Category Archives: Urban

All, At Green Drinks, Events, Sustainable communities, Urban

Green Drinks June 2013 Schedule – Sustainability Community Mixers

June 3, 2013 Kimi Leave a comment

Green Drinks Newark First Mondays
03 June 2013 7-9pm
Rio Rodizio Newark
1034 McCarter Highway, Newark NJ
973-622-6221
(Other Green Drinks groups info below)

Newark Green Drinks meets every first Monday at Rio Rodizio on McCarter Hwy (Route 21). We don’t make green colored drinks but we do build community and talk about our environment, bees, gmo, sustainability, community empowerment, the open internet, building healthy food systems, clean communities safe for biking and walking; energy innovations; vibrant communities with strong local economies and excellent public schools, transportation and resources. And we discuss the science of happiness.

Experts are at every meeting to share information about any of these sustainability topics.

WHO’S WELCOME?
You! We always have interesting and lively discussions. And, we meet at restaurants that serve good, inexpensive food and are easy to access by public transit. Always safe parking for drivers too. Feel free to drop by and to bring a friend.

SAVING THE INTERNET
Protecting the free and open internet – which is ESSENTIAL to community empowerment. More at http://savetheinternet.com.

YOUR HOSTS
Kimi Wei, Ivan Gomez Wei & Sally Gellert

JUNE GREEN DRINKS 3 SCHEDULE
(Venue addresses at http://greendrinks3.org)
Newark 1st Mondays (03 June) 7-9 PM
Hackensack 2nd Mondays (10 June) 7-9 PM
Paterson-Clifton 3rd Tuesdays (18 June) 12-1:30 PM

All, Education, Environment, Events, Health, Help, New solutions, Protection, Sustainable communities, Urban, Water

Sustainable & green training/events – March

March 8, 2013 Kimi 1 Comment

Check back for updates.
Newark-Montclair Urban Teacher Residency – Apply through 3/15
The Newark-Montclair Urban Teacher Residency is an innovative Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program offered at Montclair State University in partnership with the Newark Public Schools. Participants will receive free tuition and a $26,000 stipend. A 3-year teaching commitment is required.

Residents enroll in full-time graduate coursework each semester (summer sessions included) and participate in summer internships with community based organizations in the city of Newark. Applications are currently being accepted for Secondary level (K-12) subject matter certification in mathematics or a field of science. Final Application Deadline extended till Friday, March 15, 2013.

More at http://greenwei.com/blog/free-tuition-stipend-for-msu-masters-urban-teacher-residency/

Is Our Water Safe To Drink?
Public Hearing in East Orange sponsored by Councilwoman Alicia Holman
Wednesday, March 6, 2013 6:30 – 8:30pm
CITY HALL, 44 CITY HALL PLAZA, E. ORANGE
https://www.facebook.com/events/557057327645425/

Newark Kids Count 2013 Forum
Wednesday, March 13, 2013 9:30am – 2:30pm
The Paul Robeson Campus Center
350 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Newark
https://www.facebook.com/events/386113894821185/#

Using an interactive format, we will explore issues that threaten Newark children and identify concrete next steps that we, as a community, can take. We will focus on two broad areas – child and maternal health and early literacy. Special guests include Newark’s Branch Brook Elementary Principal Joseph Cullen, whose students achieve well above city and state averages on reading tests. The event is free, but you must register to attend. A complimentary breakfast and lunch will be provided.

Register at http://wfc2.wiredforchange.com/o/8716/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=71612. For more information contact Reggie Dorsey at rdorsey@acnj.org

NJ Land Conservation Rally
One-day educational conference about preserving
New Jersey’s open space and farmland
Saturday, March 9, 2013 9am – 5pm
NJ Institute of Technology
Newark, New Jersey

Online registration will close at 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 5. Registration fee will remain at $80 per person for a full day of educational & inspiring workshops, breakfast, lunch and social reception. Register online today! Registration will also be accepted at the door.

If you live or work in Newark, Rally scholarships are available, thanks to Victoria Foundation. To become eligible: download, fill out and return registration form.

