[sustainable_tompkins-l] Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] video link to Philip Ackerman-Leist’s talk on A Precautionary Tale: How One Small Town Banned Pesticides, Preserved Its Food Heritage, and Inspire

[Sarah Gagnon]

Excellent. Thanks for sharing.

Joel Gagnon


On 5/25/2018 4:01 PM, Allison Wilson wrote:
> Dear Friends and Colleagues,
>
>
> For those who missed Philip Ackerman-Leist’s Ithaca area talk there is 
> now a*VIDEO LINK:* Beyond Pesticides video link to Philip 
> Ackerman-Leist’s talk on *A Precautionary Tale: How One Small Town 
> Banned Pesticides, Preserved Its Food Heritage, and Inspired a Movement*
> https://youtu.be/mwd2m1Ut0dQ
>
> *Other potentially useful links:*
>
> Linked /Precautionary Tale/ website photo-story 
> www.topplinggoliath.org 
> Facebook: Philip Ackerman-Leist 
> 
> LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philipackermanleist
> Twitter:@ackermanleistp 
> Instagram: ackermanleistp 
> http://www.chelseagreen.com/a-precautionary-tale
> Independent Science News Book review: 
> https://www.independentsciencenews.org/health/a-precautionary-tale-how-one-small-town-banned-pesticides/
>
> *Other books by Philip Ackerman-Leist*
> http://www.chelseagreen.com/rebuilding-the-foodshed 
> 
> http://www.chelseagreen.com/up-tunket-road 
> 
>
> *More Information on going pesticide free:*
>
> Pesticide Free Towns: http://www.pesticide-free-towns.info/
>
> About 6,150,000 results (0.63 seconds)
> Search Results
>
> Pesticide Action Network 
> (PAN) | Reclaiming the future of food and farming. www.panna.org/ 
> 
>
> PAN Pesticide Database: http://www.pesticideinfo.org/
>
>
> Please Share widely.
>
> Thank you,
> Allison Wilson
>
>
> Allison Wilson, PhD
> Science Director
> The Bioscience Resource Project
>
> P.O. Box 6869
> Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
>
> phone: 1 (607) 319 0279
> a.wil...@bioscienceresource.org 
> www.independentsciencenews.org 
> and
> www.bioscienceresource.org 
> and
> https://www.poisonpapers.org/
>
> Subscribe to our mailing 
> list:http://bit.ly/2rrgQPe
>
>
> "Good with Science”
>
> The word "restraint" implies the asking of an essential question,
> one that is more important now than ever, and is antithetical both
> to capitalism and to science as we practice them: Because we can
> do something, must we do it?
>
> ~Fenton Johnson
>
>
>
>
>
>
>


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.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] someone to set fence posts?

[Sarah Gagnon]

While I'm not writing to recommend an installer, I'd like to pass along 
some of what I have learned in dealing with the deer problem myself. 
Deer won't jump a fence if they can't see where they are jumping to 
(even though they can and do jump fences as high as 8 feet if 
motivated). So, even a 5-foot fence will work to keep them out if they 
can't see through it. 4 feet used to do, but they have learned to stand 
on their hind legs! They also lack binocular vision and so can't judge 
distance. A double fence generally works to keep them out, even if only 
3 feet high, since they can't judge how far they have to jump to clear 
both fences. What serves as a double fence is either a fence with 
another (and even a single rope will serve) about 3 feet away and 
parallel to the first, or a hedge of vegetation. If the deer pressure is 
heavy enough, they may gamble and try a jump. If the jump results in no 
injury, they then know where they can get in and will do it in the same 
place going forward. In that case, I add a rope higher up above the 
fence to increase the effective height of the fence. That tactic would 
probably work to get around height limitations on fences in zoning law 
(which limit you might want to check out before spending a lot of money 
on a fence you might have to remove if a neighbor complains). Since i 
don't want to feel like I am living in a maximum security prison, I have 
used electric fencing to keep the deer out on my property. A double 
fence works okay (with a single strand as the second fence 3 feet from 
the 4-foot primary fence), supplemented in a couple of spots with a 
higher rope as mentioned earlier, provided you use a heavy-duty fence 
charger. Deer have long skinny legs and somewhat insulative hooves so it 
takes a pretty good zap to deter them.

I hope that is clear. Happy to add more if it is not.

Joel

On 3/25/2018 9:58 PM, Thomas Shelley wrote:
>
> Dear List Members--I am needing to deer fence (Gasp!!!) some portions 
> of my garden on Sears St.   I am only 3 blocks from the Commons and 
> the Invaders are at hand.  Do list members have any 
> recommendations for workers/firms that can install secure fence 
> posts?   I am aware of Fred Whitmore and Bros. from Dryden, who we 
> have used before at substantial expense. Thanks.   Tom
>
> **
> Thomas Shelley
> 118 E. Court St.
> Ithaca NY 14850-4211
> 607 342-0864
> t...@cornell.edu
>
>
> 
>  
>   Virus-free. www.avg.com 
> 
>  
>
>
> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>


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.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] Fwd: Pawpaw Fruit

[Sarah Gagnon]

I have been growing them for over 30 years, but only getting meaningful 
crops in the last few. This year's crop was the best and most productive 
ever. I had enough to sell some to Greenstar. Not sure how long my 40 
pounds will last, but if you can get one or more to try, they are a good 
example of how good this fruit can be.

If you like them, they are very easy to grow organically, requiring no 
spraying whatsoever to come out fine. Nothing much bothers the trees 
(not even deer). The tree is very attractive and can be grown with 
little or no pruning. It grows taller and thinner in the shade -- and it 
will grow even under maple trees, so we're talking serious shade 
tolerance! In the open, it is shorter and stockier. The fall foliage is 
a lovely yellow. There are many selected strains that produce larger 
fruits, but I have never observed much variation in flavor. They are all 
good when ripe. Like bananas, their flavor intensifies as they go from 
just ripe to overripe. I find the dead ripe ones a bit much -- almost 
cloying. They can be kept in the just right stage for a week or more by 
refrigerating them. Like refrigerated bananas, they turn black, but 
don't mind the color. Some people eat just the flesh and eschew the 
skins. I don't mind the skins. They add a bit of texture, some 
nutrition, and make eating the fruit a lot less messy.

Joel Gagnon


On 11/17/2017 8:29 AM, Elizabeth Gabriel - Groundswell wrote:
> They are such a lovely fruit!  But we don't eat them all the time 
> mostly because they haven't been cultivated on a commercial level 
> because they brown and bruise so easily - most consumers wouldn't be 
> interested in them.  They are harvested just about at ripe, but as 
> they ripen, in some cases the browner and uglier they look, the better 
> they taste (to a point of course :)
>
> There's a Paw Paw festival in Ohio and more of a market in some places 
> in the country. Mostly they are sold pulped and frozen, so they keep 
> their orange color.
>
> Thanks for the video.
>
> Elizabeth Gabriel
> Director
> 607.793.3383
>
> *We're Hiring! *
> ---
> Coming up
> *Farming for Justice Group: 
> Nov 
> 15, 
> 5:30PM - 7:00PM*
> *Building Permanent Raised Beds: 
>  Nov 18, 
> 9:00AM - 2:00PM*
> *Exploring Our Roots: Food Justice History, Understanding & Action 
> : Dec 9, 
> 10AM-3:30PM*
> *Farm Business Planning Course: 
>  9 
> Weeks Jan 9 - Mar 6 2018 (Tuesdays 6-9PM)*
> *Agriculture & Climate Change Workshop: 
>  
> Feb 3, 10:00AM - 3:00PM*
> *
> *
> *
> *
>
> *LIKE US ON FACEBOOK 
>  • subscribe to 
> our newsletter *
>
>
> On Fri, Nov 17, 2017 at 8:15 AM, Sandra J. Repp  > wrote:
>
> I believe that the Cornell Orchards store across from the Vet
> School has pawpaws for sale right now, if you are inspired to try
> them.
>
> https://hort.cals.cornell.edu/about/facilities/cornell-orchards
> 
>
> Cornell Orchards | Horticulture Section
> 
> hort.cals.cornell.edu 
> Information about Cornell Orchards, including retail fruit sales.
>
>
> 
> *From:* bounce-122054920-12863...@list.cornell.edu
> 
>  > on behalf of
> Tony Del Plato  >
> *Sent:* Thursday, November 16, 2017 9:57:24 PM
> *To:* SUSTAINABLE_TOMPKINS-L
> *Subject:* [sustainable_tompkins-l] Fwd: Pawpaw Fruit
> *WATCH: The Pawpaw fruit is more American than any apple you've
> eaten.*
>
> though I've heard of them, I have never seen or eaten one. This
> short video explains why
> Pawpaws trees are native to the US & Canada - so why don't we eat
> pawpaw fruit pies all the time? Well, they're not exactly
> well-suited to modern agriculture practices
> Tony Del Plato
>
> 
> http://digg.com/video/what-are-pawpaw-fruits?utm_source=digg_medium=email
> 
> 
>
> -- 
> Let’s fill in all the weak spaces
>
> With a love so bold
> it makes us whole.
>
> -Andrea Weiser, from "Threadbare Happiness"
>

[sustainable_tompkins-l] a thoughtful post on the con-con issue

[Sarah Gagnon]

Ed shares with me his reasoned and always relevant posts on topics of 
interest. This one speaks to the issue of whether to vote yeas or no on 
the constitutional convention issue we will see on the ballot in 
November. I agree with his conclusion and share this with you to give 
the pro-convention side a chance to influence your consideration.

Joel

 Forwarded Message 
Subject:: Sower # 33 Con-Con
Date:   Tue, 24 Oct 2017 13:36:00 -0400
From:   Edward Kokkelenberg 

















*                            The Sower*

**

*A planter of seeds of resistance and Liberty, a fomenter of thought and 
ideas*

*October 24, 2017*

*Number 33*

**

*The New York State Constitutional Convention *

     The State of New York asks voters every 20 years if the state 
should hold a Constitutional Convention to examine the State 
Constitution and propose changes for subsequent voter approval. Elected 
delegates comprise the Convention. Proposals developed at such a 
convention are put on a later ballot for voter consideration.

*In two weeks, at the general election of Tuesday, November 7^th , 2017, 
we will be asked the simple question, “Shall there be a convention to 
revise the Constitution and amend the same?^” **Note: this question is 
on the back page of the ballot.***


     New Yorkers voted on 12 constitutional convention questions during 
the 239 years between 1777 and 2016. In 2017—which is 240 years after 
the first constitution was ratified—citizens of the state are voting on 
the question for the 13th time.

     The last time this question was posed on the ballot, the nay-sayers 
won the day and New York State has not seriously reviewed its 
Constitution since 1965, over a half century ago.

     Has anything changed since 1965? Probably not much except for 
cultural mores, communications, family arrangements, case based law, 
police and fire procedures, water pollution, medicine, educational 
levels, racial makeup, transportation, music, federal regulations, 
computers, shopping, autos, society, politics, and technology. Oh, and 
perhaps political incumbents and political awareness. Some 1965 images 
include:

Image result for images of 1965*
*

*Procedure*

     If the vote is negative, that is the practical end of it until 
2037. If the vote is yes, a several year process will ensue. At the next 
(2018) primary and general elections, all voters in New York will choose 
the Con-Con delegates. The convention would then meet at the state 
Capitol in 2019, aiming to agree on amendments for the voters to 
consider in November 2019, two years from now.

*Should you vote yes or no?*

     Recently, I attended a meeting where a proponent and an opponent 
made the case for their positions.

     The Proponent pointed out problem areas in the current constitution 
and offered some possible things the Convention might take up, give 
in-depth discussion to, and, hopefully, propose some well-thought-out 
changes, if a change at all. He commented that the current State 
Legislature can not do this politically as there are too many vested 
interests that focus their dollars and attention on single issues that 
are then defeated as each comes up.

     One issue that could be addressed is term limits . The League of 
Women Voters wrote:

     “A convention could propose term limits for members and leadership 
positions in the Assembly     and Senate, increase transparency in 
the budget process, change the numbers of legislators,                 
     increase term lengths, stagger terms, or eliminate cumbersome 
requirements for bill passage.             All of these changes have 
been suggested as improving the structure of the legislature. In         
             addition, the redistricting process for state legislative 
and Congressional districts is covered in     Article III and could be 
changed at a convention.”

The Opponent worried that all kinds of changes might be made and 
believed that it was wasteful, she believed the state has other ways to 
fix serious problems. A number of vested interests, including a union I 
belong to, have consistently opposed Constitutional Conventions and are 
using scare tactics to make their case. Their biggest concerns appears 
to be *what could happen* to school vouchers, employee pensions, union 
membership, Workers’ Compensation, and access to reproductive health 
care. They offer no evidence that this will happen.

     A case can be made for a YES vote by asking ‘Are you satisfied?’ 
The state has a record of corruption, dis-functionality, bipartisan 
gerrymandering, state budgets negotiated by three men in a room and then 
adopted the next day. Are you satisfied with the way our state 
government operates? That’s the fundamental question and if you are not, 
vote Yes.

*    After hearing both sides, many hours of studying positions, and 
looking at other states’ 

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] 10 Ways to Talk About Inclusionary Housing, Differently

[Sarah Gagnon]

Excellent piece, and very relevant to our current situation in Tompkins 
County.

Joel


On 9/26/2017 3:10 PM, Elan Shapiro wrote:
>
>
>   10 Ways to Talk About Inclusionary Housing, Differently
>
> https://shelterforce.org/2017/09/20/10-ways-talk-inclusionary-housing-differently/
>
> -- 
>
> Elan Shapiro
> Building Bridges Coalition
> Frog's Way B
> www.frogsway-bnb.com 
> 607-592-8402
> elanshapiro...@gmail.com 
> 211 Rachel Carson Way
> Ithaca, NY 14850
>
> Now is the accepted time, not tomorrow, not some more convenient 
> season. It is today that our best work can be done and not some future 
> day or future year. It is today that we fit ourselves for the greater 
> usefulness of tomorrow. Today is the seed time, now are the hours of 
> work, and tomorrow comes the harvest and the playtime. W.E.B. Du Bois


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.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] From Energy Nerd to Energy Navigator

[Sarah Gagnon]

Note that the example in the article was in a rural area and a pellet 
stove. Such stoves burn very cleanly. Even cord wood stoves, especially 
the newer ones, burn cleanly if properly operated. I live in a rural 
hamlet where several of us use cord wood. Some are hardly noticeable; 
others routinely smoke up the whole neighborhood by running low 
smouldering fires (wasting their fuel value in the process). The basic 
problem is the mismatch between what a stove produces when operated 
properly and the heat need of the dwelling. If the stove is small enough 
to not overheat the space, then it doesn't hold a fire very long. It 
needs to be reloaded every few hours -- not possible if there is no one 
home. If the stove is oversized and improperly operated, it will produce 
a more even heat that will last for a long time. Inefficient and 
polluting, but effective, explaining the practice. Rather an imposition 
on the neighbors, though. What is the solution? Pellet stoves are one, 
since they solve the problem by feeding an appropriately sized stove 
fuel over much longer times than can be achieved by loading a batch of 
cord wood. Another approach is to run a clean hot fire with an oversized 
appliance and capture and store the excess heat for distribution in 
between firings. That is the approach of masonry stoves and similar mass 
storage, as well as heat transfer to a water storage tank which is then 
tapped for heat as needed. Of these options, the pellet stove may well 
be the cheapest, especially given the incentives available for switching 
from oil or propane. I like cord wood myself, since I can source it 
locally. I plan to add a hot water coil to my wood stove so I can heat 
my hot water with it and tap it for space heating one room. In 
conjunction with better insulation for that room (and insulation is 
almost always the best return on investment), I should then be able to 
leave the house for a work day and not take 2 hours to heat it back up 
again with the wood stove when I get home.

Wood is almost carbon neutral. I think of it as "stored solar". It can 
be stored well in advance of need and is available when the sun doesn't 
shine much -- which, around here, can be most of the winter!). While we 
can leach off of the grid for our winter heat using heat pumps, the 
electricity for those pumps in the winter is not coming from solar. It 
is mostly from natural gas. So... insulate, bundle up, don't heat the 
whole house, and don't be too quick to dismiss wood as a heat source.

Joel Gagnon

On 12/27/2016 8:56 AM, Peter Wirth wrote:
>
> Sasha - Heating with a wood stove while it might be less expensive is 
> a bad idea if  many people start to do that. My understanding is that 
> a shift to wood burning technology would cause serious air pollution 
> issues.
>
> I heated with a wood stove in the city of Syracuse for years to save 
> $. However, I realized that natural gas while more expensive was 
> probably a better environmental choice re. air pollution issues.
>
> Now that I have more disposable income I am slowly trying to super 
> insulate my home. It is not easy but probably the best solution long 
> term.
>
> Pete Wirth
>
>
>
> On 12/26/2016 6:29 PM, Sasha Paris wrote:
>> Article at 
>> https://sustainabletompkins.org/signs-of-sustainability/tompkins-weekly-column/from-energy-nerd-to-energy-navigator/
>>  
>> 
>>
>> From Energy Nerd to Energy Navigator
>>
>> Tompkins Weekly 12-26-16
>>
>> By Karim Beers
>>
>> Ronald Booker’s interest in energy efficiency and renewables is clear 
>> from his Ithaca home’s solar panels, passive solar room and wood 
>> stove that satisfies nearly all of his home’s heating needs. After 
>> taking these personal steps to reduce his energy use, “Booker,” as he 
>> is known to his friends, realized that there was an opportunity to 
>> share his expertise by helping others navigate the sometimes 
>> complicated process of evaluating energy choices. Through Get Your 
>> GreenBack Tompkins’ Energy Navigator program, Booker gained 
>> strategies and tools to help convey his passion and knowledge 
>> regarding energy conservation to others looking to take similar 
>> energy and money-saving steps.
>>
>> Booker, a self proclaimed “energy nerd” and Cornell University 
>> biology professor, has been interested in energy conservation for 
>> decades and credits his scientific background for his initial 
>> interest in the subject. “Energy efficiency, heat transfer and stuff 
>> like that, building a tight house, and being concerned with heat 
>> transfer kind of comes naturally,” Booker said. “I know that sounds a 
>> little strange.” Through conversations with his some of his custodian 
>> colleagues at Cornell, Booker realized that his knowledge of energy 
>> efficiency could be useful to others facing high energy costs, who 
>> may not have access 

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] NYTimes: A Natural Cure for Lyme Disease

[Sarah Gagnon]

An interesting article, and one to ponder as I wind down antibiotic 
treatment for my fourth brush with Lyme disease. I think it gives 
coyotes (and bats) a bad rap, though. Around here, the deer pressure has 
diminished somewhat thanks to the coyotes taking out the fawns. Hunters 
aren't very happy about that, but the ecosystem is a little better for 
it. There are still too many deer, but at least they aren't on the verge 
of starving.


