going green memphis 11-28-10

2 GOING GREEN | S u n d ay , November 2 8, 2010 co m m e r c i a l a p p ea l .co m

Handcrafted memoriesScott Banbury removes old felledtrees, which he mills into lumber touse in custom woodwork

True family treeNivens’ s y ca m o r eproclaimed a “HistoricLandmark Tree”

Green backersUrban Forestry bestowsAwards of Excellence tothree area residents

Beautiful revival in MemphisCommission making comeback amid waveof interest in sustainable practices

Students attendFarm Ed Day

The eco-friendlysupply chain

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!Going Green is a special online publication ofThe Commercial Appeal. We welcome your commentsand suggestions. Follow Going Green on Twitter atw w w .t w i t t e r .co m /G o G r e e n M e m p h i s .

Ed i t o r : Kim Coleman, 529-5243,go i n g g r e e n @ co m m e r c i a l a p p ea l .co m

Community Editor: Emily Adams Keplinger,ke p l i n ge r @ co m m e r c i a l a p p ea l .co m

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The Commercial Appeal S u n d ay , November 2 8, 2010 | GOING GREEN 3

The Green Page

A snowymix fell in

Januaryand

coveredthe old car

in My BigBa c k y a r d .

UpdateFamily Snow Job: On Friday and Saturday

nights through Dec. 11, then daily from Dec.17-28 (excluding Christmas Eve andChristmas Day), the Memphis BotanicGarden, 750 Cherry Road, is hosting a family-friendly celebration of the holiday seasonwith a stroll through falling “snow” in My BigBackyard. Sip hot cocoa and cider aroundthe marshmallow roasting pit and enjoy adelightful musical light display. Create wintercrafts and games along the way. Lastadmission is at 7 p.m. Cost for MBG

members is $5; for nonmembers, $7. Call636-4100 for more information.

New Midtown cafe: The MidtownFarmers Market, 1632 Union, has addedlunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondaythrough Saturday. All items, which includesoups and specialty sandwiches (such asturkey breast with arugula and pepperjelly, as well as a sloppy roast beef po’ boy,a ribeye with brie and several others), aremade from local items. Call 726-1031 formore information.

Ev e n t sOverton Park hike: The

public is invited to meet todayat the end of Old Forest Lane,next to the Rainbow Lakeparking lot, for a free guided1.5-mile walk through the OldForest at Overton Park. Kidsare welcome. For moreinformation, call 278-2396.

First Float: The next “FirstFloat” canoe trip will take placeon Dec. 4. Members of the WolfRiver Conservancy will lead a3-mile paddle/hike trip fromthe Germantown bridge accessto the Walnut Grove bridge.Participants will have theopportunity to attend thededication of the newGreenway trails at ShelbyFarms. All WRC members arewelcome. The first Saturdaytrips are free, offered as a WRCmembership benefit. For tripdetails or to register, contactWRC Office Manager, KimberlyThomas at 452-6500 orofficemanager@ wolfriver.org.Reservation deadline is Dec. 2.

Pr o g r a m sGreen greetings: Celebrate the holiday season

with friends and loved ones this year and give backto the earth at the same time with the help of thenonprofit Arbor Day Foundation. Send holidaygreetings and plant a tree — all at the same time —by using the Foundation’s Give-A-Tree Cards. Everycard plants a tree in one of the nation’s forests inhonor of the recipient. By sending Give-A-Tree Cards,you help replant forests that have been devastatedby wildfires, insects and disease. To purchase holidaygifts that give back to the earth, go to arborday.org.

Sierra Club on Cable: Sierra Club ChickasawGroup’s Cable TV Show titled “Nature of Conservation”is shown on on WYPL-TV 18 (Comcast) on varying daysand times. For the latest schedules, go tomemphislibrary.org/tlc18/schedule/ or the Comcaston-screen guide. Contact Judith Rutschman at 767-5916 or e-mail [email protected].

Mike Maple/The Commercial Appeal files


New lifefor old

treesWoodworker finds hisniche with ‘treecycling’

By Suzanne ThompsonSpecial to Going Green

WHEN THE HUGE OAK tree in thebackyard that used to hold the kids’tire swing has grown so much it loomsover the house, it can be transformedinto a handcrafted memory, thanks toScott Banbury, owner of Mid TownLogging & Lumber Company.

Banbury offers people the serviceof removing their old felled trees,which he mills into lumber to use for

Dave Darnell/The Commercial Appeal

Woodworker Scott Banbury in the Four Pillars area of the Bond Atrium at St.Agnes Academy. He cut the oak and pecan wood from the school’s campusand finished it. The lighter wood is oak and the darker wood is pecan.


the custom woodwork.“The coolest thing that

comes out of doing what Ido is that a lot of times Iam producing productsfor people out of theirown trees,” Banbury said.

T h at ’s what happens toabout half of the timberBanbury removes. Largetables are his specialty,but he also makes customcabinetry, islands forkitchens and countertopsfor restaurants.

It’s difficult to findboards at mostlumberyards wider than12 inches. Banbury is ableto mill boards that are 20inches or wider becausehe has the whole treetrunk to work with.

“Having the ability tobuild a table using onlytwo or three boardsmakes for a more uniquedesign as well,” he said.

