LSF LOUISVILLE SUSTAINABILITY FORUM UPDATES

LSF Louisville Sustainability Forum Updates

LSF Louisville Sustainability Forum 
Sponsored by Heine Brothers' Coffee, Earth & Spirit Center, Howard Mason, and Jan Pfeifer 

April ?
12 noon to 1:45 pm

Join us at the Barn behind St. Agnes Church and the Passionist Monastery, 1924 Newburg Rd. 

Park in the St. Agnes Church lot and walk behind the church to the barn.

Please be mindful that the Barn is used for a meditation class just before the meeting 
and is open for LSF use only after 11:30am.

The program for April is yet to be confirmed           

 

You are invited to bring your lunch, and/or bring (any amount of) food to share with others:  fruit, bagels, veggies, crackers, cheese & spreads for snacking.  Heine Brothers will provide coffee.

Still seeking 5 minute presenters, greeters, food, set up, & clean up help

The purpose of the Louisville Sustainability Forum 
 1.  We hold and promote the intention of sustainability for Louisville. 
 2.  We establish and nourish relationships that strengthen community and create change. 
 3   We create a space for discussion that inspires, motivates and deepens our ability to catalyze social change. 

LSF Louisville Sustainability Forum Updates

If you have an update to share with the 
LSF mailing list or wish to be added to 
the LSF mailing list please email 
Doug Lowry
dwiredlow@aol.com
619-1819

1) Sustainable Clifton Social Group-Meet Eat and Socialize
    Sunday March 16 6-7:30

2) Building a Sustainable Presence in Local Politics- Pland and Take Political Action 
    Meeting again Tuesday March 18 7:30-8:30 am 

3) Stream Saver Bill Update from KFTC- Thank those legislators who acted in support

4)  Investing in Sustainable Food Systems Worldwide- Give Input in Global Investing

5) Sustainable Urban Forests- Complete Survey for Organization Represenatives

1) Sustainable Clifton Social Group
Our potluck will be 6-7:30 pm this Sunday March 16 at the Clifton Center (right 
after the ecological group meeting in the same place). It's on Clifton between 
Payne and Frankfort, behind Caffe Classico.  We'll chat and eat and discuss some 
of our ideas for creating a more social neighborhood.

Please bring any and all ideas, and some friends and family, too, enough food 
for your party + three. We'll talk about what we like, what we'd like to change, 
and what groups of people you feel like you want to connect with but don't know 
how. We'll discuss the Social aspect ties in with the rest of Sustainable 
Clifton/ Gaia Education activities. We'll finish at 7:30 on the dot.

For those who can't make it, it would be great if you sent along your ideas by 
e-mail so we can make sure they're not left out. We'll move the meeting days and 
times around so that everyone has a chance to participate.

PLEASE RSVP to jenniferola@wildmail.com

2. Building a Sustainable Presence in Local Politics

Meeting again Tuesday March 18 7:30-8:30 am
Heine Bros Eastern Pkway at Bardstown Road

Please join us and or indicate your interest by email.

We are working to connect with folks who touch sustainability from any number of portals.Our goal is to build a consistent sustainability presence in local politics. Who you know know who that would help represent this key interest area and help network with others who want to impact Louisville Metro Council members and the Jefferson County Legislative Delegation in particular, but other elected officials and other public policy arenas as well?

We are looking at vetting candidates for the upcoming primaries and offering a green view of those running for office. A first step is to develop a candidate response form based on issues important to Jefferson County residents.  We need your input. If you have members you know who might help us work toward consistent cohesive political action on behalf of sustainability, please forward this email and invite them to attend Tuesday March 18 at 7:30 a.m. or email togooglemeplease@aol.com or tecoyah@gmail.com for more information.

Also looking for liaisons in each Metro Council District as well as Jefferson County House and Senate members. Who can call email visit or write consistently regarding sustainabilty issues or help vet candidates? 


Doug Lowry
619-1819 

3. Streamsaver Legislation Update

Legislation to stop the dumping of toxic mining wastes into Kentucky's headwater streams fell two votes short of passing the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee Tuesday afternoon. The "stream saver" legislation had 13 favorable votes and only 12 against but did not get the 15 needed to pass when Louisville Reps. Scott  Brinkman and Bob DeWeese reneged on commitments to vote for the bill. Both abstained. 
 
After more than four hours of testimony last week, no new testimony  was taken Tuesday. But the voted was delayed until mid-afternoon >> while the committee dealt with revenue bills and the budget. 
 
