Eucalyptus Magazine, September-October 2012

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Wind Power ADD & ADHD Natural Sugars Lead Testing Webb Ranch Green Tips

Canning, pickling, & fermenting preserving the season’s bounty

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September + October 2012

Features 16 Up in the Air

Energy harvested from the wind

By Erica Goss

18 Why Can’t You Pay Attention?

Living with ADD and ADHD By erica goss

20 You Can Take It With You Preserving the bounty of the season

By DOÑA BUMGARNER

Departments 7 Grown Local /Webb Ranch 10 Living Smart /Lead Testing 13 Health or Hype? /Natural Sugars

In Every Issue 5 Publisher’s Note 28 Tidbits /Green Tips 28 Advertisers’ Index

Cover and this page: Photography by Lane Johnson EUCALYPTUSMAGAZINE.COM | 1

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advertising sales Rebecca Campos, Michaela Marek contact 15559 Union Avenue, Suite 215 Los Gatos, CA 95032 phone 408.499.5619 fax 408.877.7303 email info@eucalyptusmagazine.com Web eucalyptusmagazine.com Twitter twitter.com/eucalyptusmag Facebook facebook.com/eucalyptusmagazine Subscription rate $24.00 per year Advertising rates on request Volume 3, Issue 1

©2012 by Eucalyptus Magazine, ISSN 2160-4541 (print), ISSN 2160-4576 (online). Eucalyptus is a registered trademark in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. All rights reserved. Some parts of this magazine may be reproduced with written permission only. We welcome your ideas, articles, and feedback. Although every precaution is taken to ensure accuracy of published materials, Eucalyptus Magazine cannot be held responsible for opinions expressed or facts supplied by its authors. We do not necessarily endorse products and services advertised. Always consult a professional provider for clarification.

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lane johnson

publisher’s note

Last weekend, I went to the farmers’ market and bought about 12 pounds of peaches and apricots.

They were so ripe and perfect that I couldn’t help myself—I kept putting more and more in my bag. I imagined that I would make a huge batch of jam, bake a pie, and freeze the remaining fruit. What actually happened was that my family ate most of the fruit, I made a pie, and I froze only a small bag of the remainder. There were none left for jam! Next week, I will buy a whole lot more, so I can try again.

I love making jam and canning vegetables because that way I know exactly what goes into the food my family eats.

When I first started Eucalyptus Magazine in 2009, one of my goals was to promote healthy living. Since then, I have canned a lot of fruits and vegetables and done my best to encourage our readers and friends to eat in a healthy manner, care for their health, and live a “green” life. Now I am on an even bigger mission: to take better care of myself and my family. This fall, our son Lukas starts kindergarten, and we will welcome a new baby to our family in December. My mission is to be happy and relaxed and to be the best mother and wife I can be, so I have made the difficult decision to suspend Eucalyptus Magazine indefinitely.

Over the past few years, I have learned that family and health are the two most important things we have. So with a smile on my face, I ask you to continue spreading the mission of health, wellness, and eco-friendly living. If we all contribute in small ways, we will leave the world a better place.

Michaela Marek Publisher and Founder publisher@eucalyptusmagazine.com

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grown local Deano Levecchio has his hands full at Webb Ranch’s produce stand, the Farmers Market

webb ranch

lane johnson

Five generations of family farming

A regular customer who first visited Webb Ranch 40 years ago places a colorful assortment of fruits and vegetables on the counter and chats with ranch employee Shyer Lovecchio.

“See you next Friday,” Lovecchio calls out to the woman as she leaves with her weekly haul of fresh, organic produce.

Located at Alpine Road and I-280 in Portola Valley, Webb Ranch has been serving the local community for decades. George and Florence Webb started the ranch in 1922. Five generations of Webbs still live on the 300-acre property, which is land leased from Stanford University. Stanley Webb, the couple’s youngest son, began farming with his father as a little boy and took over the ranch in the 1950s. Now in his 90s, Stanley Webb is cared for by his son Gary Webb. His son-in-law, Tom Hubbard, runs the farm.

