First of all, what's a foodshed? We have a watershed, right? (A protected area around our reservoirs that keeps pollutants out of the water supply.)
First of all, what's a foodshed?
We have a watershed, right? (A protected area around our reservoirs that keeps pollutants out of the water supply.) Well, translate that to where food is grown. Healthy farming requires abundant supplies of clean water, clean air, and clean soil. It needs a critical mass of acreage that is not fragmented by drill pads, access roads, pipelines and compressor stations. Farms need to be free of any stigma that may be attributed to food sourced from areas where fracking could take place. THAT's a healthy foodshed.
Saturday, October 19th @11am at Chelsea Piers
As part of The Global Frackdown, a coalition of NYC groups hostsProtect NY Food, Wine & Beer. We'll greet Governor Cuomo at the New York City Wine & Food Festival, where he'll be speaking at a brunch to promote New York State farms, vineyards and breweries.
This is not your typical rally: Yes, we will have inspiring speakers, banners and chants to get the attention of everyone who's attending the brunch, but we'll also have community-building and family-friendly activities, including multiple play stations for the kids, a colorful oversized rhyming storybook, and the beautiful "cranky" group scroll that captured so many hearts at the recent "Draw the Line" event. And stick around for a very special surprise ending.
11am–3pm, Hudson River Greenway and lawn. Meet up at the bus stop at 22nd Street, near Chelsea Piers. Feel free to bring a blanket and picnic for the lawn portion of the event.
Saturday @ 2pm: Spectra March & Meditation
Sunday, October 20th, will mark the 2-year anniversary of the West Village hearing that was attended by more than 300 people, including our friends who marched up from the then-active Zucotti Park, led by Mark Ruffalo.
Now, despite two ongoing legal actions, construction on the pipeline is nearly completed, and we are a mere two weeks away from the moment Con Ed turns the gas on, starting the flow of Marcellus shale gas directly into our city.
As supplies of gas from other sources runs out, a larger and larger percentage of the gas supplied to NYC will come from Marcellus sources. With that change, the risk of radon exposure increases. For that reason, Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal launched a bill to protect NY against that threat.
On Saturday, to mark the anniversary and to cap off a fantastic rally at Chelsea Piers, we will create a silent procession from 22nd Street to the Spectra site at Gansevoort Street. The walk takes about 20 minutes. At the Horatio Street playground adjacent to the site, Ekayani Chamberlin will lead an intentional meditation, to offer thoughts of healing and protection to the residents of the West Village and NYC. The meditation will run roughly from 2:30-3pm.
Here at Sane Energy Project, we're not known for being overly "crunchy," but we kinda love this meditation idea. After all we've been through over the past two years, the ups and down of fighting Spectra, frantic deadlines, comment periods, rallies, hearings, etc. it would be good to join with the many friends and supporters who've been closest to the fight, and be still for a minute. Activists like to get things done, shake things up, change the world––but sometimes what's needed is to, as the saying goes, "Don't just DO something, SIT THERE." And as Ekayani says, "Hey, we've tried everything else!"
Saturday, October 26th @12 noon in Union Square
The Black Dirt Region is an incredibly fertile region just an hour north of New York City, and home to many of the farmers who supply the famous Union Square Greenmarket. It is also downwind from the Minisink compressor station, which has been the center of a heated community and legal fight.
Protect Farms from Fracking, Protect Our Food: Why Minisink Matters brings together human rights advocate, Eve Ensler; 9/11 First responder advocate, John Feal; and founder of The Mother's Project (and mother of Josh), Angela Monti Fox, with affected upstate farmers, local food distributors, restaurateurs, activists, and musicians, in the century-old Union Square soap box tradition.
Why is your food at risk and what can you do about it? Watch this compelling video and see why Minisink Matters. Meet on the south steps of Union Square Park at 14th Street, 12-3pm.
