Events Round-Up: June 2007 6-8 June 2007 G8 Summit at Heiligendamm, Germany 23-25 June Introduction to Permaculture, Oklahoma City, USA 27 June - 01 July US Social Forum, Atlanta, USA July 2007 19-21 July The Worker's Economy, Conference, Brazil 21-22 July Alternatives to Governance in the 21st Century, Loughborough, UK, SGSA 29 July - 01 August California Resource Recovery Association, 31st Annual Conference, San Pedro, Ca. August 2007 September 2007 11 Sept Disarm DSEi 2007, London 17-18 Sept ASPO Conference, Ireland October 2007 04-05 Oct Multiculturalism, pluralism, and globalization Conference, Wisconsin, USA November 2007 December 2007 Information: nadir/PGA.

- New York Metro Alliance of Anarchists

SOURCE: USSFcontact

ATLANTA, FLORIDA: JUNE, 2007:

U.S. SOCIAL FORUM

From Rachel's:

U.S. SOCIAL FORUM COMES TO ATLANTA IN JUNE 2007

[Rachel's introduction: Every year or two the World Social Forum gathers the world's workers, organizers, thinkers, youth, teachers, and farmers in countries of the global South like Brazil and India to create a counter-vision to the plans of the economic and political elites of the World Economic Forum held each year in Davos, Switzerland. Now the Social Forum has come to the U.S. with three regional forums in 2006 and a national U.S. Social Forum set for June 27-July 1, 2007 in Atlanta. You can get involved in a regional planning committee for the event.]

Why a US Social Forum?

Progressive forces in the United States have not been able to mount an effective national response to issues such as the Gulf Coast tragedies, corporate scandals, government corruption, war, attacks against migrants, deregulation, corporate welfare, a widening gap between the rich and poor, a deteriorating education system, monopolization of the media, privatization of public resources, a ballooning federal deficit and attacks on our civil liberties. In the face of these enormous challenges the progressive movement remains fractured along geography, race, class and issues. The nation's largest labor federation split, and union membership is at its lowest point in decades. Churches, once a backbone of the civil rights, peace and environmental justice movements, have lost strength due to scandal within the Catholic church, declining membership and the rise of the religious right. Grassroots community-based organizations represent a growing sector, but are severely under-resourced. This lack of political strength demonstrates the clear need for greater convergence among progressives and for spaces in which progressives can begin to come together and articulate our vision for "another world."

The US Social Forum will provide this space. It will be the largest gathering of progressives in over a decade, drawing participants from different regions, ethnicities, sectors and ages. Community-based organizations, Indigenous nations, unions, academics, policy and advocacy organizations will be able to come together for dialogues, reflection and to define future strategies. Perhaps as many as 20,000 people will attend.

The purpose of the USSF is to effectively and affirmatively articulate the values and strategies of progressive civil society in the United States. Those who build towards and participate in the USSF are no longer interested in simply stating what social justice movements "stand-against," rather we see ourselves as part of new movements that reach beyond national borders, that practice democracy at all levels, and that can articulate the world we want. The USSF provides a first major step towards such articulation by bringing together the new movements.

Why the South?

The US Social Forum is more than a conference, more than a networking bonanza, more than a reaction to war and repression - The USSF is the next most important step in our struggle. This moment demands that we build a powerful movement that disrupts and transforms this country. We must declare what we want our world to look like and begin planning the path to get there. The USSF will provide spaces to build relationships, learn from each other's experiences, share our analysis of the problems our communities face, and begin to vision and strategize how to reclaim our world.

To win nationally, we must win the US South. The Southern site of the USSF marks a new moment in the US movement for social and economic justice. Project South believes "as the South goes, so goes the nation." These words, spoken by DuBois, ring true in every moment of American history. The roots of oppression, injustice, exploitation and social control run deep in Southern soil. The US South has also cultivated determined and consistent fights for indigenous self- determination, black freedom, working class emancipation, and human liberation. Hosting the US Social Forum in the US South builds political potency for a powerful movement to challenge white supremacy, imperial domination, worldwide genocide, ecocide, and all other manifestations of global capitalism. Join us in Atlanta to build a strong and effective movement for liberation!

A global movement is rising. The USSF is our opportunity to prepare and meet it! The World Social Forum (WSF) has become an important symbol of this rising global movement. Over the past 5 years the WSF has gathered the world's worker, peasant, youth, women, and oppressed peoples to construct a counter-vision to the economic and political elites of the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland. After gathering 150,000 people in Porte Alegre, Brazil earlier this year, it was decided that in 2006 there would be regional social forums to culminate for a WSF in 2007. The WSF committee delegated Grassroots Global Justice (GGJ) to coordinate a US Social Forum that represents those most adversely affected by the ravages of globalization and neoliberal policies. GGJ is an alliance that grew out of people-of-color-led grassroots groups who participated in the first WSF. These grassroots leaders initiated a process to create a US Social Forum Planning Committee, and Atlanta was selected as the USSF host city.

We call those who fight for justice from within the US borders to converge and act. We call you to reflect on the potential of our position and the power of our connections. Though movement leaders have built organizations that push forward an integrated, multi-issue, multiracial strategy, we have yet to build our movement on a scale relative to our brothers and sisters in the global South. The first USSF offers a historic opportunity to gather and unify these growing forces. We must seize this moment and advance our collective work to build grassroots leadership, develop collective vision, and formulate strategies to grow a strong movement.