The grain and color ofthe lumber he mills to usefor his custom woodworkalso match, adding to thebeauty of the furniture hec ra f t s .

Banbury also providescarpentry services forhome addition projects.

One of his clientsremoved trees to put in aswimming pool, then hadhim use the wood to put anaddition onto her house.

Getting rid of a largetree can be a headache forproperty owners.

B anbury’s “t re e c yc l i n g ”

helps homeowners bysaving the expense ofhaving to pay a companyto haul the wood away.He puts the wood to gooduse if the people decideagainst taking advantageof the opportunity to havehim turn their trees intosomething else.

When felled trees arehauled to the curb, they

“Regardless of why trees come down in Memphis, the vastmajority of them are being cut up into chunks, thrown into

dump trucks and taken to the dump, which is a horrible waste.”

SCOTT BANBURYowner of Mid Town Logging & Lumber Company.

The Commercial Appeal file photo

Scott Banbury and his wife, Amy Stewart-Banbury,pose with their two children Kade, 8, (left) andBrighid, 10, at their home. Scott is an urban sawyerand Amy is a midwife.


are sometimes used to make mulch orwood chips, but Banbury said that’susually not the case.

“Regardless of why trees come downin Memphis, the vast majority of themare being cut up into chunks, thrown intodump trucks and taken to the dump,which is a horrible waste.”

If people are using the wood foranother building project it helps themwith the price of lumber for the project,though there is a charge for them i l l wo rk .

When administrators at St. Dominic’sSchool decided to add a library to thefacility, they called Banbury.

The school has had a grove of pecantrees on the property — which was atone time a farm — since it opened in1951.

There was never a plan to remove thegrove, but several years ago, a windstorm severely damaged many of thetrees and after much deliberation, they

decided to use the space for the library,said John Murphy, dean of St.Dominic’s.

Banbury milled the wood onsite, whichMurphy said was a great learningexperience for the children, who wereallowed to watch and learn.

“We brought some classes out thereand he talked to the kids about wood.The kids got a whole lot out of it to beable to talk about the annual rings on atree and what makes wood good forbuilding,” Murphy said.

The school officials chose to hireBanbury because the pecan grove heldlots of memories for children throughoutthe years who have gathered pecans.

“It was more of a sentimental thing asto why we did it,” Murphy said. “Thosekinds of woods — cherry, oak and pecan— are expensive woods.”

As a craftsman, Banbury said he feelsan obligation to use wood that mightotherwise end up in a Dumpster.

Banbury cutthe oak andpecan woodfrom the St.

A g n esAc a d e m y ’s

campus andfinished it to

use in the FourPillars area of

the BondAt r i u m .

Dave DarnellThe Commercial

A p p ea l


By Todd A. MorganSpecial to Going Green

The Tennessee Urban Forestry Councilrecently held its annual conference inChatt anooga. In addition to the vendordisplay and environmental workshops hostedthroughout the three-day conference, anawards luncheon was held at the ChattanoogaChoo-Choo Hotel to announce this year’srecipients of the UrbanForestry Awards of Excellence.Winners from the GreaterMemphis area include:

Jan Castillo won theCitizen Activist award.

Castillo, a Shelby CountyMaster Urban Forester andMemphis Area MasterGardener from East Memphis,is an avid supporter of urbanforestry in the Memphis areaand is active in the WestTennessee chapter of the Tennessee UrbanForestry Council and the Tree City USAMemphis Ad Hoc Committe for Memphis.

Her efforts to make Memphis a Tree CityUSA have included creating a Tree City

“I looked around me here inMemphis and saw that we werewasting vast amounts of wood. Idecided there was an amplesupply of good hardwood righthere in the city that was goingto waste otherwise. I found thatI had a resource right here inMemphis,” Banbury said.

Most of his business comesfrom word-of-mouth and usuallythe property owners contacthim before a tree is taken down,except in cases where the treesare felled by storms.

When people contactBanbury, the first thing he doesis refer them to an arborist.

“When I refer them to anarborist, they are guys I knowand they will try to save the treeif they can.”

It may seem counterintuitivefor a woodworker, but Banburysaid he hates for trees to be cutd ow n .

“I’d just as soon that all treesstayed standing up,” he said.

Sometimes a propertrimming is sufficient to allow atree to stand safely near ahouse, which certified arboristsare able to determine.

Once Banbury realized hecould put trees that have tocome down to good use, hestopped buying lumber.

“I could never be certain thatthe wood that I was using camefrom forests that were managedsust ainably,” Banbury said. “Ifelt ethically that I couldn’twork with wood when I didn’tknow where it had come from.”

Urban Forestrylauds localgreening effortsThree area residents honoredwith Awards of Excellence

JanCastillo


events; completing the City ofL a kel a n d ’s Natural ResourcesInventory and Assessment; andserving on the Citizen OversightCommittee for the Shelby FarmsWoodland Restoration Project.

Emily Adams Keplingerwon the Media award.

Keplinger is the My Lifeeditor for Greater Memphis andDeSoto County at TheCommercial Appeal.

Keplinger is a member of then ew s p a p e r ’s “green team,”which champions stories aboutenvironmentally friendly and

economicallythrifty events andpeople in theMemphis area.For the weeklyMy Life GoingGreen pages,Keplinger hasdeveloped aG a rd e n e r ’sProfile, a GreenJo b s / Gre e nBu s i n e s s e s

profile and Green Briefs, whichfeature weekly highlights of localenvironmental events.

