Putting Down Roots: Maren's List: 202004

Late April: Get your ballot application in!

Please VOTE BY MAIL, to avoid contagion at the polls and stress on polling staff. Mail-in ballot applications for the June 2, 2020, primary election must be received by your county election office by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 26, 2020.

All the information you need is here!

Apr 25: Uniting from Home virtual Earth Day with CCL

Not all of us are able to focus on climate change right now. But for those who can, we’ll hear from climate leaders, learn about quick actions we can take to help climate change, and get trained by Citizens Climate Lobby experts-in-advocacy. You can attend this virtual Earth Day event from home.!

1-4 p.m., online. RSVP here: https://unitingfromhome.eventbrite.com, and tag a friend on the Facebook event page!

SCHEDULE
1:00 pm ET - Keynote speaker Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, who is a world-renowned climate scientist, evangelical Christian, and host of the video series, Global Weirding
https://citizensclimate.zoom.us/j/563867729

1:45 pm ET - 3 easy actions you can take from home to help the climate right now.

2:00 pm ET - Choose ONE of the four breakout sessions listed below. Breakout lengths vary from 1-2 hours.

1. Climate Advocate Training [two hours]
For those brand new to Citizens Climate Lobby, this training will give you all the tools you need to be an effective climate advocate as well as a strong background in our organization.
https://citizensclimate.zoom.us/j/874055969

2. CCL Volunteer Spotlight Panel, Moderated by Peterson Toscano, Citizens’ Climate Radio Host [one hour]
https://citizensclimate.zoom.us/j/563867729

3. Climate Organizing During the Pandemic [90 minutes]
CCL staff will cover working with Congress, best messaging about climate for our outreach and media work, ways to be in action from home, and how to work on climate during these challenging times.
https://citizensclimate.zoom.us/j/580767407

4. Depolarizing Within: A Better Way to Prepare for Climate Discussions, presented by Braver Angels [two hours]
https://citizensclimate.zoom.us/j/749637911

Apr 23: Urban Soil webinar

Join the Allegheny County Conservation District for a beginner's guide to the basics of urban soils and soil health.
Want to learn more about soils, especially in urban environments? This webinar will include
• What are soils made of?
• What makes them healthy?
• What issues do urban soils face?
• How can we test soil?
• Improving soil
• Best practices for safe gardening

5-6 p.m., online. No previous experience is required. Free, but you must register here.

Apr 22: Earth Day Youth Event online

2020, with all its challenges, is the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day. Although the movement can't take it to the streets this time around, we'll kick off Earth Week in style with a virtual Teach-in on Sunday the 19th -- please join us to learn about important issues affecting our communities and our region, enjoy live music, and connect with organizations and individuals who are making a difference. Because environmental and community health are inextricably linked (as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates), we're pleased to have this event raise funds for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Then on Earth Day itself (Wednesday the 22nd), please join area youth activists for a virtual Climate Strike in the form of a 24-hour telethon. Check out https://earthweekpgh.org for more details!

Teach-in from 1-4 p.m. on your computer, tablet, or smartphone! The event is free, but you must register in order to participate. There's also a Facebook page to stay in the loop on these events, and I'll post the Earth Week Pgh web site as soon as it's in place -- lots more details there!

Apr 21: Pandemics, Pollution, and Public Health

Marcellus Outreach Butler and the Better Path Coalition are hosting a new webinar series to discuss timely issues and actions, and to explore how we can organize and prepare for the work ahead in a post-COVID-19 world.

The series will occur on Tuesdays at 8 P.M. beginning April 21st. Register for the first hour-long webinar at https://bit.ly/421webinar.

COVID-19: Pandemics, Pollution, and Public Health

Dr. Ned Ketyer will discuss what we know about COVID-19, the impacts of air pollution on the pandemic, and the connections between COVID-19 and climate change. There will be an opportunity for Q & A after the presentation.

