(This summer, our Michigan team is working with GreenNation on the Green Economy Leadership Training program. This entry was written by GELT-er Zack Holden. Cross-posted on Solutionaries.net)

As we came to the door, I was feeling pretty negative. Tired, frustrated with the cancellation of our early morning appointment, I had bitterly informed my partners that they should take the ‘lead’ on this house, that I just wanted to follow orders and let one of them take up the task of explaining who we were and everything we were doing to the home owner. I had a vague sense of ill ease as we reached our destination on Hill Street in the northwest of Highland Park, as the last time we had lugged a weatherization kit through the neighborhood, we had been told we were ‘in the wrong neighborhood’ by a group of teens.

When we came up the front steps and knocked on the door, I noticed the tape holding together the screen door and the lingering smell of stale tobacco, thinking we were in for a interesting experience. We heard a man hollering at us, asking who we were. A woman soon came to the door, asking who we were and who we were looking for, telling us she didn’t want our ‘shit’, Needless to say, we were taken aback by her rather aggressive manner, and the weatherization was nearly dead on arrival, until the man, her husband, informed her that he had in fact signed up. She was further relieved when (in direct contravention of my previous promise to my partners) I explained to her that our service was in fact free, and that we would not only give her the supplies but actually install them as well. When she realized we weren’t trying to scam her or otherwise pull some trick, her demeanor instantly shifted from stand-offish to absolutely friendly, and a smile came over her face.

As we headed into the basement, her husband offered a brief explanation of her initial resistance to us- there had been a ‘death’ recently, and tensions were running high. I didn’t have to wait long to hear the full story. As I burned my fingers trying to install CFLs, she told me that the death in question was in fact a triple murder that had recently occurred on the block, leaving three young men dead, with no news coverage and little hope of justice. She explained her initial hostility, saying there was a huge drug problem on the block.

These were the first revelations of many. As we worked our way through her home, sealing holes, replacing bulbs and sink heads and putting up weatherstripping, we learned that she had reclaimed the home from drug dealers who had taken over the house after her mother’s death, and how strangers still showed up at her door looking for a fix (she thought we were of this category), how drive by shootings were a regular occurrence (instead of putting plastic kits over windows with leaky edges as we might in other homes, we covered the windows taken out by a recent shooting). How murders were common and a 90 year old woman had been raped on the block just the other week. How she wanted to get out of the neighborhood, but she was living on her unemployment checks after losing her job as a medical assistant.

This is the sort of situation that can present the central problem of organizing around environmental and sustainability issues in places like Highland Park. How could she devote attention to protecting our national parks or atmosphere when protecting her home is a matter of life or death? I honestly believe that the solution lies in programs such as Green Economy Leadership Training (GELT) and weatherization in particular. It allows for community and its residents to work together not only to save money on their utility bill and understand environmental impacts, but to also reconnect with one another.  Weatherization makes both environmental and economic sense. I hope it can present an outstanding site to develop the necessary, mutually beneficial relationships in places such as Highland Park.

(This is the final in a series of posts from our Green Alternatives Department that is currently conducting its first China-U.S. Exchange Program. These posts are written by Green Alternatives Department Intern, Antonia Malhi.)

Overlooking the Russian River at the Highland Dell Inn. photo: June Brashares

This past weekend was the final part of our US China Exchange program.  We had planned to spend Saturday around the North Bay wine country, even though are members do not drink they enjoyed the scenic views the area has to offer.  They enjoyed a picturesque dinner and sunset from the deck of the Highland Dell Restaurant on the Russian River.

Sunday morning was an early start and the beginning of the long drive from Sonoma County to Yosemite Park.  Along the drive, we mentioned important environmentally related areas along the way. As we drove through Richmond, we explained how the presence of the Chevron oil refinery has been plaguing the city’s residents with health problems caused by the pollution released into the air.  We also mentioned Global Exchange’s own Antonia Juhasz’s work on the anti Chevron campaign.  A little further down the road, we mentioned how the now Emeryville Bay Street shopping center was once and industrial waste site that underwent brownfield remediation to become the establishment it is today.  When driving through Livermore we were sure to point out the wind turbines and to explain how they provide clean electrical power to Bay Area homes.  Who would have thought that this route was a green route?

