Sustainability Events in Saratoga & Beyond

It seems the buzz of living more sustainably is catching on and gone mainstream. As we watch the weeks-long Gulf Oil spill and resulting devasation of this coastal ecosystem, I believe it's the wake up call, or Siren's song, so many of us need to really feel and think more deeply about our reliance on oil and the impact it is having on our earth. And that perhaps, it's time to make a shift. In that regard, there are lots of positive opportunities to learn about how to make this shift. So, get involved and let's work together to make positive change. Below are some great positive events on the topic of sustainability happening here in Saratoga and beyond.

1) The Saratoga Local Living Guide's CFL Neighborhood Challenge, to encourage homeowners in neighborhoods in the Saratoga area to switch out their old bulbs for more energy efficient CFL bulbs is in full swing. To get involved go to Saratoga Local Living Guide website. (I signed up as a block leader - it was fun to meet some of my neighbors and learn that two of them couldn't participate because they had already switched over all their bulbs to CFL's!!!) From now until June 13th get discounts on the price of CFL bulbs and other benefits every time you buy a bulb.


2) Sustainable Saratoga is doing great stuff. This past week they had a great panel on mobility, access and transportation.
Next month's meeting, Tuesday evening, June 22 at 7 p.m., features a community dialogue with distinguished panelists on resilient local economy for Saratoga Springs. The panel includes area experts James Howard Kunstler, Todd Faboozzi, Melanie Beam, and David Hess.

James Kunstler, internationally known author and speaker, who also happens to live in Saratoga, speaks internationally on the topic of peak oil. Check out more at his website, www.kunstler.com. This will be a great event. To learn more about Sustainable Saratoga or how to get involved go to their website, www.sustainablesaratgoa.com. Be sure to join the email list to get all their event and activity updates.


3) Next week, June 1-3, at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont there's a first-time ever conference on developing a Gross National Happiness (GNH) Index in the U.S., sponsored by the Gross National Happiness USA Project. I learned of this from Empire State Faculty member Eric Zencey, whom I recently interviewed for a story. Eric is an economist and studies history of science and political philosophy. He has been researching and writing on 'sustainability', especially from an economist's view point for many years. Part of his current work is writing on something called the Gross National Happiness Index, which he and many others are calling for as a shift to a new way of measuring economic health. An accurate measure would deduct environment damage and loss of natural capital as costs, and could measure good governance, health, and other positive categories. In essence, the GNH measures overall well-being, something our current form of economic measure (GDP - gross domestic product) does not. GDP just measures "the commotion of money" in the economy, to quote Eric. So, check out this link and the conference. As we think about sustainability we need to be thinking about how our "economy is rooted in nature,"


And, it just gets better...

4) “A Conversation on Climate Change: Where do we go from here?”, Saturday, June 5th, at the Riley Center for the Arts at Burr and Burton Academy in Manchester, VT, including an exciting panel of nationally and internationally known authors on Climate Change.

The event is sponsored by the Northshire Bookstore, here's their description:

“A Conversation on Climate Change: Where do we go from here?”, featuring some of our nation’s best thinkers, writers, and activists, this vital conversation will focus on the state of our planet and the steps we can take to ensure a future for those who come after us.

Join authors, journalists and activists...

Bill McKibben (Eaarth: Making Life on a Tough New Planet)

Jeff Goodell (How to Cool the Planet: Geoengineering and the Audacious Quest of Fix Earth’s Climate)

Dianne Dumanoski (The End of the Long Summer: Why We Must Remake Our Civilization to Survive on a Volatile Earth)

Elizabeth Kolbert (Field Notes From A Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change)

Sponsored by Northshire Bookstore and Burr and Burton Academy. Begins at 6pm at the Riley Center for the Arts at Burr and Burton Academy.
No tickets are required and seating will be on a first come basis.

Don’t miss this great opportunity to join with other members of our community to learn, discuss, and chart new directions for our collective future.

For more information go to
or call 802-362-2200/800-437-3700