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at Joel D. Valdez Main Library, 101 N. Stone, Downtown (free lower level parking off Alameda Street)
Prosperity Without Growth – What does it look like?
Please join us at Sustainable Tucson’s May meeting to hear local experts talk about Sustainable Economics, and share your thoughts about what this looks like and what it entails. Help us engage the planners with solutions appropriate to our time.
Planning efforts in Tucson (including Imagine Greater Tucson) assume growth to be inevitable and good.
Until recently, there was no reason to question that belief. With a seemingly endless supply of resources and space to dump waste products, there was no feedback raising our awareness, nor reason to ask questions.
Now, however, the pinch has begun. The high carbon energy fuels upon which we have built our modern civilization are not only becoming more problematic to supply, but the effects of their combustion are destabilizing the climate, decimating biodiversity, disrupting food security and beginning to affect social cohesion. The problem is the result of the collective impact of our human species. Our numbers have increased to the point where our resource consumption and related waste is beyond the planetary ecosystem’s ability to continue to supply and absorb them.
If the planet were our house, the debt we have accumulated is coming due, foreclosure is on the horizon, and we may soon lose our home.
Ecological economist Herman Daly notes that growth can become “uneconomic” when the “bads” accumulate faster than the “goods”, the “illth” faster than the wealth (see video, link below).
What are the alternatives to Growth?
What positive vision can lead us away from the “inevitable”?
Doors open at 5:30 pm. The meeting will begin promptly at 6:00 pm.
Since Imagine Greater Tucson’s initiating phase began more than three years ago, Sustainable Tucson has been engaged with Imagine Greater Tucson at many levels, participating in the steering, community values, outreach, and technical committees. Imagine Greater Tucson has consistently requested input and Sustainable Tucson has tried to contribute ideas in order to make IGT a more relevant and successful visioning process for the Tucson region. The following text summarizes seven key issues which Sustainable Tucson has previously presented and which the IGT process has yet to address. This document concludes with four specific requests to modify the Imagine Greater Tucson Project…
An audio recording of Dr. Jonathan Overpeck’s presentation at DuVal Auditorium in Tucson February 13th 2012 is now available here on the Sustainable Tucson website.
at Joel D. Valdez Main Library, 101 N. Stone, Downtown (free lower level parking off Alameda St)
Can Tucson Feed Itself ?
The short answer is no. The longer answer will surprise and excite you. The real answer is – its time to start.
At this Sustainable Tucson meeting, find out:
• How food actually gets to your table(Dude – Who brought my lunch?)
• How many different Tucson groups are now providing us with fresh, nutritious food
• What Tucson would be like if we commit to having a reliable and healthy food supply
Find ways to act for yourself, your family, and Tucson.
Come to the Sustainable Tucson meeting this Monday.
Doors open at 5:30 pm.
The meeting will begin promptly at 6:00 pm.
at Joel D. Valdez Main Library, 101 N. Stone, Downtown (free lower level parking off Alameda St)
Working Together Toward a Sustainable Community
In Conversation with Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild, Council Member Regina Romero, and Council Member Steve Kozachik
We believe that building a sustainable future will take the cooperation and partnering of residents, government, institutions and organizations. It is in this spirit that we are reaching out to the City of Tucson Mayor and Council, and bringing together the City of Tucson, Sustainable Tucson, and the wider public in this discussion and process…
In recent meetings we’ve identified the following broad categories for projects and action steps that will assist our community to move toward a sustainable future: Water, Energy, Waste, Land Use, Climate Change, Food, Economy, Social Justice, and Democracy…
This month’s Sustainable Tucson General Meeting will be an opportunity for the Mayor and Council Members to showcase those areas of interest that we share, and talk about their projects – either in progress or in the planning/visioning stage – which fall under the sustainability banner, and with the intent to build partnerships and work together toward our common goals.
For this meeting, we’ll be using a “Fishbowl” process designed to initiate respectful and informative community dialogues. Too often our public processes end up getting stuck in the win/lose format of debates. The goal of the Fishbowl process is to move beyond rhetoric and get to substance. Instead of winning an argument, issues and evidence are clarified to help everyone gain a deeper understanding.