Joel

On 8/21/2016 9:36 AM, Regi Teasley wrote:

FYI

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/21/opinion/sunday/a-natural-cure-for-lyme-disease.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad=nytcore-ipad-share

Infections have surged, and an out-of-whack ecosystem may be to blame.


Regi
"Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you 
will perceive the divine mystery in things."  Dostoyevsky.


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.





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.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] For your thoughts/reactions to "redneck urbanism" in the form of trailer parks

[Sarah Gagnon]

While it is true that mobile homes are constructed to a different and 
somewhat less stringent building code, it is also true that they have 
come a long way from an energy efficiency standpoint. Wade may be 
remembering the 2 by 2 walls with minimal insulation that was typical 
before 1968. Units now typically feature 2 by 6 framing, which 
accommodates R19 fiberglass batts. That's not exactly trend setting, but 
it beats the pants off of much of our existing housing stock. Add to 
that their relatively modest size and you have a fairly reasonable 
carbon footprint.


In terms of sustainability, the contribution of mobile homes (and tiny 
houses) depends a lot on where they are located. Mobile home parks are 
an efficient way to provide services -- roads, water, sewer, social 
services, etc. They are even better if they are located close to 
shopping, employment, and entertainment. Nate's Floral Estates in Ithaca 
comes readily to mind as one of those and has a long waiting list of 
people wanting to get in. Put them on individual large lots out in the 
countryside and they are part of our sprawl problem and only a little 
better than the McMansions similarly located.


Joel


On 8/3/2016 1:11 AM, Jane-Marie Law wrote:
>
> I think you raise an important point about trailers.  They do trap 
> people into the semblance of a home and ownership, but are often very 
> poorly made and when one sells, they do not hold their value at all. 
>  It raises the point that we must provide quality housing for low 
> income people.  The National Home movement of the 1950's, prefabs 
> built off site more orr less and assembled on site were actually a 
> fair bit better.  (The Cigarette Streets are full of them and we just 
> renovated one from the studs out, so I am pretty familiar with their 
> pro's and cons.)
>
>
> I think the movement of the wee home is to move people away from grand 
> houses that are not very sustainable in the long run, re-use as many 
> materials as possible, and use space really efficiently.  I do think 
> there is a strong movement toward sustainable living in this community.
>
>
>
> Jane-Marie Law
> Associate Professor of Japanese Religions
> Department of Asian Studies
> Fellow, Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future
> 350 Rockefeller Hall
> Cornell University
> Ithaca, NY 14853-2502
> 607-255-5095/ 607-255-8332
>
> 
> *From:* bounce-120664662-12863...@list.cornell.edu 
> <bounce-120664662-12863...@list.cornell.edu> on behalf of Wade 
> <ww...@lightlink.com>
> *Sent:* Tuesday, August 2, 2016 8:50:16 PM
> *To:* SUSTAINABLE_TOMPKINS-L
> *Subject:* Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] For your thoughts/reactions to 
> "redneck urbanism" in the form of trailer parks
>
> It's been a few decades since I looked closely at mobile homes, but 
> back then you could fairly say they were often "energy traps" for the 
> poor.  That is, between high utility bills,  lot rent and distance 
> from towns, people didn't have much traction toward ownership and 
> energy-efficient living.
>
> I'm sure there has been improvement in performance, but I doubt it's 
> very much.
>
> As for the tiny home movement, I can see the attraction including 
> attainability but I'm not so sure they make sense in terms of 
> sustainability.
>
> I wouldn't mind seeing that discussion, so thanks Jane.
>
>
> Wade Wykstra
>
>
>
> On 8/2/2016 1:27 PM, Jane-Marie Law wrote:
>>
>> I think this conversation could productively move into a discussion 
>> of the wee home or tiny home movement.  Regulation is required for 
>> that and in many municipalities the zoning laws used to keep it at 
>> bay is the "trailer park" argument.  Trailers provide cheap housing 
>> and there are many ways to provide good housing.  Many areas are 
>> creatively imagining new models of affordable housing beyond the 
>> density or trailer park.
>>
>>
>>
>> Jane-Marie Law
>> Associate Professor of Japanese Religions
>> Department of Asian Studies
>> Fellow, Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future
>> 350 Rockefeller Hall
>> Cornell University
>> Ithaca, NY 14853-2502
>> 607-255-5095/ 607-255-8332
>>
>> 
>> *From:* bounce-120663374-12863...@list.cornell.edu 
>> <bounce-120663374-12863...@list.cornell.edu> on behalf of Sarah 
>> Gagnon <joel.and.sarah.gag...@lightlink.com>
>> *Sent:* Tuesday, August 2, 2016 10:31:25 AM
>> *To:* SUSTAINABLE_TOMPKINS-L
>> *Subject:* Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] For your thoughts/reactions 
>> to

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] For your thoughts/reactions to "redneck urbanism" in the form of trailer parks

[Sarah Gagnon]

Tompkins county did not ban trailer parks. Land use authority does not 
lie with the County. Many of the towns in the county have made it 
difficult to establish new trailer parks, though, and it is a rare 
neighborhood that would welcome one in its midst. One reason is a 
history of poorly planned and maintained parks, coupled with an awful 
lot of police activity. Recent history is better, but perceptions 
persist. Add to those perceptions the fact that such parks require much 
more in public services than is contributed in taxes (true of most 
residential development, except for the really upscale), and it isn't 
hard to explain the desire to minimize them. Towns without zoning 
(Enfield, Newfield, and Caroline in Tompkins County) are host to a 
disproportionate number of trailer parks as a result.

The article makes some really good points, however, about affordability, 
and density.


Joel
On 8/1/2016 1:46 PM, Eric Clay wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> A friend sent this to me a while back.  I just got around to reading 
> it recently.
>
> http://www.smartresilient.com/%E2%80%9Credneck%E2%80%9D-urbanism-what-urban-planners-can-learn-trailer-parks?eid=311882396=1444699
>
> When I read the article, I remembered that Tompkins County banned any 
> new trailer parks about 30 years ago.  And that is when our housing 
> issues began to run off the rails.  The somewhat wealthy, and the 
> green, conspired to ban the aggressive development of open land, 
> increasing minimum lot sizes, and protecting land for forest or farms. 
>  And some people at the time accused them of elitist attacks of "poor 
> white trash" or just the working poor of any background.  It was ugly, 
> but common then.
>
> The piece here has an emphasis on trailer park self-governance, under 
> the umbrella of the park manager, which I had not considered.
>
> In Tompkins County, one of the few places that I have been able to 
> find for mentally ill folk where they can afford to live in a state of 
> desired relative isolation and safety is trailer parks (even though 
> the housing is technically dense). Some of the managers understand 
> this and know how to minimize the effects of hoarding behavior and 
> other behaviors.
>
> I am wondering what others think.
>
> Eric
>
> Eric Clay
> Shared Journeys
> 832 North Aurora Street
> Ithaca, NY 14850
> 607-592-6874
> wericc...@aol.com
> sharedjourneys.net
>
>
>
>
>
> *Subject:* Meaningful Open Data; Smart City Challenge; High-Tech Hub
> Problem viewing this email? View it in your browser. 
> 
>  
>
>
>
>   
> Logo Header 
> 
>   
>
>
>   
> Facebook 
> 
>   
> Twitter 
> 
>   
> LinkedIn 
> 
>
>   
>
>
>
> Image 270x200
>
> 
>
>
>
>   
> 1
>
>
>
>   
> *4 Ways To Make Open Data Meaningful* 
> 
>  
>
>   
>
>
>   
> SAN DIEGO - As thousands of government and industry professionals 
> gather in San Diego this week to discuss the latest in GIS technology 
> at the Esri National Security Summit and User's Conference, there are 
> a few pointers about providing context for open data that are 
> important to keep top...
>   
>
>
>   
> 
> Read 
> More
>   
>
>
>
>
>
>   
> 1
>
>
>
>   
> *Columbus Wins USDOT Smart City Challenge* 
> 
>  
>
>   
>
>
>   
> Columbus, Ohio, has won the U.S. Department of Transportation's Smart 
> City Challenge. In addition to the $40 million in federal funding, the 
> city will also receive $10 million from Paul Allen's Vulcan Inc. and 
> $90 million in assorted commitments from local stakeholders. Based on 
> city's pitch,...
>   
>
>
>   
> 
> Read 
> 

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] Fwd: Reply from Senator Gillibrand about Genetically Mutilated foods

[Sarah Gagnon]

I second that opinion. Gillibrand and Shumer are among only 20 Senators 
who voted against a bill that will preempt state labeling laws, 
substituting a federal labeling standard that exempts the most common GM 
foods, probably won't take effect for a couple of years, has no 
enforcement provision, and does not require on-product labeling ( only a 
QR code and a toll-free number to call if you want to know. That 
"compromise bill" was an almost complete sellout to big ag.

Joel

On 7/12/2016 6:17 PM, Greg Nelson wrote:
> While I would rather see a ban, *preventing a weakening* of existing 
> labeling standards and prevent propaganda to promote genetic 
> engineering doesn't really come across to me as "selling out."  If the 
> vote in question had been a choice between banning and labeling and 
> she had chosen labeling, I would agree.  But I am not aware of any 
> bills being brought to committee that would actually impose a ban. 
>  (If I'm wrong, enlighten me!)  For that lack of progress, you could 
> blame others in the house and senate for not having the guts to stand 
> up to Monsanto.
>
> Greg
>
> On Tue, Jul 12, 2016 at 2:58 PM, Maura Stephens  > wrote:
>
> She sells out on this one, as she does on just about every other
> issue (when she even acknowledges the issue, I should add). Well,
> at least she used the salutation "Ms." rather than the insulting
> "Miss" or "Ma'am" or "Mrs." I've gotten from some of her male
> colleagues. Small consolation that, and that she wants to "label"
> GM foods rather than banning them in the interests of the public
> good. She has drunk the dyed sugary drink dry mix.
> Maura
>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
>> *From: *"Senator Kirsten Gillibrand"
>> > >
>> *Subject: **Reply from Senator Gillibrand*
>> *Date: *July 12, 2016 9:15:24 AM EDT
>> July 12, 2016
>>
>> Dear Ms. S,
>>
>> Thank you for contacting me regarding the labeling of genetically
>> engineered (GE) food.  I share your concerns and believe that
>> there must be a uniform federal standard that provides consumers
>> with easy access to accurate information regarding the products
>> they purchase.
>>
>> On March 1, 2016, the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
>> Committee held a business meeting to review Chairman Roberts' GE
>> labeling bill.  As you know, Chairman Roberts' bill would create
>> a voluntary labeling standard for foods containing GE ingredients
>> and would preempt state laws that require labeling of GE food or
>> seeds. This bill would also call for a U.S. Department of
>> Agriculture education campaign to promote consumer acceptance of
>> biotechnology.  While this bill passed out of committee by a vote
>> of 14-6, I did not vote in support of Chairman Roberts' proposal.
>>
>> I believe that GE products can play an important role in
>> combating world hunger, increasing agricultural productivity, and
>> improving the nutritional content of certain foods.  I do,
>> however, believe that we should develop a national mandatory
>> labeling standard that allows consumers to make informed
>> decisions.  For this reason, I am a cosponsor ofthe Biotechnology
>> Food Labeling Uniformity Act (S.2621), which would require food
>> manufactures to disclose the presence of GE ingredients on the
>> nutrition facts panel by choosing from one of four labeling
>> options approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  This
>> bill balances the interests of consumers and producers by making
>> certain that consumers have access to clear information about GE
>> ingredients and ensuring that food manufacturers have regulatory
>> certainty from the FDA when complying with a single labeling
>> standard.
>>
>> Thank you again for writing to express your concerns, and I hope
>> that you keep in touch with my office regarding future
>> legislation and concerns you may have.  For more information on
>> this and other important issues, please visit my website at
>> http://gillibrand.senate.gov and sign up for my e-newsletter.
>>
>> Sincerely,
>>
>> Kirsten Gillibrand
>> United States Senator
>>
>
>
>
>
> -- 
> To dither or deliver/Decent deeds don't deceive
> Decide to override/Poor programming
> Gracious gratitude/Sprinkled and spread
> Leading lives of love/And conscience instead
> -- My Love


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.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] Don't Eat the Yellow Rice: The Danger of Deploying Vitamin A Golden Rice. New article by Ted Greiner, PhD.

[Sarah Gagnon]

While Greiner makes a good point about yellow or brown rice being 
associated with fungal infection and potentially dangerous, he also 
states that golden rice doesn't really look like such rice. It is not 
hard for me to believe that those who developed it were unaware of this 
potential difficulty associated with their solution for the problem they 
were trying to address -- namely, blindness due to vitamin A deficiency. 
Researchers are typically focused on their area of expertise and the 
result is inevitably somewhat myopic.

I think it is very unfair and counter-productive to impugn the motives 
of the developers of golden rice, or of most GMO products. I'm not a 
mind reader, and neither is anyone else. It is bad enough that this 
potential problem with yellow rice was not anticipated, nor was the 
reluctance of the poor to try something new. While perhaps obvious now, 
it was not 40 years ago.

I am not among those who believe that all genetic engineering is bad. I 
do believe that we should be very careful and a whole lot less arrogant 
in promoting it. I find it mind boggling that anyone cold believe that 
incorporating a pesticide into a plant's genes could not have negative 
effects on non-target animals eating the products of those plants (I 
have Bt corn in mind). There are always unintended consequences whenever 
anything new is introduced, but that there will be such to me does not 
mean we should never do anything new. It does mean we should be very 
careful, and we are not. Money as a lot to do with why we aren't.

Joel

7/11/2016 10:04 AM, Allison Wilson wrote:

> Published today (Monday 11th July 2016) by Independent Science News: 
> “Don’t Eat the Yellow Rice: The Danger of Deploying Vitamin A Golden 
> Rice 
> ,
>  
> ” by Ted Greiner, PhD.
>
> /Synopsis/: Never discussed in the saga of Vitamin A “golden rice” is 
> the problem of “Yellow Rice Disease”. Yellowed or browned rice is 
> discarded all over the world because it is a sign of potentially 
> lethal fungal contamination. To convince these populations to eat it, 
> the proponents of golden rice will therefore have to overcome an 
> aversion which exists for good reason. If eating yellow rice is 
> dangerous, why has this never been discussed, asks Ted Greiner? 
> “Because the purpose of Golden Rice was never to solve vitamin A 
> problems. It’s purpose from the beginning was to be a tool for use in 
> shaming GMO critics”.
>
> Ted Greiner is an expert in Vitamin A fortification and a former 
> Professor of Nutrition, Hanyang University, Korea.
>
> To read the full story: 
> https://www.independentsciencenews.org/health/dont-eat-the-yellow-rice-the-danger-of-deploying-vitamin-a-golden-rice/.
>
>
>   *More about GMO “Golden Rice”
>   *
>
> Glenn Stone (2015). “Golden rice: the ‘GM superfood’ that fell to 
> Earth.” /The Ecologist/. Read full story of Golden Rice yield drag and 
> inconclusive nutrition outcomes at: 
> http://www.theecologist.org/blogs_and_comments/commentators/2985163/golden_rice_the_gm_superfood_that_fell_to_earth.html
>
> .
>
> Christoph Then (2014). “Golden Lies: No credibility for Golden Rice 
> campaign.” Report from Testbiotech. Read full report at: 
> http://www.testbiotech.org/sites/default/files/Testbiotech_Golden%20Rice_Golden%20Lies_0.pdf.
>  
> /Testbiotech/ reports that those developing and promoting Golden Rice 
> have failed to act with basic scientific or ethical concern.
>
>
>
> Please share this email/article with friends and colleagues who care 
> about food and agriculture and health.
>
> Sincerely,
> Allison
>
>
> Allison Wilson, PhD
> Science Director
> The Bioscience Resource Project
>
> P.O. Box 6869
> Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
>
> phone: 1 (607) 319 0279
> a.wil...@bioscienceresource.org 
> www.independentsciencenews.org 
> and
> www.bioscienceresource.org 
>
> "Good with Science"
>
>
>
>
>


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.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] What about EcoModernism?

[Sarah Gagnon]

Thank you, Marie.


