Past Speakers/Topics
Jan 15, 2013: Maggie Koerth-Baker: Electricity just happens. Flip a switch, and the lights turn on. The system is reliable enough and invisible enough that it's easy to spend your entire life not knowing how it works, even though you use it every day. But in an age of limited resources and climate change, ignoring our electric infrastructure is a luxury we can no longer afford. The good news: Infrastructure is fascinating. Maggie Koerth-Baker explains how our flawed and surprisingly precarious electric system evolved, how it controls what we can and can't do to solve our energy crisis today, and what we can learn about the future. Maggie Koerth-Baker is the science editor at BoingBoing.net. She writes a monthly column for The New York Times Magazine and is the author of Before the Lights Go Out, a book about electricity, infrastructure, and the future of energy.
Jan 22, 2013: Get Tech Savvy: Kris Bowring, former senior director of home and energy management for Best Buy, will discuss consumer lifestyle drivers and energy attitudes and motivation surrounding smart energy programs. He will also discuss energy management devices and the smart grid, along with barriers to energy management adoption. Bowring has a specific focus on leveraging ways to help consumers be energy efficient throughout their unique lifestyles.
Feb 4, 2013 -Biking: What does it take to ride safely in all four seasons in Minnesota? What should you look for in a bike and bike gear to be safe and enjoy your ride? Whether you're considering winter biking, bike commuting or just want to safely ride in our neighborhood with your kids, you'll come away with valuable information for a great year of cycling in 2013! Fred Mayer is a year-round bike commuter, family cyclist and road racer who's certified to teach road bike safety by the League of American Bicyclists. He'll have some gear and bikes on display, PLUS, enjoy samples of homemade power bars compliments of Linden Hills cyclist and baker Linea Palmisano and pick up some tips on how to create your own. Great for long rides, or enticing children through inclement weather!
Feb 19 7:30PM: MOVIE: Switch: Every energy resource - fossil, nuclear and renewable - is undergoing profound changes. And overall, we're gradually shifting from coal and oil to the energies of tomorrow. This sweeping transition is the subject of Switch. But rather than advocate for how it should happen, Switch travels the world to discover how it most likely will happen. Switch is also about a changing energy conversation. Today, it's polarized and unproductive. Switch focuses on practical realities and encourages a balanced understanding. Finally, Switch is about changing the way we use energy, to realize the many economic and environmental benefits of efficiency. Watch the trailer here.
Tax incentives
The Economic Recovery and Stimulus bill offers Federal Tax Incentives to replace old & inefficient home products with new energy efficient products.
Deep Retrofitting of Old Houses
A Deep Energy Reduction Retrofit (DERR) project will cut 70% or more of the energy use of buildings. You'll also learn about the Passive House building energy standard. Passive House represents today's highest certified building energy standard, with the promise of reducing the total energy consumption of buildings by up to 90% while providing superior comfort and indoor environmental quality - all at little or no additional up front cost. When combined with renewable energy systems such as solar photovoltaic or solar thermal, Passive House puts true zero energy buildings and carbon neutrality within reach. Tim Eian, AIA TE studio.
Windows for your Soul
Considering new windows? Not all replacement window products qualify for the tax credit. Learn what a "u-value" is and what Solar Heat Gain Co-efficiency (SHGC) number you need to look for. Are new windows the right solution? Old windows can perform as good as or better than new windows and even a good new window will last only 25 years or so. Window restoration specialist Erin Hanafin Berg - from the Preservation Alliance can show you how to fix your own windows - and how to tell if they should be replaced. Click here for a pdf of this presentation.
Solar So Good
Can't afford solar panels -what about joining a community co-op to lower the cost? Each participant gets a return based on what they put in. Guest speaker Ralph Jacobson is a NABCEP certified installer for both solar electric and solar thermal systems, one of only a few installers in Minnesota and Wisconsin that can make that claim. Ralph is a board member of the Minnesota Renewable Energy Society and the President of the Minnesota Solar Energy Industries Association (MnSEIA). Click here to see a copy of this presentation.
Getting Fresh (Movie: "Fresh" - 1 hour)
FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system. Each has witnessed the rapid transformation of our agriculture into an industrial model, and confronted the consequences: food contamination, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, and morbid obesity. Forging healthier, sustainable alternatives, they offer a practical vision for a future of our food and our planet. FRESH features urban farmer and activist, (and LHP&L hero) Will Allen, the recipient of MacArthur's 2008 Genius Award; and sustainable farmer and entrepreneur, Joel Salatin, made famous by Michael Pollan's book, The Omnivore's Dilemma.
