Category Archives: At Green Drinks

Green Drinks Hackensack July 2012 Announcement

July 8, 2012 Kimi Leave a comment

¡Espanõl parlantes siempre bienvenidos! Visite http://greendrinks3.org para mayor información.

Green Drinks Hackensack | Mon 09 JULY @ 7-9pm
Victor’s Maywood Inn
122 W. Pleasant Avenue, Maywood, NJ
Find us in the lounge area or call 862-203-8814

DISCUSSION THEMES THIS MONTH
How are residents supported by the municipal and county government? What’s the role of trees, biking and walking in a healthy community? How can we eliminate raw sewage from ending up in our rivers and streams?

GREEN DRINKS GATHERINGS ARE
Not about drinks: they’re about the environment!
Admission: Always free
Food: Pay only for food and drinks you order
Parking: free on site and on street
Public transit: check http://njtransit.com
Want to carpool? Let us know mailto:kimi@thewei.com

GREEN DRINKS ARE COMPLETELY OPEN
New and old friends gather at Green Drinks for an hour or two to exchange information and share company. Some drop by briefly to impart a bit of interesting news. Join us and be part of building a friendly sustainable community one person at a time. Green professionals and local residents always especially welcome.

WHAT WE DO AT GREEN DRINKS
Green Drinks is a relaxed social event where serious issues are discussed, like protecting the ENVIRONMENT and practicing SUSTAINABILITY. We talk about alternative energy, the emerging green economy and jobs, healthy food and gardening, conserving culture, celebrating arts, environmental and social justice . . . Communities with safe walking and biking routes (aka Complete Streets), good quality air and water, healthy local economies . . . and happiness.

Cheers,
Kimi , Yulie, Sally, Angenett and Jorge Ivan

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ACTIONS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
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99% SPRING GROUP MEMBERS
You are welcome at any Green Drinks meeting. We are always ready to discuss plans for actions and volunteer opportunities.

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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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Irvington Youth Save Our Schools
NEW DATE TBA @ 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.

This initiative is being led by Kimi Wei, Sustainable Community Consultant, and Jordan Geffrard, Irvington High School graduate and is being sponsored by Green Drinks Newark http://greendrinks3.org. We look forward to hearing your ideas and learning how you are able to lend a hand

Read more at http://greenwei.com/blog/coalition-to-empower-irvington-high-students-meets-517/

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#140edu conference on impact of real time web on education
and the state of education today.
Curated by Jeff Pulver, the creator of Vonage

Tues 31 July 2012 @ 8am-5pm and
Wed 01 Aug 2012 @ 8am-5pm
92nd Street Y on Lexington Avenue
New York City, NY

STEM and other educators pay only $1.40 – apply for the special rate at http://edu2012.stateofnow.com/educator

With 5% OFF promo code XORUM1IF
Students and parents pay only $13.30
General public pays only $133.00

Using the promotion code gives you 5% off and sends a gift to Green Drinks 3. http://www.amiando.com/140edu12.html?discountCode=XORUM1IF

Learn more at http://140edu.com
See it on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/events/155798231222705/

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Coalition to Save Our Homes
MEETING EVERY MONDAY NIGHT @ 7pm
Irvington Public Library
5 Civic Square, Irvington, NJ

AND, MARCH ON SATURDAY JULY 21 2012 @ 11:30
Gather in Civic Square, Irvington

Join this group’s weekly meetings to learn about how banks are taking unfair advantage of people’s ignorance of the law and financial transactions to collect on mortgages that they may not own. Mortgage payments often don’t get credited to homeowners’ accounts and people are losing their homes despite paying. Help bring these issues into the light and advocate for proper legal enforcement of laws that protect Americans against this type of abuse.

March to protest what makes the abuse possible:
End Robo signing
Reduce principal to current value
Prosecute predatory lenders
Make banks follow rule of law

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The People’s Organization for Progress (POP) Daily Protest for Jobs, Peace, Equality, and Justice ends on July 11. Join POP and endorsing organizations for the rally and march to celebrate 381 days of continuous protest.

Daily Location: @ intersection of Springfield Avenue
& West Market Street (by the Lincoln Monument)
WEDNESDAY 11 JULY
4pm RALLY and 5pm MARCH to Newark City Hall

Daily rallies are held through 11 July. Feel free to join any day
4:30pm-6pm Monday-Friday and 2pm-3pm Sunday @ Lincoln Monument
12noon-2pm Saturday @ corner of Broad & Market Streets

For more information
(973) 801-0001 mailto:info@njpop.org or http://www.njpop.org

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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 Indian’s 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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OUR SPONSOR

