* Alliance Updates -- Krista Leraas Leaving Position; Meet New Administrative Director Sean Gosiewski

* Living Green Expo -- Celebrate Earth Day and Come Early to Get a Free Blue Sky Guide

* Sustainable Sweden -- Vision a Sustainable Future and Have a Great Vacation? Sweden Tour

* Take Action! -- Volunteers Needed at the Living Green Expo; We Want to Take You for a Ride...on an Electric Bike by Terry Gips

* Resource of the Month and Sustainability Book Club -- Biomimicry by Janine Benyus; Next Book Club Meeting May 8th

* Planetary Sustainability -- For Love of the Land By Wendell Berry

* Organizational Sustainability -- Makers to Bear Cost of Recycling Electrical Goods in England

* Personal Sustainability -- Natural Step Four Principles Applied to Home by Terry L. Johnson; Celebrate Spring with a Natural Step Seminar

* Hot Conferences -- CERES Challenges Fortune 500 Leaders

* Alliance for Sustainability, NY -- Chapter Moves Forward with Vision, Projects and Seminar

* Center for Spirituality and Sustainability -- Updates by Kathy Haskins

* Center for Judaism and Sustainability -- A Victory on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge!

* Selected Upcoming Events

* Special Thanks to Our Recent Contributors!

* Our Wish List!

Krista Leraas, Managing Director of the Alliance, will be leaving to pursue other interests. On behalf of the Board of Directors, we say thank you and are grateful for Krista's outstanding performance over the last two years.

In addition to managing of the day-to-day operations of our office, Krista has provided leadership in developing new projects that have expanded the scope and reach of our organization. It was Krista that brought to our attention some of the most exciting current programs, such as the Junk Mail Tree Project and the Living Green Expo. She has also been integral in updating our communication by editing and coordinating Manna and creating our website.

Krista has a deep, personal commitment to sustainability. From her choices in transportation to her weekly work on an organic farm, she has been an excellent example of a modern, sustainable lifestyle. Although we¹ll miss her wit and good humor on a daily basis in the office, we look forward to her continuing involvement with the Alliance and our programs through our new Minnesota Steering Committee.

Sean Gosiewski will soon be joining the staff for the Alliance for Sustainability as our Administrative Director and looks forward to meeting Alliance members. Sean has been working to revitalize low-income Minneapolis neighborhoods for the past ten years, and is excited to be able to devote his energies to strengthening the sustainability movement as a staff member for the Alliance. His passion is facilitating groups to create shared wisdom and commitment to action. He is active with the Minnesota Facilitator’s network and has received training in group facilitation methods from the Institute of Cultural Affairs.

Sean has a Master’s of Divinity from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA where he studied deep ecology with Fritjof Kapra and became involved with urban ecology issues. He is looking forward to working with Alliance members to strengthen the Center for Judaism and Sustainability and the Center for Spirituality and Sustainability.

Want to feast on delicious organic food, some of Minnesota's best music, environmentally-inspired art, a fabulous fashion show, the latest thinking on sustainability, and easy, money-saving, fun and practical ways to live a greener life?

Or, how about trying a hot, new electric bike (the Alliance has a special deal for you), test driving the new Hybrid Electric Honda Civic, Toyota Prius or Honda Insight (if you drive a hybrid electric vehicle, there is nearby parking at the largest gathering of hybrid electrics ever in the US), learning how to compost, becoming a member of a CSA (community supported agriculture) or building a junk mail tree?

Then come to Minnesota's first-ever Living Green Expo, Saturday, April 27 from 10 am to 5 pm at the Minnesota State Capitol Grounds and St. Paul Armory, 600 Cedar Street. Whether sun, rain or snow (it is April so we'll have tents and an indoor area) you'll enjoy more than 150 exhibitors, 30+ workshops, solar and wind-powered music, an ecological art exhibit, kids activities and workshops which highlight products, practices, resources and technologies to reduce the environmental impact of our day-to-day living.

