News-Record.com

A group of Greensboro residents interested in cohousing communities is meeting monthly to learn what it takes to start a development in the city.

Mitch Mitcham, a 62-year-old land surveyor and civil engineer, said he has been interested in the concept for the past two years and would like to help build energy-efficient "intentional communities" in the city or county, particularly for retiring Baby Boomers.

"I would like this year to be the year we do a community in Greensboro," said Mitcham, who also serves on the board of the Greensboro Housing Coalition.

Intentional communities can take different forms, but they basically provide housing for a group of people, with shared facilities and gardening space. The whole idea is to reduce living expenses and energy use and enable closer relationships and interdependencies among residents than typically exist in conventional American neighborhoods. North Carolina has several developments, especially in the Asheville area, including Earthhaven EcoVillage, Union Acres, Eno Commons, Arcadia Cohousing and Blue Heron Farm.

More general information can be found here and here

The Triad Intentional Communities Network (TICN) in Greensboro has been meeting since last summer and typically features a different speaker on the second Thursday of the month.

The March 12 speaker is Jonathan Peterson from Democracy NC. He will speak on helping the group organize to change attitudes and policies to make the city more friendly to the formation of intentional communities and green lifestyles. On April 9, UNCG professor Charlie Headington will speak about sustainability and permaculture.

Both meetings begin at 5:30 p.m. for newcomers with the program from 6-7:30 at the fellowship hall of the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, 501 S. Mendenhall St.

For more information, contact coordinator Carolyn Biggerstaff at 292-2770 or euphie@bellsouth.net.

People give different names to the era they hope humans will soon transition into: The Great Turning. The Era of Sustainability.

Thomas Berry, cultural historian and Greensboro native, envisioned an "Ecozoic Era," one in which humans live in a mutually beneficial relationship will all communities of life on the planet. It is his definition that Greensboro couple Nelson and Elaine Stover are using to educate people through classes and a "Universe Story" walk on their property.

I find eco-spirituality a fascinating aspect of the global sustainability movement. All over the world, people are calling for the reinvention of human beings and society while imagining how those societies would work. One component of that is changing how we perceive God, a higher being, or the purpose of the universe. Thomas Berry has offered one view. So have others, such as eco-philosopher Joanna Macy.

But if you want to learn more about Berry's ideas and how to translate that into practice, the Stovers can help. Nelson will be giving 30-minute presentations at various places during the year and the couple will offer a weekend workshop called "Our Great Work: Toward a New Earth Resolve" in March.

From the flier:

"This 2-day course allows participants to live for two days in a new context thereby: 1. Communicating the urgency of The Great Work in the 21st century; 2. Awakening participants to the vision of a time when humans live in a mutually enhancing relationship with the entire community of life systems; 3. Modeling and eliciting holistic involvement in the Earth community; 4. Inspiring a spirituality that discovers awe and beauty in the natural world; and 5. Instilling in participants a realistic hope for coming generations."

Find more information here or contact the Stovers at stovern@bellsouth.net.

Brian Higgins, founder of Green Drinks Greensboro, is forming a new organization in Greensboro that aims to expand upon the various sustainability initiatives now underway. He will hold an organizational meeting on Jan. 27 for those interested in learning more about Sustainable Greensboro, volunteering or serving on advisory boards. Learn more about the organization at his Web site.

Meeting information:
When: 5:30-7 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 27
Where: Greensborough Gateway Center, 620 S. Elm St. (at Lee St.), Third Floor Conference Room
Who: Anyone interested in serving on the Board of Directors, Advisory Boards, Volunteering, or just learning more about Sustainable Greensboro.

I'll have more details about this new effort once I interview Brian this week. From an e-mail he sent out today:

"The momentum for this movement must be maintained. Just think...how successful would the redevelopment of downtown Greensboro be without Downtown Greensboro, Inc.? How would our educational system succeed without the support provided by the Guilford Education Alliance? Greensboro has an opportunity to turn the momentum behind sustainability here into more than just an underlying buzz. A positive reputation for innovative and creative sustainability projects and programs can raise our profile in the state and country as a desirable place for business and relocation. Yes, sustainability not only increases quality of life but also is good for business.

