Minutes

Topics of discussion from previous meetings”

Letters to congressmen/women sent in November.

Environmental Advisory Board for the city of Pocatello.

Recycling committee with the city of Pocatello that is studying the feasibility of curbside recycling.

Editorial for Idaho State Journal – submit suggestions to Peter Murphy.

Minutes from December 3

     *  All agreed the facts in the film 11th Hour are hard hitting and demand action by individuals, businesses and government.  Limitless consumption,  ever expanding economies using more and more fossil fuels have to be re-thought. 

 The following web sites were offered for our consideration:

         www.betterworldshop per.com  (How to shop responsibly. )

         www.simpleliving. org

         www.forrestethics. org

         To stop getting unwanted catalogs google “mail preference.”

     *  Meetings:  1)  Recycling Panel – Two meetings have been held.  The Panel is researching what other cities of comparable size are doing about city wide recycling.

        Further, the Panel is compiling a list of questions for each of these cities.  All agreed that educating Pocatello citizens about recycling will be critical.  Dorsey informed the group that recycled glass was being used in road bed material in Europe.  Eight-year-old Shaiden B. who was at the meeting with his mother asked about the results of falling off his bike on such a road.  He was reassured when he was told about how small the pieces of crushed glass would be.

        2)  Advisory group on Environmental Issues.  The goal of the group is to establish a  group with members of the various environmental groups in our area.  This group would then advise the Mayor and City Council on environmental decisions.

     *  Writing articles in the Journal.  Our letter to Senators Craig and Crapo appeared recently.  Ian Fennell invited our group to write 1200 to 1600 words for the Insight section of the Journal.  This section appears in the Sunday edition.  Peter M. and Susie M. agreed to work on this endeavor.  We placed Donna Boe on this writing committee as a consultant because of the need to include her Green Building Bill in the article.  The article will likely include a description of the global warming problem and solutions and wedges plus questions which might be asked of political candidates in the upcoming elections.  

     *  Future meeting schedule.  The December 17th meeting is a go. After the first of the year Jennie M. and her son, Shaiden, will contact the Methodist Church to remind the office of the meeting time and place etc.  Susie M. and Carol S. will set up the refreshments. 

     *  Global Warming Solutions.  The PBS program called Global Warming which can be checked out from the Marshall Public library was shown in part.  The last twenty minutes had an extension list of possible solutions for GW.  Discussion followed.

 Adjournment 9:15 p.m.

Next meeting 7:30p.m. December 17th, Methodist Church, 15th & Clark.

Marvin McCall

Minutes from August 13:

*  We reviewed the many ideas for speakers for the coming 2007-2008 season.  We discussed the Pocatello School District, Nuclear Energy, Coal Gasification, Rocky Anderson, Mayor of Salt Lake City and Mayor Roger Chase, Stabilization Wedges, Idaho Central Credit Union, Biofuels, Clean Coal?, Carbon Footprint, Terminology Presentation, upcoming program at ISU entitled “Neighborhoods with Purpose”, Carol’s passive solar house tour, the barbecue for all environmental groups that Bryce has previously suggested, Activism and  Community Gardens.  (We hope we didn’t leave any out but check your notes too).

Topics on which we will find speakers and establish speaking dates:

The following members took responsibility for finding speakers and dates:

1.  EDUCATION
Karen and Marv will be meeting with the School District Superintendent, Mary Vagner and Chuck Wagner, head of curriculum in mid-September.  Peter has talked with Meg Freshmen at Century High School.  She has written several environmental grants. Contacts with other educators will be forth-coming. Cathy reminded us about IDDEA (Idaho Environmental Education Association) that works with museums and school districts  Sept. 20-21. ISU’s Continuing Ed.  will be offering an environmental class. Dorsey mentioned that ISU will be sponsoring a program entitled “Neighborhoods with a Purpose” in Frazier Hall.  (I don”t know the date of that).

2.  NUCLEAR POWER
Dorsey will seek an INEL  speaker.  We could get a speaker with a different point of view to speak to another meeting.

