South Shore Celebration -Saturday Oct. 8th 2011

Join us for a Sustainable Living Event this Saturday, October 8th from 10 am to 4:30 at the Marshfield Fairgrounds, Marshfield, MA. Admission is $3 per Person or $6 per family.

Join us for some good food and green fun!

70 local food and green vendors
15 workshops on sustainable living
Kid's Corner - fun and games
Farmers market, local wines, delicious local food
A home electronic recycling station
Electric vehicle display
Remote broadcast from WATD 95.9.
Music and much much more……

www.southshorecelebration.com

"Go Green in Your Yard and Garden" a lecture March 10, 2011

The Marshfield Agricultural Commission Presents the 2011 Free Lecture Series: “Healthier Agriculture” Dynamic and Inspirational Presentations by Professionals in the Field. The first one is March 10th at 6:30 and is presented by Ann McGovern of the Mass Dept of Environmental Protection. It covers: Developing healthy ecosystems in your yard, protecting water resources, reducing toxins, composting, mulches, pesticide use and implications, turf-grass recommendations, weed and pest control, flowers, groundcovers, alternative landscapes, best horticultural practices and much more. Includes handouts and a Q&A Period. Click here for more info.

Town Meeting (Oct 25, 2010) to vote on buying 49 acres of Conservation Land

Town meeting starts on Monday Oct. 25th at 7:00 p.m. at the Marshfield High School gymnasium. On the warrant is an article to purchase a 49-acre tract of land called the Goggin Property. The Community Preservation Committee is recommending the town buy the land and preserve it for open space and recreation. According to the Community Preservation Committee no borrowing will be needed for the purchase. The plan is to use money already available in the town's Community Preservation Act (CPA) Fund.

The land, called the Goggin Property, lies directly on the North River and has a dock for accessing the water. If the vote goes through, the land would connect the 25-acre Little’s Conservation Area to the North River from Union Street.

A walking tour of the property will be held Oct. 24 at 1 p.m. Parking is at the Little’s Conservation area on the westerly side of Union Street between Oak Street and Corn Hill Lane.

10-10 Recycling and Trash Clean-Up

Meet at the Marshfield Recreation
Center, 900 Ferry Street, between
10 and 2 to pick up your bags and
coordinate to pick up litter in an area of
town. Return your bags preferably between
10 and 2 – one for recycling & one for
trash to the Ferry St. location.

Sponsored by Sustainable Marshfield
RSVP on Facebook
or RSVP on 350.org

Part of 350.org's Global Work Party
On 10/10/10, we will celebrate climate solutions
and send our politicians a clear message:
"We're getting to work—what about you?"

Sustainable Marshfield is on Facebook

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Eco-Friendly Playground Opens in Marshfield

Marshfield's new eco-friendly playground is set to open this morning with ceremonies starting at 11:00 a.m. If you haven't seen it already it is located at Library Plaza. The new playground is 10,000 sq. ft. and is made out of recycled plastic milk and soda containers. Click here for a link to the Patriot Ledger article.

Sustainable Duxbury Sponsors Hands Across the Sand Event

Sustainable Duxbury held an event this Saturday for Hands Across the Sand . About a hundred people joined in and linked hands at noon on Saturday at Duxbury Beach to send a message to "Say no to Offshore Drilling and Yes to Clean Energy" This group started in Florida to protest offshore drilling and their Hands Across the Sand events on Saturday were held nationally and internationally. Click here to find out more. There were a number of Marshfield residents who attended. Thanks to Jim, Janis, Judi and friends from Sustainable Duxbury for organizing a great event. Click here to see photos.

Rid Litter Day April 10th: Marshfield Clean-Up

I am lucky to belong to a group of people who pick up trash strewn along the roads while we walk our dogs in the morning. Unfortunately, there's a lot more garbage to pick up. Just this morning as I was driving up Pine Street in search of my lost tri-color beagle, (I found her back at home!)I noticed tons of trash alongside the road. To me, this is vandalizing the town, and the earth. If we can't get people to stop littering, we can all help clean it up!