1st Annual Patricia Harris Parent Summit
Saturday, March 9, 2013 9am – 5pm
John F. Kennedy High School
Paterson NJ

Citywide Parent Summit to continue Pat’s legacy of effective parental involvement and engagement in school improvement.
https://www.facebook.com/events/481929115201697/

Kokokidz Latino Youth Peer Empowerment Group Meeting
Sunday, March 10, 2013 5-6:30pm
Villa de Colombia
12 Mercer Street
Hackensack, NJ
https://www.facebook.com/events/427537817332045/

Young Latinos support each other in the areas of career, education, applying for scholarships, civic engagement, sustainability practices and cultural preservation in their communities. Kokokidz meets once or twice a month in Hackensack or another North Jersey town. If you’re a Latino student junior high school through college age, Kokokidz will help you be more effective in your life and learn to make positive change happen in your school and community.

Contacts:
Ivan Wei 201-688-0036 @ivanwei
Luis Ariel Lopez Wei @lalwei

If you’re available as an adult mentor please contact our advisor Kimi Wei on Facebook or Twitter to discuss volunteer opportunities.

Community Service: We are looking at different types of community service opportunities. If you have a cause or event you’d like us to engage with please share details.

Kokokidz is currently helping with the movement to Close New Jersey schools on Martin Luther King Jr. Day https://www.facebook.com/pages/Close-NJ-Schools-on-MLK-Jr-Day/276810379041778

Climate Action Meeting at Cook College
Sunday, March 10 7pm
Cook Campus Center (Rutgers)
59 Biel Road, Room 202, A & B
New Brunswick, NJ

The meeting will begin with a video chat featuring Bill McKibben of 350.org, followed by a discussion of what actions to do next on the local, state and national levels. Come with ideas and bring friends. The momentum depends on each one of us to act now! For a short capsule of the February 17 Forward on Climate rally event go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=anXE46utpo8

Sponsored by Melanie McDermott, Initiative on Climate and Society, Rutgers University and Tina Weishaus, Central Jersey Coalition Against Endless War

All, At Green Drinks, Education, Energy, Environment, Events, Sustainable communities, Urban, Water

Green Drinks Gatherings October 2012

October 3, 2012 Kimi Leave a comment

In October, Green Drinks receives a mini-grant from Global Exchange

Global Exchange says,

Global Exchange’s Elect Democracy campaign knows that local grassroots power is what will eventually halt Wall Street’s destructive greed. We also know that every penny counts in our communities, so we want to help support *your* local organizing efforts by offering you a $60 mini-grant (to bring) people together to eat, talk, and build relationships of support and understanding … We hope this grant will be a small boost for groups (whose members are) impacted by foreclosure, student debt, and limited social services (and that the connections we help to) create are important and lasting.

In October, Green Drinks discusses

How to Save the Internet and advocate to keep the internet open
Resources for Newark’s new Community Garden Coalition
How to build healthy, bikeable/walkable communities
The connection between stormwater management and flood reduction
What do gardeners do in the winter?
Creating a seed exchange
Healthy food

SAVING THE INTERNET & NET NEUTRALITY

Open internet access is one of the great freedom fights of our time. We have to use it so we don’t lose it. This is now a standard topic of discussion at every Green Drinks 3 event. See more at http://thewei.com/kimi/verizon-wants-to-control-your-internet-keep-them-out/

Newark Green drinks

Wednesday, 03 October 2012 6:30-8:30pm
Rio Rodizio Restaurant – in the lounge to the left as you walk in
1034 McCarter Highway (Route 21), Newark NJ
Meets 1st Mondays at Rio Rodizio Newark except on major holidays. (This month we’ve switched to first Wednesday due to the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, and we’re wrapping up a bit earlier than usual so people can watch the presidential debate at 9pm.)