Information: www.ussocialforum.org

EUGENE, OREGON: JUNE 09, 2007:

Day of Solidarity for Jeff "Free" Luers

June marks the seventh year that our friend and comrade, Jeffrey "Free" Luers has been imprisoned and held captive by the state. Sentenced to an outrageous 22 years and 8 months for burning three Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) at Romania Chevrolet in Eugene, Jeff has continued to be active in prison and fight back with his words and inspiration. Although Jeff recently won his appeal and is expecting a reduced sentence, this case is not over:

"I have spoken with my attorney and there are still many battles ahead. Hard choices will have to be made. I am by no means close to walking out of prison, just one step closer. This is a victory, and while my own personal struggle is making headway others are just beginning."

We encourage people to organize events for Jeff and other political prisoners, uniting struggles for human, earth, and animal liberation. In Jeff's own words:

"This June, show your solidarity with me, and all those who have struggled, past and present, to make this world a better place. Struggle with us. Hold demonstrations or gatherings at federal buildings or US embassies and demand change. It doesn't matter what cause or issue you fight for - we are all connected. What does matter is that we stand united and make our voices heard."

For more information on how to get involved, contact Jeff's support network at PO Box 3, Eugene, Oregon 97440 USA. Email freefreenow@mutualaid.org and visit www.freefreenow.org Donations for Jeff's re-sentencing attorney are urgently needed, please help via www.freefreenow.org/donate.html

Contact Friends of Jeff Luers, PO Box 3, Eugene, OR 97440 USA or email freefreenow@mutualaid.org with details of your event.

Write to Jeff:
Jeffrey Luers, #13797671
Oregon State Penitentiary (OSP)
2605 State Street
Salem, OR 97310
USA

June 9, 2007, is a Day of Solidarity with Jeffrey Free Luers. There is no central organizing body or group to check in with but the Jeff Luers Support Network can help by providing you with flyers, graphics, and merchandise such as videos, zines by/about Jeff and allies in the struggle. Begin planning your event now. Plan an action that makes sense for your area: a demonstration, treesit, music festival, teach-in, stenciling campaign, rally, protests at an American consulate/embassy overseas or public forum. Circulate petitions. Contribute to the legal defense for the defendants. Do what you think is appropriate. But please remember when planning an action or event think about how it could affect future court hearings. Ask yourself: does this help or hurt the possible outcomes? Does this strengthen the movement or weaken it in the long-term?

Information: www.freefreenow.org
Email: freefreenow@mutualaid.org
Tel:

OKLAHOMA CITY, USA: JUNE 23-25, 2007:

Introduction to Permaculture: Applying universal design principles to an urban home

Instructors: Dan and Cynthia Hemenway

Join us for a weekend journey to explore the basics of the permaculture design process. Participants will work on a permaculture design for a central Oklahoma City urban property. The group will be divided into teams, each of which will have a specific aspect of the design to prepare. The instructors will be Dan and Cynthia Hemenway, of Elfin Permaculture, a project of the Barking Frogs Permaculture Center in Florida.

The workshop has 3 components:

1. an introductory slide show which applies permaculture to many different areas,
2. Classroom work, with a broad spectrum of discussion, and
3. design work, which will be focused on an urban property

Information: http://www.barkingfrogspermaculture.org/okcpermaworkshop.htm
Email: Robert Waldrop
Tel: 405-613-4688
Address: 1524 NW 21st, Oklahoma City, OK 73106

BUENOS AIRES, BRAZIL: JULY 19-21, 2007:

The Worker's Economy: Self-Management and the Distribution of Wealth
International Self-Management Conference

The University of Buenos Aires, Facultad de Filosofia y Letras, the Center for Global Justice and the Argentina Autonomista Project are excited to invite you to:

FIRST INTERNATIONAL GATHERING TO DEBATE AND DISCUSS SELF-MANAGEMENT (AUTOGESTIÓN)
Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, University of Buenos Aires
Dates: July 19-21, 2007
Location:
University of Buenos Aires
217 - 25 de Mayo Avenue
Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina

CALL FOR PAPERS AND PROPOSALS FOR: COMPLETED OR ONGOING PROJECT
PRESENTATIONS, PAPERS, ROUNDTABLE THEMES, DEBATE AND DISCUSSION THEMES

Please send a 250-word (max) abstract by May 15, 2007, or any other correspondence to:
Correspondence in Spanish: fabierta@filo.uba.ar
Correspondence in English: UBA.selfmanagement@gmail.com

The current debates surrounding self-management: A brief overview

Workers' struggles have reemerged with force in the last decade in numerous forms -- union-based struggles, self-managed workspaces, rural movements, unemployed workers' movements... These are responses to the hegemony of neoliberal globalization imposing itself throughout the world with absolutist pretensions after the debacle of so-called "real socialism."

At the same time, the old methods and strategies of struggle -- class-based parties and traditional unions, amongst others -- have by now shown themselves to be, at minimum, insufficient.