“Stanley is still as smart as a whip,” says Deano Lovecchio, who manages the ranch’s Farmers Market produce stand together with his wife, Shyer. “He’ll come into the Farmers Market every so often and has so many interesting stories to tell. He’s literally been here

// By rhea maze

since the beginning… It’s neat to see how Webb Ranch has evolved.”

Lovecchio says that back in the 1960s and 1970s when the pesticide DDT was heavily marketed to farmers, Stanley Webb refused to use it on his ranch. He intuitively knew how to farm in a “green” way, and he implemented techniques such as releasing ladybugs to curb aphid outbreaks.

Today, everything grown and produced by Webb Ranch is certified organic by CCOF (California Certified Organic Farmer).

Produce from other local farms that is sold at Webb Ranch is herbicide- and pesticide-free or CCOF-certified, as well.

As part of Webb Ranch’s sustainability policy, the ranch uses drip irrigation and is dedicated to composting. “There is no garbage. We recycle everything on the ranch and the only chemical we use is water,” Lovecchio says.

From its “you-pick” berry and pumpkin patch programs to its bounce house, equine events, and pony and hayrides, Webb Ranch is a kid-friendly place. School groups, including many special needs students, visit the ranch to learn about organic farming. “I think EUCALYPTUSMAGAZINE.COM | 7

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webb ranch sometimes the adults learn more than the kids,” Lovecchio says.

During berry season, Webb Ranch opens its 12 acres of olallieberries, Navaho blackberries, golden and red raspberries, boysenberries, and loganberries to the public for picking. “It’s all weather dependent. Mother nature plays a huge role,” Lovecchio says. The season generally runs until autumn’s first frost, with different berries ripening at different times. The olallieberries usually ripen first. “When they’re ripe, it’s like popping a sugar cube into your mouth,” he says.

Open from the last week of September through Halloween, the ranch’s pumpkin patch boasts thousands of organic orange, blue, white, and red pumpkins, as well as Halloween-themed activities including a haunted house and pony rides. Visitors go for hay rides into the corn fields, where they can pick and eat a fresh ear of corn right off the stalk.

September is also the best time to pick up some locally renowned Ace 55 tomatoes, an organic variety Webb Ranch began planting in 1955, and Blue Lake green beans. “The baby Blue Lakes are so soft and tender you don’t even have to cook them. I get daily phone calls from customers when they’re in season,” Lovecchio says. Webb Ranch distributes tomatoes to Mollie Stone’s Markets and produce to a few local restaurants.

Each year, Webb Ranch teams ups with Menlo Park’s Flea Street Café to serve a farm-to-mouth dinner event.

For more information about Webb Ranch, visit www.webb ranchinc.com or call 650.854.3134 or 650.854.5417.

living smart

lead testing We like to think of our homes as being safe, but that may not be the case if your home contains a high level of lead. Lead is easily absorbed into the bloodstream and can be harmful to your health. Homes built prior to 1978 usually contain some amount of lead, either from paint or older pipes. A simple test can determine exactly how much lead lurks in your home.

If the paint on the interior or exterior of your home is chipped or peeling, it’s a good idea to conduct a lead test. “As paint chips away, it creates lead dust that can be breathed in or eaten,” says Jay Dempsey, health communications specialist with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). It’s wise 10 | September + October 2012

// by julie mccoy

to have the soil outside your home tested as well, especially if you do any type of gardening or digging in the soil.

A lead test involves using a handheld device known as an RXF, which looks like a scanner. Results can be obtained in a matter of seconds.

Families with young children should be especially concerned about lead in their homes. “Children put objects in their mouths that may be covered with lead dust,” Dempsey says.

More than one million children a year are diagnosed with lead poisoning, according to Richard Fanelli, president of San Jose-based Environmental Remediation Technologies (ERT). Children have less blood than adults

and their bodies absorb lead at a faster rate.

ERT conducts lead inspections on a house’s paint. A lead inspection costs $350 for the interior and $150 for the exterior, Fanelli says.

Additionally, ERT conducts lead risk assessments, which are more thorough tests that involve taking soil, water, and dust samples. These assessments, which are often completed for real estate transactions, cost about $675.

