7/26/2009
Concert, Aug. 2, Aberdeen
http://www.mollieobrien.com/ comes to the Rooster's Wife next Sunday evening.
7/24/2009
Mindfulness Reminders from Thay
http://plumvillage.org/HTML/practice/html/5_mindfulness_trainings-revised.htm
Clean Honey Bees
Honeybees sterilise their hives
Honeybees keep disease at bay by sterilising their hives with antimicrobial resin, scientists discover.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8152000/8152574.stm
Honeybees keep disease at bay by sterilising their hives with antimicrobial resin, scientists discover.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8152000/8152574.stm
7/23/2009
Thank You for Smoking
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-kim/rethinking-emthank-you-fo_b_237349.html
7/22/2009
The Toilet, Your Money, Our Water
http://www.grist.org/article/2009-07-20-ask-umbra-video-advice-saving-money-water-toilet
7/20/2009
Bail-Out--for Goldman-Sachs
http://seekingalpha.com/article/149494-jon-stewart-takes-on-goldman-sachs-video
7/18/2009
Got Water?
Turkmenistan to create desert sea
Turkmenistan starts work on the latest phase of its massive project to create a vast artificial sea in the desert.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/8154467.stm
Turkmenistan starts work on the latest phase of its massive project to create a vast artificial sea in the desert.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/8154467.stm
7/17/2009
7/16/2009
7/15/2009
GM CEO Bail-out
Ousted GM CEO Rick Wagoner Gets Lucrative Severance
The bailed-out auto giant General Motors has announced a retirement deal for departing CEO Rick Wagoner. The Obama administration forced Wagoner to resign earlier this year under the terms of GM’s government rescue. Wagoner will receive $1.6 million annually over the next five years, along with an annual salary of over $74,000 for the rest of his life.
The bailed-out auto giant General Motors has announced a retirement deal for departing CEO Rick Wagoner. The Obama administration forced Wagoner to resign earlier this year under the terms of GM’s government rescue. Wagoner will receive $1.6 million annually over the next five years, along with an annual salary of over $74,000 for the rest of his life.
More on Sotomayor's Record
Review of Sotomayor's Record Belies GOP Charges of Biased Judicial Practice
An exhaustive review of all 1,994 constitutional cases decided by the Second Circuit during the decade of Judge Sotomayor's service found that Sotomayor is solidly in the mainstream of her colleagues.
The Brennan Center for Justice report found Sotomayor voted with the majority of the court in 98.2 percent of constitutional cases. We speak with the report's author, attorney Monica Youn, and Democracy Now!'s Juan Gonzalez, who's in DC covering the hearings.
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/7/15/review_of_sotomayors_judicial_record_contradicts
An exhaustive review of all 1,994 constitutional cases decided by the Second Circuit during the decade of Judge Sotomayor's service found that Sotomayor is solidly in the mainstream of her colleagues.
The Brennan Center for Justice report found Sotomayor voted with the majority of the court in 98.2 percent of constitutional cases. We speak with the report's author, attorney Monica Youn, and Democracy Now!'s Juan Gonzalez, who's in DC covering the hearings.
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/7/15/review_of_sotomayors_judicial_record_contradicts
7/14/2009
7/13/2009
Holman to Discuss Water, Sou. Pines, July 30
SAVE OUR SANDHILLS HOSTS EXPERT ON WATER ALLOCATION AND CONSERVATION
On July 30, Save Our Sandhills will host guest speaker Bill Holman
“Water, A Valuable Resource in the 21st Century – Does NC Need a Plan?”
Concern about water needs in North Carolina has long been a problem for a state that is growing so quickly and has faced severe droughts and water shortages in recent years. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, NC will grow to 12 million by the year 2030--an increase of more than 50% since 2000.
North Carolina is one of only 3 states – North Carolina, South Carolina, and Alabama – that doesn’t currently require big water users to obtain permits to make withdrawals. This is equivalent to North Carolina's having its head in the sand. As Senator Dan Clodfelter, co-chairman of the Environmental Review commission has said, “We don’t really have a comprehensive set of water policies. . . . We have to get ahead of the curve . . . or we’ll wind up in the kind of water wars they’ve had for generations out West.”
Already, we’ve had cross-border water demand conflicts. South Carolina has sued North Carolina in the US Supreme Court, contending that taking water from the Catawba and Yadkin rivers is leaving less water downstream for South Carolina towns and industries.
