Jul 6: Sustainability Salon on Marcellus



The 18th Putting Down Roots Sustainability Salon (see below if that's new to you) will take place on Saturday, July 6th.  The topic will be Marcellus Shale drilling -- how it's being done, the Community Rights movement and other grassroots organizing efforts that hope to prevent a lot of it, and a collaborative which you may have heard or read about lately, the "Center for Sustainable Shale Development," which seeks to create standards for best practices in the industry, so that the drilling that does take place will be less harmful than it might otherwise be.
We'll start out with "Shale Gas 101" to fill us in on the basics;   fractivist and artist Briget Shields will talk about the local activist response and future screening opportunities for GASLAND II;  former Pittsburgh City Council member Doug Shields will discuss the Community Rights movement and the local drilling ban that paved the way for many other such bans around the country;  and GASP Legal Director (and enviro rep in the collaborative) Joe Osborne will give us an insider's view of the CSSD.   In between these presentations we'll have lots of lively discussion, as always.  Please don't forget to rsvp, if you might be coming!


And if you haven't been here before, you may enjoy checking out our roof garden as well as the many other interesting things around our place, from the shiitake logs to the seedling nursery.  That'll mainly be happening between 3 & 4 p.m.

3-10 p.m. at Maren's house in Squirrel Hill.  Please don't arrive before 3pm; we plan on introducing speakers beginning around 4pm after folks have had a chance to meet, mingle, and tour around an interesting and productive urban permaculture site.  Please email me to RSVP (important for yesses and maybes, please do so each time -- it helps greatly in several ways.  Among other things, attendance varies widely, and it helps to have a handle on numbers in advance (we may need to begin limiting attendance);  also, weather and such can be unpredictable and it's good to know who to contact if there's a change -- and I'll send directions and/or a trail map if you need 'em on Friday or Saturday.  Be sure to include salon in the Subject line, as I receive a ridiculous amount of email every day.  Bring food and/or drink to share if you can, along with musical instruments if you play.  Check back on MarensList (where you can find information on all sorts of environmental and social justice events), for updates.  If you'd like to start making your own kombucha, please bring a pint jar along.  For your calendar, the next salon will be on August 10, a relaxed summertime gathering, and after that the 20th Sustainability Salon will be on September 14th, with all the latest developments in Community Solar.

Note that I'll be sending out directions and such, and any late-breaking info, to all the RSVP'd folks by Sunday morning if not before.  One of these days I'll streamline this process a bit (assistance would be welcome), but for now it takes a while to to dot all my i's and cross all my t's.  
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For the uninitiated, A Sustainability Salon is basically a house party with an environmental theme -- usually with featured speakers on a particular topic -- accompanied by stimulating conversation, delectable potluck food and drink, and music-making through the evening.

Past topics have included green buildingair qualityhealth care, solar powertrees & park stewardshipalternative energy & climate policy, regional watershed issues, fantastic film screenings & discussions (led by the filmmakers) over the winter with both YERT and Gas Rush Stories, and foodfood, and more food.


Quite a few people have asked me what sorts of food to bring -- and my answer, as always, is whatever inspires you;  I believe in the "luck" part of potlucks.  Tasty noshings for the afternoon, hearty main dishes or scrumptious salads and sides for dinner, baked goods from biscuits and breads to brownies or baklava -- and/or beverages of any kind:  wine, beer, hard or sweet cider (the latter we can mull if you like), juice, tea, whatever (I've got the kombucha covered, though it's always fun to compare).  The more the merrier!  Local fare is always particularly welcome, whether homegrown or boughten.  Dishes containing meat are fine, though if it isn't really obvious please make a note of it.  

And if you like to make music or listen to homemade music, don't forget the evening sing -- we typically run the gamut from Irish fiddle tunes to protest songs to the Beatles, and a fun time is had by all.  Bring instruments if you play, and/or pick up one of ours.  Conversations will continue through the evening, as well. 

1 comment:

Shaira said...

People will really have some say about things and this is one of those very crucial topics.

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