The Daily Render by Nikolas R. Schiller » Green

“Representation, Reforestation” Was Selected For The DC Urban Forest Project

Nikolas Schiller — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:48:01 +0000

I’m looking forward to finding out where my “tree” will be “planted” in downtown DC. I should know sometime next month!

From the AIGA DC Website: AIGA DC would like to thank the Washington DC community for contributing over 400 submissions to be judged for The Urban Forest Project Washington DC. We are excited to share with you the 100 artists whose artwork was selected to be exhibited this spring on street banners. In addition to the professional artists, the work of AIGA DC’s mentoring teams and the Corcoran College of Art and Designs students* will be included.

Please look for additional information regarding the exhibition date, online gallery and reception in a couple of months. In the meantime visit ufp-dc.com to see where the banners will be exhibited.

WINNING PROFESSIONAL DESIGNERS AND ARTISTS
Sandy Adams
Antonio Alcala
Milagros Arrisueno
Julia Ames
Ioana Balasa
Sarah Hitchcock Becker
Ed Bisese
Nancy Bratton
Jessica Blair Buchanan
Bryan Byczek
Craig Cahoon
Sarah Chamberlain
Danielle
Dominique Chirinciuc
Ryan Clennan
Ryan Cooley
Adriana Cordero
Cecilia Cortes-Earle
MIchael Crossett
Daniel Delli-Colli
Tara Detchemendy
Alex Diaz
Eileen Doughty
Ilfigenija Dupras
Alessandra Marie Echeverri
Lauren Emeritz
Jo Fleming
Liani Foster
Lara Fredrickson
Rachel Freedman
Doug Fuller
Alia Faith
Nathan Gomez
Francheska Guerrero
Nicole Hamam
Robin Harris
Rania Hassan
Sean Hennessy
Richard Lee Heffner
Allen Hopper
Marcie Wolf Hubbard
Alicia Jager
Ann Kerns
Minki Kim
Ethel Kessler
Phyllis Klein
Galen Lawson
Marni Lawson
Sara Lin
Patti Look
Betsy Martin
Jessica Menk
Jamie Mitchell
Kudirat B. Momoh
Phil Napala
Catherine Nichols
Phil Napala
Katie O’Brien
Julian Oh
Nicole Parente-Lopez
Michelle Thomas
Hillary Reilly
Elizabeth Renomeron
Jessica Reynolds
Karen Rose
Kerri Sarembock
Erika Satlof
Monica Servaites
Shikha Savdas
Nikolas Schiller
Alex Schultz
Carolyn Sewell
Lindsey Smith
Marri Stanback
Greg Stein
Randall Stoltzfus
Rachel Stone
Hermano Talastas
Shelby Tanase
Angela Terry
Julee Dickerson Thompson
George Travez
Joe Velasquez
Sarah Joy Verville
John Wehmann
Jessica Witmer

AIGA DC MENTORING TEAMS
William Jones + Erin Green
Dezae Precia + Nicole Hamam
Demetria Williams + Jane deBruijn

*Not listed are the selected Corcoran Art + Design students

THE JURORS
Sam Shelton, Kinetik
Jim Darling, Useful Studios
Rachel Dickerson, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities
Monica Lear, Urban Forestry Administration, DDOT
Linda Harper, Director of Cultural Tourism DC

ABOUT THIS PROJECT
This spring, The Urban Forest Project, a global public arts and environmental initiative, will plant 100 street banners designed by local designers and students in the downtown Washington DC. Each banner will use the form of, or metaphor for, a tree to make powerful visual statements about the environment. Together they’ll create a forest of thoughtful images in the heart of the nation’s capitol. Once the banners come down from the light poles, the artwork will be repurposed into tote bags for purchase. Proceeds from the sales of the tote bags will go to non-profit environmental efforts that will aid Washington DC in being a cleaner, greener and more sustainable city.

This project, conceived by Worldstudio, is being presented in Washington, DC by the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), in collaboration with the Corcoran College of Art and Design, AIGA DC and Downtown DC Business Improvement District. Seed funding for the project was provided through a grant from the USDA Forest Service with corporate sponsorship being sought to support implementation.

+Visit the DC Urban Forest Project Website

Holy Cow, This Cleaning Product Is Not Organic

Nikolas Schiller — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 03:01:15 +0000

I was at a friends house two weeks ago and snapped these two photos when I was in their bathroom. I was intrigued because after my first glance at the bottle I thought the circular logo was from the USDA’s National Organic Program. Upon closer inspection, I realized that the designers of the product used a similar design in order to give the appearance that it was organic– specifically the use of boldface type for USDA within a circle. I wonder if people purchasing the product thought it was organic? Or if they might have equated the official organic seal with “Meets USDA Food And Safety Standards” like I did? No matter what, due to the popularity of the organic products and the USDA Organic Seal, I except to see similar uses of this type of deceitful labeling on other products.

Photos and a YouTube Video of the Capitol Climate Action at the Capitol Power Plant

Nikolas Schiller — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 04:49:56 +0000

Earlier today I attended the Capitol Climate Action on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Organized by Greenpeace and the Rain Forest Action Network for the Powershift09 conference, the demonstration was billed as a “mass civil disobedience” designed to shut down the Washington, DC’s biggest polluter, the Capitol Power Plant. Although I wasn’t able to stay for the entire demonstration, I was able to slice together some of the video clips I took from around 1pm to 3pm:

See the rest of the photos of the demonstration:

Related Photography Entries:

Related Activism Entries:

Related Capitol Hill Entries:

YouTube Has Chosen For You! – Digital Scrapbooking Explicit Bipartisanship

Nikolas Schiller — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 21:55:47 +0000

Last month I snail mailed a letter to YouTube citing the fact that their political page was being explicitly partisan and did not include any third party politicians running for president. I have yet to receive a written reply. Instead YouTube gave the page’s layout a makeover, but still left out 3rd party presidential candidates. To document this flagrant bipartisanship, I decided to take a screen shot every day I was on-line this month.

Below you’ll see the candidates YouTube has tacitly endorsed during the month of June:

June 12th, 2008 – The only day that Ralph Nader was featured

And no, YouTube’s Citizen Tube is not any less bipartisan. What a sham. Democracy is about choice, but clearly YouTube doesn’t care, instead they’ve chosen for you.

Related YouTube Entries:

Tonight! Art Party @ Capitol Hemp

Nikolas Schiller — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 16:37:57 +0000

If you haven’t been to Capitol Hemp yet, come & check it out tonight!

Face the (Corporate) Candidates on YouTube

Nikolas Schiller — Wed, 28 May 2008 17:54:33 +0000

Today I wrote YouTube, LLC (owned by Google, Inc) the following letter:

Dear YouTube, LLC,

Your “Face the Candidates” section ( http://youtube.com/youchoose ) needs to be updated to include all presidential candidates. Currently American voters are not being shown all the candidates for president of the United States of America and this prevents your users from making an informed decision on what presidential candidate to vote for in November.

As a member of the Green Party of the United States, I find your explicit bipartisanship to be counter to your parent company’s corporate philosophy. The link to the “Face the Candidates” page is titled “YouChoose” but in reality it could be written “We’ve chosen for you,” because the web editors have unfairly excluded a presidential candidate.

Please include Cynthia McKinney’s campaign channel ( http://www.youtube.com/runcynthiarun ) to your “Face the Candidates” page because she is running for president and deserves the same placement as her democratic & republican party counterparts.

Sincerely,
Nikolas R. Schiller

I wrote this out of general frustration regarding how controlled the American political system is. Even though I voted for Cynthia McKinney in the Washington, DC primary and she’s now acquired the majority of Green Party delegates, there has been absolutely no national media coverage of her campaign (don’t believe me, check the Washington Post & New York Times websites). This type of American Blackout is unpatriotic, nondemocratic, and downright wrong and with Google’s “do no evil” corporate philosophy in place, this letter is an attempt to challenge their web editors to do the right thing and include all presidential candidates regardless of political affiliation. Will they change the page? I doubt it, but I know that I’ve made an effort, albeit a small one.

#006900 Party [that's Green Party in Hexadecimal Color Code]

Nikolas Schiller — Mon, 12 May 2008 03:07:22 +0000

At the Artomatic opening night I spoke with someone close to Mark Jenkins about his #000000 POWER t-shirt concept that uses Hexadecimal Color Codes to reference the word’s color (aka BLACK POWER). In this geeky context I thought it would be funny to follow-up this meme by making my own HTML-based t-shirt.

After thinking through a bunch of different permutations, I came up with #006900 Party to represent the Green Party of the United States. I could have chosen from quite a few different combinations for the color Green, but I thought that the number 69 was the most widely understood numerical reference out of the possible permutations, with the exception of the number 42, a favorite number of mine that I found to be too dark.

I will be donating this design to the Green Party of the United States if they want to use it for their official merchandise.

NBC Universal is co-opting the Green Party of the United States this Earth Day

Nikolas Schiller — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:41:01 +0000

This Earth Day I am calling out corporate greenwashing being employed by NBC Universal . The calculated lie (below) is that they are not forming a new “Green Party,” rather they are subverting the existence of one of the few 3rd parties in American politics.

When this week is over, I sincerely wonder how many times will NBC Universal feature the Green Party’s presidential candidate on any of it’s stations? That is less of a question and more of a challenge. My null hypothesis is that there will be no mention of the Green Party of the United States, rather lots of tips on living green instead of empowering people that they have the option to vote Green in November.

NBC Universal is 80% owned by General Electric and this type of greenwashing is designed to help distance people’s concerns about General Electric’s nuclear reactor business operations. It’s ironic that it was protests against nuclear energy that helped propel the German Green Party into the political spotlight.

View the modified screen grab:

Modified screen grab
advertisements removed

Related Green Entries:

D.C. to get it’s first hemp store: Capitol Hemp

Nikolas Schiller — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:53:18 +0000

Photograph by Gerald Martineau of The Washington Post. Mosaic by Jill Blankespoor

I’ve known about the store for some time now so it’s nice that it’s is getting some great exposure in today’s Washington Post article. The store is located near the intersection of 18th & Columbia NW below the Starbucks and should open soon. I’ve written about my antics & activism with Adam over the years- from working on his last campaign for U.S. Shadow Representative to staging the first ever DC democracy lobbying effort on the Potomac and I’m looking forward to shopping at Capitol Hemp.

D.C. Gets a (Perfectly Legal) Hemp Store

Like most social change, the District’s first all-hemp emporium arose from years of complaining.

The chief complainer: Adam Eidinger, professional protester and erstwhile political candidate.

His complaint: “We’re the last major metropolitan area in the U.S. that doesn’t have a hemp store.”

Determined to see Washington join places like New York, Boston and even Burlington, Vt., Eidinger decided to open his own store, Capitol Hemp.

