Filed under: News, Polit-eco

As a former teacher, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on January 19th was one of the few holidays to break up the monotony learning between the return from Christmas and the start of Spring Break. Some people, including our president-elect Barack Obama, would like to see it become a national day of service.

Many of the things Dr. King stood for can be accomplished while serving others. Service can strengthen communities, build bridges between different people and give people power in their communities. It’s also a good chance to do something green.

What if you go help clean up a park and encourage the other volunteers to set plastic, aluminum and glass aside to be recycled? Planting trees or cleaning up a vacant lot that could be used for a community garden are also possibilities.

Stay home and work together with your family to go through closets and cabinets and pull out items you no longer need to be donated to charity. Whatever you decide to do, consider your options on January 19 and try and fit some volunteer work into your schedule.

[Via EcoLocalizer]

Make MLK Jr. Day a National Day of Service originally appeared on Green Daily on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:58:00 EST 0. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Megan Treacy

Filed under: News, Polit-eco, Plants and Wildlife

You’ve got to wonder if certain agencies need to be renamed. Is the Forest Service really the Forest Service if it helps chop down a forest?

The current USDA Forest Service is run by former timber lobbyist Mark Rey. Rey plans to change a simple, but critical, rule that would allow roads to be paved through Forest Service land. He plans to do it before President-elect Barack Obama takes office on January 20th. That would allow Plum Creek Timber Co. to take what are now rutted logging roads in Montana and transform them into tar roads fit for SUVs headed to rural retreats.

Montana officials have long opposed the move, and they have been attempting to limit development to towns and their surrounding areas. This rule change would render state and local policies moot, while companies like Plum Creek Timber move ahead with development plans. That development would also force municipalities to build sewer and electric systems that support the homes, thus encouraging further development.

President-elect Obama has repeatedly indicated his opposition to this rule change, but Mark Rey may not have heard given all of the noise of trees being cut down. Whatever the case, the rule will likely have a significant impact on Montana before the next administration can undo the rule change.

[via Washington Post]

The Foret Service Helps Deforest Montana originally appeared on Green Daily on Sun, 04 Jan 2009 15:45:00 EST 0. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Hank Green

Filed under: News, Polit-eco, Plants and Wildlife

You’ve got to wonder if certain agencies need to be renamed. Is the Forest Service really the Forest Service if it helps chop down a forest?

The current USDA Forest Service is run by former timber lobbyist Mark Rey. Rey plans to change a simple, but critical, rule that would allow roads to be paved through Forest Service land. He plans to do it before President-elect Barack Obama takes office on January 20th. That would allow Plum Creek Timber Co. to take what are now rutted logging roads in Montana and transform them into tar roads fit for SUVs headed to rural retreats.

Montana officials have long opposed the move, and they have been attempting to limit development to towns and their surrounding areas. This rule change would render state and local policies moot, while companies like Plum Creek Timber move ahead with development plans. That development would also force municipalities to build sewer and electric systems that support the homes, thus encouraging further development.

President-elect Obama has repeatedly indicated his opposition to this rule change, but Mark Rey may not have heard given all of the noise of trees being cut down. Whatever the case, the rule will likely have a significant impact on Montana before the next administration can undo the rule change.

[via Washington Post]

The Forest Service Helps Deforest Montana originally appeared on Green Daily on Sun, 04 Jan 2009 15:45:00 EST 0. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Original post by Hank Green