Old debates and ideological frameworks are now in crisis. The dominant discourses used to describe the functioning of the capitalist world system can no longer explain quickly enough (never mind predict) the changes in this system that have been occurring over the past few decades, while popular struggles have had to create new paths without having a clear horizon in sight from which to map out a final destiny. And the plethora of means ever available for capitalism to respond to threats against it, as well as the sheer force and relentlessness of its repressive power, amply overcomes the popular sectors' capacity for change ... with tragic consequences.

While the taking of State power has been the driving objective of political forces for more than a century now, more recently there have appeared compelling movements that, on occasion, have questioned such objectives for revolutionary action. At minimum, these movements distance their strategies and tactics from the aims of taking State power, recognizing the difficulties of such a task. But, as evidenced in various Latin American contexts, some popular movements with solid historical roots have ended up allying themselves with national governments swept into power via electoral triumph. And so, when they least expected it, these movements found themselves at times controlling key sectors of the State's administrative apparatus which, in turn, needed to be profoundly transformed in order to be oriented towards grassroots-based policies.

Of particular importance for many of these grassroots groups are those policies that relate to managing production and the (re)distribution of wealth.

Wavering between these situations and theoretic-ideological debates, workers have been generating -- through their actual practices -- an alternative course for steering life between inaction and resignation on the one side and the fight for total political power on the other.

Subjected to the permanent crisis provoked by neoliberal capitalism, a growing number of workers are playing an increasingly key role in the re-creation and self-management of greater portions of the means of production and the economy as an immediate outcome of their struggles and resistances. And this despite being in the middle of a capitalist ocean. In some countries, workers' take-over of government and their increased control of the state apparatus (i.e., Venezuela, Bolivia) have, sooner rather than later, positioned grassroots workers' organizations and their methods of self-management as legitimate vehicles for administrating the economy and as decisively important forces for controlling the strategic economic means of society.

Recovered factories, diverse kinds of self-managed microenterprises, rural cooperative settlements, new types of unionized workers' movements, networks of fair trade and fair work, and numerous other kinds of organizations and forms of struggle are part of this new landscape. Sometimes they take on autonomous forms. In certain situations they are fragmented. In other situations they form part of powerful and popular political movements, larger social movements, political parties, leftist fronts and coalitions, and even programs that are at times stimulated by the State or, more directly, by a government's actual public polices.

Regardless of the size and shape of these worker-contoured social-political landmarks, this new alternative landscape puts back on the table the question of the legitimate role of workers in the management of a society's economy. The working class still does, after all, make up the majority of the world's population. And workers still depend on their own labour for their sustenance, be they engaged in wage-labour, partaking of the cooperative management of their collective labour, or living in more dire circumstances such as the structurally unemployed, the overexploited, the marginalized, and the poor.

A debate and discussion around these issues, therefore, is needed now more than ever: While the processes and consequences of globalization have been deeply and consistently questioned by numerous social and international movements, the project of actually creating an alternative that can supercede the merely declarative, or intellectual-theoretic reflection, has not advanced much, at least in a form that consistently takes into account both the theoretical and the practical aspects of self-management. (This is not to ignore or lessen the very real, efficacious, and practical outcomes realized in efforts such as the World Social Forum.) Rather, what is increasingly and definitely advancing are the myriad resistances to neoliberal capital that have centred on self-management as a creative force for inventing new experiences and new lives. However partial and nascent these advances might or might not be, they can serve to fruitfully inform and inspire the greater global analyses and debates that are looking for alternatives to capitalist life.

The questions raised by self-management:

What we are proposing for this First International Gathering, however, is not what might be interpreted, at first glance, as a debate on the "social economy" (as fomented, for example, by the World Bank and NGOs focused on "social containment"). Rather, we are proposing the reverse: We would like to engage in discussions centred on the socialization of the economy. Instead of waiting for the fulfillment of the promises set in a far-off utopia grounded in a revolutionary conquest of political power, workers from around the world are presently advancing projects that are giving them back their lives and labour. However fragmentary and limited these projects might currently be, they tend to be rooted in actual practices and concrete experiences rather than in the promissory and the abstract.

What conclusions and lessons can we take from these experiences, then? What connections do these workers' struggles have with traditional social and political struggles? How do they relate to, or interconnect themselves within, the popular, grassroots-based governments that are increasingly taking hold of power in Latin America? How do these experiences of economic self-management survive in the hostile markets of global capital? How can they generate a new business logic of self-management within the framework of a suffocating system? Can they survive without change to the actual economic system and without transforming those very forms of organizations that they are attempting to overcome? Are they isolated instances of resistance, consequences of the very crisis of global capital, or do they show a path toward a new way of organizing production within a more just social system? Can workers already organized in unions once again come to pressure capital and dispute capital's power-base, or should the struggle to overcome capital now be engaged from within the actual spaces of production and be about the actual self-management of production by workers? Will these struggles actually be used and appropriated by capital to more efficiently accumulate capital? These are just some of the questions that we feel should be at the centre of the debate amongst workers, intellectuals, and social and political organizations.

This is not just an academic debate, however. It is essentially a political one that should be moved forward with the participation of workers and their organizations. Proceeding in any other way would render the debate an interesting intellectual exercise with little practical consequence. But those who are thinking about these and other issues related to social movements and alternatives to capital from within an intellectual perspective should also of course, out of necessity, participate in these debates. Also at the table should be social and political leaders that encompass views from the perspective of labour organizations and political processes that are disputing State power and that, as in Venezuela or Bolivia, are carrying forward policies that are fostering these experiences of self-management.

