Friday event at Earth House: Patching workshop

So you definitely don't have to patch your jeans with a fiery crack, but you know, I guess it's a possible option if you're into that. But seriously, this seems really cool. Patching clothing (not just jeans) is a great way to get the most out of your garmets, which is the more earth-friendly thing to do. Sure, eventually you'll have to buy another pair of pants, but perhaps over the course of your lifetime you will buy one less pair of pants (since you kept this one pair for longer). I mean, that's what I tell myself at least. Annnyway.

What: Patching workshop
When: Friday, April 4, 4 pm
Where: Earth House

Dirt Lecture: "Made from the Dirt: The Place of Humans in Creation"

John Hall, Director of the Jonah Center for Earth and Art and Minister at First Church of Christ, Congregational, will offer some thoughts to spark a conversation about human nature, including our tendencies to form tribes, innovate, cheat, aspire to ideals, and feel compassion. What are the prospects for successful adaptation to the human-caused ecological crisis? What is the basis for hope?

What: Dirt Lecture
When: Thursday, April 3 at 7 pm
Where: Earth House

Take a Bag, Leave a Bag rack at Weshop

From Tressa, our dining committee liason:

Everyone should go check out the new Take a Bag, Leave a Bag rack (it's an old nytimes rack in disguise) outside of Weshop.

Go and recycle those paper bags you have hanging around in your room so they can be reused and spread the word about this program. The goal is to really reduce the number of paper bags Weshop has to order each month.

Plastic Recycling Symbols

Ever wonder what the plastic recycling symbols mean?

Here you go:

recycle

also the wikipedia page here

Earth Hour

EARTH HOUR: U.S. CITIES TO DIM LAMPS, ILLUMINATE CLIMATE-CHANGE
Twenty-five cities around the world will participate in the World Wildlife Fund campaign.
By Amanda Paulson | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
from the March 28, 2008 edition
CHICAGO - When Brian Becharas sits down to dinner with his sweetheart Saturday night, they'll eat by candlelight.

Guests at the Inn of Chicago on the city's Magnificent Mile will walk into a darkened, candle-lit lobby. And when they look out at the iconic skyline, it will look different: the Sears Tower, the Hancock Building, the Ferris wheel on Navy Pier, and some 200 downtown buildings plan to turn out the lights at 8 p.m.

It's all part of "Earth Hour," an international climate-change awareness campaign that started last year in Sydney, Australia and that the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is taking global this year. Starting in New Zealand, and rolling out through dozens of cities, including Bangkok, Thailand; Dublin, Ireland; and Tel Aviv; the campaign is urging individuals, businesses, and landmarks to go dark between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m.

READ MORE ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN IN THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE.

Earth Hour 2008

What: A global initiative to turn off the lights for an hour
When: 8pm this Saturday March 29th
Who: 200,000 people, 24 cities, and us!
Why: Energy awareness
Where: Everywhere
More info here!

Website Launched!

I love break. Antoine and I finished enough of the website to make it public--take a look and tell us what you think! The website image is the Muir Woods in Northern CA (also above). If you have a picture of some Connecticut scenery, I think that might be more appropriate. I also changed the header for the blog (like, 12 times), so feedback on that is also welcome.

Windbelt, Cheap Generator Alternative

Here is an interesting new form of wind energy generator. The device is cheap, scalable, and incredibly efficient.

Company Page

Popular Mechanics

Wiki

Wind Power Commercial

Ben sent the listserve a link to this great ad for wind power. I did not understand at all that the main guy is a personification of wind until the end of the commercial, but yeah, it's pretty clever.

Wespeak: Missing the Forest

Check out this Wespeak written by Alexa Jay. It's pretty much hilarious. I agree with her that the real solution to climate change/consumerism is a huge restructuring of society, but of course end up frustrated whenever I go down that chain of thought because like her, "I have no idea how that restructuring can happen and don’t pretend to." Well, maybe sometimes I like to pretend to know. Anyway, take a look.

EDIT: hmm, yeah, I don't really know what to think about this. If you have a strong opinion, comment.

Sustainability website

(image of the button, shamelessly stolen from the Wesleyan homepage.)

Just wanted to let you know that there is a prominent link to the Sustainability website on the Wesleyan front page. It's in the bottom right.

Aurora's Kleenex-busting campaign

Sorry, bad title. But yay Aurora, who is working hard to rid our campus of Kimberly Clark products. In case you didn't know, the manufacturer of Kleenex tissues, "the Kimberly-Clark corporation, has been unwilling to improve its practices, continuing to rely on paper and pulp made from clearcut ancient forest including Canada’s Boreal forest." (that's from Kleercut.net) This is bad.
Here's the deal so far:

So far, Gina Yeomans and I wrote a proposal for Intro to Environmental Studies about divesting from K-C, submitted it to Weshop, and they are so cooperative - when we got back from break they were gone! We have alternative products, and we did before anyway. Next step : I am currently in touch with a Greenpeace rep, and she helped me find companies that make alternative products for replacing our public facilities and dormitories' paper products! I am meeting with purchasing and waste committee representatives (the facilities managers are on waste) about this. Today I gave them info on K-C's sustainable and unsustainable practices, policies, etc. There is a CNN Money article "Chain of Lies" about K-C misleading the public, etc. We have a contract with K-C, and I haven't heard back about when it expires.. but Jeff Miller upgraded our products, although still K-C, to those with the highest recycled fiber content. I also interviewed with some random online reporter/journalist for Inside Higher Ed about the work on campus. I keep getting random calls from people like that and students at other universities - Berkeley this week - for advice and alternative products.

I couldn't find the CNN article, but here is an Argus article about Aurora and Gina's work, here's a Greenpeace blog entry about it, and here's a blurb on the Kleercut website.

Also, here's a video of undercover Greenpeace reps sabotaging a Kleenex commercial. It's from last March (we posted about it but I really like embedding videos so I'm putting it here, too).


If you're interested in this issue, want to get involved, whatever, email weseon@gmail.com.

EDIT: here's the CNN article (from 2006, which is TWO YEARS AGO?! what.)

EON Argus Column Debuts

Compost article in the Argus!