Environmental Happenings

What's Happening in the Local Environmental Scene and Beyond

New store hours at F.W. Horch in Brunswick: we're now open on Mondays!

Store hours: Mon 9:30-4, T-F 9:30-7, Sat: 9:30-6, Sun Closed.

Events in Maine

Thursday, March 5 - Meet Your Local Farmers, 6:30-8:00 pm, Curtis Memorial Library, Brunswick. Seth Kroeck of Crystal Spring Farm, Russell Libby of Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, and Sue Segeant of Patchwork Organic Gardens discuss their commitment to a local economy that honors and preserves Maine's farming traditions. Moderated by Tom Settlemire of the Brunswick / Topsham Land Trust.

Saturday, March 7 - Hands On Fermentation Workshop, 1:00-3:00 pm, Freeport Community Library, Freeport. Local organic farmers Chris Colson and JoD Saffeir will share their experiences while working at Tenuta di Spannocchia in Sienna, Italy. Hands-on sauerkraut making / lactofermentation workshop to follow. For more information, visit www.FreeportLibrary.com.

Tuesday, March 10 - Cooking with Locally Grown Food, Noon-1:30 pm, Curtis Memorial Library, Brunswick. Ken Cardone of Bowdoin College Kitchens, Kris Lindsey of Hannaford Bros. Market, Aaron Park of Henry & Marty's Restaurant, and Amy Winston of Focus on Agriculture in Rural Maine Schools discuss the benefits and challenges of cooking with locally produced food. Moderated by Tyson Weems of The Health League, Inc.

Wednesday, March 11 - Book Discussion: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, 6:30-8:00 pm, Curtis Memorial Library, Brunswick. Facilitated by Gary Lawless of Gulf of Maine Books and Eloise Humphrey of El Camino Restaurant.

Thursday, March 12 - Starting an Organic Vegetable Garden, 7 pm, F.W. Horch Sustainable Goods & Supplies, Brunswick. Master gardener volunteer Brett Thompson explains how to start your own organic vegetable garden. Are raised beds a good idea? Will mulch save you time on weeding and watering? How can you improve your soil? Join us to find out. Seating is limited, so please reserve a space by calling us at 729-4050.

Sunday, March 15 - Caring for Rhododendrons and Azaleas, 1:00 pm, Curtis Memorial Library, Brunswick. Brunswick Park and Gardens is hosting a garden talk by Tom York of York's Rhododendrons to discuss the proper care, feeding and pruning of rhododendrons and azaleas. For more information, call 833-5125.

Sunday, March 15 - Energy Forum, 3:00 - 5:00 pm, Bath Middle School, Bath. Bath Democratic Committee and Cool Bath invite you to an Energy Forum in support of the Maine Renewable Energy Sources Act (Feed-in Tariff Bill). Did you know that there is a bill under consideration by the state legislature that offers the people of Maine a chance to sell "green" electricity at a premium, making the purchase of solar photovoltaic and wind electric turbine systems more affordable? Panelists are Peter Drum and Paul Kando of the Midcoast Green Collaborative, the organization that drafted the legislation; Senator Seth Goodall (D) District 19; Rep. Les Fossel (R) District 53; and Mike White, designer and builder of Eco Village One, Island Carpentry. For more information, email Polly Shaw - polly_shaw@myfairpoint.net.

Monday, March 23 - Off the Grid: Tours of a Working Farm, 10 am-Noon, Milkweed Farm on Gott Lane, Brunswick. Owners Lucretia and Michael Woodruff, with Eloise Humphrey of El Camino Restaurant, will show visitors how a small family farm works. The family raises their own vegetables, turkeys, pigs, chickens, eggs and dairy products.

Tuesday, March 31 - The World According to Monsanto, 6:00 - 8:30 pm, Curtis Memorial Library, Brunswick. "The World According to Monsanto" is a provocative documentary by French filmmaker Marie-Monique Robin that unveils the motives and work of the Missouri-based biotechnology giant Monsanto. The film leads the viewer to explore the history of food and the seed upon which we rely for sustenance. Questions and Answers to follow the film.

News and Views

MIT's Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change finds that it is more likely that global warming by the end of the century will be greater than previous studies have projected. The MIT researchers used an in-house computer model known as the MIT Integrated Global System Model that incorporates new insight into how the climate system functions. MIT's "Greenhouse Gamble" conveys the "range of probability of potential global warming" via roulette wheel graphics. The output unveiled in February 2009 shows that the odds have shifted in favor of larger temperature increases. "The take home message from the new greenhouse gamble wheels is that [...] the dangers are much greater than we thought three or four years ago," said Ronald G. Prinn, professor of atmospheric chemistry at MIT.

Tainted peanut products in North America have made 604 people sick, sent 187 to the hospital and killed eight so far in 2009. The salmonella outbreak in processed peanuts also has led to more than 2,000 product recalls in the U.S., more than any other food epidemic, according to Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, a food distribution and safety specialist and associate dean at the Levene Graduate School of Business, Faculty of Business Administration, University of Regina. "Globalization has had a significant impact on how we eat and has kept food prices at reasonable levels. But an unfortunate side affect is that our capacity to manage risks has been severely compromised," writes Dr. Charlebois. "The 'cheap calorie' factor is also putting a lot of pressure on food industry stakeholders. [...] Today, Canadian and American consumers spend only about 10-12% of their disposable income on food purchased from a store. That number was at around 25% less than a generation ago."