A List of Environmental and Telecommunications Events and Issues

August 15 to August 22, 1997







Published, Edited and Written by George Mokray for
Information Ecologies
218 Franklin St #3
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617)661-2676
gmoke@world.std.com

"A List..." is also a listserv. You can subscribe or unsubscribe by emailing a-list-request@world.std.com, leaving the Subject line blank, and typing "subscribe" or "unsubscribe" as the message.

Previous issues of "A List.." are available for your perusal at
http://world.std.com/~gmoke/AList.index.html

If you are interested in keeping Internet an open and free forum, contact
http://www.eff.org/



Listings

Friday, August 15 - Monday, August 18

Sustainability: From Vision to Practice
contact (413)259-1254
Eco-Village at Sirius Community, Shutesberry, MA

Saturday, August 16

10 am
6th Annual Jantzen Swim for Boston Harbor: Save the Harbor/Save the Bay is sponsoring a back-to-the-beach swim, including a one-mile swim race, a free beach party with entertainment, refreshments, volleyball and fun games for all ages, bring your swimsuit
contact 451-2860
Curley Recreation Center at M St Beach, South Boston

11:30 pm
Ninth Annual Boston by Bike...At Night ride - midnight-to-dawn tour of architecture, history and more in and around Boston
contact 522-0259
meet in front of Trinity Church in Copley Square, Boston
Bring a bike with a light, wear something reflective, helmets are recommended. The ride is free.

Sunday, August 17

9 am - 2 pm
MIT Electronics Flea Market: buy, sell, swap electronics, computers, radio parts, etc
contact 253-3776
Albany and Main St
buyers $4, sellers $10

Wednesday, August 20

7 pm
Boston Webmasters Guild: Web Advertising Solutions & Systems
contact http://boston.webmaster.org
MIT Building 6, Room120

Thursday, August 21

5 pm - 7:30 pm
Environmental Business Council-NE Annual Garden Party
contact 847-1731

Saturday, August 23

12 pm to 4 pm ( Rain Date August 24)
Somerville Community Growing Center (SERV) Annual Solar Picnic - come see and taste food cooked by the sun. Solar cookers of various types will be in use. Bring yours or come see how they work. Also see Somerville's Photovoltaic Installation
contact Russ McIntosh 776-8854
Somerville Community Growing Center, 22 Vinal Ave (the intersection of Summer St and Vinal Ave)

Sunday, August 24

10 am - 4 pm
First Annual Larz Anderson Bicycle Show: Swap Meet, Demonstration of Period Bicycles, Trials Riding Demonstration, Fun Ride, Repair Clinic, Manufacturer Displays, Cycling Organization Expo, Museum of Transportation Bicycle Collection Display
contact 522-6547, http://www.mot.org/pages/dirs.htm or http://www.bicycleclassics.com
Larz Anderson Transportation Museum, 15 Newton St, Brookline
Admission: $5.00 for Adults. $3.00 Children (6-16), students and seniors (62+). Children under 5 free. Admission to the event includes entry to exhibits inside the Museum. Patrons are encouraged to bring a picnic, chairs and blanket, and stay for the whole day.

Tuesday, August 26

2 pm - 4 pm
The Facts of Energy Deregulation - a forum presented by the Waltham West Suburban Chamber of Commerce, 128 Business Council, MA Lodging Assoc, Alliance of Competitive Energy
contact 894-4700
DoubleTree Guest Suites Hotel, Waltham
$30 for members, $40 for non-members

Wednesday, August 27 - Monday, September 1

The National Gathering for the Greens/Green Party USA
contact (508) 688-3569 or massgreens@igc.apc.org
Lawrence, MA

Sources for Listings:
MIT _Tech Talk_ :
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/www
Harvard _Gazette_ :
http://www.news.harvard.edu/hno.subpages/hno.calendar.full.html
Harvard Environmental Resources On-Line:
http://environment.harvard.edu
MA Executive Office of Environmental Affairs calendar:
http://www.magnet.state.ma.us/envir/earth.htm
Earth Day Network international/national listings:
http://www.cfe.cornell.edu/EarthDay/ednethome.html
Earth Day Greater Boston calendar:
http://www.earthdaygb.org

Computer Organizations of NE (CONE) User Group List:
http://bcs1.ziplink.net/cone/sig
Signet Calendar of events:
http://www.signet.org/cgi-bin/Calendar/calendar.cgi
Webmasters Guild
http://boston.webmaster.org

act-ma the Massachusetts activists mailing list:
subscribe by emailing majordomo@igc.apc.org, leaving the subject line blank and typing "subscribe act-ma" as the message

Peace and Justice Events Hotline at (617)787-6809

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Sustainable Products or Persistent Products?

