Detroit Frack Ban Resolution status: unanimously passed!

The resolution didn't get on Tuesday's agenda, but it has been well represented and
voted on today (Friday the 22nd) during the noon session.

I called Chris Corrigan of the Detroit Food and Water Watch office at about 1:30 today and learned that the Detroit City Council passed the ban by unanimous vote.  This is literally a watershed event.  Most of the communities upstream in the Rouge River watershed (Westward from Dearborn out to Superior/Salem Townships, and North out to Rochester Hills, Bloomfield/West Bloomfield Townships, and Novi) get their municipal tap (drinking) water from the Detroit river--which the Rouge drains into.

As far as I could reckon, Food and Water Watch, Dearborn/Dearborn Heights League of Women Voters, the SEA, and Akinpelu twins were in attendance on Tuesday.  Details forthcoming as we find out what happens next. Those who spoke got their concerns for safety and its regional relevance to Southeast Michigan across--it piqued councilman Brown's interest and he expressed his thanks to all of the youth who came to represent their solidarity in the issue.  

Congratulations for your leadership Detroit, it's a major step forward in citizen and environmental protections.  Also, please be vigilant in following through--you can propose similar resolutions in your hometown too!

That said, I believe the city of Detroit and groups like Food and Water watch will also need to look in earnest toward something creative and solutions oriented for responsibly meeting energy and employment needs.  They've got very bright talents in the area, and it's time to make it known that Detroit's leadership is happening from all directions at all levels of Southeast Michigan.

Meeting July 11th, other news

We'll be meeting 
Monday July 11th 6:00pm 
on the second floor of the University Center in the SAOC
to plan for Fall Semester, take care of various projects, lay out some of our collaborative event plans, etc.

We're updating our mailing list too. To better plan how and what we communicate with you, please let us know:
1) if you'd like to be removed from the list
2) do you find the occasional job notices, conferences, internships, and volunteer opportunities valuable?
3) is there anything you'd like to lead or see happen in the future?
You can reach us at greenwolverines (at) ymail.com


Interesting news tidbits:

• Ready or not, your city may be very capable of adapting to accelerated climate change--Detroit's ranked in the top 3 (Cleveland got 1st place)! http://t.co/7MDYya8
• Check out the 1000 scientists in 1000 schools initiative. This would be a good complement to the NOVA ScienceNOW and Future City programs. http://bit.ly/mRKsjw
• Bright ideas by youths of Detroit (and some from Dearborn) gave ideas and some plans at the ESD Future Detroit symposium, the report has been published and one of SEA's members got to facilitate and author with workgroup 4. http://t.co/7UzuDOX  Issues of environmental justice and asthma didn't fit the final publication, but you can read the full unedited write up by requesting for a copy from the ESD (http://esd.org).

• The Pentagon has announced its energy/environmental strategy, hear parts of it discussed on the Diane Rehm Show: http://bit.ly/p269Qw  There'll be a time when the necessity of peaceable education overcomes the present reality of global conflicts soon, but all things considered it's still relatively good news as these perspectives in energy use are being put into action and will likely trickle into other parts of administrative and public attitudes toward sustainability.

For the 4th of July several of us went out to Ann Arbor to help with the last hoop house build for the 20 hoop houses in 20 days project--only to find a neighborhood without people building hoop houses (we probably rsvp'd too late and missed out on important details).  We saw a guy with a cello standing on the sidewalk without a shirt, a rockin' community garden in the Waterhill neighborhood, and then all three of us carpooled to visit the Michigan sailing club to partake in their potluck instead discussing bits of democracy and good books on a fine sunny day.  Hope you had a great and enriching 4th of July too!