Clean Water Action Invites you to ELECTOBERFEST!

Help us Elect Pro-Environment Candidates:

Wednesday, October 6th
5:30-7:30pm
Hot Club — 574 Water Street, Providence

Donations welcome. (Suggested contribution $25 and up)

To RSVP or for more information, call Clean Water Action at 401-331-6972

Call today to be listed as a sponsor for $50-1,000. (includes your ticket, too!)

Proceeds from this event with benefit Clean Water Action’s work to elect pro-environment candidates and to pass and enforce laws to protect our environment and health. Please be as generous as possible as we head into the home stretch toward Election Day!

Please make checks payable to Clean Water Action and send to:

741 Westminster St., Providence, RI 02903

Because of our extensive lobbying work, tickets are not tax-deductible.

Not original I know, but there you have it. Look people, this one is so easy, and we could all go around feeling so good about ourselves with such a tiny sacrifice. And why can’t we have a forward-thinking republican governor like Arnold Schwarzenegger who, according to several sources, is ready to sign into law an outright ban on plastic shopping bags once the measure passes the senate. So what is our own illustrious legislative history in the area of plastic bags?

Well, former Rhode Island House Majority leader Gerard Martineau remains in federal prison after pleading guilty to corruption charges involving his business relationships with CVS and Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Prosecutors said the pharmacy and Martineau had a longstanding business relationship before 1999, with Martineau selling commodities to the company for a commission. After he formed Upland Group, he arranged to begin selling plastic and paper bags to the company, and between 1999 and the end of 2002, he received a total of $716,435 in commission payments on those sales.

Beginning in 1999, Martineau also billed the health insurance company for 10 million bags at $19,500 per million, though fewer than 2 million were ever manufactured. Of the $195,000 total, the insurer paid him $175,500 – all but the final invoice, for $19,500, that was submitted by Martineau in 2003, after he left the Assembly.

Kudos to U.S. District Court Judge Mary Lisi for allowing Mr. Martineau more time to contemplate the deleterious effects of polymers in the environment, and now our own General Assembly must start talking about an outright ban on plastic bags.

The Newport Jazz Festival, held this year on August 7th and 8th, is rolling into Newport’s Fort Adams Park and we would love to see you there enjoying the music, the scenery, and the fun! To make that happen, Clean Water Action is offering reduced rate tickets at $54 per day on a first come, first serve basis. We have a limited number of tickets available, so contact us ASAP to reserve your tickets!  How it works:

1) You call 401.331.6972 or email npoepping@cleanwater.org and provide the following information: your name, number, address, the number of tickets you would like to reserve, and what is the best way to get the tickets to you (mail or pick up).

2) You pay. Write a check to Clean Water Action and send it in or deliver it when you come pick up your tickets. Please specify that it is for the Newport Festivals. If all you have is cash or a credit card, we can work with that too. For credit, we will need to take down your credit card info and process it at our national office. Our address is 741 Westminster Street, Providence, RI, 02903.

3) We deliver or hold the tickets here at our office for pick-up.

Click on link for more information about the Jazz Fest line-ups. Clean Water Action will have a table set up adjacent to the main stage and will be running the recycling and composting program throughout the weekend. Feel free to stop by anytime during the festival to say hello and support our work!

Can’t wait to see you there!

And right now, downtown Providence is teeming with them. This year the 2010 Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists is being held through Monday at the Rhode Island Convention Center. According to the ProJo,

The five-day conference is an annual gathering of four societies of fish, reptile and amphibian researchers. Brown University and the Universities of Rhode Island and Connecticut are the hosts of the multitude of workshops, symposia and exhibits through Monday at the Rhode Island Convention Center.

New England hasn’t been the chosen location for 31 years, and it’s the first time the event has been held in Rhode Island.

So welcome these people. Ply them with beer and clam cakes (best to stick with the mollusks) and make them talk to you. Scientists are smart and generally make excellent company.

(Pictured here is a surprise guest speaker whose parents met at this convention 20 years ago.)

I’m pretty sure this is Robert McMahon, the head of Providence Parks and Recreation, speaking to area residents last night at Lippitt Park (the topic was the cutting of trees surrounding the fountain). Unfortunately I could not attend, and the person taking this photo also had to leave for work. So, I’ll just throw this up and perhaps some attendees will tell us what occurred. There does not seem to be any coverage in today’s newspaper (the original story merited the front page). Looked like a good crowd and perhaps a better cross-section of the neighborhood demographic. It’s hard for people with three kids and two jobs to get to these things.

Comments and reports are welcome. (I think the Dose site was going wonky last night, I hope people try again if they had wanted to update this topic.)