KFTC members are disappointed but were thankful for the courage of  Reps. Harry Moberly and Don Pasley to bring the bill before the Appropriations and Revenue Committee. Both pledged to bring the issue up again if the Natural Resources Committee continues to fail to taken water pollution and the burying of streams seriously.  As both said, this issue directly affects hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians and it deserves a fair hearing. 

Getting this issue a full hearing before a legislative committee is the result of a tremendous amount of work by KFTC members and allies across the state, and in itself is a great step forward. The detailed  data provided by scientists as to the damage being done to the  state's waterways — and the cost that all Kentuckians pay because of  this — opened the eyes of many people in the room, especially since  the coal industry could not refute these facts. 

In the the end, though, the power of the money, the opposition of  House leadership, and the attitude by some legislators that it's OK  for eastern Kentucky to be the state's sacrifice area still held sway with many legislators. 

Also a disappointment was the No vote by Rep. Larry Clark of  Louisville who had expressed support for the measure in conversations with constituents but then said he thought the bill was being heard in the wrong committee. 

Here's how they voted: 
YES for protecting water: Reps. Royce Adams, Dwight Butler, Jesse Crenshaw, Derrick Graham, Jimmy Higdon, Jimmie Lee, Harry Moberly, Lonnie Napier, Don Pasley, Rick Rand, Charlie Siler, Arnold Simpson,  Jim Wayne 

NO for continued pollution: Reps. John Arnold, Larry Clark, James  Comer, Keith Hall, Rick Nelson, Fred Nesler, Marie Rader, John Will Stacy, John Vincent, Tommy Turner, Robin Webb, Brent Yonts 
 
PASS: Reps. Scott Brinkman, Bob DeWeese, Danny Ford 

ABSENT: Rep. Mike Denham 
Action: 
We are asking that our members leave thank you messages on the Legislative Message Line (800-372-7181) to all those who supported the bill by voting yes. 

We especially need to thank Rep. Pasley and Chairman Moberly for championing this bill despite pressure against it from House  Leadership and the coal industry.  Without their efforts the bill would died in the House Natural Resources committee without a hearing or a vote.  If you have a moment, leave them a special  message or write them a letter of thanks for their work. 
 
We also need to to call out those who either voted against this bill  or refused to vote on it at all.  If you live in a district  represented by any of these legislators, please leave a message  expressing your disappointment with their vote.  We need to remind  them that their constituents will hold them accountable for how they  vote. 

Finally, please consider renewing your membership or donating above and beyond your annual dues.  It is essential that our work to stop mountaintop removal build on the progress made in the last few weeks.  Our work in Frankfort is directly funded by our membership donations.  Without your support our ability to work for good legislation would be greatly limited. 

4. Sustainable Food System  Investment Info

How would you invest $1b to support sustainable food systems worldwide?

Dear COMFOODers,

How would you invest $1 billion to support sustainable food systems worldwide?

The Rockefeller Impact Investing Collaborative (RIIC) intends to catalyze the commitment of $1 billion in patient, sustainable capital over the next three years into what they are calling the "sustainable ag plus" sector. The collaborative consists of a few large foundations in addition to the Rockefeller Foundation, plus some smaller family foundations and institutional investors. Through an interesting turn of events, I am currently managing Phase 1 of the project on behalf of RSF Social Finance, through mid-June of this year. (See below for more info on Terragua and RSF Social Finance.)

This is your chance to influence the outcome of this project! I know that passions run high on this list around the past and present activities of the Rockefeller Foundation in "sustainable ag plus," and it is my intention to do everything I can to represent the combined expertise, connections, and values embodied within the COMFOOD community during my tenure as Project Manager. The definition of "sustainable ag plus" is still up in the air with respect to RIIC, which represents a unique opportunity for us to try to set a really high standard.

I would greatly appreciate your help with leads (names, websites, contact information, etc) to the following types of organizations and/or projects:

1.       Businesses, social ventures, or other projects that you would like to see the Rockefeller Impact Investing Collaborative members invest in;

2.       Foundations and other investors who are actively investing OR are interested in investing in "sustainable ag plus";

3.       Investment intermediaries who are aggregating investment opportunities overseas for foreign investors and/or providing consulting services for investors with no experience in those particular regions;

4.       University ag programs, nonprofits/NGOs, or government ag programs that are providing technical or investment assistance to for profit businesses working toward sustainable food systems;

5.       Nonprofits/NGOs developing standards or certification systems to define "sustainable ag" around the world; and

6.       Anything / anyone else you think might be useful in conducting research for Terragua.

Here are some additional parameters to narrow it down a bit:

·         This project focuses on INVESTMENT opportunities, by which RIIC means that they expect at least to see their capital returned; in other words, they are not looking to make grants via this project, they expect to get (at least) their initial investment back. Most members seem to want returns higher than just return of capital, but they still want to know the full range of projects seeking investment.

