By Amy Cook Porter

Okay, I can never resist writing about the obvious, especially if the information comes from a legitimate source and who better to comment on than the the FDA’s weekly press synopsis.

Fresh on their website:

Effects of Switching from Whole to Low-Fat/Fat-Free Milk in Public Schools – New York City, 2004-2009www.cdc.gov/media/mmwrnews/2010/n100128.htm#2
Press Contact: Jessica L. Scaperotti
Press Secretary New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene
(212) 788-5290
These results suggest that substitution of low-fat and fat-free milk for whole milk in schools can substantively reduce student consumption of calories and fat. Changes to the New York City Department of Education’s milk policy greatly reduced the amount of calories and fat available to public school students. Due to the system-wide switch from whole to low-fat/fat-free milk in 2005, a milk-drinking student is exposed to 33 fewer calories and 3.4 fewer grams of fat per school day, or almost 6,000 fewer calories and over 600 fewer grams of fat annually. Annual savings are larger for students who drink white milk (7,000 fewer calories and over 900 fewer grams of fat) and school purchases of milk per student actually increased 1.3 percent after the switch. Given the prevalence of childhood obesity, school milk policy changes are a viable way to reduce calorie/fat exposure without decreasing consumption of important vitamins and minerals.
Anyone who follows a holistic approach notices two problems with the press release.

1. Children over the age don’t need milk, especially at the middle of the day.
2. Why don’t we give our kids milk in the middle of the day, it’s the sugar in milk that elevates their blood sugar and is associated with the calories, not the fat.

Anyone following me over the years has heard my rant as to why water is the best drink for kids at lunch time.  Fruit drinks, flavored waters and teas, and milk all have sugars.  Sugar gives our kids short term energy boosts.  Two hours later, they are tired and dragging.  So what do they want to do?  Eat a high calorie snack to recreate the sugar buzz.  Only this time, it takes more sugar or calories to create the sugar high.

As to the fat issue, reducing fats is dangerous.  Our kids’ bodies are growing as they approach puberty.  Thei bodies needs fats to make hormones.  These need to be good quality fats: fats from range fed cows; organic yogurts and butter, and my favorites – nuts, avocados and coconuts.  Here’s an easy to remember rule for choosing oils: use only oils made from nuts and plants with seeds.  Don’t use vegetable oils.

And my message to the Department of Education, take a refresher biology class.  The solution to the obesity problem is not found in milk.  It’s found in a well rounded diet that includes more fresh fruits and vegetables, less grains, less dairy and more exercise.  It does not come from watering down dairy products.

By Amy Cook- Porter

On Saturday morning much like the post office, neither wind nor rain nor sleet could stop our intrepid recycling team from collecting monitors, CPUs, printers, cell phones and other electronics that people wanted to keep out of the landfill.  The team consisted of Bill Morris, Guaranteed Recycling Xperts/Metech (GRX), their strategic non-profit partner, Community Intersections led by Andy O’Riley and the Ink/Toner cartridge collector (with printers come cartridges) Cartridge World – Briargate, led by Ted Robertson, Robertson along with members of the Earth Day Board, Jane Ard-Smith, Davis Smith, Judy Schulman, Steve Saint and Linda Kogan from UCCS.    Together they put together this wonderful program which became known as Bill and Ted’s Excellent Recycling Adventure, although it easily could have been called their Arctic Adventure as the temperatures hovered in the low 30s.

How much was collected?  We collected just over 2,000 lbs of e-waste and about 25 lbs. of empty ink and toner cartridges.  When you consider that an ink cartridge weighs about an ounce, that’s quite a few.  

What was the goal?  “Our goal isn’t for just one event.  We have electronics recycling events scheduled throughout the year.”  Bill Morris of GRX/Metech explained, “This is only one of thirty recycling collection events scheduled in Southern Colorado for 2009.  Our next events are scheduled at Woodland Park High School on April 25th; Pikes Peak Community College Campuses between April 28th – May 2nd, Cartridge World – Briargate on May 2nd, and the Pueblo County Health Department event on May 9th.  We’ve already collected over 33,000 lbs of e-waste and raised almost $2,000 in funds for our non-profit partners in the first quarter of 2009.  Our goal is to collect over 100,000 pounds at these events this year, and divert this material from Southern Colorado landfills before the year is out.