Hackensack Green Drinks

Wednesday, 10 October 7-9pm
Meets 2nd Mondays except on major holidays. (This month we’ve switched to first Wednesday due to the Jewish holidy of Shmini Atzeret.)
At Victor’s Maywood Inn, 122 W. Pleasant Avenue, Maywood NJ

Paterson-Clifton Green Drinks

Tuesday, 16 October 2012 7-9 pm (and 3rd Tuesdays)
Sultan Restaurant, 429 Crooks Avenue, Clifton NJ (we’ll be outside if the weather’s nice)

Engage with us

Green Drinks 3 http://greendrinks3.org/
Like us on Facebook https://www.fb.com/thegreenwei/
Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/greenwei
862-203-8814

99% SPRING GROUP MEMBERS are welcome at all of our Green Drinks meetings.

Volunteers needed for voter registration & Get Out The Vote activities
High-demand locations
Bergen Community College, Paramus NJ 10am-5pm every day through Oct 16.
Hackensack Street Fair: Saturday, October 6 10am-4pm

If you can volunteer or know of a location where people are needed, please reach out

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Help Protect National Forests
America’s national forests provide essential habitat for lynx, grizzlies and other wildlife — and clean water for millions of Americans. Yet new rules could threaten the sanctity of these special places, paving the way for more logging and more destructive development on our national forests. Help protect these special places. Sign the petition online at: http://dfnd.us/vYt93D

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Prevent racism from blocking the Latino & Black vote
Watch the 4 minute video by Van Jones’ Rebuild the American Dream team
http://thewei.com/kimi/racist-romney-gop-move-to-block-the-latino-black-vote/ )

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SHOE DONATIONS FOR HAITI
Collected at Stride Rite Wyckoff location ONLY
Monday-Saturday 10am-6pm
319 Franklin Ave, Wyckoff NJ

Stride Rite of Wyckoff is accepting worn/used shoes, children’s and adults for donation. All donations are sent to Haiti. We have received hundreds of pairs of shoes to date, but the need is much greater.

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After Rio+20: Moving Beyond 2015: 1 week of workshops
15-19 OCT 2012 (9am – 5pm only)
COST: FREE
RSVP at http://j.mp/rio20plus
Ramapo College, 505 Ramapo Valley Road, Mahwah, NJ
Campus Student Center, Room SC 137

The speakers for this event series are all key players from Civil Society Organizations and from the United Nations, collectively engaged in planning for a post-Rio+20 future. The purpose of the workshop series is to lay out the framework for a road map to plan for a Global Citizens Movement to help us move beyond the major United Nations Rio+20 conference held earlier this year in June.

In this intensive workshop, the many dimensions of the UN Conference in Rio de Janeiro will be explored, and a coherent path forward will be charted.

As you may be aware, by most conventional accounts, Rio+20 was at least a disappointment, if not a failure. We argue that real, path-breaking, and innovative solutions began to emerge from the grassroots level out, and we will present many dimensions of these solutions, as well as strategize a way forward into a more sustainable future.

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Support the Ramapough Indians: tell the EPA to clean up Ford’s mess in Ringwood.

Journalist Jan Barry started the research on the tragic and intentional pollution of a housing development which was home to members of a tribe of Ramapough Indians in Ringwood, NJ, and collaborated with HBO to create Mann v. Ford, a moving documentary about the crushing impact this has had on the health of tribe members as well as the water source for the entire region.

The site was prematurely de-listed by the EPA from its Superfund cleanup status, and several years later became the first site to be listed for a second time. Ford has resisted taking responsibility for the poisonous effects on tribe members of the toxic paint sludge it trucked in under cover of nightfall every day for many years, and has also resisted funding the cost of cleanup.

Make sure the EPA knows you support the clean-up of the Ramapough Indians by (Action 1) signing the Change.org petition and (Action 2) sending a letter to the EPA. Petition and sample letter available at

Tell the EPA to clean up Ford’s mess in Ringwood

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JUST CLICK to give Morris County Hispanic-American Chamber of Commerce the chance to win $30,000

You get 10 votes just for having an email address! and clicking doesn’t cost you anything but a little time. Click on http://j.mp/mchaccvoh

MCHACC was selected as a Voices of Health finalist for its commitment to the health of ethnic minority individuals in the northern New Jersey area. Learn more about the chamber at http://mchacc.org.

