November 29, 2007 

6:45 p.m.

Location:

Room 101 Carraway (geology) Building, FSU campus

Directions:
Carraway Building is near the corner of Woodward and Tennessee Street. Might be best to park on the NORTH side of Tennessee and walk over. Carraway Building is just South of the Florida Geological Survey building which is exactly on
the South West Corner of Tennessee and Woodward.Carraway Building is just north of (across the sidwalk from) the FSU bookstore/parking deck.

Presentation by Cynthia Barnett author of

"MIRAGE: Florida and the Vanishing Water of the Eastern US"

Sponsored by: The FSU Departments of Oceanography and Geology
The FSU Environmental Services Program and Heart of the Earth

 

“MIRAGE:  Florida and the Vanishing Water of the Eastern US”
By Cynthia Barnett

Florida’s parched swamps and sprawling subdivisions set the stage for a look at water crisis throughout the American East, from water-diversion threats in the Great Lakes to tapped-out freshwater aquifers along the Atlantic seaboard.

Part investigative journalism, part environmental history, Mirage shows how the eastern half of the nation – historically so wet that early settlers predicted it would never even need irrigation – has squandered so much of its abundant fresh water that it now faces shortages and conflicts once unique to the arid West.

Told through a colorful cast of characters including Walt Disney, Jeb Bush and Texas oilman Boone Pickens, Mirage ferries the reader through the key water-supply issues facing America and the globe: water wars, the politics of development, inequities in the price of water, the bottled-water industry, privatization, and new-water-supply schemes.

In the twentieth century, all Americans footed the bill for enormous dams and reservoirs that subsidized development in the bone-dry west. Barnett shows how in the twenty-first, U.S. taxpayers, whether they know it or not, are funding huge new waterworks such as desalination plants to quench the population shift underway to the nation’s Sunbelt.

From its calamitous opening scene of a sinkhole swallowing a house in Florida to its concluding meditation on the relationship between water and the American character, Mirage is a compelling and timely portrait of the use and abuse of freshwater in an era of rapidly vanishing natural resources.

 

For more information: jchanton@mailer.fsu.edu

http://www.cynthiabarnett.net/book.html
 

October 15, 2007 

7:30 p.m.

Location:

United Church, 1834 Mahan Drive

(On the north side of Mahan, just west of Blairstone Road.)

"Biofuels – Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde?"

Presenter:  Ben Fusaro, Master of Wildlife Conservation, FSU Adjunct Professor of Math.

Sponsored by Big Bend Sierra Club

 

Biofuels in the form of food crops as corn, wheat or soybeans to make ethanol has economic consequences that will force marginal peoples into starvation. On the other hand, scrap wood and used cooking oils could serve as fuel.

 

An example will show how many trees it takes to feed even a small (30 MW) electric power plant. We will also look at a concept called embodied energy that was developed by UF systems ecologist H.T. Odum.  It provides a way to estimate the environmental cost of a fuel or food by expressing it in terms of the number of solar units it takes to produce it. 

 

Burning such biofuel favorites as elephant grass and Arundo donax is a modern version of primitive slash-and-burn practices. These were sustainable practices for small populations living in a large, green landscape. The current agribusiness approach calls for continued cutting and burning of grasses that are grown on the same site, while providing water, fertilizer, and protection (insects/disease).  The challenge is to examine the sustainability of such an approach.

 

For more information contact: Ed Gartner 386-6543

October 5, 2007 

7-9 p.m.

Location:

Indianhead Acres
1518 Atapha Nene
(Magnolia South from New Leaf, turn left at Toochin Nene, first right on Atapha Nene, 4th house on right 1518. Park on the street. Look for Christmas lights on the lamppost).

                   You Are Invited!!

 

Heart of the Earth Dessert Potluck and Movie

 

Movie: Expedition: Kissimmee River

 

The restoration of the Kissimmee River is a huge undertaking to bring balance back to nature. In the Spring of 2007, a kayaking and hiking expedition was undertaken from Orlando to Lake Okeechobee to highlight the restoration. Ride along for the epic journey in an eye-opening one-hour documentary from Central Florida News 13 and Bright House Networks. Our own Doug Alderson took part in this expedition! He will be at the screening to add his personal story and answer questions.

 

Food: Bring a dessert to share. Yum Yum.

 

RSVP: mcbridemb@hotmail .com ( for chair count)

 

For more information: 561-1466

October 2, 2007 

6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Location:

Wakulla Public Library

Wakulla's Missing Link

Sponsored by the Wakulla Watershed Coalition

 

After 17 years of exploring, divers with the Woodville Karst Plan

Project have found the missing link between Wakulla Springs and

Leon Sinks. See the video about these daring expeditions. Talk

with the divers who braved the caves. Learn what you and your

family can do to protect your vital underground drinking-water

conduits.

