Be the Change Weekly Community Update October 29, 2021

*This is the Day of the Dead, and by Jove, we shall celebrate!*
*May your celebration be filled with lots of beautiful memories of the dead, delicious foods, music and beautiful sunshine.*

Is there an alternative to Neoliberal Economics
and the Global Consumer Economy?

To help you decide if our new 5-week Sustainable U course is for you, spend some time on LocalFutures.org and watch the award winning film, Economics of Happiness. It’s free to watch online and the issues addressed in the film will be explored in the course. Details below or Sign up for the course here.

**Simply Living Sustainable U Discussion Course: Economics of Happiness**
*Tuesdays 7 pm on Oct 26, Nov 2, Nov 9, /Dec 6, Dec 13*
October 26 – Introduction and orientation (recording ***here***)
***November 2 – Globalization***
November 9 – Local Economy
December 7 – Community Localization
December 14 – Big Picture Activism
You may attend any or all Classes
Free to Simply Living members – just enter 0.00 when adding to the cart.
Non-members are welcome. Freewill donations are appreciated.
Course facilitator is Chuck Lynd <chuck@simplyliving.org> Details and Registration link for Week 2 Globalization Discussion ***here***

“What’s our favourite documentary of all time? The one film we wish everyone could see? Hands down, this is it. It is truly one of the most important and useful films for inspiring change that has been made in a generation.” – Films for Action –

Tuesday, November 9, 5:30 pm
**AUTHOR TALK ON GLOBAL WARMING AT WHETSTONE LIBRARY** Join author Paul Robinson at the *Whetstone Library* meeting room for a presentation and discussion of his new book: Global Warming: Can It Be Stopped? We will discuss and explore the science, psychology, and the morality of climate change. Join us! Books will be available to purchase.

Sustainable U self paced courses in Fall 2021 here.

Spirit and Money – This is a pre-recorded webinar course. Self paced.

Introduction to Solar PV – This is an online course. Spirit and Money – This is a pre-recorded webinar course. Self paced.

Residential Solar Installation and Design – Online. Spirit and Money – This is a pre-recorded webinar course. Self paced.

“The entire college project can be seen as that of enabling the student to understand the immense story of the universe and the role of the student in creating the next phase of the story.”
~ Thomas Berry, “The American College in the Ecological Age,”

Fridays for Future are organizing a demonstration at OSU Friday, 1 pm, October 29, to Demand President Johnson and
The OSU Board of Trustees Divest from Fossil Fuels
See the full press release ***here***.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SIMPLY LIVING’S BE THE CHANGE COMMUNITY CALENDAR

Tool Library workshop. To purchase a ticket, visit bit.ly/2021-bat-house

**Festival of Wellbeing 2021**
Sat Oct 30th 6 pm – 12 am
***Care for the climate; Care for the earth; Care for the people***

Widely-acclaimed and always hope-inspiring, this year’s Festival of Wellbeing brings together extraordinary change-makers and visionaries who will explore what is needed to create wellbeing for people and planet. Join this day of thought-provoking and progressive talks from some of the world’s greater thinkers and activists. **Full speaker bios available here.**

**Two Dollar Radio HQ (1124 Parsons Ave) Bookclub** will meet last Sunday of every month at ***2pm*** at HQ and the inaugural meeting will be ***Sunday 10/31***. For our first meeting we’ll be discussing the debut collection by Sean Avery Medlin: **808’s & Otherworlds: Memories, Remixes, and Mythologies**. Get all the details on our Calendar ***here***.

Java Central is located at 20 S. State St. in Uptown Westerville 43081
**NEXT WEEK:** **LIL’ RED and the ROOSTER back from Chicago!**

Original songs that tell stories and resonate with emotion are the trademark of Columbus’ Keith Larsen, and he’ll be performing his moving creations on stage Saturday October 30 at the latest monthly concert sponsored by the Columbus Folk Music Society. More on our calendar ***here***.

“There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew.” ~ Marshall McLuhan

**Halloween Poetry Open Mic at The Abbey**
*Sun Oct 31st 7:00pm – 10:00pm (EDT)*
Green Lawn Abbey, 700 Greenlawn Ave. Columbus, 43223
With an Eye of Newt and the Wool of Bat … A Halloween open mic sponsored by the Ohio Poetry Association and The Poetry Forum of Columbus. Free.
Details on the Simply Living calendar ***here***.

