INDY'S WEEKLY ALTERNATIVE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTING ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

May Social Justice Calendar

Living lean and green

Worried about global warming? The Citizens Action Coalition Education Fund has the remedy in Living Lean and Green workshops, scheduled at various locations. Coordinator Paul Chase says the events are intended to create awareness of global warming’s impact on Indiana, and what Hoosiers can do about it.

“Each of us contributes to the problem by our energy consumption,” he says, “but we all have the ability to drastically reduce our energy usage by going on a low carbon diet.”

The five-session workshops teach participants how to measure their household carbon footprint and offer a range of possible steps toward trimming it. Chase points out that making changes at home leads to greater credibility when asking political leaders to step up. “We really become empowered to go to our policy makers and say, ‘We’re doing our part, now it’s time for you to do yours and help us solve this problem,’” he says.

“My experience has been that once people get it, it becomes a front burner issue for them. Everything you do, you think about how much CO2 you’re putting in the atmosphere.”

May workshops are being offered at the following locations:

• St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, five Mondays starting May 5

• Carmel’s City Hall Caucus Room, five Thursdays starting May 8

• Trinity Episcopal Church, five Saturdays starting May 17

For more information or to pre-register, go to www.cacefindiana.org.

World Fair Trade Day

In its 20th anniversary year, fair trade store Global Gifts is celebrating World Fair Trade Day May 10 with a nod to an enduring workday tradition: break time. The store is hoping to help set the world record for the largest coffee break ever, joining up with others around the world to highlight the benefits of fair trade.

Patrons can enjoy live music and samples of tasty fair trade treats at both store locations, and at noon and 3 p.m., take part in the record-setting attempt. In the U.S. alone, organizers hope to attract over 5,000 people to the fair trade coffee break.

General Manager Sam Carpenter says fair trade offers a business model that allows people to shop “in a way that’s consistent with their own values.”

“We’re helping artisans and producers,” he says, “but we’re also doing business in a way that promotes a better world. We’re giving people hope and opportunity they wouldn’t have otherwise.

“Whether people are buying fair trade coffee or fair trade chocolate, or gifts for Mother’s Day or graduation, when they buy fair trade it really means a lot to the person who produced [the items].”

One such individual will be visiting the two Global Gifts locations the following weekend. Chilean artisan Carlos Guerrero will give in-store jewelry making demonstrations May 16-17. Guerrero’s glass jewelry is immensely popular, Carpenter says, and his visit affords a rare chance to form a personal connection with one of the artisans represented in the Global Gifts inventory.

Demonstrations take place 6:30-8:30 p.m. May 16 and 3:30-5:30 p.m. May 17 at the Massachusetts Avenue location, and 11:30-a.m.-2 p.m. May 17 at the Ditch Road location.

More information: www.globalgiftsindy.com.

Bread for the World branches out

Indianapolis is home to several chapters of hunger advocacy organization Bread for the World, but organizers of two upcoming meetings are betting there’s room for even more.

Sarah Blossom of Friedens United Church of Christ hopes that like-minded people in southern Marion County and Johnson County will attend a presentation by Roger Howard, Bread chapter organizer, and explore the possibility of starting a chapter.

The meeting will be at 7 p.m. May 12 in the church’s Common Grounds Coffee Café. RSVP to 317-881-6779 or pastorsarah@friedensucc.org.

Meanwhile, IUPUI’s Liza Newman and Fran Quigley of the IU-Kenya Partnership are banking on the energy of college students to start a campus chapter. A planning meeting is at 10 a.m. May 30 in the Union Building.

“Millions of people throughout the world know what it feels like to have nothing to eat,” Newman says. “Children die because they do not have food to eat.”

Bread for the World is a collective Christian voice, 58,000 strong, urging the nation’s decision makers to end hunger at home and abroad.

For more information on the campus meeting, call 317-274-6500.

Puppy mill protests

Puppies sold at many pet shops are the products of an inhumane system. That’s the message of PetShopPuppies demonstrators who plan protests May 17 at two area Uncle Bill’s Pet Centers.

Founder Kim Townsend notes that the demonstrations are part of a nationwide campaign by several humane organizations. Most puppy mill dogs spend their entire lives in tiny wire cages.

“I have spent the last 10 years trying to educate the public about puppy mills,” she says, “and I feel confident that when we are able to get the public to understand the commercial dog industry that supplies puppies to pet stores, we will force the dog industry to change.”

The May 17 protests are at Uncle Bill’s Greenwood location at noon and at the East Washington location at 2:30 p.m.

More information: www.petshoppuppies.org.

Eat local summer challenge

How far has your dinner traveled? Earth Charter and Indy Sustainable Food Alliance are issuing a challenge this summer: Get more than half of the food on your plate from a source within 100 miles.

ISFA’s Angie Herrmann says summertime is the perfect time to increase the amount of local products you consume. Farmers’ markets showcase abundant Indiana produce, dairy and meats. Local foods are increasingly available in supermarkets as well.

“You can’t be dogmatic about it and say, ‘I’m never going to eat this again,’” she says. “You set yourself up for failure that way.” But Indiana summers are generous, and she believes 50 percent is not an unreasonable goal even for beginners.

She adds, “I bet that people will find that by the end of the three months, they will feel better, because they’re eating real food.”

Interested families can sign up at the Sustainable Indiana 2016 Web site, and as the June through August experiment unfolds they can share experiences and recipes at the site.

More information: www.sustindy2016.wetpaint.com and www.indysustainablefoodalliance.org.