On 7/7/2016 7:45 PM, Marie Terlizzi wrote:
> Karl – I will give a brief answer to your questions here - I hope it 
> is okay to do so in a post to the whole list –  but feel free to write 
> me off–list at  Marie Terlizzi .
>
> I came across Chris Smaje’s pieces on neo-peasantries, small farms, 
> ecomodernism and more at the Resilience website, which is a project of 
> the Post Carbon Institute.  To be honest, I have not read very much at 
> the Dark Mountain Project website. I visited because it is the site on 
> which his critique of ecomodernism first appeared.
>
> I think it was Richard Heinberg’s writings more than that of any other 
> person(s) that opened my eyes to the almost complete dependency of the 
> industrial revolution and our modern consumption-heavy way of life on 
> the increasing availability of fossil fuels and to the issues of 
> fossil fuel depletion and peak oil. I am thinking especially of his 
> book  “The Party’s Over”. He has also written quite a bit on the 
> limitations of renewable energy, most recently “our Renewable Future” 
> with coauthor David Fridley, which I am now reading. Prior to that, 
> like many people I was aware that fossil fuel extraction and use 
> created major environmental problems, but I hadn’t thought much about 
> just how much energy it takes to have an industrial and consumerist 
> society and complexity in general, I had only a vague awareness of 
> embodied energy and was not familiar with the critical concept of 
> EROI, energy return on energy invested, pioneered by Charles Hall up 
> at SUNY-ESF.
>
> But that begs the question of what drew me to Richard Heinberg’s books 
> and essays in the first place. And that is the result of a life-long 
> affinity for and sense of kinship with the natural world, coupled with 
> greater and greater despondency over its destruction by our way of 
> life. So I try to understand how we got here and what, if anything, 
> can be done and how likely it is that we will respond voluntarily and 
> in time to preserve both a livable climate and  the other beings that 
> share this planet with us .  That leads to lots of reading and 
> pondering. And to the conclusion that as a society we will not 
> voluntarily adopt a simpler life with less comfort, convenience, 
> mobility, and energy-intensive distraction and a much smaller array of 
> consumer goods and choices.  But one day a much simpler way of life 
> will be forced on us, in line with your Saudi saying.
>
> Another influence has been the writing of Herman Daly, clearly 
> demonstrating the ludicrousness of endless economic growth on a finite 
> planet, and the very different working of "full world" and "empty 
> world" economics. I think I came across him maybe five or six years 
> ago. Needless to say, his ideas have not caught on with politicians 
> nor the big schools of economics and their graduates advising our 
> politicians.
>
> I did read “The Limits to Growth” when it came out in 1972, but 
> although it made an impression on me,  I didn’t understand back then 
> (at age 18) that economic growth was a major public policy goal and 
> that suggesting it might have to end some day was heresy, a sign of 
> lunacy, etc, nor did I follow the debates and controversy that the 
> book generated in the press and academia.
>
>
> From:  > on behalf of Karl 
> S North >
> Reply-To: Sustainability in Tompkins County 
>  >
> Date: Wednesday, July 6, 2016 at 11:03 AM
> To: Sustainability in Tompkins County 
>  >
> Subject: Re:[sustainable_tompkins-l] What about EcoModernism?
>
>
> On Sat, Jul 2, 2016 at 12:08 AM, Sustainability in Tompkins County 
> digest  > wrote:
>
> Subject: Re: What about EcoModernism?
> From: Marie Terlizzi  >
> Date: Fri, 1 Jul 2016 21:14:56 -0400
> X-Message-Number: 10
>
> For a thoughtful critique of ecomodernism, see
>
> http://dark-mountain.net/blog/dark-thoughts-on-ecomodernism-2/
>
> The “dark" comes from “Dark Mountain Project” although perhaps the
> author
> intends a play on words.
>
>
>
> ​Marie,
>
> Apart from its view of ecomodernism, the Dark Mountain Project is 
> itself an interesting approach to the future, distinctive in it​s 
> focus on using /cultural/ tools to adapt to the scenario its adherents 
> expect. Whereas much of the writing on different energy futures has 
> focused on the /material/ changes expected or in progress. Given that 
> like the Transition Towns 

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] What about EcoModernism

[Sarah Gagnon]

I have little doubt that Karl's original response felt like an attack to 
you,  Ben, and I also have little doubt that it was not intended to be 
one. It was a very vigorous critique, and I can see why it would be very 
useful to know where Karl himself stands, inasmuch as a counter-critique 
could then focus on the differences between two points of view. The 
problem with that is that it does not serve the larger process you 
describe so well, namely to look at a variety of viewpoints to see which 
stand up best to scrutiny. Given that the subscribers to this list are 
probably somewhat homogeneous in perspective, we run the risk of myopia 
if we limit ourselves to proposing and defending only that in which we 
believe most strongly. Accurately describing reality is perhaps better 
served by examining the pantheon of alternatives, with their associated 
pros and cons. Karl did describe the ends of the spectrum in his later 
response, but I at least still don't have a very good idea what the full 
spectrum contains. It might be that Karl assumed that the readers of 
this list were already very familiar with his views; indeed, many of us are.

Your original post was the first I had ever heard of ecomodernism. I 
read with interest not only Karls's critique of it, but enough of the 
pros and cons linked to in the subsequent posts (thanks especially to 
Marie Terlizzi for a link that was a great entry point). That there are 
some pretty sharp minds who subscribe to ecomodernism's premises in 
whole or in part should suggest that careful consideration is at least 
warranted. Truth is elusive. Judgment is colored by experience and 
perspective. While I think we would all agree that the desire to live 
morally obliges us to act on what we perceive to be true, we should also 
acknowledge that we might just be wrong every now and again.

Joel

On 7/3/2016 12:29 PM, Ben Haller wrote:
>I was not planning on continuing this, but since you have specifically 
> asked to be told why your original post was disrespectful and unfriendly, I 
> will respond.  You wrote:
>
>> ​I think it is dangerous and counterproductive to try to "​judge intention 
>> and tone of voice over
>> email​'. We should try to avoid it and try to take a person's words at face 
>> value, not read anything into them that is not there or implied.
>>
>> ​I have gone over the words in my post and have no clue what I said that was 
>> disrespectful or unfriendly (nor has my wife, who read my post for typos and 
>> clarity​). Please enlighten me if anyone who made those claims can. ​If not, 
>> I have to wonder whether legitimate airing of different points of view are 
>> being judged as personal attacks. If this starts happening, it puts a chill 
>> on the effective use of the list as the educational tool it was intended to 
>> be.
>   OK, I am willing to believe that your original post was not meant as an 
> attack.  Let me explain why it felt that way to me, and perhaps that will 
> help with future communications.
>
>   First of all, you thanked me for my “transparency” in saying that I am an 
> eco-modernist (as if that is something that people normally conceal – 
> implying that admitting that one is an eco-modernist should be a source of 
> shame or opprobrium!), but provided no transparency whatsoever as to what 
> your own views might be.  This created an unequal field for debate: you knew 
> what you needed to know to criticize my views, whereas you had (deliberately, 
> it seemed to me) withheld any information about your own, preventing me from 
> being able to reply in kind.  I’ve had discussions before with people who 
> deliberately concealed their actual views, and it makes for an argument that 
> feels like wrestling a greased pig; any position I tried to attribute to them 
> in order to argue against them would immediately be wriggled out of with “oh 
> no, I don’t believe that, you’re just constructing a straw man”.  It’s a 
> particularly annoying rhetorical tactic, which I took you to be setting up to 
> execute.  So in future, if you notice the “transparency” of someone else’s 
> views, you might reply in kind, by being transparent about your own.  That 
> goes a long way toward building trust in a discussion.
>
> Second, a related point: Being transparent about your own views is also 
> important if you wish to have a truly “productive” and “frank” discussion as 
> you say, because of course *all* viewpoints can be criticized; the way to 
> determine what position is correct is not to search for a position that is 
> invulnerable to criticism (since none such exists), but to see which position 
> is the least vulnerable and has the strongest replies.  That process, of 
> competing different positions against each other in a discussion to see which 
> one proves more robust, cannot be done if only one position is being 
> discussed.  There is then no possibility of my saying “sure, eco-modernism’s 
> answer to problem X is not 

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] Guess what, we can change our light bulbs again

[Sarah Gagnon]

One element missing from Ben's thoughtful analysis is where the heat 
that is the byproduct of light production by these various bulbs ends 
up. It matters! If it is in a space that needs heating, it reduces the 
heat that needs to be supplied elsewise and can be seen to be a little 
electric resistance heater. If it is in a space that needs to be cooled, 
then it adds to the energy cost of cooling it. Ours is a heating 
climate, so on the whole we benefit from the waste heat in some measure, 
reducing the payoff of switching to a more efficient source of light for 
interior lighting. One could use incandescents in the winter and switch 
to CFLs or LEDs in the summer until the incandescents burn out. Who's 
going to bother doing that, though? What I have done is banish the 
incandescents to halls, attics, and closets where they will only see 
short periods of use. The shock of turning them on and off will wear 
them out faster in such applications, and I have learned from experience 
that the CFLs also wear out far faster when turned on and off frequently 
-- so best to save them for someplace where they get to stay on for a 
while (especially since they take a while to reach full brightness).

Joel

On 6/26/2016 10:19 AM, Ben Haller wrote:
>   An interesting question to which I’m going to give an overkill 
> answer, since I was curious enough to do a bit of math and thinking on 
> it.  Maybe somebody will find this interesting, probably not.  :->
>
>   I’ve never seen a proper lifetime analysis of different types of 
> bulbs, but it seems like a reasonable bet that the energy used over 
> the usage lifetime of the bulb greatly outweighs the energy and 
> resources used in the bulb’s manufacture.  One key quote in this 
> article is thus:
>
> "Usually traditional light bulbs are only about five per cent 
> efficient, with 95 per cent of the energy being lost to the 
> atmosphere. In comparison LED or florescent bulbs manage around 14 per 
> cent efficiency. But the scientists believe that the new bulb could 
> reach efficiency levels of 40 per cent.”
>
>   These figures would *seem* to indicate quite strongly that it is 
> worth switching from traditional incandescents to LED or fluorescent 
> bulbs; you get almost three times the light output for a given energy 
> usage (because 14 is almost 3 times 5).  And one could draw the same 
> inference regarding switching from LED to the new bulbs, since that is 
> again about a threefold improvement (because 40 is almost 3 times 14).
>
>   But when you’ve already got a working bulb in hand, throwing it away 
> to get a new bulb is of course only worthwhile if the improvement is 
> sufficiently large; this is Tom’s point in his question.  If the new 
> bulbs ever actually materialize commercially and if they really do 
> achieve 40 percent efficiency (both big “if”s), it *might* again be 
> worth it to switch from LED/fluorescent to them; but is the 
> improvement really sufficiently large to justify the resource 
> investment represented by the switch in bulbs?
>
>   Looking at prices helps illuminate this, because prices are 
> generally a decent proxy for resource/energy usage.  (They are an 
> underestimate, since they don’t include the negative externality 
> effects of CO2 emissions involved in resource extraction and energy 
> use, but that should affect all of the prices here more or less 
> proportionally, so it shouldn’t bias our analysis much.)  The market 
> price of a bulb is a decent proxy for the energy and resources that 
> went into manufacturing the bulb; more precisely, it provides an upper 
> bound, since if $5 of energy went into making a bulb the bulb will 
> presumably not then be priced at less than $5.  The prices quoted in 
> the article are thus helpful:
>
> "The Energy Saving Trust calculates that typical living room usage of 
> a 60-watt incandescent lightbulb over a year would cost £7.64. Using 
> an equivalent energy efficient fluorescent or 'CFL' lightbulb would 
> cost £1.53 per year, while an LED would cost just £1.27.  But if the 
> new bulbs live up to expectations they would cost under 50p a year to 
> run.”
>
>   So switching from old incandescent to LED saves you £7.64 - £1.27 = 
> £6.37 per year, and the new bulb pays for itself in a year or so; a 
> very big win, as expected.  Switching from LED to the new bulb would 
> save you £1.27 - £0.50 = £0.77, and it might take roughly ten years 
> for the new bulb to pay for itself (assuming it costs a similar amount 
> to LED bulbs); a much less big win, but since LED bulbs are supposed 
> to last more than ten years on average, probably still a win.  It’s 
> clearly on the margin of being worthwhile, though, so a proper 
> lifetime analysis would be helpful; on the other hand, since it is a 
> “wobbler” it really probably doesn’t matter much one way or the other.
>
>   (If you wanted to go up a level of complexity in the analysis, we 
> can expect the negative externalities 

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] Building homes for the post-fossil fuel era

[Sarah Gagnon]

True enough this, but Karl has a good point. It does matter how much 
energy is used to construct the building. Our choices of construction 
materials and techniques would be better informed if we taxed fossil 
carbon. The hidden energy both embodied and used in production would 
then be reflected in the price of materials and the cost of their 
assembly into buildings.

Joel

On 6/23/2016 12:37 PM, Christian Nielsen-Palacios wrote:
> While we could and should aspire to do more (restorative design, 
> etc.), building NET-ZERO buildings is a laudable achievement.  And I 
> don't think the definition is deceptive.  Such buildings DO produce as 
> much energy as they consume (after they are built, or they wouldn't be 
> "a building").
>
> Christian
>
> On Thu, Jun 23, 2016 at 11:54 AM, Regi Teasley  > wrote:
>
> Thank you for these responses.
> Yes, "net-zero" should include the lifecycle energy requirements. 
> But then, our beef is probably not with Ecovillage which aims for
> energy conservation.  Half a loaf...etc.
> Of course all these efforts are coming about forty years too late
> and, God bless him, Jimmy Carter was right.  Still, what are we to do?
>
> I say we make every feasible effort to develop better ways of
> living on our beloved planet and learn as we go.  Our
> grandchildren deserve no less.  Nature will sort out what, if
> anything, works.
>
> That's my two bits.
>
> Regi
> "Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love
> everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things."
>  Dostoyevsky.
>
>
> On Jun 23, 2016, at 11:42 AM, Thomas Shelley  > wrote:
>
>> Hi, Karl.  This is a great response.  Even those promoting the
>> "net-zero-energy" concept are clueless re embodied energy in
>> their fancy, high-end homes and life-styles in general.We are
>> going to hell in a hand basket, as Dad used to say.  I hope all
>> is well up North.  All is well here and getting better.  My wife
>> and I just sold our Collegetown rental property which is a great
>> relief as it was a real stone about the leg.  I now have a lot
>> more time for gardening and art work and things I have been
>> putting off for years.  I still have in mind to write a
>> TCLocal-style article on embodied energy.  Perhaps I will have
>> time to do this now, as well.  Take care.   Tom
>>
>> On 6/22/2016 1:31 PM,  S North wrote:
>>>
>>> ​To describe houses like the Ecovillage one pictured in the
>>> article as "net-zero-energy" is a gross deception of the public
>>> because it does not begin to account for the full life cycle
>>> fossil energy costs involved, which are huge. ​I have designed
>>> and currently live in a house that incorporates most of the
>>> elements of the Ecovillage house, but I have studied the
>>> full-scale energy costs, not only to me but to society, so I
>>> have no illusions about such housing, unlike many who are being
>>> duped by people who claim such houses will help save the planet.
>
>
>
>
> -- 
>


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] Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] 6/24-6/27: Gardener’s Plastic Pot Swap AND Canning Jar Exchange

[Sarah Gagnon]

Well, since this was posted to the sustainability list, and since my 
protests to the folks at Cooperative Extension have been ignored, I 
would like to make the case here that there is no good reason not to use 
mayonnaise or sauce jars in canning. I have done so for years.

Sauce jars are true canning jars. Many even say "Mason Jar" on the side. 
I think this reality is driven by a Federal rule allowing canning jars 
as acceptable vessels for commercial sauces. Many small producers use 
regular canning jars for their products. Many of these jars are pint and 
a half jars, which Cooperative Extension seems to regard as a 
deficiency. I like the in-between size for some products I put up. They 
are great when a quart is too big and a pint is too small. If they have 
a screw-on lid that can be replaced with a standard lid and band, they 
work fine. Ditto for mayonnaise jars. Since glass quart mayo jars are no 
longer manufactured, they are a diminishing resource. They have the 
advantage of being round, which is easier to empty and clean. 7 of them 
won't fit in a canner, though, due to a slightly greater diameter. They 
need to be mixed in with regular jars. I was told that mayo jars have 
thinner walls than regular canners. The two types weigh exactly the 
same, and the round shape of the mayo jars is inherently stronger. In my 
40 years of canning, the incidence of broken jars is no greater for mayo 
than for regular jars.

In short, mayo and sauce jars are sometimes superior to regular canning 
jars for some uses and are as good for almost all others. I commend 
Cooperative Extension for promoting reuse with this exchange, but I 
deplore the implicit promotion of replacement of mayo and sauce jars 
with regular canning jars.

Joel

On 6/23/2016 9:13 AM, Sandra J. Repp wrote:
>
> *Gardener’s Plastic Pot Swap _AND_ Canning Jar Exchange*
>
> *Friday, June 24-Monday, June 27, 9:00am-6:00pm*
>
> /Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County, 615 Willow Avenue, 
> Ithaca NY/
>
> _LEAVE_your plastic nursery pots, trays and cell packs IN GOOD 
> CONDITION  (no broken or torn plastic) in the designated area on the 
> east  side of the CCE Parking lot at 615 Willow Ave.  Pots will be 
> sorted by size, so help us out by putting them in the pile with 
> similar sizes!
>
> _TAKE AWAY_as many pots as you can use, too!  Plastic that is left 
> after the event will be taken to a recycler for processing. Recycle 
> your plastic plant containers instead of throwing them away.
>
> _CANNING__JAR_ _SWAP_!  Canning jars must be empty, free of debris and 
> in good condition (not broken).  Please bring your canning jars to 
> donate *in BOXES, NOT BAGS*!  All size canning jars are welcomed, but 
> they must be *true canning jars* (/no mayonnaise or sauce jars, 
> please/). Take away as many jars as you can use!
>
> The purpose of the swap is to promote /_reuse_/ of pots and jars.  
> Gardeners and canners appreciate this opportunity for reusing pots and 
> canning jars.  After June 27^th , no more pots or jars will be 
> accepted at Cooperative Extension, however county residents can take 
> these items to the Tompkins County Recycling/Solid Waste Center.  For 
> more information, call Cooperative Extension at 607-272-2292 or visit 
> http://ccetompkins.org/events/2015/06/19/gardeners-pot-swap-recycling-event 
> .
>


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] Fwd: We can blunt the gun lobby's influence

[Sarah Gagnon]

I agree with Peter, which is the main reason I support Americans for 
Responsible Solutions, the group started by Gabby Giffords and Mark 
Kelly. Below is their latest appeal.

Joel

--



Gabby and I started Americans for Responsible Solutions shortly after 
the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School because for far too long 
*the gun lobby has used money and influence to pressure Congress to do 
the unthinkable in the face of epidemic levels of gun violence:

Nothing at all.*

The vast majority of Americans are with us. We want to close loopholes 
in our laws that give criminals easy access to guns. We want to keep 
guns out of the hands of stalkers and domestic abusers. And we want 
Congress to ensure people on the terrorist watch list aren't able to 
pass a background check.

*We have a chance to do something about congressional inaction this 
November.* And if we are able to pair the overwhelming public support we 
enjoy on these issues with the financial resources needed to challenge 
the gun lobby, we will:

*Contribute $3 to Americans for Responsible Solutions PAC as a way of 
saying ENOUGH is ENOUGH: if our representatives won't stand up to the 
gun lobby, we will elect champions who are up to the job. 
*
 


The aftermath of these mass shootings almost always falls into a 
familiar pattern. Politicians offer their thoughts and prayers, when 
they are capable of so much more, and we are told now is not the time 
for politics. *But I agree with President Obama, and I think you do, as 
well -- now is the time for action.*

And I know that if we stand together and make our voices heard on this 
issue, we are going to make a lot of politicians come around to our 
position, or we are going to replace them in November. *That's what your 
$3 contribution today will accomplish. 
*
 


Thank you for caring about this issue. We are saving lives.

