June 2009
Dear Friend,
Below is an assortment of articles, opportunities and news. We hope that you find them informative, timely, inspiring and interesting. Thank you for your continued support and interest in the work of the Marion Institute.
A Boy Living in a Car
March 28, 2009 | New York Times | Nicholas D. Kristof
As America’s unemployment rate rises, those paying the severest price aren’t necessarily in Detroit or Miami. One of the newest street children here in this northern Haitian city is a 10-year-old boy whose father was working in Florida but lost his job and can no longer send money home. As a result, the family here was evicted, the mother and children went separate ways to improve their odds of finding shelter, and the boy found refuge in an abandoned wreck of a car…. On this trip, I met a couple of American women, Sasha Kramer and Sarah Brownell, both in their early 30s, who offer an example of outward commitment at a time when most of us are retrenching and focusing on ourselves. Sasha and Sarah run a hand-to-mouth aid group, called SOIL; they speak fluent Creole and get around on motorcycle taxis while waving back at legions of fans on every street.
Bioneers by the Bay: Connecting for Change
April 2009 | connectingforchange.org
We are very excited to announce that Paul Hawken, Dr. Vandana Shiva, Woody Tasch and many others will be joining us as Live Keynote Speakers at this year’s Bioneers by the Bay: Connecting for Change Conference, October 22-25, 2009 in Downtown New Bedford.
Bioneers by the Bay: Connecting for Change is a Program of the Marion Institute.
Sustainability Education and Youth Coordinator Job Opening
April 2009 | Marion Institute
The Marion Institute is looking for a motivated, responsible and creative change-maker able to work on a number of exciting projects. Time will be split between two interrelated programs: Sustainability Education and the Bioneers by the Bay: Connecting for Change Youth Initiative. Candidates must have experience working with youth and a proven commitment to issues of sustainability and social justice. This is a full time position requiring at least a one year commitment. Must work well both collaboratively and independently.
Follow the Himalayan Project
April 2009 | himalayanproject.org
Every year the Himalayan Team travels to Nepal in the Spring and/or Fall to trek into remote villages and distribute fleece jackets that have been donated by American schoolchildren. Along the way, the team will not only move through an incredible landscape but also spend time in Buddhist Monasteries and live with Sherpa families, experiencing the rhythms of daily life. To follow along with Project Leader, Sally Hunsdorfer, and her traveling companions on this amazing adventure beginning April 6th, please visit the new Himalayan Project Blog.
The Himalayan Project is a Serendipity Project of the Marion Institute.
Green Jobs, Youth and New Bedford
April 2009 | ahanewbedford.org
For the past 8 weeks our Youth Coordinator, Kalia Lydgate, has been teaching a course called "I Thrive Green Alive" to a group of New Bedford high school students through a New Bedford youth organization called Brick by Brick. For this course Kalia designed a sustainability and green jobs curriculum taught through hip hop. All the participating youth were themselves artists, poets, rap artists and song writers and the course culminated with each student writing their own poem, song or rap in response to what they’d learned. The group recently performed at a conference in Amherst, MA where they so impressed the audience and organizers that they were asked to join the keynote panel the next morning and to do a radio show that afternoon. They’ll be performing again this Thursday evening at AHA Night in New Bedford at the Whaling Museum, a CD of their work will soon be available as well.
Mastate Charitable Foundation Internship Opportunity
March 2009 | Mastate Charitable Foundation
The Mastate Charitable Foundation, the newest Serendipity Project of the Marion Institute, is elated to announce a new, dynamic and exciting internship opportunity for a motivated, hard-working, organized, patient, bilingual Spanish/English speaker with building experience who is interested in natural design, green construction and community development in rural Latin America (specifically Costa Rica). They are offering a 6-month to 1-year internship to one fortunate individual willing and able to coordinate the construction of a Community Learning and Sharing Center (CLSC) in the middle of the small community of Mastatal.
Edible Gardens in Schools Draws a Crowd
March 16, 2009 | angrymoms.org
Over 250 people attended the very successful "Edible Gardens in Schools" Workshop, which took place at the Unitarian Church in Westport CT, Monday, March 16th and was organized by Amy Kalafa of Two Angry Moms. Interested parents, teachers and administrators, some traveling from as far away as Long Island took part in the 4-hour event, which included breakfast, 8 speakers and lunch. The discussion focused on how to introduce edible gardens in schools, as an educational tool to teach our children how food is grown and the importance of healthy food.
Two Angry Moms is a Serendipity Project of the Marion Institute.
