No Peace Local
No Future Global
Newsletter of Omni Center for Peace Justice Ecology
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Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming
The Drawdown Roadmap is a science-based strategy for accelerating climate solutions. It points to which climate actions governments, businesses, investors, philanthropists, community organizations, and others should prioritize to make the most of our efforts to stop climate change.
Here’s a TED Talk by Project Drawdown CEO Johnathan Foley from last March. He lays out Project Drawdown’s master plan – their Roadmap for Drawdown that they feel confident could effectively let us come to terms with the climate disaster we face.
Here is a link to the 5-part series Drawdown did to emphasize the solutions they see are most promising for a thriving future. Please check it out. And share it with your Congressman too, if you’re inclined. He may not have been listening before.
You can be a climate Superhero. find the real solutions for the problems you see and SHARE THEM! When your friends get sad about the state of the earth, HAVE A SOLUTION TO OFFER THEM. Find a group of people doing something - anything - positive and JOIN THEM. Be a superhero don't give up.
These are solutions we CAN use to help our people and our planet survive and thrive again. It will take political and economic will. Where are the politicians willing to follow the Roadmap and guide our country there? Where are the businessmen who will step up to do what’s needed? The climate Superheroes are the people to push the solutions ahead. There is a way. A roadmap to success. Pushing our leaders to use the science we already have is the way to put ourselves on the road to thriving.
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Get Drawdown's regular newsletters to stay abreast of their latest learnings. Here's the location to find the amazing breadth of the effective work they're doing:
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Fri Sept 8 - Jones Center and various locations at the link
Welcoming Week NWA kicks off Friday, Sept. 8 with multiple speaker panels, volunteer drives and other family-friendly events highlighting the significance of accessibility, LGBTQ+ identity, immigration and more in making NWA a thriving and inclusive place to live and work.
WELCOMING WEEK NWA KICKOFF EVENT
Friday, Sept. 8, 9 to 11 a.m., The Jones Center 922 E. Emma Ave., Springdale
Keynote speaker will be Victor Calise, Walmart director of global belonging, diversity, equity and inclusion and a longtime public servant, Paralympian and advocate for adapting spaces for those with disabilities.
Arkansas Coalition of Marshallese will highlight its upcoming cultural training and the Ocean Wave dancers will perform traditional dances from the Pacific Islands.
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You are invited to a double-header concert with
Geoff and Leslie Oelsner, and Harmonia!
We will celebrate, in words and music, the release of the printed version
of Geoff's book, with photos by Leslie: Attunements for the Earth
CHANGE OF TIME!
When: Tues. Sept. 19th, 6:30-8:00 pm
(Earlier for more light. Rain date: Thurs. Sept. 21st)
Where: Mt. Sequoyah, at Vesper Point (seating provided)
Admission is free, and all proceeds from the sale of books and CDs will go to the Wild Foundation (wild.org) which focuses on
conserving and protecting wilderness around the world.
Feel free to come at 6:45, and to bring insect repellent in case of mosquitoes.
We hope to see you there! If you need more information,
please reply to this email .
*Please note: This will not be a duplicate of the previous event at the Library!
Now available in hard and softbound versions at Amazon.com, and as an ebook at Amazon's Kindle store and at geoffoelsner.com
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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
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Emerging Homeless Solutions
How do other cities manage their homeless crises? Lots of problems, seems like not many solutions. Here’s a news report from Washington D.C. that could be the story of cities all over the country.
Washington DC saw a 40% spike in homeless encampments starting with covid. That’s huge! Their story has points that sound eerily familiar for Fayatteville. There are a LOT of homeless people, they just kind of appeared during covid, and they seem too have, and are causing, a lot of similar problems.
The neighborhoods where encampments spring up face similar challenges every day, and city officials are confused and struggle to know how to really resolve them. Some neighbors feel for the homeless on their sidewalks. Others just want them and their stuff to disappear. Sounds like Fayetteville.
The Director of Health and Human Services says: “we have enough housing vouchers to pay for everyone who is unhoused. The question of whether we have the housing supply is a lot more complicated” That’s an issue for our area too.
A neighborhood business woman says “Not one department is in charge of everything. We constantly have to reach out to different people.” DC claims there is a central point of contact but that apparently isn’t well-known. Fayetteville has no central coordination, but it would sure be helpful to housed and unhoused people alike.
Another camp experiment in Austin: Ezperenza Camp. Austin is getting famous for its well-run Community First Village of permanent housing for formerly-homeless people. Austin’s trying other experiments to get people off their streets too. But Austin has a whole lot of homeless people, and these camps are just scratching the surface.
Here’s a media report from May 17, 2021 that share the strengths and weaknesses of a state-sanctioned camp that’s been in Southeast Austin for 4 years now. It’s called Esperanza Community and. KVUE's Molly Oak took us inside to see what's changed and what's working since it opened.
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Scarecrow Showdown
October 1 @ 9:00 AM – October 31 @ 7:00 pm
Botanical Gardens
Football games… carving pumpkins… hayrides… the “Scarecrow Showdown!” The Botanical Garden of the Ozarks is introducing this brand-new tradition to the Autumn season.
The Scarecrow Showdown is a temporary art installation & competition, from October 1 to October 31, showcasing handcrafted scarecrows created by the Northwest Arkansas community.
The best part is… anyone can join in! Individuals, families, artists, schools, organizations, businesses, and more can register to partake in creating scarecrows that are unique, spectacular, spooky, and everything in between!
$25 Amateur: individuals, families, schools, and non-profit organizations
$50 Professional: individual/team who wants to showcase their professional art, design, or craft work
$100 Business: for-profit businesses
Garden guests can stroll through the Garden during the month of October to vote on their favorite scarecrow in each category: Amateur, Professional, or Business. An additional prize will be awarded to the “Most Creative Scarecrow!”
Participants can encourage family and friends to visit the Garden to vote & share their creations on social media!
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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
#232 South Korea a model of dealing with food waste
Food waste is a major contributor to climate change both because of the methane it emits and because the energy that went into producing and transporting the food is wasted. South Korea has developed a system that keeps 90% of food waste out of landfills and incinerators and turns it into animal feed, fertilizer and fuel for heating homes. Historically, South Korea had a high percentage of waste, but it is now a model that is being studied by other countries and cities.
"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)
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Your Own Climate Victory Garden!
Dear Friend,
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?
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