Imagine Greater Tucson, a collaborative effort to define a publicly supported vision and clear action plan to help shape the region’s future is kicking off its multi-year campaign at the end of the month. There are many opportunities to get involved and to help ensure that sustainability is a fundamental concern of the campaign. Learn [...]

[ Wednesday, October 6, 2010; 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm. ] Sustainable Tucson, The American Association of University Women, and the League of Women Voters of Greater Tucson will co-sponsor a Forum for available candidates for the Arizona Corporation Commission at the Temple Emanu-El, 225 N. Country Club.

The five elected members of this Commission play an important role in the governance of firms providing major utilities [...]

The New York Times reports on a massive flow of money into California to defeat its recent legislative efforts to control green house emissions in that state. Out of state oil companies are the major sources of millions of dollars supporting an initiative to suspend application of the law until unemployment falls below, and stays [...]

Tell the folks at your favorite restaurant that Tucson Water is now offering free replacement valves & installation for commercial kitchens. As part of the Rinse Smart Program, Tucson Water will replace inefficient high water-use pre-rinse spray valves with low-water use valves saving water, sewer and energy costs. They will install it in less than [...]

[ Sunday, September 12, 2010; 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm. ] The Age of Stupid
September 12th, 5:00 pm. Film starts at 5:45

Sunday Night at the Movies at St. Francis in the Foothills Church, at Swan and River Roads. Bring a potluck dish to share in the main meeting space. Questions? Call Liz 299-9839

Pete Postlethwaite stars as the narrator of the film, an old man living alone [...]

The Teaching & Helping Program of Empowering Local Communities, Inc. is organizing a project to reduce the energy use of as many Tucson homes as possible on the Day of Climate Action, October 10, 2010 (10-10-10). We are looking for Tucson homeowners who want to participate in doing energy conservation projects on their homes on [...]

By Steve Andrews, Sally Odland, John Theobald and Randy Udall.  Andrews and Udall are retired co-founders of ASPO-USA. Odland is a former ASPO-USA board member. Theobald is a former ASPO-USA conference organizer.
Published by the Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas – USA (ASPO-USA) on Mon, [...]

It’s one thing to have a workplace that has a recycling bin, but do you
know of a company that could be named Arizona’s Greenest
Workplace?
Mrs. Green is on the hunt for companies and workplaces that are miles
ahead of the pack when it comes to keeping it green and making conscious efforts to be more eco-friendly.
Do you [...]

[ Saturday, October 16, 2010; 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. ] At the HabiStore
3840 S. Palo Verde at Ajo (SW corner of Ajo and Palo Verde)

Learn from the gurus of green, as local experts share tips, info, and ways to go green and save greenbacks at the Green Living Fair in Partnership with AFV Day Odyssey. Discover steps for energy savings, resource conservation, organic gardening, composting, [...]

A recent study suggests that even though more of us are concerned about the environment and the importance of reducing our carbon footprint, most of us are poorly informed about the relative impact of energy saving actions we can take in our homes. Arguably “people seem conditioned to think of energy savings as they [...]

ENERGY EFFICIENCY RETROFITS FOR HOMEOWNERS
Are you interested in improving the energy efficiency
of your home?
Approximately 300 homes located within the City of Tucson will be selected to receive energy efficiency upgrades to reduce the home’s energy use by 15-20%.
Residential energy efficiency retrofit work may include things like substituting compact fluorescent light bulbs for [...]

Cheers Sustainable Tucson:
Lots of of Zero-Race.com serendipity is happening!  The Electrics are coming to town!  So now it’s time to tap into furthering the wellspring of EVnthusiastism with Sustainable Tucson.  Many around the country are jumping in as “Indians” and just being players on the Zero Race Regional Coordinating Teams (RCTs).  EVolunteers are needed for the RCT – Arizona, [...]

Matt Simmons, a leader of the Peak Oil movement and global energy expert,  died suddenly on August 8th.