Realizing that NC needs to determine how much water will be needed to accommodate future growth, the legislature commissioned the NC Water Allocation Study to be written by Richard Whisnant of the University of North Carolina’s School of Government and by Bill Holman of Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, each with impeccable credentials.
Bill Holman is the former Secretary of the NC Department of Environment & Natural Resources and former Executive Director of the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund (CWMTF). Richard Whisnant is Associate Professor of Public Law and Government, teaching environmental and administrative law as well as public policy analysis.
Both Whisnant and Holman take a pragmatic view of the situation. Whisnant has said, “We use water the same way a government or home that has no budget spends money. We have no water budget. We just hope everyone will be reasonable in how they use it. . . .It will be a big problem for us in the future.” Holman offers an additional perspective to the state’s problem of burgeoning growth, “In the last century, we had a lot of water and not too many people. We’re moving from an era of cheap and abundant water to an era of scarce and more valuable water. Water needs to be priced more appropriately.”
Everyone who pays a water bill, from homeowner to large industry, will be affected.
Realizing that much water information has been fragmented, Holman and Whisnant noted in their study that “Water systems and their managers are often excluded from local land decisions and regional economic development planning, including construction of public schools, that increase demand for water, wastewater and stormwater services, increase operating and capital costs, and affect the ability of water systems to assure adequate water supplies and wastewater treatment for the future.” Therefore, they solicited comments from planners and made revisions to their draft report to be as comprehensive as possible. Ultimately, they recommended:
1. developing water budgets for each of the state’s 17 major river basins
2. setting up a state permit system for all large withdrawals of water
3. establishing state goals for water conservation, and
4. charging rates sufficient to operate and maintain water systems properly.
Holman will discuss the Duke-UNC-CH Water Allocation Study Team’s report and recommendations to the 2009 General Assembly. The General Assembly has decided to carry over Senate bill 907 and House version 1101 of the Water Resources Policy Act (WRPA) of 2009 until the 2010 legislative session; the Assembly does not plan to act on it this year.
As Senator Clodfelter has said, “It’s such a comprehensive set of recommendations that it may be hard to get it all into a manageable form in a single bill.”
SOS meeting is Thursday, July 30 at 7 PM in the Southern Pines Civic Club, corner of Ashe Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. Refreshments follow.
On July 30, Save Our Sandhills will host guest speaker Bill Holman
“Water, A Valuable Resource in the 21st Century – Does NC Need a Plan?”
Concern about water needs in North Carolina has long been a problem for a state that is growing so quickly and has faced severe droughts and water shortages in recent years. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, NC will grow to 12 million by the year 2030--an increase of more than 50% since 2000.
North Carolina is one of only 3 states – North Carolina, South Carolina, and Alabama – that doesn’t currently require big water users to obtain permits to make withdrawals. This is equivalent to North Carolina's having its head in the sand. As Senator Dan Clodfelter, co-chairman of the Environmental Review commission has said, “We don’t really have a comprehensive set of water policies. . . . We have to get ahead of the curve . . . or we’ll wind up in the kind of water wars they’ve had for generations out West.”
Already, we’ve had cross-border water demand conflicts. South Carolina has sued North Carolina in the US Supreme Court, contending that taking water from the Catawba and Yadkin rivers is leaving less water downstream for South Carolina towns and industries.
Realizing that NC needs to determine how much water will be needed to accommodate future growth, the legislature commissioned the NC Water Allocation Study to be written by Richard Whisnant of the University of North Carolina’s School of Government and by Bill Holman of Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, each with impeccable credentials.
Bill Holman is the former Secretary of the NC Department of Environment & Natural Resources and former Executive Director of the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund (CWMTF). Richard Whisnant is Associate Professor of Public Law and Government, teaching environmental and administrative law as well as public policy analysis.
Both Whisnant and Holman take a pragmatic view of the situation. Whisnant has said, “We use water the same way a government or home that has no budget spends money. We have no water budget. We just hope everyone will be reasonable in how they use it. . . .It will be a big problem for us in the future.” Holman offers an additional perspective to the state’s problem of burgeoning growth, “In the last century, we had a lot of water and not too many people. We’re moving from an era of cheap and abundant water to an era of scarce and more valuable water. Water needs to be priced more appropriately.”
Everyone who pays a water bill, from homeowner to large industry, will be affected.