Until now, Eidinger has not been known as a businessman but as a spokesman for antiwar activists, stadium protesters, angry bicyclists and people who frequent natural-food stores.

Capitol Hemp grew out of his work for Vote Hemp, a District-based group devoted to lifting restrictions on hemp farming. (Hemp is legal to import into the United States but cannot legally be grown here.) He found that a lot of people still confuse the industrial variety of cannabis with the recreational variety. By showcasing hemp clothing, shoes and food, Eidinger said he hopes to dispel misconceptions about hemp.

“Just because it’s a maligned plant doesn’t mean it’s dangerous,” he said.

Eidinger and a partner are leasing a basement retail space in Adams Morgan close to the main neighborhood axis of 18th Street and Columbia Road NW. They have begun painting the walls green and installing display shelves made from hemp board ordered from California.

The finishing touch will be a mosaic featuring the District skyline surrounded by cannabis leaves.

Lest anyone get the wrong idea, Eidinger is quick to say that Capitol Hemp is “not a store where you can purchase cannabis so you can get high.”

The rookie entrepreneur was initially reticent about the venture because the city has not sent him the certificate of occupancy he needs to open the store later this month.

But the polemicist in him eventually won out.

“We’ve been denied too long,” he said.

– Annys Shin

The mosaic in the photograph above was created by my old friend and former housemate, Jill Blankenspoor. In 2005 Jill, myself, and quite a few of our friends created a 30 foot mosaic in Anacostia at the corner of 13th and Good Hope Road. I should have those old photos of the mosaic on-line soon.

My vote verified by a paper ballot

Nikolas Schiller — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 18:17:45 +0000

An infographic showing how to hack a Diebold Accuvote-TS unit

So yesterday I participated in the DC Statehood Green Party Primary. This election cycle I was offered the opportunity to keep the tab from my ballot. Compared to those generic “I VOTED” stickers, the paper ballot is a much better souvenir because it shows that not only did I vote, I was voter number 2 at the precinct. Here’s the scanned proof:

Judging by the DC Board of Elections and Ethics results for my precinct (below), I can verify that the ballot above was the second and last DC Statehood Green Party ballot given out yesterday. If you scroll down to the bottom of the image, it shows that there were 2 people who voted for Cynthia McKinney and since the ballot above is market 00002, I can only infer that the other voter has 00001.

Page 137 of the Pre-Certified Presidential Preference Primary Election Results – Precinct Report

It looks like Cynthia McKinney beat Ron Paul in my precinct (2 votes to 1 one). Only nine people voted republican compared to the two Statehood Green (one being me). Thats some hyperlocal politix.

Related 2008 Election Entries:

The M&M’s of Australia say Vote Green

Nikolas Schiller — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 17:27:14 +0000

An ad agency’s portrayal of the Green M&M

This subvertisement is from an Australian M&M advertisement campaign. I’ve seen the same type of campaign done in America, however this campaign employs revolutionary iconography to sell the colors.

Today, however, I didn’t vote for a corporation, instead I voted in the D.C. Statehood Green Party Primary for Cynthia McKinney.

Related Green Entries:

2008 Green Party Debate [tonight on KPFA]

Nikolas Schiller — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 21:00:59 +0000

I am going to make every attempt to call in.

I haven’t posted much Green Party information in a long time. In December I stepped down from the steering committee of the DC Statehood Green Party. For the last two years I helped run Washington, DC’s official third political party (about 5,000 registered voters). My biggest accomplishment was helping the DC Statehood Green Party candidates receive more votes than the Republican Party’s canidates in the 2006 election by almost 2 to 1.

Lately, however, I’ve become completely disillusioned by the dog & pony show that is American corporate politics. The Washington Post has not even written one story this election cycle on my favorite Green Party candidate, Cynthia McKinney, instead they’ve run only one AP story, and it has already been removed (less than one month old!). By not mentioning other candidates or entire political parties it ensures that debate is silenced and alternative viewpoints do not become a threat to the electoral plutocracy. Frankly, I am quite sickened by it all. The American electoral process is controlled to the point where it’s become meaningless. However, I must remain hopeful.

Special elections are today…

Nikolas Schiller — Tue, 01 May 2007 12:33:45 +0000

I am going to work a poll this morning on behalf of Renee Bowser. Should be fun!

===
update

She placed 4th. I am looking forward to seeing the price breakdown of votes per dollar. She didn’t spend nearly the amount that corporate contenders had. This election showed me how democracy is really all about the amount of money one can spend, not about issues…..

The #2 Political Party in Washington, DC

Nikolas Schiller — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 04:11:00 +0000

As one of the few people on the Steering Committee and a National Delegate, I am proud of this small election victory.

via NBC4′s Tom Sherman’s Notebook
source: http://www.nbc4.com/politics/10416500/detail.html

Going Green
The D.C. Statehood Green Party is patting itself on the back over the November election returns. The small party came in way behind Democratic winners in the big elections, but the party has gleaned a few nuggets of hope from Board of Election tallies.

Of five partisan races on the ballot Nov. 7, the party says there were 44,580 overall votes for Statehood Green candidates while there were only 29,776 Republican votes.
In the race for the city’s statehood lobbyist (Shadow Representative), the party says standard-bearer Keith Ware got 13 percent of the votes with 12,762 ballots while the Republican candidate got 8,839 or 9 percent.

Even mayoral candidate Chris Otten received 4 percent of the vote behind 6 percent for Republican David Kranich. Of course, Democrat Fenty got most of the rest.

I’d like to map the locations of where the 44,580 D.C. Statehood Green votes were cast. It would also be quite interesting to see where the 29,776 Republican votes were cast. I have a feeling the Republican votes would be found mostly in Wards 2 & 3. Sadly, I do not have the required software (ArcMap) needed to make these two maps :( Maybe I can get a friend to make it for me…

Is the DC Colonist a Netscape Celebrity?

Nikolas Schiller — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 17:48:14 +0000

Image links to the Netscape Celebrity Page

I found this last night while looking through my ip analysis… It looks like the D.C. Colonist is going places these days. But still he has no voice in Congress.

===

Link is now dead…

===

This photo was used in the Washington Post on November 19th, 2009.

Salt Lake Tribune covers the D.C. Colonist

Nikolas Schiller — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 23:45:43 +0000

From the Salt Lake Tribune:

Much of Thursday’s hearing focused on the district’s fight for representation in the House, and several people in the audience wore stickers with the number “51,” referring to their hopes to make Washington the 51st state.

One resident even donned a Revolutionary period costume, complete with tri-corner hat, to protest the district’s lack of representation. Nikolas Schiller said he wore the purple garb to “highlight the fact that D.C. residents are still living in a colony,” because they are being taxed by the government without representation.

read the rest of the article:

source:
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_4341756

Utah, D.C. inch closer toward gaining seats

House Judiciary subcommittee

Utah, D.C. inch closer toward gaining seats
House Judiciary subcommittee
By Thomas Burr
The Salt Lake Tribune

WASHINGTON – Utah crept closer Thursday to getting a fourth U.S. House seat and the District of Columbia nearer to having its first vote in Congress.
The House Judiciary Constitution subcommittee heard legislation to permanently add members – two of them – to the chamber for the first time in nearly 100 years. It now heads to the full Judiciary Committee.
But the bill could yet be torpedoed without a compromise satisfying majority Republicans that there will be equal representation and minority Democrats that they won’t lose their only elected party member from Utah.
Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., in his first testimony before Congress, lobbied the subcommittee Thursday to grant the state a fourth seat that it barely fell short of getting after the last Census.
The bill, increasing the House by two members to 437, would “promote democratic values inherent in our Constitutional system,” Huntsman said. He added Utah has been “hurt” by not having a fourth representative, losing federal money and stretching the resources of current congressional offices.
“The state of Utah and its 2.5 million residents deserve and welcome the chance to have an additional seat in the House of Representatives,” Huntsman said.
The Republican governor said he would prefer the legislation’s proposed at-large House seat over having to redraw voting districts to carve out a fourth but said the state would welcome any move to get another seat.
That at-large provision, which would expire after the next Census and make the fourth district subject to normal redistricting procedures, is a deal-killer for Judiciary Chairman James Sensenbrenner.
“The current version gives, with the at-large seat, Utah residents two House members as representatives,” says Sensenbrenner spokesman Jeff Lungren. “Everyone else in the country [has] one.”
But Utah’s lone Democratic congressman, Jim Matheson, signed onto the legislation last week only because of the at-large provision for a fourth seat. And Democratic colleagues are likely to follow his lead on whether to support the bill.
After the 2000 Census, Matheson’s district was redrawn by the Republican-controlled state Legislature into a much more Republican one. Still, the Democrat narrowly won the next election.
The legislation is aimed at granting the District of Columbia, a Democratic stronghold, a voting member in the House and balancing that seat with another seat for Utah, which is Republican-dominated. The district currently has a nonvoting delegate.
While witnesses testifying Thursday all agreed the district should have a voting member of Congress, two Constitutional scholars argued the current bill may violate the nation’s founding document.
“Despite the best of motivations, the bill is fundamentally flawed on a constitutional level and would only serve to needlessly delay true reform for district residents,” said Jonathan Turley, of George Washington University Law School. “It is the equivalent of allowing Rosa Parks to move halfway to the front of the bus in the name of progress.”
John C. Fortier, a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington-based think tank, said the Constitution, not Congress has determined the House is made up of representatives of states, and states alone.
“Congress can no more change the Constitution on this matter by simple legislation than it could repeal the First Amendment or allow 16-year olds to serve as president,” Fortier testified in prepared remarks.
But lawyer Adam Charnes, who co-wrote a legal brief outlining the legality of similar legislation, testified that courts would uphold the measure because the Constitution grants Congress broad power over the district.
Much of Thursday’s hearing focused on the district’s fight for representation in the House, and several people in the audience wore stickers with the number “51,” referring to their hopes to make Washington the 51st state.
One resident even donned a Revolutionary period costume, complete with tri-corner hat, to protest the district’s lack of representation. Nikolas Schiller said he wore the purple garb to “highlight the fact that D.C. residents are still living in a colony,” because they are being taxed by the government without representation.

ABC 7 Covers the D.C. Colonist…

Nikolas Schiller — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 01:24:14 +0000

albeit for a brief moment outside with the largest DC flag…

it’s so annoying when they have 30 minutes of footage, but cut it down to 5 seconds. I wish I could have that footage. It’s not like the footage will be used anytime soon….Sam and his camerawoman were the only news crew to cover the antics outside two hours before the hearing began.

The DC Colonist is in a Scripts Howard wire report

Nikolas Schiller — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 05:05:04 +0000

I wish the Washington Post would have used the picture of me shaking Fenty’s hand…

Nikolas R. Schiller, co-chair of the D.C. Statehood Green Party, dressed as a colonist – complete with purple coat, ruffled blouse and three-cornered hat – to demonstrate how “D.C. residents are essentially colonists.”