His 2005 book, Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy, was a significant factor in waking up business and political leaders around the world to the critical implications of the emerging end [...]

[ Monday, September 13, 2010; 5:45 pm to 8:00 pm. ] The September Meeting will focus on the carbon burden associated with supplying Greater Tucson’s water supply. Additional information will be supplied about what individuals can do within their communities to use our precious water wisely and sustainably.

Fossil Fuel Subsidies Are 12 Times Support for Renewables!
Bloomberg reports that although the US provides greater support for renewal energy than most nations, we still provide substantially more subsidies for non-renewal energy.
See the rest of the article here.

All political parties including independents are accountable to the emerging challenges of sustainability. The G.O.P. in Arizona is particularly accountable for the state’s catastrophic condition both now and going forward.
Despite voters’ May approval of Prop 100 to tax ourselves to solve some of the current deficiencies, the G.O.P. and its Tea Party affiliates continue to [...]

[ Tuesday, July 13, 2010; 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm. ] ooo
000
The Truth About Alcohol Fuel: Our Path Beyond Petroleum,
with David Blume
Tuesday, July 13, 2010, 5:30 pm
Tucson Public Library, 101 N. Stone Ave.  Lower Level Meeting Room:
Co-Sponsored by the Community Information Resource Center and Sustainable Tucson

Permaculturist David Blume will present the history of alcohol fuel, and outline how localized, small-scale alcohol fuel production can contribute to [...]

The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation has just published a very comprehensive but sober analysis of various strategies for achieving a necessary reduction in carbon emissions by the much-discussed 2050 target deadline. In their view “numerous advocacy groups, scholars, think tanks and others have proposed a variety of steps to take based on a [...]

Rolling Stone magazine will soon publish a scathing analysis of the administration’s failure to mange the high risk deep sea oil exploration effort, beginning with the Interior Department’s tepid response to mounting evidence of incompetence and malfeasance within its Minerals Management Service. Make sure you are prepared for an assault on your assumptions about how [...]

The Pima Association of Governments just approved the Second Tucson Region Indicators Report. It provides a snapshot of the region with data on key measures that characterize its current health from an environmental and community perspective.
Five theme areas are: Natural Resources, Air Quality, Water, Transportation and Energy, and
Community and Economy, to represent the essence of [...]

[ Wednesday, June 23, 2010; 3:30 pm to 7:00 pm. ] Where: YWCA, 525 N. Bonita Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85745

FREE WORKSHOP

This FREE workshop is your guide to straight forward sustainable business practices.
Obtain Tucson Electric Power’s available incentives which can pay as much as 90% of the installed cost on select efficiency measures

Become a Certified Green Business through the City of Tucson
Increase your bottom line through decreasing [...]

Sustainable Tucson is republishing the following call to the community which we originally presented in February 2008. The message is not only more relevant today but portends some of the events which have already happened since then. As we prepare to participate in the upcoming Imagine Greater Tucson process this coming Fall, let’s focus on [...]

Industry leaders seem to be showing more openness to energy descent issues
Published on Energy Bulletin (http://www.energybulletin.net)
Published Tue, 05/04/2010 – 07:00 by The Oil Drum
This is a guest post by George Mobus, who is an Associate Professor of Computing and Software Systems at the University of Washington, Tacoma. His blog is Question Everything.
I’ve spent the [...]

Bill McKibben on “Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough Planet” (video)
by Michael Brownlee
Description:
As part of his current book tour, author and climate activist Bill McKibben spoke at the First United Methodist Church in Boulder, CO on April 27, co-sponsored by Boulder Book Store and Transition Colorado. The video of his presentation is below, following [...]

Paul Krugman suggests that the BP oil spill in the gulf may be just what the environmental movement needs to get back on the public agenda, given what he observes about public sentiment: For one thing, as visible pollution has diminished, so has public concern over environmental issues. According to a recent Gallup survey, “Americans [...]

