ASHFIELD, MA: In this time of popular discontent with the 1% that controls most of the world’s wealth, a small nonprofit in Ashfield, Massachusetts has a solution. Common Good Finance announced this week its plans for a revolutionary new money system that it claims could lead quickly to an economy that benefits everyone. At the heart of the design for a Common Good Economy is a local money system called R Credits™. The R stands for Regenerative, Revolutionary, and taking Responsibility for...
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For the duration of November, an energy use competition is being held between two Southwest Area towers, John Adams and Kennedy, which are almost identical in size and resident population. According to the Energy Intern Program Coordinator, Sam Willis, and interns of the Campus Sustainability Initiative, Zach Hellyar and Liyang Wang, the goal of the competition is to raise awareness while reducing energy usage among the campus population, one building at a time. A sub-meter tracks the amount...
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This fall UMass Amherst will be host to a compost pilot project outside the Franklin Dining Hall near the Central Residential Area. Although there are presently compost bins in the Bluewall Café and all the dining halls compost food, there has not been a resource for members of the campus community to use when they wish to compost outside of the aforementioned areas. Sara Hopps, who serves as the Food Intern for the Campus Sustainability Initiative, is leading this compost pilot project with...
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Since 2009, the Green Living Project’s Mobile Tour has been on the road to promote its message of sustainability. As part of UMass’ first Campus Sustainability Week, the Mobile Tour came to campus to provide tours of its eco-friendly RV and a multimedia and film presentation about the work done by the Green Living Project. The Mobile Tour seeks to share stories from around the world of people working towards a more sustainable planet. The Green Living Project has five areas of focus for its...
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This semester, the Campus Sustainability Initiative celebrated the first annual Campus Sustainability Week (October 24-28), intended to highlight student organizations and university programs that are working to make UMass Amherst an environmentally conscious institution. The first day of sustainability week coincided with National Food Day. Local specials were featured in all Dining Commons and community members were given a chance to get some exercise on a “Sustainable UMass”...
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Greening Greenfield Energy Committee presents… A FILM SERIES ON LIVING SUSTAINABLY How can we as a community prepare for and even celebrate the changes we need to make as we come to the end of cheap energy? November 30, 6:30 pm St. James Church, Greenfield GASLAND The Halliburton-developed drilling technology of “fracking” or hydraulic fracturing has unlocked a “Saudi Arabia of natural gas”, but is it safe? This film follows a cross-country odyssey uncovering a trail of...
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It’s Our Future! Youth Speak Out to Save the Environment & the Earth Friday, November 18, 7-9pm Northampton Center for the Arts (17 New South Street–across from Academy of Music) Using poetry, prose, hip-hop rhyming, music (singing a capella, with guitar, etc.), dance, art, video, sculpture, skits, and stand-up comedy, young people between the ages of 8 and 25 are invited to speak out about climate change and other environmental threats, and express their hope and vision...
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Farm Credit East, CoBank, Yankee Farm Credit and United Way will provide donations of up to $500 to assist farm families hurt by Hurricanes Irene and Lee during the holiday season. Applications can be submitted until November 26 online or at a Farm Credit office. To be eligible a farm must have had $10,000 in damage or crop...
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The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating SystemTM (STARS) is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. STARS® was developed by AASHE with broad participation from the higher education community. STARS is designed to:* Provide a frame- work for understanding sustainability in all sectors of higher education.* Enable meaningful comparisons over time and across institutions using a common set of...
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The Massachusetts Farm Energy Program (MFEP), a project of Berkshire-Pioneer RC&D, celebrated the release of the Massachusetts Farm Energy Best Management Practices Guide with a Farm Energy Networking Event on Monday, October 17th at Bramble Hill Farm in Amherst, Mass. This event linked farmers with energy experts and resources, including state and federal agencies, installers, vendors, and public utilities to initiate on-farm energy projects. This event linked farmers with energy experts...
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