Saturday, February 7. Reception begins at 5:30 pm; Dinner begins at 6:00 pm.

The dinner is named in honor of Robert Sparks Walker, local naturalist and writer who founded the local Chattanooga Audubon Society, preserved the Elise Chapin Sanctuary, and fascinated many a child who walked with him in the woods with his natural history tales. Walker is the author of "As the Indians Left It" among several other books and articles.

Call the church at (423) 698-5682 for more information and reservations. Reservations must be made by Wednesday, February 4, 2009. $15.00 per person. Checks payable to Pilgrim Congregational Church. YOU MUST CALL THE CHURCH TO MAKE RESERVATIONS.

Kilowatt Ours will be shown Thursday, February 5, 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. All film showings will be in the UTC Auditorium, University Center.

“Kilowatt Ours is a timely, solutions-oriented look at one of America’s most pressing environmental challenges.”

The verdict on the environment: “it’s not easy being green” is the theme for this year’s lecture series. All events are free and open to the public. These events are presented by the PERSPECTIVES Planning Committee through the UTC Division of Student Development and funded by the Witt-Bagley Endowment Fund, Environmental Task Force, Speakers and Special Events Committee, Student Government Association, and Student Development Programs.

http://www.utc.edu/Administration/UniversityRelations/news/2009/01/21/robert-kennedy-jr-and-kurt-a-strasser-to-speak-in-perspectives-2009-lecture-series/

- Wednesday, February 4, 6:30 pm, Roland Hayes hall, Robert Kennedy, Jr. to speak on the theme, "It's not easy being Green" with "Crimes against Nature"

- Kurt Strasser, to speak Thursday, 12:15. Chattanooga room of UTC student center, "Beyond Regulation, Pursuing sustainability with private efforts"

- movie "Kilowatt ours" Thursday, February 5, at 3 pm and 7pm, UTC University center auditorium

- movie "The 11th Hour" Tuesday, February 3, at 12:15 pm, 3 pm and 7 pm, UTC center auditorium

all events are free to the public

Wednesday, February 4, 6:30 pm, Roland Hayes hall,

Robert Kennedy, Jr. will discuss "Crimes Against Nature" at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 4 at the Roland Hayes Concert Hall, UTC Fine Arts Center.

Kennedy, an Environmentalist Activist and senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, chief prosecuting attorney for the Hudson Riverkeeper and president of Waterkeeper Alliance is also a clinical professor and supervising attorney at Pace University School of Law’s Environmental Litigation Clinic. He co-hosts Ring of Fire on Air America Radio. He has served as assistant district attorney in New York City.

Kennedy will discuss the role that natural resources play in our work, our health, and our identity as Americans. He will discuss the responsibility of Americans to protect and preserve our planet for future generations.

Robert Kennedy, Jr. will be the keynote speaker in Perspectives 2009: The Raymond B. Witt Lecture Series, which will be held February 3-5.

The verdict on the environment: “it’s not easy being green” is the theme for this year’s lecture series. All events are free and open to the public. These events are presented by the PERSPECTIVES Planning Committee through the UTC Division of Student Development and funded by the Witt-Bagley Endowment Fund, Environmental Task Force, Speakers and Special Events Committee, Student Government Association, and Student Development Programs.

http://www.utc.edu/Administration/UniversityRelations/news/2009/01/21/robert-kennedy-jr-and-kurt-a-strasser-to-speak-in-perspectives-2009-lecture-series/

Other events:
- Kurt Strasser, to speak Thursday Feb. 5, 12:15. Chattanooga room of UTC student center, "Beyond Regulation, Pursuing sustainability with private efforts"

- movie "Kilowatt ours" Thursday, February 5, 3 pm and 7pm, UTC center auditorium

- movie "The 11th Hour" Tuesday, February 3, 12:15 pm, 3 pm and 7 pm, UTC center auditorium

