The Ojai Post

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 09:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Fast Company has an article on 7th grade dropout Johnathan Goodwin, who "can get 100 mpg out of a Lincoln Continental, cut emissions by 80%, and double the horsepower. Does the car business have the guts to follow him?"

Goodwin [is] famous in the world of underground car modders. He is a virtuoso of fuel economy. He takes the hugest American cars on the road and rejiggers them to get up to quadruple their normal mileage and burn low-emission renewable fuels grown on U.S. soil--all while doubling their horsepower. The result thrills eco-evangelists and red-meat Americans alike: a vehicle that's simultaneously green and mean. And word's getting out. In the corner of his office sits Arnold Schwarzenegger's 1987 Jeep Wagoneer, which Goodwin is converting to biodiesel; soon, Neil Young will be shipping him a 1960 Lincoln Continental to transform into a biodiesel--electric hybrid. His target for Young's car? One hundred miles per gallon.

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 01:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

It's a sparkling Sunday morning here in the Valley of the Moon!

These past nights of the Full Moon, looking down on the landscape from my favorite spot high in the hills, when all is quiet and buildings disappear in darkness, it is easy to imagine the diverse cultures that have lived in this valley over thousands of years. In my mind's eye I can see how the valley looked, even a hundred years ago, with trees, rivers and deer.

I wonder how the rabbits, quails, snakes, coyotes and the multitude of creatures of the night are adapting as they lose ground with each passing day. I see rabbits darting amidst cars in parking lots on Bryant Street, possums scurrying down Canada, looking for openings in fences, and families of raccoons sitting by mailboxes on Signal Street. As we clear more and more brush away from our homes to prevent fires, we must not forget this brush is part of their habitat. How I hope they can survive!

I've been sitting outside, drinking organic coffee and browsing through this week's articles about the fires. When I see the images of families looking at the ruins of their homes, I wonder, "What does it feel like to have all your earthly belongings suddenly disappear?"

Yesterday I received a letter from my friends Corinne McLaughlin and Gordon Davidson, about their experience of their house burning down. Some of you reading this probably know them. They visit Ojai regularly and have presented workshops at Meditation Mount for many years. Since disasters can happen to any one of us, I thought I'd pass this on, even though I might not be quite as forgiving and philosophical as they are! They wrote:

Dear Friends--here is an article we wrote over 10 years about about our experience of our house burning down. I'm sending it to you in case it might be helpful to someone you know who lost their home in the So. Calif. fires--or in any tragedy or crisis. Let us all continue to hold So. Calif. in our prayers and meditations.

SPIRITUAL LESSONS WE LEARNED FROM OUR FIRE

Some years ago, while we were away for an evening, an arsonist burned our house to the ground. We lost everything but the clothes on our backs and our cars. Everything was in ashes in less than 15 minutes--furniture, clothes, office equipment, books, and most difficult of all--all our work, our writing, our research.

Although it’s very difficult to write about this, many people have encouraged us to do so, as it may be helpful to others. With so many fires, floods, earthquakes, and violence destroying lives and homes everywhere in the world lately, and more predicted for the future, perhaps our story can be of help, since we’ve already been through a traumatic crisis ourselves and have emerged stronger than ever.

Crises and disasters often bring great spiritual blessings and purification, if we are open to change and willing to learn from them. In the Ageless Wisdom of the East, it is said that we must “cross the burning grounds three times” to purify our physical, emotional and mental bodies, and learn detachment and surrender to God. But we never expected to have to experience this literally!

The two of us had designed and built a house ourselves from the ground up--everything but the foundation, plumbing, and electrical work. It was a beautiful solar passive, energy efficient house in an ecological community that took us three years to build, working part-time on it. It was devastating, as it happened a week before we were to leave on a 30 city book tour. We lost all our records, including even our notes and the phone numbers of where we were to stay on our tour.

We discovered the fire after returning from a meeting. At first it was only a small fire, but when the door was opened, the flames shot across the floor. Clearly, there had been some accelerant like gasoline used to cause it to spread so rapidly. One of us ran next door to call the fire department, and less then five minutes later, the fire was already up to the second floor. By the time the fire trucks arrived fifteen minutes later, the house already was a lost cause. And to top it off, the water pumps on the fire truck did not work!

We were both in shock. It was as if we were watching a movie, or having a bad dream, and soon we’d wake up. We still don’t know who did it or what their motive was, although we have some possibilities. But we were determined to not let this stop us or our work. If anything, it strengthened our resolve, and most importantly, provided some major lessons and spiritual growth for both of us.

Here is what we’ve learned:

1. Allow yourself to grieve and feel the pain. We were both in such shock for the first 24 hours that we couldn’t even cry. We finally did cry for a brief time, after a sleepless night and great exhaustion frayed our nerves to the limit. But we had so much work to do to prepare for the book tour, and then we were so busy touring for months, that we just repressed our feelings, and focused on what we had to do. But each day as we tried to do our work, we remembered something else we lost and now needed. And everyday, some friend called, in shock about the news, and we had to tell the story over and over again, when we were trying to put the past behind us.

We finally realized that we couldn’t avoid our pain. We needed to truly feel our grief and to mourn for what we had lost. We learned that when we deny our feelings, they have a way of getting buried in our physical bodies and later causing real health problems, so we had to face our grief. We also experienced a lot of fear--fear that there might be some mentally deranged person out there who was targeting us and would strike again. We had to acknowledge this fear, but deal with it by taking practical precautions and refusing to let it become an obsession. Many change agents deal with this fear all the time. It comes with the territory.

2. The physical world is impermanent. Several pictures of saints and masters from various traditions in our living room made of wood or paper were instantly destroyed. But we had a stone statue of the Buddha, the type that people often have in their gardens, and he was sitting in the front window with flames going up all around him, serenely meditating. Even the firefighters remarked about it. The next day he was still there meditating, with everything in ashes all around him. The Buddha’s major teaching was about impermanence and the importance of not clinging to anything.

3. Learn detachment from material possessions. There’s something incredibly powerful in seeing all your possessions turn to ashes in fifteen minutes--everything that seemed so real and permanent--everything we collected or worked so hard to create, everything that took so much time and/or money to accumulate. All were gone. We were reminded of Jesus’ wisdom about putting your trust in God, and not storing treasures in the physical world where they will rot and decay.

4. Allow the crisis to bring you closer to people and open your heart. All across the country, people were generous and helpful, giving us money, clothes, equipment, etc. We were the type of people who always like to help others, but now we had to learn how to receive. Although we lived in a spiritual community, we found that people helped us everywhere we traveled, and we found that community is everywhere. Crisis draws out the best in people--their compassion and their generosity. In the book we had just written, we had quoted others who had a similar heart-opening experience in the California earthquakes and the Mississippi floods. But why does it take a crisis for us to remember our compassion and our common humanity?

5. Release the past and live more fully in the present—crises can be purifying and freeing. Losing everything helped lighten us up--we need a lot less to live than we thought. We could begin anew and do everything better than before. We could go in new directions, unbounded by the past. We could build on more solid foundations, whether literally or symbolically.

6. Place your faith in God or Spirit. We realized it was only a house and possessions we lost. We still had each other, our friends, and our faith in God. We were reminded of a story we had written about in our book, a woman who was interviewed on the news after her church was destroyed by floods in the Midwest. She said, “We only lost a building.” And pointing to her chest, she said, “The real church is in here, in our hearts.”

7. There is no “safe” place to hide from violence and injustice. Even living in a remote rural area, away from the “dangerous” cities didn’t protect us. A spiritual/ecological community with the support of like-minded people wasn’t a safe haven from the violence and pain of the world, and certainly not from some tormented arsonist. This is an inescapable reality. We’ve always known this, but many people came to our community naively try to hide from the problems of the world. But to us, this is the wrong motive for living in spiritual or social change communities. They are really on the front lines, and require hearty, not fearful, souls.

8. Forgiveness is essential. We’ve been working on forgiving the arsonist, whoever s/he may be, and learning compassion for his/her crime. There are many innovative programs now for victim/offender reconciliation, and we hope we’ll be able to be involved in this one day. In exploring the inner side of events in the book we wrote, we explored the spiritual lessons and karmic aspects of crises-- how we reap what we sow. So this fire gave us personally a lot of opportunity for reflection.


9. There is always a deeper meaning to disaster that we can discover if we meditate about it. We’ve learned that our soul or higher self is in charge of our lives and we can’t control everything. When disaster first strikes, it’s hard to accept this, but many people have told us that later they were grateful for the spiritual growth that a disaster catalyzed in their lives.

As we traveled around the U.S. on our tour, we talked about our personal experience of disaster. To many who had lost their homes in fires like ours, in the Midwest floods, the Florida hurricanes, the California earthquakes, or urban riots, our perspective helped give them hope and new ways to think their own experience. To the many who have never been through a disaster, but who fear devastating prophesies of earth changes and economic collapse, our experience provided a reminder that we are essentially spiritual, not material beings. We need to not be fooled by the shimmering illusion of security in our fragile, materialistic world. It seems to promise so much, but always leaves us dissatisfied, searching for more.

10. Good always comes from evil. As so many people have learned, adversity can be a blessing in disguise and strengthen us. We realized that we were relying on our house for economic security in a changing world. We saw how easily a beautiful home in a seemingly idyllic rural spiritual community may have fit many peoples’ fantasies of the good life. But it may have distracted us and others from the spiritual work that was the reason we created the community in the first place. Not that a beautiful house is a bad thing, but in some contexts, it can get in the way of something more important that is seeking to be expressed. We found it easy to get focused on building wonderful ecological buildings, and to forget that they are only forms. Conciousness and ideas are more causal and more potent.

After some months of meditation on the deeper meaning of our fire, we realized that our higher purpose had shifted from work in our spiritual community to work that was needed in Washington D.C. We’d been dividing our time between both places over the years, and had been resisting moving full time to Washington. We were clinging to our cozy community, which had become more and more comfortable over the years, and apparently it took a fire to overcome our stubbornness. Our inner guidance clearly indicated that we were needed in Washington to help bring spiritual values into politics. The fire helped us to release much of the past that was holding us back from taking a more major role in creating a better world.

What lessons has disaster played in your life, and what have you learned from it?
**************
Corinne McLaughlin and Gordon Davidson are co-authors of Spiritual Politics: Changing the World From the Inside Out (Ballantine Books 1994, Foreword by the Dalai Lama) and Builders of the Dawn. They are cofounders of The Center for Visionary Leadership in Washington D.C. and California and co-founders of Sirius, an ecological community in Massachusetts. Corinne coordinated a national task force for President Clinton’s Council on Sustainable Development and taught politics at American University, and Gordon was Executive Director of the Social Investment Forum. They can be reached at (415) 472-2540; corinnemc@visionarylead.org; www.visionarylead.org.

© 1996 Corinne McLaughlin and Gordon Davidson

Posted by Suza Francina at 08:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)

Berkeley is set to become the first city in the nation to help thousands of its residents generate solar power without having to put money up front - attempting to surmount one of the biggest hurdles for people who don't have enough cash to go green.

The City Council will vote Nov. 6 on a plan for the city to finance the cost of solar panels for property owners who agree to pay it back with a 20-year assessment on their property. Over two decades, the taxes would be the same or less than what property owners would save on their electric bills, officials say.

"This plan could be our most important contribution to fighting global warming," Mayor Tom Bates said Thursday. "We've already seen interest from all over the U.S. People really think this plan can go."

The idea is sparking interest from city and state leaders who are mindful of California's goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020. Officials in San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Santa Monica and several state agencies have contacted Berkeley about the details of its plan.

"If this works, we'd want to look at this for other cities statewide," said Ken Alex, California deputy attorney general. "We think it's a very creative way to eliminate the barriers to getting solar panels, and it's fantastic that Berkeley's going ahead with this."

This is how Berkeley's program would work:

A property owner would hire a city-approved solar installer, who would determine the best solar system for the property, depending on energy use. Most residential solar panel systems in the city cost from $15,000 to $20,000.

The city would pay the contractor for the system and its installation, minus any applicable state and federal rebates, and would add an assessment to the property owner's tax bill to pay for the system.

The extra tax would include administrative fees and interest, which would be lower than what the property owner could obtain on his own, because the city would secure low-interest bonds and loans, officials say. The tax would stay with the property even if the owner sold, although the owner would have to leave the solar panels.

