Hello Everyone Welcome to our second newsletter. There have been a lot of new developments on the site but before we get into our Site News we have an announcement of a meeting on the 26th of May to initiate the planning for a proposed Green Day. GREEN DAY As part of the continuing development of a Wellington Centre for Sustainable Development it is planned in late September or early October to have a Green Day - a Green A&P Show. This will focus on the idea that everyone of us can do little things to help save the environment and that saving the world doesn't cost the earth. We aim to emphasise the importance of individual actions. That we can't wait for governments to save our environment. If it's going to be saved it will be saved by the actions of millions of individuals doing what needs to be done. "When people lead, the leaders must follow". The key focus for this Green Day will be "The Community and Sustainability in an Urban Environment". We want to emphasise ideas that are relevant, practical, accessible and affordable to all. To achieve this we are looking at a number of themes to orient the Day around: * Food/Agriculture - e.g. organics, permaculture, biodiversity, the threats posed by GE foods * Houses - e.g. alternative building methods, making the best of existing houses * Transport - e.g. alternative methods of transport, alternative development strategies (Bypass My Ass), public transport etc * Energy - e.g. alternative energy sources, solar power, conservation * Environment/Conservation Groups - how to achieve a sustainable NZ As a first step in organising the Green Day we will be holding a planning meeting/workshop on the 26th of May at the Tapataranga Marae in Island Bay from 7.30 to 9.30pm. We aim to set up organising committees to work on the different themes. They will develop ideas for the day, liase with interested groups, organise displays, etc. This is an opportunity to develop ideas and intiatives at a grass roots, community level which can help build a sustainable future for Wellington. If you are interested in helping please come and bring along ideas, suggestions for other groups we could involve or useful contacts. For further info contact Sally Bowman, phone 383 9841, e-mail or Mike Ennis, phone 387 1100, e-mail HOT TOPICS Lots of topical information on our home page! From sticking warning labels on Genetically Engineered food to naming Kakapo chicks SITE NEWS * We have a new editorial onsite. The editorial features a short extract from the book "Deadly Feasts - Science and the Hunt for Answers in the CJD Crisis" by Richard Rhodes. The extract, although discussing primarily the USA and the UK, poses questions of urgent relevance to NZ. There is also a great cartoon by Murray Ball. * The Sustainable Wellington net is getting some media coverage! We've a piccy and article in this week's City Voice and small articles printed in Contact and the Kapiti Observer * We have the draft of the Wellington Green Map online. This map features green high spots (and low spots) around the city, we will be expanding this further. We have three new pages on a theme: * A Retail Page listing environmentally sound shops around town * A page on Ethical Investments gives info on ways we can use our savings and investments to further the aims of sustainable development and social justice. * A page on Corporate Ethics which gives the lowdown on corporates and multinationals - who supports GE, who's running sweatshops, what timber merchants are selling our rimu forests, and more. * A preliminary Government Election Survey 1999 is online - see below for more information * We will be looking at setting up a page on Cleaner Production GOVERNMENT ELECTION SURVEY 1999 We plan to conduct a survey of the opinions of Parliamentary candidates in the Wellington region on a range of environmental issues - national and local. As a first step in developing the survey we want to identify 6 or 7 key environmental issues and for each of these issues 2 or 3 important questions. For example if Genetic Engineering is a key issue important questions could be: 1. Do you support a moritorium? 2. Do you support mandatory labelling? We would like feedback from people on what they see as key issues and important questions. Some possible key issues are: National 1. Genetic Engineering 2. Transport policy 3. Fisheries management 4. Carbon tax 5. Changes to RMA 6. West coast forests Local 1. Wgtn waterfront 2. South coast marine reserve 3. Urban Bypass 4. South west peninsula regional park Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. REMEMBER THAT ADDRESS http://www.sustainable.wellington.net.nz/