Save the polar bears!

"Two-thirds of the world's polar bears will be gone by the middle of the century, says a US government agency... Scientists believe Arctic ice will hit a record low this year." -BBC News


(photo from www.climateprogress.org)

Almost the end of summer...

Well, our Sustainability Forum went extremely well, and SCCG is very happy and proud of what we have accomplished in such a short time period. The organization will continue in the future through the hard work of high school and college students.

Our last meeting (until further notice) will be this Thursday, the 9th. As always, it will be at 7:30 in the Public Safety Building.

Feel free to send us links of relevant news stories and good resources. We'd love to help create a larger environmental network in our area.

Live Earth Pledge

Help reach the goal of getting 50,000 signatures on the Live Earth Plegde!
http://www.liveearthpledge.org/

SCCG sustainability forum!

SARATOGA COUNTY COMMUNITY GREEN PRESENTS

SUSTAINABILITY:
How to keep our planet and
our families healthy
[a public forum]


Saturday, July 28th
Clifton Park Halfmoon Public Library
1:00 – 3:30 PM

• What is sustainable development?
  
• Which alternative energy options are viable for the future?
  
• How will global warming change our lives?
  
• Why support local and organic food?
  
• How are industrial chemicals affecting our bodies?
  
• What can we do NOW?
  
  Listen to experts
  Ask questions
  Change our community

greenercp@gmail.com
www.greenercp.blogspot.com

Senate Energy Bill

A few days ago, the senate energy bill passed. You can find out what the issues were here.

Booth at the Commons and Live Earth

On Wednesday, July 4th, SCCG will have a booth at the Clifton Commons from about two to five. We'll be selling small paper windmills for kids and maple syrup as a fundraiser, and will be taking cans to recycle. We'll have our business cards out and a few flyers out about some of the issues we're focused on.

This Saturday, there will be the Live Earth Concert. Tons of bands will be playing all over the globe to raise awareness about climate change. The Clifton Park Democrats will be hosting a showing at Mocha Lisa's at the Clifton Park Center at 7:45, and it should last an hour. Check it out http://www.liveearth.org/event.php for more info about Live Earth!

Alright guys, we're looking to expand local agriculture for Clifton Park and surrounding areas. What we need is to raise awareness of local farms in the area and connect them in order to create a farmers' market that not only advocates the use of local, organic, and sustainable produce, but one that also is readily available at least 5 days a week. In order to achieve this, we will need volunteers to collect our share of the produce (after we've purchased shares of course), but more importantly we are seeking people to help work on the farms. Call (518)396-7832 to discuss what farms/where and how you can help. I'm available M-F 9AM-12pm, Sat. After 5pm or before noon, and all day SUnday.

Farm visit!

We've arranged a visit to Serendipity Farm, which is at 234 Sugarhill road in Clifton Park (near Grooms Corners). Look for the mailbox, because there's no sign. Some of the core leaders visited him last week and it was really cool- he's a really nice guy and has chickens, a greenhouse, and a big field that he plants heirloom vegetables on. His chickens are free range and he doesn't use genetically modified (GM) crops or pesticides. We'll be going at 3:00 this Saturday (June 16th), and EVERYONE is welcome! Bring your family and friends. You'll get to see a working farm, talk to him about organic/sustainable farming, and then if you want you can stick around to help him out with the farm (like planting/weeding/building something). See you there!

Lake Association meeting

On June 12th at 7:30, in the Ballston Lake Fire House, there will be a micro-vertebrate biology professor from ACC. Her presentation will be on how they tracked pollutants in Lake Luzurne.

coal to liquid

In order to move away from our dependence on foreign oil, there might be new legislation that encourages use of coal as our new energy source by granting companies subsidiaries and tax breaks.
"A new study has concluded that turning coal into liquid fuel yields 125% more carbon dioxide than producing diesel fuel and 66% more than gasoline." (article from LATimes) Shouldn't we focus on cleaner and more sustainable energy instead of regressing into even less efficient practices? Even if we can sequester the CO2 emissions from the coal to liquid process, it still pollutes more CO2 than oil, and coal mining is incredibly toxic to humans and the environment (nrdc.org).

Please make your voice heard.