Why 100,000 pounds?  “Why not?” asked Bill.  “That number equates to approximately 2,000 monitors or CPUs.  It could be the discarded tvs or a microwave or old stereo parts – anything electronic that doesn’t work. We are the last stop for these items.  They are broken down for parts instead of going into the landfill.”

And the cost – it isn’t a donation?  “If $10 for a monitor seems high, think about this.  By the time one of the employees at Community Intersection strips the monitor down to parts, and we transport or dispose of the parts, there isn’t much left of the $10.“

“We’ve been talking about what we could do with some of the computer parts.  The reaction to some of the jewelry that was made for the fashion show on the 25th has been favorable.  Community Intersections is looking at making jewelry out of the wire and other parts. “

What is Cartridge World’s role in this?  For our part, Cartridge World Briargate and our staff are enthusiastic supporters of the work GRX does.  The philanthropic piece makes this even more meaningful.  As our relationship with GRX grows, we open up new channels of opportunity – our assistance with collections events being one of them.  These events are lots of fun and a really good way to connect members of the community with charitable organizations and do their part to recycle responsibly at the same time.  It’s a win-win for the triple bottom line: people, planet and profits.  We’re bringing people together to protect the planet and turning the profits from these events over to deserving organizations like Community Intersections.  It is truly an excellent adventure.

What’s next?  Join us at our next event and tell your friends.  We’re still a long ways away from our goal of 100,000 pounds this year.  If we get 100,000 we’ll be able to hire another person for Community Intersection; and keep this toxic stuff out of the landfill.  It’s a win-win for everybody.

“How can I be happy when the economy is tanking?” It’s a question I hear a lot lately. It seems that as the financial picture becomes more depressed, so do we. That’s why now, more than ever, we need to learn to be happy from the inside out—no matter what’s going on in our lives. 

What would it take to make you happy ? A fulfilling career, a big bank account or the perfect mate?  What if it didn’t take anything to make you happy? Well, it’s possible.

Doing the research for my book, Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out, I interviewed scores of scientists, as well as one hundred unconditionally happy people, and discovered the way to experience a state of inner peace and well-being that’s isn’t dependent on external circumstances. I call this being Happy for No Reason.

When you’re Happy for No Reason, you don’t need to manipulate the world around you to make yourself happy; you bring happiness to your everyday experiences rather than trying to extract happiness from them.

Here are a few tips you can use to become happier—and stay that way:

1.      People who are Happy for No Reason incline their minds toward joy. Have you noticed that your mind tends to register the negative events in your life more than the positive? If you get ten compliments in a day and one criticism, what do you remember?  For most people, it’s the criticism.   Scientists call this our “negativity bias”–our primitive survival wiring that causes us to pay more attention to the negative than the positive.  To reverse this bias, get into the daily habit of consciously registering the positive around you: the sun on your skin, the taste of a favorite food, a smile or kind word from a co-worker or friend. Once you notice something positive, take a moment to savor it deeply and feel it; make it more than just a mental observation. Spend 20 seconds soaking up the happiness you feel.

2.      People who are Happy for No Reason trust in a friendly universe. One of the most prevalent habits that happy people share is believing that this is a friendly universe. When things don’t seem to be going their way, instead of feeling like victims, they look for the lesson and the gift in the situation.  In other words, they believe there is a higher purpose that is supporting their ultimate good.

Try it yourself: The next time you face a challenge, take a moment to reflect silently, asking yourself, “If this were happening for a higher purpose, what would it be?”

3.      People who are Happy for No Reason let love lead in their life. One way to power up your heart’s flow is by sending lovingkindness to your friends and family, as well as strangers you pass on the street. Next time you’re waiting for the elevator at work, stuck in a line at the store or caught up in traffic, send a silent wish to the people you see for their happiness, well-being, and health.   Simply wishing others well switches on the “pump” in your own heart that generates love and creates a strong current of happiness.

