Fairfax Ecofest 2007 Speakers
We have a great line-up this year for the Fairfax Ecofest's 1st Environmental Speaker's Forum at the Fairfax Pavilion. Our Speaker's Tent will be located right next to the Fairfax Ballfield, behind the Ecofest Organic Wine and Beer Tasting. Following the talks, there will be a signed "Speaker's Table" located inside the Pavillion for follow-up conversations with the speakers.
Schedule
|
Saturday, June 9th:
|
Sunday, June 10th:
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
+ more to come!
Speaker Biographies
Paola Bouley: Two great stories on SPAWN's stormwater catchment systems have appeared recently: On Saturday, The Marin IJ ran a story on both the School project and Paola's home-scale efforts. A great story with a big photo of her home system (and w/ a front page "teaser" photo), see http://www.marinij.com/lifestyles/ci_5195470. And, just recently, the State Water Resources Control Board chose our stormwater harvesting system at the Lagunitas School as the success story for the San Francisco Bay Region (one from each of 7 regions) for California Polluted Runoff Protection or Nonpoint Source (NPS) Success Stories (PDF). Please share these stories with friends, family and coworkers! We have more information posted at http://spawnusa.org/ -- also see: Harvesting rain for a dry day, and Green Gardens Help Protect Endangered Fish in the San Geronimo Creek Watershed, and Stream Restoration Resources.
Leith Carstarphen is the landscape designer and project supervisor for Ecologic Landscaping. Leith holds degrees in Landscape Architecture and Horticulture. He has been working in the San Francisco Bay Area in the field of landscape architecture, construction, and maintenance since 1993. Leith regularly leads and attends workshops and classes on sustainability issues. He has a great passion for edible and useful plants, and is and avid home gardener in his free time. Ecologic Landscaping has a passion for creating beautiful, high quality green landscapes that cultivate people's relationship with nature. We create landscapes with edible gardens and habitat for butterflies and hummingbirds. Our gardens are designed to be low maintenance, water efficient, and naturally pest free. We use all organic materials to protect the health of your family and the environment. We offer design, installation, and fine maintenance services for projects of all sizes, with over 13 years of experience in sustainable landscaping in Marin and surrounding counties.
EMF Risks -- Dr. Magda Havas, a Canadian environmental scientist and EMF researcher and Libby Kelley, MA, Council on Wireless Technology Impacts (CWTI) will speak to the health effects of EMF (electromagnetic radiation) on human health and the natural environment, related to the rapid growth and expansion of ambient pollution from power lines, cellular phones or antennas and towers, for services including electricity, communications via wireless cellular, broadband, wireless internet (WiFi), WIMAX and HDTV. They will demonstrate EMF detection technology and how to compare test results to current EMF science and government safety guidelines; speak about preventive strategies, including EMF protection and remediation based on the source and frequency with special consideration for persons who report electrical hypersensitivity or other related environmental illness. They will share information about potential health risks in homes, schools and workplaces due to ambient electrical and microwave pollution and how to advocate for a healthier environment that would benefit people and all biological systems on planet earth. Information on the possible link between the recent 'Bee Hive Collapse' and possible links to airborne EMF sources will be available. A new DVD featuring CWTI's films, "Public Exposure: DNA Democracy and the Wireless Revolution" and, "Electromagnetic Radiation" a scientific presentation by the late Dr. Theodore Litovitz, will be made available for sale.
Dr. Magda Havas is Associate Professor at Trent University and has been doing research on electromagnetic pollution for the past 13 years. She has appeared as an expert witness in both Canada and the United States regarding the health effects and placement of radio frequency antennas and high voltage transmission line. She is one of the signatories to the Benevento Resolution and one of the scientists involved in both Resolution 15 (PDF) of the IAFF (International Association of Fire Fighters) and the pending Ground Current Pollution Bill in the Ontario Legislative Assembly. Dr. Havas is a science advisor to the h.e.s.e. project (Human Ecological Social Economical Project) in Europe and to the EMR Policy Institute in the US.
Stuart Moody is Chair for Citizens' Advisory Committee on Zero Waste for the County of Marin, initiated Green Sangha’s Rethinking Plastics campaign, founding member off Green Yoga Assoc., advisory board member for 'Campaign Against the Plastics Plague,' member of the Davidson Middle School Garden project in San Rafael the Education team of 'San Rafael Clean,' a litter abatement program.
John Reed is Chair of Fairfax Volunteers and is presenting "Find out about the Trails around Fairfax" -- check out maps that show the location and condition of close to a hundred pedestrian trails, right here in our Fairfax Neighborhoods!
Rethinking Plastics -- The wasteful production, use, and disposal of plastic has exploded around the world, resulting in massive amounts of non-biodegradable litter on our streets, in our parks, and in the oceans. Plastics and their many additives are entering the food chain and causing hormonal disruptions which lead to asthma, cancer, miscarriage, precocious puberty, premature birth, and other reproductive disorders. While the entire plastics industry must undergo radical change, plastic packaging (bags, bottles, and other containers) is an immediate concern because it is so ubiquitous, wasteful, and imminently replaceable. Rethinking Plastics is a major goal of Green Sangha, a spiritually-based environmental group that originated in Fairfax seven years ago. In collaboration with the California Coastal Commission, Earth Resource Foundation, Marin Sanitary Service, and others, Green Sangha is educating the public, working with business owners, and advocating legislative change at local, county, and state levels.
Safe Cosmetics for Teens: Judi Shils, Director of Search for the Cause founded in 2002, and Teens for Safe Cosmetics, started this work in 2005, inspired by her teenage daughter. She works to empower campaign members to speak out and demand their right to health, encouraging them to develop actions for advocacy, educate their peers and community at large and to work to change the laws around chemical policy. Jessica Assaf , a junior at The Branson School has been involved in this campaign since it started. She is the winner of the Brower Youth Award for her work on this campaign. Jessica was one of 5 girls who lobbied in Sacramento for the passage of the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2005, signed by our Governor as the first bill of its kind in the country. The teens in this campaign were instrumental in its passage. Carly Wertheim, a sophomore at Redwood High School joined the advisory board of this Teens for SC earlier this year. She has been a strong and vocal member of the campaign and was the lead organizer for the very successful and well publicized ProjectPROM event in Union Square this past April (video, website, blog). The campaign members work tirelessly to educate their peers and the community at large about the toxic chemicals in the personal care and cosmetic products they use daily. They also lead actions that try to raise awareness and create change within the beauty industry and policy change.