Upcoming, free event about sludge dumping on our farmlands, and what we can do about it:
Join Back to Democracy on Friday, May 30 @ 7 pm @ the Trumansburg Fire Hall for a presentation by Robert Barton of Citizens for Agricultural and Rural Responsibility (www.carrcny.org) on "The Right of Citizens to Govern," with a focus on protesting sludge dumping on local farmlands. Robert Barton, of Hector, will show the documentary film "My Name is Allegany County" (50 min.) as an example of how citizens came together in 1989 to prevent a nuclear waste dump site in their county. He will then discuss the current use of sewage sludge on farmers' fields, and the necessity of citizens to mobilize once again to halt this practice. Sludge is treated sewage from city wastewater plants. Some farmers spread sludge products (also called "biosolids") on their fields for organic content and/or as a substitute for lime. The main reason farmers use sludge is that it is cheap. Sludge contains human waste, as well as anything that goes into city sewer systems, such as household cleaning products, medications, industrial chemicals, hospital waste, and pathogens (disease organisms). Sludge used to be dumped in the ocean, but the practice was so destructive that it was outlawed in 1991. * * * * * The Trumansburg Fire Hall is located on Rte 96 (W Main St.), just north of the center of Trumansburg, across 96 from the Park 'n Ride (which is next to the site of the T-burg Farmers' Market). Free parking is available in the fire hall lot, but please don't block the firehouse doors in front or back. If the lot is full, parking is permitted along Rte 96. All meetings are free, open to all, and handicap accessible. We are all volunteers, so donations are appreciated. Back To Democracy is a group of volunteer progessive activists seeking to engage citizens in participatory democracy. Our aims include citizen control of government, election and campaign finance reform, demilitarization of our society, media reform, liberation from corporate control, a clean environment as a human right, and the development of more sustainable ways of living as a community. Margo Alexander Michael Dineen Lou Johns Jan Quarles DD Stevens www.backtodemocracy.org Questions? Email [EMAIL PROTECTED] * * * * * * _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
