Transition Fidalgo & Friends
Seventh Generation Supper and Annual Meeting
Tuesday, January 28, 5:45 pm  - Anacortes Senior Center

Ron Harris was the emcee for this evening where 55 friends of Transition enjoyed local fellowship, music by Ben Boatright, a great supper and a unique program.  In addition, we held our Annual Meeting.

Carolyn Gastellum conducted the 2014 Annual Meeting. She started by introducing the existing Board, all of whom were interested in serving another year term. In addition, three individuals were interested in joining the Board for the 2014 term. 

Elections
Standing for re-election: Evelyn Adams, Bud Anderson, Richard Bergner, Sylvia Cooper, Carolyn Gastellum, Ron Larson, and Eric Shen.
Standing for election: Heather Burke (interested in supporting a sustainable community), Sommer Carter (lover of nature, home school mother, honors community spirit), and Laurie Racicot (WA native, interested in sailing and developing local food supplies)
Carolyn requested nominations from the floor, but no names were submitted. Therefore, the seven existing and three new Board members for 2014 were approved by voice vote; there were no nays.

Change in Bylaws
Carolyn discussed the potential change in our bylaws that concerned annual dues.  The proposal was based on Article XI: "The dues of the organization shall be $10 (change to $20 individual/$30 family) per annum and shall be payable by March each year."  Bud made a motion; Sylvia seconded. After a brief discussion, the motion passed by voice vote; no nays. TF&F has a 2014 goal of having 100 paid members! Carolyn pointed out the double-sided flyers on the tables listing all of TF&F's 2013 activities and encouraged people to support TF&F with dues, which can be paid at the supper meetings, through Paypal on our website (transitionfidalgo.org), or by mail to TF&F at PO Box 62, Anacortes.

The Annual Meeting was closed and Ron hosted Community Sharing Time:

1.     Callie Martin, Skagit County Public Works Master Composter and Recycler announced an 8-week Master Composter volunteer program from March 6 - April 24th (Thursdays) at Padilla Bay, 6:30 - 8:30pm.  Apply at www.skagitcounty.net/recycle. Or, send your application by email or snail mail to: Callie Martin,14104 Ovenell Rd, Mt. Vernon, WA 98273. Questions? call at 360-424-7817 or email calliem@skagit.wa.us

2.     Linda Zielinski announced the 6th year of free Eat Your Yard gardening classes ("Veggie U") that will be held on the first 3 Tuesdays of February and March starting at 6:45pm at the Anacortes Library.

3.     Jan Hersey mentioned the Marine Resources Committee will host an open house on Wednesday, Feb 5th from 4-7pm at the Fidalgo Bay RV Park (about the middle of the Tommy Thompson Trail). See see www.skagitmrc.org for more information.

4.     Carolyn Gastellum mentioned that Auto Magic log sheets can be found on the back page of the Anacortes Parks & Rec 2014 Winter Menu booklet that has been inserted in the local papers. Log sheets are also available at each TF&F Supper on the information table.

5.     Jan Woodruff will work with local citizens to oppose Shell in getting the required permits to construct an oil rail unloading system at the Shell Anacortes Refinery. There are 18 days to submit comments online about Shell's rail plan. The SV Herald on Jan 28th stated that the County is accepting online public comment until 4:30 Friday, Feb 14. Submit to www.skagitcounty.net/pdscomments

6.     Naturopath Alethea Fleming is promoting a local Affordable Wellness Project. This program will cost $5 and is a series of classes and lectures for those who care about health throughout Skagit County. More information on Facebook or visit http:skagitcommunityacupuncture.com/affordable-wellness-project.

7.     Alethea also mentioned "Walk With A Doc" on the 2nd Saturday of the month. Starting at 9am, a physician will lead a walk on the Tommy Thompson Trail or at Washington Park. Information at www.walkwithadoc.org

8.     Evelyn Adams reported on the Georgetown University Energy Prize, which was recently mentioned in the Anacortes American. Mayor Gere initiated a discussion with TF&F Board member Eric Shen concerning this nationwide competition with a $5 million incentive prize aimed at getting small to medium communities to come up with innovative, replicable, ways to maximize energy efficiency. Even if we don't win the prize, we'd have access throughout the competition to resources such as financial and technical assistance. If accepted as a competitor, this would be a massive project and require a three-year commitment. Laurie has sent in a LOI to participate; the next step is to see if PSE and Cascade Nat. Gas will get on board.   

