NELA Transition | December 2012 Newsletter

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Northeast Los Angeles Transition December 2012 Newsletter Conscientious Projector Back Home Tomorrow Thursday, December 13, 2012 7:00pm Armory Center for the Arts 145 North Raymond Avenue, Pasadena The international aid organization Emergency provides medical care, rehabilitation and relief for the victims of wars, land mines, poverty and natural disasters around the world. Fabrizio Lazzaretti and Paolo Santolini’s beautifully made, emotionally resonant documentary focuses on the heart-wrenching stories of two boys and their families, one from Afghanistan, the other from Sudan, whose devastated lives are changed by the dedicated, healing efforts of Emergency professionals. Emergency USA’s Anna Gilmore will lead a community discussion afterwards. Parental advisory: Film contains vivid images of wartime injuries and medical procedures. Conscientious Projector is committed to bringing films on social justice and sustainability to the public. 2nd Thursday of every month. Free. City of Pasadena and Metro Announces FoldnGo Bicycle Program The City of Pasadena and Metro developed a new and exciting folding bike subsidy program “FoldnGo Pasadena,” which provides price discounts to transit riders to purchase a folding bike to ride to bus and/or rail stops in Pasadena. Those who live, work, or study in the City of Pasadena are eligible to participate in the program. A major goal of FoldnGo is to help motivate commuters to use “small footprint” bicycles rather than automobiles as their connections to transit. Residents can get a voucher for $220 off a folding bike if you are a resident of the city of Pasadena, commute to the city for work, or study at one of Pasadena's colleges. The deal is simple: ride your folding bike and connect with transit at least twice a week, and you get your voucher. Employees and Employers FoldnGo Pasadena might help employers meet certain rules in the South Coast Air Quality Management District and the city itself. So, in addition to healthier employees, and decreasing Pasadena's traffic and parking congestion, you can help contribute to cleaner air in Southern California. College Students One area college is already a FoldnGo partner. Pasadena City College is offering students additional discounts. How does an additional $80 off the price of the bike sound? For details, email Juan Ashton at aspcc.jashton@gmail.com. For more details go see the website at: http://foldngobike.com Throop Learning Garden Dedication Video Online! Our friend and fellow transitioner Sherine Adeli put together a video of the Dedication Ceremony for Throop Learning Garden, which is now on YouTube for everyone's viewing pleasure! For those who were unable to attend this auspicious and momentous occasion, it was an incredible day, as well as being a major milestone for NELA Transition. Enjoy! http://youtu.be/MlJ1EDDRgkk Thank you, Sherine! — Qrys Cunningham, December 9, 2012 Our Garden Blooms in Winter We near the winter solstice; the shortest day and longest night of the year. It is a time for introspection, being quiet, and being patient. The hard work of summer and fall have passed. The harvests grow smaller, but remain abundant. It is a time for resting in gratitude for what we have accomplished and what is, with a thought for visioning what could be. We celebrated the garden dedication on November 16. We enjoyed our 100+ attendees, especially the cross pollination, as people from diverse arenas met and conversed with one another. Ideas were shared. New alliances were forged. New projects began to take shape. And people just enjoyed themselves. We have been less active in the garden since then; planting a few winter crops, cleaning up after the marauding raccoons that visit nightly, pausing to reflect on how to move forward in the new year. I am partial to the pausing just now; maybe sitting on the beautiful bench Greg Marquez built for us and savoring the riotous splendor of the culmination of labor, community, and nature. The bench is a perfect vantage point to regain perspective, recharge the weary body, and retrieve the sense of beauty and wonder often lost in the shuffle of daily life. Rev. Tera Little of Throop Church emailed me this tangible bit of evidence of the impact of the garden: “Each week Nancy and I notice more and more people choosing to stroll through the garden, often with a little one in tow. They walk slowly, taking a look at all the lush plantings, reaching out to touch an eggplant, a basil leaf. The moms (so far I've just seen moms) talk to their child about what is growing, how things grow. Sometimes they will take a break on the bench, breathe in and look around. Nancy and I love to watch these journeys through the garden…” Our harvests have been bountiful this year, measured by bushel and heartspace. Thanks to all who helped make this manifest. — January Nordman, December 4, 2012 p.s. The pineapple guavas are ripening. We harvested a huge bowl last week, with more ready in the next 2 weeks. Come on by for a fabulous taste treat. We meet every Sunday 9-11 am at: Throop Learning Garden 330 S. Los Robles, Pasadena 91101. And finally, food for thought, from Iesha: http://www.onthecommons.org/magazine/create-commons-your-own-front-yard See more information on the Throop Learning Garden webpage and sign up on the NELA Transition Garden Group email list for more updates. Presented by Throop U.U. Church and NELA Transition. Photo by January Nordman Taking Steps Against Climate Change Is Southern California really stuck using coal-powered electricity for the next two decades? What more can we, as individuals and communities, do to reduce our carbon footprint caused by reliance on fossil fuel sources for power? Our fellow transitioner Robert Haw has an article up on WilderUtopia.com in which he argues that, with the devastating environmental consequences of continuing to rely on a coal-fueled electrical grid, we can't afford to wait for the current power contracts to expire; that we must do all we can to make the shift now. Rob writes, “Fossil fuels are like the Pied Piper. We enjoy cheap energy now, but at what cost to our children? A stable climate has brought us abundance and opportunity. But by disrupting those patterns, those cycles of life, we stand to lose everything we’ve worked for because of irreversible climate change.” He makes a strong case and goes on to provide specific actions that we can do now to make a difference. Read his complete article here: http://www.wilderutopia.com/environment/energy/robert-haw-taking-steps-against-climate-change/ Robert Haw is a member of NELA Transition and is active in the local chapter of the Citizen's Climate Lobby. — Qrys Cunningham, December 7, 2012 Source: WilderUtopia.com, originally published in Pasadena Star News. Photo by dsearls, on Flickr Check Out Guy McPherson at Bluegrass Bioneers Conference http://guymcpherson.com/2012/11/speaking-in-louisville-and-a-couple-essays/ I'm sure none of you wants to hear this, but the global warming scene is definitely ramping up. The political as well as the environmental. Guy McPherson just lays it out simply and with a bit of dry humor. I do think comedy is important; otherwise, you'll go crazy. It dawned on me after watching, that human industrial civilization is now burning the candle at both ends. Both ends of the environmental "spectrum" anyway. Consider this: as the oceans warmup, they become more acidic; as oceans acidify, life starts dying; the first link of the marine food chain are the phytoplankton; it's estimated that phytoplankton produce 50% of the atmospheric oxygen. At the other end of the "spectrum", warming temps have caused frozen methane in the Arctic, to begin bubbling into the atmosphere. Let's see, global warming is killing the oxygen production and unleashing the methane. Could we be on the way to replacing our oxygen atmosphere with a methane one? If you let the car run while closing the garage door, is that suicidal? A couple of times now I've heard the prediction of human extinction within one generation, if we don't change course. If you're reading this, I know that your in process or have already transitioned at least some part of your life to a more sustainable way. That's great, but our wider community needs to transition also. How can we do that? Get involved in a community project. Sure it's work, but there's something fun about engaging with other like minded people who get how serious things are and are willing to do something about it. Check the calendar and websites. Look for a project or role that speaks to you. A simpler action, if you know any remaining hardcore climate deniers, would be to send them the following 6 minute video. It shows David Suzuki's daughter speaking in 1992 at the first Rio Earth Summit, and will melt the hardest of hearts. This powerful and inspiring speech given when Severn Suzuki was 12 years old, received a standing ovation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_O1Au8vZLA Thanks for all that you're doing and for reading this. — David Cutter, December 1, 2012 p.s. As we approach the end of 2012 it's becoming ever more clear of the need for a broad societal transition. I wanted to wish everyone a hearty “Happy Holidays and a very Happy New Year!” Some exciting NELA stuff is in the works. Sorry to be such a tease, but I don't have specific details...yet. For now keep on transitioning. NELA Transition Steering Committee Sunday, December 16, 2012 5:00pm–7:00pm Join us for our next Steering Committee meeting. These meetings are our best opportunities to get together, plan upcoming events, and promote sustainability projects. The location changes monthly. The gathering is potluck. Email people@nelatransition.org for more details. Artwork by Qrys Cunningham/Wordle.net NELA Transition is a community group working on positive changes in our community as we face global climate change, peak oil, and economic crisis. We share our skills working on projects which increase our local resilience and strengthen community connections. Our members are located in the Los Angeles neighborhoods bordering the Arroyo Seco, including Pasadena, Altadena, Highland Park and Eagle Rock. nelatransition.org