"To paraphrase a popular saying: "You do not serve the world by being small." Together, we can be big enough to create some fundamental change in our neighborhoods, communities and city that can continue to nurture and grow the movement for sustainability. Individuals, groups, nonprofits, businesses will all be needed to support this movement."

I mentioned in a previous post my interest in "slow living" in 2009. Slow living, is basically a practice of mindfulness and deliberateness in one's activities. It can take many forms, whether it be simplifying one's life to avoid overcommitment and burnout, cooking seasonal foods at home, or walking or biking to one's destination instead of driving. It's really all about savoring one's life, connecting to others, seeing even the mundane aspects of life as educational or sacred, and better stewarding one's resources.

This week I stopped by the home of Greensboro architect Jill Spaeh, who was having a fallen red oak tree in her yard cut up to be dried and used in the future as flooring. Spaeh makes a living designing buildings with environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient features, and she wanted to give the dead tree a second life that she could personally connect with.

Rather than have the roughly 150-year-old tree hauled off, Spaeh decided to have it cut into blocks and air dried for nine months to eventually be used as flooring in a future project.

"I want to do it because I can't imagine cutting it up and saying goodbye to it as mulch," Spaeh said.

Harvey Friddle saws the tree in front of Spaeh's Old Starmount home.

Spaeh figured this approach could be an option as other old trees in the city die and need to be taken down.

The project turned out to be somewhat of a community event, with neighbors watching and children sawing pieces of the wood themselves or painting the ends to prevent checking. Spaeh and a neighbor talked about what to do with the massive tree trunk.

"I'm stumped with the stump at the moment," she said. "I don't know if there are any uses for the stump. I haven't gotten that far."

The tree cutting for me was one example of turning a problem ("Oh crap, there's a dead tree lying in my yard") into a learning experience that could be shared with family and friends rather than just exercising the typical knee-jerk response. And everything seemed to fall in place for Spaeh, including the facts that the tree fell during winter break and it caused minimal property damage.

But other opportunities exist to practice mindfulness in one's life. It might be contemplating the uses of old baby jar bottles rather than throwing them away or taking regular walks through your neighborhood. What ideas do you have for living slow and consciously amid all the busyness of life?

Interior architecture students at UNCG unveiled today a prototype bus shelter they created this past semester. The project, called "seeds for change," is intended to raise awareness about the city's lack of adequate bus shelters for its bus system. Students talked with Greensboro Transit Authority employees and bus riders and found that the city has only 64 shelters among 1,100 bus stops.

I was told the shelter, made mostly of pine wood, will stay on display for a couple weeks. Learn more about the project here.

The UNCG Sapphires sing after the ribbon cutting of the bus shelter.

Students Ben Adams, Meg McMillan and Megan Schwarz sit on a smaller prototype on Tate Street.

I hope you've had an opportunity to read of the "Green Voices" columns recently published on the goGreenTriad.com site. One of the my ideas behind the site was to create a venue for members of the community to share their ideas about how the region and country could respond to our environmental and energy challenges. Check out what Laura Black, Eric Henry and Elaine Stover had to say.

Those interested in submitting a column should e-mail me at morgan.josey@news-record.com. I will then send you the submission guidelines.

More than 100 people representing about 50 groups attended the city's Community Sustainability Council gathering on Thursday night. The advisory group wanted to tap into the existing environment and energy-related projects happening in the city and incorporate those ideas into its recommendations to City Council next year.

Participants divided into about a dozen different groups to brainstorm next steps for the CSC with topics including waste management, maintaining nature in the city, renewable energy, land use policies, water resources, transportation and local food production.

Some of the ideas: Neighbors pooling funds to purchase and install insulation in homes; church competitions to reduce energy consumption; wildlife education; improving public transit; incentivizing reduced water use and developing distribution networks for locally produced foods (i.e. processing plants and food preservation classes).

