Hello and happy end of quite the month of April 2020: This month will be one to remember for sure!
Join ReImagine the Turtle Creek Watershed & Airshed Communities Plus (TCWAC+) on Monday evening, May 4, 2020 at 6:30 pm for a few hours as we continue to envision sustainable economic development initiatives for our communities.
Speakers for this month's webinar include Denele Hughson from Grow Pittsburgh and Rhea Homa. Denele Hughson is the Director of Farm Education at Grow Pittsburgh and a resident of Turtle Creek. She will discuss how Grow Pittsburgh grew from a mere idea to a successful and influential nonprofit benefiting the greater Pittsburgh area; how they acquired funding and people-power; what obstacles they overcame; and valuable lessons that they learned for building a local non-profit. Rhea Homa is a Verona resident who will speak to low-waste living practices that have helped her and her husband survive the pandemic.
We will also have ample time to breakout into our project groups and continue moving forward with our ideas. If you haven't attended a meeting before or are not yet involved with a project group, this will be a great opportunity for you to learn about the projects and become engaged.
Please register on this google form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf6NzbhPKVJt4J-y2JbuICh5KtkSyKgrW2SQDdY6ZFe5Ux9UQ/viewform. We will email all registered participants a Zoom link prior to the webinar.
Contact Kelly at kelly.yagatich@climatereality.com with questions.
Showing posts with label Transition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Transition. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Monday, March 30, 2020
Moving Gracefully, Organizing, and Thriving in Viral Times; Monday April 6, 2020 6:30 - 8:00 PM on-line
From Kelly Yagatich of the Climate Reality Project:
I hope this finds you well. Like every other group, our top priority is ensuring the health and safety of all of the people who are engaged in the Reimagine the Turtle Creek Watershed & Airshed Communities Plus initiative during this uncertainty, while also making sure that we don’t lose our sense of community and purpose in the panic. The regularly scheduled Monday, April 6, 2020 will be a Zoom meeting from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. We want to provide you with the resources that you need to keep your families healthy while also providing you with tools to continue organizing around the projects we’ve started. The topic of this event will be “moving gracefully, organizing, & thriving in viral times.” Here is the description of what we will cover in the meeting:
With travel, events, and in-person meetings canceled, you might be wondering how to stay connected to your community and continue advocating for positive change. Reimagine the Turtle Creek Watershed & Airshed Communities Plus invites you to a virtual meeting to learn more about how to practice mindfulness and meditation at home, how to put together simple, inexpensive meals using plant-based ingredients, and how to use online tools to connect with other community members and organize. With these tools, you can continue planning campaigns to promote health and wellness and sustainability in your communities. Together, we can overcome the obstacles posed by COVID-19 and work to impact our communities in a positive way to bring safety, equity and sustainability to our region. From 6:30 to 7:30, we will provide you with the skills that you need to maintain a healthy mind and body in this time and resources to continue organizing virtually from your home. From 7:30 to 8:00, we will provide an optional virtual space for people to meet in their project groups from the last meeting and continue collectively organizing.
With travel, events, and in-person meetings canceled, you might be wondering how to stay connected to your community and continue advocating for positive change. Reimagine the Turtle Creek Watershed & Airshed Communities Plus invites you to a virtual meeting to learn more about how to practice mindfulness and meditation at home, how to put together simple, inexpensive meals using plant-based ingredients, and how to use online tools to connect with other community members and organize. With these tools, you can continue planning campaigns to promote health and wellness and sustainability in your communities. Together, we can overcome the obstacles posed by COVID-19 and work to impact our communities in a positive way to bring safety, equity and sustainability to our region. From 6:30 to 7:30, we will provide you with the skills that you need to maintain a healthy mind and body in this time and resources to continue organizing virtually from your home. From 7:30 to 8:00, we will provide an optional virtual space for people to meet in their project groups from the last meeting and continue collectively organizing.
In order to attend, you must register in advance via this Zoom link. Once you register, you will be provided with a link for the meeting on April 6th in your email inbox. You can also find all of this info (and share it with your friends) through the Facebook event. We hope that you will be able to join us and that you will invite your friends to join us as well.
Again, we understand that this is a difficult time for many people, so please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or other members of the ReImagine TCWAC+ planning team if there is anything we can assist you with, if you have ideas for future topics that we should cover, or if you have any questions or concerns.
All the best,
Kelly
Kelly Yagatich | Regional Organizer - PA
Sunday, November 3, 2019
The Need to Grow, Vegan Expo, and Re-Imagine!
Happy November, and a December SAVE the DATE!
We hope to see you this week at the Monroeville Public Library 11/4/19, and at the Monroeville Convention Center, 11/9/19 as well. Mark your calendar for December 11, 2019 at the Braddock Carnegie Public Library too for our exciting Re-Imagining Turtle Creek Watershed and Airshed Communities Visioning session! Some details below with more to come. Stay tuned!
1) FREE: The Need to Grow documentary at the Monroeville Public Library:
Monday evening, November 4, 2019 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at the Monroeville Public Library including discussion following the film screening of The Need to Grow. Feel free to bring healthy whole food, plant based snacks to share:
FREE!
Save the Soil. Save the World: The Need To Grow documentary narrated & produced by Rosario Dawson. A film by Rob Herring & Ryan Wirick tomorrow evening, November 4 at the Monroeville Public Library starting at 6:30 pm.
The Need to Grow is an incredibly wonderful & uplifting documentary offering a view into the hearts of activists and innovators in the food movement. Join us!
The Need to Grow is an incredibly wonderful & uplifting documentary offering a view into the hearts of activists and innovators in the food movement. Join us!
2) The Pittsburgh Vegan Expo, Saturday, November 9, 2019, 10 am to 4 pm at the Monroeville Convention Center:
Food, products, wellness room, demonstrations, movies, speakers, vegan trick or treat for kids, gingerbread house competition, breakdance, beatboxer, bellydance, live music, DJ, Re-model gala (recycled dance fashion contest), Vegan Spirituality-Southwest PA, Re-Imagine! TCWAC+ and many, many, more tabling, and much more!
3) FREE: Inaugural Re-Imagine! Turtle Creek Watershed and Airshed Communities Plus, Re-Imagine! TCWAC+ Visioning Session at the Braddock Carnegie Public Library, 5 pm to 8:30 pm (with 3:00 to 5:00 pm session too), Facebook page & EventBrite Registration available soon with more details!
Tuesday, July 9, 2019
Join us on July 27 at Monroeville Park for Monroeville CommUNITY Day!
Sustainable Monroeville looks forward to showcasing our work from the past 10 years in the Municipality of Monroeville and beyond at the upcoming Monroeville CommUNITY Day on Saturday, July 27, 2019 from 11:00 am to 4:00 PM. If you'd love to volunteer on the 27th of July or at any time, feel free to reach out to us through the Sustainable Monroeville Facebook page or through sustainablemonroeville@gmail.com.
Stop by our booth to learn about our most recent projects and to see how you can get involved!
Stop by our booth to learn about our most recent projects and to see how you can get involved!
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Groups of 10, what's in a lawn, and meeting dates for the rest of April and May, 2018
What is the history of Air Pollution in Western PA? Tonight, Wednesday, April 18, 2018 is the inaugural meeting of Groups of 10 at the Monroeville Public Library. Groups of 10 is a project of the Clean Air Council. For details contact Madeline Havrilla, maddiehav247@gmail.com
What's in a lawn? Or rather, why is it sooooo very important to understand why the answers to our civilizational woes are in the soil?
Civilizations rise and fall based on the quality and fertility of their soil. Soil is a living civilization under our feet! Or it ought to be...In the past 10 years in the state of PA, we've not been paying much attention to the state of our soil. Did I say the past ten years? Hmmmm, it's really more like the past 100+ years! With the industrial revolution in the U.S. and around the world, and the rise of the use of herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, on our lawns, on our food and other crops, and the rise of post WWII Agribusiness with a huge influx of genetically modified (GMO) crops, our soil and our physical health has gone to #@^&....Well, you get the idea!
Most recently deep Marcellus Shale exploration to force natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica Shale formations thousands of feet, miles below us, (aka Fracking) using millions of gallons of our river water....specifically at the moment being planned for right here in Monroeville, PA, and occurring already in the surrounding communities of Penn Township, Murrysville, Upper and Lower Burrell, and elsewhere, we have not been respecting Mother Earth one bit...And with that, our once fertile Western PA soils are not so fertile anymore...Neither are the people for that matter. Studies have shown due to the agrochemicals from industrial farming and the chemicals used, produced and poured into our environment through the air and water in coal, nuclear, and gas exploitation, men's sperm counts are down and women are having trouble conceiving children. It's the issue of hormone disruption. Sexual confusion. Boys being born with undescended testicles or no prostate, and women's sex organs confused...No wonder our youth and young adults are so mixed up! Literally...physically mixed up due to the effects of hormone disrupting chemicals being ingested by mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers...Read the works of Theo Colburn and the Environmental Working Group for more information on this topic (EWG.org)
It's time to go back to no-till farming methods. It's time to do organic farming our front yards, our back yards and our side yards. It's time to vote people in that understand Life on this planet. It's time to reconnect with our Mother. Mother Earth, Panchamama! How? Scroll back to 2009 and 2010 up to the present on this very blog, sustainablemonroeville.blogspot.com, and Extra Extra, Read all about Permaculture and the culture of LIFE rather than us continuing on with the extractive industries and the Culture of DEATH. Our lives as human beings on Planet Earth depend on it!
