going green memphis 11-14-10

8/8/2019 Going Green Memphis 11-14-10

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2 GOING GREEN | S u n d ay , November 14 , 2010 co mm er ci a l a pp ea l.com

Whats in this issue ...

On the cover: Cover illustration by Shane McDermott/The Commercial Appeal

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Going Green is a special online publication ofThe Commercial Appeal. We welcome your comments and suggestions. FollowGoing Green on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoGreenMemphis.

Ed i t o r : Kim Coleman, 529-5243, [email protected]

Community Editor: Emily Adams Keplinger, [email protected]

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Solving themystery

Fall gardening

The growing season iscoming to a close souse the extra time toprepare the soil for athriving organic garden

GOP to challenge

EPA, scientists

Solar trees sprout

in parking lots

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28

Unbuilding fromthe top down

Finding dinner inthe dumpster

A study into a deadly threat tothe honeybee has identifiedcommon infections workingtogether as possible cause.

8 Trezevant investsin green view


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The Commercial Appeal S u n d ay , November 14 , 2010 | GOING GREEN 3

The Green Page

Ev e n t sAmerica Recycle Day: Get rid of

unused electronics responsibly at theCenter City Commissions E-Recycle Day.

Bring items to the Central Station Pavilionfrom 3 to 6:30 p.m. Monday. Theres a $5processing fee for CRT items up to 32inches; $15 for CRT items larger than 32inches. For a complete list of acceptableitems, go to 5p rocess o r s .co m/Accept e d _ I te ms . a s px .

Pr o g r a m sClean-air discussion: There will be a

discussion about a new public healthinitiative from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m.Tuesday at the Gale Community Center inHernando. The focus of the program willbe on eliminating exposure to secondhandsmoke in all public places, includingworkplaces. For details, or to RSVP, sendan e-mail to signe.shackelford@msd h .s ta t e. m s .u s .

Botany of Design: The Dixon Galleryand Gardens, 4339 Park, will host William

Cullina on Thursday at 11 a.m., for hispresentation of The Botany of Design.Cullina, director of horticulture and plantcurator at the Coastal Maine BotanicalGardens in Boothbay, Maine, will discussbeneficial organic practices involvingplants. The program is co-sponsored bythe Memphis Garden Club and the Dixon

Just do one thingWhen cooking a casserole or a yummy chocolate souffle, use ceramic or glass

baking dishes; these materials outperform metal and will allow you to lower thetemperature of the oven by 25 degrees Fahrenheit. Lower heat means lessenergy. Bonus tip: Countertop convection ovens save even more energy thesmaller the oven, the faster itll heat up.

Danny Seo

Gallery and Gardens, and is included withregular admission. It is free to Dixonmembers. For more information, call 761-5250 or visit d i x o n .o r g .

Vo l u n t e e r sTrail blazing: Volunteers are needed on

Nov. 20, from 9 a.m. to noon, to help theLichterman Nature Center maintain 3miles of trail by fixing edge boards,spreading gravel and clearing overgrowthon the trails. Call 523-2425 to volunteer, orsign up at v o l u n t e e r m i d s o u t h .o r g .


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4 GOING GREEN | S u nd ay , November 14 , 2010 co mm er cia l a pp ea l.co m

By Suzanne Thompson/ Special to Going Green

IT IS UPSETTING TO ECOLOGISTS when there is a major

decline in any species in an ecosystem.

In 2006, honeybee colonies began disappearing at an

alarming rate.

E cosystemlosing its

StingResearchers examine declinein honeybee colonies

The bees are a vital part of theecosystem they pollinate f lowersand crops and without themagriculture production around theworld would decrease by a third.

The phenomenon of the

disappearing colonies has beendubbed Colony Collapse Disorder(CC D ) .

It has put many people out ofbusiness, said Richard Underhill,owner of Peace Bee Farm inProctor, Arkansas.

Underhill, past president of the

Memphis Area BeekeepingAssociation and member of theTennessee Beekeepers Association,is participating in a national USDAstudy to investigate the decline ofthe bee population. One aspect of the

study looks at year-round hivemanagement of migratory and non-migratory beekeeping operationsacross the nation.

It is being conducted byscientists from 17 universities whowill use the findings from threegroups of beekeepers in an effort to


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The Commercial Appeal S u n day , November 14 , 2010 | GOING GREEN 5

help determine the cause of thedecline in the colonies.

What we have is a very large,multistate project going on withfunding from the USDA, said Dr.Nancy Ostiguy, associate professorof entomology at Penn State, oneof the participants in the study.

The four-year study examinestwo life cycles of colonies theaverage natural life cycle of a

colony without treatment formites is two years and theresearch is entering its third year.

Underhill is involved with thefirst group of beekeepers who carefor the hives using their ownstandard practices. He re p re s e n t s

Tennessee in the study.

The second group of beekeepersworking across seven states haveagreed to tend to their bees in theexact same manner, thereby actingas the control group. This part of thestudy has been named the S evenState Stationary Apiary Study.

A third group consists of largebeekeeping operations thattransport the hives across thecountry to pollinate crops.

Bees in those colonies arenaturally stressed because they areconfined in trucks, sometimes foras long as four days.

Underhill said because thosecolonies are typicallyovercrowded, and cannot fly toforage for food, they are

Brandon Dill/Special to The Commercial Appeal

Beekeeper Richard Underhill examines a frame from one of thehoneybee colonies he keeps at the Memphis Botanic Garden.


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malnourished. T h e re fo re ,these transported

colonies undergo morestress than othermanaged colonies.

When Ostiguys studybegan, there were 210colonies and of those 30s u r v i ve d .

In the spring, we willstart another 30 coloniesper location, O s t i gu y

said. There will be a fewthat might have survivedfrom the first round andwe ll continue trackingthose until they die, andthen the same thing withthe second round. We willtrack all kinds of healthparameters to figure out

of the ones that have died,are there similarities? Canwe predict the reason forthem to die?

Though the research isnowhere near complete,Ostiguy said one of thesimilarities they havefound is the number of

Virus, also carried bymites was reported inearly October and it isone suspected cause forthe declining n u m b e rs .

Ostiguy said they have

also seen similarities indeaths caused by a viruspassed on to the bees bymites called DeformedWing Virus, one of about15 or 20 viruses alreadyknown to be present inbee colonies.

The mites carry thevirus much like a

mosquito is a carrier forWest Nile Virus.

Another alarmingfactor is the DeformedWing Virus seems to bereplicating within themite, continuallyincreasing the amount ofpathogens the mite

Brandon Dill/Special to The Commercial Appeal

Honeybees crowd the entrance to a healthy colonyat the Memphis Botanic Garden.

mites in the colonies.

Varroa mites, which

were introducedinadvertently into beecolonies about 30 yearsago, have been a continualsource of sickness anddeath in honeybees.

Underhill said a newstrain of virus,Invertebrate Iridescent


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their way back.Bees are amazing in their ability to

be able to identify landmarks and to beable to find things, she said.