Dr. Ned Ketyer is a retired pediatrician who serves on the board of Physicians for Social Responsibility - Pennsylvania. Dr. Ketyer Dr. Ned Ketyer is a Pittsburgh-area pediatrician with special interests in developmental pediatrics, preventative medicine, and environmental health. After completing his pediatric residency at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Dr. Ketyer practiced general pediatrics for 26 years before retiring from patient care in 2017. He writes and edits his practice’s popular blog, The PediaBlog, and remains a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Environmental Health. Dr. Ketyer is a consultant for the Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project bringing attention to the health impacts of shale gas development in the Marcellus Shale gas patch, and a board member of Physicians for Social Responsibility - Pennsylvania, and a Climate Reality Project Leader.

In all these roles, Dr. Ketyer connects the vast petrochemical “clusterfrack” underway in SW Pennsylvania with local and regional health impacts, and the global ecological and public health catastrophes resulting from plastic pollution and climate change that threaten the health and well-being of all passengers on this shining ball of blue.

Apr 5 & 19: Green New Deal discussion group

On Fire: The (Burning) Case for the Green New Deal

Air, Water, Soil, Trees, Food, Health, Housing, Transportation, Energy, Education, Jobs, and JUSTICE: Racial, Disability, Gender, Immigrant, Economic, and Environmental

VIRTUAL April 19 event: go HERE to register!

Pittsburgh's discussion group on Naomi Klein's new book continues! Hear how local people and organizations are addressing the climate crisis. What could a Green New Deal look like in Western Pennsylvania? What actions can we take right now?

Every other Sunday from 5-7 p.m. (potluck supper starts at 4:30) at the Human Services Building (One Smithfield St, downtown): January 12 & 26, February 9 & 23, March 8 & 22, April 5 & 19, May 3, 17, & 31. Location is wheelchair accessible and near many bus lines; there is also free parking behind the building. Please register online here, and you can purchase the book with a 20% discount from Classic Lines Bookstore in Squirrel Hill (be sure to register so we order enough books!) For more details, accommodations, or accessibility information call 412-518-7387 or email GND.discussion@gmail.com.

Co-sponsored by Extinction Rebellion, Pittsburgh Chapter; The Izaak Walton League, Allegheny County Chapter; and The Sunrise Movement, Pittsburgh Chapter.

Each evening will be focused on one or two topics such as water, air, food, energy, health, public transit, housing, jobs, movement building, education, etc. The first week of January we will email out a schedule of the sessions, including the selected Naomi Klein essay(s), topics, and organizations that will be presenting. People are welcome to come to as many sessions as are of interest to them. Each session will include a short presentation on the main points of an essay selected from the book; a discussion of the essay and its relevance for our regional ecology, political conditions, policies, and needs for systemic change; presentations by 1-3 groups working on the evening's main topic(s) and details of upcoming actions or work that people might want to participate in; and group brainstorming of policies, practices, or systemic changes to address the climate crisis on the local level regarding that topic.

Session topics and speakers are listed and videos are archived on the group web site. We have also created a Slack workspace for people and organizations to continue brainstorming and developing the ideas generated in each discussion, and with space provided to create a document outlining our region's specific challenges and possible solutions. Such a document could be useful for carrying forward future discussions, for building problem-solving networks, and for movement building to address our climate crisis.

Apr 19 & 22: Earth Week Teach-In and Strike

2020, with all its challenges, is the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day. Although the movement can't take it to the streets this time around, we'll kick off Earth Week in style with a virtual Teach-in on Sunday the 19th -- please join us to learn about important issues affecting our communities and our region, enjoy live music, and connect with organizations and individuals who are making a difference. Because environmental and community health are inextricably linked (as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates), we're pleased to have this event raise funds for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Then on Earth Day itself (Wednesday the 22nd), please join area youth activists for a virtual Climate Strike in the form of a 24-hour telethon. Check out https://earthweekpgh.org for more details!
Update: Videos of the Teach-In segments are being made available on the Earth Week Pgh Youtube channel.

