Saturday, September 15, 2007

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Battle for Great Lakes Water presentation

Battle for Great Lakes Water presentation
Thursday, September 13th, 2007
West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church
20401 Hilliard Blvd.
Rocky River
7-9pm
$5 registration



"Water is the lifeblood
of forty million people
who live in the Great Lakes
Basin. This book should
be required reading for
anyone whose life depends
on Great Lakes water."

Michael P. Dombeck,
former chief, U.S. Forest
Service, professor, University
of Wisconsin-Stevens Point,
University of Wisconsin System
Fellow of Global Conservation



Peter Annin, author of The Great Lakes Water Wars will speak in the new series "The Environment II - A Green Future for Our Fragile Earth", presented by The League of Women Voters.

The forum style presentation will concentrate on the current controversy of diverting water from the Great Lakes to surrounding areas and upon the
Great Lakes Basin Compact.

AMD Open Architecture Challenge

AMD Open Architecture Challenge

Challenge: To design a sustainable multi-purpose technology facility for under-served communities

Registration Begins: 09/12/2007

Submission Deadline: 01/15/2008

Open To: All. Design professionals and non-professionals alike are invited to compete to develop the winning technology center design. Student entries welcomed.

Entry Fee: $25 per site before 12/15/2007; $30 after 12/16/2007; $0 for entries from developing nations. Group rates available for faculty and students.

Site Awards: Proceeds of the competition entry fees will be awarded to the top entry for each site.

Challenge Award: The winning design team will have the opportunity to work on site directly with the community partner and Architecture for Humanity to build their design.

Contact:
AMD Open Architecture Challenge
415 332 6273 ext. 320


Media Contact:
Architecture for Humanity
Laura Galloway - Galloway Media Group
laura (at) gallowaymediagroup (dot) com

AMD
Travis Bullard - AMD PR
Travis_bullard (at) amd (dot) com
512-602-5667

The Challenges:
SOUTH AMERICA CHALLENGEKallari Association, Ecuador: Connecting a cooperative of indigenous chocolate producers and artisans in the Ecuadorian Amazon with the global marketplace by building a chocolate factory, a fair trade exchange and off-site satellite technology hubs.

AFRICA CHALLENGESIDAREC, Kenya: Empowering the youth of Mukuru Kwa Njenga, an informal slum settlement of 250,000, to connect with other youth and create positive change in their community by building a technology media lab and library.

ASIA CHALLENGENyaya Health, Nepal: Enabling families in a remote rural area of Nepal where there is only one doctor for a population of 250,000 to access to health care from top physicians and medical professionals all over the world by building a telemedicine center.


About Architecture for Humanity
Architecture for Humanity is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that seeks architectural solutions to humanitarian crises and provides design services to communities in need. For more information, please visit www.architectureforhumanity.org.

About the Open Architecture Network
The Open Architecture Network is an online, open source community dedicated to improving living conditions through innovative and sustainable design. For more information please visit: www.openarchitecturenetwork.org.

About AMDAdvanced Micro Devices
(NYSE: AMD) is a leading global provider of innovative processing solutions in the computing, graphics and consumer electronics markets. AMD is dedicated to driving open innovation, choice and industry growth by delivering superior customer-centric solutions that empower consumers and businesses worldwide. For more information, visit www.amd.com.

About 50x15
The 50x15 Initiative, launched by AMD in 2004 at the World Economic Forum, is a bold and far-reaching effort to develop new technology and solutions that will help enable affordable Internet access and computing capability for 50 percent of the world's population by the year 2015. More than just goodwill, 50x15 is about fostering long-term economic progress and investment within high-growth markets in ways that benefit a wide range of people and businesses. For more information, visit www.50x15.com.

--

The Cleveland Chapter of Architecture for Humanity will do all we can to promote and coordinate entries from Cleveland. In the next month or so there will be a visible push to approach those in the design community to get involved or help spread the word about this amazing opportunity.

For more information or to find how to get involved please visit the Architecture for Humanity-Cleveland Google Group.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

21 Things you didn't know you can recycle

Garbage. Americans produce more and more of it every year, when we need to be producing less.