The CSC's report is due to council in March next year. I'll be following the group's work over the coming months to see how it influences the promotion and adoption of related initiatives.

Plus, a couple announcements:

* Green Drinks Greensboro meets on Wednesday at the Proximity Hotel's Print Works Bistro.

* UNCG students will present on Tuesday, Dec. 9, a community-oriented performance examining topics related to the "Going Green" movement. The inter-disciplinary performance will feature research relating to many different topics including: food production, wildlife conservation, economics and public policy, as well as sustainable design and a look at the practice of corporate "Greenwashing."

The performance will be staged in the auditorium of the Ferguson Building, located on Spring Garden St. on the UNCG campus. The approximately half-hour long show begins at 7:30pm and will be followed by a short question and answer session with the students as well as a small reception. The event is free and open to the public.

* Also, the Really Really Free Market returns to The HIVE on Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving):

What: Really Really Free Market
When: November 28, 10 am - 3 pm
Where: The HIVE, 1214 Grove Street, Greensboro, NC
How Much: FREE!
Contact: Kathy Clark at 336.409.9195 or Chelsea Simpson at 617.913.5964

"Here's how it works: Bring stuff you don't want or need. Leave it for others to take. Then look through all the stuff that other people have brought. It's like a yard sale, only FREE! Books, clothing, kitchenware, electronics, art supplies: you will find these and many more for FREE!

As well as loads of free stuff, there will be gift-making demonstrations, free musical performances and free food. Avoid the crowds and credit card debt. Consider buying nothing at the Really Really Free Market!"

Discovering the treasures of one's own community is one of the themes in today's sustainability movement that seeks to rebuild local economies, wean society off fossil fuels, reverse environmental degradation and restore people's connection with their natural environments.

On Saturday, Nov. 8, Stokes County residents will come together to for a "sustainability festival" at the Hare Krishna temple grounds in Sandy Ridge (1283 Prabhupada Road). The festival will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and feature local food, musicians and speakers.

Organizer Mark Walters, who goes by the name of Mitra, said he's hoping for a crowd of about 200 people. The event will include presentations on creating a local economy by Eric Henry of TS Designs in Burlington; on community-supported agriculture by Tony McGree of Stokes CORE; on the history and possible revival of hydroelectricity in Stokes County; local herbs and their uses; on and turning scarcity into abundance by Greensboro activist Liz Seymour.

"The world is ready for good ideas and it's exciting," said Mitra, who works for a new organization called My Green Earth Foundation. "It's become a patriotic thing to save energy and try to do something sustainable."

The festival will also include a solar oven competition, talks about alternative vehicles and a tour of a straw bale house and cob structure. Mitra said people who are not of Hindu faith should not be deterred from participating.

"We're not going to try to stop people from being Christians or whatever their religion is," he said. "I don't want people to be scared away thinking we are trying to lay something on them."

Above, a photo Mitra sent along of Norma-Jean and Lewis Hutchens, who will be supplying sweet potatoes for the event.

Faith groups in this area increasingly have the desire to reduce the environmental impacts of their buildings and members lifestyles, but they don't necessarily have the know-how.

A new Greensboro organization has stepped up to educate the more than 400 congregations in the city about energy efficiency, waste reduction, water conservation and other practices. Environmental Stewardship Greensboro (ESG) has met for less than two years but has already accomplished a great deal, most recently creating a "Cool Congregation" certification initiative. The program provides an outline of steps congregations can take to expand environmental awareness and action among members and the wider community. Steps include outdoor worship services, nature walks, use of organic and Fair Trade products, rain barrel installation and carpooling.

In the past, ESG has partnered with the Glenwood Neighborhood Association to purchase rain barrels for residents and organized studies of Thomas Berry's "The Great Work." On Nov. 21, the group will hold its first fundraiser by inviting Walkin' Jim Stoltz to hold a concert at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church. (Note: I have attended some of the meetings as a representative of Presbyterian Church of the Covenant.)