Whether green or brown, bring your friends and family for what promises to be a great day of discovery and fun! Experience a vision of the world we want to create. And it's all free! You can take public transit and get your cost reimbursed by getting a free ticket home and a free ticket to use in the future. And don’t forget to bring a reusable bag for all your goodies.

In addition to its being Minnesota's first-ever sustainability expo, the event is significant in that it is backed by major State agencies, environmental groups and a range of businesses. It is also the first such event in Minnesota using the Natural Step's four sustainability principles as a guide for exhibitors. Please help get the word out so that we can have a huge turnout and send a signal to policymakers and businesses that there is a real demand for sustainability.

If you're among the first 500 people to come you can receive a free copy of the Blue Sky Guide, a lively book of good ideas and great savings containing $5,000 in discounts on Minnesota products and services with reduced environmental impacts. And don't worry if you're a late sleeper because you can buy a Blue Sky Guide for $20 at the Expo.

I'm pleased that the Alliance for Sustainability has played a lead role in helping to coordinate this event with the MN Pollution Control Agency, MN Office of Environmental Assistance, Sierra Club, Mississippi Market Co-op, and numerous other nonprofits and businesses. We hope you will come by our booth to say hi, thank Krista for her great work, meet our new Administrative Director Sean Gosiewski, learn about our latest activities, see a Junk Mail Tree built by our students, or volunteer (please call 612-331-1099 or e-mail iasa@mtn.org and let us know if you can help out).

We've also helped develop numerous workshops, which begin at 10:30 am and go every hour on the half hour with the last one at 3:30. From 10:30-10:45 am and 1:30-2:15 pm, I will be offering a Sustainability 101 session, which is meant as an easy-to-understand introduction to sustainability and several leading approaches, including the Natural Step, Natural Capitalism and the Union of Concerned Scientists priority areas of food, housing and transportation. Others will include Spiritual Traditions and Sustainability, Faith-Based Initiatives for Earth Stewardship, Social Justice and Sustainability, Green Investing, and Green Careers.

You’re invited to join the Alliance for Sustainability, Swedish Esam and15-25 visionaries and professionals from around the world this August for our Sustainable Sweden Tour, a once-in-a-lifetime, inspiring educational and vacation experience providing an inside look at a society leading the way to sustainability. Building on our two previous successful tours, we are offering at least one and possibly two short, reasonably priced tours to one of the world’s most beautiful places at its most gorgeous time of year.

Want to climb mountains and fly into the wind with no sweat as you commute to work or do errands around town? Have we got a deal for you. The Alliance is offering a Spring Fling Special on a new 2002 model LaFree Electric bike. They normally cost $900-1,000 but for a limited time, Contributing Members of the Alliance can purchase one for just $850, provide support for the Alliance for Sustainability and receive a free membership in the MN Bike and Pedestrian Alliance, which includes a free bike class.

I recently bought one and have been testing it out. It's so cool to take the first power-assisted pedal and literally "take-off", quickly moving up to the 12 MPH cruise speed. I then easily pedal along to work or shopping, putting everything in the two rear paniers each holding a full shopping bag on the gorgeous, sturdy, step-through frame. The range is 20 miles and it's simple to take the battery inside and recharge for 4-6 hours on a standard outlet.

What I really love is that I get a great, sweat-free workout while enjoying the outdoors and bike paths, unlike scooters or motorcycles (which are highly polluting). Instead of a 10 minute car drive to downtown Minneapolis (or 17 minutes on my regular bike), I zip downtown in just 12 minutes and park right in front of where I want to go with no parking meter or fee.

The downsides are that it does use electricity to recharge (though solar might be possible) and, like all batteries, the battery life is probably limited to a few years after which it must be recycled due to its many toxic materials. The bike is also heavy (70 or so pounds) so it's not too easy to carry up or down a flight of stairs. Another drawback is that it’s such a hot item that you the need a heavy chain.

All my friends who've ridden it are sold on their first pedal. It completely changes the experience of bike riding, making it a lot of fun. I'm convinced that a huge percentage of Americans would get out of their cars if they could just ride it, especially if they realized how much money, time, stress, congestion and pollution it would save. I hope corporations begin to provide them for employees and provide bike spaces as a way to encourage employee health and well-being and reduce parking demand.