4.      People who are Happy for No Reason make the cells in their body happy.  Your brain contains a veritable pharmacopeia of natural happiness-enhancing neurochemicals—endorphins, serotonin, oxytocin, and dopamine—just waiting to be released to every organ and cell in your body. The way that you eat, move, rest, and even your facial expression can shift the balance of your body’s feel-good-chemicals, or “Joy Juice,” in your favor. To dispense some extra Joy Juice—smile. Scientists have discovered that smiling decreases stress hormones and boosts happiness chemicals, which increase the body’s T-cells, reduce pain, and enhance relaxation. You may not feel like it, but smiling—even artificially to begin with—starts the ball rolling and will turn into a real smile in short order.

5.      People who are Happy for No Reason surround themselves with support. We catch the emotions of those around us just like we catch their colds—it’s called emotional contagion.  So it’s important to make wise choices about the company you keep. Create appropriate boundaries with emotional bullies and “happiness vampires” who suck the life out of you.  Develop your happiness “dream team”—a mastermind or support group you meet with regularly to keep you steady on the path of raising your happiness.

“Happily ever after” isn’t just for fairytales or for only the lucky few.  Imagine experiencing inner peace and well being as the backdrop for everything else in your life. When you’re Happy for No Reason, it’s not that your life always looks perfect—it’s that however it looks, you’ll still be happy!

By Marci Shimoff.  Based on the New York Times bestseller Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out (Free Press), which offers a revolutionary approach to experiencing deep and lasting happiness. The woman’s face of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and a featured teacher in The Secret, Marci is an authority on success, happiness, and the law of attraction. To order Happy for No Reason, newly released in paperback, and receive free bonus gifts, go to www.happyfornoreason.com/mybook

Can’t you just feel it?  Love is in the air.  As Valentines Day quickly approaches, either you are anxiously anticipating an evening of dinner, gifts, and romance, or you are dreading the day with the utmost anxiety because you do not have a valentine in your life at the moment.  If the latter is true, do not despair.  Though you may not have that man or woman of your dreams in your life right now, you can take steps to prepare yourself to find your perfect mate, no matter what your age.

At the age of 49, after having many failed relationships, I had all but given up on having true, spiritually based, deeply committed, passionate love in my life.  So I surrendered into the present moment, accepted the truth of “what was” for me at the time, and chose to be happy with me.  My mantra was “Know Thyself.  An unexamined life is not worth living.  Take time every day to examine yourself and ask the question, ‘Who am I?’ “

I also firmly believe in the power of affirmations.  This is the affirmation I wrote for myself; “I am now in a loving, committed relationship that is deeply connected and grounded in spirituality, filled with love, honor, respect, compassion, and passion for one another, in which we are both free to be who we are as individuals and we are willing to surrender into true partnership.”  

It was then that my very own Twin Flame came into my life and it is the most amazing love I have ever known.  So, you can find True Love in these middle years, but first you must examine your own life and uncover your authentic self.  Then you write down what you desire in a partner, and you become that, and when you have succeeded in becoming that, by the Law of Attraction, your partner will show up.

I teach a class to assist you in discovering your authentic self, whether you are in a relationship currently or not.  The class is entitled, “Discovering Your Authentic Self: A Journey of Awakening.”  I will be teaching this class in April, the specific date and location is to be determined by the end of February.  My beloved husband and I will also be offering a relationship class later in the year entitled, Finding (or Rediscovering) Your Soul Mate.  More information will be unfolding in the late summer for this class.

Both of these classes are filled with experiential opportunities to connect with yourself and/or your partner, and music is a key element in both trainings.  If you are interested in either of these trainings, please send me an email and I will keep you posted on when they will be presented and other pertinent information.  My email is tessagrace.aluna@yahoo.com.