Schiller said he considered H.R. 5388 “inherently flawed” because it did not grant representation in the Senate. “It would make residents of D.C. one-third of a citizen,” he said, “and I’d rather be 100 percent.”

Read the entire article:

http://www.axcessnews.com/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=11232

Congressional Vote for D.C. Still an Unanswered Question

By Caroline E.Ruse

(AXcess News) Washington – Everyone and no one could agree Thursday when experts shared their opinions on the constitutionality of a bill that would grant the District of Columbia a voting member in the U.S. House of Representatives.

All three constitutional experts who appeared before the House Constitution subcommittee voiced strong support for allowing District residents congressional representation, but two of the three said H.R. 5388 was not the answer.

“At the end of the day, I do not believe this approach is constitutional,” said John Fortier, a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. “Congress doesn’t decide what bodies get representation in the House and Senate. The Constitution decides that.”

The bill, introduced by Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., in May, would give D.C. one representative in the House regardless of population. It would not affect representation in the Senate. The District has no senators.

The bill also would grant a fourth House seat to the largely Republican state of Utah – a move intended to neutralize the bill’s political implications. D.C. is overwhelmingly Democratic. Utah’s representative would be elected on an at-large basis, rather than from a specific district, until redistricting in 2012, after the next census.

Arguments against the bill boiled down to the Constitution’s language. Article I states that members of the House are chosen “by the people of the several states.”

Attorney Adam H. Charnes, however, cited court cases in which the term “states” included the District to show that Congress has the authority to grant D.C. representation.

District residents, numbering 550,000, have been denied representation in Congress for most of United States’ history. They were not allowed to vote in presidential elections until 1964. Although residents pay federal taxes and were subject to the military draft when it existed, they are represented in the House by a non-voting delegate, currently Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C.

The hearing marked the furthest legislation on the long-debated subject had progressed since 1978, when Congress passed a constitutional amendment granting the District voting rights. The amendment failed to receive ratification by the required three-quarters of the states, and it expired in 1985.

Not all advocates for D.C. voting rights who crowded the hearing room were in favor of the bill.

Other methods by which D.C. residents could receive representation include granting the District statehood, returning much of the District to the adjacent state of Maryland, or amending the Constitution.

Sponsors and supporters of H.R. 5388 hope the House Judiciary Committee will vote on the legislation before the session ends. Congress plans to recess by the end of September to campaign for the November elections.

Davis’ press secretary, Dave Marin, confirmed the congressman had received a letter from Judiciary Chair James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., promising the committee would consider the bill. The bill has passed the Government Reform Committee, on which Davis and Norton both serve, on a 29-4 vote in May.

Source: Scripps Howard Foundation

Gimmicky Green Party Google Maps

Nikolas Schiller — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 16:58:41 +0000

Tonight’s creation….

Jon Q. Voter: “What does the Green Party stand for?”
Me: “Well there are 10 Key Values…”
Jon Q. Voter: “Environment right?”
Me: “Well, I prefer ‘ecologicial wisdom,’ but that is one of them.”
Jon Q. Voter: “What are the rest?”
Me: “Well I made a nifty google map to help you.”

“10 Key Value Google Map” – click image to be taken to the map

Tucson Arizona recap

Nikolas Schiller — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 01:55:30 +0000

Since Wednesday I’ve been in lovely Tuscon, AZ for the Green Party National Convention. I was the elected delegate from the D.C. Statehood Green Party and represented roughly 5,000 registered D.C. Statehood Greens. I didn’t have access to MySpace while there, so this posting is a condensed recap. Suffice it say, I had an absolute blast.

Here are some highlights:

— Liberated a lonely bicycle that had the same sticker as my own bicycle in DC: “Please don’t steal my bicycle. Thanks” and drove it around the town- all around town. You know how I roll. the bike is now rests in the same place i found it, waiting for a new rider

— Went to a restraurant owned by the family of one of my good friends 3 times- ate stewed cactus, spinach & pine nut tacos, and an amazing chimichanga. La Indita – Young Indian Woman…

— Walked across the border into Mexico at Nogales for the last time before a Visa is required to leave America (starting 2007 yo) and had a few beers and walked back. Customs only asked what country I reside in and in a Fruedian slip I said “Washington, DC.” – no documentation was ever made by either government of my departure and my return to the United States. And to think I walked back over with a person who has an FBI file related counter-recruitment. Well maybe I do too. I digress.

— Went to a Casino on the way back from Mexico and won $30 at Blackjack. Walked in with $30 and left with $60 but all the while knew that gambling is a tax on people who do not know math. The next day I met a Green Party mayoral candidate who for 30 years has been a slot machine repairman in Reno, NV.

— Made it to about 12 different bars on the historic 4th Ave strip of Tucson, AZ and figured out where I would have spent my Friday nights if I were to have gone to the University of Arizona. I went to Buzz instead…

— Saw MXPX, Whole Wheat Bread, Arlington View, and Transition (not my scene, but ethnographically intriquing) at the Rialto Theatre. The irony of an Arlington View in DC and Texas abounds.

— Went to the Saguaro National Park – West

— Went to Catalina State Park and saw a roadrunner — meep meep. Oh yeah, I saw a lot of cactus- but for the first time realized the beautiful biodiversity of the desert.

— Discovered how dangerous intermittent streams can be when you are in the desert’s rainy season. think desert tsunami, seriously

— Made a cameo in the Tucson, AZ Fox News affiliate’s segment on the Green Party National Meeting:

http://www.fox11az.com/sharedcontent/VideoPlayer/videoPlayer.php?vidId=78277&catId=142

(click the image to be taken to the page)

— Met a lot of great lawyers from around the country who specialize in a quite a few different legal arenas

— Came up with a few gimmicks using google maps for Green candidates around the country

— After reading thousands of e-mails from over 150 leaders scattered around the country, I finally got to make the human connection with a conversation. Made a lot of friends, mostly older in age, and considerably wiser.
Now it’s time to get back to the work that I missed out on….

Tea Time…

Nikolas Schiller — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 07:32:22 +0000

Green Tea with Statehood-Green Candidates at Future Green
Sunday, July 2, 2:00PM to 4:00PM

Come out for some refreshing green tea with our Statehood-Green Candidates at Washington’s first all eco-friendly store, Future Green.

Our slate of potential candidates will be there to discuss their platforms and election-year strategies. We say ‘potential’ because they need YOUR signatures to get on this year’s ballot.

WHEN: This Sunday, July 2, 2PM – 4PM
WHERE: Future Green — 1469 Church Street (15th and Church, Ward 2).
METRO: Red Line, Dupont Circle, walk 5 blocks East on P, than one block North on 15th.
BUSES: 14th Street Bus Line
WEB: http://www.futuregreen.net
FMI: Keith Ware, 202-234-7110 or Chris Otten, chrisotten2 at yahoo.com

All DCSGP candidates have been invited to come. Tell your friends to come and register with DCâ€™s only non-corporate political party.

*Organizers: Feel free to bring your literature to swap with candidate literature.
*Get your shop on: Great store for family-friendly products.

COME ON OUT FOR SOME STATEHOOD-GREEN TEA!
Sunday, July 2, 2pm @ Future Green

2006 Green Party National Meeting

Nikolas Schiller — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 03:39:47 +0000

I will be attending this.
You should come to one of the hottest places on Earth.

When: July 27th-30th, 2006
Where: Tucson, AZ

The Green Party of the United States is holding our annual national meeting in Tucson Arizona, on the edge of the border, in the Sonoran desert. In many, ways Arizona is a hub for some of the most important activism of the day. This spring, the state saw the largest demonstration in its history, when hundreds of thousands of immigrants and their allies marched for justice -the Arizona Greens proudly participated. Arizona is seeing some of the most rapid development in the country – during an ongoing drought. The politics of water privatization, sustainable development, and justice are omnipresent. These are burgeoning issues, not just for Arizona, but increasingly so for the rest of the country.

Arizona also has a great progressive history. The early days of statehood were rife with populist fervor: Wobblies at the mines, women voting before national suffrage, recall, initiatives, workman’s comp, when they were all radical concepts. Arizona has a tradition of the people leading in ways that no one expects. Arizona has the best Clean Elections laws in the country, and Greens helped set it up. Ballot measures here legalized medical marijuana twice, and expanded healthcare for the poor, and brought us clean elections.

We invite you to experience the rich cultural and ecological diversity of the region; learn about Arizona’s progressive past and present; and help build a sustainable, peaceful just future. El Futuro es Verde – The Future is Green!

Taxation Without Representation Google Map

Nikolas Schiller — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 03:07:43 +0000

Happy Flag Day!

This google map plots 51 DC flags around the U.S. Capitol. When the flags are clicked a random fact about America’s last continental colony pops up. You can open the source HTML to read them all quickly. I obtained some of the facts and figures from DC Vote and I sent the list out to the members of the DC Statehood Green Party for feedback. The result is what I think is one of the first political google map mashups. Have fun!

Green Jews campaign against partyâ€™s Israel divestment resolution

Nikolas Schiller — Sat, 25 Feb 2006 02:16:33 +0000

I am quoted in the JTA:

â€œI am concerned by the anti-Semitic undertones of the proposal,â€Nikolas Schiller, an officer of the Washington branch, said after listening to Clementâ€™s presentation. â€œI agree with the more global aspectsâ€ of an alternative that would take a range of nations to task.

It’s a rather crappy article though…”branch”….ummm….a branch grows on a tree and a party is the place to be….
read the rest of the article:

Green Jews campaign against partyâ€™s Israel divestment resolution

By Ron Kampeas
February 23, 2006

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23 (JTA) â€” Audrey Clement biked across
night-darkened bridges and through driving winter rain to make her
point: Her party â€” the Green Party â€” made a fundamental mistake in a
resolution calling for divestment from Israel.

She waited patiently for the DC-Statehood-Green Party to wade
through its monthly agenda items of procedural items, reports on
efforts to revive schools and libraries in afflicted areas of
Washington and a lengthy discussion on making the Web site
accessible to all members.

Then she rose and launched her critique of a resolution that calls
for total divestment from Israel for its alleged abuses of
Palestinians: â€œWhat I am addressing is what I believe is subliminal
anti-Semitism,â€ she said.

Clement appealed to the Washington branch at the Feb. 2 meeting
because her Virginia branch of the party had ignored her request for
a hearing.

Her appearance â€” and a debate now raging throughout the partyâ€™s rank and
file â€” was the result of a hard-driven campaign by Gary
Acheatel, a banker in Portland, Ore., launched not long after the
Green Party passed the resolution in November.

Acheatel said the resolution was the final straw in what he said was
Israelâ€™s diminishing profile on the left. He joined the Greens and
started contacting the delegates who voted against Resolution 190
losing a lopsided 55-7 vote.