It's amazing that this has been such a well-kept secret in the US as it’s how millions of Chinese and Europeans get to work and live their lives. It's time for a bike revolution in the US. So, take your first pedal for people and the planet at the Living Green Expo. Come see one at our booth and kick the tires. You can then test ride one outside and let us know if you'd like to take advantage of our Special Spring Fling deal.

© 1998 High Country News, PO Box 1090, Paonia, CO 81428 970-527-4898.

Biomimicry argues that nature can save us: By using natural systems as models we can create technologies that are more sustainable than those in use today.

"Life can't put its factory on the edge of town," she writes. "It has to live where it works." This isn't an invitation to check out of Western civilization. Benyus believes that the methods of modern science, if taken in new directions, can lead us toward a gentler means of survival, and she offers a clear-eyed portrait of a scientific movement that is beginning to do just that.

Benyus' curiosity and probing questions move the story along, as the researchers respond to her as they would to an enthusiastic student. Both she and the researchers she meets describe their work as interdisciplinary, as physicists reach into biology and biologists team up with mathematicians. Her scientific background -- a degree in forestry from Rutgers -- may have led her to the right questions, but it's her skill and grace as a writer that allows her to explain the answers to the uninitiated.

Please join us for our next meeting when we will be discussing Janine Benyus' Biomimicry. All meetings take place on the second Wednesday of the month from 7pm to 9pm at Ecopolitan, 2409 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis, MN. Come early or stay late for an amazing organic, vegan, raw meal and now, wine!

I am a conservationist and a farmer, a wilderness advocate and an agrarian. I am in favor of the world’s wildness, not only because I like it, but also because I think it is necessary to the world’s life and our own. For the same reason, I want to preserve the natural health and integrity of the world’s economic landscapes, which is to say that I want the world’s farmers, ranchers, and foresters to live in stable, locally adapted, resource-preserving communities, and I want them to thrive.

One thing that means is that I have spent my life on two losing sides. As long as I have been conscious, the great causes of agrarianism and conservation, despite local victories, have suffered an accumulation of losses, some of them probably irreparable--while the third side, that of the land-exploiting corporations, has appeared to grow ever richer. I say "appeared" because I think their wealth is illusory. Their capitalism is based, finally, not on the resources of nature, which it is recklessly destroying, but on fantasy. Not long ago I heard an economist say, "If the consumer ever stops living beyond his means, we’ll have a recession." And so the two sides of nature and the rural communities are being defeated by a third side that will eventually be found to have defeated itself.

Perhaps to survive its inherent absurdity, the third side is asserting its power as never before: by its control of politics and the news media; by its dominance of science; and by biotechnology, which it is commercializing with unprecedented haste and aggression in order to control totally the world’s land-using economics and its food supply. This massive ascendancy of corporate power over democratic process is probably the most ominous development since the start of the Civil War, and for the most part the "free world" seems to be regarding it as merely normal.

All electrical goods sold in Britain after 2005 will have to be recycled at the manufacturer's expense after a vote in the European parliament yesterday that will usher in the biggest recycling program Europe has seen.

Under the new legislation, householders will not be allowed to throw away unwanted electrical goods but will have to sort them out ready for collection and recycling.

An estimated million tonnes of electrical waste is produced in the UK every year and this is increasing by 5% annually. Of this, 90% is thrown into landfill sites or incinerated despite the fact that many electrical goods contain substances such as cadmium, lead and hexavalant chromium which are dangerous for the environment.

I recently attended a two-part Natural Step seminar with Terry Gips. At the conclusion of the first session, Terry gave us an assignment: take what we’d learned about the four principles of sustainability and apply it to our home, community, or workplace.

At first I was overwhelmed by the assignment. The principles made complete sense in the abstract, but how could I possibly make them manageable enough to apply them to my life? To get a handle on the problem, I decided to take each principle and list things my family and I are currently doing at home that fall in line with the principles, followed by a list of additional things we might consider doing in the future.