All my best,

Mark Kelly
Americans for Responsible Solutions PAC











Paid for by Americans for Responsible Solutions PAC; not authorized by 
any candidate or candidate's committee.

www.responsiblesolutions.org

This email was sent to s...@cornell.edu. If that is not your preferred 
email address, click here 
.
 
We try to send only the most important information and opportunities to 
participate via email, but click here 

 
if you'd like to unsubscribe. Americans for Responsible Solutions was 
started with the idea that if we all come together, we can make our 
communities safer from gun violence. If you have any comments or 
questions about our efforts, please share them here 
.
 Thank 
you for standing with Gabby and Mark.




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.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] what we need right now

[Sarah Gagnon]

I don't think that this attack was driven only by homophobia. I can't 
know for sure, of course, because I'm not a mind reader, but to ignore 
the Islamic extremism most likely commingled with homophobia leads to an 
inadequate consideration of both the cause and the effective possible 
responses to it. The Ku Klux Clan is a homophobic Christian extremist 
group.  ISIS is a homophobic Islamic extremist group. Both pervert the 
core message of the religions they purport to embrace. They and other 
groups like them need to be confronted by their coreligionists in order 
to deal effectively with these threats.

Joel

On 6/14/2016 2:53 PM, Joanne Cipolla wrote:
> Like some of you on these list serves I am gay. I ask that our entire 
> community read this. I ask you to please be present for lgbtq friends 
> and please reach out to your own family.  There is a gathering on the 
> Commons tonight at 7pm to remember those homosexuals targeted and 
> executed only becasue we are gay and those straight allies who were 
> murdered along with them.
>
> My heart keeps breaking as I witness a mass execution driven only by 
> homophobia and I run the gambit of emotions as another gay American 
> wondering who is next and will it be my wife, an elected official.  I 
> am also wondering  how much effort anyone is going to put forth to 
> make our community safe for us...It isn't and I hope you can join me 
> in that effort.
>
> please read and share the How tos: 8 Ways Allies Can Show Up For the 
> Queer Community After Orlando 
> 
>
>
>   
>
>
>   
>
>
> 8 Ways Allies Can Show Up For the Queer Community After Orlando
>
> If you want to help support queer folks as we heal from the horrific 
> violence in Orlando, these are some great w...
>   
>
> 
>
>
> I give a hug of solidarity to you all in the waves of grief we will 
> all experiences for sometime.
> Joanne Cipolla Dennis
> if you need help please call me at 229-8944
>
>


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.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] Fwd: [C4SED] GOVERNOR CUOMO ANNOUNCES NEW ENERGY AFFORDABILITY POLICY TO DELIVER RELIEF TO NEARLY 2 MILLION LOW-INCOME NEW YORKERS

[Sarah Gagnon]

Tenants who pay their own utilities use less energy. I don't remember 
the exact percentage, but it a meaningfully large number -- something on 
the order of 15%. Tenants who get heating assistance also use more 
energy. I had side by side tenants last winter in virtually identical 
apartments. The ones paying for their heat kept the apartment at 60 
degrees when they weren't there, used space heaters when they just 
needed a little heat in a space they were actually using, and generally 
were very frugal in their energy use. The tenants in the adjoining 
apartment (where I supplied the heat and electricity) kept the 
thermostat at 70 all winter, had TVs in almost every room, which they 
left on all the time, and used hot water like there was no cost to heat it.

Professionals in the field will tell you that the biggest variable in 
building energy use is occupant behavior. Behavior is something that can 
change, given incentives. Americans are very good at responding to 
economic prompts. Raise the cost of energy and we get interested in 
cutting our usage. While it matters whether we are tenants or owners, 
the biggest factor is whether we are paying the bill!

Joel

On 5/20/2016 12:33 PM, Gay Nicholson wrote:
> Agree that this part of the program is not ideal as it just moves the 
> cost burden to other ratepayers without addressing the underlying 
> consumption.  But once again - we come against the problem of 
> tenant/landlord split incentives.  Many of these utility subsidies go 
> to tenants who can't control much about the building's energy 
> consumption besides turning off lights and reducing phantom load.
>
> --
> Gay Nicholson, Ph.D.
> President
> Sustainable Tompkins
> 309 N. Aurora St.
> Ithaca, NY 14850
> www.sustainabletompkins.org <http://www.sustainabletompkins.org>
> 607-533-7312 (home office)
> 607-220-8991 (cell)
> 607-272-1720 (ST office)
>
> g...@sustainabletompkins.org <mailto:g...@sustainabletompkins.org>
>
> On Fri, May 20, 2016 at 12:25 PM, Sarah Gagnon 
> <joel.and.sarah.gag...@lightlink.com 
> <mailto:joel.and.sarah.gag...@lightlink.com>> wrote:
>
> I think direct subsidies of energy use are counterproductive. They
> weaken the incentive produced by higher prices to reduce
> consumption. All of the other initiatives would be better promoted
> if direct subsidies were not a part of the mix. A fee on carbon,
> rebated to households, would be far preferable.
>
> Joel
>
>
> On 5/20/2016 11:12 AM, Gay Nicholson wrote:
>> I want to add a public THANK YOU to all the activists across the
>> state that got involved in commenting on the REV process and
>> advocating strongly with specific suggestions for building in
>> more equity for lower-income folks into the REV process.  It was
>> pretty much empty of this aspect when it first came out, but
>> thanks to citizen engagement - we now have a much stronger and
>> inclusive reform of the energy system underway.  Mind you, we
>> have a long way to go - but again, thanks to those who got
>> involved and got organized!  We made a difference!!
>>
>> --
>> Gay Nicholson, Ph.D.
>> President
>> Sustainable Tompkins
>> 309 N. Aurora St.
>> Ithaca, NY 14850
>> www.sustainabletompkins.org <http://www.sustainabletompkins.org>
>> 607-533-7312  (home office)
>> 607-220-8991  (cell)
>> 607-272-1720  (ST office)
>>
>> g...@sustainabletompkins.org <mailto:g...@sustainabletompkins.org>
>>
>>
>>
>> *For Immediate Release:*5/19/2016
>> *GOVERNOR ANDREW M. CUOMO*
>>
>> State of New York | Executive Chamber
>> Andrew M. Cuomo | Governor
>>
>>
>> *GOVERNOR CUOMO ANNOUNCES NEW ENERGY AFFORDABILITY POLICY TO
>> DELIVER RELIEF**TO NEARLY 2 MILLION LOW-INCOME NEW YORKERS*
>>
>> */NYS Public Service Commission Expands Energy Discount
>> Programs to Provide More Than $248 Million in Savings to
>> Households Statewide/*
>>
>>
>> Governor Cuomo today announced that the New York State Public
>> Service Commission has put in place the state’s first-ever
>> Energy Affordability Policy, which will provide nearly two
>> million low-income New Yorkers with $248 million in direct
>> cost relief each year. The new policy will limit energy costs
>> for low-income New Yorkers to no more than 6 percent of
>> household income – half of what many New York

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] Fwd: [C4SED] GOVERNOR CUOMO ANNOUNCES NEW ENERGY AFFORDABILITY POLICY TO DELIVER RELIEF TO NEARLY 2 MILLION LOW-INCOME NEW YORKERS

[Sarah Gagnon]

I think direct subsidies of energy use are counterproductive. They 
weaken the incentive produced by higher prices to reduce consumption. 
All of the other initiatives would be better promoted if direct 
subsidies were not a part of the mix. A fee on carbon, rebated to 
households, would be far preferable.

Joel

On 5/20/2016 11:12 AM, Gay Nicholson wrote:
> I want to add a public THANK YOU to all the activists across the state 
> that got involved in commenting on the REV process and advocating 
> strongly with specific suggestions for building in more equity for 
> lower-income folks into the REV process.  It was pretty much empty of 
> this aspect when it first came out, but thanks to citizen engagement - 
> we now have a much stronger and inclusive reform of the energy system 
> underway.  Mind you, we have a long way to go - but again, thanks to 
> those who got involved and got organized!  We made a difference!!
>
> --
> Gay Nicholson, Ph.D.
> President
> Sustainable Tompkins
> 309 N. Aurora St.
> Ithaca, NY 14850
> www.sustainabletompkins.org 
> 607-533-7312 (home office)
> 607-220-8991 (cell)
> 607-272-1720 (ST office)
>
> g...@sustainabletompkins.org 
>
>
>
> *For Immediate Release:*5/19/2016 
> *GOVERNOR ANDREW M. CUOMO*
>
> State of New York | Executive Chamber
> Andrew M. Cuomo | Governor
>
>
> *GOVERNOR CUOMO ANNOUNCES NEW ENERGY AFFORDABILITY POLICY TO
> DELIVER RELIEF**TO NEARLY 2 MILLION LOW-INCOME NEW YORKERS*
>
> */NYS Public Service Commission Expands Energy Discount Programs
> to Provide More Than $248 Million in Savings to Households Statewide/*
>
>
> Governor Cuomo today announced that the New York State Public
> Service Commission has put in place the state’s first-ever Energy
> Affordability Policy, which will provide nearly two million
> low-income New Yorkers with $248 million in direct cost relief
> each year. The new policy will limit energy costs for low-income
> New Yorkers to no more than 6 percent of household income – half
> of what many New Yorkers are currently paying.
>
> “This bold action delivers much-needed relief to New Yorkers and
> will help expand access to clean energy in every corner of this
> state,” *Governor Cuomo said.*“I’m proud of this great progress
> toward creating a cleaner, greener and more resilient New York for
> all.”
>
> An order approved today by the Public Service Commission will
> immediately increase the number of low-income utility customers
> receiving monthly discounts from approximately 1.1 million
> customers to 1.65 million. The Governor has also directed a
> collaborative effort among state agencies, acting as a low-income
> energy task force, to develop new strategies so that all of the
> state’s 2.3 million households at or below 200 percent of the
> federal poverty level have greater access to clean energy and are
> better served by the state’s energy efficiency and assistance
> programs.
>
> The new Energy Affordability Policy is an important part of
> Reforming the Energy Vision, Governor Cuomo’s comprehensive
> strategy to fight climate change and grow New York’s economy by
> investing in clean energy technology and generating 50 percent of
> the state’s electricity needs from renewable energy by 2030.
>
> *Richard Kauffman, New York State Chairman of Energy and Finance,
> said,*“REV’s success will not be complete if we don’t do
> everything we can to deliver the benefits of clean and affordable
> energy to low-income households across New York State. Providing
> this critical relief to customers in need is just one of many
> tools we are using to empower the full participation of these
> customers in the transition to a cleaner economy under REV.”
>
> *Commission Chair Audrey Zibelman said,*“We must address the fact
> that millions of New Yorkers struggle every month to pay their
> electric, gas or heating bills. Through a wide range of REV
> initiatives, New York can achieve lower energy bills for all
> customers, at all income levels. But direct assistance is needed
> for these low-income households where energy costs can account for
> 15 percent or more of a family’s income.”
>
> The increase in direct financial assistance is part of more than
> $750 million in annual energy investments by the state on behalf
> of low-income New Yorkers. Utility discounts for low-income
> customers currently total $130 million per year. Today’s order
> will make energy discounts more uniform statewide and provide
> direct savings totaling $248 million to 1.65 million households
> across New York.
>
> Under this new policy, depending on household income and presence
> of vulnerable residents, electric 

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] NYTimes: A New Dark Age Looms

[Sarah Gagnon]

All good points, and I agree. Especially important is the time frame for 
assessing the impact of methane. If it is 100 years, then the impact 
looks fairly modest. If 35, or even 50, methane looks far more 
important, and might very well push us past critical tipping points from 
which there may be no returning. Any carbon tax, even if imperfectly 
crafted, would be giant step in the right direction, IMHO.

Regarding the drop in gasoline prices mentioned by Karl North, I believe 
it has much more to do with the fracking technology and its effect on 
the market than on anything else. Increased production of oil and gas 
(largely in the US), coupled with an economic slowdown in China, led to 
a glut of oil and gas. Whether the increased production can be sustained 
is in doubt, but there is no doubt that we can't afford to sustain it, 
even if we can. Carbon tax now!

Joel

On 4/21/2016 10:58 AM, Margaret McCasland wrote:
> Most SCIENTISTS and ECONOMISTS discuss a carbon price in terms of 
>  "CO2 or CO2-equivalents."  However the question of how to refer to 
> the heat-trapping equivalence of Ch4 to CO2 is not yet settled [the 
> science of much heat methane traps IS settled; but the "how do we 
> count it" is still being argued by policy people--some of whom may 
> have been influenced by Big Gas $ somewhere along the line, whether 
> they know it or not.]
>
> Points where vigilance will be needed with any price on carbon [note 
> that methane is CH4, so "carbon" is a good generic term. We need to 
> make sure that:
> --politicians and bureaucracies influenced by Big Gas do not get it 
> changed to actual CO2 only.
>
> --the price be imposed "upstream"--as soon as a fossil fuel is extracted
>
> and a related point:
> --the price has to refer to the full life cycle [eg methane released 
> during the mining of coal as well as the CO2 from burning coal; and 
> methane that leaks at every step of gas extraction, processing, 
> transport and use]
>
> Margaret
>
>
> On Apr 21, 2016, at 9:21 AM, Miranda Phillips wrote:
>
>> Ditto to Joel and Jan's emails.
>>
>> The carbon fee 
>> <https://citizensclimatelobby.org/carbon-fee-and-dividend/> that Joel 
>> (and I) are in favor of would apply to all fossil fuels, including 
>> methane:
>>
>> *Collection of Carbon Fees/Carbon Fee Trust Fund:* Upon enactment, 
>> impose a carbon fee on all fossil fuels and other greenhouse gases at 
>> the point where they first enter the economy. The fee shall be 
>> collected by the Treasury Department. The fee on that date shall be 
>> $15 per ton of CO2 equivalent emissions and result in equal charges 
>> for*each ton of CO2 equivalent emissions potential in each type of 
>> fuel or greenhouse gas*. The Department of Energy shall propose and 
>> promulgate regulations setting forth CO2 equivalent fees for other 
>> greenhouse gases including at a minimum methane, nitrous oxide, 
>> sulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons, and 
>> nitrogen trifluoride. The Treasury shall also collect the fees 
>> imposed upon the other greenhouse gases. All fees are to be placed in 
>> the Carbon Fees Trust Fund and be rebated 100% to American households 
>> as outlined below...
>>
>> Miranda
>>
>> On Thu, Apr 21, 2016 at 8:17 AM, Jan Quarles <jan...@gmail.com 
>> <mailto:jan...@gmail.com>> wrote:
>>
>> CO2 is one factor, and that's the one typically mentioned and
>> measured.
>>
>> But, as Bob Howarth emphasizes, methane (gas) is much better at
>> trapping heat in the atmosphere than CO2.  We have to ban
>> fracking everywhere, not just in NY State.
>>
>> /More info here:/*Dr. Robert Howarth
>> 
>> <http://ecologyandevolution.cornell.edu/people/faculty/robert-howarth.cfm>* 
>> of
>> Cornell University is a leading expert on the role of methane
>> leakage as a driver of global warming.  He warns that large
>> amounts of methane leaking throughout the natural gas industry
>> is now the top greenhouse gas problem in the US.
>>
>> On Wed, Apr 20, 2016 at 9:50 AM, Sarah Gagnon
>> <joel.and.sarah.gag...@lightlink.com
>> <mailto:joel.and.sarah.gag...@lightlink.com>> wrote:
>>
>> Climate disruption is already much in evidence. Although this
>> last winter was relatively mild overall, one brief but
>> disastrous weekend "polar vortex" dropped temps to minus 20,
>> taking out the peaches and Forsythia in areas outside the
>> City of Ithaca. Then, after April-like we

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] NYTimes: A New Dark Age Looms

[Sarah Gagnon]

Climate disruption is already much in evidence. Although this last 
winter was relatively mild overall, one brief but disastrous weekend 
"polar vortex" dropped temps to minus 20, taking out the peaches and 
Forsythia in areas outside the City of Ithaca. Then, after April-like 
weather in March that awakened a lot of vegetation, we had a mid-winter 
blast that dropped temps here to minus 1 on April 5, slamming roses, 
daffodils, and lilacs, and perhaps destroying the crop for a lot of the 
remaining tree fruit. Even our hardiest plants are not adapted to these 
kind of wild swings in temperature. Conditions seem to be worsening far 
faster than projected by even the most alarmist scientific projections. 
We need to get our act together, and fast, not just to curb the rise in 
CO2, but to reverse it.


I'm for a carbon tax as the fastest way to attack the issue, and I'm 
part of an organization (Citizens' Climate Lobby) focused specifically 
on promoting that approach.


Joel

On 4/20/2016 8:06 AM, Regi Teasley wrote:

FYI

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/19/opinion/a-new-dark-age-looms.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad=nytcore-ipad-share

As Earth warms, nature’s reliable patterns will be disrupted, casting humanity 
into a new dark age.


Regi
"Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you 
will perceive the divine mystery in things."  Dostoyevsky.


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.





