, uses natural resources in a sustainable way and encourages a wide range of plants and wildlife. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4225517.stm
Starting a Co-op Links and Info
WEB Reference, May, 2006 (www.coopscanada.coop) - The Co-operative Secretariat has published an information kit called Forming Our Co-operative which is online at: www.agr.ca/policy/coop/kitcoop/index.html. A co-operative may be formed in accordance with: a provincial co-operative statute setting out its corporate form and model of operation or the Canada Cooperatives Act when the co-operative has a place of business in at least two provinces. An information kit on federally incorporating a co-operative is on Industry Canada's Strategis web site at strategis.ic.gc.ca/sc_mrksv/corpdir/engdoc/9.html. In 2003, the Canadian Co-operative Association and le Conseil Canadien de la Coopération, with their provincial, sectoral and governmental partners, launched CoopZone, Canada's national co-operative development program. CoopZone provides communications links between co-operative development organizations and consultants, information and support for individuals and groups growing co-operatives, and works to communicate the co-operative model to a broader audience. You can also access CoopZone through a toll-free number at 1-888-891-COOP (2667).
Community Power Guidebook now available
ONTARIO, June 20, 2006 (OSEA) – The Community Power Guidebook covers the key steps of a community power project, from conception to commissioning, using detailed timelines, case studies, along with linked on-line resources and planning aids. The Guidebook will help communities take control of their energy future, with community renewable power projects generating not only electricity, but also economic benefits while fuelling the local job market. Does your community want to own its own wind turbines? Participate in the rapid growth of renewable energy? Achieve democratic and local control of this promising new sector? Are your constituents or associate members interested in Community Power? The Guidebook will aid community groups looking to build their own electricity generation, acting as a key resource for farmers and landowner groups, municipalities, universities, schools and hospitals interested in the community power process, as well as local renewable energy businesses looking to build new markets. For more information, including a table of contents and an online order form, see http://www.ontario-sea.org/guidebookintro.html.
Plants, grass on the rooftop? No longer an oddity.
CHICAGO, USA, July 10, 2006 (The Christian Science Monitor, Amanda Paulson) – In the center of downtown Chicago lies an oasis of green. Monarch butterflies flit past little bluestem. Bees fly from prairie clover to purple coneflowers. A small hawthorn tree rises from a mound. The expanse of native plants and grasses isn't a park, but the top of City Hall, the premier green roof in a city that is making green building a civic cornerstone. Six years ago, when Mayor Richard Daley had the roof installed, it was an oddity. Today, more than 200 green roofs in the city have been constructed or are under way, covering some 2-1/2 million square feet of tar with plants - by far the most of any American city.
Now other cities, hoping to cool and clean their air and help with storm drainage, are beginning to emulate Chicago, and the city is taking key steps to encourage - and in some cases require - private developers to follow City Hall's example.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0710/p02s02-ussc.html
Editor’s Note: for more information on Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, visit http://www.greenroofs.org, - Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, North America Inc. (GRHC) the trade association for the green roof infrastructure industry, develops and delivers green roof training as part of its Green Roof Accreditation Program. To date two courses have been developed towards this Accreditation Program with several more courses anticipated over the next two years.
Monday, April 24, 2006
Building Blocks of a Local Economy: Fashion High
VANCOUVER, BC, Apr. 17, 2006 (BALLE BC) - We are a not-for-profit network of B.C. based, fashion industry professionals. Together we are working towards educating the public about our thriving Vancouver fashion scene, while also encouraging shopping locally and sustainable design. Fashion High is just one of the building blocks of the local economy that is working under the umbrella of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies: ballebc.com. The Fashion High website will introduce you to our fabulous members; keep you posted on fashion events, get you involved in our various projects, and educate you on the benefits of shopping locally and sustainable design. http://www.fashionhigh.ca/index2.htm.
ITDG Technical Briefs
http://www.itdg.org/?id=technical_briefs.
Homeowners’ Guide to Rainfall
WEB Reference, Mar. 2006 (Riversides Stewardship Alliance) - The Homeowners' Guide to Rainfall is a web-based guide dedicated to educating Toronto residents about the everyday impacts that their activities have on their watershed. The Guide will be a portal to urban water information, practical tools for residential stormwater management and resources to improve the quality of Toronto's waterways. Watch for this site launch in mid-May. http://www.torontorainguide.org.
Pico-hydro Links CDM to Household Electricity
ELIST, Apr. 10, 2006 (id21RuralNews, No. 5) - Nearly four million households in Latin America, Africa and Asia could benefit from small family-hydro units to supply electricity for domestic and local productive uses. Use of this technology could be stimulated through the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which forms part of less
developed countries' efforts to meet their emission reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocols. http://www.id21.org/urban/u4jm1g1.html. Email request: GET http://www.id21.org/getweb/u4jm1g1.html (See end of message for full instruction on how to receive full research highlights by email.)
Prefab Fridays: The Clever MINI Home
WEB Reference, Apr. 24, 2006 (Inhabitat) - They say that good things come in small packages, and where the new MINI home is concerned, we concur. The compact 480-sq-ft design from Clever Homes makes minimalist living efficient and elegant. With an open floor plan, abundant natural light, and interior details supplied through partnerships with a number of well-regarded manufacturers, this little pad packs a lot of perks. http://www.inhabitat.com/entry_1053.php.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Self-employment for Self-reliance
WEB Reference, Feb. 2006 (Gaia University) - Gaia University is based on a web of active people working in self-employed mode. Thus people draw income according to their effort and effectiveness, provide their own tools for the job, take care of their own relationships with local government and tax offices, shape their own working patterns to suit their circumstances, develop poly-income portfolios and regard themselves as partners in their own right rather than employees of a corporation. Widescale human learning and unlearning are the keys to making the transition from our current eco-destructive culture to a fresh, designed culture that is eco-constructive and socially just. Those of us who are willing need to choose to make this transition now. Some people (we calculate hundreds of thousands) have already started on this endless journey and this worldwide web of pioneers holds a vast repertoire of useful experiences for future learners.
http://www.gaiauniversity.org/english/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=28.
