A List of Environmental and Telecommunications Events and Issues
July 18 to July 25, 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
Sunday, July 20
9 am - 2 pm
MIT Electronic Flea Market
contact 253-3776
Vassar St Parking Lot, near Main St
buyers $4, sellers $10 per space
11 am - 5 pm
George's Island Children's Festival
Children's concert with Kids Break
contact 617-727-7676
George's Island Boston Harbor Islands State Park
1 pm - 4 pm
Sustainable Living Institute Picnic - potluck
contact 628-5558 or (508)287-5418
Boston Common, Monument Hill, overlooking Frog Pond
Sunday, July 20 - Saturday, July 26
Coastal Zone 97 - a major international coastal zone management
conference
contact Stacey Rainey 727-9530 x417
Boston Park Plaza Hotel and The Castle, Boston
Monday, July 21 - Wednesday, July 23
Innovative Remediation Technologies
contact (508)481-6400, reg@ibcusa.com,
http://www.ibcusa.com/conf/innovative
Swissotel, Boston
registration from $295 to $1090
Monday, July 21
7:30 pm
Zero Population Growth of Greater Boston
contact Howie Breinan 225-8905, breinan@ortho.bwh.harvard.edu
500 Memorial Dr #255, Next House, MIT
Tuesday, July 22
7 pm -10 pm
Boston Webmasters' Guild and Boston Webgrrls: Casual Party Event
RSVP to boston-rsvp@webmaster.org or visit
http://boston.webmaster.org or http://www.gen.com/bos-webgrrls
Wonder Bar, 186 Harvard Ave, Allston/Brighton
Wednesday, July 23
8:30 am - 10:30 am
Northeast Business Environmental Network Breakfast Meeting:
Changes in Stormwater Permits
Thelma Hamilton, EPA; Ron Blanchette, HADCO Corp; Curt Laffin,
Shawsheen River Watershed Initiative
contact Gail Schwarz at (617) 204-2727, execdirector@nben.org,
http://www.nben.org
Gillette, 30 Burtt Rd, Andover
RSVP by July 21
Members: $10 Others: $20
7 pm
Lower Charles River Action Plan and Survey Results
contact 727-1614
Thursday, July 24
6:30 pm - 9 pm
Boards of Health: A Force for Protecting Our Communities and
Environment - a roundtable hosted by Toxics Action Center and the
MA Assoc of Health Boards
contact (617)292-4821, toxicsaction@igc.org
Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Allen Riddle Building
6:45 pm
Computer Organizations of NE: Representative of Netscape
Arlington Public Library, Arlington
Friday, July 25
8 pm
Radio Free Allston Meeting (106.1 FM)
contact 617-562-0828 or
http://www.tiac.net/users/error/radiofreeallston/
The Allston Mall, 107 Brighton Ave, Allston
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
Table of Contents
AList.index.html
I archive the last six of seven months of "A List.." at http://world.std.com/~gmoke/AList.index.html
This week, I updated the archive so that you can access each article by name at that site. I am continually surprised at how much I have published in "A List..." Maybe someday I'll have a Website large enough so that I can put all of "A List..." online, from November 1994 to date just so everybody can see the extent of my verbosity and monomania.
Table of Contents
David Korten's Lunch at the UN
Editorial Comment: Carolyn Chase (cqual@znet.com), Editor, San Diego Earth Times (http://www.sdearthtimes.com), forwarded this report from David Korten about a luncheon meeting with the UN leadership and the CEOs of 10 transnational corporations. It is so comforting to know that our future is being planned for us to assiduously. I know that I'm grateful that these folks are doing my thinking for me. Aren't you?
On June 24, 1997 the CEOs of 10 TNCs met over lunch at the United Nations with the UN leadership and a number of senior government officials to chart a formalization of corporate involvement in the affairs of the United Nations. I attended the lunch. It is rare that any of us from the NGO community has such an opportunity to sit in on a meeting of the powerholders in the private chambers. I found it a shattering experience for it revealed a seamless alliance between the public and private sectors aligned behind the consolidation of corporate rule over the global economy. It raised serious questions in my mind as to whether progressive civil society organizations should in fact be aligned behind the United Nations and its funding.