Homeowners might also want to have their homes checked for lead if their homes have older pipes. Lead from the pipes can leak into the water supply. “The only way to know if your tap water contains lead is to have it tested,” Dempsey says.

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natural sugars

lane johnson

Sweet alternatives to white sugar

The grocery store aisles are packed with sweet alternatives to ordinary table sugar. So-called “natural sugars” are comparatively low on the glycemic index, easy to incorporate in cooking, and add complementary flavors to food.

Here’s a brief guide to help you navigate your way through the maze of sweet choices.

Coconut sugar is a natural sugar with a subtle, sweet flavor similar to caramel. Derived from the blossoms of the coconut tree, it is low on the glycemic index and doesn’t spike blood sugar. In baking, coconut sugar can be used in a one-to-one ratio as a substitute for white or brown sugar. It contains minerals such as phosphorous, potassium, magnesium, and other micronutrients.

“You’re not only enjoying the sweetness, you’re also getting some benefits,” says Kelly Cornell, a holistic nutrition coach in San Jose.

It’s also available as coconut nectar, a liquid sweetener that is good for uncooked foods such as smoothies and can be used in place of syrup or in tea.

Date sugar is another type of natural sugar that, like coconut sugar, is relatively low on the glycemic index. It is an unprocessed whole food, produced by grinding up dehydrated dates into very fine pieces. It can be substituted for granulated sugar cup for cup, but it doesn’t melt or dissolve like coconut sugar or table sugar. It can be used in cooking or baking, sprinkled on food, or blended into smoothies. Date sugar is high in fiber and contains nutrients such as calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, zinc, copper, manganese, and selenium.

// by ashley johnson

Xylitol, a sugar alcohol that is extracted from corn, birch trees, and other plants, is known for its dental health benefits and is commonly used in chewing gum. Because it doesn’t raise blood sugar, xylitol is often recommended for people with diabetes. It dissolves well and can be used in baking. “Our body processes it as if it’s something natural, like we’re eating some whole food,” Cornell says. But critics note that although xylitol comes from natural sources, it is processed using synthetic chemicals. Also, because xylitol is not completely absorbed by the body, it can cause bloating, gas, and diarrhea.

Raw honey is a liquid sweetener that can be used in place of sugar. “Raw honey is power packed with nutrition and it tastes really good,” Cornell says. Choose your honey wisely; processed honey is not the same as the raw variety. When heated to more than 118 degrees, it loses some of its natural enzymes and nutrients, Cornell says. In its raw form, honey can have an alkalizing effect.

“Our bodies tend to be more acidic,” Cornell said. “Raw honey helps to move our bodies into an alkaline state, which is very beneficial.”

Raw honey mixed with ginger and lemon can help with indigestion.

Ingesting local, raw honey can be helpful to allergy sufferers.

Another alternative to sugar is whole food sweeteners. Joni Sare, a personal chef and food educator, uses dates and other whole foods in cooking. As an example, she will take about eight dates, remove the pits, soak them in hot water, and then blend them to make a slurry. If she needs more liquid in a recipe, she uses tamarind syrup.

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up in The air

A familiar sight greets motorists on I-580, just east of Livermore: hundreds of wind turbines slice through the air. Built in 1981 on land leased from cattle ranchers, the Altamont wind farm is one of the oldest in the United States and boasts the largest concentration of wind turbines in the world.

Starting in 1974, the U.S. Federal Wind Energy Program developed several wind systems based on differing turbine designs. Altamont’s turbines are

energy harvested from the wind

Spinning turbines located near I-580 at Altamont Pass capture the wind’s energy.

16 | September + October 2012

an example of an older, less efficient technology. NextEra, the company that owns nearly half of them, is in the process of replacing about 2,000 of the aging turbines, some of which are more than 30 years old. In addition to making Altamont a more efficient energy producer, the replacement project will address one of wind power’s most controversial issues: the deaths of wild birds, particularly golden eagles and red-tailed

hawks, who collide with spinning turbines. Newer, taller turbines will be situated out of the flight paths of these raptors and turned off when the birds migrate.