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OUR SPONSOR
MENTION GREEN DRINKS FOR 20% OFF DISCOUNT

Eco Galleria at the Historic Oradell Train Station
400 Maple Avenue, Oradell, NJ
201-447-GIFT (4438)
http://www.ecogalleria.com

Eco Galleria carries fun or fine items handcrafted by artists from throughout the Americas in many price ranges. Including eco-friendly jewelry, pottery, glass, wood, fiber, watches, bags and more. Call ahead to have your gift boxed, wrapped and ready for pick-up or shop online at http://ecogalleria.com

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Interested in sponsoring Green Drinks? If you have a good cause or service, we have a contact base of about 6000 people we can share your information with. Contact Kimi for information at mailto:kimi@thewei.com or 862-203-8814

All, Health, Justice, Protection, Urban, Water

Truths about society in new book Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt

August 13, 2012 Kimi Leave a comment

Tim Knight shares a review of the book. Now I can’t wait to read it.

Excerpt from the preface

The ruthless hunt for profit creates a world where everything and everyone is expendable. Nothing is sacred. It has blighted inner cities, turned the majestic Appalachian Mountains into a blasted moonscape of poisoned water, soil, and air. It has forced workers into a downward spiral of falling wages and mounting debt until laborers in agricultural fields and sweatshops work in conditions that replicate slavery. It has impoverished our working class and ravaged the middle class. And it has enriched a tiny global elite that has no loyalty to the nation-state. These corporations, if we use the language of patriotism, are traitors.

Tim says,

I just finished Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt by Chris Hedges and Joe Sacco. It is superb, and I’ve spent a fair amount of time typing in passages from the book below in order to capture some of its theme.

The “me” of twenty years ago wouldn’t be caught dead reading a book like this. It is, after all, an unflinching assasination of our present capitalist system. As a younger person, I was wholeheartedly (and more than a little ignorantly) devoted to a dog-eat-dog, lassiez-faire capitalist system. And, in my adult life, I have lived that way, at least inasmuch as I created, built, and sold a successful business and have, before, during, and after that time, been a very active participant in the financial markets (both by way of trading as well as writing).

Experience and observation have moderated my views, however. At the outset I will say that I still regard capitalism as the most proper, natural, and constructive economic system, but I’m a much firmer believer in a modified version – – consistently-regulated with a distribution of wealth more akin to the 1970s than the present day – – than I ever imagined I would be.

and

There are several broad regions of the United States covered in the book, including the Indian reservations of South Dakota; the mean streets of Camden; the wretched lives of the produce-pickers in Southern Florida; and the “moonscape” of West Virginia’s coal country. It is this last area that includes a talk with Larry Gibson, an activist in West Virginia who grew up there, had to leave for a while due to family poverty, and has returned to try to fight for the region’s sake. He says the following, which is perhaps my favorite section of the entire book:

“Living here as a boy, I wasn’t any different than anybody else. First time I knew I was poor was when I went to Cleveland and went to school They taught me I was poor. I traded all this for a strip of green I saw when I walking the street. And I was poor? How ya gonna get a piece of green grass between the sidewalk and the street, and they gonna tell me I’m poor. I thought I was the luckiest kid in the world, with nature. I could walk through the forest. I could hear the animals. I could hear the woods talk to me. Everywhere I looked there was life. I could pick my own apples or cucumbers. I could eat the berries and pawpaws. I love pawpaws. And they gooseberries. Now there is no life there. Only dust. I had a pigeon and when I’d come out of the house, no matter where I went, he flew over my head or sat on my shoulder. I had a hawk I named Fred, I had a bobcat and a three-legged fox that got caught in a trap. I wouldn’t trade that childhood for all the fancy fire trucks and toys the other kids had.

All, Energy, Environment, Justice, New solutions, Urban

Cap & Trade – an emissions reduction strategy

July 21, 2012 Kimi Leave a comment

The Environmental Defense Fund wrote the cap-and-trade approach to sulfur emissions into the 1990 Clean Air Act. A similar program has become law in California to limit carbon emissions, where implementation will begin in 2013. The cap part of the program is an incrementally rising cap on the legally allowable limits for carbon emissions factories produce. The trade portion allows companies that reduce their emissions to a lower level than the legal mandate to use the difference as a credit that a company exceeding the legal limit can buy to bring itself into the compliant range of emissions output.

