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Our Party BlogHave your say about all things democraticApril 22, 2008ON EARTH DAY, CHAIRMAN BAILES KICKS OFF NEW SERIES FOR "DISCUSSIONS IN DEMOCRACY" FOCUSED ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Celebrate Earth Day by making room on your calendar for a new series for Discussions in Democracy. You are invited to hear two of Tennessee's best minds on natural resources. Join us in May 2008 as Dr. Olin Ivey, Ph.D. and David White, founding President of the Urban Century Institute, discuss the problems, causes, and solutions for water and oil conditions locally and in the world.MAY 5 & 12 Peak Oil. Peak Credit. Peak America. Presented by David White, Founding President of Urban Century Institute Time: 6 - 8 p.m. Location: HCDP Headquarters Description: Oil has been known since antiquity, but the first wells were drilled for it in the mid-19th Century in Pennsylvania and the on the shores of the Caspian. The Industrial Revolution was already in progress, being driven by the steam engine, fueled by coal. But then in the 1860s, a German engineer found a way to insert the fuel directly into the cylinder inventing the Internal Combustion Engine, which was much more efficient. At first, it used benzene distilled from coal, before turning to petroleum refined from crude oil, for which it developed an unquenchable thirst. The first automobile took to the road in 1882 and the first tractor plowed its furrow in 1907. This cheap and abundant supply of energy changed the world in then unimaginable ways, leading to the rapid expansion of industry, transport, trade and agriculture, which has allowed the population to expand six-fold in parallel. These remarkable changes were in turn accompanied by the rapid growth of financial capital, as banks lent more than they had on deposit, confident that Tomorrow's Economic Expansion was collateral for Today's Debt, without necessarily recognizing that the expansion was driven by an abundant supply of cheap, largely oil-based energy (read more). Simply put, with cheap credit and cheap oil now coming to an end, the prospects for a debt-ridden, oil-addicted U.S. are increasingly bleak, leaving us with two questions: (1) How did this happen? and (2) what can we do about it? [David is a graduate of the University of Virginia and began his professional career in the hospitality industry, where he held sales, marketing, and management positions at some of America's premier conference resorts, including Kingsmill in Williamsburg, Virginia, and the world-famous Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Combining his expertise in resort living with several years' experience in home-building and a growing interest in industrial ecology, David formulated a prototype for sustainable development called the Global Village Concept, an innovative plan for merging town and country, job and family, within the context of a self-contained but globally integrated community environment. Along the way, he attended the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, was a delegate to Global Forum '94 in Manchester, England, and in 1996 served as on-site coordinator for the Second World Congress on Zero Emissions, held here in Chattanooga. In keeping with sustainable development's need for the commercialization of new technologies, David subsequently founded a small startup to commercialize a revolutionary green building technology called RamRock Compression-Formed Masonry, so named because it uses intense hydraulic pressure to "ram" a wide variety materials that would otherwise be buried in landfills into rock-hard masonry units. David is also founding president of the Urban Century Institute, a Chattanooga-based nonprofit dedicated to developing integrated solutions to the challenges associated with declining urban-industrialism at home and rampant urban-industrialism abroad.] MAY 19 & 26 Beyond Water Wars: Assault on the Structure and Operation of Nature Presented by Dr. Olin Ivey, Ph.D. Time: 6 - 8 p.m. Location: HCDP Headquarters Description: The current battle over water rights between Georgia and Tennessee is rooted in bad decisions going back more than a decade. Poor planning and development in urban centers like Atlanta, increased residential and commercial use of natural resources in the Southeast, the growing culture of consumerism, and state's rights issues have all contributed to impending war between Southern states over an increasing water shortage. The current battle over water rights between Georgia and Tennessee is rooted in unsustainable decisions and practices: (1) Poor planning and uncontrolled development beyond urban centers like Atlanta, (2) increased residential and commercial use of natural resources far beyond the "carrying capacity" of these resources, and (3) the refusal to respect the integrity of natural structures such as watersheds. Discussions will focus on the structures of sustainability, both personal and societal, that enable us to move into a livable and viable future, with special emphasis on Tennessee's steps toward being sustainable with a systematic management process. [As Executive Director of the Georgia Environmental Organization, Dr. Ivey initiated the discussion of sustainability in Georgia in 1993 and held a series of conferences and consultations on sustainability throughout the remainder of the decade of the Œ90s. He served on task forces and working groups of the President's Council on Sustainable Development, was on the executive committee of two other national sustainability groups, and edited Georgians on Sustainability that included reflections of sustainability by a number of leaders throughout Georgia. Olin has lived and worked in Tennessee since 1999. He presently serves as the Associate for Stewardship and Outreach at Pilgrim Congregational Church in Chattanooga. In 2004 he developed and coordinated two conferences, the statewide Threshold: Sustaining a Land Called Tennessee and JustWater, an environmental justice conference for the Alabama-Tennessee Association of the United Church of Christ. His undergraduate degree was received from East Tennessee State University. He holds two Master's degrees from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. His M.A. and Ph.D. are from Claremont Graduate University California.] This post has 1 reply... With all due respect to the Democratic Party, and to the important issue of the environment where is the Democratic Party on Rhonda Thurman and Tim Price and of their Back on Track Team. Please do not hand this the age old excuse that this is a nonpartisan race, Mr. Price and Ms. Thurman are making it very partisan.