From the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters at the University of Buenos Aires, we propose further strides towards this necessary debate. For five years now we have been working in conjunction with workers in Argentina's recovered factories and workspaces, attempting to support their processes, document their experiences, investigate their practices, and to better comprehend and reflect on the onsequences of their experiments.

From the Open Faculty Program (Programa Facultad Abierta) and the Interdisciplinary Program in Scientific and Technological Transference with Worker-Recovered Enterprises (Programa Interdisciplinario de Transferencia Científico Tecnológica con Empresas Recuperadas por sus Trabajadores) we have been developing with these workers projects that seek to extend technological capabilities, develop skills, build capacity, and strengthen the viability of these cooperative workplaces, investigating, on a broader level, the self-management of productive unities abandoned by their owners and recovered and reopened by workers. For us, and we hope for many others, the time has come to incorporate the conclusions stemming from these lessons and experiences -- both from the perspective of workers and also academics -- into the debate that is occupying the world more and more, a debate that is fundamentally about the direction of these struggles and the change needed in the system of social, political, and economic relations.

From this place we convene this First International Gathering to debate and discuss self-management and its possibilities and challenges...

"THE WORKERS' ECONOMY: SELF-MANAGEMENT AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH"

Organizers
The Open Faculty Program (Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, University of Buenos Aires)

Co-Organizers:
Center for Global Justice, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico http://www.globaljusticecenter.org
International Institute for Selfmanagement, Frankfurt, Germany http://www.iism.net
Argentina Autonomista Project http://www.autonomista.org

Conference format:

Debate Roundtables: Debate and discussion roundtables based on central themes, interspersed with panels to guide the discussion.

A final synopsis of each roundtable will be realized and made available as conference proceedings.

Opening and closing plenary sessions will be held.

The debates and discussions will be filmed and recorded for archival and educational purposes in order to make available materials and resources for research purposes, consulting purposes, and for assisting current and future self-management projects.

Thematic Roundtables: More specific roundtables and panels will be convened focusing on particular themes of interest to participants.

Presentations: Presentations of documents and already completed or ongoing work for discussion.

Those who forward their work to the gathering's organizers with enough lead-time will have their work published in a CD before the conference to be available at the conference. Please forward materials to include in the CD by April 30, 2007 to: fabierta@filo.uba.ar

Preliminary conference schedule:

Thematic debates and project roundtables (first two days):

• The capitalist economy today: Stages of global capitalism from the perspective of popular movements
• The self-managed economy: Discussions concerning the experiences of self-management in the era of global capitalism (recovered enterprises, rural cooperatives, self-managed and solidarity microenterprises, cooperative movements, alternative networks of exchange, fair trade and fair work initiatives, etc.)
• The challenges faced by popularly-based, grassroots-supported governments regarding the social management of the economy and the State
• A critical look at the cooperative movement
• New challenges faced by union movements; unions; new types of workers' organizations and collectives; co-management and participatory decision making. Plenary sessions (last day)
• The (re)distribution of wealth: The social economy or the socialization of the economy? Suggestions being offered by workers' movements
• The limits of self-management: The political possibilities and challenges of a production regime under workers' control
• Articulations, expressions, and experiences of the struggle for self-management with regard to other political struggles and other social movements

Information: InterActivist.net
Email: mailto:fabierta@filo.uba.ar

LOUGHBOROUGH, UK: JULY 21-22, 2007:

Call for Papers:
Civil Rights, Liberties and Disobedience:
Alternatives to Governance in the 21st Century

Loughborough University, in conjunction with:

The Centre for the Study of International Governance, Loughborough University;
the PSA Anarchist Studies Network;
Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC);
Trident Ploughshares/Faslane 365;
NASPIR;
the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers

The curtailment of our civil liberties, the repression and criminalisation of protest and the steady encroachment of the state into civil society challenges the very notion of liberal democracy. Numerous grassroots movements a rising to challenging these developments. Conscious of the spiral of insecurity and paranoia that serves only to deepen repression and resistance, this two day workshop seeks to discuss political trajectories, the campaigns and movements that seek to counter them, and alternative ideologies and practices that might divert us from this illiberal course. The workshop will bring academics, campaigners, civil liberty groups and lawyers together to discuss transformations in the nature of governance in contemporary global political community. Moving away from traditional discourses of state power, we will look at community actions; global networks, campaigns and actions that seek to affirm collective autonomy; actions in which individuals and groups hold a mirror to the illiberal forces in our society.

How do we impact upon our own governance in these situations? Who is responsible for fighting for our freedoms when our elected governments are eroding them? Can the legal process provide an adequate response? How do we understand these processes in a global context? These are questions engaged with by the campaigns of CAMPACC, Trident Ploughshares, and other civil liberties and direct action groups. We need to evaluate the effectiveness of these campaigns, and the structures of global power that oppose them, so that future strategies can be more effective and the core issues can be made transparent. Our aim in bringing these diverse groups together is so that strategies and visions can be exchanged, that openness and trust can be fostered, and so that action can be more effective.