Whether or not we are in a relationship, most of us love a good love song.  For Valentines Day, I am sending you a list of my top 10 favorite love songs, along with the artist and album they are on.  Please stay tuned for a recording of an incredible love song that my beloved wrote for me eight days after our first date.  It is entitled, Love Beyond Compare, written by KJ Braithwaite.  I would like to get it posted before Valentines Day, however, a lot is transpiring in the next week, so it may be later than that!  Other than this song, my next ten favorites are:

1) Feels Like Home – Bonnie Raite – Soundtrack from the Movie “Michael”

2) A Case of You – Joni Mitchell – Both Sides Now

3) Learning How to Bend – Gary Allen – Living Hard

4) Here – Rascal Flatts – Still Feels Good

5) The Day Before You – Rascal Flatts – Feels Like Today

6) A Few Good Things – Kathy Mattea – Time Passes By

7) From the Ashes – Martina McBride – Emotion (okay…not a love song, but a good place to start from!)

Watch the Wind Blow By – Tim McGraw – Self Titled

9) All We Ever Find – Tim McGraw – Self Titled

10) Say Once More – Amy Grant – Lead Me On

With Gratitude, Love, and Amazing Grace,

TessaGrace Aluna-Braithwaite

By the Union of Concerned Scientists
April 2008
Read this issue of Greentips online

U.S. residents spent $8 billion on flowers in 2006, but many of the beautiful blooms we purchased were hiding an ugly past. Flowers sold in the United States are generally grown on large farms and treated with massive amounts of pesticide; this not only endangers the health of farm workers, but also pollutes local air and water supplies.

In addition, many flowers are imported from Asia and Central and South America, where environmental regulations are often less stringent. For example, the International Labor Rights Fund and the U.S. Labor Education in the Americas Project (LEAP) have found that 20 percent of the chemicals applied to flowers in Colombia, a top exporter, are restricted or banned in the United States and Europe. Transporting these flowers to U.S. stores magnifies their environmental impact, as trucks and airplanes (including the needed refrigeration) contribute to air pollution and global warming.

Fortunately, the number of eco-friendly flower options is growing. Consider these tips the next time you want to impress that special someone:

Buy local. As with any agricultural product, locally grown flowers decrease smog-forming and global warming pollution by traveling shorter distances to market, and reduce the risk of plant pests being transported to new areas. Plants adapted to the local climate also need less fertilizer and pesticides, and are less likely to be rare, foreign species. Beware of invasive species that can crowd out native plants; see the related links for a list of plants considered invasive in your region. If shopping at farmers markets or pick-your-own farms, ask the growers to ensure that their plants are not invasive.

Look at the labels. Several certification programs have been created in recent years to tout flowers that have been grown in both environmentally and socially conscious ways. These labels include:

• USDA Organic—These flowers have been grown without the use of synthetic chemical pesticides and fertilizers or sewage sludge.
• VeriFlora—These flowers have been raised in an environmentally and socially responsible manner according to Scientific Certification Systems, a third-party certification agency, but the environmental qualifications are less stringent than the USDA organic standard.
• Fair Trade—These flowers meet specific criteria for environmental sustainability and fair wages and work conditions as determined by the non-profit organization TransFair USA. Like VeriFlora, the environmental qualifications for Fair Trade are less stringent than the USDA organic standard.
• NOTE: Inclusion of VeriFlora and Fair Trade certification for informational purposes does not imply endorsement by the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Grow your own. Consider purchasing live plants instead of cut flowers; they not only can provide you with blooms year after year, but can also be grown with low-impact organic plant food and compost. And if you still like your cut flowers, consider planting a cutting garden. In choosing your flowers, avoid wildflower seed mixtures, as they almost always contain invasive species.

Related Links:

Audubon Magazine—A Rose is [Not] a Rose

Veriflora

Fair Trade Flowers

U.S. Department of Agriculture—National Invasive Species Information Center

The Organic Garden-Journal—Planting an Organic Cut Flower Garden

By Amy Porter

How are you personally celebrating Earth Day? This year it is a week long event beginning April 19 – 26, since the actual Earth Day falls in between. Did you forget it’s coming up? Or, are you thinking about planting a tree or going for a bike ride?

Here are easy to do, practical ideas that you can incorporate into next week.