The following is a personal report. I'm sending as an attachment a memo I subsequently wrote to Ambassador Razali Ismail, President of the UN General Assembly who chaired the meeting.
An insightful cartoon foreseeing a UN in which the global corporations sit as equals with nations in the UN chambers and a list of luncheon participants will be posted to the PCDForum web site in the next day or two. See:
http://iisd1.iisd.ca/pcdf
THE UNITED NATIONS AND THE CORPORATE AGENDA
by David C. Korten
It was a true power lunch of lobster and an exotic mushroom salad held in a private dining room at the United Nations on June 24, 1997. Thirty seven invited participants were co-hosted by Ambassador Razali Ismail, President of the UN General Assembly, and Mr. Bjorn Stigson, Executive Director of the World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD) to examine steps toward establishing terms of reference for business sector participation in the policy setting process of the UN and
partnering in the uses of UN development assistance funds. The players in the meeting were 15 high level representatives of government, including three heads of state, the Secretary General of the UN, the Administrator of UNDP, and the UN Under Secretary General responsible for presiding over the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, the Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerice, 10 CEOs of transnational corporations. The CEOs were mostly members of the WBCSD, a council of transnational corporations (TNCs) originally organized by Stephan Schmidheiny and Maurice Strong to represent the interests of global corporations at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio in 1992.
In a limited gesture toward transparency and multi-stakeholder participation, two "academics" and two NGOs were invited to observe. The academics were Jonathan Lash of World Resources Institute and myself. Chee Yoke Ling of the Third World Network and Victoria "Vicki" Tauli-Corpuz of the Indigenous Peoples' Network, Philippines were the NGO participants.
The meeting's outcome was preordained. It closed with Ambassador Razali, President of the General Assembly, announcing that a framework for the involvement of the corporate sector in UN decision making would be worked out under the auspices of the Commission on Sustainable Development.
Listening to the presentations by the governmental and corporate representatives left me rather deeply shaken, as it revealed the extent to which most of the messages the world's NGOs have been attempting to communicate to the UN and its governmental members at UNCED and the other UN conferences have fallen on deaf ears. On the positive side, Mr. Thorbejoern Jagland, the Prime Minister of Norway, called for a tax shift to place the burden of taxation on environmentally damaging consumption. Both Ms. Clare Short, Secretary of State for International Development of the United Kingdom and Mrs. Margaret De Boer, Minister of Environment for the Netherlands, called for giving high priority to ending poverty.
Ms. Chee Yoke Ling of the Third World Network, the only non-corporate stakeholder voice given the floor, spoke eloquently of the growing concentration of wealth being created by the corporate sector and of the corporate commitment to the unattainable agenda of creating a universal consumer society. She observed that there are not enough resources in the world for everyone to live even at the current level of consumption of the
average Malaysian, let alone the level of the United States or Europe. She further noted that people are becoming increasingly cynical about the professed corporate commitment to sustainability given that in corporate dominated forums such as World Trade Organization (WTO) they talk only of the rights of corporations and nothing of their obligations.
Such moments of enlightenment were the exception. On the less enlightened side, we were treated to the views of Mr. Samuel Hinds, the President of Guyana. He was the only speaker to take any note of Chee Yoke Ling's comments and he dismissed out of hand. Indeed, he accused NGOs of causing popular unrest by trying to postpone in the name of environmental protection the development that people so desperately want. Besides, he pointed out, if he does not cut down his country's forests someone might grow marijuana in them.
The United States sent Larry Summers, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury as its representative to the luncheon. The Clinton administration could hardly have sent a clearer message as to how it views the trade-off between its commitment to sustainability and its commitment to its corporate clients. Summers is the former Chief Economist of the World Bank who gained public fame for advocating the shipping of more toxic wastes to low income countries because people there die early anyway and they have less income earning potential so their lives are less valuable.
