BOARD RETREAT
The FoCuS Board of Directors held a very successful one day Board retreat on November 2. Among the items discussed were vision and strategy building for the coming year. The Board also clarified roles internally and created some specific new focuses for its work in the coming year.
FOCUS BOARD looks down the road of a more sustainable future in a full day retreat
Upper row l-to-r:
John Adams, Shaun Michael, Eric Taylor, Rhoda Nussbaum
Lower row l-to-r:
Randy Crutcher, Bob Wetzel, Christine Taylor, Karin Lubin
Not pictured here: Jakob Jaggy, Josh Bridges, Karen Kallen
MEMBERS WANTED!
Please consider joining FoCuS as a member. Your tax deductible membership fee of $30 a year (more is welcome!) will help us to support the programs that we already have in place and allow us to create new programs for building a Sustainable Community in our region. We will continue to send our monthly newsletter to everyone on our mailing list, but would love to have you join us in a more tangible way. Please go to our website to join – www.foothillsustainability.org and click on the tab that says “Support” to download a membership form – or contact Shaun Michael at focus@goldrush.com
SEEDPOD REPORTS
County General Plan
After several weeks of "not much happening," the County General Plan update process is gearing up for Phase 3. Phase 3 is "Issues, Opportunities, and Vision," and it will be a very important time for participation. The Community Development Agency and the General Plan consultants, Mintier and Associates, met on October 23 with the Board of Supervisors. At that meeting, each of the Board members gave voice to some of their visions and hopes for the General Plan. All five spoke to the need for preservation of our rural landscape, addressing infrastructure issues, and the kind of planning for the future that many of us would label "smart growth." At least two even mentioned the possibility of adopting the Ahwahnee Principles, a set of very forward-looking guidelines for development. It is early in the process, and we will see how this plays out, but those of us who attended the meeting left feeling very encouraged.
Next steps: The Baseline Report, which the consultants have spent months preparing, is due to be released to the public sometime in November. It will be hundreds of pages of data on the current state of the county, and it will be important for us to take a good look at it.
Community meetings for visioning will be held in November and December; we will get the word to you when we have exact dates. WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO ATTEND ONE OF THESE AND TO BRING YOUR FRIENDS, NEIGHBORS, AND FAMILY! The Board and staff need to hear from us again and again and again!
FoCuS member Mickey Williamson, one of our representatives to the Calaveras Planning Coalition, has just taken on the job of Coordinator for CAP, the Community Action Project, which is the umbrella organization for the Coalition.
Agriculture
The Agricultural Seed Pod gathering began as all good things begin with a seed swap. All kinds of varieties of beans with the most unusual names and incredible spots and colors were pulled from paper sacks and mason jars and we oohed and aahed over the plethora of colored corn from cross pollination accidents that revealed the absolute beauty of nature and its infinite color schemes. These were just some of the seeds that were shared amongst the few of us that gathered to represent agriculture in this region. We swapped and got as excited as kids around candy at Halloween. We broke bread and talked about agri-culture in this county, mentioning the Green Schools recent efforts in breaking ground for the Michelson School Garden and that being a model for other local schools to follow. We spoke about the need to ensure that farming and growing food be a strong voice in our community in the face of the imminent global energy crisis and the need to look to our local community to satisfy our basic needs. We're in the process of planning four educational workshops in 2008 to include topics on permaculture, seed saving, planting summer and fall gardens. Stay tuned there will be more.
Transportation
Transportation report: Nathaniel Atherstone, Calaveras County Transit Manager, reports that the Department of Public Works has released the Annual Transit Report for the 2006/07 fiscal year. A goal of the public transportation system is to recover at least 10% of its costs from fares; this goal was met.
The final 2007 Calaveras County Transportation Report is available on the Calaveras Council of Governments web site, www.calacog.org.
Ridesharing works! Ebbetts Pass Rides is an online ridesharing group for occasional trips to the bay area, the central valley, or elsewhere. To join, contact Sandy Kasten at aldebki@yahoo.com. Foothill Commuter Services, serving Calaveras, Amador and Tuolumne Counties, provides a free matching service for those wishing to share a ride to work or school. Their web site is at www.foothillrideshare.com.