Teach-in from 1-4 p.m. on your computer, tablet, or smartphone! The event is free, but you must register in order to participate. There's also a Facebook page to stay in the loop on these events, and I'll post the Earth Week Pgh web site as soon as it's in place -- lots more details there!

Apr 18: Pittsburgh Mutual Aid fundraiser

The Thomas Merton Center has joined other Pittsburgh groups and organizers to create Pittsburgh Mutual Aid. Pittsburgh Mutual Aid is a collective bringing community members together to share resources and meet each other's needs. Food, childcare, running errands to the grocery store/pharmacy, ride sharing, housing, access to showers/laundry/internet, small cash grants up to $250, and more. In the tradition of the Rent Party -- and in the current reality of the pandemic -- they're holding a virtual rent party fundraiser!

8-10 p.m. on Saturday the 18th; visit the Facebook event page for more details.

Make offers or request support at form.pittsburghmutualaid.com
Donate towards emergency cash grants
https://www.gofundme.com/f/pgh-mutual-aid-covid19-emergency-fund

Next month: 100th Sustainability Salon

Resilience begins with relocalizing. This time next month, for the 100th Sustainability Salon, we'll be circling back into our local community and looking at mutual aid networks of all sorts. Right now many people are without their usual support system; others have lost jobs, or face the stress of jobs that put them at risk. Some don't dare leave their homes -- but still need food and supplies. In this tense environment, people who can are rising to the challenge and helping to provide for neighbors. During the third Virtual Sustainability Salon, we'll hear from several Pittsburghers who are leading these efforts.

In the meantime, as we approach Earth Day, I'd like to draw attention to several other upcoming events (MarensList began with an email to friends about more than 30 events leading up to Earth Day, back in 2007). This year we won't be able to take it to the streets, but we're certainly not going to let it go by!

• Friday the 17th, Phipps is hosting a virtual screening of the PBS/NPR documentary Plastic Wars, followed by a discussion with PRC's Justin Stockdale.
• Saturday the 18th, Pittsburgh Mutual Aid is hosting a Virtual Rent Party to raise funds for their various programs.
• Sunday the 19th opens Earth Week with an afternoon Teach-In hosted by the Earth Day Coalition: Pittsburgh Declares A Climate Emergency!
• Also on Sunday, the Green New Deal Discussion Group continues, online.
• Tuesday the 21st, join MOB, BPC, and Dr. Ned Ketyer for a talk and discussion on Pandemics, Pollution, & Public Health.
• Wednesday the 22nd -- the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day -- Fridays for Future will stream 24 hours of climate-related activities and discussions.
• Also on Wednesday, the Discovery Channel will premiere The Story of Plastic (2 p.m.).
• Starting your garden? Thursday the 23rd, learn about urban soils.
• Saturday the 25th, spend the afternoon Katherine Hayhoe and CCL organizers for Uniting From Home around climate action.

Check out the Earth Week events page for more!

Coronavirus update: As you know, people in Pittsburgh and around the world are sequestered at home. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Social distancing is the rule for 80% of Americans. That's a bit of a misnomer, though -- we need physical distancing to flatten the famous curve, but technology now allows for rich interactions even so! I believe that community is one of our greatest strengths, so in March as events began to be cancelled, I hosted the first virtual Sustainability Salon via Zoom teleconference -- rather than gathering our usual 50-80 people in a contained space. It went quite well (even engaging participants from hundreds of miles away), and we're looking forward to April's salon! (I'm sad, though, that folks will miss the peak of our spring flowers.) Please be sure to RSVP (via email with "salon" in the Subject: line, or via Eventbrite) so you'll receive the sign-on information.