The property owner would save money on monthly Pacific Gas & Electric bill because electricity generated by the solar panels would partly replace electricity delivered by the utility. After the assessment expired, the solar panels - of a simple technology that requires little or no maintenance - would continue to partly replace PG&E electricity.

Bates' chief of staff, Cisco DeVries, came up with the idea about eight months ago when he was looking for ways the city could meet its goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under a measure that Berkeley voters approved last year. Measure G mandates that the city cut its greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.

"Over 20 years, the economics of installing solar panels are great," DeVries said. "But the financial hurdle of the up-front costs was preventing people from doing it."

DeVries modeled the solar financing plan after underground utility districts. Putting utility wires underground can cost millions, but creating a special assessment district allows neighborhoods to pay off the costs over 20 or 30 years after the city pays for the service up front.

Electricity generated at a PG&E power plant comes from a mix of hydropower and natural gas. Greenhouse gases are emitted when the natural gas burns to create electricity. Berkeley officials hope that, over time, 25 percent of property owners will sign on to the new solar financing plan, reducing the city's greenhouse gas emissions by 2,000 tons a year, said the city's Measure G coordinator, Timothy Burroughs.

If the plan succeeds, Berkeley would be about 10 percent closer to its Measure G target, Burroughs said. Solar panels shouldn't be a tough sell in Berkeley, he said, which already has more solar systems per capita than any other Northern California city.

Berkeley also is considering using the financing plan for other energy-saving projects, such as insulation or heating. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced last week it intends to grant Berkeley $160,000 to cover some of the city's legal, accounting and staff costs associated with starting the plan.

State Treasurer Bill Lockyer has also been interested because the plan encourages property owners to save energy without much government expense.

"Anything that helps expand and enhance the financial feasibility of solar energy is definitely something we support," said Lockyer's spokesman, Tom Dresslar.

Here comes the sun - details of program

The city hopes to provide financing for residents and businesses who can't afford the up-front costs of installing solar panels. This is how the program would work:

-- Property owners would hire a city-approved contractor who would be paid for the system and its installation, minus rebates.

-- The city would tax the property owner for the remaining cost, to be paid over 20 years. Future owners of the property would inherit any unpaid tax, along with the solar system.

-- Property owners would save as much in energy costs as they would be paying in taxes while reducing the amount of greenhouse gases created by generating electricity using natural gas and hydroelectric generation.

Posted by Michael Lind at 09:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (17)

From the USFS: Since the winds have calmed, significant progress has been made in containing the 58,396 acre Ranch Fire. It is now considered 87% contained and fire managers are planning for full containment on Tuesday, October 30. The estimated control date has been extended by 5 days to allow for mopping up in inaccessible areas of low threat. If everything goes according to plan, the Ranch Fire should be fully controlled on November 5.

From WaPo: FEMA called a California wildfire briefing on Tuesday and had staff members posing as journalists, lobbing softball questions to Vice Adm. Harvey E. Johnson, the deputy administrator for FEMA.

"And so I think what you're really seeing here is the benefit of experience, the benefit of good leadership and the benefit of good partnership," Johnson said, "none of which were present in Katrina." (Wasn't Michael Chertoff DHS chief then?) Very smooth, very professional. But something didn't seem right. The reporters were lobbing too many softballs. No one asked about trailers with formaldehyde for those made homeless by the fires. And the media seemed to be giving Johnson all day to wax on and on about FEMA's greatness. Of course, that could be because the questions were asked by FEMA staffers playing reporters.

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

as the Miyanushi related this early am at the setting Moon: "Julie Tumamait called forth all our Ancestors to be with us this morning." The Shinto master's hour of chanting was only to acknowledge each of them, and each of us. To introduce us to each other!

the Ancestors have returned to be with us -- at this time of the great change in our world economy -- as we learn again to live in harmony with all peoples and all our relations: the wild animals, the forests and oceans and rivers and air, the trees and plants, Sun and Moon and stars and planets, and the seen and unseen spirits of all creation.

as we heal our rainbow selves, and our beloved Mother Earth.

the Full Moon Ceremony this morning, and the Ceremony for the Americas tomorrow, will be the last ceremonies the 84-yr-young Shinto student holds in the US. he returns to Tokyo Japan on Sunday.

Here is a Japanese website for the Miyanushi, founder of the Higaki-no-Niwa Shinto. We are slowly translating bits and pieces of it for sharing: http://www.aeiou.co.jp/higaki/index.html

See a photo of the Miyanushi practicing his Mitsurugi Taido at:
http://www.aeiou.co.jp/higaki/mitsurugi.html

Bi ken tai do -- "Beautiful Way of Kendo."

A student of the Kojiki, the Miyanushi has devoted his life to the study of Kami, spirit, as it is related in the Shinto Priesthood of the last thirteen-hunded-plus years.

Kojiki - Records of Ancient Matters, A.D. 712. The book was written from the spoken word of Hyeda no Are (who is believed to be woman, a Priestess).

Encyclopedia of Shinto:
http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/category.php?categoryID=31&start=20

Shinto priest Hiroji Sekiguchi translates the Miyanushi's explanation of the “Kojiki” (Record of Ancient Matters):

"Kami, or deities, are not the existence to which you pray for happiness, asks for help, etc. Kami and the human beings are of the same existence, he teaches us. The teachings of your religion, Seicho-no-Ie (House of Spiritual Growth) say “You are a child of Kami" -- “We are the wonderful spiritual beings from the beginning"".

The Shinto and Kami stories told today, are not the same as those told thousands of years ago. Thus the ancient goddess of everything -- Izanami -- she who is the energy, the spirit, the consciousness behind all the galaxies, all the galactic superclusters, all the 'universe' -- today is spoken of only as a creation of the 'great' deity, and a goddess of the Earth and 'Darkness', and the 'wife' of another created god.

Perhaps, indeed, Izanami was the same goddess whose figurine was held by the ancient Jomon priestesses of Matriarchal stoneage Japan -- those mysterious clay statues which are today only known as 'Dogu":

http://www.tnm.jp/en/servlet/Con?&pageId=E16&processId=01&col_id=J38392&img_id=C0044241

As the Miyanushi spoke of the cosmic Izanami, and of the Stars whose breath (fire) she is composed, and the Moon who collects all the facets of light (song) to share with us -- I saw him describing in totality the most ancient creation deity of the Maya, Itzamna. She who provides, who is, the Itz -- the cosmic milk or celestial river of nurturing substinence of all the children of all time.

As Jomon (and contemporary) Japan is just as much Polynesian as Chinese/Asian -- I look forward to exploring further the Polynesian, Asian and Planetwide legacy of the Americas too. As our global diversity is re-revealed ... and enshrined in the immortal temple of this divine living wilderness which we call creation, and the Jomon Japanese named Izanami!

~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~

Kami-no-michi: road, the way, of kami. Kami-no-ko: child of kami, spirit.

Batokannon, horse spirit statue (literally 'horse-head' kuan yin).

Orinari-sama, fox spirit. Kamu-sama, bear goddess.

Three quotes from the internet:

"Kodama means "echo" (its literal meaning is "tree spirit"). In ancient Japanese tales Kodama are a kind of spirit who hides in the forest."

"Kodama are the nature spirits that live within all aspects of nature, primarily trees and rocks. One of the contemporary depictions of the kodama is in the Princess Mononoke movie character. These modern Kodama can vanish and appear anywhere in great numbers, and their heads make hollow rattling noises similer to maracas."

"The term Kodama is also often used to describe an echo, as if the tree spirits themselves are responding to a sound. According to mythology, the spirits are said to hide themselves in the forest and collect voices of those nearby, later to play with the voices themselves."

Like the Chumash of central coast California, the native Ainu people of Japan consider themselves children of the Great Bear Mother, Kamu. [Sky Bear Ursa, Ursala, Ursal.]

Thus they name themselves the Kamuy.

http://www.indigenouspeople.net/JapaneseLit

more story and photos to come ...

Posted by Millennium Twain at 09:53 AM | Permalink

Great article on the link between chocolate and slavery at OjaiHealing.com. Take a look before you buy your Halloween goodies!

What a great opportunity to contribute to healthier children in our neighborhoods and around the world.

Posted by Heather McKenzie at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (56)

Valle Verde senior community is an environmentalist's dream
October 21, 2007: Valle Verde Retirement Homes, located in the Hidden Valley neighborhood of Santa Barbara, pulled a hat trick this year by winning three environmental awards, and it is currently competing for a fourth, thanks to its Green Initiative of alternative energy and conservation efforts made on its campus since 2004. After adding solar panels, constructing eco-friendly buildings and other environmental efforts, Valle Verde was awarded the

Solar Energy Certificate from the City of Santa Barbara in June, the 2007 Green Award from the Santa Barbara Green Award Consortium in September, and received the California Waste Reduction Awareness Program (WRAP) award on Tuesday. Valle Verde has also been nominated for the Governor's Environmental and Economic Leadership Award.

Sent by a friend from SB

Posted by Michael Lind at 11:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

From Think Progress:
This morning on Fox News, hosts of the show Fox and Friends blamed the wildfires in California on a new culprit: al Qaeda. They pointed to a 2003 FBI memo, which raised the possibility that al Qaeda may try to set wildfires around the western United States. They also noted that men in a “hovering helicopter” saw “a guy starting one of these fires.”
Later in the segment, host Steve Doocy acknowledged that in memo, al Qaeda didn’t even mention California. “They mention Colorado, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming,” he added. (emphasis mine)

Watch it and read the transcript.

i guess the whole "fight 'em over there so we don't have to fight 'em over here" thing didnt work out so well. Bring the troops home to fight Al Qaeda's fires! is "fear-mongering" one word, or two?

Posted by evan austin at 12:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Good news for residents of Ventura County: although the Ranch Fire is listed as being only 10% under control, it's not nearly the threat it was two days ago. From Inciweb:

Last night fire crews and structural protection engine crews reported that the night operations went extremely well with no surprises. In the early evening, the winds were less than previous nights and increased slightly after midnight. By 2am, the winds over the fire calmed considerably and in some places stopped completely. The fire did not expand significantly to the south or east...The fire did not cross highway 126 or progress any closer to the communities of Piru and Fillmore. All evacuations from the Ranch Fire within the counties of Las Angles and Ventura Counties have been lifted.

The news from down south is much, much worse, and finally people are beginning to ask questions about San Diego's fire preparedness. Could there be a connection between a low-tax, low-service county and inadequate fire protection?

The former San Diego fire chief, Jerry Bowman, who quit in 2006 in frustration over San Diego's refusal to fund firefighters, does make that connection. This cropped up in stories in both the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, but the best discussion I've seen is in popular Steve Lopez's column today for the Los Angeles Times:

Although the city of San Diego has a fire department, the county doesn't, leaving many suburban and rural areas to rely on volunteer departments. The city has but one firefighting helicopter and just 975 firefighters for 330 square miles and 1.3 million residents.

Compare that, he says, with San Francisco, which has 1,600 firefighters for 60 square miles and 850,000 people.

(Or Ventura County, which has about 800,000 people and 1900 square miles, but a highly-professional fire department with nearly 700 full-time and seasonal firefighters, 5 helicopters, and extensive resource-sharing agreements with the Forest Service, which is responsible for its huge backcountry.)

Lopez also gets to the heart of San Diego's real estate corruption, Developers turn out to back most of the county's anti-tax movements, according to UCSD professor Steve Erie.

Erie says that "developers own most of the city councils. In Poway, in Escondido, what they do is put homeowners in harm's way. They're able to control zoning processes, and they're frequently behind initiatives that say no new taxes, no new fire services. It's insanity."

Will this be the wake-up call that brings the county to its senses? Don't count on it. After the devastating fires of 2003, which killed more that 20 people, and were the largest wildfires in modern state history, San Diego had a chance to pass a modest hotel tax increase to fund firefighting efforts.