Worker bees fall into two categories,nurse bees and forager bees. Nurse bees

spend the first three of their six-week lifespan inside the colony tending the broodand building comb.

Forager bees may fly as far as 21/2miles from the colony in search of food.

Some speculate thatCCD may resultbecause bees in theaffected colonies havelost their ability to find

their way back to thecolony, Underhill said.

Ostiguy said thisresearch is the firstmajor study doneabout CCD.

Similar to thediscovery of the HIVvirus, which had been

in existence longbefore it wasidentified, deathsfrom HIV usually are

caused by other diseases, such aspneumonia that often kills people whoseimmunity systems already arec o m p ro m i s e d .

Likewise, Ostiguy said at this point itis unclear whether CCD is causing the

decrease in colonies or whether it is aresult of viruses passed on to coloniesalready stressed when winter begins.

T h e re s so much we dont know aboutdiseases in bees that its hard to figureout whether or not we have one problemor multiple problems, Ostiguy said.

transmits to the bee, Ostiguy said.The fact that the virus is growing

inside the mites was only discoveredabout three years ago.

Bee colonies also are affected by afungus, Nosema, which previously had

only one strain, but a second strain hasbeen discovered with speculation thatthe combination of the new IIV virusand the new strain of fungus could beresponsible for CCD.

Researchers arecontinuing to examinesamples from all threegroups to try to isolatewhat is happening at

the beginning of CCDin the hopes of beingable to prevent it.

When we are ableto tell a colony is dyingof CCD, it is alreadydead, Ostiguy said.

By the time we canreliably say that it has

CCD, the queen maybe left there may behalf brood (eggs thathave not hatched), andmaybe a couple of dozen workers. Acolony should, during the summertimehave between 30,000 and 60,000individuals in it, she said.

Another characteristic of CCD is thatthe bees left in the colony are all very

young worker bees indicating thatforager bees have left the colony and notre t u r n e d .

Bees are incredibly social insects andwhen they first hatch, young bees takean orientation flight from the hive tolearn the lay of the land and how to find

If honeybees become

extinct, human society

will follow in four years.

ALBERT EINSTEIN

speaking about the symbiotic relationshipof all life on the planet


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Up on the roofTrezevant Manors green roofing is first for Memphis

By Suzanne Thompson

Special to Going Green

Its not unusual to use hearty plants asground cover in a yard, but on a roof?

Green roofs are increasing inpopularity around the country.

One building in Memphis, Trezevant

Manor, now has three areas of greenroofing, the first of its kind in the city.

We are certified installers, s aidBrandon Speakman, project manager atLinkous Construction, the company thatinstalled the roof as part of a massivere n ovat i o n .

In order to install the green roof,

Photos by Mike Maple/The Commercial Appeal

Michael Isom Sr. looks out over the green roof at Trezevant Manor. We retrying to be on the cutting edge of the greening of Memphis, he said.


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Linkous Construction installed the green roof as

part of a massive renovation project at TrezevantManor.

COVERING A ROOF

WITH PLANTS HAS

MANY BENEFITS:

In the summer,green roofs can lowerindoor temperatures

by 6 to 8 degrees.They can reduceindoor sound levels byas much as 40decibels, a greatbenefit to occupantsof buildings nearairports, trains andhigh-traffic areas.

They absorb

excess rainwater andreduce the runoffgoing into stormwaterdrainage systems.They also filter outpollutants in waterthat returns to thea q u i fe r .

They providehabitat for butterflies,insects and songbirds.

They expand theusefulness of buildingsby providing outdoorliving spaces foro ccu p an t s .

People who haveviews of nature havebeen found to be more

productive, healthy,happy and creative.Green roofs

reduce the intensity ofUV sun rays that getto the membrane, thusextending the life ofthe roof.

growers requiredmembers of theconstruction team toparticipate in acertification class.

The live roof concept is

fairly new and plants,called Sedum, come inmodules that are 2 feetlong and 1 foot wide,about the size of a flat ofplants.

They are in about 51/2inches of soil and eachplant is wrapped in aposter board, which when

removed, creates aseamlessly covered roof.

It becomes monolithic,because you cant see anyof the border, Speakmans aid.

Michael Isom Sr.,director of plant

operations at TrezevantManor, worked forLinkous as asuperintendent for about11 years before he tookhis current position.

Trezevant Manor wantsto be known for itscommitment to becomingmore and moreenvironmentally friendlyin its operations, he said.

Isom said TrezevantManor plans to add moregreen roofs in the comingye a rs .

We re trying to be onthe cutting edge of thegreening of Memphis,making sure the facilitywe have here is well notedhere in the communityand on a national basis,Isom said.


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Trezevant Manor eventuallyplans to gain LEED certification.

Adding the green roofs arejust another feather in TrezevantManors cap in obtaining LEEDcertification. Its an ongoing

p ro c e s s , Isom said.The green roofs reduce theurban heat island effect:temperatures are higher insidethe city because of massiveamounts of asphalt producingradiational heat from the sun.

That is only one of a number ofattributes installing the roof haso f f e re d .

We certainly think it adds a lotof benefits, Speakman said.

Re s i d e n t s response to theconcept has been extremelypositive, according to Isom.

The view for the people wholive on the upper floors hasgreatly improved.

People on the fourth and fifthfloor were looking down at a barero o f , he said.

In addition to beingaesthetically pleasing, the liveroof covering also provides soundinsulation, storm water runoffand has the potential to greatlyreduce utility costs for theresidents who live in apartmentsunder the roof.

Trezevant Manor has a tightlyknit community and residentsoften visit one another in theevenings and spend time out ontheir patios enjoying their newscenery, Isom said.

We feel like the owners willreceive years and years ofbenefits, Speakman said.

This article is the second in a continuing series onpreparing your home inside and out for thechange in season. Fall is an important time to laythe groundwork for a g re e n e r home and garden.

By Christine Arpe Gang

Special to Going Green

If you want to join legions of organicallyaware gardeners by reducing or eliminating

the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizersnext season, experienced gardeners say youshould begin preparing your soil now.

Soil is extremely important in all kindsof gardening but especially organic gar-dening where plants depend on naturallyoccurring nutrients in the soil to providealmost everything they need to thrive.

Feed the soil and the soil will feed theplants is a basic rule of organic gardening.

Begin with a soil analysis, said Jim Volgas,a master gardener who gardens organically.If you find you need to add lime to make itless acidic, now is a good time to do it.

Now is also the time to add as much or-ganic material to planting beds as possible.Materials include the plethora of fallenleaves, grass clippings, commercial or home-

Fe e d

the soilWant to grow an organic

garden? Nows the time tostart prep work.


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File photos by Nikki Boertman/The Commercial Appeal

Dan Patrick works with his mother, Julie, in their organic wintergarden in Mississippi.

made compost, alfalfa pellets,completely decomposed manureand finely ground pine bark pack-aged as soil conditioner.

I like to chop up the leaves be-fore adding them be-cause they breakdown faster, s aidBill Colvard, anotherorganic gardener.You can run overthem with a

mulching mowerwith a bag attach-ment or use a yardvacuum with a shred-der attachment.