Hiking at Yosemite
photo: June Brashares

We made sure to make a quick lunch stop to watch the World Cup final since our members are HUGE soccer fans.  Happy they were able to catch the game, we continued on to Yosemite Valley.  After checking in and some exploration of the park they decided to call it a night.  On Monday, we were able fit in a short hike and made sure to get a photo of our participants hiking with their Global Exchange gear!

Unfortunately, some of our members were called back to China early for work and had to cut their trip short.  After dinner we returned to San Francisco since they had an early flight out the next morning.  We had originally planned to bring them into Global Exchange Tuesday morning to meet the rest of the staff, and then head over to the Global Exchange store for some Fair Trade shopping and a farewell lunch, but because of the unexpected schedule change we couldn’t make it happen.

We wish our participants a safe trip home and thank them for participating in our program.   We are grateful for every one of them and hope they go back to their homes with an understanding on the importance of sustainable living and that their expectations of this trip were met.  We hope to keep in touch and to keep our Global Exchange network updated on the progress they are making related to what they learned on this trip.  Thank you again and we will be in touch soon!

(Global Exchange’s Michigan team is working with the local community in Detroit to transition it to a clean, green economy starting with Highland Park. One of our Michigan organizers, Scott Meloeny introduces the Green Economy Leadership Training (GELT) summer program.)

[Cross-posted from It’s Getting Hot in Here.]

This country has been built and influenced by each generation that has come to pass. While we still face major social issues, these previous generations have contributed some of the most impressive feats known to man, developing unique and marketable skills and tools that have fueled an extraordinary amount of growth and set the highest standard of living the world has ever seen. However, our generational brethren also left behind something else: a very specific mind set on the world.  A mind set that can be seen today powering our infrastructure, shaping our culture, and instilling our values. One that was relative to the times of our mothers and fathers, grandparents and great-grandparents but now stands outdated and dangerous.

Bob Dylan was right when he said “the times, they are a changin’.” In fact, times have changed.  One doesn’t need to look very far to see that our previous generation’s systems, values and ideas were built to be supplied by a finite source that right now is exhausting our planet’s resources, while destroying its species and environment.  It is here we can witness most explicitly our generational divide. One in which past generation’s values, skills and mind sets are no longer suitable or sustainable for us. We need to embrace this divide. But we must do so carefully and in a way that equips our peers with new skills, values and perceptions, and also enables older friends, families and neighbors to partake and share in building a new holistic, clean energy economy.  It’s time to have exponential learning overcome exponential growth. It’s time to value accumulated wisdom overcome accumulated wealth.

BUILDING A BRIDGE TO SOMEWHERE

To bridge this multi-generational divide we need to integrate education and training,  applying both to communities and peoples who need it the most. Unfortunately, past generations relied on a model where the privileged would go off to higher learning, while others were left behind in communities ill-equipped to make necessary, sustainable changes for growth.  As we have seen recently with our older college grads, the path of post high school education does very little to prepare one for the skills needed to mend social, economic and cultural inequalities.  This is where we believe the first steps can be taken. The skills and knowledge that go beyond the classroom and make tangible impacts in the community is what we at Global Exchange see as a potential equalizer for such existing inequalities.

The Green Economy Leadership Training (GELT) is the first program from GX to begin to integrate education and community while applying empowering solutions derived from these community classrooms.  GELT provides present day skills, knowledge and experience that present and future generations will need to not only assist in building a new energy economy, but also to live in a way that creates a healthy and positive synergy within our world. With technical skills in renewable energies, energy efficiency, permaculture and community development combined with personal skills in chi-wellness, yoga, nutritional health and lifestyle consciousness, GELT seeks to train and empower generations of people to collectively build, work and live in the clean energy economy.

THE HIGHLAND PARK PROJECT

The Green Economy Leadership Training, a Global Exchange and GreeNation program, calls Highland Park (HP), Michigan headquarters.  Once a model city for all to follow, HP no longer finds its current infrastructure and skills suitable for a clean economy transition. However,  HP has the unique opportunity to restructure its system, re-skill its workforce and reactivate its pioneering attitude that once led a nation decades ago and become one of the first clean economies of its kind.