9.     Evelyn also gave an overview of the Vision 2030 document, which will be completed in February and which includes
sections focused on economy, energy, food, health, homes/neighborhoods, natural resources, and transportation. The
document will be released in February and discussed at our April TF&F meeting. Jennifer Bowman has created a stunning cover for the document as a time bank exchange. The Vision task force will present small "chunks" of the document
at each meeting up until the April meeting, which will focus on the entire doc and how to share it with the community.     

10. Sommer Carter and Laurie Racicot discussed their section of the Vision 2030 document: Homes & Neighborhoods.         They stated three main points: (1) Housing affordability is central to our community's quality of life and economic vitality.
  (2) Mixed-use development is a proven strategy for creating a vibrant local economy and safe, walk-able neighborhoods.
(3) Building trust, social cohesion, and a strong sense of community all increase the likelihood that people can weather
significant change.  

11. Jean DeVries noted that the ten-week WSU Livestock Advisor Program begins February 17th at Stanwood High School. This Monday night program is from 6 - 9 pm. Contact Jean at the Skagit County Extension office at 360-428-4270. 


Evening Presentation:   Localizing Food: City Goats and Urban Agriculture
Jennie Grant and Phyllis Shulman shared how Seattle came to legalize backyard goats.

Jennie Grant, author of City Goats and the Goat Justice League Guide to Backyard Goat Keeping and Phyllis Schulman, past senior legislative adviser to Seattle city council member Richard Conlin, were the presenters. They talked about the basics of urban goat-keeping along with the history of farm animals in cities, strategies cities can use to bring them back, and pathways to creating healthy communities.  Jennie mentioned how she uses the goat milk each day that can reach one gallon a day at the peak period. There at 56 goats being raised in Seattle since 2007, when they became legal. There is a "three small animals per house limit in Seattle.  Phyllis Shulman crafted the Seattle Local Food Action Initiative, and assists communities across the country to strengthen their local food systems.
Next TF&F Featured Presentations:                                                                                                        
-------------- Feb 25 - Vince Oliver - Hospital plans for the future
------------- March 25- Daniel Najera on what we can learn from the bees
-------------- April 29 -  Vision 2030 & Comprehensive Plan
Bud Anderson, Secretary TF&F

This is a good example of integrated programs - recycling, job training, artists instruction, local economic development, etc.
Ellen
http://www.cascadiaweekly.com/currents/new_life_for_old_clothes

Interesting article sent from Ellen Bynum on small farmers in Virginia and their fight for "food freedom."  http://watchdog.org/125643/farmers-food-freedom/

Pirjo sent along this idea.  What a great idea and just in time for germination time.  A picture says a thousand words.  Simple.  Free.  Reuse.  No waste.


Last year Kathi used longer paper towel rolls to start her corn early.  She plopped them in the garden when it was warm enough.  Corn is usually direct seeded because it doesn't like its roots disturbed.  She plopped the whole thing in the ground and had a beautiful crop of corn.
Happy Planting!

There are many seed swaps and seed saving actions going around in Skagit and Whatcom County:

• Bellingham's Community Seed Swap at the Majestic is coming up.
  
• Fidalgo Transition & Friends will be hosting their seed swap Sunday, February 10th http://transitionfidalgo.org/food-and-gardening/
• Bow Little Market will be having their seed and plant swap Saturday, April 12th.

Been meaning to pass this on...
~Sarai


Vandana Shiva on Resisting GMOs: ‘Saving Seeds is a Political Act’

By Sarah van Gelder

Trained in physics and philosophy, Vandana Shiva is renowned for her activism against GMOs, globalization, and patents on seeds and traditional foods. She co-founded Navdanya, which promotes seed saving and organic farming and has more than 70,000 farmer-members.

