The Northwest Earth Institute (www.nwei.org) would like to personally invite you to our bi-annual conference in beautiful Port Townsend, Washington.

This year's conference theme is building healthy communities and food systems one conversation at a time. Whether you have participated in an NWEI discussion course, volunteered with us, or are simply interested in local and sustainable food systems, you are cordially invited to join us for three inspiring days of speaking events, workshops, delicious locally sourced food, and great friends, old and new.

Over the next two weeks, representatives from 194 nations will meet in Bonn, Germany, to push forward a deal to stabilize the global climate and help poor countries address the inevitable changes that global warming brings.

After millions of gallons of oil spilled and billions of dollars spent, Mark Cohen figures the United States is ready to handle a spill like the deepwater blowout that fouled the Gulf of Mexico a year ago.

But it's probably not prepared for the one that happened in 1979.