Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Photo of the Week


Look how breath-taking our world is!
(I took this from an airplane, flying over Mexico this summer. It strikes me how the urban sprawl looks like its crawling over every spot of green. This view of the earth makes me want to go hug some trees and help conserve it even more. )
-Aurora

Monday, September 29, 2008

Tonight's collective action: Green Jobs Now

(students at wes declare their readiness for green jobs)

Green Jobs Now action day was a success! We collected upwards of 70 signatures and took some sweet photos (see above). If you missed us in Usdan, it's okay: you can still sign the petition (you just don't get to take a snazzy picture with the sign).

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

At least we're not in the five that fail?


Check out Sierra Club's "Cool Schools" roundup of the top ten eco-minded colleges and universities. We're not on the list...yet! There's also a list of "green reads" that looks sweet...hypothetically speaking, since who has time to read a book outside of class?? (Power to you if you do).

Friday, September 12, 2008

I just posted this on Wesleying, but...

...the Ginger Ninjas are coming to Wesleyan TOMORROW! The concert is in conjunction with a ResLife BBQ (which means food is only for Hi Rise/Lo Rise and T-Square residents) but the music is free for all.

In 2007, the Ninjas became the first band in the history of rock and roll to tour by bicycle, unsupported by automobile. On a 5,000 mile odyssey from their home in Northern California to the pyramids of southern Mexico, they promoted transportation cycling while also exploring the frontiers of pedal-generated electricity, using their own bikes to power a hyper-efficient sound system. (Sounds pretty much amazing to me). They call their style "mind shaking love groove folk funk roots rock explosive international pedal powered mountain music for a pleasant revolution."

See this video for more:

See also:
-myspace
-website

What: Ginger Ninjas epic bike-powered concert
When: Saturday, 9/13 at 1:30
Where: High rise/Low rise courtyard

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Tree Removal on Campus

(Maple from Lot U...which is by Freeman??)

Justin at Wesleying just posted a great thing about tree removal on campus. Apparently, Physical Plant keeps a photo log of every felled tree (plus a little more)...

Links:
Wesleying post on the subject
Physical Plant grounds website

Friday, September 5, 2008

Creative pursuits + climate change

UCS (The Union of Concerned Scientists) and Penguin Classics (the book publisher) are compiling an anthology titled Thoreau's Legacy: American Stories about Global Warming...and you could be in it!

From the website:
"The Union of Concerned Scientists and Penguin Classics—along with bookstores across the country—are encouraging all aspiring writers and photographers to submit their personal stories and images about global warming for publication in a new online book to be published in 2009, Thoreau's Legacy: American Stories about Global Warming.

The submission process is open to anyone in the United States through November 15, 2008. A panel of judges will select the top essays and photographs to be included in the book. Writers and photographers whose submissions are selected for publication will receive a limited edition printed copy of the book and will be invited to participate in book promotion activities."
More at the website.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Winona LaDuke lecture

Winona LaDuke gave a talk today entitled "Indigenous Thinking about a Post Carbon, Post Empire Economy." It would have been better if I'd posted that before the talk...oops. Anyway, she was a powerful speaker and a very inspiring woman. She advocated for a cyclical worldview rather than the linear one we currently ascribe to, arguing thinking in cycles is the way to sustainability. I highly recommend her book All our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life. I read it freshman year and I'm really glad to have been reminded of it today because it represents an important perspective on our relationship with the natural environment. During her talk, LaDuke detailed actions her community (the White Earth Reservation) has taken to grow local foods, install solar panels, and concentrate jobs on the reservation so people don't have to commute to off-reservation jobs. She said that if her community could do it, so could we. This really inspires me to continue working for change here at Wesleyan--I hope it does the same for you.