A quote from the interview: That is a convergence of human intelligence and nature’s intelligence. It is the ultimate expression of life, and in our language, it means “that from which life arises on its own, forever and ever and ever.”
http://www.nationofchange.org/vandana-shiva-resisting-gmos-saving-seeds-political-act-1384786994.


Agrochemical Companies Sue to Block Anti-GMO Law in Hawaii
Update on anti-GMO front:

This is specifically a GMO lawsuit, but multiply these actions from these 3 corporations by all corporations doing business internationally, and you have a preview of what countries, states, provinces, counties, etc. will be spending time and money on if the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement passes.  Super litigation world.
~Kathi

From: "Tim Crosby" <timcrosby@comcast.net>
Sent: Tuesday, January 14, 2014 7:49 AM
To: "WSFFNET Serve" <wsffnet@npogroups.org>
Subject: [wsffnet] Agrochemical Companies Sue to Block Anti-GMO Law in Hawaii

Agrochemical Companies Sue to Block Anti-GMO Law in Hawaii -- ReutersSource: Reuters (11 Jan 2014)Author: Christopher D'Angelo(Article Summarized by Meridian Institute) Three of the world’s largest agrochemical companies – DuPont, Syngenta and Agrigenetics (a company affiliated with Dow Chemical Co.) - have filed a lawsuit to block a law enacted on Kauai, Hawaii, which would limit the planting of biotech crops and the use of pesticides. The suit claims the law is unconstitutional and seeks an injunction barring enforcement of provisions of the law. Paul Minehard, a spokesman for Syngenta, said, "The ordinance is invalid. It arbitrarily targets our industry with burdensome and baseless restrictions on farming operations by attempting to regulate activities over which counties in Hawaii have no jurisdiction. These activities are already regulated by governmental agencies under state and federal laws." The Kauai law requires the disclosure of pesticide use and genetically modified organism (GMO) crop planting while establishing buffer zones around schools, homes and hospitals. The companies argue disclosure of the location of biotech crop fields could lead to vandalism and adhering to buffer zones would hurt them economically by reducing the land available for seed production. Gary Hooser, a Kauai County Councilman, who co-introduced the bill, said, "They chose to use their money and legal power to bully us in the courts. These companies do not want our county to set a precedent that other communities are going to follow." The measure has broad support both on the island and on the mainland U.S. from organizations and individuals who claim heavy pesticide use by the agrochemical companies is poisoning people and the environment. more

It is strange how I can look at things all my life and not see them.  Then one day, I learn how to "see", and a new thing appears that is all around.  The current new thing in my awareness is springtails.  To some, springtails may be old friends and I do not blame you if you wonder where I have been all my life not to have been aware of them before.

  Last full moon, a friend looked at the shitake mushrooms on a stump out back and asked what was the black stuff coating some of the mushrooms.  The next morning I looked at the "gritty dust" and saw that the little black dots would occasionally jump.  A light went on, and I realized that these dots were "springtails," tiny arthropods that I had read about recently in a great book, "Teaming with Microbes".  Springtails eat fungus, but usually they are in the soil, often in great number.  Their presence is an indication that the soil is healthy.  I had recently disturbed both the soil and the stump when I cut down two alders that, by their pronounced lean, were threatening the woodshed that I was about to rebuild after the dilapidated old one had been damaged by another alder.

Then, seemingly unrelated, a purple scum started to form on my pond.  I thought maybe it was weathered oil, possibly from the nearby parking area and road, but that did not seem quite right.  A week or so later, I saw some of the scum on a puddle on the berm on the south side of the pond, where it could not have come from a car.  I gathered some in my hand to smell it for oil, and saw that it was alive, made of little dots, and sometimes the dots jumped--springtails!

 Today I got a bucket of pond water, gathered some of the dots from the surface into a small ashtray, and looked at them under my binocular microscope.  Sure enough, springtails.  I had never tried photographing through that scope before, but after removing one of the eye relief pieces and holding the camera to the barrel, I got a photo.  Digital cameras are amazingly versatile: you know within seconds of your photo came out.