1. BYOB – This now means Bring Your Own Bag. This week put your extra bags in your car, purse or backpack. That way when someone asks you if you’ve brought your own, you can proudly them out.
2. “I’ve Got This One” Coffees – Instead of using the paper products of your local coffee roaster, bring your own traveling mug. That way there is one less cup in the landfill.
3. For Those Little Spills – Cloth napkins are more durable than paper. Bar towel absorb more than paper towels. Switch the paper products in your kitchen for reusable clothe and then find out which is the quicker, picker upper – clothe napkins, bar towels or named brand towel paper.
4. Park N Walk – What would happen if you parked your car 1 day a week? It may not make up for the rise in gas prices AND it would decrease gas usage. While you are at it, you may want to check your tire pressure, change the oil and get a tune –up if you haven’t in a while.
5. Maximize Your Food Intake – The talk right now is to eat locally, eat in season. The stats on eating locally are pretty convincing. The amount of fuel needed to bring in food is staggering. As to eating in season, some of the new studies talk about how our body cycles coincide with harvesting cycle for fruits and veggies. Here are some harvest schedules:

• Citrus in the winter months
• Berries (fruits of the vine) in the spring
• Peaches & plums (fruits of the tree) in July & August
• Melons (fruits of the ground) July thru early September
• Apples (fruits of the tree) fall months

6. Walking Your Neighborhood – It seems ironic that you have to drive to the fitness center so that you can get your workout. What would happen if one day a week, you walk a mile in your neighborhood? Meet your neighbors. Find out what’s going on. You could even bring a garbage bag and pick up trash along the way. Then you would be setting a good example as well as getting a work out.

7. Home Cooking – Do you know the energy costs in producing a home cooked meal starting with raw fruits, vegetables and meat? It uses lot fewer BTUs than buying pre-processed, “just-heat and serve” food as well as more nutritional. Besides sitting down with family reconnects you to them.

8. Letting Go of Clutter – Clutter is those boxes in your attic or basement that have moved with you every time, unopened, unloved. It’s the clothes you never wear. It’s anything that takes up space, and gives nothing back. It can also be anything you dislike, and guilt makes you hold on to it. If you recycle it, someone else will find it and love it.

9. First Contact – How many emails have you sent today? Text messages? What would happen if you made human contact with these same people? We have become a very impersonal society. Change that. Pick up the phone! Pick up a pen! Personal contact makes a difference.

10. Pay It Forward Program – When you give of yourself, expecting nothing in return, your gift empowers the person receiving your attention. Instead of having that person “pay you back” ask them to “Pay it forward!” That way we will continue to energize and support people. The ultimate recycling program!

So you aren’t planning to celebrate Earth Day by cleaning a stream or park. That’s okay! These 10 ideas are easy to do, easy to sustain. And remember, Earth Day is more than a day or a week. Earth Day is every day!

By Debra Frick

In the soul of every woman there is the desire for her man to do something wonderful and unexpected for Valentine’s Day. Every woman wants romance and something magical for this special day. So here are some quick tips on how to make this the best Valentine’s Day ever.

First, if you don’t know what she likes, ask her mother! Moms always know the best ways to please their daughters. Ask her best friends. Now if that gets you nowhere, refer to this article.

She would love:  2 hours to herself to do whatever she would like to do with you but without the kids.

She would love:  if you helped the kids bake a cake or cupcakes and treated her like the queen she is. Decorate with chocolate hearts.

She would love:  to have you draw her bath with candles and bubble bath and a cd of romantic music and let her soak while you take the kids somewhere else.

She would love:  a back rub and some loving.

She would love:   a single rose and a foot rub.

She would love:  to have you make dinner Ask your mother for help with recipes and cooking instructions.

She would love:  a love letter.

She would love:   for you to dedicate a special song just to her; and if you can sing; sing it to her.

She would love:  for you to snuggle up with her and watch Chick Flicks and not complain.

She would love:  for you to buy her favorite movie or book.

She would love:  poetry and read it to her or write her something special it does not have to rhyme and it is something she will always treasure.

She would love:   a night alone with you. Hire a babysitter. Plan a picnic in front of a fire or just sit on the floor with romantic music playing. Place a tablecloth on the floor (don’t use the one she just bought for Christmas). Set it with the good dishes, order out her favorite food and serve her dinner. Be sure to handle the clean up afterwards.