Harvesting the wind is not a new idea. The first windmills were built in Persia some 2,000 years ago. Many innovations in wind power came from early American farms, where windmills were used to grind grain and pump water. In 1888, Charles F. Brush, an American inventor,

built the first automatically operated wind turbine that could generate electricity.

Wind power has obvious advantages over fossil fuels. The wind is a clean, abundant, constantly renewable energy source. Wind farms use smaller amounts of land than power plants. And wind power is one of the lowest-priced renewable energy sources. But using the power of the wind for residential energy has serious limitations.

“Most people who buy wind power systems from us are in the Midwest,” says Douglas Arrison, the founder and CEO of Dasolar, a company based in Chevy Chase, Maryland, which installs wind power and solar energy systems across the United States. “They have one to two acres or run a 100-acre farm.”

Wind turbines operate most efficiently in places with wind speeds starting at 10 miles per hour. “The wind must be steady,

not gusty or turbulent,” Arrison says. Residential turbines must be high enough (a minimum of 23 feet) to make use of the wind.

Commercial wind towers exceed 200 feet. The best sites for wind farms are often far from the cities that need the power.

Average setup costs typically run about $20,000, “but there is no ‘average’ system,” Arrison says.

“The first thing people need to look at is cutting their electricity usage. // continued on page 24

by Erica Goss photographs by lane johnson

Bayhill High School student Andrew Pusser, who has ADD/ ADHD, stays focused on his studies.

Living with ADD and ADHD

Why can’t you

?

Pay Attention

M

B y E ri c a G oss phot ograph y b y lan e johns o n

ost of us know a young boy who can’t stop jumping out of his chair or a girl who frequently drifts into daydreams. These are common symptoms of attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning disabilities that occur in nearly 5 percent of children worldwide. Boys are diagnosed more frequently than girls, but this may be because ADHD is sometimes confused with the “normal” hyperactive behavior many young boys exhibit. In girls, ADD and its accompanying lack of attention is more commonly diagnosed. Both ADD and ADHD require treatment in the form of therapy, special educational techniques, and in some cases, medication.

18 | September + October 2012

Dr. Anandhi Narasimhan, a Los Angeles psychiatrist who specializes in child and adolescent mental health, says, “ADD/ADHD is not caused by ineffective parenting, lack of willpower, or level of intelligence. It is a neurological condition that limits the amount of dopamine in a person’s brain.”

This lack of dopamine means that ADD/ADHD often occurs alongside disorders such as anxiety and depression. “The level of comorbidity is high,” says Narasimhan. People with ADD/ADHD are six times more likely to have another complicating factor.

ADD/ADHD makes life challenging for children. Many do not succeed in traditional school settings. Donna Austin, Assistant Director at Oakland’s Bayhill High School, a private school dedicated to students with ADD/ADHD and other special needs, says, “All of our students have been unsuccessful in other schools.”

Many of Bayhill’s students have EFD, or Executive Function Disorder, which results in difficulties in organizing and memorizing information, as well as staying on task. EFD often co-exists with ADD/ADHD. To combat this disorder, every Bayhill student is required to take a year-long study skills class. “We find the best [organizational] system for each student. Some of our students like three-ring binders, some do better with accordion files, and some At the end of Donna Austin’s reading class at Bayhill High School, student want their schedules on their smartphones,” Austin says.

Steven Moss fills out a self-evaluation form.

Bayhill’s success rate shows in its students. This year, 15 students will graduate and five will go on to four-year colleges. “Quite a few of the rest are going to community college,” Austin says. She adds that small class sizes and personal attention are key to student success. “We have 80 students total—10 per class. Classroom management is the key to dealing with kids who have special needs,” Austin says.

Mark (last name withheld), a writer and historian who is now in his 50s, was diagnosed with ADD while in college.

“I was a classic ADD kid—absent-minded, not hyperactive,” he says. Middle and high school were difficult. While in One of Bayhill’s teachers utilizes “fidgets”—squeeze Teacher Aubrey Ferreira closes the books on her college, taking tests led to self-discovery: toys that help students to focus. summer English class.

“I found that I could score as well as the other students on tests and classwork if I had a little more time to finish.”