Realizing that much water information has been fragmented, Holman and Whisnant noted in their study that “Water systems and their managers are often excluded from local land decisions and regional economic development planning, including construction of public schools, that increase demand for water, wastewater and stormwater services, increase operating and capital costs, and affect the ability of water systems to assure adequate water supplies and wastewater treatment for the future.” Therefore, they solicited comments from planners and made revisions to their draft report to be as comprehensive as possible. Ultimately, they recommended:
1. developing water budgets for each of the state’s 17 major river basins
2. setting up a state permit system for all large withdrawals of water
3. establishing state goals for water conservation, and
4. charging rates sufficient to operate and maintain water systems properly.
Holman will discuss the Duke-UNC-CH Water Allocation Study Team’s report and recommendations to the 2009 General Assembly. The General Assembly has decided to carry over Senate bill 907 and House version 1101 of the Water Resources Policy Act (WRPA) of 2009 until the 2010 legislative session; the Assembly does not plan to act on it this year.
As Senator Clodfelter has said, “It’s such a comprehensive set of recommendations that it may be hard to get it all into a manageable form in a single bill.”
SOS meeting is Thursday, July 30 at 7 PM in the Southern Pines Civic Club, corner of Ashe Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. Refreshments follow.
Boiling Frogs
New York Times July 13, 2009
Boiling the Frog By PAUL KRUGMAN
Is America on its way to becoming a boiled frog?
I’m referring, of course, to the proverbial frog that, placed in a pot of cold water that is gradually heated, never realizes the danger it’s in and is boiled alive. Real frogs will, in fact, jump out of the pot — but never mind. The hypothetical boiled frog is a useful metaphor for a very real problem: the difficulty of responding to disasters that creep up on you a bit at a time.
And creeping disasters are what we mostly face these days.
I started thinking about boiled frogs recently as I watched the depressing state of debate over both economic and environmental policy. These are both areas in which there is a substantial lag before policy actions have their full effect — a year or more in the case of the economy, decades in the case of the planet — yet in which it’s very hard to get people to do what it takes to head off a catastrophe foretold.
And right now, both the economic and the environmental frogs are sitting still while the water gets hotter.
Start with economics: last winter the economy was in acute crisis, with a replay of the Great Depression seeming all too possible. And there was a fairly strong policy response in the form of the Obama stimulus plan, even if that plan wasn’t as strong as some of us thought it should have been.
At this point, however, the acute crisis has given way to a much more insidious threat. Most economic forecasters now expect gross domestic product to start growing soon, if it hasn’t already. But all the signs point to a “jobless recovery”: on average, forecasters surveyed by The Wall Street Journal believe that the unemployment rate will keep rising into next year, and that it will be as high at the end of 2010 as it is now.
Now, it’s bad enough to be jobless for a few weeks; it’s much worse being unemployed for months or years. Yet that’s exactly what will happen to millions of Americans if the average forecast is right — which means that many of the unemployed will lose their savings, their homes and more.
To head off this outcome — and remember, this isn’t what economic Cassandras are saying; it’s the forecasting consensus — we’d need to get another round of fiscal stimulus under way very soon. But neither Congress nor, alas, the Obama administration is showing any inclination to act. Now that the free fall is over, all sense of urgency seems to have vanished.
This will probably change once the reality of the jobless recovery becomes all too apparent. But by then it will be too late to avoid a slow-motion human and social disaster.
Still, the boiled-frog problem on the economy is nothing compared with the problem of getting action on climate change.
Put it this way: if the consensus of the economic experts is grim, the consensus of the climate experts is utterly terrifying. At this point, the central forecast of leading climate models — not the worst-case scenario but the most likely outcome — is utter catastrophe, a rise in temperatures that will totally disrupt life as we know it, if we continue along our present path. How to head off that catastrophe should be the dominant policy issue of our time.
But it isn’t, because climate change is a creeping threat rather than an attention-grabbing crisis. The full dimensions of the catastrophe won’t be apparent for decades, perhaps generations. In fact, it will probably be many years before the upward trend in temperatures is so obvious to casual observers that it silences the skeptics. Unfortunately, if we wait to act until the climate crisis is that obvious, catastrophe will already have become inevitable.
And while a major environmental bill has passed the House, which was an amazing and inspiring political achievement, the bill fell well short of what the planet really needs — and despite this faces steep odds in the Senate.
What makes the apparent paralysis of policy especially alarming is that so little is happening when the political situation seems, on the surface, to be so favorable to action.
