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WINTER Newsletter 2012

Living respectfully, responsibly and reverently with one another and with Earth.

Stop the Junk MailThe average home receives more than 700 pieces of advertising mail every year. That takes a lot of paper, and requires cutting millions of trees.

Itʼs time to let junk mailers know: weʼre fed up with all this waste. Weʼll do our part to cut waste - recycling - but most of the responsibility lies with the mailers.

Go to: http://www.thegreenlifeonline.org

! 2012 Membership DriveYour membership is important to us and the work we are doing in the 7 Rivers Region. Please consider becoming a member and helping us to provide the 2012 Earth Day activities, the 2012 Green Expo, publishing of the CPS Local Guide for Sustainable Living, Northwest Earth Institute’s Discussion Courses.

Go to the last page and fill out the membership form and mail it in today!

Checkout our website at: www.cpslax.org

Join us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/ CouleePartnersforSustainability 

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Dual Fuel Police Cars: The city is saving $60,000.00 a year by using propane hybrid cars.

Complete Streets Adopted: La Crosse County (Resolution) April 2011, West Salem (Resolution) May 2011, La Crosse Area Planning Committee (Policy) June 2011,City of La Crosse (Ordinance) August 2011 In Progress: Onalaska, Holmen

Bike Rack in Downtown in La CrosseLa Crosse Transit: 1 Hybrid Bus, Plans to purchase 3 more, All future buses will be Hybirds, Lighting and radiant heat installed in shop, Ridership up 7% over last years record year

Sustainable La Crosse Commission: Is documenting electricity use, gas use, water use, gasoline use and other sustainability indicators for City and County government use. Have also proposed sustainability goals for fossil fuel, internal/external awareness, paper consumption, and recycling for County government (the original plan did not have these goals).

Mayo Clinic Health System's Health Tradition: Health Tradition Health Plan is offering employer group health plan members an Eat Well Move More Rebate Program. This program provides up to a $200 total rebate for a membership at an eligible fitness center, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm, or a combination of both memberships.

Gundersen Lutheranʼs ENVISION: A model for healthcare providers nationwide. We are developing a portfolio of innovative "green" energy projects designed to lower costs and lead the industry in environmental stewardship.

Onalaska community garden project taking root, growingFifth Season Cooperative: Provides grass fed beef in cooperation with: Gundersen/Lutheran, WesternTechnical College,UW- La Crosse

UWLʼs Centennial & Eagle Halls: LEED Silver Certified, Solar Water Heating, Solar Window Awnings, Rain Gardens,Bike Racks

Public Lecture: Jack Hedin, Featherstone Farm - The Pursuit of Real Sustainability on One Southeastern Minnesota Farm

UWL Lecture Series: Spend an evening with No Impact Man: Colin Beavan Hillview Urban Agriculture Center: Wormington is a collaboration between Hillview Urban Agriculture Center and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. HUAC is managing the vermicompost program to compost pre- and post-consumer food waste from the food services at UW-L.

Viterbo University's Environmental Responsibility Home Page: The Environmental Responsibility Committee (ERC) haschosen Sustainability as the theme for the 2011-12 academic year.    

Viterboʼs Ethics in Leadership Lecture Series: Richard Louv, Author of Last Child in the Woods and The NaturePrinciple Lecture: The Restorative Power of NatureMargaret Lowman, Ph.D., Director, Nature Research Center, North Carolina Museum of Natural SciencesLecture: Life in the Treetops: Conservation of the Worldʼs Rain Forests 

CPS Public Lecture: Mark Kastel, Co-founder, The Cornucopia Institute. Lecture: Local, Healthy, Sustainable Food Systems:Hyperbole or Sensation

CPS organizes the first annual The Living Green Expo in October

CPS organizes the Earth Week Activities April

FSPA and Viterbo: New nursing building at Viterbo is silver LEED Certified. 40% of the energy used at ST. Rose convent is generated from what was "waste" steam from the boiler plant which jointly heats St. Francis Hospital, Viterbo University and the St. Rose Convent Complex. Natural Cemetery that FSPA was approved this past year.

CPS Offers Northwest Earth Institute Discussion Courses: 2010-2011 School District of La Crosse (3 classes), PeopleʼsFood Coop (2 classes). 2011-2012 School District of La Crosse (3 classes), UW-L Learning in Retirement (2 classes).

Youth Outdoor Fest: Over 1800 children participated in this years Fest

Rotary Lights: Replaced incandescent lights with LEDʼs

2011ʼs Things to be Happy About

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La Crosse, WI Green DrinksWho: Everyone interested in the environmental health of the Coulee Region What: Informal conversation and fun Where: Fayze's When: Tuesday, September 20@ 6:30 p.m. The 3rd Tuesday of every month. Why: The Coulee Region’s environment deserves our focusContact: Chris Schneider at chris-hybridguru@centurytel.net

Green Drinks is an international concept with gatherings all over the world. There are several gatherings in Wisconsin. This is the first in La Crosse. There are no dues, fees, agenda, board, minutes, attendance or programs. We hope you will find a lively mixture of people with similar interest in environmental health and learn new ideas as well. A calendar of upcoming events will provide an opportunity to choose areas of interest. Pay for a drink, stay for the conversation.