Additionally, Keplinger servesas the community editor for TheCommercial Appeal’s Web-onlydigital magazine “Going Green.”

Todd A. Morgan was the awardschairman for the 2010 UrbanForestry Conference, recently held inChattanooga .

display board and postcardsused to inform and educatecitizens at important localevents such as Forest Faire,Green Greater Memphis Expo,Memphis Botanic Garden’sArbor Day event, the Cooper-Young Neighborhood Festivaland many others. She is amember of the West TennesseeChapter of the TUFC, andcrafted the “Stop MulchMadness” flyer, that’s eventranslated into Spanish.

Nick Bridgeman won theGovernment Employee award.

Bridgeman is aNat u ra lRe s o u rc e sTechnician andMu n i c i p a lForester for theCity of Lakelandwho has earnedquite a reputationlocally for hisenthusiasm ats p re a d i n gawareness ofurban forestry issues. His manyefforts include the “Mulch Rightin May” education campaign;volunteering at events such asMemphis’ Forest Faire, WolfRiver Day, Shelby Farms Downto Earth Day, Lichterman NatureCenter’s Earthfest and the HomeDepot’s Trees for Successprogram; speaking at elementaryschools and environmental

Emily AdamsKe p l i n g e r

NickBridgeman


‘Family Tree’ a historic landmark

This 100-foot-tall sycamore tree represents a first for Fayette County. Located inGallaway, the tree has been proclaimed a Historic Landmark Tree, making it one of17 in Tennessee and the only one in Fayette County. Dubbed “the Family Tree” bythe Nivens family, owners of Carahills, it was accepted into the TennesseeLandmark & Historic Tree Register.

By Carrie NivensSpecial to Going Green

At the 2010 Urban ForestryConference, the Carahills II Sycamore(lovingly named the Family Tree by theNivens family — owners of Carahills)was accepted into the TennesseeLandmark & Historic Tree Register.

This tree, joined by only 16 otherfamous trees across the state, wasentered onto the Tennessee UrbanForestry Council’s website (tufc.com).

This terrific tree was also proclaimed

a Gallaway City Landmark on March 5in celebration of Arbor Day.

The 200-year-old Carahills IISycamore, stands almost 100 feet tall, 17feet and 6 inches in diameter, with aspread wider than it is high. Thissycamore tree, like all sycamores, iscommonly called a “ghosts of the forest”because of the beautifully mottled whitebark. The Carahills II Sycamore can beviewed behind the Carahills II Manor at1960 U.S. 70 in Gallaway, Tenn.

Carrie Nivens is a member of the firstgeneration of the Nivens family.


Kyle Kurlick/Special to The Commercial Appeal

Billy Parr and Arthur Manchester V, working on a cleanup project with BoyScout Troop 334, place storm drain stickers in Cordova neighborhoods toencourage residents to not put trash down drains.

Commission making comeback amidwave of interest in sustainable practices

Beautiful revival

By Barbara Bradley / bradley@commercialappeal .com

PUBLIC CONCERN FOR THE environment ishelping the Memphis City Beautiful Commissiongreen up and branch out.

In October, it organized the city’s firstGreenUp Memphis Festival to spotlight efforts to

promote a sustainableMemphis. It alsoreintroduced theMemphis City BeautifulBoy Scout patch andlinked it to projects thathelp local environmentalo rga n i z at i o n s .

This year, thecommission’s MemorialTree Trail Fund becamethe Green City Fund withtree planting extended


beyond the parkways to parks and otherpublic spaces.

“We ’re reviving ourselves because ofthe green movement,” said EldraTarpley White, executive director since1993. “Folks are becoming interested inlitter prevention, recycling andbeautification because more areconcerned about the environment. It’shot, and we’re excited.”

Many young conservationistsprobably don’t know the history of the80-year-old grande dame of citybeautification commissions, the firstsuch agency in the country and onewidely copied by other cities. TheMemphis commission was founded in1930 to clean up thedismal and dirtyMemphis riverfront.Later, it plantedhundreds of crapemyrtles, dogwoods andmagnolias along theriverbank to grace thenew Riverside Drivethat opened in 1935,giving the city astunning “front door.”

The commission campaigned to makethe crape myrtle the city’s “officialshrub,” and led the planting ofthousands of crape myrtles acrossMemphis. In 1940, Memphis was namedthe Ernest T. Trigg “Nat i o n ’s CleanestC i t y, ” an award it won every year for 24years afterward.

The commission, winner of numerousnational awards, has been less visible inrecent years as it has focused more onthe school system, educating kids andpromoting school recycling andcleanups. Housed at the historicMassey-Schaeffer House in Victorian

Village, it has a 28-member board ofcommissioners appointed by the mayor,four full-time paid staff and a modest$200,000 budget. It has always reliedheavily on partners, includingbusinesses, neighborhood and civicgroups and other government agencies.

“We have the same core values,”White said, “but people have changed.”The disposable society is taking a freshlook at what it’s doing to the Earth.

The GreenUp Festival, presented withMayor A C Wharton and held inconjunction with the Farmers MarketDowntown, offered displays oneverything from eco-conscious roofingto a hybrid Mercedes, as well as

entertainment by highschool bands and otherg ro u p s .

