[sustainable_tompkins-l] A poem of Encouragement recited at Day of At-One-Ment services tonight

[Elan Shapiro]

*V'ahavta  *
7/25/2016

by Aurora  Levin Morales



http://www.auroralevinsmorales.com/main-blog/vahavta



Say these words when you lie down and when you rise up,
when you go out and when you return. In times of mourning
and in times of joy. Inscribe them on your doorposts,
embroider them on your garments, tattoo them on your shoulders,
teach them to your children, your neighbors, your enemies,
recite them in your sleep, here in the cruel shadow of empire:
*Another world is possible*.

Thus spoke the prophet Roque Dalton:
*All together they have more death than we*,
*but all together, we have more life than they. *
There is more bloody death in their hands
than we could ever wield, unless
we lay down our souls to become them,
and then we will lose everything.  So instead,

imagine winning.  This is your sacred task.
This is your power. Imagine
every detail of winning, the exact smell of the summer streets
in which no one has been shot, the muscles you have never
unclenched from worry, gone soft as newborn skin,
the sparkling taste of food when we know
that no one on earth is hungry, that the beggars are fed,
that the old man under the bridge and the woman
wrapping herself in thin sheets in the back seat of a car,
and the children who suck on stones,
nest under a flock of roofs that keep multiplying their shelter.
Lean with all your being towards that day
when the poor of the world shake down a rain of good fortune
out of the heavy clouds, and justice rolls down like waters.

Defend the world in which we win as if it were your child.
It is your child.
Defend it as if it were your lover.
It is your lover.

When you inhale and when you exhale
breathe the possibility of another world
into the 37.2 trillion cells of your body
until it shines with hope.
Then imagine more.

Imagine rape is unimaginable. Imagine war is a scarcely credible rumor
That the crimes of our age, the grotesque inhumanities of greed,
the sheer and astounding shamelessness of it, the vast fortunes
made by stealing lives, the horrible normalcy it came to have,
is unimaginable to our heirs, the generations of the free.

Don’t waver. Don’t let despair sink its sharp teeth
Into the throat with which you sing.  Escalate your dreams.
Make them burn so fiercely that you can follow them down
any dark alleyway of history and not lose your way.
Make them burn clear as a starry drinking gourd
Over the grim fog of exhaustion, and keep walking.

Hold hands. Share water. Keep imagining.
So that we, and the children of our children’s children
may live



PS Check out her website and her request for support

For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please 
visit:  http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/
If you have questions about this list please contact the list manager, Tom 
Shelley, at t...@cornell.edu.

[sustainable_tompkins-l] Tomorrow CSI Presents, "Harmful Algal Blooms: What they are and how government agencies are addressing the threat

[Community Science Institute]

Harmful Algal Blooms

What they are and how government agencies are addressing the threat

Saturday,  September 30th

9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

The Space at Greenstar

700 W Buffalo St, Ithaca, NY 14850


Join the *Community Science Institute*, co-sponsors *Cayuga Lake Watershed
Network* and *Floating Classroom*, and other organizations* Saturday,
September 30th, as we address the concerns surrounding the recent outbreak
of suspicious algal blooms in Cayuga Lake. Speakers will highlight key
aspects of the ecology and toxicity of blue-green algae, review measures
taken to protect public health, and respond to questions from the audience.
Participating organizations will offer a wealth of HABs related
information. Refreshments will be provided.


See agenda and speakers below.


 Part A: What are “Blue-Green Algae” and What Makes Them Bloom?

¨ 9:00 - 9:05 AM: Introductory Remarks - Claire Weston, Outreach
Coordinator, Community Science Institute

¨ 9:05 - 9:30 AM: The Ecology of Cyanobacteria - Dr. Lisa Cleckner,
Director, Finger Lakes Institute

¨ 9:30 - 9:50 AM: Testing for Toxins - Dr. Steve Penningroth,
Director, Community
Science Institute



10:00 - 10:15 AM - First coffee break; visit participating organizations’
display tables; submit questions for speaker panel.



Part B: HABs and Public Health

¨ 10:15 - 10:35 AM: Monitoring Drinking Water and Swimming Areas for
potential HABs Toxins - Mr. Adriel Shea, Senior Public Health
Sanitarian, Tompkins
County Health Department

¨ 10:35 - 11:00 AM: Volunteer HABs Surveillance Program -  Mr. Tony
Presigiacomo, NYSDEC Finger Lakes Hub



11:00 - 11:15 AM - Second coffee break; visit participating organizations’
display tables; submit questions for speaker panel.