It failed. And now this... (photo of Mt. San Miguel in San Diego burning, via Flickr, from slworking)

(cross-posted at A Change in the Wind)

Posted by Kit Stolz at 09:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

A PRESS RELEASE FROM ATTASALINA PHOTOGRAPHY:

“STRENGTH IS BEAUTY” - THE WOMEN OF OJAI 2008 CALENDAR

The Ojai Calendar Project continues to support the arts in Ojai. This year, Attasalina Dews presents the Women of Ojai in “Strength is Beauty” to be released on October 26th at a reception and gallery show at the Ojai Art Center from 6-10pm. The calendar is a limited edition of 750 copies featuring fine art nude photographs of twelve local women. Limited edition, fine art prints will also be available for purchase at the reception. Pre-sales of the calendar are available online at www.womenofojai.com. Proceeds of calendar and print sales will benefit local artists, art groups and school art programs. The calendar price is $25.

The response to the 2007 Men of Ojai calendar “Liberation” was overwhelmingly positive and the process of creating and distributing the calendar supported many local artists and art related businesses. Through the calendar effort, Demitri Corbin was elected to serve on the board of the Ojai Arts Commission where he continues as an advocate for the arts in Ojai and Peachtree Theatre Company has been able to continue its community programs.

The Women of Ojai 2008 Calendar has brought on new support in the form of four local sponsors: Color Works Printing, Inc., P3D Marketing & Events, Studio 201 Framing and Valley of Moon Giclees. They have all made this project possible with their generosity and enthusiasm for the work. With their help, this calendar has even greater potential to support local artists and encourage creative freedom in the Ojai Valley.

While a major focus of the Ojai Calendar Project is to raise money for the arts, the other equally important aspect is to raise awareness of how vital the arts are to our community. Art is an integral aspect of human nature. Too often it is marginalized, trivialized or considered only for the elite. The Ojai Calendar invites the community to participate in the artistic process and to share in the experience of creation. Freedom of expression is a tremendous gift that must be valued and nurtured. Our children must learn to challenge people’s perceptions and be encouraged to raise their standard of consciousness. We should all nurture the strength to support each other and to appreciate beauty abundant in its many forms. Because art is life!

Listen to an interview with Salina about the project on Radio Ojai.

Contact information: 798.1440, www.attasalina.com, salina@attasalina.com

Posted by Lisa Snider at 09:28 AM | Permalink

Dear Members of Ojai City Council:

I would like to commend all parties for the work that has occurred over the past 18 months on the issue of formula businesses in Ojai. At times, our long conversation has been challenging, but the end seems near and with a positive outcome. I have discovered allies in surprising places and know this has been beneficial. I appreciate the efforts the City Staff made to inform me of their progress and for responding to my questions and suggestions. In light of a very complicated issue, the Planning Commissioners should be recognized for their diligent work and their ability to take in significant public comment; Chair Tucker Adams was an exceptional facilitator.

During the entire process, I have attempted not to take an adversarial position and have attempted to work with all participants. My honest desire is to have an ordinance that meets the needs of most Ojai residents and businesses. I would also like to recognize my special responsibility to the almost 700 signatures collected who have hopes for a chain free Ojai. On Monday October 22, the deadline for submitting my signatures for a ballot vote occurred.

Because of the Planning Commission's unanimous passage of a City sponsored ordinance, I have decided not to submit the citizen's initiative for a vote. I am placing my trust in you, the Ojai City Council, to carry us forward from here. Right now, this is the best decision for Ojai. The citizen initiative has served its purpose and has heightened awareness in our community and has fostered dialogue between the City and its residents. This is good.

What you will have before you soon is a reasonable compromise and a solid ordinance. My intention is to support the passage of the City drafted ordinance as written by City Staff and unanimously endorsed by all Planning Commissioners. I look forward to seeing you when this is brought before you and to commend you for your full endorsement.

If there is anything I can do to help, today or in the future, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Posted by Kenley Neufeld at 05:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Source: Google Earth Blog

UPDATE:: By far the best image resource on the fires in San Diego County can be found here.

Posted by Kenley Neufeld at 10:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (28)

THIS WEEKEND OCTOBER 28TH 12-4 PM BUNS (BUNNIES URGENTLY NEEDING SHELTER) IS HOLDING THEIR ANNUAL BUNNY FESTIVAL. AT THE SUNKEN GARDENS IN SANTA BARBARA. IT IS WORTH A VISIT!

This is Bean. I found her hopping down the sidewalk of a main road. I was unable to locate her owners so Bean traveled cross country on an airplane to live with my friend.

Laura: What was your life like before your present home?
Bean: I use to live in a cage. It was a hutch in the yard. Many days and nights would go by before I would see my people. When my people came to see me they were nice to me. They would hug me and kiss me. I loved them.
My hutch was always dirty. It was hard on my feet because I would have to walk on wire and pee and poop through the wire. The wire was always disgusting. Sometimes my people would forget to give me water, but other times they would bring me carrots and lettuce.
One day, I opened the latch to my hutch with my teeth...

It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I was having so much fun. I was running around the yard with the wild bunnies. They kept telling me to be careful. I didn’t know what they meant. It felt so good to move.

Then you appeared and picked me up and put me in the car with the dogs. I thought they were giant bunnies because one was black like me and the other had ears like the wild bunnies.

Laura: What is different about your life now?

Bean: So many things are different. I have people in my life that care to hear me and children that hear me as well as another bunny would. I live in a house in a big cage on the floor. The bottom is carpet so my paws don’t hurt anymore. I have a litter box so my home doesn’t smell bad. I have a very handsome man for a dad. He lets me out to run around everyday and I sit on his lap so we are never lonely.

I don’t think those other people cared about me. I know you say they just didn’t know any better, but it seems like the right way to take care of me is common sense to you and my new person. I always have the freshest of water and many types of vegetables so that I never get bored. I am the healthiest and the strongest that I have ever been.

Laura: What did you think of the airplane?

Bean: It sounded like one of your dogs growling. I had seen them in the sky before and when you told me we were up in the sky I was disappointed because I thought the air would smell sweeter. It was a journey that was scary and exhilarating. I am glad I did it because I have a great life now.

Laura: What would you like to tell people about bunnies?

Bean: We don’t belong in a cage. It is a terrible life. We need exercise to feel happy and healthy. We don’t like wire under our paws. We loved to be talked to. Even though we love carrots and apples if we get too much it can make us mean. I was being mean to my dad, by batting things out of his hands and biting him. It was because I was getting too much sugar and my stomach was hurting. Now he gives me more lettuce and other vegetables. We love fresh food. Sometimes dad will eat with me. That is enjoyable to do together.
I also want to tell people that we are smart and we understand what people are saying. So no jokes about rabbit stew.

PLEASE CHECK OUT MY NEW WEBSITE AT http://WWW.THEANIMALSTRIBUNE.COM

Posted by Laura Stinchfield at 11:19 PM | Permalink

UCLA Football has been up and down this year, but turned in their best performance of the year this Saturday, beating the top 10 Cal Bears at the Rose Bowl, and lead the Pac-10 with a 4-0 conference record. Micah Reed, a star offensive lineman at Nordhoff High (Class of 2004) who was named All-State as a senior, started at left guard for the Bruins in place of Noah Sutherland.

"Micah played very well,'' UCLA coach Karl Dorrell said. "As a matter of fact, our offensive line played very well. They protected the quarterback, and it was one of our best games this year. They played well as a unit, and I was pretty encouraged by what we did. Micah in there, in the starting lineup, was pretty noticeable. He's done a nice job."

Micah, 21 years old, is the son of Timothy and Nona Reed and has one sister, Jolene, and one brother, Kacy. He was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for Community Service in 2006, and made the Director's Honor Roll in Spring 2006 as a UCLA History major. (disclaimer: I graduated UCLA in 1994 with a degree in History. Go Bruins!)

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 08:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

High Wind Warning in effect until Tuesday 3pm. Weather Underground is reporting highs in the mid 80s to mid 90s, northeast winds 25 to 40 mph with gusts to around 70 mph.

VC Fire Dept updated at 10:49am - the fire has burned 29,000 acres and is 10% contained. 653 personnel are assigned to the incident. All of Ventura County is experiencing extremely high amounts of smoke in the atmosphere. The smoke is primarily coming from the Ranch fire in the eastern part of the county and from the Canyon and Buckweed fires in Los Angeles County. Good news for access to resources: the Nightsky Incident in Santa Rosa Valley is 100% contained with full control expected by about 5 pm.

KVTA reports that Governor Arnold has declared a State of Emergency. Highway 126 is closed in both directions between Main Street in Piru and Chiquito Canyon in Santa Clarita. C Street is closed in Fillmore between Old Telegraph and Meadowlark. Piru Canyon and Halsey Canyon Roads are closed. Down in Malibu, Malibu Canyon Road and Pacific Coast Highway are both closed.

Inciweb's servers are getting hammered. They are reporting a Red Flag Warning in effect until 4 pm Tuesday for gusty northeast winds and low relative humidity. Strong northeast winds and low relative humidity will create conditions for extreme fire behavior through the day. Fire is expected to spread at a rapid rate with long range spotting. Most fire activity will be wind driven.

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Here we go again? We'll be tracking the Ranch Fire, which is located around Piru and Fillmore - other fires are raging in Malibu, San Diego and elsewhere. With heavy Santa Ana winds the next few days and resources stretched thin across Southern California, this could be a tough fire to fight.

Inciweb has a full report including this: "The fire is burning southwest pushed by 20-30 mph winds with gusts to 60 mph. The terrain is rugged with medium to heavy chaparral brush typical of Southern California. This area has not burned for approximately 40 years." The Incident Information Center has been activated and can be reached at 626-821-6700.

The Ventura County Fire Department has this caution: "All of Southern California is currently being affected by extreme wildfire activity. Firefighting resources are stretched very thin as all Southern California agencies work to protect their citizens. The large number of fires mean that resources may not be immediately available."

KVTA AM 1520 has specific canyon and street evacuation areas in Piru and Fillmore, and is reporting that Highway 126 is open.

Weather Underground for Fillmore (93015) reports High Wind Warning in effect until 3 PM PDT Tuesday... Tonight: Very windy. Areas of smoke...otherwise mostly clear. Visibilities locally reduced to less than one mile at times. Lows in the mid 50s to upper 60s. Northeast winds 25 to 40 mph with gusts to around 70 mph. Winds strongest below passes and canyons in eastern Ventura and western Los Angeles counties.

Reader Kate found this Google map...

View Larger Map

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 08:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Castle burnt, as of one hour ago:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/la-me-fire22oct22,0,3834594.story

Posted by Millennium Twain at 05:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Posted by Michael Lind at 08:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (17)

A few months ago I received a dinner invitation from the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy, an organization for which I have the highest regard. The meal preference card said, "Kindly indicate whether you would prefer a poultry or vegetarian main dish."

I thought to myself, "Poultry? At a dinner to save the environment?"

Unless the bird comes from a small family farm where chickens actually run around outdoors and their manure goes back to the garden, I'm afraid a chicken dinner at an environmental fund-raiser isn't quite putting your money where your mouth is!

As Kenley Neufeld's article on Vegetarianism and the Environment (posted below) reports, in November of 2006, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization issued a report stating that livestock agriculture generates more greenhouse gas emissions than all forms of transportation combined.

The report projects that unless more people commit to eating less meat, the number of farmed animals will double in the next 50 years.

Have you ever wondered why our beautiful valley has no chicken farms or slaughterhouses?

When my family immigrated to Ojai from Holland in 1957, my father briefly held down a part time job working at a chicken farm on Thacher Road. I was seven years old and sometimes I would follow my dad around as he cleaned up the manure underneath the wire cages, filled the feeders and gathered the eggs.

My father remembers it as an egg production factory, where about one-hundred hens were kept in individual wire cages and the lights were on 24 hours a day to assure the maximum laying of eggs all year round. When their worn out bodies could no longer produce, it was time for the chopping block. Sometimes we would find dead chickens with their intestines spilled out from all the forced laying.

Fifty years later, I realize that the chicken farm on Thacher Road was a forerunner to today's chicken factories where millions of birds are housed in windowless warehouses and where every aspect of the environment is "scientifically" manipulated to maximize profits and minimize costs.

Feedlots and slaughterhouses are major polluters of rivers and streams, filling them with poisonous residues and animal waste. Animal agriculture is the greatest producer of sewage wastes in the U.S.

A hen factory that houses 60,000 birds produces 82 tons of manure every week.

"Farm" animals produce 2 billion tons of manure each year--about 10 times that of the human population. It ends up in ground water, streams, rivers and lakes.