Many of today's political movements, while not avowedly anarchist are left-libertarian. Our aim is to bring the ideology of anarchism centre stage to see where and how it might contribute, and what its weaknesses are in this regard. Can anarchism help us to see these issues more clearly? Does anarchism provide better blueprints for action? Does anarchism have an adequate conceptualisation of 'the global'? Or is anarchism outmoded and irrelevant? We will discuss these issues in relation to the anarchist movement in the UK and globally.

Confirmed plenary Speakers

Professor Bill Bowring (Birkbeck) author of The Degradation Of The International Legal Order:The Rehabilitation Of Law And The Possibility Of Politics (2007);

Dr Ben Franks (Glasgow), author of Rebel Alliances: The Means and Ends of Contemporary British Anarchisms (2006);

Professor Simon Tormey (Nottingham), author of Anti-Capitalism:A Beginners Guide (2006);

Angie Zelter, founder of Trident Ploughshares and Faslane 365.

Call for workshop or paper proposals:

If you have ideas for papers or workshops that engage with any of the above topics and including the role of academia therein, please contact Alex Prichard (Loughborough University): a.prichard@lboro.ac.uk

Plans are in place to publish the conference proceedings in a leading journal. This event is funded by a number of bodies, conference fees will therefore be nominal but places will be limited. Please email your paper or workshop proposal by 1st April at the very latest.

Research Student,
Department of Politics,
IR and European Studies.
Loughborough University,
Leicestershire,
LE11 3TU, United Kingdom

Information: www.sgsa.org.uk
Tel: + [44] 01509 222976
Fax: + [44] 01509 223917

SAN PEDRO, CA.: JULY 29 - AUGUST 01, 2007:

California Resource Recovery Association 31st Annual Conference

Call for Speakers

Founded in 1974, the California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA) is a non-profit 501(C)3 organization dedicated to promoting waste reduction, reuse, recycling, pollution prevention, and composting. The CRRA and its members work to expand markets for recycled materials, promote sustainable materials policies, and encourage best practices in design, development, implementation, and analysis of source reduction, recycling, and composting programs. Its members act as a clearinghouse for information, innovation, industry and governmental initiatives related to resource management. CRRA is the premier organization for linking like-minded individuals from every facet of the industry. Non-profits, waste haulers, recyclers, state, federal and local government, recycled product manufacturers, educational institutions and many others come together under the CRRA umbrella.

CRRA is organizing the most comprehensive, informative, and thought-provoking conference dedicated to waste reduction and resource management issues in California. CRRA wants to bring cutting edge ideas and real experiences and lessons to its members and conference attendees. After much input from the members of CRRA, we are looking for qualified speakers, panelists, and roundtable leaders for the subjects below.

Zero Waste (Waste Walks the Planks)
Putting Businesses on the Path to Zero Waste

* Small/Medium Size Business: Testimonials on Initiating Waste Reduction Programs & Recycling Programs - Challenges, Types of Assistance Provided, Successes
* Recycling for Specific Industries - Shopping Centers, large office buildings with several tenants, hotels, night clubs, theaters
* Implementing a Recycling Program From the Ground Up
* Case Studies: Waste Reduction and Zero Waste
* Integrating Waste Into the Product Line: Creating New Products and Employment Opportunities From Waste
* Encouraging Recycling in Non-participant or Low-participant Communities and Low Income Populations - Households and Recycling Based Businesses

Product Stewardship

* How to Create a Market for Unrecyclables, Including Leading a Campaign to Design It Out
* Resource Management Theory & Clean Production: Product Redesign
* Producer Responsibility
* Take it Back Partnerships with Retailers

Reuse and Repair

* How to Operate a Reuse Center
* Reuse of Construction & Demolition Debris
* Emerging Waste-Preventing Technologies

Reducing Waste

* Reducing Airline Waste
* Source Reduction
* Waste Prevention and Reuse for Businesses

Zero Waste Communities

* Beyond Zero Waste
* Zero Waste at Work Spreads to the Home and Community
* How to Become a Zero Waste Community: The Necessary Steps
* Waste Management Solutions that have Favorable Impacts on Interrelated Systems

Home Office Issues

* How to Make your Professional or Home Office a Green Office

Education and Marketing (Reforming Pillagers: Education and Outreach) Education

* New Educational Outreach Programs for K-12

Outreach

* Workshops by Marketing/Public Education Professionals
* Reaching Populations with Low Participation Levels

* The Art of Presenting: School Presentations, Presentations to Civic Groups, Booths at Fair, Venues and Neighborhood Events, and other Face to Face Interactions

Organics

* Restaurant Food Waste Recycling - Issues and Actions
* Shifting Single-Use Items to Compostable Products - Issues and Actions
* Management of Green and Food Waste - Regulatory, Permit, and Zoning Issues
* Success in Green and Food Waste Programs
* The New Horizon - Digestion and Distillation of Organics
* Alternatives to ADC

Future/Policy
Legislation, Regulation, Laws

* Unfunded Mandates/How To Make Sure New Laws and Regulations Can Be Implemented
* How Have Cities Dealt with the Requirements of Prop 218?
* What Laws and Regulations are Coming Our Way?
* Balancing Labor, Industry, and Environmental Needs
* How Should AB939 Compliance be Measured?
* Encouraging the Development of Waste Diversion, Recycling and Composting Facilities through the Regulatory Process