Even the most waste-conscious among us can feel overwhelmed by the amount of household waste that goes beyond what municipal recyclers and compost bins can handle.

That’s why our editors have spent the summer investigating the state of waste management in our country, and putting together information for you, our Co-op America members, explaining how we can get serious about the three R’s – reducing, reusing, and recycling. Supporting members of Co-op America can expect to receive this issue of the Co-op America Quarterly this fall. If you’re not already a supporting member, join us now to get this special issue mailed to you.


1. Appliances: Goodwill accepts working appliances, www.goodwill.org, or you can contact the Steel Recycling Institute to recycle them. 800/YES-1-CAN, www.recycle-steel.org.

2. Batteries: Rechargeables and single-use: Battery Solutions, 734/467-9110, www.batteryrecycling.com.

3. Cardboard boxes: Contact local nonprofits and women’s shelters to see if they can use them. Or, offer up used cardboard boxes at your local Freecycle.org listserv or on Craigslist.org for others who may need them for moving or storage. If your workplace collects at least 100 boxes or more each month, UsedCardboardBoxes.com accepts them for resale.

4. CDs/DVDs/Game Disks: Send scratched music or computer CDs, DVDs, and PlayStation or Nintendo video game disks to AuralTech for refinishing, and they’ll work like new: 888/454-3223, www.auraltech.com.

5. Clothes: Wearable clothes can go to your local Goodwill outlet or shelter. Donate wearable women’s business clothing to Dress for Success, which gives them to low-income women as they search for jobs, 212/532-1922, www.dressforsuccess.org. Offer unwearable clothes and towels to local animal boarding and shelter facilities, which often use them as pet bedding. Consider holding a clothes swap at your office, school, faith congregation or community center. Swap clothes with friends and colleagues, and save money on a new fall wardrobe and back-to-school clothes.

6. Compact fluorescent bulbs: Take them to your local IKEA store for recycling: www.ikea.com.

7. Compostable bio-plastics: You probably won’t be able to compost these in your home compost bin or pile. Find a municipal composter to take them to at www.findacomposter.com.

8. Computers and electronics: Find the most responsible recyclers, local and national, at www.ban.org/pledge/Locations.html.

9. Exercise videos: Swap them with others at www.videofitness.com.

10. Eyeglasses: Your local Lion’s Club or eye care chain may collect these. Lenses are reground and given to people in need.

11. Foam packing: Your local pack-and-ship store will likely accept foam peanuts for reuse. Or, call the Plastic Loose Fill Producers Council to find a drop-off site: 800/828-2214. For places to drop off foam blocks for recycling, contact the Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers, 410/451-8340, www.epspackaging.org/info.html

12. Ink/toner cartridges: Recycleplace.com pays $1/each.

13. Miscellaneous: Get your unwanted items into the hands of people who can use them. Offer them up on your local Freecycle.org or Craigslist.org listserv, or try giving them away at Throwplace.com or giving or selling them at iReuse.com. iReuse.com will also help you find a recycler, if possible, when your items have reached the end of their useful lifecycle.

14. Oil: Find Used Motor Oil Hotlines for each state: 202/682-8000, www.recycleoil.org.

15. Phones: Donate cell phones: Collective Good will refurbish your phone and sell it to someone in a developing country: 770/856-9021, www.collectivegood.com. Call to Protect reprograms cell phones to dial 911 and gives them to domestic violence victims: www.donateaphone.com. Recycle single-line phones: Reclamere, 814/386-2927, www.reclamere.com.

16. Sports equipment: Resell or trade it at your local Play It Again Sports outlet, 800/476-9249, www.playitagainsports.com.

17. “Technotrash”: Easily recycle all of your CDs, jewel cases, DVDs, audio and video tapes, cell phones, pagers, rechargeable and single-use batteries, PDAs, and ink/toner cartridges with GreenDisk’s Technotrash program. For $30, GreenDisk will send you a cardboard box in which you can ship them up to 70 pounds of any of the above. Your fee covers the box as well as shipping and recycling fees. 800/305-GREENDISK, www.greendisk.com.

18. Tennis shoes: Nike’s Reuse-a-Shoe program turns old shoes into playground and athletic flooring. www.nikereuseashoe.com. One World Running will send still-wearable shoes to athletes in need in Africa, Latin America, and Haiti. www.oneworldrunning.com.