On Saturday April 10th, Marshfield is having a rid litter day. Pick up special bags at Marshfied Town Hall form 9-1 on Saturday April 10th. There will also be bags available from April 5-9 at Roche Brothers customer service, Shaws customer service,Green Harbor General Store and Success Real Estate. Filled bags can be deposited at the rear parking lot of Furnace Brook Middle School on April 10th and 11th only. Please no household trash.
Let's be proud of our town and clean it up!

Winter Farmer's Market this Thursday March 18th

Come to Plymouth Plantation this Thursday to check out over 30 vendors, farmers, bakers and artisans! Check out the film and yoga! The film is "King Corn".

The Market is open from 3pm until 6:30. IF YOU CAN'T GET THERE IN TIME, YOU CAN PRE-ORDER and pick up by 7 pm.
For more information, go to:

http://plymouthfarmersmarket.org/

MassEnergyInsight

Starting today, city and town officials throughout Massachusetts can use a free Web program to monitor just how much energy each of their public buildings uses and what the costs are. Peregrine Energy Group, a Boston consulting firm, developed the tool for the Department of Energy Resources, and gave municipal officials from across the state a preview at last weekend’s Massachusetts Municipal Association conference.

view the entire Boston.com Article here

Bill Gates on Energy and Climate Change

In this series of podcasts, Bill talks about why we need to develop new sources of energy that provide power without generating CO2. Among the topics he covers are the challenges with potential solutions such as carbon capture and sequestration, nuclear, wind, and solar; and why he believes the U.S. government should increase its funding for basic research in energy.

http://www.gatesnotes.com/Thinking/article.aspx?ID=104

BioChar Carbon Sequestration

This ancient technology practiced for 1000+ years by the Amazonians provides fuel, sequesters carbon, and prevents soil degradation. On a global scale, crop residue biomass represents a considerable problem as well as new challenges and opportunities. Bio-char soil management systems can deliver tradable C emissions reduction, and C sequestered is easily accountable, and verifiable. The described mixture of driving forces and technologies has the potential to use residual waste carbon-rich residues to reshape agriculture, balance carbon and address nutrient depletion.

For example, switching from slash-and-burn to slash-and-char techniques in Brazil can both decrease deforestation of the Amazon and increase the crop yield. Under the current method of slash-and-burn, only 3% of the carbon from the organic material is left in the soil. Switching to slash-and-char can sequester up to 50% of the carbon in a highly stable form.

Everyone should be stoked by this! (sorry for the pun!)

http://www.biochar.org

another link showing a step-by-step how to: The $365 BioChar Retort Kiln

Winter Farmer's Market this Thursday January 21

Please join Father Winter Thursday January 21, 3pm-6:30
for a food filled afternoon at Plimoth Plantation:

The Local Foods Winter Market will gather 3pm till 6:30pm with over 30 farmers, food makers and artisans. Sit down foods will be available to enjoy by the fire.
Sherry Malone, singer-songwriter, will perform her musical magic.
Plimoth Cinema will show the food film FRESH as well as the coming of age film, An Education at 4:30 and 7pm where Mayflower Ale, popcorn and Indian pudding will be available.
The new Plimoth Knitters Club will hold its first meeting at 6:30.
The League of Women Voters will present a Sustainability Forum on Agriculture and the Food Supply at 7pm.
The Plantation shops will be open.
Pre-orderd Local Foods may be picked up till 7pm.
Herbs, greens, root crops, pies, breads, honey, fresh eggs, dinners to go, cheeses, grassfed meats, preserves, smoked fish, etc.

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Admission to this special wintertime event is FREE with a donation suggested to see the film FRESH, to be shared with the

Greater Plymouth Food Warehouse.

350.org Vigil in Boston -Call for Climate Treaty Dec. 11th, 2009

350.org Candlelight Vigil in Boston a call for a science-based international climate treaty and effective U.S. legislation to get us below 350 ppm of CO2 in the atmosphere,because time is running out.



When: Friday, Dec. 11th 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.

Where: Cardinal Cushing Park in Boston (intersection of Cambridge St and New Chardon St.) accross the street from Sen. Kerry's office at One Bowdoin Square.

Green/Orange Line: Haymarket (2/10 mile)

Red Line: Charles/ MGH (half mile)

Blue Line: Bowdoin (next to park)



Post-Vigil Gathering: at the Beantown Pub, 100 Tremont St., between Park St. and Govt Center



350.org: http://www.350.org/node/13013

Grist.org is a refreshing website with environmental news

Check out http://www.grist.org/

Hopefully I can get a job writing for them.