Millions of gallons of water are used every day in just one plant that processes chickens--enough water to service a community of 25,000 people.

It takes 25 times more water to produce a pound of meat than it does to produce a pound of vegetables.

With a growing number of consumers switching from red meat to poultry, the poultry industries are booming. Nearly ten billion chickens and half a billion turkeys are hatched in the U.S. annually.

Every day, 23 million chickens are killed in the U.S. for food--that’s 269 chickens per second!

If you want to see for yourself how modern day chickens (and turkeys) arrive on the dinner table, simply Google "how poultry is raised." With few exceptions, for most chickens their lives from hatch to slaughter are one of unrelenting horror.

These birds are typically crowded by the thousands into huge, factory-like warehouses where they can barely move. Shortly after hatching, both chickens and turkeys have the ends of their beaks cut off, and turkeys also have the ends of their toes clipped off. These mutilations are performed without anesthesia, to reduce injuries that result when stressed birds are driven to fighting.

Today's "broiler" (meat) chickens have been genetically altered to grow twice as fast and twice as large as their ancestors. An industry journal explains that "broilers now grow so rapidly that the heart and lungs are not developed well enough to support the remainder of the body, resulting in congestive heart failure and tremendous death losses."

Confined in unsanitary, disease-ridden factory farms, the birds also frequently succumb to heat prostration, infectious diseases, and cancer.

Poultry are specifically excluded from the federal Humane Slaughter Act which requires that other animals be stunned before they are slaughtered. However, many slaughter plants first stun the birds in an electrified water bath in order to immobilize them and expedite assembly line killing. Poultry slaughterhouses commonly set the electrical current lower than what is required to render the birds unconscious because of concerns that too much electricity would damage the carcasses and diminish their value. The result is that while birds are immobilized after stunning, they are still capable of feeling pain, and many emerge from the stunning tank still conscious.

After the shackled birds pass through the stunning tank, their throats are slashed, usually by a mechanical blade. Inevitably, the blade misses some birds, who may still be moving and struggling after improper stunning. Proceeding to the next station on the assembly line — the scalding tank — the birds are submerged in boiling hot water. Those missed by the killing blade are boiled alive.

While recent reports on meat and global warming give a generally positive plug to a more vegetarian way of eating, somehow the public perceives global warming as related mainly to cattle. As polls show, many people who think of themselves as "vegetarian" eat chicken, turkey and/or fish. Alas, the "inconvenient truth " is that it takes approximately 200 intensively raised birds to supply as many meals as one steer.

The greening of Ojai will gradually include the awareness that we all need to cut back on eating meat. If everyone reduced their animal consumption by just 10%, we’d reduce demand by one billion animals.

Ojai has some of the best vegetarian cooks in the country! Going veggie is becoming mainstream. With the huge popularity of vegan restaurants, with all the delicious vegetarian menus available, there is simply no need for any organization to feel obligated to always have a meat option on the menu.

As a step in the direction of the greening of Ojai, I recommend that the Ojai Valley Green Coalition puts forth the recommendation that local fund-raisers, most especially local environmental groups, dog park and other animal related fund raisers, church dinners, high school reunions, school fund raisers, etc., use these events as opportunities to educate the public about delicious vegetarian and vegan food.

Eating less meat or no meat is an idea whose time has come. I hope that the next dinner invitation I receive will say "Scrumptious Vegan Feast!"

"The only way of winding down the factory farms is by withdrawing our weight, each person, one act of conscience after another, from the momentum of consumer demand,"

--Matthew Scully, author, "Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy."

To learn more, visit:

http://www.veganoutreach.org/globalwarming.html

A Truly inconvenient truth

http://www.veganoutreach.org/enewsletter/EnterTheChickenShed.pdf

Enter the chicken shed

Posted by Suza Francina at 01:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (22)

Back in 1985-1986, I was deeply troubled by the plight of the rainforest in the Amazon. The information I received at that time came primarily from the Rainforest Action Network who talked about deforestation to support the booming fast food industry and the American hunger for cheap hamburgers. I felt helpless to do anything until I realized that I could start by not eating meat. My connection to the environmental movement was connected to my eating habits and I became a vegetarian. Ten years later I began a journey into Buddhism, eventually becoming a student of Thich Nhat Hanh. It was there that I learned about vegetarianism as it relates to ethics and its connection with compassion to all beings and not killing. Now, another ten years have passed. I am still a vegetarian. I am still a student a Thich Nhat Hanh. This past week he wrote a letter to our community where he talks of the environment and food. Here are few excerpts:

- In 2005, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) began an in-depth assessment of the various significant impacts of the world’s livestock sector on the environment. Its report, titled Livestock’s Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options, was released on November 29th 2006. Henning Steinfeld, chief of FAO’s Livestock Information and Policy Branch and senior of the report, in the executive summary, asserts that: “The livestock sector emerges as one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global. The findings of this report suggest that it should be a major policy when dealing with problems of land degradation, climate change, air pollution, water shortage, water pollution and loss of biodiversity. Livestock’s contribution to environmental problems is on a massive scale and its potential contribution to their solution is equally large. The impact is so significant that it needs to be addressed with urgency” (page XX)

- The U.N.’s recommendation is clear: “The environment impact per unit of livestock production must be cut by half, just to avoid increasing the level of damage beyond its present level,” (page XX)1. We need to reduce at least 50 percent of the meat industry products, and that we must consume 50 percent less meat. The U.N. also reports that even if cattle-rearing is reduced by 50 percent, we still need to use new technology to help the rest of cattle-rearing create less pollution, such as choosing animal diets that can reduce enteric fermentation and consequent methane emissions, etc. Urgent action must be taken at the individual and collective levels. As a spiritual family and a human family, we can all help avert global warming with the practice of mindful eating. Going vegetarian may be the most effective way to fight global warming.

- Both monastic practitioners and lay people practice vegeterianism. Even though the number of lay practitioners who are 100 percent vegeterian is not as many as monastic practitioners, but they practice eating vegeterian meals either for 4 days or 10 days each month. [Thich Nhat Hanh] believes that it is not so difficult to stop eating meat, when we know that we are saving the planet by doing so. Lay communities should be courageous and give rise to the commitment to be vegetarian, at least 15 days each month. If we can do that, we will feel a sense of well-being. We will have peace, joy, and happiness right from the moment we make this vow and commitment.

What do you think? Can you reduce your meat consumption to every other day to reduce global warming?

Posted by Kenley Neufeld at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (29)

Hey folks, warm welcome to new Ojai Post author Robin Walter, our first student. A senior at Thacher, Robin is involved in numerous non-profits, her school and her community. I am looking forward to hearing much more from that mysterious little corner of the Ojai Valley...

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 11:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

A bipartisan group of senators, borrowing heavily from California's efforts to fight climate change, fired the starting gun on what's expected to be a long global-warming debate in Congress with a proposal for limits on greenhouse gases affecting every major segment of the nation's economy.

Lawmakers, industry groups and environmentalists have waited months for the bill, which was introduced Thursday by Sen. John Warner, R-Va., and Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut.

The bill, expected to be the centerpiece of the Senate's efforts to address climate change, would cap emissions and gradually reduce them using a market-oriented cap-and-trade system in which allowances to emit greenhouse gases would be bought and sold.

"Today will be remembered as a turning point in the fight against global warming," said California Sen. Barbara Boxer, chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

The bill requires cuts in carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases from electric utilities, transportation and manufacturing, accounting for about 75 percent of U.S emissions.

The bill would cap greenhouse gases at the 2005 emission level starting in 2012 and gradually reduce them to 1990 levels - a 15 percent reduction - by 2020. The measure requires deeper cuts over the long term: a 65 percent reduction from 1990 levels by 2050.

Environmentalists mostly praised the bill as a good first step, though some groups said the emissions cuts were not deep enough. Some scientists estimate that reductions of 80 percent below 2000 emissions levels will be needed to avoid the worst impacts of rising temperatures.

"Senators Lieberman and Warner have offered serious preventative measures that will take us a long way to preventing catastrophic climate change," said Kevin Knobloch, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists. "But it needs improvement if we're going to restore the patient to full health."

Industry groups were skeptical of the measure, saying the emissions cuts could hurt the competitiveness of U.S. companies by increasing their energy costs.

"We believe the bill's proposed greenhouse gas emissions reductions are 'too much, too soon,' " said Jack Gerard, president and CEO of the American Chemistry Council, a trade group of plastic and chemical manufacturers. He warned the bill would "turn energy markets upside down, causing massive reductions in coal usage and enormous increases in natural gas and renewable fuels usage."

Posted by Michael Lind at 10:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (42)

It has been almost five months since the City officially began discussing the chain stores topic. We have had many meetings (both public and private), heard from dozens of residents, and reviewed several draft ordinances. I might also mention the Citizen Initiative that has generated conversation and activism in the community in the same time period. We have truly brought this issue to the forefront of local politics.

Tonight, the Ojai Planning Commissioners unanimously passed without changes, a permanent ordinance regulating formula businesses in the City of Ojai. The ordinance was a great compromise and took in many of the concerns raised over the past five months. It's not perfect, but an honest middle ground has been found. In fact, most speakers from the public spoke in favor of the proposal, including Ron Polito, Scott Eicher, Leonard Klaif, and myself. The ordinance provides room for creativity and flexibility with the direction we take in Ojai. The next step is for the City Council to have two readings of the proposed ordinance before it becomes law. This is a great night for Ojai and the future looks a little brighter. Our goal now is to support our Planning Commissioners and our City Staff by urging the City Council to unanimously approve this ordinance too.

Posted by Kenley Neufeld at 09:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Now Goddess Moon is showing her colours! Thacher students activating our hearts and minds! [Give Evan and crew another week or two, and we will have them all out organizing for the Planetwide Impeach Bush and Gore (I mean Cheney, you know, the Voldemorti) movement!]

Myanmar is pivotal in world consciousness. It never was called Burma, accept by the British Military which seized it in 1885 -- intent on the IMMENSE wealth of Jadeite in the mountain rainforests of the North. Somehow they came up with the silly name 'Burma', as a racial slur against the Bamar people, one of the 135 ethic groups, whose largest are the Kachin, the Kayah, the Kayin, the Chin, the Mon, the Bamar, the Rakhine, and the Shan.

http://myanmartravelinformation.com/mti-myanmar-people/index.htm

In 1999-2000 when I was a journalist and producer in New Zealand, we had mates in the jungle of Myanmar with the student guerillas there, reporting on the civil war. It was a relatively small population of western-guided students, against the military power of Myanmar. Many very sad stories which we put on the air, or published at Waikato University, and circulated worldwide on the internet.

My best University mate for ten years, Richard Deck is a Board Member of ARDA: http://www.asiademocracy.org which you can visit to find all the worldwide contemporary info on what the Myanmar 'pro-democracists' are doing.

For those who want to know much of the true history of Myanmar, written by two British Investigative sleuths Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark, read their AMAZING book from about 2000 entitled "The Stone of Heaven: The Secret History of Imperial Green Jade."

There is a beautiful movie available too, of the geography and culture of contemporary Myanmar -- breathtaking rainforests and gold-foil-covered Buddhist temples everywhere.

** HERE ARE SOME MYANMAR PHOTO GALLERIES **

http://www.geogr.uni-goettingen.de/kus/pics/myan3.htm

http://www.molon.de/galleries/Myanmar/Yangon/TemplesPalaces

http://www.molon.de/galleries/Myanmar/Bagan/EarlyPeriodAnawratha

http://www.molon.de/galleries/Myanmar/LakeInle/Temples

http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Asia/Myanmar

http://www.englander-workshops.com/gallery.php?gid=10

Myanmar has been able to preserve 150,000 square km of rainforests, and the natural population levels of species like the White Lemur. As far as I know an accomplishment without comparison in today's ravaged world. [Rainforests are still 1/4 of the land area of Myanmar!]

Myanmar is singularly the most forested in South-East Asia and is actively pursuing the prevention of the deforestation of rainforests which has occurred in most other parts of South-East Asia.

http://www.roadtomandalay.com/myanmar_burma.htm

If I can come up with the name of the movie, will post it here.

Until then, keep growing the knowing!

Posted by Millennium Twain at 06:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

The following is from Robin Walter, a student at The Thacher School.