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

Eco Galleria carries both fun and fine items handcrafted by artists from throughout the Americas in many shapes and price ranges. We carry eco-friendly jewelry, pottery, glass, wood, fiber, watches, bags and more – and are the perfect gift source for the men, women and children in your life. Call ahead to have your gift boxed, wrapped and ready for pick-up.
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Interested in sponsoring Green Drinks too? We communicate with about 6000 north Jersey residents each month. Contact Kimi for information and rates mailto:kimi@thewei.com 862-203-8814

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All, At Green Drinks, Biking/Walking, Events, Sustainable communities

Not easy to find ideal venue for Hackensack Green Drinks

March 13, 2012 admin Leave a comment

Green Drinks Hackensack has been meeting at Victor’s Maywood Inn in Maywood since our first meeting venue, The Restaurant, burnt down. Victor’s has been very hospitable to us and they have great food, but there are a few reasons we’d like to find a new home for our monthly get-togethers:

We’d like to meet in downtown Hackensack because it’s convenient for local residents to access by biking or walking, and it also houses the regional county bus hub.
We’re getting a bit cramped at our table in the bar area of Victor’s, where we meet, but don’t relish the idea of sitting in the restaurant portion of the place because it’s kind of formal for the type of gathering we enjoy holding.
When there are sports games on Monday nights or the regular bar patrons decide to play the juke box, it’s so loud it’s hard to carry on conversations. Ultimately, conversation about sustainability and the environment is what Green Drinks is all about.

Last night the group gathered was rolling ideas around about a change in venue, and I thought of a restaurant I’ve eaten at several times that’s located on Main Street and has great food. It’s a tradition for Green Drinks to take place in places that serve liquor, and this place doesn’t, but this is not a requirement or a big consideration for us anyway, since 70% of our members don’t drink at meetings. This morning I reached out to the restaurant’s owner to discuss the idea of us meeting there, but although he admits to his place being pretty empty on Monday nights, he still isn’t keen on the idea of hosting us.

In the couple of years I’ve been scouting out good places to meet, B is certainly not the first venue owner to offer discouragement instead of a warm welcome. He wanted us to commit to ordering a minimum amount per person, something I’m not willing to do since inclusion is part of the Green Drinks philosophy I’m sure B’s not asking casual diners who happen by on a given Monday night to do the same, so that’s a discriminatory practice! When restauranteurs hear “environmental”, do they think of wispy hippy types who consume only alfalfa sprouts, honey and wheat bread and ride bikes because they can’t afford to drive cars – and can’t imagine the reality: that the north Jersey Green Drink crowd contains plenty of professionally employed home owners who eat out on a regular basis?

I ended up asking myself – and now I’m asking followers: do you think it’s shortsighted of a food establishment’s owner to discourage Green Drinks from gathering there on an off night mainly because we won’t guarantee consumption of a minimum amount of food per person? Since I was thinking about it, I made up a list of:

Reasons a venue can benefit from hosting Green Drinks gatherings

If the menu’s good at the place we meet, group members do order food. For some reason, many Green Drinkers are also foodies. Sometimes, every member of the group eats.
We meet on Mondays and Tuesdays because those are off nights for restaurants. We want to be able to chat easily without the distraction of too much ambient noise, and feel at ease holding the kind of lively discussions Green Drinks is famous for.
It costs a restaurant to be open whether or not they have customers, so why not fill the seats at empty tables?
It’s easier to draw diners into a full place than an empty one.
Places empty on off nights benefit from a bit of revenue by having us there, no matter how much our group spends
If Green Drinkers like a venue, they will introduce friends to it and patronize it on other occasions besides our monthly meetings.
Over 3,000 people a month receive announcements about Green Drinks meetings and the venues where we hold them.
A host venue can show its support for environment health and making their community more sustainable just by hosting Green Drinks gatherings (=free advertising).
By listening in on – or actively participating in – our conversations, business owners can learn about ways to save money and enhance their communities through implementing sustainability practices.

All, At Green Drinks, Events, Health

Safe biking in Bergen County – discuss it at Green Drinks Hackensack 2/13

February 8, 2012 Kimi Leave a comment

This Monday at Green Drinks, a few of us from the Fair Lawn Green Team will be discussing safe bike routes in north Jersey, especially how to create a direct connection from the county bike path to Bergen Community College. We welcome input and would love to know what your biking concerns are.

GREEN DRINKS HACKENSACK – FEBRUARY
Monday 13 February 2011 | 7:00pm
Victor’s Maywood Inn
122 W. Pleasant Avenue, Maywood, NJ
(201) 843-8022
Admission: Always free
Food: Pay only for food and drinks you order
Parking: free on site

GREEN DRINKS 3 SCHEDULE
Green Drinks Hackensack Monday 2/13 @ 7:00pm
Green Drinks Paterson/Clifton TUESDAY 2/21 @ 7:00pm
Green Drinks Newark Monday 3/5 @ 7:00pm

Espanõl-parlantes muy bienvenidos en todas las reuniones Green Drinks! Visite http://greendrinks3.org para información sobre nuestra organización en español.

