Pick up a Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance guide and check out their article on page 45 that describes how they used the Marcellus Challenge and Finger Lakes Climate Fund to reduce the Festival footprint! By using our Carbon Calculator they learned that their shuttle buses emit about 3000 pounds of CO2 over the 4-day weekend. And for just a $32 donation to the Finger Lakes Climate Fund they were able to offset or “cancel out” the shuttle bus emissions. It’s that easy!
ST in the News
GrassRoots Festival teams up with Sustainable Tompkins
Jul 24th
Awakening the Dreamer Symposium – Hosted by Sustainable Tompkins
Jul 12th
We invited friends in the Ithaca area to join us on Saturday, June 26, for the celebrated Awakening the Dreamer Symposium. Please enjoy a few images from our experience and from the wonderful Minns Garden on the Cornell campus (across the street from the symposium) which happened to be in glorious full-bloom on this day!
The symposium is an inspiring experience created by the Pachamama Alliance. Through dynamic group interactions, leading edge information, and inspiring multimedia, participants of this half-day event are inspired to reconnect with their deep concern for our world, and are empowered to make a difference.
“Gasland” – Award-winning Documentary on Gas Drilling Screens June 12 at Cinemapolis
Jun 1st
Ithaca Journal – May 24, 2010
The Shaleshock Action Alliance, a group concerned with gas exploration in the Marcellus shale rock formation in New York and Pennsylvania, plans two showings in Ithaca of an award-winning documentary film on the experience of a Pennsylvania landowner and filmmaker who was asked to lease his land for gas drilling. Read the rest of the article in the Ithaca Journal>>>
Tompkins County Sustainability Team Efforts Praised
Apr 27th
Sustainable Tompkins congratulates the Tompkins County Sustainability team on its many accomplishments during 2009. Please read the highlights from their annual report and share the news!
April 2010 Newsletter
Apr 21st
Neighborhood Mini-grant Showcase & Reception Highlights
Apr 6th
We invited recipients of Neighborhood Mini-grants to share their stories with community leaders and supporters at a reception on Wednesday, March 31 at La Tourelle.
The donor-supported program has awarded $12,325 to date, distributed to 32 projects that encourage local self-reliance, neighborhood connections and community well-being. Mini-grant awards range from $150 to $750, and are made quarterly.
Mini-grants have supported community garden projects; taught immigrant teens how to sew; purchased quilt-making equipment for senior citizens; taught elementary students how to make maple syrup; provide scholarships to at-risk youth for classes on stewardship of our land and water; and funded a number of local action groups.
Sustainable Tompkins Sows Seeds of Change
Mar 27th
ITHACA: Jessica Orkin, facilitator of GIAC’s Pre-teen Green Summer Camp, wanted more downtown teens to learn about the watershed. She was delighted to receive a Sustainable Tompkins mini-grant award of $300 for six youth scholarships to the Water Wizards’ training aboard the M/V Haendel, culminating with teen presentations on eco-cruises this summer. As Jessica said, the mini-grant “will allow more middle school youth to take on the role of community educators.” [Also published in the Ithaca Journal.] Read the rest of this entry »
Tina Wright reports on the Marcellus Challenge
Mar 15th
Local green builder Sarah Highland had an epiphany during a recent visit to her native West Virginia. Driving by mountains torn up by strip mining, she made the connection with her use of coal produced electricity in Ithaca. She began to see the prospect of unconventional gas drilling coming to upstate New York as “chickens coming home to roost in terms of our energy use.” Read the full article on Wishing Well Magazine>>>
Beating the Marcellus Blues
Mar 9th
Energy Fair and Pledge-In a Great Success!
Our Marcellus Challenge pledge-in and energy fair on March 3 was just what we needed to counteract a long, snowy winter and a protracted battle over gas drilling. About 150 people crowded into the auditorium at the Womens Community Building to listen to a series of excellent speakers “connect the dots” on consumer demand for fossil fuels, and talk to local energy experts before taking their pledge. Lisa Wright of Shaleshock Action Alliance wrote us to say “Thanks for the opportunity to take part in a fabulous and fun event. The more we reframe our circumstances from victims to empowered citizens, the more effective we will be in controlling our destinies in the face of this daunting challenge from Big Oil and Gas. This was a great success! Thanks, everyone!!” We are working now on taking the Marcellus Challenge on the road across our region! Read the rest of this entry »
Save on home energy costs and shrink your carbon footprint – Free Energy Fair March 3
Feb 23rd
Marcellus Challenge: Connecting the Dots – Energy Fair and Pledge-In
When it comes to Marcellus Shale development, it’s important to remember the role that consumer demand for fossil fuels plays in creating the need for drilling and mining. Individuals and families looking to reduce their utility bills or wanting to live more sustainably are invited to attend a free energy workshop on March 3, hosted by Sustainable Tompkins and Shaleshock Action Alliance. Read the rest of this entry »