Editorial Comment: Marshall T. Spriggs (mtspriggs@igc.apc.org) not only publishes his own occasional "Notes from Cafe Fiasko" but also sends me bits of information that he believes might be of interest to me and to the "A List..." readers. The first piece comes from late July and he wondered whether the UNEP was wise enough to know the difference between sustainability and persistence. It's a good question. This site includes a database of examples and an expert panel on renewable materials. Most of the information seems to be arranged around a set of human needs that includes communications, cooling, cooking, textile/clothing, transportation, and water.


United Nations Environment Programme Working Group on Sustainable Product Development
http://unep.frw.uva.nl/

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Working Group on Sustainable Product Development (UNEP-WG-SPD) was formed as a response to 'Agenda 21' of the UNCED Rio de Janeiro Conference (1992) which called for changes in production and consumption patterns towards a sustainable future. Against this background the Dutch Ministry for the Environment decided to support a new Working Group on products and services. The main activities of the UNEP-WG-SPD involve the 'Research Programme', and the 'Network Programme', which have developed an International Network of experts from approximately 750 organizations in 55 countries in the area of sustainable product development. The site offers a database of sustainable product and service examples as well as hundreds of contacts in 55 countries. There are also downloadable versions of the magazine 'Way Beyond', reports and software.

Editorial Comment: Spriggs sent this to me in February. I was going through my email files and came across another sustainable product design note. There is a July issue now available, readable with Adobe Acrobat. There is also an online discussion of design issues in the Network for Electronic Product Design and the requisite links page.


The Centre for Sustainable Design to launch ground-breaking journal covering product design issues and sustainability

The Journal of Sustainable Product Design will be a quarterly publication covering the complex issues surrounding the implication of the economic, environmental, ethical and social issues in product design and development. Editorial will aim to balance practical issues as they affect us today, as well as exploring new ideas and thinking. The journal will focus on a wide range of issues from managing the eco-design process to dematerialisation and life cycle assessment and eco-innovation. Importantly, the journal will cover a broader agenda than environmental issues in product design and development. The first issue will be published in April 1997.

The journal will provide objective analysis, with articles from leading thinkers and practitioners around the world. There will also be case histories, interviews, research and surveys, as well as a section on innovative ideas, a gallery of images of sustainable product design, reviews, and a diary of events. A unique feature will be a downloadable Internet version of the journal, which will be accessible via a password.

The journal will be edited by Martin Charter and Anne Chick from The Centre for Sustainable Design, with the support of an international editorial board. Members have been recruited worldwide and include Jacqueline Aloisi de Larderel, Director, Industry and Environment, UNEP (France), Dr Brad Allenby, Director of Environmental, Health & Safety, AT&T (US), Dr Stefano Marzano, Head of Corporate Design, Philips International (Netherlands), Professor Ezio Manzini, Director, Facolta di Architettura, Unita di ricerca Progetto, Prodotto, Ambiente, Politecnico di Milano (Italy) and Dorothy MacKenzie, CEO, Dragon International (UK).

For more information contact:
Martin Charter, Joint Coordinator
The Centre for Sustainable Design
Surrey Institute
Falkner Road, Farnham
Surrey
UK

telephone: 01252-732229
fax: 01252-732274
email: cfsd@surrart.ac.uk
Internet: http://www.cfsd.org.uk

Editorial Comment: Spriggs' current signature quote is of comfort to this particular bumbler.


A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.
George Bernard Shaw

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Ecological Scholarships at Schumacher College

Editorial Comment: Here is an announcement of the second round of scholarships at the UK's Schumacher College. Too bad that I don't qualify. I hope that some of you do and will take advantage of this opportunity. "A List..." would be especially interested in seeing the class notes from the Buddhist Economics, Economics, Ecology and Globalization, and Systems Thinking and Learning for Change courses and the idea of studying ley lines with John Michell sparks memories of my dowsing days.