It's time to wake up and smell the roses...if you can through some of the most polluted air in the world, here in these beautiful hills and valleys of Western PA...where the industrial revolution began and is in the process of ending as we have known it!
Be strong, be empowered, speak up and out whenever you can. Write, call, text, e-mail to your councilperson, your Mayor, your Municipal Manager...And then do it again! Your voice and most of all your VOTE matters!
Meeting Dates for April and May, 2018:
The next meeting of Sustainable Monroeville is on Monday evening, May 7, 2018 at 7:00 PM at the Monroeville Public Library.
The next Monroeville Citizen's Night is Thursday evening, May 10 at 7:00 PM at the Monroeville Municipal building.
The next council meeting is on May 15, 2018 at 7:00 PM at the Monroeville Municipal building.
All municipal officials, the municipal manager and the Mayor are always invited to Sustainable Monroeville meetings. We're hoping they join us for the month of May and then plan a Town Meeting in council chambers. The citizens of Monroeville sure have a LOT of unanswered questions about how the Seismic Testing was conducted by Geokinetics and what plans Huntley and Huntley has for the development of Marcellus and Utica Shale exploration in our town...
Onward we Go!
Many Blessings for a wonderful springtime and remember to shine your light bright!
The truth will prevail,
Elisa Beck on behalf of
Sustainable Monroeville
Like Sustainable Monroeville on Facebook!
SustainableMonroeville@gmail.com
Share this blog address with your friends and remember to report stinky air on the SMELLPGH App. Remind your friends to do the same!
What's in a lawn? Or rather, why is it sooooo very important to understand why the answers to our civilizational woes are in the soil?
Civilizations rise and fall based on the quality and fertility of their soil. Soil is a living civilization under our feet! Or it ought to be...In the past 10 years in the state of PA, we've not been paying much attention to the state of our soil. Did I say the past ten years? Hmmmm, it's really more like the past 100+ years! With the industrial revolution in the U.S. and around the world, and the rise of the use of herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, on our lawns, on our food and other crops, and the rise of post WWII Agribusiness with a huge influx of genetically modified (GMO) crops, our soil and our physical health has gone to #@^&....Well, you get the idea!
Most recently deep Marcellus Shale exploration to force natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica Shale formations thousands of feet, miles below us, (aka Fracking) using millions of gallons of our river water....specifically at the moment being planned for right here in Monroeville, PA, and occurring already in the surrounding communities of Penn Township, Murrysville, Upper and Lower Burrell, and elsewhere, we have not been respecting Mother Earth one bit...And with that, our once fertile Western PA soils are not so fertile anymore...Neither are the people for that matter. Studies have shown due to the agrochemicals from industrial farming and the chemicals used, produced and poured into our environment through the air and water in coal, nuclear, and gas exploitation, men's sperm counts are down and women are having trouble conceiving children. It's the issue of hormone disruption. Sexual confusion. Boys being born with undescended testicles or no prostate, and women's sex organs confused...No wonder our youth and young adults are so mixed up! Literally...physically mixed up due to the effects of hormone disrupting chemicals being ingested by mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers...Read the works of Theo Colburn and the Environmental Working Group for more information on this topic (EWG.org)
It's time to go back to no-till farming methods. It's time to do organic farming our front yards, our back yards and our side yards. It's time to vote people in that understand Life on this planet. It's time to reconnect with our Mother. Mother Earth, Panchamama! How? Scroll back to 2009 and 2010 up to the present on this very blog, sustainablemonroeville.blogspot.com, and Extra Extra, Read all about Permaculture and the culture of LIFE rather than us continuing on with the extractive industries and the Culture of DEATH. Our lives as human beings on Planet Earth depend on it!
It's time to wake up and smell the roses...if you can through some of the most polluted air in the world, here in these beautiful hills and valleys of Western PA...where the industrial revolution began and is in the process of ending as we have known it!
Be strong, be empowered, speak up and out whenever you can. Write, call, text, e-mail to your councilperson, your Mayor, your Municipal Manager...And then do it again! Your voice and most of all your VOTE matters!
Meeting Dates for April and May, 2018:
The next meeting of Sustainable Monroeville is on Monday evening, May 7, 2018 at 7:00 PM at the Monroeville Public Library.
The next Monroeville Citizen's Night is Thursday evening, May 10 at 7:00 PM at the Monroeville Municipal building.
The next council meeting is on May 15, 2018 at 7:00 PM at the Monroeville Municipal building.
All municipal officials, the municipal manager and the Mayor are always invited to Sustainable Monroeville meetings. We're hoping they join us for the month of May and then plan a Town Meeting in council chambers. The citizens of Monroeville sure have a LOT of unanswered questions about how the Seismic Testing was conducted by Geokinetics and what plans Huntley and Huntley has for the development of Marcellus and Utica Shale exploration in our town...
Onward we Go!
Many Blessings for a wonderful springtime and remember to shine your light bright!
The truth will prevail,
Elisa Beck on behalf of
Sustainable Monroeville
Like Sustainable Monroeville on Facebook!
SustainableMonroeville@gmail.com
Share this blog address with your friends and remember to report stinky air on the SMELLPGH App. Remind your friends to do the same!
Wednesday, December 6, 2017
All We Need is Love & Ray Kemble in Dimock, PA
What are we doing here on Planet Earth anyway? Are we here to fight with one another, or are we here to love one another? We know for sure both ends of the spectrum are happening on Planet Earth at this moment in time. Where do you fall on the spectrum? HATE........LOVE.......HATE.......LOVE......
What are we here for? Could we be here to love ourselves? Consider that. Breathe Deeply. Perhaps once we begin to love and take care of ourselves, to nurture ourselves, we will all love Planet Earth, take care of her, ourselves and one another...
The information below came to me today from local groups in Western PA who follow the shale fracking situation very closely. Read it. Digest it. Educate your neighbors and friends about what we have to look forward to in our future if we continue along the extractive path...
The information below came to me today from local groups in Western PA who follow the shale fracking situation very closely. Read it. Digest it. Educate your neighbors and friends about what we have to look forward to in our future if we continue along the extractive path...
"There is a new push to end all fracking-related gag orders and expose the truth about the amount of contamination suffered by Americans so far.
There is an enormous portion of the population who still have no idea about the harmful effects of fracking - in large part due to gag orders and insufficient media coverage. Ray should be thanked for his courage in continuing to speak out, despite the gag order.
Youtube of Ray Kemble speaking to the EPA about his water being contaminated.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Water Pollution Victim Sued by Polluter
Dimock, Pennsylvania - November 30, 2017 - Cabot Oil & Gas has filed a $5 million dollar lawsuit against a water pollution victim and his lawyers. The first hearing in the case is set for December 11 in Montrose Pa.
Ray Kemble’s water well was contaminated in 2008, along with the water wells of eighteen of his neighbors. Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) determined Cabot’s poor well construction led to the contamination of the aquifer.
Cabot was banned from drilling and fracking in the area. That ban remains in effect today.
PADEP settled an enforcement action against Cabot in 2010. Cabot also settled a lawsuit brought by 19 victims in 2012.
Despite the state’s ban on Cabot’s gas extraction activities in and around Dimock, late in 2012 Cabot was allowed to frack multiple gas wells they had drilled years earlier. Soon after, Mr. Kemble’s water well was re-contaminated. At least three other water wells nearby were also contaminated after that fracking occurred.
Victims of water pollution are often required to sign non-disclosure agreements which bar them from speaking about their pollution cases. Mr. Kemble’s lawyers re-wrote his agreement to give Mr. Kemble more latitude to continue to speak publicly about the harm he suffered.
Cabot is suing Mr. Kemble for business disparagement, believing he did not have had the right to continue to speak publicly about his case."
Friday, October 20, 2017
Super We, the Earth, and Me Essay, and SAVE the DATES!
Hello Sustainable Monroeville and way beyond,
Please, let's continue to be supportive of one another as we move into our Regenerative Future NOW without the extractive culture of Western, Pennsylvania's past. First, we must be sure to protect our health, wellness and property values through the enforcement of Protective Seismic Testing and Oil and Gas Ordinances, and next we must start to grow our own food, support the solar and wind revolution in our suburban community and well, come to our meetings to learn more, and get involved in our Transition Town Community!
Please, let's continue to be supportive of one another as we move into our Regenerative Future NOW without the extractive culture of Western, Pennsylvania's past. First, we must be sure to protect our health, wellness and property values through the enforcement of Protective Seismic Testing and Oil and Gas Ordinances, and next we must start to grow our own food, support the solar and wind revolution in our suburban community and well, come to our meetings to learn more, and get involved in our Transition Town Community!
SAVE the DATES:
Thursday, November 2, 2017 at 7:00 PM Budget meeting at the Monroeville Municipal building.
Monday, November 6, 2017, at 7:00 PM, for the next Sustainable Monroeville meeting with Heather Harr of the League of Women Voters, Debbie Larson of the Environmental Health Project & Doug Shields of Food and Water Watch followed by open discussion at the Monroeville Public Library.
