Hello community,

Last Wednesday I participated in a discussion about forest fuels and carbon neutrality with the biomass gasification research group at Evergreen. Joining us were Kirk Hanson of the Northwest Natural Resource Group and Rachael Jamison of the Department of Natural Resources. We spoke about carbon cycling, standards for sustainable forestry, and the potential benefit for local forests and local economy.

Here is a brochure with information from the Washington Forest Protection Agency about sustainable forestry:
http://www.wfpa.org/pdf/brochure/07%20Forest%20Facts%20And%20Figures.pdf

I encourage anyone interested to read the notes from this meeting (and all meetings regarding the research) at:
http://blogs.evergreen.edu/sustainability/biomass/

As always, I am happy to receive comments, concerns, and ideas for the research group.

Dani Madrone

Protest Biomass Incinerators!

Monday August 9th

-12 noon Percival’s landing

-2 pm Red Square Evergreen

 

Join us to protest the planned biomass incinerator for The Evergreen State College. The facility will have serious effects on everyone in the region. From toxic emissions at the stack to the decimation of our forests there are countless reasons to oppose this project. This is a family friendly event.

 

Info Line 360-867-6220 Description The STUDENT OF COLOR UNION & SYNERGY @ The Evergreen State College PRESENT: ANGELA DAVIS (Birmingham, Alabama) & ANTWI AKOM. This Event is Co-sponsored by: The Presidents Diversity Fund & S&A Productions. SPECIAL NOTE ON BUYING TICKETS ONLINE: All tickets will be available for pickup at the box office on the day of the event at the will call window. Student/Staff/Faculty tickets will be validated with valid school ID at that time to qualify for the reduced price. Absence of valid ID will require an additional payment of $15.00 per ticket to authorize the tickets release. Notes ALL AGES, FREE PARKING info at: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/110928

Join us on Wednesday, April 7th at 1pm-5pm for an afternoon of ecological restoration! Help be a steward of the evergreen forest, learn about native plants and ecosystems, pull some ivy, meet cool people, and more!

We provide gloves, tools, snacks, tea, and plenty of ivy!

English ivy poses a serious threat to forests throughout the PNW. It kills trees and smothers everything in the understory, creating a monoculture of itself, thereby reducing wildlife habitat, biodiversity, and other important ecosystem functions. We have been working to remove english ivy from the campus grounds for two years and we could use your help!

Other dates for restoration at TESC are April 28th, May 2nd and May 12th.

contact nativeplantsalvage@gmail.com for details

 

Co-sponsered by RAD sustainability and native plant salvage project

Luce Givins of the RNC 8 will be leading a discussion about their case which has wide-ranging implications for anybody organizing for social change. She, along with seven other individuals, where charged with conspiracy for organizing food, housing, and support for protesters coming to voice their opposition at the 2008 Republican National Convention. Come support the RNC8 and learn about how you can fight against government repression.


April 5th 5:00PM
Lecture Hall One
The Evergreen State College
(FREE!)


The RNC 8 are a group of Twin Cities residents facing felony charges related to their organizing against the 2008 Republican National Convention. They are charged with “Conspiracy to riot in the second degree in the furtherance of terrorism” in an attempt by the authorities to criminalize dissent and make open organizing against the status quo illegal. Indeed, the entire concept behind conspiracy charges is that the accused need not have actually taken any illegal actions, it is thoughts and relationships alone that could send these individuals to prison for years. Come support the RNC8! Flyer at: mynetblog.com/rnc8flyer.pdf

Contact: Melanie Kincaid, Student Coordinator
Graduate Association for Environmental Action Student Organization
The Evergreen State College
Cell: 440-623-4114; Other: 360-918-8708
Email: kincaidm@evergreen.edu

FREE ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM & CONSERVATION EVENT
• Evergreen Celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the Rachel Carson Forum
• Evergreen Master of Environmental Studies Program Celebrates 25th Year
• Environmental Educator & Advocate Estella Leopold speaks on “Becoming a Conservationist”

Olympia, WA – The Graduate Association for Environmental Action at The Evergreen State College is celebrating its 20th Anniversary of the Rachel Carson Forum with free workshops and keynote speech dedicated to environmental conservation and activism on April 10th, 2010 from 9am – Noon at the Evergreen Longhouse.

The first part of the morning, 9am – 11am, will be devoted to break-out sessions that host a range of facilitators presenting demonstrations on environmental issues. Event participants are able to choose three of the five breakout sessions that include:

• “Being Frank” about the Environment, presented by Billy Frank of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission
• Sparking Political Progress, presented by Fuse Washington
• Ethnobotanical Garden Walk, presented by Teaching Gardens
• Homemade Bike Panniers, presented by the Evergreen State College Bike Shop
• DIY Composting, presented by the Evergreen Organic Farm

The finale of the event will be a keynote speech entitled “Becoming a Conservationist” by long time environmental educator and advocate, Estella Leopold. Her families’ commitment to the environment starting with her father, Aldo Leopold, and onto herself and her other siblings has been a dramatic influence to environmental conservation throughout the United States.

