September 12, 2007

Pioneer Valley Sustainability Network        September 12 2007        Meeting #2 Notes

Project Staff:    Erin Baker-Industrial Engineering UMASS, Patty Gambarini-Environmental Planner PVPC, Catherine Miller-Sustainability Planner PVPC, Rick Taupier-The Environmental Institute UMASS

Members Present: Paul Lipke-Sustainable Step New England (SSNE), Judy Eiseman-Kestrel Trust, Dan Finn-Business Alliance for a Local Living Economy (BALLE), Julie Johnson-Hitchcock Center for the Environment, Barbara Fingold Bart’s Homemade, Lynn Benander-Co-op Power, Eric Weiss-Hilltown Resource Management Cooperative, Nancy Hazard-World Sustain, Stuart Beckley-Barnes Aquifer Protection Advisory Committee (BAPAC), Brad Campbell-Homebuilders Assoc of W. MA, Maya Winfrey-Co-op Power, Craig ___-HAP Green Affordable Housing Prog, Erica Gees-American Institute of Architects (AIA),

Members Excused: Tina Clarke-Clean Water Action, Kurt Gaertner- Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA), Dwayne Breger-MA Division of Energy Resources, Bonnie Parsons-PVPC Historic Preservation, Judy Sopenski-Holyoke Health Center, John Laux-Greendustry Park

UMASS Studio members: Megan Mc Donough, Margaret Leonard, Kathleen Cahill, Christine Gale, Stella Lensing, Jayne,

Guests: David Caputo-web designer, Robert Rocheleau-UMASS Research Assistant—working on mapping network

Members who want to stay on mailing list but probably will not come to meetings: Peggy MacLeod-Center for Ecological Technology (CET), David Panagore-City of Springfield Planning and Economic Development, Joanne Campbell-Valley Community Development Council

Members Invited from whom we’ve never heard: Cris Coffin-American Farmland Trust, Claire D’amour-Daley-Big Y, Will Bundy-Eastworks, David Rosenmiller-Solidago Foundation, Penny Burke-Northampton Center for the Arts,  Allan Blair-Western MA Economic Development Council, Russ Denver-Affiliated Chambers of Greater Springfield, Jeff Hayden-Holyoke Community College, Mayor Clare Higgins-City Northampton, David Kielson-MA Municipal Association, Mary MacInnes-Pioneer Valley Transit Authority, Rochelle Prunty-River Valley Market, Jon Weissman-Jobs for Justice, Julie Graham-Popular Economics UMASS, Sharon Genslar-Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA), Francesca Maltese-O’Connell Development Group Holyoke

People we invited but who choose not to participate: Sandy Thomas, Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA), John Walsh-Western MA Electric Company (WMECO), Christian Lagier-Smith College

Agenda
Networking with Coffee and Treats
Welcome/Introductions
Project Overview
Overview of website  HYPERLINK “http://www.pvsustain.com” www.pvsustain.com
Values Hierarchy
Inflow mapping the network
Schedule Guest Lecturers
Plan future meetings

Introduction/Project Overview
Rick Taupier provided a brief overview of the project. This is the second meeting of the Pioneer Valley Sustainability Network (pvsustain). We had a meeting of an adhoc committee that looked at values hierarchy over the summer.

Overview of website
David Caputo of Positronic Design in Holyoke received the contract to develop the pvsustain website.
Some members expressed concern about being involved with website development and especially content. Catherine committed to email website contents to members prior to posting whenever possible. Members want everything to be very visual—a la Tufte.

Overview of Values Hierarchy—(attached) Erin explained the results of the ad hoc working group on values hierarchy—and members added to the handout.
Comments on handout from 9/12 mtg of pvsustain
Means
Fundamentals
Population control (needs to be discussed in way that addresses class and culture-some concerned about this)
Human (why human) connection to nature
Biodiversity—remove invasives
Economy, equity, move up
Ethical consumption
Health prevention more than min
Economic development-provide benchmark
Health care costs-more Honda than Ferrari
Provide baselines overall for many where have data
TINA-there is no alternative
LOIS-
Waste management, links to health etc

Switch?
Efficiency in processes
Enviro health resource extension preserving resource
Equity-intergenerational
Ecological health
Cultural-multi
Housing/shelter
Education as means, not FO
Safety from violence
Language
Other fundamental human rights (educ)
Economy-full cost accounting
Human legacy-private land ownership
And use rather than protection
How reconcile with other objectives?
Equity-shelter

Interdependency of all these elements
Interdependency of all these elements
Switch again!

Max Neef
Human Needs
Looking for best practices (always ask what is missing)
How to bring all together?

Access to transportation mobility
Governance
Democracy
Natural Step-ecological footprint

0 waste, 0 emissions, 0 footprint
Discussion:
Perhaps we need goals, in addition to metrics—so we have a way of describing sustainability in the Pioneer Valley that is more detailed than the Bruntland definition, and yet not so complicated as metrics???
We need to acknowledge inter-dependency among and between all of these issues, i.e. why do people sell land—because they can’t afford their health insurance???
To be sustainable, we have to CHANGE behavior
We want safety from violence
We have to somehow address the issue of private land ownership and American’s notion that they can pass their land on to future generations.
We have to change the way we think and not think in silos
We need a multi-facted approach
We should research best practices from around the world—(people are starting to think of implementation…)
Look at Robert Reich’s book and Max Neef
We are missing government and democracy in the network
Paul Lipke will send information from SSNE to Catherine for distribution to network

Future Meetings: 2.5 hours, from 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

November 14 2007
February 13 2008
May 14 2008

 the UMASS Landscape architecture and regional planning (LARP) studio students will be holding focus groups in November—if you have suggestions for people they should invite in the areas of: land use/farming, business/local enterprise, housing/transportation, or energy/water/waste, please contact me and I will pass your ideas on to them — Catherine Miller 413/781-6045 or  HYPERLINK “mailto:cmiller@pvpc.org” cmiller@pvpc.org

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