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.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] Biofuel or Biofraud? The Vast Taxpayer Cost of Failed Cellulosic and Algal Biofuels: new ISN Article

[Sarah Gagnon]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Joel

On 3/13/2016 10:43 PM, Allison Wilson wrote:
>
> Published today (Mon 14th March) by /Independent Science News/: 
> Biofuel or Biofraud? The Vast Taxpayer Cost of Failed Cellulosic and 
> Algal Biofuels 
> by
>  
> Almuth Ernsting.
>
> Synopsis: The biofuels in use today are the result of cherry picking. 
> Starches or oils (usually from the grain of commodity food crops such 
> as maize and soybeans) are being turned into ethanol or biodiesel 
> because the raw materials are easily available. In consequence 
> however, the majority of the crop biomass has to find another use. 
> This is not an efficient use of resources and to function even 
> minimally as a business model it requires major government 
> interventions, such as renewable fuel mandates. The presumption and PR 
> of the many biofuel advocates, however, are that the biofuels now 
> under development will be much more efficient. Things are not going to 
> plan, however.
> In this article, Almuth Ernsting, Co-Director of the non-profit 
> Biofuelwatch explains that, whether the goal is ethanol from cellulose 
> or biodiesel from algae, results have so far ranged between 
> unpromising and truly dire. Billions of dollars in taxpayer money has 
> been expended on ventures yielding no discernible public benefit or 
> technical progress. Where taxpayer money went, and continues to go, is 
> of ongoing interest.
>
> To read the full article go to: 
> http://www.independentsciencenews.org/environment/biofuel-or-biofraud-the-vast-taxpayer-cost-of-failed-cellulosic-and-algal-biofuels/
>
>
> *For More Information on the Costs of Biofuels:*
>
>
> http://www.biofuelwatch.org.uk/ Biofuelwatch provides information, 
> advocacy and campaigning in relation to the climate, environmental, 
> human rights and public health impacts of large-scale industrial 
> bioenergy.
>
> To learn more about the social and environmental costs of biofuels 
> (also known as agro-fuels as the feedstocks are the product of 
> industrial agriculture) read the excellent article by Eric 
> Holt-Gimenez: Biofuels: The Five Myths of the Agro-fuels Transition. 
> 
>
> Visit theBioenergy/ Biomass 
>  Resource page on 
> the Econexus website.
>
>
> Please share with friends and colleagues who would be interested.
>
> Apologies for cross-posting.
>
> Allison Wilson, PhD
> Science Director
> The Bioscience Resource Project
>
> P.O. Box 6869
> Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
>
> phone: 1 (607) 319 0279
> a.wil...@bioscienceresource.org 
> www.independentsciencenews.org 
> and
> www.bioscienceresource.org 
>
> "Good with Science"
>
>
>
>
>


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.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] the problem I'm having with Prof. Hess's climate mitigation seminar

[Sarah Gagnon]

The only thing missing from this assessment is the potential 
contribution of carbon sequestration. Adding organic matter to our 
agricultural soils has the potential to pull carbon from the atmosphere, 
reducing the long-term effects of CO2. Methane is short acting, though, 
and could trigger the spike in temperature in the short run, as you 
point out. An effective strategy for minimizing the impacts of climate 
disruption needs to both limit the soon-to-be impacts and the long-term 
impacts. That can be done by curtailing methane extraction and use 
coupled with reordering agriculture away from its natural gas dependent 
reliance on nitrogen fertilizer and moving toward cover-cropping and 
biochar use.

Joel

On 3/11/2016 7:20 PM, Marty Hiller wrote:
> The total amount of warming is an integral of the instantaneous rate 
> of warming, and the warming effect of CO2 takes a couple hundred years 
> to level out. (Once that new higher equilibrium temperature is 
> reached, IIRC it will take on the order of a hundred thousand years or 
> so to settle back to the present temperature.) A transient effect like 
> methane, with a ten-year duration, would have to be *enormous* to push 
> the temperature higher than we would reach over the next two hundred 
> years of CO2-mediated climate forcing. So the main impact of the 
> methane transient is on *how fast* we move toward that new equilibrium 
> temperature, and *how soon* we reach whatever tipping points we’re 
> going to reach along the way. (Both of which are important issues for 
> the present generation, but are largely irrelevant to our 
> great-grandchildren.)
>
> If we reach the permafrost tipping point, which seems increasingly 
> likely, it’s possible that we'd see a methane transient large enough 
> to cause a temperature spike. (The CO2 created would increase the 
> long-term temperature as well.) But my take-home from the seminar was 
> that we’re probably not capable of drilling natural gas fast enough to 
> cause something like that through human activity.
> - Marty
>
>
 On Mar 10, 2016, at 3:00 PM, Greg Nelson > wrote:

 I was unable to attend the talk so maybe this was covered:  The 
 question about whether the methane impact is short-lived is largely 
 irrelevant if (as many believe) we are already close to a tipping 
 point.  If so, the immediate impact of the methane could push us 
 past the tipping point, so that even after it dissipated and were 
 left with only CO2, we would not recover.  In a word, hysteresis.
>


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.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] PROTEST Trash Trains, Sat, 3/12/16 at 10 am in Seneca Falls, NY !!

[Sarah Gagnon]

If not this, then what? We should certainly be maximizing recycling to 
reduce to a minimum the residue to be disposed of, but that residue is 
substantial for a city the size of New York. Waste to energy could 
reduce the volume more, but that option has its opponents as well. If 
landfilling is to be the option of choice, where should the landfill be 
located? Staten Island? If upstate, then rail is the least impactful 
option for getting trash there.

Joel

On 3/11/2016 2:58 PM, Jan Quarles wrote:
> JOIN US in Seneca Falls, NY, SATURDAY, MARCH 12th, to protest the 
> 20-year contract that NYC is negotiating with Seneca Meadows to accept 
> garbage via rail.
>
> "Seneca Meadows" is the largest landfill in the Northeast, importing 
> over 9,000 tons of garbage DAILY from all over New England, the 
> mid-Atlantic states and even Canada.
> 47 million gallons of toxic liquid runoff (leachate) per year is put 
> through treatment plants and ends up in our lakes.
> -Facts provided by the Finger Lakes Zero Waste Coalition 
> http://www.flzw.org.
>
> *“A Walk along the Tracks”*
>
> “A Walk along the Tracks”, is scheduled for this Saturday, March 12 to 
> protest the 20-year contract that NYC is negotiating with the Seneca 
> Meadows to accept garbage via rail, as well as the continuance of this 
> landfill remaining open any time after the Year 2023. We anticipate of 
> a large contingent of Seneca Falls and Waterloo community residents.
>
> The protest walk will begin on the sidewalk in front of Academy Square 
> off Cayuga Street in Seneca Falls. *The walk begins promptly at 
> 10:00am*. It is recommended that you arrive early due to possible 
> parking congestion.
>
> Working in concert with both Seneca Falls Police Chief Stu Peenstra 
> and Town Highway Superintendent Jim Peterson, Brad Jones (Protest Walk 
> organizer) advises participants that this walk will be safe and secure 
> for all.
>
> As the protestors walk west from the Academy Square grounds, they will 
> proceed south toward the former village hall, then continue down the 
> east side of State St., reaching the Fall St. intersection. Seneca 
> Falls town police will help walkers cross this busy thoroughfare.
>
> Once reaching State Senator Michael Nozzolio’s office on Fall St., 
> protest marchers will drop off ceremonial bags of garbage, which they 
> have been asked to carry, to send a message to Nozzolio and his Albany 
> peers that “this game stinks”.
>
> From the Senator’s office, the walkers will then proceed to People’s 
> Park at the bottom of Water St. hill to listen to key messages to our 
> State Legislators and the D.E.C.
>
> MAP here: 
> https://www.google.com/maps/place/Senator+Michael+F+Nozzolio/@42.9104615,-76.7995667,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xc533937c90e42010
>  
> 
>
> Yard signs demanding landfill closure in 2023 will be given out by the 
> organizers to participants taking part in this community uprising.
>
> Our communities deserve a better quality of life!
>
> ***
>
>
>
>


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.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] NYTimes: E-Commerce: Convenience Built on a Mountain of Cardboard

[Sarah Gagnon]

I can't help but think that a tax on fossil carbon would be the best way 
to address the profligate use of energy that has spawned several 
comments lately in this forum, while at the same time be the fastest 
route to effectively reducing our collective carbon footprint. The cost 
of producing and reusing cardboard, the cost of deliveries, the cost of 
flying anyplace, the cost of vehicle travel, the cost of eating high on 
the hog, the cost of heating our houses -- all of these and more can and 
would be reduced if we had to pay more for them because the hidden 
subsidy of cheap energy went away. Moreover, the hidden subsidy of solar 
would also go away, leaving a more realistic and sustainable cost in its 
wake. If the revenue generated is returned to households in the form of 
a regular dividend (the carbon fee and dividend ), then the negative 
impact on the economy as we know it would be minimized. Would life go on 
as usual? I don't think so, but I think the changes we would undergo 
would at least move us in the right direction for the planet's future.


Joel Gagnon

On 2/17/2016 8:12 AM, Regi Teasley wrote:

FYI

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/16/science/recycling-cardboard-online-shopping-environment.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad=nytcore-ipad-share

Delivery services now come through in hours, not days. But the boxes after 
boxes generated create environmental concerns, and some guilt.


Regi
"Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you 
will perceive the divine mystery in things."  Dostoyevsky.


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.





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.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] PLEASE READ! update on Mary Anne Grady Flores and what we can do

[Sarah Gagnon]

Why not?

Joel

On 1/22/2016 1:35 PM, Maura Stephens wrote:
> Folks, please do not call and ask Cuomo to “pardon” Mary Anne. This is 
> not the right way to help. Please desist. We’ll have more real updates 
> from her/her legal team soon.
> But do write her, and do engage in drone opposition, and do donate!
>
> Thank you
> Maura
>
> Maura Stephens
>
> On Jan 22, 2016, at 9:21 AM, Miranda Phillips  > wrote:
>
> I called, too.  The woman was nice -- said they are getting a lot of 
> calls on her behalf.
>
> And more will help.
>
> Miranda
>
>
>
> On Thu, Jan 21, 2016 at 5:15 PM, Gay Nicholson  > wrote:
>
> I called Cuomo's office earlier this afternoon and left a detailed
> message.  Also called to find out the term limits of the two
> judges involved.  Town judge Gideon was just re-elected for
> another 3 years.  Waiting to hear on county judge Thomas
> Miller...  It would be great to find candidates to run against
> them the next time.
>
>
> --
> Gay Nicholson, Ph.D.
> President
> Sustainable Tompkins
> 309 N. Aurora St.
> Ithaca, NY 14850
> www.sustainabletompkins.org 
> 607-533-7312  (home office)
> 607-220-8991  (cell)
> 607-272-1720  (ST office)
>
> g...@sustainabletompkins.org 
>
> On Thu, Jan 21, 2016 at 4:23 PM, Christian Nielsen-Palacios
> > wrote:
>
> Eric Banford posted this in FB. I did call, and it was a he says:
> HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN DO-- RIGHT NOW-- Please CALL NY Governor
> Andrew Cuomo (518-474-8390 ) and tell him
> to pardon Mary Anne Grady Flores!" I just called-- press
> Option #3 and you'll get a live person (and in my case, a very
> nice person-- sounds like Gov. Cuomo just needs to hear from
> enough of us and he'll do the right thing here!).
>
> On Thu, Jan 21, 2016 at 4:17 PM, Maura Stephens
> > wrote:
>
> *_More __video:_
> *
> --Ellen Grady talking about drone victims:
> https://youtu.be/vgX9x2-MQJk
> --Carol Baum reading the November 2015 letter from the
> four drone operators to Pres. Obama:
> https://youtu.be/r_engGBmYbI
>
> _*What people can do:* _*Write her, donate money. *But
> even of more interest to her is to *work against
> drones.* (Maybe hold a fundraiser for her and do
> anti-drone education . . .) (And my opinion: Work against
> this unjust “judicial” system we’ve got ourselves.)
>
> *_Her address (know that all your mail will be opened and
> read, and possibly partly redacted, by authorities)._
> *Mary Anne Grady Flores #12001966
> Jamesville Correctional Facility
> PO Box 143
> Jamesville NY 13078
>
> *_A__ddress to send money:_*
> make checks out to Ithaca Catholic Workers (with "Mary
> Anne Grady Flores" in memo line) and send to:
> Ithaca Catholic Workers
> 514 N. Plain St.
> Ithaca, NY 14850
>
> _*Visiting*_
> *Carol Baum* of the Syracuse Peace Council (see contact
> info below) is acting as the visitor coordinator, and
> says: "That is because she is allowed two visits a week.
> Family are a priority, but they probably won't be able to
> come often. We just need to make sure that the priority
> people can get in, and that people traveling a distance
> will also be able to have their visit.
> See http://www.ongov.net/correction/visitingHours.html
>   It
> doesn't say there that there are only two visits a week,
> but that's what Mary Anne told me."
>
> -- Carol Baum Syracuse Peace Council
> 315.472.5478  www.peacecouncil.net
>  --
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -- 
> Miranda Phillips
> Volunteer, Citizens' Climate Lobby
> NY-23 Chapter
> _607 277 1241_
>
> Learn more about our work:
> The New York Times 
> 
> The Guardian 
> 
>  
>
> CCL in two minutes 
> 
>
>


For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins 

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] Bob Howarth's report from Paris

[Sarah Gagnon]

Indeed. Thanks for sharing.

Joel Gagnon

On 12/8/2015 11:33 PM, Irene Weiser wrote:
> Thought you'd be interested in this...
>
> Irene Weiser
> irene32...@gmail.com 
> Brooktondale, NY
> 607-539-6856
>
> /Joy to the world/
> /All the boys and girls/
> /Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea/
> /Joy to you and me./
>
>
> -- Forwarded message --
> From: "Robert Warren Howarth"  >
> Date: Dec 7, 2015 1:04 AM
> To: "Irene Weiser" >
> Cc:
>
> I thought you might be interested in my report on what has happened so 
> far in Paris.  Feel free to pass on, if you like,
>
> Best,
>
> Bob
>
> 
> Robert W. Howarth, Ph.D.
>
> David R. Atkinson Professor of Ecology and
>   Environmental Biology, Cornell University
> Editor-in-Chief, Limnology & Oceanography
> Founding Editor, Biogeochemistry
>
> E.mail: howa...@cornell.edu 
> web: http://www.eeb.cornell.edu/howarth/
> _
>
> “If you think you’re too small to make a
> difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.”
> (Tenzin Gyatse, the 14th Dalai Lama


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.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] Fwd: Re: NYPrize Local Award

[Sarah Gagnon]

Interesting that methane from the wastewater treatment plant is being 
considered but potential hydropower from the city dams and water 
treatment plant is not.

Joel

On 10/28/2015 9:14 PM, Thomas Shelley wrote:
>
> Dear Friends--Please see the link below to the efforts of local 
> organizations and citizens to develop a local microgrid.  Very cool 
> stuff!  Tom
>
>  Forwarded Message 
> Subject:  Re: NYPrize Local Award
> Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2015 20:52:07 -0400
> From: Wade 
> To:   Thomas Shelley 
>
>
>
> Here's the City link:http://www.cityofithaca.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=59
>
> WW
>
> On 10/28/2015 8:19 PM, Wade wrote:
> > Would you like to post it to the listserve?
> >
> > ww
> >\


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.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] favorite organization that protects biodiversity?

[Joel and Sarah Gagnon]

My vote goes to the Finger Lakes Land Trust. Not only do its many easements 
and preserves encompass a great diversity of ecosystem types, the 
management plans for its preserves reflect a commitment to reinforcing 
biodiversity. Here in Tompkins County, the emerald necklace initiative 
seeks to create a continuous band of connected properties that would help 
protect the corridors that larger wildlife rely on, and the Biodiversity 
Preserve in West Danby includes an incredible diversity within its more 
than 500 acres.

Joel

At 05:01 PM 6/13/15 -0400, you wrote:
Hey all,

Does anyone have a favorite organization that's doing great work towards 
protecting biodiversity?  The only one I know doing this work is the San 
Diego Zoo, but I don't know how effective they are...

thanks for any thoughts,

Miranda


--
Miranda Phillips
Volunteer, Citizens' Climate Lobby Â
NY-23 Chapter
607 277 1241

Learn more about our work:
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/29/lobbying-for-the-greater-good/?_r=0The
 
New York Times
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2013/jun/18/climate-change-citizens-climate-lobby-carbon-taxThe
 
Guardian
http://citizensclimatelobby.org/climate-change-solutions-speak-up-for-climate/CCL
 
in two minutes

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.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] Tesla's New Battery Doesn't Work That Well With Solar

[Joel and Sarah Gagnon]

not to mention the 85% efficient oil boiler or furnace. Thanks for sharing 
Brice's real world info.

Joel

At 12:38 PM 5/11/15 -0400, you wrote:
Joel, Brice Smith of SUNY Cortland has been investigating geothermal heat 
pump efficiency and tracking down horror stories of poor 
performance.  In every case, it is human error - failure to fill the 
pipes fully with coolant, blocking air exchangers with decorative panels, 
failure to integrate systems when a school-wide upgrade in distribution 
systems was installed, etc.  Each time the guilty parties had to figure 
out what they did wrong and go fix it.  It wasn't a problem of the 
capacity of the heat pumps.

Brice estimates efficiencies of 300% for ground-source and 200% for 
air-source heat pumps.  Compare that to your 95% gas boiler.

--
Gay Nicholson, Ph.D.
President
Sustainable Tompkins
309 N. Aurora St.
Ithaca, NY 14850
http://www.sustainabletompkins.orgwww.sustainabletompkins.org
607-533-7312 (home office)
607-220-8991 (cell)
607-272-1720 (ST office)

mailto:g...@sustainabletompkins.orgg...@sustainabletompkins.org

On Mon, May 11, 2015 at 11:05 AM, Joel and Sarah Gagnon 
mailto:joel.and.sarah.gag...@lightlink.comjoel.and.sarah.gag...@lightlink.com
 
wrote:
At 04:37 PM 5/9/15 -0400, you wrote:
 Ground source heat pumps can exceed 500%, while air source are more 
like 200% heating in our climate (better when cooling).

While theoretically more efficient, actual efficiencies for ground-source 
heat pumps are often disappointing, I have read. Meanwhile, air source 
heat pumps have improved greatly. Mitsubishi and Fujitsu both have pumps 
with performance coefficients in the range of 2.5. The deterioration in 
performance is astonishingly small all the way down to minus 13 
Fahrenheit, making them a cost-competitive option in our climate. At these 
efficiencies, the only way geothermal makes sense is with the larger tax 
credit associated with it.

As for where we get the electricity for these heat pumps, I'm going to 
risk touching the third rail by suggesting that nuclear power, in the form 
of the liquid salt Thorium reactor, might play a role in the future. 
Inherently safer, with a small fraction of the waste problem of current 
technology, and employing an abundant fuel source that can be produced 
here in the US.