Thursday, November 9, 2017, at 6:30 PM for the Budget Meeting and 7:00 PM (ish) for Monroeville Citizen's Night at the Municipal Building
Tuesday, November 14, 2017, at 7:00 PM for Council Meeting at the Municipal Building
Monday, November 13, 2017, for the FREE Shale and Public Health Education Day in Pittsburgh, PA, sponsored by the League of Women Voters. Registration is open! https://shalepalwv.org/2017-shale-public-health-conference/
Pediatrician Ned Ketyer, http://www.thepediablog.com/.../pittsburghs-climate.../ will be one of the speakers at the Shale and Public Health Conference!
Pediatrician Ned Ketyer, http://www.thepediablog.com/.../pittsburghs-climate.../ will be one of the speakers at the Shale and Public Health Conference!
This incredible essay was posted by Sybil Azur, a new graduate of The Climate Reality Project that just trained 1400 people, including me, at the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, PA, from October 17-October 19, 2017. My estimate is that about 400 to 500 people in the training were from the Western, PA, region. Halleluyah! Enjoy this essay, so appropriate for the Halloween season, and let us know how you love the essay, and how it resonated with you. Send responses, questions, inquiries and to learn about volunteer opportunities to us at sustainablemonroeville@gmail.com Have a blessed day! Elisa Beck, Sustainable Monroeville :)😍
Super We, the Earth, and Me, by Sybil Azur
When my son was two-years-old, he entered a typical toddler phase- the superhero obsession. He had never seen Batman on TV or in the movies, nor had my husband or I spoken to him about Superman’s super-human skill set. Yet somehow, the moment he laid eyes on the big black bat emblazoned on the eight dollar cape and shirt set at Target, he knew that there was something inherently magical on that hanger that he needed to be a part of. More than three years and three shirt sizes later, he has matured from zealot to enthusiast, but his dedication to these icons still burns strong. Scared of getting a flu shot? Fearful of the the whir of the dentist’s tools? He tucked a twelve-inch plastic Falcon action figure under his arm to give him courage. His Batman costume (which he wore two years in a row and many days in between) made him feel invincible, and he, along with his partners in trick-or-treating, Batgirl and Supergirl, ran down the dark streets of our California suburb, unafraid of the ghouls and goblins, committed to their search for candy. These characters make him and every kid like him feel brave, capable, and poised to come to the rescue. So now, it’s my turn.
It’s been eleven years since I first saw An Inconvenient Truth, former Vice President Al Gore’s harrowingly brilliant documentary about climate change. I was petrified, heart broken, and horrified about the dismal fate that was barreling our way. At the same time, I was energized and inspired to step in the ring and join the fight. I was ready to go beyond energy-efficient lightbulbs, recycling, and a plant-based diet, so I went back to school in my thirties and earned my degree in International Development and Environmental Studies. After giving up weekends, summers, and sunlight for years in exchange for empowerment, I graduated with honors, and was ready to activate my newfound powers. I was confident that with commitment, a well-crafted plan, and grit, we could nudge the world in the right direction.
But then life happened. I went through an amicable turned spiteful divorce, changed careers, and got a job that had me working fifteen-hour days, six days a week for close to minimum wage. The following year, the tides turned, and I moved in with my boyfriend and started planning for a family. Nearly six years and two kids later, I’ve done virtually nothing for our planet. I have chronic mommy brain (yes, it is a real thing); it has emptied the contents of my cerebral matter, sapped my energy, and made it impossible to focus on anything when the children are around (which up to late has been ALWAYS). But finally, yes finally, my babies are getting older (they’re five and three now), and they spend most of their days learning, playing, and snacking at their respective elementary and preschools. It’s time for me to get back to another noble mission, defeating the most insidious and fast-moving nemesis of our time.
On August 19th of this year, my now husband and I dedicated our date night to seeing An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power. Just when I thought that by not looking, the problem may have disappeared, retreated back into the genie’s bottle, leaving little more than a trace of smog as a memento, I discovered that I was wrong. Ignorance is not bliss, it merely compounds the problem, eventually rendering it impossible to ignore. In this jarring follow up to Mr. Gore’s first film, the audience is given an insider’s view into the Paris Climate Accord negotiations. In addition, it showcases various training sessions (the first one took place in a barn on his property in 2006, and was attended by a handful of ardent and resolute participants), in which Mr. Gore and his team educate everyday people to sound the alarm about climate change and work as a collective to advocate for the planet. I saw these trainings and a light went on. I searched online and discovered that the next coaching session was around the corner. It was time to step up to the plate, so with the support of my husband, I applied for the training. Exactly two months later, to the day, I sit here typing, flying home with a certificate of completion tucked in my folder, and a green circle pinned to my sweater, signaling that I’ve been inducted into the ranks of Climate Reality Leaders. Today, I, along with 1,400 other new trainees from thirty countries (the largest graduating class to date), join forces with a league of courageous warriors fighting for truth, environmental justice, and a sustainable prosperity. What an honor.
We are armed with ingenuity and technology, empirical evidence and tenacity, fellowship and heart, and most importantly, hope. These are the supernatural tools we will employ to win the war against climate change. Our mission is clear: build consensus among our peers and work fervently yet thoughtfully to reverse course on a path that will otherwise undoubtedly lead to our destruction. Denial is not an option, just as ignoring a cancer will not make it go away. Our enemy is cunning. This villain is sinister and has weapons in its arsenal that kill at will, without discrimination (although it often targets the most vulnerable first), and without regard to whether or not you believe in its existence. With each passing year, we are experiencing weather events that are more extreme, more frequent, and more relentless in their punishment. Hurricanes yield more destruction, rising waters drown out cries for help, fires burn brighter, droughts last longer, and temperatures continue to hit new highs.
If your child was suffering from a chronic disease, wouldn’t you comfort them, seek a diagnosis, and do everything in your power to find a cure? Shouldn’t we do the very same when our home, the only home of our children and every life force that sustains us, is pleading, warning us that catastrophe is near? The command is irrefutable. It can be overwhelming, complex, and depressing. But like any other sleep-deprived, shell-shocked new parent, I know that WE can dedicate ourselves to this most worthy and necessary duty with focus, straightforwardness, optimism, and above all, teamwork. Because we are the creators of this ailment, we must also be the ones to save the Earth from its tragic fate. It is time to put on our capes and be brave, capable, and poised to come to the rescue. Our little superheroes are depending on us. ~ Sybil Azur
Thanks Sybil, for sharing your amazing and inspiring essay with us. As we move into this amazing new world, we need everyone to be a participant in the shift that we see happening before our very eyes! Life is so much fun! Blessings and thanks to all of you for all you are and all you do...
Elisa Beck :)
Like Sustainable Monroeville in Facebook!
It’s been eleven years since I first saw An Inconvenient Truth, former Vice President Al Gore’s harrowingly brilliant documentary about climate change. I was petrified, heart broken, and horrified about the dismal fate that was barreling our way. At the same time, I was energized and inspired to step in the ring and join the fight. I was ready to go beyond energy-efficient lightbulbs, recycling, and a plant-based diet, so I went back to school in my thirties and earned my degree in International Development and Environmental Studies. After giving up weekends, summers, and sunlight for years in exchange for empowerment, I graduated with honors, and was ready to activate my newfound powers. I was confident that with commitment, a well-crafted plan, and grit, we could nudge the world in the right direction.
But then life happened. I went through an amicable turned spiteful divorce, changed careers, and got a job that had me working fifteen-hour days, six days a week for close to minimum wage. The following year, the tides turned, and I moved in with my boyfriend and started planning for a family. Nearly six years and two kids later, I’ve done virtually nothing for our planet. I have chronic mommy brain (yes, it is a real thing); it has emptied the contents of my cerebral matter, sapped my energy, and made it impossible to focus on anything when the children are around (which up to late has been ALWAYS). But finally, yes finally, my babies are getting older (they’re five and three now), and they spend most of their days learning, playing, and snacking at their respective elementary and preschools. It’s time for me to get back to another noble mission, defeating the most insidious and fast-moving nemesis of our time.
On August 19th of this year, my now husband and I dedicated our date night to seeing An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power. Just when I thought that by not looking, the problem may have disappeared, retreated back into the genie’s bottle, leaving little more than a trace of smog as a memento, I discovered that I was wrong. Ignorance is not bliss, it merely compounds the problem, eventually rendering it impossible to ignore. In this jarring follow up to Mr. Gore’s first film, the audience is given an insider’s view into the Paris Climate Accord negotiations. In addition, it showcases various training sessions (the first one took place in a barn on his property in 2006, and was attended by a handful of ardent and resolute participants), in which Mr. Gore and his team educate everyday people to sound the alarm about climate change and work as a collective to advocate for the planet. I saw these trainings and a light went on. I searched online and discovered that the next coaching session was around the corner. It was time to step up to the plate, so with the support of my husband, I applied for the training. Exactly two months later, to the day, I sit here typing, flying home with a certificate of completion tucked in my folder, and a green circle pinned to my sweater, signaling that I’ve been inducted into the ranks of Climate Reality Leaders. Today, I, along with 1,400 other new trainees from thirty countries (the largest graduating class to date), join forces with a league of courageous warriors fighting for truth, environmental justice, and a sustainable prosperity. What an honor.