Three weeks of **FREE virtual classes and workshops** led by world-class wellness experts in a range of healing modalities. Let’s re-ground, re-balance, and re-open, together. Get details and registration link on the SL calendar ***here***.

**An Introduction to Cohousing** *Tue Nov 2nd 3:00pm – 4:30pm (EDT)*
Is cohousing the right type of intentional community for you? While you **may have heard a lot** about cohousing, how well do you understand how this model actually works? **What makes it different** from other types of communities? Join **Karin Hoskin of the CohoUS’s** upcoming webinar to learn **what cohousing really is**, the **different models** of cohousing, and **how to choose** a cohousing community. Details and registration on SL calendar ***here***.

America’s Small Business Incubation Rate – and What Ohio is Doing Right
Wed, 11/3, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Lunch Served at 11:30 a.m.
The Boat House at Confluence Park
Bill LaFayette, Founder & Owner, Regionomics, LLC
Steve Fireman, President & General Counsel, Economic and Community Development Institute (ECDI)
Cheryl Turnbull, Senior Director, Keenan Center for Entrepreneurship, OSU Corporate Engagement Office
Host, Susan Post, Editor, The Metropreneur.com; Associate Editor, Columbus Underground.com

On Pause Free Art and Meditation Workshop
Weds Nov 3rd at 12 noon
Free for all audiences —Join us at ***noon on Wednesdays***—virtually or in person—for an **art and meditation workshop** facilitated by our partners from The Yoga Carriage @ replenish. Details on the SL Calendar ***here***.

**Thawing permafrost holds climate change clues**|
**Climate Change and Ecosystem Management** *Wed Nov 3rd 3 – 4 pm*
Virtual event hosted by OSU. Get all the details and registration link ***here***.

**Activating HOPE** – FREE – Thu Nov 4th – Sun Nov 7th

More information and registration link on the SL calendar ***here***.

“If we do not do something to help these creatures,
we make a mockery of the whole concept of justice.”
~ Jane Goodall

NEWS + RESOURCES
FOR LIVING LOCAL

How to Get Off Catalog Mailing Lists

Create an account at dmachoice.org. This is the Direct Marketing Association’s consumer website. It allows you to unsubscribe from all catalogs, or to select just the catalogs that you’d like to unsubscribe from. **You can also opt out of receiving magazine and credit card offers**. Once you’ve entered your preferences, they’ll contact the companies on your behalf to let them know. This process can take anywhere from 30 to 90 days, so you won’t see an immediate reduction in your mailbox. If you’re trying to stop the mail for a deceased relative, or someone that you care for, there are forms for that as well. Note that you’ll need to pay a $2 registration fee when you set up your account and give you access to the site for 10 years. More on The Spruce ***here***

Tree of the Month November 2021
Ohio Buckeye (Aesculus glabra)
Mort Schmidt for Simply Living

Ohio Buckeye Tree in Bloom Photo by Mort Schmidt

The Ohio State University’s famous football coach, Woody Hayes, described the Buckeye as “a worthless nut”. And so it is. Nor does the wood have much value. But in November, as we’re winding up the football season, what better tree to honor than the State Tree of Ohio, Ohio Buckeye? Aesculus glabra, aka Stinking Buckeye or Fetid Buckeye, is native to Ohio, and not surprisingly, our most common Buckeye. Its natural range forms a band stretching from Ohio, west to Missouri, and from there, southward to northeastern Texas. Ohio Buckeye is especially common in moist soil along stream banks.

Ohio Buckeye is one of the few Ohio trees with opposite, compound leaves. The opposite trees are those with leaves and branches arranged directly across from one another, as shown in the figure below. The most common trees with the opposite arrangement make up the MADBuck group: Maple, Ash, Dogwood, and BUCKeye. Buckeyes also have compound leaves, meaning that multiple leaflets share a stem, in the case of Ohio Buckeyes, usually five leaflets. Pinnately compound leaves are attached to the stem at multiple points, whereas palmately compound leaves, including Buckeyes, are attached to the stem at a single point. Besides Buckeyes, the only Ohio trees with opposite, palmately compound leaves are American Bladdernuts, with leaflets in groups of three. So – a tree with opposite, palmately compound leaves with five leaflets is a Buckeye. The two Ohio natives, Ohio Buckeye and Yellow Buckeye, Aesculus flava, have similar leaves, but Ohio Buckeye leaves emit a foul odor when crushed. (Make of it what you will, but I can’t smell the difference).
The leaflets of both species are ovate and widest near the middle, so they’re hard to distinguish using leaves. Because Buckeyes are among the first trees to lose their leaves in autumn, you might have to wait until spring to see them.

