Community HappeningsBike and Walk for Climate Change Awareness: A local 350.org Event, October 24 Join local walkers and bicyclists on the Chehalis Western Trail on Saturday, October 24. Human powered transport is the theme of this 350.org event to raise Climate Change Awareness on this Planetary Day of Action, organized by local faith community earth stewardship groups and linked with the http://www.350.org internet calendar of events being held around the world on that date. The goal is to have 350 families ride or walk the Chehalis Western trail to a central meeting point, William E Bush Park on Yelm Highway, arriving at 11am. At the Park, music, snacks and information on climate change will be available from the Department of Ecology, Puget Sound Energy, Climate Action Coalition and others. Participants will be recognized and encouraged by County Commissioner Sandra Romero; Gandhi dramatist, Bernie Meyer; and youth representatives. 350.org is an international campaign to encourage the world to face the challenge of the climate crisis, to create a new sense of urgency and of possibility for our Earth. The number 350, as in parts per million, is the level scientists have identified as the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide (CO2) in our atmosphere. But 350 is more than a number, it's a symbol of where we need to head as a planet. The year 2009 is an absolutely crucial year. World leaders will meet in Copenhagen this December to finalize a new global treaty on cutting emissions. The draft treaty now includes 350 p.p.m. as a goal for discussion. As that goal represents the best hope of sustaining life on Earth, it merits the support of all with concerns for the future.
This local event is sponsored by the Interfaith Works Earth Stewardship Committee, Washington State Unitarian Universalist Voices for Justice, and Earth Care Catholics. They invite the whole community to join them. Learn more about the international campaign at www.350.org. Please contact Rev. Carol McKinley at 360 786-8074, or mailto:coordinator@uuvoiceswa.org if you would like more information about our local Climate Change Awareness event.
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"Soil not Oil" with Dr. Vandana Shiva "One of the world's most prominent radical scientists." - The Guardian Dr. Vandana Shiva, a world-renowned physicist, environmental leader and activist will be speaking on Thursday, October 15 at 7:00pm at the Minnaert Center for the Arts at South Puget Sound Community College. She is the Director of the Research Foundation on Science, Technology, and Ecology and leads the International Forum on Globalization. She founded the Navdanya ("Nine Seeds") movement in India to promote the use of native seeds and biodiversity and the Bija Vidyapeeth school for sustainability. She has authored hundreds of articles for both scientific journals and the popular press and books including: Manifestos on the Future of Food and Seed (2007), Breakfast of Biodiversity: the Political Ecology of Rain Forest Destruction (2005), and Water Wars: Privatization, Pollution, and Profit (2002). She has received numerous awards including the Right Livelihood Award (the Alternative Nobel Peace Prize), the United Nations Global 500 and Earth Day International Awards, and 2008's Save the World award. She has addressed the World Trade Organization, the World Economic Forum, and the United Nations. Her writing cover areas as diverse as sustainable agriculture, genetically modified organisms, water privatization, patent law, global inequality and eco-feminism. She holds a PhD in particle physics from the University of Western Ontario. Utne Reader calls Shiva "a leading thinker who has eloquently blended her views on the environment, agriculture, spirituality, and women's rights into a powerful philosophy." There is a $10 suggested donation (free for students with SPSCC ID). This event is sponsored by BRICK, the SPSCC Environmental Sustainability Committee, the SPSCC International Education Committee, and Thurston County Progressive Network. For more information contact David Hyde at dhyde@spscc.ctc.edu or call 360-596-5284 or visit http://www.spsccbrick.org
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