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Food and Wine Magazine's Guide to Green Eating

11thhouraction — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 17:19:24 -0500

The latest publication to grace the shelves with an eco offering is Food and Wine Magazine, with the August offering covering everything from delicious local food recipes from top chefs around the US to a strategy for supporting local, sustainable honey production in the face of Colony Collapse Disorder.

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Site provided by www.treehugger.com

Businesses Emerge to Help School Fund-Raisers Go Green

AZ_Sun — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:18:03 -0500

Parents and Kids Want Goods to Sell That Do Some Good

For decades, children have hawked candy and cookie dough to friends and family to help fund extracurricular activities and school playgrounds.

Now a handful of entrepreneurs have set out to change that paradigm, offering ecologically friendly products for kids and parents to sell for school fund-raisers. From recycled wrapping paper to fair-trade coffee, the business owners are pitching the products as viable fund-raising alternatives for schools.

It's good timing, as schools race to eliminate junk food in the face of rising childhood obesity rates, and state and local governments crack down on junk-food sales in schools. At the same time, green is in, and parents and teachers are paying more attention to energy use and pollutants.

Corinne Dowst, head of fund raising for the Parent Teacher Association at Henniker Community School in Henniker, N.H., says she was looking for new fund-raising ideas after her school's disappointing holiday sale of ornaments and related items last year. Concerns about children's products made in China helped put a damper on that sale, she says.

When Ms. Dowst saw an ad for Greenraising, a start-up fund-raising company that sells eco-friendly products, she was hooked. The school organized a spring sale around Earth Day, and circulated copies of the Greenraising catalog, which features such products as recycled gift-wrap paper and reusable water bottles. The result was the school's most successful fund-raiser in nearly three years, grossing about $2,500, Ms. Dowst says.

To date, Greenraising has helped about 500 schools and nonprofits raise money, says Lisa Olson, who founded the Agoura Hills, Calif., company last year. The company asks schools or nonprofits to distribute its catalog, from which customers then buy directly. For an item that costs, say, $20, Greenraising keeps $12 and returns $8 to the school or nonprofit. The company has grown to five full-time employees, Ms. Olson says.

Kids hear conflicting messages in today's complex society, Ms. Olson says, and too many school fund-raisers add to that confusion. "We're telling the kids about obesity and selling cookie dough," she observes. "We're telling them about global warming, and they come home with this big catalog of wrapping paper with no recycled content."

Parental Guidance
Some eco-friendly fund-raisers have come to another realization as well: It's the parents who are taking on more of the fund raising -- largely because of fears about their kids' safety -- and they'd rather buy and sell products that they want to use themselves.

"We learned whom we're selling to -- the kids' moms," says Corey Berman, president and co-founder of Green Students Fundraising Ltd., a Toronto-based company he started after graduating from college in 2006. "My friends would never buy these products, but I talk to people like moms and it's a different story."

Green Students began by selling energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs. But as more mainstream retailers began offering them, Mr. Berman says, the company wasn't able to compete on cost and knew it had to diversify. So, the company started selling stainless-steel water bottles, which got a lift from the recent outcry against bisphenol A, a chemical commonly found in plastic water bottles. Green Students also sells dryer balls, a reusable product that softens clothes while reducing drying time. The company, which relies on a focus group of area moms who test potential new products, became profitable in May. It uses catalogs to sell its goods and tries to keep prices under 20 Canadian dollars (about US$19.80).

One challenge these companies face is coming up with products that parents and friends will purchase year after year. Both Greenraising and Green Students say they plan to periodically change the items in their catalogs to keep them fresh, as well as offer products such as environmentally friendly household cleaners that consumers may want to purchase repeatedly.

"Every successful fund-raising company offers something that's fairly low-priced and offers frequency of purchase," says Tim Sullivan, founder of PTO Today, a Wrentham, Mass., magazine for parent-teacher organizations. "Like gift wrap," Mr. Sullivan says. "Every family uses it."

Strong Brew
Lots of families also buy coffee, which is something that led eco-minded schools to contact Chris Treter, co-founder of Higher Grounds Trading Co., a fair-trade coffee roaster in Traverse City, Mich. Fair-trade coffee is a concept begun a few years ago by small producers that wanted to show consumers their coffee is produced under conditions beneficial to workers and the environment. Schools looking to incorporate lessons about the environment and labor standards will call and ask if they can purchase the coffee for a fund-raiser, Mr. Treter says.

Today, school and church fund-raisers represent about 10% of Higher Grounds' business, Mr. Treter says, and that number is on the rise. So far, it's mostly the organizations that have reached out to him. For no money upfront, he supplies coffee to the school or organization, which then sells it at retail prices. The seller then reimburses Mr. Treter at the wholesale price of the coffee.