The Power of Community -How Cuba Survived Peak Oil (Movie 1 hr)
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990, Cuba's economy went into a tailspin. With imports of oil cut by more than half - and food by 80 percent - people were desperate. This film tells of the community and creativity of the Cuban people during this difficult time. Cubans share how they transitioned from a highly mechanized, industrial agricultural system to one using organic methods of farming and local, urban gardens. The film opens with a short history of Peak Oil, a term for the time in our history when world oil production will reach its all-time peak and begin to decline forever. Cuba, the only country that has faced such a crisis - the massive reduction of fossil fuels - is an example of options and hope.
Dirt! The Movie
Snyopsis: DIRT! The Movie--directed and produced by Bill Benenson and Gene Rosow--takes you inside the wonders of the soil. It tells the story of Earth's most valuable and underappreciated source of fertility--from its miraculous beginning to its crippling degradation.
DIRT! the Movie--narrated by Jaime Lee Curtis--brings to life the environmental, economic, social and political impact that the soil has. It shares the stories of experts from all over the world who study and are able to harness the beauty and power of a respectful and mutually beneficial relationship with soil. http://dirtthemovie.org/
Film: The Garden
Synopsis: The fourteen-acre community garden at 41st and Alameda in South Central Los Angeles is the largest of its kind in the United States. Started as a form of healing after the devastating L.A. riots in 1992, the South Central Farmers have since created a miracle in one of the country’s most blighted neighborhoods. Growing their own food. Feeding their families. Creating a community.But now, bulldozers are poised to level their 14-acre oasis.
The Garden follows the plight of the farmers, from the tilled soil of this urban farm to the polished marble of City Hall. Mostly immigrants from Latin America, from countries where they feared for their lives if they were to speak out, we watch them organize, fight back, and demand answers:
Why was the land sold to a wealthy developer for millions less than fair-market value? Why was the transaction done in a closed-door session of the LA City Council? Why has it never been made public? And the powers-that-be have the same response: “The garden is wonderful, but there is nothing more we can do.” If everyone told you nothing more could be done, would you give up? http://www.thegardenmovie.com
Movie: Gimme Green
Synopsis: Gimme Green is a humorous look at the American obsession with the residential lawn and the effects it has on our environment, our wallets and our outlook on life. From the limitless subdivisions of Florida to sod farms in the arid southwest, Gimme Green peers behind the curtain of the $40-billion industry that fuels our nation's largest irrigated crop-the lawn.
http://www.gimmegreen.com/
Jan 22, 2013: Get Tech Savvy: Kris Bowring, former senior director of home and energy management for Best Buy, will discuss consumer lifestyle drivers and energy attitudes and motivation surrounding smart energy programs. He will also discuss energy management devices and the smart grid, along with barriers to energy management adoption. Bowring has a specific focus on leveraging ways to help consumers be energy efficient throughout their unique lifestyles.
Feb 4, 2013 -Biking: What does it take to ride safely in all four seasons in Minnesota? What should you look for in a bike and bike gear to be safe and enjoy your ride? Whether you're considering winter biking, bike commuting or just want to safely ride in our neighborhood with your kids, you'll come away with valuable information for a great year of cycling in 2013! Fred Mayer is a year-round bike commuter, family cyclist and road racer who's certified to teach road bike safety by the League of American Bicyclists. He'll have some gear and bikes on display, PLUS, enjoy samples of homemade power bars compliments of Linden Hills cyclist and baker Linea Palmisano and pick up some tips on how to create your own. Great for long rides, or enticing children through inclement weather!
Feb 19 7:30PM: MOVIE: Switch: Every energy resource - fossil, nuclear and renewable - is undergoing profound changes. And overall, we're gradually shifting from coal and oil to the energies of tomorrow. This sweeping transition is the subject of Switch. But rather than advocate for how it should happen, Switch travels the world to discover how it most likely will happen. Switch is also about a changing energy conversation. Today, it's polarized and unproductive. Switch focuses on practical realities and encourages a balanced understanding. Finally, Switch is about changing the way we use energy, to realize the many economic and environmental benefits of efficiency. Watch the trailer here.
Tax incentives
The Economic Recovery and Stimulus bill offers Federal Tax Incentives to replace old & inefficient home products with new energy efficient products.