Acheatel said one national Jewish group rebuffed him because the
Greens are on the fringe of American political life. The party has
diminished substantially in status since Ralph Naderâ€™s run for the
presidency in 2000. They were not a factor in the last elections,
and the party currently has slightly more than 300,000 registered
voters.

â€œI donâ€™t believe the Greens to be so inconsequential,â€ Acheatel
countered. â€œIts candidates are invited to debates and merit coverage
in the mainstream press. This enables the party to exercise an influence
beyond its numbers.â€

Acheatel contacted Lorna Salzman, a veteran Green Party activist
from New York City and they launched the â€œLet 190 Goâ€ campaign,
headquartered on the Web at www.advocatesforisrael.org. It has made some inroads.

In addition to Clementâ€™s appearance in Washington, a number of
Jewish veterans of the party are appealing for the resolution to be
rescinded, including former candidates such as Stanley Aronowitz of
New York, and Marakay Rogers, a candidate for governor of Pennsylvania.

â€œThe credibility of the U.S. Green Party has been badly damaged;
resignations from the party are occurring and letters are coming in
to the media committee expressing anger and disappointment with
the party,â€ Aronowitz and Rogers wrote in a letter to the partyâ€™s
national committee. â€œWe will continue to lose prospective members
and we need to take these criticisms seriously.â€

Acheatel said he has an additional goal: empowering Jews on the
left, who Acheatel believes are not as versed in combating
anti-Israel activism as their peers on the right.

â€œThis is a perfect avenue for Jewish advocacy on the left to gain
the taste of victory,â€ Acheatel told JTA.

On that score, Acheatelâ€™s campaign has scored a considerable
success, enlisting a number of synagogues and progressive Jewish
groups. The San Francisco-based Tikkun Community and the
Progressive Jewish Alliance have each made appeals to the party.

National Jewish groups are playing a role too. The Jewish Council
for Public Affairs organized a conference call on the issue for
about 15 Jewish community relations councils, and the
Anti-Defamation League distributed material to Green Party delegates.

Much of the debateâ€™s focus is on how the resolution singles out
Israel, while ignoring human rights abuses in a number of other
countries, including many in the Middle East.

â€œI am concerned by the anti-Semitic undertones of the proposal,â€
Nikolas Schiller, an officer of the Washington branch, said after
listening to Clementâ€™s presentation. â€œI agree with the more global
aspectsâ€ of an alternative that would take a range of nations to task.

Other chapter members favored keeping the resolution as is, saying
singling out Israel did not by itself constitute anti-Semitism. The
meeting concluded with a decision to discuss it further.

A statement accompanying the resolution takes other recent
divestment proposals a step further by calling for the â€œserious
consideration of a single secular, democratic state as the national
home of both Israelis and Palestinians.â€

It is that call that has sparked the most acrimonious debate.

â€œI donâ€™t support Israeli aggression but I do support its right to
exist as an independent state,â€ Salzman said in an exchange with
Ron Francis, the co-chairman of the Massachusetts Green-Rainbow Party,
a major backer of the disinvestments issue. â€œIf you donâ€™t, then come
out and say it straight, donâ€™t beat around the bush.â€

Francis had referred, in the exchange, to his state partyâ€™s
statement supporting â€œa secular, democratic governing entity for all
people in the geographic region of historic Palestine (today
referred to by some people as Israel, the West Bank and Gaza).â€

Other considerations drive the debate. Some Green Party activists
resented the passing of the national resolution without debate at
the local level â€” a hallmark of the party that grass-roots members
cherish.

At the Washington chapter meeting, members berated the national
delegate for failing to raise the matter with them before she voted
for the resolution.

Others say the party is betraying its feminist component by singling
out Israel while ignoring the repression of womenâ€™s rights by the
Palestinians and other Arab nations.

â€œIsrael is a proxy for a larger issue, and that issue is womenâ€™s
rights in the Middle East,â€ said Clement, 56, a computer programmer
from Arlington, Va. â€œI see these states trampling the rights of
women as absolutely as they trample Israel.â€

Finally, some opponents of the resolution question the paradox of
singling out the regionâ€™s strongest proponent of environmental
protections.

â€œResolution 190 violates the environmental bent of the Green Party,â€
said Jason Rosenwach, an American University student who attended the
Washington branch meeting.

Rosenwach told the meeting that Israel has the regionâ€™s most
aggressive green policies, including a commitment to plant more
trees than it uses.

The U.S. party also ignored the international green movementâ€™s
tradition of consulting the relevant regional branch before
committing to a policy.

â€œWe are very disappointed that our sister party in the U.S. did not
consult with the Israel Green Party before passing this resolution,â€
Peer Visner, the deputy mayor of Tel Aviv and the chairman of
Israelâ€™s Green Party, said in a statement. He called the resolution
a â€œbreach in trust.â€

The Water Cone

Nikolas Schiller — Sat, 25 Feb 2006 01:33:38 +0000

I want one of these, they might be good for…

DC Area Farmers Markets

Nikolas Schiller — Tue, 27 Dec 2005 04:00:01 +0000

This evening I made the first layer for an ongoing mapping project I’ve tasked myself to, “SUSTAINABLE DC MAP”

If you have Google Earth, cut & paste this link as new network connection, and zoom into DC.

If you don’t have Google Earth, you can see two screen shots I took, here & here.

I have going to have a planting party this spring… details tba

Remember, January 5th, 7pm, UDC & me :)

Related Google Earth Entries:

Anthony & I like maps!

Nikolas Schiller — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 02:46:06 +0000

From the Washington Map Society…

On Friday May 5, 2006, the WMS Annual Dinner will be held at the U.S. Capitol (tentative). Our guest speaker is the Honorable Anthony A. Williams, Mayor, The City of Washington DC (invited). Mayor Williams at one time in his career was a map collector. Details will be provided at coming meetings, by mailed invitation and on the Society’s Website.

Hmmmmmm……….,,,,,,,mmmmm

I bet he’d like one of my maps :)

===
#UPDATE#
So I sat behind him on Thursday, September 14th, 2006 for the Norton Davis Bill hearing and I asked him about his past cartographic activities. He said he sucked, “No one bought any.” Call that advice from the mayor- don’t be a map dealer.

DC Department of the Environment

Nikolas Schiller — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 17:48:29 +0000

The D.C. City Council voted to create the D.C. Department of the Environment. I can’t believe I’m a month behind this vote, and worse is that forwarded to friends as if it were fresh off the presses. Oh well, it is good new afterall, even if it’s a month late.

Read the story:
Via the Common Denominator

Environment gets D. C. cabinet status
(November 15, 2005, online news update)

D.C. City Council voted today to create a new D.C. Department of the Environment,
intended to consolidate environment-related functions currently scattered among several
city agencies.

The new department, originally proposed by At-Large Councilwoman Carol Schwartz and
supported by Mayor Anthony A. Williams, is expected to be operational in about six
months.

The new department will assume functions currently carried out by the Department of
Health, Department of Public Works, Department of Transportation and the independent
D.C. Water and Sewer Authority.

The Health Department’s Environmental Health Administration and its Bureau of
Hazardous Materials and Toxic Substances will form part of the new department’s core,
with responsibility for air and water quality, watershed protection, fisheries and wildlife
and regulating such things as hazardous waste, underground storage and brownfields
remediation. The new department also will assume responsibility for the city’s
environmental impact review process.

Stormwater management functions of the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority are expected to
be transferred to the new department after completion of a feasibility analysis of the
transfer.

Transfer of the Office of Energy to the new department is expected to enhance the city’s
focus on energy conservation and use of less polluting sources of energy, as well as speed
the transformation of the city’s vehicle fleet to vehicles that burn “cleaner” fuels such as
natural gas.

The new department also will be expected to establish city policy over rodent control, tree
management, recycling and solid waste, although responsibility for implementing the
policies is expected to remain with the Departments of Public Works and Transportation.

The Department of the Environment is the second new cabinet-level city department
created this year and the fourth established since Mayor Williams took office in 1999. The
Department of Motor Vehicles and Department of Transportation were spun off of the
Department of Public Works. The Department of Small and Local Business Development
was created at the start of the current fiscal year Oct. 1, but is not expected to be fully
operational until sometime in 2006.

Copyright 2005 The Common Denominator

Related Green Entries:

The Everywhere Man Award

Nikolas Schiller — Sun, 04 Dec 2005 05:09:24 +0000

Tonight I went to the 2005 Washington Peace Center Awards ceremony. Beginning as a potluck the event featured Amy Goodman and Damu Smith and they each received awards for their dedication to peace. At the end of the event awards were given out to about 50 people or so, and I won the “The Everywhere Man Award,” and as a dedicated geographer, I must say its one of the best honors I’ve been bestowed.

trackback

December Green Party Meeting

Nikolas Schiller — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 22:24:34 +0000

This Thursday evening at 7:30pm is the December General Body meeting of the DC Statehood Green Party at the University of the District of Columbia.

This is also the meeting where the 2006 officers are elected. I am up for a spot on the party steering committee and as a delegate to the national Green Party general assembly.

You do not need to be a member of the party nor a resident of DC to come, but if you plan on voting, you need to be a member of the party first…..you can switch parties today and vote if you want!

If you subscribe to the following 10 key values of the Green Party, you should consider switching parties:

Originally ratified at the Green Party Convention in Denver, CO, June 2000.

1. GRASSROOTS DEMOCRACY
Every human being deserves a say in the decisions that affect their lives and not be subject to the will of another. Therefore, we will work to increase public participation at every level of government and to ensure that our public representatives are fully accountable to the people who elect them. We will also work to create new types of political organizations which expand the process of participatory democracy by directly including citizens in the decision-making process.

2. SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
All persons should have the rights and opportunity to benefit equally from the resources afforded us by society and the environment. We must consciously confront in ourselves, our organizations, and society at large, barriers such as racism and class oppression, sexism and homophobia, ageism and disability, which act to deny fair treatment and equal justice under the law.

3. ECOLOGICAL WISDOM
Human societies must operate with the understanding that we are part of nature, not separate from nature. We must maintain an ecological balance and live within the ecological and resource limits of our communities and our planet. We support a sustainable society which utilizes resources in such a way that future generations will benefit and not suffer from the practices of our generation. To this end we must practice agriculture which replenishes the soil; move to an energy efficient economy; and live in ways that respect the integrity of natural systems.

4. NON-VIOLENCE
It is essential that we develop effective alternatives to societyâ€™s current patterns of violence. We will work to demilitarize, and eliminate weapons of mass destruction, without being naive about the intentions of other governments. We recognize the need for self-defense and the defense of others who are in helpless situations. We promote non-violent methods to oppose practices and policies with which we disagree, and will guide our actions toward lasting personal, community and global peace.

5. DECENTRALIZATION
Centralization of wealth and power contributes to social and economic injustice, environmental destruction, and militarization. Therefore, we support a restructuring of social, political and economic institutions away from a system which is controlled by and mostly benefits the powerful few, to a democratic, less bureaucratic system. Decision-making should, as much as possible, remain at the individual and local level, while assuring that civil rights are protected for all citizens.