Health & wellness: Sandy Kasten and Jano teach international folk dance at Kline's in Arnold . It's fun, it's easy, and it's a great way to exercise. No partner needed. Classes are usually held on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays at 6:30 pm. Contact Sandy (aldebki@yahoo.com) to be added to the email list.
Health & Wellbeing
The FoCuS group on health & wellbeing has recently launched a new website directory of practitioners that support sustainable and wellbeing lifestyles in our area. www.focusonwellbeing.info
Upcoming Events Listed on the site include:
-Sweat Lodge Ceremony in Rail Road Flat, CA.
-Jakob Jaggy, MD Lecture Series starting Nov 16, topics will include Blood Sugar Regulation (hypoglycemia, diabetes prevention), Cardio Vascular Health (heart attack and stroke prevention), Immune dysfunction (hepatitis, herpes, Epstein-Barr Virus, Cyto Meglo Virus), Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Hormone Imbalance (Menopause, PMS), Healthy Foods for Your Kids and You, Coping with Stress, Cancer- How it Lives and Dies, Stepping Out of Co-dependent Relationships.
- Holiday Cooking Classes on
Raw Holiday Desserts & Holiday Locavore Foods
For the complete list go to schedule of events on www.focusonwellbeing.info
If you would like to be one of the first to populate this directory or put on our email list for upcoming classes and lectures please go to the website or contact Shaun Michael at quantum@goldrush.com for more information.
FoCuS PRESENCE AT THE FILM FESTIVAL
FoCuS teamed up with Ebbetts Pass Forest Watch and Tuolumne Citizens for Responsible Growth in the Sierra Film Festival this year. We presented two panel discussions at Saturday's film festival in Columbia . The aim of creating these panel discussions, themed around the films shown, were to help ground the movie experience into our local region and give an overview what's going on and who's doing it here in our community.
The panel on Agriculture, Nutrition and Local Food Security gave an overview of agriculture in our region, what's available and the need to create awareness around food, nutrition and production. Thanks go to the participants: Eric and Christine Taylor of Taylor Mountain Gardens who run a Community Supported Agriculture program and distribute local foods through Outer Aisle Foods; Kathryn Lukas, chef, educator and writer committed to local foods. Her forthcoming cookbook, Hungry for Change: Real Food for the Future teaches others how to create nutrient dense cuisine in Tuolumne County and Mary Innes lives and farms organically in Tuolumne, with her partner Melitta Varosy, started and runs the Tuolumne Village Certified Farmers Market which just finished it's 9th year. Her farm is Upsprout Farm.
The second panel, Living in a Solar Age covered solar energy concepts and home energy efficiency. Thanks go to those participants: FoCuS Board member Randy Crutcher, Brian Ceraban, Architect of Ceraban Design, a Sonora-based firm specializing in ecological principles, Victor and Leslie Guillot, Calaveras-based solar energy system contractors with Sol Sierra, and Glen Inouye, a certified solar and energy efficiency educator and grant-writer.
FoCuS ON OUR MEMBERS
Bob Dean: I grew up in Gettysburg , Pa. Perhaps this experience, more than anything else, gave me sense of continuity that I might not have otherwise obtained. It also gave me the framework for the value of vision. I'm but a brief mote in a vast continuum. To the extent that I can have some influence on future events through my choices is about all that I can ask. I came West in the early 1970s to attend graduate school in Oregon . After my first night camping in Wyoming it was like the words of the John Denver song Rocky Mt. High – “Coming home to a place I've never been before.” Frankly I don't recall ever looking back. Seeing the abuse of this great natural resource for selfish reasons really motivated me to devote as much time as possible to live as selflessly as possible and try in some small way to influence the choices that others make. These are the things that are most important from my perspective. My accomplishments are probably not as meaningful as my failures. Furthermore, you might say that I'm more informed, possibly even smarter than many people, because I've made many more mistakes.
Bob is currently serving as the District 2 Board Member of the Calaveras County Water District.
Glen Inouye: Glen Inouye is a solar PV designer and salesman for Advanced Solar Energy. In addition, he is a FoCuS member, a Calaveras Planning Coalition member, a CHIPS board member, and is a certified energy plans examiner who works on building energy performance issues through his company Go Green! Energy Consulting.