The EDF explains the history of cap-and-trade, which started in 1990

Traditional, top-down government regulation would have simply directed every plant owner to cut pollution by a specific amount in a specific way. But this method, critics said, would cost too much, impede innovation and ignore the knowledge and initiative of local plant operators.

The way forward, EDF experts argued, was to harness the power of the marketplace. Our cap-and-trade approach, written into the 1990 Clean Air Act, required that overall sulfur emissions be cut in half, but let each company decide how to do it. And power plants that cut their pollution more than required could sell those extra allowances. A new commodities market was born.

Under this market-based plan, sulfur emissions have gone down faster than predicted and at one-fourth of the projected cost. By 2000, scientists were documenting decreased sulfates in Adirondack lakes, improved visibility in national parks and widespread benefits to human health. The Economist called it “the greatest green success story of the past decade.”

EDF explains that the California cap-and-trade market for greenhouse gases addresses is modeled after their plan.

In October 2011, the California Air Resources Board voted to create a cap-and-trade market for greenhouse gases, as required by AB32, the state’s landmark bipartisan 2006 climate bill, which EDF cosponsored and defended in court.

AB32 aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions in California, the world’s eighth largest economy, to 1990 levels by 2020, while generating one-third of its electricity from renewable sources like solar and wind.

The cap-and-trade market alone, which begins operating in 2013, will slash the state’s warming emissions by an amount equivalent to taking some 3.6 million cars off the road.

The LA Times reports

Environmental justice groups oppose aspects of the program, arguing that cap-and-trade’s market allows refineries, power plants and other large-scale facilities to continue polluting poor neighborhoods as long as they purchase credits or offsets ..

and gives details about how the carbon cap-and-trade program will work in California

Emissions caps were established by collecting three years of emissions data from the state’s largest industries. Those businesses were grouped into sectors and assigned an average emissions benchmark. Businesses are allowed to emit up to 90% of that amount in the first year. Companies that operate efficiently under the cap may sell their excess carbon allowance on the market; companies whose emissions are above the benchmark must either reduce their carbon output or purchase credits or offsets.

Offsets are a way of turning carbon “savings” into tradable equities. For instance, a forestry company may change its practices so that its forests store more carbon. That increase in carbon storage can be turned into a marketable credit. An independent entity would verify that the carbon savings are real. That additional storage must be maintained for at least 100 years. No carbon offsets may be purchased from non-U.S. sources.

Education, Justice, Urban

Coalition to Empower Irvington High Students Meets 5/17

May 11, 2012 Kimi Leave a comment

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Green Drinks Newark discusses how to empower Irvington HS Students

Coalition to Empower Irvington High Students meeting
Thursday, May 17 @ 6-7:30pm
Irvington Public Library
5 Civic Square, Irvington, NJ

Join the next strategy session on how Irvington high school students can become leaders of transformation and positive change in both their communities and their own lives. Parents, residents, those able to contribute as mentors or collaborators – and especially, Irvington High School students are welcome to attend.

Irvington High School students face challenges common to urban youth everywhere: starting on career paths, preparing for college, finding work, navigating changing relationships. Today, the uncertainties associated with emergence into adulthood are exacerbated, with New Jersey families facing high rates of home foreclosure, heads of household under- or unemployed and lack of jobs, training and recreational opportunities to support young people’s needs and development. Municipalities struggle to provide essential services to residents with less collectible tax dollars. There’s also the growing awareness that some serious environmental issues require society’s immediate attention.

The cusp of adulthood is a tough place to be at the best of times, so it makes sense that the pursuit of traditional education may seem pointless and irrelevant to today’s urban students. We must find ways to make education vibrant! To rework schools into institutions teaching students the facts, techniques, technologies and skills that will make them relevant in their families and communities, valuable to prospective employers and institutions of higher learning and prepared with the knowledge and resources to own and manage their own small businesses, should they choose that path to employment.

