Sustainable Edmond Meeting Disrupted by Protests

December 17, 2010

Local group weighs in on sustainability

James Coburn
The Edmond Sun

EDMOND — Edmond Police on duty responded three times Thursday night at the Edmond Library to restrain loud, vocal arguments at the Sustainable Edmond meeting. Some people laughed after Officer Jeff Morefield said the meeting was disturbing members of the QRP Suicide Prevention and Intervention Course at the library, sponsored by Edmond Exchange Club.

“I’m serious,” Morefield said. “People are here trying to learn. And this is a library.”

More than once, some people were asked to leave the meeting by Sustainable Edmond member Benton Howell for what was cited as out-of-order disruption during personal introductions. Howell served as moderator for the evening.

Howell was asked to define sustainability. People may have different definitions, said Howell, an engineer with Boeing.

“Humanity has the ability to make development sustainable — to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,” Howell said.

For the complete article, visit http://www.edmondsun.com/local/x1168756877/Local-group-weighs-in-on-sustainability

Backlash to Sustainable Living in Edmond

Editorial: A lost chance

By Journal Record Staff

Posted: 12:24 PM Thursday, December 9, 2010

Edmond city leaders gave in too easily Monday night to a few disruptive residents.

The city planned a sustainability conference well in advance and publicized the discussion topics. The Edmond Sun, on at least two occasions, ran a short item inviting public input. The city’s statement was clear: “The Edmond Sustainability Plan will include subjects such as water conservation, land use and transportation planning, green jobs, waste management, energy consumption, parks and green space, public and alternative transportation, green infrastructure, building retrofits, alternative fuels, education programs and more.”

The impetus for the Sustainability Plan was nearly $1 million available to the city as part of the Recovery Act. City staff members drafted a plan that would use the money to pay for CNG conversion kits for city vehicles, energy-saving devices for city facilities and water wells, and some energy-efficiency training and supplies for building inspectors. The rest was tagged for a Sustainability Plan the residents would help create.

All of that is noble. It’s federal money coming to the local economy in a recession to help the city become more environmentally friendly, and the public had a chance to provide ideas Monday night. At least they were supposed to.

The effort was thwarted by a couple of guests with half-baked conspiracy theories who were outspoken enough to derail a positive, orderly meeting. They were concerned that Edmond’s Sustainability Plan fell under the purview of the United Nations’ Agenda 21.

More here:

http://journalrecord.com/2010/12/09/editorial-a-lost-chance-opinion/

Oklahoma-based AES/Shady Point Calls Allegations Over Coal Fly Ash Site "Unsupported"

Update on Rosemary Crawford's activities on behalf of the citizens of Bokoshe, OK.

BOKOSHE, Oklahoma – An Oklahoma power company at the center of the environmental battle held a news conference to clear the air Wednesday. The fight is centered around a fly ash dump site in the tiny town of Bokoshe, in LeFlore County.

10/28/2010 Related Story: Oklahoma Fails Small Town In Fly Ash Regulation

Fly ash is a byproduct of burned coal. It's full of heavy metals like arsenic and lead that are known to be harmful to people. For ten years, the AES power plant has been transporting fly ash off their site by the truckload and dumping at a site in Bokoshe. It's become the largest dump site of its kind in the state.Bokoshe residents are fighting to stop the dumping. They claim it's caused various health problems including cancer and respiratory issues."We have had a very bad rash of cancers and respiratory problems." Charles Tackett, Bokoshe resident, said.

They say they can't prove the connection, but the closest residents to the fly ash site have come down with respiratory problems and a host of cancers. In fact, some of the residents recently put up a sign that says welcome to Bokoshe, home of a toxic fly ash dump. In a news conference Wednesday, a spokesman for the power company denied any link to illness, said they're tired of hearing the false accusations, and that they're not going anywhere.

For the entire story including photos and video, visit http://www.news9.com/Global/story.asp?S=13640741

Sustainable Shawnee's Christmas Party!