·         This project is global. While the specific geographic focus areas have still not been determined, my sense thus far is that the RIIC is most interested in investing in projects in the developing world in areas that have the greatest challenges. That said, they are still interested in learning about models they might employ anywhere… and

NOW is the time to shine a light on all the great projects that you believe are most worthy of investment, and all the models that you think are better that what has traditionally received support. I really appreciate your help in finding them.

Please send me your responses to my work email (below) off-list. I will aggregate and post them here in the next few weeks UNLESS you tell me in your response that you would prefer I not include a particular contact or project in the aggregate list I will post here…
 
Cheers,
Elizabeth

Terragua Project Description:
Terragua is a joint research project of the Rockefeller Impact Investing Collaborative ("RIIC")  that intends to accelerate the deployment of private capital into social investment. For the purpose of this project, social investment is defined as investment which at least returns its principal up to above market rate returns. The commonality between all investments is that they are designed to have positive demonstrable social, environmental and economic impacts. Social investments can be made across all sectors, all "issues", and across all asset classes.

The thesis of Terragua is that deployment of private capital into social investment is constrained by the lack of the same type of capital market ecosystems that connect investment opportunities to appropriate supplies of capital in traditional capital markets. At the same time, the project team noted that certain sustainable development related sub-sectors such as microfinance, affordable housing in the United States and clean energy technology have well developed investment ecosystems that facilitate investments across risk and return profiles. We asked ourselves: How could a group of like minded institutions replicate the type of investment ecosystems present in microfinance, US affordable housing, and clean energy technology to other sectors with high potential for sustainable development impact?

As a result, the team proposes to create such an ecosystem in a social investment sub-sector it is calling Sustainable Agriculture "Plus." The "plus" refers to revenue streams derived from activities beyond producing agricultural commodities such as forestry, eco-tourism, and ecological credits such as carbon. "Plus" is also meant to include the broader sustainable agriculture food chain from enabling products (e.g. bio-based pesticides, new seeds, distributed renewable energy technology) through to the resulting agricultural commodities themselves (e.g. sustainable coffee, bio-fuels). While this definition is intentionally broad for now, the team may narrow it after the initial scoping phase of the process.

Goals of Terragua:

The three year goals for Terragua (not expected to be completed during Phase I; see 6 month work plan, below) are to:

·         Catalyze $1b in committed patient, sustainable capital into the Sustainable Agriculture Plus sector.

·         If the project is successful in catalyzing investment in sustainable agriculture, the group hopes to move on to other sustainable investment sectors.

About RSF Social Finance:
RSF Social Finance (formerly Rudolf Steiner Foundation) partners with investors, donors, and social enterprises to realize financial transactions which enliven consciousness and enhance quality of life. RSF cultivates environmental, social and financial sustainability, providing access to capital for nonprofit and for-profit social ventures committed to fair practices and improving economic conditions. RSF concentrates its work in three focus areas: food and agriculture; education and the arts; and environmental stewardship.

Elizabeth Ü
Executive Assistant

RSF Social Finance
1002A O'Reilly Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94129
phone: 415.561.6181
fax: 415.561.3919
www.rsfsocialfinance.org

Investing, lending, and philanthropic services---innovative financial transactions that enliven consciousness and enhance quality of life.
Inspired by the work of Rudolf Steiner

5. Sustainable Urban Forests

The funding for the Urban Forestry program is reaching a  critical level, and the future does not look good.  Nationwide, our budget for 2008 was $27.7 million.  The 2009 President’s Budget is $5  million a 82% reduction!!!! 

I am asking you to take two minutes of today’s time and go to this link:  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=xz9Mui_2bdQWTYYUsKD0Cj2w_3d_3d  You will be able to sign your organization in support of the SUFC.  They are seeking signups from nonprofit organizations, professional organizations, citizen groups, civic leagues, local units of  government, and any other entities that represent groups of people  (like tree boards).  I promise that it shouldn’t take you more than two minutes to go to this link and lend your support to this cause. 
   
Please note – they only need one representative from each organization  to sign up.  I’ve tried to not send this to multiple people who may represent the same organization, although I know that there is some  overlap.   
Sarah Gracey 
Urban Forestry Coordinator 
Kentucky Division of Forestry