Be romantic:  change the wall paper on her computer and put on something romantic or use a screensaver that lets you write a message and tell her how much you adore her.

Be romantic:  take a walk with her, reminding her of when you first where together.

Be romantic:  leave love notes in her car, in the bedroom, on the dresser, in the refrigerator, on the coffee pot, in her lunch box, in her briefcase, on the bathroom mirror that say “I love you!” or the corny sayings off a box of Valentine hearts from the local grocery.

Be romantic:  she would love a vase full of chocolates with one rose stuck in the center. The rose doesn’t have to be fresh. You can give her a silk flower that she can keep forever.

Be romantic:  run a ribbon from her bed to a gift that you have bought he, so that she has to follow the ribbon to find her gift.

Be romantic:  serve her favorite breakfast in bed.

Be romantic:   IM or text message her at work telling her how grateful you are that she is yours; and then have lunch delivered to her office.

Be romantic:  dress up and meet her for dessert at her favorite spot.

Be romantic:  slow dance with her after dinner, even if, you have two left feet she will love you even more for the effort.

Be romantic:  88 cents at Walmart buys you silk roses. Cut them apart for the petals and spread them all over her bed; spray her sheets with her favorite perfume; and light some candles. Set the mood for love with love songs playing and show her how much she means to you!

Be romantic:   make a big sign for your SUV and attach it to the front of the grill like you would do with a wreath that says I love you Honey or you are my best girl.

I hope this inspires you to do something extra special and maybe spark some ideas of your own. Flowers are mandatory since you know if you buy her chocolates you will be eating them too.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

In Scotland, they are asking their citizens to take the pledge of acting more sustainable. After reading their list, Vitesis has put together a “next step” check list. Which one(s) are you willing to commit to?

Courtesy of Andrew Romanoff
Speaker – Colorado House of Representatives
www.andrewromanoff.com

The Colorado Constitution allows the legislature to meet in regular session for 120 days. For the last three years, we’ve succeeded in completing our work ahead of schedule, saving taxpayers $14,000 a day in the process.

Nearly 300 bills have already been introduced in the House and Senate – half of the likely total. To search bills by number, committee, subject or sponsor, click here.

I encourage you to visit the Capitol: come watch our debates, meet with your representatives, testify on legislation. Log on to our homepage – www.leg.state.co.us – to find a list of legislators and daily calendars for the House and the Senate. (To learn who represents you, go to www.vote-smart.org.)

CHANNEL 165

If you can’t make it to the Capitol in person, you can follow the action from the comfort of your own couch. Beginning Jan. 21, www.coloradochannel.net will carry live and archived streaming video of House floor proceedings – a program we’re calling “Colorado Open House.” Comcast Digital Cable customers can find the show on Channel 165, right between a shopping channel and FEARnet (insert your punchline here).

To listen to a live audio feed of House and Senate floor action and committee deliberations, click here.

What do you get when you invite 200 of the leaders in the sustainable, holistic and spiritual communities to listen to the Colorado Springs Utilities, Fountain Utilities (Larry Patterson), directors of sustainability for Manitou Springs (Megan Day), UCCS (Linda Kogan), Colorado College (Bruce Coriello) and John Crandall of Old Town Bike Shop. A group of quasi-baby boomers organized to take action.

Steve Saint of the Pikes Peak Justice & Peace Commission organized this Green Summit on January 31 at Penrose Library. Kudos goes to Steve and his committee for hosting this well-organized event.

They provided us with a list of the keywords in the industry.

• LEEDS Certified – for construction
• ICLEI – the term for local governments acting sustainably
• No Regrets Policy – Moving forward without blame of how we got here
• Climate Protection – This is proactive verbiage that allows us to take action without blame
• EIRP – Environmental Impact Research Plan
• CORE Colorado – CO sustainable trade association
  (They are part of the 2008 Sustainable Opportunities Summit in Denver – Feb 27-29, www.sosummit.org )

These will be terms that we will be incorporating into our vocabulary.

