No Peace Local
No Future Global
Newsletter of Omni Center for Peace Justice Ecology
Hiroshima Nagasaki Day returns
Sunday August 6 - 7:00 pm Omni Center

Omni and our predecessors have held Hiroshima Nagasaki commemorations since 1971, but covid caused a deep cleft in our practice. For the first time in 3 years Omni will be hosting an event to honor the deaths of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and remind ourselves of the terrible consequences of using weapons of mass destruction. It's especially relevant as nuclear nations are facing off over the Ukraine war and multiple other hotspots around the globe.

Covid isn't the only big change that's happened though. Climate change has caused a near-certain increase in August temperatures that make our long-standing tradition of meeting at the Fulbright Peace Fountain difficult, so we're renewing our tradition of commemoration in a new way.

This year the commemoration will feature a chef-prepared dinner from the gifted chef's who operate MayDay Community Kitchen. This year the commemoration will include a fundraiser to benefit this great Omni project that feeds over 100 homeless people twice a week.

It will also include talks by Marshallese leader, activist and international speaker Benetick Maddison, and Physicist and writer on both nuclear and climate issues Dr. Art Hobson. And attenders will be moved and inspired by music from Still on the Hill, as we often are at this particular event.

Because we're meeting inside at Omni there isn't room for the number of people we used to host at the Fulbright Fountain. Very soon we'll put out an invitation with requests for RSVP's and more information. The suggested donation for the dinner will be only $20, but there is room for just 20-25 people. So please make reservations early.

It will be inspiring just to be together again. I hope the dear Omni folks who attended this event for many years will want to join us for this commemoration of the resilience of the living people who experience this, and their courage under the duress of nuclear war.
Attunements for the Earth now in print

Dear OMNI Friends,

Our planetary climate crisis calls for all possible creative responses. It calls us to turn and tap into the catalyzing intelligence of Nature. Leslie’s and my new book is titled Attunements for the Earth. It includes Leslie’s photographs and my writings. It’s part of our turning, part of our response, and I would greatly appreciate any support you can offer for sharing it with as many people as possible.

Attunements for the Earth is now available on Amazon as an ebook, and in soft and hard bound book form. 

Above are the front and the back cover, which includes a description of its contents:

Thank you!
Geoff Oelsner
FINAL WEEK
Put LEARNS on the ballot by signing petitions at the Farmer's Market from 9:00-1:00 today and each Market of July (Tues, Thursday and next Saturday).

If you prefer to stop by Omni Center and sign there, petitions are available. 3274 N. Lee Ave.
Emerging Homeless Solutions

Medicine Hat is part of Built for Zero Canada, a national movement of 39 communities working to end chronic and veteran homelessness as a first step to ending all homelessness, powered by the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness.

If Alberta Canada can end chronic homelessness, surly Fayetteville Arkansas can do SOMETHING to end this crisis.
The Climate Moment ....
What's happening around the world about climate? Selected moments from the collection of Reevaluation Counseling leader Russ Vernon-Jones and shared by local Omni member Dorothy Marcy

*#227  Huge investment firm to vote in favor of climate resolutions at bank shareholder meeting!*
A huge European investment firm, Legal and General Investment, that manages $1.5 trillion in assets, announced that as a shareholder in 5 of the
biggest banks in the world, it will vote its shares in favor of resolutions
that demand that the banks stop financing fossil fuel expansion. The banks
have encouraged their shareholders to vote against these resolutions, in
the face of a growing world wide movement demanding that the big banks stop financing fossil fuels.

*"We humans are meant to be connected to each other and to the earth. When we are disconnected we create grossly unequal societies that harm humans and harm the earth." - *paraphrase of Marama Davidson, female Maori member of the New Zealand Parliament.
Your Own Climate Victory Garden!
Dear Friend,
Have you been toying with the idea of gardening? Growing food and flowers can be part of the climate solution if done regeneratively. And, it’s easy! Learn about the basics of gardening and tips for getting started. 

No matter where you live or how much space you have (even if you live in an apartment), your garden is part of the movement of thousands of individuals across the country (and world!) who are gardening for the climate.
Climate Victory Gardens are having a real impact on the planet.
 
