Don’t forget to sign up for tomorrow’s events! Hydroponics at noon, Local Food and Farms at 4:30. Free but registration is required, get registration link at https://all4.earth/events/. Please share!
April Event Series Continues Efforts for “Community Opportunity Organizing”
April 15, 2021, Southern Illinois – Clean energy and climate change adaptation and mitigation opportunities are the biggest moment of our time. A series of events this April and May are kicking off a concerted #AllTogetherNowSI effort to organize our communities around the efforts to bring these new opportunities to the southern Illinois region, for the benefit of current and future generations. All event schedules and related information are at AllTogetherNowSI.com or you can link directly to Zoom registration at the links below.
On Tuesday, April 20th at noon, Monica Gehrig, Curriculum and Professional Development Manager at Green Our Planet, will present on their turnkey School Garden and Hydroponics Program. She will also cover how GoP pivoted to offering online education to students over the last year. For an additional twist on the hydroponics opportunities, Hilary Scott-Ogunride of Macedonia Development Corporation is going to tell us about SLIP, St. Louis Indoor Produce, their innovative business model and sustainable lighting solutions. Hilary’s work is focused on development of the clean energy and jobs development pipeline. She said,
“When you think about your future, your children’s future…Think green, think clean, think how, then act now.”
Registration is required, please register at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAkdOqhqjwtEtHKIkx86BRhzEQ0mjoUlw5m
On April 20th from 4:30-6:00 p.m., a round table discussion on the topic of local food and farms will take place. Panelists and topics include:
Registration is required, please register at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcpd-igqjIsE93qMonUYKZ0Wh5FYyjjUZZc
On Wednesday, April 21st from 4:00-5:00 p.m., we’ll be hearing about the future of public housing with ReGen Villages by James Ehrlich:
Registration is required, please register at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcvdO2oqzMrGNHZEnxSmCclrh0LnoP839jX
On April 23rd at noon, we’ll be hearing from Tim Michels of Energy Resources Group, long-time proponent of energy efficiency and renewable energy. He has a plan for revitalizing and strengthening our southern Illinois communities and growing jobs with energy efficiency and renewable energy. Over the years, Mr. Michels has developed a variety of appropriate technologies, building designs, and economic development plans to meet the needs of economically disadvantaged populations. He visited Carbondale in June 2019 for the first Climate Economy Kickoff Event. With more time to talk this time around, Tim’s going to go into much more detail on how to get past “net-zero” to “restorative.”
Registration is required, please register at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIsfuuhpz4pE9BrvMCxMKWvwfU_e5jkCbJD
On Tuesday, April 27th at noon, we’ll be hearing from Dr. Paul Anderson. Dr. Anderson has long experience in biochar equipment and producing biochar, and he’ll be sharing some of his insights for southern Illinois. Also, a new local group is aiming to establish a “local carbon network” for collecting local organic non-food waste and forestry waste to produce biochar, combining it with local food waste compost, and supplementing our soil. There are many benefits of applying biochar to soil. There are also many other uses of biochar. We’ll be launching our new local carbon network over this event and the coming months.
Registration is required, please register at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwpfumprj4iHtUY8D_daMgJNbj3xXo-XboH
Amy McMorrow Hunter, President/CEO of The Climate Economy Education Inc (TCE), is the host of these events and moderator of this discussions. Additional sponsors include the Just Transition Fund, experts in helping coal communities transition their economies after coal shutdowns, and ShopSouthernIllinois.com, a locally-owned business directory. TCE’s events are always recorded and put up on our YouTube channel. The change that we need will come from our communities. We can learn what’s happening in our communities to create positive change, and learn how we can get involved today.
The Climate Economy Education Inc is a local nonprofit for education on business models and lifestyles that are good for the climate, economy and humanity. TCE also runs the CLimate Economy Action Network at CLEANetwork.com, also funded by the Just Transition Fund. Everything on CLEANetwork.com is free and up and running and available 24/7 so people can check in and get involved when they have time. CLEANetwork.com is all about making it super easy for people to take target actions that reduce harmful emissions, increase community resilience, increase civic engagement or help others. Online courses are available so people can hone their skills on the hottest emerging topics that are relevant to southern Illinois. Also, we’re building our community. CLEANetwork.com facilitates online groups, discussions and project management so when the time is right, we take it offline and get some work done outside. Youth programs are also available. It’s all an evolving, long-term project for southern Illinois. Signing up on the CLEANetwork.com is free and people can earn points and rewards for taking positive target actions.
I would like to do a local carbon network at a location just south of Carbondale, out by Blue Sky Winery. A local carbon network is where we collect organic waste (agriculture, forestry), make something useful out of it and distribute it to those in the network, and sell whatever’s left over. These guys out in CA have been attempting this. It’s along the lines of community supported agriculture or a cooperative.
So I know a business with 1-5 tons of sawmill waste/day. I am interested in making it into biochar, mixing it with local food waste and turning it into a beneficial soil amendment. I am looking into the equipment needed, and will need lots of help since this is a project with lots of angles. Here are the points I’m supposed to add since it’s an idea:
Your vision,
My vision is to sustainably utilize organic waste to produce a soil amendment that will regenerate and strengthen local soil. There are tons of things that can be made/done with biochar so the soil amendment is not the only option. See the book “Burn” by Albert Bates.
Why it’s good for the climate/economy/humanity,
Climate: sequestering carbon in the soil, also sustainably utilizing waste materials that would otherwise decay, healthier soil
Economy: new industry, jobs
Humanity: building cooperation in the community, making the environment and people more healthy and productive
What’s the target action, or the action we want people to take
I guess for now I’ll start a group, join if you’re interested. Eventually we’re going to want to raise funds, get farmers involved, etc. Lots of target actions. It’s going to take lots of planning and organization.
What’s the problem action, or the action we want to stop or change.
Waste is getting burnt or left in the air to decompose and release greenhouse gasses. We should utilize it in a sensible way that is an overall net positive.