Salons usually run 3-10 p.m. at Maren's house in Squirrel Hill. Plan to join the call after 3 p.m., and we aim to start the program not long after 4, after folks have had a chance to (virtually) meet, mingle, and tour around an interesting and productive urban permaculture site. After the talks and discussion, we'll break for a potluck supper (and more conversation). Please email me (at maren dot cooke at gmail dot com) with salon in the Subject line to RSVP (yes or maybe), or click on the link in your Eventbrite notice (if you're not already on my list, just email me with salon in the subject line to be added!).

Please do RSVP each time -- it helps greatly in several ways. Be sure to include salon in the Subject line if you email, as I receive a ridiculous amount of email every day. And if you're new, please let me know how you heard about the Salons!

Check back on MarensList (where you can find information on all sorts of environmental and social justice events, as well as better formatting for this event description) for updates. And if you aren't yet on my list, if you're interested in Sustainability Salons (and our occasional house concert, simply contact me and I'll put you on my email list.

As always, I'll be sending out directions and such (in this case Zoom instructions), and any late-breaking info, to all the RSVP'd folks by the morning of the salon if not before (usually Friday night). So if you don't have it yet, please be patient! One of these days I'll streamline this process a bit, but for now it takes a while to to dot all my i's and cross all my t's.

For the uninitiated, a Sustainability Salon is an educational forum; it's a mini-conference; it's a venue for discussion and debate about important environmental issues; fit's a house party with an environmental theme. We usually have featured speakers on various aspects of a particular topic, interspersed with stimulating conversation, lively debate, delectable potluck food and drink, and music-making through the evening.

Past topics have included ocean health, the rise of the radical right, the back end of consumption, approaches to activism on fracking & climate, air quality, technology, and citizen science, single-use plastics, election activism, election law, whether to preserve existing nuclear power plants, advanced nuclear technologies, passenger and freight trains, consumption, plastics, and pollution, air quality, solar power, youth activism, greening business, greenwashing, the petrochemical buildout in our region, climate/nature/people, fracking, health, & action, globalization, ecological ethics, community inclusion, air quality monitoring, informal gatherings that turn out to have lots of speakers, getting STEM into Congress, keeping Pittsburgh's water public, Shell's planned petrochemical plant, visualizing air quality, the City of Pittsburgh's sustainability initiatives, fossil energy infrastructure, getting money out of politics, community solar power and the Solarize Allegheny program, the Paris climate negotiations (before, during, and after), air quality (again, with news on the autism connection), reuse (of things and substances), neighborhood-scale food systems, other forms of green community revitalization, solar power, climate change, environmental art, environmental education (Part I & Part II), community mapping projects, environmental journalism, grassroots action, Marcellus shale development and community rights, green building, air quality, health care, more solar power, trees and park stewardship, alternative energy and climate policy, regional watershed issues, fantastic film screenings and discussions (often led by filmmakers) over the winter with films on Food Systems, Climate Adaptation and Mitigation, Plastic Paradise, Rachel Carson and the Power Of One Voice, Triple Divide on fracking, You've Been Trumped and A Dangerous Game, A Fierce Green Fire, Sustainability Pioneers, films on consumption, Living Downstream, Bidder 70, YERT, Gas Rush Stories, and food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, and more food (a recurrent theme; with California running out of water, we'd better gear up to produce a lot more of our own!).

If you haven't been here before, you may enjoy checking out our roof garden and solar installation (and now apiary!) as well as the many other green and interesting things around our place. If interested folks are online and everything is working smoothly by around 3:30, perhaps I can conduct a virtual tour.

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. (with a virtual event this is less likely to happen, but we can share music by turns, reminisce, chat online, and look forward to the post-COVID era!)

Apr 17: Plastic Wars screening and discussion

Join Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens and Justin Stockdale of the Pennsylvania Resources Council (virtually) for a screening of Plastic Wars, with a discussion to follow! With the plastic industry expanding like never before and the crisis of ocean pollution growing, FRONTLINE and NPR investigate the fight over the future of plastics in this awesome new documentary which is free to watch online.