Summers treated the luncheon guests to a litany of neoliberal platitudes. He praised privatization, noting that people take better care of their homes when they own them, implying that environmental resources will be better cared for when they are all privately owned by the corporate sector. He assured us that economic growth leads the way to creating both the will and the means to deal with the environment. In other words, he believes that the more a person consumes the more careful that person will be of the environment. And he noted that by attracting private foreign capital to build bridges and roads on a fee for use basis, the receiving countries will eliminate their need to use scarce public funds for physical infrastructure. He might well have noted as a further advantage that the private toll roads and bridges will be less congested than open public facilities as fees will exclude their use by the poor.
Mr. Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the UN, gave the corporate CEOs a warm welcome with his message that he sees opportunities for the private sector and the UN cooperating at many levels. He referred to the Rio meeting as an example of where the private sector participated in setting the standards rather than the UN or government imposing them. He of course made no mention that corporate participation in Rio helped assure that few standards were actually set and that even fewer have been met. He called on the private sector to come up with alternative
energy sources for the poor so they "don't have to cut down every tree in sight," while making no mention of the corporations that are strip mining the world's forests. He praised UNDP for its role in preparing the way for private investment to come into Third World countries and called on governments to provide incentives to move business in this direction. In short, he is firmly committed to using UN and other public funds to subsidize the corporate buy-out of Third World economies.
Gus Speth, the Administration of UNDP, said that the best hope for the 3 billion people in the world who live on less than $2 a day is to bring them into the market by redirecting more private investment flows to low income countries. UNDP is apparently facilitating this process by giving priority to using its limited funds to "leverage," read "subsidize," private
foreign investment. He mentioned that peace and justice will require a particular kind of development, but did not elaborate as to what kind that might be.
Underlying the words of everyone who was allowed to speak, with the sole exception of NGO spokesperson Chee Yoke Ling, was an embrace of the neoliberal logic of market deregulation and economic globalization. According to the prevailing official wisdom, economic globalization and the economic dominance of corporations are irreversible realities to
which we must simply adapt. Since global corporations have the money and the power, any viable approach to dealing with poverty and the environment must center on providing market incentives (read public subsidies) that will make it profitable for them to invest in job creation and environmentally friendly technologies. Thus it follows, by the twisted official logic, that corporations need to be brought in as partners in public decision process to assure that the resulting policies will be responsive to their needs. If any speaker other than Chee Yoke Ling saw any problem
in giving over ever more power to global corporations, they revealed no hint of it at this power luncheon.
The underlying commitment to the use of public resources to advance unrestrained global corporate expansion brought to mind the central message of a book that first appeared in 1980 written by Bertram Gross titled FRIENDLY FASCISM: THE NEW FACE OF POWER IN AMERICA. Gross looked beyond the familiar racism, hatred and brutal authoritarian rule associated with the practice of fascism to describe the institutional structure of fascist regimes. Herein he revealed a nasty little secret. The defining structure of fascist regimes is a corporate dominated alliance
between big business and big government to support the expansion of corporate empires.
Those of us who have been studying these issues have long known of the strong alignment of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Bank, and the IMF to the corporate agenda. By contrast the United Nations has seemed a more open, democratic and people friendly institution. What I found so shattering was the strong evidence that the differences I have been attributing to the United Nations are largely cosmetic.
It seems that all our official forums function within the culture of ideological dogmatism that international financier George Soros denounced in his ATLANTIC MONTHLY article on "The Capitalist Threat." With dissenting voices quickly silenced, there is no challenge within the halls of power to flawed logic and assumptions.
So long as official forums remain captive to this closed and deeply flawed ideological culture, our governmental and corporate institutions will almost surely lead our world ever deeper into crisis. The burden of providing alternative leadership that falls on those elements of civil society that are not captive to the official culture is thus enormous. We must speak fearlessly with force and clarity in an effort to penetrate the veil of silence that shields our official and corporate institutions from
confronting the devastating consequences of their ideologically driven leadership.
