Dear Friends of Sustainability,
After closely tracking communications from the Oregon Health Authority, and in light of Governor Brown’s declaration of emergency measures, we have decided to re-schedule the 2020 Annual Sustainability Town Hall and Fair. We hope to have the event later in the spring or early summer. We will keep you posted.
The decision to re-schedule the event was not made lightly. This is a time when we desperately need to have some degree of normalcy in our community and in our lives. As we sense a high degree of concern – even panic – about the pandemic, we need to understand that we’re in a very delicate situation, in which our fears and concerns about the pandemic may result in threats to a sustainable society. This is an important time for us to stay connected with one another.
While one of the primary goals of the Town Hall is to celebrate our community’s accomplishments related to sustainability, it is also intended to focus on our long-term future as a species. A much greater existential threat – not only to humans, but to the entire planet – is our changing climate. We have seen how intensely community members have responded to the threat of the corona virus. We need to respond just as intensely to a much bigger threat that will only get worse (including, according to scientific forecasts, new and stronger viruses) unless we take bold and decisive action.
For that reason, I will be sharing a community-wide challenge soon that was intended for the Town Hall. We need to continue to move forward.
Thank you for your understanding.
Annette
Annette Mills, Facilitator
Corvallis Sustainability Coalition