Notes by David Levesque at 2009 Harvest Fest, Parting Glass Saratoga Springs, NY.

Berkshares presentation by Jasmine Stine on the benefits of Local currency. A case study of the Berkshares program.

Below are my simple notes on highlights from Jasmine's presentation. Please feel free to comment below.

 

Berkshares are a tool that anyone can use.

Money is complicated, feel free to ask questions during the presentation.

We can make money do the things we want it to do.

There are about 92 people in attendance at the Harvest Fest.

Local currency works in a geographic region or a specific economic footprint.

These regions are created through social connections.

Almost 80% of money spent at box stores leaves the community.

Each plan needs a starting point, Jasmine shared a quote by E.F. Schumacher.

What can we do as citizens, not just as voting or activism?

Currency used to be based on natural resources like crabs, wood, wheat grass.

Local currency in Switzerland is key to their success.

180,000 printed documents, circulated 2 million times. Therefore $2 million has been kept in the region through the Berkshares program. In out of circulation through the banks.

This does not count the informal circulation.

Berkshares organizers work with 5 different local banks.

Selling point to banks, we are not asking you to compete with large banks. We are asking you to do what is in your charter, work for this community.

$95 dollars buys you $100 Berkshares.

This brought on a lot more businesses than the $90 for $100 of Berkshares.

Local businesses say they value the exchange.

Services offered through Berkshares:

 

Financial tax, advertising, engineering, heating oil and more.

Encourages small business to shop in other local stores.

Some businesses look at it as a form of advertising.

Businesses can adjust their level of participation. They can accept 50% in Berkshares and 50% in federal dollars.

Get to know your neighbor

 

Ecology

350.org

Sustainability

Future plans – interesting slide.

Loans for import replacement businesses. Taking China out of the equation.

Local food processing.

Social entrpenuers.

Questions

 

Concerns of counterfetining?

Serial numbers on the side –

Currencies based on labor hours.

How does complimentary currency relate to systems where labor hours are exchanged?

This system allows you to work with banks and small bus. right away.

Ithaca hours – helped unemployed and underserved.

But these systems are hard to connect with stores.

Can the government accept Berkshares for taxes?

Local state rep is supportive comes to all the events.

Can use now for non tax payments at town hall.

How do you account for taxes on the exchange?

Accounted for the same way.

Who tracks how many have been purchased and spent?

Through the banks

How many others are doing this?

100s

Saturday's Local Living Harvest Fest, held at the Mouzon House Restaurant and Parting Glass Pub in Saratoga Springs, was a great celebration of local farms, food, community and music.  The Mouzon House started things off at noon favorite local band Railbird introducing, Farmony, songs about our hard working farmer neighbors and their challenges.

Chef Dave Pedinotti dazzled the hungry crowd with a cooking demonstration featuring localy sourced ingredients.  Kids had a room all to themselves where they could make their own lunch and work on creative crafts.  Each room of the Mouzon House was utilized to showcase local independent businesses.  The 2010 Local Living Guide, a book of discounts and information about our community was released to the public.

Perhaps the highlight of this part of the event was the showing of the Farmony movie trailer.  Railbird songstress Sarah Pedinotti introduced the upcoming documentary about local farms and their importance to our health and community.

Farmony (Harvest Fest trailer) from DreamBig Media Group on Vimeo.

Several hours later, part 2 began with the Slowdown at the Parting Glass Pub.  A discussion about Slow Money was delivered by Jasmine Stine of the Berkshares program in Great Barrington, MA.  Jasmine explained the value of local currency in creating vibrant local economies to the capacity crowd.  The presentation was followed up by Slow Food, a buffet of salad, stew and apple crisp for dessert.  All the fod was provided by local farmers.  The event concluded with Ashley Pond Band, who delivered her signature slo-core electric blues to the audience.

The general consensus of the attendees was that this event was a real treat, and they look forward to more of the same.

 

Special thanks go out to the event sponsors Capital District Local First, Green Conscience Home and Garden, Adirondack Solar and Bonacio Construction.  The food featured in the delicious was provided by Mack Brook Farm, New Minglewood Organics, Kilpatrick Family Farm, Bread Basket Bakery, Saratoga Apple and Olde Saratoga Brewing Co.

EcoLocalLiving

Promote Your Page Too

The return ofthe Trash Bash: a zero-waste costume ball

Save the Date...Save the Planet
A Halloween Dance & Costume Party
to benefit the Greenwich Concerned Citizen’s Committee & Hubbard Hall Projects

Saturday, October 30
7:30pm - 12 midnight
only $13 - open to everyone ages 21 +

Admission Includes:

Music from the Roadside Blues Band - dance the night away!
Fantastic munchies from Spoonful Catering
Fashion Show with Prizes!
Rummage through your old clothes, recyclables, discards and just plain trash to create a costume to scare, amaze, horrify and sway the judges! Make a “trashion statement”! Strut your “stuff”. Who will be crowned The Battenkill Valley Queen or King of Trash Glam? Only the trashed will know!

Beer & Wine Available!

