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Monday Mailing

Year 22 • Issue 30 18 April 2016 1.

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Quote of the Week: "Still round the corner there may wait a new road or a secret gate. And though I often have passed them by a day will come at last when I shall take the hidden paths that run West of the Moon, East of the Sun." ~ J.R.R. Tolkien Oregon Fast Fact: Oregon is located nearest the 45th parallel. The 45th parallel is equidistant from the North Pole and the equator and is found just north of Salem.

10 Demographic Trends That Are Shaping the U.S. And The World Mapping Trees To Figure Out Just How Good For Us They Are A New Divide in American Death Moonshine, Basketball, And The Power of Place Do Mountain Bikes Belong in The wild? Battle Brewing Over Bike Access to Federal Land Some Lucky Baby Boomers Will Become Very Rich, Very Soon Building “Buy Local” Campaigns that Shift Culture and Spending Rural Gateway Common Grant Writing Mistakes You Can Fix Today!

Wind Map Free Webinar: Food Systems Change through Procurement Policy

1. 10 Demographic Trends That Are Shaping the U.S. And The World At its core, demography is the act of counting people. But it’s also important to study the forces that are driving population change, and measure how these changes have an impact on people’s lives. For example, how does immigration affect U.S. population growth? Do Americans feel that children are better off with a parent at home, in an era when most women work? How is the rise of the young-adult Millennial generation contributing to the rise of Americans with no stated religion? For this year’s Population Association of America (PAA) annual meeting, here is a roundup of some of Pew Research Center’s recent demography-related findings that tell us how America and the world are changing.

To access the full story, click here.

2. Mapping Trees To Figure Out Just How Good For Us They Are OpenTreeMap is helping cities figure out where all the trees are, so they can better judge the environmental and public health impacts of a wellplanted city. Here's a hint: The impacts are huge.

Until recently, cities haven't had a good handle on their trees.

Generally, they've not kept good records of where their trees are, which ones need attention, and what "ecosystem services" (say, in reducing pollution) they provide.

That's changing because of OpenTreeMap, open-source software that's powering more than a dozen urban tree-inventory initiatives.

Philadelphia now has PhillyTreeMap (56,884 trees and counting).

Tampa has Tampa Tree Map (2,669 trees so far). And San Diego has San Diego Tree Map (340,952 trees). And more projects are on the way.

To access the full story, click here.

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3. A New Divide in American Death An urban-rural mortality gap emerges among whites as risky behaviors work to defy modern trends White women have been dying prematurely at higher rates since the turn of this century, passing away in their 30s, 40s and 50s in a slow-motion crisis driven by decaying health in small-town America, according to an analysis of national health and mortality statistics by The Washington Post.

Among African Americans, Hispanics and even the oldest white Americans, death rates have continued to fall. But for white women in what should be the prime of their lives, death rates have spiked upward. In one of the hardest-hit groups — rural white women in their late 40s — the death rate has risen by 30 percent.

The Post’s analysis, which builds on academic research published last year, shows a clear divide in the health of urban and rural Americans, with the gap widening most dramatically among whites. The statistics reveal two Americas diverging, neither as healthy as it should be but one much sicker than the other.

To access the full story, click here.

4. Moonshine, Basketball, And The Power of Place Every day, social media serves up a seemingly endless stream of content. Raw information, with each item typically reflecting the priorities of its respective poster. If you’ve assembled good curators among your friends and contacts, it adds up to a lot of interesting stuff. But the real interest, at least for me, is when you stumble into curious intersections that seem to exist between disparate content.

This happened recently with this article from the New York Times detailing a skirmish of sorts between “poor mountain entrepreneur” Colin Fultz, a start-up distiller of gourmet moonshine, and the University of Kentucky. Fultz’s signature product is called “Kentucky Mist” and the University considers his promotional merchandise like shirts and hats to be a violation of their trademarked rights to the word “Kentucky.”

In short, they’re claiming some degree of ownership over the name of an entire state. Which, if you’re involved at all with the world of branding (as I’ve been), is totally predictable. Because successful branding is seen to require that you reduce your offering to an identifiable and limited experience that people can understand, embrace, and subsequently come to expect.

To access the full story, click here.

5. Do Mountain Bikes Belong in The wild? Battle Brewing Over Bike Access to Federal Land Do mountain bikes belong in wilderness areas?

From bikers to hikers to lawmakers, that's the question at the center of a fight brewing in the outdoor recreation community, recently re-ignited by a push to tweak the U.S. Wilderness Act to allow bicycles on the nearly 106 million acres of federal lands where they are currently banned.

The controversy has smoldered for decades, but the latest spark comes from the Sustainable Trails Coalition, a national nonprofit dedicated to fighting for "more rational and reasonable rules" for mountain bikes in federal wilderness areas. The group's plan goes through legislation recently proposed to Congress that would give federal agencies the freedom to ban bikes or not, on a case-bycase basis.

