On Sunday November 8th at 11 AM the award-winning documentary "Tapped" will be shown at the Triplex in Great Barrington, MA.  This free film
showing is part of a campaign by Green for a Change that is promoting
the use of local, tap water. Following the film is a panel discussion
that will include representatives from Corporate Accountability
International and from CET (Center for Ecological Technology). A taste
test of bottled water versus tap water will also be offered after the
film. To learn more about the film visit http://www.tappedthemovie.com.

To learn about Green for a Change, click:
http://www.greenforachange.org.

Great Barrington – Railroad Street Youth Project is hosting a 350.org event at the RSYP building (60 Bridge Street).  It will be an afternoon of fun and community building for everyone.  Kick off time is 1 pm.  Open mic for thoughts on climate change.  Special guest DJ Wade will be spinning a wide variety of music from his extensive library.

Monterey – meet on the steps of the Monterey Meeting House at 11 a.m. for a big group photo – all representations of 350 are welcome. Afterward, head over to the Monterey General Store for lunch and to upload our photo (the store has wi-fi). At 1 p.m., in the church basement, there will be a showing of the video “Monterey Lights the Way.”

So, the big day on the 24th of October is fast approaching, you’re excited to get involved, and you’re freaking out because you don’t know what to do. Have no fear! You still have time to pull off a great 350 action.

It’s not too late to arrange your own 350 action, if you are so inclined!  Here are some suggestions from 350.org:

Go to a Place.

Nothing says “We want to protect our city/lake/beach/forest from climate change” like a photo of you with that place in the background. Gather up as many friends as you can find, and talk a walk to your favorite place. Make it a fun outing – bring a football, frisbee, food and drink. Don’t forget a 350 banner and a camera!

Examples

• Pavel in Kazakhstan is hiking up Kok-Tobe Mountain above the city of Almaty for their 350 action.
• Ali in Brighton, UK, is going hardcore and taking an autumnal plunge in the ocean.

Eat.

Speaking of food, eating is one of the easiest way to bring people together. Host a dinner party, and go for the most climate-friendly recipes you can find. Ask your friends to bring something along, so you don’t need to cook all week. Set aside a few minutes before or after the meal to explain the latest on climate change, what 350 is, the UN negotiations, and then link it all together with a great 350 group photo at the dinner table.

Examples

• Jean, in Bordeaux, has hosted a series of Zero Carbon Picnics celebrating French cuisine, bicycling, and strong climate policy including 350ppm.
• Mike, in London, is hosting a Vegan lunch on the river, and then hanging a 350 banner with his friends off the small bridge where all the participants can stand together.

Gather Things.

Don’t worry about gathering 350 people for an action – that’s amazing, but takes a while to do. How about gathering 350 of something else, or forming 350 with something else? Letters to the Editor? Drawings from school kids? Autumn harvest pumpkins? Bottles of climate friendly beer? (you wouldn’t have to drink all the beer on the 24th!)

Examples

• Venelina in Sofia is putting out 350 cups of steaming tea in the main square, inviting passers-by to come have a drink and discuss climate change
• Sylvia in Lousanne, Switzerland is placing 350 strawberry plans in the center of town for the day as an edible art attraction.
   

Create Art.

Lots of social movement demands focus on stopping things – No Coal, No Nukes, Stop the War… With 350, we can help create something, and not just a vision for a better global future, though that’s nice. You can actually create tangible 350 art or installations for the 24th. It’s fun, easy, and it doesn’t take a lot of people.

Examples

• Urszula in Warsaw is creating postcards with people in the city that she’ll deliver to the Prime Minister’s office demanding a bold climate treaty.
• Simon in Oswestry, UK is engaging local schools to create climate themed art that they will display in shops downtown.

Of course, feel free to experiment and come up with your own ideas if you’d like. The important things:

• Register the event: www.350.org/oct24
• Do something public on the 24th.
• Include the number 350.
• Take a photo and upload it to 350.org on the big day
   

Thanks from all of us at the 350.org team, and if you have any questions, get in touch: organizers@350.org

 

Call for Volunteers!

Volunteers are needed to plant flowers and shrubs at the
Affordable Housing Unit, 16
Hillside Ave. in Great Barrington on Saturday,
October 31^st  from 8am to noon. Ward’s is donating the plants.
If you have any questions, call Tim Geller at 413-329-2324.

CLOSING THE FOOD GAP

October 19 @ 7:00 p.m.

Can we afford healthy food for everyone?  Author and long-time food activist Mark Winne provides keen insights and solutions for making local, organic and highly nutritious food available to everyone.  Winne describes how America’s food gap has widened since the 1960′s , and how communities have responded.  Drawing on his first hand experience with community gardens, food banks and farmers’ markets in the Northeast, Winne outlines viable strategies for how we can guarantee enough food for everyone..and why it matters.

Winne is the author of ”Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty.”  A reception and book signing will follow.  This talk is free and open to the public. 

 With Peter Murkett:

The Berkshire International Film Festival (BIFF) is pleased to announce

that it will be hosting the 5th annual Berkshire Student Film Festival

(BSFF) June 3-6, 2010.  The BSFF will feature short films produced,

written, and directed by Berkshire County high school students. We have now

opened the call for entries; submissions of short films are due by March 1, 2010.

There is nosubmission fee for student films.

Films submitted should be no longer than fifteen minutes in length and

contain no excessive blood and gore, nudity, and explicit language.  They

should also include dialogue (so they are not a music video.)  Our festival

committee prefers that these films have not been previously screened via

the Internet (YouTube) etc. Cash and prizes will be awarded to the top five

films and showcased at BIFF.

BIFF believes in supporting and nurturing the creativity of our youth, and

it is our hope to showcase the best of this creative spirit from our high

school community and give them the chance to be seen not only by their

peers, but also by the film community at large.

The call for entries is presently open and the submission due date is March

1st, 2010.  Films can be sent to P.O. Box 237, Great Barrington, MA 01230.

Please contact Lauren Ferin at lauren@biffma.org or by calling 413-528-8030

for further information.

Berkshire International Film Festival

P.O. Box 237 Great Barrington, MA 01230

www.biffma.org

413.528.8030

To all STUDENTS: A SWEET DEAL on the 9th Annual Schumacher Lectures with Bill McKibben, Benjamin Barber,and Alisa Gravitz

Oct 17th, Stockbridge, MA 

The Schumacher society has offered Greenagers a group discount for this lecture. Normal price is $25, as a group, we can get in for $10 a person. EVEN BETTER: First five who want to go, Greenagers will cover half, meaning only $5 to attend this event.

Let me know ASAP so I can let them know.

Chowder,

Will