Sustainable Moraga

SUSTAINABLE MORAGA: MINTUES OF MAY 2, 2007 GENERAL MEETING

1. President called to order at 7:04 p.m.
2. Approval of April 4, 2007 General Meeting minutes: Minutes approved as corrected with the addition of “the Environmental Science Club” before the word “Campolindo” in announcement  #4.
3. Treasurer’s Report: Sold 100 bags in 3 hours last Saturday at Safeway.
4. Approval of Proposed Agenda: Agenda approved.
5. Announcements:
• Solid Waste Authority (SWA) representatives presented the new recycling program for food waste, to be implemented 9/1/07. Explained that all food waste (including dairy and meat) will be mixed with the green waste (green bin) and will be collected with green waste on collection days. They presented 3 bin options. All residents will get a bin; they may opt not to participate.  Waste will go to same place green waste goes now – to a large composting area in Milpitas. It will not go to the landfill.

• Battery Collection Efforts by SWA: SM members expressed concern about the significantly reduced volume of batteries collected by SWA, as compared to SM’s efforts prior to SWA taking over the collection. The representative explained that they lack staffing to adequately advertise the program. SM members suggested that they apply for a large enough grant to pay for staff needs.

SM noted that, in recent encounters with the public (Earth Day, Energy Fair, green bag sales), we learned that residents were unaware of the SWA battery collection program, didn’t know which stores collected them, or didn’t know where the bins were in the stores.

• A SM member noted the problem with the decreasing bee population, and the potential widespread effect on plant/food production. She has 3 transplanted bee hives in her backyard that have been saved from adverse conditions, and she offered them.

6. Committee Reports:
• Energy Faire: The faire will be at 11 – 4 on Saturday, May 5; set up is at 7:30.
• President: Green building initiatives will be on the 5/9 Town Council agenda.
• CFL Bulbs: Philips and Sylvana brands have more mercury than GE brand CFL bulbs. Concerns were raised about the amount of carbon involved in shipping them from China where they are mainly manufactured.  Others expressed concern about the mercury.

We will give away 200 CFL bulbs at the Energy Faire. Also, one member thinks he can get a grant from Cliff Bar to buy bulbs. We still need to discuss methods of distribution.

It was suggested that SM set up a table at the Summer Concert series to both sell Green Bags and CFL bulbs. Someone agreed to follow-up with Park & Rec.

• Sponsorship and Website/weblink Approval Guidelines:  SM wants to serve as a responsible link to resources for people who want more information about sustainable practices.
Members considered using the Not-for –Profit status as a requirement for endorsement or website linkage. It was noted that SM is not a non-profit organization at this time, so members agreed that “not for profit” might be a general description, if not a legal structure. More general requirements are that the organization must have objectives aligned with SM’s objectives and be educational in nature. Members discussed voting, with simple majority, to select. More discussion is required to develop a formal policy.

•  Membership: A question was asked about d how we enroll members. Discussed the need for more advertising – perhaps bulletin boards on Si-Si’s, Trader Joe’s, Library, etc.

• Green Bags: Discussed Canvas alternatives: they are costly, lowest price with order of 1,000 is $2.59 each. Also, they are much narrower than the green bags.  The Green Bag company told SM they were researching manufacturing bags out of biodegradable material. We still need volunteers to sell bags on Saturdays at Safeway.

• Yahoo News Group: No report
• Green Movie Series:  Discussed venues, such as the Commons, St. Mary’s, local church, library, or Barn.  This could be a viable option only if there is a committee of volunteers to work it.
• Book Club: this was suggested supporting/creating a program like “One Green Read” – where schools, book clubs, service organizations, libraries, etc.  read the same book, discuss projects related to it, debate and discuss the issues. This would also need committee volunteers to be considered a viable project.

• School Outreach:  The president is scheduled to address the Science class at Campolindo on 5/22.

Next meeting is scheduled for June 6, 2007 at the Library.

SUSTAINABLE MORAGA
MINUTES OF THE APRIL 4, 2007 GENERAL MEETING

President called the meeting to order. The minutes of the March 7, 2007 meeting were approved as submitted with the addition of the list of members present.
- Treasurer Report: Treasurer reported that we have additional revenue through Moraga Hardware’s sale of our green bags. We should have adequate cash for the May energy faire expenses.
- The April agenda was approved.

Announcements:
1. Green Bags:
o Discussed use and cost of canvas bags as opposed to the green bags we sell now that are re-useable but also an oil-based product.
o The City of San Francisco recently passed ordinance banning plastic bags. They offer a corn-oil based bag that is biodegradeable.
o Discussed how to discard biodegradeable bags – in green recycle bin.