Some gardeners place bigleaves in a garbage can and thenuse a string trimmer to chopthem in the can.

Colvard drives through neigh-borhoods looking for leaves tosupplement the ones that fall nat-urally into his yard. He appre-ciates people who put their yard

waste in clear plas-tic bags becausethen he can seewhat hes getting.Slender leaves likewillow oaks need noc h o p p i n g.

Avoid thickly tex-tured leaves such asmagnolias becausethey take a longtime to decompose.

Leaves and other organic mat-ter can be piled into beds andallowed to rot as is, but if theyare worked in with a tiller, they

Worms break downcompost for thePa t r i c k s garden.


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break down more quickly.When organic materials

are incorporated into ourfinely textured clay soils,they create places for airand water.

Organic matter openspore space in the soil thatcan store water so itdoesnt run off as quickly, Volgas said. Root sys-tems grow better whenthey have room inthe soil. And ifroots are happy,the rest of the plant

will be happy, too.Its also an invit-

ing environmentfor earthworms,workhorses of thegarden. When theycan easily tunnelthrough soil, theyare more efficientat taking organicmatter from the topof the soil and de-positing it furtherdown through theirc a s t i n gs .

Healthy soil, organicgardeners believe, can bejudged by the numberand size of earthworms in

a shovel full of dirt.After 12 years of organ-ic gardening at his previ-ous home, Colvard sawthe earthworms growfrom thin and sparse tonumerous and big 6 to8 inches long and very fat.

To keep leaves from

blowing away in yourplanting beds, you canweight them down with athin layer of r mulch. Itwill eventually decomposeand enrich the soil, too.

Another method in-volves stretching water-permeable landscape clothover the beds and weigh-ing it down with bricks.

dening is an environmen-tally sound choice.

You may not be able tocompletely eliminate syn-thetic fertilizers and pes-ticides the first year. Con-

sider going organic aprocess rather than an all-or-nothing technique.

After a few seasons,beneficial insects will pret-ty much control harmful

ones, C o l va rdsaid. You have toalways be on thelookout for tomato

hornworms andsquash borers.

Organic prod-ucts such as Bt(bacillius thurin-genisis) can beused to kill caterpil-lars and homemademixtures of garlicand red pepper arealso deterrents forinsects.

Kay McAdams, amaster gardenerand organic gar-

dener, uses Bt to controlcabbage worms on her cab-bage and broccoli crops.

But I dont have a solu-

tion for squash bugs, shesaid. They look like stinkbugs and will suck the lifeout of squash plants.

When its time to plant,McAdams adds a smallamount of worm castingsand mycorrhizal fungi inthe hole. Mycorrhizae are

April and Doug Blankenship put a lot ofeffort into preparing soil for theirvegetable garden. Doug built raised bedsand April filled them with compostedcow manure, other amendments and soil.

Remove the cloth and dis-card at planting time.

After the beds are filledwith organic materials,t h e re s not much morephysical work to do untilplanting time. But youcan spend time readingabout the plants you wantto install in the spring,organic gardening meth-ods and why organic gar-


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naturally occurring fungithat send thread-likegrowth into the soil.

While organic garden-ing is trendy today, bothColvard and McAdamslearned it from grandpar-ents. They never heardtheir methods called or-ganic. To them, it was

just the only way to gar-den.

My grandfather grewsome of the best food Iever put in my mouth us-ing no synthetic chemi-cals, Colvard said. So Ialways knew if he coulddo it, I could too.

And McAdams learned

to garden at her grand-f at h e r s elbow and does ittoday for a compellingre a s o n :

I just think organicallygrown vegetables tasteb e tt e r.

Chris Gang writes theGreen Thumb column forThe Commercial Appeal.

Fans of the Greenline

Emily Adams Keplinger/The Commercial Appeal

Kristi, Reeves and Ken Bauer rode their bikes along thenew GreenLine, from Tillman Street in Binghamton to

Shelby Farms, and back to Tillman. The entire loop is alittle more than 14 miles long. The family said they weresurprised at how easy the dedicated trail made the trek.


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By Neela Banerjee

McClatchy-Tribune Newspapers

WASHINGTON Now that the GOP has woncontrol of the U.S. House, senior congressional

Republicans plan to launch a blistering attack on theObama administrations environmental policies, as wellas on scientists who link air pollution to climate change.

The GOPs fire will be concentrated especially on thea d m i n i s t rat i o n s efforts to use the EnvironmentalProtection Agencys authority over air pollution totighten emissions controls on coal, oil and other carbonfuels that scientists say contribute to global warming.

GOP plans attacks on EPAand some climate scientists

Associated Pressfile photo

The Obamaadministrationhas embracedthe position thathuman activity isresponsible foran increase inglobal warming.

John McConnico/Associated Press

Global warming: a political issue?


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The Commercial Appeal Su n d ay , November 14 , 2010 | GOING GREEN 15

The attack, accordingto senior Republicans, willseek to portray the EPA asabusing its authority anddamaging the economywith needless government

re gu l at i o n s .In addition, GOPleaders say, they will focuson what they see asdistortions of scientificevidence regarding climatechange and on Obamaadministration efforts toachieve by executive rule-making what it failed to

win from Congress.Even if Republicans had

won majorities in both theHouse and Senate, theywould face difficultiesputting their views intolegislative form.

But the GOPs plans forwide-ranging andsustained investigationsby congressionalcommittees could put theEPA and administrationenvironment alpolicymakers on thedefensive and createpolitical pressures thatcould cause PresidentBarack Obama to pull back

on environmental issuesas the 2012 presidentialelection draws closer.

White House officialshave said they areconsidering hiring morelawyers to the Office ofLegal Counsel to gird forthe possible battles ahead.

Yet even with the WhiteHouse runninginterference for the EPAand other agencies, EPAAdministrator Lisa P.Jackson conceded that aRepublican anti-regulatory campaign

could end up effectivelyhamstringing hera ge n c y s work.

The new rules EPA hasissued over the last yearon vehicle emissions and

those expected soon forindustry, Jackson said,would be endangered bymany, if not all, of theefforts weve seen to takeaway the agencysgreenhouse gas authority.

Over the last two years,the Obama administrationand the EPA have stepped

up pressure on industry,utilities and states tocurtail pollution. A 2007Supreme Court rulingopened the door for theEPA to use its authority toregulate greenhouse gasemissions, resulting in new

Nikki Boertman/The Commercial Appeal file photo

Over the last two years, the Obama administration

and the EPA have stepped up pressure on industry,utilities and states to curtail pollution.

White House

officials have said

they are

considering hiring

more lawyers tothe Office of Legal

Counsel to gird for

the possible

battles ahead.


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People gatheroutside the

Fraterville coalmine near Lake

City, Tenn., to

learn if thereare any

survivors froma May 19, 1902,

ex p l o s i o n .There werenone. More

than 200 menand boys

perished.

AP Photo/Courtesyof Museum of

Appalachia

rules for vehicle emissionsand, starting early nextyear, regulations foremissions from utilities.