Sustainable Marshfield News

Congratulations to our own Gia Lane and the Marshfield Energy Committee for passing the town energy audit at our special town meeting in October. The town will now go forward with a professional plan to assess ways to save money and save energy through this comprehensive audit of town buildings.
Marta McFarland attended the "Bioneers by the Bay" conference in New Bedford. She found the event to be transformative and motivating. Based on her experience, we plan to show the movie "Fresh", which is about our food system. Look for details as our friend from Trinity Church (and 350.org) has generously offered to have a showing there. Time and date to be announced!
Ned Bangs and the Marshfield Rec. Center now have a rain garden which works to eliminate pollutants from water run-off through the use of rain.

School Lunch Facts

SCHOOL LUNCH FACTS

Did you know?

FOOD FOR ONE DOLLAR

*Under the current national School Lunch Program, the USDA reimburses public schools for every meal served: $2.57 for a free lunch; $2.17 for a reduced-price lunch and just 24 cents for a paid lunch.

After the schools pay for labor, equipment and overhead, this leaves only $1.00 per meal to spend on food.

**We are seeking to raise the reimbursement rate to $3.57

*Federal nutrition standards apply to school meals provided in cafeterias nationwide. Food service programs must meet the guidelines to qualify for federal subsidies.

According to the GAO, 99 percent of high schools, 97 percent of middle schools and 83 percent of elementary schools have vending machines, school stores and snack bars.

However, under current law, vending machine food, on-campus stores selling chips, soda and candy and even “a la carte” cafeteria items are not governed by any guidelines. These highly-processed, high-calorie foods sneak under the radar of any federal nutrition standards. Further, the federal nutrition guidelines have not been updated in 30 years, despite the obvious link of increased childhood obesity and diabetes to our children’s diets.

** We are seeking to have Congress approve Representative Woolsey and Senator Harkins’ Child Nutrition Promotion & School Lunch Protection Act of 2009.

This bill would:

1. Require an update of USDA nutrition standards;

2. Enable the USDA to look at all foods sold in schools, not just the “main meal”.

Facts provided by www.slowfoodusa.org; http//betterschoolfood.com;

***Paste article text here***

The HOME Project

We are living in exceptional times. Scientists tell us that we have 10 years to change the way we live, avert the depletion of natural resources and the catastrophic evolution of the Earth's climate.

The stakes are high for us and our children. Everyone should take part in the effort, and HOME has been conceived to take a message of mobilization out to every human being.

For this purpose, HOME needs to be free. A patron, the PPR Group, made this possible. EuropaCorp, the distributor, also pledged not to make any profit because Home is a non-profit film.

HOME has been made for you : share it! And act for the planet.

(note: this HD-quality movie is 90 minutes long. So plug in your stereo speakers and high-def monitor, sit back and be prepared to have a life changing experience)

HOME (English with subtitles)

NSTAR Green - Option for Basic Service Customers to Purchase Wind Generated Electricity

Have you seen the NSTAR Green program that is available? NSTAR Basic service customers can choose to purchase 50% or 100% of their electricity from Maple Ridge Wind Farm in upstate NY.
You can go to the NSTAR Green homepage to learn about the program.

Crucial Waters – Reporting on the World’s Oceans -Brian Skerry

Sunday, November 1, 2009 at 4 p.m.
Duxbury First Parish Church
842 Tremont St Duxbury

In this presentation Brian Skerry will take the audience around the world and into the sea by sharing tales from several of his most recent feature stories for National Geographic magazine. A major focus of Brian’s work in recent years has been to produce stories that both celebrate the sea and raise awareness about problems. In the last 50 years, 90% of the big fish in the ocean have disappeared. Over 100 million sharks are taken annually and species of whales and sea turtles are on the brink of extinction. But it is not too late and hope remains for Earth’s vital seas. In this compelling presentation, Brian presents the “State of the Oceans” and behind the scenes tales of life in the field. Environmental problems and solutions are illustrated and audiences are brought eye-to-eye with amazing marine animals and exotic locations from diving beneath arctic ice to the world’s most remote tropical coral reefs. Tickets are $10 adults and $5 for students to benefit Sustainable Duxbury.