Awakening the Dreamer Forum, Transforming the Dream of the Modern World--Coming to our church’s Common Room on Saturday, February 4^th (9:00 until noon) will be a forum sponsored by First Unitarian’s Green Sanctuary committee.  A continental breakfast will be provided at 8:45.  Kathleen Erickson and our own Alan Vovolka will be presenting this inspiring event, a program last presented two years ago and well attended. This workshop was designed to help us change the dream of the modern world and to shift cultures based on consumption and destruction to cultures of justice, sustainability and greater personal fulfillment.  As a participant, you will “wake up” both to what is at stake and what is possible at this moment in history and discover your unique role in creating a new future.

Solar Buying Co-Ops—The Green Neighborhood Council and the Nebraska Solar Energy Society are co-sponsoring a roundtable discussion on Thursday, Feb. 9^th at 6:30 p.m.  The venue is the Neighborhood Center, 115 S. 49^th Avenue.  Discussion will focus on the steps involved in forming a solar-buying co-op, what other cities have done or are doing, the lessons learned, the benefits to homeowners and our community, 2012 tax credits and incentives, installation options besides our roofs, and how other co-ops have selected installers.

            Solar buying co-ops provide homeowners access to easy and affordable installation of solar energy systems through bulk purchase discounts, tax credits, and other incentives.  Educational and practical workshops to reduce the complexity of making a solar purchase are another benefit.  Persons who already have had solar panels or solar hot water systems installed are also invited to come and share what they have learned. 

            For a list of proposed discussion questions, log onto: www.greenomahacoalition.org and click on “Neighborhood.”

Green Tip—Now for an important philosophical question:  What to do with dog doo?  Collectively, America's 78.2 million dogs generate 10.7 million tons of waste, an amount that exceeds 6% of the staggering 165 million tons of waste that end up in U.S. landfills each year.

            Let's start with what you should not do: Don't put dog poop in municipal compost bins. Why? Temperatures might not get high enough in compost facilities to kill pathogens.  The consensus seems to be that dog waste should either be put in a plastic bag and placed in the regular trash or flushed down the toilet to be processed in the municipal sewage system.