Programs That Help Reduce Waste and Divert Resources Away From the Landfill Bottles and Cans

* The DOC/DIR's Goals and Objectives for Increasing Bottle and Can Recycling Rates
* Renewing 20/20 Operations

Disaster Planning

* Disaster Planning As It Relates to Solid Waste Recycling and Disposal

Green Building

* Green Building As It Relates to Zero Waste/Recycling

Multifamily Recycling

* Multi-Family Best Management Practices - Issues and Actions

* Recycling Programs for Shopping Centers, Large Office Buildings with Several Tenants, Hotels

Professional Development

* Grant Writing for Recycling and Solid Waste Professionals
* Leadership for Recycling and Solid Waste Professionals

Recycling in Rural Areas

* Market Development in Rural Areas
* Rural Recycling - Best Practices
* Covering the Costs of Recycling in Low Income or Rural Areas

Special Event Recycling

* Special Events and/or Large Venue Recycling
* Recycling Programs at Non-Sports Entertainment Venues (i.e. Nightclubs and Theaters)

Homeless and Scavenging Issues

* Using the Homeless Population to Increase Recycling
College and University
* How to Use Recyclemania to Increase Participation in College and University Recycling Program
* Sustainability Initiatives at Universities As It Relates to Supporting Waste Reduction and Recycling

Recycling and the Environment and the Economy
Economics

* What are the Economic Benefits of Waste Reduction & Recycling?
* Methods to Calculate the Efficiency and Cost Effectiveness of Zero Waste/Recycling Programs
* Methodologies and Examples of Refuse/Recycling Collection Fee Systems that Cover the Cost of Collection and Incentives for Waste Reduction and Recycling

Environmental Benefits

* How to Calculate Energy and Resources Saved and Pollution Prevented per Specific Amount of Recycled Material
* The Effects of Recycling Versus Landfilling on Greenhouse Gases and Climate Change (AB 32)

Energy and Recycling

* Is Energy Production the Best Use for Waste and Organics?
* Recycling Processes that Can Also Create Alternative Energy Sources.
* Emerging Waste Technologies and Waste Transformation

Markets and the Collection Programs that Need Them

Construction and Demolition

* C&D Recycling of Difficult Materials (Shingles, Carpet, Drywall, Ceiling Tiles…)
* Deconstruction Reuse Successes
* Successful Examples of C&D Recycling and Deconstruction RFP's and Policies
* Examples of C&D Materials Bans and Their Consequences and Results

E-waste

* SB 20/50 Updates, Analysis of Effectiveness, Issues with Compliance
* Takeback Program Examples and Data

Hazardous Waste

* Successful Universal and Hazardous Waste Collection Programs
* Making the Most of Used Oil Recycling Grant Program

Markets

* Tapping into Existing Markets for Specific Products like Carpet, Shingles, C&D, Plastics, Mattresses, Etc…
* How to Brings Specialized Recycling Markets to Your Neighborhood
* Overcoming Transportation and Logistic Issues Related to Long Distance Markets for Materials

Processing

* Comparisons between Dirty MRF, Wet/Dry and Single Stream Recycling and Their Benefits and Diversion Levels.
* New Processing Technologies

Business-to-Business Workshop - Businesses Talking to Other Businesses about Zero Waste Achievements

Treasure Chest of Zero Waste Businesses

* Corporate Environmental Strategy
* Benchmarking on Sustainability Issues
* Internal and External Communications on Sustainability Topics
* Green Marketing Strategies
* Environmental and Sustainability Reporting
* Environmentally Responsible Business Success Stories

There will be no subsequent Call for Papers.

To initiate your participation, you are invited to fill out the on-line speaker submission form at this webpage http://www.crra.com/2007conf/speaker_submission.html.You are also welcome to suggest a speaker for a particular subject via this process.

CRRA is looking for audience participation and interaction with each speaker. Speakers will be asked to stay for the break following their session to further engage attendees. Speakers will be given 15 to 20 minutes for each presentation, including questions and responses. On our panels, each panelist will be given 5 - 10 minutes to introduce a topic, then a discussion will be moderated amongst the other panelists and the audience for one hour. For our roundtable format, roundtable leaders will be provided a one-hour format to lead discussions directly with the audience.

SUBMISSIONS DUE BY TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6th, 2007

Presenters will receive free conference admission for the day they speak and are responsible for paying all travel and lodging costs.

Information: http://www.crra.com

LONDON, UK: SEPTEMBER 11, 2007:

DISARM DSEi 2007

ONE DAY - MANY ACTIONS

Blockade? Party? Destroy? March? Smash? Infiltrate? Invade? Picket? Harass? Clown? Dance? Light candles? Fight? Lock on? Vigil? Disrupt?

YOU DECIDE!

From 11-14 September, DSEi (Defence Systems Equipment International), the world's largest arms fair, returns to East London's ExCeL Centre.

Despite massive local opposition, and a huge bill to the taxpayer, arms dealers will once again be free to deal in death and destruction.

AGAINST THE WAR - AGAINST THE ARMS TRADE

"Stop the War" (whichever war) is useless sloganeering unless it is accompanied by a commitment to stopping the global arms trade. No wars will never stop whilst weapon sales are a booming capitalist business worth in the region of $40 billion a year.