Left – Alternate vs Opposite. Center – Pinnate vs Palmate. Right – Ohio Buckeye Leaves & Fruit. Photos by Mort Schmidt.

The Ohio Buckeye typically reaches a height of less than 50 feet, and a diameter of less than 2 feet. The bark is distinctive. It is typically light gray and scaly, but lacking grooves, plates, or other distinctive patterns. To me, the bark resembles cigarette ash. In winter, Buckeyes have large orange buds with clearly visible scales. In the spring they have showy panicles of creamy white
flowers, also with a (supposedly) disagreeable odor. According to Lucy Braun’s classic The Woody Plants of Ohio, Yellow Buckeye, aka Sweet Buckeye, is largely limited to Southern Ohio, but it hybridizes with Ohio Buckeye. Perhaps the lack of odor indicates that I’m smelling hybrids. David Allen Sibley’s The Sibley Guide to Trees, a favorite books for tree identification, says that, “Because of hybridization, identification of Buckeyes can often be challenging”.

Left – Ohio Buckeye Bark. Center – Ohio Buckeye Buds. Notice opposite placement of lateral buds. Right – Ohio Buckeye Flowers. Photos by Mort Schmidt.

Like most trees with compound leaves, Buckeyes have a large leaf scar. The Ohio Buckeye has a somewhat C-shaped scar, whereas the Yellow Buckeye has an elongated scar. Remember that The Ohio State Buckeyes play in Columbus, with a capital C.

Left – Ohio Buckeye Leaf Scar. Right – Yellow Buckeye Leaf Scar. Photos by Mort Schmid

Of course the most distinctive trait of Buckeyes are the large brown fruits with a light brown circular spot. One or several Buckeye nuts are surrounded by a green leathery husk. The Ohio Buckeye husk is bumpy, while the Yellow Buckeye husk is smooth. Of course, The Ohio State University mascot, Brutus Buckeye, is an Ohio Buckeye, so remember Bumpy Brutus Buckeye is
the Ohio variety. The native Buckeyes can also be distinguished by height. Ohio Buckeyes are generally less than 50 feet high, while yellow buckeyes reach heights of 100 feet. There are approximately 20 species of Buckeyes – including some from elsewhere in North America and Eurasia. Many of the others are referred to as Horse Chestnuts, but they are also Buckeyes and belong to the same genus, Aesculus. Horse Chestnuts can generally be distinguished
from our native Buckeyes by having one or more of the following features:
● More than five leaflets,
● Differently shaped leaflets, some of them widest near the tips,
● Differently colored flowers, often pink or red,
● Different blooming seasons,
● Shrubby growth habit,
● Presence in landscaping but not forests.

Left – Yellow Buckeye Fruit. Center – Common Horse Chestnut Flowers & Leaves. Right – Red Buckeye Flowers. Photos by Mort Schmidt.

Ohio Buckeye is one of the softer woods in Ohio with a Janka hardness of 770 lbf and a Specific Gravity of 0.52 (the SG of water is 1.0). Of the roughly 70 Ohio trees for which I collected hardness data, Walnut’s in the middle, with a hardness of 1,010 lbf and a SG of 0.55. Even so, Ohio Buckeye is more than twice as hard as Yellow Buckeye. Ohio Buckeye wood is light in color, and like most light woods, has poor rot resistance. It is hard enough for boxes and pallets, and it’s occasionally used for furniture. Its light color and low
softness make it suitable for paper pulp. Buckeye is somewhat difficult to split, which together with its low density (and therefore low fuel value) make it a poor choice for firewood. Historically Buckeye was sometimes hollowed out to make cradles and troughs that resisted splitting. Buckeye and Horse Chestnut were also used for artificial limbs. While not as strong as many woods, they were strong enough, and the trend of increased weight with greater strength made harder woods less desirable.

Buckeyes are high in tannic acid and Native Americans sometimes boiled them to extract tanning solutions. Buckeyes also contain aesculin, which is bitter and poisonous. The nuts were therefore sometimes pulverized and made into a book-binding paste that repelled insects. They were also sometimes crushed and thrown into lakes and streams to stun fish, making them easy to collect for
consumption.