Rhonda Thurman is on a campaign for the Republican Party. She is taking a nonpartisan race and turning it into an opportunity for Republicans to get elected to the school board. She is targeted at least one Democrat, and her efforts are to get conservatives, who are out of touch with the electorate, elected the school board. She, and her buddy Tim Price, are Swift Boating anyone who gets in their way. She claims she wants to return 92% of the school budget dollars back to the classroom. However, when she is asked how she is going to return 92% to the classroom she does not have a plan and she cannot state where she will cut money. Will she cut transportation? Will she cut salaries? Will she cut building maintenance? Will she cut teacher salary? How will she get the money that she claimed she can put back into the classroom into the classroom? When she is asked about these issues she Swift Boats those who ask her, and hides behind the age old defense mechanism that she is for the taxpayers. Tim Price and Rhonda Thurman of the same individuals who did the back room boys Billboard campaign, and it is time to attack them for what they are-- political hacks who use Swift Boating tactics to distort the truth and hide behind issues such as "I am standing up for the taxpayer." The Democratic Party is asleep at the wheel. It is allowing these people to fool the voters in this community-Democrats have a real opportunity to regain the high ground. Instead, it remains asleep, allowing this distortion of the truth to continue. Until it wakes up Tim Price and Rhonda Thurman will continue to Swift Boat Democrats in this community. The Democratic Party is asleep at the wheel, having these "discussions" refusing to watch its flank while people are eroding the strong base the party established. Before it is too late. You have a duty to the voters to let them know the truth of what is being done to them, live up to your duty. Wake up before it's too late. Post a Reply... Most Recent Posts: 08/16: Senator Andy Berke Asks, "Are Kids Ready to Learn?" 08/12: Join us today for JFK Club & Greater Chattanooga Democratic Women's Club 08/08: Thanks to Democrats for Helping on Election Day 08/07: Vote Today, Then Join us for Election Results at IBEW Union Hall tonight 08/06: OFFICIAL DEMOCRATIC RESPONSE TO TIMES FREE PRESS ENDORSEMENTS FOR SHERIFF 08/06: Get Out the Vote Thursday for Andy Berke, JoAnne Favors, Tommie Brown, and Greg Beck 08/04: Radio Ads reflect candidate with high negatives 08/01: Listen to the "Greg Beck for Sheriff" Radio Ads 08/01: Join Greg Beck for a GOTV Rally & BBQ Tomorrow 07/31: Today's Times Free Press: Hammond continues to show poor ethical judgment in Lonnie Hood Case 07/31: Meet U.S. Senate Candidate Mike Padgett at Party Headquarters on Aug.1 07/29: HEAR TWO NEW RADIO ADS on Jim Hammond: Flip-Flop Jim & Cadillac Jim 07/28: Three RETIRED LAW ENFORCEMENT LEADERS ENDORSE BECK FOR SHERIFF 07/25: COMPLIMENTARY TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE TO BECK EVENT WITH MARILYN LLOYD 07/25: GERMANS LOVE OBAMA; CHATTANOOGANS LOVE VOLKSWAGEN~GREAT YEAR FOR DEMOCRATS! 07/24: Restore Integrity in Sheriff's Department~Elect Greg Beck 07/18: EARLY VOTING BEGINS TODAY! 07/17: ANNIE HALL and Dr. Brent Staton named to direct "Padgett for U.S. Senate" Campaign in Chattanooga 07/16: Corruption & Poor Judgment: Hammond insists on Keeping Corrupt Cop 07/15: Support Greg Beck this week for canvassing and early vote |
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