The following list came from an afternoon’s brainstorming session -- and once I got started, it was amazing how many ideas for applying the four principles popped into my head. Not every idea appealed to my partner, though: my suggestion to use handkerchiefs instead of regular tissues, for example, didn’t get far.

The point is: now I can use the four principles of sustainability as beacons to guide me toward deliberate change and a more sustainable lifestyle, instead of foundering around wondering if I’m doing enough to do my part to preserve the environment. Just having those beacons gives me hope.

That said, I encourage you to use the following model as an example of something you might use to get a handle on how you’re doing and where you’re going, sustainability-wise. It’s actually quite fun!

Things we’re doing at home that address this principle:

• Recycling
• Lowering thermostat in winter and at night
• Combining tasks that require using a car
• Using compact fluorescent bulbs in most places
• Turning off lights where people are not
• Buying products that don’t wear out quickly: buy quality over cheap and convenient
• Contacting government officials about changing environmental priorities toward sustainability

What else we could do:

• Buying produce locally so it doesn’t need to be shipped as far
• Buying recycled products
• Doing more political action promoting sustainability
• Educating friends and neighbors about how to live more sustainably
• Finding out more about solar and geothermal energy alternatives for our home

We hope you will participate in one of the many Natural Step Sustainable Business and Community seminars that the Alliance for Sustainability is offering with a wide range of groups across the country.

As a founding CERES Board member, I remember the stiff corporate opposition. Co-chairs Denis Hays and Joan Bavaria asked me to recruit the Aveda Corporation as the first corporate endorser. We succeeded and CERES has grown to more than 60 companies, including such Fortune 500 giants as American Airlines, Bank of America, Baxter, Bethlehem Steel, Ford, General Motors, ITT, Interface, Nike, and Sunoco.

The CERES annual conference, "The Future of Wealth on Earth", was held April 17-19 in Washington, DC with 500 corporate, environmental and other stakeholder leaders participating in workshops addressing all aspects of sustainability, from climate change and alternative fuels to globalization and CERE’s leadership with the new Global Reporting Initiative. CERES Executive Director Bob Massie announced a new "sustainable governance" initiative and released a report showing that the failure of US corporations to respond to the risks posed by climate change could result in multi-billion dollar losses and a possible breach of fiduciary responsibility by corporate directors.

The Golden Rule is found in every culture. However, here in the US, he who has the gold makes the rules. We need to take the Golden Rule and expand it to "do unto all forms of life as you would have them do unto you."

If you’re a conservative you should be into conservation of the environment by definition.

We need to reject monocrop of the mind and assure biodiversity of the mind.

As part of our efforts to promote Fair Trade, we have a "Kick the Can Campaign" in which young people put labels on Folgers cans that tell the salary difference between the CEO and the coffee harvesters.

The greatest enemy we confront is cynicism. It is what passes for insight when courage is lacking. Sometimes people say to me, "I’m only one person." I respond, "Do I look like I’m a Siamese twin? Unless you have a multiple personality disorder, everyone is only one person."

Following its successful April 1 visioning meeting, the newly-forming Alliance for Sustainability, NY Chapter held a follow-up visioning meeting April 17. The next meeting will be held from 8-10 pm May 7 at Graham Hill's loft, 457 Broome Street in NYC (buzzer 9, 4th Floor), to discuss specific projects and organizational structure.

Thanks to the hard work of Susan Wolfe, Asbjorn Finsnes, Steve Weinberg, and Martha Williams, a draft operating agreement has been developed and shared with the Alliance Board. Utilizing the Board's input and an April 17 discussion with Terry Gips, further discussions will be held and a new draft developed. The chapter will also be sponsoring a Natural Step Sustainable Business and Community Seminar in NYC the evenings of May 22 and May 23 (see calendar).

There have been some wonderful viewpoints expressed by members of the Center for Spirituality and Sustainability that we have been sharing via e-mail. Paul Reitan told of his trips to India and Eritrea and how poor the people were and how the conditions of life in these places encourage de facto environmentalism, as in the making of terraces. He also notes that the governments are working to retain and rebuild the natural resources although he "[doesn't] know anything about how the cultures or the religions shape people's responses to soil and water."

