Hey Greenfire!

Events:

- Next weekend, October 15-17 there is the progressive summit at Bjorklunden.  Everyone should come to this gathering where all the progressive groups on campus will get together and decide how best to work with another.  Yes, it is parent’s weekend, but your folks can come up any weekend, chances are you may never ever get to go to Bjorklunden again.  Contact Noah on this immediately because you should definitely go {noah.j.planavsky@lawrence.edu}.

- October 20^th, Wednesday - A Sierra Club member is coming to deliver a speech comparing the environmental difference between Kerry and Bush plans.  This will take place in Riverview.  Try and think of a way to get undecided voters to this event (especially from the community!) for next week.

- October 23^rd, Saturday – All Campus Environment (ACE) Day.  This is a day of active environmental participation involving a Fox River Cleanup in the afternoon, handing out an information pamphlet downtown on living green (written by Jesse and JP), and also there will be two different trips to local parks for projects.  If you have any suggestions, questions, or comments, email this event’s organizer, Brian (hilgemab@lawrence.edu).

Here’s what else we covered:

- Jill Beck has guaranteed that the Environmental Management System (EMS) will be adopted before the end of the year!

- Composting:  Everyone’s job for next week is to find a grant that would apply to composting.  We currently have the backing of food services, knowledge that there are opportunities for funding, and we have at least one site (co-op house) with a composting permit.  Greenfire wants to have huge composting bins that we would most likely buy (or build), but first we need to look at what specific funding is out there.  Wisconsin DNR, waste management, and Wisconsin energy companies all offer grants to name a few, but everyone should try to spend about 20 minutes using resources or googling for grants so we can get this off the ground.  Searching for grants is the absolute first step before we can plan, write up a proposal, or do anything else, moreover funding is the last major obstacle to the composting issue, so please help!

- We discussed our paper consumption and heating problems at the school.  Some buildings are way too hot, others are ice-cold, and inefficiency has become a standard.  Even the Greenfire House has a broken window in the attic, so we let our best way to conserve heat float right out the window. 

- What’s the issue with heating?  The radiators in dorms are set up in block units.  The temperature of one specific room controls what amount of heat the entire block (e.g. the whole floor) will receive.  If Joe Wastealot decides to leave his window open all winter, and his room is the control room, the radiator attempts to make up for it by making the room 15 degrees hotter, but because it’s the control room, the temperature for every room on that floor would go up 15 degrees!  This is the system for every dorm besides Hiatt, and it wastes money and energy.  Allyn is heading up the campaign to make the people who live in control rooms aware that they do control the whole floor, because these people have few resources or reasons to address this issue.  She will recruit volunteers as necessary to get this control room info, and then to inform all these people about the issue.

- We may participate in Fossil Fuel Awareness Day, which is basically a “good excuse to have an event.”  We could basically do whatever we want for this event, even using it to publicize EMS, LSG, Greenfire, Alternative Gift Market, or whatever else is going on at that time.  This national day is about 2 months away, so look for less sketchy info on it at our next meeting.

- Our meetings will be at 8:30 PM on Thursday night at the Greenfire House (Sabin), unless you are notified otherwise, or we decide otherwise.  If you do not like meeting in our house (it is a bit cramped) and want to suggest a new night or time, please come to our house next week and complain, otherwise write straight to me (linealm@lawrence.edu) and complain.  I guarantee complete anonymity for anyone who writes to me about this, and I’ll represent your vote if you absolutely refuse to step foot in the house.

- We had a speaker from the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters address our group briefly.  They are a non-partisan environmental organization, and have a conservation team currently organized in Appleton that meets about every two months at the Appleton Public Library, and the rest of the time the organization is committed to its set tasks and agenda.  Everyone should join this conservation network, as you could start getting involved today through email action notices.  (Contact info is down a bit).

They are currently offering 3-credit internships involving organizing for Earth day.  This position would seek out other volunteers, work on organization, and so forth.

Wisconsin environmental policy is going in the wrong direction, and so they are focusing on balancing politicians’ policies and constituents’ views.  Specifically, we love the environment, and they are destroying it (e.g. Jobs Creation Act). There are two upcoming events that everyone should attend:

1) October 18^th at 10:00 AM - They are organizing a meeting between 3 WI assembly members and WI Senator Mike Ellis, and their constituents (us and other Wisconsinites).  Specifically, our assembly member, Steve Wickert will be addressed by WLCV, and us, the constituents.  Issues to be addressed are clean water, energy, recycling, and the regulation of current environmental laws.  (Location not yet chosen, expect a follow-up email on this).

2) October 27^th - They are hosting a press conference on about WI environmental policy, and aligning constituents’ views with the decisions being made.  Location and time are not yet known, and they are looking for input on this issue.

Contact info on all this stuff: Stephany is our local conservation team leader, and can be directly emailed at {steph@conservationteams.org}.  Even if you don’t want to address a specific issue listed here, please email her and get on the email list so you can receive news and updates.

…and I’m spent, I know everyone is looking forward to the presidential debates tomorrow night (Friday @ 8 PM), and ya’ll should come watch with us here at the Greenfire house, or otherwise in Riverview or elsewhere,

--Matt Lineal