After all, supply-siders and climate-change-deniers no longer control the White House and key Congressional committees. Democrats have a popular president to lead them, a large majority in the House of Representatives and 60 votes in the Senate. And this isn’t the old Democratic majority, which was an awkward coalition between Northern liberals and Southern conservatives; this is, by historical standards, a relatively solid progressive bloc.
And let’s be clear: both the President and the party’s Congressional leadership understand the economic and environmental issues perfectly well. So if we can’t get action to head off disaster now, what would it take?
I don’t know the answer. And that’s why I keep thinking about boiling frogs.
Boiling the Frog By PAUL KRUGMAN
Is America on its way to becoming a boiled frog?
I’m referring, of course, to the proverbial frog that, placed in a pot of cold water that is gradually heated, never realizes the danger it’s in and is boiled alive. Real frogs will, in fact, jump out of the pot — but never mind. The hypothetical boiled frog is a useful metaphor for a very real problem: the difficulty of responding to disasters that creep up on you a bit at a time.
And creeping disasters are what we mostly face these days.
I started thinking about boiled frogs recently as I watched the depressing state of debate over both economic and environmental policy. These are both areas in which there is a substantial lag before policy actions have their full effect — a year or more in the case of the economy, decades in the case of the planet — yet in which it’s very hard to get people to do what it takes to head off a catastrophe foretold.
And right now, both the economic and the environmental frogs are sitting still while the water gets hotter.
Start with economics: last winter the economy was in acute crisis, with a replay of the Great Depression seeming all too possible. And there was a fairly strong policy response in the form of the Obama stimulus plan, even if that plan wasn’t as strong as some of us thought it should have been.
At this point, however, the acute crisis has given way to a much more insidious threat. Most economic forecasters now expect gross domestic product to start growing soon, if it hasn’t already. But all the signs point to a “jobless recovery”: on average, forecasters surveyed by The Wall Street Journal believe that the unemployment rate will keep rising into next year, and that it will be as high at the end of 2010 as it is now.
Now, it’s bad enough to be jobless for a few weeks; it’s much worse being unemployed for months or years. Yet that’s exactly what will happen to millions of Americans if the average forecast is right — which means that many of the unemployed will lose their savings, their homes and more.
To head off this outcome — and remember, this isn’t what economic Cassandras are saying; it’s the forecasting consensus — we’d need to get another round of fiscal stimulus under way very soon. But neither Congress nor, alas, the Obama administration is showing any inclination to act. Now that the free fall is over, all sense of urgency seems to have vanished.
This will probably change once the reality of the jobless recovery becomes all too apparent. But by then it will be too late to avoid a slow-motion human and social disaster.
Still, the boiled-frog problem on the economy is nothing compared with the problem of getting action on climate change.
Put it this way: if the consensus of the economic experts is grim, the consensus of the climate experts is utterly terrifying. At this point, the central forecast of leading climate models — not the worst-case scenario but the most likely outcome — is utter catastrophe, a rise in temperatures that will totally disrupt life as we know it, if we continue along our present path. How to head off that catastrophe should be the dominant policy issue of our time.
But it isn’t, because climate change is a creeping threat rather than an attention-grabbing crisis. The full dimensions of the catastrophe won’t be apparent for decades, perhaps generations. In fact, it will probably be many years before the upward trend in temperatures is so obvious to casual observers that it silences the skeptics. Unfortunately, if we wait to act until the climate crisis is that obvious, catastrophe will already have become inevitable.
And while a major environmental bill has passed the House, which was an amazing and inspiring political achievement, the bill fell well short of what the planet really needs — and despite this faces steep odds in the Senate.
What makes the apparent paralysis of policy especially alarming is that so little is happening when the political situation seems, on the surface, to be so favorable to action.
After all, supply-siders and climate-change-deniers no longer control the White House and key Congressional committees. Democrats have a popular president to lead them, a large majority in the House of Representatives and 60 votes in the Senate. And this isn’t the old Democratic majority, which was an awkward coalition between Northern liberals and Southern conservatives; this is, by historical standards, a relatively solid progressive bloc.
And let’s be clear: both the President and the party’s Congressional leadership understand the economic and environmental issues perfectly well. So if we can’t get action to head off disaster now, what would it take?
I don’t know the answer. And that’s why I keep thinking about boiling frogs.