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If successful, the bill could open up thousands of acres of land to mountain bike use – including along the Pacific Crest Trail. But a strong and vocal contingent stands opposed, setting up a philosophical battle over what we can do in the wild.

To access the full story, click here.

6. Some Lucky Baby Boomers Will Become Very Rich, Very Soon Nothing—well, almost nothing—is more titillating than money.

Want to tempt somebody to read an article (like, say, this one)? Then just drop a few names, preferably Gates, Buffett, Ellison, Zuckerberg or Bezos. Or maybe discuss the fascinating wealth scoreboard at Forbes.com, which tracks the minute-by-minute ups and downs of the richest Americans’ net worth. Oh, look, Nike stock tanked today, and Phil Knight lost $875 mil; he’s down to his last $25.4 billion. Let’s help the poor guy out by buying a pair of Air Jordan Super.Fly 4s.

With curiosity about money and the moneyed rampant in our society, it’s somewhat curious, then, that so little has been written recently about a potent tonic coursing through the nation’s economic bloodstream: a colossal and unequalled transfer of wealth that will continue for years as America’s oldest citizens pass into history and their cash, securities and property pass down to their descendants.

Millions? Billions? Peanuts. The amount that will change hands during this intergenerational shift, which began a few years ago and will continue into the 2050s or 2060s, could be as little as $30 trillion or as much as $190 trillion, depending on who is doing the estimating and what assumptions are made about the long-term growth of the economy and the level of estate taxes.

To access the full story, click here.

7. Building “Buy Local” Campaigns that Shift Culture and Spending The American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) has developed a guide to help independent business owners, localist advocates, and local officials promote local business and community wealth building. The guide outlines strategies to build successful “Buy Local” campaigns that encourage consumers to shop at locally owned stores. It includes tips and resources for campaign content development, message framing, targeted marketing, and execution.

To access the guide, click here.

8. Rural Gateway The Rural Gateway is an information clearinghouse providing technical assistance, training workshops, and peer learning and resource sharing to support rural housing and economic development.

One-on-One Technical Assistance Ask your technical assistance questions: 1-877-RURAL-26. A bilingual operator is available from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM (Eastern Time), Monday to Friday, to answer your housing, infrastructure, and economic development questions. Questions can also be submitted via email to rhed@hud.gov.

Peer Learning and Resource Sharing Access funding alerts and learn more about innovative strategies.

Rural Gateway resources include:

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Mailing lists that connect you to others engaged in rural community development across the country Conference Calls highlight model programs and provide an opportunity to ask questions and interact with your peers Case Studies illustrating common challenges and innovative strategies

Local Training Workshops Participate in regional workshop sessions. Trainers with experience in designing, developing rural housing, infrastructure, and economic development projects will provide workshop sessions across the country. The sessions will provide participants with the tools, techniques, and resources needed to successfully engage in rural community development. For training work dates, locations, and registration materials, and other rural-related events see the Calendar of Events.

For more information, click here.

9. Common Grant Writing Mistakes You Can Fix Today!

There are common mistakes that many grant writers make that can hurt a proposal’s chance of being awarded. Getting over these hurdles can significantly help your organization’s application rise to the top of the pile. In this series, Alice Ruhnke, CEO of The Grant Advantage, will discuss common errors made by both novice and experienced grant writers and describe ways to avoid or fix them.

To access this wonderful resource, click here 10. Wind Map This beautiful conceptualization uses wind data to weave art from science. Created by visualization specialists Fernanda Viegas and Martin Wattenberg, the map uses information from the National Digital Forecast Database to create a “living portrait” of the wind blowing through our world.

Although the artists warn not to use the map to fight wildfires or fly planes, it is a lovely tool for getting a better understanding of wind movement.

To access the wind map, click here 11. Free Webinar: Food Systems Change through Procurement Policy Wednesday, April 27th, 2:00-3:30 pm ET Join us for an overview of the Center for a Livable Future’s recent report, Instituting Change, which examines the benefits and barriers to increased institutional procurement of regionally and sustainably produced food. Hear findings from a recent analysis of the economic potential for regional food procurement among institutions in the Chesapeake region. Finally, learn about the Center for Good Food Purchasing and implementation of the Center’s Good Food Purchasing Policy in Chicago and the Twin Cities. This event is co-sponsored by the Chesapeake Foodshed Network.

Presenters: Raychel Santo – Program Officer, Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future Claire Fitch – Program Officer, Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future Colleen Synk – Graduate Research Assistant, Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future Colleen McKinney – Associate Director, Center for Good Food Purchasing Jose Oliva – Co-Director, Food Chain Workers Alliance To register for this webinar, click here.

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