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Michael Burns | 1 Nov 2007 19:08
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Connect Ithaca: Promoting Alternative Transit-Oriented Development

*Connect Ithaca: Promoting Alternative Transit-Oriented Development*

Brought to you by:
The Sustainability Hub at Cornell University
http://rso.cornell.edu/sustainabilityhub

Tuesday, November 6th, 2007

4:30-6:00PM

Kauffman Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall - Cornell University

Dear Ithaca community stakeholders and interested parties,

You are cordially invited to attend to a special presentation on the
possibility of bringing an alternative transportation pilot project to Ithaca,
NY (and the greater region).  I write as a representative of a new group of
local professionals and community educators which formed this past summer to
work on bringing transit-oriented development and associated "new mobility"
systems to the Ithaca area.  To this end, *Connect Ithaca* aims to facilitate
a partnership among municipalities, campuses, and local neighborhoods to
create high-quality vibrant and pedestrian friendly urban villages served by
multi-modal transport systems that eliminate many of the negative effects of
car-based, fossil-fuel dependent, sprawl development.

As part of our research, I attended the *PodCar City Conference* in Uppsala,
Sweden http://www.podcar.org/uppsalaconference/ three weeks ago.  At the
event, my charge was to study various PRT (Personal Rapid Transit) Network
Systems on exhibit; assess their relevancy to servicing the carbon-free future
transportation needs of our City and region; and to evaluate the status of
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Steve Gabriel | 5 Nov 2007 15:53

Permaculture at Dilmun Hill SAT 11/10

The FINGER LAKES PERMACULTURE INSTITUTE
http://www.fingerlakespermaculture.org
ITHACA, NY

presents
DILMUN HILL FARM DESIGN CHARETTE

Saturday, November 10
11:00 - 3:00 pm
FREE! (please bring a lunch for yourself)

Join FLPCI program coordinator Steve Gabriel for a half day seminar
outlining the permaculture design process as applied to Cornell's
student run organic farm.

Participants will learn about design principles and walk the land,
observing and collecting data which will be used to develop schematic
drawings of possible scenarios for the future.

Permaculture aims to design systems that are ecologically sound and
economically viable. Designers look to merge the needs of humans to the
capacities and characteristics of a landscape.   

SCHEDULE
11:00 - 12:00    discovering the design toolbox
12:00 - 1:00    site observation & assessment walk  
1:00 - 1:30     break for lunch
1:30 - 2:30     developing schematic drawings
2:30 - 3:00     evaluating designs & next steps
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Michael Burns | 5 Nov 2007 03:25
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wind tower raising & work party, sat., nov. 10, cayutaville

WIND TOWER RAISING

Saturday, November 10th
12 pm
2962 Swamp Rd.
Cayutaville ny

Work, merriment and amazing energy begins at noon and continues until  
(and after) the turbine spins.

Rebekah Carpenter and her crew from the Finger Lakes Renewable Energy  
Cooperative (http://www.flenergy.com) will be finishing the  
installation of our new 80 ft. tower and 1 Kilowatt Bergey turbine.  
By noon, we'll need a crew of 15 or more to hold the guy wires in  
place and then put a little muscle and good cheer towards sending  
this bird into the air.

Please join us if you would like to see small-scale wind power in  
action, meet people who are implementing renewable electric on their  
own homes and who would enjoy the good company found in this sort of  
work party.

Please send us an email or leave a phone message at 607-227-0316 if  
you are planning on attending so we can secure enough food and drink  
beforehand.

Kelly & Michael
http://www.cayuta.org
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Earn your permaculture design certificate.
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Michael Burns | 6 Nov 2007 20:22
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A good read from Gene Logsdon about Chuck Walters

A good read from Gene Logsdon:

http://organictobe.org/index.php/2007/10/26/an-organic-hero/

It begins...

"Chuck Walters is almost blind but, using electronic equipment that can render
printed words into sound, he continues to keep a lively presence in his
magazine, Acres USA: The Voice of Eco-Agriculture and to turn out book after
book on farming and economics that make mincemeat out of the political and
economic powers that he believes are reducing farmers to mere slaves operating
food factories which are not sustainable. That’s why he is surely one of the
most revered and most vilified leaders in the world of agriculture. I think he
is a genius. Mega-agribusiness thinks he is a crackpot.

Mr. Walters grew up, literally, in the dust bowls of the 1930s. He remembers
his mother putting wet sheets over the doors and windows of their home to keep
out the dust and watching the sheets turn to panels of mud. He remembers
children dying, literally asphyxiated with dust. He remembers “cows that died
with balls of mud as big as softballs in their guts.” So when he writes about
the ruination of the land by bad farming, he speaks from his own gritty
experience... "

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Earn your permaculture design certificate.
The Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute
offers affordable local classes.
http://www.fingerlakespermaculture.org
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Michael Burns | 7 Nov 2007 20:05
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The National Animal Identification System: a threat to local food

Does this mean my small flock of mongrel free range chickens will be outlaws
without bar codes and GPS? If every beast needs a number, is this the end of
homegrown meats?

------------------------------ Original Message ------------------------------
Subject: [SANET-MG] The National Animal Identification System:
a threat to local food
From:    "Robert Waldrop" <bwaldrop@...>
Date:    Wed, October 31, 2007 10:15 pm
To:      SANET-MG@...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Below is an essay by Kim Barker, a Waynoka (Oklahoma) rancher.  He is also the
Vice President for Producers of the Oklahoma Food Cooperative.  This is our
considered opinion, as people very involved with developing a local food
system, regarding the impact of NAIS on farmers and ranchers who want to sell
into a local market.