For a company that's not primarily in the fund-raising business, he says, the format is cumbersome. Higher Grounds has to come up with individualized order forms for each school to give to students, and explain the ordering process to teachers and administrators. "It's a lot more time-consuming than going into a grocery store that orders every two weeks," Mr. Treter says.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Beginning

bigrydog5 — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 23:08:26 -0500

So, I have tried to contact people running for Congress (district 7 seat) to see if they know of any government grants or private grants that could help fund and begin our group. I was thinking that we could start with just an old golf cart that hopefully Stetson would supply us with and then we would try to convert it to clean energy. After completing this, we could transport students to and from classes at the arranged time, so they would not drive their gas guzzlers.

Please tell me what you all think,

Ryan Rogers

S.P.A.R.K. (Students Promoting Action and Resource Knowledge)

Toyota plans Prius with solar panels

11thhouraction — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:06:48 -0500

The Toyota Prius, the world's most popular hybrid, will have solar panels on the roof of its new high-end models to help power the air conditioning, according to a Japanese report.

The Kyocera solar cells would make Toyota the first major automaker to use solar power for a vehicle, the Nikkei business daily reported.

Solar Thermal Factory Opened in Vegas, Triples Worldwide Manufacturing Capacity

11thhouraction — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:25:52 -0500

While Ausra CEO Robert Fishman was far from excited yesterday about the BLM solar moratorium policy, he was perfectly happy to tout his company’s new 130,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Las Vegas. “This is a crossover point for this industry. Ausra’s factory is accelerating Nevada’s and America’s solar future by tripling worldwide manufacturing capacity, relieving the supply constraint that has slowed the industry, and continuing to drive down costs,” Fishman said in Ausra’s press release.

The factory will be the Palo Alto-based companies first North American manufacturing and distribution centers and will supply reflectors, absorber tubes and other components for the company’s solar thermal power plants. At full capacity, the facility will produce more than 700 MW of solar collectors annually.

Site provided by www.treehugger.com

WALL-E is Wonderful and Heart-Warming

AZ_Sun — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 12:01:03 -0500

I wanted to see the new Disney-Pixar movie WALL-E ever since I saw a trailer for it last January. I saw this sweet and charming film yesterday and just LOVED it. I highly recommend seeing this film no matter what age you are.

All the top film critics are raving about WALL-E. Here is what some of the other film critics are saying.

Gary Thompson, Philadelphia Daily News
WALL-E is probably the sweetest movie ever made about humans destroying the earth.

Stephan Whitty, Newark Star Ledger
WALL-E is a surprisingly moving parable of what we waste, and what we should cherish -- and wrapped in a romance so absurdly moving it could wring a tear or two even from Gort and Robby the Robot. Or a parent and child.

MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher
WALL-E is art. Hell, it's philosophy -- it's practically religion.

Sean Axmaker, Seattle Post-Inteligencer
WALL-E, an animated robot love story with an environmental message and a slapstick delivery, is a charmer of a film and a delightful piece of storytelling.

Austin Kennedy, Sin Magazine
Not only is this a great Sci-Fi film, it's also easily one of the most romantic! Dismissing this as just another kid’s film is not only unfair to the movie, it's unfair to you.

James Rocchi, Cinematical
Too many kid's movies are created to give kids things to buy; WALL-E is a kid's movie that might, perhaps, give you and your kids pause to think about what things truly cost.

Carla Meyer, Sacramento Bee
Offers a touching robot romance, visuals as artful as they are state-of-the- art, and vital messages about environmental and personal health.

David M. Kimmel, Worcester Telegram & Gazett
...an immensely appealing film for all ages.

Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
WALL-E is not only a triumph in terms of style, it's also a triumph in terms of story. There's a real emotional resonance and depth to this material

Ken Fox, TV Guide’s Movie Guide
It can hardly be called a children's film, but a masterpiece of feature-film animation for all ages.

John P. McCarthy, Boxoffice Magazine
The genius of WALL-E is how so many disparate influences...are incorporated and evoked while creating something unique...What a wonderful world it would be if the talents they manifest here could somehow be marshalled to address real-life problems.

Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle
By turns sad, hilarious, exciting and, ultimately, hopeful, this is a film of Great Truths masquerading as child's play.

Erik Childress, eFilmCritic.com
Not since Titanic will you have heard two prospective partners cry out each other's names with as much longing (and frequency) and if there's any karma, fate, or pure love out there to believe in than WALL-E will equal its attendance and then some.

Ethan Alter, Film Journal International
While the film's social message comes through loud and clear, it never detracts from the heart of the picture--the unlikely romance between WALL-E and EVE.