For more information about Cool Congregations or the upcoming concert, call Tom Clary at 292-6283 or e-mail Annette Green at AnnetteZG AT hotmail.com; Eric Hoekstra at HoekstraEB AT yahoo.com; or Nelson Stover at StoverN AT bellsouth.net.

I once read somewhere that people often overestimate what they can accomplish in a year, but underestimate what they can get done in a decade. That thought came to mind as I reflected upon the many steps TS Designs in Burlington has taken to make its business more sustainable -- more specifically, following the triple bottom line of pursuing economic prosperity, social justice and environmental stewardship.

TS Designs hosted on Saturday what they hoped to be the first of many Piedmont Green Galas. The company and its roughly 300 guests that day celebrated the additions of an 8.6 kilowatt per hour solar array atop the roof and biofuel fill-up station outside for members. Inside and outside demonstrated what can happen when a business, organization or family does something... and then something else... and then something else.

In TS Designs' case, they started with getting rid of Styrofoam cups and planting trees. Now, the organic T-shirt-making company composts, brews biofuel and Fair Trade coffee, uses grey water to flush toilets, and gardens to supplement employees' meals.

(Behind garden, visitors check out a solar-powered go-cart.)

Sit in on a discussion about the jobs of the future and theories abound -- as do theorists -- as to the shape future jobs will take. Some people believe globalization will keep chugging along, with careers drawing upon math and science skills the high payers. Others agree that the next labor trend will fit within the existing capitalism paradigm, but it will have a green twist to it.

For example, the Ella Baker Center defines the green economy as "a rapidly growing billion-dollar sector that includes renewable energy sources, organic produce and products, green buildings, alternative fuel vehicles, and more."

The center defines a "green-collar job" as "a paid position providing environmentally-friendly products or services; term suggests high standards regarding fair wages, equal opportunity and healthy working conditions; employer may be a private business, government, non-profit or cooperative. For example: organic farmer, sustainable forestry worker, recycling technician or solar panel manufacturer."

In other words, the green economy is just a new-and-improved, decentralized version of industrialization. Investment flows to the most promising technologies and business ideas that ultimately generate more wealth. Green entrepreneurs also are motivated by a desire to stay competitive against other companies producing similar or identical products.

One doesn't have to live next to a smokestack or mountain top removal coal mining site to understand and sympathize with the plight of people living on the underbelly of industrialization.

All one needs is a sense of decency and compassion. But as this country lurches from one economic crisis to another, the question becomes will decency and compassion or fear and competition undergird the next wave of jobs? And can the transition being pushed by many to a "green economy" happen without repeating the social sins of America's past?

About 200 activists, community organizers, educators, students and business owners struggled with this and other questions at a green jobs conference that took place on Saturday at N.C. Central University.

This movement, pioneered in New York and California, has taken hold in the Tar Heel state and folks wanted to know how North Carolinians could enable and benefit from new industries that pay adequate wages while reducing the state's dependency on fossil fuels and better managing its natural resources.

Perhaps you read this recent story from a colleague of mine on a High Point woman facing fines from her homeowners association because of her grassless lawn:

"Similar battles have been waged on a statewide level recently, as the drought has turned attention toward the vast amounts of water sprinkled and sprayed on suburban lawns each summer.

"In its past session, the General Assembly passed a bill limiting the ability of homeowners’ associations to fine residents who don’t water their lawns during a drought."

It's only a matter of time before grassless lawns move away from the minority to the mainstream as homeowners deal not only with perpetual drought, but rising food and energy prices. Urban gardening and edible landscapes are becoming more attractive to Americans across the country, even in Greensboro, where public schools are putting their lawns to use for educational purposes.

HOAs serve their purpose, namely to protect property values and maintain joint-owned amenities, such as pools and recreation centers. In some cases, the HOAs pay to cut grass or repair exterior surfaces of the homes. But HOAs are vulnerable during recessions when cash-strapped mortgage payers stop paying their assessments on time. And HOAs have to be carefully managed; otherwise, funds get misspent, leaving homeowners in the lurch. (I've owned a home where I paid a monthly HOA and experienced a near 50 percent increase in one year.)

