SASCO and Local First Host Durango Green Drinks

Durango Green Drinks This Monday!

Monday, May 14, 5:30 to 7:30 at the Himalayan Kitchen

The status of LPEA-City of Durango franchise agreement that did not pass – how does this affect the progress of renewable energy in our community?

• Drop by for conversation on local and international sustainability issues, including -
  
• Bag It Durango
• Sustainability beyond Durango ... Shanta Foundation volunteers will be on hand to talk about sustainability initiatives in Myanmar
• Outcome of LPEA Board May election

Durango Green Drinks (DGD) happens every SECOND MONDAY from 5:30 - 7 PM at different local businesses around Durango.

Spring has Been Busy for SASCO in the Community

On top of our usual Durango Green Drinks (every second Monday), ongoing Bag It Campaign, and our Smart Energy Committee promoting clean energy candidates for the current La Plata Electric Association (LPEA) Board of Directors Election -  we hosted our first annual Sustainable Living Film Festival with the help of many local organizations, tabled at the 4 Corners Green Living Expo and recently hosted a 350.org Globa

SASCO's Presents the 1st Annual Sustainable Living Film Festival

SASCO's Sustainable Living Film Festival will take place on April 20 at The Back Space Theatre (the Friday before the 4 Corners Green Living Expo).

The festival will consist of 2–3 long films with 3–4 short films followed by community panel discussions. There will also be local vendors and organizations along with games, raffles, and more.

Check back soon for a full film line-up and more information. Until then, visit these sites to learn more about several of the festival's film selections:

• Transition Towns Movement second documentary film, In Transition 2.0, to be released mid-March.

• The International Society for Ecology and Culture's (ISEC) The Economics of Happiness
  
  
• Carbon Nation

If you are interested in volunteering or helping to support the Sustainable Living Film Festival in some way, please contact us.

Check back soon for more information!

by Juliet Schor

This opinion piece first appeared in The Guardian on December 21, 2011.

With the recent failure of the Durban climate talks, the collapse of carbon prices in Europe, and news that emissions grew a record 6% in 2010, it's time to re-evaluate the economic approach to climate that now dominates the conversation.

The creation of carbon markets, carbon offsetting and the valuation of eco-systems are premised on the idea that marketisation and reliance on economic incentives will yield sustainable outcomes. Many environmentalists like these policies because they seem to work with, rather than against our existing economic institutions and incentives. But as market-thinking expands with eco- and carbon-footprints, an obvious question is whether economics in command has become part of the problem.

It's a conclusion one might draw from analysing the Occupy Wall Street movement. In a few short weeks a rag-tag group of under-thirties has been able to transform the global conversation about economic issues by focusing on three basic points, all of which are essential for stopping runaway climate change and ecological overshoot.

Business skills course offered to agricultural producers and Ag-related businesses this January!

Experienced and new farmers, ranchers, and agriculture related businesses are invited to attend the Leading Edge "Tilling the Soil of Opportunity" course offered by the SW Colorado Small Business Development Center.