Film and conversation
Friday, March 27, 7:30-9:30 pm.
Fireside Room, Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto, 505 E. Charleston, Palo Alto
FREE, donations appreciated

Let Them Eat Dirt: The Hunt for Our Kids’ Missing Microbes

Learn about how good health just might begin with kids playing in the dirt.

Allergies, obesity, asthma, diabetes, auto-immune and intestinal disorders are all on the rise, with the incidence of some diseases doubling every ten years. New research points to changes in the ecosystem of microbes that live on and inside every one of us — our microbiomes — as a major cause. But how could one’s gut microbes increase the odds of developing conditions as radically different as asthma and diabetes?

Based on the book by B. Brett Finlay, Ph.D. and Marie-Claire Arrieta, Ph.D., Let Them Eat Dirt features families, doctors, and researchers who are sleuthing out what’s harming our microbes — and what we can do to reverse this dangerous trend.
See the trailer…

Film and conversation
Friday, February 28, 7:30-9:30 pm.
Fireside Room, Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto, 505 E. Charleston, Palo Alto
FREE, donations appreciated
After the film, Peter Drekmeier (water activist and former Palo Alto mayor) will lead a conversation about local water policy.

About the film: Las Vegas, in the middle of the Mojave Desert, is the driest city in America, yet it leads the United States in sustainable water conservation. The efforts of Las Vegas, in its search for sustainability, have produced creative solutions (technological, political, and financial) and provide an interesting case study for cities that want to create their own sustainable water system.

The film follows the story of Patricia Mulroy, the controversial founder of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, whose leadership is shaping Colorado River politics. She’s espoused conservation and pioneered a list of progressive urban water programs, but also bristled at any suggestions that Las Vegas’ growth should be limited.

Everything to do with Las Vegas’s water supply and disposal is watched, measured and checked. 40% of the water is recycled for indoor use. Every drop is monitored acoustically to detect possible leaks within 6,500 miles of pipes. Southern Nevada’s conservation efforts have also generated a keen public awareness and spawned hands-on programs in the public schools to teach about food-growing and water use in the desert.

See the trailer…

Friday, January 24 7:30-9:30 pm.
Fireside Room, Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto, 505 E. Charleston, Palo Alto
FREE, donations appreciated

With the threat looming of the U.S. getting involved in yet another devastating war, Films of Vision and Hope will take a look at a remarkable alternative.

In 1948, Costa Rica dismantled its military establishment and intentionally cultivated security relationships with other nations through treaties, international laws, and international organizations. Free of the burden of military spending, they used the financial savings to invest in their people, creating strong public institutions including public higher education and universal health care. In short, Costa Ricans created a society committed to peace, solidarity, and international law. They have survived with safety and relative prosperity for nearly 70 years without a standing army.

‘A Bold Peace’ details the events that shook the country to its foundations, culminating in the 1948 civil war and the decision to abolish the military. Over the decades, the Costa Rican model has survived several serious crises, but the current threats may be the most formidable of all.

See the trailer…

December 20, 7-9pm
Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto
505 E. Charleston, Palo Alto

Come greet the holidays at the Transition Palo Alto Holiday Potluck Dec 20! Let’s hang out, enjoy good food and connect with each other.

We can recall the accomplishments, joys, and sorrows of the year, and look ahead to next year — what each of us wants to do make a difference. And you’ll hear about three TPA projects you can be a part or champion on your own.

All you need to do is:

Bring food, drink, or both to share — along with the story of the food. Did you grow or forage any of the ingredients? Is it a traditional dish, a family recipe, or your own creation? Did you shop your kitchen for ingredients or go to the farmer’s market? 

Think about a project you’d like to do next year. Creating a saner, more resilient community means all hands on deck.  What’s your plan for next year?

See you on the 20th!

Friday, Dec. 6, 6:30 pm

At October Fourth Friday we heard from Crystal Huang about People Power Solar Co-op and the local solar cooperatives that it is incubating in East Oakland and Ingleside (San Francisco).  We were excited to hear about this forming network of energy cooperatives and learn the basics of how to kick off another in our neighborhood.

So, we’re excited to gather, over a potluck in Sunnyvale, to explore the possibility of incubating a South Bay Solar Co-op along with the model of and working with People Power Solar Co-op.  We’ll learn more details about how People Power works and what it would take for us to create a solar co-op entity in our own backyard.

Date:  Friday, Dec. 6, 6:30 pm
Please bring a dish to share.

Please RSVP so we’ll know how many to plan for:  transitionpaloalto@gmail.com.  We’ll send you the address upon receipt.

