Eco Films Hit NY

Two things. One you're always kicking yourself when you can't route for your favorite doc because you didn't get to see it.  Two, one of the movies is called "Dirt: The Movie." why not?

ENVIRONMENTAL DOCS FOR OSCAR® CONSIDERATION

Screening in New York City July 31st through August 20th, 2009, IDA’s 13th Annual DocuWeeks™ Theatrical Documentary Showcase will present 18 feature films and 10 short films, a collection of some of the best groundbreaking documentary films from around the world. 

DocuWeeks™ is held at the the IFC Center (323 Sixth Avenue at West Third Street in New York City).

For films you might be interested in, go here: 

http://www.festselects.com/environmental.html

Eco-Challenge Update

It's summer. It's hot. The whole green team is flying around (powered only by our capes, of course) the world and frankly, we've come up short for August.  So that means, we're doing a mini one-month challenge.  We hope you'll join us.  Details coming to your inbox.  Onward and Greenward

Your friends,

The Brooklyn Green Team

Amanda, Noelle, Jennifer, Johanna, Robert, and Melissa

Park Smart NYC Pilot

PARK Smart is a pilot program to make parking easier while reducing congestion and improving safety. NYCDOT is conducting six month pilots in neighborhoods across the City to evaluate how the program works in different settings. The agency works closely with community boards, merchants, BIDs and other local stakeholders when developing the pilots.

PARK Smart aims to increase the number of available metered parking spaces by encouraging motorists to park no longer than necessary. The meter rate is higher when demand for parking is greatest and decreases when demand is lower.

Goals of PARK Smart NYC

• Increase the availability of parking spaces
• Increase safety
• Reduce double-parking
• Reduce pollution
• Reduce congestion from circling vehicles

PARK Smart NYC Pilots

Greenwich Village:

A six-month trial of PARK Smart began on October 6, 2008 in Greenwich Village. Meter rates are $2.00/hr. from Noon to 4PM and $1.00/hr. at all other times that meters are in effect. All other regulations remain the same.

Read the findings from the six-month pilot.

Park Slope, Brooklyn

On May 4, 2009 a second six-month pilot began in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Meter rates are $1.50/hr. from Noon to 4PM and $.75/hr. at all other times that meters are in effect. All other regulations remain the same.

How do I identify a PARK Smart NYC Meter?

All PARK Smart meters will have the PARK Smart logo. PARK Smart meters will accept both quarters and NYC Parking Cards. NYC Parking Cards are sold in $10, $20, $50 and $100 increments and are available from nearby merchants where you see the PARK Smart NYC logo as well as online.

Source: NYC.gov

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Do You Know About This?

http://ecobrooklyn.com/

"Garbage Dreams" featured in 2009 Docuweeks Showcase

See the new film, Garbage Dreams, as a part of the 2009 Docuweeks Showcase. It will play at the IFC Center in New York City from July 31st- August 6th.

SYNOPSIS:

Filmed over four years, GARBAGE DREAMS follows three teenage boys born into the trash trade and growing up in the world's largest garbage village, on the outskirts of Cairo. It is the home to 60,000 Zaballeen, Arabic for "garbage people." Far ahead of any modern "Green" initiatives, the Zaballeen survive by recycling 80 percent of the garbage they collect. Face to face with an uncertain future amidst encroaching multinational corporations who seek to "modernize" their trade, each of the teenage boys is forced to make choices that will impact his future and the survival of his community.

“GARBAGE DREAMS is a moving story of young men searching for ways to eke out a living for their families and facing tough choices as they try to do the right thing for the planet.” -Al Gore

PHOTOS:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/garbagedreams/sets/72157617469168953/

TRAILER:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/garbagedreams/3490030124/

TO PURCHASE TICKETS ONLINE:

http://www.documentary.org/docuweeks09

Red Hook Farmer's Market is open for the season

Visit the Red Hook Farmer's Market for local produce (how much more local can you get than food grown in Brooklyn itself?) every Saturday through November, 9:30am-3pm.

The Red Hook Farm, Columbia and Beard Street

Directions:

• Train F/G Train to Smith and 9th Street stop.
• Take the B77 to Van Dyke and Dwight.
• Walk one block up Van Dyke to the Farm or Walk up 9th street to Court.
• Left on Court Street to Bay.
• Right on Bay to Columbia Street.
• A/C to Jay Street Borough Hall transfer to the F or Exit the station.
• Take the B61 going towards Red Hook.
• Take the Bus to Van Brunt and Van Dyke.
• Walk 3 blocks up Van Dyke to the Farm.