Planned as an annualevent, it also includedpledges from 50neighborhood groups todo an environmentalproject .

The new scout badgerequires scouts to

participate in one commission projectand two other projects with itsenvironmental partners including WolfRiver Conservancy, Greater MemphisGreenline, Lichterman Nature Center,Clean Memphis and others.

More than 60 scouts from theChickasaw Council of the Boy Scoutsjoined nearly 100 other volunteers lastmonth in the first scout badge project:cleaning up the New Town Center atS oulsville.

Fifteen scouts and 10 parents signedup to work with Clean Memphisvolunteers to weed and pick up trash inCordova. This month scouts are helping

“We ’re revivingourselves because of

the green movement.”

ELDRA TARPLEY WHITEMemphis City Beautiful Commission

executive director


Dave Darnell/The Commercial Appeal file photo

Eldra Tarpley White is executive director of theMemphis City Beautiful Commission. Her office is inVictorian Village at 664 Adams Aven.

to clean up and markstormwater drains inUptown, said JanetBoscarino, director ofClean Memphis. Trashfrom streets flows downthe drains to rivers andstreams, she said, and is abig source of pollution.“Marking drains is a wayof making people awareof them,” she said.

The commissioninitiated beautification wenow take for granted,including the planting oftrees that line manymajor city corridors. TheMaking Memphis Greeneffort that got under wayin the early 1990sbeautified North, Eastand South Parkways,Elvis Presley Boulevard

and Jackson Avenue overa 10-year period, Whites aid.

Edith Heller, whoheaded the organizationfrom 1978 to 1983,remembers an earlyMemphis in May WorldChampionship BarbecueCooking Contest inwhich the commissionand the Boy Scouts wereleft to clean up the mess.Teams “left behind wholehogs and the mattresssprings they used asgrills,” she said. “Thepoor scouts had to pushbeer cans and food to thebottom of the bluff. It wasn a s t y. ” After that, peoplecould no longer cook overpits dug in the groundand were required toclean up their spaces, shes aid.

Memphis was one ofthe first cities to usecurbside carts for garbagepickup, Heller said, butthe idea was greetedwarily. “Some thought itwas awful to have agarbage cart at the frontd o o r, ” she said. Thecommission, asked toevaluate the idea, tookphotos over a six-weekperiod of a pilotneighborhood that usedcarts and one that didnot, then counted trash in

More informationWhat: Memphis City Beautiful Commission.Where: 664 Adams.Contact: 522-1135, e-mail [email protected],or go to cityofmemphis.org/framework.aspx?page=150 .


the photos. It foundthe neighborhood withcarts was 19 percentcleaner. Because of thecommission’s efforts,the city transitionedto the more efficientcarts in only one year,saving millions. Later,the city added bins forre c yc l i n g.

The mid-’80s sawdisarray at thecommission with bothbudget cuts andleadership issues,Heller said. “But theypersevered to keepthings going.”

Among its plannedprojects is an adopt-a-block program thatwould enlistneighborhood groups,churches, schools andothers to take chargeof keeping a two-blockarea clean.

Growing ecologicalawareness and themedia attention itgarners could boostthe effort.

“Now people arelooking for us to be al e a d e r, ” said White,“and with the supportof Mayor Wharton,we ’ll be put in a betterposition to be one.”

Barbara Bradley:529-2370

Students and teachers learn about chickens,roosters and turkeys while visiting the poultryexhibit manned by Jerry Pittman.

Urban students get aneducation in agriculture

By Betty BrownSpecial to Going Green

The 13th annual “Fa r mEd Day” was Nov. 5 atAgricenter International.

Farm Ed Day offersstudents and teachers ahands-on experience inlearning aboutagriculture. Local farmersproduce a tremendousamount of food and fiber

in the Memphis area.Many who live here neversee the field work thatgoes into the productionof the food and clothingthey depend on every day.

The annual event isdirected to a local, urbanfifth-grade audience.More than 240 guestswere in attendance fromShelby Oaks Elementaryand Alcy Elementary.Students and teachersreceived educationalpackets providing evenmore information about

Area growers offerfarm as classroom


Jones Orchard exhibitor Russ May discusses produce with elementarystudents in attendance during Farm Ed Day at Agricenter International.

agriculture and its importance tosociety worldwide.

Upon arrival, students viewedexhibits featuring corn, cotton,wildlife, poultry, soybeans,honeybees and bugs, fish, farmequipment, produce, a miniaturecotton gin and livestock.

There were live animals onsite, aswell as exhibitors familiar with eachindustry, ready to answer questions.

There was a mobile dairyclassroom exhibited by theSouthwest Dairy Farmers fromTexas. Students witnessed a dairy

cow being milked.Representatives from the

Tennessee and Shelby County FarmBu re a u ’s Ag in the Classroom,Shelby County Soil ConservationDistrict, USDA/Natural ResourcesConservation Service, AgricenterInternational and the Shelby CountyU.T. Extension Service serve as thesteering committee for ShelbyCounty’s Farm Education Day.

Betty Brown is department manager forthe Shelby County Soil ConservationD istrict .