[Thank you Commenter ML for your report. Very helpful. BC]

There are certain people who believe that you can replace 40-year-old trees. . . tomorrow. And according to this morning’s Providence Journal, Mayor David Cicilline is one of those people. Kudos to the neighbors who immediately got on the horn to City Hall and the ProJo, and managed to halt the recent wholesale tree-cutting at Lippitt park, eight down so far. That’s bad enough, but the city plans to clear at least 20 more, and all of this is to fix the fountain. Area residents thought repairing the fountain was a grand idea but who could have imagined it would involve clearing this enormous swath of mature trees. George Schietinger, the President of the Summit Neighborhood Association, makes several unconvincing arguments about Norway maples being invasive (irrelevant in a managed city park), not being part of the original landscape plan (who cares now), and that the shallow roots make it hard for grass to grow. I’ll bet that’s his major concern right there — he’s one of those lawn guys. Yes, let’s plant more turf grass that needs to be mowed and watered and fed. There’s plenty of open lawn on the south side of the park already.

That Parks and Recreation Superintendent Robert McMahon could have okayed this boneheaded desecration, and not have foreseen that people would go crazy, speaks volumes. It tells me he may be the wrong man for that position. Mature trees can not just be replaced.

Come express your outrage and help stop further execution of this idiotic plan. Bring pitchforks/torches.

Wednesday, 5pm, Lippitt Park, north end of Blackstone Blvd at Hope Street

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Today’s ProJo ran a depressing piece from The L.A. Times about 3-D printers.

. . . what if you wanted to “print out” a dinner plate, the leg of an armchair or an eyeglass frame? It may sound far-fetched and futuristic, but plastic extrusion machines that can do this — popularly known as 3-D printers — are poised to enter the home electronics market.

Just what we need, more bits of plastic crap in the environment. Most men are helpless in the presence of any new gadget or the latest technology, and with one of these they can now crank out widgets, and pieces, and parts of pieces. Attention People of Earth — you do not need personal plastic-extrusion machines. Remember the enormous floating garbage gyres in the Pacific Ocean? It is estimated that over half that stuff was thrown away on land and found its way into the oceans. Once there it degrades into tiny toxic bits which are eaten and absorbed by marine life. Don’t just blame the sailors and fishermen, that’s our plastic crap, and it’s coming back to get us via the food chain. Yum.

The L.A. Times article features one satisfied owner, Jay Leno. Feel free to join him in ‘Clueless Douchebag Hall of Fame’. (For more information, read Alan Weisman’s article Polymers Are Forever and ‘Sea of Trash’ The New York Times.)

From the National Center for Atmospheric Research:

If nothing else, recent events in the Gulf of Mexico have finally focused the nation on alternate energy sources, but these fledgling programs often need support to get off the ground.  Peter Asen of Ocean State Action invites concerned citizens to the State House today,

. . . to attend a press conference with State Rep David Segal (D-Providence, East Providence) in support of his budget amendment to restore the $1 million that Governor Carcieri and the House Finance Committee have proposed cutting from the budget.

Jobs advocates and environmental advocates alike will be gathering in support of Segal’s amendment to restore the funds cut from the Renewable Energy Fund. This is a tiny piece of the budget but a huge investment for Rhode Island’s economic and energy future. The Renewable Energy Fund is a modest surcharge, a part of the ‘conservation fee’ on the utility bills received by residents and businesses.  It is explicitly collected for the purpose of funding renewable energy development. This is part of a policy for reducing long-term energy costs by investing now in clean energy that will not grow more expensive as the costs of fossil fuels grow. Losing $1 million from the Renewable Energy Fund will kill the many potential wind projects municipalities are currently considering.

1pm, Thursday, Rhode Island State House, press conference on the Smith Street side

Spring is finally here. The seedlings are ready to be put into the ground. The sun will be shining all weekend. Time for the PLANT SALE at City Farm!

Southside Community Land Trust’s 18th Annual Plant Sale

(Special preview hour for SCLT members, Saturday from 9am to 10am)

Visit the Southside Community Land Trust website for more info.

Between 11:30am and 1pm catch an acoustic set by the ‘Mericans. Please carpool if you can. And don’t park in our neighbors’ driveways.

Saturday May 15 and Sunday May 16, 10am to 2pm, City Farm, West Clifford and Dudley Streets

‘Clean Water Makes Noise‘ is a special event tonight at AS220 with raffles and things all to raise money for clean water projects and advocacy groups.

100% of the proceeds go directly to the Potomac Conservancy, a clean water action that funds local and global clean water projects.

This evening will feature a fantastic raffle, spotlighting contributions from such local business as the Red Fez, Nick-a-Nees, the E & O Pub, Seven Stars Bakery, White Electric, Julians, Legend Bicycle, Second Time Around, A Pleasant Surprise, The Coffee Exchange, Into the Wardrobe, Narragansett Brewery, and many, many more.