7/12/2009
7/10/2009
7/09/2009
7/08/2009
The G8 and Climate Change
http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/the-g8-and-climate-change-towards-copenhagen
Support Local Food, July 21, Sustainable Sandhills, 6:30
MEETING REMINDER! Sustainable Sandhills
Moore County Community Action Team meeting
Supporting Local Food
Sandhills CC, Dempsey Student Center, Clement Dining Room
Tuesday, July 21, 6:30-8:00pm (Potluck Dinner at 6:00pm)
Our topic for the next Moore county Community Action Team meeting is Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). In response to a desire from team members for a local CSA, we will be devoting the majority of this meeting to explore the benefits and challenges. Please support local food by joining us for a potluck dinner, presentation and workshop. Bring your favorite dish and a friend!
Our next meeting will include:
Projects Updates – Recycled Regatta and Recycled Art Show in Robbins &
Sustainable Sandhills Green Living and Design Tour
CSA Presentation- By Taylor Williams, Moore County CES
CSA Discussion- What are the benefits and challenges?
CSA workshop- Sustainable Sandhills will survey your interest in a CSA after Taylor's presentation - for use by local farmers considering a CSA. Our goal is to provide information to the community that can be used in a variety of ways to promote local food.
Please help us spread the word!
If you have questions, contact Amanda Blue (amandab@sustainablesandhills.org), 910-484-9098.
Moore County Community Action Team meeting
Supporting Local Food
Sandhills CC, Dempsey Student Center, Clement Dining Room
Tuesday, July 21, 6:30-8:00pm (Potluck Dinner at 6:00pm)
Our topic for the next Moore county Community Action Team meeting is Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). In response to a desire from team members for a local CSA, we will be devoting the majority of this meeting to explore the benefits and challenges. Please support local food by joining us for a potluck dinner, presentation and workshop. Bring your favorite dish and a friend!
Our next meeting will include:
Projects Updates – Recycled Regatta and Recycled Art Show in Robbins &
Sustainable Sandhills Green Living and Design Tour
CSA Presentation- By Taylor Williams, Moore County CES
CSA Discussion- What are the benefits and challenges?
CSA workshop- Sustainable Sandhills will survey your interest in a CSA after Taylor's presentation - for use by local farmers considering a CSA. Our goal is to provide information to the community that can be used in a variety of ways to promote local food.
Please help us spread the word!
If you have questions, contact Amanda Blue (amandab@sustainablesandhills.org), 910-484-9098.
7/07/2009
Pinecrest Students and SS Membership Drive
http://www.sustainablesandhills.org/docs/SS2009MembershipDrive.pdf
It's About Food
The Sustainable Sandhills film series will focus on food topics with several FREE screenings of King Corn this summer: Fayetteville on July 14; Harnett County on July 28; and Lee County on August 4 (see the Calendar of Events section below for specific times and locations).
The award-winning FOOD Inc. will be coming to the CAMEO Art House Theatre in Fayetteville on August 8-9, and to the Sunrise Theater in Southern Pines on August 13-14. We'll be featuring these FOOD Inc. events in our next eBlast. Thanks to both of these fine independent theaters for bringing FOOD Inc. to our region!
The award-winning FOOD Inc. will be coming to the CAMEO Art House Theatre in Fayetteville on August 8-9, and to the Sunrise Theater in Southern Pines on August 13-14. We'll be featuring these FOOD Inc. events in our next eBlast. Thanks to both of these fine independent theaters for bringing FOOD Inc. to our region!
7/06/2009
The Amazing Will Allen
http://allalongtheedge.blogspot.com/2009/07/will-allen-and-growing-power-farm.html
7/05/2009
7/04/2009
For Local Skatepark
Mister P's in Southern Pines, Thursday, July 9
McKenzie Brothers' Concert starts at 7:30. Also a silent auction and lots of great things available for a donation!
The former Mint Juleps has been totally renovated.
Thanks for spreading the word about the skatepark funding dilemma! Southern Pines' kids need a place to skate.
McKenzie Brothers' Concert starts at 7:30. Also a silent auction and lots of great things available for a donation!
The former Mint Juleps has been totally renovated.
Thanks for spreading the word about the skatepark funding dilemma! Southern Pines' kids need a place to skate.
IS IT Organic?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/02/AR2009070203365.html?hpid=topnews
Let's Dim the Lights for W.VA.