 

Free admission and refreshments.

 

For more information: 850-273-0278

info@wakullawatershed.com

www.wakullawatershed.com

September 8-9, 2007 

Location:

Turkey Hill Farm

3546 Baum Road

Organic Fruit Production and Management Workshop

 

This two-day workshop is offered in collaboration with Turkey Hill Farm, Crescent Moon Farm, and FAMU StateWide Small Farm Programs.

The Organic Fruit Production and Management Workshop will demonstrate how you can use organic, sustainable methods to grow fruit in your own backyard, garden and farm- take the knowlege home where you live

 

For more information contact: Turkey Hill Farm, Louise Devine.
Cost: $40.00/person

turkeyhill@earthlink.net

http://home.igc.org/~divine/index.html

 

June 30, 2007 
Saturday

Location:

Laymoyne Art Gallery

Love Your Mother: A pictorial discourse on our environment

 

For more information: http://www.lemoyne.org/exhibit_schedule.html

June 21, 2007
Thursday, 7 p.m.

Location:

United Church, 1834 Mahan Drive

• Explore the story of the Cosmos.

• Strive to understand more clearly our role in the Earth community.

• Ask questions that will shed light on this moment in history and begin to create the map that will lead us into an unknown future.

• Together share our concerns and, most importantly, our sense of awe at this miraculous, unfolding life.

For more information: (850) 561-1466 or ncardea@comcast.net

May 11, 2007
Friday. 7 p.m.

   Friday Night Movie 

Location:

Tallahassee Progressive Center

1720 S. Gadsden Street

Cost: Free (Donations appreciated)

American Values, American Wilderness

 

In AMERICAN VALUES: AMERICAN WILDERNESS, a diverse group of Americans, including a teen-age daughter of Cambodian refugees, a children's book author, a cancer survivor, a Native American tribal chairman, inner city kids, and the late Christopher Reeve, among others, share their values for wilderness. Their experiences and hopes are interspersed with photography of some of the beautiful wild lands that have captured their hearts; as a place of sanctuary for animals and plants, the source of clean air and water, a place for challenge and spiritual renewal, and as a legacy for future generations. A labor of love for Christopher Reeve, the late actor donated his time and energy to this film - one of his last on-screen appearances before his death in October 2004.

 

"The independent project, produced and distributed by Missoula, Montana-based High Plains Films, features "ordinary Americans" in spectacular natural settings talking about what the idea of wilderness means to them. The real-life cast of American Values is deliberately diverse, challenging Outside and Adventure magazines' portrayal of nature as the domain of Tactel- and Lycra-clad Yuppies. Native Americans, Latinos, African Americans, and the children of Cambodian refugees reminisce about their experiences in wilderness and how important open spaces "as free from human intervention and oversight as possible" are to their identity and quality of life. At the end of its quiet, captivating hour, American Values has redefined wilderness as neither a commodity nor a luxury, but a public good that belongs to us all."

April 14, 2007
Saturday, 10-12 p.m. and 12-3 p.m.    Click Here for photos of the event.

Location:

First Presbyterian Church Courtyard, 110 North Adams Street 10 – Noon , and Lake Ella and other locations TBA Noon – 3:00

Step It Up National Climate Action Day Rally

 

On April 14, people are rallying in hundreds of communities across the country to ask Congress to finally do something about bringing us into a clean energy future. In support of the first big nationwide rally against global warming, Heart of the Earth is sponsoring a specially designed “Ark”, a mobile display, and will join with First Presbyterian Church youth to highlight the impact that global warming will have on our community when rising sea levels make refugees of the people and animals that inhabit Florida’s vulnerable coastline.

 

Polls show that 70% of people are aware that climate change is happening but feel dwarfed by the size of the problem and powerless to effect any meaningful change. On April 14th, tens of thousands of Americans will make a difference by gathering all across the country at meaningful, iconic places to call for action on climate change. They will hike, bike, climb, walk, swim, kayak, canoe, or simply sit or stand with banners with a call to action:

 

“Step it up Congress! Cut carbon emissions 80% by 2050.”

 

Come join us in this first ever, National Climate Action day to learn more about climate change and what you can do to make a difference.  Be a part of history and have some fun doing it. We also would like to you join us for a group photo at 11:45.

 

For more information: (850) 561-1466

 

http://www.heartoftheearth.org/stepitup.htm

http://www.stepitup2007.org

April 13, 2007 POSTPONED!!!
Friday. 7 p.m.

This movie is being postponed to a future date due to efforts due to the Step It Up Rally on Saturday and the need for preparation time.

