Green Friends

In honor of Earth Day (Apr 22), Green Friends served snacks and showed a short film, “Chasing Time” and then discussed the actions we can take to prepare ourselves, our communities, and everywhere. Pollution from oil and gas is causing us to overheat, changing our weather. Temperatures have been climbing higher and higher; Phoenix AZ is expecting 107F IN MARCH. These changes affect our gardens, birds, pets, and food supply. The increase in disasters also more severely affects low-income communities and people of color, leading to calls for “climate justice.”

Henry Slack conducted Climate Advocate Training teaching on Citizens’ Climate Lobby’s methods and visions. Preserve representative democracy and practice building political will for a livable world. Simultaneously, CCL National conducted the training online at the same time. To view the national training, see Climate Advocate Lobby Training.

Microplastics are pervasive and have been found in the oceans, air, marine organisms, and human bodies. They are difficult to remove once released into the environment and have negative impacts on the environment and health. During the forum, we explored the growing impact of microplastics on our environment, health, and ecosystems, and discussed ways to reduce microplastics exposure.

For more information, read Reduce Microplastics Entering the Body.

Green Friends co-sponsored the hybrid forum with Social Concerns and Quakers for Racial Equality. Meagan Williams, Program Director of Georgia Interfaith Power and Light, came to speak on changes individuals can make in their homes to conserve energy. The presentation provided information on several agencies that can help homeowners initiate these changes.

Quakers for Racial Equality, in coordination with Friends of Color and Green Friends, hosted the hybrid forum exploring how systemic racism around food negatively impacts the health of African Americans. We discussed how Black people are countering this through education and offering healthier food that celebrates the traditions and contributions of African Americans to cuisine in the U.S.

Speakers included Black business owners and advocates:
– Adam Hicks, AFM participant and founder of Community Documentary Night
– Stephanie Simmons, local farmer with PolyCulture Production
– Issa Prescott, owner of the vegan restaurant, Life Bistro. Food samplers were provided thanks to Issa Prescott. 

Noted Climate writer Bill McKibben and Senior Attorney Bill Sapp from the Southern Environmental Law Center kicked off Third Act’s Silver Wave Tour with older Americans rallying for “Get Out the Vote” events and door-to-door canvassing across Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Nevada.

To learn more, visit Third Act Georgia or view the Third Act video channel on Vimeo.

On May 26, Green Friends co-sponsored with Social Concerns and Quakers for Racial Equality, a hybrid forum with Helen Butler, longtime civil rights activist and Executive Director of the Georgia Coalition for the Peoples’ Agenda. Helen spoke about recent Georgia legislation that suppresses voter rights.

To learn more, volunteer or donate to this worthy cause, visit Georgia Coalition for the Peoples’ Agenda.

On Sunday, April 28, we had our Green Friends Climate Change Forum, entitled “Power Through Our Plates”. The event was well attended with around 40 people. It was a fun, interactive event, where we hosted a potluck featuring a variety of plant based dishes. We watched a short documentary on the impact of our dietary choices on the planet and the climate, called Eating Our Way To Extinction (36 min.). You can watch the full film (1 hr. 21 min.) at this link. Then, we had interactive small group discussions where everyone responded to 3 prompts: (1) What are some obstacles to adopting a plant-based diet? (2) What are potential benefits of adopting a plant-based diet? (3) What are things that we can do right now to get started? We shared out the responses to the prompts and then ended the event with additional information and resources for people that were interested in starting the transition to a more climate friendly diet.

FoodCommune is a local food co-op that rescues food to help feed our community. You can participate in the co-op as a Shopper, Food Donor, Volunteer, Gleaner, or Farmer. Hours are typically Saturdays from 1 p.m. – 7 p.m. but often vary with weather conditions, so please check their Facebook page for the latest information.