In 2005, DSEi hosted 1,100 companies, 70 official military delegation and 20,000 visitors from across the globe. Many of the countries invited were at war, some with each other. Many were dictatorships with appalling human rights records. Many had huge national debts with populations in severe states of poverty and starvation.

There are no borders, no limitations and certainly no morals when it comes to arms trading. Whilst countries such as the US and UK pretend to restrict the sale of arms, there are enough loopholes to enable dealers to trade whatever they like, to whoever they like.

WE MUST NOT LET THEM MEET WITHOUT DISRUPTION AND OPPOSITION. JOIN US AND TAKE ACTION. SAY NO TO WAR. SAY NO TO THE ARMS TRADE

Disarm DSEi, c/o Archway Books,
Bakehouse Yard,
Market Strand,
Falmouth,
Cornwall TR11 3DB

To join mailing list send a blank email to:
disarmdseisubscribe@lists.riseup.net

Information: http://www.dsei.org
Email: info@dsei.org

IRELAND: SEPTEMBER 17-18, 2007:

ASPO 6: 6th Annual International Conference

The Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas Ireland will be running a conference in Ireland - Conference website will launch soon, so details to follow!

Watch this space!

Information: ASPO-Ireland

ORMSKIRK, LANCASHIRE, UK: SEPTEMBER 18-20, 2007:

ANTI-CAPITALISM: MOVEMENT OF MOVEMENTS?

Social and Cultural Movements Group, Edge Hill University
3rd International Conference

On the theme of:
Anti-Capitalism: Movement of Movements?

The radical movement politics of the 21st century has thus far been anti-capitalist politics - a fusion of anti-globalisation, ecology, anti-war and left politics that has sought to counter the machinations of states, supranational organisation in a globalising world and corporate power. Often called the 'movement of movements' it represents a critical alliance of disparate movements along a common set of broad themes around democracy, peace, ecology, anti-imperialism and opposition to the pernicious and debilitating impacts of contemporary capitalism. It is seen variously as a development from, and triumph of: movement politics, a reassertion of Left critique in radical politics and a new strategic challenge to the contemporary capitalism of empire, and the politics of identity and consumption and resurgent neo-conservatism. The task of understanding, theorising and critically engaging with anti-capitalism is a critical step in thinking where it goes next and how it builds a momentum of radical resistance to capitalism in its democratic and authoritarian forms.

This conference seeks to offer a space for constructive critical engagement, the airing of key conceptual, intellectual and political debates and contributions that reflect the diverse range of analyses of anti-capitalism in its global manifestations. We welcome papers and contributions from academics and activists on: theories and conceptual debates in anti-capitalism; theory and politics of the anti-capitalism movement(s); understanding anti-capitalist movement politics; anti-capitalism and social movements in a global context and across the globe.

The conference lasts from the morning of Wednesday 19th to the early afternoon of Friday 21st September. There are residential and non-residential conference tariffs and a limited number of reduced tariffs available.

Deadline for Submissions for Abstracts for Papers: 30th June 2007

Deadline for Registration for the Conference: 31st July 2007

Deadline for Papers to be available for advance Circulation: 31st August 2007

Keynote speakers to be notified shortly

This conference is organised in conjunction with Historical Materialism: Research in Critical Marxist Theory

Contact: Roger Spalding,
Social and Cultural Movements Group,
Edge Hill University, St. Helen's Road,
Ormskirk, Lancs L39 4PQ, UK

Email: spaldr@edgehill.ac.uk

WISCONSIN, USA: OCTOBER 04-05, 2007:

"MULTICULTURALISM, PLURALISM AND GLOBALIZATION"
An interdisciplinary conference

Call for Papers: "MULTICULTURALISM, PLURALISM AND GLOBALIZATION"

An interdisciplinary conference sponsored by THE WISCONSIN INSTITUTE FOR PEACE AND CONFLICT STUDIES and the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, Office of International Education and Department of History

Keynote Speaker: Harvey Sarles, Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature, University of Minnesota

We invite proposals for individual papers and entire panels for an interdisciplinary conference on multiculturalism, pluralism, and globalization. Papers and presentations from all disciplines and time periods are welcome.

From ancient times to the present, people have sought to understand and create their identities both as individuals and as groups. In so doing, they not only define who they are, but also who they are not. What makes one group different from another? Who defines those differences? What are the consequences of such definitions? To what degree do these definitions create opportunities for conflict and for peace? And why do differences between groups so often lead to collective forms of violence such as war, genocide, terrorism and ethnic cleansing?

Possible topics include, but are not limited to: immigration and diasporas; "clash of civilizations"; diversity; definitions of community; economic class and property; race, ethnicity and language; nationalism and the nation; separatism, tolerance, and integration; identity politics; national or tribal membership and identity; ecologies of place or of culture; human rights, civil rights and natural law; religious/ethical values and identity; class, caste and gender; the sources of collective forms of violence.

Information: http://www.uwsp.edu/history/WIPCS/WIPCS1.htm
Email: MulticulturalismProposal@ScholarlyCalls.com
Tel: (608) 785-8359
Fax: (608) 785-8370

HOUSTON: OCTOBER 14, 2007:

Announcing - ASPO-USA Houston World Energy Conference - Oct. 17-20,

Association for the Study of Peak Oil & GAS - USA

We are pleased to announce that ASPO-USA will hold its 2007 World Oil Conference, October 17-20, at the Hilton Americas Hotel in downtown Houston, Texas.