Although only its first year, GELT will look to achieve some watershed moments by the end of summer.  Already, ten individuals have received their certification in permaculture.  Even more are being trained on how to weatherize homes and will then go out and perform up to 200 weatherizations throughout the city.  This is especially important, as up to 40% of Highland Park residents live under the poverty level, making it very difficult for many to adequately heat their homes.  Proper weatherizations will provide a 10-15% decrease in monthly bills, giving some financial relief to local residents but more importantly providing them a safe, warm home during Michigan’s long winters.  In addition to training, classes in demand-side economics for renewable energy and energy efficiency will give participants the understanding of what it takes to transition to a clean energy economy at both the local and national level.

2010 Summer GELT Course Catalog

GELT is also building for the long term to create a model clean energy economy and it all begins at the micro level. It’s here GELT is seeking to create a foundation for a city wide food system that will provide nutritional food year round to all its residents as well as install a farmers market that will be available in the fall of 2011. This will be done by redeveloping vacant lots throughout the city and connecting them into block based cooperatives that give ownership to residents.  However, achieving food security for local residents will not be our only goal.  GELT will also look to implement a micro-grid utility over the next three years.  This entity will provide energy to residents in a variety of ways.  First, by converting two homes into utilities that provide electricity and hot water (solar photovoltaic and solar hot water) through renewable sources, as well as heating and cooling (geo-thermal). Residents will then have the opportunity to reap the benefits of renewable energy and ownership of their power production.  These localizes systems will look to employ community residents so that we may come full circle in providing a community based model of the clean energy economy.

The Green Economy Leadership Training will be a flagship program of Global Exchange, as we will continue to run more programs throughout the fall and winter and into the new year until we can make our vision a reality; a community model of a holistic, clean energy economy. It’s always been said that a narrow mind set is an obstacles to change, but we hope through our community actions to overcome even this profound psychological barrier.  GELT seeks to be one of many actions that will bring about tangible solutions for creating a model clean energy economy in Highland Park, Michigan. Because as today’s generational shift continues, we must fully embrace the responsibility to continue healthy evolutions in this country as well as doing what we can to reverse problematic ones.

Turning U.S. Military Bases into Eco-Development Centers

This project could forge a diverse global coalition to press for the transformation of hundreds of U.S. military bases overseas into eco-development centers for launching the global green economy from the grassroots.

The world is facing two interlinked crises: militarism and global destruction of the environment. They are obviously related, in that the U.S. military is probably the most egregious polluter and waster of resources on the planet, and the Pentagon functions to protect the dominant role of transnational corporations, which are notorious violators of human rights and environmental justice principles. This project will seek to unify the peace movement and the green movement by working together on a visionary campaign that simultaneously addresses the environmental crisis and the need for the United States to make a transition from being an empire to being just one nation in a community of nations.

The more than 800 U.S. military bases around the world are part of an old model of domination, militarism, and environmental contamination. Instead of protecting the United States, these bases have made us the target of animosity and attacks from groups opposed to the U.S. presence on their soil. These bases represent institutional inertia rather than serving any real national security interest of the American people. Quite the contrary: by inserting thousands of young, poorly educated yet well-armed American males into foreign cultures they know little about, we are generating hostility and resentment that fuels the passions of those who would do us harm.

This project has an important national security component, given the fact that the force structure of the U.S. military is not appropriate for the current threats we face as a nation. The force structure and strategic doctrine of the U.S. military were forged over 60 years of preparing for a land war with Soviet tank armies on the steppes of Eastern Europe. Now the threat is a highly  motivated individual with a suitcase bomb containing radioactive material. The struggle against this type of zealotry cannot be won with tanks and bombs, it is a war for hearts and minds, and that war can be won with eco-development on a grand scale.

This campaign will call for handing U.S. bases back to their respective national governments, with the U.S. government and civil society institutions undertaking a clean-up campaign during the transition in ownership.  Through grassroots networks and donations from local citizens, the local governments will be encouraged to transform these bases into educational and experimental clean-tech centers promoting green practices that will help us address the environmental crisis, while generating good green jobs and eco-entrepreneurship.