Sustainable Shawnee's Annual Christmas Party was a blast as always. Enjoy the pictures of all the people who made 2010 a great year for our group. Thanks for everything!

Recipes from the 2010 Feast of Local Foods are here!

Sustainable Shawnee's 2010 Feast of Local Foods

Traci Westbrook has graciously provided the recipes for the wonderful food served at this year's Feast of Local Foods. Enjoy!

Traci's Recipes

Welcome 2011 Sustainable Shawnee Officers!

Sustainable Shawnee members elected new leadership 2011! Thanks to all the officers who have served this organization in the past and all the best to those just getting started!

President - Traci Westbrook
Vice President - Shawna Turner
Secretary - Melissa Odneal
Treasurer - Justine Thompson
Past President - Cody Deem

Recycling Centers Now Open at Lowe's

Lowe’s has recently installed permanent recycling centers in nearly all of its 1,700 stores throughout the U.S. to accept these items:

• Rechargeable batteries (of up to 11 pounds)
• Cell phones
• Compact fluorescent bulbs (most Lowe’s have been accepting used CFLs since March)
• Plastic shopping bags

For the press release, visit:

www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100928006319/en/Lowe%E2%80%99s-Launches-Recycling-Centers-U.S.-Stores

Walgreen's Launches Safe Prescription Drugs Disposal Program

Walgreens has launched the first ongoing, nationwide Safe Medication Disposal Program, a safe and environmentally responsible way to dispose of unused or expired medications. For $2.99, customers can purchase a specially designed envelope available at any Walgreens pharmacy counter that allows them to place, seal and mail prescription or over-the-counter medications they no longer use for safe, eco-friendly disposal. Once securely sealed, the envelope can be dropped into any U.S. Postal Service mailbox where it will be sent to an approved medication incinerator. Click here for the complete story.

A recent Associated Press investigation discovered trace amounts of a variety of pharmaceutical drugs in the drinking water supply of 24 major metropolitan areas across the country. Pharmaceuticals and personal care products are known to interfere with the normal growth and reproduction of fish and other aquatic life. Safely disposing of pills is a step in the right direction but reducing the amount of medication taken the US will greatly improve water quality. Discharges from waste water treatment plants and untreated sewage run-off into lakes, rivers and streams are by far the biggest source of pharmaceutical pollution. Presently, the EPA does not regulate pharmaceuticals as a pollutant so we must be extra vigilant personally to minimize the pills we take, especially hormone-related substances, which seem to have the most detrimental effect on wildlife.

From farms to feasts: Midtown restaurant in OKC to feature locally

Farm to table - the concept of using as many locally grown ingredients as possible for a meal - is carving out a spot in Midtown this month.

The restaurant Ludivine is scheduled to open in mid September in the Midtown Village area at Seventh and Hudson. The restaurant's menu is anything but static - as Ludivine's chefs scour Oklahoma's family-owned farms and ranches for ingredients, the meals will vary according to what they find.

"Rather than having an idea of the dishes you want to do, then trying to find the ingredients to fulfill that, you just take what's available from the farms, look and see what you have, then write the menu based on that," said Russ Johnson, owner and chef.

"The menu will vary a lot from week to week, and dramatically from season to season," he said. "Knowing where your food comes from and knowing the people who produce it - knowing what goes into it and what doesn't go into it - is really nice. It's something we've lost nowadays. People don't know a lot where their food comes from, and it's fun to try to change it.

Click here for the complete article. Sounds great!

A Feast of Local Foods A Great Success!

Here's this year's team! Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make this happen! We had 160 guests this year with seating indoors and out. Thanks to efforts of Traci Westbrook the food was the very best ever! Due to popular demand, we will post Traci's recipes from our meal on the website so stay tuned! Until next year, buy locally produced food whenever you can. It's healthier for you and the environment. Better still, it tastes outstanding!