Green focus turns to supply chainBy Jeanne BonnerMother Nature Network

Being green is thehottest trend to hit thecorporate world sinceoutsourcing. Companieshave spent a fortunerebranding themselves asgreen, and have paidspecial attention torecycling, protectingendangered forests,sourcing of local productsand managing waterconsumption during themanufacturing process.

But companiesthemselves are consumers.Just as shoppers buy theirproducts, companies buygoods that are componentsof their products or aid inthe manufacturing of theirproducts. And they’ve foundit’s not enough for them tobe green. The companiesthat supply them with goodsand services must also usegreen sourcing andmanufacturing methods.

T h at ’s what’s called aneco-friendly supply chain.And according to a studyby management consultingfirm Accenture, companieshave found that having aneco-friendly supply chaincan save money.

What is the eco-friendly supply chain?All companies have a supply chain. It traces the

process by which companies develop and producetheir goods, and then sell those goods toconsumers. For some companies, the supply chainis fairly straightforward. But for large companiesin the retail, hospitality and manufacturingsectors, for example, the supply chain can consistof hundreds, if not thousands, of individual firmsthat provide component goods and services.

In order to have an eco-friendly supply chain,these large companies must be sure that theirsuppliers, for example, harvest wood in asustainable way. Or that they don’t deplete thewater supply in areas where they work.

Key aspects of the eco-friendly supplychain

The specific aspects of the eco-friendly supplychain vary from industry to industry.

For grocers, for example, buying more fruitsand vegetables from local sources is key,

William Cho/Flickr

Businesses are looking to reduce emissions,energy use and waste in the supply chain.


according to The Packer, which coversthe fresh produce industry. That’sbecause it reduces the distance theproduce must travel from the field to theconsumer’s table.

For companies in the electronicsindustry, the process of obtainingminerals such as tin, tantalum andcobalt is a key part of the eco-friendlysupply chain, according to theElectronic Industry CitizenshipCoalition. That’s because mining forsuch materials typically takes place inthe developing world where there canbe sensitive geopolitical andenvironmental ramifications. (For moreinformation, visit e i c c . i n fo / . )

There are, however, some basicaspects of the eco-friendly supply chainthat affect all companies. For example,most companies are looking to reduceemissions, energy use and waste.

Companies that have excelledat greening the supply chain

It’s no surprise that the world’slargest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores, isleading the pack when it comes tohaving an eco-friendly supply chain.

According to Wal-Mart, its customers“want to know the product’s entirel i f e c yc l e . ” The retailer’s customers wantto know that its products are producedin a responsible way.

To achieve that end, Wal-Mart hascreated a sustainability index for itssuppliers. The first step of the index isthe supplier sustainability assessment,which includes a 15-question survey.The questions are aimed at determiningif the suppliers have embraced threebroad goals:

Reducing waste to zero.

Using 100 percent renewable energy.Selling sustainable products.

For example, suppliers need to saywhether they have measured and takensteps to reduce their annual corporategreenhouse emissions.

A company such as Apple, whichmakes computers and consumerelectronics, faces an additional set ofpriorities as it creates an eco-friendlysupply chain. The company has outlinedits environmental expectations alongwith human rights stipulations in itssupplier code of conduct.

Since many of its products are madeat factories in the developing world,Apple pays special attention to thesafety of these facilities, and to therights of the workers. That meansoutlawing child labor, and insisting thatworkers not be disciplined for alertingmanagers to safety issues.

Apple also stipulates that its supplierslimit the normal work week to 60 hours.Workers at supplier factories are givenone vacation day per seven dayswo rke d .

In addition, Apple asks suppliers topay strict attention to the emission ofvolatile chemicals, aerosols andcombustion byproducts that areproduced during manufacturing.Suppliers are expected to reduce oreliminate solid waste.

According to Marriott International,the hotel chain spends $10 billion eachyear buying products and services forits 3,000 hospitality properties. And ithas taken steps to make sure thosepurchases — everything from pens tokey cards to pillows — are green.

Visit the Mother Nature Network atmnn .com .


By Katy DaigleAssociated Press

NEW DELHI —Polluters beware: Indiahas created a tribunal topunish those who sullythe forests or rivers orotherwise break itsenvironmental laws — inthe hopes of clearing abacklog of some 5,000such cases languishing ina sluggish court system.

India’s judicial systemis marred by crammeddockets, rampantcorruption and a lack oftransparency, but it isonly the third country toset up a separate judiciaryfor environmental cases,after Australia and NewZealand, EnvironmentMinister Jairam Rameshs aid.

“We have taken a giantstep forward in having atribunal to take quickdecisions on behalf of thepeople of India,” Rameshs aid.

The National GreenTribunal can orderpolluters to pay civildamages in any amountinstead of the previous25,000-rupee ($564)l i a b i l i t y.

Experts said the tribunalwould ensure informedjudges were decidingenvironmental cases.

“I don’t believe there isany inherent conflictbetween environmentalconservation and

protecting communityinterest ,” said ProdiptoGhosh, an official with TheEnergy Research Institute.But “environment- andforest-related cases oftenrequire some specialdisciplinary knowledge,which the generaljudiciary doesn’t have.”

Parliament has passedlaws clearing the GreenTribunal as the soleauthority in civil caseswithin its jurisdiction,though its rulings may beappealed. Anyone can filea lawsuit, whereaspreviously the litigant hadto be connected withenvironmental work.