[ Friday, April 23, 2010; 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. ] Kiva Room of the Student Union Memorial Center
University of Arizona

Seminar Synopsis
The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Imperative for a Robust Economy

Speakers: John Laitner and Jeff Schlegel

Observers of U.S. energy policy might think of energy efficiency as a useful tool to manage the growth of our nation’s energy consumption. They might also see it as [...]

[ Tuesday, June 22, 2010; ] The US SOCIAL FORUM will take place in Detroit, Michigan.

The US Social Forum (USSF) is a movement building process. It is not a conference but it is a space to come up with the peoples’ solutions to the economic and ecological crisis. The USSF is the next most important step in our struggle to build [...]

Building a Green Economy
By PAUL KRUGMAN
If you listen to climate scientists — and despite the relentless campaign to discredit their
work, you should — it is long past time to do something about emissions of carbon dioxide
and other greenhouse gases. If we continue with business as usual, they say, we are facing a
rise in global temperatures [...]

By Guy R. McPherson
Published at Energy Bulletin and Guy’s blog: Nature Bats Last
(Guy, a former UA professor, has inspired Sustainable Tucson with his writings and appearances at ST General Meetings during the past four years)
As we continue into the decades-old, but only recently acknowledged era of destruction and extinction, it’s apparent the current model [...]

By Dan Allen
Published by the Energy Bulletin, (www.energybulletin.net)  March 30, 2010

SUMMARY: Bound by the tangled cord of its own sins, Industrial Civilization sits immobilized — with the gun of reality pressed to its temple. Monumental changes are imminent – probably (hopefully) a swirling mix of both bad and good. [...]

[ Saturday, April 24, 2010; 10:00 am to 9:00 pm. ] Catalina State Park, 11570 N. Oracle Road.

Citizens for Solar invites everyone to come and join in the fun of the 28th Annual Tucson Solar Potluck and Exhibition. This is the longest continuously running solar potluck in the world. See practical, innovative solar energy in useful action. People will be cooking food in dozens of types [...]

[ Saturday, March 27, 2010; 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm. ] Last year, nearly one billion people in the world joined together in the largest climate movement in the history of mankind. We raised our voices in the United States with 80 million people participating and 318 cities (thanks to you) turning out their lights to take action in the fight against climate change.

This year, not [...]

[ Wednesday, March 10, 2010; 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. ] Lane Garrett, owner of ETA Engineering in Phoenix, will make a presentation about the building blocks of photovoltaic technology, how solar electricity works, the uses of and types of inverters, and financial rebates and tax credits.  There will be a question-and-answer period after his presentation where you can get even more [...]

[ Friday, March 19, 2010; 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm. ] The Southern Arizona Green Chamber of Commerce invites you to their Launch and Luncheon at the Tucson Assoc. of Realtors Meeting Room 2445 N. Tucson Blvd.

Enjoy our luncheon speaker, MC Gina Murphy-Darling: “Mrs Green Goes Mainstream”

Learn how you can benefit through:

Green Education
Green Business Development
Collaboration and Networking
Green Advocacy

Visit www.SAGCC.org

RSVP to: info@SAGCC.org or (520) 306-6475

[ Saturday, March 27, 2010; 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm. ] The 4th Annual Solar Rock Festival will be held on March 27th from noon to 6pm at Himmel Park, south east of Speedway and Tucson Blvd. This Free solar powered festival includes an outstanding lineup of local talent including Spirit Familia, Run Boy Run, Kevin Pakulis, Bruce Phillips, Drama Club, Leila Lopez, the winner of [...]

Read an excerpt from James Hansen’s new book, Storms of My Grandchildren, about why a program of “fees and dividends” is far superior to “cap and trade” proposals currently being debated. The article in The Nation is available here: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100111/hansen .