Joel

On May 9, 2015, at 3:14 PM, Greg Nelson 
mailto:terraman...@gmail.comterraman...@gmail.com wrote:



I think the advantages of heat pumps rely on the fact that they are 
taking heat from one place to another; they are removing heat from 
outside and putting it inside your house. That process may require less 
energy than creating the heat inside your house electrically. It does 
have some other hidden costs like the environmental implications of 
leaked refrigerants (now with HFCs replacing CFCs, etc.) and embedded 
energy costs. The question of efficiency plays out differently with 
these systems as the energy losses (fluid friction, compressor bearings, 
motor winding temperature rise) don't necessarily contribute to heating 
your home if the heating is outside the envelope of the house. So then 
you have to trade off these losses - how much input energy doesn't wind 
up heating the home - against the extra heat delivered from outside the 
envelope.  Measured by the same standards used above (joules of heat 
added to home/joules of electricity consumed), heat pumps have the 
*potential* to be MORE than 100% efficient - but are not guaranteed to be.

They are typically *way* more than 100% efficient in this 
sense.  That’s why they make economic sense where resistive ve heat 
doesn’t.  The usual term is â€Å¢â‚¬Å“coefficient of performance†
referring to the ratio of heat moved to electricity consumed. .  Ground 
source heat pumps can exceed 500%, while air source are more like 200% 
heating in our climate (better when cooling).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_heat_pumphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_heat_pump
http://www.mitsubishipro.com/media/382152/p%20series_3_11-r_pages.pdf

SS.

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.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] Tesla's New Battery Doesn't Work That Well With Solar

[Joel and Sarah Gagnon]

At 04:37 PM 5/9/15 -0400, you wrote:
  Ground source heat pumps can exceed 500%, while air source are more like 
 200% heating in our climate (better when cooling).

While theoretically more efficient, actual efficiencies for ground-source 
heat pumps are often disappointing, I have read. Meanwhile, air source heat 
pumps have improved greatly. Mitsubishi and Fujitsu both have pumps with 
performance coefficients in the range of 2.5. The deterioration in 
performance is astonishingly small all the way down to minus 13 Fahrenheit, 
making them a cost-competitive option in our climate. At these 
efficiencies, the only way geothermal makes sense is with the larger tax 
credit associated with it.

As for where we get the electricity for these heat pumps, I'm going to risk 
touching the third rail by suggesting that nuclear power, in the form of 
the liquid salt Thorium reactor, might play a role in the future. 
Inherently safer, with a small fraction of the waste problem of current 
technology, and employing an abundant fuel source that can be produced here 
in the US.

Joel

On May 9, 2015, at 3:14 PM, Greg Nelson 
mailto:terraman...@gmail.comterraman...@gmail.com wrote:



I think the advantages of heat pumps rely on the fact that they are 
taking heat from one place to another; they are removing heat from 
outside and putting it inside your house. That process may require less 
energy than creating the heat inside your house electrically. It does 
have some other hidden costs like the environmental implications of 
leaked refrigerants (now with HFCs replacing CFCs, etc.) and embedded 
energy costs. The question of efficiency plays out differently with these 
systems as the energy losses (fluid friction, compressor bearings, motor 
winding temperature rise) don't necessarily contribute to heating your 
home if the heating is outside the envelope of the house. So then you 
have to trade off these losses - how much input energy doesn't wind up 
heating the home - against the extra heat delivered from outside the 
envelope.  Measured by the same standards used above (joules of heat 
added to home/joules of electricity consumed), heat pumps have the 
*potential* to be MORE than 100% efficient - but are not guaranteed to be.

They are typically *way* more than 100% efficient in this sense.  That’s 
why they make economic sense where resistive heat doesn’t.  The usual 
term is “coefficient of performance” referring to the ratio of heat 
moved to electricity consumed. .  Ground source heat pumps can exceed 
500%, while air source are more like 200% heating in our climate (better 
when cooling).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_heat_pumphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_heat_pump
http://www.mitsubishipro.com/media/382152/p%20series_3_11-r_pages.pdf

SS.


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.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] Dwarf fruit trees?

[Joel and Sarah Gagnon]

It is a little late, but since they are supplying dormant trees that have 
been cold-stored over the winter, it is not a problem.

Joel

At 10:47 AM 5/8/15 -0400, you wrote:
I remember hearing good things about Miller Nurseries in Canandagua, but 
looking them up I find they've retired and sold out to 
http://www.starkbros.com/about/miller-nurseriesStarks. Â
Anyway, Starks recommended spring planting time for zone 5A is next 
week.  Seems to me rather late for planting trees. Â

MikeÂ

On Fri, May 8, 2015 at 10:01 AM, Patricia Haines 
mailto:levelgreen2...@gmail.comlevelgreen2...@gmail.com wrote:
Thanks to everyone! We clearly have a lot to learn about the rhythm of 
planting!

Sent from my iPhone

  On May 8, 2015, at 8:45 AM, Jon Bosak 
 mailto:bo...@pinax.combo...@pinax.com wrote:
 
  I second the reference to Cummins -- they rock.  But to get just what
  you want, you have to place orders in the fall.
 
  Indian Creek is the same place, BTW.
 
  Jon
 
  On 2015-05-07 8:54 PM, Patricia Haines wrote:
  Does anyone have a suggestion for a good place to purchase these?
 


--
“After the ecstasy, the laundry.” - Jack Kornfield

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.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] focused issue on urban agriculture

[Joel and Sarah Gagnon]

At 01:30 AM 3/30/15 +, you wrote:

Unless of course everybody wants to either be stealth or apply for a variance.

Variances are supposed to be infrequent, precipitated by unusual 
circumstances not envisioned in the applicable law or ordinance. Use 
variances are very difficult to obtain, so the probability of denial is 
pretty high. A history of such denials, particularly if the applications 
are accompanied by neighbor support, would be a good way to build pressure 
to change the law, and a host of variance applications would likely trigger 
a review of the underlying law to see if it couldn't be changed to better 
accommodate what a lot of people apparently want to do that they cannot do 
legally.

That may or may not be the easiest route to the goal, though. In any case, 
as Jon and Tom have pointed out, public support for the change is critical.

Joel


Dear All,

A few of us on this list (Regi and I and a few others) have a very 
targeted question:  How can we get ordinances int eh city and town (two 
different jurisdictions) that allow certain kinds of urban/sub-urban 
agricultural activities, like dairy goats, chickens and possibly bees (the 
three tend to go together).  I am going for an area variance to have 
chickens (I have 1.56 acres) but many, many cities are passing legislation 
that returns small town living to something more sustainable.  Many of our 
ordinances outlawing chickens and in some places even goats date from as 
recently at post WWII.

I also, like Regi, have no interest in tilting at windmills. I am a pretty 
good gardener but do not know all the ins and outs of chickens and goats 
(though I can run a horse farm on my own). I am comfortable working to get 
things done and working with others.  So, we will be asking people whoa re 
interested in moving these agendas ahead if they want to get involved. 
People who know a lot will be most valued and appreciated.  This is about 
a legislative agenda, not just organic gardening.

Unless of course everybody wants to either be stealth or apply for a variance.


Jane-Marie Law
Associate Professor of Japanese Religions
Department of Asian Studies
Fellow, Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future
350 Rockefeller Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853-2502
607-255-5095/ 607-255-8332



From: bounce-118992395-12863...@list.cornell.edu 
bounce-118992395-12863...@list.cornell.edu on behalf of Regi Teasley 
rltcay...@gmail.com
Sent: Sunday, March 29, 2015 8:26 AM
To: SUSTAINABLE_TOMPKINS-L
Subject: Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] Fw: More on the Urban Ag discussion 
on Sustainable Tompkins

So noted.   We want to put our energies where we can have some 
impact.  I'm not a fan of tilting at windmills.
We do know that more and more people are going to need to be engaged in 
food production.   For example, the Central Valley in CA is running out of 
water.  So, building capacity is crucial.  Whatever works best I am for.

Regi

Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love 
everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things.  Dostoyevsky.

  On Mar 28, 2015, at 6:38 PM, Jon Bosak bo...@pinax.com wrote:
 
  Not trying to be a wet blanket here (in the interests of
  resilience, I really would like to see as many people as possible
  raising as much of their own food as possible), but I'm not
  getting the impression that folks involved in this discussion have
  a clear understanding of what needs to be done.
 
  As the note from Monika Roth made clear (I hope), there is already
  an abundance of information available to local residents on how to
  garden, grow crops, and raise livestock.  This includes regular
  Cooperative Extension workshops as well as a number of other
  resources.  So support is not the problem.
 
  There are also an abundant number of places in Tompkins County
  where you can at least raise chickens, and a considerable area
  where you can just flat-out farm (something like 30 percent of the
  land area of the county, if I remember correctly).  So if there's
  a limit here, it's a limit on the residents of places in the
  county that aren't zoned for what they want to do to do what they
  want to do anyway.
 
  The thing that needs to be understood here is that zoning laws
  don't happen by accident.  They happen because the residents of a
  given area elect officials who enact limitations on what people
  can do in that area in accordance with the wishes of the people
  who live in that area, following a lengthy and difficult process
  of public review.  In other words, if the law in a given area says
  that you can't keep chickens in that area, it's because a majority
  of the people living in that area decided (at some point) that
  they didn't want chickens kept there.  This wasn't some decision
  dictated by faceless Powers That Be, it was the result of
  Democracy In Action.
 
  If you want keeping chickens (or goats, or whatever) to be allowed
  in 

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] Fwd: [geactivists] monarch butterflies and Monsanto

[Joel and Sarah Gagnon]

Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) is an attractive wildflower. Not only are the 
flowers pretty, the pods are interesting both when green and later on in 
the winter landscape, and the seeds with their fluffy white carriers are 
entrancing. The plant is an aggressive spreader, however, by way of fleshy 
roots, and hard to constrain. That is what underlies its noxious weed 
categorization. So, if you are going to plant it, put it somewhere where 
its behavior won't be a problem, or plan ahead to restrict its spread using 
walls, walks, or deep lawn edging to keep the roots in their assigned 
place. I keep mine in the field area and mow around it.

Joel

At 11:09 AM 3/5/15 -0500, you wrote:
Thanks for this post.
While this is not a solution, let me recommend that people plant milkweed 
in their yards, avoid all pesticide use there and encourage friends and 
neighbors to do likewise.

The National Wildlife Federation, despite its own limitations, promotes a 
program of making yards friendly for wildlife.  We can do this right now, 
well, as soon as things warm up.

Besides, our revitalized yards will give us the joy to face the 
unhappiness of these times.

Regi

Sent from my iPad

On Mar 3, 2015, at 1:14 PM, Tony Del Plato 
mailto:tonydelpl...@gmail.comtonydelpl...@gmail.com wrote:


-- Forwarded message --
From: Doug Gurian-Sherman 
mailto:dgurian.sher...@gmail.comdgurian.sher...@gmail.com
Date: Tue, Mar 3, 2015 at 11:56 AM
Subject: [geactivists] monarch butterflies and Monsanto
To: gean 
mailto:geactivi...@lists.riseup.netgeactivi...@lists.riseup.net, 
mailto:gmol...@googlegroups.comgmol...@googlegroups.com 
mailto:gmol...@googlegroups.comgmol...@googlegroups.com


As many of you know, the monarch butterfly is in serious decline. The 
main culprit now is the decimation of the sole food source of its larvae 
in the US, milkweeds (mostly common milkweed), and that is due to the use 
of glyphosate herbicides on genetically engineered herbicide resistant crops.



But what to do about this is the next question, and answering this 
question will pit those with vested interests in maintaining the 
industrial agriculture status quo against those that see the need for 
more fundamental change. The most sensible solution for monarchs and the 
biodiversity they represent is to make agriculture itself more supportive 
of biodiversity. But the pesticide industry is trying to promote 
solutions that would leave agriculture untouched, by supplying habitat 
outside of the agricultural environment. More uncultivated habitat is 
generally a very good idea. But it is questionable whether there is 
enough of such potential uncultivated habitat available in the Corn Belt 
for this to work.



The monarch issue is an opportunity for those who want to see changes in 
US agriculture to make their case.

  Here is a blog on this that I just posted on Civil Eats that lays this out.



http://civileats.com/2015/03/03/will-monsanto-save-the-monarch-butterfly/http://civileats.com/2015/03/03/will-monsanto-save-the-monarch-butterfly/



Cheers,

Doug



Doug Gurian-Sherman, Ph.D.

Director of Sustainable Agriculture and Senior Scientist

Center for Food Safety

660 Pennsylvania Avenue, S.E., #302

Washington, D.C.  20003

Email 
mailto:dgurian-sher...@centerforfoodsafety.orgdgurian-sher...@centerforfoodsafety.org

Phone tel:%28202%29547-9359%20ext%2014(202)547-9359 ext 14

Fax tel:%28202%29%20547-9429(202) 547-9429

Website: http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/www.centerforfoodsafety.org



image001.jpg

This e-mail message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and 
may contain confidential and privileged information.  Any unauthorized 
review, use, disclosure, or distribution is prohibited by law.  If you 
are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail 
and destroy all copies of the original message.





--
Because a sustainable future depends on the people willing to see the 
truth for what it is, and for those to stand up in unison in order to 
make a difference. — Jake Edwards Keli'i Eakin

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.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] Bike escalator

[Joel and Sarah Gagnon]

I think electric bicycles make the most sense for conquering the hills at a 
reasonable price, and I think their purchase could be subsidized for quite 
a few for the price of the escalator. Once the cars are less prominent due 
to their being too expensive to use by people of modest means, there will 
be a lot more bikes around and with them will come the political pressure 
and will to better accommodate them. We may also see more of a continuum 
between cars and bicycles as cars get smaller and electrify and bikes and 
other primarily pedal-powered conveyances evolve to better protect the user 
from the elements and add electric assist to enable both hill climbing and 
greater cargo-carrying capacity.

I don't think it is practical to close the city to cars, now or ever, for 
the simple reason of geography. Unlike many cities, there is no loop road 
around Ithaca. All the major roads go through the city, and there is no 
getting around that. Traffic will eventually diminish with rising 
transportation costs. Those who have to drive will carpool more, and 
discretionary travel will diminish.

Joel


At 11:26 AM 3/4/15 -0500, you wrote:
I agree it's the future, but I also would argue it's something that has to 
be phased in (not a here today, banned tomorrow) or the results for 
downtown businesses would be catastrophic.  Probably 90% of them 
shuttered within a month.  Also important to consider the number of 
people who commute to work downtown from places where our current public 
transit system is incomplete - they would essentially lose their jobs 
overnight.
One way of phasing this in has already (to my understanding) been started 
by Mayor Myrick: increasing parking fees.  Later on, it might be possible 
to do something like installing toll gates at the various roads leading 
into downtown, and using the collected tolls to pay for expanded public 
transit services.  And maybe bike escalators :-)

Greg

On Wed, Mar 4, 2015 at 10:43 AM, fieldsparrow 
mailto:fieldspar...@riseup.netfieldspar...@riseup.net wrote:
Given it is in email, I can't tell whether Joe is being sarcastic or not 
:).  Either way, as someone who bikes and walks almost everywhere I go in 
town, I cannot tell you the number of times I have dreamt of car-free 
streets.  I know that it sounds like some crazy, radical idea but given 
the state of the planet, it's where we have to be headed if we want to 
survive.Â

I really appreciate the post on the bike escalator, I think any way to 
encourage people to bike more (and walk and take public transportation 
more) in the Ithaca area is a step towards showing that we put our action 
and resources towards a sustainable planet and we're not just talk.  So, 
yea, ban cars in town - you have my vote, too!  And it would be great if 
people wanted to get together and talk more about realistically creating a 
bustling, vibrant town with no cars.  Sign me up!

in solidarity
oona



--
There are no 'humane' forms of exploitation that make it acceptable to 
use animals instrumentally, as means to our ends. The moment we use 
another being instrumentally, we have denied that being its right to exist 
on its own terms, whether that being is human or non-human...

...By compelling animals to produce for us, we (knowingly or unknowingly) 
take part in maintaining the domination of humanity over the natural world 
and its inhabitants, and such exploitation is often justified with 
stunningly simplistic logic. People who otherwise spend their time 
concerned with equity and justice will often argue that animals are 'here 
for us' to consume, that our might-makes-right, and that there is really 
no other choice if we want to eat. Such logic only serves to prop up an 
exploitative and violent system of dominance, much like every other 
exploitative system of dominance and hierarchy that humanity has dealt 
with over the ages.

- Bob Torres, Making A Killing




On 3/3/15 7:15 PM, Joe Nolan wrote:

Now you're on the right track. Simply ban personal cars inside the City, 
and the roads will fill up with bikes. You have my vote anyway.

On 3/2/2015 9:53 PM, Christopher Grant wrote:
Maybe we can have a week this summer where all area roads are closed to 
motor vehicles.  After a day or two people would oil up their chains 
and strap on a helmet and go to town!





--
A cow goes into a pharmacy and asks for a loaf of black bread.
The Pharmacist says I'm sorry, we only have white bread.
Says the cow doesn't matter, I came on my bike.
- OTTer Exodies

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] Fwd: New model lets communities own their commercial spaces; Indie businesses report strong sales growth; David Carr on monopoly; + More!

[Joel and Sarah Gagnon]

Subject: New model lets communities own their commercial spaces; Indie 
businesses report strong sales growth; David Carr on monopoly; + More!
From: Stacy Mitchell smitch...@ilsr.org
Reply-To: Stacy Mitchell smitch...@ilsr.org

Independent Business Survey shows the impact of Buy Local movement; San 
Francisco strengthens a smart planning policy; Investment coop model holds 
outsize potential for a familiar set of problems; The best of David Carr 
on monopoly power; and more!
Is this email not displaying correctly?
http://us5.campaign-archive1.com/?u=ebfe77c732e7192553aef5712id=52fdaacdebe=1883e7b844View
 
it in your browser.
http://ilsr.us5.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=ebfe77c732e7192553aef5712id=5b5f81d28fe=1883e7b84427838f.jpg
 

http://ilsr.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ebfe77c732e7192553aef5712id=c30f9567bee=1883e7b844The
 
Do-It-Yourselves Downtown: A New Model Lets Communities Own and Develop 
Their Commercial Spaces
Olivia LaVecchia | Feb. 23, 2015

http://ilsr.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ebfe77c732e7192553aef5712id=6d1e5e94a1e=1883e7b84427848b.jpgBack
 
in 2011, a group of neighbors decided they were fed up with their 
lackluster commercial corridor, and got together to start the country's 
first investment cooperative to buy and develop real estate. Today, the 
Northeast Investment Cooperative in Minneapolis has more than 200 members, 
and in the two buildings first purchased by NEIC, there are three thriving 
businesses. While NEIC is unique in the U.S., similar investment 
cooperatives are sprouting up in Canada, aided by favorable public policies.

