MARKET GARDEN AT RISK
Saturday, May 5, 10:00 AM
Newbury, MA 01951

Joan and John Harwood, opened their home and gardens in Newbury MA to mark the Connect-the-Dots Climate Impact Day, sponsored by Bill McKibbens’ 350.org.  Following are the thoughts that Joan and John shared with us that day.

(Joan) It’s great to have you join us for this climate impact day called Connect the Dots, sponsored by Bill McKibben’s 350.org.

(John) We had never heard of author Bill McKibben and his climate crisis global organization until Jan. 22, when we found him on the cover of the Sunday Globe magazine with the headline: “Can This Man Save the Planet? On that day, our growing concern about weird weather was focused.

(Joan) We hope that this day of connecting the dots, which people are doing all over Massachusetts, all over the United States, all over the Americas and all over this planet will focus your concern about the growing amount of carbon in our atmosphere.

(John) That’s where 350.org gets its name, because three hundred and fifty parts per million is the maximum amount of carbon that climate scientists tell us that we can allow and still continue living on something like the Eaarth we human beings have known. For some 10,000 years, weather has always been unpredictable, but the climate has been stable.

(Joan) Today, that number is already 392 ppm and climbing. The upside is that the worldwide consciousness is growing just as rapidly about the link between climate change and human misbehavior. Your being here today is part of that movement!

(John) So why is our climate impact day called Garden at Risk? We have been growing as much of our own food as we can here for more than a decade, including vegetables, fruit and berries as well as flowers for our enjoyment of nature’s beauty.
Recently, we have expanded the beds so we can grow enough to share the harvest with others. Last year, we added a garden in Merrimac. However, climate change is making it more and more difficult.

(Joan) I wrote this when we scheduled this event: The weather is so uncertain. I covered my blackberry bushes because of the severe winter of 2010-11, and we had a mild winter in 2011-12. My bees didn’t survive the winter even though it was relatively warm and snow free. Now (March 22) my nut trees are blossoming weeks early and at risk if we get a frost.

(John) So that’s our story. In a few minutes, we will take a picture of all of us with our banner with its big green dot – a banner that Joan made first for the 99% Spring training on April 14 – and reused for today – what could be more appropriate!

(Joan) You will see there are five different 350.org brochures on the table, covering severe storms, wildfires, drought and heatwaves, snow and cold, and sea-level rise; help yourself to one. And do take a 350 sticker to place where your friends and neighbors can see it; they are great starters for a conversation about climate change. Please leave us your contact information and check the box if you want to join a 350 Newburyport area group we’re forming. More information about climate change is available at http://www.350.org; the web address is on the brochures and stickers.

(John) And enjoy the refreshments in the shape of dots cooked just for today by Rosie’s Garden Bakery!

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Earth Port Film Festival

May 12, 2012
Firehouse Center for the Arts
Screenings at 2 PM and 7 PM
Reception at 5:30 PM

After much anticipation, the Earth Port Film Festival is coming to the Firehouse Center for the Arts on Saturday, May 12th, and it offers something for everyone. The festival features environmentally focused short films, by independent filmmakers from across the US, Canada, and the UK, that surprise, entertain and educate. And don’t be surprised if you catch a glimpse of models sporting fashions made from recycled and reclaimed materials at the event.

Journey from a family’s mission to save the California condor, to the depths of the Stellwagen Bank, from a community-owned solar power company in Germany to a Massachusetts garage built of recycled tires, from a delightfully quirky animation about waste to the amazing cinematography on a trip following the Colorado River from source to sea, and marvel at how the revitalization of ancient skills is restoring a community’s water system in Azerbaijan and saving native bees in the Yucatan Peninsula.

Film screenings will be at 2 PM and 7 PM with a reception at 5:30 PM. The complete festival schedule including the list and description of films to be shown at each screening is available on the festival website at www.EarthPortFilm.org. Tickets are now available at the Firehouse Center for the Arts by calling the box office at 978-462-7336 or online at www.firehouse.org.

The Earth Port Film Festival is organized by PortMedia and Transition Newburyport and is sponsored by the Beach and Nature Company.

Why Wealth Inequality Matters: The Story Behind “We are the 99 Percent”

Thursday, May 10th, 7:00 PM
Central Congregational Church, 14th Titcomb Street, Newburyport

Join us for a presentation and discussion with Chuck Collins, about his newly released book 99 to 1: How Wealth Inequality Is Wrecking the World and What We Can Do about It

“We are the 99 Percent” became the rallying cry for the Occupy Movement that started in September of 2011 and gave voice to a growing unrest about inequality in America and the world. It was an expression of the growing realization that over the course of the last several decades the wealthiest 1 percent of the US population have grown wealthier, while the rest of the country has been left behind.

“In 99 to 1 Chuck Collins pulls together detailed information about the 1 percent and the 99 percent in all realms of society, the causes and consequences of this deep inequality, and what can be done about it. This book provides answers to the growing population of everyday Americans who are paying closer attention to this movement.

Who are the 99 percent? Who are the 1 percent? How extensive and systemic is inequality in different areas of society? What are its causes and consequences? How is inequality changing in our world?”  —Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Chuck Collins is one of the foremost writers, speakers, researchers, and activists on the rise of inequality in our society and its harmful effects. He is a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) and directs IPS’s Program on Inequality and the Common Good and co-edits www.inequality.org, the premier research and commentary web portal on inequality issues. He is co-founder of Wealth for the Common Good, a network of business leaders, high-income households and other partners working together to promote shared prosperity and fair taxation, as well as co-founder of United for a Fair Economy (UFE). He lives in Boston, MA.

This program is sponsored by the Amesbury Friends Peace Center, Central Congregational Church, Community Resilience Circles, First Parish Church of Newbury, First Religious Society of Newburyport, Pennies for Poverty: 2 Cents for Change, Transition Newburyport and YWCA Greater Newburyport.