>> Minigrants, from page 1

Construction of a covered bicycle rack

The need for such a facility in a place like Montana is obvious if an ecologically conscious group like Missoula (Mont.) Monthly Meeting wants to encourage its members to bike to Meeting all year around. (Regular bicycling attenders gave their assurance that this would make a big difference.) The permanence of the covered rack also sends a message that bicycles are being taken seriously for short-distance commuting and as an answer to harmful climate change.

Installation of low-flow toilets This is a no-brainer for Wilmington (N.C.) Monthly Meeting, which is located in the drought-threatened Southeast. Switching to water-saving models translates into reduced demand on municipal potable water systems and less sewage that needs to be expensively treated before it can be released into local bodies of water. According to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, switching from an older 3.5-gallon model to a new 1.6-gallon model can reduce annual water consumption in a four-person household by more than 11,000 gallons.

When low-flow toilets were mandated by U.S. building codes in 1994, many consumers complained that they didn't work very well, but recent design improvements—including dual-flush features—have greatly improved overall performance.

QEW urges Friends to help stop mountaintop removal

Solidarity with groups who are working against a widespread and extremely ecologically destructive mining technique commonly called "mountaintop removal" was affirmed by the QEW Steering Committee at its April 2008 meeting in Chicago. QEW's Continuing Counsel is finalizing a draft Minute to be released in August.

In the process of demolishing up to 700 feet of mountain elevation (mostly in the Southern Appalachian Mountains and the Southwest), coal and mineral corporations are filling up valleys with unclaimed debris that is severely damaging to the health of ecosystems and human residents.

Deforestation of large tracts of land and the dumping of millions of tons of earth and rock into the valleys next to these mountains have destroyed springs and headwaters; contributed to increased flood disasters; damaged wells; exacerbated soil erosion; and disturbed plant, animal, and human life.

Mountaintop removal has inflicted wounds to the physical, emotional, economic, social and spiritual well-being of people in nearby communities, aggravating a cycle of poverty that has created high unemployment, high illiteracy rates, and record number of school closings, and destroying homes, ancestral farms, and sacred ground.

In accordance with Quakers' call to live in right relationship with all of Creation, the QEW Minute encourages all Yearly and Monthly Meetings to support alternative energy resources, which will reduce the demand for coal, and to support the Clean Water Restoration Act, which addresses the worst effects of mountaintop removal. More information is available at: <www.appvoices.org>.

Powell House offers permaculture workshop August 1–3

Permaculture is a whole-systems design science creating a supportive and productive ecosystem that can provide an abundance of food, water, energy, shelter, culture, community, and all other human needs in a truly sustainable way. An August 1–3 interactive weekend experience at Powell House, a Quaker Conference Center in New York State, will cover the basic ethics, attitudes, and principles of permaculture; observation & site evaluation, natural patterns and systems theory, and the permaculture design process.

After covering the basics of permaculture, the workshop leader, Ethan Roland, will delve into the exciting realm of Edible Forest Gardening. The goal is to mimic the diversity, resilience, and beauty of natural forests to provide an abundance of low-maintenance, high-yielding, super-nutritious and delicious fruits, berries, nuts, and vegetables for the northeast. Join us for the basics and learn to transform your own yard or community into an Eden of totally fresh local organic food!

Roland, a graduate of the Powell House youth program, is a permaculture designer, teacher, and researcher and is native to the Hudson River Valley.

—Powell House
523 Pitt Hall Rd.
Old Chatham, N.Y., 12136
telephone.: 518/794-8811;
<www.powellhouse.org>
<info@powellhouse.org>