Music: I Destroyer, Chrome Jackson, Woozy

7pm, Sunday, AS220, 115 Empire Street, $6 to $10 suggested donation

Earth Day is coming up and events are scheduled around the state. A comprehensive calendar (including Arbor Day) can be found at What Grows On RI.

Earth Day itself is Thursday, April 22nd and one of the annual Woonasquatucket River cleanups was originally scheduled for that day. But according to the Narragansett Bay Commission site they have “. . . postponed its annual Earth Day clean up of the Woonasquatucket River. Check this site for news on the new date.”

However, on Saturday, April 24th, the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council has a ‘Clean Day on the Greenway’ cleanup planned, starting at 9:30am. (Check out some of Jef Nickerson’s amazing pix of the flooding river last month at Greater City Providence.)

Save the Bay has all its cleanups scheduled for Saturday 9am to 11am. “Volunteers should be able to do heavy lifting and bending. Please wear clothing appropriate for the weather and sturdy, closed-toe shoes. Bring your own sun/bug protection and water bottle. Volunteers under the age of 16 must be with a parent or guardian.” Cleanups are appropriate for children 8 years and up.

Benefit concert for Urban Pond Progression featuring Cambodian, world, and roots music at The Mediator, 50 Rounds Avenue, Providence. $10.

Friends of India Point Park ask you to bring shovels, rakes etc. for their 11th annual cleanup, 9am to noon. Treasure hunt, free pizza. Call 273.4202.

And at 9pm Sunday at AS220 — Clean Water Makes Noise with I Destroyer, Chrome Jackson, tba. More later.

Assigned reading: Polymers are Forever by Alan Weisman, or go here (NYT) for more about the expanding islands of trash — coming to an ocean near you! What a legacy.

*I think I stole that line from ‘The Tick’.

[Updates, corrections, additions are welcome.]

At about the 4:30 mark here he talks about the Capital Good Fund, founded by Brown grads, and now dedicated to doing micro-finance in Providence.

The Capital Good Fund is a non-profit microlender based in Providence, Rhode Island. Our mission is to create a poverty-free, inclusive green economy through innovative microfinance. We provide loans, workshops and consulting services to individuals unable to access capital through traditional sources. These products and services go to entrepreneurs seeking capital for income-generating activities and to immigrants interested in applying for U.S. citizenship.

A plethora of Earth Day events are on tap this week — you can start by saving Thursday night for a ‘Clean Water Action Rhode Island’ fundraiser to be held Thursday, April 22, in the Local 121 Speakeasy. Free pizza from, who else, Nice Slice. Also, prizes will be raffled off. Suggested donation is $10.

‘Earth in Jeo-Party’, Thursday, 6pm to 9pm, 121 Washington Street

Look: I like the ProJo. I agree with many (not all) of the editorials and like most (not all) of the writers. I’d love to see more ProJo writers cover local stories, as they’re good at what they do. It’s a decent publication. But it’s driving me nuts.

We recently received a “guess what!” postcard from the ProJo, informing us that we’d be receiving the “ProJo Express.” There was no phone number/email address to opt out of this.

Now, every Thursday, unseen carriers toss a copy of this 8-page redux into local driveways and walkways. Except for a couple “the beat” items for the upcoming weekend, the Express consists of recycles of random entertainment/real estate/sports stories from earlier in the week. For fun, the Express contains random surprises folded inside. Last Thursday it was a leftover copy of a Sunday Parade magazine. Today it was flyers for CVS and Cardi’s.

The Express could be a nice way to give non-subscribers a taste, showcasing a little local flavor without outside syndication. But let’s be straight: not everyone needs or wants this. I feel for the ProJo, which is likely trying innovative new ideas to increase circulation. But it appears the spouse and I are among the minority who will pick up and recycle the plastic bag and its contents. Take a look at how our immediate neighbors are enjoying their ProJo Express:
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Urban Agriculture Spring Kickoff Party at the Highlander Charter School, 42 Lexington Avenue (Broad & Lexington in South Providence).

Southside Community Land Trust and the Providence Community Gardens Network will be celebrating the start of Spring at the Urban Agriculture Spring Kickoff. Community gardeners from every neighborhood of Providence will be on hand for food, music, and food growing demonstrations. Some workshop highlights include: Rain Barrels — to save rainwater for your garden; Soil Testing — to test urban soil’s safety for growing food; Garden Planning — to map out your garden plot to grow the highest yield of fruits and vegetables; Seed Starting — to ensure that your seeds sprout healthy in the early Spring; and Compost — to make the most of organic fertilizer in your garden.

Saturday, 1pm to 4pm, Highlander Charter School, 42 Lexington Avenue