Sustainable Moraga

Lamorinda Green Drinks
A ‘Sustainable’ Event

March 17, 2008

At the Moraga Barn
925 Country Club Drive

6:00 PM – 8:30 PM

Beer, Wine and soft drinks available
(Donations requested)

Refreshments will be served

Bring your business card for our door prize drawings!

Sponsored by Moraga Hardware & Lumber and The Olsen Team

The towns of Lafayette, Moraga and Orinda are sponsoring the first “Green Drinks” evening event on March 17, 2008.  Green Drinks events are networking gatherings for people who share a like-mindedness regarding the care and sustainability of our communities and environment.  We welcome business and people who are working to make their work places and homes more environmentally friendly, and who want to share ideas about how we all can reduce our green house gas emissions.
We plan to meeting every other month at various business establishments who support green practices, in the Lamorinda area.  Please share this announcement with your friends and business associates who want to get to know other sustainable businesses and people.

The Moraga Community Fair is an annual event sponsored by the Town of Moraga, the Moraga Chamber of Commerce and Sustainable Moraga,  This year, the celebration date is Saturday May 10th at the Rheem Shopping Center area; the cross streets are Moraga Road and Rheem Blvd.  The will be plenty of signs to direct you!

The Fair will have about 120 booths; local merchants, artists, vine tasting, music and environmental speakers, in addition to the 30 sustainable vendors. This year we are combining our groups into one big fair!

Sustainable Moraga is inviting non-profit groups and for profit vendors to present sustainable information and product solutions to the public.  An area has been designated for the “sustainable vendors” in the center of the Fair. Exhibitors are provided with a 10”X10” canopy, a table and chairs.  The “Fair” will start at 11 AM and will close at 4 PM on Saturday May 10th.

The objective is to educate citizens from Moraga, Lafayette and Orinda about the different ways to reduce their carbon footprint, and improve the quality of indoor living, primarily in their homes.

Local press (Lamorinda Weekly, the Contra Costa Times and the local radio) will advertise the event.  Posters for the event will be widely displayed and distributed.  Banners will be installed by the organizers to further advertise the Fair.

Sustainable Moraga is asking for profit vendors for a fee in order to cover their cost.  .

To participate to the Energy Faire, please contact sustainablemoraga@yahoo.com

 Please come and enjoy the day!

The president called the meeting to order at 7:07 pm at the Moraga Barn..

The minutes of the January 2, 2008 meeting were approved as submitted.          

The treasurer reported that we have $1175.20 in our account. There was $92 in income collected from Ace Hardware selling green bags.  The complete monthly report is attached.

The agenda was approved as submitted.

Announcements

* Dates of upcoming Sustainable Moraga (SMG) events are now shown on the town website. 
* A workshop will be held in Walnut Creek to train town staff on The International Council for Local Engineering Initiatives (ICLEI) climate protection data collection. .    
* The Rossmoor group will hold their first meeting on Feb. 20. We exchanged contact and event information. Going Green is a grassroots organization beginning to bring environmental awareness and behavior change to residents of Rossmoor. 

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs (CFL’s) Project –The secretary found out in talking to the Community Relations staff at Clifbar that if the amount of the grant is reduced, we will not have to submit it through Generation Green. The president will rework the grant proposal.

Green bag sales – The treasurer collected $92 from Ace Hardware sales. Otherwise sales are taking a break until winter weather is over. The Moraga Merchants Group have decided not to sell Green Bags with “Shop Moraga First” logos. Ace Hardware may sponsor this effort.
 
SMC Focus the Nation event – Committee members staffed the SMG table at the Eco-Fair in the afternoon at St. Mary’s College. 

May 10 Community Fair –The committee met on Feb. 2 to start to organize its part of the Moraga Community Fair. They will have routine meetings, on an as needed basis, up to the date of the fair. Volunteers will be needed the day of the event. 

OTHER REPORTS

Local Green Drinks Event – The first event will be held at the Moraga Barn on March 17. This is a new event for anyone interested in meeting others also interested in discussing green issues in a casual setting.

Low Carbon Workshop –Three members attended a Low Carbon Diet workshop, and have formed a small group which will soon to begin a series of 4 meetings designed to help the others understand and lower their carbon footprints..

NEW BUSINESS - None

SPEAKER:

Bill Roth spoke on his book “Crossing the Energy Chasm”. Bill gave us lots of interesting facts on the current largest sources of our energy, the economics of old and new energy sources, and what steps must be taken now to bridge the gap between where we are now and where we need to be .
The next meeting will be Wednesday, March 5 at 7:00 pm at the Moraga Library.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 pm.