3.  STABILIZATION WEDGES
Don has already given a talk on this topic to a church group so could be ready to make a presentation on this whenever it fits in.  It was suggested that the topic would be better understood  if it was titled something like “Current Energy Saving Technologies” and the language was easy to understand.

4.  IDAHO CENTRAL CREDIT UNION
It was pointed our that this building will be in the Parade of Homes this week-end.  Dorsey has contacted them about a tour and a brief presentation for our group.  Because the space is not large, we may be able to ask but a few other environmentalists to join us.  Dorsey would like to have a reporter join us.

5.  BIOFUELS
Peter would prepare a talk for our group. He will try to find someone who could be a community speaker.

6.  CLEAN COAL?
Carol lives in Power County and knows the Mayor there.  She will contract her about the Coal Gasification plant that is being proposed for there.  There are no coal gasification regulations in the State of Idaho although there are some regulations regarding coal.

7.  CARBON FOOTPRINT
Peter has done this with his class. We need a place with computers.  This can also be done on the WEB. a suggested site was moveon.org.  He will bring us information and we can see if and how we might use it.

8.  TERMINOLOGY PRESENTATION
Susie was not at this meeting but put one of these together for the Blackfoot League of Women Voters.  We could possibly use this as a guide.

9. INVITING ROCKY ANDERSON, MAYOR OF SALT LAKE CITY TO JOIN WITH OUR MAYOR ROGER CHASE IN DISCUSSING WHAT CITIES CAN DO REGARDING CLIMATE CHANGE.
Marv, Peter, Carol and Karen volunteered to contact Mayor Chase.  If money was a problem in getting Mayor Anderson, we could ask others in the community to assist with this such as the ISU
Speakers’ Bureau, the Chamber of Commerce, etc.   Having him early on would be good in creating community interest.

10.  CAROL’S PASSIVE SOLAR HOUSE TOUR
Carol mentioned her home. Perhaps she would take us on a tour.

11.  BARBECUE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS
Bryce was not at the meeting so we didn’t discuss this much.  We supported the idea.

12.  RANGE SHIFT
Peter said there are some ISU faculty working on this. If we are interested in this, he can contact them.

13.  ACTIVISM
There was a lot of support for this. We felt it would be very helpful to have Donna Boe present at this meeting to help us gain insight as to how to best contact local, state and federal governmental officials. We would discuss a brief synopsis of each level of government and how they impact enviormental issues. Letters to the Editor could also be written.  It was suggested that we set aside one meeting per month for this purpose.
Our goal would to each of us to write some kind of communication at the meeting.

14.COMMUNITY GARDENS
Dorsey is a member of the Pocatello Neightborhood Housing Authority which is meeting tomorrow.  She discussed this idea at the last meeting and there was some interest.  They will talk about it more at tomorrow’s meeting.  Property and water are some of the issues of concern.
An ISU student named McAleese did a Masters Degree on Community Gardens where she involved children. I’m not sure if she is available to us and who would contact her.  Cathy was the menber who had heard about her.
Tim, Cana’s husband, might be interested in pursuing city waste from restuarants that could be used for communty gardens. City water could also be considered for community waters.  Compost from the Landfill  is also a possibility for this project.

OTHER ISSUSES

1.  Karen shared information from Environmetal Defense  regarding “A Cleaner Route to School”.  ‘Texas has provided $7.5 million to replace filters on older, highly polluting diesel school buses.  Studies show thah diesel pollutions gets trapped inside the buses, making the air inside the bus five to ten times dirtier than outside air…  Thanks fo new federal emission standards Environmental Defense helped win, 2007 buses emit dramatically less polution.  But buses can run for 20 years, so a truly clean fleet requires retrofitting older models….Fortunate ly, this costs under $1,000 per bus to fix.  There is no reason kids should be exposed to this pollution.'”
She also quoted some information regarding farm subsidies stating that Farmer Savings Accounts are a trust safety net for farmers. ” This new tool would phase out Depression-era sibsidy programs and establish IRA accounts.  Advanced by Senator Lugar (R-In) and Reprsentative Ron Kind (D-WI). and supported by many farmers, the accounts would help growers weather the bad years, make investments and plan for the future.  Farmers could use accounts to cover losses that are not covered by their crop insurance policies.  The resulting savings – as much as $55 billion over 19 years – would fund environmental, energy, health and anti-hunger programs.”
Donna Boe had sent us an e-mail about Idaho not being a member of the Western States Climate Registry as of July 31.  In the Idaho State Journal of  August 9th, Governor Otter announced that Idaho had joined.   “The registry is designed to establish a standardized system for moitoring , measuring, and reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.  ‘The registry is an excellent  opportunity for state government to take a leadership role in this important area and Idaho is eager to take our place at the table,’ Otter said in a prepared statement.”

