Thom Hartmann on Science & Green News: July 21, 2014

thomhartmann

Published on Jul 21, 2014

Thom Hartmann on Science & Green News for the week of July 21, 2014

Global Climate Change
Environment Ethics
Environment Justice

Redesigning Civilization — with Permaculture

E120, food-matters, e130,

Permaculture with Peter Bane – The Principles of Permaculture

E120, e130, food-matters,

Permaculture with Peter Bane – Preparing for an Uncertain Future

E120, food-matters, e130, e145

POLYFACE FARM – Joel Salatin

FRESHthemovie

Uploaded on Mar 26, 2009

Check out FRESH, the documentary that stars Joel Salatin, at www.FRESHthemovie.com.

Joel Salatin writes in his website that he is “in the redemption business: healing the land, healing the food, healing the economy, and healing the culture.” And if you visited his farm, you’d know he means it & lives it!

He produces beef, chicken, eggs, turkey, rabbits, and forestry product. Yet, Joel calls himself a grass-farmer, for it is the grass that transform the sun into energy that his animals can then feed on. By closely observing nature, Joel created a rotational grazing system that not only allows the land to heal but also allows the animals to behave the way the were meant to — as in expressing their “chicken-ness” or “pig-ness”, as Joel would say.

http://www.polyfacefarms.com

Food-Matters
Global Climate Change
Environment Ethics
Environment Justice

Authors@Google: Joel Salatin discusses ‘Folks, This Ain’t Normal’

Talks at Google

Uploaded on Oct 28, 2011

Farmer, author, and activist Joel Salatin discusses his new book, “Folks, This Ain’t Normal,” as well as sustainable farming, food policy, and solutions to America’s food woes

Food-Matters
Global Climate Change
Environment Ethics
Environment Justice

The Straight Poop on Sustainable Farming

peakmoment

Published on Apr 26, 2012

Peak Moment 211: Innovative farmer Joel Salatin says sustainable agriculture requires both perennials (like native grasses) and herbivores (like cattle) to build soil. Mimicking patterns from nature, this maverick Virginia farmer rotates cattle followed by chickens into short-term pasture enclosures, where their poop fertilizes the earth. His new book “Folks, This Ain’t Normal” is a critique of the industrial food system, and envisions a future where humans are participants in a regenerative, sustaining community of abundance. [polyfacefarms.com]

For a near-transcript of Joel’s presentation that evening, visit www.peakmoment.tv/journal/?p=397.

Peak Moment on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Peak-Mo…, or Janaia at http://www.facebook.com/janaia.donaldson

Follow @peakmomenttv on Twitter

Global Climate Change
Environment Ethics
Environment Justice
Food-Matters

Interactive Map: What Boston Would Look Like If Sea Levels Surged | WGBH News

By Rupa Shenoy
In the late 1700s, when America was just an idea, some of Boston’s most prominent leaders gathered in a red brick building called Faneuil Hall to discuss rebellion from England. Today, the building is one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions. Boston’s leaders hope it can serve as the symbol of a new revolution: a movement to accept that climate change is poised to have a major impact on coastal cities, and that those urban centers must take drastic steps to adapt and survive.

“We’re now as a city beginning to put together all the concerns — sea level rise, climate change, why these iconic historic buildings are threatened, and what we need to do to try to protect them,” said Boston Environment Commissioner Nancy Girard.

Like many, Girard said in 2012 Boston learned a harsh lesson when Superstorm Sandy happened to turn away from the city, and instead spread destruction along large swaths of New York. The wake-up call worked- Boston officials and area organizations began sketching out possible solutions, culminating in late May with a conference where experts and stakeholders debated options.

…(read more).

Global Climate Change
Environment Ethics
Environment Justice

Chilling Map Shows Boston With A 7.5-Foot Coastal Flood | ThinkProgress

By Jeff Spross July 21, 2014 at 1:01 pmUpdated: July 21, 2014 at 2:38 pm

Boston, Massachusetts. CREDIT: Shutterstock

Flooding from sea level rise is threatening to wash away many of Boston’s historical buildings and archaeological sites, according to WGBH News.

In 2012, the city was spared when Hurricane Sandy turned west and slammed into New York instead. But the close call sparked a May conference of experts and stakeholders to consider what would have happened if Sandy had hit Boston. What they discovered was that historic sites like Faneuil Hall and the Blackstone Block of colonial streets — which sit within the city’s 100-year tidal flood zone — would already have been flooded three times since Sandy if storms had hit during high tide instead of low. A May report by the Union of Concerned Scientists noted both sites as some of the most at-risk in the entire country thanks to increased flooding from climate change and sea level rise.

The group also reported that since 1921, Boston has 20 instances of high tides with waves 3.5 feet taller than normal. Half of those instances hit within the last decade.

“When you start thinking about where the ocean is going to come in and how big the ocean is, and you start thinking about how the water will flow, you realize that these beautiful old buildings are right at the forefront of this issue,” said Boston Environment Commissioner Nancy Girard.

The Boston Harbor Association, which provided the May conference with many of its numbers, also released a report with an interactive map that tracks flooding in the city according to 5-foot and 7.5 foot coastal floods.

Global Climate Change
Environment Ethics
Environment Justice

Why Massachusetts’ Outdated Zoning Act Has To Go | Cognoscenti

• Wed, Jul 09, 2014
• by Joseph A. Curtatone and André Leroux

 

Curtatone and Leroux: The state’s 40-year-old zoning act favors sprawl over sustainable development. Pictured: Housing construction in North Andover, Mass., March 21, 2014. (Elise Amendola, File/AP)

Our cities and towns deserve a modern set of tools to plan ahead for growth. We must be able to ensure that development takes place wisely, spares tax dollars from waste and protects our environment. Development proposals should be based upon community values and local planning priorities. But in too many communities, smart, community-minded development proposals are subject to legal wrangling and costly delays. Meanwhile, lower-quality proposals speed through, abetted by outdated regulations.

The status quo threatens Massachusetts’ economic future and our quality of life. Our state’s outdated zoning, planning and permitting laws mean that it’s cheaper and easier to build in haphazard locations that may waste taxpayer dollars. The resulting sprawl costs up to twice as much in public infrastructure, costs 10 percent more to maintain in services and produces environmentally unsustainable growth.

Our state’s outdated zoning, planning and permitting laws mean that it’s cheaper and easier to build in haphazard locations that may waste taxpayer dollars.

It is time for sensible reform. While local communities like Somerville are making progress by implementing comprehensive planning and overhauling local codes, all of our communities could do much more with a strategic reform to our state’s development laws. Massachusetts laws governing development, including our state zoning act, have not been updated in 40 years.

Fortunately, there is a bill pending on Beacon Hill that begins to fix this. House Bill No. 1859, An Act Promoting the Planning and Development of Sustainable Communities, is practical legislation that gives Massachusetts cities and towns clear authority and flexible tools to plan, develop and protect our communities.

…(read more).

Global Climate Change
Environment Ethics
Environment Justice