[ Saturday, February 11, 2012; 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. ]

The first TAPST (Tucson Aquaponics Systems Tour) is officially happening!  Saturday 2/11/12 all around Tucson, 9AM-3PM.  The full range of aquaponics systems will be featured.  So far we have at least 10 systems on 5 different sites.  

Here is a link to more info: http://www.facebook.com/events/239007656182410/

[ Friday, January 27, 2012; 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm. ] The ad hoc committee on Food & Water, we begin to develop a Sustainable Tucson General Meeting for later in the year.  The goal of that meeting will be to initiate some sort of action in the area of food and water.  It is up to the ad hoc committee, working with the Core Team, to determine [...]

[ Thursday, February 9, 2012; 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. ] Soil Steward Composting Toilet Program – Seeking Participants

Are you…

An early adopter who likes to be part of a cutting-edge pilot program to influence city and state policy?
Tired of flushing potable water down the toilet and interested in building a legal composting toilet for your home?
Interested in using alternative composting systems to improve your soil and [...]

[ Tuesday, January 31, 2012; 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. ] On January 31st, there will be a meeting of the Pima County Food Systems Alliance, at Tucson Village Farm, 4210 N Campbell Ave

The Pima County Food Systems Alliance (PCFSA) is an open membership network comprised of a variety of groups and individuals—including but not limited to farmers, chefs, restaurants, schools, educators, youth, gardeners, researchers, food [...]

Ten Good Things About a (Not So) Bad Year
Medea Benjamin, CommonDreams
I had the privilege of starting out the year witnessing, firsthand, the unfolding of the Egyptian revolution in Tahrir Square. I saw people who had been muzzled their entire lives, especially women, suddenly discovering their collective voice. Singing, chanting, demanding, creating. And that became the [...]

The 12 most hopeful trends to build on in 2012
Published by YES! Magazine on Sat, 12/31/2011
Original article: http://www.yesmagazine.org/blogs/sarah-van-gelder/12-most-hopeful-trends-to-build-on-in-2012
by Sarah van Gelder
Who would have thought that some young people camped out in lower Manhattan with cardboard signs, a few sharpies, some donated pizza, and a bunch of smart phones could change so much?
The viral spread of [...]

[ Monday, February 13, 2012; 7:00 pm to 9:00 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 [...]

[ Monday, February 6, 2012 to Wednesday, February 8, 2012. ] Early registration ends January 6!

Brad Lancaster, Senior Watershed Specialist with Watershed Management Group and author of Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond, will lead this hands-on technical training covering advanced greywater systems.

Greywater use is not only allowed by an increasing number of municipalities, it’s actively encouraged by many authorities in efforts to preserve water, reduce energy and [...]

[ Tuesday, March 20, 2012; 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Thursday, March 29, 2012 to Saturday, March 31, 2012. ] Introductory webinar: March 20th, 3-5pm (PDT).
Hands-on training: March 29-31, 2012, Tucson, Arizona.
 

Watershed Management Group has been working with community members to install neighborhood level Green Infrastructure (GI) projects in Tucson since 2008. Now WMG is offering an in-depth professional training covering the “how to” of organization and design for community led GI installations.

James MacAdam, Green [...]

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.

from 2011 September TEDx [...]

[ Thursday, December 1, 2011; 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Wednesday, December 7, 2011; 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Thursday, December 8, 2011; 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm. Saturday, December 10, 2011; 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. ] Thursday, Dec. 1, at Corona Foothills Middle School, 16705 S. Houghton Rd., from 5 to 9 PM (and see comments below for further meetings at other locations)

From: Keith Willmarth <canduthis(at)toast.net>
Subject: Oppose the Rosemont Mine

I am sending this message to mobilize informed opposition to the proposed Rosemont Mine. Several organizations, in particular Save the Scenic [...]

[ Wednesday, November 30, 2011; 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. ] On November 30th (this Wednesday) from 6-8 pm, there will be a large group meeting of the Pima County Food Systems Alliance (PCFSA) with a potluck at the Sam Lena Library (1607 S. 6th Ave, Tucson; call 520.594.5265 for directions)

The Agenda is as follows:

Welcome & Introduction (Nick) (5 min; 6:00-6:05)
Presentation by PCFSA Consultants (Bryn/Lewis) (25 min; 6:05-6:30)
Break & Get [...]

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 [...]

UA Natural Resources Professor Emeritus Guy McPherson and Sustainable Tucson founding coalition member addresses the International Conference on Sustainability, Transition and Culture Change: Vision, Action, Leadership recounting his journey to personal accountability in the current crisis of civilization. Taking material from his latest book, “Walking Away From Empire” , Guy demonstrates Gandhi’s  recommendation: “Become the [...]

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 [...]

[ Monday, December 5, 2011 to Wednesday, December 7, 2011. ] Eco-Sanitation Course with David Omick & Brad Lancaster

December 5 – 7 in Tucson

Note: Dates have changed from those previously advertized. Early registration extended to Oct 30. Early registration cost is $250. Scholarships are available.