Buckeyes are poisonous to humans, but they can be made edible with prolonged soaking or boiling in water, as the Indians sometimes did. I don’t recommend trying it. Shoots and twigs have been known to poison livestock.

Some believe Buckeyes have medicinal value. The pioneers often carried Buckeye nuts to relieve joint ailments, but it’s doubtful that they had any medicinal value while still in their coverings. According to Rebecca Rupp’s Red Oaks and Black Birches, the Science and Lore of Trees, Native Americans pulverized Buckeye nuts and mixed them with grease to relieve hemorrhoids. Rupp also indicates that Buckeyes were once regarded as a cure for syphilis. Fred Hageneder’s The Meaning of Trees includes the reduction of pain and swelling in the list of Buckeye’s medicinal properties.

According to Rupp, Buckeyes are eaten by some wildlife, including squirrels, but according to Donald Culross Peattie’s A Natural History of Trees of Eastern and Central North America, “Squirrels are not known to eat them”. Whatever the case, Buckeyes are not squirrels’ preferred food, and despite their differences, both books make informative and enjoyable reading. (The Sibley
Guide agrees with Rupp on this count).

The association between Buckeyes and the State of Ohio goes back many decades. Red Oaks and Black Birches describes how William Henry Harrison handed out Buckeye walking sticks during his 1840 presidential campaign. Interestingly, Rupp also reports that the largest Ohio Buckeye is in Kentucky, while the largest Kentucky Coffee Tree is in Ohio (or at least they were in 1991).
Despite its limited worth, I celebrate our state tree by proudly shouting, “Go, Buckeyes!”

**How to Build Community by Buying Nothing**, Lornet Turnbull for YES! Media

Following knee surgery five years ago, Myra Anderson was having difficulty getting around. Living alone in Charlottesville, Virginia, she began asking on Facebook if anyone could assist her in getting a few supplies.
A friend suggested the Buy Nothing Project, a network for the free sharing of resources among neighbors. Anderson signed up, but unaware of the rules, offered to leave money on her front stoop to pay for supplies if someone could bring them to her.
By the time a message popped up in her inbox from the group administrator alerting her that’s not how Buy Nothing works, dozens of people had already offered to pick up what she needed—at no cost, of course.
**Read the full story**

Whether it’s anxiety about dessert or the comfort of Mom’s cooking, we all experience deep emotions around food. In this episode of *Insights at the Edge*, Sounds True founder Tami Simon speaks with Elise about the importance of understanding our food stories—for health, for emotional healing, and for joy. Elise emphasizes that being conscious and conscientious about your beliefs about food opens you to the possibility of changing them. Listen Now

“Anything else you’re interested in is not going to happen if you can’t breathe the air and drink the water. Don’t sit this one out. Do something. You are by accident of fate alive at an absolutely critical moment in the history of our planet.” ~ By Carl Sagan

RECONNECT with Nature: Blacklick Woods Metropark

Blacklick Woods features 643 acres of woods, fields, seasonal swamp ponds, a small prairie and a golf course. It has one of the best remaining beech-maple forests in Central Ohio along with a buttonbush swamp. The forest areas are laced with trails that wind through a swamp forest with oak and white ash along with red maple, elm, shagbark, bitternut hickory and dogwood. ***More***

Want travel a little further? Check out 8 stunning destinations from Columbus Navigator: https://www.columbusnavigator.com/fall-road-trips-ohio/

Starburst Media helps businesses create effective websites. Based in Columbus, they serve clients worldwide. More ***here***.

Clintonville Farmers Market – Dress for the occasion! – from ***Common Greens***
“The wind outside nested in each tree, prowled the sidewalks in invisible treads like unseen cats. Anyone could see that the wind was a special wind this night, and the darkness took on a special feel because it was All Hallow’s Eve.”
~ *Ray Bradbury*
For you gardeners reading this, don’t forget your October to-do list:
bring in houseplants for the winter
plant trees, shrubs and spring flowering bulbs
compost plant material that isn’t diseased
after the first frost, dig up and store tender bulbs

Alright local food lovers, we’ve got big news to share this week! Starting the first Saturday of December, Common Greens will host **a weekly INDOOR winter farmers market** on the plaza level of the Ohio History Center. We are thrilled with this location, as it offers abundant parking and natural light, electrical outlets for vendors and musicians, and is ADA accessible. Customers will be able to shop onsite and/or pre order items through our e-marketplace, ensuring those farm fresh eggs and salad greens are reserved whether they arrive at market at 9 or 11:30 am. See more ***here***.