At any rate, will homebuyers continue to favor neighborhoods with HOAs or will the associations come to be seen as unnecessary and expensive burdens for residents to carry? Neighborhoods that gain in value may very well be those that allow their residents to install clotheslines and solar panels and grow food instead of teh water-hungry, glorified weed called grass. (More on edible landscaping here.)

I had to get away during the Fourth of July holiday. I had just completed my peak oil series for the N&R and its publication provided another opportunity for the weight of the potential crisis to set in and disrupt my peace of mind. I was also consumed at the time with some analysis paralysis about whether to move from my current apartment or not, and if so, where and when. On Thursday, July 3, my husband and I decided, in a moment of last-minute frivolity, to go to Asheville for the weekend. We did not regret it and I even picked up some ideas from the plethora of green businesses and alternative media in the city.

I didn't leave with all of my questions answered, but I did get enough breathing room to contemplate the next stages of my sustainability journey.  Being in Asheville did underscore Greensboro's relative lack of eco-consciousness, but I also saw this city's strengths and weaknesses as fertile soil for change. My thoughts were confirmed this past Saturday while attending a Green Dialogue session at Elsewhere collective.

Justin Leonard, active in Greensboro's urban gardening efforts, spoke on the topic of "how to grow a community" and ended his presentation with the comment that a lot of his friends set their sights on Asheville or Seattle because of how far along they are in facilitating environmentally-friendly lifestyles. But Leonard said Greensboro is ripe for change.

"We need people who are willing to stay in a place that is not really nice and do the hard work," said Leonard, who helped create a garden at Greensboro Montessori.

Leonard is right, as frustrating as that hard work might be. I'm often tempted to just pack up and move to a place that better supports the lifestyle I want to have. (Having grown up in the military, I also get bored). Trouble is, if you can't make peace with your surroundings, you are likely to carry that dissatisfaction elsewhere. You will find something else to complain about and your self-righteousness will be unjustified. After all, many people are adopting green lifestyles as a fad, not because they understand or support the underlying tenets or worldview. Plus, Seattle is expensive.

If you have a couple free hours on Sunday afternoon, check out this community-building opportunity at the HIVE in Glenwood. The announcement:

"The Really Really Free Market is an event with a purpose: to show what the world looks like when we share our resources--when exchange is based on generosity, community, and caring, not on money. (To get an idea of how a Really Really Free Market works you can read about the Markets held regularly in Carrboro.)

WHAT: Really Really Free Market

WHEN: Sunday, March 2, 2:00-4:00 pm

WHERE: Parking lot of the HIVE, 1214 Grove Street (corner of Grove & McCormick Streets)

HOW IT WORKS: The Market is what its participants make of it. It's a little bit like a community yard sale, it's a little bit like a potluck picnic, it's a little bit like a festival. The idea is to bring whatever you want to share--even if it's just your enthusiasm!--and go home with things that others want to share with you. Anything is fine as long as it is FREE!

Some ideas: Clothing, books, household goods, performances, skill shares, workshops, information about other community events and organizations, garden produce, flowers, food, services such as massages, haircuts, and palm reading, toys, tools...and that's just a start."

I see this as the potential for generating interest in a community currency, something promoted by economists and monetary experts, such as Bernard Lietaer and Thomas Greco, for building a hedge against a falling/collapsing dollar and corporate globalization and making local economies more efficient and self-sufficient. Many communities in the United States have alternative currencies, including in Ithaca, NY, and in Berkshire, Mass.

A speech by Greco on Youtube:

And here are print and video interviews with Lietaer:

Time Banks is a national organization that promotes "paying" for services through time, not money, and represents a social change movement occurring in 22 countries:

"Have you ever wished you had someone around to give you a ride somewhere, help you run some errands, pick you up after you’ve dropped your car off for repairs, or just give you a hand when you need it. Someone you really trust?