On Friday October 5th, almost every single Thacher student and faculty donned red to show support for Burmese protestors. The students wore red to show support for protestors who had recently challenged the repressive authoritarian Burmese government. Protestors set out to the streets to peacefully protest the rising prices of fuel. The Burmese (Myanmar) government raised fuel prices in mid August of this year by over 500%. Outraged, there have been hundreds of protests that have all been met with indisputable hostility and repression from the government. The violence culminated the last week of September, when local Buddhist Monks became involved in protests. While it is impossible to ascertain the total number dead because of the chaos that currently saturates the country, according to the International Herald Tribune, atleast ten civilians were killed when security forces broke up the mass demonstrations, but dissident groups put the death toll at up to 200 and say that at least 6,000 were detained. At least five of these civilians, according to eye witnesses and BBC reports, were Buddhist Monks.

The Burmese government that oversaw the actions of security forces is the very same government that has been carrying out a scorched earth campaign since 1996. The burnt villages, destroyed crops, raping, beating, and killing members of ethnic minority groups is reminiscent of the genocides in Darfur, Rwanda, Cambodia, and the Holocaust. Unfortunately, the conflict in Burma is an issue that the public is not generally aware of. By wearing red on Friday, the Thacher students helped to shed light upon a bloody and on-going conflict, and showed their support for the Burmese monks, and all others who suffer under the hands of the Burmese government, by standing in solidarity.

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Ojai, California is a small town, but not compared to Upper Ojai, which today has no churches, no bars, no gas stations, and but a single store, restaurant, and elementary school.

Summit, a school founded almost a hundred years ago, has almost exactly fifty students, down from well over a hundred in the mid-1990's, when my kids attended. But although it can afford only three full-time teachers and a half-time principal, it's still a unique and lovely grammar school for the information age, a "throw-back" to another era, a little reminiscent of the one-room schoolhouse of American schooling in the West a century ago.

The classes are small, every student is known by name by the entire staff, and a lot of the kids grow up playing outdoors, the way kids used to do in the "olden days."

One of the charms of the school, and of Upper Ojai, is getting to know people who grew up in the area, who will tell you stories about the way it used to be. My wife and I have heard stories from Red Titus, who built our house back in the l950's, and told us about how some kids used to riide horses to the school. Dan Beasley, who grew up in Upper Ojai, told us a funny story about how he and a friend tried to hitchhike to Santa Paula from Upper Ojai when they were kids, but had to give up -- not enough cars!

For parents and fund-raisers, the charm of such a small school also means the challenge of raising money from a small community. It's not easy, and hasn't always succeeded. To pay for an afterschool program and to buy about ten new computers, this year the Summit School PTO hoped to raise $5,000-$8,000. They themed their fund-raiser as "West-Fest," and for a $25 ticket this past Saturday evening offered home-made food, a band, a casino night (with a trip to Las Vegas as the grand prize), a mechanical bull, and some terrific deserts.

Judging from the 200+ attendees, many of them standing around the mechanical bull, their chances looked good.

The much-loved school librarian, Pam Schubert, a long-time volunteer, came to the gathering, along with the entire teaching staff, including enthusiastic young Heather Ramsey, who teaches a combination of first, second and third graders. Because Summit is so small, the school has had some difficulty finding teachers willing to do the extra work it takes to teach combination classes (from different grades). Lauren Coyne, a parent, told me that the Summit School PTO has been asking School Superintendent Dan Baird for teachers who would stay, and is happy to report that the current set have volunteered to come to Summit from other schools.

"Where else can you find a place like Summit in the public schools?" said Mrs. Dalton, a teacher, said to me.

From all appearances, a fine time was had by all, even the willing victims who volunteered for the mechanical bull. Here's a picture of Camille Sage, who herself attended Summit about ten years ago, enjoying the ride.

Posted by Kit Stolz at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Just returned from the Pacific Coast Business Times awards ceremony for the 2007 Top 40 Under 40, of which I was honored to be chosen.

How was your evening?

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 09:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Another snake in the grass!

From the internet:

"Al Capone Gore is about to make billions of $$$ from his Generation Management Investments..."

Al Capone Gore and Bill Clinkton were in on 911 from the beginning, in 1994 if I recall correctly. Gore might have even been the originator, though THAT story has not yet filtered down to "the masses" yet.

At the time Gore and Greenspan arranged the deal on behalf of JP Morgan Chase who was to be the chief beneficiary. JP Morgan needed the collusion of the US Treasury (Gore's responsibility) and the Federal Reserve (Greenspan's) to facilitate the scam, eventually including London Bankers, the BIS (Bank of International Settlements), Deutschebank, Citibank, Goldman Sachs and others.

Reginald Howe then made history, blowing the lid on the racketeers with his unprecedented global lawsuit against ALL of them, making the whole of the (literate, educated) World aware of the crime.

[There are even some few and growing local "Ojai' denizens amongst those literate, educated ...]

Howe's lawsuit was 'truncated' a month before trial date, when JP Morgan crashed their own twin towers, the World Trade Center, on September 11th, 2001 -- bringing down fifty floors of evidence, and the witnesses, who would have otherwise have been called to testify against them.

Voldemorti Gore or

Voldemorti Greenspan and Gore

"Alan Greenspan confessed to the scheme. The European Central Bank confessed to the scheme. And now the Bank for International Settlements, the central bank of the central banks, has confessed, saying 'at the time we thought this might be thought useful.'"

History, the facts, the truth is certainly not politically-correct in the Ojai or US of today, just simply history, the facts, the truth. One day soon, as we shift our attentions to the sacred, the oceans, animals and rainforests, truth and community will become honored again. With all our sacred relations.

and lets NOT call him by his nickname "Capone" any more ...

he's trying to lose it!

Posted by Millennium Twain at 09:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)

Golden Gate Petroleum has recently unveiled a new 35.2 kW solar electric system at its Shell Gas Station in Atascadero, California. The system was designed and installed by REC Solar, one of the nation’s leading providers of residential and commercial solar electric systems.

Golden Gate Petroleum’s solar electric system will transform the roof of their Shell Gas Station in Atascadero into a state-of-the-art energy production site.

The system is composed of one hundred and sixty (160) SunPower SPR 220-watt panels, and is expected to supply a significant percentage of the gas station’s overall electricity per year in clean renewable energy.

This solar electric system will produce over 50,204 kilowatt hours annually and will save the company thousands of dollars in energy costs. In addition to saving the company money, the solar electric system on Golden Gate Petroleum’s Shell Gas Station in Atascadero will offset more close to two tons of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, each month.

By using the sun to power its operations, the company will offset conventional electricity production, most of which relies on the combustion of fossil fuels.

According to Ryan Park of REC Solar, “Many gas station owners are realizing that solar not only adds to the marketability of their station and sets them apart from their competitors; it also allows them to be part of the solution towards a more sustainable future. This system will allow Golden Gate Petroleum to control their electricity costs and save a significant amount of money while also setting an example as an industry leader in green practices.”

Posted by Michael Lind at 08:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Is Caring for a Small Child a Sustainable Venture?

We’d better hope so. And it would appear that it is, given humankind’s long (though arguably non-illustrious) history on this planet; however, i’m wary of confusing “sustainability” with simple “strength in numbers”. Perhaps the human marketplace has simply been over-saturated with product long enough to give the appearance of staying-power, a perilous condition which we are on the fraying edges of now.

So how do we do it? How do we perpetuate our species – more of a social exercise than a biological or evolutionary necessity – in a way that’s healthy for both us and our planet? Here are some of my family’s solutions and opportunities:

• Much of Noa’s fabric environment is organic, sustainably-produced cotton. YES it’s more expensive than the planet-killing alternatives, and we’re very grateful that we have the means to invest in this way. to have the means to choose life and still choose death would be a tragedy. [hint: read into this as deeply as you dare] Terramor in Meiners Oaks is a great local source, as is the EarthPlay Eco Store at 900 East Ojai Ave.

• as we (slowly) use up the chemicals that populate our under-sink areas, we’re replacing them with eco-friendly options that sterilize countertops but not people. A simple Google search will yield over 56,000 resources, including simple cleaning recipes you can make yourself. Trader Joe's also has life-friendly cleaning supplies, and Plan-It Hardware is a good resource for businesses who want to offer green products (great website to send your favorite hardware, paint, and cleaning supplies retailer to!). Green Thumb in Ventura is listed as a planet-friendly place.

• CLOTH DIAPERS! They’re back, and better than the ones you remember: snazzy covers, no pins, and all the feel-good you can handle. seriously, we researched this decision a lot, and it comes down to this:
- Natural cloth on our baby’s skin, not a petroleum-based techno-diaper.
- While there is industrial-level energy expended to create cloth diapers AND to wash them over and over, it does not overpower the energy used to create plastic planet-chokers NOR is there the hidden cost of the space needed to store massive piles of dirty diapers.
- There is no diaper service for Ojai (a diaper service would rent you the cloth diapers, pick up and wash your dirties, and deliver you clean ones each week). This type of business is a dying breed, because of the ultra-convenience of eternal plastic pants. So, we’re washing them ourselves. Right now while Noa’s breastfeeding, it’s a pop-em-in-the-washer affair for two cycles (one cold and soapless, the other hot and with a minimal amount of Trader Joe’s biodegradable powder soap), then hang ‘em on the line to dry. The sun, baby: dries ‘em, warms ‘em, sterilizes ‘em...all for free.
- No pins! Today’s cloth diapers are held together with some variation of the Snappy: a three-armed stretchy fastener (elastic/plastic, yes) with tiny teeth. works like the metal clip that fastens most Ace bandages.
- Cloth diapered babies toilet train sooner than their petroleum-dipped counterparts because the cloth doesn’t wick the waste magically away from the skin and give a false sense of comfort. This means less diaper-using overall.
- Cloth diapering is cheaper over the diapered career of the child. While the initial investment is higher (we paid over $200 for our startup kit), the prolonged and consistently expensive graph for plastics will overpower the cloth’s more moderate trajectory soon enough.
- Overall, using cloth diapers is a) much easier than people are afraid it's not, and b) so very gratifying to know that somewhere, there’s not a giant pile of plastic and crap with your name on it.

CONTINUE FOR MORE!

• With only two exceptions, all of Noa’s gear is second-hand or more. YES, this can be done!...and as a bonus, we get to shift away from the “hand-me-down” paradigm of a scuffed and torn environment: all our stuff is in GREAT shape, thanks to the original owners caring enough to preserve it, perhaps exactly because they intended for it to be used again. The exeptions?
- Our stroller, which our family/community needs had very specific requirements for and which we could not find used.
- Our vehicle car seat, which is a risky thing to use used.
Even in these two new items, we opted for maximum lifespan and utility: the stroller has two seats, one of which converts to a sitting or standing platform for an older child (Jessie has a four-year-old sister). The car seat converts from rear- to forward-facing, so it’s the only seat we need for Noa’s entire car seat career.

• Breastfeeding is a sustainable option because it’s always ready, naturally-produced, requires no heating or cooling, and need not be packaged or shipped...not to mention the researched, documented, and universally accepted health benefits to both baby and mother. Baby formula (blech, just the term sounds inhuman) is the opposite of all the things i just listed above. [disclaimer: i am aware that there are mothers who, for a variety of reasons, CANNOT breastfeed. there is no slight intended toward them or their situation, or toward their choice to feed their babies formula if breastmilk is truly not an option.] In addition, Jessie is pumping milk for Noa to drink while Jessie’s at school or work, or if we leave her in someone else’s care during a feeding period. This requires a mostly-plastic contraption (for those old-school pumpers out there, this ain’t the pump you or your mama used) and plastic bottles and nipples. Not ideal, but necessary for our situation...we also have some glass bottles that will last forever, and then recycle nicely.

• We WALK! This one’s a no-brainer that anyone can do, child or not. But it seems as though a baby makes the non-sustainable “throw it and it’s gear in the car and go” scenario very easy to fall into. We’ve got a bjorn (kinda like a baby-shaped backpack for your front...great for dads!) and a sling...either one and a moderately-equipped diaper bag, and we’re ready for a short trip to the bank, store, theater, post-office, park, restaurant, etc. [Of course, we live near enough to downtown services for this to be a realistic option. Not so for all, and we’re grateful for – and take full advantage of – the benefits of our location.]