David C. Korten PCDForum - Fax (1-212) 242-1901
Globalize Consciousness - Localize Economies
Visit our web site: http://iisd1.iisd.ca/pcdf
Editorial Comment: Carolyn Chase is now using this quote in her signature file:
"When in doubt, tell the truth. You will gratify some of the people and astound the rest." -- Mark Twain
What truth do we have to tell to those who sat around that luncheon table?
Table of Contents
International Indigenous Peoples' Tribunal
Editorial Comment: Global Response (globresponse@igc.apc.org) sent me the following. Their letter-writing campaigns this month include a plea to ban methyl bromide, a stratospheric ozone depleting chemical, and a follow-up action against the Eurogold mining project in Bergama, Turkey. Check out their Website (http://www.globalresponse.org) for further information.
GLOBAL RESPONSE * ACTION STATUS * July 1997
The International Indigenous Peoples' Tribunal, June 18-20, 1997, Denver,
Colorado
The "G-8" Economic Summit was held in Denver June 20-23, bringing together the leaders of the U.S., Canada, Japan, France, Italy, Germany, the UK and Russia. This annual meeting is like a grand convention of the Chamber of Commerce - uncritical boosterism for globalization of the economy and liberalization of trade barriers through agreements such as NAFTA and the GATT. This euphoria over jobs and "prosperity" contrasts sharply with the negative impacts these policies have on the global environment and on the rights of indigenous peoples.
As a counter-point to the "G-8" Summit's economic spin-control, GLOBAL
RESPONSE and the Sierra Club organized the first "International Indigenous
Peoples' Tribunal" to present cases and return indictments against G-8
member countries, specifically for the destructive actions of multi-national corporations based in G-8 countries. Corporations and rich countries need to be held accountable or environmental destruction and for violations of the rights of indigenous peoples which occur as a result of their policies and practices.
At the International Indigenous Peoples Tribunal, a panel of nine jurists
heard testimony concerning 14 cases, presented by indigenous representatives and international organizations.
For copies of the Tribunal Findings (decisions only), send your address and
$4 to Global Response. For the Tribunal Findings plus the complete
collection of presentations given to the Tribunal concerning the 14 cases,
send your address and $25 to Global Response.
The Tribunal Panelists
Ved Nanda, Chair, Thompson G. Marsh Professor of Law and Director of the International Legal Studies Program at the University of Denver College of Law; renowned authority on international law.
Louisa Benson, Vice chair, (Karen, Burma) United States representative of
the Karen National Union (Burma) and the Democratic Alliance of Humans.
Sulak Sivaraksa, Vice chair, (Thailand), awarded the 1995 Right Livelihood
Award (alternate Nobel Peace Prize); editor of the Social Science Review
(one of the most influential publications in Thailand; credited with
starting the indigenous NGO movement in Thailand.
Vincent Idemyor, (Ogoni, Nigeria), president of the Movement for the
Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), USA.
Carrie Dann (Western Shoshone, USA), director of the Western Shoshone
Defense Project and National Council representative for the Crescent Valley.
Vladimir Chuprov (Komi Republic, former Soviet Union), chair, Association to Save the Pechora River
Bolivar Beltran (Quichua, Ecuador), attorney, advisor to the Commission on
Indigenous Affairs of the Ecuadoran National Congress
Charlie Nelson (Nuxalk, British Columbia, Canada), hereditary chief Slicxsliqw'
Nilo Cayuqueo (Mapuche, Argentina), Director of Abya Yala Fund; member of the International Forum on Globalization, Native Americans in Philanthropy.
CASES:
1. Ngarrindjeri people v. Chapman Family and Binalong Pty. Ltd. : regarding
the destruction of Ngarrindjeri sacred sites on Hindmarsh Island, South
Australia.
2. Dineh people v. Peabody Coal: Regarding the alleged displacement of
native peoples and environmental damage from activities related to mining
3. COPEEN and Land and Water Fund v. ASARCO: Regarding the alleged
contamination of soil in Globeville, Colorado, by ASARCO.
