2008
DATE

CONVERSATION LEADER

TOPIC [NOTES]

Jon Elam, General Manager of Tamalpais Community Services District, a public local government unit that provides park and recreation, refuse, and sanitary sewer collection services to an area of 2500 homes in with a population of 7000 in Southern Marin.

Compost and Climate Change: The Links Between Local and Global

Jon attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali last year as a part of the delegation of the California Climate Action Registry, an approved UN NGO. His status allowed him to attend all sessions and he had access to all delegates.

At this First Thursday, hHe led conversation both on his experiences in Bali as well as in managing local services. He discussed these issues in a collective sense by building from the local perspective to the international one and elucidating how they connect. Increasingly, we realize this is the multi-pronged approach in which citizens must be engaged to address the challenges humans have wrought on earth: we have to get our own house in order by acting locally, as well as help influence regional, national and global policies and practices. He brings a unique perspective to this linkage, on one hand running local waste services while also being a part of a larger group of people involved with the California Climate Registry. He brought a copy of the Bali plan so participants could see what an international agreement looks like and the types of issues that are discussed.

More info....

Wendy McPhee, graduate of Environmental Forum Class 32

Bio in PDF file ......

Packaging for a Green Generation

A whole green generation has come over the horizon, demanding we do it right. Looking at current trends and where we might evolve with consideration of sustaining resources and our health, how do we know what is good for our future, while still pleasing our stockholders’ expectations? This challenge can seem contradictory, but need not be. This talk identifed how companies can create unique and responsible packaging and help move toward zero waste.

• Who Is the green generation?
• What do they want?
• How do we give them what they want?
• Who Is stepping up to meet these goals?

Marilee Eckert, Executive Director, Marin Conservation Corps.

Marilee Eckert's bio....

The mission of the Marin Conservation Corps is to develop youth and conserve natural resources for a strong, sustainable community. MCC achieves its mission by:

• Providing a diverse group of youth and young adults with opportunities to transform their lives through education, employability, civic engagement, and leadership.
• Caring for our environment by conserving and restoring natural resources, and by improving recreational areas.
• Creating the environmental leaders of the future by teaching environmental ethics and behaviors to children, teens and adults.
• Making communities safer by reducing fire and flood hazards and by responding to public emergencies and disasters.

Founded in 1982, Marin Conservation Corps is the nation’s first local nonprofit conservation corps. Since its inception, Marin Conservation Corps has shown more than 3,000 young people between the ages of 11 and 30 the way to a brighter future.

More about Marin Conservation Corps ....

Marie Kerpan
Most recently, Marie has joined the faculty of the Green MBA at Dominican University in San Rafael, CA.

Green Careers.

Marie Kerpan, graduate of EFM's Class 28, led a discussion about green careers, including the growth areas of the emerging green economy and how to find your place in it.

Marie is the founder of the first consulting practice supporting the transition to careers that promote ecological, social and economic sustainability. She has designed, produced and delivered green careers programming for the Bioneers Conference, the San Francisco Green Festival and The Solar Living Institute. Most recently, Marie has joined the faculty of the Green MBA at Dominican University in San Rafael.

Richard Walker, Professor of Geography and Chair of the California Studies Center, UC Berkeley.

The Greening of the Bay Area
with Richard Walker
Co-sponsored with the Marin Master Gardeners

Richard Walker, Professor of Geography, UC Berkeley, spoke and showed slides to introduce the topic of his recent book, The Country in the City: The Greening of the San Francisco Bay Area. The book is highly readable and informative, and Professor Walker is a lively, humorous, incisive and engaging speaker. Thank you Richard Walker.

There were at least 85 people in attendance, certainly a record for First Thursday!

Thank you to Marin Master Gardeners, and particularly Faith Brown, their Program Coordinator, for inviting our participation.

More about Dr. Walker and his book's press release.

Also see article:
Master Gardeners: Who greened your county? Just ask Richard Walker
By Marie Narlock in Marin Independent Journal on 2/8/2008

2007
DATE

CONVERSATION LEADER

TOPIC [NOTES]

Dec. 6
2007
7:30-9:30 pm

Janette Hartz-Karp, 21st Century Dialogue, and Brian Sullivan, www.civicevolution.org

Authentic Democracy in Action:
Engaging the Community to Reduce the Causes and Consequences of Climate Change

Discussion about citizen engagement and deliberative democracy as they apply to reducing the causes and consequences of climate change (Sustainability Within A Generation), jointly with Seniors for Peace, at The Redwoods Retirement Community, Mill Valley.

