News Headlines
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Animals of the North: What Will Global Climate Change Mean for Them?
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Sustainable Food Systems 2.0 — what comes next?
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Massachusetts Winter Moth Survey 2013
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NOAA Climate Stewards: A National Education & Action Project. Find
Out How To Join this Exciting Community of Learning! -
List of GE Pittsfield/Housatonic River Project Documents submitted to Repositories from 10/20/13 – 11/2/13
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RSVP for a special screening of Gasland 2 in Amherst.
Animals of the North: What Will Global Climate Change Mean for Them?
Slide Show Presentation by acclaimed presenter, Susan Morse
Thursday, December 5, 2013
6:30 – 9:30 pm
Berkshire Community College, 1350 West St., Pittsfield, MA
in the Robert Boland Theatre, Koussevitzky Arts Center
$5.00 / students with ID free
Canada lynx, moose, American marten, caribou, polar bears, arctic fox and arctic marine and waterfowl ecology are some of the species and subjects covered in this stunningly beautiful show. This program is not about climate change itself, or even how it will affect us; rather, it’s designed to inform audiences about ways in which northern wildlife species are already being affected – and the serious challenges they will face in the future. We promise not to overwhelm you with bad news. Instead, this program will devote equal time sharing remarkable images of animals and their northern habitats—all in the spirit of Jane Goodall’s “reason for hope.”. The intent is to inspire young and old alike, to join us in the vital crusade to change our fossil fuel-burning ways, conserve natural resources, and share a healthy planet with all that lives.
“If the Michelin Guide did conservation speakers, [Susan Morse would] get four stars. She lives what she speaks and it’s clear that she’s made a success of it. Her beautiful photographs and the layers of knowledge from the different areas of her expertise are all woven together in her message…. Sue brings us back to a different perspective, in fact we return to the Garden of Eden, as the stewards we were meant to be.”
–Stansje Plantenga, President and founding member, Ruiter Valley Land Trust, Quebec
Sponsored by Berkshire Community College Green Team, MCLA Department of Environmental Studies, Bard College at Simon’s Rock Sustainability Studies, Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT), Berkshire Wildlife Trackers, Project Native, Berkshire Natural Resources Council, Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation, Housatonic Valley Association, The Nature Conservancy, The Trustees of Reservations, Green Berkshires, and Greenagers.
For more information contact Jane Winn at Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT) – jane@thebeatnews.org, 413-230-7321.
Sustainable Food Systems 2.0 — what comes next?
The local food movement has grown remarkably fast in the last decade. There are scores of farmer’s markets now, almost double the 1994 tally. But lately the movement has begun to hit a wall. For one thing, sales at those markets have not kept pace with the growth, as there are simply more farmers competing for the same pool of customers.
Are food hubs an answer to the need to create new markets for growers? The new issue of Orion magazine has a major feature on food hubs, here:
http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/7807
There’s also a narrated slideshow if you want a tour of one.
And on November 21st, Orion will also hold a national live dialogue on food hubs via free webinar, all are welcome to join us, toll free call:
https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=crcrd2f7yfq3
Hope you can join us!
Erik,
Orion
Massachusetts Winter Moth Survey 2013
Have you seen moths flying around during late fall or early winter, or have you seen moths gathered at your porchlight? You could be seeing an invasive species known as winter moth. Help us gather information about the distribution of these moths across Massachusetts. The results will be passed on to UMass Extension, where a research lab is working on a biological control that attacks winter moths. Click here to participate or for more info.
NOAA Climate Stewards: A National Education & Action Project. Find Out How To Join this Exciting Community of Learning!
Would you like to increase your climate science knowledge?
Would you like to join a national community of educators interested in projects that make a difference in your local area?
NOAA’s Climate StewardsEducation Project (CSEP) provides formal and informal educators working with elementary through university age students with sustained professional development, collaborative tools, and support to build a climate-literate public that is actively engaged in climate stewardship.
After completing minimum requirements, you will be eligible for:
- Mini-grant funding to develop and implement a climate stewardship action plan
- Travel stipends to attend and present at key professional development conferences.
- Special CSEP contests with monetary and educational resource prizes.
To learn more about CSEP and find out how to apply, you must attend one of the introductory program webinars. Click on one of the links below to register for your desired session. Application information will be provided following each webinar session.
Wed, November 13, 2013 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM EST
Tue, November 19, 2013 9:00 PM – 10:00 PM EST
Once registered you will receive an email confirming your registration with information you need to join the Webinar.
