Putting Down Roots: Maren's List
Information bringing people together...
Maren's list of environmental, cultural, and
social justice events in and around Pittsburgh.
MarensList is Experiencing Technical Difficulties
Due to a change in how this platform works, it has become very difficult to make new postings for future events. I hope to find a solution soon, but in the meantime my apologies for a rather thin slate of events! There really is a lot going on... note that I also share events on Facebook, so look me up there if you're at loose ends.
Local food resources
June 29: “The Recycling Lie” film and discussion
The plastic pollution crisis has become an international scandal.
Industry has declared recycling as the solution. But if recycling really was the solution, why are we creating more virgin plastic than ever before? Could recycling really be the ultimate greenwash?
We know that only a fraction (less than 9%) of the plastic we have EVER used is actually recycled!
What actually happens to the items you place in your recycle bin?
Register to watch the film (at your leisure or as a group) that follows the money into an industry that is seemingly designed to hide the problem rather than solve it; tracking the black-market brokers who hunt for countries to dump our plastic, waste moguls getting rich by burning trash, and the organized criminals for whom waste smuggling is now as lucrative as human trafficking.
Then join us and our panel of experts (7:30-8:30pm EDT via zoom) to learn which companies' waste is most often found locally. Dive deep into learning what the different types of recycling are, and what items are actually most likely to really get recycled. Learn what some local activists are doing to make their message known to companies producing non recyclable plastics and how you can get involved in a national campaign, “Plastic Takeback"
Come join our discussion, share you questions, thoughts and…. get inspired into action!
6:30-7:30 p.m. EDT: Film screening (or watch on your own anytime before the event; best quality if you stream it directly in either case).
7:30-8:30 discussion with panel
To register, go to bit.ly/PASUPFilm3 to receive:
June 25: Sustainability Salon gathering
With a nice day in the forecast for Saturday (if a little hot), I'd like to invite folks (who are fully vaccinated and at least once boostered) to an in-person, outdoor gathering at our place. And we'll spend our time outdoors, rather than congregating in the kitchen (though folks can pass through the house to use the bathroom or visit the roof garden).
So, with apologies to the faraway folks who have been enjoying our virtual events (and apologies to anyone who isn't vaccinated) -- have a nice day, wherever you are) -- the 125th Sustainability Salon will be a No-Topic Salon. Outdoors, fully-vaxxed. No need to be here the whole time; no PowerPoints, just lots of conversation. I think we can manage a potluck supper, like old times.
At some point, we'll certainly share announcements and such, and brief talks not needing slides might materialize -- notably, it looks like we'll hear from Doug Webster of Fair Districts about its Fix Harrisburg campaign, and how people and groups can work together to address roadblocks in our state government. And we'll hear about the latest threat to Pittsburgh's drinking water (and what you can do about it!).
In the meantime, a few other items of note:

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.
And if you like to make music or listen to homemade music, perhaps we can sing and play a bit if the weather's nice!
May 21: Sustainability Salon on Stoking Climate Action
Pennsylvania is particularly problematic -- more fracking each year, proliferating pipelines, and shortly a huge petrochemical plant producing plastic, much of which will wind up floating in the oceans or being burned. Pennsylvania remains among the heaviest fossil carbon emitters in the nation, and after a brief pandemic dip, our emissions are ticking up again. Sadly, the majority of PA lawmakers are not taking climate change seriously, and this June activists from across the Commonwealth will converge on Harrisburg to call them to account for their inaction. Saturday June 11th will be a festival day, drawing new folks into the movement with arts and education; Sunday's march will highlight some of the most culpable parts of the state government; and on Monday a day of action will bring these issues right to our public officials. Organizers Karen Feridun and Jim Highland will fill us in on the details of the Pennsylvania Climate Convergence, what we hope to gain, and opportunities to get involved.
Just a week later, Allegheny SolarFest will take place at Mill 19 in Hazelwood. Organizer Fred Kraybill will share plans for this celebration of the renewable future we need to achieve.Climate action comes in many forms. International agreements, national and state legislation, municipal plans. Science, engineering, and business innovation. Lifestyle changes, conscious and unconscious choices. Protest marches, petitions to policymakers, and direct action. And while we all want to walk the walk, in most cases we need to work with the tools at hand. Most cars still burn gas; most electricity still comes from fossil fuels. However, a creative local company has been expanding the toolbox to include more sustainable technologies for events. Walking the walk, as it were... the Climate Convergence, SolarFest, several Earth Day events last month, and many other events in our region will be powered by Zero Fossil, a Pittsburgh-based event specialist best known for solar-powered concerts and festivals. We'll learn about what they do, and how they do it!
In the meantime, a few other items of note:
And if you like to make music or listen to homemade music, think back to our evening sings -- we typically ran the gamut from Irish fiddle tunes to protest songs to the Beatles, and a fun time was had by all. Folks would bring instruments, and/or pick up one of ours. Conversations would 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!