The Polly Hill Arboretum and the New England Wildflower Society (NEWFS) have space available for our container bulb workshop with Brent Heath from Brent and Becky's Bulbs on Tuesday, April 17, from 10am to noon, and our garden obelisk workshop with Janice Shields, on Saturday April 21 from 9am to noon. Please call PHA at 508-693-9426 to register for these workshops.

To members of the Island Plan Network of Planning Advisors,

The five active Work Groups have recently held, are now holding, or will soon hold a series of work sessions focusing on specific topics. All members of the Work Group receive notices of these meetings and are invited to participate. Other members of the Network are also welcome to attend topics of interest. A list of some upcoming meetings is in the newsletter. Please consult the on-line calendar (www.islandplan.org) for the most up-to-date list.

Go to the Island Plan site for the rest of the notice, Energy/Waste update, Housing update, and the March MVC Island Plan newsletter information.

Includes information about:

• a Cost of Living Index study that the Commission carried out,
• a description about a proposal to install a combined innovative alternative wastewater treatment plant in the High School / Oak Bluffs Resident Homesite area

Go to the MVC in the Government section for the complete Newsletter.

The developer of a Nantucket Sound wind energy project hopes to begin producing clean energy by 2010, after winning final state environmental approval yesterday, but the project still faces a major remaining hurdle: an expansive federal government review.

http://www.boston.com/news/
local/articles/2007/03/31/
cape_wind_moves_on_to_federal_review/

Instead of never-ending expansion, McKibben makes a case for self-sustaining

Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future By Bill McKibben

In the fall of 2004, Bill McKibben undertook what he calls a "modest experiment." He resolved to spend the next six months -- months that included January, February, and March -- eating nothing but locally grown food.

http://www.boston.com/ae/books/
articles/2007/04/01/zero_growth/

However potential environmental problems are manageable. The use of CFl is gaining momentum as an energy saving lighting option. Dealing with the trace amounts of Mercury contained in these bulbs is now also getting attention from retailers who are beginning to accept used bulbs for recycling.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - There's an old joke about the number of people it takes to change a light bulb. But because the newer energy-efficient kinds contain tiny amounts of mercury, the hard part is getting rid of them when they burn out.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/
20070327/sc_nm/lightbulbs_dc

Theo spent half the stay standing on top of his loaded sled, a pair of small binoculars in hand. He scanned the horizon meticulously for signs of life, trying to separate the polar bears from the polar bear-shaped ice mounds on all sides. Several times today he called back to us and pointed towards a small dot moving in the distance. The far-sighted amongst us could just pick out the distinctive lumbering shape of a bear moving across the white landscape before us.

http://www.globalwarming101.com/
content/view/706/