SCHUMACHER COLLEGE, AN INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR ECOLOGICAL STUDIES is now inviting a second round of applications for scholarships for US citizens to attend its residential courses in southwest England.

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR ECOLOGICAL STUDIES
Funded by the Educational Foundation of America, the scholarships are to enable US citizens to attend courses between one and five weeks in length at Schumacher College. The scholarships are for people who can best use the knowledge they gain at the College to contribute towards a sustainable America. Schumacher College aims to explore the foundations of a more sustainable, balanced and harmonious world view.

The course programme for the academic year September 1997 to July 1998 has been prepared, and scholarship applications are now invited from US citizens for courses during this period. A course programme (in brief) is included at the end of this message.

Schumacher College wishes to award the scholarships to individuals who are now or are likely to become influential in their communities. They may be working or studying in the fields of education, environmentalism, public administration, journalism/media, community work, or green business.

The College strives to achieve diverse student groups on all courses. The EFA fund will be used to support this policy, and applications are welcomed from a wide range of social, ethnic and age groups.

SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION DEADLINES
There is no general scholarship deadline. Scholarship applications must be made with reference to a specific course, and the deadline for applications is two calendar months before the particular course starts.

COURSE PROGRAMME, October 1997 to November 1998
Further details of all courses are available on request:
schumcoll@gn.apc.org

12 October-1 November, 1997
WILD MIND
taught by Terry Tempest Williams and David Abram

2-22 November, 1997
LIVING UNIVERSE AND EARTH MYSTERIES
taught by Rupert Sheldrake, John Michell and Ralph Metzner

30 November-13 December, 1997
MYTHOLOGY AND METAPHOR
taught by Robert Bly & Martin Prechtel

11-31 January
BUDDHIST ECONOMICS
taught by A.T. Ariyaratne and Sulak Sivaraksa

8-27 February
ECONOMICS, ECOLOGY AND GLOBALISATION: A NORTH-SOUTH PERSPECTIVE
taught by Jeremy Seabrook, Martin Khor and Wolfgang Sachs

8-28 March
SCIENCE AND GOD
taught by Miriam Therese MacGillis, Mae Wan Ho and Keith Ward

19-25 April
SYSTEMS THINKING AND LEARNING FOR CHANGE
taught by Stephen Sterling and others to be announced

3-15 May
THE BODY OF THE EARTH
taught by Joanna and Fran Macy

31 May - 26 June
THE WEB OF LIFE
taught by Fritjof Capra, with Brian Goodwin, Stephan Harding and Andy Goldsworthy

28 June - 10 July
SOUL, EROS AND NATURE
taught by Robert Sardello and Thomas Moore

13 -24 July
RECLAIMING OUR CULTURE: REDESIGNING THE UNIVERSITY
taught by David Orr and David Ehrenfeld

6-18 September
AESTHETICS AND CONSCIOUSNESS
taught by James Hillman and Margot McLean

20-25 September
GAIA THEORY
taught by Stephan Harding and James Lovelock

8-27 November
DEEP ECOLOGY
taught by Arne Naess and Stephan Harding

Further details of all courses are available on request. Please send your email and postal address to: schumcoll@gn.apc.org

***
TO APPLY FOR AN EFA SCHOLARSHIP TO ATTEND A COURSE AT SCHUMACHER COLLEGE...

YOU NEED TO READ:
* College prospectus and current programme (available on http://www.gn.apc.org/schumachercollege/ or as paper copies on request - contact details at the end of this message).
* Full course description for chosen course (available by email on request).

YOU NEED TO SUBMIT:
* Completed application form with two supporting letters from employers, colleagues, professors or others familiar with your work.
* completed checklist (available on request, or via the Schumacher College website: http://www.gn.apc.org/schumachercollege/).
* a statement of why you are unable to pay the full fee to attend the course.
* proof of US citizenship.

FINANCIAL CONDITIONS:
* The scholarship includes the cost of tuition, accommodation, food and outings but excludes travel expenses
* Those who can afford it, or can raise some funding, are asked to make a contribution of at least 20% of the course fee to our scholarship fund. Those unable to make such a contribution to the course fee should include a letter with their initial application asking for a waiver of this condition. Please note that only in exceptional circumstances can this waiver be granted.