6. COMMUNITY-BASED ECONOMICS AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE
We recognize it is essential to create a vibrant and sustainable economic system, one that can create jobs and provide a decent standard of living for all people while maintaining a healthy ecological balance. A successful economic system will offer meaningful work with dignity, while paying a â€œliving wageâ€ which reflects the real value of a personâ€™s work.

Local communities must look to economic development that assures protection of the environment and workersâ€™ rights; broad citizen participation in planning; and enhancement of our â€œquality of life.â€ We support independently owned and operated companies which are socially responsible, as well as co-operatives and public enterprises that distribute resources and control to more people through democratic participation.

7. FEMINISM AND GENDER EQUITY
We have inherited a social system based on male domination of politics and economics. We call for the replacement of the cultural ethics of domination and control with more cooperative ways of interacting that respect differences of opinion and gender. Human values such as equity between the sexes, interpersonal responsibility, and honesty must be developed with moral conscience. We should remember that the process that determines our decisions and actions is just as important as achieving the outcome we want.

8. RESPECT FOR DIVERSITY
We believe it is important to value cultural, ethnic, racial, sexual, religious and spiritual diversity, and to promote the development of respectful relationships across these lines.

We believe that the many diverse elements of society should be reflected in our organizations and decision-making bodies, and we support the leadership of people who have been traditionally closed out of leadership roles. We acknowledge and encourage respect for other life forms than our own and the preservation of biodiversity.

9. PERSONAL AND GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY
We encourage individuals to act to improve their personal well-being and, at the same time, to enhance ecological balance and social harmony. We seek to join with people and organizations around the world to foster peace, economic justice, and the health of the planet.

10. FUTURE FOCUS AND SUSTAINABILITY
Our actions and policies should be motivated by long-term goals. We seek to protect valuable natural resources, safely disposing of or â€œunmakingâ€ all waste we create, while developing a sustainable economics that does not depend on continual expansion for survival. We must counterbalance the drive for short-term profits by assuring that economic development, new technologies, and fiscal policies are responsible to future generations who will inherit the results of our actions.

Ten Key Values from other state and local Greens.
There is no authoritative version of the Ten Key Values of the Greens. The Ten Key Values are guiding principles that are adapted and defined to fit each state and local chapter. [in DC we have Statehood as a key value because there are 570,000 residents in Washington, DC who lack representation in congress]
==/==

USDA, where is your organic?

Nikolas Schiller — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 23:42:07 +0000

So earlier today I went to the USDA’s GIS Day at the USDA’s main building at 12th & Independence for work. We setup a booth for the My Community, Our Earth Program to show USDA employees the importance of geographic education for sustainable development. While I have been to the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) building before, this was the first time I have been in their main building. We setup in the back of the cafeteria, and after we had discussed our projects to the other exhibitors we were given the green light to go and get some “USDA chow.” I was sincerely hoping to find some organic USDA chow, but instead I found your typical pesticide ridden SYSCO food service grub. I am still quite amazed to be honest…. Is there no employee who prefers organic food at the USDA? You’d think they’d want to have that food available to show that they are serious about the program, but instead there was no mention of it- no logo anywhere. If I could go back there again, I’d definitely like to find one of the employees working on the program and pick there brain for a bit. Literally, I’d like to see them put their money where their mouth is!

I live in the District of the 42nd State, sorta

Nikolas Schiller — Fri, 04 Nov 2005 12:31:56 +0000

and my mom lives in Maryland Heights…..Missouri. Have you been to District Heights?

11/11 YO! it definitely feels like its 42 degrees there too. The District definitely doesn’t really feel like the Evergreen State …….it feels like like a 61 square mile colony that has has the Mighty Columbia rushing through it….:-)

Civic Footprint

Nikolas Schiller — Thu, 27 Oct 2005 23:59:45 +0000

I was reading Chicagoist thinking about the annual meeting this winter, and I stumbled on a website called Civic Footprint. It’s ties together maps (albeit ugly) with Police Districts, Wards, Community Areas, County Districts, State Representative Districts, State Senate Districts, and Congressional Districts.

I’d really like to see this type of website replicated because it currently only works off a geo-database populated with Chicago area data. The concept of this website (below the fold) is an excellent way to empower people politically. It gives visitors the ability to become aware of their elected officials. Created by the progressive Center for Neighborhood Technology, I was suprised to find out who the sponsor was….

Boeing:

What is the Civic Footprint?

Whether or not you vote or can name your state senator, you have a civic footprintâ€”an imprint of your unique place in the civic world. Knowing your Footprint is a key part of being able to get involved in your community. Yet it’s never been easy to find this information â€¦ until now.

The Center for Neighborhood Technology developed the Civic Footprint, a website to help Cook County residents find out who represents them so that they can stand up for the issues that impact their lives. Healthy, sustainable communities are dependent upon active citizens who help make our democratic institutions work. The first step towards this vision is the ability to find out where you stand and who stands for you.

The Civic Footprint makes it easy. It gathers together into one easy-to-use resource many of your personal political geographies and provides you with a snapshot of all of theseâ€”your Footprint.

I also like how I am going to Ward #42 :-)

seeds of change

Nikolas Schiller — Sat, 08 Oct 2005 07:38:30 +0000

Today I started to make the conscious decision to save the seeds from the vegetables I’m harvesting from garden. I have a small pile already of my favorite green pepper :) I am drying out an eggplant as well. Saving seeds cuts out next year’s middle man, and I’ve never tried this before.

Next year I am going to politely ask my neighbor if I can plant his fallow backyard. I doubt he’d mind free vegetables! As it is now, he mows it like two times a year. Usually when the grass gets about 2ft high .I figure that all I’d need to do is go in the back yard two times a week to inspect the plants, and I can water the backyard from our second story balcony. If I buy a second hose I can keep it up there and water his backyard in the afternoons. I think I’d grow corn & sunflowers if I get the chance to.

After raining the last few days, the cold front made this evening feel like the first day of fall. Its time to harvest and plan for next year.

poem: It’s gettin hotter in here

Nikolas Schiller — Wed, 14 Sep 2005 02:22:51 +0000

I wrote this Monday night and performed it on Tuesday night at a packed Busboys & Poets for an Operation Ceasefire benefit. Definitely an awesome experience :-) I really liked that place- a lot, although its kinda weird witnessing gentrification before me. Regardless, the progressive bookstore, theater, cheap food, and free Wi-Fi makes it a tryst to not miss.

I would describe this poem as ecopoetry :-)

Its getting hotter in here,
The climate is changing, I know this to be true.
Its that kinda heat that evaporates the beads of morning dew
Its that kinda heat which allows AC to cool the select few.
Its that kinda heat that keeps the truth out of view,

Yet this change is not altogether new,
But its time to ponder what is causing the sky to change its hue.
Its time to ask what you going to do?

To use non-scientific parlance,
the world’s climate is severely out of balance.
Mother Nature is pissed and is giving us a mean glance,
And her demeanor is starting to take an aggressive b-boy stance,

To remedy this itâ€™s not going to take some amazing scientific advance,
Rather, it boils down to you snapping out of this not-my-problem trance.

The word I want you to remember is variability.
In your mind, make it synonymous with climatic agility.

Variability is means nothing is constant.
The variables are not X nor Y nor Phi, but U, I, and delta

The x-bar variation will not be the norm unless we undertake
comprehensive, systemic, omega reform.

Alas, technology is not going to save us,
it was actually technology that brought us to this mess,
and I must stress,

That we are living in an ecological double bind
and the severity will blow your mind.

We are chopping down more trees that can be regrown,
While we are also putting more CO2 into our atmosphere.
And in due time the results will be a few polluted shades from crystal
clear.

And without a way for the levels of C02 to be reduced,
Climatic variability is here to roost.

For the last 400,000 years the ambient CO2 levels had remained same,
About 300 parts per million would be the name,
The Industrial Revolution is the climate changing historical event to blame.
Itâ€™s an ongoing revolution that continues play its polluted game,

Hello heinous hurricanes and typical typhoons,
Hello category 5 tornadoes and torrential rain,
Hello record high temperatures, disastrous droughts,

The extremes are beginning to become the way of life.
This is going to lead to more pestilence, famine, and strife.

I’m sad to say that in less that 200 years,
the damage has already been already done,

and now my friends we get to revel in this climate change fun.
Mother Earth has won.

Its getting hotter in here,
Yes, the climate is changing, I know this to be true.
Its that kinda heat like a mirage that obstructs your view
Its that kinda heat which AC is able to cool the select few.
Yet its a change beginning in around 1850 that is not altogether new,
Its time to stop what is causing the sky to change its hue.
And it all starts with you.

USDA Organic Bodycare – Victory!

Nikolas Schiller — Sat, 27 Aug 2005 11:59:09 +0000

Back in June I recorded a news segment Adam did for Dr. Bronners attacking the USDA for deciding to remove the USDA Organic Seal from personal care products. Last week the USDA backed down, and decided to continue to allow companies to keep the seal on body care products. All I can say is well done :-)

via USA Today:

Soap can proudly display certified ‘organic’ label
By Libby Quaid The Associated Press

WASHINGTON â€” The government is reversing its decision to yank the “USDA Organic” seal from lotions and lip balms and will now allow cosmetics to carry the round, green label.

An organic soap company and a consumer group had sued the Agriculture Department for ordering removal of the distinctive seal.

Without the government seal, the word organic is “just a fluff marketing claim,” David Bronner, president of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, said Wednesday. “It’s kind of a truth-in-advertising thing â€” consumers can trust that it is, indeed, free of synthetics and does support organic farming and agriculture.”

Bronner’s company and the Organic Consumers Association sued the department in June.

The department created the label three years ago for food and other products grown without pesticides or fertilizer and made with all-natural, chemical-free ingredients. It applies to meat and dairy products from animals given organic feed and access to the outdoors and never given antibiotics or growth hormones.

Department officials decided in April they didn’t have the authority to regulate cosmetics and ordered companies to remove the USDA seal. Late Tuesday, a day before a deadline to respond to the lawsuit, it issued a memo reversing itself.

Barbara Robinson, head of the department’s National Organic Program, said officials have struggled over the issue, particularly because the program is still new.

“We’re USDA. We’re looking at it from an agricultural perspective. We do agricultural products here. We do food,” Robinson said in an interview. “We don’t do cosmetics here. We’re not lipstick. We’re not mouthwash. We’re not lawn-care products. It takes awhile to sit down and look at this and say, all right, how do we make this work?”

In the end, officials decided the product use doesn’t matter as long as it follows the rules. In other words, Robinson said, “What difference does it make if you brush your teeth with it or eat it?”

The reversal also allows dietary supplements and pet food to carry the organic seal. The USDA now is creating organic standards for fish.