Watch the film at 7 p.m. (or any time of your choosing beforehand), and join us online at 8 p.m. for a discussion with Justin Stockdale, PRC's Managing Director. Send an email to biophilia@phipps.conservatory.org to R.S.V.P. and they'll send a reminder. Learn more about the Environmental Film Series and other Phipps programming, and find the Zoom link for the discussion, here -- and see who else is "going" on the Facebook event page.
Justin Stockdale is a native of Pittsburgh, born and raised in a family with deep roots in Western Pennsylvania and a proud history of civic engagement. He returned to his hometown in January of 2014 to join the Pennsylvania Resources Council as the Western Regional Director of PA’s oldest grassroots environmental organization. Justin first dove into the dumpster in 1998 at the Summit Recycling Project in the mountains of Colorado. In 2000 Justin moved south to New Mexico where he led both non-profit and government owned recycling efforts; from local endeavors to state wide initiatives. After serving on the Board of Directors of the New Mexico Recycling Coalition for 8 years, Justin resigned in 2008 to become the organizations Technical Projects Director leading the implementation of $2.8 million grant from the US Department of Energy to develop recycling infrastructure across the state including 8 new recycling facilities and nearly 100 new drop off collection sites.

At PRC, Justin leads programs including a series of recycling collection events to recover challenging and toxic materials from households, policy initiatives to improve and expand waste diversion systems locally and statewide as well as a broad range of education programs targeting every age group. Justin also works at the national level as he was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Recycling Coalition in the fall of 2017.Justin was appointed to become the Managing Director of PRC in 2019. In this role Justin oversees PRC operations in three locations (Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Philadelphia) as well as leads the organization through a comprehensive evolutionary process to ensure PRC continues to develop and operate groundbreaking programs and services for another 80 years. Justin’s commitment to finding pragmatic and attainable solutions to waste related issues is demonstrated across his career; from the implementation of his work as a consultant to the imaginative leadership he has proven within local governments and non-profit organizations.

Apr 6 or 7: ROCIS introduction

While everyone's cooped up at home, it's the perfect time to learn about your indoor air quality, the effect on you and your family, and (most importantly) opportunities for improvement. ROCIS stands for Reducing Outdoor Contaminants in Indoor Spaces, which is especially important for people living in polluted places like Pittsburgh.

Are you interested in borrowing air monitoring equipment for a month, while engaging with other cohort participants and the ROCIS team? Consider joining our first Virtual Cohort! It'll run from April 16 to May 15, and there will be a webinar to explain the Low Cost Monitoring Project (LCMP). Lots more information and reflections are here.

The basics: to join the cohort, participate in the webinar: either 7 p.m. on Monday April 6th or 11 a.m. on Tuesday, April 7th. After the webinar, participants will be contacted to confirm their interest in continuing and their commitment to meet the LCMP expectations for the upcoming cohort. Interested in learning more? Take this short survey to get started!

Apr 4: Michael and Mel in conversation

We're all getting a little stir crazy and looking for some human interaction, stimulating conversation, and a chance to get insight into the workings of our world.

The Patio Series has asked Mel Packer to join them to discuss his visit to Iran during the hostage crisis and, we hope, a bunch of other things.

Mel has a 40-year history of social, political, labor, and community activism. He did local and long distant truck driving while a member of Pittsburgh Teamster Locals 249 and 800, and was instrumental in the national leadership that founded Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU.) In the mid eighties, as heavy industry collapsed in Pittsburgh, Mel went to Community College of Allegheny County to retrain as a nuclear medicine technologist. In 1995, he finished a program at Essex Community College in Baltimore where he obtained his training as a physician assistant.

Mel has been and continues to be a principled and strong critic of our government's current economic, military, social, and environmental policies, not only nationally, but locally and regionally.

Do to current conditions, we will do this program on Zoom. If you haven't used Zoom before, please reach out for a tutorial.