Still, Mark says, “Going to college made no sense to me. Music was my calling.” He opted for a career as a musician. “The ADD made it hard for me to process information visually. I was better with sound.”

Having the personal attention of a mentor and coach helped as well. “ADD people don’t do enough planning. They get into trouble and need help with forethought,” Mark says. He met with his mentor throughout college and continues the practice today with a “life coach.”

“I check in with her several times per week. She keeps me focused,” Mark says.

People with ADD/ADHD often have difficulties with relationships. “I’m lucky that my wife is so good at planning because I’m terrible at it,” Mark says. “She knows that I can’t be relied on to organize our kids, pay bills, or manage our finances. Things would fall apart quickly.”

Student Ben Spell completes his class assignments.

Children and teens with ADD/ADHD often // continued on page 26 EUCALYPTUSMAGAZINE.COM | 19

preserving the bounty of the season

You Can Take It With You

C

anning, preserving, pickling, fermenting, putting up…

Whatever you call it, it isn’t just for farm wives and grandmas. People from all walks of life are relearning the skill of preserving fruits and vegetables and passing on the bounty of their labors. Along the way, they are eating healthier, saving produce from the compost bin, and sharing a wealth of good food with family and friends.

by Doña Bumgarner photography by lane johnson

20 | September + October 2012

Donna Thomas at her Santa Cruz home holds jars filled with her preserved goods, including cucumber pickles, carrot pickles, and strawberry jam.

Feeding the Family Christa Sinclair’s Santa Cruz Mountains home is sandwiched between a grove of mixed stone fruit and citrus trees and a generous vegetable garden. Having grown up on a Vermont farm, she learned to can and pickle from her parents. She has carried this tradition through her life, making at least a small amount of jam every year. Once a vice president at a toy and game company and now a full-time mother who stays home with her two young sons, Sinclair finds that preserving her own food plays a key role in her family life.

“I control the ingredients,” she says. “I decide how much sugar to use, if any.”

Sinclair chooses organic and locally grown ingredients whenever possible and takes her boys to the farmers’ market and local “you-pick” farms to collect produce she doesn’t grow in her own garden.

Sinclair’s jam is made in small batches to meet her family members’ various tastes.

“My sons love simple fruit jams and preserves. I like more interesting flavors and my husband is the total canning wild card,” she says. “Strawberry lemonade jam is a huge favorite. It’s so bright and tasty.”

Sinclair makes both savory and sweet jams, including her recent creation: Ginger Peach Lemongrass jam. “I love that I can play around with flavor combinations,” she says. “Ginger Peach jam is ubiquitous, but

With the help of her two sons, 3-year-old Griffin and 6-year-old Connor, Christa Sinclair chops and prepares fresh, ripe peaches that will be made into jam.

Ginger Peach Lemongrass is unique.”

Faced with an overabundance of tomatoes in her garden last year, Sinclair invented a recipe for a spicy, savory tomato jam and made 30 jars.

“My cautionary tale to would-be preservers is to be mindful of what and when you plant. A dozen cherry tomato plants sounds heavenly when you’ve suffered through flavorless, store-bought tomatoes all winter, but when you’re harvesting 20 gallons at once, it's overwhelming.”

The week after the cherry tomato glut, Sinclair had a surplus of heirloom tomatoes, which she turned into plain tomato juice. “Simpler was better,” she says.

Nourishing Your Health Nishanga Bliss is an acupuncture practitioner, teacher, and author of the book Real Food, All Year. Her book is based on the idea that optimum health comes from eating seasonally and using traditional recipes, and that healthy, homemade food should be easy and accessible to everyone.

The book’s list of 10 tips for busy cooks includes the suggestion to preserve and ferment food at home. By doing so, Bliss says, “You control the flavors and quality of the ingredients. The food is much better for your health, and you have fun doing it.”

Bliss often relies on fermenting when preserving food. “Fermentation actually

increases the nutritional value of food,” she says. Bliss recently fermented a batch of Japanese plums that came from a friend’s tree. “The plums and especially the liquid they produce—plum vinegar—are favorite condiments of mine,” she says. “Most condiments were originally fermented foods, and every culinary tradition has methods of fermentation.”