4. Overland/West University Neighborhood v. Shattuck: Regarding the alleged storage of radioactive material which is causing pollution, including air and water pollution
5. Ancient Forest Rescue v. Taylor Ranch: Regarding the alleged destruction of Old Growth Forest on the Taylor Ranch in Southern Colorado, USA.
6. Reform the World Bank- Italy v. Impreglio: regarding the building of
dam projects built by Impreglio/Cogefar Impresit in Africa and Central
America allegedly destroying environmentally sensitive areas occupied by
indigenous people.
7. Urgewald v. Dresdner Bank: Regarding the financing of a dam project on
the Biobio River against the wishes of indigenous peoples.
8. Friends for a Democratic Burma and OCAW v. Yadana Pipeline: Regarding the alleged cooperation of Unocal Corporation and Total Petroleum Inc. with the military government in the clear-cutting of the forest and displacement of indigenous people in Burma for the construction of the Yadana Pipeline.
9. Rainforest Action Network and Project Underground v. Shell: Regarding
Shell's alleged cooperation with the military government of Nigeria against the interests and rights of the Ogoni people; and a fossil fuels exploration project destroying rainforests in Peru on indigenous peoples' land.
10. Rainforest Action Network v. Interfor: Regarding the alleged
destruction of forest in Canada on indigenous peoples' land.
11. Rainforest Action Network v. Mitsubishi and Daishowa-Marubeni:
Regarding the alleged clear-cutting of forest on Lubicon Cree lands by
Mitsubishi and Daishowa-Marubeni International Ltd., and Mitsubishi mining activities in Ecuador risking the public health and safety.
12. Pacific Environmental Resources Center v. RAO Gazprom: Regarding the alleged careless development of oil and gas fields in areas including the Komi Peninsula.
13. Project Underground v. Freeport McMoRan: Regarding the mining
activities allegedly displacing native people and causing environmental
damage in Indonesia.
14. Rainforest Action Network v. Texaco: Regarding the alleged oil drilling
in Ecuador on indigenous peoples land which is threatening the health,
safety and culture of the native peoples.
GLOBAL RESPONSE is an international letter-writing network of environmental activists. In partnership with indigenous, environmentalist and peace and justice organizations around the world, GLOBAL RESPONSE develops Actions that describe specific, urgent threats to the environment; each Action asks members to write personal letters to individuals in the corporations, governments or international organizations that have the power and responsibility to take corrective action. GR also issues Young Environmentalists' Actions and Eco-Club Actions designed to educate and motivate elementary and high school students to practice earth stewardship.
P.O. Box 7490
Boulder CO, USA 80306-7490
Phone: 303/444-0306
Fax: 303/449-9794
To receive Global Response materials by e-mail, send an e-mail message to:
majordomo@igc.apc.org Type this text: subscribe globresmembers
There is no charge for this service.
Visit our website at:
http://www.globalresponse.org
Table of Contents
Three Job Offerings
Editorial Comment: Julie Wormser (ne@tws.org) of the Wilderness Society and the Environmental Roundtable sent this in.
NORTHERN FOREST ALLIANCE MAINE OUTREACH COORDINATOR
Position Description
General Description
The Maine Outreach Coordinator, working under the direction of the
Alliance's Outreach Coordinator and in close day-to-day cooperation with
the members of the Maine Caucus of the Northern Forest Alliance, is
primarily responsible for building and maintaining an informed and engaged network of grassroots activists throughout the state to respond to state and federal level initiatives relating to the Northern Forest. The Outreach Coordinator will also work to ensure that outreach activities in Maine achieve the Alliance's regional outreach objectives.
Areas of Responsibility
1. Cultivate and maintain existing activist networks by preparing mailings, organizing and conducting training workshops, and mobilizing citizens, organizations, and businesses to participate in activities such as hearings and legislative campaigns.
2. Recruit new Northern Forest activists by educating and informing a
diverse array of people and organizations from conservation and
non-traditional constituencies.