P o l l u te r sin Indiaface neweco-courtTribunal will hearenvironmental cases

A. Cameron Huff/Flickr

At a workshop last year in New Delhi, Vijai Sharma,secretary of India’s Ministry of Environment andForest, announced that the country produces morethan 165 million tons of trash each day.


Deck the hallswith used-up bottlesBy Jean PattesonThe Orlando Sentinel

ORLANDO, Fla. — For weeks, stu-dents at The Geneva School in WinterPark, Fla., have been coming home splat-tered with paint and dusted with glitter.

It’s one of the hazards of creating dec-orations for the holiday tree they plan toexhibit at the Orlando Museum of Art’sannual Festival of Trees.

The decorations are all made from re-cycled soda and water bottles under thedirection of art teacher Dale Wayne.

They are easy enough to make athome — if you don’t mind a little mess,she says. After the bottles are washedand the labels removed, they are coloredwith acrylic paint, dipped in glitter andcut into fantastical shapes. Two or threeare then glued or wired together, cre-ating fantastical blossoms fit forAvat ar’s planet Pandora.

The GenevaSc h o o l ’stree at theFestival ofTrees at theOr l a n d oMuseum ofArt.

Reusable bottles with a cause

Isabella Water, a newly foundedcompany, hopes to change the way peoplethink about drinking water by providingstainless steel reusable water bottles,which will not only help quench your thirst,but also help provide clean drinking waterfor people around the world.

Founder Nick Ogden had a career incorporate America before he foundedIsabella Water. Ogden said on the IsabellaWater website that he was motivated totake action after he learned that one in eightpeople do not have access to clean drinkingwater and that it takes only $20 on averageto build a well that could provide this.

Isabella Water bottles are reminiscent ofother popular stainless steel bottles.

However, Isabella Waterprides itself in itsquality; the bottles aremade with 18/8 s t a i n l es ssteel, have a wideopening, are BPA- andtoxin-free and fit in mostcup holders accordingto the website.

Each bottle costs$22, but of the $22, $10will go toward

purchasing a well — which generally lasts for35 years — for people in Africa and Asia whodo not have access to clean drinking water.

Currently, Ogden is taking the IsabellaWater trailer on a Keystone RV-sponsoredtour across the country. Ogden hopes tosell Isabella Water bottles and promote theneed for sustainable water resources andclean drinking water access around theworld. He also wants to encourage peopleto get involved in Isabella Water from theirown homes through social media websiteslike Facebook.

“For every two bottles purchased, wecan fund one person’s portion of a wellproviding safe water for an average of 35y ea r s , ” Ogden said.

— Michelle Chan, McClatchy-Tribune


SODA-BOTTLE ORNAMENTS

Pa i n t i n g :Rinse bottle and remove label and cap.Clean bottle with rubbing alcohol to make

paint adhere better.Paint bottle with acrylic paint.Roll bottle in glitter while paint is still wet.Cut the bottom off the bottle, then cut

petals or spirals, starting at the bottom andworking up toward the neck. If you cut a widespiral, you can go back and cut up the centerof the spiral, creating two springs.

Shaping:Manipulate the petals or spirals by hand or

with heat. By hand, bend the petals back andpinch at the base to hold the shape. With a heatgun, hold the nozzle of the gun close to theedges of the petals or spirals, causing them toshrink and curl, creating a glass-like effect. Workin a well-ventilated area, preferably outdoors.

Finishing:Nest two bottles together.Thread a wired floral pick (available at craft

stores) into the center of the bottles.Hot-glue the bottles together or use part ofthe pick to wire them together. Hot-glue extrapetals and embellishments, if desired.

Attach the ornament to your tree using theends of the wired pick to wrap the ornamentto the branch.

2-liter soda bottlesor water bottles

Embossing (heat)gun, optional

Rubbing alcohol

Acrylic paintSc i s s o r sGlitterHot glue suitable

for gluing plastic Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel

Glitter is sprinkled onto the bottlewhile the paint is still wet.

Apply heat to the ornament tomanipulate the plastic.

Two soda-bottleblossomscan be wiredtogetherusing anornamentalfloral pick.

Art teacher Dale Wayne offers thesedirections for recycling plastic bottles intod e co r a t i o n s .

Materials:


Feds fuel guidekills sporty dream

Le t ’s just say I want to gocrazy. Let’s say I want to buya 2011 Jaguar XKconvertible. In red, of course.

Aside from the price(d o n ’t even ask; we’re justpretending here), how willthat affect my autofootprint? How will itcompare to my, ahem,2008 Toyota Prius?

The government is here tohelp, and I’m sorry to say theanswer isn’t pretty. The U.S.Environmental ProtectionAgency and Department ofEnergy have just publishedtheir 2011 fuel economyguide. With it, you cancompare two models side byside. And there’s a lot of info.

So let’s see:The Prius gets 46

miles per gallon, comparedto 18 for the Jaguar.

It costs $1.53 to drive25 miles in a Prius, comparedto $4.25 in that Jag.

Over the course of ayear, with the same milesdriven, the Prius wouldconsume 7.4 barrels of oil,the sporty red number(with leather seats?), 19.

Tons of CO2 emitted? Airpollution score? Ugh.

You can see the sadstory, and many others likeit at f u e l e co n o m y . go v / .