We are armed with ingenuity and technology, empirical evidence and tenacity, fellowship and heart, and most importantly, hope. These are the supernatural tools we will employ to win the war against climate change. Our mission is clear: build consensus among our peers and work fervently yet thoughtfully to reverse course on a path that will otherwise undoubtedly lead to our destruction. Denial is not an option, just as ignoring a cancer will not make it go away. Our enemy is cunning. This villain is sinister and has weapons in its arsenal that kill at will, without discrimination (although it often targets the most vulnerable first), and without regard to whether or not you believe in its existence. With each passing year, we are experiencing weather events that are more extreme, more frequent, and more relentless in their punishment. Hurricanes yield more destruction, rising waters drown out cries for help, fires burn brighter, droughts last longer, and temperatures continue to hit new highs.
If your child was suffering from a chronic disease, wouldn’t you comfort them, seek a diagnosis, and do everything in your power to find a cure? Shouldn’t we do the very same when our home, the only home of our children and every life force that sustains us, is pleading, warning us that catastrophe is near? The command is irrefutable. It can be overwhelming, complex, and depressing. But like any other sleep-deprived, shell-shocked new parent, I know that WE can dedicate ourselves to this most worthy and necessary duty with focus, straightforwardness, optimism, and above all, teamwork. Because we are the creators of this ailment, we must also be the ones to save the Earth from its tragic fate. It is time to put on our capes and be brave, capable, and poised to come to the rescue. Our little superheroes are depending on us. ~ Sybil Azur
Thanks Sybil, for sharing your amazing and inspiring essay with us. As we move into this amazing new world, we need everyone to be a participant in the shift that we see happening before our very eyes! Life is so much fun! Blessings and thanks to all of you for all you are and all you do...
Elisa Beck :)
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Friday, September 29, 2017
Call for Volunteers and Save the Dates!!
Hello, and Happy Beautiful Fall!
We need YOU whether or not you live in Monroeville, PA! We will reciprocate with other communities as it's time to come together and work together for Clean Air and Fresh Water for all of us. We share the same Airsheds and Watersheds, all of US!
We need callers to remind folks about the Sustainable Monroeville meeting this coming Monday, October 2, 2017 at 7:00 PM at the Monroeville Public Library; the Citizen's Night meeting this coming Thursday, October 5, 2017, at 7:00 PM at the Monroeville Municipal building, and for the Council meeting on Tuesday, October 10, 2017, at 7:00 PM where Monroeville council will be voting on amending the existing Oil and Gas Zoning Code to limit FRACKING to industrial zones in Monroeville, PA.
If you are available to make calls for one hour, or many hours, please contact Doug Shields of Food and Water Watch at dshields@fwwatch.org
If you are available to make calls for one hour, or many hours, please contact Doug Shields of Food and Water Watch at dshields@fwwatch.org
See the incredible exhibit called Petrochemical America at the SPACE Gallery in Pittsburgh, PA. It's there at SPACE through October 7, 2017. We do NOT want Monroeville, or the whole state of PA for that matter, allowing gas flares spewing pollution into our lungs anymore...
SAVE the DATES:
Monday, November 6, 2017 at 7:00 PM for the next Sustainable Monroeville meeting with Heather Harr of the League of Women Voters and also a speaker from the Environmental Health Project with open discussion.
Thursday, November 8, 2017 at 7;00 PM for Citizen's Night
Tuesday, November 14, 2017 at 7:00 PM for Council Meeting
Monday, November 13, 2017 for the FREE Shale & Public Health Education Day in Pittsburgh, PA, sponsored by the League of Women Voters. Registration is open!
Monday, November 6, 2017 at 7:00 PM for the next Sustainable Monroeville meeting with Heather Harr of the League of Women Voters and also a speaker from the Environmental Health Project with open discussion.
Thursday, November 8, 2017 at 7;00 PM for Citizen's Night
Tuesday, November 14, 2017 at 7:00 PM for Council Meeting
Monday, November 13, 2017 for the FREE Shale & Public Health Education Day in Pittsburgh, PA, sponsored by the League of Women Voters. Registration is open!
Blessings for our Regenerative Future NOW! Elisa Beck:)
Like Sustainable Monroeville on Facebook!
Saturday, July 15, 2017
Clearing the Air in Monroeville with the Clean Air Council, ProtecT, and Protect Our Children
On July 18, 2017 we'll meet with the Clean Air Council at the Good Shepard Lutheran Church to learn about clean air in Monroeville!
Please note, the meeting will be at the Good Shepard Lutheran Church in Monroeville, PA.
Happy July everyone! :)
Here's the link with details: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByMeKDxLK264SEdpWTVCZ3ZIV2Nhem90TmtRNkF2MnlkQUFv/view
Please note, the meeting will be at the Good Shepard Lutheran Church in Monroeville, PA.
Happy July everyone! :)
Here's the link with details: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByMeKDxLK264SEdpWTVCZ3ZIV2Nhem90TmtRNkF2MnlkQUFv/view
Saturday, February 11, 2017
The Way We Live Documentary Screening with Tom Jefferson LIVE! Monday evening, March 6, 2017 at 7:00 PM. Whole Food Plant Based Pot Luck at 6:00 PM!
Hello and Happy Full Moon! Mark your calendar for the next meeting of Sustainable Monroeville on Monday, March 6, 2017. Get ready for an AMAZING EVENING!
At 6:00 PM we'll have a whole food, plant based pot luck dinner. Please bring your own plate and utensils and we'll pack in, pack out and have a zero waste event! Beginning at 7:00 PM, we'll screen the documentary. The Way We Live, filmed and produced by local Pittsburgh documentary filmmaker and photographer, Tom Jefferson. Mr. Tom Jefferson has been involved in filming and educating the world wide community about climate change and social justice related to EcoWarriorship for a very long time. Here's the link to the trailer for the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0YDgBxLz3s Tom will join us for Q&A and brief discussion before and after the film. We'll also explore local ACTION opportunities.
Sustainable Monroeville meetings are free and open to the public. There is a $5.00 or more suggested donation for this meeting to compensate Mr. Jefferson for his amazingness.
Blessings again and again for a Happy Healthy 2017 for all of us!
Elisa Beck:)
LIKE Sustainable Monroeville on Facebook!
At 6:00 PM we'll have a whole food, plant based pot luck dinner. Please bring your own plate and utensils and we'll pack in, pack out and have a zero waste event! Beginning at 7:00 PM, we'll screen the documentary. The Way We Live, filmed and produced by local Pittsburgh documentary filmmaker and photographer, Tom Jefferson. Mr. Tom Jefferson has been involved in filming and educating the world wide community about climate change and social justice related to EcoWarriorship for a very long time. Here's the link to the trailer for the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0YDgBxLz3s Tom will join us for Q&A and brief discussion before and after the film. We'll also explore local ACTION opportunities.
Sustainable Monroeville meetings are free and open to the public. There is a $5.00 or more suggested donation for this meeting to compensate Mr. Jefferson for his amazingness.
Blessings again and again for a Happy Healthy 2017 for all of us!
Elisa Beck:)
LIKE Sustainable Monroeville on Facebook!
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
We LOVE YOU Royal Dutch Shell and our Regenerative Spirit Meeting and Name Change on Monday, January 9, 2017 at 7:00 PM
What, we LOVE YOU, Royal Dutch Shell? Yes, we do! Why? I have taken to saying thank you each (spell check changed each to ouch!) and every time I use or wear a piece of plastic or something that has plastic in it. Like what? The plastic Apple keypad I'm typing on, the coating on the zipper on the jacket I'm wearing. The table my computer rests on. The pen sitting on my desk, the cover of the holiday cards I sent out, and the list goes on and on. I've taken to saying Thank You Shell each and every time I throw away a piece of plastic....a plastic bag, a plastic carry out food container.
The first job we have is to raise our awareness about how plasticized our entire culture has become...., thank Shell for this plastic production, and then as we shift into the REGENERATIVE Future which is NOW, we will see clearly what our work is.
We have the technologies for our Regenerative Future. WE MUST HAVE the WILL AS WELL. So let's get this party started with the New Year of 2017, with Joy, Gratitude, and most of all Deep Deep Compassion for ourselves and for all others, including Royal Dutch Shell for providing us with the now old and outdated technology called "Cracker" Plants and Plastic Production. From now on, Shell will be researching and Producing our Regenerative Future as Collaborators with those of us who know how! Let's Go!
Happy New Year y'all. May we be blessed in this coming year with an instantaneous shift towards our REGENERATIVE FUTURE NOW! Not simply Sustainability, but Regeneration! The next meeting of Sustainable/Regenerative Monroeville (name change budding:) will be on Monday evening, January 9, 2017 in the downstairs program room of the Monroeville Public Library at 7:00 PM. We'll be welcoming in the New Year with a Regeneration of the Spirit Yoga Gathering and Regenerative Intentions Session that we'll all participate in facilitated by the founder of Regenerative Monroeville, Elisa Beck. Free and Open to all...Donations graciously accepted to be donated to a charity of our choice :)
The first job we have is to raise our awareness about how plasticized our entire culture has become...., thank Shell for this plastic production, and then as we shift into the REGENERATIVE Future which is NOW, we will see clearly what our work is.
We have the technologies for our Regenerative Future. WE MUST HAVE the WILL AS WELL. So let's get this party started with the New Year of 2017, with Joy, Gratitude, and most of all Deep Deep Compassion for ourselves and for all others, including Royal Dutch Shell for providing us with the now old and outdated technology called "Cracker" Plants and Plastic Production. From now on, Shell will be researching and Producing our Regenerative Future as Collaborators with those of us who know how! Let's Go!