AN EXCITING ROSTER OF CONFIRMED PARTICIPANTS includes legendary Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens, Houston Mayor Bill White (former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy), Bob Hirsch (co-author of the groundbreaking Hirsch-Bezdek Report to DOE), Peter Tertzakian (author of "A Thousand Barrels a Second"), Mathew Simmons, (author of "Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock").

OTHER DISTINGUISHED PARTICIPANTS include Henry Groppe of Groppe, Long & Littell, Charles Maxwell of Weeden & Co., David Hughes of the Canadian Geological Survey, Chairman Elizabeth Ames Jones of the Texas Railroad Commission, Professor Peter Bishop of the University of Houston, Stuart Standiford of The Oil Drum, and many others. We are awaiting RSVPs from other high-profile speakers including Former President Bill Clinton.

Honorary Co-chairmen of the Conference are Houstonians Matt Simmons of Simmons & Company International, and Art Smith of John S. Herold, Inc.

ASPO WEEK IN HOUSTON will consist of four days of energy discussion as well as field trips to a drilling site and to Refinery Row on the Houston Ship Channel, the heart of our nation's refining and petrochemical industries.

Nothing could be more fitting than Houston - "The Energy Capital of the World" - hosting international oil & gas experts to address the energy challenges of the 21st Century. We are proud to announce that the ASPO-USA World Oil Conference will be jointly Co-sponsored by the City of Houston and the University of Houston.

Our 2006 World Oil Conference was co-sponsored by Boston University's Center for Energy & Environmental Studies, and our 2005 conference was co-sponsored by the City of Denver and the University of Colorado Graduate School of Public Affairs. Both meetings were widely acclaimed by Peak Oil scientists, attendees, and media outlets from across the country and around the world.

PEAK OIL EXPERTS DON'T CLAIM THAT WE WILL RUN OUT OF OIL, but that we will run out of cheap oil, as production decreases and demand increases. They point to below-ground evidence and above-ground factors: the continued depletion of major oil fields worldwide drives resource nationalism, a volatile geopolitical climate, and rising oil & gas prices.

THE DENIERS OF PEAK OIL CLAIM THAT TECHNOLOGY, new discoveries, and unconventional oil will save us. If the deniers are wrong, we are in deep trouble; if the Peak Oil experts are wrong, we will have conserved and mitigated ahead of schedule. ASPO-USA says the latter prudent and conservative approach is the path we must take as a nation.

A SHORT VIDEO SUMMARY of the 2006 Boston Conference can be seen at: ASPO USA [.MOV]

Complete coverage of the Boston Conference is available in a boxed set of nine DVDs with integrated PowerPoint presentations at www.aspousa.org.

Professor Peter Bishop of the University of Houston's Future Studies Program will conduct a conference session to explore scenarios of Peak Oil impacts on the City of Houston, the intelligent responses to mitigate these impacts, and the needed steps going forward to preserve the city's position as "Energy Capital of the World."

THE HOUSTON CONFERENCE AGENDA will feature technical sessions on Reserves and Production; Substitute Fuels; Peak Oil & Climate Change; Peak Oil Reports from the GAO, National Petroleum Council, and AAPG; a Natural Gas/LNG Update; a Net Energy Update; Mitigation Scenarios; Smart Policy Initiatives (local, state & national); and Smart Money & Investment in the Age of Peak Oil.

REGISTRATION WILL OPEN on or about June 1st. For more information on agenda details, speakers and activities as they become available, as well as a review of past Conferences, please see our website at www.aspousa.org.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU IN HOUSTON,

Co-founders Dick Lawrence, Steve Andrews, Randy Udall, and Jim Baldauf For ASPO-USA

Information: ASPO USA
Email: houston2007@aspo-usa.com
Tel: Rick Block, 856-845-0579

GLOBAL WOMEN'S STRIKE:

Information: http://womenstrike8m.server101.com
Email: womenstrike8m@server101.com.

GLOBAL WOMEN'S STRIKE:

Regular Strike organising meetings, including reports from around the world, are taking place in:

London
Every Thursday 6.30pm
Crossroads Women's Centre
230A Kentish Town Road
London
NW5 2AB
020 7482 2496.

Los Angeles
Fortnightly, Saturdays: Mar 29+, 2-4pm
Crossroads Women's Center,
4167 South Normandie,
LA
[one and a half blocks south of Martin Luther King Blvd, ample street parking]
Call 323-292-7405 for more information or if you will need childcare.
Men's support welcome.

Galway
6.30pm every Tuesday
Atlanta Hotel
Dominic St
Galway
Call mobile 087 7838688

Barcelona nos reuniremos el Sábado 1 de febrero 2003, 11-13h en el Centro Las Mujeres Cuentan. Por favor, avisadnos de vuestros planes para que podamos poneros en contacto con otras huelguistas en vuestra región, y enviadnos lo antes posible los datos de las que se apunten a la Huelga - y de los hombres dispuestos a apoyar.

Contact your local Strike co-ordinators for information in other areas

Information: http://womenstrike8m.server101.com
Email: womenstrike8m@server101.com.

AGAINST THE WTO:

Information: Nadir/AGP.