New perspectives and options that may not have occurred previously can develop, and strident positions tend to soften or break down. Fishbowl dialogs are a wonderful alternative to typical panel presentations that are followed by limited Q&A sessions.
The general outline for the process is to have one more chair than the number of presenters, in a semi-circle at the front of the room, or a circle in the middle of the room with audience members in concentric rings surrounding the Fishbowl. The panelists begin the process by presenting information to the audience – in this case the topic is sustainability.
Following this, members of the audience will be given the opportunity to join in the discussion by sitting in the empty chair. Each “guest” from the audience can take 5 minutes before vacating the chair to allow for another individual to participate.
We invite you to join us in our first Fishbowl conversation with local elected officials.
Doors open at 5:30 pm. The meeting will begin promptly at 6:00 pm.
at DuVal Auditorium, University Medical Center, 1501 N Campbell Avenue
Sustainable Tucson’s February Meeting will be a special public lecture event in collaboration with the Tucson Audubon Society and the Community Water Coalition.
University of Arizona climate scientist Dr. Jonathan Overpeck will speak on Climate Change: What does it mean for Tucson and the Southwest?
Last year’s increase in carbon emissions to our atmosphere, an estimated extra half-billion tons, was almost certainly the largest absolute jump in any year since the Industrial Revolution, and the largest percentage increase since 2003.
This trend of ever-rising emissions will make climate change an increasing challenge in coming decades. What are the particular possible outcomes for Tucson and the southwest? Water supply, food security, fire risk, habitability for people and wildlife will all be affected.
Dr. Overpeck is a founding co-director of the Institute of the Environment, as well as a Professor of Geosciences and a Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Arizona, and an author of the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fifth Assessment.
Monday, February 13, 7:00pm Free and open to the public
DuVal Auditorium
University Medical Center
1501 N Campbell Avenue
(NE section of the main University Medical Center building)
Directions: Go in the main entrance of the Medical Center building, which faces east toward Campbell Avenue. Immediately turn right down the hall where you will find the doors to the DuVal Auditorium on your left.
Parking Note: There is parking in the multi-tiered Patient/Visitor parking garage closest to the auditorium; however, a fee is charged. Free parking is available south of Mabel Street, across from the College of Nursing.
at Joel D. Valdez Main Library
101 N. Stone, Downtown (free lower level parking off Alameda St)
How do we “green” our homes and neighborhoods?
How do we work together and contribute to each other?
How do we prepare for climate change?
Join us on January 9th to learn of some exciting efforts now underway in your home town to prepare for the challenges ahead. A half-dozen of the most innovative and effective people in Tucson will distill their ideas for a sustainable Tucson into concise presentations to ignite your own ideas and enthusiasm…
» Karin Uhlich (Tucson City Council) – Re-establishing PRO Neighborhoods
» Bob Cook (NEST, Inc) – Green re-development initiative
» Dan Dorsey (Pima Community College) – Co-op Permaculture projects program
» Winona Smith (Tucson Time Traders) – Time Banking and local communities
» Tres English (Empowering Local Communities) – Secure food supply
» Ron Proctor (Sustainable Tucson) – Mobilizing for climate change
… and we’ll have a review of working group topics and project ideas from discussion tables in the ST December meeting, including
Recycling / Waste management
Composting toilets
Water use
Water harvesting
Solar Hot Water / Energy / Gas
Paradigm change
Land use planning (density, etc.)
Climate Change – Reducing greenhouse gases
Defining sustainability & adopting it legally
Food security
Sustainable Tucson is committed to engaging our audience in a participatory process. Following the presentations, we will ask everyone to engage in table discussions focusing on what actions we can take to make Tucson a more vibrant and sustainable community. Actions might be in the form of policy development, support of on-going projects, or the initiation of new projects.
The ideas generated will be used to develop topics and working groups for future Sustainable Tucson meetings, where in-depth presentations and audience discussions will continue. The goal is to create projects and initiatives that we believe will build our resilience as a Desert People.