Michelle went to an Idaho Enviromental Forum in Boise recently and has a lot of good information on the Blog, I believe.

Cathy asked about the 501C3 status (non-profit organization) .  Susie thought it would be very complicated to do but Dorsey said that we can get a “map” of an approved organization and use it as a guide and it shouldn’t be too difficult.

Cathy also shared about the CO-OP opening on Monday.  It is $150 for a lifetime membership and is in the 800 block on 1st Ave.

SCHEDULE

Sept. 24th Activist meeting.  We will discuss what we should take to Mayor Chase.

September 17th, we wll share what we have found out about potential speakers and their schedules.
We hope that Donna Boe can be present and guide us in contacting politicians.
We plan to activate our contacts topoliticians or Letters to the Editor.

Oct. 1st  We will have our first speaker.  Don can speak about “Current Energy Saving Technologies”  or we can secure another speaker.

Nov. 5th  next speaker

Dec. 3rd.  Maybe Mayor Rocky Anderson from S.L.C. and Mayor Chase.

Our next meeting will be on Monday, September 17th at the Mehodist Church.  Come prepared with information about youir speakers.

Best regards to all.

Karen McCall

Minutes from July 9:

We had a very productive brainstorming session of the ‘core’ ICAN group (minus a few folks) on Monday, July 9. In attendance were Marv, Karen, Peter, Michelle, Susie, Dorsey, Don, and Bryce….(did I forget anyone?).

Our focus was to take the first step towards specific project goals for fall-spring 2007-2008.

1) We reviewed our mission statement (see webpage: idahocan.wordpress. com/about/) and went on from there.

2) Suggestions about Fall-Spring projects:

A. EDUCATION:

a) Speakers Bureau, i.e., a group of ICAN members who can give talks on climate change, our goals, and local efforts to reduce carbon emissions. We would develop a set of slides (ppt), educational materials, and activities in “modules” (science of climate change, carbon offsets, alternative energies, biofuels, mitigation efforts, etc), that people that are goingto give a talk to a specific group could pick and choose from, appropriate to our goals, and theeducational goals and educational level of the target audience.

We have a start on this: Susie’s talk to LVW, Blackfoot, Peter’s talk/upcoming talk to Sierra Club, Roger’s talk to NAACP, Marv’s efforts, etc….

b) Outreach to Pocatello Secondary Schools: Develop an afternoon of activities appropriate to highschool students.

–Marv’s addition: A carbon challenge activity: i.e., develop a lesson and activity that involvesstudents in a competition to see which group can come up with the most feasible tasks in the home that will reduce carbon emissions (Incomplete !)

–Teacher Contacts: Meg Fleischmann (Century Highschool), Marquette (Highland Highschool), Robert Maron (Magnate School?)

c) Outreach to Pocatello Primary Schools: Develop an afternoon of activities appropriate to elementary students. The suggestion was made to see what type of hands on activities have already been developed.

Notes with regard to school outreach: Karen (and Dorsey) made the suggestion to attend planningmeetings and network a bit to find out what is already being taught on this issue. Once we know something about the efforts being made, we might be able to better target our agegroup and activity.

First steps: Contact Meg Fleishman, Marquette, and other teachers.

