The weather is looking a bit marginal -- coldish and dampish -- and being outdoors might seem to have less appeal than in the summer, but don't give up on it. Scarves and mittens and waterproof boots will keep you happy all winter long, while you enjoy our changing landscapes and seasons.

Lots going on this weekend, indoors and out. On Friday, businesses have a chance to recycle all kinds of electronic junk for free. Click here for the details. Peter Goldberg's awesome photos of the CSO tunnel project are on display at the Cahalan Gallery on Allens Ave. Click here for all the info. The gallery will be open 4 to 7 this Saturday.

Saturday night, Nov 15, get out and have fun with Save The Bay, to celebrate the new CSO tunnel that's having a dramatic impact on our Bay water quality. The "Light at the End of the Tunnel" Bay Bash fundraising event will raise the roof at the Foundry in Providence. Tickets run from $75 to $250 and include a night of dancing to the English Beat and local band Cobra-Matics. Click here for all of the info, including previews of the band music. And here's what Marc Clarkin, over at Motif Magazine, has to say about the music: "Cut from same '80s Ska meets New Wave cloth as Madness, The English Beat sound like a never-ending conga line going straight to the break of dawn." Click here for Marc's full story. And click here for more about the band, from Projo music critic Rick Massimo.

On Sunday, we're expecting big crowds at URI's Energy Expo. Who wouldn't want to learn all about how to save energy? It's a win-win for our economy and our environment. Click here for all the details.

You can find lots more activities, kid events, workshops, and more at our NNN community calendar. Just a sample -- on Saturday morning, check out the new Sakonnet Greenway Trail in Portsmouth. Also on Saturday, the Environmental Justice League of RI welcomes all to its meeting, in Providence. And don't forget your local Farmers Markets, many are staying open for a few more weeks yet.

Providence photographer Kathie Florsheim has been working for several years to document life along the coast in southern New England. Her concerns encompass not only the visual impact of the shoreline, but also what those visuals tell us about how our society relates to and values the natural environment. This leads to lots of interesting work, and some interesting insights from Kathie as well.

If, by chance, you think photographing  along the coastline sounds like an peachy job, consider that you will carry a camera, wear a photo jacket with equipment and film stuck in every pocket, a hat to protect you from the sun, sunscreen, shoes and a lot more clothing than a bathing suit. This July, in pursuit of photographic nirvana, I photographed on 13 beaches in Dennis, Mass. My mania occurred over the hottest weekend of the year, so the beaches were throbbing with people. That reality made empty, private beaches flanking the public watering holes all the more conspicuous. Preceding the delight of pulsating with a large crowd, is the pleasure of finding a parking space, or waiting in line for one. So the private parking was equally conspicuous.  

Click on "More..." for the rest of Kathie's essay, and click here to go to her Web site to see more photos.

Concerns about the high cost of heating homes this winter have many Rhode Islanders strategizing about how to reduce their energy consumption.  So the timing couldn’t be better for the Rhode Island Energy Solutions Expo, which will offer innovative and practical strategies to help individuals and businesses save energy while reducing their environmental impact.

Sponsored by URI’s Energy Center, the expo will be held on Sunday, Nov. 16, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Ryan Center on the Kingston campus, featuring exhibits, workshops, demonstrations, activities for kids, speakers, music, and food.  The first 1,000 visitors will receive free home energy efficiency kits. Admission is $5 online and $8 at the door. Children under 12 and students with an ID get free admission.

Click on "More..." for more details, or click here to go to the Expo Web site.

This Wednesday, Nov 12, from 4 to 7 pm, you are invited to the opening of a photo exhibit about our city's new CSO project, at the Gail Cahalan Gallery, 200 Allens Avenue, Providence. The show, by Peter Goldberg, is called "Providence Underground: Images of the Narragansett Bay Commission’s Combined Sewer Overflow Project." And while that might not sound too exciting, this was in fact an awesome project and very visually dramatic, so we are expecting an interesting show.

Goldberg starting shooting in the tunnel in 2004 and made four trips into its depths. "It was very dark and very wet," he recalls. "Every surface was slick. There was so much activity and noise in such a confined space that I had to be totally alert at all times and watch my every step. I was amazed by the people that worked in this environment every day."