Part C: Panel of speakers discuss issues and respond to audience questions

¨ 11:15 - 11:35 AM: Panel discussion highlights core issues

¨ 11:35 - 12:00 PM: Panelists respond to written questions submitted by
members of the audience



*Invited organizations include: Finger Lakes Institute, Tompkins County
Department of Health, NYSDEC Finger Lakes Hub, Cayuga Lake Intermunicipal
Organization, Southern Cayuga Lake Intermunicipal Water Commission, Finger
Lakes PRISM, and Cornell Cooperative Extension  of Tompkins County

For more information visit www.communityscience.org or email
i...@communityscience.org

-- 
Community Science Institute
Water Quality Testing Lab
NYSDOH-ELAP #11790
http://communityscience.org
607-257-6606
Like us on Facebook 

For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please 
visit:  http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/
If you have questions about this list please contact the list manager, Tom 
Shelley, at t...@cornell.edu.

[sustainable_tompkins-l] Fight Climate Change through Farming & Gardening! Groundswell Center Workshop 10/21

[Kate Cardona]

*Please Share Widely*
*Coming Up at Groundswell Center for Local Food and Farming...*

*Register Today!
*
*Agriculture and Climate Change Workshop*
With Mike Biltonen and Jay Smith
Saturday October 21st, 10AM - 3PM
Just Be Cause Center, Ithaca. Sliding Scale: $25-$50.
No one turned away for lack of funds.

We are currently in the midst of witnessing the devastating impacts of
climate change through recent storms Harvey, Irma and Maria. But climate
change has been affecting our farms for several decades now. The science
and data show that there will continue to be dramatic impacts on every
farmer’s ability to grow and distribute food. Agriculture is one of our
greatest tools for reducing and even potentially reversing the effects of
modern industrial society on our global climate, but it's also one of the
greatest contributors to climate change. Something has to give. Come learn
about how we can work together as a community to increase stability and
security in local food production!

This course is geared toward participants with some degree of knowledge
related to growing food, but is open to all.

*It will cover both urban and rural landscapes, and include information on
crop production, soil health, water conservation, and farm design, as well
as strategies for increased urban food production and the connections
between climate change and food justice. *

REGISTER HERE


*


*Farming for Justice: **A Discussion/Action Group*

Wednesday, October 18th, 6PM-8PM
Groundswell Center, 225 South Fulton Street, Ithaca NY*

Farming for Justice is a monthly meeting for farmers, food producers, and
food system workers interested in digging into the intersection of food,
agriculture and social justice. What role do we see ourselves playing in
racial/economic justice work? What are the barriers we face and how can we
support each other to step further into action? Through dialogue, education
and action planning, we’ll begin to explore the answers.

*RSVP to Kate Cardona at k...@groundswellcenter.org
*
*Please let me know if your farm or home can host an upcoming session!*


-- 
*Kate Cardona*
*Equity, Outreach and Course Coordinator *
---
Coming up
*Farming for Justice Group:
 Oct
18, 6:00pm*
*Agriculture & Climate Change Workshop:
 Oct
21, 10:00am - 3:00pm *


*LIKE US ON FACEBOOK
 • subscribe to our
newsletter *
www.groundswellcenter.org

For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please 
visit:  http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/
If you have questions about this list please contact the list manager, Tom 
Shelley, at t...@cornell.edu.

[sustainable_tompkins-l] TOMORROW! 9/30: 2017 GREEN BUILDINGS OPEN HOUSE

[Sandra J. Repp]

2017 GREEN BUILDINGS OPEN HOUSE
Saturday, September 30, 10am-4pm
Various locations in Tompkins County

The Ithaca-Area Green Buildings Open House is back, in a new 1-day format! On 
Saturday, September 30th from 10:00am to 4:00pm, visit 10 beautiful homes that 
feature both cutting-edge and traditional time-honored green building methods, 
materials, and technologies-seven have never been on the tour before, and three 
are favorites that are returning either with significant upgrades or that 
weren't finished last time around.

Sites are open from 10am-4pm unless otherwise noted. The tour is 
self-guided-visit the homes that interest you most, in any order you wish.  
Visit http://ccetompkins.org/2017GBOH for photos and descriptions of the 
featured homes, or pick up a copy of our map/brochure at CCE-Tompkins or local 
businesses to plan your route! MAPS are available at Cornell Cooperative 
Extension of Tompkins County, 615 Willow Avenue in Ithaca, and other locations 
listed on the link above.  Admission is FREE but please consider supporting the 
CCE-Tompkins' Green Building Program with a donation at the one of the sites 
you visit on the day of the tour. For more information, please contact 
Guillermo Metz at (607) 272-2292 or g...@cornell.edu. 
Thank you for your support!

Invite your friends on 
FACEBOOK



For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please 
visit:  http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/
If you have questions about this list please contact the list manager, Tom 
Shelley, at t...@cornell.edu.