Prizes in a Hoard of Trashy Categories!
Don’t forget to bring a donation for the Cambridge Food Pantry - they need the clutter!
Bring your returnable cans and bottles to donate to the cause!

The Greenwich Citizens Committee is a southern Washington County non-profit citizens group advocating locally for recycling and zero-waste.
Hubbard Hall is - ok, you know that one already! All proceeds to benefit both organizations!

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it www.hubbardhall.org

BUY LOCAL BASH!

The Buy Local Bash will be on October 29th
in conjunction with Troy Night Out! It will be held from 5-8 pm at The Atrium in Troy.

This is the fourth annual Buy Local Bash held by the group. Last years’ event drew over 200 attendees and 50 vendors. This year the event coincides with the popular “Troy Night Out” festivities, which regularly draws over 1,000 people onto the streets of Troy to enjoy art events, live music, restaurants and boutiques.

The Buy Local event gives independently owned businesses from Albany, Rensselear, Schenectady, and Saratoga counties an opportunity to showcase their products and services to the public and to increase community awareness of the benefits of doing business locally. Contact CDLF to reserve a table for your business today.

Who Owns the Weather?

Where: Saratoga Springs Public Library, in the Sussman Room , 49 Henry Street

When: October 28   7PM

Learn more about the Bonnefire Coalition

www.agriculturedefensecoalition.org

contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   or  518-854-7764

Since November, 2009, testimony regarding SRM and other geo-engineering techniques has been given before the US House of Representatives Committee on Science & Technology.  Scientists state that Solar Radiation Management will lessen the amount of direct sunlight reaching the Earth.

It is important to remember that direct sunlight is fundamental to life processes on the planet.  Photosynthesis relies on direct sunlight.  Phytoplankton, which are basic to the oceanic food-web, rely on direct sunlight. Loss of direct sunlight also contributes to Vitamin-D deficiency, depression, Ricketts, an increase in fungi and molds, and pulmonary illness - to name a few.  The solar energy industry, fueled by the Sun, is also compromised.

Before discussion of techniques such as SRM became public The Bonnefire Coalition was researching Persistent Jet Contrails  - NASA’s term for what are commonly called “chemtrails”. The Bonnefire Coalition stays away from this term because those who use it are too often dismissed as conspiracy theorists. Using NASA’s own term, Persistent Jet Contrails, helps legitimize concerns as PJCs are laid down, daily and globally, in Xs,  grids, and parallel lines.  In recent months they have begun to appear in other forms as well.  As these “contrails” plume they form cirrus-like artificial clouds which then combine, over hours, to haze the Sky and dim the Sun.  NASA is concerned that PJCs hold heat against the Earth and block sunlight.  And yet NASA has raised no objections to Solar Radiation Management which produces the same effects.

Is Solar Radiation Management already implemented in the form of Persistent Jet Contrails? The Bonnefire Coalition will present an informational program - “Who Owns the Weather?” on October 28  at 7PM at the Saratoga Public Library in the Sussman Room.

The Bonnefire Coalition’s website is accessible at www.agriculturedefensecoalition.org.

For more information and interviews: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and  518-854-7764

By Joseph M Constantine, Jr
President, Constantine Builders, Inc

It’s that time of year again.  Time for a seasonal paradigm shift.  You’ve put away the lawn furniture and closed the pool.  So you think you’re ready for winter, right?  Maybe you need to think again?  As a builder, I’d much prefer building you a new home, or remodeling your kitchen or bath, or building you an addition.  But instead, this time of year often brings in calls for repairs due to lack of good home maintenance. 
To maintain your home for the long life it should have and to save you money on heat bills and costly repairs from neglect, I’ve come up with a fall check list for your home.  Before it get’s too cold, here are 10 areas of your home you can check, fix (or get fixed), for a relatively small amount of money.

1)    Find the Holes – Let’s start outside. They say caulk is cheap.  Okay, I say caulk is cheap, and way less expensive than what it’s going to cost in lost heat or to replace rotted wood.  When choosing caulk, consider your type of siding material.  Each type of caulk has a list on it to tell you if it’s compatible.  Most colors are available, too.  Take a tour of the exterior of your house.  Look around windows and door trim, outdoor hose faucets and find the cracks.  Make a list and get the appropriate caulking.  If your cracks are small, like most I’ve seen, you’ll use only a few tubes of caulk at around $5 a tube.  That $20 will save a bundle in heat bills and repair costs.  PLEASE NOTE, for big cracks, call a professional to take a look first.  Let’s not cover up a bigger problem.  By big, I mean any crack you can stick a finger into.  For cracks ¼” or less, get caulking. After consulting with a professional about larger cracks, if they aren’t a problem, can spray foams, such as Great Stuff™ are very user friendly.  This foam goes a long way around holes on brick siding penetrations or larger non structural cracks, all for about $5 a can.  I like to cut off the excess foam smooth at the surface after it dries and skim caulk over it to protect the foam from insects that can tunnel into it.  Remember to wear gloves and old clothes.  This stuff sticks to anything and does NOT launder out. (Ask my wife.)