In contrast to theprevious administration,the Obama White Househas also embraced thebroad consensus withinthe scientific communitythat human activity,mainly through theemitting of carbon dioxide,has led to global warming.

All that will be up forscrutiny with theRepublican takeover of theHouse. The RepublicanParty hammered at thea d m i n i s t rat i o n senvironmental agendaduring the campaign. And

rejecting the work ofclimate scientists hasbecome increasinglycommon among

c o n s e r vat i ve s .Several key Republican

congressmen have saidthey plan to investigateclimate scientists theycontend manipulated datato prove the case thathuman activity iscontributing to globalwa r m i n g.

In a recent op-edarticle, Rep. Fred Uptonof Michigan, the rankingRepublican on thepowerful House Energyand CommerceCommittee, declared thatthe GOP is preparing to

declare war on theregulatory state.

A steady flow of letters,subpoenas and

congressional hearingswould prove i n c re d i b l yd i s r u p t i ve to an agencysability to work andpromulgate rules, saidKate Gordon, of theenergy policy project atthe Center for AmericanProgress, a liberalresearch and advocacygroup in Washington.

Congressional inquiriesalso offer a platform forenergizing the GOPsconservative base in therun-up to the 2012el e c t i o n s .

The investigations are


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Associated Press file photo

U.S. Rep. James F.Sensenbrenner Jr. ofWisconsin is among theHouse Republicans onthe Select Committee

on Energy Independenceand Global Warmingwho assert that thescience on climatechange is not yetsettled.

expected to targetquestions about EPAspreparedness for the Gulfof Mexico oil spill. Already,House Republicans havewritten letters to the

Interior Departmentquestioning themoratorium on deepwateroil and gas drilling that theadministration invokedafter the explosion on BPsDeepwater Horizon rig.

But the primary focuswill be on the EPAsdetermination last year

that carbon dioxide andother emissions endangerpublic welfare bycontributing to climatec h a n ge .

Armed with this finding,the EPA has moved toreduce greenhouse gasesby mandating emissionsreductions in vehicles andwill soon move to regulatestationary sources likepower plants and factories.

House Republicanshave criticized the EPAfor basing itsendangerment finding onwhat they consider flawedresearch. Republicans

assert that the science onclimate change is not yets e tt l e d , despite the vastglobal scientific consensusabout its human causes.

Specifically, Rep. DarrellIssa, R-Calif., has said hewants to investigate theC l i m at e gat e scandal that

broke late last year, whenhackers illegally obtainedand released thousands ofe-mails of climatescientists working with aleading British laboratory.

Climate skeptics,among them HouseRepublicans like Issa,

contend that the snipingand harshness in some e-mails prove that climatescientists suppresseddissenting studies andthat science showing thelink between greenhousegases and climate changeis biased and tainted.

Associated Press file photo

The EPA has moved to reduce greenhouse gases bymandating emissions reductions in vehicles and willsoon move to regulate stationary sources likepower plants and factories.


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D on t break the bank

Yes, you can build a low-cost green house

By Andy Mead

McClatchy Newspapers

The greenest house in LewisCounty, Ky., is a pleasant shade of

blue and a model for future low-income housing.It is LEED-certified by the U.S.

Green Building Council, whichmeans it is an energy-efficient,durable and healthy place to live.

I really like it, said MelissaEvans, a county schools employeewho bought the 1,120-square foothouse and plans to live there with

her 10-year-old daughter, Jaycee.The sale price, offset somewhat

by a grant, was $90,000, with lowinterest rates and the promise oflower utility and maintenance costsin the future.

The house was built by anonprofit organization calledPe o p l e s Self-Help Housing Inc.,which has been building low-incomehouses in the county since 1982.

Pe o p l e s has built and sold 275houses, and it built and manages120 rental units.

Unlike Habitat for Humanity,Pe o p l e s hires people to buildhouses.

We dont have a lot of resourcesin Lewis County as far as peopleand businesses, so our goal is totrain local folks and provide jobs,said Dave Kreher, Peoples

executive director.A couple of years ago, on Peoples25th anniversary, the board ofdirectors decided that new houseshad to be more energy-efficient tooffset rapidly increasing utility rates.

People can afford the financing tobuy the homes but they cant affordto pay the utilities, Kreher said.

Recent Peoples houses have

been Energy Star-rated and useabout one-third less energy thanstandard houses of their size.

There also have been a couple ofhomes that heat water and producesome electricity from solar rays.

There are only two LEED housesofficially listed in Kentucky, asilver-rated house in Lexington thatwas built in 2006, and a gold-ratedhouse in Covington that wascompleted earlier this year.

The house in downtownVanceburg will be No. 3, and it hasenough points to qualify for a goldrating (the scale is certified silver,gold and platinum).


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What makes ahouse green?

Most of the thingsthat earned points forthe LEED rating canbecome standard in

other homes.Du ra b i l i ty : The

siding is fiber cement,which lasts longerthan regular sidingand holds paintl o n ge r .

Insulation: Thewalls are built with

two-by-six studsinstead oftwo-by-four. Thatsaves money becausefewer studs areneeded, and moreinsulation can fit inthe walls. The rooftrusses are raisedwhere the roof meets

the wall, also toaccommodate moreinsulation.

Wa t e r : The househas plumbingfixtures, such asdual-flush toilets, thatwill require lesswater. The yard issmall and hasdrought-tolerantplants.

Eq u i p m e n t : Lights,washer, dryer, fansand refrigerator allare Energy Starcertified and will useless electricity.

Tom Fern, state director of rural developmentfor the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said thehouse is an important step in helping people withlow incomes achieve their dream of homeow n e rs h i p and helps keep them in those homes.

He noted that Lewis County which is in

northeastern Kentucky and has a population ofabout 14,000 is one of 43 counties in the statewhere poverty is considered persistent.

Kreher said that he is not sure that certificationwill be sought for futurehouses because of the extracost, but that most of thethings that earned points forthe LEED rating can becomestandard in other homes.

Greg Miller, Peoplesdirector of design andconstruction technologies,said that even the houseslocation will save thehomeowner money and goeasy on the environment.

Its within walkingdistance or a short drivefrom a lot of things, he said.Being here in downtownVanceburg, theres agrocery, theres the library,the police department, thefire department, most ofyour day-to-day needs.

The cost to build the house was about$115,000, Miller said.

But some of the costs were higher because

carpenters and other workers werent familiarwith techniques like using two-by-six studs. Hethinks the house could be built again and come inmuch closer to $90,000.

And, he said, it is a house that will last.We re not using the cheapest material, but the

most durable material, he said. So over thelifetime of the house, it will be cheaper for theh o m e ow n e r.

We re not using

the cheapest

material, but the

most durable

material. So over

the lifetime of the

house, it will be

cheaper for the

homeowner.

GREG MILLER

Pe o p l e s Self-Help Housing Inc.director of design and

construction technologies


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Under deconstr uction

By Andy Piper

Telegraph Herald

DUBUQUE, Iowa The Dittmer Recyclingtruck totes a Dumpsterloaded with drywall,insulation, wood scrapsand other debris.

