Thanks to the October Share Faire and Costume Swap, local kids of all ages are now ready for Halloween. It’s the sharing community at its best – kids who want to look their best (or scariest) on Halloween matched up with grandparents cleaning out their old stashes of costumes and families with kids who’ve outgrown their garb from previous years.
Kids also got a chance to exercise their creative spirit by making masks at the craft table.
It’s a BIG election coming up. With all the attention on the presidential race, many folks don’t realize that the California ballot will be packed with 17 initiatives on critical issues that range from corporate power to plastic bags, the death penalty, taxes, marijuana, and more. Local measures affecting land use and housing are also on the ballot.
Come to Fourth Friday October 28 for a roundtable on the issues and how you can help inform others. We’ll share more details a bit later in the month.
And click here for some local and state ballot measure recommendations by some other organizations with Transition-like values. We’ll be updating the list as we get more information during this month. Last updated 10/16/2016.
And please don’t forget to VOTE! Every vote matters!
Fourth Friday, October 28, 7:30pm
Fireside Room, Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto
505 E Charleston, Palo Alto
Bart Anderson has been a big part of the local Transition community since the beginning. He helped start TPA, has served on the steering committee, and continues to help manage the website and mailing lists. In recent months, Bart has started to refurbish old computers as a way to help others while reducing waste and saving resources.
Bart writes:
I have Eitan Fenson to blame for the piles of old laptops littering our living room. He’s the one who started me on a voyage of discovery about how to reduce the environmental impact of computers. And how to get unwanted computers into the hands of people who can use them.
Two years ago, he told me how he used dozens of old laptops to set up a phone bank for a local political group (the name of which begins with “D”). Most of us think that a computer built five years ago is “old,” but Eitan showed me that even computers 10 years old have a lot of life left in them.
When I showed interest, Eitan gave me a sample laptop – a Dell D620, a business laptop from 2006. As a former computer tech writer, I was impressed with how well it was built. Not only was it solid as a tank, but it ran flawlessly and was easy to fix.
In the Transition spirit, I began refurbishing laptops myself, converting our dining room table into a workshop.
So far I’ve saved 39 (update: now 68) laptops from the landfill and given them to individuals and groups. Many more units are in the pipeline.
Here’s the story of an old duffer who’s been an inspiration to me … and he seems to be having fun too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66wxCOCYt5Q
Keeping old computers alive is good for the environment. As Jim Lynch of Tech Soup (San Francisco) points out, extending the life of a computer saves 5 to 20 times more energy than recycling it. (“Environmental Case for Refurbished IT Equipment” http://forums.techsoup.org/cs/community/b/tsblog/archive/2009/02/04/environmental-case-for-refurbished-it-equipment.aspx)
For more background, see this video by Annie Leonard (“Story of Stuff”):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW_7i6T_H78
You can drastically reduce the impact of computers by making them last as long as possible. Taking care of your computer means protecting it from liquid spills, physical impacts and, above all, HEAT! Periodically clean the dust from inside your computer, and avoid putting your laptop on fabrics which will restrict the air intake.
When you are finished with your computer, try to pass it on to someone who will use it. Consider giving it away, reselling it, or donating it to someone who will refurbish it.
As a last resort, recycle it. Palo Altans are lucky because electronics can be recycled by putting devices in a recycle bin. Whatever you do, don’t put it in the trash. Electronic devices are full of toxins.
There are many other ways we can make a difference. I hope to be writing more about them in the future. For example:
Photo
Navy technician Latarsha Young displays one of many computers damaged by floodwaters in Millington, Tenn. (2010)
MORE!
David Herron of TPA also refurbishes computers – in his case, MacBook Pros. See his article “Save money and the planet, repair/upgrade your old MacBook Pro rather than tossing it to buy a new one.”
UPDATE (October 28, 2016)
An expanded version of this article was posted on the sustainability site, Resilience.org:
http://www.resilience.org/stories/2016-10-27/breathing-new-life-into-old-computers
UPDATE (November 1, 2016)
A local television station, KTVU, reported on call centers for the presidential elections. Many of the laptops shown are ones that Bart refurbished and Eitan deployed. The relevant part of the video starts at 1:00 in:
http://www.ktvu.com/news/215029405-story
Excellent film and discussion at the September 30 UNAFF cafe showing of Inequality for All at the Los Altos Library. United Nations Association Film Festival founder, Jasmina Bojic, stopped by to talk about the film and the festival, while everyone munched cookies and watched the show. Afterwards, attendees reflected on how the film made them feel, how they would describe it to others, and how to turn the sobering message of the film into positive action.
Transition Palo Alto 