Here's how to find the Zoom link! https://actionnetwork.org/events/a-conversation-with-mel-packer/

Apr 4: Virtual Sustainability Salon on Food

Coronavirus update: As you know, people in Pittsburgh and around the world are sequestered at home. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Social distancing is the rule for 80% of Americans. That's a bit of a misnomer, though -- we need physical distancing to flatten the famous curve, but technology now allows for rich interactions even so! I believe that community is one of our greatest strengths, so last month as events began to be cancelled, I hosted the Sustainability Salon via Zoom teleconference -- rather than gathering our usual 50-80 people in a contained space. It went quite well (even engaging participants from hundreds of miles away), and we're looking forward to April's salon! (I'm sad, though, that folks will miss the peak of our spring flowers.) Please be sure to RSVP (via email with "salon" in the Subject: line, or via Eventbrite) so you'll receive the sign-on information.

For the 99th Sustainability Salon, we will conclude our annual springtime Focus on Food. Planned speakers include Karen Gardner (Pennsylvania Manager) and Adrienne Nelson (Western Pennsylvania Organizer) of the National Young Farmers Coalition, will talk about the challenges that face young farmers here in Pennsylvania and efforts to address these challenges through state and local advocacy, as well as sharing resources that the Coalition has available for young and beginning farmers. Erin Hart will share the latest edition of the Local Food Guide for our region and other online resources (and in the meantime, check out the Farm To Table Blog, helping to connect people with food and other resources. Shelly Danko+Day, Urban Agriculture & Food Policy Adviser for the City of Pittsburgh, will provide an update on land access for urban growers. Samantha Totoni of Pitt's Center for Healthy Environments and Communities (CHEC) will talk about the contamination of wild game due to lead ammunition -- and the associated human health risks. And now that we're remote, we'll Zoom right on up to Massachusetts, where Brandeis professor Brian Donahue -- farmer, woodsman, and environmental historian, will share the New England Food Vision -- how, and how far, we in the Northeast can increase local food production.

The Green New Deal discussion group continues on Sunday the 5th, and this month brings the 50th anniversary of Earth Day! We can't take it to the streets, but you can bet that there will be virtual events here in Pittsburgh! Also, the first Virtual Cohort of the ROCIS air monitoring program will begin with an introductory webinar on Monday the 6th.

Past topics have included ocean health, the rise of the radical right, the back end of consumption, approaches to activism on fracking & climate, air quality, technology, and citizen science, single-use plastics, election activism, election law, whether to preserve existing nuclear power plants, advanced nuclear technologies, passenger and freight trains, consumption, plastics, and pollution, air quality, solar power, youth activism, greening business, greenwashing, the petrochemical buildout in our region, climate/nature/people, fracking, health, & action, globalization, ecological ethics, community inclusion, air quality monitoring, informal gatherings that turn out to have lots of speakers, getting STEM into Congress, keeping Pittsburgh's water public, Shell's planned petrochemical plant, visualizing air quality, the City of Pittsburgh's sustainability initiatives, fossil energy infrastructure, getting money out of politics, community solar power and the Solarize Allegheny program, the Paris climate negotiations (before, during, and after), air quality (again, with news on the autism connection), reuse (of things and substances), neighborhood-scale food systems, other forms of green community revitalization, solar power, climate change, environmental art, environmental education (Part I & Part II), community mapping projects, environmental journalism, grassroots action, Marcellus shale development and community rights, green building, air quality, health care, more solar power, trees and park stewardship, alternative energy and climate policy, regional watershed issues, fantastic film screenings and discussions (often led by filmmakers) over the winter with films on Food Systems, Climate Adaptation and Mitigation, Plastic Paradise, Rachel Carson and the Power Of One Voice, Triple Divide on fracking, You've Been Trumped and A Dangerous Game, A Fierce Green Fire, Sustainability Pioneers, films on consumption, Living Downstream, Bidder 70, YERT, Gas Rush Stories, and food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, and more food (a recurrent theme; with California running out of water, we'd better gear up to produce a lot more of our own!).