March 7th, 2010 by admin

Following the financial panic that gripped the US earlier this year, a grassroots group Move Your Money formed to encourage people to move their money out of “too big to fail” banks and into smaller, community-oriented financial institutions. Community banks generally avoided the reckless investments and schemes that helped cause the financial crisis.

Their website allows you to search your zip code for community banks that have IRABank ratings of B or better. We are fortunate to have five of these banks in Newburyport:

Eastern Bank
Institution for Savings
Newburyport Five Cents Savings Bank
First National Bank of Ipswich
Provident Bank

Visit the Move Your Money website for more information.

Banking, savings

March 7th, 2010 by admin

Three members of Transition Newburyport joined in the world-wide No Impact Week. The goal was to raise awareness of our own ‘footprint’ on the planet by reducing our energy, water and material consumption. The Daily News wrote an article about the experiment, and some of us wrote about our experiences on the Transition Massachusetts ning site.

Here is just one entry by Niall Robinson, who participated with his wife and two children:

“Perhaps the biggest learnings for us were around the ‘multiplication effect’ of changing our behaviors.

I must admit I too was not fazed by the trash perspective until I thought about what I purchased at work and ended up throwing away. My family already composts our kitchen scraps, buys local and reuses all we can so I was feeling comfortable about our trash footprint at home. But at work, our cafeteria is a ‘healthy’ walk away from my cubicle so I bring everything back to my desk. Usually a cardboard box and grease proof paper for my sandwich plus in the morning there is another container for my oatmeal or bagel. Now granted my work colleagues already think I’m “interesting” in that I bring home the cardboard containers (they are a great weed blocker in my garden) but I thought there was an opportunity to improve and also have a bit of fun.

Not to digress too much but I was recently put on to Amory Lovins’ (actually a friend had been pestering me for awhile to watch it and I finally did — http://www.rmi.org/sitepages/pid231.php ) series of lectures at Stanford University where he talks about getting multiple benefits from single expenditures. Though Amory was talking about building smarter buildings the same applies to almost everything you do i.e. maximize the number of benefits you get from what you do.

So I decided to bring in my own lunch and breakfast. The benefits were multiple:

1. I eliminated my trash by using reusable utensils etc.
2. I saved money by not buying expensive food at the cafeteria.
3. I controlled the food I ate.
4. I reduced my carbon footprint by sourcing my work meals locally.
5. I reduced our food waste at home (using up leftovers).
6. And I felt better!

And so, not to get too philosophical, I think a big takeaway is that we have to ‘think out of the box.’ We have to think creatively to solve these problems, and yes, the solutions should be imaginative and ‘better’ than what we know today. As William McDonough talks about, up-cycling is the way — not re-cycling or down-cycling.”

If you are interested in trying it out for yourself a new nationwide No Impact Week is being launched on November 15.

January 24th, 2010 by TN

The planning board will be meeting in the near future to hear public comment on the proposed changes to the wind ordinance. This will be a crucial meeting in the development of wind energy here in Newburyport. Whether you are concerned about Climate Change, fossil fuel depletion, rising energy costs or the security implications of fossil fuels, ‘green energy’ such as from wind turbines is a great alternative energy resource.

Passing the modified ordinance as it stands will essentially bring the development of wind power in Newburyport to a halt at a time when forces at the local, state, national and international levels are indicating we should start to develop clean, renewable energy sources in the face of climate change and fossil fuel depletion. It will create a blockade to the exploration of further local wind power sites and will hamstring our community’s development of local power sources.

Show your support for renewable energy and a fair ordinance by sending a letter to your city councilors and the Mayor and attending the public meeting when it is scheduled. A sample letter, copy of the proposed wind ordinance and the Energy Advisory Committee’s recommendations on the ordinance are available here.

November 29th, 2009 by admin

Monday, November 9

Monday November 9th Transition Newburyport and Long Way Home co-hosted the movie Garbage Warrior at the Newburyport Public Library.  Mike Reynolds, the garbage warrior, builds self-sustaining homes, “earthships”, made of re-purposed tires, cans and bottles.  One of Mike’s favorite techniques is to utilize passive solar energy by building walls of tires packed with earth.  The free movie showing was very well attended and sparked a dialogue we hope to continue.  For those of you who were not able to attend, the movie is available though the Merrimack Valley Library Consortium.

September 20th, 2009 by admin

FARM FOR THE FUTURE FILM- 7:00PM, September 26,
Harvest Festival – Friday, September 25 through Sunday, September 27

We participated in the 3-day Harvest Festival running from Friday, September 25 through Sunday, September 27 in partnership with the Newburyport Farmers Market, The First Parish Church of Newbury and the Spencer-Peirce Little Farm.

Saturday evening at the First Parish Church we will be showing the movie, “Farm for the Future”. Wildlife film maker Rebecca Hosking investigates how to transform her family’s farm in Devon into a low energy farm for the future, and discovers that nature holds the key.

With her father close to retirement, Rebecca returns to her family’s wildlife-friendly farm in Devon, to become the next generation to farm the land. But last year’s high fuel prices were a wake-up call for Rebecca. Realizing that all food production in the UK is completely dependent on abundant cheap fossil fuel, particularly oil, she sets out to discover just how secure this oil supply is.

Alarmed by the answers, she explores ways of farming without using fossil fuel. With the help of pioneering farmers and growers, Rebecca learns that it is actually nature that holds the key to farming in a low-energy future.

A ‘Visioning our Future’ discussion will follow the show.

community, farming, gardens