***********************************************
Schumacher College is an international centre for ecological studies which welcomes course participants from all over the world, from a wide range of ages and backgrounds.

CONTACT DETAILS
For further details of Schumacher College and its courses, please contact:
The Administrator, Schumacher College, The Old Postern, Dartington, Totnes, Devon TQ9 6EA, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1803 865934; Fax: +44 (0)1803 866899
Email: schumcoll@gn.apc.org
Web: http://www.gn.apc.org/schumachercollege/

Please note: all addresses on our mailing list are treated as confidential. We undertake not to sell or rent our mailing list to any other organisation. If at any time you wish to be removed from our mailing list, please let us know.

SCHUMACHER COLLEGE IS A DEPARTMENT OF THE DARTINGTON HALL TRUST, AN EDUCATIONAL CHARITY.

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Boston Natural Step Training

I got a mailing from The Natural Step (TNS@NaturalStep.org or http://www.emis.com/TNS) announcing their 5 Day Advanced Training in the Boston area for Friday, October 3 through Tuesday, October 7 with Karl-Henrik Robert, Paul Hawken, and John Holmberg as the major presenters. It will be at Ferncroft Conference Resort in Danvers, MA and cost $3,500.

Further information is available from Harvey Stone at (505)989-8943 or hastone@aol.com or The Natural Step, 4000 Bridgeway, Suite 102, Sausalito, CA 94965 (415)332-9394

This is way too rich for my blood but probably a great opportunity for those of you who are doing the work that will justify the expense.

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Indicators, Maps, and Accounting Procedures

Editorial Comment: Stuart Auchincloss (sauchincloss@igc.org) manages the Natural Step consultant listserv (tns-consultant@igc.apc.org, to subscribe email majordomo@igc.apc.org and type "subscribe tuns-consultant" as the message). He has been posting a lot of interesting stuff lately and the following is one example, another project of the International Institute for Sustainable Development, a very fine information organization.


Announcing the Online Compendium of Sustainable Development Indicator Initiatives and Publications

Explore what others are doing in the field of Sustainable Development Indicators all over the world!

http://iisd1.iisd.ca/measure/compendium.htm

The Online Compendium is the most current and up to date collection of Sustainable Development Indicator initiatives. It is a collaborative effort of Environment Canada, the World Bank, Redefining Progress and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).

An increasing number of integrated indicator sets within the framework of sustainable development have been developed recently by communities, academic, governmental, non-governmental and business organizations. The Online Compendium of Sustainable Development Indicator Initiatives and Publications brings these initiatives together in one place to share lessons, coordinate activities, and disseminate information.

The Online Compendium contains information about the development and application of indicators and measurements of sustainable development at global, national, sub-national, regional, local and institutional levels (see below). It is a valuable resource for practitioners, researchers, students, government agencies, NGOs and the general public involved in or interested in sustainable development indicator programs and initiatives.

** Add your initiatives!**
Those who wish to include their work, or the work of others, in assessing progress toward sustainable development, can easily do so using our online form. All submissions are reviewed before inclusion in the Compendium. New entries are added regularly.

Please visit, add your initiatives and send us your feedback.

For more information write to compendium@iisd.ca

Editorial Comment: Wendy Brawer (WEBrawer@greenmap.com) sent an update on her burgeoning Green Map project, another way to raise environmental and ecological awareness. Does your town have a Green Map yet? Does Boston or Cambridge?


Here is a brief (and hopefully, refreshing) update on recent Green Map System Milestones:

* in July, we reached the 50 Milestone in Number of Cities Creating their Own Green Maps when Syracuse, New York joined our global collaborative effort to promote and link urban eco-resources.

* during 1997, we've increased by approximately one city every week. As of today, August 6, 55 Green Mapmaking teams are in progress or published around the world.

* Buenos Aires Argentina joined and raised the number of countries participating to 17, and the number of world capital cities involved to 7. Every inhabited continent is represented in this environmental social project.

* Meridian Mississippi joined and raised the number of US cities to 26, coming from 16 states, including 6 capital cities and Washington DC.

The whole list of cities is below; here are a couple of highlights:

* Oakland California is the first US city where the Green Map is an official City project, part of Oakland's new Building a Sustainable Economy Program.

