Green Living Workshop Update Week 14 2009

There are 7 workshops currently running. This post is specific to the following workshops:

Wednesdays 3:30-4:30pm at PS#1

To view other Workshops' posts click on the 'Sustainable Works' header above.

CONCLUSION

Environmental Informational Sources

>>Environmental News Network – "publish information that will help people understand and communicate the environmental issues and solutions that face us and hopefully inspire them to get involved."

>> Good - now a quarterly magazine. "A collaboration of individuals, businesses, and nonprofits pushing the world forward. Since 2006 we've been making a magazine, videos, and events for people who care"

>>GoToGreenLA.com – online calendar listing a large array of sustainability and environmentally minded events

>>Green Biz – online magazine giving information about the intersection of the environment and business

>>Green Inc. – one of the New York Times’ blogs. "How will the pressures of climate change, limited fossil fuel resources and the mainstreaming of "green" consciousness reshape society? Follow the money. From renewable energy policy to carbon markets to dubious eco-advertising, our energy and environment reporters track the high-stakes pursuit of a greener globe."

>>Green LA Girl – Siel is an environmental writer and activist, and this is her personal blog about eco-happenings in the L.A.-area.

>>Grist.org – "Let’s face it: reading environmental journalism too often feels like eating your vegetables. Boiled. With no butter. But at Grist, we believe that news about green issues and sustainable living doesn't have to be predictable, demoralizing, or dull. We butter the vegetables! And add salt! And strain metaphors!"

>>Ideal Bite – a daily e-newsletter that comes into your inbox that informs you of local green businesses, products, and practices. Most of their daily bites offer a list of products you can purchase.

>>Low Impact Living – "help you lower the environmental impact of your home and your daily life. To do that, we help you find the best green products, practices and service providers to help you achieve your environmental goals."

>>Sustainable Industries Journal – unbiased, well researched, in depth and well written articles about industries striving for sustainability.

>>Union of Concerned Scientist – " The leading science-based nonprofit working for a healthy environment and a safer world. UCS combines independent scientific research and citizen action to develop innovative, practical solutions and to secure responsible changes in government policy, corporate practices, and consumer choices."

Documentaries
>>An Inconvenient Truth - former Vice President Al Gore presents a compelling look at the state of global warming in the fascinating and startling documentary

>>Blue Gold: World Water Wars - "In every corner of the globe, we are polluting, diverting, pumping, and wasting our limited supply of fresh water at an expediential level as population and technology grows. The rampant overdevelopment of agriculture, housing and industry increase the demands for fresh water well beyond the finite supply, resulting in the desertification of the earth." A great primer on world wide water issues.

>>Blue Vinyl - A Toxic Comedy Look at Vinyl, The World's Second Largest Selling Plastic.With humor, hope and a piece of vinyl siding firmly in hand, Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Judith Helfand and co-director Daniel B. Gold travel from Helfand’s hometown to America’s vinyl manufacturing capital and beyond in search of answers about the nature of polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

>>Burning the Future: Coal in America - Writer/director David Novack examines the explosive conflict between the coal industry and residents of West Virginia. Confronted by emerging “clean coal” energy policies, local activists watch a world blind to the devastation caused by coal's extraction. Faced with toxic ground water, the obliteration of 1.4 million acres of mountains, and a government that appeases industry, our heroes demonstrate a strength of purpose and character in their improbable fight to arouse the nation's help in protecting their mountains, saving their families, and preserving their way of life.

>>Food Inc. – "unveils the sometimes dirty politics of the food industry; features experts like Michael Pollan (Omnivore’s Dilemma) and Eric Schloseer (Fast Food Nation)." "In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that's been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment."

>>Earthlings - "a feature length documentary about humanity's absolute dependence on animals (for pets, food, clothing, entertainment, and scientific research) but also illustrates our complete disrespect for these so-called "non-human providers." The film is narrated by Academy Award nominee Joaquin Phoenix and features music by the critically acclaimed platinum artist Moby."

>>FLOW - Interviews with scientists and activists intelligently reveal the rapidly building crisis, at both the global and human scale, and the film introduces many of the governmental and corporate culprits behind the water grab, while begging the question "CAN ANYONE REALLY OWN WATER?" Via flowthemovie.com.

>>Fuel - "An insightful portrait of America’s addiction to oil and an uplifting testament to the immediacy of new energy solutions. Director, Josh Tickell, a young activist, shuttles us on a whirlwind journey to track the rising domination of the petrochemical industry and reveals a gamut of available solutions to "repower America" —from vertical farms that occupy skyscrapers to algae facilities that turn wastewater into fuel. Tickell and a surprising array of environmentalists, policy makers, and entertainment notables take us through America’s complicated, often ignominious energy past and illuminate a hopeful, achievable future, where decentralized, sustainable living is not only possible, it’s imperative."

>>King Corn - "King Corn is a feature documentary about two friends, one acre of corn, and the subsidized crop that drives our fast food nation."

>>Manufactured Landscapes - a documentary on the world and work of renowned artist Edward Burtynsky. Internationally acclaimed for his large-scale photographs of “manufactured landscapes”—quarries, recycling yards, factories, mines and dams—Burtynsky creates stunningly beautiful art from civilization’s materials and debris.

>>My Father's Garden - "Explores sustainable agriculture and the contrast between chemical and organic farming. An emotionally charged documentary about the use and misuse of technology on the American farm."

>>Shall We Gather at the River - "exposes a huge health and environmental scandal in our modern industrial system of meat and poultry production. The health and environmental damage documented in today’s factory farms far exceeds the damage that Upton Sinclair could have imagined a century ago."