The decision to remove the seal from cosmetics frustrated companies that, like Bronner’s, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to find all-organic ingredients and get certified. Only products cleared by government-authorized agents can use the seal.

Legal liability was also at stake: Some organic cosmetics companies have been sued for deceptive labeling because they bore the claim.

Now it should be clear that, “Just like food, the federal standards pre-empt any state laws, and if you meet federal standards, the product is organic,” said William J. Friedman, an attorney defending the companies in state courts.

Bronner and the consumer group expect to drop the lawsuit pending settlement talks in the next month, said their attorney, Joe Sandler.

HOT!

Nikolas Schiller — Thu, 21 Jul 2005 14:36:41 +0000

Climate Change…. Feel it.

via CNN:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Global warming is caused primarily by humans and “nearly all climate scientists today” agree with that viewpoint, the new head of the National Academy of Sciences — a climate scientist himself — said Wednesday.

Ralph Cicerone’s views contrasted with Bush administration officials’ emphasis on uncertainty about how much carbon dioxide and other industrial gases warm the atmosphere like a greenhouse.

“Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is now at its highest level in 400,000 years and it continues to rise,” said Cicerone, an atmospheric scientist who left as chancellor of University of California-Irvine to become academy president this month. “Nearly all climate scientists today believe that much of Earth’s current warming has been caused by increases in the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, mostly from the burning of fuels.”

Cicerone, testifying before a Senate Commerce subcommittee on global climate change, cited data from weather stations and ships indicating the surface of the Earth is generally hotter by about seven-tenths of 1 degree Fahrenheit just since the early 1970s.

The administration officials stressed the $5 billion spent yearly on U.S. climate programs, mostly research. David Conover, a principal deputy assistant energy secretary, said President Bush would lead on the issue though “the scientific and technology challenges are considerable.”

James Mahoney, assistant commerce secretary for oceans and atmosphere, said, “We know that the surface of the Earth is warmer, and that an increase in greenhouse gases caused by humans is contributing to the problem.” But he did not go further than that.

“We see economic growth, addressing the climate change problem and energy security as integrally related,” said Daniel Reifsnyder, director of the State Department’s Office of Global Change.

Just three senators — David Vitter, R-Louisiana, Frank Lautenberg, D-New Jersey, and Ted Stevens, R-Alaska — were at the hearing. All three shared concerns about coastlines disappearing.

Cicerone also bolstered a 2004 Pentagon report that two private consultants prepared on potential global impacts of an abrupt and severe change in the world’s climate. When the report was issued, it was met with some skepticism and disbelief — even by the Pentagon official who commissioned the study.

Among the dire consequences sketched out were surging seas breaking down levees in the Netherlands in 2007, making the Hague “unlivable,” and Europe’s climate becoming “more like Siberia’s” by 2020. They saw possible “mega-droughts” in southern China and northern Europe.

“It was well done,” Cicerone said of the report. “I didn’t think it was fictional.”

Last month, the National Academy of Sciences — an independent organization chartered by Congress to advise the government on scientific matters — joined with similar groups from 10 other nations in calling for prompt action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Those nations were Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan and Russia.

Bush said earlier this month he recognizes that human activity contributes to a warmer Earth. But he continues to reject the Kyoto treaty on global warming that all other G-8 industrialized nations signed, because developing nations weren’t included in it.

His administration has argued strongly against mandatory climate-related emissions caps, contending that its voluntary program is countering the growth of those emissions, but not actually reducing the tons annually being released into the atmosphere.

Solar Panels + Water = Electrolysis (Hydrogen + Oxygen) = unlimited energy
I’ve saw usable hydrogen gas made at the EPA’s P3 event on the Mall.

Censorship on the 4th of July

Nikolas Schiller — Tue, 05 Jul 2005 02:40:21 +0000

Today’s Strike 4 Statehood festivities at RFK were very disappointing. While the marquee outside of the stadium say that you are allowed to bring in signs, once in the stands, this is not true. Maybe it was because the game was being televised by FOX, or maybe the MLB management really doesn’t want people to entertain their freedom of speech while at the stadium, but when you are threatened to be kicked out of the stadium numerous times for holding up signs on the 4th of July, it’s really a sad sad sight.

The plan was the same as at the last game, we were going to hold up the signs that spelled out “S T R I K E 4 DC S T A T E H O O D” every time the pitcher struck out someone from the opposing team, or if the player is walked, we’d flip the signs to say “B U S H P L A Y B A L L W I T H DC.” Alas, this form of signage is not welcomed at RFK stadium, nor was ANY type of signage.

After our first display of the signs the RFK stadium security was on to us and told us that we were not allowed to hold up the signs and we needed to put them away. They said they were either going to kick us out of the stadium or take our signs, and of course we weren’t going to budge an inch- it was the 4th of July, the day we are supposed to celebrate freedom of speech and all that has came with 229 years of independence.

As we were being heckled by security, the Washington Post photographer approached us and we were able to tell him the story. He snapped a few pictures of us and took some of our names, and hopefully we’ll make it into the Post.

We pointed out to the security that there were others with signs that were not being heckled and they approached those people and told them that they needed to put their signs away as well. But of course, those people didn’t put up much of a fight like we did! We eventually put the signs away and the security left us alone.

Brendan brought his DC flag to the game as well (itâ€™s the same flag you can see hoisted on Senator Strauss’ boat in the Examiner Article) and decided that he would hold up the flag during applause. And who would have thought that you are not allowed to hold up the DC Flag at the baseball game in Washington, DC? He, too, almost got kicked out of the stadium for refusing to not wave his flag. Can you believe the banality of censorship on the 4th of July at RFK stadium? I am still recoiling!

Eventually the second tier security came and told the security guard, who ended up being posted behind us the entire game, that it was okay to wave the DC Flag! Oh the fun of flags on the 4th of July!

During the 7th inning stretch we defied the RFK stadium security and held up the signs for the stadium to see, which they did! It was quite funny seeing the entire stadium looking up at us to read the sign. The powerless security guard who was stationed behind us came down to us and told us to take down the signs and we just ignored her. We held up the signs two more times before our critical mass of 20 DC Statehood supporters decided to head on home for the night.

As we were leaving the stands, I noticed that RFK stadium security had added a police officer to the ranks of those monitoring our 4th of July festivities in the stands.

We learned through this whole ordeal that the signs are not going to work, but we also noticed that people with letters on their shirts can do the exact same messaging, and itâ€™s a bit more “legal.” There was a gaggle of folks who had “Happy 4th of July” on spelled out on their shirts and they were not given any hassle by the RFK security. We also learned that the DC flag is legitimate, so that means I need to get one for myself! (maybe one with “Taxation Without Representation”)

I came to the stadium dressed as the DC Colonist, which was perfect for the 4th of July, yet I realized that I need a bit more visible messaging on the outfit for it not to be misconstrued as “patriot” that some suburbanites told their children I was. Regardless, everyone got a kick out of seeing me in such a timely costume! I was able to rally our section of the stadium into doing the wave :) This was the first time I’ve actually partaken in the activity of getting people to literally follow the leader. Very fun!

This will definitely be the last time I attend a Nats game for a while. My next foray will be highlighting the fact that RFK stadium does not recycle. I believe that we’ll be able to make a strong case for adding recycling bins to the stadium to make sure PETE finds a home other than a landfill or an incinerator. There is no reason why RFK stadium is not recycling, and my only guess is because no one has pointed out this fact. Time to do so.

Examiner Coverage of our OSCE Maritime Lobbying Effort

Nikolas Schiller — Mon, 04 Jul 2005 03:05:15 +0000

After meeting the reporter on Friday, he didn’t seem too informed about the DC voting rights issue and his article for the Examiner shows this. However, the Examiner is the only media outlet who covered our DC Democracy Naval lobbying effort.

Fulfilling the democratic promise
Activists of District’s equal representation rally for OSCE resolution

BY NICK HOOVER
Special to The Examiner
Published: Sunday, July 3, 2005 9:22 PM EDT

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has monitored elections from the Balkans to the former Soviet republics, and now they’ve come to Washington partially to consider a resolution that urges the United States to give District residents equal voting rights in Congress.

Although Eleanor Holmes Norton, D, represents Washington on the floor of the House of Representatives, the District hasn’t had voting representation in more than 200 years.

“Getting international support would be phenomenal for our voting rights,” said Wanda Lockridge, chairperson of the D.C. Democratic State Committee.

The 55-nation group, which aims to maintain human rights and political security “from Vancouver to Vladivostok,” will vote Tuesday on the resolution, which drew overwhelming support in committee.

Hoping for a ‘yes’ vote

On Friday, activists and civic leaders rallied outside the J.W. Marriott Hotel, where the organization was meeting, in hopes of influencing a yes vote.

Norton wrote the OSCE resolution and also spoke at the rally, referring to “long-suffering Washington” and telling protesters that “the eyes of the world will finally be focused on you, not official Washington” when the vote comes to the table on Tuesday morning.

“As Americans are celebrating the Declaration of Independence, we are asking people to remember that [the democratic] promise has not been fulfilled for Washingtonians,” said Ilir Zherka, executive director of voting rights advocacy group DC Vote.

Recent notice in Congress

The capital’s lack of voting representation has also gotten some recent notice in Congress. A bipartisan bill written by Rep. Tom Davis, R.-Va., would add two more representatives to the House, one from the District and another from Utah.

But Sen. Paul Strauss, D-D.C., the elected but non-voting shadow senator for the District who is also unable to speak on the floor, said one representative isn’t enough.

“We need equal rights,” Strauss said. “Without two senators, we can’t represent the District in a meaningful way.”

Strauss and supporters continued their activism Saturday, setting sail in a boat decked out with banners reading “OSCE: HELP FREE DC” to follow delegates and staff from the international organization as they toured the Potomac River.

nhoover@dcexaminer.com

Related Colonist Entries:

Liberté, égalité, fraternité – OSCE

Nikolas Schiller — Sat, 02 Jul 2005 15:13:56 +0000

Image Links to Flash Player:

Video footage from the OSCE Demonstration at Freedom Plaza.

My account of the day:

In the morning, we greeted the Parliamentarians as they arrived at the J.W. Marriot. I dressed up as the DC Colonist and I waved and told every Parliamentarians about how DC residents lack voting rights. This type of ad-hoc lobbying went very well. Quite a few of the Parliamentarians didn’t know that the 500,000+ residents of the District lack equal voting rights given to every other American.

I spoke with Parliamentarians from Turkey, France, Finland, Norway, Italy, and quite a few others. One of the Finnish Parliamentarians even spoke on the pa system we had setup on the street. After the Parliamentarians entered their morning meeting Adam & I went back to his place for some lunch and came back at 11:30am for the Rally.