ABOUT GREEN DRINKS HACKENSACK
We have a nice and growing group in Hackensack hosted by Ivan Gomez Wei, Sally Gellert, Yulieth Peña and Kim Wei. I hope you’ll come by and share a drink and some chicken wings with us. If you don’t drink alcohol, don’t worry – many Greendrinkers don’t. We are in Hackensack every 2nd Monday.

WHAT IS GREEN DRINKS?
A Green Drinks get-together is: Lively, casual conversation with other people interested in green or sustainable life, business and community practices, green jobs, the green economy and urban farming/gardening. Feel free to drop by for however long you like – as the general monthly meetings have no set format and people come and go during the evening.

We always meet in places where the food is good and prices are easy on the pocket. And by the way, Green Drinks gatherings ARE NOT about drinking or green colored drinks. They’re about the environment!

GREEN DRINKS IS OPEN
Open to the public, discussions are where you want to take them, and admission is always free. Green professionals, area residents and all others are welcome! Help us build a friendly new green community one person at a time, by joining us one evening.

More info at greendrinks3.org

All, At Green Drinks, Education, Environment, Protection, Water

Recently Discussed at Green Drinks 3

November 22, 2011 Kimi Leave a comment

Discussed at Hackensack and Paterson/Clifton Green Drinks in the past week:

President Obama is postponing pushing for large scale environmental legislation until after the 2012 election. Decision on the XL Pipeline is one of the projects being put on his agenda for 2013, and particulate matter in our air (affects air quality) is another issue being postponed to receive attention that year. While environmentalists are understandably disappointed that issues of concern are being tabled instead of dealt with decisively right now, I think that Obama’s very wise to not push for changes in these areas right now. That might give big business and the politicians and media outlets they own, enough fuel to engulf our president in a storm of controversy which could easily distract voters from the most important task facing us this year: re-electing the president. Obama might not be perfect, but on a bad day he’s worlds better for average North Americans, and environmental protection, than any Republican is going to be, for the simple reason that Republicans support big business and the 1% – the guys who got us into this environmental mess. We’d have to be nuts to count on them to get us out of it.

Of course, we talked about the two major recent wins in the environmental world which everyone in New Jersey is happy about this week: postponement on voting to approve the Keystone Tar Sands XL Pipeline (for which Green Drinks co-host Sally Gallert was arrested in DC for protesting against). AND the postponement of @ivanwei‘s Fair Lawn Green Team committee for making Fair Lawn a healthier, more sustainable town by improving access for bikers and walkers. Ivan and Sacha are both bikers, and Ivan bikes as his primary mode of transportation. With @kimiwei‘s help the team of three has decided that our first task is working on establishing a safe, direct route from the Bergen County Bike Path to Bergen Community College. Currently, the bike path runs through Fair Lawn to within 1/4 mile of Bergen Community College but does not feature a safe route directly onto college grounds. To get to the college, bikers must emerge from Dunkerhook County Park, cross heavily trafficked Paramus Road without the benefit of any signs advising traffic to slow down or watch out for biking (or walking) traffic and then make their way on a narrow strip of pavement adjacent to the east side of the road. Because a librarian died traveling home from BCC on Paramus Road, we know that it’s a dangerous place for bikers.

Biking and walking are healthy activities which progressive health officials like Carol Wagner, Health Department Director, wants to encourage in the town of Fair Lawn. These activities also impact the environment by reducing vehicles miles travelled – a provision called for in the visioning statement of Bergen County’s master plan, and also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. That’s an issue on so many people’s minds these days now that mainstream resources such as the climate change study funded by the Koch brothers and NASA’s Climate Change education initiative reveal that climate change is a real concern and the temperature really is rising around the globe.

By the way, take a look at this kicking climate change video produced by (you really won’t believe this when you see how good it is) NASA. For a full screen version (but no lyrics showing) watch it on YouTube

Naturally, we discussed #OWS @occupywallstreet. What progressives aren’t talking about this movement?

It isn’t well known that in the field of Sustainability, social justice is as important a concern as environmental justice. Events led to our discussion touching on prisoner re-entry for a while: a young man of color approached our table towards the end of the night saying he had just been let out of the county jail and needed money to get to Morristown. I explained to him that I’m not in the habit of giving money to people but I could offer him a meal, if he wanted one, and a ride to Morristown if he could wait 15 minutes until our gathering wrapped up. The young man politely declined the meal, and decided to move on after asking a second time for cash and hearing my offer of a ride repeated. We wondered what help inmates are given to get on with their lives, and at least reach a destination of choice, when they leave the penal system and are released from jail. I’m checking into this question – if you have tips or info, please share.