   Friday Night Movie 

Location:

Tallahassee Progressive Center

1720 S. Gadsden Street

Cost: Free (Donations appreciated)

When Enough Is Enough

 

The United States imports more oil from Canada than from Saudi Arabia, or any other country. Oil companies in Canada are now producing 50% of their oil from tar sands deposits. In Alberta, this form of oil extraction completely destroys the boreal forest, the bogs, the rivers as well as the natural landscape.

 

WHEN IS ENOUGH, ENOUGH? tells a David-versus-Goliath story of a small Native band battling major oil companies over development of the Peace-Athabasca delta in Alberta. Underneath one of the greatest freshwater deltas on earth is one of the richest oil deposits in the world.

 

This documentary examines the world's limitless thirst for oil and how a small Cree band found itself in the fight of its life. World-renowned scientist David Schindler joins the band, casting a warning about the plunder of resources.

 

Film Schedule

March 17, 2007 
Saturday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Location:

Riversprings Middle School, Crawfordville

Florida Big Bend Green Living and Energy Expo

Free workshops and exhibits at Riversprings Middle School in Crawfordville highlighting ways to reduce your impact on the environment while also saving money and time by becoming an ‘EcoConsumer’. Get tips on how to make your home energy efficient, check out the latest in hybrid and alternative vehicles, and learn how organic foods can make a difference for your family. Participate in a light bulb exchange by bringing one incandescent bulb and receive one free compact fluorescent bulb replacement, while supplies last. Door prizes, silent auction, children's activities, and more!

 

Click here for Expo Flyer (pdf)

Click here for Expo Brochure (pdf)

 

For more information: http://www.greenlivingenergyexpo.com

March 9, 2007
Friday. 7 p.m.

   Friday Night Movie 

Location:

Tallahassee Progressive Center

1720 S. Gadsden Street

Cost: Free (Donations appreciated)

My Father's Garden

 

An emotionally charged documentary about the use and misuse of technology on the American farm. In less than fifty years the face of agriculture has been utterly transformed by synthetic chemicals which have had a serious impact on the environment and on the health of farm families. This film tells the story of two farmers, different in all details, yet united by their common goal of producing healthy food.

 

One of the farmers is the father of the filmmaker. Herbert Smith was a hero of his age: dedicated, innovative, a champion of the new miracle sprays of the 50s. His fate is the heart of this film. The other, Fred Kirschenmann of North Dakota, is a hero for our age. Faced with a shattered economy and the devastating environmental effects of conventional chemical farming, Fred steered his land through the transition to organic farming. Twenty years later, the Kirschenmann farm is a thriving testament to ingenuity, hard work, and a reverent understanding of nature.

 

Fred proves that sustainable agriculture is a viable alternative on any sized farm and that we can bring health and beauty back to the garden.

March 8, 2007 
Thursday 7 p.m.

Location:

Tallahassee Progressive Center

1720 S. Gadsden Street

Music by Carrie Hamby and Friends

Rising Tide Roadshow

 

The Spring Roadshow takes a popular education approach to organizing for climate justice, employing art, music, theatre, science, story-telling, bike culture, and video, Organizers travel the continent in a bus powered by recycled veggie oil, bringing the struggle for justice and sustainability to community centers and college campuses around the continent.

 

For more information: wendy@quartermoonimports.com

http://risingtidenorthamerica.org/wordpress/category/front-page/

February 10, 2007 
Saturday, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Location: St. Marks Wildlife Refuge

                 1255 Lighthouse Road in St. Marks, Florida

First Annual Wildlife Heritage Festival

 

Come learn about our outdoor “roots” and what outdoor opportunities exist today for adults and children alike.  There will be many exhibits set up to showcase outdoor activities and clubs.  Some booths will offer items for sale and others will have information and activities.  The Refuge Association will provide a free hotdog lunch while supplies last. It will be a great way to spend time with the family.

 

Admission to the event will be the regular admission price to enter the refuge.

 

For more information: (850) 925-6121

February 9, 2007
Friday. 7 p.m.

   Friday Night Movie 

Location:

Tallahassee Progressive Center

1720 S. Gadsden Street

Cost: Free (Donations appreciated)

Walking the West

 

A New Zealander and an Irishman, quit their jobs, cash in their savings and walk 2,626 miles from Mexico to Canada along one of the longest and most challenging foot trails in the world, the Pacific Crest Trail.

Their route takes them through some of the most spectacular scenery in North America, including California's deserts, the alpine lakes and granite peaks of the Sierra Nevadas, and the massive volcanoes and temperate rainforests of the Cascade Mountains.

Walking a challenging pace of 21 miles a day for 4.5 months, they must cross the Canadian border before winter storms hit the Cascades. The ordeal forced one of them to quit just 60 miles before the finish. This epic adventure is an exhilarating antidote to the predictability of modern life.

February 5, 2007 
Monday, 5;15 p.m. - 6:15 p.m.