Please read the “Important notes for participating in the webinar” at the bottom of this email.
The Fine Print… If you decide to join this effort, you will be committing to:
- Complete and reflect on at least 15 hours of professional development (PD) training in climate science and education in 2014.
- Complete and reflect on at least 9 hours of PD training in climate science and education for each additional year you remain with the Project.
- Fully participate in monthly CSEP national and regional events during evening hours. National level events occur on the first and last Monday evenings of every month.
- Develop and Implement a climate stewardship project in your school, community, or organization, focused on mitigating the effects of climate change.
- Use the CSEP Wiki to post PD reflections, classroom activities in climate change, stewardship project plans, progress updates, as well as share resources, comments and results with other CSEP educators.
- Fully participate in CSEP evaluation efforts
Applicants selected to participate in CSEP will be notified by the last week of December 2013
Join us!
Important Notes for participating in the Webinar:
- Plan to log into the webinar at least 5 minutes before the scheduled start time. GoToWebinar has recently upgraded their software. We want to be sure that your computer has time to access the upgrade and you are able to access the presentation and meeting.
- Please use the VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) option for this Webinar. If you elect to use the phone number provided for audio (1-470-200-0305, Access Code 510-317-632), you will be charged for a long distance call.
- When using the VOIP option for this Webinar, You must use a headset or ear bud-speakers. This will keep your output audio from re-entering your microphone, causing distortion.
- If you have difficulty logging in to the webinar go to: http://support.citrixonline.com/en_US/Webinar/contact?question=l
The ID Number for the Webinar on November 13 is: 784433602.
The ID Number for the webinar scheduled on November 19 is: 303156594
System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 8, 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server
Mac®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.6 or newer
Mobile attendees
Required: iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ phone or Android tablet
Documents submitted to Repositories from October 20, 2013 through November 2, 2013
Documents submitted to the Berkshire Athenaeum
Letter from Richard Fisher (USEPA) to Richard W. Gates (GE), October 22, 2013, Re: Conditional Approval of General Electric’s August 30, 2013 submittal titled Groundwater Management Area 3, Groundwater Quality and NAPL Monitoring Interim Report for Spring 2013, GE-Pittsfield/Housatonic River Site
Letter from Richard Fisher (USEPA) to Richard W. Gates (GE), October 23, 2013, Re: Conditional Approval of General Electric’s August 22, 2013 submittal titled Post-Closure Groundwater Quality Monitoring and Trend Evaluation Report for Hill 78 and Building 71 On-Plant Consolidation Areas for Spring 2013, GE-Pittsfield/Housatonic River Site
Letter (with attachments) from Richard W. Gates (GE) to Richard Fisher (USEPA), October 23, 2013, Re: GE-Pittsfield/Housatonic River Site; Newell Street Area II (GECD450); Summary of September 2013 Inspection Activities
Letter (with attached report) from Kevin Mooney (GE) to Susan Peterson (CTDEP) and Dean Tagliaferro (USEPA), October 29, 2013, Re: Housatonic River, Connecticut; Report on 2013 Fish Sampling and Benthic Insect Sampling
Documents submitted to the Connecticut Repositories
Letter (with attached report) from Kevin Mooney (GE) to Susan Peterson (CTDEP) and Dean Tagliaferro (USEPA), October 29, 2013, Re: Housatonic River, Connecticut; Report on 2013 Fish Sampling and Benthic Insect Sampling
RSVP for a special screening of Gasland 2 in Amherst.
When did you first hear about fracking?
In 2010, thousands of people saw the documentary Gasland. It was a stark wakeup call about the threats that fracking poses to communities across the country.
Now, director Josh Fox has released a sequel. And with the possibility of fracking coming to our state, it couldn’t be timelier.
So we’re hosting a special screening of Gasland 2 in Amherst this week. Here are all the details:
WHAT: Gasland 2 — a free screening of the new documentary from Josh Fox
WHEN: Thursday, November 14, 6 PM
WHERE: Stirn Auditorium, Amherst College (campus map)
Click here to RSVP.
After the movie, we’ll discuss Environment Massachusetts’s plan to keep fracking out of the Bay State. It’s up to us to make sure that Massachusetts communities are protected.
Come to the Gasland 2 screening on November 14, and join our movement to keep fracking out of Massachusetts.
Hope to see you there,
Ben Hellerstein
Environment Massachusetts
P.S. Forward this message to your friends, family members and coworkers, and invite them to join us at this informative and eye-opening movie showing.