Learn cutting-edge principles in simple living technology in a hands-on setting – join WMG for a Watershed Technical Training in Eco-Sanitation!

Expert instructors [...]

Innovative 30,000-gallon “Ground Pit” rainwater harvesting cistern being installed at Tucson’s Nature Conservancy headquarters

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 [...]

RAINWATER & GREYWATER USE RESOURCE LIST
Hands-On/Workshops
http://www.sonoranpermaculture.org/courses-and-workshops/ (Sonoran Permaculture Guild workshops – gray water use; rainwater harvesting; and more)
http://www.watershedmg.org/calendar-tucson (Watershed Management Group calendar of events & workshops – hands-on work with gray water systems, rainwater harvesting systems, earthworks, etc.)
http://communityfoodbank.com/2011/08/10/gardenworkshops/ (Food Bank garden workshops – gray water use; self-watering containers; and more)
Websites for More Information
http://cms3.tucsonaz.gov/water/greywater (City of [...]

[ Sunday, October 16, 2011; 2:00 pm to 2:40 pm. ] Water blessing at Tucson Meet Yourself, Sunday Oct 16, 2:00-2:40 pm

We’ll gather to talk about the roots of this ritual in the Jewish harvest festival of Sukkot, and how we bless / express gratitude for water and all that we are thankful in our lives. Then we’ll move outdoors to scoop up water in a [...]

[ Monday, October 10, 2011; 5:15 pm to 8:45 pm. ] Sustainable Tucson is offering a very special Book Sale fundraising event at our October  General Meeting. We have more than 150 titles, including some hard-to-find classics. The winter reading season is coming, so come and browse this rich collection of sustainability literature. You can shop with gifts in mind for particular friends, relatives, or colleagues [...]

[ Monday, October 10, 2011; 5:45 pm to 8:30 pm. ] Sustainable Tucson General Meeting – at Milagro Cohousing Community
Monday, October 10th, 5:45 – 8:30 pm, and come early at 5:15 pm for a tour

Note: this meeting will be at the Milagro Cohousing Community instead of the library (click here for map). If you can come earlier, there will be a tour of Milagro from 5:15 [...]

[ Monday, September 26, 2011; 5:15 pm to 7:30 pm. ] иконописJoin an interactive community meeting to help shape the greater Tucson region’s efforts to achieve a sustainable water future. This meetings will present the results of the <Regional Water Assessment Task Force ThinkTank Report>. The meeting will be held at the Tucson Association of Realtors building, 2445 N. Tucson Blvd., Tucson.

The report was the result [...]

[ Saturday, September 17, 2011; 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. ] Sept 17, 2011

10 am – 4pm

Looking for inspiration and ideas as to how to green and beautify your home landscape without increasing your water bill? Watershed Management Group (WMG) is offering a self guided tour of residential rainwater harvesting systems. The tour will include examples of earthworks, greywater systems, and various types of cisterns and [...]

[ Saturday, November 12, 2011 to Sunday, November 13, 2011. ] Permaculture Course with Toby Hemenway author of Gaia’s Garden, the best-selling permaculture book in the world at Native Seeds/SEARCH (NS/S) Conservation Center.

One weekend a month for six months beginning November 12 13. $1,000 tuition, $850 early bird if paid by October 21. Proceeds benefit NS/S. For more information: www.nativeseeds.org

[ Thursday, June 2, 2011; 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm. ] Ground-breaking Watershed Management Group Invites Public to Take Action

WMG invites the public to their OpenHouse Thursday, June 2nd 2011 from 7:00pm – 8:30pm at the Ward III Council Office. Presentations by board, staff, and community members on local, regional, and international programs in sustainability will be featured. Come and learn about opportunities to get involved; [...]

Jonathan Overpeck recently gave testimony before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources about drought conditions in New Mexico and the Southwest. Read his testimony here: http://energy.senate.gov/public/_files/OverpeckTestimony42711.pdf

[ Saturday, March 26, 2011; 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. ] A wood-fired cob-insulated hot tub is a low-tech, healthful and beautiful thing. Used like a Japanese bath, one scrubs and showers before entering the heated tub, steaming with desert lavender or chaparral, and soaks away one’s cares. If your shower and bath greywater help to irrigate native and heritage trees, which provide food, shade and [...]

[ Sunday, March 20, 2011; 3:00 pm to 9:00 pm. ] Time again to invite you all to proclaim local community from the rooftops. One rooftop at least.

Join in on the action on the roof of the Pennington St Parking Garage, 110 E. Pennington St.

What is Common Ground?

What it is… is a CELEBRATION, where every group, organization, congregation, small business, performer, artist, EVERYBODY in the Tucson [...]

The New York Times reminds us that getting to the natural gas that many see as an alternative source of “cleaner energy” may have equally serious threats to our water supply.
In the words of one expert:
“We’re burning the furniture to heat the house,” said John H. Quigley, who left last month as secretary of Pennsylvania’s [...]

