S:F&A Annual Report, October 2005

At the May 2005 Steering Committee Meeting, the Sustainability: Support & Action and Population Concerns interest groups merged to form the Sustainability: Faith & Action Interest Group. As noted in our minutes from May, “This action is to prevent the divisive attendance between the two committees during Annual and Steering committee meetings. Population concerns will continue to be supported and acted upon as well as other sustainability issues.” This action was approved by the Quaker Earthcare Witness (QEW) Steering Committee. Noel Pavlovic and Dick Grossman have agreed to be co-clerks and Mary Gilbert to be recording secretary.

Since May some Committee work has been initiated:

• Mary wrote an article about Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) that appeared in BeFriending Creation.
• Roy and Carolyn Treadway wrote a fine article for Quaker Eco-Bulletin, titled “Nuclear Energy and the Care of the Earth.”
• Tracy McCowen wrote an article for BeFriending Creation on the ethics of the genetic modification of plants.
• Noel drafted a questionnaire for developing a Green Business Directory, to be brought to S: F & A at the Annual Meeting.
• Dick and Mary have drafted a “QEW Self-Tax Proposal” concerning offsetting CO2 produced in traveling to QEW meetings by donating a percentage of the travel cost to support tree planting and forestry, to be brought to S:F&A at the Annual Meeting.
• Dick has also drafted a proposal to initiate a “Men for Men” fund that would pay for male sterilization (vasectomy) for men who cannot afford the procedure or whose medical insurance does not pay for it, to be brought to S:F&A at the Annual Meeting.

We have much work to accomplish! We look forward to a productive Annual Meeting at the Indiana Dunes Environmental Learning Center.

—Prepared by Noel Pavlovic, Dick Grossman, and Mary Gilbert