19. Toothbrushes and razors: Buy a recycled plastic toothbrush or razor from Recycline, and the company will take it back to be recycled again into plastic lumber. Recycline products are made from used Stonyfield Farms’ yogurt cups. 888/354-7296, www.recycline.com.

20. Tyvek envelopes: Quantities less than 25: Send to Shirley Cimburke, Tyvek Recycling Specialist, 5401 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Spot 197, Room 231, Richmond, VA 23234. Quantities larger than 25, call 866/33-TYVEK.

21. Stuff you just can’t recycle: When practical, send such items back to the manufacturer and tell them they need to manufacture products that close the waste loop responsibly.

From
Co-op America Quarterly which has all the links in working order.

Blatantly redirected from
Treehugger

Cleveland Museum of Art 17th annual Chalk Festival




CMA Chalk Festival
Saturday, September 15th, 2007 11am - 4pm
Sunday, September 16th, 2007 noon - 5pm

Coinciding nicely with the Sparx Gallery Hop thingy (see previous post you slackers!) the
Cleveland Museum of Art is hosting their 17th annual chalk festival on the grounds around CMA's amazing lagoon. The event is open to all ages, from professionals to people like me who just like to make pretty.

For $16 you get a large square and a 24 color box of pro chalk. For $8 you get a small square and a 12 color box of pro chalk (admittedly not as 'pro' as the 24 box). Sign up when you arrive (best be all signed up by 1pm on Sunday to make sure you get a square).

Chalk Fest pdf

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Tremont Art Walk and Sparx Gallery Hop this weekend

Friday, September 14th, 2007
Tremont Ohio

Whether it still is the
Tremont Art Walk or the Tremont Art Hop there are still gallery walks going on in Tremont this Friday.

You should probably go.

Also

Saturday, September 15th, 2007
Sunday, September 16th, 2007
All around Cleveland (.pdf)

Yup, Cleveland is chock full of art. Crazy stuff. Go see if you like some.
Sparx in the City.

Brookings Institution says protecting Great Lakes could provide economic boom

There is just something enormously satisfying about reports like this.

The
Brooking's Institution recently released a cost/benefit report of A Program to Protect and Restore the Great Lakes (.pdf).

In a nutshell the Institution stated that with a $26 billion dollar investment to halt sewer overflows, combat invasive species and clean up toxic spills (all major issues now) Great Lakes communities (such as Cleveland) could share a $50 billion long term economic benefit projection and that the spending of the money could infuse from $30 to $50 billion into the local economies.

Stating that these restoration activities are not 'just nice things to do for the enviornment they are crucial things to do for the economy of our region."

This seems to fly in the face of the current idea that
evironmental actions would hamper the economy but perhaps some decent leadership and strong decision making could result in a change of direction.

more resources:

Great Lakes Information Network
Problems and Issues confronting the Great Lakes system
Great Lakes EPA

Monday, September 10, 2007

Permaculture - Keyline Design Workshop

Tuesday, September 18th, 2007
Wednesday, September 19th, 2007
George Jones Farm

There are plenty of urban agriculture projects already in place in Cleveland, Ohio that are attempting to not only reconnect people to the land but also to supplement our local diet and create a greater sense of identity for our communities. Blue Pike Farm and Kentucky Gardens

While the option of becoming a self sustaining urban center are limited, one of the greatest dilemmas is the rapid use and destruction of the necessary soils in which to grow our crops. Most classic agrarian systems utilized pesticides and fertilizers to speed up the growth of plants, deplenting the necessary nutrients from and quickly destroying the soil.

There are new technologies and techniques however that are arising to combat these problems. Some of which will be demonstrated at the New Agrarian Center by Darren Doherty, a permaculture designer from Australia who has developed the keyline method to restore degraded landscapes in Australia and around the world.

Workshop fee, $125 for 1 day and $250 for 2 days. Scholarships available. For more information, contact Eric Stewart at eric.stewart@oberlin.edu or 440-775-4047 just to name a few, offer centralized urban farming (Blue Pike is a market garden and Kentucky is a community garden).