More information in the flyer (PDF file).

Conversation Leader: Constance Washburn,
Education Director of Marin Agricultural Land Trust, (MALT).

The Miracle of Marin
It Takes a Village to Save the Land

Learned why Marin and MALT are county models for the preservation of agriculture at the urban edge. Heard how 50% of our land became active agriculture, how this nearly didn't happen, and how we plan to keep it this way.

Constancewas joined by MALT board president Loren Poncia to talk about the opportunities and threats to local agriculture. His parents have a MALT easement and his father was on the original MALT board of directors.

We had about 20 people attend this. Constance gave an informative and entertaining slide show, and all of us feel much more uptodate on MALT's activities. Takeaway message: READ THE COUNTY-WIDE PLAN to understand what may be in store for openspace and conservation easements in Marin.

Anne Faught

Art As a Mirror of Culture
175 Years of California Landscape Painting

Writer, teacher and EFM director Anne Faught gave a Power Point presentation reviewing 175 years of landscape painting in California. This slide show began with images of California in the 1830’s and moves through a chronology of work that reflects our changing relationship to the environment from the perspective of the eyes and hands of artists.

Thur
Aug 2,
2007

7-9pm

Nancy Dobbs, president of KRCB, the Santa Rosa public television station.

Under Nancy's direction, KRCB is making a film based in part on Marty Griffin's book, Saving the Marin and Sonoma Coast. Marty is a member of EFM's founding class 0 from 1972.

An 8 minute trailer was shown of the film. Nancy and editor, Kenji Yamamoto, talked about making the film which could spill over into making environmental films in the Bay Area in general and public television's role in environmental education.

Thur
July 5,
2007

There was no First Thursday Event in July because of the July 4th holiday week.

Thur
June 7,
2007

Charles McGlashan,
Supervisor for  Southern Marin

Marin's plans for conserving energy and responding to global warming. The County has a very ambitious program so people may want to hear about it and talk about their own role in energy conservation.

Environmental Forum of Marin's June 2007 First Thursday event will be a discussion with Supervisor Charles McGlashan of energy policy and action in Marin.

Supervisor McGlashan, who serves southern Marin (District 3) has been involved in developing energy policies for Marin County that focus on reaching renewable energy source goals at sustainable levels sooner than those proposed and legislated at the State level.

A key element for reaching Marin's energy goals is the analysis of Community Choice Aggregation, a powerful concept that could allow Marin 's residents and businesses to choose cost-effective renewable resources over fossil fuel resources, as well as give more local control over the generation sources of electricity vital to sustaining our local economy.

Please join us on Thursday, June 7th at 7 P.M. for this discussion of what Marin is doing to curb climate change, and what you as an individual can do to help.

Apr. 5, 2007
Thursday

David Haskell
Project manager for the award winning Garden of Eatin’ Childhood Obesity Prevention Project at Novato’s North Bay Children’s Center.

Click here for bio and flyer.

Have Our Children Become the Unintended “Canaries in the Cage”?

Coal Miners take caged canaries down in the mine shaft as an early warning system. The canary, with its tiny quick-beating heart and fast metabolism, succumbs to poisonous gases long before the toxic conditions affect the men. Have our children become the unintended canaries in our toxic world? If so, what can we do to help our children and their families make healthy choices at home, in school and in our communities? What policy issues affect our ability to provide our children a healthy environment? How can our shared concern for children increase the effectiveness of our pursuit of a sustainable way of life?

Mar 1, 2007
Thursday

Presenter &
Conversation Leader:

Stuart Moody,
Exec Committee of Green Sangha and Chair of Supervisor Charles McGlashan’s Zero Waste Citizen Advisory Committee.