Published on Saturday, July 4, 2009 by The Charleston Gazette (West Viginia)
Mountaintop Removal: Fourth of July Festival Organizers Fear Violence
by Paul J. Nyden
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Larry Gibson, the well-known, 72-year-old activist against mountaintop-removal mining, will host his annual July 4 music festival at his Kayford Mountain home above Cabin Creek Saturday and Sunday.
"I've been having this event, which is open to the public, for 23 years. Everyone is welcome," Gibson said.
Maria Gunnoe, a Boone County native, who won this year's international Goldman Environmental Prize in April for her anti-mountaintop-removal activism, is among the many planning to attend.
"A lot of elders and a lot of children, show up," Gunnoe said. "Normally, it is very peaceful.
"People get together, socialize and listen to very diverse music," she said. "Some is traditional Appalachian music. Some is music for younger teenagers, including rock music. It is a good time with your family and friends."
But both Gibson and Gunnoe worry this year's festival could spark hostility and possibly violence, especially after last week's arrest of demonstrators protesting Massey Energy's mountaintop removal operations in Boone County.
Gibson, in particular, said he has received threats since the arrests.
No one could be reached at Massey Energy's offices in Boone County on Friday.
A spokesman for the Kanawha County Sheriff's Department said he had heard nothing about any rumors of violence at Gibson's planned July 4 celebration.
On June 23, 31 picketers were arrested, including: actress Daryl Hannah, National Aeronautics and Space Administration scientist James Hansen and former Democratic Congressman and West Virginia Secretary of State Ken Hechler.
Protesting near Sundial, the picketers were charged with obstructing police officers and impeding traffic after sitting in the middle of W.Va. 3 near a controversial Massey coal preparation plant next to Marsh Fork Elementary School.
A nearby Massey dam impounds about 3 billion gallons of coal sludge from company mining operations.
Gibson's festival started out as a family reunion, but quickly grew into an annual community event.
Last week, Gunnoe distanced herself from "out-of-state environmentalists," explaining, "We are connected to the environment around our home lands. We care about our culture. But that does not make us tree huggers."
Gibson hopes today's event is well attended.
"Everyone is welcome. Bring a covered dish. But this is not a place for any kind of violence. But bring a conversation to the table. I would be glad to talk to anyone," Gibson said.
Gibson, whose family has lived on or near Kayford Mountain since the late 1700s, travels around the country speaking about mountaintop removal at colleges, churches, public seminars and community groups
"The stand I am taking here is not so much for myself," Gibson said, "but for all of the people living in this part of the country."
Gunnoe said, "Some people have had windows broken out of their vehicles because they had 'We Love Mountains' stickers on their bumpers.
"For years, mountaintop removal blasting has covered our homes up with dust and polluted our water," she said. "People fight mountaintop removal because they have lost their water, their land and their quality of life."
Mountaintop Removal: Fourth of July Festival Organizers Fear Violence
by Paul J. Nyden
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Larry Gibson, the well-known, 72-year-old activist against mountaintop-removal mining, will host his annual July 4 music festival at his Kayford Mountain home above Cabin Creek Saturday and Sunday.
"I've been having this event, which is open to the public, for 23 years. Everyone is welcome," Gibson said.
Maria Gunnoe, a Boone County native, who won this year's international Goldman Environmental Prize in April for her anti-mountaintop-removal activism, is among the many planning to attend.
"A lot of elders and a lot of children, show up," Gunnoe said. "Normally, it is very peaceful.
"People get together, socialize and listen to very diverse music," she said. "Some is traditional Appalachian music. Some is music for younger teenagers, including rock music. It is a good time with your family and friends."
But both Gibson and Gunnoe worry this year's festival could spark hostility and possibly violence, especially after last week's arrest of demonstrators protesting Massey Energy's mountaintop removal operations in Boone County.
Gibson, in particular, said he has received threats since the arrests.
No one could be reached at Massey Energy's offices in Boone County on Friday.
A spokesman for the Kanawha County Sheriff's Department said he had heard nothing about any rumors of violence at Gibson's planned July 4 celebration.
On June 23, 31 picketers were arrested, including: actress Daryl Hannah, National Aeronautics and Space Administration scientist James Hansen and former Democratic Congressman and West Virginia Secretary of State Ken Hechler.
Protesting near Sundial, the picketers were charged with obstructing police officers and impeding traffic after sitting in the middle of W.Va. 3 near a controversial Massey coal preparation plant next to Marsh Fork Elementary School.