Adam Fendelman, HollywoodChicago.com
Though perfection in film is a highly unlikely proposition, WALL-E indeed has become 2008's first perfect film and one of the best Pixar projects of all time.

Source: RottenTomatoes.com

Last Blog Entry

Bohemian — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 02:30:43 -0500

If we choose to reduce our carbon fooprints individually now, then we have a very good chance of mitigating the severity of global climate change and the survival of humanity. If we choose not to reduce our carbon footprints, then the future of humanity looks grim.

To become an "Official" member of the Big Sur Bohemian Club, go here:

http://manicarver.multiply.com/journal/item/567

Best wishes,

Steve

Big Sur Bohemian Club

First Solar Powered Rickshaw

11thhouraction — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:41:16 -0500

London-based research and design company SolarLab is developing a solar-powered rickshaw. The vehicle, which is due to be launched next year, will derive up to 75% of its power from photovoltaics mounted on its roof, and the rest from pedal power.

"As a London-based company, we understand the tangible effects of pollution and congestion in our city. Our solar rickshaw will offer a radical transport solution for tourists and residents of any major metropolis. More importantly, our design is modular enabling easy conversion to load-bearing vehicles for inner city logistics and supply-chain requirements."

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Site provided by www.dezeen.com

Summer Events for the Big Sur Bohemian Club (also known as the Henry Miller Library)

Bohemian — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 01:41:41 -0500

Stay in Touch: Sign Up!

Upcoming Events:

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June 22
Big Sur International
Invitational Ping Pong Championship!

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Friday June 27 @ 7.30PM
Rob Schneider!!!
in a benefit party for HML!

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Saturday, June 28
@ 3:00 PM
Where is Big Sur?
Come find out.

Followed by:

"To Kindness!"
A special BIG SUR
community event.
Alisa Fineman and
Kimball Hurd w/ special guest: author, musician and photographer
Don Usner.

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Saturday and Sunday
July 12 and 13
West Coast Poetry Slam
Championship.

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Saturday, July 19
@ 2pm -11pm
(((folkYEAH!))) and Arthur Magazine presents:
Beachwood Sparks
Howlin Rain
and more..

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Rizidence!
July 20 - July 27
All-strings roots-music camp!
Ages 12 and up.

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July 25 @ 7.30 PM
CJ Boyd
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Sunday, July 20 @ 3PM
John Doe in Concert!

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July 26 @ 7.30 PM
Blame Sally

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Saturday, August 2
@ 8 PM
Conspiracy of Beards

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Friday, August 15
@ 8 PM in a benefit
performance
Paul D. Miller/DJ Spooky
That Subliminal Kid!

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Sunday, August 24 @ 3 PM
Peter Case and
Chuck Prophet

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Sunday, September 21 @ 3 PM
Bill Frisell and
Nels Cline

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Saturday
September 27 @ 3 PM
Ramblin' Jack Elliott

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The 12th annual-2008
Big Sur Children's Writing Workshop

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SONGWRITING RETREAT, JANUARY, 2009

Add your name to e-mail list.

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Open Mic
Sing a song, speak your mind, juggle your balls.
8-11PM every Wednesday night.
Food served courtesy
Maiden Publick

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Your own party here?

Read about local events in
Monterey County Weekly

Support your public radio station!

Stay in Touch: Sign Up!

Welcome to The Henry Miller Library Website.

Latest News!

June 27 Rob Schneider!!! in a benefit party for HML!
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Big Sur Short Film Screening Series 2008. Program Selection is Finished.
Check out the film selections and schedule here.

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West Coast Poetry Slam Championship
Now open for registration and tickets.

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The 12th annual-2008
Big Sur Children's (and Young Adult) Writing Workshop
Now open for registration. (Register early to save on tuition and fees).

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Library opening hours: Every day 11 AM - 6 PM, closed Tuesdays.

When you're traveling up or down Highway 1 through Big Sur, stop by the Library. You will find us a quarter mile south of Nepenthe Restaurant, in a redwood grove on the mountain side of the road. It is easy – just drive, enjoy the incredible vistas, you will not miss us...

See Events Page for daily schedules. Highlight!
LIVE! ON STAGE JONATHAN RICHMAN featuring TOMMY LARKINS on the drums! June 15!
Get your tickets early, book your hotels and campgrounds,
come to the Library for one or more of our shows!
If you'd like us to e-mail you updates click here: Sign Up!
Please e-mail with any questions or concerns.
Phone (no fax) 831-667-2574
During these hours we offer free Internet Access, coffee and tea.