• While Jessie was pregnant we cleaned out our “second bedroom” (read: office/junk heap) and turned it into a nursery. We painted it with no-VOC paint that is beautiful, moderately priced, and had almost no smell...although it was slightly more challenging to find (we got it from Frontier Paint in Ventura). Noa’s furniture is mostly from Ikea: a giant corporate warehouse box store...with a conscience. We’re particularly fond of their use of sustainable building materials sans formaldehyde, the pick-it-up-and-build-it-yourself structure (no inflated retail and shipping rates for pre-assembled goods), their blatant discouragement of the use of plastic bags, and their meatballs. The nearest Ikea is in Burbank, so we did all our research online, combined the trip with other stops and another family, and brought home everything we needed! [Double-bonus: Noa’s crib and changing table were from Ikea AND second-hand. Score!]

• While we did get some brand-new items from others, we encouraged used gifts in all our invitations and communications with a simple line like “Jessie and evan encourage used gifts.” Easy!

• Family showers! Saves water and time, and is a fun way to be together. No more complex than it needs to be.

• Wooden toys, NOT made from rainforest trees, and coated (if at all) with earth-based paints (and in light of recent headline news, not from China either). 99% of baby products, ESPECIALLY TOYS, are made of plastic, which is not healthy or sustainable to produce or store for eternity. Another resource for used toys and other goodies is Replay in Santa Barbara.

• What about mom and dad? How do we sustain our selves?
- Take a nap when the baby does. "But i’m not getting anything done!" Yes i am: i’m recharging the energy that it takes to be the best parent i can be, and maintaining the energy level that is required to make other sustainable choices.
- Give each other breaks by taking the baby on an errand or walk so the other parent has some time to clean, read, sleep, cook, whatever.
- Get some alone time. i’m not talking about when the baby’s asleep, complete with tiptoeing and whispering. i mean ALONE. Friends of ours recently offered to watch Noa for two hours so that we could simply have that time for whatever. We cleaned for an hour, then had some together-time. And we lived happily ever after.

• New parents don’t sleep as much as non-parents. That’s not a complaint...it’s just a fact, a new reality. Our coffee is also organic and fair-trade: easy to find at Rainbow Bridge, The Farmer and the Cook, and JB Coffee Connection.

My major observation and encouragement is this: for nearly everything you need to have, use, and do in LIFE – whether you have children or not - there is a planet-friendly and sustainable option. Generally speaking, we need to use less...but what we do use needs to have as little impact on our physical world as possible. There are 300 million Americans alone...how we consume holds both great peril and great promise, depending on the choices we make EVERY DAY. Those of us with the means to invest in organic, sustainable options bear the RESPONSIBILITY to choose them consistently in order to demonstrate their value, fund them, and develop them. That’s how they get better, more acceptable, and more accessible. Having kids might be the catalyst for some, but ALL of us are either part of the problem or the solution. It consistently comes down to whether or not we have the will to change.

As a parent, i’m preciously aware that i’ve been borrowing this planet from Noa all along. i hope that i can do right by her and her friends in restoring her beautiful planet, and i hope you will join me.

Posted by evan austin at 10:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

Yoko Ono has installed an incredibly creative piece of art (in Iceland of all places) honoring John Lennon.

There's a video here.

Posted by Heather McKenzie at 06:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Celebrating Ventura County's independent musicians, the Music Awards for Ventura Roots & Independent Creations (MAVRIC) nominees have just been announced! The winners will be selected at the first annual MAVRIC Awards ceremony on Sunday, October 21 at 6:00 p.m. at the Pt. Hueneme Oceanview Pavilion, featuring special performances by several of the winners. Among the nominees are a few familiar faces who have appeared on Radio Ojai, including Champagne Sunday and Fred Schmitt, who is playing tonight at Farmer and the Cook. Check it out and vote for your favorite by Sunday, October 14.

Posted by Lisa Snider at 12:28 PM | Permalink

from a reader / festival attendee...

This past weekend, we were privileged to attend the Ojai Film Festival. We are producers of the movie AGENDA featuring John Bennett Perry. This festival stands above all festivals we have ever attended. It is not only a splendid area for such an occasion but the residents of Ojai really raise the festival to a level that no other festival could possibly obtain.

Congratulations to Executive Director Laurie Kirby on her outstanding work as well as the supporting staff and festival Boards. Laurie is a great representative and did a superb job in the short time she has been in Ojai.

We look forward to visiting your area again. Once again congratulations Ojai!

Frank Jones
Vikki Morvan-Jones

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Al Gore's statement via email:

I am deeply honored to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. This award is even more meaningful because I have the honor of sharing it with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change--the world's pre-eminent scientific body devoted to improving our understanding of the climate crisis--a group whose members have worked tirelessly and selflessly for many years. We face a true planetary emergency. The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity. It is also our greatest opportunity to lift global consciousness to a higher level.

My wife, Tipper, and I will donate 100 percent of the proceeds of the award to the Alliance for Climate Protection, a bipartisan non-profit organization that is devoted to changing public opinion in the U.S. and around the world about the urgency of solving the climate crisis.

Thank you,

Al Gore

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (48)

BLACKWATER USA FACTS
Founded in 1997 by a former US Navy Seal
Headquarters in North Carolina
One of at least 28 private security companies in Iraq
Employs 744 US citizens, 231 third-country nationals, and 12 Iraqis to protect US state department in Iraq
Provided protection for former CPA head Paul Bremer
Four employees killed by mob in Falluja in March 2004

A US human rights group says it is suing private security firm Blackwater for unspecified damages for war crimes and wrongfully killing Iraqi civilians.
Story after jump

The Center for Constitutional Rights is acting on behalf of an injured survivor and three families of men killed by Blackwater guards on 16 September.

The Iraqi government said the incident in which 17 people died was unprovoked. Blackwater denies firing without cause.

The case has put a spotlight on private military contractors in Iraq.

The action claims Blackwater "created and fostered a culture of lawlessness amongst its employees, encouraging them to act in the company's financial interests at the expense of innocent human life," the centre said in a statement.

It has been filed in Washington on behalf of Talib Mutlaq Deewan and the estates of Himoud Saed Atban, Usama Fadhil Abbass, and Oday Ismail Ibraheem, the group said.

"This senseless slaughter was only the latest incident in a lengthy pattern of egregious misconduct by Blackwater in Iraq," said lawyer Susan Burke. The group say its complaint alleges Blackwater is liable for claims of assault and battery, wrongful death, emotional distress and negligence.

Blackwater has the contract for guarding US embassy staff in Baghdad and is also used both by visiting businesspeople and officials.

It insists its staff were acting in legitimate self-defence, and that they had been fired on by insurgents first.

Monitor allegations

Separately, the UN has called for private security contractors in Iraq to face prosecution if they are accused of serious crimes.

The UN's human rights official in Iraq, Ivana Vuco, said private guards were subject to international law, despite being given immunity by a US directive following the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

"For us, it's a human rights issue," said Ms Vuco. "We will monitor the allegations of killings by security contractors and look into whether or not crimes against humanity and war crimes have been committed."

Iraqi ministers say they are determined to press ahead with legislation that would strip foreign security personnel in Iraq of this protection.

The behaviour of private security companies in Iraq was further highlighted on Tuesday with the killing of two Baghdad women by security guards from an Australian-run firm.

Posted by Raymond Powers at 11:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Photovoltaic solar power plants are springing up throughout Spain, capitalizing on special tariffs for renewable energies and exceeding the government's expectations.

With the current momentum, Spain will be over its target for 2010 of 400 megawatts (MW) of photovoltaic (PV) power by next summer, possibly having somewhere between 800 MW and 1,200 MW, according to the Industry Ministry.

"We already have 80 percent of the target," Industry Minister Joan Clos said at a European energy conference in Madrid earlier in October.

Feed-in tariffs, initiated in 2004 to reach the European Union's goal of increasing renewable energy use to 20 percent by 2020, guarantee energy produced from renewable resources will be bought at three times the normal market value for 25 years.

"It's an attractive business for financial entities and promoters," said Francisco Garcia, manager of Spanish electrical installation company Elecnor's photovoltaic department, which is setting up 80 MW of PV installations.

"The utility has the obligation of giving you a connection point to the grid."

PV cells produce electricity when struck by the sun.

Gilbert Cohen, Senior Vice President of Acciona Solar Power , which is developing a 46 MW plant in Portugal, speculated that much of PV's success had to do with more companies lobbying for incentives.

Cohen has doubts they will be able to reach 1,200 MW next year, saying PV cells are not abundant and are expensive.

"The reason there are incentives is to reduce the cost... Well, they're trying ... China's getting big on supplying PV cells, Spain has factories, but it's still very limited capacity - every factory can provide 40 or 50 MW a year... for another 900 MW they need a lot of supply," he said.

All factors included, PV solar plants can cost about 6 million euros ($8.47 million) per megawatt, about 30 percent more than expensive than solar thermal power and roughly five times as expensive as a coal-fired plant.

"In about 12 years plant production costs will be paid off," said Carlos Galdon, director of PV installation company Avanzalia's 13.8 MW plant in Salamanca, which cost about 100 million euros and can generate power for around 5,000 households.

Spain's current renewable energy consumption is 19 percent, with wind and hydroelectric power making up the bulk.

At 1,200 MW, PV power would still only account for 0.4 percent of total power.

SUNNY SPAIN LAGS CLOUDY GERMANY

Germany, with about half as many sunny days as Spain, initiated a similar government incentive scheme in 2000 and has approximately 3,000 MW of PV power.

Peers Piske, director of German PV installation company City Solar Group's 20 MW plant in Beneixama, Spain, said Germany's PV output is due to a great number of homeowners with small installations capitalizing on the tariffs to sell to the grid.

"In Spain," he says, "there are more big plants, from one to 25 megawatts."

Incentives in Germany have led to a total of 250,000 jobs in the renewable energy sector.

Spain's Ministry of Industry estimates that at the current production rate it will have 200,000 new jobs by 2010.

Investors and politicians are optimistic that in six years the incentives will no longer be necessary.

Industry Ministry officials said that once there are 1,200 MW of PV solar power, the tariff rate will be reduced by 5 percent each year.

Posted by Michael Lind at 09:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

REC Solar Achieves Milestone: Costco Install Marks 500th Solar Electric System for 2007

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--REC Solar, a leading provider of residential and commercial solar electric systems, announced that during the first three quarters of 2007 the company has installed 546 solar electric systems, ranging in size from 1.0 kW to 700 kW, throughout California, Colorado, Hawaii and New Jersey. The recent groundbreaking ceremony in Kona, Hawaii for the Costco warehouse's 680 kW DC solar electric system, marked REC Solar's 500th installation in 2007.

According to Matthew Woods, Director of Sales and Marketing for REC Solar, "REC Solar has quickly grown to become a leading provider of solar electricity and now installs more solar systems on an annual basis than any

other solar provider in the US solar market."

REC Solar estimates it will install 43,000 solar electric panels on US homes and businesses in 2007. The panels installed by REC Solar in 2007 alone will produce 11.5 million kilowatt hours of power over the next 25 years and will improve the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 329 million pounds (the average American home creates approximately 13,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions from electricity per year).

Earlier this month REC Solar and Costco Wholesale announced their agreement to install a total of 2.5 Megawatts DC of solar electricity on four of Costco's warehouse locations in California and Hawaii. As a leader in the US solar industry, REC Solar continues to expand its presence in the commercial solar market by partnering with top organizations. REC Solar is currently working on several commercial projects for some of the nation's largest companies.

REC Solar has a total of twelve regional offices across the country, including nine in California--San Diego, Orange County, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Bakersfield, Fresno, Sunnyvale, and Sacramento--plus Colorado, Hawaii, and New Jersey. REC Solar is continuing its rapid expansion into more states as it pursues its vision of bringing solar into the mainstream nationwide.

Posted by Michael Lind at 11:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Someone from the crowd yelled out a birthday greeting to Jackson Browne shortly after his first song ended on Sunday afternoon, to which he responded "Today I am 58....and tomorrow I'm 59!"

Ojai then sang "Happy Birthday" to the activist performer, who was in Libbey Bowl as the headliner of a benefit concert for the Ojai Raptor Center. The day was perfect even by Ojai Valley standards, which included a healthy dose of magic.