all events are free to the public

The Annual* Clifton Government Relations Legislative Skills Briefing & Tour Approaches
January 29, 2009
LP 31
9:30am – 11:30pm
*more or less
A free legislative skills training workshop will be followed by a guided tour (conducted by either me or Rick Steve) of the legislative plaza, etc. The workshop will include: overview of how the TN General Assembly operates; discussion of the current political and legislative climate in Tennessee; practical tips for lobbying and having effective meetings with elected officials; question & answer opportunity.
The tour will feature explanatory comments and possible efforts at humor. The walk-through-the-corridors-of-power will include the areas where most of the TN legislative work is conducted including: Legislative Plaza, War Memorial Building, world-famous Motlow Tunnel, State Capitol, secret corridors, etc.
This opportunity is offered for persons who will be working as interns and participating in the legislative process; for volunteer lobbyists and advocates who plan to be involved in-person during the upcoming legislative session; or for staff persons/lobbyists/advocates whose duties will at least partially involve legislative advocacy and/or monitoring. Those who have already worked at the plaza, those who are official legislative interns for legislators this year, and those who have participated in this opportunity in the past are not likely to learn much new, as you would guess if you knew our presenter.
This opportunity is designed for persons and groups who are broadly committed to principles of impacting our state in a positive way including building community and a sense that we are all in this together and establishing a more just and tolerant society. You know who you are.
Please respond by email if you’re planning to attend. Send name, organization(s) you plan to work with or issue(s) you plan to work on. In the event of too many interested participants, priority will be given to early responders and of course paying clients of Clifton Government Relations!
Details:
We begin our great adventure at 9:30am next Thursday January 29 in room 31 of Legislative Plaza. Some parking and directions information is below. Sorry but Legislative Plaza is not the most convenient or cheapest place to hold a meeting, but the tour would not be as helpful if held anywhere else! If you are really uncertain or lost Thursday morning call Anne Ross at 615.337.9285 or me at 615.305.2946. I hope you can get there a little before 9:30 as we would like to start the session promptly.

Directions to the TN State Legislature:
The entrance to the legislature is located at the corner of 6th Ave. North and Union Ave – facing 6th Ave. There is a guard at the front entrance and a metal detector. Once past the guard, turn right. The training is going to be held in LP 31 which is one of the smaller subcommittee meeting rooms just down the hall on the left – the room numbers are above the door.

Parking Downtown:
The most convenient parking for the legislature is at the Downtown Sheraton, although it is definitely expensive. The entrance to the Sheraton parking garage is on 7th Ave. between Church and Union. There is also (usually) parking at the downtown library – entrance is on 7th between Commerce and Church. The first hour is free if you have your ticket stamped inside, but the library doesn’t really like for people who aren’t using the library to park there. There are several surface lots along that stretch of 7th between Commerce and Union. Also, the link below is a downtown parking map that shows all of the available parking.
http://www.visitmusiccity.com/downloads/1231258944.79185400_7ba9f909f6/downtown.parking.pdf
Event Sponsor:
Stewart Clifton
2115 Bernard Ave., Nashville TN 37212
615-305-2946 stewartclifton@comcast.net
sclifton@tals.org www.stewartclifton.com

Chattanooga Contact: (for possible car-pooling)
SandyKurtz@comcast.net

CHATTANOOGA CLIMATE ACTION PLAN RELEASE

Thursday Jan. 15th 2008

Location: green/spaces

63 E. Main Street

Time: 1:30-2:00

On January 15th at 1:30 pm the Chattanooga Green Committee (CGC) will present Chattanooga’s Climate Action Plan to Mayor Ron Littlefield. The Climate Action Plan represents a year of collaborative efforts by the CGC, local and regional experts and the general public. It aims to lower Chattanooga’s carbon footprint and begin moving the City on a pathway towards sustainability - a path that will simultaneously benefit the environment, the local economy and all citizens of this great city. The document contains 47 recommended action items. Many of the action items were developed from the Public Visioning Event held last April. Many of you receiving this email attended that event, others joined later. Regardless of your previous involvement, the hope is that you will come out and support the holistic vision that we have collectively developed. The more people the better. This is your chance to show your elected officials that you care about climate change, the environment and the health and wellbeing of all generations of Chattanoogans. It is also a chance to show that you are willing to work together to reach this goal. Spread the word; bring your friends and families. A Q/A session will follow the brief presentation of the Climate Action Plan allowing you the chance to participate in this important event.

In the meantime visit www.chattanooga.gov/chattanoogagreen and download a copy of the interim report that was released last June. The Climate Action Plan will be available on the website after the 15th.

Other news:

LET’S CONNECT!

We have begun a Facebook network. For those of you on Facebook, look us up! For those not on Facebook, there is not a better time to join! Many of you know the power of social online networking and we hope that this network will allow Chattanooga Green to communicate more efficiently with the public.

Also, Thanks to the great local service offered by Chattablogs, a Chattanooga Green blog page will be coming soon (http://chattablogs.com/chattanoogagreen/ ). Portions of the Climate Action Plan will be posted on this page. Additionally we want to share relevant regional and national stories. Most importantly, we want to share YOUR STORIES. What are you doing at home to make your home life more sustainable? Are you greening your business? What concerns you the most? What inspires you? Have you tried something that didn’t work; even better, we learn more from our failures than from our successes. I guarantee you have a story to share; sustainability and greening encompass all aspects of our lives. Energy, waste, transportation, education, food…everything is connected; now lets connect each other.

If you would like to submit an entry for the blog page send it to mcallister_b@mail.chattanooga.gov