Megan Day then gave us a format that we can use when we talk about “Taking the Next Step” – the theme for Earth Day. This is how she defined the process.

Inventory – Each of us, our businesses and our community has to take stock of where we are today. This gives us a humbling baseline from which to begin.

Target – Realistically we have to decide what goals we want. Or better yet, what do we want to change in our houses/businesses and by when.

Climate Action Plan – This is the how we are going to implement our targeted goals.

Implementation – These are the steps in action.

Evaluation – During the evening we heard from directors that they continually monitor their Climate Action Plans, changing it when there are shifts in the economy, consumption or forecasts.

After Megan’s presentation, Steve asked those present to do “the next step”, taking inventory of where we are in Colorado Springs; so that we could create a baseline of where we are today. Steve will be sending a full report to those whose email he has.

Here are the “inventory items” from my group.

1. Government

• Increased presence at City Council, County Commissioners and CO legislative sessions.
• Increased presence at school board, PPACG, CONO, Chambers and Park & Rec meetings.
• Our community needs to have representation on or at all of these groups.

2. Communications – We need to create an intra-net communication system for our community. This would include, but not be limited too:

• A central email list that could then forwarded to other email groups.
• A central calendar to post events and classes. (Mine is available.)
• An intra-linking of blogs and websites so that we can intra-connect and support each other.

3. Education – Intra-community

• Teach our community how to speak to the media, City Council and other organizations
• Teach how to write effective emails and letters, explaining our positions.
• Train leaders for our community.

4. Education – There’s more to being green than recycling

• Offer timely programs
• Coordinate between the different organizations so that their messages are the same
• Keep our information in front of the media/Colorado Springs by offering hands-on learning events

5. Recycling – let’s be a leader here

• Mandate curbside recycling & have it include glass and cardboard
• Mandate $.05 deposits on glass & plastic bottles
• Do something with phone books
• Organize trash routes so that neighborhoods won’t have 6 different trucks in each week (without discouraging free trade)
• Teach recycling in the schools – does anyone have a recycling curriculum that they would like to share?

6. Growth/Sprawl – This needs to be contained because we have limited resources

• Hold developers accountable for construction and land use
• Make sure there is actually enough water before building new developments
• Have the houses be energy efficient and utilize alternative energy and building techniques
• Incorporate solar and/or geothermal into the construction
• Come up with a Green Strategy for New and Existing Construction – Would the new Green Building Council be a good partnership in putting this together?

7. Transportation – With the increase sprawl, we need to be better connected.

• Increase bus routes, not decrease
• Lite rail
• Encourage parking benefits for energy efficient cars

8. Buy Local

• Every food item shipped in comes with a carbon price
• There are more than 50 manufacturers in Colorado that target our community – For more information (or a list) talk to Vivian Magruder at Sammy’s Organics
• May a list of the farms & dairies available
• Promote the farmers’ markets they are at

These are other ideas I heard or talked about while we networked.

9. Biking

Bike paths around schools. Right now it is not safe for kids to bike to high schools, middle schools and some elementary schools. If we want to teach alternative transportation to our kids, we need to start with providing them with safe routes to their schools.

10. Restaurants

There are corn-based, leftover containers as well as biodegradable ones available. Can we encourage restaurants to switch? If more restaurants would buy these containers, the price will go down as the quantity goes us. The company that manufacturers these is Colorado based. (Again talk with Vivian Magruder)

11. SUS-Bus

EarthSeeds is retrofitting old school buses to become mobile classrooms and stages. The buses can be used to bring science based curriculum, art programs and music to many venues – schools, out door events and fairs. For more information contact either Virginia Gwaltney -719.510.9908 or Felicia Barbera – 719.244.5149.

That’s the short version for those who missed the Summit. What did I learn from it? That we all must share the same message; use the same words; and take the same action steps.

Remember, we have taken the first step – acknowledging there is a problem. We are now being asked “What is the next step?” Our answer is “taking inventory”. What is our goal as community members? To be role models, by going first; and to provide the education so that our families, friends and city know what their options are when they too “take inventory”.