Just several minutes before 1pm (showtime), there was still a healthy - and growing! - line to enter the Bowl, as well as lines for tshirts, concessions, and information about the Raptor Center's programs and resident birds. Inside, the Bowl was elbow-to-elbow full and the lawn was getting there.

From the stage we were greeted warmly and introduced to about a dozen of the Raptor Center's resident birds of prey. Up close, i could tell that a couple of them had eye problems and one was even missing an entire wing. The others - whole, beautiful, powerful - gave no outward indication of what care they were needing. The Center's mission, we were told, is the rehabilitation and release of orphaned and injured birds. Metaphors abound. [To get on the ORC's mailing list for news, volunteer opportunities, and event schedules, click HERE.]

The Household Gods graced the stage first, putting me that much closer to losing count of the number of times i've seen and heard them perform. Their opening set was short but energetic and included songs both ancient and old, with plenty of the playful stage banter between J.B. White and Jim Lashly that is a hallmark of their shows. They sealed my fan-hood yet again with their hauntingly beautiful rendition of Brian Wilson's "God Only Knows" and their better-than-the-original version of Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'". For extra magic points, they invited local goddess Perla Batalla (of recent Locally Grown 2 fame) out for a gorgeously heartfelt closer (bird-themed, as i recall, but not in a corny or cheesy way), for which she and they received a standing ovation. Hearing her made me so proud to be honoring her with the Earth Charter and the Arts award this coming weekend at Ventura College.

About 25 minutes later and with no ado whatsoever, Jackson Browne simply walked on stage in a tshirt, jeans, and the same haircut he's had for 30 years. He looked great. With a row of acoustic guitars behind him (One for each song, i had joked earlier with an ORC volunteer), he simply sat and played and sang with a voice as fresh and clear at 59 as it was the first time he set foot in a recording booth.

For the next hour and a half, we were treated to a meandering and thoroughly enjoyable collection of songs ("I've never performed with a set list", Jackson confided in us), given fresh voices by the two young women who joined him on stage. Of note to me were the stinging "Lives in the Balance" (written during Reagan but just as poignant now), followed smartly by the Steven Van Zandt-penned "I Am a Patriot". At the end of the day, though, it's Jackson's first single that continues to ring in my mind.

"Doctor my eyyyyyyes!
Tell me what is wrong,
Was I unwiiiiiiiise to leave them open for so long?..."

We cheered him out for an encore that included a cute and clever song "about people who don't know about Ojai, and who you don't WANT to know about Ojai": the good folks of Culver City. Before we left, i got one more story:

In 1986, a very famous Jackson Browne was performing in Iowa City or some such place when a few dirty hippies with backstage passes invited him to come out and see their little camp an hour or more away. He hesitated because the band was due in Chicago the next day, but said he'd talk to the bus driver and see if they could arrange a stop. Back in camp, nobody but the nightwatchers were up to see three huge buses rumble up the road at about midnight, but the word was quickly spread about their special visitor. Jackson came out alone, hoarse from the night's concert, and sang for about an hour and a half around a campfire for a couple hundred peaceniks.
The camp was the Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament, a close-knit family of activists who still have reunions to this day. There are several Marchers living in this valley, including the one principally responsible for Jackson's roadside concert. If she wants to, she can correct and expound upon the second-hand, twenty-one-year-old tale above.

Meanwhile, Jackson's off to co-host a Pray for Peace concert and prayer ceremony at the National Cathedral in Washington DC to coincide with the Dalai Lama's visit to receive the Congressional Gold Medal for "his enduring and outstanding contributions to peace, non-violence, human rights and religious understanding". The event is a call to the religious community to advocate for an end to violence and to denounce the "most 'un-religious' of actions": killing in the name of God.

Rock on, and Peace out.

Lawn seating at $40-per-head

A Bowl-ful for Jackson

A couple of ORC's residents

J.B. and the Gods

Jackson's opening song

Sign Language interpretation by the lovely and talented Debbie Tygell

Jackson's guitars

Posted by evan austin at 07:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

One of our Authors here on the Post is stunningly good at workplace performance. I've seen Jason Womack in his element, and he has a serious talent for making the little things in life work in harmony with the big picture.

My question for our audience today - to what extremes do you go to procrastinate, and what do you do to get back in your groove?

For me, its reading blogs (big surprise) and flipping through email, and to get back in the groove, its simply a matter of taking the first step. Once I start in my groove, I am off and rolling, but why is that first step so difficult to take sometimes? Let's see how we procrastinate, and maybe we can rope Jason into moderating the discussion.

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)

Starring our own Steve Sprinkel and other luminaries working to protect our most precious natural resource: WATER!

Here is a web link to a five minute video on the Ventura River watershed. It was sent by Richard Handley (Ojai Land Conservancy). The video was a class project for an instructor at Brooks Institute.

Rich Handley writes:
" Last week I spent a day working with local photographer Rich Reid on a video project about the watershed. We visited several people working to protect and restore the Ventura River ecosystem: "

Posted by Suza Francina at 08:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 08:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

the Movie, from local Producer-legend Caroline Thompson, and first-time Director Ai Kusuhara debuts tomorrow, Sunday, 5:30 pm, at Matilija Junior High School.

an exploration of the Spiritual dimension of Goddess Moon ...

http://www.ojaifilmfestival.com/schedule.html

"Awhay fairies, Awhay!"

Posted by Millennium Twain at 06:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

When: Saturday October 13, 11:30 - 2:30

Where: Oak View Recreation and Resource Center, 555 Mahoney Drive in Oak View

What: Grand Opening Celebration of the Nan Tolbert
Nurturing Center and Ojai Valley Birth Resource and Family Support.
Join us for a day of celebration, live music by the Oak View Old Time
Fiddlers, food hot off the grill, tasty treats, children's play
activities, and a tour of this exciting new center.

Ojai Valley Birth Resource and Family Support is dedicated to the nurture of children pre-birth to three, through inspiring partnerships and community resources that address perinatal wellbeing,
infant/ toddler development, and parent education and support. The
Nurturing Center is designed as a responsive environment where parents
can be present with their babies or toddlers who initiate and extend
their own self-mastered exploration and discovery through play. OVBRFS is passionately committed to instilling in our valley communities a profound and sincere understanding of babies and very young children
during these critically important and formative years, for that is where
our deepest patterns are set.

The celebration takes place Saturday, October 13th from 11:30am-2:30pm at
the Oak View Recreation and Resource Center on Mahoney Drive, Oak View.

Cross-posted at OjaiEvents.com and OjaiHealing.com

Posted by Heather McKenzie at 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

So, I might be overstepping a line or two [everyone's going to have their favorite coffee shop!], but I want to talk briefly at one of the local businesses I frequent - the Ojai Coffee Roasting Company.

Known under various aliases such as: The Coffee Shop, Stacey's place, The Roaster, (or The Roasters), That Coffee Shop across from that little cafe (one of my favorites)

I was in earlier this week, and Stacey made the announcement, "We're now serving salads and sandwiches." And, it turns out appetizers as well!

We've had lunch there twice this week, here's a picture of a salad we enjoyed...

Posted by Jason Womack at 12:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

It's Thursday morning, my free morning where I can stay home and write, do yoga, dishes, laundry, water the yard and sit outside to read and enjoy the peace and quiet. It's mid morning, nice and warm outside, so I pick a nice spot under a tree, move my lawn chair, spread out the LA Times and go inside to get a bowl of left-over soup from Farmer and the Cook. I have my worries but I brush them aside and think to myself "How lucky I am to live in a war-free zone, with electricity, running water, a flush toilet, and something good to eat." Birds are singing, squirrels are chattering, a perfect day in paradise. Almost.

I go back outside with my bowl of soup. I sit down. Oh no! Not again! What's that noise? My peace and quiet is shattered. It's the ubiquitous leaf blowers. They're back for another round. I live in a beautiful neighborhood but one never knows when the leaf blowers will start up as most of my neighbors use gardening services. Plus the nearby Presbyterian church parking lot seems to get a good vacuuming about twice a week. Sometimes I hear them on Saturday nights, as I watch the pink moment or the full moon rise. They start up when my students are in Savasana (relaxation pose). No moment is sacred to the leaf blowers.

I've almost given up. It's been many years since my last tirade on this bizarre modern-day invention. Instead of marching up to the gardeners, as I once used to do, now I vent to the cosmos.

It's two days later... I was about to sit in my yard and eat lunch. The neighbor's gardening service drove up. I quickly went inside. As I type this the gardener across the street has been sending gusts of dirt and fumes into my front yard and the rest of the neighborhood for about twenty-minutes. I thought we banned this blight on the planet from our residential neighborhoods when I was on the city council years ago!

It does little good to complain to the City or police because it's only a matter of time before the racket starts up again. Like most people I hesitate to march up to my neighbor's front door and demand they hand their gardeners a good old-fashioned rake and broom. My own gardener keeps my sidewalks swept and leaves raked into areas where they can nourish the soil and plants very nicely with these time-honored tools.

I think my neighborhood must be some sort of leaf-blower vortex. Surely if it's like this everywhere the people would insist that the City do something! My neighbor across the street, with his great big yard, has the gardening service come almost every day, and they consider it their sacred obligation to use the leaf-blower every time they come. Sometimes I suspect they are just going through the motions, walking back and forth blasting a few innocuous leaves.

The roar of the leaf blower has gotten louder since I started this essay and as I look out my window it appears another man has joined the chorus and I see more whirls of dirt and leaves swirling around. It's not the fault of the gardeners--I feel sorry for the gardeners who are exposed to the noise and pollution of these misguided tools. I want to shout, "For heaven's sake! It's the great outdoors! It's not the living room floor! It's supposed to be dirty. The leaves are nutrients for the trees! Stop those leaf blowers! Stop putting those precious leaves in the trash! Just STOP!"

Update, May 2, 2008 Posted by makeojaiquieter.com

Happy May! My dear neigbors on all four sides (eight properties all together) are celebrating the first two days in May by having an ongoing all-day leaf blower party. It started yesterday morning and they seem to have it timed so that any blessed moment of silence lasts no more than a few minutes. From a distance I can see clouds of dust and a few innocent leaves whirling through the air. The dust is blowing over the fence into my yard and the hispanic worker, wearing a kerchief over his mouth and nostrills, is obviously just going through the motions. He is stirring up far more dirt than leaves and looks like he's dancing with the long hose of the leaf blower as he run to and fro chasing leaves that I'm sure would much prefer to quietly return to Mother Earth...

Posted by Suza Francina at 12:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (42)

Bless you, Evo Morales!

This is it ... this is the consciousness shift. The first honest male world leader -- speaking on divine nature, life -- that which the 'War of the Voldemorti' has been focused on, their war against women and Mother Earth. This is our SHIFT back to the sacred. From the love of our ancestors, we are finding the love of all our relations.

~~
~~~

In the Estados Unidos "It's a little rigged"!

http://rawstory.com//news/2007/Jon_Stewart_tells_Bolivian_President_Americas_0926.html

"I know that we are different not only
between nations but within nation's as well.
Those differences amongst the various cultures
and peoples must be respected.

But what is a better way amongst political
leaders, amongst presidents and social movement
leaders, then coming together to support
thinking about how we can save life on Earth,
and save humankind?

And it is my sense that in this new Millennium,
it should be "The Millennium of Life".

From here, or from Cuba, Veneuzuela, Europe,
Africa -- we can move to create ways of coming
together to save lives and to save humankind.

In recent days at the United Nations, I have
heard a lot of 'talk' about climate change,
about global warming, but they will NOT speak
of why, of where that is all coming from.
There are few political leaders or movement
leaders who will answer where this is all
coming from.

Perhaps from a 'Western' culture. Perhaps
from excesses in relation to industry. Perhaps
because of excessive luxuries.

Perhaps consumption.

If we wish to think upon our humanity, then we
need to figure out how to change this situation."

~~~
~~

transcribed by Millennium Twain

~

Posted by Millennium Twain at 10:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Jackson Browne, called the "poster boy of the Southern California confessional singer-songwriter movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s" by Wikipedia, will play a special benefit concert on Sunday October 7th at 1pm in Libbey Bowl, to benefit the Ojai Raptor Center.

The concert also features local acoustic pop sensations The Household Gods. Open lawn seating tickets are $40, and are available at Local Hero Books (formerly Table of Contents) in Ojai, and at Patagonia and Salzers in Ventura.