The conversion of these bases into models of eco-development would be beneficial to the United States in many ways:

  • it would help transform the U.S. from a dominating empire into a global partner, thereby making us more appreciated and less of a target for terrorist attacks;
  • it would save the U.S. billions of dollars now being wasted on maintaining this global network of bases;
  • by helping countries develop more sustainable practices and cutting-edge green technology, it will have a positive impact on the planet we all share.

Objectives

  • Unify diverse global movements that are now separated by tactical issues. Global Exchange already has close ties with many of these networks so we are well placed to play this match-making role. Existing programs such as Fair Trade and Reality Tours could introduce this new messaging with little additional cost.
  • Provide a positive and cohesive framework for thousands of groups around the world struggling to bring peace and to create jobs by saving the environment.
  • Put the U.S. government and military on the defensive instead of us always being on the defensive against their various wars and wasteful spending.
  • Get people like Congressman Dennis Kucinich to sponsor legislation aimed at switching resources from the military to eco-development.
  • Generate cross-sector collaboration between NGOs, governments, and green enterprises to transform the foreign bases.
  • Regain respect for America after the damage done by the Bush administration’s aggressive foreign policies.
  • Grow organic food that can be given to local service agencies helping the weakest sectors of the local population.
  • Innovate new technologies in toxic waste remediation through natural methods.
  • Create collaborative spaces where international youth brigades could come together to learn nonviolence and sustainable development practices.
  • Provide large enough space for permaculture “universities” to train the trainers who will then go out and instruct communities on green economy issues such as green building, energy conservation, renewable energy technology, urban agriculture, water conservation, natural purification of grey water and black water, clean-tech incubation, alternative transportation, neighborhood empowerment policies, and much more.

All empires collapse. The challenge before us is this: can we create a soft landing for the U.S. empire by transforming our military bases around the world into platforms for accelerating the transition to the next economy: the green economy.

(This is the third in a series of posts from our Green Alternatives Department that is currently conducting its first China-U.S. Exchange Program. These posts are written by Green Alternatives Department Intern, Antonia Malhi.)

Learning about categorization at Ferry Building Farmers Market. photo: Antonia Malhi

Our “walk” through of California’s green economy for our guests is turning out to be a great success. We have taken them to the San Francisco Ferry Building for an explanation of sustainable farming and continued examples of San Francisco’s trash sorting practices.  While we were there, we took in the scenic views of the Bay Bridge and then hurried off to Berkeley, where we met with Dan Knap at Urban Ore to hear his story of trash to treasure and successful business.

Then we met with GAIA (Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives – Global Anti-Incinerator Alliance), an organization of anti-incineration activists.  This was a particularly special meeting.  Two of the participants in our tour work for a large incineration company in China, and feel that incineration is the greenest option that works.  This meeting with GAIA allowed them to understand that the key to overcome the obstacle of handling mixed waste is categorization.  Sorting the trash from compostables and recyclables allows each material to be disposed of properly, and thus incineration will be less necessary.

Ready to go at Recology. photo: Antonia Malhi

The essence of this program is to promote green alternatives to the status quo in China; this idea seemed to solidify for the entire group at the GAIA meeting.  June, Sunny and I felt a great sense of accomplishment as we headed to the California Academy of Sciences for a night of learning and lighthearted fun.

Friday morning we met with Recology, San Francisco’s waste handling company that has implemented the fantastic three bin model.  We took a tour of the facility and learned about the goal of a 75% waste diversion rate by 2011. Currently the city boasts a diversion rate of 73%.

At the Golden Gate Bridge. photo: Antonia Malhi

After Recology, we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge, which was an unforgettable experience for our group.  We stopped in Sausalito for a look back at the rest of the Bay and then proceeded on to Sebastopol for a campfire and Fair Trade s’mores making. Yum!

Sunday they will be heading to Yosemite for an overnight stay.  Sadly, the trip is winding down quicker than we all expected.

(This is the first in a series of posts from our Green Alternatives Department that is currently conducting its first China-U.S. Exchange Program. These posts are written by Green Alternatives Department Intern, Antonia Malhi.)