3. Organize Maine events (educational opportunities, outings, fairs,
conferences) around which to build public support, and coordinate volunteer participation in each of these events.
4. Write and design educational materials such as fact sheets and action alerts.
5. Assist with policy and media outreach.
Skills and Expertise Required
* Two or more years of environmental organizing experience
* Ability to achieve consensus among a diverse array of interests
* Demonstrated ability to work with volunteers
* Excellent verbal and written communication skills
* Strong familiarity with Maine's North Woods, its people and their values,
and knowledge of the history surrounding this resource
* Ability and willingness to travel throughout Maine and work evenings and weekends
* Ability to listen, patience, and a sense of humor
* Solid computer skills
Position Details
Salary: $20,000 - $25,000 / year with excellent benefits including health
coverage. This is a one year, grant-funded position, with a strong
possibility of continuation depending on available funding. The position
will be based out of the Natural Resources Council of Maine in Augusta, but the organizer will be responsible to the Northern Forest Alliance.
Send resume and cover letter by Friday, July 25, 1997 to Maine Outreach
Coordinator Search Committee, Northern Forest Alliance, 58 State Street,
Montpelier, VT 05602.
Editorial Comment: Austin Bliss (ABliss@2nature.org) wants you to forward this job offering far and wide. He wants somebody good to take over his old job.
Group Leader, Educational Resources
Second Nature is a nonprofit organization that forms partnerships with
college and university faculty to help them embed environmental
understanding into their curricula and the universities' operations. We
have approximately fifteen staff members.
The Group Leader will focus on Second Nature's Educational Resources,
including our "Starfish" website (http://www.starfish.org) and development of our printed educational tools to help institutions of higher education move towards sustainability. Specific responsibilities may include: strategic planning, project management, managing budgets, supervising interns and other staff, forming strategic partnerships, conference presentations, supporting fundraising and marketing, performing quality review, working with technical designers, layout, and publishing.
A qualified candidate will have proven project management experience, as
well as a rigorous background in computers, databases, and the Internet.
Applicant should also have an interest in environmental and sustainability
issues, as well as an interest in working with higher education.
Applicants should be well organized and effective communicators (written
and verbal), and should be comfortable working in a team environment.
The opening is for a full time position, starting immediately. Second
Nature offers an excellent benefit package and a friendly work environment. Minority applicants are strongly encouraged to apply. To apply, please forward a cover letter, resume, and salary requirements by Friday, July 25 1997 to:
Jeff Kunz
Second Nature
44 Bromfield Street, 5th Floor
Boston, MA 02108-4909
Fax: (617) 292-0150
http://www.2nature.org
No phone calls, please.
Editorial Comment: Grassroots International (grassroots@igc.apc.org) sent this job annoucement to the act-ma listserv (act-ma@igc.org, email majordomo@igc.apc.org and type "subscribe act-ma" as your message).
DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR
(One full-time or two part-time positions)
Grassroots International is seeking an energetic, committed individual for
the position of Development Coordinator to coordinate institutional
fundraising and produce funding proposals. The Development Coordinator is
responsible for raising more than $750,000 each year from foundations and churches. Candidates should have a demonstrated ability to expand programs, to meet deadlines and to manage a large number of tasks.
Grassroots International is a progressive, independent humanitarian aid and information agency. It supports democratic social change movements in the Third World, and informs the U.S. public about international issues.
Grassroots International currently funds relief and development projects in Africa, Haiti, Mexico, the Middle East, and the Philippines.
QUALIFICATIONS:
* At least two years of experience in fundraising
* Excellent writing skills
* Background and interest in Third World political and economic issues
* Demonstrated commitment to social change
COMPENSATION:
* Salary range is high twenties to low thirties, depending on experience.
* Fully paid health, dental, and disability insurance
* Three weeks paid vacation in the first year
* Pension plan
TO APPLY:Send resume and letter of interest detailing relevant experience by August 1, 1997 to:
SEARCH COMMITTEE, GRASSROOTS INTERNATIONAL, 179 BOYLSTON STREET, BOSTON, MA 02130
Grassroots International is an affirmative action/equal opportunity
employer. Women and people of color are strongly encouraged to apply.