The Ojai Raptor Center is dedicated to the rehabilitation and release of orphaned and injured birds of prey and to providing educational programs to teach about raptors and our shared environment. They are a non profit organization licensed by The California Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The center takes in approximately 1,000 birds a year. ~ Your ticket purchase is tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. ~

Jackson has played locally many times, notably for the Ventura Hillsides benefits. Songs you may recognize include "Doctor My Eyes", "The Pretender", "Running On Empty", "Somebody's Baby", and "Lives In The Balance".

Posted by evan austin at 09:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Now is your chance. Make your vote count. Vote for the OVN's annual Best of Ojai!

Choose your favorite salad bar, your favorite plumber, your favorite tire store, your favorite yoga instuctor (bummed that I can't choose my favorite Pilates instructor - for the record it's Tara Jeffery), your favorite place to watch the sunset, etc., etc.

The winners will be announced at Ojai Day on Saturday, October 20.
Click here to complete the form online.

Matt and I recorded a new Ojai Moment show last night on Radio Ojai. He did an investigative report on milk prices at our local gas stations.

Posted by Lisa Snider at 08:19 AM | Permalink

...are not a new kind of underwear.

• Tomorrow (Oct 4) could be a busy day for the new parent with a love for the environment, pets, and jewelry: Hit up the first of six weekly baby-nurturing gatherings at the newly-opened Nan Tolbert Nurture Center from 11am-12:30, then pop over to Gem Quest Jewelers for their liquidation sale until 4pm, followed by a Blessing of the Animals at St. Thomas Aquinas from 4-6pm. Cap the evening off with a Green Coalition Waste Management Committee Meeting at 7pm!

>>read on for more!

• A little time on the Ojai Post will currently yield such diverse topics as wars past and present; DNA, LSD, and Ojai; gorgeous photos from Tyler's recent trip to Alaska; and President Bush's veto of the State Children's Health Insurance Program in celebration of Child Health Day.

• The "misguided actions of this well-meaning teacher [...] followed up by the misguided actions of well-meaning parents" lands the Ojai Unified School District in court over a book.

• Meanwhile, the Ojai Film Festival begins with a FREE outdoor screening of "In the Shadow of the Moon" with "Origins" & "Bliss" at 7:30pm in Libbey Bowl.

• "Jail to jewel" conversion of former Honor Farm to new HELP of Ojai West Campus becomes more real every day as the growing site begins to house nonprofits.

cross-posted at OjaiNews.com

Posted by evan austin at 06:38 PM | Permalink

President Bush just vetoed health care for children. In only his fourth veto ever, he blocked health care coverage for millions of uninsured—and mostly poor—kids. The Washington Post is calling this "the biggest domestic policy clash of his presidency."

Bush is totally out of step with public opinion—even 61% of Republicans support the children's health care bill. We need just 15 more Republicans in Congress to break with Bush to override the veto. CONTACT ELTON GALLEGLY.

Protest the SCHIP Veto
Vons at the Y
Corner of 33 and 150
Ojai, CA 93023
04 Oct, 6:00 PM

Public gathering with signs to protest Bush's veto of funding for Children's Health Care, related to his request for more funds for the War in Iraq. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP TO ATTEND (helpful for organizers)

Posted by evan austin at 01:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

The second half of our Alaska adventure took Ali-Sun and myself to the very tip of the Kenai Peninsula. We spent four days and three nights at Stillpoint Lodge in Halibut Cove, one of the most beautiful places we've ever seen. The hospitality of owners Jan and Jim Thurston and their amazing staff, the views and the adventures gave us an experience we'll treasure the rest of our lives. If you are looking for a totally unique destination, be it a romantic retreat, spiritual quest, corporate meeting or silent interlude, don't hesitate to get in touch and say I sent you.

Halibut Cove is a roadless community six miles across Kachemak Bay from Homer, which lies at the very tip of the peninsula. They are an active community of about 90 during the summer months, dipping to 20 or so residents in the long winter months.

Cooper Landing is a small town about halfway between Anchorage and Homer. Incredible views and a quaint town mark this community that sits on one of Alaska's 3 million lakes. Fly fishermen were seen everywhere, enjoying great fishing and perfect weather. (photo by Ali-Sun)

The view from the Hermitage at Stillpoint Lodge, our cabin we stayed in for three nights.

A photo from a hiking trail above Halibut Cove. We brought the Ojai sun up to Alaska, and brought back the fall with the beautiful two day rain we had here in Ojai. Our timing was quite impressive ;)

Led by our expert guide and Stillpoint staffer Shona, we kayaked two miles to a secluded beach over glassy waters, where we tied up the kayaks on old dock pilings. A mile and a half hike led us to Glacier Lake.

The glacier itself is about two and a half miles across the lake, which it fills as it recedes slowly but surely. It's a humbling experience to be in the presence of so much beauty, with bittersweet feelings knowing it could be largely vanished in the next twenty years. Alaskans far and wide told us that climate change and warming has been brutally evident over the last thirty years.

A beautiful photo of the glacier by Ali-Sun. The executive chef from Stillpoint Lodge had prepared us with a shrimp stir-fry lunch for the road. It was a magical afternoon. As the winds picked up, the kayak return home took us to our edge (particularly mine), as we fought an incoming tide, three foot waves and steady 15 knot winds gusting to 20 knots.

Sunset in Halibut Cove.

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 03:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

For eleven days in September, Ali-Sun and I embarked on an adventure to Alaska. Combining business and pleasure, we traveled over 1200 miles, roughly dividing our time between the Alaskan interior (about three hours northeast of Anchorage) and the tip of the Kenai Peninsula (about four hours southwest of Anchorage). Read on for photos and brief commentary (printed below each corresponding photo)...

Byers Lake, about 35 miles from Mt. McKinley, aka Denali, which means "The High One". We took a five mile hike around the lake, with beautiful views of Denali on a perfect sunny day.

More from Byers Lake - an old-time homesteader told us how he was flown in there with a team back in the early sixties to build infrastructure in anticipation of the highway being put in that connects Anchorage, Fairbanks and Denali National Park. They camped all winter long, building cabins and cutting trails.

The photos barely do justice to Byers Lake...

Hiking around Byers Lake, a guide coming the other way told us that there was a fresh dead salmon on the trail and a fresh grizzly bear paw print. We found both - the paw print measured about six inches across. Bear energy surrounded us, we were traveling through their land as peaceful visitors.

We stayed two nights at the Talkeetna Roadhouse, a fantastic way to start our trip. With family-style dining down below, we stayed in a room up above, sharing a bathroom with two other rooms. There was a vent in the floor of our room, where we could see the dining room below. With breakfast starting at 7:00 am, we got an early start each day.

Half orders at the Roadhouse. The best bacon I've ever had in my life - we ordered an extra side, and I don't even eat bacon anymore. But when in Alaska... Thanks to Ojai friends Rebecca and Judy for a great recommendation.

The railroad runs through Talkeetna, the only "whistle stop" on the track, where the train will stop for passengers if alerted.

Denali is the tallest in North America at 20,320 feet. This photo was taken from about 40 miles away, and dominated the skyline. Imagine being on the California Coast, looking out to Catalina, and seeing a mountain 14 miles further, simply dwarfing everything on the horizon. Hard to even comprehend.

Denali, a native name, was changed by Congress decades ago, initiated by a local congressman who wanted to make a good impression on President McKinley. The locals want to change it back to its original name, but Congress refuses to take up the case.

We were incredibly fortunate to see this in the Denali National Forest, about thirty yards off the road. Two male moose were sizing each other up. This will escalate to a full-blown battle two weeks later as they vie for a female to spend the winter. I'll try to upload some video later.

The moose (plural) had just finished rutting, where they shed the velvet on their horns by rubbing against trees. They are absolutely enormous, much larger than a horse. Far off in the distance, in the middle, is Moose's Tooth, a 10,000 foot peak that is part of the same range Denali sits.

Posted by Tyler Suchman at 02:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Today is October 2, and it's Gandhi's 138th birthday!
not coincidentally, today is also the International Day for Nonviolence, which was created just this past June when the United Nations adopted an Indian resolution to declare this day as such on Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi's birthday.

from wikipedia:
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (October 2, 1869 – January 30, 1948) was a major political and spiritual leader of the Indian independence movement. He was the pioneer of Satyagraha — resistance through mass civil disobedience strongly founded upon ahimsa (non-violence) becoming one of the strongest philosophies of freedom struggles worldwide. Gandhi is commonly known and spoken of worldwide as Mahatma Gandhi (from Sanskrit, Mahatma: Great Soul) and as Bapu (in Gujarati, Father).
Gandhi first employed his ideas of civil disobedience in the Indian struggle for civil rights in South Africa. Upon his return to India, Gandhi helped lead poor farmers and labourers to protest oppressive taxation and widespread discrimination. Leading the Indian National Congress, Gandhi worked for the alleviation of poverty, the liberation of women, brotherhood, end to untouchability and caste discrimination and for the economic self-sufficiency of the nation. But Gandhi's work focused upon the goal of Swaraj — self-rule for India. Gandhi famously led Indians in the disobedience of the salt tax through the 400 kilometre (248 miles) Dandi March, and in an open call for the British to Quit India in 1942. However his goal, freedom, came at a heavy cost; tens of thousands died in all of his movements as they clashed with the British.
Gandhi remained committed to non-violence and truth even in the most extreme situations. Gandhi was a student of Hindu philosophy and lived simply, organizing an ashram that was self-sufficient in its needs. He made his own clothes and lived on a simple vegetarian diet. He used rigorous fasts for self-purification as well as a means of protest. All this was mainly done to raise the status of India's depressed classes and draw them into the freedom struggle. Gandhi's teachings have inspired civil rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Biko, Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi. Gandhi is honoured as the Father of the Nation in India and his birthday on October 2 is annually commemorated as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday.

Posted by evan austin at 09:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Citizens for Peaceful Resolutions, with co-sponsorship by the Ventura College International Studies Program, presents the 4th annual Earth Charter Summit Celebration and Awards on Saturday October 13, 2007 at 3pm at Ventura College's Guthrie Hall. [get map] The event is FREE and includes refreshments, live music by Inlakech Cultural Arts Center Mariachis, and vocalist Emy Reynolds - winner of the recent Battle of the Bands!

Every October cities all over the world hold Summits to celebrate the Earth Charter, a UN-commissioned declaration of principles for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society for the 21st century.

CPR coordinates Ventura County's Earth Charter Summit and presents annual Earth Charter Awards to those community activists who best embody the Earth Charter's core values. Please join us in honoring the 13 local heroes and sheroes selected as this year's Ventura County ambassadors of the Earth Charter Principles:

Respect and care for the community of life
Michael Takeda, Helen Sachiko Takeda and the late Hiroshi Takeda, Hiroshima/Nagasaki survivors, for bearing witness to the need to abolish nuclear weapons.

Ecological Integrity
Rachel Morris and Elzbet Diaz de Leon for educating, organizing and greening our community by founding VCCool --"Ventura Climate Care Options Organized Locally."
Jean Harris for a lifetime of progressive activism, including the preservation of Oxnard's Ormond Beach

Social and Economic Justice
Alice Linsmeier for her dedication to immigrant rights and leadership in the New Sanctuary Movement

Democracy, Nonviolence and Peace
Norman and Betty Eagle for their steadfast commitment to ending war and militarism

Earth Charter and the Arts
Perla Batalla for her musical genius and extraordinary devotion to social and economic justice

Youth Education and Outreach
Javier Gómez for decades of teaching our children and sustaining Oxnard's unique cultural treasure, Centro Inlakech/ Inlakech Cultural Arts Center

Youth Activism
Lauren Saltoun Weiner and Lauren Elizabeth Steinbaum for founding the Ventura High School Peacers

As a Board Member of CPR and the 2005 Youth Activism awardee, i invite you to attend this special social and cultural ceremony and help us honor those in our community who are actively helping to make the world a better place.

Posted by evan austin at 09:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Based on a book by Dvorah Adler. Shut up! An Ancient Mantra for Complete Happiness. The Simple Truth Your Guru, Therapist and Grandmother Forgot to Tell You! If you ever have the chance to meet Dvorah, I usually see her at Rainbow Bridge, be prepared to smile.

This link will also get you to the video.

Posted by Raymond Powers at 09:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)