Many of us have friends, neighbors and family members who help us out, but they can’t always be there in a pinch. In a Time Banking community, someone is always there when you need them.

It is like having an extended family to help out—with rides to the doctor, trips to the supermarket, help with the yard, chores around the house or childcare.

With Time Banking, sharing gifts means building trust.

Time Banking honors the unique gifts, talents and resources that each of us has to share, regardless of age, employment or ethnic background — such as tutoring, yard work, simple repairs, running errands, and storytelling. It’s labor with love."

Perhaps Greensboro residents would have more of a reason to get out and meet their neighbors and develop relationships. Those with useful but unmarketable skills could also contribute and people without a lot of money could receive the services they need. Time dollars or other community currencies can also support local businesses.

Greensboro politicians talk about drawing businesses to the city, but what about developing the "services" that already exist here? What would it take to get this going?   

Megan Quinn Bachman, outreach director for The Community Solution in Yellow Springs, Ohio, spoke to members of Presbyterian Church of the Covenant tonight in advance of a film showing at UNCG on Thursday about Cuba's loss of access to oil in the 1990s.

She talked to a crowd of about 40 about the need for American towns and cities to radically curtail their energy use and rebuild community connections as preparation for the approaching era of dwindling fossil fuels. That means retrofitting existing homes to save energy, growing more food at home, decreasing the amount of grain-fed meat and processed foods in our diets, using public transportation and creating car-sharing plans in cities where public transportation is not feasible, she said.

"We got into this one bad decision at a time and we will get out of this one good decision at a time," Bachman said about the nation's oil dependency. "We need to recognize that if we don't choose a different path, then the choices will be made for us."

The country will need practical models of low-energy living and community building and the changes will have to come from within the community rather than top down from the government, she said.

"I really think Greensboro is on its way to becoming one of those models," she said.

Greensboro has a long way to go, but the fact that Bachman found her way to the city this week gives me some confidence that the paradigm shift that is coming may soon be at the forefront of people's minds and actions. 

I had the pleasure of listening to the Rev. Mac Legerton, Robeson County educator and community activist, speak to doctoral students at UNCG's School of Education last night.

I found that the organization he represents -- Center for Community Action -- can serve as a model for social/economic justice and community building here in Guilford. The center is a multicultural, community-based, nonprofit organization that specializes in grassroots empowerment and multi-sector collaboration as the foundations for social change. Some of the center's projects include training unemployed and underemployed women for health and education careers, helping high school and university students map the county's assets ("green mapping"), and creating an alternative economy based on the exchange of time and talent versus money. The center has helped Robeson County, the third poorest county in the nation among those with populations between 65,000 and 250,000, rebound from the outsourcing of manufacturing jobs.

Now, Guilford is not in as severe a shape as Robeson. But the county does have its fair share of challenges, including a flattened tax base and racial tensions. Some have questioned the quality of our public schools. I also wonder if the county relies more on a secondary export market than local economy. What do you think?

Anyway, Legerton said yesterday that communities must learn to hold each other "capable" instead of focusing so much on holding businesses and government agencies "accountable." That means becoming a vested stakeholder who actually participates in providing people and their representative organizations with the tools to tackle ecological, economical, political and social issues, rather than finger-pointing from the sidelines.

An essay called "Global Justice and Local Practice" Legerton co-wrote also says this:

"One response to the challenges of this narrowing view of the economy has been to further silo the social justice vision into distinct and separate issues and strategies: racial, political, legal, economic, gender, lifestyle, ecological and cultural justice forms. While each organization and groups in these categories have worked diligently on their social justice issue and constituency, the sector as a whole has continued to lose ground. Justice advocates too often end up competing with each other -- for public recognition, for private funding, and for citizen involvement....

