Working For a More Sustainable Spokane

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We are living in a time of urgent challenges to our environment and economy. 

·        Climate change is progressing – we are seeing new evidence almost daily. As average global temperatures increase even a small amount, the consequences will be dramatic to our ecosystem, food chain, and lifestyle. How can we slow or stabilize this shift and how can we as a community adapt to what may be irreversible?

·        Global oil supplies will peak, if they have not already, and the stuff that makes our economy and modern way of life possible will become more and more scarce and expensive. How can we start now to shift to sustainable sources of alternative energy? How can we be more resilient in the face of the imminent loss of the “black gold” we are literally addicted to?

·        The recession is severely impacting the lives of our family, friends, and neighbors. How can we leverage our need for conservation and clean energy so that we create new jobs and increase economic stability? Can we re-localize our economy, food supplies, and connections with one another?

Community-Minded Enterprises believes that the response to these questions begins with community. The tasks we have ahead can feel too daunting to face alone. Together, we can support one another in focused action that will move us closer to creating a resilient Spokane region.

Won’t you join us in Sustainable September? With our core partners, Avista, Greater Spokane Incorporated, the City of Spokane, Friends of the Falls, Spokane Bioneers, The Community-Building Foundation and The Lands Council, we are creating a month of fun, educational and community-building events and workshops, as well as publicizing existing events, that will increase awareness of the ways in which we are and can live more sustainably as a community. 

This September, youth will take part in a “Sustainable Uprising,” we will plant trees, harvest and preserve food, learn to conserve more energy and avoid new carbon-producing power plants, share recipes for non-toxic cleaners, support local businesses, learn about "green building," and celebrate community.

If you believe Spokane needs to activate around learning to live more sustainably, please participate in our program by following these 5 steps:

1.      Go to www.community-minded.org to read more about our Tools for Communities.

2.      Become a member of Sustainable September! Get updates on events as they are scheduled, contribute to the public conversation, receive monthly “commitment cards” that ask you to make small and meaningful changes as part of a community that together, make a huge impact.

3.      Sponsor Sustainable September, or submit your event to our calendar. Contact Angie Dierdorff, angied@community-minded.org, for more information.

4.      Pledge your tax-deductible support of CME’s steps to build resilient communities, including Sustainable September, Transition Spokane, and a series of sustainability-themed films beginning in May and running through September. Donate here.

5.      Forward this enewsletter to at least 5 friends!

Thank you for taking these actions. Together, we can work toward a goal of living in a year-round Sustainable September Spokane!

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