US Postal Service Features New Sustainability Stamps

Go Green! Its' Easier Than You Think!

Want to help the planet? Start with the person.

Governments and corporations are taking major steps to reduce their environmental impact — including the United States Postal Service (read how here) — but the opportunity to live greener belongs to each of us. The new Go Green stamps help show us how.

These positive steps — from riding bikes to planting trees — won’t help just the environment. They’ll help your environment, encouraging better health, lower energy bills, and maybe even a little shade a few summers from now.

Yet whenever the environment is discussed, the line between motivation and guilt trip is easily crossed. So the illustrator for the project needed both a passion for the subject and an accessible style — someone with a proven track record for communicating in ways that are both environmentally friendly and . . . friendly. “The idea was to keep it light,” says art director Derry Noyes, “not to scold as if shaking a finger and saying, ‘Go do all these things and make the planet better.’

Click here for the complete article and additional stamp images.

Shawnee's Community Garden is Officially Opened!

Shawnee's Community Garden is officially opened! What a beautiful day and what a beautiful garden!

While thanks could never be enough, many thanks to Traci Westbrook, Timothy McCollum, Larry Smith, Jenny and Michael Clark, the Justice Mission and Sustainable Shawnee members for their hard work and tremendous skill.

In addition to the music, children's games and ribbon cutting, we planted many a few new low-tech barrels designed for our use from 55-gallon barrels donated by Direct Colors Inc. Community gardeners have planted swiss chard, spinach, various lettuces, carrots and onions. Everything is growing robustly and I'm sure will be ready soon.

Read our press on the community garden! The Journal Record featured us in April and the Countywide did a beautiful story on our opening day.

The garden is located on the corner of Park and Wall St, two blocks North of Independence. For more information on the garden and scheduled work days, visit our facebook page.

Rosemary Crawford and the People of Bokoshe, OK Make the National News!

Small Town Fears Health May be Threatened by Waste Dump
Jim Sciutto traveled to Bokoshe, Okla., to investigate.

03/29/2011

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/small-towns-health-threaten-waste-dump-13251238

Sustainability Meeting in Edmond Brings Strong Opinions

A forum was held in Edmond for city staff to learn what people think about sustainability. Many in attendance expressed disapproval of Edmond's membership in an international group with ties to the United Nations.

People upset with city leaders over Edmond's membership in an international organization with ties to the United Nations were given the opportunity this week to tell leaders what they thought.

Only one of the 31 people who spoke at a 2½-hour forum about Edmond's sustainability program talked about sustainable development as it related to environmental issues.

Everyone else accused city staff of following an alleged United Nation's plan to take away people's rights and property.

Edmond joined the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives in November 2009. The city has paid $2,400 in dues over two years. The dues were reimbursed with money from an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block grant, City Manager Larry Stevens said.

City officials said they joined the council to utilize computer software that calculates and converts data to determine the effectiveness of energy savings technology, Stevens said.

When the city joined the council, city staff said, they were not aware of the organization's ties to the United Nations and its program called Agenda 21.

Click here for the complete article.

Proposed U.S.-Canada Oil Pipeline Fuels Debate

09:02 PM
By Wendy Koch, USA TODAY

David Daniel found his piece of paradise on 20 acres in east Texas, complete with a hardwood forest of oak, hickory and elm and three spring-fed creeks that burble year-round. "I drink out of the creeks. It's that clean," says Daniel, a carpenter who built a house for his family on the land. He sees his refuge in peril. A proposed oil pipeline "would cut my property in half and tear up the wetlands," says Daniel, who has rallied fellow U.S. landowners against the $6 billion project.

In this David vs. Goliath tale, what happens in Winnsboro, Texas, may hinge on events thousands of miles away. Unrest in the Middle East could affect whether the Obama administration allows a 1,661 -mile underground pipeline carrying a controversial form of heavy crude oil to slice through the United States from Alberta, Canada, to the Gulf Coast. Canada supplies more crude oil to the United States than any other country.

Because the pipeline crosses a U.S. border, it needs a permit from the State Department, which pleased the project's critics last week by announcing it would further study the environmental impact. The department said it plans to issue a draft of that review next month and make a final decision by year's end.

"The nation's energy security does play a role in the decision-making process," says department spokeswoman Nicole Thompson.

The proposed extension of the Keystone oil pipeline would run from Alberta, Canada, southeast through several U.S. states toward refineries near Houston. The privately funded project, known as Keystone XL, would expand an existing 2,154-mile pipeline that runs from Hardisty, Alberta, to Steele City, Neb., and then east to Patoka, Ill. The expansion would snake southeast through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma to oil refineries near Houston.

Click here for the complete story plus maps and graphs.

Is Greening Your Home Enough?

By Alice Henly

Published: March 14, 2011

Which has the most impact on your energy bill: the green things you do (like driving a hybrid and re-insulating your house), the type of house you live in or where you live?

It turns out, a family living near transit in a compact neighborhood saves more energy than an energy-efficient family living in the suburbs.

"Housing that is located in a walkable neighborhood near public transit, employment centers, schools, and other amenities allows residents to drive less and thereby reduces transportation costs,” says Daniel Hernandez of the Jonathan Rose Companies, a green real estate firm that just completed a study to figure out what impacts household energy use most.

Click here for the complete article.

Oklahoma's 50-year Water Plan: What Can You Do?

The Oklahoma Water Plan is designed to preserve and protect our state's water supply for the next 50 years. Several Sustainable Shawnee members have participated in the public portion of the plan but there's still an opportunity for interested citizens to have their voice heard.

The last public input meeting for our area will take place at OSU-OKC on May 25th - additional details to follow. In the meantime, read over the Oklahoma Water Plan town hall meeting report held in May 2010. The final report will be delivered to the legislature in 2012.

Sustainable Shawnee hopes to hold a Green Chat with Dr. Joe Taron, Oklahoma Water Resources Board Member, in April 2011. Dr. Taron will discuss the Oklahoma Water Plan and other local water issues.

Sustainable Shawnee and Habitat for Humanity Present Wintersong, Ann Zimmerman in Concert

WinterSong

featuring Ann Zimmerman of Salina, KS and presenting
Tim Sean Youmans with Head Cabinets

Thanks to everyone who joined us at the benefit for Sustainable Shawnee and Habitat for Humanity. A great time was had by all. Special thanks to Traci and Damion Westbrook, Donna Schoenkopf, Jo and Kenneth Davis and all the folks at Habitat for Humanity.

Sponsors for the event included GO Computers, Direct Colors, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, and the Cleo Craig Foundation. All proceeds from the event will directly benefit the work of Sustainable Shawnee and

Habitat for Humanity.

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/