Table of Contents
Boston 400 Forum
Editorial Comment: Regina McCarthy (Regina_McCarthy@BRA-EDIC.CCMAIL.CompuServe.COM) sent this in. She misspelled my name but collecting misspellings of the name Mokray has always been a family game. No harm done. I've been off meetings and conferences for awhile but I may go to this one and ask about the possibility and effects of ocean rise due to global warming. A group of local science fiction writers have developed a whole series of stories and novels around a future Boston changed from the landfill swamp the present day city is to a flooded city sinking below the waters. I may also mention my idea about SimCity for real and see if these planners want to throw the planning and envisioning open to the whole community with real data running behind tweakable city planning simulations.
Dear George Mokery,
I got your name from Julie Wormser of The Wilderness Society, and I was hoping that I could solicit your help. I work for the Boston Redevelopment Authority on Boston 400, the city's first long-term (30 year) city-wide plan. My main focus is on open-space/green-space.
We have been hosting a series of forums for Boston 400, and this month the forum subject is "The City as a Natural Environment". We have some very interesting experts who will provide differing views on the subject. I understand that you have an extensive e-mail list of people in our region who are interested in environmental issues, and would likely have a concerns for our city in this regard. If you feel that it is not inappropriate, I am hoping that you will forward the attached invitation to the people on your lists.
Please let me know if you can send this out. And, I hope you will be able to attend as well!
Thanks,
Regina McCarthy
Boston 400
Boston Redevelopment Authority/EDIC
(617) 722-4300 x4408
Regina_McCarthy@bra-edic.ccmail.compuserve.com
On behalf of Mayor Thomas M. Menino, Boston 400 cordially invites you to the Boston 400 forum, "The City as a Natural Environment"
The forum will feature a panel discussion with several experts in the field including: Professor Stephen Jay Gould of Harvard University, Department of Geology, Zoology and Biology; Professor Ann Whiston Spirn of University of Pennsylvania, Department of Landscape Architecture, and author of "The Granite Garden"; Cynthia Zaitzevsky, architecture and landscape architecture historian, and author of "Frederick Law Olmsted and the Boston Park System"; and moderated by Susan Podziba, mediator for environmental and community issues.
The forum will take place on Wednesday, July 30, 1997 at 6:30pm in Boston Public Library's Rabb Auditorium.
Hope to see you there.
Table of Contents
My Grandmother's Pickle Recipe
I went to Monday's farmers market in Central Square and found that the first pickling cukes were in. I bought a little over a pound of cukes and a bunch of dill and made my first batch of pickles. Just like the ones Granma used to make. Naturally, she taught me how.
I washed the pickles and placed them one by one in my pickling jar, stuffing them in as tight as I can. Then I fill the jar with water to the top. I pour the water into a saucepan and add two to four cloves of chopped up garlic, four or five sprigs of dill, also chopped up, and set the water to heat. When it begins to simmer, I add salt to taste (it should be saltier than you'd want to eat) and let the mixture come almost to a boil. Then I pour the garlic, dill, and salt water over the cukes in the pickling jar and let them sit for about two days until they are ready to eat.
You're gonna havta fiddle with the taste until it suits you. I can remember how my Granma's pickles taste and aim for that every time until the season is over.
