Esta! and Tu b’Shevat… a perfect pairing for ReLeaf

Hey ReLeafers - you're all invited to celebrate Tu b’Shevat with us this
Wednesday at 7PM in the Baker Center Front Room.  Check out the info below and
our event page:

http://ohio.facebook.com/event.php?eid=11947445041

Co-sponsored by the Office of Sustainability, ArtsMidwest and ReLeaf for OHIO.
Coming from Israel, a crossroads of different cultures, it is only natural that
the musical group Esta embodies the variety of ethnic musical influences
including Israeli, Mediterranean, Balkan, African, Asian, Celtic and Western
flavors. Enjoy this unique opportunity to experience the Israeli music scene and
learn about the Jewish holiday of Tu b’Shevat. All for free!

The holiday has become one of rededication to the ecology of the denuded land,
with the planting of trees taking center stage in the celebration. Jews outside
of Israel contribute money to plant trees there and/or plant trees in their own
communities. We’ll celebrate with music, information about the benefits of tree
plantings and tree/Tu b’Shevat related goods! Bring friends!

Meetings this quarter will rotate between Tuesdays at 6PM and Fridays at 4PM.
The first meeting will be next Friday, January 25th at Perks for coffee.  The
following meeting with be Tuesday, February 5th (I’ll send a reminder e-mail out). 

Hope to see you all Wednesday!

Peace, Love & Trees,
Courtney

NYC Passes Plastic Bag Recycling Bill

"Last week, New York City took a giant step forward in the fight against plastic. New York's City Council passed a bill requiring large stores and retail chains to collect and recycle plastic shopping bags. According to a New York Times report: "New York is by far the largest American city to enact so broad a measure to limit the environmental impact of the bags. Altogether, each year the country is estimated to use 86 billion bags, which end up blowing down city streets, or tangled in the stomachs of whales, sea turtles and birds, or buried in landfills where they enjoy free rent for 1,000 years."

Other cities like Melbourne and San Francisco have banned bags outright. San Francisco was the first city in North America to ban non-recyclable and non-biodegradable bags made from petroleum products. Africa has moved toward a continent-wide plastic bag ban, and just last week, China's cabinet issued a directive banning their production, prohibiting stores from handing out free plastic bags after June 1st and imposing fees on their usage. People in China use up to 3 billion plastic bags daily! Help keep the momentum going here in the United States and just say no to plastic bags!"

http://www.stopglobalwarming.org/default.asp