Missed any of our great gardening webinars?
Good Housing is a Human Right
Help for new home buyers
Upcoming Freddie Mac CreditSmart® Essential workshops
Tenisha Gist

Dear Community Partners,
 
Partners for Better Housing is excited to introduce 7 FREE Freddie Mac CreditSmart® Essentials cohort-based workshops 
designed to equip individuals with the tools to explore homeownership from April - October 2023! Each workshop will offer lessons about money management, homebuyer readiness, credit foundations and so much more. Each lesson is designed to empower and to encourage people to take the reins on their financial future so that they can reach their goals on their terms.
 
Workshops will cover the following topics:
  • Managing Your Money
  • Understanding Your Income
  • Basics of Banking
  • Building Savings
  • Thinking Like a Lender and Borrowing Basics
  • Managing Debt
  • Renting a Home
  • Consumer Protection Laws
  • Resilience to Disasters
  • Planning for Your Future and Building Wealth
  • Planning for Higher Education
  • Understanding Credit
  • Understanding Credit Reports
  • Improving Credit
  • Avoiding Predatory Lending and Scams
  • Cyber Security and Fraud Prevention
  • Introduction of Homebuying
  • Basics of Insurance
  • Insurance Basics
  • Buying or Leasing a Vehicle
Anyone that is interested can apply here: (https://forms.office.com/r/t42hmuVnHW)! Seats are limited! The first cohort, workshop dates, times, and locations will be announced March 24th. If there are any additional questions, don't hesitate to contact me or send folks my way. Thank you for sharing!
 
Tenisha Gist, M.Ed. 
Director of Community Outreach and Homeownership
Partners for Better Housing
1670 E. Joyce Blvd., Suite 1
Fayetteville, AR 72703
Main line: 479-755-3497
Direct line: 479-434-1163
DOWNLOAD THIS FREE RESOURCE NOW. Available only through May.

How to make an impact!

New (free) book on Climate Change and Advocacy
Mark Dunlea' via People vs Fossil Fuels <build-back-fossil-free@googlegroups.com>
 
Green Education and Legal Fund - www.gelfny.org - January 1, 2023
 
Dear Climate Activists and friends:
 
As we welcome a new year, time is rapidly running out for the world to avoid climate collapse. I have compiled a new climate book - Putting Out the Planetary Fire: An Introduction to Climate Change and Advocacy – which you can read for free on the Green Education and Legal Fund’s website. The link is to the index and chapter outline; each chapter is also posted separately on the site. There is also a pull-down menu on the top of the website for the book and its chapters.
 
Extreme weather and global warming continue to accelerate. The Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) has repeatedly warned that the world is not acting fast enough to deal with climate crisis. With presumably seven years or less left for drastic climate action, there is no time left for incremental changes.
 
I was inspired to write the book after teaching a course on climate change and advocacy at Bennington College. I was unable to find a book for the course that provides basic introductory information about the climate change issue and advocacy / organizing techniques. While the book draws on my fifty years on advocacy experience on environmental and economic justice, it incorporates the research and work of the many groups, scientists, and journalists in the climate movement. It is heavily footnoted, enabling readers to readily obtain more information on the various issues.
 
I plan in the next few months to print the book, either with a commercial publisher or to self-publish, as well as utilizing an e-book format. However, I wanted to make the book available as a resource as soon as possible. I do plan to regularly update it.
 
The first part of the book is an overview of key aspects of climate change and renewable energy. The second part addresses the theory and practice of social change. It outlines the various strategies and techniques that can be used to persuade governments and other decision makers to take the rapid action needed to prevent climate chaos. It examines the role of the legislature, executive branches, courts, and international bodies (e.g., IPCC, COP) in determining climate action. It provides an introductory how-to overview of lobbying, public education, media, protest, art, litigation, elections, and direct action / civil disobedience.
 
Feel free to utilize the book in whatever way is useful for your work. You can let your members know that the book is available on the gelfny.org website. Feel free to submit comments or suggestions to dunleamark@aol.com. I am also happy to give talks about the book and climate change.
 
If you would like to support the publication of the book, you can send a tax-deductible donation to GELF, 156 Big Toad Road, Poestenkill NY 12140. (Any donation of $25 or more will receive a copy of the book once it is published.)
 
Yours for peace and justice, Mark