Happenings 16 March

Some tidbits from around the web...

• The U.S. House Energy and Commerce committee has passed a bill stating that greenhouse gases are not pollutants and therefore cannot be regulated by the EPA... this is a huge step backwards in regards to climate change... the bill places the ethical decision in the hands of corporations whose priorities are profit rather than environmental safety... the bill also demonstrates that the majority of our Republican-controlled House of Reps have absolutely no understanding of the nature of anthropogenic climate change (see this also)... as the committee's "Roadmap for America's Energy Future" indicates, Republicans are pushing for more offshore drilling and the construction of nuclear power plants, even though the one year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon tragedy looms from the other end of Spring, and Japan is suffering the catastrophic effects of three leaking nuclear power plants and over 15,000 people are dead from the recent earthquake.
• On a lighter note, Savage Minds discusses new initiatives to get anthropology information to students and the public, a link to a Kotaku post about a video game about poverty in which players must survive on $1,000/month, and a link to TAPS - an awesome example of what is possible when researchers collaborate online and perhaps a glimpse at the future of research... imagine... multidisciplinary teams working together from global locations via an online catch-all for data, publications, and info for the public and K-12 institutions.  Middle Savagery features archival photos from the work and life of archaeologist Dorothy Garrod - the first female professor at Cambridge, and a nifty time lapse excavation video... another fantastic idea for communicating anthropology to the public.
• Astroblog talks about indigenous constellations of Australian Aborigines.
• Dr. Hastings posted a pie chart from the War Resisters League documenting how income tax money is spent in the U.S... depressing preview: 48% are used for military spending.
• Climate Progress features climate-challenge video games.
• Free permaculture videos!! And Permaculture Pathways proposes a new paradigm in food justice by using the phrase "food sovereignty" instead of "food security." (I am also currently working on a post on the topic of permaculture - look for it soon).

Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice - Upcoming Meeting

Details below:

Alabama's own Arizona-style immigration bill, HB 56, has been filed and is now available for viewing on ALISON, the state legislature's online database.  You can view the bill by searching HB 56 here. There will be a public hearing on the bill this Wednesday, March 2 at 9:00am in the Alabama State House. This Thursday, March 3, the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice will meet to go over the details of this bill and to lay out an action plan for advocating against the bill.    Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice Meeting   Thursday, March 3rd  5:30-7:30pm    Homewood Public Library   1721 Oxmoor Rd.  Birmingham, AL 35209  If you have questions or need talking points, more information, etc.  please contact Zayne Smith or Shay Farley at Alabama Appleseed (334-263-0086) or Caitlin Sandley at ¡HICA! (205-942-5505). ¡ADELANTE!

UAB chapter of Alabama Citizens for Consitutional Reform upcoming meeting

The newly formed UAB chapter of ACCR is holding its second meeting this week.  The ACCR is a group of citizens united in advocacy for a reformed state constitution.  Our allegedly "sweet" home's constitution is thick and sticky with racist, outdated laws, including the foundations of a tax system that regressively and negatively impacts the poor and a stipulation that mandates that statewide votes be counted in order to change legislation.  The student film "It's a Thick Book" demonstrates both the structural violence carried out against already marginalized populations because of our constitution and also the irrelevance of our constitution to the reality of our biologically and culturally diverse state. Watch the film for free here, or here with a free teaching guide.  Details about the UAB ACCR meeting are below:

Hello everyone!

I hope you are all having a great Spring semester and enjoying this gracious weather.  As you will read on the attached flier, we are having our first ACCR event of the semester this Thursday night at 7pm in HHB 106.  This meeting is not only for UAB students, but for the surrounding community as well.  We want these meetings to provide an open forum for discussion and encourage positive action within our city.  Would you mind forwarding the event flier out to friends, students, faculty, staff, and anyone that you think would be interested in actively supporting our struggle for a new state constitution?

We will be viewing a short film, Open Secret, which I had the pleasure of viewing at the American Association of University Women conference this fall.  Using the actual transcripts from the 1901 Constitutional Convention as the basis of script, the film very adequately illustrates the cultural, racial, and political biases that comprise the legislative foundation of our great state.  We will also be discussing the next step in solidifying ACCR's presence on UAB's campus.
Thank you for your support, and I hope to see you all there!