2)    Weather Stripping – Easy and relatively inexpensive; less than $10 per door and often even less for a window.  Most of you know which openings leak air.  Put away the towels from the bottom of your door and get out the hammer and saw. Most weather stripping kits are user friendly.  By user, I mean you.   And with the tax credits offered for new high performance windows and doors this year, it may be a good time to look at a change. (See tax credit website listed at the end of this article.)

3)    HVAC Tune Up – All heating equipment needs attention, especially those using fossil fuels like oil.  For every house I build or remodel, I recommend a yearly service call to at least change the filter on hot air systems.  I’ve been in jobs that have never seen a change.  Your system will run so much smoother and with less effort.  With oil heat, yearly cleaning and service checking is a must.  A few small parts cleaned or replaced, will save a bundle with lower heat bills. For these systems, I recommend calling in a professional.  Most companies offer deals for yearly service calls.  Again, check out the tax rebate program for purchasing better efficiency units, especially if your system is 10 years old or older.

4)    Wood Heat  - I personally own two pellet stoves and a wood stove for my main heat source.  And I also have a fall routine for each.  My wife and I clean the pellet stoves.  It’s a dirty job to clean them, but you can tell the difference in heat and efficiency when they are cleaned.  Plus, every other year we have the installer come for a service check.  For the wood stove, we’ve had the same chimney sweep contractor since we installed the stove.  He cleans the flue pipe and checks the stove for cracks or defects as well as checking the chimney all the way to the attic. We do this every year for less than $150 a year. We sleep well at night using these stoves, knowing they’ve been professionally serviced.  I’ve rebuilt places after a chimney fire.  The total cost in lives and material possessions is way greater than the relatively small cost to check and clean this type of equipment.  Again, rebates apply for purchasing the more efficient units that are available today.

5)    Attic Hatches – I’ve singled this one out for a reason.  Most attic hatches are like having an open window all winter.  I’ve been in attics in the winter when it’s raining on the inside of the roof and not on the outside.  When warm heat meets a cold surface, any meteorologist can predict the resulting rain storm in your attic. Home centers now sell insulated covers, that when installed properly, work well.  We have also made them for unusual situations.  However, for a small price, again, you’ll save a bunch. Don’t ignore yours.  If you have one, chances are you are losing a lot of expensive heated air through it.

6)    Check Interior Holes – Recessed lights are one of the biggest losses of heat; even the so called IC or insulation contact cans. I have pictures of fixes on my website (our website address is listed at the end of this article). If you are handy, and cheap, you can do this yourself.  If not, consult the web and hire a BPI (Building Performance Institute) contractor.  Hire a performance contractor for an energy audit.  Look for other holes.  We’ve all heard heat rises, right?  Well, the reality is heat doesn’t know that…heat goes toward cold in any direction, not just up.  Doors to unheated knee walls and cellar doors are big problem areas for leaks.  Weather-stripping can help. There are many more interior holes to consider, but for now, I want to get you started thinking about the major problems.  In many cases you can fix enough small holes to see a big difference in your bills and your comfort.

7)    Wash the Windows – Seems trivial right?  But the sun’s heat is one of the few things in life that is still free.  And use window treatments to maximize solar gain and minimize heat loss.

8)    Gutters – I’ve seen ice dams clinging to piles of frozen leaves stuck inside gutters, often causing backups, which lead to leakage into the home.  Hire a professional for this one to be safe. The contractor can also straighten and otherwise fix problems you may not even realize are there.  Call a pro - you’d be surprised at how little many of them charge for this service. Also, have them check where the downspout ends.  I had one dumping thousands of gallons of water right against the owners’ foundation.  This caused his driveway to heave and his foundation to crack.  We rerouted the water to a safe place and the problem was solved.  The cost? $150.  The damage cost $14,000 to repair.  Have your gutters checked.

9)    Insulation – You may be fine. But I’m in homes all the time that have little or no insulation.  (Again with the rebate.  But hey, who doesn’t like a good tax credit?)  Plus, lumber yards and big boxes are running fall specials on insulation.  Rarely can you have too much insulation.  But you can put it in wrong.  When in doubt, call a pro.  At least look to see if and how much insulation you have.

10)    Landscape Issues – Look for plants that touch the house.  Prune them back enough to discourage squirrels from having easy access to gain entry.  It’s cold and rodents know what season is coming, too; they want in.  A quick cut may be all that is needed.  Plus, rake leaves AWAY from the house.  I’ve known people that rake them up to the house for insulation.  But as the leaves rot, they hold in moisture that stays against your siding, and rot communicates way better than people.  You get the idea?  Keep the moisture away from your house.

All this may seem like a lot to think about if you haven’t been doing any or most of these things in the past.  But every year, it will get easier and less expensive to maintain your house.  Either way, winter is coming.  Get in a yearly routine and soon you will be able to enjoy winters rather than dread them, and maybe you’ll think about calling me for a kitchen instead of a leak.

A few helpful websites:

www.home-performance.org  BPI Certified Contractors
www.thinksmartthinkgreen.com   Rebates from National Grid
www.thestimulussource.com   Tax Rebates
www.crbra.com Local source for Remodeling Contractors
www.constantinebuildersinc.com Constantine Builders, Inc.