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NEW RELEASE:

“These Are My Flowers: Raising a Family on the Big Sur Coast --- Letters of Nancy Hopkins”
is based on letters Nancy wrote to her parents in Berkeley after she married Sam Hopkins and moved into their new home on Partington Ridge in 1948. As such, it offers a “slice of life” view of living in Big Sur in the 1950s, one woman’s view of her world and her time. Henry Miller and his wife Lepska, the children, Valentine and Tony, and later Henry's fourth wife Eve, were close neigbors of whom Nancy writes. More here.

Buy the book! Books ship every Wednesday. Thanks to a very generous arrangement w/ the publisher/editor we are able to sell this for only $ 24.95. The book is very well put together, high quality paper, photos etc.

Domestic customers here:

International address (outside continental US) please add $ 14.00 shipping:

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The Literary Magazine of the Henry Miller Library
Submissions welcome!

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Publishing News!

Magnus Toren interviewed by Bob Edwards of XMPR Satellite Radio

Esselen Indians of The Big Sur Country - The Land and the People

Jaime De Angulo - The Old Coyote of Big Sur by Gui Mayo

Big Sur by Jeff Norman

Fashionbeaver interview with Magnus Torén, HM Library Director

Randy Chase's blog

Recently published on the Web:

Valentine Miller, Henry Miller's daughter, has recently published her own site dedicated to her Father.
Please check here: http://www.henrymiller.info/

Bob Nash, Henry Miller's neighbor and close friend passed away on February 10, 2008.
His website including examples of his unique "line poems." http://www.bobnashbigsur.com/

Now available: "Emil White of Big Sur" w/ a foreword by Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

The Henry Miller Library is located in Big Sur, California, USA.
Three hours drive south from San Francisco. From LA, going north, the total drive time is about 6 1/2 hours.
See Map here. or here : Big Sur Map (quest)

Stay in touch - sign up to our e-mail list!

Coming here for an event? Need a ride? Can you offer a ride?
Join here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/millerlibrary/

How do I get to the Library? (and get 25% discount on books?)

Contact Information
Mail to: Henry Miller Library, Highway One, Big Sur, CA 93920
Phone: 831-667-2574
e-mail: click here

Note: Occasionally we rent the Library for private parties so if you want to make sure to see the Library check on Events or call 831-667-2574. You can also e-mailus for an appointment.

All of the web www.henrymiller.org

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How do I get to the Library? Well, most people drive, some people drive large vehicles, others drive small. We like the people who take along three or more people in each car; our favorite people are the ones who take the bus! That's why we're offering a whoopin' 25% discount - it's like, just like...a mini...mall!) on all book purchases in our bookstore. All you need is a proof of having come down the coast by bus. Public transportation is a matter of politics here on the West and we'd like to show where we think the cupboard should be placed. We also think you'd enjoy the ride. Bus schedule here! Click on "Big Sur Service"

(The Library is only ten minutes walk past the end station at Nepenthe)

View from below Miller's house on Partington Ridge photo: Magnus Torén

Big Sur's Rosalia Byrne at the Henry Miller Library, it's at night. photo: Magnus Torén

Support the Henry Miller Library!

Extra special thanks to Apple INC. for recently donating some great equipment to us. Archives, public internet access, ping•pong, short film, music...A lot of what we do involves Apple! THANKS!

"I like Henry Miller. I think he's the greatest American writer."
Bob Dylan

Matmos and Zeena
Highlight Event of 2007!

Pegi Young
Highlight Event of 2007!!

Henry Rollins
The Event of 2006!!

Laurie Anderson
The Event of 2005!!

Patti Smith
The Event of 2004!!

List of performers from the past.

GOING HIKING?
It's a good idea.
Good site here.

New Book About Big Sur

Jaime De Angulo - The Old Coyote.

Big Sur Information
Camping, Lodging, Things To Do etc.

Donate Books to us!

Support your local radio station! In Big Sur we listen to KUSP 105.9 FM

Stay in Touch!

Going On:

Every day free wi-fi on the lawn
and inside the Library.

Buy Henry Miller's
titles as e-books!

Open Mic - 8 PM Every Wednesday

Sign up to our e-mail list!

Connecting through the WWW
Public Internet access is available at the Henry Miller Library, thanks to our dialup ISP Monterey Bay Internet.

Also special thanks to Big Sur Internetwww.bigsurinternet.com/ for their help with this website.

Things we need

Foundation and small business support

Big Sur Bohemian Club

and this is what we've done so far ...

gbicom — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 06:08:50 -0500

Saturday, 21st June 2008.

The G Team continue to 'Keep it Green'. We have five House Gardens which The G Team maintain in house colours. One of our science labs now houses tomatoe plants and soon we will be adding peppers to the collection. In my cold frame, created from discarded bricks and reclaimed glass, wait 20 butternut squash seedlings for setting on and sharing.