 I know I had seen springtails before; I had seen jumping black dots, but my unenlightened mind said "some type of flea" and the light went out.  Now that I know that the odd thing I am looking at may be "springtails" my understanding will be clearer.  I hear and read that they sometimes appear on snow.  The snow ones apparently are a larger species and can be quite clear to the naked eye.  One neighbor says he sees stuff like this on water around his place every winter, but he thought they were spores.  I told him to pick up a handful and see if they jumped. 

The springtails I have currently been seeing live mainly in the soil, eating leaf and soil detritus, especially the fungal parts.  The taxonomy of springtails is confusing and changing, but I am pretty sure there are thousands of species of various sizes and shapes.  They are not insects because insects have external mouth parts and these critters have internal mouths.  They are harmless to humans and really quite interesting.  And as I said previously, they are a sign of a good soil web.  I read that a cubic meter of topsoil commonly contains a 100,000 of them.  I imagine there were many millions of them on the pond.  There is ice on the pond now.  It will be interesting to see if their numbers decrease because of the freeze.  The web of life is far more interesting when I recognize what I am looking at.  When I do, I see more, everything makes more sense, and it all gets even more interesting.

    2014 began with a new moon, a good omen for change.  For those interested in the influence the moon plays on us, a new moon is generally thought of as a good time to initiate projects or change because transitions are often accepted more calmly.  It is also thought of as an embryonic, soothing time to plan and rest.  
    The other day our neighbor, Chuck Nafziger, submitted his above article, Winter Light.  Later that evening, when he opened a tea bag for a cup of tea, and he found the quote, “Travel light, live light, spread the light, be the light.”  I love the irony and look forward to many more opportunities to get in the flow; send me your stories of positive omens and we can celebrate the positive vibes together!  With reinforcing omens for positive change echoing from so many directions, one can’t help feeling good about this dawning year, and we look forward to even more connection and collaboration.  
~Happy New Year From Mike Stevens and the rest of the Chuckanut Transition Initiating Committee!

Just passing on some interesting do-it-yourself ideas...

~Janet McKinney

Free Power From a Recycled Washing Machine—generating enough to live off the grid          
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUmDvENKPig&feature=share

Homemade Water Turbine         
A version of a micro hydro water turbine made from a Fisher and Paykel Smart Drive washing machine. In total this system cost around $200 to build and some old channel steel. There is no doubt that there is a more efficient design as far as selecting the correct size pelton wheel and the configuration of the stator windings, however the overall result from something that was made in a couple of days from mostly scrap materials is good. The testing of the turbine was conducted on town water supply however it is designed for a rural power supply. Thanks to Eco innovations NZ for pioneering the use of smartdrive motors for these types of applications.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBPbuVc1UQ8

Wood Stove Runs a Generator—produces gasoline, runs a fridge and heats hot water at the same time     
This is the most efficient wood stove on the planet.  It will make gasoline to run a generator and a propane fridge, heats hot water and your home all at the same time. This system works on any dry organic material.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arbXj9R6ZXw

Start Blacksmithing At Home                               
In this Instructable I will show you how to start up a foundry of your own. Now I am in no means saying this is the only way to do it, I am just showing you how I did it. So, let's get started!!!

http://www.instructables.com/id/Start-Blacksmithing/

Open Source Ecology:
In the farmlands of Missouri, an unlikely Polish physicist, Marcin Jakubowski,  is developing affordable, easy to build industrial machines and sharing his designs on the Internet for free.  The gist is he is trying to come up with a set of 50 DIY machines that utilize local resources to form small localized civilizations that are based in a new collaborative economy.
Check out these videos to learn more about the project and its philosophy.

