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UPCOMING EVENTS Greening Our Community: "Mapping Gas Leaks in Newton and Beyond", Nathan Phillips Greening Our Community: "For Cod and Country", Barton Seaver 5th Annual Student Environmental Art Contest Blue Revolution: A Water Ethic for America with Cynthia Barnett Newton Unplugged & Connected 2012
In Newton and around the country, neglected infrastructure shows increasing signs of decay and dysfunction. Here, leaks in water, sewer, and other civil infrastructure are receiving well-deserved attention. Less known are pervasive leaks in our natural gas distribution systems. BU Professor Nathan Phillips will share results of preliminary mapping of gas leaks in Newton, following on a recently completed comprehensive mapping of thousands of leaks in the City of Boston, the first study of its kind. He uses a special meter that is highly sensitive to trace amounts of methane and is able to record gas leaks that the gas company's equipment cannot detect. These gas leaks are damaging, and sometimes fatal, to trees. Placing this work in a broader context, Dr. Phillips will explain why these leaks have economic, ecological, environmental, and human health implications. He will also describe the ecology of interdependent infrastructure systems within and across rural, suburban, and urban communities and how we can address several infrastructure problems comprehensively. Nathan Phillips is Director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies, and an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Environment, at Boston University. Nathan lives in Auburndale with his wife Robyn and two children. He is also vice-president of Bike Newton.
Chef, author, speaker and National Geographic Fellow Barton Seaver talks about his mission to restore our relationships with the ocean, the land and each other—through dinner. He believes food is a crucial way for us to connect with the ecosystems, people and cultures of our world. Seaver explores these themes through healthful, planet-friendly recipes in his first book, For Cod & Country (Sterling Epicure, 2011), and as host of both the National Geographic web series Cook-Wise and the three-part Ovation TV series In Search of Food. Seaver is known for his devotion to quality, culinary innovation and sustainability. In 2008, the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington honored him as a Seafood Champion and as Rising Culinary Star of the Year. Seaver works on ocean issues with National Geographic's Mission Blue to increase awareness and inspire action. He also collaborates with D.C. Central Kitchen, the School Nutrition Association, the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School and Future of Fish. The author will have copies of his book For Cod and Country for sale and inscription. Local chef, Jeff Fournier of 51 Lincoln will be there to speak on his restaurant's well recognized commitment to sustainable seafood.
More information and contest guidelines
Join award-winning journalist Cynthia Barnett as she describes an illusion of water abundance that has encouraged everyone, from homeowners to farmers to utilities, to tap more and more. She proposes the most important part of the solution is also the simplest and least expensive: a shared water ethic among citizens, government and major water users. Blue Revolution was recently named by the Boston Globe one of the best science books of 2011; her previous book, Mirage: Florida and the Vanishing Water of the Eastern U.S., won the gold medal for best nonfiction in the Florida Book Awards.
 NewtonSERVES Environmental Projects! Sunday April 29 Newton SERVES is a day of community service bringing together volunteers of all ages to complete tasks that benefit our City. Over 1,000 volunteers typically participate and Green Decade is planning to sponsor severalimportant environmental projects. Check back later for more details. For more information, NewtonCommunityPride.org or contact marciacooper@greendecade.org or 617-964-8567..
Join us at both Newton Farmers Markets this year We have information on green living, the Caterpillar Club, the Magic Energy Bike and more! Volunteers of all ages also welcome: contact mford@greendecade.org. The Newton Farmers Markets are held twice weekly from July through October. If you'd like to volunteer for a couple of hours at either location, please contact Margaret Ford, Community Outreach Coordinator, at mford@greendecade.org or 617-964-0606.
Form an Eco-Team with friends, neighbors, colleagues, or your faith community! With simple changes to actions you take every day, you’ll learn how to reduce your annual household CO2 output by 25%. Visit the Newton Eco-Team Project website for more information on the project, to see the list of participating partners/organizations and more! |