At Green Drinks Hackensack last week on 11/14 we were joined by a fellow couchsurfer, Joanneh, and a couple of her family members, one of whom – Michael Hakim – is a well-known landscape architect and environmental professional. Ivan and I promote Green Drinks in the Couchsurfing community and were delighted to have couchsurfing friends join us.

Clifton/Paterson has been the slowest group out of the three we run, to establish, but it seems to be picking up impetus. Our little group talked about The Sultan food as well, but that part of the conversation lasted only as long as the food – which is to say, not long at all. Like Thanksgiving birds, we gobbled it all up and, it was great!

Abuse of public trust, At Green Drinks, Environment, Health, New solutions, Protection, Water

Discussed at Green Drinks Hackensack on 9/12

September 13, 2011 Kimi Leave a comment

Marcellus Shale Fracking
Extracting gas from the Marcellus Shale deposit in Pennsylvania – country’s largest deposit – is still being promoted and it’s not good for us. Takes too much water from the region causing the water table to sink dramatically and it creates potable water pollution. Keep learning about fracking and advocating against it. Speak about it with family, friends and politicians.

Reality Climate Project on 9/14
Join the Reality Climate Project starting at 8pm EST on September 14.

24 Presenters. 24 Time Zones. 13 Languages. 1 Message. 24 Hours of Reality is a worldwide event to broadcast the reality of the climate crisis. It will consist of a new multimedia presentation created by Al Gore and delivered once per hour for 24 hours, representing every time zone around the globe.

Natural Resource Monetizing Equated With Public Good
Traditional government policy view the monetizing of natural resources as equivalent with the “public good”: that’s why business interests are able to get away with so much environmental destruction. But it isn’t very good to lack clear air and water, is it?

Investigate Scare Tactics Passed Along by Friends
Morty mentioned that he received a scare letter forwarded from a friend cautioning senior citizens that Medicare rates are going to be much higher in 2012 and even worse after that, so Morty called the Medicare office for verification. The customer service rep laughed when she heard his concern: 2012 Medicare rate figures don’t get released until October; and no one has even a slim idea about what the rates will look like in the years to come.

Real News v. Fox 5 Infotainment Propaganda
It’s important to realize that Fox News doesn’t deliver real news (informed people call it “infotainment“) and furthermore, it has a very apparent aim to create a state of constant panic in viewers; it will pull any dirty tactic possible to discredit individuals wishing to rationally debate ideas; and, Fox presents fabricated versions of history to bamboozle viewers into believing what it wishes them to believe. More info at Fox News Boycott and 14 Propaganda Techniques Fox ‘News’ Uses to Brainwash Americans.

Disneyworld: As Un-American As . . .?
Fox isn’t the only organization promoting buy-in to image over reality. What about Disneyworld? A National Geogrphic exposé unearths a lot of disturbing secrets about this “American Institution” which strangely, doesn’t exactly belong to America.

By the 1960s, all over America, suburbs were replacing old neighborhoods. Malls were driving Main Street out of business. There was hardly a new ranch home or split-level that didn’t have a TV antenna on the roof. Disney realized that in the coming decades shows like The Mickey Mouse Club, not climate and geology, would determine what the majority of Americans would consider a safe and enjoyable place to take a family vacation. That day, flying over central Florida, Disney decided that he, not reality, would define what constituted the Magic Kingdom in the minds and spending habits of millions of Americans in the years to come . . .

Disney’s new empire in central Florida would be marketed as Disney World. Its official name was, and remains, the Reedy Creek Improvement District. Thanks to a sweetheart deal with the state legislature, the lands Disney purchased were detached from the rest of Florida to form a Magic Kingdom, above and outside the law. Even now, Disney World’s rides are exempt from state safety inspections. Democratic process is excluded, too. Power remains in the hands of a board of supervisors composed of Disney allies. However much you pay for a time-share condo in Disney World, you cannot buy property outright, and therefore establish official residence, and therefore vote for the board. Celebration, Disney’s residential community themed to evoke pre-1940s small-town America, has a city hall but no actual municipal government.

Our Own Sally Get Arrested Protesting Alaska-Mexico Pipleline
I’ve saved the most exciting news for last. Green Drinks 3 co-host Sally Gellert, travelled to DC last week in order to get arrested along with 1200 plus other protesters including NASA’s James Hansen – who is speaking about the environment at Bergen Community College on 9/22.

Green Drinks Paterson/Clifton
Next week is Green Drinks Paterson/Clifton. We’ll be back with a report on what was discussed, or you can come out and help shape the conversation yourself.

Third Mondays at 6:30pm
Sultan Restaurant
429 Crooks Avenue, Clifton, NJ 07011
973-772-1995
Food and Drinks: Pay only for what you order
Parking: street parking
More info