The Catalyst 
     ~Stirring the pot to cook up change
    Transition Fidalgo & Friends  E-Newsletter January 2014

    Thought for the month: “"Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground." Anonymous


CLIMATE CHANGE

Public Outrage Intensifies Over Climate Inaction:  People rallied in 2013 to send a strong message about climate inaction: Enough is enough. Thousands took to the streets, from Washington D.C. to San Francisco, urging policymakers to end the inertia that has built-up over climate policy, to help with climate threats such as Superstorm Sandy, and to demand that President Obama reject the Keystone XL pipeline. They chained themselves to pipeline equipment and stormed government agencies and fossil-fuel company headquarters. Indigenous groups rose up against the tar sands. Scientists became more vocal, issuing report after report in the lead-up to December's international climate talks asking global leaders to dramatically curb emissions. Educators took a stance: 26 states wrote new science standards that for the first time require K-12 students learn about human-driven climate change. A collection of 33 congressmen and women formed the Safe Climate Caucus, swearing to talk about climate change on the House floor at least once every day.  http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20131230/outrage-over-climate-inaction-reaches-fever-pitch-2013

Projected Temp Rise at Alarming 4C:  Temperature rises resulting from unchecked climate change will be at the severe end of those projected, according to a recent scientific study published in the journal Nature. Unless greenhouse-gas emissions are cut, the planet will heat up by a minimum of 4C by 2100, twice the level the world's governments deem dangerous. The research indicates that fewer clouds form as the planet warms, meaning less sunlight is reflected back into space, driving temperatures up further still. According to Professor Steven Sherwood, at the Univ. of New South Wales: "This study breaks new ground twice: first by identifying what is controlling the cloud changes and second by strongly discounting the lowest estimates of future global warming in favor of the higher and more damaging estimates." The research is a "big advance" that halves the uncertainty about how much warming is caused by rises in carbon emissions, according to scientists commenting on the study. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/dec/31/planet-will-warm-4c-2100-climate

As Sea Ice Shrinks, Blindered Companies Miss Big Picture:  Think the melting of the Arctic is really bad news? You'd be in good company if you were talking to scientists. But talk to shipping and energy companies and you'll hear that the vanishing ice is a windfall, not a warning. Commercial freighters are beginning to transit the no longer ice-covered Arctic waters, and what's their most common cargo? Fossil fuels, particularly diesel fuel. At the same time, energy companies are planning to exploit the estimated 90 billion barrels of oil and 1.7 quadrillion cubic feet of natural gas in Arctic. Can you say irony? It's the burning of fossil fuels that has dramatically shrunk Arctic sea ice to lows unseen in the past millennium.  Arctic warming alters weather patterns far from the region and also accelerates sea level rise globally with the melting of the massive Greenland ice sheet. It may be too late to prevent an ice-free Arctic in the summertime, but there's still time to avoid the worst consequences of rising temperatures by leaving fossil fuels underground and rapidly transitioning to an energy economy centered on renewables.  http://www.earth-policy.org/data_highlights/2013/highlights42   A scientific paper published this month, and which should stop all Arctic drilling now and be required reading for energy company CEOs, is Un-burnable Oil: An Examination of Oil Resource Utilisation in a Decarbonised Energy System. The authors warn of a large “disconnect” between developing new areas of exploration such as the Arctic and “pledges to restrict temperature rises to two degrees Celsius. The continued licensing of new areas for oil exploration is only consistent with declared intentions to limit CO2 emissions and climate change if the majority of fields that are discovered remain undeveloped, which fatally undermines the economic rationale for their discovery in the first place.” http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030142151300966X

Washington Cities Want Carbon-Pricing: On December 6, the mayors of Mercer Island, Kirkland, Issaquah, Shoreline, Snoqualmie, Sammamish, Seattle, and Tukwila joined with King County to issue a joint letter calling for bold state climate action. They believe a market-based approach to reducing GHG pollution—whether a cap-and-trade program as in California or a carbon tax as in British Columbia––should be at the heart of the state’s package of climate actions. http://daily.sightline.org/2013/12/19/cities-call-for-carbon-pricing-in-washington/

Climate Science in Haiku: Greg Johnson, an oceanographer with the NOAA, was inspired to turn dense science into elegant poetry last month while reading through the colossal Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. Johnson wrote 19 haiku that refine the report’s key findings into digestible nuggets of poetry. http://news.yahoo.com/keeping-simple-scientist-uses-haiku-explain-climate-change-012137912.html