Bela Fleck’s Africa Project Comes to the Zeiterion Performing Arts Center
Saturday April 11, 8PM | Zeiterion Performing Arts Center | New Bedford, MA
Often considered the premier banjo player in the world, Be`la Fleck is the winner of eight Grammys and has been nominated in more categories than anyone in history. He has virtu-ally reinvented the image and sound of the banjo. In his “Africa Project” Be`la Fleck explores the little known African roots of the banjo, highlighting how richly diverse Africa’s musical traditions truly are with some of Africa’s most talented musicians, featuring Toumani Diabate (Mali), D’Gary (Madagascar), Vusi Mahlasela (South Africa) & Anania Ngoliga (Tanzania). Tickets are on sale now.
Charter for Compassion
October, 2008 | Youtube.com
Help us to create a Charter for Compassion.
People of all nations, all faiths, all backgrounds, submitted their words to the Charter. Now the Council of Sages will take these contributions to write the final document.
By recognizing that the Golden Rule is fundamental to all world religions, the Charter for Compassion can inspire people to think differently about religion. This Charter is being created in a collaborative project by people from all over the world. It will be completed in 2009.
A Green-Tinged Stimulus Bill
February 12, 2009 | Grist.org
The $789 billion economic-recovery bill looks good in terms of green spending, according to preliminary analysis from the Center for American Progress. The House and Senate reached agreement on the bill on Wednesday and are expected to approve it by the end of the week; President Obama hopes to sign it into law by Presidents' Day.
Ellen Tadd Workshops: Chakra System and Lessons from Her Guides
March 7 & 14, 2009 | Boston, MA
For over thirty years, Ellen has taught, lectured and counseled on the actualization of spiritual potential in everyday life. After completing her freshman year of college, she had a remarkable experience in which she was able to contact her deceased mother. Very soon after this awakening she began to have contact with guides from spiritual realms and discover that she could serve as an intermediary between the material and spiritual worlds. Ellen’s guides have provided her with an extraordinary education.
Ellen Tadd’s work is a Serendipity Project of the Marion Institute.
Lesson from Her Guides Workshop March 7 [more information]
Chakra System Workshop March 14 [more information]
The Transition Movement Comes to America
January 23, 2009 | Peak Moment Television | Jennifer Gray
One response to the global crisis that is gaining enthusiastic momentum is the Transition Towns movement. Jennifer Gray, a pioneer in the Transition Initiative in the UK and cofounder of Transition US, describes it as “a community-led response to the twin crises of peak oil and climate change. It’s … positive, pro-active [and] engages the whole community in building resilience into their world.”
Is America’s decades-old environmental movement finally coming to fruition? The Green Economy
January 2009 | A “Humankind” Radio Program
Take a listen to our very own Bioneers by the Bay Youth Coordinator, Kalia Lydgate, featured in the radio program below.
As environmental visionaries see it, the future of energy is not in greenhouse gas-emitting fuels like oil and coal – whose supply is running out -- but in sustainable, non-global warming sources like wind and sun and waves from the ocean and in the enormous storehouse of heat that naturally occurs deep underground. In the coming green economy, utilizing this energy will generate a surge of new employment, while combating climate change and providing additional energy independence for the United States. This program offers a brief history of American environmental concerns and features the voices of several leading lights in the current effort to protect the planet by relying on sustainable sources of energy.
[listen here]
Earth’s big problem: Too many people.
January 28, 2009 | Christian Science Monitor | Gregory M. Lamb
But how can we ease population without taking draconian steps? By developing in ways that we should be anyway, experts say.
The EPA and the Curse of Coal Ash
January 22, 2009 | American News Project | Davin Hutchins & Mike Fritz
In March of 2000, during the last days of the Clinton administration, the EPA decided coal ash was a hazardous waste. Then, two months later, it flipped. If the EPA had stuck to its guns, the Kingston Coal Ash disaster in Tennessee might have been averted. Now, momentum is building to federally regulate coal ash. Will the EPA make the same mistake twice?
Study: High-fructose corn syrup contains mercury
January 28, 2009 | USA Today | Robert Preidt
Almost half of tested samples of commercial high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) contained mercury, which was also found in nearly a third of 55 popular brand-name food and beverage products where HFCS is the first- or second-highest labeled ingredient, according to two new U.S. studies.
For information on how to restore your natural body systems, please visit Paracelsus Biological Medicine Network, a Program of the Marion Institute.
“You must give some time to your fellow men. Even if it's a little thing, do something for others -- something for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it.”
-Albert Schweitzer