Happy New Year y'all. May we be blessed in this coming year with an instantaneous shift towards our REGENERATIVE FUTURE NOW! Not simply Sustainability, but Regeneration! The next meeting of Sustainable/Regenerative Monroeville (name change budding:) will be on Monday evening, January 9, 2017 in the downstairs program room of the Monroeville Public Library at 7:00 PM. We'll be welcoming in the New Year with a Regeneration of the Spirit Yoga Gathering and Regenerative Intentions Session that we'll all participate in facilitated by the founder of Regenerative Monroeville, Elisa Beck. Free and Open to all...Donations graciously accepted to be donated to a charity of our choice :)
Wear loose comfortable clothing, and bring along a Yoga Mat if you'd like to join us on the floor! :)
Mark your calendar for Wednesday, January 11, 2017 at 6:00 PM and plan to make your voice heard with your opinion of the proposed Shell Oil "Cracker" Plant at the next Potter Township government meeting in Monaca, PA. Carpools will be happening. If you are leaving from Monroeville and would like to carpool, contact us at sustainablemonroeville@gmail.com
Blessings and more Blessings for all of us in this amazing New Year! Here's a BIG toast with wheat grass juice to our Regenerative, Resilient Future NOW!
Elisa Beck:)
sustainablemonroeville@gmail.com (yup, the old name is still in the logo and e-mail.....ya know any graphic artists who'd like to help out for updates?!:)
Mark your calendar for Wednesday, January 11, 2017 at 6:00 PM and plan to make your voice heard with your opinion of the proposed Shell Oil "Cracker" Plant at the next Potter Township government meeting in Monaca, PA. Carpools will be happening. If you are leaving from Monroeville and would like to carpool, contact us at sustainablemonroeville@gmail.com
Blessings and more Blessings for all of us in this amazing New Year! Here's a BIG toast with wheat grass juice to our Regenerative, Resilient Future NOW!
Elisa Beck:)
sustainablemonroeville@gmail.com (yup, the old name is still in the logo and e-mail.....ya know any graphic artists who'd like to help out for updates?!:)
Saturday, December 31, 2016
Free Spirit Yoga and Great Intentions Setting on Monday, January 9, 2017. :) You Are Invited!
Happy New Year y'all. May we be blessed in this coming year with an instantaneous shift towards our REGENERATIVE FUTURE NOW! Not simply Sustainability, but Regeneration! The next meeting of Sustainable/Regenerative Monroeville (name change budding:) will be on Monday evening, January 9, 2017 in the downstairs program room of the Monroeville Public Library at 7:00 PM. We'll be welcoming in the New Year with a Regeneration of the Spirit Yoga Gathering and Regenerative Intentions Session that we'll all participate in facilitated by the founder of Regenerative Monroeville, Elisa Beck. Free and Open to all...Donations graciously accepted to be donated to a charity of our choice :)
Wear loose comfortable clothing, and bring along a Yoga Mat if you'd like to join us on the floor! :)
Tuesday, December 6, 2016
PROPOSED Shell Oil Cracker Plant DEP Permit Hearing Meeting: December 15, 2016 PA DEP meeting and So Many Thanks!
We are so blessed to live in Western PA. The landscape of our region is naturally beautiful. We enjoy the benefits of a city with the charm of many, many small towns and friendly people in and surrounding Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. We are blessed. My family is blessed. We are healthy, vital and all participate fully in life!
Within our blessings there is some dissonance. Perhaps I notice this dissonance a bit more, as I am not a Western PA native. I was born in Washington D.C. and grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, a suburb of the D.C. area. I've lived in Western PA for my whole married life, that's 26 years. I've chosen to let loose and talk about what I've been feeling. Juxtaposed with the beauty within us and surrounding us is a veil. Just below the veil sits not only a legacy of raped land and waters and surely raped people. That legacy has not ended. It is happening in the present moment and is real right now. It is still happening today and we are all to some degree unknowing participants. We sit and stand in the same room as others disassociated from our fellow human beings while focussing on our electronic devices. We forget about the beauty and necessity of simply BEING in the landscape, the great outdoors and we stay inside for most of our days. We are addicted to oil and gas. We drive our cars, fly in planes, wear plastic vegan shoes and clothing, eat meat, chicken, fish, and dairy foods. We poop and pee into a piped system that was designed a long time ago and does not work. It carries what leaves our bodies away, away into the rivers. What is away anyway? We're about to support a billions of dollars new "pipe" system to comply with a consent decree that makes no sense in our new world.
Our new world? What do you mean by that? We are living at this moment in time at the end of a 26,000 year cycle. The end of the Mayan calendar and the end of many eras according to many spiritual and religious traditions. We have the opportunity right NOW to shift our awareness and consciousness in ways that were not possible at other times in history or herstory.
We have the opportunity to change the story to one of complete gratitude, peace, and abundance. The opportunity to repair the world beginning with ourselves, our own inner ecosystems and working outward into our landscape. Some of us are BEING the CHANGE we with to see in this world NOW!
How? Glad you asked!
We are beginning to connect the dots in the Pittsburgh region. Those of us who have been working under the radar, away from what some could consider 'real' jobs, outside of the institutions of health care, education and government, those of us who have been working on Transition Town (check out Rob Hopkins and the Transition Town Movement he spearheaded in Totnes, England in 2005, perhaps the white man and women's version of re-discovering all of our indigenous roots?!:) projects are arriving. A few of these projects I have been directly facilitating. Two example projects are Sustainable Monroeville (sustainablemonroeville.blogspot.com) and the Schwartz Living Market (http://1317eastcarson.blogspot.com out of which has just hatched the For One Peace Artist Cooperative) process. These Transition Town, Regenerative, Independent processes along with other processes in the area after about six years have reached critical mass and are bearing fruit. Greg Boulos and his wife's Blackberry Meadows Farm are producing fresh Community Supported Agriculture for community and teaching people how to grow their own food. Mark Dixon of YERT.org fame has been active in numerous projects in the region including creating a film for Rachel Carson's 50th Anniversary last year with Mayor of Forest Hills' Patricia de Marco. Jeff Newman has started a cooperative called Steel City Soils in Braddock, PA and is demonstrating how organic produce can be turned into the best black gold there is on the planet! Kate O'Brien is showing how that black gold compost is used on a private Mckeesrocks, PA household lawn to grow some of the largest and most productive gardens including the most enormous sunflowers I ever did see! Maren Cooke's monthly Sustainability Salons just keep getting better and better and are educating more and more people about our Regenerative Future. Many more examples are exploding all around the Pittsburgh region!
And we are figuring out as a culture how to move beyond our addictions and heal from the inside out. As a neurodevelopmental optometrist specializing in optometric vision therapy, I understand deeply what is transpiring and what is possible with the WILL of our Human Spirit, and I am super excited about this moment in time as we are lifting the veil of dis-ease and morphing ourselves and the planet into the EDEN our planet is!
What is the secret? Positivity! Centering in our hearts, taking care of ourselves in ways we used to think were selfish, and sharing all we can with others all the time. That's it. That simple. That profound!
And now the deep, deep thanks for what is happening now to those that continue in the trenches for the short term. We'll shift now to work with one another on a major issue in this Western PA region. A situation that is about to transform our region into a true REGENERATIVE town!
Thank You Matt Mehalik, formerly of Sustainable Pittsburgh for organizing the meeting in Beaver County PA on Thursday evening, December 1, 2016 regarding the PROPOSED Shell Oil "Cracker" Plant where 150 concerned citizens met in Beaver County to hear many amazing speakers and see a documentary on how this type of plant affects community. Two amazing women spoke from their hearts about Cancer Alley, Louisiana where there is a "Cracker" Plant. We learned that this Cracker Plant proposal for Beaver county, PA is NOT a done deal. In other words, this plant does NOT need to be constructed and may not be constructed even as Shell Oil acts as if the installation of this plant is inevitable. We learned that what the industry tells us is not the truth. We also heard some of the facts from Clean Water Action's Adam Tuznik. Thank You! Go to CleanWaterAction.org to the PA tab for updates on Actions.
Thank you Nora Alwine of the PA Department of Environmental Protection for answering a few questions related to the proposed Shell Oil Ethane "Cracker" Plant one half hour north of Pittsburgh, PA in Beaver County, Potter Township at the intersection of Routes 376 and 18. Thanks for being available for questions at 412-442-4137 or nalwine@pa.gov. Thanks for providing the contact information for both the Water and Air Permit reviewers for this proposed site. The Water Permit Reviewer is Ryan Decker, rydecker@pa.gov, 412-442-4144. The Air Permit Reviewer is Alan Binder, 412-442-4168 ABinder@pa.gov.
One or more permits have been issued and Shell Oil is now going for an amendment to the current permit which will allow them to construct the Cracker Plant on the designated site in Potter. It is VERY IMPORTANT that ALL of us (yes that means YOU as you are reading this article!! :) attend the DEP of PA Hearing on this issue Thursday, December 15, 2016. SAVE the time between 5:00 PM and 9:00 PM that evening, register with Nora Alwine of the DEP (see contact information above) if you'd like to speak for three minutes, and let's carpool to Beaver County together! Following the meeting on December 15, 2016, there will be a comment period open until December 26, 2016. Yes, right smack in the middle of holiday season!