* Montreal, Quebec will be the first city to publish their Green Map in multiple formats, when the printed version of their interactive web-based Map makes its debut next month. Thanks to support of the Canadian and Quebec governments and continuing support of McGill University and the Sustainable Development Association, Urban Planning grad students are expanding the bi-lingual EcoMontreal Green Map into a curriculum for community colleges in early 1998.

* Other soon-to-be-printed Green Maps include Adelaide, Australia and Malmo, Sweden, both of which are the first of a well-planned series. Expect to see the first view of Wellington, New Zealand's online Green Map this season, too. Currently, we expect close to a dozen cities to have published their Green Maps online or on paper before the year is over! Several of the Mapmaking teams have presented a draft version of their Green Map locally for community input.

* We are beginning to tally what's been invested locally in Green Maps. We have gotten numbers from about a third of the Mapmakers, and we're pleased to report that 18 paying jobs and 66 volunteer jobs have been created and well over $100,000 in funding has been raised locally. Over 6,000 hours and more than $21,000 in services and goods have been donated to date, too. We will continue to track and report on the direct, de-centralized economic benefits as well as other significant sustainable developments resulting from Green Maps.

* The student version of the GMS for making neighborhood-scale Green Maps is in development, as is the framework for Regional Hubs. GMS materials are being translated (German, Portuguese, French, Japanese) and outreach continues as more Mapmakers are making presentations at professional conferences, workshops and other venues all over the world. The collaborative linkages between Green Mapmakers continues to expand.

* The Green Map System has appeared recently in House Beautiful magazine (August, p. 50); in Liberty Tree's In Progress Reports (http://www.libertytree.org/News/greenmap7.14.html), E magazine (July 97, page 48); the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution's Magazine (Summer, pages 37 & 53), O2 Netherlands Magazine (Summer 97, page 12); in New Age Journal (August, page 32); and in several local publications. Our website was named Hot Site of the Week by Mapping the World By Heart (week of July 28, 1997, http://world.std.com/~mapping/).
Thanks much for all the positive feedback!

* Green Map Central is growing, too, with the addition of a graphic designer, Alexandra Sticher, who beings her internship with Modern World Design this month. We're moving to a larger studio two floors down, so we'll be able to better accommodate all the recent activity. All our contact info remains the same, and we look forward to hearing from you soon.

* More details on each item and links to all the teams independently creating the Maps can be found at our ever-growing website, http://www.greenmap.com.

We all hope you all enjoy the rest of the season...
Wendy Brawer, director

Green Mapmakers are active in: ( * = published)

* Brazil: Araxa * Argentina: Buenos Aires
* Ireland: Dublin * Wales: Llandrindod Wells, Powys
* England: Nottingham - Liverpool - N.E. Lincolnshire - Godalming
* Denmark: Copenhagen* * Sweden: Malmo
* Holland: Gouda* - Utrecht* * Germany: Pforzheim - Berlin
* Spain: Hondarribia/San Sebastian
* Kenya: Nairobi * South Africa: Johannesburg
* Japan: Kyoto * New Zealand: Wellington - Christchurch
* Australia: Adelaide, SA - Brisbane, QLD - Sydney, NSW
* Canada: Vancouver, Prince George, Vernon, Toronto, Montreal*, Halifax
* United States: San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Monterey Bay & San Diego CA - Prescott AZ - Seattle WA - Denver & Boulder CO - Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN - Madison, Milwaukee & Racine WI - Chicago IL - Pittsburgh & Philadelphia PA - Nashville TN - Fayetteville AR - New Orleans LA - Meridian MS - Athens GA* - Tallahassee FL - Chenango County, Syracuse & New York, NY* - Boston MA - Washington DC

Editorial Comment: The _Mass High Tech_ (http://www.boston.com/mht) of August 11-17 has a front page article on a National Research Council (NRC) report on barriers for innovative environmental remediation technologies. The article is accompanied with a chart of venture capital disbursements for a variety of industries like communications, electronics, semiconductors, software, medical devices, health care services, retailing, and environmental. Environmental venture capital disbursements peaked in 1993 at 65.8 million dollars and were 29 million in 1995. Environmental was the only industry sector listed that decreased.