The Green Alternatives Department at Global Exchange promotes green education through community connections in the local green economy.  Our purpose is to be advocates of green development and educate our community about why green living is necessary and the benefits that come from it.

Our version of a Global Exchange Reality Tour is the China-U.S. Exchange Program. The  program’s aim is to promote collaboration between the United States and China, particularly focused on the green economy and sustainability. The California Local Green Economy Tour explores the different aspects of green economic development in the area and provides the opportunity to create “people-to-people” connections for business, government and academic associations in the United States and China.  Our US-China Green Exchange Program will be based in the San Francisco Bay Area and includes visiting green businesses, seeing local clean energy generation, connecting with San Francisco City government, and learning about green concepts from the perspective of Buddhism.

All of the participants are former colleagues and associates of Sunny Xiao, who is the program coordinator for these types of reality tours here at Global Exchange.  Through correspondence with her former colleagues, she realized their desire to learn more about California’s green economy.  She developed this tour to facilitate collaboration between Chinese businesses and California green businesses.

My name is Antonia Malhi and I am an intern with the Green Alternatives Department who helped organize the tour.  And after much planning and anticipation the group is here!  I will be blogging several times during their stay to showcase the highlights of the tour.  So stay tuned for US-China Exchange Program updates!

(This is the second in a series of posts from our Green Alternatives Department that is currently conducting its first China-U.S. Exchange Program. These posts are written by Green Alternatives Department Intern, Antonia Malhi.)

Our US-China Exchange Group. photo: Antonia Malhi

July 6th was the official first day of the US-China Exchange Tour!  June, (my supervisor), Sunny and I have been waiting for this day for months. Finally it was time to meet our guests, whom we have been working so hard to bring here and to create an amazing and informative program for. We couldn’t wait to get started.

We all met in the lobby of the Orchard Garden Hotel, one of California’s premier green hotels.  After the simple greetings we piled into the shuttle and were off.  First stop, Ghirardelli Square.  A fantastic and yummy tourist spot right?  Yes, but it is also a great green shopping center.  We got a green tour of the square which explained to our guests, through Sunny’s translation, how the garbage is sorted in traditional SF fashion: Compost, Recyclables and Trash.  Also, how they are saving money by using LED lights in the buildings and in the famous Ghirardelli sign.  We also toured the hotel/fractional home part of the square to learn about how they are making the historic building greener while still playing by the historical sight restoration rules.  Our guests were very impressed by the amount of money saved by these simple green changes.  And saved money is a good thing in every culture!

Sunny Xiao and Ziming Yao pose at Ghirardelli Square. photo: Antonia Malhi

Next stop, Crissy Field.  We got a great presentation by one of the resident ecologists about the history of the area from pre-European times through the present day.  He gave some great visuals about how much of San Francisco was “created” by dumping debris from the 1906 earthquake into the bay. Crissy field is brownfield that had to be re-mediated to become the living marsh that it is today.  Destroying the army base and re-planting the area with native plants was a long process, but now the field has “been given back to the Bay.”  A great visual place to emphasize the fact that being more environmentally aware is beautiful as well as beneficial.

On the way to dinner we did drove to Ocean Beach, through Golden Gate Park, and to the top of Twin Peaks.  Breathtaking.  The guests loved seeing the city from a birds eye view and, with some help, were able to point out the places we had been that day.

Our group at Crissy Field. photo: Antonia Malhi

We ended dinner at Samovar, a tea room and restaurant one of my fellow GX interns works at and referred me to.  They loved the tea, but I am not so sure about the food… maybe a little too far from what they are used to.  But, they were pretty jet-lagged so we decided to call it a night.

A great first day.

As we prepare for the long holiday weekend all across the country, we at Global Exchange are taking some time to reflect on ideas of freedom that we have been working on together with you.  From the US Social Forum, to reaffirming our independence from oil to ending the travel ban to Cuba, join us as we share with you four ways to think about freedom on the Fourth of July.

