Volume 5, Issue 4, April 1, 2013

APRIL 6

Board Retreat
1:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Potluck
6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Come to a potluck and meet members and friends of the Ethical Humanist Society of the Triangleat the home of  Dorothy Dale Pollack, 500 Ridge View Lane, Chapel Hill, NC 27516.  Bart Worden, AEU Executive Director and Leader of the Ethical Culture Society of Westchester, will be there to dine and visit with us.  He is also our speaker for the meeting this Sunday.

Children are welcome.

Please R.S.V.P. to Dorothy BEFORE SATURDAY, and discuss what food dish you are bringing. (919) 932-5744 (home) or 919 413 7680 (cell).  (No need to call both, one will do.)

Directions

APRIL 7

An Address by the AEU Executive Director,
Bart Worden

Bart's enthusiasm with Ethical Culture and his decision to become an active member in the movement is best expressed in his letter published by Dialogue Online, Fall 2012. Excerpts follow.

I fell in love with Ethical Culture in the winter of 1985 on my first visit to an Ethical Society. It was love at first hearing. Members of the Society spoke of their passion for social action that flowed from commitment to ethical ideals and their urgency to act to make those ideals a reality. I recall feeling exceptionally excited and exceptionally relieved: excited by finally finding a group of people who shared the need I felt to work for a better world, relief that the effort was grounded in humanist principles and ideals."

"I was reminded of that visit . . . when I attended my first public function in New York City as Executive Director this year on June 21st. . . . I was at a table with fellow Ethical Culturists and a number of young Latino women and men [attending the function].The conversation soon turned to what Ethical Culture is. . . ."

"There's something [inspiring when]. . . first hearing about Ethical Culture that can be positively magical in its effect on people. I've seen it over and over again--listeners often have a somewhat quizzical look . . . but that look transforms into a look of happy surprise as understanding grows and the message becomes clear. At those times I feel very connected with the listeners and sense that they would be happy to join the Ethical Movement and would be terrific people to have as members in our Societies."

"In my role as Executive Director for the AEU I will be focusing attention, especially in this first year, upon what it takes for member Societies and affiliates to flourish and grow."

IFC Food Pantry

We will be collecting food and sundry items this Sunday for IFC. Following is a list of current needs:

Canned meats Canned vegetables (hold off on corn for now) Pasta and pasta sauce Soup Dried Beans Canned fruit Rice Cereal Grits/Oatmeal packets Paper Bags with handles Blankets, washed (cold months)

Personal Care Products: toothbrushes, toothpaste and floss deodorant razors and shaving cream soap and shampoo lotion washcloths feminine products diapers Space Heaters in good shape (cold months)

The economic recession has resulted in a loss of donations to this important social service agency, and it relies on organizations like ours to help its clients. Please contribute generously.

APRIL 14

"A Conservative Take on Environmental Regulation"
Kory Swanson, John Locke Foundation

Kory Swanson is the Executive Vice President of the John Locke Foundation, a North Carolina based nonpartisan, nonprofit, public policy think tank located in Raleigh, NC Swanson received his MA in Philosophy from Bowling Green State University and his JD from the University of Toledo.

Named for philosopher John Locke, the foundation is an independent non-profit research institute that seeks to transform government through research, journalism and outreach. The foundation was founded in 1990 as a think tank and does extensive research as well as daily journalism published in the Carolina Journal and on-line sources. All the foundation's analysis and policy proposals seek to advance individual liberty, personal responsibility, and a free market economy. These concepts have been fundamental to this institute's pursuit since its founding.

Currently, the foundation's focus regarding environmental issues is hydraulic fracturing and renewable energy. Hydraulic fracturing is a process to extract natural gas from shale and the technique has been around since the 1940s but was cost-prohibitive. Technological advances have turned fracking into a low-cost method to recover natural gas. It has revolutionized the industry, bringing jobs and economic growth to North Carolina, one of two states in the country that bans the process. In 2007 the North Carolina General Assembly passed far-reaching electricity regulations (Senate Bill 3). The bill encompasses a renewable energy and energy efficiency portfolio standard requiring utilities to provide customers 7.5% of their electricity through wind, solar, or biomass. These forms of energy are more expensive than traditional fossil fuels and nuclear power that North Carolina's utilities voluntarily choose when they are left free to pursue truly efficient energy.