I’d still love to have theJag. Who wouldn’t? But I lovemy Prius, too. Guess I’ll putthat midlife crisis on hold.

Sandy Bauers of ThePhiladelphia Inquirer blogsat go.philly.com/greenspace.

Best choice to cut gasuse varies among driversBy Mark PhelanMcClatchy Newspapers

DETROIT — Figuring out which car will cut yourfuel costs most just got a lot more complicated, butthe potential payoff has never been higher.

From the extended-range electric Chevrolet Volt tothe battery-powered Nissan Leaf to high-mpg enginespowering the Volkswagen Jetta diesel, ChevroletCruze and Honda Civic, an unparalleled variety ofvehicles are vying to help Americans reduce oilconsumption, emissions and trim their fuel bills.

In the right hands, a Volt or Leaf could free manydrivers from the gas pump. But depending on yourdriving routine, a Leaf might not work at all, andcould strand you on the roadside. Other drivers mayfind a hybrid or diesel makes more sense than eitherthe Volt or Leaf.

Photos by Reed Saxon/Associated Press

The Nissan Leaf 100 percent electric, zero-emission car is seen at the LA Auto Show.


“The consumer needsto know if the vehiclemeets their demands,”David Champion, directorof automotive testing forConsumer Reportsmagazine, said of the Voltand Leaf.

Electric, extended-range electric, hybrid ordiesel? The right choicedepends on how muchyou drive every day, howpredictable your drivingroutine is and whetheryou take weekend trips ordriving vacations.

The Leaf’s greateststrength is that its battery-only power supply willpower the car for up to100 miles and never burna drop of gasoline. That’salso its greatest weakness.The big battery takes along time to charge, evenif you install a special 220-volt outlet in the garage.

The Volt, on the otherhand, has a smallerbattery that’s good for upto about 50 miles ofelectric driving. Forlonger trips, a gasoline-powered generatorproduces fresh electricityto keep the power flowing.

You can drive a Volt fromNew York to Los Angeles,but that’s not the best useof the Volt’s technology. Itwas engineered to uselittle or no gasoline in the40- to 60-mile range that

covers most Americans’daily driving. Its fueleconomy on long highwaytrips is about the same as agood compact car and lessthan leading hybrids andd i e s el s .

The Volt should saveplenty of fuel for driverswho drive mostly aroundtown and take a fewweekend getaways a year.

If you have a longcommute every day, ortake a road trip everyweekend, you may bebetter off with a highwayhero like the Toyota Priusor Volkswagen Jettadiesel. If you want a cart h at ’s fossil-fuel free mostdays, but still gives youthe freedom to takelonger trips, get a Volt.

Reed Saxon

The electrical charging port sits just ahead of thedriver’s door on the Chevy Volt, 2011 Green Car ofthe Year, presented by Green Car Journal.


By Jessica A. KnoblauchMother Nature Network

Recently, MNN sat down with William Powers,author of “Twelve by Twelve: A One-Room Cabin Offthe Grid & Beyond the American Dream,” an eye-opening memoir about the things that we gain whenwe go without.

Q: What was it like that first night, staying in aspace no bigger than most people’s living rooms?

A: The first night was unusual because there’s no

Off the grid

William Powers: “Soon I began to think, wow, there is another way.”

Writer recalls life in a one-room cabin


be for other people that they would gointo that situation and think about itcompletely differently than I did. But Ithink that once you’ve gone into thiswell of solitude and silence, it’s hard tojust live a superficial life. You’d maybecontinue in the same path but do thingsa little differently.

Q: During your time at the cabin,you met a lot of interesting people,many of whom you called“wildcrafters.” Are they any differentfrom the typical greenie?

A: These people were more than just“eco.” They werecrafting theirlivelihood inharmony with theb i o s p h e re ’s limits byrecognizing that theEarth is not just anendless supply ofresources. As peoplewe need to becomethe sum of our limits,not just the sum ofour possibilities.

Wildcrafters are asubculture that’s

really getting stronger. I was surprisedto find so many people living off thegrid, and not just off the electricity grid,but also off the grid culturally. That’snot to say that tomorrow it’s going tobecome the mainstream culture, but thisis the way that social change happens,by these small pockets growing slowly.People start to feel meaning andpurpose within, and then they just gogangbusters at a certain point and themovement really explodes. That’s whatI’m hoping, that there will be a tippingpoint, almost like in the 1960s when thecounterculture became the culture.

instruction manual for living in a 12-by-12-foot cabin. I’ve spent some 10 yearsworking abroad in developing countries,so I’ve gone through stretches of noelectricity and roughed it quite a bit,but it was strange to be at the heart ofthe world’s richest country and livingwith no electricity. I had just gottenback to the States and was becomingaccustomed to living in a First Worldsuperpower and then suddenly it waslike I was stepping into an “Alice inWo n d e rl a n d ” type situation where therewere these people living a Third Worldlifestyle. There wasthis sense of naturepressing in aroundme. At first I feltquite alone outthere, but soon Ibegan to think, wow,there is another way.

Q: You onlybrought your carand a backpack tothe cabin. Is thereanything you wishyou had brought?

