Feast and Forum

Friday, August 3, 6 p.m. in the Program Room

This month join Theo Colborn, phD, from The Endocrine Disruption Exchange, as she presents the potential health hazzards to regions where oil and natural gas are being extracted (like San Miguel County).

Theo Colborn, PhD, president of TEDX (The Endocrine Disruption Exchange) in Paonia will present "What You Need to Know about Natural Gas Development and Delivery." The presentation takes a look at the various stages of getting natural gas out of the ground and to your homes. Dr. Colborn will speak to issues relevant to citizens and the environment in San Miguel County. She will present what TEDX has compiled about the products and chemicals involved and their possible health effects. Emerging evidence will be presented about the possible immediate and long term impacts of water and air pollution resulting from natural gas activity. TEDX's goal is to educate and empower citizens, communities, policy-makers and those involved in protecting public health and the environment.

All are welcome.

TDEX Home Page

Mid-Summer Catch up

Whew! Hard to believe we're heading into the second week of July. Much has been happening in the Sustainable San Miguel world.

Telluride Bluegrass Festival - Planet Bluegrass hosted the 34th Telluride Bluegrass Festival in June. They are the first carbon-neutral festival we know of. Not only did they offset all their own carbon emissions through purchasing wind power, they estimated the amount of carbon emitted from ALL festivarians' travel, lodging, etc. and offset that as well - over 4 million kilowatt hours worth.

I helped run the compost crew for the 4th year and this year The New Community Coalition had an information booth in the Green Area. Lots of folks came by to find out what we're doing locally to promote sustainability. See www.planetbluegrass.com for more info.

Since then I've been contacted by the Telluride Film Festival, the KOTO Doo-dah and the Chocolate Lover's Fling to help them "get greener". I've got an intern working on a green festival document that will have a checklist of things to do. Input is always welcome.

Telluride Farmers' Market - Up and running smoothly. We started the week before Bluegrass this year - a time when farmer's have the thinnest harvests. Now in July there's an abundance of local organic produce, meats and flowers as well as booths with beautiful crafts and some yummy food vendors as well. Come by and share the harvest every Friday on Oak Street from 11:30 to 4:00.

Community Feast and Forum was excited to have Lydia Reznick present the live version of Al Gore's presentation that is highlighted in An Inconvenient Truth. Wonderful presentation that focussed at the end on the many small things we can do that add up to lower our carbon footprints.

Telluride Food Coop - If you don't know about this organization you're missing out. Our local food coop orders from the Tucson Warehouse. It's free to join and once a month you can order a huge variety of mouth-watering items. Order books and forms can be picked up in the cubbies in the front of the library, or in front of the Coop office in the Wintercrown Building (above Overland on Main St.). Call Sara for more info at 728-1814. Volunteers who help pack orders get $7/hour credit off their own orders. It's fun and a great way to get products you can't find locally.

Mountain Village Green Building Code was passed on June 21st. Now the Village has a prescriptive code, similar, but more strict than San Miguel County's. The next step is for our Green Building working group to gather and start ramping up for an even stricter code to present to each government early next year.

To participate in Sustainability in our region please call 970-728-1340 or email: kholstrom@gmail.com.

Feast and Forum

Don't miss the next Feast and Forum, Friday, June 1st, at 6pm in the Program Room at the Wilkinson Public Library. Join friends to discuss your sustainable future and eat organic, locally grown food.

No Sustainability Cafe this Week

Ooops, I'll be at the Telluride Intermediate School on Wednesday morning as part of the Elementary School's Earth Week activities. We'll be making seed balls with the youngest students and having the intermediate kids help start seeds for the community garden.

Don't forget the Community Feast and Forum coming up on May 4th. It's a potluck dinner and a chance to see the first video in the Planet Neighborhood series - and a chance to gather and talk about sustainability issues.

Freecycle

Telluride Freecycle (TM) is an on-line freebox. Once you join (free) you can post items that you have to give away or are looking for as long as they are free. Other members reply to you to arrange for pick up or delivery. Keep useful items out of the landfill and reduce the pressure on Telluride's Free Box. If your in our region visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/telluridefreecycle to sign up. Interested in starting your own freecycle group? Go to www.freecycle.org. For more information about Telluride's group call Kris Holstrom with questions at 970/728-1340.

Sustainability Working Group Meetings - BE THERE

On Tuesday, April 24th at 4:00 the Food Security Working Group will meet in Rom 210 in the Wintercrown Building (above Sofio's/Los Montanas). We'll be discussing school lunches, community gardens and getting more people growing food - as well as labeling issues and much more.

On Wednesday, April 25th at 4:00 the Resource Recovery/Recycling Group will meet in the commissioner's meeting room in the Miramonte Building, next to the Courthouse. Our spring clean up is coming up soon and we have more issues to discuss.

Put May 1st on your calendar when the Energy Group will meet at 4:00 in the Wintercrown Building. We need input and assistance to get our first tasks underway so we can all start making a difference.

And on Friday May 4th we'll have another Community Feast and Forum. See the previous blog for more information on the great series we'll be viewing - and sharing local food and flavor.

Feel free to call Kris at 970-728-1340 for more information.

Community Feast and Forum, May 4th!

The next Community Feast and Forum
Friday, May 4, 6 p.m. in the Program Room.
FREE FILM: Planet Neighborhood, Part 1, “Home.” Co-hosted by the Telluride Institute, this program brings together visionaries of Telluride’s future to discuss ideas, eat organic, locally grown foods, and bring a sustainable future into being.

Planet Neighborhood is a 3 part series detailing sustainable initiatives. Homeowners, architects, builders and an inventor show how to use green technologies and innovative design to make change at the most local level of all: your house! Part 2 (shown in June) looks at the work environment, and Part 3 (shown in July) at the community level.

Reviews:
"An eager writer-host, specific examples, and personalizing case studies examine the ways in which homes, workplaces, and communities can create and sustain more affordable, healthier, and environmentally sensitive lifestyles." Booklist

"Covers a range of environmental issues related to the home and workplace, including energy-saving designs and technologies...Recommended" Rachel Lohafer, Instructional Technology Center, Iowa State University, MC Journal

"Planet Neighborhood is all about solutions for improving health and environment. It is a great teaching tool for anyone or group interested in turning a negative situation into a positive one." Earthworks Magazine

"Interesting, informative, and inspiring. If it were offered as part of the curriculum in grade school science classes, our attitude towards environmental responsibility would change." Conscious Choice

"We have become so used to bad news about the environment...that PLANET NEIGHBORHOOD...comes as an exceedingly pleasant surprise." The Washington Post