Reduce Your Footprint in 2010: A Free Community Workshop

Are you part of a congregation, neighborhood association, workplace, PTA or other community group? Are you a concerned citizen? Come discover resources right here in Berkeley to help you reduce your personal and collective carbon footprint. The City of Berkeley, the Berkeley Energy Commission, the Ecology Center, and the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists invite you to a fun and informative workshop to help you and your community reduce global warming emissions. Thursday February 25, from 7-9pm at the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists. Click here for more details. Free attended bike parking. Free childcare. RSVP by 2/22 if you are interested in childcare.

Sign Up for a Climate Change Action Workshop Series

The Ecology Center’s Climate Change Action Project helps neighbors, families, co-workers, friends, and other groups to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Through a series of free workshops, the center offers tips and ideas for how each of us can significantly downsize our carbon footprints and save money at the same time. Click here to learn more about this fun project.

UPCOMING WORKSHOP SERIES AT THE ECOLOGY CENTER:

• Mondays from 6:30 - 8:30pm: 2/22, 3/1, 3/8, 3/15

Join a group hosted by the Ecology Center, invite us to facilitate a group at your workplace or in your community, or get trained to lead your own group. Write to debra@ecologycenter.org or call 510-548-2220 x240 to sign up.

Watch, Learn, and Forward: The Story of Cap and Trade

Ecology Center member Annie Leonard is at it again! The Story of Stuff star has debuted another viral video: The Story of Cap & Trade is a fast-paced, fact-filled look at the leading climate solution being discussed at Copenhagen and on Capitol Hill. Annie introduces the energy traders and Wall Street financiers at the heart of this scheme and reveals the "devils in the details" in current cap and trade proposals: free permits to big polluters, fake offsets and distraction from what’s really required to tackle the climate crisis. If you’ve heard about Cap & Trade, but aren’t sure how it works (or who benefits), this is the film is for you.

Support Berkeley’s Proposed Plastic Bag Ban Ordinance

On February 23rd, the proposed Berkeley Plastic Bag Ban Ordinance will be introduced at the City Council meeting as an "Action Item." Click here to learn more about the proposed ordinance or to take action to support this important step toward Zero Waste and the protection of our shores, waterways, and wildlife. [Photo: Sascha W.]

Farmers’ Market Tofu Vendor Opens New Factory

Minh Tsai, who has sold tofu, soymilk, and other soy products at the Berkeley Farmers’ Market since 2004, has just opened a new factory in West Oakland. The Hodo Soy Beanery will begin hosting public tours and tastings next month. Read about the development of Tsai’s business and the delicious products that they make in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Berkeley Farmers' Markets First in the U.S. to Eliminate Plastic Bags and Packaging

Starting on Earth Day, the Ecology Center's Berkeley Farmers' Markets have been eliminating all plastic bags and packaging from their three weekly markets, making them the first in the nation to do so. The goal of our "Zero Waste" campaign is to remove, reduce, and recycle plastic and to recycle and compost all materials generated at the markets. Read more about our campaign and the press it has been receiving.

West Side Organics: Fresh Food Justice in Berkeley

For many in the Bay Area, it can take a whole paycheck to shop at Whole Foods. Reporter Diana Montaño interviews Farm Fresh Choice staffers in West Berkeley, where the Ecology Center food justice program is making sure residents have access to fresh and organic fruit and veggies at an affordable price. Listen to Montaño’s radio report, which aired on 510report.org and KALX.