NJN’s one-hour high definition special Green Builders profiles a cast of green building pioneers who have taken the leap into making their part of the “built environment” a more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly place. From The Willow School to PNC Bank to the first solar-hydrogen home, people talk about why green, the challenges, and how they fared. A green building has more to do with smart planning and a mindset change about energy use than expensive technologies or consumer sacrifice. These are real projects on the ground, working businesses and college campuses that prove you can change your carbon footprint once you change your way of looking at how a structure operates. Major funding for Green Builders was provided by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation? with additional support from the Cape Branch Foundation.

This is one of a series of Environmental Film Screenings put on by CommunityGreen.org. For more information contact Marnie Vyff at 335-4469 or marnie@ecoLOGIC-design.com.

“The Disappearing Male” is about one of the most important – and least publicized – health issues facing the human species: the toxic threat to the male reproductive system. The last few decades have seen dramatic increases in the incidence of boys and young men suffering from a number of problems including low sperm count, testicular cancer, ADHD, autism, and dyslexia. The male birthrate is steadily decreasing.

“The Disappearing Male” takes a close and disturbing look at what many doctors and researchers now suspect are responsible for many of these problems: a class of common chemicals called “endocrine disrupters” that are found in everything from shampoo, sunglasses, meat and dairy products, to pesticides, carpets, cosmetics and baby bottles.

The second film, “Big River”, investigates the environmental impact one acre of corn causes for the people and places downstream. In a journey from the heartland to the Gulf of Mexico, two farmers trade their combine for a canoe––and set out to see the big world their little acre of corn has touched.

Their trip flashes back to the pesticides they sprayed, fertilizers they injected, and the soil they plowed, leading to new questions explored by new experts in new places. Topsoil is eroding, fertilizer has runoff, and the herbicides they used are blamed for a cancer cluster that reaches all too close to home.

Please join us for these free films and an open discussion following. For further information please contact the office of Environmental Affairs at (973) 509-5721. [From Montclair Township website.]

The screening will be hosted at the Montclair Public Library’s Main Branch, 50 South Fullerton Avenue, Thursday, January 21st at 6:30 p.m. All events at the Library are free. The Green Film Series continues throughout 2010, on the third Thursday of each month. RSVP at Meetup.com.

This year’s first film, “The Story of Stuff”, looks at our consumption patterns and the connections between environmental and social issues, encouraging more sustainable consumerism and changing how we look at all the stuff in our lives.

The second film, “Trashed”, investigates one of the fastest growing industries, the garbage business, analyzing the causes and effects of “taking out the garbage” while showcasing individuals, activists, corporations and advocacy groups working to affect change.

What are some of the effects all this waste will have on already strained natural resources, and our global climate? Who does it affect most?

Everyone is cordially invited to attend these two short, entertaining films, and an open discussion afterwards.

The Great West Essex Toy Swap is an opportunity to bring your old toys to exchange for different toys your kids will love. It’s a great way to ensure your child’s previously loved things will geta new happy home, and that you can give them new things to play with at no cost to you. It’s a wonderful ReUse event!

The Great West Essex Toy Swap is the brainchild of Bloomfield resident and artist Greg Gutbezahl.The Swap will be held on Sunday February 21, 2010 from 10am to 3pm, with a drop off day on Saturday, February 20, 2010, after 4pm, at Temple Sholom of West Essex 760 Pompton Ave Cedar Grove, NJ 07009-1229, (973) 239-1326.

The SWAP organizers are currently looking for volunteers for the swap committee from the Caldwell to Bloomfield area. If you are interested, please visit the contact page on the website (see below), or email Greg at greg@gmg-design.com

Please visit the swap website http://toyswap.wordpress.com/ for updates and information.

The Swap organizers are also seeking donations to provide for promotions, and for schools and groups to promote the event through their lists. If you are able to help, or know of a business who may be willing to sponsor the event, please let Greg know, or contact JoAnn Pine at 973 239 1321.

Participants will walk to Foley Field and take a picture in the shape of 350 (the safe level of carbon in the atmosphere), which will be sent to local newspapers and even to world leaders meeting at The Copenhagen Climate Summit this December. After the photo, the group will return to the college and have lots of activities for everyone. FREE food, music, information and games will be provided. “You don’t have to be into science or going green to support this movement, you just have to a be a human who wants a clean future, without climate change.” Visit 350.org and the BC Green Hearts Movement blog for more information.

Tonight

Speakers at the event will be:

• Jose German, a founder of Montclair Community Wildlife Habitat Project and active with the Cornucopia Network of NJ which promotes organic gardening and composting. German is a founder of Green Harmony Now, which helps people maintain their properties sustainably.
• Bud Feder, PhD, a Montclair psychologist who specializes in stress reduction and meditation. Feder has authored many books and edited others and has facilitated training workshops in many countries across three continents.
• Catherine Moon is in training to become a gourmet “Raw” chef at Raw Soul in NYC. She will discuss the health benefits of eating raw foods especially as they help healing from both minor and serious illnesses.

For directions and further details, go to www.essexcountygreens.org, or call 973-338-5398.

Whether it’s a chair, a fax machine, or an old door, feel free to post it. Or maybe you’re looking to acquire something yourself! Everything posted must be FREE, legal and appropriate for all ages. Freecycle’s mission is to build a worldwide gifting movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources & eases the burden on our landfills.