What we need is a clear and concise, long-term vision for comprehensive, cooperative social justice, complete with short-term goals and benchmarks. Without a long-term vision with clear definitions and directions, our central convictions get lost and our strategies have limited results. With a coherent, concise, and comprehensive vision, we are not only clear about what we are pushing for, but also about the concrete goals towards which we are being pulled."

Legerton said many people want to be a part of "movements," but don't want to sacrifice their time for the more difficult task of community-building. Any group that wants to make significant change must meet once a week, he said.

"In this day and age, that's really hard," he said.

Mr. Legerton is right. And here is an example where the whole is better than its parts: Say a group called Relocalize Greensboro wants to work for policies that will help the city become more resilient against the outsourcing of jobs. But the group finds its members can't contribute adequate time because of job commitments. Well the next street over is a group lobbying state and federal congressmen and women for laws that will increase vacation and sick time for workers while giving them more desirable choices for part-time work. And another group wants to increase the amount of parent involvement in the schools. Maybe these groups are more likely to accomplish their tasks by working together, even though their specific missions differ.

That's why I get excited when I see umbrella groups such as Sustainable Ballard in Washington and WELL in California.

Greensboro and Guilford County have a lot of organizations pushing for "change." How can those groups work together so that the change that occurs is comprehensive, long-lasting and paradigm-shifting?   

Something is leaving a bitter taste in my mouth about Greensboro and it's not just the water. It's the persistent undercurrent of racial tension in this city that makes me wonder how it will socially accommodate any challenging times brought on by climate change, resource depletion (water) and more expensive oil.

A lot about the city I like: it's big enough to not be parochial, but not too large a city to get lost in. A good arts and alternative medicine community exists as well. But it seems like every time I turn around, there is this real or perceived conflict between whites and blacks that makes me question my prospects of living here over the long term.

In addition reading about it as an issue in city government/police department, I hear about it constantly on the public school level as I cover it for the News & Record. I recently interviewed a black man who said he was so tired of the racism that he was willing to move back to Washington, D.C.  Now I have family in D.C. and can tell you it is not the greatest place to live if you are on the lower side of the economic continuum (think children dodging bullets behind trash cans). True gangstas reside in the District of Columbia, not in Greensboro, this man told me.

I've also heard minorities constantly complain about the amount of school construction bids going to white versus black contractors, something that the Guilford County Board of Education is trying to address. 

Now, how do we go about incubating creative and innovative ideas and following through on their implementation on a community-wide level if black people can't trust white people to fairly distribute the jobs or if white people can't trust blacks to tow the line? How do we motivate young talent to stay in Greensboro instead of fleeing to more progressive cities elsewhere? If we can ill afford to lose them in this economic environment (post outsourcing of thousands of manufacturing jobs), we certainly can't afford to lose them as the next economic shift occurs.

This is the 21st century, and honestly, I and others I know here would like to move on. Do you see this as possible? And do the residents of Greensboro face any other challenges to building community?

I was visiting with the owner of Addie's Living Room, a new coffee shop in the Glenwood neighborhood near downtown Greensboro on Jan. 26, when I decided to check out the unveiling of the new sculpture garden in a community garden off Glenwood Avenue and Grove Street. UNCG students completed the art work and it was fascinating to see yet another example of community building and pride in action.

My husband and I have been following Glenwood's progress for the past year as we are considering moving there. More motivation: City Council approved a new neighborhood plan this week. Do you know of any other Greensboro neighborhoods where similar work is going on?

I started reading this weekend "The Great Turning", by Michael Korten, a challenge to global citizens fed up with Empire's 5,000 year run to help usher in modern societies' conversion to earth community. Korten, who has worked for many years trying to rebuild third world communities, is co-founder of the Positive Futures Network and People-Centered Development Forum.

I didn't wait to stop reading the book before I started wondering to those Web sites and discovered WiserEarth, a Web portal that connects activists all over the world. I poked around some more and found a Google map that displays the locations of local groups such as Food Not Bombs Greensboro, Triad Sustainability Cafe and Earth Culture. Amazing.

Have any of you read "The Great Turning"? What do you think of it?