Judy Steele sent us some articles by Jonna Higgins-Freese who is the environmental outreach coordinator at Prairiewoods Franciscan Spirituality Center in Hiawatha, Iowa. Jonna writes that the sisters at Prairiewoods "feel that what's needed today is a model for ecological living and a voice for the earth." One of their projects is to get churches to use local wines. Habitat for Humanity building is another of their projects, and they teach people about straw bale construction. A concern over climate change led them to organize over one thousand religious leaders in a letter campaign to the Senate, which broke Jonna's heart when it was unsuccessful. She came to the conclusion that "while we have to be as effective and strategic as possible in our work, our efforts are part of a larger power -- whether we call it God, Spirit, the divine, the universe or nothing at all. We're not required to be successful; we're only asked to be faithful to the task."

I wrote responses to the Native American tradition of giving thanks as illustrated in the book Spirit and Nature. The essay of Audrey Shenandoah really hit home in saying that it is "up to the people" for "how long we will have the maple…the strawberry…water to survive." Free will means we have responsibility to create the world the way we want it for us and our descendants, instead of decimating it and desecrating it in the competition to be number one.

The Center played an active role in the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life’s successful effort with the Interfaith Global Climate Change Campaign and hundreds of other groups in persuading the US Senate to forbid drilling in Alaska’s ANWR. Congratulations to everyone on this great victory!

As Eric Pianin of the Washington Post wrote April 19, "President Bush suffered a double-edged loss in the Senate yesterday over drilling in ANWR: Lawmakers for the first time delivered a stinging rebuke to a core item in his domestic agenda, and his defeat was engineered by three of his potential Democratic challengers in 2004…The President could not overcome potent Democratic opposition in the Senate and an unusually intense lobbying effort by environmentalists who declared the vote the ultimate litmus test for lawmakers. The 54 to 46 vote was humbling to an administration accustomed to getting its way most of the time…On the final vote, eight Republicans joined with 45 Democrats and Sen. James M. Jeffords (I-Vt.) to torpedo the drilling plan…Several key votes against drilling didn't fall into place until the last several days, including those of Republican John McCain and Democrat Robert Byrd (WV)."

April 22 32nd Anniversary of Earth Day!

April 22 Janine Benyus (Biomimicry) lecture at University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

April 25 Natural Step Seminar with Terry Gips, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY

April 26-28 ReVisioning: Building Community for a Sustainable Future, Macalester College, St. Paul

April 27 Living Green Expo, State Capitol Grounds & St. Paul Armory, St. Paul

May 2 Intro to the Natural Step with Terry Gips at University of Minnesota, St. Paul, RSVP needed

May 5 World Laughter Day & May Day Parade and Celebration, Powderhorn Park, Minneapolis

May 6 & 13 Natural Step Seminar, St. Joan of Arc Church, Minneapolis

May 8 7-9 pm Sustainability Book Club: Biomimicry, Ecopolitan, Minneapolis, MN

May 9-11 Natural Step Annual Conference, San Francisco, CA

May 19 One-Day Natural Step Seminar in Philadelphia, PA

May 21 One-Day Natural Step Seminar in Philadelphia, PA

May 22 & 23 Two-Evening Natural Step Seminar in NYC

June 26 One-Day Natural Step Seminar at Rutgers University, NJ

Marilou Chanrasmi, Sally Ross

Extra special thanks to Judy Steele for replacing our terribly touchy old laser printer and fax machine with much more agreeable used ones!

Cynthia Launer, Gips Fund of the Princeton Area Community Foundation, Jennifer Peterson, Linda and David Cooke

A great way to help us out is to donate new or used resources:

* Two-line office phone(s)

* Up-to-date PC (Pentium II, 300MHz, 64MB of memory, 4GB hard drive, Windows 98, 15 inch monitor...or better...please)

* Current version of Filemaker Pro