Deep Retrofitting of Old Houses
A Deep Energy Reduction Retrofit (DERR) project will cut 70% or more of the energy use of buildings. You'll also learn about the Passive House building energy standard. Passive House represents today's highest certified building energy standard, with the promise of reducing the total energy consumption of buildings by up to 90% while providing superior comfort and indoor environmental quality - all at little or no additional up front cost. When combined with renewable energy systems such as solar photovoltaic or solar thermal, Passive House puts true zero energy buildings and carbon neutrality within reach. Tim Eian, AIA TE studio.
Windows for your Soul
Considering new windows? Not all replacement window products qualify for the tax credit. Learn what a "u-value" is and what Solar Heat Gain Co-efficiency (SHGC) number you need to look for. Are new windows the right solution? Old windows can perform as good as or better than new windows and even a good new window will last only 25 years or so. Window restoration specialist Erin Hanafin Berg - from the Preservation Alliance can show you how to fix your own windows - and how to tell if they should be replaced. Click here for a pdf of this presentation.
Solar So Good
Can't afford solar panels -what about joining a community co-op to lower the cost? Each participant gets a return based on what they put in. Guest speaker Ralph Jacobson is a NABCEP certified installer for both solar electric and solar thermal systems, one of only a few installers in Minnesota and Wisconsin that can make that claim. Ralph is a board member of the Minnesota Renewable Energy Society and the President of the Minnesota Solar Energy Industries Association (MnSEIA). Click here to see a copy of this presentation.
Getting Fresh (Movie: "Fresh" - 1 hour)
FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system. Each has witnessed the rapid transformation of our agriculture into an industrial model, and confronted the consequences: food contamination, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, and morbid obesity. Forging healthier, sustainable alternatives, they offer a practical vision for a future of our food and our planet. FRESH features urban farmer and activist, (and LHP&L hero) Will Allen, the recipient of MacArthur's 2008 Genius Award; and sustainable farmer and entrepreneur, Joel Salatin, made famous by Michael Pollan's book, The Omnivore's Dilemma.
The Power of Community -How Cuba Survived Peak Oil (Movie 1 hr)
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990, Cuba's economy went into a tailspin. With imports of oil cut by more than half - and food by 80 percent - people were desperate. This film tells of the community and creativity of the Cuban people during this difficult time. Cubans share how they transitioned from a highly mechanized, industrial agricultural system to one using organic methods of farming and local, urban gardens. The film opens with a short history of Peak Oil, a term for the time in our history when world oil production will reach its all-time peak and begin to decline forever. Cuba, the only country that has faced such a crisis - the massive reduction of fossil fuels - is an example of options and hope.
Dirt! The Movie
Snyopsis: DIRT! The Movie--directed and produced by Bill Benenson and Gene Rosow--takes you inside the wonders of the soil. It tells the story of Earth's most valuable and underappreciated source of fertility--from its miraculous beginning to its crippling degradation.
DIRT! the Movie--narrated by Jaime Lee Curtis--brings to life the environmental, economic, social and political impact that the soil has. It shares the stories of experts from all over the world who study and are able to harness the beauty and power of a respectful and mutually beneficial relationship with soil. http://dirtthemovie.org/
Film: The Garden
Synopsis: The fourteen-acre community garden at 41st and Alameda in South Central Los Angeles is the largest of its kind in the United States. Started as a form of healing after the devastating L.A. riots in 1992, the South Central Farmers have since created a miracle in one of the country’s most blighted neighborhoods. Growing their own food. Feeding their families. Creating a community.But now, bulldozers are poised to level their 14-acre oasis.
The Garden follows the plight of the farmers, from the tilled soil of this urban farm to the polished marble of City Hall. Mostly immigrants from Latin America, from countries where they feared for their lives if they were to speak out, we watch them organize, fight back, and demand answers:
Why was the land sold to a wealthy developer for millions less than fair-market value? Why was the transaction done in a closed-door session of the LA City Council? Why has it never been made public? And the powers-that-be have the same response: “The garden is wonderful, but there is nothing more we can do.” If everyone told you nothing more could be done, would you give up? http://www.thegardenmovie.com
Movie: Gimme Green
Synopsis: Gimme Green is a humorous look at the American obsession with the residential lawn and the effects it has on our environment, our wallets and our outlook on life. From the limitless subdivisions of Florida to sod farms in the arid southwest, Gimme Green peers behind the curtain of the $40-billion industry that fuels our nation's largest irrigated crop-the lawn.
http://www.gimmegreen.com/
