[GreenNotes] GreenNotes 8/15/2007

[Tom Brown]

Please circulate widely. Contact us to include your announcement in
GreenNotes.

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PROGRESSIVE EVENT CALENDAR

* MPJC peace vigil

Every Monday 5-6 p.m. at Jefferson and Main St. South Bend and Saturday 
1-2 p.m. at Grape and 23 (Cleveland), Mishawaka, IN. Contact info 
574-289-2126 or www.michianapeacejustice.org.

* Progressive discussion group - every Wednesday evening, 7-9 at 611 
Portage Ave, South Bend

* Portage Avenue salon - every Sunday evening, 7-9 at 611 Portage Ave, 
South Bend

* GreenTV every Wednesday evening, 10 pm, Comcast channel 99


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PROGRESSIVE DISCUSSION GROUP AND PORTAGE AVE  SALON

Dear all,

As a re-cap of the past week's Progressive Discussion Group's meeting, 
last Wednesday, we discussed "The Murray Bookchin Reader: Introduction" 
by Janet Biehl. We had a lively conversation about: Bookchin's life & 
legacy; the social repercussions of terms like socialism, anarchism, and 
communism; an abbreviated explanation of Social Ecology (the school of 
thought Bookchin founded); and the future& necessity of social 
movements, particularly in relation to ecology, the environment, & 
global warming.

Last Sunday, the Portage Avenue Salon debuted with even livelier 
discussion ranging in topics from local neighborhood problems to 
independent film to the Green movement to the various reasons why people 
vote.

I think we can agree that we all had a great time & wish that more 
venues of conversation will emerge & our own group will continue to grow.

Wednesday, August 15, the Study Group will be meeting from 7-9 at 611 
Portage Ave. We're discussing "The Lifeboat of Subsidies Can't Keep 
Small Farmers Afloat" by Brian Riedl from the South Bend Tribune. If you 
don't have a copy of this article but would like to join in on the 
discussion, please contact either Karl or myself asap & we'll get you a 
copy. Judith Rubleske will be leading this discussion.

Also, please remember that the Portage Ave. Salon will NOT be meeting 
this Sunday but will resume the following week.

Hope to see you all Wednesday!

Best, Lily


For more information, please contact Karl Hardy at 
karl_j_hardy at yahoo.com or 574-807-1349.


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ANOTHER OUTRAGEOUS EPA PROPOSAL

Dear Friend,

The EPA has been backing-off on its responsibilities to protect our air 
in many different ways in recent years (1). In April, for instance, it 
issued a ruling that plants that processed corn or other carbohydrates 
into ethanol fuel could increase their emissions of criteria pollutants 
from 100 to 250 tons per year, and no longer had to include "fugitive" 
pollutant emissions due to leaks and other disturbances in that total 
(2).  For examples of four other recent outrageous EPA decisions 
affecting our air and water, see my July 20 post (3).

(1) http://www.cleanairwatch.org/
(2) http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/apr2007/2007-04-12-02.asp
(3) http://www.sjvgreens.org/current/enviroHealthNews.shtml

Now the EPA has announced -- as described by the Union of Concerned 
Scientists (4) -- a "draft ozone pollution standard that falls short of 
the level considered safe by EPA scientific experts. Furthermore, the 
proposal would allow the agency to avoid tightening the standard 
altogether, despite unanimous agreement from its own scientists and 
science advisors that the current standard is not safe... Ground-level 
ozone, a dangerous component of smog, [has been linked] to asthma and 
other breathing difficulties, chest pain, lung damage, and even 
premature death. The Clean Air Act requires the EPA to set pollution 
standards for ozone based solely on the best available scientific 
information."

(4) 
http://ucsaction.org/campaign/8_13_07_ozone_standard_comments/explanation

For more information on this new outrage, click on the link above (4), 
and to send a pre-formatted or customized email to the EPA through the 
UCS Action Network, go to "The EPA Fails to Protect Our Air -- Again" 
campaign at this link (5).

(5) http://ucsaction.org/ucsaction/home.html

Peace,

Joe

----
Joseph Miller
Department of Psychology
51 Madeleva
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, IN  46556


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GREEN TV

* Aug 15: BioJustice 2007: Biotechnology, Medicine and Human Rights - 
Part 1 of 4.

Part 1 features Judy Norsigian, Co-Author and Executive Director of "Our 
Bodies, Ourselves", and George Annas, the father of the patient advocacy 
movment and Chair of Health Law, BioEthics and Human Rights at Boston 
University.

* Aug 22: BioJustice 2007: Biotechnology, Medicine and Human Rights - 
Part 2 of 4.

Part 2 features John Abramson of Harvard Medical School on how biotech 
corporations encroach on and attempt to control the physician/patient 
relationship, and Sandy Eaton of the Masschusetts Nurses Association and 
Mass-Care, on standing up to health care corporations, advocating for 
patients and campaigning for single payer medical insurance.

* GreenTV airs every Wednesday evening, 10 PM, Comcast channel 99.


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KEY VALUES OF THE GREENS

1. Ecological wisdom
2. Social justice
3. Grassroots democracy
4. Nonviolence
5. Decentralization
6. Community-based economics
7. Feminism
8. Respect for diversity
9. Personal and global responsibility
10. Future focus


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St. Joe Valley Greens, South Bend, IN
http://www.sjvgreens.org/
mailto: tbrown at sjvgreens.org or khardy at sjvgreens.org