REDUCE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT…KILL PHANTOM LOADS
Glen Inouye
Phantom loads (sometimes called vampire loads) are electrical appliances that consume electricity even when they are turned off – 24 hours a days, 7 days a week. These include any remote device (TVs, Stereos, VCRs, TiVos, cable box sets, Xbox/Playstation game consoles), appliances with electric clocks (microwaves, ovens, coffee makers), cable modems, anything that has an LED light lit when turned off (monitors, speakers), and appliances that use “wall warts”(cordless phones, chargers).
The average household uses about 2.5 kWh/day, or about 6% of their electrical usage for phantom loads. One study estimates that the energy used by TVs and VCR/DVD players when they are turned off costs ratepayers $1 billion and creates 9 million tons of CO2 in the United States each year. Phantom loads can cost you an extra $150/year in electricity and add $4000-$5000 to the cost of a solar system. To calculate your phantom load, you can use a kill-a-watt meter (www.realgoods.com ) or visit: http://www.kouba-cavallo.com/phantom.html
The solution to phantom loads is easy – plug your entertainment center, computer center, and other major phantom loads into a power strip. A power strip is a series of electrical sockets that can be turned off with one switch and effectively unplugs all the appliances plugged into the power strip. Power strips without indicator lights even save more energy, and power strips with surge protectors can save your electronic devices during brownouts/power surges. A more elegant solution is to connect the offending wall socket to a switch plate (light switch) This should be done by an electrician if you are not good with electricity, as larger loads may require a higher rated switch.
One drawback of using power strips to stop phantom loads is that it requires you to use it! If you are energy conscious, you probably already turn off lights when you are not in a room and turning off the power strip will be an easy adaptation. For others though, behavioral modification is required to reap the rewards of turning off phantom loads. Another drawback is it may take a minute or two for the systems to boot up.
Any Questions? E-mail: ginouye@volcano.net
BUILDING THE LOCAL ECONOMY
Recent economic analyses of the Sierra region indicate that in order to “go shopping” people drive long distances out of the county to buy their household goods –to the big box stores in Jackson, Sonora, Stockton, Tracy or Modesto. This means that the dollars in our local economy have a great tendency to leave here and go elsewhere. One of the challenges we face as FoCuS supporters is creating a “Living Local Economy” that keeps the money circulating around here longer before it leaves.
One way to generate more robustness in the local economy is to support the establishment of businesses that have what people need, but without going the Big Box route – assuming that we want to maintain our scenic and rural ambience. Another step would be to create the business directory that we in FoCuS have long talked about in order to teach the local population where “stuff to buy” is already here in Calaveras.
And of course, supporting Taylor Mountain Gardens and Outer Aisle options is a good way to get the “buy local, keep the money here” message embedded ion our everyday thinking!
Here are a few websites that describe what some other communities have done to keep their money circulating locally:
http://www.portlandbuylocal.org/
http://www.ibuyaustin.com/news/BuyLocal,KeepMoneyinAustin.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21370396/
OUR PERSONAL TIPPING POINTS
John Adams
Making changes in our deeply ingrained habits is not easy. Throughout my career, I’ve been interested in what people who have successfully made deep pattern changes have in common in their approaches to making changes. Several years ago, I collected a large number of stories of personal change successes and then examined them for common characteristics.
Lo and behold, there were eight success factors that were shared by almost everyone who succeeded in making life-turning changes! I will describe one of these in each of the coming newsletters.
This time, I will introduce “Understanding and acceptance of the need for change.” If you reflect on times that you have set out to break a habit or create a new habit, but failed, it is possible that you did not sufficiently understand and accept the need for change. In my health and stress coaching, this is the success factor that most often needs attention. It requires connecting the dots – bigger picture thinking.
In our typically fast-paced and reactive mode of operating, slowing our minds down in order to figure out the real basic reasons why a change is so important seems to be essential to eventual success. This month’s challenge is for you to identify a new and more sustainable behavior and to reflect each day on why adopting this new behavior is necessary to your long range well-being.
