If you're used to visiting NNN and finding fresh posts every day, you might have noticed that it's been slow lately. We're working on a new design and we're also working to find a new partner to help with promotion and growing the site, and for now that's taking up all of our available NNN time!

Our Community Calendar is still fresh every day, thanks to slews of contributors and Sue Korte's organizing skills. And soon we'll be re-launching with new features.

So keep NNN in mind, we'll be back soon....!

-- Mary Grady, NNN editor

This via Annie Costner at Clean Water Action RI:

The Providence City Council will present an ordinance this Thursday, February 19th, that would drastically reduce the amount of diesel pollution from public-works projects in the city. This is a truly forward-thinking ordinance that only exists in a handful of cities around the country. We need to demonstrate broad public support for the ordinance to pass! You all can help. Providence County is still in the worst 6% of the country for health risks due to diesel pollution, but we can change that!

We need 3 things:

1) Come to the meeting on the 19th, at Providence City Hall, 7PM.

2) Write or call your Councilman to tell them local projects paid for with government money should be cleaner and not contribute to a major public health risk.  If you live in Prov and don't know who represents you, Click here! If you know what Ward you are in, click on "More..." for a list of email addresses.

3) Make your voice heard in the local paper. Write a Letter to the Editor saying why you support legislation on any level that could protect the health of Rhode Islanders. Click on "More...." for helpful details and links.

Call CWA for more info, or to let them know you're coming to the meeting! (401) 331-6972.

With the economic stimulus package now in play, there is likely to be (we hope!) increasing attention on building the green infrastructure of the future. And luckily, here in RI we have a head start on this with the growth of our local RI Green Building Council.

This group launched about a year or so ago, and under the dogged leadership of Connie McGreavy, has grown fast. The monthly networking meetings at New England Tech draw hundreds of folks from the building trades, designers, architects, enviros, students, local building officials, and more. They offer classes in LEED standards and implementation. Coming up Feb 26, a seminar at Bryant U will examine the latest in green building practices for homes, with a panel of experts. Check out their Web site for all the events and updates.

What will the new federal Stimulus Package do to help support green jobs and the growth of a green energy infrastructure right here in RI? We have all the details on this breaking news story, thanks to Chris Kearns, at Environment RI, and the staff of US Rep. Jim Langevin. Congressman Langevin has taken a lead role in advocating for green initiatives in the House, as a co-chair of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition.

Click on "More..." to get all the details. To learn more, including exactly how this will all trickle down to impact our local RI environment, be sure to attend the roundtable discussion about the package, coming up at Save The Bay on March 5. Click here for details about that event, which is free and open to all.

With the recent thaw, birds and squirrels seem to be waking up and becoming more active, and lots of Rhode Islanders are seeing red-breasted American Robins out among the snow -- a bird that we usually associate with the start of Spring. Could spring be arriving early this year?

The folks at the Audubon Society of RI have been getting calls from curious residents wondering if something strange is going on with the birds or the weather.

No need for concern, says Audubon naturalist and birding expert, Michael Tucker. “In southern New England, robins have always managed to winter over in many areas,” he says. “As a thrush, American Robins, much like Eastern Bluebirds, have the ability to switch their diet from worms and other invertebrates they feed on in the warmer months, to a berries and fruit diet when colder temperatures set in.”

The seasonal movement of robins isn’t clear-cut, Tucker says. Some robins do migrate south, but others have found it easier to survive the winter months here. Fragmented forests around suburban neighborhoods provide plentiful habitat, with shelter and food to last all year round.

“Robins will flock into RI during the fall and remain in these larger groups throughout the winter," says Tucker. "Coastal areas, with weather tempered by the ocean, usually hold the greatest concentrations. These areas also tend to have the largest amount of underbrush for food. However, it is not uncommon to see them inland as well. As early as February, the large flocks begin to break up into smaller groups and spread out over a greater area. As the snow melts and patches of ground are exposed, you will see more of these birds searching for food.”  

So, if you spot a robin hopping about on the snow, it’s just natural -- not a sign of an early spring!

For years, hundreds of us have made our way out to the wilds of Coventry every June for the Apeiron Sustainable Living Festival to find a rich and varied event, with lots of great workshops, music & food, exhibits, and lots of conversation and networking. And every year, visitors will lament that it all takes so place so far away and wish a similar event would happen closer to the city, where more people might discover it.

This year, Apeiron is making that wish come true! The annual festival will still take place in June, at the Coventry site, but a second event is in the works for September 26 in Providence.  So, mark your calendar now. And if you can make it to the June event, don't miss it.

Apeiron has some other great new events happening too -- Evolution Forums take place once a month, at 17 Gordon Ave in Prov, with networking and guest speakers on a variety of topics from green building to sustainable energy, education, and more. They are free for Apeiron members and the first one, on local food, is set for Thursday, Feb 26. For more details, contact Apeiron at 228-7930 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Times are tough all around, but if you have to cut corners, please try to keep in mind that the money you spend today on green products may be a little more than you can pay for an alternative -- but along with the product you get today, you are investing in a better, greener future!

Here are a couple of good examples...

It costs a little more to be a member of Greenstart, our local alt-energy company, than to just pay your straight electricity bill. But that extra is helping to build a green energy grid for the future, which will help to keep our prices lower over the longer term. Case in point -- those Greenstart dollars are helping to support the new wind turbine now under construction in Portsmouth. Click here to read more about that project in a recent PBN story, and click here to find frequent updates about the project at the Portsmouth sustainable energy web site.

Likewise, it costs a little more to buy biodiesel that's been recycled from restaurant waste products. But if you can buy your fuel from Newport Biodiesel you are helping to support the growth of a green infrastructure for the future. Click here for a recent story about them from Channel 10 Earthwatch reporter RJ Heim.

So if you are trying to save pennies, please keep in mind that these projects need your support! and we all will get a return on that investment for many years to come.

The turbine tower en route from Quonset to Portsmouth last week.

The RI Department of Environmental Management says it's not too early to think about summer jobs. Applications for the 2009 seasonal employment program are now available. Various positions for the summer season are available throughout Rhode Island for residents 16 years of age and older. Work on weekends and holidays is required of most summer positions.

Positions include, but are not limited to, park ranger - levels I, II and III, beach managers, seasonal laborers, lifeguards, lifeguard captains, recreational area clerks, restroom attendants, student researchers, clerical support aides, policy interns and field interns. Pay ranges from $7.50 to $13.75 per hour, and most seasonal employees work 40 hours a week. Click here for more info.