2.  Website Publishing and Sponsorship Criteria:
o Discussed need to develop criteria on which to base evaluating organizations, vendors, etc. to include on our website and/or to sponsor, or accept sponsorship.  Added to next month’s agenda.

3.  Yahoo Group Site:
o To keep everyone informed of current events, articles or information related to SM’s goals, we will  establish a YahooGroup site. This will allow anyone who is interested to access information at their own pace, eliminates intrusive or frequent emails in our inboxes, and allows us to store information that can be referenced anytime.  We will use the YahooGroup site to post other organizations’ announcements that are related to SM’s goals.  People may opt to be notified of such information in their email Inbox.
o The YahooGroup site will not be used for SM business, meetings, or for the communication of ideas within the group, current or proposed projects, or committee work.

4.  Sponsorship of Campolindo:
o Matt proposed sponsorship of Campolindo’s Earth Week activities by funding T-Shirts at $10/shirt. This generated conversation about how we evaluate who we will sponsor, who we will accept sponsorship from, who we will post on our website, etc. While the criteria has not yet been established, we felt we could sponsor this project because it fit into at least 2 of our stated objectives: education, community & relationships. SM will fund 50%; Olsen Real Estatewill fund 50% - suggested having both logos on T-shirt if possible. SMG will request student participation at the Energy Faire, May 5.

5. A member introduced the website Worldchanging.com, an international blog that discusses green, sustainable solutions for the future.

Committee Reports:

o Energy Faire, May 5: Members have been working hard to secure a variety of vendors for the faire, including green builders/architect, to develop marketing materials, to coordinate with the Rheem Art and Wine Faire and the Town, and to pursue creative ideas to engage the public. After researching the possibility of baking in a solar oven, they found out that food requires a separate permit. Therefore, we can only demonstrate the cooking technology.
o CFL Bulbs (Judy): There are 200 extra bulbs which we can give away at our table at the Faire. We’ll also want to distribute a flier about CFL’s.
o Membership : A member suggested sending a form letter to each member initially, and to put sign-up sheets at the Energy Faire and at Earth Day booths. The president will help draft letter to new members.
o Green Bag Sales: Starts Saturday, 4/7, unless raining, in front of Safeway.
o Batteries Update : Solid Waste Authority (SWA) took over the SM battery project in December 2006 in 8 cities in Contra Costa County. They have 17 collection sites.  SWA collection for 17 sites is far less than , proportionally than what SM collected for Moraga alone. Therefore, we think that there is insufficient awareness of the program and the bins are not in places where people can see them.
. The Group decided for now to distribute flyers at the Earth day and Energy Faire booths listing the locations of battery collection sites.
o Green Movie Festival: tabled for now until we have people and time to organize.

Next Meeting 5/2, 7:00, Moraga Library.

Moraga Beautiful is a week long event that has been sponsored by the Town of Moraga, the Moraga Chamber of Commerce and many non-profit groups for many years.
This year, the celebration starts on Saturday May 5th with two concomitant events in Moraga’s two Shopping Centers.

At the Moraga Center (crossing of Moraga road and Moraga way), an “Energy Faire” and a Health and Safety exhibition will be held.  The grassroots non-profit group Sustainable Moraga is in charge of organizing the Energy Faire. The objective is to educate citizens from Moraga, Lafayette and Orinda about the different ways to curtail their carbon footprint, primarily in their homes and to suggest energy efficient alternatives for construction.

To promote these initiatives, Sustainable Moraga is inviting non-profit groups and vendors to present information and solutions to the public.  A space has been designated for the “Faire” in the parking lot of the Moraga Center, a highly visible area from both Moraga way and Moraga Road.  Exhibitors are provided with a 10”X10” canopy, a table and chairs.  No electricity is available at the site.  The “Faire” will start at 11 AM and will close at 5 PM on Saturday May 5th.

The number of participants is limited to 15, which will give each exhibitor an excellent exposure.  The “Faire” takes place at the same times as 2 other events: one more geared to children in the adjacent park, and an “Art and Wine” festival at the Rheem Shopping Center.  Having these events at the same time will help attract the public from neighboring cities.  A free shuttle between the 2 centers is being considered.

Local press (Lamorinda Weekly, the Contra Costa Times and the local radio) will cover the event; the Moraga Town’s Crier, distributed in all the Moraga homes, has started to talk about the event.  Posters are sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce and will be widely displayed and distributed.  A banner will be installed by Sustainable Moraga on the site of the “Faire”.

To participate in the Energy Faire, please contact Deva Rajan at deva.rajan@earthlink.net or Bill Durkin at wtdurkin@hotmail.com.