Co-presenters and co-leaders:

Christin Anderson,
on reducing plastic bag use at United Markets

Heather Furmidge,
on the economics of recycling plastics
(possibly another to be announced)

RETHINKING PLASTICS,
RETHINKING OUR LIVES:
Plastics, once seen as cheap and convenient substitutes for traditional packaging and building materials, have overtaken our world. They are turning out to be anything but convenient. We are literally awash in non-degradable, non-compostable materials – littering our streets and parks, clogging drain systems, cluttering our oceans and beaches, killing millions of animals a year, and toxifying our bodies. Stuart Moody of Green Sangha will describe the nature and extent of plastic pollution, with special presentations by graduates of EFM (Class 34) on recycling, bioplastics, and more. Included in the program will be a short film, Synthetic Sea, on what's happening to our oceans, exhibits of alternative materials, and a lively discussion of what we can do as customers, business owners, and citizen activists to stop the plague of plastics. Stuart will suggest the transformation in collective consciousness that will be needed if we are to succeed in this task.

Location this month:
  Marin Non-Profit Resource Center
  555 Northgate Drive, San Rafael
  (Across from Sears Auto Center in the Northgate Mall).
  Link to Directions.

Feb. 1, 2007
Thursday

Mr. Jose Javier Armendariz, Minister of Industry and Technology, Commerce and Labor in the government of Navarra, Spain

Renewable Energy Discussion with Minister from Navarra.
Mr Armendariz discussed Navarra's activities in the field of renewables. SEATING IS LIMITED.

Jan. 4, 2007
Thursday

No First Thursday meeting in January, 2007.

2006
DATE

CONVERSATION LEADER

TOPIC [NOTES]

Dec 7, 2006
7-9pm

Phil Kranenburg
(Background in financial and investment services; now runs green investment company.)

See PDF flyer for this event.

Global Problems, Business Solutions.
The goal of this presentation is to stress the importance of business solutions to global problems like global warming, peak oil, water shortages and pollution. The presentation uses photographs to illustrate global problems followed by photos showing new business products that are tackling some of these problems.

Location this month:
  Marin Non-Profit Resource Center
  555 Northgate Drive, San Rafael
  (Across from Sears Auto Center in the Northgate Mall).
  Link to Directions.

Nov 2,2006
7-9pm

Local Environmental Authors.

See PDF flyer for this event.

ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORS NIGHT
Hear Ye Hear Ye - Come listen to these legendary authors talk about their works, and purchase autographed copies if you like:

Kimberly Rider (32): Healthy Home Workbook will be followed by Healthy Baby next year.

John Hart: Legacy: Portraits of 50 Bay Area Environmental Elders, is the latest in a string of books of local interest.

Nancy Kittle (17): photographer for Legacy. Her local photographic shows include portraits of Marin artists.

Phyllis M. Faber (0): author/editor of several books including two wetland field guides and California’s Wild Gardens.

Dr. Marty Griffin (0): award winning photo-memoir, Saving the Marin-Sonoma Coast.

Amy Meyer: New Guardians for the Golden Gate - How America Got a Great National Park (with Randolph Delehanty).

Location this month:  Marin Non-Profit Resource Center

Oct 5, 2006

Deborah Coburn
(Bio on her website)

Biomimicry: Concepts and Products for Green Interiors.
Deborah Coburn (21) will make a presentation, lead a conversation, and showcase some products inspired by "Biomimicry: Concepts and Products for Green Interiors" (See book by Janine Benyus, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, 1997).

Sep 7, 2006
7-9pm

Tim Rosenfeld

LEARN ALL ABOUT COMMUNITY CHOICE AGGREGATION: COME GET ALL YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED! TIM ROSENFELD, Marin County’s technical advisor for community choice aggregation, will update us on the status of CCA in the County, and lead conversation exploring all the details you may be interested to know. More information in Enews...
  Location this month:   Marin Non-Profit Resource Center

Monday
Aug 7,2006
7-9pm

Note: Temporary Date Change!

Jul 6, 2006

Clint Wilder

Clint Wilder, journalist and Marin Sierra Club leader, discussing material in his forthcoming book, The Clean Tech Revolution: Winning and Profiting From Clean Energy, Water and Materials, co-authored with Ron Pernick, co-founder and principal of Clean Edge, to be published by HarperCollins in May 2007.

Jun 1, 2006

Phyllis Faber

The Planning and Conservation League
“The PCL is a statewide, nonprofit lobbying organization, an alliance of individuals and conservation organizations united to protect California's environment through legislative and administrative action.” Phyllis serves as a Regional Vice President.