REPORT FROM THE 18TH ANNUAL
BIONEERS CONFERENCE
Marin Civic Center, San Rafael
The Bioneers held a wonderfully successful conference October 19-21. There were fifteen fabulous keynotes and 60 afternoon panels. The Youth Program was more robust than ever, and it was encouraging to note the number of younger Bioneers now playing a prominent role in these conferences. Overall, more than 3000 people attended from all over the world.
There is no way in a written newsletter to convey fully the passion, courage, commitment and wild success stories that we experienced at the conference, nor is there a way to portray the full depth of the impact of the council of Grandmothers, 13 indigenous women from all over the world, on the soul of the conference.
Perhaps a representative quote from each of the plenary keynotes will give you a bit of the flavor.
Jay Harman, Founder and CEO of PAX International. “Designing the next golden Age.”
“It is more profitable to mimic and learn from nature than it is to try to control it or to use it up thoughtlessly.”
Judy Baca, UC Art Instructor. “The Interactive digital mural: A tool for reconciliation.”
“When all the riverbeds in LA county were channeled in concrete, the hardening of the arteries created distance between communities. The murals on the river walls (over half a mile long so far) allow these communities to heal and reunite.”
Judy Wicks, Founder and owner of the White Dog Café. “Local living economies.”
“We need to move to Being More and away from Having More.”
John Abrams, Green architect. “Think like a cathedral builder.”
“If we don’t commit ourselves 100% to the future we want, we are condemned to get the future that other people want.”
Van Jones, Activist lawyer. “Toward a green growth alliance: Birthing a new politics.”
“As the environmental movement comes to the center of awareness, who will we choose to leave behind? Will inner city kids have a place in the Green Revolution?”
Paul Anastas, Green chemist. “Green chemistry.”
“The present anti-terror strategy is to build hard walls around chemical plants, rather than learning to create benign chemicals that do no harm.”
Majora Carter, Founder of sustainable South Bronx . “Green the ghetto.”
“Environmental justice is the Civil rights of the 21st Century – Polar Bears get more attention than poor blacks in our society. We need to put a cap on poverty emissions.”
Evon Peter, Chairman of Native Movement. “Indigenous reflections.”
“We each have the responsibility to overcome our own ignorance (about those with different cultures from our own).”
Eve Ensler, Author of The Vagina Monologues. “V To the 10th!”
“It is still more terrifying to men the world over to love than to kill.”
Ed Tick, PTSD Psychotherapist. “The return of the ghost dancers.”
“PTSD – Post Terror Soul disorder. PTSD – Post Terror Social Disorder. All of today’s social ills are symptoms of PTSD.”
Jay Nichols, Oceanographer. “A Brave new ocean or an ocean revolution?”
“We put too much into the ocean. We take too much out of the ocean. We are destroying the edges of the ocean. In the Pacific, there is now six times as much plastic as there is phytoplankton.”
Carole Bebelle, New Orleans writer and activist. “Culture and rebuilding: Remembering New Orleans .”
“75% of Americans live in places that are subject to natural disasters. Which ones are we willing to give up?”
Charlotte Brody, Executive Director of Commonweal. “The sea around us, the environment within us.”
“Focusing on the chemicals now resident in every human body is just one more lens for focusing attention on the whole array of interrelated problems we are here (at Bioneers) to explore.”
Winona LaDuke, Indigenous activist and two time Green Party VP Candidate. “Seeds the Creator gave us.”
“You may not squeeze the US corn crop into my gas tank – it is NOT the answer to peak oil. The old original diverse seeds will adapt and survive climate change. The Monsanto created seeds won’t be able to adapt.”
Ka Hsaw Wa & Katie Redford, Globalization activists. “Earth rights: Linking human rights and environmental struggles in the age of globalization.”
Ka Hsaw Wa: “The corporations have huge amounts of power, but we have the courage, the passion, the love, and each other to take care of this house we live in.”
Katie: “Regarding international human rights law: you’re (Law Professor) just saying that “you can’t succeed” because no one ever has. We went to work and we succeeded.” “The
Note: Most back issues of the newsletter are posted at our website www.foothillsustainability.org