There is an extensive fact sheet on the PA DEP.PA.gov web site. Follow this trail to get there:
1) Go to the dep.pa.gov web site 2) On the front page of the site, click on Regional Resources 3) Scroll down and click on Southwest Regional 4) Scroll again and click on Community Information 5) Scroll again and click on Shell and you'll see the extensive FACT SHEET describing what Shell Oil is asking for.
Now I will share much of what I plan to say in my testimony at this upcoming DEP Hearing:
Hello Community members and Shell Oil Company members. Thanks for the opportunity to speak to you for a few minutes this evening. I am feeling so blessed that the opportunity has arisen for so much of the community to come together and unify around our Regenerative Future which is NOW! I am feeling so much compassion for all of us and feeling gratefulness to be standing before you. I know how lucky and blessed I am. I juice each and every morning for myself and for my family. It's our morning detox. As we go inside and detoxify our inner ecosystems, our brains and hearts become clearer and we start to understand. I understand why spirit has guided us to visit Beaver, the site of this proposed Shell Cracker plant. The paradigm shift from 1957 when the Shippensport Nuclear Power Plant was installed a few miles up the Ohio River from this former Zinc Smelter Plant Site (that still carries the toxic load of Mercury and Lead) was the Extractive Paradigm. That it's OK to take from (a.k.a. RAPE) the Earth, our Mother, our Mother Earth, and give nothing in return.
As 2016 comes to a close, many of us are waking up in a new reality. At this moment, at this time, we understand Mother Earth, our Mother, is exhausted from being raped so brutally and so consistently. She is ready for deep, deep compassion and deep recovery. All of us are!
Shell Oil executives and workers who have so carefully prepared the infrastructure for this proposed plant. Thank You! Mother Earth has a Regenerative, Rejeuvenative proposal for you. Employ yourselves and your workers in the Regenerative, Rejeuvenative business of the NEW EARTH. Give back more than you take. Double the number of workers to 12,000 people who will be permanently employed at the site of this former Zinc Smelter Plant. Replace the Cracker Plant plans with a REGENERATIVE Plant that will produce energy in a REGENERATIVE WAY and restore the Earth in its operation. Build a LIVING BUILDING CHALLENGE Campus on that 400 acre site. Use all of the locals who have built or are registered to build Living Buildings in Pittsburgh such as The Center for Sustainable Living and the SEED classroom at Phipps Conservatory, the Frick Environmental Center and The Schwartz Living Market as resources in the Pittsburgh region. Teach your workers Permaculture, teach them how to take care of themselves from the inside out. Teach them both inner ecosystem cleansing, outer ecosystem (air, water, spirit, emotional clarity) cleansing and then maintenance to show the planet how one of the most toxic places on Planet Earth can not only be restored to its original beautifully magnificent self, but can exceed everyone's wildest expectations and become the EDEN inside and out that we were all meant to be in amazing cooperative, collaborative and regenerative community. Thank you Shell Oil for giving us this opportunity for paradigm shifting just upstream from the POINT~ the sacred union of the Four Rivers in Pittsburgh, PA. So many of us are so very excited! May we all be blessed as we work together as ONE!~:)
Within our blessings there is some dissonance. Perhaps I notice this dissonance a bit more, as I am not a Western PA native. I was born in Washington D.C. and grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, a suburb of the D.C. area. I've lived in Western PA for my whole married life, that's 26 years. I've chosen to let loose and talk about what I've been feeling. Juxtaposed with the beauty within us and surrounding us is a veil. Just below the veil sits not only a legacy of raped land and waters and surely raped people. That legacy has not ended. It is happening in the present moment and is real right now. It is still happening today and we are all to some degree unknowing participants. We sit and stand in the same room as others disassociated from our fellow human beings while focussing on our electronic devices. We forget about the beauty and necessity of simply BEING in the landscape, the great outdoors and we stay inside for most of our days. We are addicted to oil and gas. We drive our cars, fly in planes, wear plastic vegan shoes and clothing, eat meat, chicken, fish, and dairy foods. We poop and pee into a piped system that was designed a long time ago and does not work. It carries what leaves our bodies away, away into the rivers. What is away anyway? We're about to support a billions of dollars new "pipe" system to comply with a consent decree that makes no sense in our new world.
Our new world? What do you mean by that? We are living at this moment in time at the end of a 26,000 year cycle. The end of the Mayan calendar and the end of many eras according to many spiritual and religious traditions. We have the opportunity right NOW to shift our awareness and consciousness in ways that were not possible at other times in history or herstory.
We have the opportunity to change the story to one of complete gratitude, peace, and abundance. The opportunity to repair the world beginning with ourselves, our own inner ecosystems and working outward into our landscape. Some of us are BEING the CHANGE we with to see in this world NOW!
How? Glad you asked!
We are beginning to connect the dots in the Pittsburgh region. Those of us who have been working under the radar, away from what some could consider 'real' jobs, outside of the institutions of health care, education and government, those of us who have been working on Transition Town (check out Rob Hopkins and the Transition Town Movement he spearheaded in Totnes, England in 2005, perhaps the white man and women's version of re-discovering all of our indigenous roots?!:) projects are arriving. A few of these projects I have been directly facilitating. Two example projects are Sustainable Monroeville (sustainablemonroeville.blogspot.com) and the Schwartz Living Market (http://1317eastcarson.blogspot.com out of which has just hatched the For One Peace Artist Cooperative) process. These Transition Town, Regenerative, Independent processes along with other processes in the area after about six years have reached critical mass and are bearing fruit. Greg Boulos and his wife's Blackberry Meadows Farm are producing fresh Community Supported Agriculture for community and teaching people how to grow their own food. Mark Dixon of YERT.org fame has been active in numerous projects in the region including creating a film for Rachel Carson's 50th Anniversary last year with Mayor of Forest Hills' Patricia de Marco. Jeff Newman has started a cooperative called Steel City Soils in Braddock, PA and is demonstrating how organic produce can be turned into the best black gold there is on the planet! Kate O'Brien is showing how that black gold compost is used on a private Mckeesrocks, PA household lawn to grow some of the largest and most productive gardens including the most enormous sunflowers I ever did see! Maren Cooke's monthly Sustainability Salons just keep getting better and better and are educating more and more people about our Regenerative Future. Many more examples are exploding all around the Pittsburgh region!
And we are figuring out as a culture how to move beyond our addictions and heal from the inside out. As a neurodevelopmental optometrist specializing in optometric vision therapy, I understand deeply what is transpiring and what is possible with the WILL of our Human Spirit, and I am super excited about this moment in time as we are lifting the veil of dis-ease and morphing ourselves and the planet into the EDEN our planet is!
What is the secret? Positivity! Centering in our hearts, taking care of ourselves in ways we used to think were selfish, and sharing all we can with others all the time. That's it. That simple. That profound!
And now the deep, deep thanks for what is happening now to those that continue in the trenches for the short term. We'll shift now to work with one another on a major issue in this Western PA region. A situation that is about to transform our region into a true REGENERATIVE town!
Thank You Matt Mehalik, formerly of Sustainable Pittsburgh for organizing the meeting in Beaver County PA on Thursday evening, December 1, 2016 regarding the PROPOSED Shell Oil "Cracker" Plant where 150 concerned citizens met in Beaver County to hear many amazing speakers and see a documentary on how this type of plant affects community. Two amazing women spoke from their hearts about Cancer Alley, Louisiana where there is a "Cracker" Plant. We learned that this Cracker Plant proposal for Beaver county, PA is NOT a done deal. In other words, this plant does NOT need to be constructed and may not be constructed even as Shell Oil acts as if the installation of this plant is inevitable. We learned that what the industry tells us is not the truth. We also heard some of the facts from Clean Water Action's Adam Tuznik. Thank You! Go to CleanWaterAction.org to the PA tab for updates on Actions.
Thank you Nora Alwine of the PA Department of Environmental Protection for answering a few questions related to the proposed Shell Oil Ethane "Cracker" Plant one half hour north of Pittsburgh, PA in Beaver County, Potter Township at the intersection of Routes 376 and 18. Thanks for being available for questions at 412-442-4137 or nalwine@pa.gov. Thanks for providing the contact information for both the Water and Air Permit reviewers for this proposed site. The Water Permit Reviewer is Ryan Decker, rydecker@pa.gov, 412-442-4144. The Air Permit Reviewer is Alan Binder, 412-442-4168 ABinder@pa.gov.
One or more permits have been issued and Shell Oil is now going for an amendment to the current permit which will allow them to construct the Cracker Plant on the designated site in Potter. It is VERY IMPORTANT that ALL of us (yes that means YOU as you are reading this article!! :) attend the DEP of PA Hearing on this issue Thursday, December 15, 2016. SAVE the time between 5:00 PM and 9:00 PM that evening, register with Nora Alwine of the DEP (see contact information above) if you'd like to speak for three minutes, and let's carpool to Beaver County together! Following the meeting on December 15, 2016, there will be a comment period open until December 26, 2016. Yes, right smack in the middle of holiday season!
There is an extensive fact sheet on the PA DEP.PA.gov web site. Follow this trail to get there:
1) Go to the dep.pa.gov web site 2) On the front page of the site, click on Regional Resources 3) Scroll down and click on Southwest Regional 4) Scroll again and click on Community Information 5) Scroll again and click on Shell and you'll see the extensive FACT SHEET describing what Shell Oil is asking for.
