CT Green Scene

Audubon Greenwich Happenings

Audubon Greenwich's Green Homes Series:

High Efficiency Residential HVAC Systems

Tuesday, December 15

7:00-9:00 pm


Audubon Greenwich

613 Riversville Road

Greenwich, CT 06831
203-869-5272


A Forum on Environmental Priorities for Connecticut's General Assembly
Wednesday, December 16
8:00-9:30 AM
Greenwich Town Hall
Cone Room, 2nd floor
101 Field Point Road

For more information on these events, click below.

Connecticut Author Presentation at UConn

Thursday, December 2, 2009

C. Marina Marchese,
Connecticut author of  HONEYBEE: Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper
Owner of Red Bee Honey company

Ten years ago Marina Marchese fell in love with bees during a tour of a neighbor’s honeybee hives. She quit her job, acquired her own bees, built hives, harvested honey, and earned her certificate in apitherapy. She then founded Red Bee Honey which sells artisinal honey and honey-related products to shops and restaurants all over the country.  Honeybee: Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper is her account of abandoning the rat race to live blissfully as a beekeeper and honey entrepreneur –plus everything you’d ever want to know about bees.

Presentation, book signing, and honey tasting afterward.

UConn Co-op Bookstore
2075 Hillside Road
Storrs, CT 06269
860.486.5027  

T Boone Pickens to Join Congressman Larson in East Hartford

Via GreenMarine Productions

Congressman John Larson will host a public forum on the Economy and Energy at Goodwin College in East Hartford on Tuesday, November 24th, from 4 - 5:30 pm in Goodwin College Auditorium.

Larson will be joined by special guest T. Boone Pickens, energy pioneer and creator of the Pickens Plan.

Larson is a co-sponsor of the NAT GAS Act, legislation Mr. Pickens strongly supports, which will make domestic natural gas a more accessible alternative to imported oil while decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and urban pollution in vehicles.

Seating is limited. To RSVP or obtain further information about the town hall forum, please call Larson's office at 860-278-8888.

THE TRUTH ABOUT A TABOO SUBJECT: NUCLEAR POWER

People's Action for Clean Energy (PACE) presents a unique clean energy EXPO Saturday, November 21, 2009 Unitarian Society of Hartford 50 Bloomfield Avenue, Hartford (1/10 mile north of intersection of Routes 44 & 189). Enjoy exhibits, the film "Meltdown," in depth discussions and awards.

Admission is free to the public.  Donations are welcome. For more information, call (860) 693-4813 or visit www.pace-cleanenergy.org

New Haven GreenDrinks - We'll Be There!

IT’S NEW HAVEN GREEN DRINKS' TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!!!

6-8pm, Wed 11/18 at:

Christopher Martins Restaurant & Pub, 860 State Street, New Haven, CT (203-776-8835)

All around Connecticut: 350.ORG

by Heather Burns-DeMelo

It was difficult to ignore the collective buzz around the state Saturday, as groups of all sizes and compositions gathered together to express their creative vision and commitment to spreading the word that 350 ppm is the safe upper limit of CO2 in the atmosphere. Why is that the number? Click here to find out.

Politicians, world leaders, scientists and environmental groups will meet in Copenhagen in a mere six weeks to agree (we hope) on a climate policy that is clear, fair and binding. As it stands, 350 ppm is the number that is in the draft agreement. Today, our ppm is 386 and rising. This is a number we share with the entire planet -- that is, the United States, China, and Micronesia all must work together on a collective goal. It's no longer a case of pointing fingers or being able to seek out reprieve while others suffer: it's everyone's problem.

For many people, a random number that counts a gas we can't see is a bit of a stretch. But to thousands of people living and working in Connecticut, it represents the fact that climate change isn't just something we need to do something about in 25 or 50 years, it's something we must tackle TODAY. 

Thanks to all of you who submitted photos of your creative, bold and inspiring events. 

Shop Dava, New Haven

Photo: Coleen Campbell

 

Yale Forestry School students created this 350 Noah's ark from mostly
salvaged materials in front of Kroon Hall. Animals represented included
everything from the humble ant to the mighty giraffe to the beautiful
capybaras of South America and the polar bears made out of used Styrofoam
containers. Although 35 people are pictured here, the previous night, at
least 90 people turned up to help build the ark and the animals. We chose
this action in part because synagogues around the world happened to be
reading the Noah's Ark story in the Torah on Oct 24th, and in part because
climate change puts 15-37% of all known plant and animal species at the risk
of extinction by 2050. Photo: Grady O'Shaughnessy and Gabriel Mejias

 

Hundreds of people donning Bridgeport Sound Tigers/350.org t-shirts
walked onto the ice during the game's second intermission to make the
number in support of preserving this favorite winter sport.  Photo: Rick Stieglitz

"350.org activists brave rain and heavy winds on the historic New Haven Green to form a human 350, with the historic downtown churches and Yale College Old Campus in the background." Photo: Vladimir Jankovic, New Haven Independent. Background information: http://www.350.org/newhaven

 

David Bedell, Cristian Aldana, Natalie Johnson, Ted Hanser, Jane Weston, and Richard Duffee.
Ferguson Library, downtown Stamford. For more information, contact Hector Lopez lopez_hector_l@sbcglobal.net

 

Whole Foods Market, West Hartford

 A giant 350 on the roof of the Dolan School of Business at Fairfield University was part of a larger project entitled "The Bird's Eye View," which built a network of similar installations, globally. Photo credit goes to the Fairfield Fire Department, who got up on a truck ladder to get our "bird's eye view" shot, and Fairfield U students who put the installation together. For more information, click here.

