[SustainableTompkins] County government pursues sustainability
northsheep at juno.com
northsheep at juno.com
Fri Nov 17 09:04:31 PST 2006
Because of my background in social science and social justice activism I
feel a responsibility to back Dan Roth strongly on this point, which I
regard as fundamental to an understanding of sustainability. The 'green
movement' historically hit a number of brick walls precisely because it
failed to understand the importance of the social justice component of
the sustainability concept. There is no better historical demonstration
of this than the failure of the Northwest forest protection movement,
which thought the main thing was to hug trees, but not hug the working
class people who derived their livelihood from the timber industry whose
practices threatened the forest. Big mistake! That forced the working
people in that industry to (often reluctantly) accept an alliance with
their class enemy, timber industry multinationals, in order to protect
their livelihood.
Karl North
Northland Sheep Dairy, Freetown, New York USA
www.geocities.com/northsheep/
"Mother Nature never farms without animals" - Albert Howard
"Pueblo que canta no morira" - Cuban saying
On Fri, 17 Nov 2006 10:15:31 -0500 Daniel Roth <dnr6 at cornell.edu> writes:
> This announcement is wonderful but one concern I have is that we are
> calling
> things 'sustainable' without seriously addressing the social
> justice
> dimensions of the equation.
>
> I could see how the 'comprehensive plan' and 'waste' issues have
> social
> implications but that needs to be highlighted in explicit terms
> otherwise
> this committee will be seen by groups in the community committed to
> the
> issues of low income, communities of color, and other marginalized
> groups as
> just another 'green' effort that doesn't relate to them.
>
> We need to SPELL OUT THE SOCIAL SIDE OF THE SUSTAINABILITY EQUATION
> OTHERWISE THIS IS JUST ENVIRONMENTALISM WITH A NEW NAME, AND
> PERPETUATES
> RACISM, CLASSISM, ETC...
>
> The social component of this effort is right beneath the surface we
> just
> need to draw it to the surface and make this about equity also,
> otherwise
> people wont see the connection and neither will we.
>
> For example this task force could
>
> Focus also on using local contractors to help them meet their
> targets.
> Be sure that women and people are color are chosen as initiative
> leaders
> Focus on energy savings in homes that are commonly supported by DSS
> (saving
> DSS money)
> Highlight how these efforts are improving the quality of life in
> government
> sponsored places like Ithaca Youth Bureau and GIAC.
>
> Maybe these things are obvious to some, but other people wont make
> the
> connection that sustainability has anything to do with equity unless
> we are
> EXPLICIT.
>
>
> DAN ROTH
>
>
>
> On 11/16/06 7:03 PM, "GayNicholson at aol.com" <GayNicholson at aol.com>
> wrote:
>
> >
> Just two months ago on September 21, I met with the county public
> works
> >
> cabinet about creating an energy education program based on the
> principle of
> >
> shared engagement for optimal social change .... Wow! Talk about
> fertile
> >
> ground -- we've come far and fast!! It's a pleasure to work with
> people so
> > open
> to taking on this work.
> Gay
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
> >
>
> County Committee Endorses Sustainability Program For Tompkins
> > County
> Government
> An employee-based effort to develop sustainable
> > practices in Tompkins
> County government has gained key support from a
> > committee of the county
> legislature.
> The Legislature¹s Government
> > Operations Committee, meeting on Wednesday,
> endorsed the program by unanimous
> > vote, recommending that the County
> Administrator formally appoint the
> > Tompkins County Sustainability Team and that the
> team be charged with
> > developing an action plan to promote sustainable practices
> by Tompkins
> > County government.
> Two months ago, employees from several county
> > departments, assisted by
> Cooperative Extension¹s Energy Smart Program,
> > informally began to investigate how
> to promote sustainable practices in
> > government operations, benefiting future
> generations through social,
> > environmental and economic stewardship.
> ³This Œbottom-up¹ effort is
> > something everyone stands to gain from,²
> states committee chair Kathy Luz
> > Herrera. ³Energy and sustainability are clearly
> issues that are important
> > to all of us and are values that county government
> should support.²
> As
> > envisioned by the employee working group, sustainable practices
> to be
> >
> developed would include
> * Energy reduction and conservation in county
> > facilities and fleets,
> with utilization of alternative and renewable energy
> > sources;
> * Solid waste reduction through increased reuse and
> > recycling;
> * Environmentally preferable purchasing programs;
> *
> > Efficient infrastructure design and service delivery;
> * Employee
> > involvement and endorsement; and
> * Natural resources protection and
> > community development in accordance
> with the Tompkins County Comprehensive
> > Plan.
> County Planning and Public Works Commissioner Ed Marx, one of
> those
> >
> involved in the grass-roots effort, told the committee the
> initiative builds
> > upon
> programs already undertaken by county government, such as
> energy-saving
> >
> improvements in county buildings. ³Everybody who has been involved
> so far
> > is
> enthusiastic,² he said. ³The beauty of this is that it involves
> all
> > employees and
> the Legislature in a comprehensive look at how we can address
> > this challenge
> in the most effective way.² He added that most changes
> > should be able to
> be accomplished either at no additional cost or should save
> > the county money.
> If approved by the Legislature next month, the resolution
> > would direct the
> team to report on progress in developing the sustainability
> > program each year
> by Earth Day.
> Contact: Planning and Public Works
> > Commissioner Ed Marx, 274-5560; Kathy
> Luz Herrera, Chair, Government
> > Operations Committee, 273-8169.
> - END -
>
> >
> ----------------------------------------------------
> Gay Nicholson, Ph.D.
> >
>
> 607-533-7312 (home office)
> 607-279-6618 (cell)
>
> 1 Maple Avenue
> Lansing, NY
> > 14882
> gaynicholson at aol.com
>
> Sustainable Tompkins
> Program Coordinator
> >
> w_ww.sustainabletompkins.org_ (http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/)
> >
>
> Southern Tier Energy$mart Communities
> Regional Coordinator
> Cornell
> > Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County
> 615 Willow Ave., Ithaca, NY
> > 14850
> agn1 at cornell.edu
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Daniel Roth
> (518) 727-6723
>
> Executive Committee
> US Partnership for the Decade of Education for Sustainable
> Development
> www.uspartnership.org
>
> Graduate Student
> Adult and Extension Education
> Cornell University
> Ithaca NY 14850
>
>
>
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