This initiative is being led by Kimi Wei, Sustainable Community Consultant, and Jordan Geffrard, Irvington High School graduate and is sponsored by Green Drinks Newark. We look forward to hearing your ideas and learning how you are able to lend a hand.

Environment, Protection, Urban

Need public support at hearing on waste treatment plant in Irvington

March 9, 2012 admin Leave a comment

An ordinance sponsored by Freeholders Rufus Johnson and D. Bilal Beasley will be discussed to establish a solid waste treatment plant on Grove Street in Irvington (near Irvington Park) to dispose of solid infectious waste at a rate of 6-8 tons per day. Because this plant will bring dangerous waste and increased traffic that will affect Essex County residents generally, Irvington is asking county residents to support it in protesting the plant’s establishment.

The hazards to lives and the added toxicity in the environment caused by treatment plants is well documented. The increase in traffic traveling into and out of a neighborhood can all on its own, destroy a community’s peace and the safety of its children for generations to come, and degrade roadways throughout the region. It will certainly impact streets and lower property values in Irvington itself. We must come out to speak against this plan!

Please let your doctor, your nurse, your family, your neighbors, your teachers and your work colleagues know about this hearing and join us to show solidarity and concern. There is a promise of 50 constructions jobs and 50 on site jobs through this project, but that will not compensate for the permanent harm that area residents will suffer if the site for this plant is approved.

For more information contact the Irvington NAACP or call 973-373-6948.

Read how a New York State community is confronting a similar proposal.

Photo is the Irvington Track Team at a big win on 12 Feb 2012.

New solutions, Urban, Water

Reports on World Water Week in Stockholm

August 26, 2011 Kimi Leave a comment

World Water Week opened in Stockholm on Monday August 22nd with calls for better urban water management to ensure food and water security. Around 2,500 experts from some 130 countries are attending the 21st edition of World Water Week in Stockholm. They are working on preparations for the United Nation’s conference on sustainable development set to be held in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012. The group expects to publish a declaration at the end of this week (August 26).As the migration from rural areas continues, 830 million poor currently live in urban areas. Such rapid growth is straining natural resources and infrastructure. These areas often lack water and sanitation services which is a leading cause of mortality for both children and their mothers. Investments from governments and companies now will pay dividends later . . .

“More than ever we need new technologies and policy solutions…to compensate for water shortages hitting a growing number of the world’s inhabitants,” Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation, Gunilla Carlsson, said in her opening address at the World Water Conference. “Increased access to clean water supplies and sanitation is an important catalytic force for development,” Carlsson said, insisting “the costs of not acting far exceed the costs of well-functioning, sustainable water resource management.”

To help shed some light on the issues, 2degrees streamed live webinars of the World Water Week sessions. Here is a summary of those sessions:

Sustainability/Environment + Fun + Music = Good videos

July 16, 2011 Kimi Leave a comment

Here are a selection of good videos about sustainability and the environment (list will be added to – post your favorites in the comments).

The Crazy Wombat
This may be my favorite. The Wombat explains exactly why we need to get it together – and get along. 1 min.

Take Aim at Climate Change
This hip-hop video is off the hook – and it’s produced by NASA, although you won’t believe it when you see it.

All, Education, Events, Urban, Water

Green Drinks Newark Riverfront Tour now 10/16. Coming?

July 11, 2011 Kimi Leave a comment

The new, new date for this year’s tour is Sunday, October 16 from 12:00-3:30pm. August 28 was the day hurricane Irene hit New Jersey.

~~This event has been rescheduled to Sunday, August 28 from 12-3:30pm. Hope some of you will come out with us. The water’s fine!~~

Last year a bunch of Green Drinkers went out in pontoon boats to tour the Newark Riverfront area, and we’re doing it again. Tickets are $6. I hope we’ll get a nice group together again. Pontoon boats – and pilots – are on loan from the Hackensack River Keeper and they’re completely safe.

If you want to come, reach out to us on Twitter, email info at thiswebsite dot com or call Ivan at 201-688-0036.

Here are some pix from last year’s tour, which coincidentally, also took place on Aug 28. Originally, we were scheduled to go out this year on July 17 but the trip was moved due to an illness in our boat pilot’s family.