Test Site for What Grows On in Rhode Island!

Yesterday, January 20, 2009, more than two million people spent the day in 20-degree weather and lived to tell the tale ~ and what a tale! What a day! What a sight, to see about twice the population...

Go to The Providential Gardener for links to the people and organizations that make up the "growing community" in Rhode Island.

Counting the heads gathered at the center
It’s expectation made manifest
More than a million drawing future breath, watching
A man, an oath, a speech full of fight and promise,
Gathering clouds, raging storms, the urgency of now
History pulled us here, desire compresses years into a moment
New leadership, collective exhale, breathe in, hold again
For the earth, for Gaza, Iraq, Afghanistan, Darfur, the Gulf Coast,
For the next paycheck, the next meal….

Official ceremony closed by the only man who should, the man
Who once said in front of four presidents,
“….in the morning, will words become deeds that meet needs?”
Who showed the power of pointed verse,
Decried “billions more for war, but no more for the poor.”
Lowery’s closing words: “turn to each other, not on each other,”
“Tanks beaten into tractors.”

More than a million drawing future breath, watching
Time for applause, but then quiet, breathing, eyes closing, opening
Oratory fades, thoughts turn to walking, boarding, travelling
Back to daily life
Something has changed, but what?
We make the answer

David Floyd

Here's the latest from today's Fall River Herald:

Senate declares Taunton River is a 'wild and scenic' waterway

By Michael Holtzman

Herald News Staff Reporter

Posted Jan 15, 2009 @ 06:26 PM

Last update Jan 16, 2009 @ 12:36 AM

WASHINGTON — A decade-long effort to protect the Taunton River as part of the national Wild and Scenic Rivers System passed the U.S. Senate Thursday and is likely to become law soon — delivering a potentially fatal blow to developers angling to build a liquified natural gas terminal in Mount Hope Bay.
“Thursday’s vote is another blow to the proposed LNG facility in Fall River,” U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Massachusetts,  a longtime opponent of the terminal, said in a press release. “I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again. This ill-conceived proposal should never have gone forward and my colleagues and I will do everything under the sun to make sure it is defeated once and for all.”

The bill was part of the massive Omnibus Public Land Management Act, which passed the Senate, 73-21.
The legislation provides federal funding and designates the Taunton River as “wild and scenic” from the Town River and Matfield River in Bridgewater to Mount Hope Bay in Fall River, where Hess LNG has proposed an offshore terminal. The bill moves on to a second vote in the House, which in July voted 242-175 to designate the river’s first 27 miles as recreational and the next 26 miles as scenic. Officials expect a House vote as soon as next week.

The Senate approval brushes aside opposition to the addition of the lower TauntonRiver from the BragaBridge in Fall River to Muddy Cove in Somerset. Some have argued that stretch is too industrially important to bear the “wild and scenic” tag. Four other rivers in Massachusetts share that designation.
“The river’s unique history and biodiversity eminently justifies this national recognition,” Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, said in a statement.

Republicans complained the bill was a back-door effort to block LNG projects at a time of high energy demands.

 Kennedy, Kerry, D-Massachusetts, and former Massachusetts Congressman Joseph Moakley introduced legislation in 1999 that resulted in a study to consider the TauntonRiver as wild and scenic.
The protection also calls for a Taunton River Stewardship Council, a community-based management system with representation from 10 cities and towns. The council, which will partner with the National Park Service to implement the designation, includes representatives from Fall River, Taunton, Somerset, Freetown and Dighton.

Kennedy and Kerry joined Massachusetts congressmen Barney Frank and James P. McGovern and a trio of Rhode Island colleagues — senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy — as Democrats hailing the protective bill.

“Since we were able to pass the TauntonRiver bill in the House last year over partisan opposition, I am confident we will be able to do so again this year,” Frank said.

E-mail Michael Holtzman at mholtzman@heraldnews.com.

Endorsed by people like Bill McKibben, Lester Brown, Michael Moore, Post Carbon Institute’s clear-eyed look at energy scarcity and the United States’ real priorities is rolled out. If the Obama administration is really serious about confronting energy challenges at this critical time, pray that they are paying attention to this important document.real-new-deal.pdf

Yesterday, the Senate passed an omnibus public lands bill 66-12, which includes the Taunton River Wild and Scenic designation that we've been working for over the past five years. The bill now goes back to the full House, where it could be amended, but it will probably survive more or less intact. Wa-hoo!

While Republican pundits and bloggers scream about the injustice of the Federal government protecting lands and waterways that might have been lucrative to energy interests, I can't help but feel a sense of relief and elation. This is the last week of the present administration, and with the change of leadership, we hope there is also a change in attitude about public use of our natural resources. Big gas, oil, energy, and shipping interests really don't need the government's help, but coastal communities do.

The Taunton River Wild and Scenic is not a "land grab" for the benefit  of a privileged few as it's been called. It's a trust established to gurantee the general public's use and enjoyment of that great river in perpetuity. It does not preclude any specific use of the river or Bay, but provides greater protection for the equitable diversity of uses guranteed by the Constitution and generations of common law. It's not about LNG, but rather the communities speaking up for their own environmental health, economic development, and a say in how the waterfront will be developed and managed into the future.