In 1980 Father Roy, Maryknoll priest, became involved in issues surrounding US policy in El Salvador after four US churchwomen--two of them his friends--were raped and killed by Salvadoran soldiers. Roy became an outspoken critic of US foreign policy in Latin America. Since then, he has spent over four years in US federal prisons for nonviolent protests against the training of Latin American soldiers at Ft. Benning, Georgia. 



In 1990, Roy founded the School of Americas Watch, an organization that does research on the US Army School of the Americas (SOA), now renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation or WHINSEC, at Fort Benning, Georgia. Each year the school trains hundreds of soldiers from Latin America in combat skills - all paid for by U.S. taxpayers. 



The School of the Americas Watch, located just outside the main entrance of Fort Benning and in Washington, DC, informs the general public, Congress and the media about the implications of this training on the people of Latin America. For the last 10 years there has been a peaceful protest with over 24,000 in attendance.

Jesse Freeston is a video-journalist with The Real News Network. He is originally from Ontario, Canada, but has spent most of the last two years reporting from El Salvador, Honduras, and the United States. His work has covered a variety of topics including: the military-industrial complex, economics & labor issues, Central American social movements, and resource rights.

This talk is about his amazing video journalism covering the coup in Honduras, specifically the elections where he uncovered overwhelming evidence of fraud while the majority of newspapers in the US were repeating the official story.

This is the beginning of the NW Latin American Solidarity Conference with only one earlier event. We've added the 2010 film, "Communa Under Construction," about the grassroots development of a profoundly participative society in Venezuela. This fascinating movie is playing 3-5PM, Friday, April 9th, in Seminar 2 E1107.

To register, volunteer or see what all the different workshops, speakers and hoopla is about, check out:
http://www.nwlasconference.wordpress.com

Invite your friends!

Accessing Public Records: How to Get Mad Paper from the Government

Are you interested in obtaining records from the city, the police,
   the county, state agencies, or even the school?

Do you want to know how you (or any other person) can request records
     from these agencies at minimal cost or even for free?

This hands-on workshop is free and will give you all the knowledge you need to start making public records requests. All participants will receive digital copies of the presentation including a number of records that you may find useful in making records requests. Donations are appreciated to help cover costs but certainly not required. You should bring something to take notes on. This workshop will cover the Washington State Public Records Act and the Washington State Open Meetings Act. We will also briefly discuss obtaining records from Federal Agencies under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Privacy Act. It's worth noting that now-notorious military spy John Towery was discovered through the course of a public records request. Show up and bring your lunch!
- -----------------------------
    Wed March 17th
      SEM2 A3107
The Evergreen State College
12:00 (noon) till 1:30 pm
- ----------------------------
Potential uses for records:

* Personal interest
* Police/public official accountability
* Journalism
* To see if the government is spying on you
* What's that huge development next to my house?
* Who is that cop who pulled me over?
* What is the city working on/talking about
* Who called the cops on our party?
* How much does employee x make?
* Where is my government spending my money?

 Things you'll be able to request after taking this workshop (just
examples) (a few exemptions apply which you'll learn about):

COMMUNIQUE FROM A BRAT STUNT FUTURE

The Housing Community Center, or the HCC, at Evergreen used to be a space where students could spend time hanging out with friends, sipping coffee, shooting pool, reading, doing laundry, using a courtesy landline, throwing events, doing homework, or just relaxing while watching some television. But this all changed on Friday night when a hip gang of young heroes took the space over - occupying and redefining it. What used to be a space for all the things mentioned above had suddenly become a space for, well, all the things above, but with some slight differences.

One important difference was that if there was an emergency and people needed to vacate the building quickly, they could not do so safely on account of all the stuff piled in front of the doors. Also, if you happened to not be a member of the secret little club who planned this stunt, but wanted to get your clothes out of the dryer or something, you might have found yourself feeling confused and awkward as some kid with shitty facial hair and a crimethinc. patch moved a bunch of chairs out from in front of the door to let you in. And, most importantly of all, no longer would the young geo-ducklings have to endure the hell and misery of returning to their cozy beds in heated rooms that someone else pays for at the stroke of midnight, No!, they could stay up drinking sodas and watching movies as late as they wanted! This was of course a right they had bought and paid for and were now collecting on.

“Everything we paid for is ours, everything is ours!” exclaimed the young anti-capitalist heroes using the logic of capitalism to justify their stunt. And they were right, everything they paid for was and is theirs. They just seemed confused about what it was they paid for.