RENEWABLE ENERGY

13 Clean Energy Milestones: Using salt to produce solar power when the sun goes down; electric car batteries that power buildings; fresh water via  energy-efficient harnessing of ocean waves; offshore wind turbines that float, and more. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/12/18/3060131/13-clean-energy-breakthroughs-2013-2/#

Massive Solar Plan for Minnesota Wins Bid Over Gas: Minnesota soon could see at least a sevenfold expansion of solar power. In an unprecedented ruling, a judge reviewing whether Xcel Energy should invest in new natural gas generators vs. large solar power arrays concluded that solar is a better deal. If the finding by Judge Eric Lipman is upheld by the state Public Utilities Commission, about 20 large solar power arrays will be built on sites across Xcel’s service area. http://www.startribune.com/business/238322571.html?page=all&prepage=1&c=y#continue


FOSSIL FUEL-ISH

Oil Tanker Traffic in Washington Waters Could Increase 7x:  “Whenever there is a huge spill of solar energy, it's just called a nice day.” And when it's a huge spill of oil? That's called a disaster and that's what we may looking at if even more oil tankers pass through Washington state waters. Tanker traffic could increase almost sevenfold under a proposal by Kinder Morgan Canada to expand the amount of crude it sends to the Pacific Coast.  The company has filed a formal application with Canadian regulators to expand its Trans Mountain pipeline that carries crude oil from Alberta’s tar sands to the Vancouver, B.C. area. Under the proposal, up to 34 tankers a month would be loaded with oil at a terminal outside Vancouver, then generally travel through Haro Strait east of San Juan Island and the Strait of Juan de Fuca for export to markets in Asia and the U.S. That’s up from about five tankers a month.  http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/12/29/2968943/oil-tanker-traffic-likely-to-increase.html 


DEPT. OF ENCOURAGEMENT

Germany Leads Way on Renewables:  Germany is going to show us all how to switch to renew­ables. Having vowed to shut down its nuclear power plants by 2022, the country plans to demonstrate how it will generate 35% of its electricity (18% of its total energy) from renewables. Windmills sprout across the country and solar arrays on rooftops and town halls are everywhere. More than 100 communities have set targets to go com­pletely renewable. Through energy cooperatives in which the buy-in is as low as a few hundred euros, whole villages can invest in a wind park or an anaerobic digester (which makes natural gas from organic waste). Unlike the U.S., where only about 2% of all wind ca­pacity is community-owned, in Germany, half of all wind projects are owned by small-scale investors and farmers. Thanks to a combination of tax policy and guaranteed grid access — investors don’t have to negotiate to deliver their power to the grid, unlike in the U.S. — renewables are a solid investment.

Vancouver Goes for "Greenest City": Cities are responsible for two-thirds of human energy use and 70% of greenhouse gas emissions. They consume vast quanti­ties of water, and produce enormous amounts of waste — all on just 2% of the world’s surface area. Through its Greenest City 2020 initiative, Vancouver B.C. has developed a 10-point plan to tackle everything from jobs and investment to buildings, transportation, waste and even food — all to emerge as the world’s most sus­tainable city. Vancouver is designing itself a smart future by borrowing ideas and technology from cities the world over. Its Olympic Village was heated by tapping waste heat emitted from sewage pipes; the technology, which involves wrapping sewage pipe with a coil that collects the heat, now sup­plies 70% of the annual energy demand in the neighborhood that encompasses the village. The program, known as a Neighborhood Energy Utility, has already lowered local greenhouse emissions from build­ings by 74% (surpassing expectations of a 62% average annual reduction). Vancouver also updated its mass transit to accommodate bicycles and built urban bike lanes separate from the streets. Today, residents make 40% of their trips in the city on foot, bike or public transportation (the goal is two-thirds of all trips by 2040). To help conserve water, the city now requires water meters on all new residential water services. And Vancouver has adopted the greenest building code in North America.

Transition Fidalgo & Friends
Growing a resilient community with a reduced reliance on fossil fuels
transitionfidalgo.org

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