Coulee Partners for Sustainability’s

Local Guide for Sustainable Living

Cover Art by: Lynne Burgess and Marianne Stanke

The CPS Local Guide for Sustainability will be available for members and community members during the Earth Day Activities at the EcoPark on April 24, 2012.A big thank you to the Paul E. Stry Foundation for their support for making this book a reality.They will be for sale in CD form and soft cover books.

La Crosse County Solid Waste Department Green Tier - Tier 1 Particpant

The La Crosse County Solid Waste (LCSW) complex incorporates not only solid waste disposal, but offers many opportunities from waste recovery and reuse, recycling and Household Hazardous Waste Collection to waste diversion for energy recovery on a 300 acre complex. Their approach to an integrated management system is further exemplified under endorsement of the Natural Step model for sustainable communities. The Lacrosse County Solid Waste Landfill Operations emphasizes a regional approach to waste collection and offers additional education and disposal options to the currently contracted counties in the La Crosse Regional Disposal System.Additional efforts to capture landfill gas have been announced recently by La Crosse County and Gundersen Lutheran Health System, where landfill gas fill will be piped to the Gundersen facility to meet their energy needs. The complex will further develop an environmental management system that incorporates a Plan-Do-Check-Act process into their existing Strategic Plan for Sustainability. The track record and progressive thinking and management of this operation have proven it to be a leader toward a sustainable future and will undoubtedly sustain its efforts toward continual improvement.

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! !

2012 2012 Earth FairEarth Fair

“Earth Day “Earth Day Is Is EveryEvery day”day” !"#$%&'()*+,-(..(

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2012 Earth Fair – The 2012 Earth Fair will be held on Earth Day, April 22, with the theme "Earth Day is Every Day". In addition to building on the success of the 2011 Earth Fair at the Myrick Hixon EcoPark, the 2012 Earth Fair will preview the new outdoor adventure playscapes at the EcoPark. We are excited to have the EcoPark as a 2012 Earth Fair sponsor!"

Various Earth Fair activities will include the first-of-the-season farmers market, "green" vendors and workshops, childrenʼs activities and crafts, Hans Mayer concert, a live raptor demonstration, food catered by the Peopleʼs Food Co-op and The Root Note, and live music performed by local artists. A complete schedule of Earth Fair events and activities will be included in the March CPS newsletter.

Recycling Fair – As we did last year to coincide with the Earth Fair, a recycling event will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Emerson Elementary School, located just two blocks from the Earth Fair.  The recycling event will include electronics, document shredding, and this year will also include a drop-off site for ink cartridges. Food will also be collected for WAFER.

NEW! “Spring Cleaning” – Saturday, April 21, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. - This year we have added a new "green" event - "Spring Cleaning" - to be held the day before the Earth Fair on Saturday April 21.  During this citywide cleanup, teams will pick up trash from various locations including the La Crosse River Marsh, Hixon Forest, and La Crosse neighborhoods. Spring Cleaning is sponsored in partnership with CPS, WisCorps, La Crosse River Marsh Coalition and La Crosse County Solid Waste. Go to www.wiscorps.org for more information on the event and to have your group sign up for a clean-up site.

The Natural Step Sustainable development...meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needsWhat will this take?  Members of the international scientific community addressed this question. Their conclusions are expressed in The Natural Stepʼs four system conditions:1. Eliminate our communityʼs contribution to fossil fuel dependence and to wasteful use of scare metals and minerals.

2. Eliminate our communityʼs contribution to dependence upon persistent chemicals and wasteful use of synthetic substances.

3. Eliminate our communityʼs contribution to encroachment upon nature (e.g., land, water, wildlife, forests, soil, ecosystems).

4. Meet human needs fairly and efficiently.

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Become a Member of: Living respectfully, responsibly and reverently with one another and with Earth.

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_______$15 Individual _______$25 Family _______$100 Business/Institution _______$10 Student

Would you like to get involved in CPS sustainable projects? (please check all that apply)

_____Occasionally for specific projects! ______Planning or Administration

Study Circle Facilitating: _____The Natural Step _____Northwest Earth Institute_____Film/Other Books

Join a Committee: _____ Local Foods & Sustainable Agriculture (LASA)

! ! _____ Neighborhoods/Housing Task Force

! ! _____ Business/Green Economy Task Force

Suggestions for CPS: ____________________________________________________________________________

Send to: CPS, c/o Glen Jenkins, 2642 Hackberry Lane, La Crosse, Wisconsin 54601

CPS is a 501-C3 non-profit, organization. All contributions are tax deductible.

Purpose: Promote sustainable practices in the Coulee Region.

Business: Advocate Natural Step Principles:• Educate• Foster and showcase sustainable practices• Facilitate “Green Group” networking

With the realization that human welfare is directly dependent on the health of the planet and that our welfare cannot be achieved at the expense of the planet. Coulee Partners for Sustainability will work with individuals, environmental organizations, educational institutions, businesses and governmental bodies to educate and create environmentally sustainable practices.