When we arrived DC Vote had the voting booths setup and the camera men from NBC4 and Newschannel 8 were setting up. Adam proceeded to setup the sound system on Freedom Plaza facing the smoking area on the south side of the J.W. Marriot. When a group of the Parliamentarians got off a bus, he started to speak to them and ask if they wanted to come to our rally (across the street). The NBC4 camera man recorded this, and was later used this in their evening news story.

At around 12:15pm the rally officially began with a few speakers talking about the importance of democracy here in DC and how what we were doing was so important. I mainly walked around during the rally saying hello to people and being apart of the political theatrics. It was a lot of fun, but really really hot. I drank so much water, and I’m happy I didn’t suffer heat stroke! I ended up taking off the colonial robe to stay cool.

Of all the speeches given Tim Cooper’s speech was by far the best. I’m very glad he was given a chance to speak, because none of these festivities would be taking place if it wasn’t for him. His work on bringing the International Community on board with the DC Voting Rights movement is why we were lobbying the OSCE. I had heard of the OSCE before, but would have never known they were having their annual meeting in DC.

After the rally, everyone moved to the sidewalks surrounding the J.W. Marriot. Groups paced back and forth around the corners of the hotel, gaining the attention of all the Parliamentarians as they returned back from lunch. Adam’s sound system was used to help rally the marchers on the sidewalks. Slowly just about everyone left and went on with their days, and the DC Vote crew proceeded to move the voting booths back into their moving truck.

A few us of the more dedicated voting rights activists stayed at the J.W. Marriot waiting for Frist, Hastert, and Rice to show up. The OSCE nicely gave the entire world their itinerary, so we knew that the 3 would be showing up at around 2:30pm. And sure enough they did…And I personally got to heckle them!!! Can you imagine an irate colonist yelling at the top of his lungs with a sign that says “We want Equal Voting Rights through Statehood.” I think I actually scared Hastert! It was great!

I must say that the security apparatus was a joke, we could spot the undercover Secret Service agents quite easily! The advance team was just as easily noticed. The bomb sniffing dogs walked the area during the rally so we knew that they were in fact following the draft itinerary. I realized that they were going to enter through the side garage because the agent in the suit was just waiting at the corner with his finger in his ear. All I had to do was look over my shoulder and see the two black SUVs with their lights on to realize who was coming. Regardless, I am pleased that I was able to lobby the hypocrites who speak about bringing democracy to the world while denying democracy at home.

Best of all, the rally got some great press from the Washington Post (below) and I spliced together the NBC4 and Newschannel 8 footage with Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA) answering a question about the OSCE being lobbied by us and a couple commercials from Williamsburg.

Check out out the video highlights!

Via Washington Post:

Think Locally, Ask Globally
D.C. Voting Rights Activists Seek Support From Europeans

By Mary Beth Sheridan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, July 2, 2005; Page B01

D.C. voting rights activists took their case to an unusual constituency yesterday, calling on European legislators at an international meeting to lean on the U.S. government to give Washingtonians full representation in Congress.

“O-S-C-E, free D.C.!” chanted scores of demonstrators parading in front of the J.W. Marriott on Pennsylvania Avenue NW, where legislators from countries in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe were opening their annual meeting.

The 55-member OSCE includes countries from Europe and the former Soviet Union, as well as the United States. The OSCE grew out of the Helsinki process of the Cold War period, which established human rights as a global foreign policy concern and tried to spur greater freedom in the Soviet bloc.

The current OSCE meeting, which lasts through Tuesday, will address such issues as gender equality and human rights. But to local activists, nothing matters more than a proposed amendment that calls on the U.S. government to give D.C. residents “equal voting rights in their national legislature.” The measure is expected to be considered today or tomorrow.

Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), the District’s non-voting delegate in Congress, introduced the amendment with the support of four other legislators in the 12-member U.S. delegation to the OSCE meeting. Delegates from Canada and Switzerland also were sponsors.

At a noontime rally yesterday in Freedom Plaza, in front of the Marriott, Norton assured a spirited crowd that she would press European parliamentarians to back the measure.

“I will be telling them, ‘Do not let the United States government get away with pushing around every other country, insisting on democracy, then coming home and pushing us out when we insist on democracy,’ ” she said.

Cheers rose from the audience of about 200, including perspiring office workers in shirtsleeves, mothers clutching babies and Faith, an exotic ballet dancer and six-time mayoral candidate, who was clad in a U.S. flag, fishnet stockings and red boots.

The activists hoisted signs in French, German, Russian and other languages demanding the right to full representation for the District. In case the message did not get through, however, organizers set up four voting booths enclosed by a chain-link fence in one corner of the plaza. The fence was festooned with yellow-and-black signs warning: “DC Residents Out! By Order of Congress.”

“Our hope is that passage of the resolution will further the cause by putting international pressure on the Congress,” said Ilir Zherka, executive director of DC Vote.

Andreas Baker, a spokesman for the OSCE, said that if the D.C. measure passed, it would not have the force of law. It would, however, be included in a final document distributed to the member countries.

“It’s essentially the voice of parliamentarians from the 55 [countries]. So it’s a recommendation which tends to carry a bit of weight,” he said.

An OSCE mission that monitored last year’s U.S. presidential election issued a report recently that stated that the U.S. government denies full representation and voting rights to residents of the District.

It was not clear whether the D.C. voting-rights measure would be supported by the entire U.S. delegation, which is composed of six Democratic and six Republican members of Congress. A phone call to the office of Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), the head of the U.S. delegation, was not returned.

Voting rights activists were scrambling yesterday to make sure the approximately 300 OSCE delegates were aware of the District’s special status. They handed out leaflets, marched with signs outside the Marriott and even buttonholed individual legislators.

David Bardin, 72, a retired D.C. attorney, grabbed a Spanish official, Gustavo Pallares, outside the Marriott and quickly filled him in about the local voting situation.

“So you don’t have a representative in the U.S. Congress?” said Pallares, puzzled by the idea.

Many legislators simply ignored the protesters. But not Jean-Claude Lefort, a parliamentarian from France. Slapping a “Taxation Without Representation” sticker onto his suit jacket, he walked up and down the line of protesters, shaking hands.

“I support them,” he said, explaining his feelings with the French national motto: ” LibertÃ©, EgalitÃ©, FraternitÃ©.”

Related Colonist Entries:

How many Greens are there in the EU Parliament?

Nikolas Schiller — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 00:33:56 +0000

I Grab, you decide:

Here is a hint: look for the sunflower and the ultimate answer

Reasons to be a vegetarian

Nikolas Schiller — Tue, 21 Jun 2005 01:18:23 +0000

Now I like these lists as much as the next person does, but I really wish the “facts” were cited somewhere or had some authorative author…. Nonetheless, I’m glad I’m a veggie :)

Here’s why you shouldn’t eat meat. Pick one argument and read it. If you’re not satisfied, read another… maybe you will all be able to get the point.

The Hunger Argument

Number of people worldwide who will die as a result of malnutrition this year: 20 million
Number of people who could be adequately fed using land freed if Americans reduced their intake of meat by 10%: 100 million
Percentage of corn grown in the U.S. eaten by people: 20
Percentage of corn grown in the U.S. eaten by livestock: 80
Percentage of oats grown in the U.S. eaten by livestock: 95
Percentage of protein wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 90
How frequently a child dies as a result of malnutrition: every 2.3 seconds
Pounds of potatoes that can be grown on an acre: 40,000
Pounds of beef produced on an acre: 250
Percentage of U.S. farmland devoted to beef production: 56
Pounds of grain and soybeans needed to produce a pound of edible flesh from feedlot beef: 16

The Environmental Argument

Cause of global warming: greenhouse effect
Primary cause of greenhouse effect: carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels
Fossil fuels needed to produce meat-centered diet vs. a meat-free diet: 3 times more
Percentage of U.S. topsoil lost to date: 75
Percentage of U.S. topsoil loss directly related to livestock raising: 85
Number of acres of U.S. forest cleared for cropland to produce meat-centered diet: 260 million
Amount of meat imported to U.S. annually from Central and South America: 300,000,000 pounds
Percentage of Central American children under the age of five who are undernourished: 75
Area of tropical rainforest consumed in every quarter-pound of rainforest beef: 55 square feet
Current rate of species extinction due to destruction of tropical rainforests for meat grazing and other uses: 1,000 per year

The Cancer Argument

Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat meat daily compared to less than once a week: 3.8 times
For women who eat eggs daily compared to once a week: 2.8 times
For women who eat butter and cheese 2-4 times a week: 3.25 times
Increased risk of fatal ovarian cancer for women who eat eggs 3 or more times a week vs. less than once a week: 3 times
Increased risk of fatal prostate cancer for men who consume meat, cheese, eggs and milk daily vs. sparingly or not at all: 3.6 times.

The Cholesterol Argument

Number of U.S. medical schools: 125
Number requiring a course in nutrition: 30
Nutrition training received by average U.S. physician during four years in medical school: 2.5 hours
Most common cause of death in the U.S.: heart attack
How frequently a heart attack kills in the U.S.: every 45 seconds
Average U.S. man’s risk of death from heart attack: 50 percent
Risk of average U.S. man who eats no meat: 15 percent
Risk of average U.S. man who eats no meat, dairy or eggs: 4 percent
Amount you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption of meat, dairy and eggs by 10 percent: 9 percent
Amount you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption by 50 percent: 45 percent
Amount you reduce risk if you eliminate meat, dairy and eggs from your diet: 90 percent
Average cholesterol level of people eating meat-centered-diet: 210 mg/dl
Chance of dying from heart disease if you are male and your blood cholesterol level is 210 mg/dl: greater than 50 percent

The Natural Resources Argument

User of more than half of all water used for all purposes in the U.S.: livestock production
Amount of water used in production of the average cow: sufficient to float a destroyer
Gallons of water needed to produce a pound of wheat: 25
Gallons of water needed to produce a pound of California beef: 5,000
Years the world’s known oil reserves would last if every human ate a meat-centered diet: 13
Years they would last if human beings no longer ate meat: 260
Calories of fossil fuel expended to get 1 calorie of protein from beef: 78
To get 1 calorie of protein from soybeans: 2
Percentage of all raw materials (base products of farming, forestry and mining, including fossil fuels) consumed by U.S. that is devoted to the production of livestock: 33
Percentage of all raw materials consumed by the U.S. needed to produce a complete vegetarian diet: 2
Percentage of all raw materials consumed by the U.S. needed to produce a complete vegetarian diet: 2

The Antibiotic Argument

Percentage of U.S. antibiotics fed to livestock: 55
Percentage of staphylococci infections resistant to penicillin in 1960: 13
Percentage resistant in 1988: 91
Response of European Economic Community to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: ban
Response of U.S. meat and pharmaceutical industries to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: full and complete support

The Pesticide Argument

Common belief: U.S. Department of Agriculture protects our health through meat inspection
Reality: fewer than 1 out of every 250,000 slaughtered animals is tested for toxic chemical residues
Percentage of U.S. mother’s milk containing significant levels of DDT: 99
Percentage of U.S. vegetarian mother’s milk containing significant levels of DDT: 8
Contamination of breast milk, due to chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides in animal products, found in meat-eating mothers vs. non-meat eating mothers: 35 times higher
Amount of Dieldrin ingested by the average breast-fed American infant: 9 times the permissible level

Here’s to your health!