Make contacts with appropriate administrators?

d) House-parties. These could be educational or activism related. We could get together, after a barbecue, to learn about a certain topic, e.g., the “carbon balance of current biofuels”. Or we could get together to call, lobby our congresspeople if key bills are coming up for a vote in Congress.

e) Monthly or bimonthly speakers. ICAN could sponser these events, provide refreshment, publicity, educational materials (prior/afterward) , plus gratuities to speakers. This would involve advanced planning, getting speakers, assessing how often we would have to pay any expenses, etc.

–We have already started this, and it seems quite popular.

–Potential topics:i) Idaho biofuel opportunities (or pitfalls)

ii) Biofuels overview

iii) Clean coal (Does it really exist?)

iv) What are stabilization wedges?

v) Windpower

vi) Nuclear Power (Really carbon neutral)

vii) Xeriscape

viii) Range shifts in plants or animals due to climate change

ix) Calculating your carbon footprint (a more detailed activity): we would have to have this talk where computers and internet are available.

x) Building a green home

xi) Building a green building

xii) Greening an old home,–Other ideas?–Ideas for speakers on these topics?

We have already had speakers on:

–Recycling in Pocatello

–Living off the grid

f) Periodic educational outreach:

–Booth at farmers market–Booth at Pocatello Pump

–What should we add to our booth?

B. ACTIVISM

a) Researching and developing position papers on national candidates with regard to their views, and proposed policies, to combat climate change

b) House parties to call congress/senate when key climate bills are coming up for votes

c) More letters to the editor:

–combat misinformed letter writers

–combat misinformed Op-Ed pieces

–give publicity to key local actions, state or national political actions of which people should be aware.

d) Becoming the principal sponsor for the Spring, Step-It-Up rally. This would mean increasingpublicity, attendance, and take-away messages and action goals….

C. LOCAL ACTION/ COMMUNITY CHANGE

a) Community garden. Become a prime-mover, instigator of getting a community garden started somewhere in Pocatello. We could organize the appropriate neighborhood interests, give publicity to why eating local reduces carbon emissions, etc.

b) ISU hybrid vehicle. Organize a group of students at ISU to convert a car to a hybrid or hybrid/biofuel vehicle. Again, we would not be doing the work here, but organizing the people to move on this issue. Perhaps, finding grants, and writing/editing grants to make this happen

c) Organize a “waste=recycling” biofuel business in Pocatello (yeah, I know, a longshot). THis would involve getting interested parties to pool their biogrease (i.e., restaurant waste grease, etc), for collection, and then distilling it into biodiesel. The process is not difficult, and it can run and diesel vehicle..

More ideas or things I forgot…???

Timeline: Come up with 1-3 main goals by next meeting through online comment and networking

August 13 meeting: decide on, and taylor these top 1-3 goals for Fall

May 14 Meeting minutes:

Education:Follow up to Steve Smith’s information. A quick review was made from the input of all in attendance. We will communicate the need for more Idaho incentives to the legislature. This will allow alternate sources of energy to actually save moneyfor residence owners. At present the Idaho residence owner cannot really save money but can certainly avoid being on fossil fuel energy.Green Arrow Award – Jennie McCall displayed her circle of recycled material art piece. By photographing this art piece she was able to put it on paper in black and white. It was suggested the image be put on light green paper. Our logo and an explanation of the award can be added. When placed in a cardboard frame it will look very professional.Jennie, Susie and I will meet to finalize the project. We will meet with the Mayor to establish a City Council Meeting time and date for presenting the awards. It was suggested that Century’s Environmental Club be considered for a Green Arrow award.Farmer’s Market – I CAN will send a Farmer’s Market application to Brenda. The dates we will have our booth at the Market will be June 9th and 16th. Peter, Judy and I along with all I CAN people who want to participate will run the Booth from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on the 9th of June. Susie, Jennie, myself (Marv) and all of you who wish to help will run the Booth on the 16th.Treasurers Report – Our treasure amounts to $560 at this time.Summer Schedule – Our summer meetings will be July 9th and August 13th. Please forward ideas for our agenda.Other Business – There are places such as schools and businesses where drivers tend to idle their cars. In Hawaii there are signs in such places which say, “No Idling Zone.”The bad thing for me regarding this summer schedule is not seeing the ICAN members. I look forward to June 11th. We have made significant accomplishments in getting an entirely new group up and running. We have dispensed much information. We have provided a place where many Pocatello people can find a place to take action on the global warming issue. We have provided a local focal point for the Journal to write extensively on the issue. I am encouraged by what we have done. The I CAN members are an inspiration. Thanks.My best to all of you. Marv McCallMay 7* Education – Steve Smith “Living off the grid.” Steve provided awealth of information from his contracting experience in installingalternative energy sources for commercial and residential property.Steve described three systems: 1) Grid Tie (into the electricalcompany), 2) Stand Alone System (batteries – generators as backup),3) Panel Direct. Steve brought a solar panel for demonstration andexample.Steve said the bottom line on being off the grid in Idaho is that becauseof the cost of materials and equipment the home owner cannot get energymore cheaply with solar energy. At present Idaho Power electricity ischeap and our State does not have the incentives of other State s. Forexample California has more incentives plus the electricity there is twiceas expensive.However, many of us would be willing to move to more renewable energysources for the simple reason of getting away from energy produced by coalfired plants.Steve suggested we lobby the State and Federal governments for moreincentives.I CAN please note the work of the American Solar Energy Society atwww.ases.org/ climatechange as provided by Steve.* Report – Booth at the Farmer’s Market – I will be better preparedfor our May 14th meeting. I believe we can have a booth.* Summer meetings – To be dealt with at our next meeting.April 30We had a short meeting to discuss the Environmental Fair. Those present at tonights meeting thought the fair was a successful event for our group and for the City of Pocatello. We passed out over 100 brochures (energy saving tips) and tips for climate action.Marv and Peter also spoke on the radio (FM 98.5) at the event…..Did anyone hear our virtuoso appearance? We will attend next year. So begin thinking of ideas.We also discussed our plans for this summer. One idea was to pass out literature at the Farmers Market, maybe every other week. Bryce, with the Caribou Clean Water Partnership, was at the meeting and suggested we could perhaps share a booth.We also mentioned ramping up our education efforts with the local schools and churches. Because of some potential resistance with a few congregation represented in the ‘interfaith council’, it might be more productive if we approach various congregations individually.Finally, we discussed meeting over the summer once per month, perhaps on the second Mondays.————-April 23* Education – 6:30 p.m: Martin Hackworth presentation at ISU Museum of Natural History. Mr. Hackworth said he did not agree with all that can be found in Inconvenient Truth yet I did not detect significant differences. Mr. Hackworth presented the science of Global Warming in a through manner with complicated data he was able to put into words which layman such as the people in his audience could easily follow. I found him to be exceptionally articulate. I don’t think I heard an “and ah” in his entire presentation. He did not have to search for his data and information. It just rolled on with references to graphs etc. His entire paper can be found at the website he provided.Mr. Hackworth explained the importance of scientific study in the actual fields related to global warming. He explained the importance of work being peer reviewed. He further explained how virtually none of the work presented in opposition to human caused increases of CO2 have been successfully peer reviewed and therefore is not credible. Susie, Donna, Roger, Michelle, David and Carol and other I CAN people in the audience can give their take on the presentation.* Environmental Fairs – ISU April 27th – We will set up about 10:30 a.m. at our assigned site near the breezeway. I will pick up our I CAN booth parts from Susie on Thursday and transport them to the site. Please bring your I CAN badges. We have agreed on times when members will be on hand. However, all members are encouraged to come for as long as they can. I will be on hand to load up our booth at 2:00 p.m.City Fair April 28th – Tydeman Park across from the City offices. Candice has asked us to be set up no later than 10:45 a.m. I will bring our booth about 10:00 a.m. Lavanya will bring the solar lap top for demonstration. Marvin, Carol, Susie and David will bring clip boards. Bring lawn chairs for your comfort. I will make a sheet on which we can identify recipients for theGreen Arrow Award. Remember you times to be on hand to hand out our Energy Guides and to ask Fair goers to take our energy survey. ICAN members are encouraged to come when ever possible during the Fair 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. We will need help in taking our booth down and putting it in my pickup at 3:00 p.m.I look forward to seeing you this weekend. This is our opportunity tomake a difference by getting the public’s attention and action on thisissue. Besides as at the ISU Rally, this will be fun.