Educational

Our friends at the Energy Action Coalition, National Wildlife Federation and Southern Energy Network are very excited to announce the Carolinas Power Shift regional conference that will take place this October 16-18 on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

This event will be packed full of inspirational speakers, educational workshops and panel discussions on a wide range of environmental and social justice issues, and opportunities to participate in community service projects. Hundreds of young people, including high school and college students from all over North and South Carolina, are expected to attend - click here to check it out and RSVP if you're interested!

Power Shift is a national, student and youth led environmental movement that has been growing quickly since the first Power Shift conference in 2007. This year’s weekend event will be part of a global push to demand a strong climate and clean energy bill from the U.S. Senate this fall- and an even stronger international treaty from the U.N. Climate Summit in Copenhagen this December.

This conference has been developed to ensure there are topics, forums and speakers to appeal to a wide array of progressive-minded young people. The trainings offered will be top notch and are sure to strengthen your skills and confidence in your respective interests. Guests and attendees are encouraged to arrive and register Friday night for socializing and welcome events.
http://carolinas.powershift09.org

Young people may be the leaders of tomorrow, but they are ready to act NOW to protect our future!

I just ran across the article “Are We Being Bamboozled?” from emagazine.com and it alerted me to a little known fact! Apparently our beloved renewable bamboo isn’t exactly the best material for us to be using as a cloth alternative…or at least it isn’t so good for us due to the intense chemical dousing it goes through to commercially process the bamboo fibers. Check out the article here: http://www.emagazine.com/view/?4801

PS This article caught my eye not only for calling out bamboo – but I couldn’t resist the “bamboozling” reference! (Recall our latest campaign to “Stop the Big Oil Bamboozle”)

The first Presidential debate is tonight and that should be a warning bell to voters that the election is nearly here. We all want to make an informed vote but I’ve heard many people over the years complain about the lack of quality information about the candidates. But in today there is certainly a wealth of information about candidates at nearly every level of politics.

If you're looking for information about candidates who will be on your ballot this year, I have three recommendations:

   1. Civic groups in North Carolina have teamed up and put together a non-partisan voter guide. It's now online and it includes bios on all the statewide candidates on the ballot in North Carolina, including judges. (this is a large PDF document) 
   2. See if civic groups and political organizations in your area have voter scorecards about the issues you care about.
   3. Go to the candidates websites and read their issues pages. If you have questions, contact them.

One year there was a new candidate for the state legislature in my area and I called up a number on her website for more information. The candidate herself answered and actually dropped by my house later that day to sit and talk about her positions on issues. I was impressed. But the lesson I learned was that digging for information and asking questions can be really enlightening before voting.

Many of you are already know about biodiesel. But, did you know that we have a local co-op (or two) here in the NC Piedmont? Check out one of our friends: Piedmont Biofuels Cooperative.

Most of the biodiesel produced at Piedmont Biofuels comes from chicken fat. However, Piedmont Biofuels Cooperative has taken on the task of collecting more used fryer oil (from local restaurants and cafeterias) in order to improve environmental and economic sustainability. 

In so doing, Piedmont Biofuels is looking for a few good folks to talk with restaurants and cafeterias in the triangle region about using Piedmont Biofuels as their oil collection service. 

It's a great chance to see what it takes to build a waste oil collection business all while spreading the word about biodiesel (while generally doing good). Piedmont Biofuels notes that applicants should be outgoing and good on their feet, excited about sustainability and know the triangle region reasonably well.

Heck, this is such a great and interesting cause that I'm excited enough to go talk to all my favorite restaurants!

If you want to learn more and/or help out, shoot Greg with Piedmont Biofuels an email to learn more.