Through his lens, the millions of tons of concrete and steel have moved beyond infrastructure to urban sculpture. Goldberg has captured each aspect of the project with precision and sensitivity, highlighting both the technological and human elements necessary to protect the water quality of our rivers and bay in his stunning black and white images.

The exhibit will be on display from November 10 - 24. Click here for info about the gallery. Click here for a google map. Click here to visit Goldberg's Web site.

The Green Drinks concept of getting folks together to network and brainstorm is a growing phenomenon here in RI -- it started in Prov, now there is a thriving group in Newport, and now some folks in South County are starting up a group of their own.

You can meet them this Wednesday, November 12, at 7 pm at the Alternative Food Co-op, 357 Main Street in Wakefield. Stop by if you get the notion, and plug in to all the cool stuff going on in the southern realm of our state.

The event is being organized by David Floyd, who is also the guy behind the cool PostCarbon Rhode Island blog. Click here to check it out.

All that rain over the last few days was just what we needed to see if our new CSO tunnel can do the job. The project was built to divert stormwaters out of our combined sewer systems in Providence, so we don't get raw sewage overflowing into the Bay every time it rains. And it worked! We're hopeful that the water quality improvements in the upper bay and the urban rivers will soon start to create healthier habitats for fish, shellfish, and other wildlife.

Click here to read about the CSO's first real-world test, in the Projo. Click here for a recent Prov Business News story about the project. And click here for info about Save The Bay's Bay Bash fundraiser, next Saturday, which will celebrate the completion of the project.

by Steve Stycos

Despite the great weather, sales at the Pawtuxet Village Farmers Market were slow last Saturday. Some people mistakenly think the market is closed for the season. We will be selling fresh fruit and vegetables for three more weeks. This Saturday, Micki Whelan will be selling our Pawtuxet Village Farmers Market reusable shopping bags. Chang Xiong will have her popular nime chow. Michelle Kosloski will have Long Island cheese squash, which make smooth creamy “pumpkin” pies. And lots more. The market is held outside Rhodes on the Pawtuxet, off Broad Street in Cranston.

Come talk about the election and buy some vegetables. And check the Farm Fresh Web site for other market schedules, many still are open around the state. 

In commemoration of Rhode Island Recycles Week, Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation will host a special electronic waste recycling collection for local businesses on Friday, November 14, from 8:00 a.m. to noon at Arpin Van Lines, 99 James P. Murphy Highway, West Warwick. Companies that need to recycle more than 50 items may contact Arpin at 884-0321 to arrange for a free pick-up.

Items that are eligible for recycling are CPUs, servers, network equipment, routers, telephones, radios, scanners, keyboards, monitors, laptops, mouse devices, laser printers, fax machines, cables and wire, cell phone, window air conditioner units and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS).

For more info, click on "More...".

These early November weekends are perfect times to get out and play -- the hectic summer is past, the tourists are scarce, the demanding holidays are not yet upon us, and if we are lucky, we can find free time to spend as we please!

Tonight, all are welcome to join the folks of Green Drinks Newport at 22 Bowen's, on Bowen's Wharf in Newport, from 5:30 to 8. Mix and mingle, meet your neighbors from across the street or across the state.

On Saturday, RI Resource Recovery Corp. will accept all of your plastic junk for recycling, even stuff that's not generally picked up. The hitch is that you have to bring it to the Landfill in Johnston. But while you're there, you can shred bunches of your personal documents, and pick up a compost bin at discount. Click here for the details.

Or you can check out the new Africa exhibit at Roger Williams Park Zoo, where the giraffes and elephants have more room to roam. Check out this Projo story for the news and a review, and go to the Zoo Web site for visitor info.

Monday night, you can check out the documentary film, Flow, followed by a discussion about Rhode Island's own water situation, with a panel of local experts, at Bryant College in Smithfield. Click here for more info. And a forum about water for South County and the state is coming up next Wednesday at the URI Bay Campus, click here for info.

You can find lots more events listed, from kids' activities to book groups to garden workshops to guided hikes, at NNN's Community Calendar.

Another great source of weekend ideas we've come to enjoy is the "10 Things to Do" newsletter from Providence Business News. You'll find art events and fundraisers, along with the occasional outdoor or greenish listing. It's free, and well worth it! Click here to go sign up.

And don't forget Save The Bay's Bay Bash, coming up Saturday November 15!