A nearby Massey dam impounds about 3 billion gallons of coal sludge from company mining operations.
Gibson's festival started out as a family reunion, but quickly grew into an annual community event.
Last week, Gunnoe distanced herself from "out-of-state environmentalists," explaining, "We are connected to the environment around our home lands. We care about our culture. But that does not make us tree huggers."
Gibson hopes today's event is well attended.
"Everyone is welcome. Bring a covered dish. But this is not a place for any kind of violence. But bring a conversation to the table. I would be glad to talk to anyone," Gibson said.
Gibson, whose family has lived on or near Kayford Mountain since the late 1700s, travels around the country speaking about mountaintop removal at colleges, churches, public seminars and community groups
"The stand I am taking here is not so much for myself," Gibson said, "but for all of the people living in this part of the country."
Gunnoe said, "Some people have had windows broken out of their vehicles because they had 'We Love Mountains' stickers on their bumpers.
"For years, mountaintop removal blasting has covered our homes up with dust and polluted our water," she said. "People fight mountaintop removal because they have lost their water, their land and their quality of life."
Each To Do His/Her Part
http://www.takepart.com/ [Food, Inc., the movie, coming to Sunrise Theater Aug. 13 and 14]
7/03/2009
Food, Inc. for BOTH Dates
Thursday AND Friday, August 13 AND 14.
The critical and entertaining new documentary "Food, Inc." coming to the Sunrise Theater. 7:30 both evenings. See you there!!
The critical and entertaining new documentary "Food, Inc." coming to the Sunrise Theater. 7:30 both evenings. See you there!!
7/02/2009
It's Good Business
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/business/energy-environment/01farm.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=Organic%20Farms%20as%20Subdivision%20Amenities&st=cse
Food, Inc. Coming to Sou. Pines, Aug. 13 or 14
HOLD THESE DATES! Thursday or Friday, August 13 or 14.
That is the dates the Sunrise Theater is making a special effort to bring the critical and entertaining new documentary "Food, Inc." to the Sandhills. This Summer SunFlix series offering begins at 7:30.
A lively group of local "foodies" and locavores pressed the case for it (the nearest showing is in Raleigh), and the Sunrise board listened. Hurray! Thank you Sunrise Theater!
Director Robert Kenner truly loves food. Said to be a stimulating to the national discussion of just what has happened to our food system in two or three short decades as the eye-opening Michal Pollan book "Omnivore's Dilemma," "Food, Inc." is a film everyone who eats needs to see. It just might affect your next buying trip to the store, or the next meal you eat.
Reviews for this movie are all over the web now, so check some out. One critic called it "The Inconvenient Truth of Food."
Here's one from PBS:
NOW | Behind the Food We Lovehttp://www.pbs.org/now/shows/523/index.html"Americans have a long-standing love affair with food - the modern supermarket has, on average, over 47,000 products. But do we really know what goes into making the products we so eagerly consume? David Brancaccio talks with filmmaker Robert Kenner, the director of 'Food, Inc.,' which takes a hard look at the secretive and surprising journey food takes on the way from processing plants to our dinner tables.
That is the dates the Sunrise Theater is making a special effort to bring the critical and entertaining new documentary "Food, Inc." to the Sandhills. This Summer SunFlix series offering begins at 7:30.
A lively group of local "foodies" and locavores pressed the case for it (the nearest showing is in Raleigh), and the Sunrise board listened. Hurray! Thank you Sunrise Theater!
Director Robert Kenner truly loves food. Said to be a stimulating to the national discussion of just what has happened to our food system in two or three short decades as the eye-opening Michal Pollan book "Omnivore's Dilemma," "Food, Inc." is a film everyone who eats needs to see. It just might affect your next buying trip to the store, or the next meal you eat.
Reviews for this movie are all over the web now, so check some out. One critic called it "The Inconvenient Truth of Food."
Here's one from PBS:
NOW | Behind the Food We Lovehttp://www.pbs.org/now/shows/523/index.html"Americans have a long-standing love affair with food - the modern supermarket has, on average, over 47,000 products. But do we really know what goes into making the products we so eagerly consume? David Brancaccio talks with filmmaker Robert Kenner, the director of 'Food, Inc.,' which takes a hard look at the secretive and surprising journey food takes on the way from processing plants to our dinner tables.
Dangers in Roundup
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=weed-whacking-herbicide-p&print=true.edu
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