“The best way to predict future is to create it.” By Peter Drucker

Bill Cohen – Guest Blogger for Simply Living – thanks, Bill!

Why this blatant “sales pitch” for Bill Cohen’s annual “songs of gratitude” concert is not outrageous
by Bill Cohen

For 8 years now, some musical friends and I have put on a Black Friday concert of songs that express gratitude for many of our blessings: friends, family, freedom, nature, art, music, laughter, our bodies, and our emotions.

We’ve used the free event to declare: instead of joining the day-after-Thanksgiving buying frenzy, let’s be grateful — not for glitzy, high-tech things — but for the simple, intangible aspects of our lives that give us true joy.

Heck, it’s almost as if the folks at Simply Living dreamed up this event. After all, when Simply Living was created, one of the driving founding ideas and ideals was — if we stopped buying so much shiny plastic junk to keep up with the Joneses, we could all be less stressed and more happy, plus the environment would be cleaner. Read the full blog here.

**from EPN, OSU’s Environmental Professionals Network**
Time to revisit the limits to growth! Learn more and plan now to join this hybrid event ***here***

Buying a Disaster-Resilient Home

With climate change making disasters of all kinds more common,
considering disaster preparedness before you buy a home is not just
a good idea – it could be lifesaving. A ***new guide*** helps
you identify homes that will withstand local disasters. more…

10 Green Apps To Help You Live More Sustainably

Check out these apps for help reducing your CO2 footprint, sharing resources, shopping smarter, eliminating food waste, and more. more…

Hand Soap:
The Environmental Impact of Washing Your Hands

For something that you use to get clean, most hand soaps have a pretty nasty ingredient list. Finding truly eco-friendly hand soap can be surprisingly difficult. Here are some things to know before you make your next purchase. more…

**Recycling Search** **More Articles** **Recycling Guides**

**Did you learn something new today?**
Please **Support Earth911** database updates so we can help others recycle!

The Columbus Free Press Network includes two awesome community radio stations! WGRN.org 94.1 and WCRS FM.org 92.7 / 98.3
Listen on your radio or online anytime!

CALENDARS!
LIVE LOCAL, BUILD COMMUNITY #SIMPLYLIVING

Columbus on the Cheap
Good, Cheap, Fun

**Holistic Horticulture**
Check out Wes Williams and the landscaping services he offers:
https://www.plantconnections.net/

COLUMBUS UNDERGROUND
Mega Weekend
Halloween Dance Parties, Costume Contests, Movies & More!

*Dress up your dog this Halloween at Land Grant. Photo by Mark Glancy from Pexels*.

Here’s a rundown of fun things to do this weekend.
Have a happy Halloween! Enjoy your weekend!

Spooky Events

Final weekend for Zombiezi Bay!
Last chance to find the scarecrows at Dawes!
The Columbus Museum of Art has events celebrating
Día de Los Muertos.
Final weekend for Pumpkins Aglow.
Check out the miniature Halloween Village at Streetlight Guild.
Go Walking with the Dead.
You won’t want to miss Tales from the Crypt!
Last weekend for All Hallow’s Eve at the Ohio History Center.
Land Grant has a Halloween Dawg costume party and you can watch the Browns game on Sunday!
On Sunday, VASO is having some special drinks!

Dance Parties

A past Haunted Fest. Photo by Tyler Church.
Easton Unplugged has an outdoor concert.
Land Grant has a Halloween Party.
Attend dance party Haunted Fest.
Trauma is back! DJ Danny Detox drops the dance tunes at Two Truths.
Tritonal is at Galla Park.
It’s an Orange Soda Halloween!
Biohazard plays Brothers Drake.

ENJOY EXPLORING ART

Shaft. Image via iMDB.
Watch Shaft with the Columbus Black Film Festival.
Young Frankenstein continues at Short North Stage.
Simpsons fans will enjoy CATCO’s Mr. Burns.
Jazz Arts Group welcomes Chris Coles’ Nine Lives Project.
Watch The Seagull at OSU. Go on a virtual tour of the Riffe Gallery’s new show, or stop by on Saturday in person.
Watch Ghostbusters with the score played by the Columbus Symphony.
The Immersive Van Gogh exhibit opens at Polaris.

WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO
THIS WEEDKEND?