Board Meeting after the program

APRIL 21

Professor Jeffrey Coker
Director of General Studies
Associate Professor, Biology
Elon University

Dr. Coker's recent book Reinventing Life: A Guide to Our Evolutionary Future, was published March 10, 2012. The following review appears on Elon University's website.

"Life as we know it is in constant flux--in fact, as Jeffrey Coker explains in his first general interest book for wide audience, each of us is already a "mutant" and the speed at which the human species is changing the planet poses both opportunities and challenges to be addressed, starting with an oft overlooked question: What should be our role in nature?

". . . Reinventing Life: A Guide to Our Evolutionary Future, . . . lays bare the choices humans face as their actions with each other and the environment shift the way life on Earth develops.

"As Coker might suggest, is there a difference between wearing glasses that are connected wirelessly to the Internet and having such abilities directly connected into the brain through a neural interface? And how will the human race evolve as such technology rewires the way the brain works? He ultimately leaves his readers with questions of whether evolutionary and genetic shifts should be left to random chance or whether humans should harness control of their future through deliberate planning and scientific research.

"At its core, it's a book to challenge people to think about how they can impact our future," Coker said. “I'd like to think it breaks some new ground in challenging people to consider the idea of evolution stewardship and how what we're doing is impacting the future of life."

APRIL 25

IFC Cook and Serve

Our scheduled cook and serve project is held on the fourth Thursday each month from 4:00 to 7:15 p.m. Contact Amy Piersma to sign up. The food is donated from the community and anyone who is hungry can eat. Our entire membership participates. It's great fun and a worthy endeavor!

APRIL 28

NC Warn has been invited to present at this meeting, but the scheduling has not been confirmed. In lieu of a speaker, we will have a discussion group covering environmental issues the platform speakers discussed during our April meetings.

NC Warn, based in Hillsborough, is a nonprofit organization working for climate protection through clean efficient energy.

It's priorities involve:

• The accelerating crisis posed by climate change, which must be changed by moving from coal and natural gas to energy efficiency and clean power as quickly as possible;
• Partnering with allies, including Greenpeace, AARP-NC, the NC Housing Coalition and the NC Justice Center, to change Duke Energy Progress' business model to build expensive power plants and continuing to increase electricity rates; and
• Shifting Duke Energy Progress from fossil fuels to clean energy to avert runaway climate change.

During the last week of March, the Center presented a conference on mass incarceration and methods to address the problems. The Center provided participants information about events and links that will be of interest to our community as a follow up to our mass incarceration series (The New Jim Crow).

April 22nd. The presentation of "None of the Above: Dismantling the School to Prison Pipeline," 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Nasher Museum, 2001 Campus Drive, Durham, NC 27705. For more information see: http://hiddenvoices.org/pod/project/12.

April 23rd. Lobby Day in Raleigh on Tuesday at the NC Legislative Building, 16 East Jones Street, Raleigh, NC to show legislators your support for second chances--specific reforms that provide genuine restorative opportunities to individuals ready and willing to move beyond their criminal records and contribute to their families and communities. Click here for details and flyer.

Southern Coalition for Social Justice (Durham):  http://www.southerncoalition.org/
Community Success Initiative (Raleigh): http://communitysuccess.org/ 
Second Chance Alliance (Raleigh & statewide) http://www.ncjustice.org/?q=second-chance-alliance/nc-second-chance-alliance
Prison Books Collective (Chapel Hill): sends books and educational materials to incarcerated individuals in a 3-state radius (NC, AL, MS). Workdays: Every Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. at 621 Hillsborough Road, Carrboro: http://prisonbooks.info/about/ or prisonbooks@gmail.com

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Saturday, April 13

Sustainability Center and Solar Stage
at UNC Science Expo 
10am-3pm
UNC Campus

As part of this year's NC Science Festival, the Town of Chapel Hill is sponsoring a Sustainability Center and Solar Stage to educate and encourage making environmentally responsible decisions in our lives.
www.townofchapelhill.org/scienceexpo.

Sunday, April 21
2013 Chapel Hill/Carrboro CROP Hunger Walk
Registration 1:30 p.m.

Benefiting Church World Service and the IFC, the walk is a four mile stroll along the streets of Chapel Hill and Carrboro and through the UNC campus. A shorter route also is available.

Registration is at 1:30 and the walk kick-off from Carrboro Town Commons is at 2:30. Entertainment and activities will be provided for the walk. After the walk there will be food and music to celebrate.