Rhode Island Feeds

How DO we love God’s Creation?  People of ALL ages throughout our Diocese are invited to show some of that love by participating in in this year’s 18th annual Environmental Poster Contest!  Honor God’s Work by creating a work of your own and submitting it to the Diocese at 275 N. Main St., Providence, RI 02903 attn: GreenWays, by Mon., Mar. 29th.  There are 7 categories for entry, from preschool to general adult.  Each entry is required to depict care or celebration of some aspect of our environment and must  have an envelope on the back containing the entrant’s name, category or age, and parish name.  The size must be between 8 1/2 by 11 inches to 9 by 12 inches….Not a large amount of space, but nonetheless allowing for a vast array of possibilities.

Sponsored by GreenWays, the environmental group from the Diocese of RI, entries will be judged independently and then displayed, first at the Roger Williams Park Zoo’s “Party for the Planet” from April 23rd to the 25th, followed by a May exhibit at our own Diocesan Resource Center.  There is a $20 prize for the winner from each of the 7 categories.

Each church has received a flyer (bright blue) with further details.  A copy of the flyer is available electronically at kmg4612@verizon.net with Environmental Poster Contest in the subject heading.

RIRRC: SATURDAY 3/27: Barrington hosts FREE Eco-Depot for Household Hazardous Waste (RI residents only). Call for an appointment: 942-1430 x 241

RIRRC: THIS SATURDAY 3/13: RIRRC hosts FREE Eco-Depot for Household Hazardous Waste (RI residents only). Call for an appointment: 942-1430 x 241

For most of the past year, environmentalists have had the same lament. Politicians are hyper-focused on health care to the point that any progress on climate-change legislation has been slowed to a halt.

I have been one to agree. Sure, the House passed a cap-and-trade bill last year and there were some rumblings in the Senate of a bipartisan deal at the time of Copenhagen, but the buzz quickly faded. On the heels of a watered-down deal from Copenhagen, the climate change effort was all but flat-lined as scientific research was attacked as false.

But with spring comes new hope and it has arrived again with climate change legislation. As health care nears toward an endgame, President Obama added some life into the climate change effort by inviting 14 senators to the White House for a meeting on a  possible bipartisan deal. This runs contrary to the approach in health-care, when the president let Congress take the reins for awhile before he eventually stepped in to try to control the debate.

The bipartisan effort also came with Obama putting forth Republican ideas such as nuclear power and off-shore drilling (which aren’t great for the environment). It seems likely that those ideas will be included in the bill. It took far longer in the health-care debate for the president to give in on some GOP demands.

Other ideas that were bandied about include capping emissions and auctioning off “emission” credits, of which the proceeds may be returned to taxpayers. It will not be easy and any regulations might not go into effect for 5 years (which could be too late for the environment). Also, senators with states that rely on coal or oil will try to obstruct this bill, but there is talk and hopefully there will be movement.

RIRRC: It's the gift that's BEEN giving. Check out The Daily Green's guide to recycled gifts: www.thedailygreen.com/living-green/recycled-gifts

RIRRC: THIS SATURDAY 3/13: RIRRC hosts FREE Eco-Depot for Household Hazardous Waste (RI residents only). Call for an appointment: 942-1430 x 256

An group that represents some of Rhode Island's largest electricty users is opposed to a proposed power-purchase agreement between National Grid and the developer of a wind farm in state waters.

GreenEconRT: Aeronautica is developing a Financing Assistance pgm for the 225kW and 750kW US-built turbines. http://aeronauticawind.com/aw/goss.html

GreenEconRT: Energy Efficiency Proposals Could Create 333,000 Jobs in 2010 http://www.aceee.org/press/030810.htm

GreenEconRT: Watching the changes in Narragansett Bay for half a century: http://bit.ly/445ZhU

GreenEconRT: RT @kate_sheppard: Dems still wrestling over energy-only bill http://bit.ly/aFgSRQ

GreenEconRT: Solar Industry Learns Lessons in Spanish Sun - http://nyti.ms/cKbPTT

GreenEconRT: RT @ecopolitologist: The 16 Women You Must Follow on Twitter for Green Business http://is.gd/9ZudO #green #csr

GreenEconRT: RT @gemplumbing: @treehugger cost for a Digital AD package for a green company. Please email me at cmolica@gemplumbing.com so we can dis ...

GreenEconRT: Congrats to UNFI and CVS/Caremark for being named "most admired" by Fortune and to Textron for being a contender! http://bit.ly/d17Tnv

GreenEconRT: How to Run a Green Business http://bit.ly/cOEIGN No matter what a company's budget is, small steps can be made to make it a green business.