T h at s all thats goingto the landfill from thishouse, said KyleFitzgerald, site managerfor Gronen Restoration.

Fitzgerald is overseeingdeconstruction of a rowof houses. Deconstructionis more labor-intensivethan traditional

demolition. The processseparates reusable wood,flooring and fixtures fromthe garbage.

According to Gronensguidelines, a successfuldeconstruction projectdiverts 80 percent to 90percent of a structurestotal weight from thelandfill into reuse orre c yc l i n g.

The average houseweighs 80 tons, said KenOrtiz, Chicago regionalmanager for The ReUsePeople, an organization

dedicated to divertingreusable constructionmaterial from the landfill.The impact is prettysignificant .

Now that the plaster,drywall and painted woodare gone, Fitzgeraldstrolls through 502

Rhomberg and points outthe go l d that remains,such as the 2-by-4s and 2-by-12s used for the wallsand support beams. Thelumber originated in old-growth forests, andalthough used, it is ingreat demand.

Everybody wants that

old-growth wood forfurniture making, flooringand molding, Ortiz said.There just isnt enoughof it available. We cantkeep it in ourwa reh o u s e s .

Nails will be removedand the wood will bestacked according to size,banded and trucked toChicago to meet demandin a fast-growing marketfor previously usedbuilding materials.

An old stove, kitchencabinets, a bathroom

cabinet, a mirror and astorm door are allmarketable, Fitzgeraldsaid. Antique sinks andbathtubs also are highlyprized in the Chicagomarket .

This light fixture isamazing, he said,

pointing to a bedroomceiling. Its probably allbrass. It will go for bigb u c ks .

Deconstruction issomewhat new to thearea, and DeronMuehring, of the citysEngineering Department,hopes a project of this

magnitude persuadescontractors to adopt thep ro c e s s .

Our goal is to divertmaterial from the landfilleither as reuse orre c yc l i n g , Mu eh r i n gs aid.

The way we bid thisproject, the more thecontractors divert fromthe landfill, the more theyget paid. The city isgoing to learn a lot oflessons from this projectand so will thec o n t ra c t o rs .

Dubuque neighborhood uses green demolition methods


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22 GOING GREEN | Su n day , November 14 , 2010 co mm er cia l a pp ea l.co m

By Jane Arraf

The Christian Science Monitor

MOUNT PERMAGRONE, Iraq Onthis mountainside in Iraqi Kurdistan,botanists are gathering hundreds ofplant samples in an effort to protecttheir countrys diverse environment,ranging from northern mountain ranges

to the marshes of southern Iraq.Mount Permagrone is home to one-sixth of the roughly 3,300 plant va-rieties intended to be collected and pre-served in a new national herbarium acatalog of the countrys plant specimensthat was looted and destroyed in Bagh-dad after Saddam Hussein was toppledin 2003.

Jane Arraf

Kurdish boys in the foothills of Mount Permagrone manage their flocks.Environmentalists are trying to protect this biologically diverse region.

Iraqis gather plant samples

to replace destroyed collection


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The Commercial Appeal Su n d ay, November 14 , 2010 | GOING GREEN 23

Its also near one of the major trib-utaries of the Tigris River that, togetherwith the waters of the Euphrates, formsI ra q s southern marshes. Major swaths ofthe marshes, the biggest wetlands in theMiddle East, were drained by Saddam

and are just now coming back to life.Those who want the marshes re-stored understand that there is an in-trinsic connection between the moun-tains of Kurdistan and the marshes ofI ra q , said environmentalist Azzam Al-wash, whose Nature Iraq organizationhas shifted from monitoring bird life inthe south to a wider mission: protectingkey biodiversity areas.

Iraq recently became party to the in-ternational Convention on Biological Di-versity, aimed at protecting biodiversityand encouraging sustainable develop-ment. Signatories to the convention metin Japan for a late October summit.

But Alwash has plenty of his ownideas already, including creating a na-tional park in themarshes. Such apark would committhe government toregulating the wa-ter flow to preventthe wetlands fromstagnating andplant and bird lifefrom disappearing.

T h at s a challenge

amid competingdemands for Iraqsincreasingly limit-ed water includ-ing those by the oili n d u s t r y.

His group is also trying to have themountain declared a special biodiversitysite, which would protect it from de-

velopment in the rapidly expanding cityof Suleymaniyah nearby. But with pro-tecting the environment a tough sell inwar-torn Iraq, Alwash hopes to appealto the economic interests of Kurdishresidents in the north, promoting eco-

tourism activities such as kayaking androck climbing.Training young botanists left behind

as Iraqs scientific research stagnated isalso part of the broader effort to pre-serve Iraqs biodiversity, an effort thathas involved elder scientists who havelong lived in exile.

Our goal is to create a new gen-eration of Iraqi botanists, said Ihsan al-

Shehbaz, who left Iraq in 1981. Thecountry has been deprived of properscience for the last 35 years.

Shehbaz, who worked on his 37-vol-ume Flora of China for years, is nowhelping to establish a digital herbariumof Iraqi plants that can be used by schol-ars around the world, as well as a seed

bank and botanicalgardens. The on-line herbariumwould update a 12-volume Flora ofIraq he began inconjunction withBrit ains RoyalBotanical Gardensbut abandoned dur-ing the Iran-Iraq

war in the 1980s.We need toknow what there isthere before we doanything else, he

said by telephone from the United States,where he now lives. A great deal of thewealth of knowledge is basically beinglost because no one is recording it.

Those who want the marshes

restored understand that

there is an intrinsic

connection between the

mountains of Kurdistan and

the marshes of Iraq,

AZZAM ALWASH

Environmentalist with Nature Iraq whosemission is protecting key biodiversity areas


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24 GOING GREEN | S u n d ay, November 14 , 2010 co mm er c ia l app ea l.co m

En v i r o n m e n t a l i st swant 60 mpg fuelstandard by 2025

The strategy forreducing the smog, sootand global warmingpollutants belched from carand truck exhaust pipeshas focused largely onincreasing the miles thesevehicles get per gallon.

Federal EnvironmentalProtection Agency andTransportation Departmentofficials are expected torelease their proposals to

reduce vehicle pollutantsand increase fuel efficiencyby the end of the month.Groups including theNational ResourcesDefense Council, SierraClub and the Union ofConcerned Scientistsalready have a goal t h eywant cars and trucks toachieve an average 60

miles per gallon by 2025.The groups are set to

announce a nationalcampaign to promote thisstandard and to pushfederal officials to adopt it.Current standards call foran average 35 mpg for carsand trucks by 2020. To seewhat the standards arenow, and to learn moreabout the complicatedsystem of tradeoffs thatallows manufacturers toproduce SUVs with lowermpg ratings, visiti cs w . n h ts a .go v/ca r s /r u l es/CA F E /o v e r v i ew . h t m .