[ Sunday, March 27, 2011; ] Tucson’s Synergistic Water Festival at the Armory Park Community Center

Art show by local and national artists, dance / theater performance, water expert speakers, Enviro-Exhibitor Fair, round table discussions, workshops, hands-on participation, kid’s activities, music and more!

More information at www.WaterFestivalTucson.org

On January 10th, as part of our General Meeting, Sustainable Tucson held its own version of the community conversations being held around the city by Imagine Greater Tucson. After completing a paper survey about what we liked and what we wanted to change about the Tucson region, four groups of people discussed their answers to [...]

[ Thursday, January 13, 2011; 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm. ] COMMUNITY BRAINSTORM GATHERING

Featuring an overview of the festival, highlights from last year, dance performance preview, gather and map new ideas, and hands-on arts activities.

Armory Park Community Center • 220 S. 5th Avenue
$5-$10 Suggested Donation

For more information visit the website.

Jim Barry, who served as Chair of the citizen’s Oversight Committee for the City/County Water Study, has prepared a Public Comment Report documenting the major issues and themes that emerged during the public process for the two year study. Mr. Barry invites your feedback on the report by way of the Comment Form on this [...]

[ Saturday, October 30, 2010; 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm. ] 2602 E. Grant Road

The Rally will be held locally while Jon Stewart’s Rally to Restore Sanity and
Stephen Colbert’s March to Keep Fear Alive occur in Washington, D.C. Our rally
highlights Tucson organizations that are providing sane solutions to intensifying
global challenges.

A solar-powered sound system will broadcast the tunes of local musicians,
a solar oven demonstration will be cooking [...]

Saturday, October 23rd, 2010- Natural Building and Passive Solar Design – This workshop includes hands on work with straw bales, adobe blocks, mud based plasters, cement based plasters, and cob. We’ll do hands on building of small structures like benches and walls – projects that you can easily do at your own [...]

[ Sunday, October 10, 2010; 8:00 am to 12:00 pm. ] Speedway and Grande

Workshop instructors: Catlow Shipek & Chris Stenken
10/10/10 is set to be a global day of action on climate change in over 180 countries. Events are being planned that demonstrate real solutions, that anybody and everybody can be a part of to the threat of climate change.

In Tucson, Watershed Management group will be installing [...]

[ Thursday, October 21, 2010; 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. ] Salpointe Catholic High School

Join Watershed Management Group (WMG) for a Green Infrastructure Showcase & Open House celebration with Samos Neighborhood, Salpointe High, WMG, and the City of Tucson, all leaders in green infrastructure for Southwest neighborhoods. This event will include an introduction to WMG\’s Green Streets – Green Neighborhoods program, an outdoor tour of [...]

A New York Times article provides a stark warning about the impending water crisis facing communities in the southwestern United States.  The article provides some of the basis for concern:
“Adding to water managers’ unease, scientists predict that prolonged droughts will be more frequent in decades to come as the Southwest’s climate warms. As Lake Mead’s [...]

[ Thursday, September 30, 2010; 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. ] You are invited to a lecture and discussion with Dr. Sharon Megdal, Director of the University of Arizona’s Water Resources Research Center. Discover what our current situation is and what can we do now, before we are in a crisis!

Hear Sharon Megdal, then meet with cistern installers, dual flush toilet venders and other people working [...]

[ 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 City of Tucson and Pima County have completed a draft Water Sustainability Action Plan to implement the recommendations from the City/County Water and Wastewater Study Phase 2 Report. The public comment period on the Action Plan extends from September 16th to October 7th, 2010. Below are ways in which you can review and comment [...]

[ Saturday, October 16, 2010; 8:00 am to 12:30 pm. ] Tucson is emerging as a regional and national leader in the implementation of green infrastructure strategies. Green infrastructure uses natural processes to provide environmental services. Many local examples use small basins to capture, clean, and infiltrate stormwater from streets and parking lots, while providing passive irrigation to gardens of native plants.

Join Watershed Management Group’s Green [...]

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 [...]

National Geographic has developed a cute (and informative) water use calculator. Even though it leaves out some of the ways in which we use and save water, you might enjoy giving it a try. Of course, you might want to pass the link on to your friends.
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/water-footprint-calculator/

[ Tuesday, October 26, 2010; 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm. ]
Tucson Association of REALTORS
2445 N. Tucson Blvd.
Event Phone number: 520-382-8775

The Tucson Association of REALTORS Green Committee presents, this one of a kind event! In this presentation, Jerry Yudelson, author of Dry Run: Preventing the Next Urban Water Crisis (2010), will describe how future water availability will affect the quality of [...]

Matt Simmons, global energy expert, dies at 67
Statement by the Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas  – USA
August 9, 2010
ROCKLAND, Maine — Matt Simmons, Chairman of ASPO-USA’s Advisory Board, died Sunday night at his home in North Haven Island, near Rockland, Maine.
The founder of Houston-based Simmons & Co. International, Matt wrote the [...]

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.