First monthly meeting of the year is tomorrow night!
Transition Kitchener-Waterloo
Greetings Transitioners,
Our core group sat down this past weekend to do some serious planning for this coming year, and we’re excited to get moving! If you’d like to find out what we’re up to, send us an email or come chat with us at our monthly meeting this Thursday night. Here’s what’s coming up for Transition for the rest of this month, and below are some community events, and our green news round-up is back!
Monthly Meeting: our regular planning & discussing meeting, come on out to get involved!
When: Thursday, January 16, 7pm
Where: LSPIRG office, 3rd floor of 165 Albert Street, Waterloo
Repair Cafe: Come out to get your household appliances, electronics, computers, or clothing fixed!
When: Saturday, January 25, 10am-4pm
Where: kwartzlab maker space, 33 Kent Avenue, Kitchener
More info: http://kwrepaircafe.eventbrite.ca
Elemental the Film at the Princess: Elemental is a documentary covering 3 stories that address our ecological challenges, from the Ganges to climate change to the tar sands.
When: Wednesday, January 29, 7pm
Where: The Princess Original, 6 Princess Street West, Waterloo
More info: http://www.princesscinemas.com/movie/elemental
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Sylvie Spraakman
Facilitator, TransitionKW
Facebook | Twitter | Blog | www.transitionkw.ca
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Community Notes
1. Community Winter Bike Ride: Join Clipped Outdoors on January 18th for this fun bike ride through the snow dusted streets of Kitchener-Waterloo. We will be exploring trails, and pathways that are reliable means of transportation throughout the winter months, all the while preparing for City of Kitchener’s Coldest Ride of the Year!
Don’t miss out on this fun and unique opportunity to ride your bike this winter!
When: Saturday January 18, 12:30pm
Leaving from: Kitchener City Hall
More info: http://clippedoutdoors.com/winterbikeride/
2. Public Lecture: The Case for Geo-Engineering: Amid current concerns surrounding climate change, its effects and the human contribution thereto, David Keith, Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, discusses the controversy, risks and potential benefits of climate geoengineering as a possible solution. In doing so, he also explores the underlying question: is it conservation ecology or hubris?
Speaker:
David Keith, Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
David Keith has worked near the interface between climate science, energy technology, and public policy for twenty five years. He took first prize in Canada's national physics prize exam, won MIT's prize for excellence in experimental physics, and was listed as one of TIME magazine's Heroes of the Environment 2009. David divides his time between Cambridge where he is Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Professor of Public Policy in the Harvard Kennedy School; and Calgary, where he helps lead Carbon Engineering a company developing technology to capture of CO2 from ambient air.
When: Wednesday January 22, 7pm
Where: CIGI Campus Auditorium, 67 Erb St W, Waterloo
Tickets: http://www.eventbrite.ca/e/signature-lecture-the-case-for-climate-geoengineering-tickets-9730968589
3. Waterloo-Wellington Good Living Guide: Where do I find fairtrade coffee? Who can help me reduce my household energy? Where do I find ethical clothing? How can I be a good citizen and purchase things ethically? There’s a great new resource for all of these questions and more - the Good Living Guide - check it out! http://lifestylecitizens.org/waterloo-wellington/
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Green News Roundup
We Don’t Need No Damn Science: What’s the best way to show you’re right when you’re wrong? Easy. Silence the folks who are smarter than you and restrict access to knowledge.
As one recently retired professor of ecology said, “ it’s like they (the federal Conservatives) don’t want to hear about science anymore ….(just economics) economics being only about what you can sell,not what you can save”. Read more:
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/01/10/conservatives-science-canada-stephen-harper_n_4573828.html
If it’s Cold, it Can’t be Warm: For Conservative reasoning, they turn to such scientific luminaries as Rush Limbaugh and Donald Trump and “Snow trolling”.
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/01/why-conservatives-cant-resist-snow-trolling
Meanwhile Down Under: In order to fully understand global warming, climate change, environmental degradation, whatever - all you need to do is look out your window. The globe can’t be warming if there’s ice on the tree branches, right? Well…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/09/australia-heat-wave_n_4567365.html
Harper’s Response to Climate Change - it’s a Joke: What happens if you protest Stevie’s disregard for the environment when he’s preaching to his choir? You get laughed at and maybe thrown down some stairs. And oh yeah, if you’re in the media, you’re not allowed to ask any questions.
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/01/06/harper-protesters-bc-climate-change_n_4549727.html
And Yet, there’s Hope: When disaster looms, most people’s first thought is “how do I save myself?” that’s the question more and more cities are trying to resolve in response to the threat of destruction caused by climate change.
“Climate resiliency” is an attempt to “prepare cities for climate change’s unforeseen and destructive disasters and disruptions”. It would be great if we were just as focused on mitigating global warming, but, at least this is a start:
http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20131231/2013-climate-resiliency-officially-entered-lexicon
Transition Kitchener-Waterloo
On Wednesday, January 15, 2014 11:27:13 AM UTC-5, Transition Kitchener-Waterloo wrote:
Greetings Transitioners,
Our core group sat down this past weekend to do some serious planning for this coming year, and we’re excited to get moving! If you’d like to find out what we’re up to, send us an email or come chat with us at our monthly meeting this Thursday night. Here’s what’s coming up for Transition for the rest of this month, and below are some community events, and our green news round-up is back!
Monthly Meeting: our regular planning & discussing meeting, come on out to get involved!
When: Thursday, January 16, 7pm
Where: LSPIRG office, 3rd floor of 165 Albert Street, Waterloo Misty Mountain Cafe, 33 Queen Street South, Kitchener