Spencer Hunt, TheColumbus (Ohio) Dispatch

GM partners withEnvision Solar forChevy Volt rechargingBy Susan Carpenter

Los Angeles Times

Every electric vehicle is the equivalent of one ortwo single-family residences in terms of impact on

the electric grid, said Desmond Wheatley, pres-ident of Envision Solar in San Diego.To help offset that impact, Envision has partnered

with General Motors to provide solar-poweredcharging t re e s to GM dealers selling its soon-to-bereleased Chevy Volt. The Volt is a plug-in electricvehicle that runs on a 16-kilowatt lithium ion bat-tery and a range-extending gas engine.

We re leading in introducing to the marketplacea vehicle that is powered by electricity. We see

electrification of automobiles as being the long-termp l ay, said Sharon Basel, manager of GMs en-vironment, energy and advanced technology com-munications. For that to really happen, infrastruc-ture needs to be developed. Were looking all thetime to expand our involvement with poweringfacilities by renewable sources like solar, so this was

just a natural step for us as we talk about leadingand building a business infrastructure.

Envision solar trees track with the sun to max-imize energy production. Set up in one- and six-park-ing-space configurations, each space can generateenough electricity to fully charge one Volt in a day.

In addition to generating electricity, the solartrees provide shade, because, Wheatley says, 80percent of the electricity an electric vehicle takes onboard after first plugging in goes to cooling thebattery to a temperature that will accept a charge.


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Although some of the trees are transportable,most will be tied in to the grid. The chargingstations within the trees are provided through

existing providers, such as Ecotality andCoulomb Technologies, and will consist of Level1 (120-volt) and Level 2 (240-volt) chargers.Each charge will cost about one-third as muchas refueling a gas vehicle, Wheatley said.

The whole goal is to reduce dependence onpetroleum and reduce overall emissions, GMsBasel said. To get electricity from renewablesources like the sun is an ideal condition.

Proper maintenancehelps lower emissions

According to the Car CareCouncil, by properly maintainingyour vehicles fuel system, youwill not only improve the

performance of your vehicle, butlower its emissions and savemoney at the pump, too.

A well-maintained fuel systemis essential for good gas mileage,said Rich White, the councilsexecutive director. By simplyreplacing your cars fuel filterevery two years or 24,000 milesand having your fuel injectorsflushed out every 30,000 miles,

you will not only have a cleaner,greener car, but you will alsospend less at the pump.

In addition to routinemaintenance, your fuel systemshould be checked immediately ifyou smell gas, or suddenly havepoor fuel economy, becausethere might be leak in the fuelsystem. If the Check Enginelight is illuminated, it may mean

a problem with the fuel injectorsor oxygen sensors. While oxygensensors are part of the emissionsystem, they have a large impacton your vehicles fuel economy.

The fuel system in your carincludes a pressure regulator,fuel injectors, lines/hoses, fuelfilter, fuel tank and one or morefuel pumps. These componentswork together to supply fuel to

the vehicle as needed. The fuelsystem transfers fuel from thefuel tank, passing it through afuel filter for cleaning before itarrives at the injectors.

While the fuel system mayseem complex, preventativemaintenance will keep it runningat peak performance and keepyou in the green, said White.

Todd Plitt/McClatchy

Envision solar trees track with the sun tomaximize energy production. Set up in one-and six-parking-space configurations, eachspace can generate enough electricity to fullycharge one Volt in a day.


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26 GOING GREEN | S u n day, November 14 , 2010 co mm erci a l a pp ea l.com

ASK MNN

The scoop on green Web hosting

By Matt Hickman

Mother Nature Network

Q: I recently opened a small, brick-

and-mortar retail business in Coloradoand were looking to expand our Webpresence beyond a simple Facebook page.

My nephew is a Web designer so weveenlisted him to help out, and during acouple of initial meetings hes mentionedthe possibility of using a g re e n host for

our website. I have a basic understand-ing of what a Web host is a company

that rents out Web space on a big com-puter that operates 24/7 but Im notquite sure how one can be eco-friendly.Id like to go with a green Web host once I

understand exactly what one is. Care tofill me in?

Yo u re essentially correct about whata Web host is: a company that operatesthose big computers theyre calledservers where your website l i ve s .

Think of a Web host as a landlord for aweb s i t e .


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For a monthly or yearly fee, the Webhost provides a home, the server space,for your site and all of its data so thatwhen someone types in the address foryour business the site magically appearson their computer.

Keep in mind that your websitedoesnt just magically exist, floating toand fro about some kind of virtual ether.It lives in an actual computer main-tained by the host in an energy-guzzlingdata center.

The servers and other pieces of equip-ment in a data center, particularly cool-ing systems, require a whole lot of juiceto keep all those websites up and run-

ning 24/7.So, yes, your website does have the

potential to have a carbon footprint. Infact, according to SuperGreen Hosting,an average server produces 12.5 metrictons of CO2 annually, whereas an av-erage home produces 6.5 metric tons.

Furthermore, its believed that Webhosting could have a larger footprintthan the airline industry by the year2020 unless drastic changes are made.

To minimize their environmental im-pact, many Web hosting companies arepurchasing carbon offsets and/or RECs(renewable energy credits), or even di-rectly powering their operations withclean-energy sources such as wind orsolar. And aside from the energy neededto power the servers and other equip-

ment, green Web hosts frequently prac-tice various day-to-day green businesspractices such as recycling, telecommut-ing and tree-planting.

I would not consider myself part ofthe IT crowd by any means and cantpersonally recommend a green Webhost, but sites like Web Hosting Geeksand Hosting Review maintain helpful

lists of the top green hosting services.From my own research, green Web

hosts that seem to have good eco repsinclude iPage, a company thats an EPA

Green Power Partner and operates itsservers, offices and data centers with100 percent wind energy; DreamHost,another EPA Green Power Partner thatdecided to go carbon-neutral after learn-ing that its business generated as muchCO2 as 545 average-sized homes; andGreenGeeks, a 300 percent wind-pow-ered company that even encourages em-ployees to bring in home-cooked meals

for lunch and dinner to reduce take - outfood waste at company HQ.

So there you have it. Websites do,believe it or not, have carbon footprints.To minimize yours, Id highly suggestgoing with a green Web host.

Got a question? Submit it to Mother Nature(mnn .com/a s k m o t h e r n a t u re ? d e s t i n a t i o n a dv i c e ) .

Green Web hosts frequently practicevarious day-to-day green businesspractices such as recycling,telecommuting and tree-planting.


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28 GOING GREEN | S und ay , November 14 , 2010 co mm er c ia l app ea l.co m

Diving for dinner

By Mark Price

McClatchy Newspapers

CHARLOTTE, N.C. Dumpsterdiving is far from a fad with Universityof North Carolina Charlotte students,but 20-year-old Kaitlyn Tokay and herfriends say its catching on.

A self-described community activist,she began digging through grocerystore trash bins in May and blogging on

Facebook about the perfectly goodfood she found, cooked and ate.It was meant to be a monthlong ex-

periment, to expose societys continuedwastefulness, even in a recession.

But months later, Tokay is still at it,only now shes part of a team.

And as for her blog, readership is at1,600 and growing.