  • From June 18th-22nd, thousands of activists from around the country converged in Detroit for the US Social Forum to look at ways that the social movement can grow and connect to each other. Global Exchange was there showing a film about the Climate Conference in Cochabamba, Bolivia and how it connects to local struggles for Climate Justice around the world. In Michigan, our local organizers introduced the summer Green Economy Leadership Program (GELT) bringing youth and local communities together to rebuild Detroit from the ground up.  (Read more about Global Exchange at the US Social Forum)

    photo credit: US Social Forum

  • As we begin to build a more just and sustainable world in our local communities, we must also declare our independence from an empire of debt and energy dependency. TJ Buonomo of our Chevron Program writes a great piece urging us to do just this and lends strong support for domestic renewable energy.
  • Another victory for freedom is just in our horizon as the fight to end the travel ban to Cuba reached a milestone this week. On Wednesday, the House Committee on Agriculture passed the “Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act” putting us one step closer to ending the travel ban this year and setting the stage for a more humane, sensible, and just U.S. policy towards Cuba. Check out all the ways you could experience Cuba for yourself.
  • Lastly, what better way to ring in the holiday weekend than by participating in our Summer time Fair Trade S’mores campaign. This Fourth of July kicks off the beginning of the most delicious political action you can take this summer, by calling on Hershey’s and the rest of the cocoa industry to help alleviate poverty and end abusive child labor in the cocoa fields and make the switch to Fair Trade. Celebrate the freedom and independence small-scale Fair Trade farmers have in a system that empowers them to escape the cycle where profits rule and maintain their traditional lifestyle with dignity.

From the urban gardens in Detroit to the cocoa farms in Africa, Global Exchange continues to work towards a more just, equitable, and sustainable society. As the US Social Forum taught us, another world is possible and the only way to achieve this change is by taking action into our own hands. As our founding fathers and mothers taught us, freedom and justice for all can be achieved if we stand together.

photo credit: US Social Forum

After a political let down in Copenhagen back in December, activists around the world have been mobilizing into action, understanding that we don’t have the time to wait for our leaders to make the changes we need to see in national legislation, in global treaties or agreements.  This attitude is prevalent in Detroit this week.  Beginning with the great discussion at our session Wednesday morning, Anti-Imperialism is Green, to the workshops on movements in Central and South America, to 350.org’s 10-10-10 Global Work Party campaign.  People are sick of waiting for change, so they’re taking it into their own hands on the local level.

Global Exchange’s Michigan team has been working on national policy and legislation for four years now.  In the past year, we’ve transitioned to more localized work on the ground.  We’ve had overwhelming support from the community on this work.  In Lansing, during Powershift last fall, we launched a Bicycle Cooperative.  This bike co-op has received tremendous support from the community as it works to make transportation safe, easy, affordable, fun, and green.  The bike co-op offers an alternative to the current imperial, economic system.  People are able to come and get work on their bike done for a donation of either time or money, or free if neither is possible.  Parts and tools are available, all of which have been donated by community members.

The summer program in Highland Park is yet another example of localized work to transition to a clean, green economy.  Global Exchange is working to transition a block in a neighborhood in Detroit by working with the community.  At the same time, youth activists are getting Green Economy Leadership Training (GELT), learning about alternative energy, permaculture, and reusing resources to retrofit homes.  This type of work shows what the green economy could look like.  It’s a model which can be replicated and modified all over the country.  And similar projects are popping up all over.

This past week, over 20,000 people gathered in Detroit for a common goal, another world – a better world, a green, more just world. In order to reach this world, we will need change on all levels.  But we can’t wait for our leaders to make those changes.  We need to start taking action ourselves.  And as the Social Forum demonstrated, people are doing this all over the world.  Its time for us to follow suit and do the same.

(Casey McKeel is part of our Midwest Climate and Energy Campaign based in Lansing, Michigan where they are working together to build a green economy in the Midwest.)

(US Social Forum photo stream)

Hot of the press, Building the Green Economy is a book co-authored by Kevin Danaher, (Co-founder of Global Exchange), Shannon Biggs and Jason Mark. Building the Green Economy shows how community groups, families, and individual citizens have taken action to protect their food and water, clean up their neighborhoods, and strengthen their local economies. Their unlikeley victories-over polluters, unresponsive bureaucracies and unexamined routines-dramatize the opportunities and challenges facing the local green economy movement. This book is available through our website, so grab yours today!