Table of Contents
The Begging Bowl
I was really surprised when I read my weekly report on the traffic generated from my site to amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com). Usually there are one or two hits and that's about it. Since I became an amazon associate, one book was bought upon my recommendation in "A List..." However, this week's report was a total shock:
"Click-throughs and sales by individual book
For the week of 06-Jul-97 through 12-Jul-97
Store ID alist
ISBN HITS ORDERED FEE TITLE
------------ ---- ------- ------ ----------------------------------
0195019199 12 0 0.00 A Pattern Language : Towns, Buildings,
019507906X 2 0 0.00 Mirror Worlds : Or the Day Software Put
0195090101 1 0 0.00 Ecologies of the Heart : Emotion, Belie
0312147473 1 0 0.00 This Land Is Our Land : How to End the
0385415761 1 0 0.00 The Age of Heretics : Heroes, Outlaws,
0385424345 5 0 0.00 Edge City : Life on the New Frontier
0471123080 1 0 0.00 Would-Be Worlds : How Simulation Is Cha
0679425632 1 0 0.00 Why Things Bite Back : Technology and t
0691013802 1 0 0.00 Sounds Feelings Thoughts : Seventy Poem
0691019681 1 0 0.00 The Open Society and Its Enemies : The
0865474540 1 0 0.00 The Practice of the Wild
0865712662 1 0 0.00 **2** Whole Life Economics : Revaluing
086571312X 1 0 0.00 Our Ecological Footprint : Reducing Hum
087081320X 1 0 0.00 **2** Ecological and General Systems :
0877739528 1 0 0.00 Turtle Island (Shambhala Pocket Classic
089526448X 1 0 0.00 Facts, Not Fear : A Parent's Guide to T
0896081494 1 0 0.00 **2** Friendly Fascism : The New Face o
0930031865 3 0 0.00 Who Owns the Sun? : Preparing for the N
096180535 1 0 0.00 *** ISBN must be 10 characters
1556431503 5 0 0.00 From Eco-Cities to Living Machines : Pr
1569711763 1 0 0.00 *** This item no longer in our catalog
1881052990 1 0 0.00 **2** Seeing Systems : Unlocking the My
1887178279 1 0 0.00 A Place in Space : Ethics, Aesthetics,
------------ ---- ------- ------ --------------------------------
Totals: 45 0 0.00
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Number of Visitors on 06-Jul-97 6
Number of Visitors on 07-Jul-97 3
Number of Visitors on 08-Jul-97 1
Number of Visitors on 09-Jul-97 0
Number of Visitors on 10-Jul-97 0
Number of Visitors on 11-Jul-97 4
Number of Visitors on 12-Jul-97 27
--------------------- ---------- -------
Total Visitors this week 41
NOTE: A "Visitor" is a person who clicks on book links from your site, and is counted as 1 visitor (above) regardless of the number of different titles they click on. We keep track of this by watching their shopping basket ID, which remains the same for every book they click on.
A "Hit" is any person clicking on a book link, and each click is counted as 1 hit. If the same visitor clicks on 5 different titles, we record 1 visitor and 5 hits. Therefore, you should expect the number of visitors to be lower than the total number of hits."
I have no idea where all this new traffic is coming from nor why it is happening now after over two and a half years of publishing "A List..." Is this just a blip on the graph or the start of a new trend? Gee, it makes me want to learn how to access the hit-rate on my Webpage.
If this means I'm heading towards a much wider readership, I'll be counting on you to keep me honest. You will, won't you? And offer articles, comments, criticism, curses and prayers, an occasional check to help defray the costs and keep this information exchange flowing? So far this year, "A List..." has brought in $482 from 15 people, about a third of whom are repeat contributors. Perhaps "A List..." will make me famous ("Fame - more people know you than you know," said the poet Gerard Malanga) but it sure isn't paying for the cucumbers in the pickling jar. It has covered at least the cost of my two Internet accounts ever since I started offering my begging bowl, though. That fact is very much appreciated.
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.
And now a few words from Amazon.com:
Amazon.com is pleased to have "A List..." in the family of Amazon.com associates. We've agreed to ship books and provide customer service for orders we receive through special links on "A List..."
Amazon.com associates list selected books in an editorial context that helps you choose the right books. We encourage you to visit "A List..." often to see what new books they've selected for you.
Thank you for shopping with an Amazon.com associate.
Sincerely,
Jeff Bezos
President
Amazon.com Books
P.S. We guarantee you the same high level of customer service you would receive at Amazon.com. If you have a question about an order you've placed, please don't hesitate to contact us.