Try the new Icarus Sandwich Shop.
Go to the Aududon Center for Trick or Tweet.
Last weekend for Hitchcocktober. Barktober is happening at Tanger Outlets.
Condado has a tailgate party happening for the Ohio State football game.
There’s a special Halloween event at Groovy Plants Ranch.

Thanks for reading and enjoy your weekend! A great community is an informed community. Want to help keep our news free for all and support our small, local company?
Your support helps Columbus Underground further our mission.

“Activism begins with you, Democracy begins with you, get out there, get active! Tag, you’re it” ~ Thom Hartmann

**GET ACTIVE!** Items below are selected from the **Columbus Peace Newsletter**
edited by **Connie Hammond** (pictured above).
Email cmhammond11@att.net to subscribe to her Community Calendar or share meeting info.

Friday, October 29, 2021, 2:00 PM. Fossil Free Future: Columbus Ohio. Join us for a disruption of business as usual at The Ohio State University. Contact us at contact@ohycj.com for more details about how you can get involved with the action! Location: 282 W. Lane Ave., Columbus, Ohio. More information. Register here.

Friday, October 29, 2021, 1:00 PM. Responding to the National Call from Palestine. Join us as Palestinian activists from the ground partner with legal scholars to discuss how the unregulated 501(c)(3) system finances, and thus animates, a political matrix of tyranny ranging from hate groups and fascist movements on Turtle Island to Israel’s system of apartheid. This webinar features Palestinian community organizers from the #DefundRacism coalition from Hebron and Atwuani, representing the Christian Peacemaker Teams and Youth of Sumud. They will be joined by Students for Justice in Palestine activists Nerdeen Kiswani, Suzanne Adely President of the National Lawyers Guild, and Missy Risser-Lovings, a Law Professor at CUNY Law. Register here.

Friday, October 29, 2021, COMPAS Colloquium: Are Markets Liberating? Some argue that markets promote freedom by expanding choice and decentralizing decision-making. Some argue that markets threaten freedom by increasing personal vulnerability and social inequality. What role should appeals to freedom play in making the case for or against markets? What’s the relationship between a free society, a market society, and an open society? This webinar is being held as part of CEHV’s 2021-22 COMPAS Program on Markets and the Open Society. OSU Center for Ethics and Human Values. More information and link to the registration here.

Friday, October 29, 2021, 4:00 – 5:00 PM. Honk and Wave for Our Revolution. Join us at the pedestrian bridge overlooking route 315 (near Whetstone Park) as we wave to the folks on their way home for the weekend. bring signs and a smile and a wave! Location: 4261 Olentangy River Rd, Columbus, OH 43214. Register with Our Revolution here.

Friday, October 29, 2021, 5:00 – 5:30 PM. GrassRoot Ohio With Carolyn Harding. Our mission is to profile every-day people working on important issues and to connect them with other folks who want to help. Conversations with every-day people, working on important issues here in Columbus and all around Ohio Justice: environmental, social, racial, economic, w/ folks on the front lines. LISTEN TO 94.1 FM and stream US online at WGRN.com. You can find all GrassRoot Ohio podcasts/shows on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-42674753. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/grassroot-ohio/id1522559085 and YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAX2t1Z7_qae803BzDF4PtQ.

Saturday, October 30, 2021, 12:00 – 1:00 PM. Occupy for Our Revolution. Join Our Revolution each Saturday at the intersection of North Broadway and High Street to demonstrate for peace and justice. Bring a mask and a sign or two in solidarity. Register with Our Revolution here.

Sunday, October 31, 2021, 2:00 PM. GrassRoot Ohio With Carolyn Harding. Our mission is to profile every-day people working on important issues and to connect them with other folks who want to help. Conversations with every-day people, working on important issues here in Columbus and all around Ohio. Justice: environmental, social, racial, economic, w/ folks on the front lnes. LISTEN TO 94.1 FM and stream US online at WGRN.com. You can find all GrassRoot Ohio podcasts/shows on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-42674753. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/grassroot-ohio/id1522559085 and YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAX2t1Z7_qae803BzDF4PtQ.

Sunday, October 31, 2021, 3:00 PM. US Hands Off! Let the People Decide. This 90-minute webinar will be held a week before Nicaragua’s crucial national elections on November 7. Francisco Dominguez will address the FSLN’s decades-long struggle to bring democracy to Nicaragua and to assert national sovereignty. Netfa Freeman, who was recently in Nicaragua, will describe his observations of the atmosphere and conditions there. Sofia Clark will summarize the US attacks against Nicaragua and attempts to delegitimize the elections. Nan McCurdy will also do a brief “Nicaraguan Elections 101” overview, addressing such questions as: What steps are being taken to assure a free and fair election? Register here.