>>Super Size Me - "If you have not seen this 30-day eating journey of Morgan Spurlock it is a must. Spurlock’s month long McDonald’s food (gross) fest explores the fast food industry’s influence on the American consumer and how public health is put aside for corporate wealth."

>>The 11th Hour - a documentary concerning the environmental crises caused by human actions and calls for restorative action through a reshaping of human activity.

>>The End of Suburbia - A movie that discusses the dwindling supply of cheap energy in the form of fossil fuels and its effect on society.

>>The Future of Food - "There is a revolution happening in the farm fields and on the dinner tables of America -- a revolution that is transforming the very nature of the food we eat. The Future of Food offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled U.S. grocery store shelves for the past decade."

>>The Power of Community - Cubans share how they transitioned from a highly mechanized, industrial agricultural system to one using organic methods of farming and local, urban gardens. It is an unusual look into the Cuban culture during this economic crisis, which they call "The Special Period."

>>The Real Dirt on Farmer John - "If you are still debating if you should join a CSA then you must watch the documentary about John Peterson, a.k.a Farmer John, a midwest farmer whose life parallels the history of American farming in the late 20th century.">>The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard - "From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns."

>>Two Angry Moms - "Do you have kids in school? Do you pack a lunch for them every single day? If not, they probably are buying what the school is serving. If so, you probably want to know what your kids are eating in school. So did Amy Kalafa and Susan Rubin. These moms were fed up that their children were eating highly-processed food filled with additives and preservatives at school."

>>Who Killed The Electric Car? - "A murder mystery, a call to arms and an effective inducement to rage, Who Killed the Electric Car? is the latest and one of the more successful additions to the growing ranks of issue-oriented documentaries." Via The New York Times.


Literature
>>An Inconvenient Truth - Al Gore’s follow-up to the bestselling Earth in the Balance. Both the book and film were inspired by a series of multimedia presentations on global warming that Gore created and delivers to groups around the world.

>>A River No More - by Philip L. Fradkin. This is a definitive history of the development of the Colorado River and the claims made upon it from its source in the Wyoming Rockies to the Gulf of California, where it evaporates in the sand.

>>Boiling Point - Gelbspan, a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist, offers no less than a call to arms in this treatise on how global warming is a threat and how it can be avoided.

>>Cadillac Desert - by Marc Reisner "The definitive history of water resources in the American West, and a very illuminating lesson in the political economy of limited resources anywhere."

>>Cradle to Cradle - William McDonough's book, written with his colleague, the German chemist Michael Braungart, is a manifesto calling for the transformation of human industry through ecologically intelligent design.

>>Deep Economy - Bill McKibben's book about a sustainable economy and the wealth that is created when we build strong and resilient communities. A manifesto on moving beyond 'growth' as the measure of economic prosperity.

>>Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American Power by Mark Schapiro - about the book from Center for Investigative Reporting.

>>Food Not Lawns - by Heather Flores "combines practical wisdom on ecological design and community-building with a fresh, green perspective on an age-old subject. Activist and urban gardener Heather Flores shares her nine-step permaculture design to help farmsteaders and city dwellers alike build fertile soil, promote biodiversity, and increase natural habitat in their own "paradise gardens."" Via chelseagreen.com.

>>Food Revolution - "John Robbins exposes the dangers behind many of today's foods and reveals the extraordinary benefits of healthy alternatives. The Food Revolution will show you how to extend your life, increase your vibrancy and vitality, and take a stand for a more compassionate and sustainable world."

>>Gila: The Life and Death of an American River - by Gregory McNamee "Follows the ecologic history of the Gila River from its source in New Mexico, through its confluence with the Colorado River and into Arizona. Today, half of the Gila is dead, due to overgrazing, damming, and other practices."

>>Last Oasis: Facing Water Scarcity - by Sandra Postel "The worldwide water crisis, according to this book, is due to its ready availability, low cost, people's overuse, and lack of respect for this life-sustaining resource. Solutions are giving for restoring and sustaining this essential lifeline."

>>Natural Capitalism - Chapter 3 Waste Not - by Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins, L. Hunter Lovins. Excerpt outlining all the resources that go into manufacturing a can of soda. p. 49-50

>>Not Just a Pretty Face by Stacy Malkan - Do your favorite products contain hazardous chemicals?

>>Omnivores Dilemma - "Michael Pollan examines what he calls "our national eating disorder" (the Atkins craze, the precipitous rise in obesity) in this remarkably clearheaded book. It's a fascinating journey up and down the food chain, one that might change the way you read the label on a frozen dinner, dig into a steak or decide whether to buy organic eggs. You'll certainly never look at a Chicken McNugget the same way again."

>>Power Down - by Richard Heinberg "If the US continues with its current policies, the next decades will be marked by war, economic collapse, and environmental catastrophe. Resource depletion and population pressures are about to catch up with us, and no one is prepared. The alternative is "Powerdown," a strategy that will require tremendous effort and economic sacrifice in order to reduce per-capita resource usage in wealthy countries, develop alternative energy sources, distribute resources more equitably, and reduce the human population humanely but systematically over time"

>>Silent Sprint by Rachel Carson - released in 1962, offered the first shattering look at widespread ecological degradation and touched off an environmental awareness that still exists. Rachel Carson's book focused on the poisons from insecticides, weed killers, and other common products as well as the use of sprays in agriculture, a practice that led to dangerous chemicals to the food source.

>>The Heat is On - by Ross Gelbspan "Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ross Gelbspan exposes the machinations of oil and coal companies and conservative politicians to undermine the public confidence in science and thereby defer action against global warming. This riveting expose is a spirited call to action against the corporate disinformation campaign that threatens us all."

>>Worms Eat My Garbage - by Mary Appelhof. How to set up and maintain a worm composting system.