The NRC found that the most effective way to create demand for new environmental cleanup technology is to tighten Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) standards that require companies to disclose in financial reports their environmental cleanup liabilities. The NRC panel recommended that the SEC clarify and strictly enforce disclosure requirements for environmental liabilities of publicly traded US companies. Dag Syrrist, a panel member and analyst for Vision Capital of San Francisco, said, "The idea is that people react to things that are measured and companies react to things that are on their balance sheets." The NRC panel found that current standards allow companies to pursue their own standards and measurements of potential remediation costs.

However, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has attempted to clarify standards in a Statement of Position in November 1996. Fred Gill, an AICPA spokesperson, said, "The existing standard was not focused on environmental liabilities, but addressed any contingent liabilities that may affect a company's earnings. It said you must report the liability when the amount is reasonably estimable. Many companies interpreted that narrowly, and said, 'We can't estimate all this yet, so we'll do nothing.' Take Superfund sites, for instance, it can take almost 20 years to sort out the liabilities. The SOP said that firms disclose what they can estimate."

I suggest that stockholders write their companies and ask them whether they are using the AICPA November 1996 Statement of Position standards in their SEC environmental liability reporting. Such stockholders might also want to request a copy of said SEC reports. Enough people start raising the question and we might get full costs accounting into the bottom line. That is, if the AICPA standards are any good.

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MA Environmental News

The _Massachusetts Environment_ (draymes@environews.com) for July had a short piece on the reduction of toxic releases in the Commonwealth. MA companies reduced toxic releases by 19% in the past year. The national average for toxic reduction was 4.9% so it seems we are doing something right. From 1988 to 1995, MA companies have reduced their toxic releases by 71%, but, curmudgeon that I am, allow me to point out that volume is not the only measure of importance.

EPA-New England lists the following MA industrial facilities as the largest pollution emitters based upon pounds of chemicals released:
Plymouth Rubber of Canton
Rexham Graphics of South Hadley
Crown Cork and Seal Inc of Lawrence
Globe Manufacturing Co of Fall River
Crest Foam of Newburyport
Electronic Concepts Inc of Lee
Aerovox Inc of New BedfordPolaroid Corp of Waltham
Polyfibron Technologies Inc of Adams
Dennison Manufacturing Co of Framingham

For further information contact Alice Kaufman at 565-4592

You can do your own searches for your hometown 's TRI data through the Right to Know Networks database at
http://www.rtk.net/www/data/tri_area.html

Here's Cambridge's for example:

HAVILAND CANDY INC. Year: 1995
City: CAMBRIDGE State: MA Prod. Waste: 11,935
Total Releases: 13,435 Total Releases & Transfers: 13,435

DODGE CO. INC. Year: 1995
City: CAMBRIDGE State: MA Prod. Waste: 13,673
Total Releases: 1,000 Total Releases & Transfers: 2,379

CALIFORNIA PRODS. CORP. Year: 1995
City: CAMBRIDGE State: MA Prod. Waste: 1,335
Total Releases: 500 Total Releases & Transfers: 1,175

PERSEPTIVE BIOSYSTEMS INC. Year: 1995
City: CAMBRIDGE State: MA Prod. Waste: 26,418
Total Releases: 266 Total Releases & Transfers: 26,418

GENZYME CORP. Year: 1995
City: CAMBRIDGE State: MA Prod. Waste: 276,562
Total Releases: 0 Total Releases & Transfers: 277,562

Totals for this search for 1995
Total Production-related Waste: 329,923
Total Releases: 15,201 Total Transfers: 305,768

RTKNet has other environmental, housing, and campaign contribution databases freely available.

The _Mass EnvironManagement Report_ for August reports that the MA Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA) is looking for suggestions on ways to manage personal computer disposal, particularly the metals (lead, silver, gold) found in computer components and in cathode ray tubes (CRTs) and TV sets. Presently, these components are governed by the hazardous waste provisions of RCRA. Will an exemption for recycling be better? Contact Scott Cassel at 727-9800 x291 if you have any ideas.

The same issue notes that the Rivers Act regulations are now online at http://www.magnet.state.ma.us/dep and that Pamela Harvey is the Department of Environmental Protection contact at 556-1107. One reason for my habitual bemusement with the legislative process is that passing a law is only the first step. Regulations, enforcement, funding, and judicial rulings are always pitfalls along the way. Be ever vigilant and let us know what you find out.