Though this model is new, and small, it holds outsize potential for the 
many neighborhoods whose business districts are decaying, controlled by 
distant landlords or faraway retail chains. In the vacuum left by 
traditional economic development and Wall Street's approach to finance, 
community real estate investment cooperatives offer a glimpse of a better 
way to channel capital, with benefits that include new jobs in the 
neighborhood, strong incentives for people to shop locally, and a return 
on 
investment.http://ilsr.us5.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=ebfe77c732e7192553aef5712id=e70fc9214fe=1883e7b844
 
Continue Reading

http://ilsr.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ebfe77c732e7192553aef5712id=6a9daa3c44e=1883e7b844Public
 
Support Buoys Independent Businesses For a Strong 2014, Survey Finds
Olivia LaVecchia and Stacy Mitchell | Feb. 11, 2015

http://ilsr.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ebfe77c732e7192553aef5712id=f1fe4d9616e=1883e7b844278507.jpg
 

Are independent businesses making a comeback? The results of the 2015 
Independent Business Survey are out, and there s cause for optimism. In 
this year's survey, ILSR and the Advocates for Independent Business asked 
more than 3,000 independent businesses how they're faring. They reported 
that in 2014, they experienced strong sales growth, beat the holiday 
performance of many national chains, and were lifted by public support. I 
am heartened by the shift I am seeing in our community, said one retailer 
in Washington.

Despite these gains, independent businesses reported that they still face 
a decidedly uneven playing field.  Tax policies that favor their big 
competitors, lax enforcement of antitrust laws, and difficulty securing 
loans are all significant impediments to their success, the survey 
found.   Indeed, a staggering 44 percent of businesses owned by people of 
color that sought a loan in the last two years were unable to obtain 
one.http://ilsr.us5.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=ebfe77c732e7192553aef5712id=4318dac120e=1883e7b844
 
Continue Reading

http://ilsr.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ebfe77c732e7192553aef5712id=c23979e5bee=1883e7b844Remembering
 
David Carr, and His Writing on Monopoly Power
Stacy Mitchell | Feb. 18, 2015

http://ilsr.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ebfe77c732e7192553aef5712id=216a9ad8b6e=1883e7b8442785b4.jpgWhat
 
will we do without David Carr, the brilliant media columnist at the New 
York Times who died last week? At ILSR, we will especially miss his 
writing on monopoly power in the book and media industries, including his 
smart pieces on Amazon, Comcast, and other giants. We've excerpted and 
linked to a few of his best recent pieces on those 
subjects.http://ilsr.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ebfe77c732e7192553aef5712id=809974943ae=1883e7b844
 
Continue Reading

http://ilsr.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ebfe77c732e7192553aef5712id=b4088a1f90e=1883e7b844San
 
Francisco Strengthens Policy Support for Locally Owned Businesses
Stacy Mitchell | Jan. 16, 2015

http://ilsr.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ebfe77c732e7192553aef5712id=96803dbf81e=1883e7b84427864b.jpgAs
 
other cities are struggling with an influx of chains driving out locally 
owned businesses, San Francisco continues to be a leader on smart policy. 
Beginning in 2015, new revisions to the city's formula business 
restriction take effect. The city passed the 

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] appropriate technologies, and curbing resource consumption

[Joel and Sarah Gagnon]

Excellent. Thanks for sharing.

Joel

At 10:00 AM 1/26/15 -0500, you wrote:


http://www.resilience.orghttp://www.resilience.org  :among other 
topics,  good articles on  reduced energy availability in the future and 
its implications for economic growth and our way of life. Also reports on 
what different communities are doing to build local resilience.

I would especially like to recommend the recent Resilience article by 
Richard Heinberg  Our Renewable Future Or What Ive Learned in 12 Years of 
Writing About Energy.   In my opinion, he provides one of the most 
balanced pictures of what renewable energy can and cannot do for us. 
Renewable energy cannot behave like fossil fuels (as much energy as we 
want, 24/7, ) and will never be able to power our current wasteful and 
self-indulgent way of life, nor can it power endless economic growth. 
Climate activists and other renewable energy optimists need to be more 
honest about that.  He ends the article with this:

I consider myself a renewable energy advocate: after all, I work for an 
organization called Post Carbon Institute. I

have no interest in discouraging the energy transitionquite the contrary. 
But Ive concluded that many of us, like

Koningstein and Fork, have been asking the wrong questions of renewables. 
Weve been demanding that they

continue to power a growth-based consumer economy that is inherently 
unsustainable for a variety of reasons (the

most obvious one being that we live on a small planet with finite 
resources). The fact that renewables cant do that

shouldn't actually be surprising.


What are the right questions? The first, already noted, is: What kind of 
society can up-to-date renewable energy

sources power? The second, which is just as important: How do we go about 
becoming that sort of society?



And once we accept that, here are some ideas for getting by with a  lot 
less energy and other resources.

http://www.lowtechmagazine.comhttp://www.lowtechmagazine.com:   Lots 
of good project ideas


I often think about how in In addition to creating massive environmental 
damage and destroying many living things, our dependence on fossil fuels 
has also killed off a lot of human creativity and ingenuity. When we 
believe energy is and always will be abundant, we tend to just throw more 
energy at every problem, taking a brute forceand coarse approach. Hot? Air 
condition. Cold? Put in a bigger heating system.  That was the approach of 
much of the 20th century. Energy becomes a substitute for ingenious and/or 
elegant design of tools and structures and ingenious and elegant ways of 
living.

Surely one of the most idiotic technologies ever offered to us is the leaf 
blower. Or maybe non-ventilating windows. Close  behind are riding 
lawnmowers. They allow people to easily maintain vast monotonous-looking, 
purposelacking biological deserts all around their homes while feeling 
good about how well they take careof their properties and enjoying their 
put-putting around so much that they mow every few days, and even mow 
during droughts. . This requires no thought, no creativity, no effort 
while depriving non-humans of lots of living space and the landscape of 
beauty. A very coarse, mindless, brute-force approach to landscape maintenance.





On climate destabilization, The honorable choice I see is to power-down; 
stop taking airplane jaunts, repair old things, get out the clothespins, 
grow food, walk.  And face the truth, that I am party to something so 
enormously destructive I can hardly know its edges.  The conquering of any 
addiction begins with these words: I am the guilty party.  ~ Barbara Kingsolver


From: Miranda Phillips 
mailto:phillipsvi...@gmail.comphillipsvi...@gmail.com
Reply-To: Sustainability in Tompkins County 
mailto:sustainable_tompkins-l@list.cornell.edusustainable_tompkins-l@list.cornell.edu
Date: Sunday, January 25, 2015 at 7:55 PM
To: Sustainability in Tompkins County 
mailto:sustainable_tompkins-l@list.cornell.edusustainable_tompkins-l@list.cornell.edu
Subject: [sustainable_tompkins-l] appropriate technologies, and curbing 
resource consumption

Hey again,

In previous conversations on this listserv, Karl North has advocated 
strongly for small-scale technologies (like solar ovens), that require 
fewer resources to produce, and lend themselves to DIY maintenance.  It 
got me wondering...

Does anyone know of organizations that are doing good work to promote such 
appropriate technologies, or to curb resource consumption /rampant 
growth generally?

thanks for any leads,

Miranda

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.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] 1/13/2015 12:39:19 PM

[Joel and Sarah Gagnon]

If you want us to open this, more needs to be said about it.

Joel

At 12:39 PM 1/13/15 +, you wrote:

http://deifystore.in/glprsn/tglvtklqoxyuqrylihylenfpvas.kiqfluhidyvwwrpaqumnvfxroclqtuthttp://deifystore.in/glprsn/tglvtklqoxyuqrylihylenfpvas.kiqfluhidyvwwrpaqumnvfxroclqtut
 




























owlgorge





1/13/2015 12:39:19 PM

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.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] Tar Sands in Utah Being Processed by Former Haliburton Susidiary

[Joel and Sarah Gagnon]

All tar sands production is uneconomic with oil at $65 a barrel.

Joel

At 08:02 PM 12/8/14 -0500, you wrote:
While our eyes on on the Alberta tar sands, an end run by a former 
Haliburton subsidiary is happening in Utah. Can the resistance there stop 
it? Though not as massive as the tar sands in Canada, the potential damage 
done locally  globally is frightening. Processing is scheduled to begin 
in 2015.Â
Tony Del Plato
PS: some TC Sustainers want this list to focus on what's happening in 
Tompkins County. I disagree. Think  inform ourselves globally, act 
locally. It's all connected and we're all related.

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/27833-former-halliburton-subsidiary-managing-construction-of-first-us-tar-sands-minehttp://www.truth-out.org/news/item/27833-former-halliburton-subsidiary-managing-construction-of-first-us-tar-sands-mine

--
I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent 
less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her 
sweetness and respecting her seniority.
E. B. White

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.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] What is Synthetic Biology? New animated video explains

[Joel and Sarah Gagnon]

At 03:44 PM 11/14/14 -0500, you wrote:
   It can be dangerous to confuse actual reality with what you desire 
 reality to be.  Many people don't like the idea that humans are machines; 
 it just rubs them the wrong way.  Many people also don't like the idea 
 that humans are related to chimpanzees and gorillas by descent from a 
 common ancestor; it just rubs them the wrong way.  But reality is what it 
 is, whether one finds that comfortable or not.  The hunt for some 
 essential characteristic that separates us from machines is doomed to 
 fail, just as the hunt for some essential characteristic that separates 
 us from the animals is doomed to fail.

Are you suggesting that we are no different than machines, or other 
animals? That there are differences is acknowledged by our definition of 
species -- a descriptive term conjured up to categorize reality as we 
experience and observe it. If your point is that we have much in common 
with some machines and some animals, then I think that is clearly the case. 
Are there real differences? Are those differences essential 
characteristics? Essential for what?

We like to think that we are in some way unique -- I'm not sure why. In my 
lifetime I have seen several  uniquely human characteristics dethroned as 
we extend our knowledge. Tool use, self-consciousness, complex cooperative 
behavior, among others, were at one time thought to be uniquely human. No 
longer. There are differences in degree, of course, but they blend together 
at the margins, just as the separations between species do. Just because 
they do does not negate the value of the concept of species nor the idea 
that humans are different. We are different, and we are the same, in many 
ways. Why do you suppose that we seem to feel a need to see ourselves as 
different?

Joel 
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.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] What is Synthetic Biology? New animated video explains

[Joel and Sarah Gagnon]

At 09:46 PM 11/14/14 -0500, you wrote:
Interesting. According to American Heritage, one of the definitions of 
machine is an intricate natural system or organism, such as the human 
body. I don't think I've ever heard the word used that way before. 
Unfortunately, what it means is that the statement living organisms are 
machines is true by definition, and is therefore meaningless. Our concept 
of what a machine is must be able to expand to include *all* of the 
properties that living organisms have, regardless of how un-machine-like 
they are. So if we were to prove that humans have souls, then machines 
would have them too.

Guess that's the end of *that* discussion.
- Marty

Not. That would depend on whether souls are an emergent property, something 
that appears as a result of all the right parts being in place. Maybe, and 
possibly, in which case at some point machines might indeed come to have 
souls. If instead, they are extrinsic, an added property, then whether they 
are present would depend on whether the source of souls, whatever it is, 
chooses to add them. Organisms, including to some degree machines, may or 
may not have souls. I remember studying theology years ago and reading 
about ensoulment -- the point in time at which body and soul are united 
to form one entity. My church believes that to happen at conception, but 
that has not always been the belief, and it is not shared by all believers 
in souls. Since the soul is believed to be immortal, as the body 
demonstrably is not, having one is kinda nice.

Joel


On Nov 14, 2014, at 3:44 PM, Ben Haller wrote:

   We've gotten pretty far afield, but it's an interesting discussion, so 
 what the heck.
 
  The living organisms as machines angle is an interesting one.  As a 
 biologist, I would say that living organisms *are* machines; there is no 
 evidence of any such thing as a soul, and we have a great deal of 
 evidence for the truth and power of the reductionist perspective.
 
  The idea that living organisms are machines is an inversion of 
 reality. People have, throughout history, used our most recent scientific 
  technological breakthroughs as a metaphor for understanding the nature 
 of life. It *does not follow* that life is an example of the high 
 technology of the day.
 
   My argument that living things are machines is not based on the 
 metaphor ­ I'm not extrapolating from the metaphor to reality.  Rather, I 
 am simply saying that living things are in fact ­ not metaphorically ­ 
 subsumed by the definition of machine.  Others may use the term 
 machine as a metaphor; that is irrelevant to my argument.
 
  And quite frankly, even as a metaphor, machines are outdated. These 
 days the limits of our expanding knowledge are all about systems -- 
 dynamic interacting complexes that evolve and change over time. Machines, 
 by contrast, are static. Their physical structures and capabilities are 
 fixed at the time of manufacture. Computational machines can only behave 
 in ways that are programmed in; even so-called learning machines are 
 entirely limited by the programs that define them.
 
   I'd make three points here.  One, I'm not sure where you get this 
 restrictive definition of machine from.  Who says machines are static, 
 fixed at manufacture, etc.?  You seem to be extrapolating from the sorts 
 of machines humans have been capable of building in the past, and 
 assuming that all machines must share those observed properties.  In the 
 early days of the Industrial Revolution, this would have implied that 
 machines are also, by definition, made of metal and powered by steam, I 
 suppose.  But such properties are not inherent in the definition of machine.
   Two, humans and other living things are also entirely limited by the 
 programs that define them.  Try doing something that your DNA does not 
 allow you to do ­ grow a third arm, say.  Try as you might, you will 
 never do so.  Yes, you can learn and think; but your capability to do so 
 is enabled by your DNA, just as you note that learning machines are 
 limited by the programs that define them.  There doesn't seem to be any 
 substantive difference there.
   And three, we already in fact have computer programs that can modify 
 their own code; indeed, such programs have been common for decades 
 now.  Humans are starting to figure out genetic engineering, but we are 
 still far from knowing how to effectively modify the DNA code running 
 in a living human being.  In this sense, then, the computer programs we 
 have designed are actually ahead of us, not behind us.  Their 
 capabilities are not, in fact, fixed at the time of manufacture; on the 
 contrary, that is *our* limitation, not theirs.
 
  Living organisms are complex, dynamic, and ever-changing; they're 
 embedded within and constantly interacting with their surrounding 
 ecosystems. Even our physical existence is continuously in flux; we 
 exchange material with our environment every time we so much 

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] What is Synthetic Biology? New animated video explains

[Joel and Sarah Gagnon]

At 02:11 PM 11/9/14 -0500, you wrote:
there is no evidence of any such thing as a soul,

An unnecessary and provocative statement. What would evidence of a soul's 
existence look like? Since soulness is not posited to be a physical 
property, there is of course no physical evidence of its existence. Can one 
reasonably conclude that the absence of physical evidence means that there 
is no evidence? I don't think so. It does place it in the category of 
things that cannot be proven, like the existence of abstractions like love, 
peace, freedom, etc. Evidence of the existence of any of these things 
abounds in behavior and belief, notwithstanding the absence of physical 
evidence.

Joel (also a biologist, but a believer in souls) 
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] energy retrofit invitation

[Joel and Sarah Gagnon]

I have been investing in repositioning my community for the future by way 
of fairly deep energy retrofits of houses in my neighborhood for quite some 
time, but rather slowly, given that the work is pursued on a time-available 
basis. The largest project, and the slowest by far, is a two-apartment 
farmhouse that I started on 25 years ago and am just now finishing. Since 
it represents a large chunk of my life's work, a celebration seems in 
order. You are all invited to stop by this Saturday and see a pretty good 
example of what can be done with a hard-to-upgrade house. We're having a 
dish-to-pass meal in conjunction, so bring something and share with the 
like-minded and the merely curious. Or, just stop by and take a look.

4-7 P.M. Saturday September 27
225 Hillview Road
West Danby


Where's that, some of you will want to know. Hillview Road is about 8 miles 
south of the place where 34/96 divides from route 13 south of Ithaca and 
heads off on its own toward Spencer. It is on the left. You follow Hillview 
Road east for 1/2 a mile or so. at which point it makes a right hand turn 
around a corner and heads south. 5 houses later, on the left, is 225, which 
is a yellow house with a cupola on top (one of a few additions made to the 
structure by me and my helpers). Park anywhere along the road or in either 
parking area.

What to bring: Something to eat (we'll have coffee and iced water form the 
outstanding spring on the site and a big pot of Joel's baked beans) and 
something to sit on if you don't want to stand. We can improvise tables, 
but chairs are harder.

A bit about the house: Originally constructed by Finnish folks from 
recycled materials sometime in the first couple of decades of the 20th 
century, it is timber framed and plank, with a very nice stone foundation. 
It sits in the middle of what was a dairy and chicken farm. The chicken 
barn remains, but much of the other outbuildings have been lost. The house 
itself now features a very well insulated thermal envelope with its 
original (recycled!) windows refurbished and weatherstripped. Interior 
hardwood floors are either recycled or milled on site from local oak and 
ash. Custom woodwork, much of it from reused lumber from the deconstruction 
of the original interior. Is the building green? It does sport vinyl 
siding and an asphalt roof. You judge.

Looking forward to seeing whoever among you can make it!

Joel (and Sally)

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.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] Canola oil or not?

[Joel and Sarah Gagnon]

Here is what I did when confronting this same question a few years ago. I 
took the oil out of the granola. Too many calories from fat with it in 
there anyway. You can substitute applesauce quite effectively.

I use olive oil in my bread. There is little enough oil in bread that the 
expense isn't an issue.

As for frying, I avoid high-temperature cooking with any fat. A lot of bad 
things happen at high temperatures, like the formation of polycyclic 
aromatic hydrocarbons, a cancer risk. For low-temperature cooking, olive 
oil works fine. Use moist heat and you will avoid the high temperatures.

If you think about it, added fat is fundamentally unnatural.