Sunday, October 31, 2021, 12:15 PM. After the U.S. war in Afghanistan: Priorities for the peace movement. The large-scale military campaign the United States has pursued in Afghanistan since late 2001 came to an abrupt and (for Washington) ignominious end in August. The Taliban seized control of nearly the whole country and set about building a replacement government. There are many reasons for concern about the nature of Taliban and their rule, including their treatment of ethno/religious minorities and of women. But they are now the effective ruling force in Afghanistan– and many Afghans have expressed relief at the end of hostilities and of the brutal, often clumsy U.S. military presence. Now, the country’s 39 million people face a dire humanitarian and governance crisis. In this hybrid (Zoom + in-person) event, we’ll explore the responsibilities and priorities of the U.S. peace movement on this issue. PLEASE NOTE: This event will actually start at 12:15 pm, but Zoom only allows us to list it on the half-hour. Please join us at 12:15 pm! This event is presented by the Peace & Social Concerns Committee of the Friends Meeting of Washington, with the co-sponsorship of Just World Educational. Some online resources relevant to the matters we’ll discuss are presented at: bit.ly/Afghan-resources. Register here.

Wednesday, November 3, 2021, 3:00 – 4:00 PM. Climate Change and Ecosystem Management. Join OSU College of Arts and Sciences faculty for a conversation about managing ecosystems in the face of climate change, focusing on the ‘genes-to-ecosystems-to-genes’ response. As humanity strives to manage a rapidly changing planet, one essential knowledge gap is the rules by which ecosystems holistically respond to change. More information and registration here.

Thursday, November 4, 2021, 3:30 – 5:00 PM. “Not One Inch: America, Russia, and the Making of Post-Cold War Stalemate” – A Book Discussion with Mary E. Sarotte. Not one inch. With these words, Secretary of State James Baker proposed a hypothetical bargain to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev after the fall of the Berlin Wall: if you let your part of Germany go, we will move NATO not one inch eastward. Controversy erupted almost immediately over this 1990 exchange—but more important was the decade to come, when the words took on new meaning. Gorbachev let his Germany go, but Washington rethought the bargain, not least after the Soviet Union’s own collapse in December 1991. Washington realized it could not just win big but win bigger. Not one inch of territory needed to be off limits to NATO. On the thirtieth anniversary of the Soviet collapse, this book uses new evidence and interviews to show how, in the decade that culminated in Vladimir Putin’s rise to power, the United States and Russia undermined a potentially lasting partnership. Prize-winning historian M. E. Sarotte shows what went wrong. The Mershon Center’s American Foreign and Military Policy research cluster will host Mary E. Sarotte for a discussion on her most recent book, the expansion of NATO, and the development of U.S.-Russia relations. Panelists will include Ohio State University’s Richard Herrmann, Peter Mansoor, and Joseph Stieb. More information and registration here.

Thursday, November 4, 2021, 7:00 PM. Join New Hampshire Peace Action for a showing of The War Game, by Peter Watkins. Winner of the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, this 45 minute film envisions an escalating war between NATO and the USSR resulting a nuclear attack on Great Britain. Originally written for the BBC, the film was deemed too provocative by the British Broadcasting Company. World renowned film critic Roger Ebert gave the highest praise, and a perfect score, to The War Game: “They should string up bedsheets between the trees and show “The War Game” in every public park. It should be shown on television, perhaps right after one of those half-witted war series in which none of the stars ever gets killed…. it should be shown to the leaders of the world’s nuclear powers, the men who have their fingers on the doomsday button.” Register here.

MORE LOCAL CALENDARS
Columbus Free Press Activists Calendar Editor Bob Roehm
WCBE Arts & Life Calendar

The latest from Adbusters.com. See more ***here***.

BE THE CHANGE: BROWSE OUR COMMUNITY CALENDAR

Photo at Woodside Green Park in Gahanna by Chuck Lynd

Be the Change: Join Simply Living
Individual membership rates have been reduced to $25 Seniors, $20. Students only $10. Business memberships starting at $100 PLUS membership in the Ohio Sustainable Business Council.
Sign up online here or email HELLO@simplyliving.org