Bliss also recommends fermented foods to her acupuncture clients. “When people start incorporating foods like raw sauerkraut and yogurt into their diets, they usually notice improvements in digestion, immunity, and health.”

Making What You Can’t Buy Geoff Brown is a soft-spoken software engineer and not someone you would picture as an accomplished home-preserver.

But his face lights up when he talks about the recipes he’s tried. Brown was introduced to the health benefits of raw sauerkraut a number of years ago, but could only find pasteurized varieties for sale, so he learned to make his own. When he found a source for raw kraut, he moved on to making other hard-to-find foodstuffs, including preserved lemons, pickled vegetables, and dehydrated zucchini and tomatoes.

Brown and his wife follow a gluten- and dairy-free diet and limit their consumption of eggs. This can make breakfast a chalEUCALYPTUSMAGAZINE.COM | 21

Geoff Brown packs a peck of “not just plain old cucumber” pickles—he uses a variety of vegetables in his pickling recipes.

lenge, especially when they travel. But while visiting North Africa and Morocco, they were introduced to the Levantine-style breakfast: savory lentil or garbanzo bean stew, served with pickled vegetables and olives in oil. Back home, Brown went looking for pickles to recreate the meal but couldn’t find the right kind.

“Pickles can go far beyond cucumbers,” Brown says. So he began making his own pickled carrots, zucchini, and beets. He adds ginger for flavor and peppers for a bit of heat. “I found some traditional recipes and then experimented,” he says.

“My current thing is preserved lemons,” he says. “They aren’t something I’ve seen for sale, but I want to cook with them, so I make my own.”

Saving the Abundance Artist Donna Thomas’ pantry is filled with jewel-toned Mason jars stacked high—and not a single can of store-bought food.

Thomas grew up in a family who canned to preserve the abundance of fruit from their backyard trees.

“We’d have the whole neighborhood of kids there around the kitchen table having peeling races,” she says. “It was fun, and we canned so much fruit.”

She cans now because she wants to control the quality of her food, and also because homemade preserves save her 22 | September + October 2012

Cookbook author Nishanga Bliss endorses the health-enhancing power of fermented foods, like these fermented cayenne peppers.

money. Thomas makes jam and tomato and apple sauce using organic, ripe fruit and a minimum of sugar and salt. She only occasionally has to buy her ingredients.

“People like to share their abundance,” she says.

In addition to jam and sauce, Thomas makes wild-fermented pickles, sauerkraut, and wine. “I make wine when I have an excess of fruit or can gather for free,” she says. “I use my blackberries from the yard, culled fruit from the farmers’ market, and wild-gathered elderberries and dandelions.”

You Can Do It Want to try canning yourself? Start simple with small-batch recipes and build from there. Bliss says, “You can start several batches of interesting ferments in an hour or two.” Her book includes several recipes.

She says that “fermentation is great because most of the work is done by the bacteria. All you do is set it up and wait.”

Brown’s pickles and preserved lemons are also simple recipes. For the pickles, you need only veggies, vinegar, and spices. For preserved lemons, you need only lemons, lemon juice, and salt. The art is in the subtle variations of spices and preserving time. But while the pickles and lemons only take a few minutes to prepare, they need to cure for a few weeks before they are ready to eat.

For faster results, a batch of jam is a

great way to enjoy the flavor of perfectly ripe late summer fruits, like peaches and strawberries, in the middle of winter.

Farmers often offer flats of fruit that are not visually perfect for a reduced price, and these are great for preserving. Look for “freezer jam” recipes if you don’t want to go through the process of sealing your jars in boiling water. In all cases, use a detailed recipe and read through the USDA safety recommendations at www.foodsafety.gov/ blog/home_canning.html.

canning 101 Prefer to learn from an expert? Introductory classes in fermenting, pickling, and canning are available: • Love Apple Farms, located just north of Santa Cruz, offers classes like Canning 101, Pressure Cookery Basics, as well as a pickling class and several jam classes: www. growbetterveggies.com • Kathryn Lucas, owner of Farmhouse Culture, offers a basic fermenting class: www.farmhouseculture.com • Bliss teaches both common and unusual pickling and fermenting methods at 18 Reasons in San Francisco: www.18reasons.org • Happy Girl Kitchen offers workshops in fermenting, canning, and pickling: www. happygirlkitchen.com

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EUCALYPTUSMAGAZINE.COM | 23

wind power continued from page 17

24 | September + October 2012

Makani Power in Alameda is developing an airborne wind turbine that flies in large circles while tethered to the ground, eliminating much of the construction costs of traditional wind turbines.

call in 2009 for clean, renewable energy.