We encourage everybody to contact their representatives in Congress (House and
Senate), as well as your state Department of Agriculture, to show your
opposition to the National Animal Identification System. You can even just
send them this essay, with your signature and address at the bottom, and a
simple "I agree with Kim" note.

This is a significant threat, and Kim's essay is an important commentary about
this proposal.  Please feel free to forward this message to anyone you think
would be interested.

Bob Waldrop, president
Oklahoma Food Cooperative
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Michael Burns | 9 Nov 2007 21:31
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Peter Singer Dec 6: "The Ethics of What We Eat" at Ithaca College

The Ithaca College Distinguished Speaker in the Humanities
Lecture Series in the School of Humanities and Sciences
Presents Professor Peter Singer
"The Ethics of What We Eat"
December 6, 2007
8:00 PM
Emerson Suites
Book signing to follow lecture

Professor Peter Singer is the Ira W. DeCamp
Professor of Bioethics University Center for Human Values
Princeton University

We routinely pick up neatly packaged cuts of meat,
cartons of milk, eggs, and other goods at the
grocery store, giving little thought to how
they are produced. But nothing has a bigger
impact on our planet, nor on the lives of billions
of sentient beings, than the way we produce our
food.

Food is an ethical issue, and Peter Singer
will reveal the range of ethical issues that lie
behind our food choices.

What lies behind labels such as "organic,"
"fair trade" and "certified  humane"? Is there
such a thing as "humane meat"?  Is fish better?
And what about buying locally?
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Steve Gabriel | 12 Nov 2007 22:45

Design services offered

A successful permaculture design cultivates a relationship between a 
piece of
land and it's inhabitants, promoting elements that provide needs, repair 
damage
from past impact, and promote the growth of healthy ecosystems.

Going through the design process is challenging but rewarding; it helps you
clearly define your goals and develop a roadmap for the development of 
your site.

I have been steeped in the world of design since 2002, attending several 
courses
and engaging in projects all around the country. I currently serve as 
Land Use
Manager at Cayuga Nature Center and Program Coordinator for the Finger 
Lakes
Permaculture Institute.

I offer several options for design including two hour site walks, 
schematic designs,
and design charettes which lead you through the design process.

You can view examples of my work and more information at:

www.workwithnature.net

thanks,
Steve Gabriel
steve@...
303-815-3535
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Michael Burns | 20 Nov 2007 20:31
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gleantheplanet.com

Glean the Planet
 http://www.gleantheplanet.com

Internet-based maps transform how communities share food resources.

Glean the Planet is a web site designed to facilitate the redistribution of
community and individual food resources. The site—www.gleantheplanet.com—
offers both discussion forums and open source mapping software from Google
maps and Platial.com. By allowing users to map specific locations and
illustrate them with pictures and additional detailed information, this
mapping software helps people facilitate the local sharing of food outside of
monetary-based economies.

For instance, if you know of a food baring tree, a stand of bamboo or a
healthy dumpster in your neighborhood, you can plot it on Glean the Planet’s
maps. You find the map of your state and make an entry. Then add web links,
text, and photos to your entries and others’.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Earn your permaculture design certificate.
The Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute
offers affordable local classes.
http://www.fingerlakespermaculture.org
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Michael Burns | 22 Nov 2007 01:00
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Fwd: 12/1 SAT: food justice conf. NYC


Just Food will be hosting its Good Food Now Summit on Food, Farms,  
and Community Health on Saturday, December 1 at the New School in New  
York City.

There will be more than 35 workshops on topics such as school food,  
food advocacy, the Farm Bill, urban agriculture,  eating local,  
healthy eating, supermarket literacy, becoming a farmer, community  
supported agriculture (CSA), the future of farmer's markets, youth  
community gardening, livestock in the city (chickens, bees and  
goats!), using technology to promote local food, farm worker rights,  
New York's global food footprint and the connections between racial  
justice, nutrition, and neighborhood health.  There will also be a  
keynote address from Aaron Woolf, the director of the documentary  
"King Corn."

For more information or to register, go to: http://www.justfood.org/ 
summit/index.html (limited conference scholarships are available).   
Please forward widely!

For more information, contact, molly  <at>  justfood.org

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Earn your permaculture design certificate.
The Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute
offers affordable local classes.
http://www.fingerlakespermaculture.org
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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Michael Burns | 22 Nov 2007 04:52
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Fwd: Wish you could make your home more energy efficient?

Begin forwarded message:

Wish you could make your home more energy efficient?

Sign up for the next EECO Learning Circle!

Lower your utility bills with no-cost and low-cost home improvements  
through
EECO (Energy Efficiency Community Outreach), a program of Sustainable
Tompkins. Expert contractors will offer free "Do-It-Yourself"  
demonstrations and
advice, right in your own home! Materials provided. Open to residents of
Tompkins County. The next Circle will meet every Tuesday evening from  
11/27 to
12/18, in participants' homes. For more info, or to sign up, contact
_Havana@..._ () (607) 280-9032.

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Earn your permaculture design certificate.
The Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute
offers affordable local classes.
http://www.fingerlakespermaculture.org
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Gmane