BRIDGEPORT SOUND TIGERS JOIN 350.ORG for UNPRECEDENTED GLOBAL CLIMATE ACTION, OCT. 24, 2009

Journalists across four continents have now called it "the most widespread day of political action in the planet's history," as citizens in 181 nations are staging actions today to demand a quicker response to climate change. The more than 5,200 rallies, which began at dawn Saturday in New Zealand, have been sweeping around the world as the sun rises--300 actions took place in China, with huge gatherings in India and Australia. Fifteen thousand people rallied in the streets of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, and activists used crushed rock to make a giant sign on an Afghan mountainside easily visible from Kabul twenty kilometers away. All the actions focused on a number: 350, which scientists have said is the most carbon dioxide, measured in parts per million, that the atmosphere can safely hold. The Bridgeport Sound Tigers, top affiliate of the NHL's New York Islanders, will host CT GreenScene and participants from the community on Saturday, October 24, 2009 at the Arena at Harbor Yard as part of an international display in support of climate change initiatives.They are the ONLY professional hockey team to participate.   Between periods of the Sound Tigers game against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, fans will display the number 350 on center ice. This event signals the team's commitment to educating the public about the importance of lessening our negative impact on the environment.   "Global climate change is a reality that impacts everyone and it's going to take everyone's participation if we're going to identify solutions," Sound Tigers Vice President Luke Milbury said. "The Sound Tigers see 350 night as a wonderful opportunity to do our small part to set a good example and to promote awareness of the issues we deem vitally important."   350.org, founded by internationally renowned climate scientists and experts is a global movement taking place on October 24, 2009 involving over 1600 actions in over 120 countries around the world including places like Mongolia, India, Great Barrier Reef, Africa and the Middle East.   "The Sound Tigers have historically reached out to their community in service, and we thought they'd make a good partner for organizing a 350.org event," said Heather Burns-DeMelo, founder of CTGreenScene.com. "I'm thrilled with their support and enthusiasm."

Julia Bond: Don't Sacrifice a Mountain for Your Electricity

Coal generates a whopping fifty-five percent of the electricity we use in the United States, and blasting the tops off mountains is the cheapest, fastest way to get it. Right now, the EPA is reviewing 79 new mountaintop removal coal mining permits, and 470 mountains have already been decapitated. If you don't want another mountain destroyed for the sake of your electricity, join renowned environmentalist Julia Bonds, profiled in National Geographic and Newsweek, for

Burning the Future: Dirty Coal From Cradle to Grave on Thursday, October 15th, 7:00 PM, at The Loomis Chaffee School Gilchrist Auditorium, Clark Center4 Batchelder Rd., Windsor, CT 06095. For more information call, 860-255-7663.

 

FIRST BRANFORD LED LUMINATA DRAWS LARGE CROWD TO GREEN

(Branford, CT)  During a brisk autumn night crowds of families gathered on the Branford Green, blankets across their laps.  Most weren't exactly sure what they were going to see, but were intrigued by the massive lighting and music rehearsals taking place on the green all week.  The crew, led by Jamie Burnett, worked from dusk until dawn for several days in preparation for this historical presentation, to present the Branford Town Hall and Green in a "new light". 

Projects2k, a non-profit group of artists, scientists, & environmentalists,  The Town of Branford and the Branford Historical Society collaborated on this unique event to present an educational and beautiful depiction of Branford History in typical Projects2k fashion.  They are widely known for the Terra Series in the Stony Creek Quarry, often times straying outside of the lines, exposing people to science in a theatrical style.

Branford Luminata's program depicted an historical narrative through beautiful lighting effects (mostly low energy LED lighting), old images and photos projected onto the facade of the town hall and even a group of Branford High School students with full-sized clear models of themselves, named The Light Brigade.

If you missed last nights, you have one last opportunity to see it. Sunday nights program begins at 7:30 on The Branford Town Green!

Oxford Hosts 3rd Annual "MADE IN CONNECTICUT" Fair

A Bounty of CT Made Specialty Foods, Art, Crafts, and Farms

Caramel-Apple Jam, Gourmet Spice Blends, Ice Cream, Authentic Italian Pasta Sauce, Hand Crafted Wooden Bowls, Fleece Blankets, Free Range Eggs, Maple Syrup & Honey, Handcrafted Casual & Fine Jewelry, Felted wool sculptures & gifts, Award Winning Pickles, are just a few offerings at Oxford’s Third Annual "Made in Connecticut" Fair. The Fair slogan is "We’ve got it ‘Made in Connecticut!’ and everyone is welcome!

"We’ve had an overwhelming response to this fair! " says Jane Maher, Event Chairperson and member of Oxford’s Democratic Town Committee, sponsor of the event. "The quality of CT made and grown products is far superior to those from half-way around the world. This Fair is a great way to support our CT small business owners and also lower our carbon footprints by shopping locally for the best and safest food, high quality crafts, and gift ideas. It’s a "win win" situation for everyone, and a huge plus for Oxford and the state of Connecticut!"

Where: the grounds of The Colonial Tavern, 24 Hawley Lane Oxford will be the rural backdrop for the event. Sunday, October 4, 2009, 10 am to 4 pm. Rain or shine, as there is a tented porch area.

Admission is $2.00 per person. Children 12 and under are free.

There are still a few spaces left for interested vendors. Contact Jane Maher at 203-231-5109 for more information.