This editorial by Nicholas Kristof for the New York Times at first seems to be a plug for living in Costa Rica. In fact, it is filled with numerous links to measures of happiness and well-being, many of which incorporate assessments of sustainability. You can review this article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/07/opinion/07kristof.html

[ Saturday, April 17, 2010; 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. ] Tucson\’s 16th Annual Earth Day Festival and Parade will be held on Saturday, April 17, 2010 at Reid Park. The theme for the 2010 Festival is “All Species Deserve a Place on Earth!”  All species great and small – insects, plants and animals – the Earth needs them all!

Exhibits related to the environment will include [...]

A palindrome reads the same backwards as forward. This video reads the exact opposite backwards as forward.  Not only does it read the opposite, the [...]

Via Clean Break, John Holdren, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, offers some useful thoughts on the recent controversy surrounding the emails stolen from the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia. Holdren touches on the current state of climate science, the significance of the emails, and the [...]

[ Friday, November 27, 2009; 7:00 am to 12:00 pm. ] Enjoy Dining Green (EDG) will collect used cooking oil the Day after Thanksgiving! EDG will start the first of their regular monthly collection sites in hope to reduce the amount of oil being dumped in our sewer system.

Enjoy Dining Green will have 2 collection sites, one at the EDG building located at 4551 S. Alvernon [...]

[ Monday, February 8, 2010; 5:45 pm to 8:00 pm. ] The focus of the Sustainable Tucson General Meeting will be Food Sustainability. On February 8, your view of food sustainability in Tucson ’s future may change forever. The Sustainable Tucson Working Group on Food & Agriculture will engage your mind and your tastebuds in thinking about the sources of food in Tucson, Pima County and [...]

[ Thursday, November 12, 2009; 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. ] This community service education series on solar energy will focus on the efforts by Tucson Electric Power in this area. Come hear about their new “Bright Tucson Community Solar Program” that allows customers to purchase solar power from a large system, their high school classroom program with Tucson Unified School District, and other solar projects [...]

The Wall is a place where literally thousands and thousands of people committed to a revolutionary new energy future for our nation and the world are coming together — to express our hopes, share our resolve, and step up to a leadership role [...]

You may be interested in the following new reports:
1. Climate Solutions2: Low-Carbon Re-Industrialization. A Report to WWF International based on the Climate Industry Sector Technology Allocation (CRISTAL) Model (Executive Summary). This report models the ability of low-carbon industries to grow and transform within a market economy. It finds that runaway climate change is almost inevitable [...]

[ Thursday, October 22, 2009; 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm. ] Repower Arizona, a campaign of the Alliance for Climate Protection in support of clean energy is coming to town! The office grand opening will feature Tucson City council member Rodney Glassman. Join us for education, activities, and networking.

Repower Arizona is educating Arizona on the benefits of transitioning to a clean energy economy, including providing a [...]

Please listen to this powerful appeal to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development by a young woman of 13, wise beyond her years: http://media.causes.com/510213

[ Tuesday, September 22, 2009; 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm. 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm. ] Meeting to develop support for green jobs and clean energy being organized by Repower America. Ward 3 Office, 1510 E. Grant Road. For more information about the national campaign visit http://www.repowera merica.org/ page/event/ detail/4jvb2

[ Thursday, September 24, 2009; 8:30 pm; Sunday, September 27, 2009; 6:30 pm; ] What kind of innovative approaches are scientists taking to help mankind protect the planet and live more sustainably? WaveLengths: Sustainability — the season premiere of the science program from Arizona Public Media – explores some of the cutting edge research scientists are using to look for solutions for more responsible use of the planet’s natural [...]

Van Jones’s Ousting: A Wake-Up Call for Green Economy Advocates
Published 09/07/2009 on Energy Bulletin (http://www.energybulletin.net)
by Aaron G. Lehmer
A dear friend of the earth, a staunch defender of justice, and a bold champion for a solar-powered America has just been forced out of the Obama Administration through a clever campaign of deceit, malice, and fear. [...]