The BEAT News August 14, 2013

News Headlines

Full Eradication of Asian Longhorned Beetle in 10 Years

State and federal officials gathered on the fifth anniversary of the discovery of the Asian longhorned beetle in Worcester, MA to provide encouragement on efforts to contain the beetle, but more remains to be done. They declared August Forest Pest Awareness Month and encouraged residents to check trees in their yards and neighborhoods for signs of the beetle.

While full eradication is about 10 years away, USDA officials are hopeful that the dwindling number of infested trees shows efforts are paying off. In related news, The Nature Conservancy has release a training video for identifying ALB and four other tree pests.

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Ballot Initiative to Update the Bottle Bill

Advocates for updating the state’s bottle deposit law announced  that they are filing a ballot initiative known as the Updated Bottle Bill. This proposed law would add water, juice, sports drinks and other beverages to the existing nickel deposit law. When this measure becomes law, there will be less litter, more recycling, and millions of taxpayer dollars saved in the reduced cost of waste disposal in our cities and towns.

If you are willing to help gather signatures in western Massachusetts, please let BEAT know! (email jane@thebeatnews.org)

Advocates have been trying to get the Legislature to pass this bill for nearly ten years.  Citing that an update for the 30-year old law is long overdue, the advocates have noted the law’s proven success in reducing litter in our parks, and on our beaches and roadways. It has increased our recycling and reduced the cost of waste disposal for taxpayers in our cities and towns.

Among the initial signers to the ballot question include Mayor Thomas Menino of Boston, Mayor Lisa Wong of Fitchburg, leaders of the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, MASSPIRG, Massachusetts Sierra Club and other prominent organizations. Over 200 cities and towns in the Commonwealth have passed resolutions in support of the update as well.

Surveys have shown that the bill is extremely popular with the public. According to a statewide poll conducted by MassINC Polling Group, 77% of Massachusetts residents support an update of the bottle bill. Many businesses and civic leaders support the update; including Governor Deval Patrick, Governor Michael Dukakis, State Senator Robert Hedlund (R-Weymouth) and State Representative Dan Winslow (R-Norfolk), as well as bill sponsors State Senator Cynthia Creem (D-Newton) and State Representative Jonathan Hecht (D-Watertown). Over 300 businesses have endorsed the effort, as well as a coalition that includes over 100 organizations, including Mass Municipal Association, League of Women Voters, Charles River Conservancy, Audubon Society, and many more.

“This bill makes sense for the public, and filing it as a ballot question after years of trying to pass it in the Legislature reinforces that the citizens’ voice can and will be heard,” said Ryan Black, Director of the Massachusetts Sierra Club.

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Job Description for North County Supervisor Position

 

Duties:

  • Manage GIRLS Science Club’s daily site activities – including logistics of club day (time management), tracking volunteer/high school student hours, planning/coordinating of culminating events.
  • Be responsible for cultivating, and maintaining strategic relationships with visiting guests, community partners, and participating school faculty members.
  • Supervise and support high school mentors with delivering content and implementing activities
  • Conduct pre- and post science club evaluations of participating students
  • Obtain and manage supplies needed for daily activities
  • Document club sessions- including: notes on successes/challenges, highlights of activities and photos to be used for promotions/events

 

Qualifications:

  • Ability to improvise with large groups
  • Exemplary oral communication skills
  • A positive attitude; a professional and friendly disposition; patience
  • Background and experience in science and engineering fields
  • Experience with organizing and running activities for groups of children in grades 3-6
  • Experience mentoring teenage girls preferably in a city environment
  • Must be 20 years of age or older

 

Compensation:

Negotiated and commensurate with experience.

Hours vary each week depending on number of clubs in session

 

Send resume, cover letter highlighting your relevant experience and success, one letter of recommendation, and contact information for three references to: admin@flyingcloudinstitute.org

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Great Barrington Land Conservancy’s

Run for the Hills 5K

8 Weeks and Counting!

With your help we can set a record in 2013…

Four ways you can help:

1.  Sign up early to run or walk
2. Please invite your friends
3. Spread the word “socially”
4. Sign up to volunteer:
info@greatbarringtonlandconservancy.org
Sunday, Oct. 6

8-9 AM – Final registration at
Kilpatrick Athletic Center
9:30 AM – 5K start on Alford Road
Register now @ Active.com

RUN – WALK – SUPPORT

Land Conservation, Community Trails,  & Farm Preservation

Great Barrington Land Conservancy
(Hosted by Bard College at Simon’s Rock)

Complete Event Information:
www.greatbarringtonlandconservancy.org

Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

Dale Abrams, Event Director
On behalf of GBLC Board of Directors

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African American Environmental Culture

Williams College is offering a new course this fall: African American Environmental Culture from Slavery to Environmental Justice. It will be taught by Visiting Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, Brian McCammack.

New Cross listing with AFR 6/28/13 New Fall 2013 course:
ENVI 212(F) African American Environmental Culture from Slavery to Environmental Justice (Same as AMST 214 and AFR 218) (D)

Until the environmental justice movement rose to prominence over the past few decades and invited a more critical perspective on the connection between race and the environment, popular understanding of the American environmental (and environmentalist) tradition had effectively been whitewashed. But why? This course will work to find answers to that question while unearthing the deeper roots of African American environmental culture in conversation with key moments in African American history – from slavery to sharecropping, from migration and urbanization to environmental justice. With an interdisciplinary approach that considers sources as diverse as slave narratives, fiction, poetry, songs, photographs, maps, and ethnographies, we will consider African American intellectuals, writers, and visual and musical artists not always associated with environmental thought, from W.E.B. Du Bois and Zora Neale Hurston to the Black Panthers and Marvin Gaye.

Format: lecture/discussion. Evaluation considers active, informed participation in class discussion based on assigned readings, midterm and final exams, and three 5-7 page essays. Students are also expected to research and respond to at least three news articles exploring some aspect of the intersection between race and the environment over the course of the semester, and to share your findings with the class for discussion. This course fulfills the Exploring Diversity Initiative requirement by examining the themes of empathetic understanding and power and privilege. Among many other paths of inquiry, we will examine how African American environmental culture has evolved in conversation with an historical context of discrimination, racism, and inequality.

No prerequisites; open to first-year and continuing students.
Enrollment limit: 20 (Expected:15). May not be taken pass/fail. Not available for the Gaudino option.
Hour: 11:20-12:35 TR
MCCAMMACK

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