—————– April 2, 2007Henry Buescher, Pacific Steel and RecyclingMA–Business, BA–Phil., Hist, Econ., 4 Years NAVYWith Pacific Steel & Recycling from 1997-2007Contact him at: info@pacific-steel.comor http://www.pacific-recycling.com/About%20Us/ContactUs.htmlMore websites: (1) and (2).Henry’s theme throughout his talk and the question-answer period was that recycling will only work when it is economically viable. Conversely, he said that only a small percentage of people, but perhaps a greater percentage in the ICAN group, recycle for altruistic reasons.A) PACIFIC STEEL & RECYCLING What Pacific Recycling is currently recycling:1) Recycles steel, i.e., scrap metal.–Money earned depends on the market; different alloys fetch different prices. The market is quite volatile.–One recent example was recycling of the steel in old railway cars. In this case, each car earned $200/ton.2) Recycles paper (i.e., corrugated & office pack)–Right now 2 truckloads per week are sold to a company in Albany, Oregon3) Aluminum: The company has recycled this commodity in the past, but I am not sure if they have a contract currently.What is not economically viable right now:1) Glass.–There is no viable market for ground up glass, which is produced from recycled glass. Some can be used in roadway re-surfacing, but only a small percentage. For example, one receiver of recycled glass, in Portland, OR, pays less per pound than it costs for it to reach Oregon by truck or train.–Henry supports a tax (i.e., deposit) on bottles that would encourage consumers to return glass to the stores (i.e., a “bottle bill”), stating that this would make returning the glass more viable. However, it still does not create a market for the glass.B) WHAT POCATELLO IS DOING, & WHAT IS LIMITING US, ACCORDING TO HENRY1) Low population density means recycling less profitable.Another point Henry emphasized was that low population densities in our area make recycling certain commodities unprofitable. The cost of transport and the relatively small volume of certain recyclables (I am not sure if he meant glass here or not) in our region makes it less profitable to recycle them.2) Pocatello’s Bins for collecting recyclables.The bins throughout the city collect aluminum, tin, newspaper, and plastic (#1-#2 only I think). Companies, such as Pacific Recycling make competitive bids with the City to transport and empty the bins, and gain the profit by selling the recyclables.C) WHAT POCATELLO SHOULD DO, ACCORDING TO HENRY1) Focus on reusing, rather than recycling.According to Henry, recycling is really only a small component of reducing waste. He emphasized that it is far better to re-use, rather than recycle. We should, he said, focus on encouraging companies to reduce the waste they produce, and tap into the waste stream of other companies. He emphasized the industrial waste stream as far more important than the consumer waste stream in the question-and-answer session.2) Re-use the FMC facility as a “recycling center”.Henry admitted he was going out on a limb with this suggestion, but suggested that the closed-down FMC facility NW of Pocatello could be used as a depot for recycling both organic (farm waste) and non-organic materials. This would, he said, create more industry in the area, increasing profits, while at the same time increasing recycling. He did not offer details about how this would work, and what the waste stream of such a business would look like. One must contrast this suggestion with the negative points he made about a composting plant in Spokane and an Incinerator. These businesses while solving some problems (the amount of organic trash, or solid trash), created others (horrible odors, or very concentrated toxic ash).D) HENRY’S DONATION TO I CANHenry generously donated to our group and was open about how his views do not necessarily fit with what he described as a “traditional environmentalist”. We enjoyed having him as a speaker.II. Climate newsThe US Supreme Ct ruled against the Bush administration in the case Massachusetts vs. the EPA. The ruling stated the EPA does have the authority to regulate tail-pipe CO2 emissions as a pollutant, and therefore cannot act against states who are trying to regulate such pollutants. Great news for the US and for ICAN. More on this on our blog: IdahoCAN.wordpress.com.III. I CAN’s global warming forum (Cana is organizing): May 3, 2007Cana reported on her work on organizing a forum of local scientists to discuss global warming. The forum is planned for May 3, 2007 at 7 pm. The MC will be John Young. The scientist involved will included several professors from ISU (Ben Columbia, Anthropologist, Chuck Peterson, Herpetologist, Matt Germino, Plant Ecologist, Nancy Huntly, Community Ecologist, Richard Inouye, Ecosystem Ecologist, and others. Plus, there will be some comedy to start the evening. The theme and the structure of the event have yet to be determined. Great progress thus far though.IV. FundraisingWe have now raised over $400 through our local efforts. Some of it has been spent, but we are doing well. Congratulations to Karen et al. who have been working on this. We have primarily been using the money for printing costs thus far.V. Step-it-Up-2007: Saturday, April 14, 12 noon, Upper Ross Park.The rally and get-together, with a over-arching goal of reducing the US contribution to greenhouse gasses 80% by 2050, will start at Upper Ross Park at 12 noon on Saturday, April 14 at 12 noon. A short speech by Mayor Chase will begin the meeting, followed by music and beverages, a rally, and a picture to link us nationally with the other rallies planned for the same day. More on this on our web-blog IdahoCAN.wordpress.com.——————————————————-Minutes of the 3/26/07 I CAN meeting:Education – Mr. Steve Smith from Swan Lake who was going to speak to our group has been forced to cancel due to surgery. Carol will contact Mr. Henry Buescher, Manager of Pacific Recycling, to be our April 2nd speaker. He has much information about recycling – what can be recycled now and in the future and where. I will send a confirmation e-mail as soon as possible.Cana is making a list of possible forum participants. The forum could be held in May before professors at ISU go their summer ways. Perhaps the forum can be held in the City Council Chambers and be broadcast over Channel 12 Access television. I will check with the Mayor’s office and with the Channel 12 Program Director.Funding – Susie gave a Treasurer’s Report which shows that a total of $405.80 has been donated by individuals as well as Lowe’s and Pacific Recycling. Other requests have been made and will be followed up on. Thanks to Carol and Karen for their work in this area.Cana suggested that our group establish quarterly goals so as to be better organized and focused and thus accomplish more. She made the following suggestions:

1st Quarter: starting the group2nd Quarter: Environmental Fair, forum, continue fund raising3rd Quarter: Green Arrow award, speakers, etc.4th Quarter: possible curriculum projects, speakers, etc.

Don reminded us that some speakers might prefer a “home stay” rather than a motel. We will need to consider the expenses we can afford and that would be needed by particular speakers.Environmental Fair – Michelle, Susie, Peter, Lavanya and David have been meeting and making some impressive progress on this project. Our booth will include a cover, banners, backdrop, a green assessment to be taken by Fair Goers, the results of which will be placed on a continuum. The aggregate on the continuum will show how green the residences in Pocatello are at this time. A computer lab top will be run by solar power to demonstrate green energy. The ICAN fliers made by Susie will be distributed. We can also promote the Green Awards/Recognitions for individuals and businesses. I am planning on attending a meeting Thursday with other group leaders who are working on the Environmental Fair.Jennie hopes to identify households and businesses which are particularly green at this time. These home owners and business owners will be given a Green Arrow certificate of recognition through the Mayors office. We hope the Green Arrow Certificates can be given out by the Mayor at a City Council meeting. We will meet with him to confirm his part in this endeavor.Peter reminded us of the Step It Up rally. They will be having a meeting next Tuesday.We folded 500 Energy Inventory Pamphlets while we attended to other business items. More will be printed in April. The Methodist Church office offered the use of their copying machine. 100% recycled paper was used for this printing.Our next meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. on April 2nd at the Methodist Church. We adjourned at 9:15 p.m.Those who wished to see Mr. Gore testify before the Congress stayed to watch some the the video tape.Thanks to all for your fine work for I CAN.See you April 2nd.WE HAVE RECEIVED CONFIRMATION THAT HENRY BURSCHER, THE MANAGER AT PACIFIC RECYCLING WILL BE OUR SPEAKER NEXT MONDAY. SUSIE, YOU CAN DO THE PROMOTIONS IN THE PAPER.