Those who helped make this happen are heroes: Bill Napolitano of SRPEDD, Jim Ross of Raynham, Jamie Fosburgh of the National Park Service, Rachel Calabro (now here at STB!),  the good folks of the Taunton River Watershed Association, and the Congressional Delegations of MA and RI, just to name a few. Thank you, thank you, thank you! -JT

Clio Chafee, 37, of Providence, died on January 3. She was a staunch environmentalist, an organic gardener, and an occasional...

Mary Anne Hitt of Appalachian Voices talks about the ongoing disaster that is MTR, or Mountaintop Removal mining. Visit the website to see how you can help.

Fantastic piece by Elizabeth Kolbert in The New Yorker on the work of Van Jones and his project, Green for All.

“I don’t want to offend anybody. I might be too radical for you. Are you with me?” he asked.“Just being real,” a young woman called out.“They can now put up wind turbines—almost like a windmill, but this is not your mama’s windmill, it’s like a big jet engine sitting up there—and make power,” Jones said. “Somebody’s going to make a billion dollars deploying that technology. I think it should be you.”

 

Our next South County Green Drinks meetup is Wednesday, January 14, at the Alternative Food Co-op in Wakefield. Things get going at 7pm. Bring a snack or beverage to share if you’d like, or purchase coffee, tea and baked goods at the Co-op. Come early to shop at one of the best natural food stores in Rhode Island. Also check our Events page for the schedule for the other Green Drinks meetups in Providence, Newport, and now Westerly! You can also find South County Green Drinks/PostCarbon Rhode Island on Facebook.

The Blind Spot trailer below has been replaced with a new, longer trailer. Check it out.

Last month's extra-big full Moon was mostly lost in the clouds, but those of you who missed it will get...

A month ago, we linked to a story about a grain CSA in British Columbia, with attempts to ship grain by sail-power. Once again the Northwest is in the lead with David Reid’s Sail Transport Network’s efforts to utilize sail-power for freight. Dig deep into this article in Culture Change for evidence of real visionary thinking, driven by concerns about peak oil and energy scarcity. Another nice interview by Jan Lundberg (with some great photos).

Our General Assembly reports back in session this week, and one of the environmental topics we expect to be on...

Okay, the holidays are over, everyone's back at work, where is NNN? We're busy here behind the scenes finishing up...

The latest and one of the best in a series of “future shock” docs, this one by Brooklyn filmmaker Adolfo Doring. Here is the trailer. Read a review at  Culture Change.From the Lundberg review:

Blind Spot is a critical education for our time. Destined to win awards “if anyone’s listening,” the hour and-a-half documentary tells a clear but most alarming story through profound interviews. They are draped by artful imagery and restrained, saddening music coloring the picture of our planet and species in peril. Everyone should see Blind Spot, even the very well informed.

The score is in and it doesn't look good for the home team. A recent email news update from People's Power & Light (where we participate in the New England GreenStart program) highlighted progress at the new wind turbine installation happening in Portsmouth. The first in the state to be owned exclusively by a municipality, this new tower will be located at the high school within gazing distance of its well-known predecessor at Portsmouth Abbey.

According to the newsletter, this installation will save the town more than $4 million over the 20-year lifetime of the turbine. Cha-ching.

It would now be easy to criticize the Tiverton establishment for its lack of action. But the truth is it takes a LOT of work to explore – never mind build -- one of these things (I know, I've tried to kick-start a group). Based on what I know, talk of exploration has been on again, off again for several years. It needs to be made a priority by some entity within town government and the charge made to move forward.

With each passing year, we lose the opportunity to put a stake in the ground and move forward. But with the renewal of the federal production tax credits (to help offset the cost of a project) the time has never been better to build. Yes, we need to investigate whether we have good candidate sites for towers (wind maps show promise); and yes, paying for one (or more) would probably entail a bond. That being said, we need to view all of this as a long-term investment -- from the point of view of both our operational budget and local environment. We need to change the perspective from reactive to pro-active.

Based on the conversation from the last post, maybe the only way this is going to happen is by private investment. I’m not sure. It could be through an eco-village, it could be from an enterprising local farmer, or it could be by our town. Anyone care to wager a bet?

You can read more about the turbine at the Portsmouth town website.

(Photo by Bob Thayer, Providence Journal)

No new posts for a few days. Happy 2009, everyone.

Nice article about Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson’s planning for peak oil. Other lawmakers, from small-town mayors to world leaders, should take note.

Article from the Christian Science Monitor on Obama’s pick of Tom Vilsack for Secretary of Agriculture.

Within hours of former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack’s nomination last week as Agriculture secretary, websites were humming with well-documented critiques of his affinity for genetically engineered crops, agribusiness giant Monsanto, heavily polluting factory farms, and other Big Farm interests.

Some critics expressed outrage, others surprise, especially since they had mounted a vigorous, 55,000-plus strong online petition to persuade President-elect Barack Obama to nominate someone more progressive who would promote sustainable food and farming.

Christopher D. Cook is a journalist and the author of “Diet for a Dead Planet: Big Business and the Coming Food Crisis.”