Gary O'Brien/Charlotte Observer

Kaitlyn Tokay, front, and her friends say Dumpster diving is catching on. Sheand her friend Stephanie Braun, 23, center, along with Jacob Hanks, left,explored a supermarket site.

Dumpster diners make pointwith perfectly good food


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It has been an eye-opening experi-ence to see not only what we throw awayas a society, but how it can be used, withsome imagination, says Tokay, a juniormajoring in communication studies.

Tokay and many other Dumpster

divers consider themselves freegans,practicing a form of environmentalismbased on minimal use of resources. Res-cued food, hand-me-down clothes andfound furniture are all part of the lifestyle.

Volunteerism is big, too, and Tokaydoes that by sharing her found foodwith the homeless, sometimes workingwith a program that serves meals on thestreets of Charlotte.

Freegan or not, grocery stores main-tain that Dumpster diving is a form oft re s p a s s i n g.

Grocery stores note that there arecompelling reasons food is deemed un-fit, including damage, exposure and be-ing past its sell by date. Some storechains solve this dilemma by donatingwhatever they can save.

Tokay and her peers realize theyreconsidered a nuisance, which is why theyonly come out at night, between mid-night and 4 a.m. Most work in teams,with one in the trash bin, handing out theloot to someone waiting on the outside.

Tokay typically works with severalpeople, including Stephanie Braun, 23, asocial work major who is also presidentof the UNCC Earth Club. Braun con-

siders Dumpster diving a form of re-cycling, and has been on outings with asmany as four people.

We re college students, so were al-ready up at midnight, at coffee shops ordoing our homework, says Braun. Itsreally like going on a scavenger hunt,and its exciting, because you neverknow what youll find.

Or whom youll meet.She and Braun were diving and heard

that dreaded beep, beep, beep soundthat garbage trucks make when theyrebacking up to something.

I was terrified that I was about to bedumped into a garbage truck, To kaysays. Then, we realized that it was

someone who was going to dump trashinto the Dumpster.Awkward, indeed.I didnt know what to do, so I got

out of the Dumpster holding a bunch ofbananas and offered the driver one.

They didnt know what to think.Jacob Hanks, 22, is a recent UNCC

grad who is among Tokays partners.

What types of food are dated?Open dating is found on perishable

foods such as meat, poultry, eggs anddairy products. Closed or co d e d datingmight appear on shelf-stable productssuch as cans and boxes.

Types of DatesSe ll -By date: Tells the store how

long to display the product for sale. Youshould buy the product before the dateex p i r es .

Best if Used By (or Before) date:Recommended for best flavor or quality.It is not a purchase or safety date.

Us e - By date: The last daterecommended for the use of the productwhile at peak quality. The date has beendetermined by the manufacturer of theproduct.

Closed or coded dates: Pa c k i n gnumbers for use by the manufacturer.

Source: fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/fo o d _ p ro d u c t _ d a t i n g /i n d ex . a s p


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30 GOING GREEN | S u n d ay , November 14 , 2010 co mm er cia l a pp ea l.co m

Hes been at it longer, though, havingstarted last year after hearing about itfrom a friend who had been Dumpsterdiving in Portland, Ore..

He says he gets most of his mealsthese days from trash bins. There is anabundance of stuff. Weve had timeswhere we found enough food to fill upthe entire kitchen floor, including pas-tries, packaged cakes, shrink-wrappedbarbecue ribs and a lot of bread.

Among Hanks observations is thatDumpster divers tend to be more activein the fall and winter, because the cold-er weather is natural refrigeration.

He says they eat better, because theyfind fruits, vegetables and meats that

struggling college students can seldom af-ford. He and other Dumpster divers con-tend that much of this food was tossed outunnecessarily due to health regulations.

The USDA concurs, noting the countryhas no universally accepted system forfood dating. In fact, it says on its websitethat many products should still be safeafter the sell-by date, if handled properly.

Tokay says shes living proof, havingnever gotten sick from eating items foundin the trash. Just because a product saysits out of date on June 2, or whatever,doesnt mean its gone bad exactly onJune 2. A lot of times, theyre still good.

Tokay goes four times a week, andhas gotten used to the feeling of wa-termelon and cottage cheese slidingdown her pants legs, and rotten veg-etables in her shoes.

She also has gotten used to a newway of cooking that depends on what-ever was found that week in a trash bin.

Lately, shes been cooking a lot withflax oil, after finding an entire case.One bottle was broken, so the store

just threw out the whole case.Her refrigerator is brimming, including2 pounds of kosher beef, 8 ounces of or-ganic pea shoots, and 5 pounds of straw-berries that shes turning into smoothiesusing a blender found in a trash bin.

I have no idea what this is, she says,holding a can with the label torn off. Itwill be a total surprise when we open it.

A recent haulfrom Dumpsterdiving includedboth packaged

and fresh foods.

Gary O'BrienCharlotte Observer


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By Matt Hickman

Mother Nature Network

There are plenty of ways to extendthe life of the cardboard toilet papertube through creative reuse. The hum-ble tube is a crafting must-have, andalso serves as compost material, cordorganizer, pantyhose container, napkinring, seed germinator, pet rodent toy,and, potentially, a memo pad. But whatabout tube-less toilet paper rolls? Im-possible, you say? Watch out, GeorgeCostanza, because soon shoppers will

be able to purchase just that ... toiletpaper rolls sans cardboard tubes.

USA Today is reporting that at Wal-mart and Sams Club stores across theNortheast Kimberly-Clark will introducetube-free loo rolls through the ScottNaturals brand. I first blogged aboutScott Naturals back in August 2009when Kimberly-Clark launched the re-cycled content brand, giving the com-panys sullied environmental reputationa boost. Well, it seems that K-C is onan, ahem, eco-roll with news of ScottNaturals Tube-Free toilet paper.

Roll with itScott introduces tube-free paper products


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32 GOING GREEN | Sun d ay , November 14 , 2010 co mm er c ia l a pp ea l.co m

The tube-less technology behind thetoilet paper is hush-hush. While theholes in the rolls may not be as round aswe re accustomed to, they will fit overstandard spindles and every last squareof toilet paper will be usable. And to be

clear, the toilet paper will not boastrecycled content. But hey, its a start.If the product performs well during

the test run at Walmart and Sams Club,Kimberly-Clark may unleash tube-lesstoilet paper on a national or evenglobal scale and extend the technol-ogy to paper towels.

Scott NaturalsTube-free toilet

paper is part ofK i m b e rl y -C l a rk s push(some wouldsay a much de-layed one) to-wards eco-inno-vation. Lastmonth, the com-pany focused onhome water con-servation with the introduction of theSmart Flush Bag, a water-conserving de-vice given away for free for a limitedtime with the purchase of Scott Naturalstoilet paper. Kimberly-Clark claims thatwhen placed in a toilet tank, the SmartFlush Bag can help a family of four saveup to 2,000 gallons of water a year.