Lights Out~!

Nikolas Schiller — Mon, 20 Jun 2005 23:01:26 +0000

Via Mhz visually & via Japan Today digitally:

25,000 facilities join lights-out event to save energy

Monday, June 20, 2005 at 07:05 JST
TOKYO â€” Some 25,000 facilities nationwide, including Tokyo Tower, had their lights turned off on Sunday evening in an event to help preserve energy.

The Environment Ministry and a nongovernmental environmental organization launched the event two years ago to urge people to turn off their lights for energy conservation. This year, the event will run until Tuesday, during which participants will turn off the lights for two hours from 8 p.m. (Kyodo News)

I’d like to try this in DC :)

Store Wars

Nikolas Schiller — Fri, 20 May 2005 20:27:49 +0000

Because timing is everything, the Organic Trade Association in conjunction with Free Range Graphics, have produced “Store Wars,” to coincide with the release of the final Star Wars film. I remember when “The Meatrix” came out right when the Matrix #2 came out and must say that co-opting the national attention for the advancement of ecologically sound issues is pure genius.

Related Humor Entries:

p3 continued…

Nikolas Schiller — Wed, 18 May 2005 15:15:24 +0000

Via MSNBC:

Students awarded for ‘sustainable designs’
EPA contest showcases environmental technologies

MSNBC
Updated: 12:57 p.m. ET May 18, 2005

Seven teams of university students and professors beat out 65 others in a “sustainability design” competition sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, presenting technologies that ranged from solar ovens to small wind turbines.

“The originality and breadth of these projects demonstrates the high degree of innovation and environmental interest that exists on college campuses today,â€ E. Timothy Oppelt, Acting Assistant Administrator for EPAâ€™s Office of Research and Development, said in a statement announcing the winners. â€œThese young students represent the scientific leadership of tomorrow.â€

The idea behind the first-ever P3 Award â€” named for people, prosperity and the planet â€” is to get students and others to think about how to use energy and other resources in a way that doesn’t threaten long-term survival, both in the developed world and in developing nations.

Some 400 students and professors set up their presentations on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., over the weekend. A panel convened by the National Academy of Sciences judged the competition.

The seven winners were teams from:

* Oberlin College. They designed a system that monitors total energy and water use for individual dormitory floors or an entire college campus.
* Rochester Institute of Technology. Their study looked at how solar ovens could be mass-produced at low cost in Latin America using local resources. The idea is to reduce wood consumption and thus deforestation, while providing local jobs.
* University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Students are measuring the effectiveness of three drinking-water treatment technologies intended for the developing world.
* University of Colorado at Denver. The team looked at Trishul, a tribal village in India, to see if it could adopt environmentally friendly energy technologies, such as small wind turbines, composting and solar cookers. The idea is to use what’s learned in other developing areas that lack traditional electricity.
* University of California-Berkeley. Students are testing two designs to disinfect drinking water, and even conducting user preference and willingness-to-pay surveys.
* Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A management model for research labs is being designed that allows labs to use less toxic and less polluting green chemical alternatives.
* University of Michigan. A computer-based tool was developed to let homeowners monitor their resource consumption. Real-time costs and environmental impacts are delivered to then show how conservation actions are reflected in dollars saved and emissions reduced.

I have done some extra legwork for the article above and I added the links to the winning project abstracts. All the projects can be viewed here.

Nonetheless, I am sad my favorite design didn’t win….

However I am surprised that the University of Michigan’s other design didn’t win. When I spoke with the creators I mentioned how their design seemed to based off of an idea that was posed by Adbusters Magazine a few years back. The student actually mentioned that there was a prototype created by someone in Norway that they based their design from. Essentially they created a means for consumers to find out a wide array of the product’s information by scanning the barcode. The Norwegian prototype didn’t have the ability to check a real database. Check their website for more information.

P3

Nikolas Schiller — Tue, 17 May 2005 15:14:53 +0000

Today and yesterday I manned a booth at the EPA’s P3 student competition. P3 stands for People, Prosperity, and Planet, and the student competition was focused on sustainable development. I had the chance to walk around and see every one of the finalist’s proposals, and I must say that I was quite impressed.

My favorite student submission was a solar powered hydrogen gas generator. I’ve always been told that the ability to make hydrogen gas for personal, industrial, or commercial use was not feasible because it takes electricity to separate the hydrogen from the oxygen through electrolysis and thus not financially practical. Yet what they demonstrated was passive hydrogen creation, where the electricity from the sun was used in the electrolysis. Depending on the size of the solar panel, the more/less hydrogen gas is produced. If this apparatus is sold to people along with a hydrogen powered car, people could just fill up their cars every morning with hydrogen gas they passively created.

Yet, in my opinion, this practical application will not come into existence for awhile, and not because the technology doesn’t exist, rather there is no money to be made from such a creation. It’s ironic that capitalism and sustainability are so diametrically opposed. It’s well understood that the current form of capitalism cannot be sustained indefinitely, yet the same factors also prevent such sustainable options as the solar powered hydrogen gas extractor from coming into existence. I can only hope that people interested in making change take it upon themselves to be the first converts and show the rest of the world that another option is possible.

DC Colonists video clip

Nikolas Schiller — Wed, 11 May 2005 23:38:06 +0000

Image Links to Flash Player:

I finally got this clip on-line from the DC Fox Five 10pm newscast on April 3rd, 2005. The same clip was rebroadcast on the morning of the 4th. If you look closely you can see me dressed as a colonist. We are going to have another outing at RFK stadium next month. I can’t wait!

Green Week 2K5

Nikolas Schiller — Tue, 19 Apr 2005 14:29:02 +0000

from DC.gov

Green DC Week 2005

Monday April 18, 2005
10:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Freedom Plaza
Corner of 14th Street & Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Front of the John A. Wilson Building
Washington, DC

Help us celebrate DC Green Week, April 18-25, at various events and locations across the District.

Experience exciting environmental exhibits and demonstrations. Learn about the District’s environment and how you can make it better.

Monday, April 18
Environment and Community Day
Freedom Plaza
(Corner of 14th Street & Pennsylvania Avenue, NW in front of the Wilson Building)
10 am – 3 pm

Tuesday, April 19
Holistic Energy Day
Franklin D. Reeves Municipal Center
2000 14th Street, NW
(Corner of 14th & U Streets, NW)
10 am – 3 pm

Wednesday, April 20
Take a Breath of Fresh Air Day
DOT/Nassif Plaza
407 6th Street, SW
10 am – 3 pm

Thursday, April 21
Water Day: Flood the City with Education
Watts Branch Park/Riverside Center
5200 Foote Street, NE
10 am – 3 pm

Friday, April 22
Earth Day
Kingman Island
RFK Parking Lot #6 near DPR trailer at entrance to Kingman Island
10 am – 3 pm

Saturday, April 23
E-Cycling
Carter Barron Amphitheatre Parking Lot (16th & Kennedy Streets, NW)
9 am – 3 pm

Green DC Week Partners include: Casey Trees, DC Energy Office, Department of Health, Department of Parks and Recreation, Department of Public Works, Department of Transportation, Earth Conservation Corps, Earth Day Network, General Motors, Office of the Clean City Coordinator, Office of Recycling, DC Water and Sewer Authority, US National Park Service

Sponsor: District of Columbia Energy Office, Department of Health, Department of Parks and Recreation

I am going to an Organic Potluck on Friday sponsored by the Organic Consumers Association… I am going to be making my special organic dish: creamy tomato masala sauce with sautÃ©ed onions. YUM!

The D.C. Colonist makes his baseball debut!

Nikolas Schiller — Sun, 03 Apr 2005 22:28:00 +0000

a bit a news I posted on the dc.indymedia.org

Photo summary of the April 3rd, 2005 exhibition game at RFK stadium
On April 3rd, 2005 over 20 DC Statehood Activists convened in section 438 at RFK stadium to highlight the resident’s of Washington, DC second-class status.

On April 3rd, 2005 over 20 DC Statehood Activists convened in section 438 at RFK stadium to highlight the resident’s of Washington, DC second-class status.

After each strike out the activists would hold up the letters that spelled out “STRIKE 4 DC STATEHOOD”

When the Nationals were at bat and the pitcher would walk a player, the activists would hold up “BUSH PLAY BALL WITH DC”

The exhibition was also the first time that Nats fans saw their unofficial mascot, the DC Colonist

DC Fox 5 also mentioned the activists antics on the evening and morning news, footage will be uploaded shortly.

Near the end of the game the activists made their way down to the lower level of RFK stadium, behind 3rd base, and proceeded to hold the signs up for all the spectators to see.

In the bottom of the 9th inning, with the go-ahead runner on base, the DC Colonist held up the large DC sign and ran up & down the stairwells hyping the crowd up. Yet even with the crowd ecstatically cheering, the Nationals were unable to score in the final inning.

The first baseball game played in RFK stadium in almost 30 years, and I show up dressed as a Colonist! I rented the costume from Backstage and eventually ended up purchasing it. I’m thinking of spending some saturday in the near future greeting people on the National Mall and telling them how DC residents are colonists. I think this might be an effective way to promote DC’s voting rights because 75% on the Mall are tourists. I think they’ll be more apt to go back to their hometown and put pressure on their elected officials. I’d love to see DC Vote pay someone to do this!

Nonetheless, I wonder how baseball will do at RFK stadium…

DCist Covers the Colonist

Nikolas Schiller — Wed, 30 Mar 2005 05:36:16 +0000

posted today on DCist

D.C. Ã¼ber-activist Adam Eidinger didn’t win his campaign for shadow U.S. representative last fall, so now he’s campaigning for another public position: mascot for the Washington Nationals. A group of activists is calling for Adam to become the team mascot as “The Colonist” because “colonialists like you once brought about a revolution.” (Above, he waits in line for tickets for opening day.)

The Colonist and his friends also plan to flash signs reading “Strike for D.C. Statehood” after every strike during the first Nationals home game, from their seats in Section 438, Rows 3 and 4. They make it clear they’re not protesting baseball, but rather want “baseball fans from all over the country to understand that DC residents are effectively second class citizens due to our lack of Statehood.” The group has set up a website for their effort, but there’s not much information up yet: strike4statehood.com.

Meanwhile, last week the AP reported that although the team had chosen and named an official mascot, “It may be the most closely guarded secret in the Nation’s Capital.” The official mascot will be revealed on April 17 at the Kids Opening Day game.

Posted by Rob Goodspeed