Here is my granola recipe:

10 lbs rolled oats
2 lbs wheat germ
2 lbs sunflower seeds
3 tsp cinnamon
2 Cups dark honey
1 qt applesauce
raisins, if desired, added after cooking

I mix everything together to uniformity in a metal bushel basket. Spread 
into baking pans about 3/4 inch deep. Bake at 325 degrees for 27 minutes. 
Stir. Place top pan from this first round on bottom rack and bottom pan on 
top rack and cook for another 12 minutes or until browned to your liking. 
Keep in mind that the browner it gets the more the protein is destroyed by 
the browning process, so there is a trade-off between yumminess and 
digestibility. It takes 5 rounds of two pans each to cook up this volume of 
granola, but that way it lasts me almost a month. Start to finish takes 
about 5 hours, but you can do other things during the cooking 
process.  Completed, it almost fills a 20 quart canning pot. You could make 
less, of course.

Joel

At 01:48 PM 8/8/14 +, you wrote:

There seems to be quite a lot of contradictory information on the web 
about canola oil, mostly saying its bad: GM, so bad ecologically,  and 
contains some compounds that are harmful to your health (more than other 
oils). But some say that if you can get organic, its quite a good oil for 
high temperature cooking. Does anyone have an specialist knowledge? We use 
olive oil mainly, but have been using canola for adding to bread and 
granola and some frying. If canola really is a no-no, what would be the 
best oil to use instead, and presuming that would  be quite pricey, what 
would  be a reasonably priced alternative.



Our  next batch of granola is on hold!



Thanks

Liz

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.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] Diversity Solar Apprenticeship program launched locally

[Joel and Sarah Gagnon]

Have they yet decided what the starting wage will be? I notice that it is 
left unstated.

Joel

At 03:35 PM 7/14/14 -0400, you wrote:

Tompkins County Diversity Solar Apprenticeship (TCDSA) Program


Introduction



Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County in partnership with 
Taitem Engineering (could include other contractors) is proud to announce 
the development of the Tompkins County Diversity Solar Diversity 
Apprenticeship Program. TCDSA was developed to provide an opportunity for 
training and entry level employment to underrepresented populations with 
specific barriers to entering into employment in renewable energy fields, 
primarily lack of recent work experience and soft skills. The program's 
population will consist of a diverse mix of Tompkins County residents, 
100% of whom will be drawn from special populations. Special populations 
will reflect the ethnic diversity of the residents of Tompkins County.

The mission of the joint efforts of both organizations is to develop and 
maintain a diverse, highly-trained workforce in the renewable energy field 
to accommodate the growing need for solar installers throughout Tompkins 
County.


Preparing for Green Jobs



Both Taitem Engineering and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins 
County’s Green Jobs program is urging local contractors to join this 
partnership to develop a collaborative apprenticeship program that will 
allow contractors to diversify their workforce and provide employment 
opportunities that will allow the above stated populations to become 
competitive in the search for renewable energy jobs in Tompkins County and 
throughout the Southern Tier.

Additionally, local solar contractors can provide additional pathways to 
prepare apprentices for the NABCEP installer certification exam. Â In the 
area of worker safety, there is also a strong emphasis placed on the 
importance of green job safety training. The TCDSA training will include a 
combination of classroom and hands on training in basic construction 
skills, general and job site safety training, workforce entry skills, and 
introductory electrical skills.


Eligibility and Procedure for Application.



All candidates must be at least 18 years old. High school graduation is a 
prerequisite for the Tompkins County Diversity Solar Diversity 
Apprenticeship Program. In addition, a good background in science, 
mathematics, and shop is desirable

Â

To be eligible for Apprenticeship Training, applicants must:

•Â       Have a high school diploma or one of the following equivalents:

Â

­   Diploma through G.E.D. issued by a high schoolÂ

­   Certificate of High School Equivalency issued by a State Board of 
Education

­   Certification of High School Proficiency issued by a State Board of 
Education

­   Completion of 15 units of college courses from an accredited 
college with grades of C or better

Â

•Â       Successfully complete a selection interview.

•Â       Be a selected candidate through a final interview with the 
Apprenticeship Committee.

•Â       Once an offer is made, the candidate must pass all pre-hire 
requirements including eligibility to work in the United States, a 
background screening, and a drug screening test.


Apprenticeship Agreement



After meeting all pre-hiring requirements, candidates will be hired as a 
Solar Apprentice and will be considered full-time employees. Full-time 
employees are eligible for a generous benefits and holiday/vacation 
package. All new apprentices will be hired at an initial rate of $xx/hour 
and will be subject to a probationary period of 90 days during which time 
the agreement may be terminated at the request of either party. Â After a 
successful 90 day probation period, apprentices will be eligible for an 
advance in wages, subject to determination by the employer that the 
apprentice is performing satisfactorily. Â Â


Apprentice Application and Selection Procedure



1.     Applicants will be required to submit an application for 
admission into the Tompkins County Diversity Solar Diversity 
Apprenticeship Program along with three letters of reference.

2.     After review of the applications, select applicants will be 
notified in person, by email, by mail, or by telephone when and where to 
appear for interviews.

3.     Members of the Joint Apprenticeship Committee will interview 
all qualified candidates.

Â

The following criteria will be used for the interview evaluation. A 
minimum score of 80 or above must be obtained to be selected for the program.

Â

Motivation (0 - 25) Â

Attitude towards Work (0 - 25) 

Attitude towards Related Instruction (0 - 25) 

Confidence and Stability (0 - 25) 

Oral Response (0 - 25) 

Â

4.     All applicants will be notified in person, by email, by mail, 
or by telephone regarding the results of the Committee's findings. 
Unsuccessful applicants must wait a year to re-apply.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] Nick Goldsmith talks sustainability on WHCU 95.9 FM Tuesday at 8:35am

[Joel and Sarah Gagnon]

They do. WHCU is also 870 AM. Nick did a great job with this interview.

Joel

At 12:04 AM 6/10/14 -0400, you wrote:
I THINK they have them as podcasts on the site afterwards. Nick

On Monday, June 9, 2014, Maribeth Rubenstein 
mailto:maribeth.rubenst...@gmail.commaribeth.rubenst...@gmail.com wrote:

Cool Nick - Have fun! Will this be recorded?
Mb
On Jun 9, 2014 7:50 PM, Nick Goldsmith 
javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','emailni...@gmail.com');emailni...@gmail.com 
wrote:

Friends, colleagues, listservs!


I know it's early, but I hope you'll tune in at 8:35 tomorrow morning to 
hear me on WHCU, talking sustainability! Feel free to share the 
announcement below.Â


Thanks!

Nick


Interested in learning about the sustainability partnership between the 
City and Town of Ithaca?  Tune in to All Things Equal on WHCU (870 AM, 
95.9FM)Â tomorrow morning, June 10, from 8:35 to 8:55. Nick Goldsmith, the 
sustainability coordinator for the Town and City of Ithaca, will be on the 
air to discuss his goals for advancing sustainability in the region.

https://mail.town.ithaca.ny.us/owa/redir.aspx?C=e4efc9f3ca9e42908cdaa843b8fa3201URL=http%3a%2f%2fwhcuradio.com%2fpodcasts%2fcategories%2fpodcasts-equal%2fhttp://whcuradio.com/podcasts/categories/podcasts-equal/



--
Nick Goldsmith
javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','emailni...@gmail.com');emailni...@gmail.com
www.linkedin.com/in/nickgoldsmith



--
Nick Goldsmith
mailto:emailni...@gmail.comemailni...@gmail.com
www.linkedin.com/in/nickgoldsmith

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.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] Will wind and solar really keep industrial society running?

[Joel and Sarah Gagnon]

Given the reality of climate disruption and the attendant urgent need to 
curtail CO2 production, action is wanted, and promptly. I agree that it is 
difficult to steer the economy toward effective action using policy 
instruments. We have been distorting the marketplace for decades with 
fossil fuel subsidies. Lately we have been distorting it with ethanol 
subsidies and a variety of incentives to add solar and wind. More 
effective, I think, would be a carbon tax, which goes to the heart of the 
problem. Get rid of the market distortions and let the buyers and sellers 
work out the balance between conservation and renewable energy as we 
collectively make the choices that make the most sense in our varied 
situations.

Joel Gagnon

At 09:49 PM 4/28/14 -0400, you wrote:
I was just doing the same thing because the writing style of the blogger 
seemed overly excited... and because of reading the comments on his blog 
which seemed 100% denialist (and noting the other triumphant anti-green 
headlines on the site). Â So I started looking around and found this 
background piece from December by a professor in England commenting on the 
retail pricing issues in Germany that Gabriel seeks to address. Â Note 
that industry is benefitting from lower electricity prices because there 
is so much RE available to purchase during peak demand. Â It's the 
residential sector that has been handed the price increases.

Gabriel's 
http://www.euractiv.com/sections/energy/german-energy-minister-eu-partners-think-we-are-crazy-301570comments
 
two days earlier than his speech to the Solar manufacturers, when the 
IPCC report came out, would not support this blogger's contention that 
Gabriel is confessing to overall failure of their energy transition. Â 
They ARE worried that nobody else is following them. Â And I'm sure there 
are a bunch of coal advocates on hand, just as we have here.

Anyway: 
http://www.rtcc.org/2013/12/17/sigmar-gabriel-the-man-to-reboot-germanys-low-carbon-agenda/this
 
article from December was useful for some background on Gabriel and the 
situation. Â Note the discussion on how they created a super-ministry to 
combine energy and economic policy (which Gabriel now heads). Â This would 
be a good topic to learn more about before our third climate salon on June 
5 on the role of government.


However, none of the above refutes the concern that we may not be able to 
afford the industrial effort to convert to renewables at a scale to 
maintain and continue growing overall energy consumption. Â

I'm sure we will always find ourselves surprised by how much more 
complexity there is in a system than we can design policies for.

Has anyone come across a comparative analysis that looks at the data and 
assumptions behind studies that either 1) conclude we can't afford to 
convert to renewables or 2) conclude that we can easily afford a global 
transition (especially when the avoided costs of climate impacts are 
included) such as the IPCC?

The IPCC calculates that the necessary turn from fossil fuels with 
economic growth of between 1.6 and 3% per year will incur a loss of around 
0.06 percentage points.


On Mon, Apr 28, 2014 at 8:55 PM, Stuart Staniford 
mailto:stu...@earlywarn.orgstu...@earlywarn.org wrote:
Mmm. Â Browsing through that blog reveals the author to be a pretty clear 
climate denialist. Â Is there a better source that covers this issue?

On Apr 28, 2014, at 4:21 PM, Karl S North 
mailto:kno...@binghamton.edukno...@binghamton.edu wrote:

Advocates of large scale wind and solar in the US have often pointed to 
European advances as evidence that it is the wave of the future 
everywhere. Repeated evidence that Europe's attempt to replace fossil 
fuel with renewables is now grinding to a halt should give pause to 
promoters, mainstream media parrots, and environmentalists who 
unquestioningly believe them in the US. Europe's faltering economy cannot 
handle the cost, not even its most healthy economy, Germany:



http://notrickszone.com/2014/04/27/angela-merkels-vice-chancellor-stuns-declares-germanys-energiewende-to-be-on-the-verge-of-failure/Angela
 
Merkel’s Vice Chancellor Stuns, Declares Germany’s ‘Energiewende’ 
To Be On ‘The Verge Of Failure’!



By http://notrickszone.com/author/admin/P Gosselin on 27. April 2014

The green energy orgy in Germany is over. The music has stopped and the 
wine that once flowed freely has long run out. The green energy whores 
and pimps can go home.

In a stunning admission by Germany’s Economics Minister and Vice 
Chancellor to Angela Merkel, 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmar_GabrielSigmar Gabriel announced in 
a https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7Ca72-WxuIfeature=youtu.berecent 
speech that the country’s once highly ballyhooed transformation to 
renewable energy, the so called 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_transitionEnergiewende, a model 
that has been adopted by a number of countries worldwide, is “on the 
verge of failure“.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] Fiddleheads

[Joel and Sarah Gagnon]

Not yet. They are frost-tender and so will come up as the weather at night 
comes up above freezing. That will be as early as mis-April downtown, but 
late April or even early May outside the city, dependiong on elevation and 
the weather.

Joel

At 12:41 PM 4/10/14 +, you wrote:

Does anyone know if Fiddleheads are up yet?

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.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] My piece on choosing dental care

[Joel and Sarah Gagnon]

I did not mean to disparage Cecile's helpful information. There are 
tradeoffs, though, and that is what I was highlighting. If as a result of 
the screening aids Cecile shared with us, one comes up with a short list of 
candidates and they are in Syracuse or Binghamton, or even farther afield, 
then what? Do we settle for less than the best in Ithaca, or do we conclude 
that the increased carbon footprint of travel is just the price we 
willingly pay for the best care? It is not unlike the choices we make in 
where we live and work.

How many of us were struck, as I was, with Cornell'd announcement last week 
that it is aiming, at David Skorton's urging, to provide international 
experience as a part of the Cornell education? Any thought to the carbon 
footprint of that move, aimed at enhancing the value of a Cornell 
education? Travel (student and faculty alike) is already the hidden part of 
a very large iceberg that is the university's real carbon footprint, an 
impact totally ignored in the university's plan for reducing greenhouse 
gasses in it operations. Should we not be calling them out on that? How 
about a carbon offset? We have the mechanism to use constructively any 
purchase they might direct our way.

Joel

At 09:48 AM 3/9/14 -0400, you wrote:
I hope the smart people on this list-serv appreciate that in my write-up 
resulting from my research and experience, I'm not suggesting that people 
in Ithaca should burn gasoline or get on the bus to Syracuse or NYC for 
dental care. Or choose a particular dentist.
What I hope you value is, based on my experience, the process I suggest 
you go through in making that choice, which is applicable no matter where 
you live in NYS.  Think process not product.  I also gave you some tools 
to pressure your local dentists on how to improve and modernize their 
practices, like having digital X-Rays, doing one-step vs. two-step root 
canal, etc.
I mean to tweak the piece further to fit under the rubric of yet another 
argument for a comprehensive single payer system. It's insane and not 
sustainable to continue to separate the mouth from the rest of the body.

Cecile

Cecile A. Lawrence, Ph.D., J.D.

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.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] Re non-toxic dentist

[Joel and Sarah Gagnon]

Since this is a sustainability list, I feel compelled to ask: How 
sustainable is a dentist in Binghamton or Syracuse for an Ithaca resident?

Joel

At 06:33 AM 3/8/14 -0500, you wrote:
I did some research recently on this topic being in need myself. Here's 
the result, with general suggestions, along with a Broome county and NYC focus.

Cecile

Things to look for - the dentist must have a digital X-Ray 
machine.  Unbelievably, there are still dentists in the local area still 
using film.
You have to ask that question as I found out that they won't tell you 
ahead of taking the X-Rays which then are useless for sharing with another 
dentist for a consult.  The one Sue suggested to me and which she uses 
does not have digital X-Ray plus the male dentist of whom she is an 
employee apparently since everything is in his name, left her to handle on 
her own about 6 customers simultaneously while he took the day off - was 
MLK jr. day.  Consequently, I waited and waited for her to return to 
me.  She's good, conscientious and detailed but she should get out of that 
situation. I won't return.

Stay completely away from UHS Dental Clinic and even anything over which 
UHS Administration has power.  Their disorganization and defensiveness (to 
the detriment of the customer) is deep.  Their clinic took digital X-Rays 
of my mouth without telling me ahead of time (i.e. no informed consent) 
that they won't email them to a dentist outside because they have not yet 
set up encryption. Dentists email their digital X-Rays to each other using 
regular email like yahoo or the like. The law does not require encryption. 
HIPPA does not require encryption. HIPPA does require that a provider 
provide a copy of X-Rays taken to the customer (I refuse to use the word 
patient) as well as to another provider on the customer's 
direction.  The paper copy currently being provided by the UHS Dental 
Clinic clinic is totally unacceptable to the dentists I consulted with in 
NYC.  Therefore, UHS dental clinic's digital X-Rays are a waste of money 
and exposes the customer to more radiation than necessary. They use them 
for in-house diagnosis.  Their dental assistant did not even do a good job 
on the digital X-Ray taking, leaving out an important tooth in the corner. 
Plus she was rude. Their dentist also told me to have all the molars 
pulled, even though out of the 16, just 5-7 have issues, because they're 
hard to clean being so far back there.  The dentist I saw for 3 root 
canals in NYC was outraged at her saying this.  Between that dentist 
(Zeines - I don't recommend him - expensive and not nearly as good as 
Winick and takes on too much for which he may not be full qualified) and 
Winick, my talk with them most likely has left them with a negative 
impression of dentistry in the area.

Once you have a list of dentists to check, go to the NYS Education Dept. 
Office of Professions website to check for disciplinary actions.
http://www.op.nysed.gov/opd/http://www.op.nysed.gov/opd/

There's other ways to check also.  It's a jungle out there I 
found.  Dentists will promote themselves as holistic and still use or 
recommend Listerine. Blech.

Here's a quality dentist in NYC, Dr. Winick, that my sister settled on 
after much research.  I went to him for a second opinion during my last 
trip down last weekend.
http://www.dentistryforhealthny.com/http://www.dentistryforhealthny.com/

Here's one in Syracuse that I should have continued with but too much else 
was going on in my life even then.
http://mcgrathdental.com/http://mcgrathdental.com/

Here's the one in Binghamton I hope to settle on.
http://www.dentistbinghamton.com/http://www.dentistbinghamton.com/

He has digital X-Rays, has laser perio treatment, got an award from STIC 
for service to people with disabilities (a big plus for me, I was on the 
STIC board for a while), and was the only dentist in the area referred to 
me by the Center for Dental Medicine 
http://www.centerfordentalmedicine.com/http://www.centerfordentalmedicine.com/




Cecile

Cecile A. Lawrence, Ph.D., J.D.

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.

Re: [sustainable_tompkins-l] non-toxic dentist?

[Joel and Sarah Gagnon]

Hi Joey --

I use Martha Catalfamo. She recommends x rays, but doesn't require them. 
She does not insist on novocain either. Best dentist I have ever had. A 
master of her craft.

Joel

At 08:00 AM 3/7/14 -0500, you wrote:
Good morning,

Does anyone know of a non-toxic type dentist in the area?  Our very kind 
dentist retired and we are struggling to find a new one that does not 
require an x-ray as part of a check-up or prior to a cleaning.  The last 
one told me that if for some reason we got an infection from a cleaning 
and they had not done an x-ray, they would be liable. It is a policy, not 
a law.

Smilingly yours,
Joey

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.