Please take a look at these resources from a recent memo about Community Solar – the more you can read before we meet the better the conversation will be.
Community Solar: We launched the People Power Solar Cooperative, which allows everyday people to buy and own shares to finance solar projects. It’s the first cooperative of its kind in California! We did their cartoon Bylaws and a cartoon Power Purchase Agreement. People Power just sold shares to 80 community members and built its first solar project. Here’s a short video about it. Now they are incubating two neighborhood-based solar cooperatives in East Oakland and Ingleside, SF.

Looking forward to seeing you on December 6.
–Peter Ruddock

Friday, November 22, 7-10pm. NOTE TIME CHANGE
Fireside Room, Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto, 505 E. Charleston, Palo Alto
FREE, donations appreciated

Fasten your seatbelts for a fascinating, in-depth portrait of one of the most remarkable scientists of the 20th century. Lynn Margulis was a scientific rebel who challenged entrenched theories of evolution to present a new narrative about life evolving through collaboration.  Her brilliant and radical approaches challenged the entrenched, male-dominated scientific community and are today fundamentally changing how we look at our selves, evolution, and the environment.

As a young scientist in the 1960s, Margulis was ridiculed when she first proposed that symbiosis was a key driver of evolution, but she persisted. Instead of the mechanistic view that life evolved through random genetic mutations and competition, she presented a symbiotic narrative in which bacteria joined together to create the complex cells that formed animals, plants and all other organisms – which together form a multi-dimensional living entity that covers the Earth. Humans are not the pinnacle of life with the right to exploit nature, but part of this complex cognitive system in which each of our actions has repercussions.

We’re starting at 7pm this month because Symbiotic Earth is a long film (about 2/12 hours). But if you’re like me, you’ll find all of it fascinating and emerge with a deeper understanding of how life evolves and our relationship to the myriad other life forms on earth.
–Barbara Weinstein

Inner Transition  – Group Continuing this Month

For Third Monday, on October 21, 2019 the plan is 6:30p potluck, 7p viewing of a session of “Sounds True –  Waking Up in the World”, 8:30p Discussion – in Sunnyvale.

Adyashanti – Embracing Our Totality

“Waking up,” reflects Adyashanti, “is a fundamental alteration in the way we perceive ourselves—in who and what we take ourselves to be.” And this shift can make all the difference in how we bring our truest beliefs into action. Join Adyashanti to explore:

• Moving from “goodness” to “wholeness”—why we need to question our abstract, utopian visions and stay focused on helping others in our actions
• How vulnerability and undiluted clarity help us embrace our shadow dimensions, such as rage and despair
• Bringing our higher “soul values”—including truth and love—to the real-world problems that surround us

To RSVP or ask any questions, please feel free to contact Victoria (varmigo@earthlink.net).

Friday September 27, 7:30-9:30pm 
Fireside Room, Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto, 505 E. Charleston, Palo Alto

“Power to Heal shows both the destructive legacy of racism in American health care and the potential for collective action to redress these wrongs. We should be inspired by Medicare’s role in desegregating our nation’s hospitals, and should insist on further reform…to address the systemic racism that plagues patients of color to this day.” Dr. Claudia Fegan, National Coordinator, Physicians for a National Health Program

As we as a society continue to struggle with persistent, systemic racism and the urgent need for universal, affordable healthcare, Fourth Friday will take a close look at a little known, but remarkable connection between the two issues.

More about the film…

Power to Heal recounts a poignant chapter in the historic struggle to secure equal and adequate access to healthcare for all Americans. Central to the story is the tale of how a new national program, Medicare, was used to mount a dramatic, coordinated effort that desegregated thousands of hospitals across the country in a matter of months. 

Before Medicare, disparities in access to hospital care were dramatic. Less than half the nation’s hospitals served black and white patients equally, and in the South, 1/3 of hospitals would not admit African-Americans even for emergencies. 

Using the carrot of Medicare dollars, the federal government virtually ended the practice of racially segregating patients, doctors, medical staffs, blood supplies, and linens. Power to Heal illustrates how Movement leaders and grass-roots volunteers pressed and worked with the federal government to achieve a greater measure of justice and fairness for African-Americans. 

After the film, we hope you stay to reflect together on the film and the lessons it might have for the continuing struggles for social justice and equal access to healthcare.

As a fitting close to this year’s Adopt-a-Tree season, folks gathered at Roy and Bill Kornbluh’s house for a perfect peach processing party.  Some of the delicious harvest from the Masumoto Family Farm was transformed into jam, gazpacho, canned peaches, and even some peach daiquiris.  Yum!

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