Eliminating waste is the drive behindScott Natural Tube-Free toilet paper. ByKimberly-Clark estimates, 17 billion toi-let paper tubes are produced each year inthe U.S. When placed end-to-end, thosetubes could stretch to the moon andback twice. All and all, these card-board toilet paper tubes account for 160million pounds of landfill-bound trash.

E A RT H TA L K

No fertilizers,

no pesticides and no soil

Dear EarthTalk: What are the en-vironmental benefits of the hydro-ponic growing of lettuce and other

c ro p s ?

While organic agriculture is all therage, growing by leaps and bounds tomeet increased consumer demandfor healthier food, another optiont h at s less well known but just ashealthy is hydroponics, wherebyplants are grown in nutrient-fortifiedwater-based solutions without a soil

substrate whatsoever. Besides notneeding chemical fertilizers or pes-ticides (most of which are toxic aswell as derived from petroleum), hy-droponics also take up much lessspace than traditional agriculture,meaning that even an apartment win-dow can yield impressive amounts offood throughout the calendar year.

In traditional forms of agriculture,soil facilitates the process of pro-viding the mineral nutrients thatplants need to grow. Organisms inthe soil break down the nutrientsinto inorganic basic forms that theplants can then take up accordinglyand put to use photosynthesizing. Ofcourse, some of the organisms the


33/35


soil attracts are unwelcome, and notevery speck of soil is ideal as a growthmedium, so we have come up with waysto kill off unwanted pests (pesticides)and pump up the grounds productivity( f e r t i l i z e rs ) .

But growing fruits and vegetables hy-droponically obviates the need for fer-tilizers and pesticides let alone soil altogether. Without soil, there islittle to no microbial activity, so theplants depend on direct nutrients fromnutrient solutions, reports AlexandraGross in E The Environmental Mag-azine. And because hydroponics occurin a highly controlled space and mi-

crobial activity is at minimum, pesti-cides, insecticides and herbicides arenot needed.

In most hydroponic systems, the nu-trient solutions include inorganic saltfertilizers and semi-soluble organic ma-terials such as bat guano (manure),bone meal and fish emulsion. Sincegrowing hydroponically does not re-quire chemical fertilizers and pesticides,the method is inherently o rga n i c , al-though the federal government doesntrecognize it as such officially. Hydro-ponic farmers are trying to get the U.S.Food & Drug Administration to takesoil out of the equation when it comesto defining organic so that their prod-ucts can bear an organic certificationlabel on store shelves and appeal to a

quickly growing segment of green-mind-ed consumers.Hydroponic methods are becoming

especially popular with a new wave ofgreen-minded urban gardeners. Whenartist Britta Riley began growing herown food hydroponically in the windowof her fifth-floor Brooklyn apartment in2009 and sharing her findings with

like-minded folks all over the world viathe Internet the Windowfarms Pro-ject was born. In less than two years,some 13,000 people have joined the on-line community at the windowfarms.org

website, where members can downloadfree how-to instructions for homemadehydroponic systems.

Along with the Windowfarms Projectwebsite, a couple of good sources ofhydroponic growing information, inspi-ration and supplies include HydroponicsOnline and Simply Hydroponics and Or-ga n i c s .


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34 GOING GREEN | Su n day , November 14 , 2010 co mm er c ia l a pp ea l.co m

THE EDGY VEGGIE

Filmmaker goes meatlessBy Ellen Kanner

McClatchy-Tribune Newspapers

October was Vegetarian AwarenessMonth, and when I mentioned this tomy omnivore friends, theyd smile andsay, T h at s nice, dear. Then theyd eata burger.

So it made a welcome change toshare a meatless meal with Shane Close,former burger-loving surfer dude, nowdocumentary filmmaker of M e at l e s s :

The Movie.Prior to M e at l e s s , Close would grill

steaks or burgers three days a week.We d have meat every day, sometimesseveral times a day.

He went meatless last summer, and

began documenting a 90-day vegetarianexperiment that ended Oct. 9, bloggingabout it at meatlessthemovie.com. Wecrossed paths on Day 78.

Close and his wife, Amber, had madea point of eating well since their daugh-ter, Sophia, was born two years ago, butthat meant grass-fed beef, organic chick-en and a food bill that almost

equaled their mortgage.The idea to go meatless came on adare from his wife. The idea to doc-ument it came from Close, a film schoolgraduate who heads Big Angry Pixel, aCoral Gables, Fla., media design firm.Hes putting his money where his meat-less is, funding the project himself, ona shoestring and a prayer.

He leaped into the project committed,but deliberately under-researched

your basic sink or swim. I didnt knowanything about vegetarians, other thanthey eat fruits and vegetables.

One thing he did discover, thanks to ablood test he has high cholesterol.

My parents were farmers, s aidClose, a Kentucky native who lives inCoconut Grove, Fla. We ve got a longhistory of very large family members


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RAW GREEN CHUTNEY

This cilantro-mint chutney is adapted

from Niloufer Ichaporia Kings terrificMy Bombay Kitchen. This bright,no-cook wonder is ready in five minutes.

1 big bunch cilantro3 tbsp. fresh mint leaves1/2 cup grated unsweetened coconut (fresh, driedor frozen)1 jalapeno pepper2 garlic clovesJuice of 1 lime1

/2 tsp. cumin2 tsp. raw sugar1 pinch sea salt

Place all the ingredients in a food processor andpulse until they are coarsely chopped and justblended. Makes 6 servings.

and lots of heart disease.Halfway through filming, a cousin

died of a heart attack at 33.My fathers already had a heart at-

tack. This is something I definitely wantto ward off.

Close, 39, flashed a picture of his wifeand daughter. I have lots to live for.He gave up meat cold turkey, so to

speak, but eased into the change. Hewas vegetarian, embracing dairy andeggs, the first three weeks, went vegan(plant-based, no dairy, no eggs) the nexttwo, then moved to raw-food vegan.

The lacto-ovo phase was easy Close loves his cheese and ice cream.

The raw vegan phase, he admits, was ac h a l l e n ge . Soy ice cream, though, got abig thumbs up.

Going meatless was an adjustment.Now its a little easier. When I go to thestore, I know what to look for. Themore you do it, the easier it gets. Itotally expected to miss meat. Ih ave n t .

Close the filmmaker is a little dis-appointed it wasnt more of a struggle,but as the member of the householdwho does most of the cooking and foodshopping, he was relieved and, whenwe met, 11 pounds lighter.

Will meat wind up back on the grill?Close said he didnt think so, not forhim, not for Sophia. S hes a naturalvegetarian. She loves eggs and ketchup

and cheese. When you try to feed hermeat, she turns up her nose and says,No, Daddy, I dont want that. S heprefers pastas, grains, fruits and veg-etables. She loves broccoli.

M e at l e s s , slated for release earlynext year, covers reasons people choose

or a moral issue, but Close isnt in-terested in preaching to the meatlesschoir. The documentary includes vegansand plant-based activists but also ranch-ers and farmers, like his own Kentuckyfamily. And thats the kind of audiencehe wants to reach. Im hoping for theaverage Joe from middle America, likemy cousin who just died

going green memphis 11-14-10

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