Now I will share much of what I plan to say in my testimony at this upcoming DEP Hearing:
Hello Community members and Shell Oil Company members. Thanks for the opportunity to speak to you for a few minutes this evening. I am feeling so blessed that the opportunity has arisen for so much of the community to come together and unify around our Regenerative Future which is NOW! I am feeling so much compassion for all of us and feeling gratefulness to be standing before you. I know how lucky and blessed I am. I juice each and every morning for myself and for my family. It's our morning detox. As we go inside and detoxify our inner ecosystems, our brains and hearts become clearer and we start to understand. I understand why spirit has guided us to visit Beaver, the site of this proposed Shell Cracker plant. The paradigm shift from 1957 when the Shippensport Nuclear Power Plant was installed a few miles up the Ohio River from this former Zinc Smelter Plant Site (that still carries the toxic load of Mercury and Lead) was the Extractive Paradigm. That it's OK to take from (a.k.a. RAPE) the Earth, our Mother, our Mother Earth, and give nothing in return.
As 2016 comes to a close, many of us are waking up in a new reality. At this moment, at this time, we understand Mother Earth, our Mother, is exhausted from being raped so brutally and so consistently. She is ready for deep, deep compassion and deep recovery. All of us are!
Shell Oil executives and workers who have so carefully prepared the infrastructure for this proposed plant. Thank You! Mother Earth has a Regenerative, Rejeuvenative proposal for you. Employ yourselves and your workers in the Regenerative, Rejeuvenative business of the NEW EARTH. Give back more than you take. Double the number of workers to 12,000 people who will be permanently employed at the site of this former Zinc Smelter Plant. Replace the Cracker Plant plans with a REGENERATIVE Plant that will produce energy in a REGENERATIVE WAY and restore the Earth in its operation. Build a LIVING BUILDING CHALLENGE Campus on that 400 acre site. Use all of the locals who have built or are registered to build Living Buildings in Pittsburgh such as The Center for Sustainable Living and the SEED classroom at Phipps Conservatory, the Frick Environmental Center and The Schwartz Living Market as resources in the Pittsburgh region. Teach your workers Permaculture, teach them how to take care of themselves from the inside out. Teach them both inner ecosystem cleansing, outer ecosystem (air, water, spirit, emotional clarity) cleansing and then maintenance to show the planet how one of the most toxic places on Planet Earth can not only be restored to its original beautifully magnificent self, but can exceed everyone's wildest expectations and become the EDEN inside and out that we were all meant to be in amazing cooperative, collaborative and regenerative community. Thank you Shell Oil for giving us this opportunity for paradigm shifting just upstream from the POINT~ the sacred union of the Four Rivers in Pittsburgh, PA. So many of us are so very excited! May we all be blessed as we work together as ONE!~:)
Monday, December 5, 2016
Adam Tuznik of Clean Water Action and IMPORTANT Action items this week and next week!
Happy December !
What does our Regenerative Future look like? What is a Tessla-Style Positive Energy Plant anyway? There's one in Russia that will take care of all of the energy needs of that country should the grid there go down.... So you say? What does that energy plant look like, and what does it do? How do we facilitate one of those Tessla`style plants in this Pittsburgh region on a site being prepared right now in Beaver County so we bring the Western PA region into the new moment of our REGENERATIVE FUTURE NOW as an incredible leader!
Donald Trump spoke with Al Gore for close to 90 minutes today and they talked about Climate Change! Hmmm. Did Al let Donald know how monetarily profitable, how gratifying, how unifying, how simply AMAZING the Regenerative Future will be for all of us? What is this new story you're telling me? It seems so different from what I am used to...How do I integrate all of it?
Try this for three minutes:
1) Connect with your heart. Go inside yourself. Connect with your heart in a way you feel comfortable with. Touch your heart with your hand, put your hands in prayer in front of your heart, or simply put your hands wherever you'd like and think of your heart.
2) Close your eyes. Slow your breath. Five seconds for an in breath and five seconds for an out breath. Three cycles of this breathing series...
3) BE compassion, gratitude, thankfulness. Count your blessings.
Adam Tuznik spoke with us tonight at our December 2016, Sustainable Monroeville meeting about Clean Water Action's initiatives including discussion about The Clean Water Rule, The "Clean" Power Plant, and the victory closing the Shenango Coke Works Plant. He mentioned the combined sewerage overflow issue and the Consent Decree...We asked about including composting toilets in the discussion of Permaculture planning to reverse the sewerage overflow issue.... Tough subject during a pot luck dinner! We missed Mya Zeronis and wonder where she is. We hope she is doing well... We talked about the importance of eating lower on the food chain as an action towards lessening our footprint on Mother Earth. We modeled taking care of ourselves by sharing a delicious whole food, plant based vegan meal together.
ACTIONS:
Mark your calendar to take a trip to Potter Township in Beaver County on the following dates: December 7, 2016 at 5:30 PM for the Press Conference regarding the proposed Shell Oil Cracker Plant. Location: Potter County Municipal Building
December 13, 2016 at 3:00 PM for the final hearing and likely vote on land use issues for the proposed Shell Oil Cracker Plant. Location: Potter County Municipal Building
December 15, 2016 from 5:00 to 8:00 PM for a Public Hearing about the Shell Oil Cracker Plant. Register to speak at this public hearing with Ms. Alwine at 412-442-4137. Location: Central Valley High School, 160 Baker road, Monaca, PA15061
December 17, 2016 at 10:00 AM to visit the site at the intersection of routes 376 and 18 one half hour north of Pittsburgh, PA to carry water protector and air protector signs outside the fence line of the proposed Shell Oil Cracker Plant site and to raise awareness in the area about REGENERATIVE ENERGY alternative ideas for this site that Shell Oil will be able to implement for the protection of our entire Pittsburgh region and to create a power of 10 more jobs than those that will be created by the proposed Cracker Plant!
Send a letter to John Weinstein, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alcosan expressing your concern that not enough Regenerative Ideas are being included yet in the solution to the consent decree.
Learn about the Louisiana Bucket Brigade and how we can DIVEST from fossil fuels and INVEST in our REGENERATIVE FUTURE!
Many Blessings for our REGENERATIVE and Restorative FUTURE that is NOW!:)
Elisa Beck :)
sustainablemonroeville@gmail.com
What does our Regenerative Future look like? What is a Tessla-Style Positive Energy Plant anyway? There's one in Russia that will take care of all of the energy needs of that country should the grid there go down.... So you say? What does that energy plant look like, and what does it do? How do we facilitate one of those Tessla`style plants in this Pittsburgh region on a site being prepared right now in Beaver County so we bring the Western PA region into the new moment of our REGENERATIVE FUTURE NOW as an incredible leader!
Donald Trump spoke with Al Gore for close to 90 minutes today and they talked about Climate Change! Hmmm. Did Al let Donald know how monetarily profitable, how gratifying, how unifying, how simply AMAZING the Regenerative Future will be for all of us? What is this new story you're telling me? It seems so different from what I am used to...How do I integrate all of it?
Try this for three minutes:
1) Connect with your heart. Go inside yourself. Connect with your heart in a way you feel comfortable with. Touch your heart with your hand, put your hands in prayer in front of your heart, or simply put your hands wherever you'd like and think of your heart.
2) Close your eyes. Slow your breath. Five seconds for an in breath and five seconds for an out breath. Three cycles of this breathing series...
3) BE compassion, gratitude, thankfulness. Count your blessings.
Adam Tuznik spoke with us tonight at our December 2016, Sustainable Monroeville meeting about Clean Water Action's initiatives including discussion about The Clean Water Rule, The "Clean" Power Plant, and the victory closing the Shenango Coke Works Plant. He mentioned the combined sewerage overflow issue and the Consent Decree...We asked about including composting toilets in the discussion of Permaculture planning to reverse the sewerage overflow issue.... Tough subject during a pot luck dinner! We missed Mya Zeronis and wonder where she is. We hope she is doing well... We talked about the importance of eating lower on the food chain as an action towards lessening our footprint on Mother Earth. We modeled taking care of ourselves by sharing a delicious whole food, plant based vegan meal together.
ACTIONS:
Mark your calendar to take a trip to Potter Township in Beaver County on the following dates: December 7, 2016 at 5:30 PM for the Press Conference regarding the proposed Shell Oil Cracker Plant. Location: Potter County Municipal Building
December 13, 2016 at 3:00 PM for the final hearing and likely vote on land use issues for the proposed Shell Oil Cracker Plant. Location: Potter County Municipal Building
December 15, 2016 from 5:00 to 8:00 PM for a Public Hearing about the Shell Oil Cracker Plant. Register to speak at this public hearing with Ms. Alwine at 412-442-4137. Location: Central Valley High School, 160 Baker road, Monaca, PA15061
December 17, 2016 at 10:00 AM to visit the site at the intersection of routes 376 and 18 one half hour north of Pittsburgh, PA to carry water protector and air protector signs outside the fence line of the proposed Shell Oil Cracker Plant site and to raise awareness in the area about REGENERATIVE ENERGY alternative ideas for this site that Shell Oil will be able to implement for the protection of our entire Pittsburgh region and to create a power of 10 more jobs than those that will be created by the proposed Cracker Plant!