_Business and the Environment_ for July
(http://www.cutter.com/envibusi) has a piece on Norway's electronic and electrical equipment product takeback draft legislation. They want to initiate a system where municipalities and retailers would take back used equipment and manufacturers and importers would establish regional collection and treatment systems. All this would be paid for by surchanges on the products covered, raising the prices on new products, and the fees for garbage collection as well. Another proposal calls for higher taxes on landfill waste, a strategy which might help develop a market for recycled computer and electronic equipment.

_BATE_ also says a Duke Univ study where "environmentally responsible" investment portfolios do 1-3% better than portfolios invested in "environmentally irresponsible" companies annually. Returns on a five year basis were 17% as opposed to 15%. The study used a screen including pounds of environmental releases, numbers of spills, and fines and penalties assessed under nine environmental statutes. Portfolio risk is higher for the "environmentally responsible" but the difference in risk diminishes as the time horizon lengthens. Further information is available from Winslow Management at 695-1863.

I wonder if they'll talk about computer and electronics takeback at the MIT Electronic Flea Market, Sunday, August 17, 9 am - 2 pm, at the corner of Albany and Main St in Cambridge, in a MIT garage and parking lot near Kendall Square. It's a combination between Akihabara in Tokyo and the Chelsea wholesale terminal produce market. Buyers pay $4 admission ($1 off with xerox of flyer, look in the copy shops and laundromats around town). Sellers pay $10 per space. Contact 253-3776 for further information. (Would they let you use a print-out of this announcement as your $1 coupon? Twouldn't hurt to ask.)

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The Begging Bowl

I am expanding the Begging Bowl bigger than I ever have before. The folks of the Shenoa Learning and Retreat Center have been trying to put together a sustainable conference center in CA. Somehow they think that there are "A List..." readers who might have access to the amounts of money they need and have asked me to include the following notice. Twould be nice to think that my readers have access to such monies but my track record with the Begging Bowl leads me to believe otherwise. Good luck to Shenoa nonetheless. I am amazed at their confidence in me and gonna be so jealous if they do get the partner they need through "A List..."

Here's their announcement. Contact them for further information:

CONFERENCE CENTER SEEKS BUSINESS PARTNER
Shenoa Retreat and Learning Center is seeking a business partner who is interested in restoring the environment and in business management practices incorporating the ideas of business consultants such as Peter Senge and Margaret Wheatley to own and operate the center, catering to groups and organizations needing an off-site conference center for workshops and related activities.

Located in Philo, California (2.5 hrs. north of San Francisco) Shenoa sits on 160 acres of land which includes woodland, redwood groves, several rivers, a meadow, an orchard and a one acre organic garden. The facilities include a lodge, a pool and cabins and cottages which can accommodate approximately 80 guests, as well as a campground area with adjacent bathroom and showers.

Shenoa is seeking a partner who would invest approximately $800,000 to $1,000,000 to be used for infrastructure and business ownership with a lease hold arrangement. Presently, Shenoa Retreat and Learning Center's use permit is valued at $1 to 1.5 million. The use permit gives Shenoa ownership of 50% of the beds in the Anderson valley. Real estate prices in the Anderson valley have risen substantially in the past few years thereby appreciating the value of the property.

Interested parties, please contact Linn Jones at (510) 522-6514, e-mail: linnjones@aol.com

How "A List..." works:
If you want to have a listing included in "A List..." please send it to me before noon on the Friday before the event and if said even is deemed suitable for coverage, it will be included in the appropriate edition of "A List..." Articles and reviews, ideas, rants and opinions are also solicited. Publication is up to the erratic discretion of the editor.

"A List..." is also a listserv. You can subscribe or unsubscribe to the listserv by emailing a-list-request@world.std.com, leaving the Subject line blank, and typing "subscribe" or "unsubscribe" as the message.

"A List..." is a freeware/shareware publication. If the information is of any value to you, please contribute - money, information, encouragement, prayers and good wishes are all valid currencies for feedback and will be gratefully appreciated by
George Mokray
Information Ecologies
218 Franklin St #3
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617)661-2676
gmoke@world.std.com

This publication is copyrighted to George Mokray and the individual writers of the articles. Permission to reproduce is granted for non-profit purposes as long as the source is cited.