Dreaming New Mexico has built a map of pragmatic and visionary solutions to create a more localized and green economy with greater local self-reliance and enhanced prosperity.
Peter Warshall is Co-Director of the Bioneers’ Dreaming New Mexico Project, and a world-renowned water steward, biodiversity and wildlife specialist, research scientist, conservationist, and environmental activist.
Sustainable Tucson’s statement of support for the Occupy Wall Street movement and Occupy Tucson
The mission of Sustainable Tucson is to create a community-wide network of people and organizations facilitating and accelerating Tucson’s transition to sustainability through education and collaborative action.
A sustainable community embodies social justice and economic justice as well as environmental justice. Our vision [...]
6 Burning Questions About the Violent Crackdowns on Occupations Around the Country
By Lynn Parramore, AlterNet Posted on November 15, 2011 http://www.alternet.org/story/153083/6_burning_questions_about_the_violent_crackdowns_on_occupations_around_the_country
Occurring without provocation, the Occupy crackdown gives the appearance of an orchestrated effort to thwart an emerging protest movement. Early morning Tuesday, in New York City, hundreds of police officers, many in riot gear, swept down on [...]
Sustainable Tucson comments on proposed Rosemont Mine
Sustainable Tucson is a non-profit, grass-roots organization that builds regional resilience and sustainability through awareness raising, community engagement and public/private partnerships. We recognize the need to focus on sustainability within the Sonoran bioregion.
The proposal by the Augusta Resources Corporation to develop a copper mine in the Santa Rita mountains [...]
Buying Underwear, Along With the Whole Store
By AMY CORTESE
SARANAC LAKE, N.Y.
THE residents of Saranac Lake, a picturesque town in the Adirondacks, are a hardy lot — they have to be to withstand winter temperatures that can drop to 30 below zero. But since the local Ames department store went out of business in 2002 — [...]
The Dark Side of the ‘Green’ City
By Andrew Ross
PHOENIX
The struggle to slow global warming will be won or lost in cities, which emit 80 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases. So “greening” the city is all the rage now. But if policy makers end up focusing only on those who can afford the low-carbon technologies [...]
Published by Democracy Now! on Wed, 11/02/2011
Original article: http://www.democracynow.org/2011/11/1/move_your_money_campaign_grows_to
by Amy Goodman
As participants in the Occupy Wall Street movement continue protesting the record profits made by banks bailed out by taxpayer money, a group of grassroots activists are hitting America’s largest banks—including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo—where it hurts most: the wallet. Dubbing [...]
How Germany became Europe’s green leader: A look at four decades of sustainable policymaking
by Ralph Buehler, Arne Jungjohann, Melissa Keeley, Michael Mehling
In Brief
Over the last 40 years, all levels of government in Germany have retooled policies to promote growth that is more environmentally sustainable. Germany’s experiences can provide useful lessons for the United States (and [...]
Subject: #OccupyWallStreet and the #Climate Movement
From: organizers(at)350.org
Date: Fri, 7 Oct 2011 19:49:56 +0000
Dear friends,
I’m writing from New York City, where the Occupy Wall Street movement is taking off.
What started as a small group of young people with a vague call to action is evolving into something truly inspiring — and our crew at 350.org is [...]
What’s So Beautiful About Small
by Peter Rossett
http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=353
Are small farms as bountiful as they are beautiful? Can they really compete with large farms in the agriculture of the future? The answer is yes on both counts. Here’s why.
. Small farms are far more productive, producing from 200 to 1,000 percent more per acre than large farms. [...]
For the latest news on all sustainability subjects, www.energybulletin.net, is one of the best sources on the internet. Stay informed with news, analysis, and opinion on energy, climate change, resource depletion, geopolitics, water, food, transportation, economic development, health, community resilience, debt and currency crises, buildings, the environment, and sustainability solutions. For one-stop access to current, world-wide financial reporting with financial analyses from a sustainability perspective, go to The Automatic Earth.