Location: Corner of Buck Lake Road and East Mahan Dr.

Gathering for the Community

 

A gathering to raise awareness and help promote the values of our community.

 

Preparation for the clearcutting and bulldozing of 70 acres of forest and hills at buck lake road and east mahan for falls chase commercial development begins this week. It should be all cleared and leveled by the end of next week.

 

Please join us and let our corporate and political leaders know this

type of development is no longer acceptable. We want planning that incorporates a long term vision for our environment ...and we want to raise consciousness to people passing by.

"Honk if you love trees.''

 

For more information contact: Georjean Machulis at 850-878-5774.

January 22, 2007 
Monday, 7:30 p.m.

Location:

United Church

1834 Mahan Drive (north side, just west of Blairstone Road)

Diane "D.K." Roberts, The Magnolia Bay Monstrosity

 

Diane Roberts was born in Tallahassee in a family of a long line of Floridians. She got a BA in English and an MA in Creative Writing from FSU, and a PhD in English from Oxford University. Diane has been a journalist for 25 years, having begun her career as "D.K. Roberts" on the old Flambeau.  She is a political columnist for the St Petersburg Times, a contributing editor for the Oxford American magazine, a contributor to the Op-Ed page of the NY Times, and has written two books on the South.  Diane recently left her professorship at the University of Alabama to become Professor of English at FSU.  

 

For more information contact: Ben Fusaro at 297-2052

January 17, 2007 
Wednesday, 6:45 - 9 p.m.

Location:

Tom Anderson and Mary Beth McBrides House

1518 Atapha Nene

Heart of the Earth Potluck Dinner

 

Join with us and others in deepening our community and our commitment to this precious earth and each other. This will be a time to relax, share good food and meet others who share your concerns for the earth, as well as a wonderful way to learn more about Heart of the Earth and how you might get involved.

 

What to Bring: Dish to share, a plate for yourself. Utensils, cups and drinks will be provided.

Directions: Magnolia South from New Leaf Market, left on Toochin Nene ( you've gone too far if you see Jim Lee), first left is Atapha Nene, 4th house on right: 1518.  Park on the street, come up steep driveway.
                       
                         RSVP 561-1466 ( for chair count)

January 13, 2007 
Saturday, 3 p.m.

Location:

St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, Education Cabin (near visitor center)

Voice of the Everglades: Marjory Stoneman Douglas

 

Portrayed by Betty Jean Steinshouer, independent scholar and Chautauqua performer. Follow the matriarch of Miami (portrayed by Betty Jean Steinshouer) as she begins her crusade to restore the Everglades.

 

This Road Scholar program is free and open to the public - sponsored by the Florida Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and hosted by the St. Marks Refuge Association.

 

And, earlier that same day, same place, you are invited to lunch at the St. Marks Refuge Association Board of Directors'

Winter Chili Cook-Off Party.....11:30 am - 1: 30 pm

(Vegetarian chili available too)

 

For more information, contact: Robin Will, St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, 925-6121

January 12, 2007
Friday. 7 p.m.

   Friday Night Movie 

Location:

Tallahassee Progressive Center

1720 S. Gadsden Street

Cost: Free (Donations appreciated)

Razing Appalachia

 

This film explores the controversial issue of mountaintop removal mining by following a grassroots fight to stop the process in West Virginia.

 

In the misty folds of the Appalachian mountains lies Pigeonroost Hollow, in Blair, West Virginia. With its narrow creek and crawdads, its wild ginseng and raccoons, Pigeonroost looks as it might have a century ago -- a woody haven tucked away from time and technology. But for how long? And at what price?

 

In May 1998, Arch Coal, Inc. announced it would expand its Dal-Tex strip mine just above the small town of Blair. But lifetime residents said too many had already been bought out or chased away by the giant mine, and that Arch Coal's planned expansion was the final threat to their once-tranquil way of life. Forty families -- where there were once 300 -- stayed in Blair.

 

RAZING APPALACHIA is the story of their remarkable fight -- against the second-largest coal company in America, against the know-nothing state political leaders and, unhappily, against the 400 union miners whose jobs were on the line.

January 11, 2007 
Thursday 7 p.m.

Location:

Tallahassee Progressive Center

1720 S. Gadsden Street

Cost: Free (Donations appreciated)

Movie: The Yogis of Tibet

Hosted by Friends of Drepung Gomang Monaster

Heart of the Earth

Tallahassee Progressive Center

 

This documentary film follows the lives and practices of Yogis in Tibet, people who have spent their lives in rigorous and secret training in order to gain the ability to exert control over their bodies and minds. Living exceptionally isolated lives, Yogis have been relatively unstudied by outsiders in the past.

 

For more information: 3KPRPT@nettally.com