A: Sometimes Iwould have loved to have had ice cubes.They’re just so nice! But overall it was agreat thing to strip down from all mystuff. While I was out there, I got rid ofthe car and rode a $26 bike. It was abeautiful thing, all that simplicity,because there was this whole newfreedom. In my simplicity there wasactually expansion because if you takeaway the clutter, you’re left with thiswide-open canvas of creativity andpossibility. Those are the times whereyou can find your own inspiration, yourown purpose and authenticity, andexpress yourself from there. And it may

Daan Boot

“This is the way that social changehappens, by these small pocketsgrowing slowly.”


Suddenly there weremillions of peoplerejecting consumerismand war and a superficiallife and trying to exploreother ways of doingthings. Unfortunately therevolution never reallytook off, partially becausethere was no economicbasis to it. In some waysthe ’60s revolution diedout because peopleneeded to get a job andhippies became yuppies.But if we can get a greeneconomy based aroundthis subculture, then itmight stick.

Q: In the book youseem to be reallyopposed to ThomasFr i e d m a n ’s “Flat World.”Why?

A: I think it’s a problemwith the story we’retelling, that globalizationis wonderful, that it’sfantastic that the world isbecoming a smaller placeand all this technology iscoming together. I’m notsaying all of that is bad.But we really need to askourselves, what’s an

economy for? Life is notjust about increasing itsspeed and efficiency. Ithink that the economyshould be for creatinghappiness and well-being,not endless economicgrowth just for the sakeof it. If you can live verywell at a lower level, thenwhy not do that? InBhutan they call it livingwell. They’re not tryingto strive to have threeSUVs in the garage andbig houses. They’relooking for family,friendship, nature andfree time. It’s a balanceand once they reach it,they’re done. It’s soincredibly subversive andradical because it’s totallyagainst the typical workethic.

Q: You argue that partof bringing us back tohumanity involvesbecoming more like“free-range people.” Canyou explain what youmean by that?

A: You look around andyou notice a lot of timesthat we’re not free-range.

We ’re in these little cages,and we’re being used forother people’s purposeswithout even being awareof it, just like thoseindustrial chickens in thefactories. We often feellike we have a lot offreedom, but at the end ofthe day a majority ofAmericans are toeing theline, going along andbeing a part of thes ys t e m . It’s causing thishuge extinction crisis andclimate crisis. Peopleoften say, “Well, I have tokeep doing these thingsto pay the bills.” But isn’tthat the logic that thesystem is trying to get usto buy into? And do wehave to buy into that?

Q: Much of the bookfocuses on this idea ofthe “leisure ethic.” Whyshould we reclaim theright to be idle?

A: The leisure ethicfocuses on this three-legged stool of having,doing and being. We haveto have things. That’sobvious. Possessions arenecessary for life. We also

“ In my simplicity there was actually expansion because ifyou take away the clutter, you’re left with this wide-open

canvas of creativity and possibility.”

WILLIAM POWERS


Race is an issue inenvironmental inequities

have to do thingsbecause we’re not rocksor trees. We’recreatures that dothings. But we’re nothuman doings, we’rehuman beings, so thethird leg is being.What I’ve seen aroundthe world is that mostcountries put apremium on being andI think it’s really whatwe ’re missing. We needto find ways to reclaimthat .

One way is to setaside an hour a daywhere you doabsolutely nothing. Justtry to get out of yourbrain and feel theenergy in your body.We ’re too analytical.It’s kind of a craziness.And there is no doubtit can lead to economicsuccess and building allkinds of wonderfulthings, but I think thereason why there isn’t alot of happiness inAmerica is because weare too much in ourown heads. If we’re richin mind then we’repoor in time. Just tryto find that space inyour life in differentways. After all, whatcould be more “eco”than doing nothing? Atleast you’re not burningfossil fuels!

Associated Press

W I N STO N - S A L EM ,N.C. — Since the 1970sAmericans havebenefited from legislativeaction to clean up air andwater supplies, remedytoxic spills and increasefood safety. In manycommunities, grass-rootsefforts provide a backstopwhere legal compliance isabsent. But in both ruraland urban areas acrossthe U.S., racial minoritiesand the economicallydisenfranchised sufferdisproportionally fromthe ill effects of assaultson the environment andoften lack access to thepower to protect theircommunities.

Emmy award-winningjournalist Simran Sethiand Bennett Collegepresident JulianneMalveaux spoke at WakeForest University,encouraging people tochange the way they thinkabout environmentaljustice.

“African-Americansstill lag in our economy,”said Malveaux, who is aneconomist. “Re c e s s i o n

has made inequities muchworse. 14.3 percent of ournation lives in poverty.25.8 percent of thesepeople are African-American. 25.4 percentare Latino. There arepoor areas in Mississippithat have never seen clearwater, but the people wholive there are told it’s safeto drink.”

Malveaux said it takesaudacity to believe that allpeople should have thesame good things.“Degradation of ourenvironment in someoneel s e ’s neighborhood is arejection of that person’sh u m a n i t y. ”

Sethi said the solutionfor environmentalinjustice is about lookingat the world differently.“No one wants to live in aworld with contaminatedsoil where they can’tdrink the water.”

Malveaux encouragedstudents to becomeinvolved by “ex a m i n i n gthe structural issuesaround environmentalinjustice and beingwilling to talk about theuneven distribution ofresources and burdens.”

going green memphis 11-28-10

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