Learn more.

Greene Hill Food Co-op

The neigborhoods of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill may soon get their own food co-op. Members of the community are working to start a new 100% working, member-owned food coop to provide affordable, quality, responsibly-grown food within the neighborhoods of Clinton Hill/Fort Greene, Brooklyn, New York.

Learn more by attending the next general meeting:

When: next Tuesday July 14, 2009 7pm-9:30pm

Where: BRIC Studios, 2nd floor, 57 Rockwell Pl, Brooklyn

The main topics to discuss are bylaws, including member meetings, member voting, membership fees and equity contributions, and annual patronage refunds.

Or visit their website.

Volunteer to Protect Public Water

Food & Water Watch, a national non-profit organization, is working to build a base of volunteers who will be local leaders in the movement to fight for public, fair, and sustainable water resource management. They are hosting a volunteer training next weeks as a part of Take Back the Tap New York! At the workshop, you will learn about Take Back the Tap and other local water issues, as well as learn to do outreach to individuals, businesses, and local institutions to rid their establishments of bottled water and ensure that drinking fountains are upgraded and maintained.

Here's what you need to know:

What: Volunteer workshop training and introduction to Food and Water Watch projects with coffee and snacks provided by Food & Water Watch.

When: Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Time: 7:00-9:30 pm

Where: Sustainable NYC
139 Avenue A, at 9th street
New York, NY 10009

RSVP: Please reply to Frank at fgallegos@fwwatch.org .

Learn more.

Who will clean the Gowanus?

Public debate over who will be responsible for cleaning the polluted Brooklyn canal ends today. Should it be designated a federal Superfund site or be cleaned by the city and private developers? The Environmental Protection Agency is not expected to release their final decision until at least September.

For more information, check out these recent news articles:

City Proposes New Plan for Gowanus Canal Cleanup
New York Times

Gowanus in Transition
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

The battle for the Gowanus Canal: Fight over Superfunding grows
Daily News


And if you're in the vicinity of the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza, check out the exhibit “Brooklyn in Transition: A Photographic Essay of the Gowanus," which is currently on display in the Grand Lobby.

New Community Farmers Market in Bed-Stuy

The Hattie Carthan Community Garden, located on the corner of Marcy Avenue and Clifton Place, is hosting its first ever Farmers Market. Here's what you need to know:

The Community Market Grand Opening celebration July 11th will begin with Ribbon Cutting at 9:30 followed by events throughout the day including cooking demos, recipe sharing, live music, storytelling and cultural presentations.

July 25th is Salad Fest in the Market. Community Food Educator Yonnette Fleming explores the art of salad making and tosses up a bevy of seasonal salads.

Join us throughout the season. Fresh fruits and vegetables for sale from local farms and community gardeners, and a community space for gatherings and events. Every Saturday from 9:00am to 3:00pm from July 11th to November 5th.

We accept EBT FMNP WIC HEALTH BUCCS

Citysol 2009 - Independent Music, Art, and Sustainability Festival July 10, 11, 12

Solar One hosts the annual Citysol festival this weekend to support sustainability.

Highlights include:

Friday July 10 6pm-10pm
The Alien Comic
"Mr. Lower East Side" Moonshine Shorey
DJs from HomeBase Collective
Party for a Solar-Powered NY

Saturday July 11 12pm-10pm
Dead Prez, Fiasco, Schwervon!, Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers, Outasight, the So So Glos, Love Like Deloreans, Hi Red Center and DJ Green Lantern!

Sunday July 12 11am-6pm
Rachel Trachtenburg's Homemade World
Workshops with BioBus Mobile Science Lab, Band of Bicycles, the Madagascar Institute, Voltaic, Just Food and more!
Wide Open Eco-Pet Fashion Show


Learn more.

How much do you know about where the food you eat comes from?

Check out the new documentary Food, Inc. in a theater near you.

In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.

Featuring interviews with such experts as Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto) along with forward thinking social entrepreneurs like Stonyfield's Gary Hirshberg and Polyface Farms' Joel Salatin, Food, Inc. reveals surprising—and often shocking truths—about what we eat, how it's produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here.

Learn More.