Send a letter to John Weinstein, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alcosan expressing your concern that not enough Regenerative Ideas are being included yet in the solution to the consent decree.
Learn about the Louisiana Bucket Brigade and how we can DIVEST from fossil fuels and INVEST in our REGENERATIVE FUTURE!
Many Blessings for our REGENERATIVE and Restorative FUTURE that is NOW!:)
Elisa Beck :)
sustainablemonroeville@gmail.com
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Free Documentary Screening; Nathan Crane's Search for Sustainability: Sustainable Health! Wednesday< may 4, 2016 from 7:00 to 8:30 PM
Join us on Wednesday evening, May 2, 2016 from 7:00 to 8:30 PM for the next meeting of Sustainable Monroeville. This meeting will be held in conjunction with the Monroeville Public Library. We will be showing the third documentary in Nathan Crane's Search For Sustainability Series. The title of the documentary is: Sustainable Health. Following the screening, there will be Q&A with Sustainable Health and Wellness Practitioners. Feel free to be one of those practitioners.... See you at the Library!
Details here: https://www.facebook.com/Sustainable-Monroeville-296298929312/
Many Blessings for abundant Health and Wellness,
Elisa Beck:)
Founder, Sustainable Monroeville
LIKE Sustainable Monroeville on Facebook!
Details here: https://www.facebook.com/Sustainable-Monroeville-296298929312/
Many Blessings for abundant Health and Wellness,
Elisa Beck:)
Founder, Sustainable Monroeville
LIKE Sustainable Monroeville on Facebook!
Friday, January 29, 2016
You Are Invited: Filmmaker Mark Dixon on COP 21 Paris Adventures! Monday, February 1, 2016 at 7:00 PM in the Monroeville Public Library
Join us on Monday, February 1, 2016 at 7:00 PM at the Monroeville Public Library to hear Mark Dixon on his trip to Paris for COP 21 A FIRST HAND ACCOUNT OF THE COP21 CLIMATE CHANGE SUMMIT
Mark Dixon, known throughout the region for his dedication to more sustainable solutions to our ecological and climate crisis, will be offering his impressions and experiences of the COP21 Climate Change Summit in Paris in December. Mark’s trip to Paris as a representative of western Pennsylvania was funded by members of the Pittsburgh ecological community. Before he left, he spoke to many groups including FUMC about the issues and dynamics that would be at play at the Summit. Now, after having attended the summit as a reporter and an observer, he will be sharing his impressions and insights to our church and the wider Pittsburgh community. This is a bit of planetary history that is crucial to every one of us. Here is your chance to get a first-hand account of an international history making event.
Watch Mark's presentation leading up to the summit: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/…
Mark's blog. Scroll down for a 10 minute video summary of the summit:
We'll also hear about an upcoming Hard To Recycle Event in the springtime in Monroeville, PA and the agenda for the rest of the Sustainable Monroeville meetings in 2016.
Looking forward to seeing everyone on Monday evening & Many Blessings for all of us on this magical spaceship planet Earth!
Elisa Beck :)
Like Sustainable Monroeville on Facebook!
Sunday, January 3, 2016
The Search For Sustainability
Happy 2016! What an amazing time to be alive!
Join us on Monday evening, January 4, 2016 from 7:00 to 8:30 PM for the January meeting of Sustainable Monroeville. Searching For Solutions, the first part of a 12 part Searching For Sustainability documentary will be shown. Join us in the downstairs program room of the Monroeville Public Library. Free and open to the public!
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Nathan Crane is an award winning author, inspirational speaker, conscious filmmaker, and highly sought after publisher and promoter of personal growth teachings, books, events and training courses. Nathan is the founder of the Panacea Companies including The Panacea Community, Panacea Publishing, Inc., Panacea Life School, and Panacea Hope. He is the President and CEO of Integrated Health International, and produces highly transformational events that positively impact and transform hundreds of thousands of lives worldwide. Nathan's full venture, product, and resource list can be found at www.nathancrane.comTuesday, December 1, 2015
December 2015, Sustainable Monroeville, and COP 21 in Paris
Hello and Happy December!
In honor of the COP 21 conference in Paris, we will not have a Sustainable Monroeville meeting in December, 2015. Why no meeting this month? No free movie? No talking about how to create and document a more Sustainable Monroeville and a more Sustainable Metro Pittsburgh and more Sustainable Western PA? Hey, we will save some greenhouse gases! There's never been a person in all the years we've been having these meetings at the Monroeville Public Library that has biked or walked to a meeting in these suburbs. Prove me wrong! Yes, there have been carpools....
How are we individually and collectively going to reduce our carbon footprints?
Take time to catch up with filmmaker Mark Dixon on his journey. Learn from him and all the others who have put amazing time and energy into creating our new reality!
Follow these links for day by day COP 21 updates:
on Facebook: Mark's Climate Journey to COP 21
on the Blog: https://markatcop21.wordpress.com
Here's the link to the climate lecture Mark presented at a recent meeting of Sustainable Monroeville and has presented all over the Pittsburgh region: https://plus.google.com/115412509729507569276/posts/QC5Jpj4jjtZ
Mark is THE representative lay person who has traveled to Paris from Pittsburgh. Follow Pittsburgh's amazing Mayor, Bill Peduto, to see what is going on during the talks and figure out how you can shift your awareness and consciousness and wrap your heart and spirit around the changes you can make as an individual. Think of how you can be involved in your community to shift awareness and make positive changes towards carbon neutrality!
And get ready for an amazing 2016 life changing time! Happy Holidays and Happy end of 2015 and 2016 and Way Way beyond!!
Blessings,
Elisa Beck:)
In honor of the COP 21 conference in Paris, we will not have a Sustainable Monroeville meeting in December, 2015. Why no meeting this month? No free movie? No talking about how to create and document a more Sustainable Monroeville and a more Sustainable Metro Pittsburgh and more Sustainable Western PA? Hey, we will save some greenhouse gases! There's never been a person in all the years we've been having these meetings at the Monroeville Public Library that has biked or walked to a meeting in these suburbs. Prove me wrong! Yes, there have been carpools....
How are we individually and collectively going to reduce our carbon footprints?
Take time to catch up with filmmaker Mark Dixon on his journey. Learn from him and all the others who have put amazing time and energy into creating our new reality!
Follow these links for day by day COP 21 updates:
on Facebook: Mark's Climate Journey to COP 21
on the Blog: https://markatcop21.wordpress.com
Here's the link to the climate lecture Mark presented at a recent meeting of Sustainable Monroeville and has presented all over the Pittsburgh region: https://plus.google.com/115412509729507569276/posts/QC5Jpj4jjtZ
Mark is THE representative lay person who has traveled to Paris from Pittsburgh. Follow Pittsburgh's amazing Mayor, Bill Peduto, to see what is going on during the talks and figure out how you can shift your awareness and consciousness and wrap your heart and spirit around the changes you can make as an individual. Think of how you can be involved in your community to shift awareness and make positive changes towards carbon neutrality!
And get ready for an amazing 2016 life changing time! Happy Holidays and Happy end of 2015 and 2016 and Way Way beyond!!
Blessings,
Elisa Beck:)
Sunday, November 1, 2015
FREE Virtual Sustainability Summit and Wanda Guthrie of the The Thomas Merton Center speaks her truth at the November 2, 2015 meeting of Sustainable Monroeville!
Hello there, and Happy November!
Join us on Monday November 2, 2015, at 7:00 PM to hear Wanda Guthrie, one of the original regional sustainability activists and pioneers talk at the Monroeville Public Library for the November meeting of Sustainable Monroeville.
From Wanda Guthrie:
"There is much movement in Pittsburgh and the surrounding area as people all over the world anticipate the decisions of the UN Paris Summit on Climate Change known as COP 21.
The Thomas Merton Center has a number of projects dedicated to environmental justice and climate justice. Our newest project is Pittsburgh 350 and we have been working together with other local groups to build momentum for local climate change actions and information.
We are working with 350.org to create momentum for local, national and international actions addressing fossil fuels and climate change.
Please come and hear about our OFF + ON CAMPAIGN, POWER THROUGH PARIS, and our very important DIVEST PITTSBURGH: Asking the City of Pittsburgh to Divest from all fossil fuels."
On another note check out this virtual Sustainability Summit starting tonight for 12 consecutive days, absolutely FREE!!! Here's the link: http://theselfreliancesummit.com/the-search-for-sustainability-home/
See y'all tomorrow evening in the downstairs program room of the Monroeville Public Library. This meeting is free and open to the public. Feel free to invite others and share widely!
Elisa :)
Monday, August 10, 2015
Sustainability Pioneers Film screenings and Documentary Filmmaker Kirsi Jansa on Monday, September 21, 2015 at 7:00 PM; Whole Foods Plant Based Pot Luck dinner at 6:00 PM
Happy Summertime! We are so excited to be hosting documentary filmmaker Kirsi Jansa, creator of Sustainability Pioneers for our September meeting of Sustainable Monroeville on Monday evening September 21, 2015 at 7:00 PM in the downstairs program room of the Monroeville Public Library!
Join us for 6:00 PM for a Whole Foods Plant Based meal, followed by some amazing documentaries and discussion with Kirsi!
Here's the link for more details :
http://sustainabilitypioneers.com/screenings-community-conversations/
All meetings of Sustainable Monroeville are free and open to the public!
Elisa Beck :)
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