“So much of the energy policy in the U.S. is tainted by politics,” says Arrison. “There is still far more investment and research in fossil fuels than in alternatives.”

Alden Woodrow, Vice President of Corporate Development at Makani Power in Alameda, says his company is taking a different approach to building wind turbines for large-scale energy production, and their innovative design reduces the cost of construction and installation.

“Makani’s technology uses the same principles as conventional wind turbines, but eliminates most of the material. Our airborne wind turbine or ‘wing’ flies in large circles while tethered to the ground like a kite. Rotors on the wing spin as the wing flies and generate power, which is sent down through the tether.”

The engineers at Makani Power, Woodrow says, “are focused on the need to produce energy closer to where it is used. Our technology has an even larger advantage offshore, at sea. There are terrawatts of potential wind generation off the California coast alone. Our airborne wind turbines could allow us to harness that energy and deliver it to coastal cities like San Jose, San Francisco, and Los Angeles without having to build polluting power plants on land.”

California has the most aggressive renewable energy laws of all 50 states. By 2020, one-third of the state’s electricity must come from renewable sources, including wind.

Arrison sums it up this way: “Wind power is clean, and clean is better than dirty.”

Left: lane johnson; right: courtesy of makani Power

But even for those customers who enjoy the convenience of Most customers can cut their consumption utility company service, wind by 25 percent without too much trouble. power has possibilities. The This reduces the size of the installation and average home uses between the price they end up paying,” Arrison says.

1,500 and 4,000 kilowatt-hours Kyle Gregg of Cal Power in San Juan per month. “We have a 6-kiloBautista agrees that a wind power system watt product called the eddyGT. must be cost effective. “No two sites are Depending on a customer’s alike. Trees, nearby houses, and wind usage, this product can cut their speed all affect the feasibility and the usage by half,” Gregg says. price,” he says.

Newer wind turbine models, In addition, homeowners and businesses including those that use must obtain the proper permits and site dual-axis technology, are much approval from local authorities. “Start-up quieter than older models, but costs are hard to predict,” Gregg says. “Our noise remains an issue for those installations range from $5,000 all the way who decide to put up turbines up to $100,000 for a challenging, hard-toon their property. Other reach site.” disadvantages include damage The most expensive, elaborate system Cal from lightning strikes and power Power has installed involved two towers on shortages due to low wind a remote mountaintop. All of the equipment periods. But cost remains the biggest issue. had to be airlifted to the site. “It was Since wind power installations are expencompletely off-grid,” Gregg says, functionsive, it can be years before a consumer ing as a mini power plant that was not begins to reap any financial benefits. connected to the local utility company.

Still, some people choose wind power for the same reason that they drive a Prius. “Our customers value CalPower’s CEO Gareth Gregg used his mobile energy station being green,” says Arrison. powered by wind turbines and solar panels to generate “They’re willing to invest in electricity for an outdoor movie night in Hollister, CA. something that will pay off in the future. They want energy independence.”

The federal government offers a personal tax credit of 30 percent of the total expenses of installing residential wind and/or solar systems, including materials and labor. In addition, Pacific Gas and Electric Company recently offered its customers a financial incentive to install both on- and off-grid renewable systems.

With constant fluctuations in the oil and gas market, many consumers are lured away from renewable energy every time prices drop. But Arrison says that “relying on foreign oil is just wrong. We in the alternative energy business know that we’re right, especially in the long term.”

Currently, renewable energy sources (wind, solar, geothermal, etc.) make up only 4.7% of the United States’ utility production, in spite of President Obama’s

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feel socially isolated. “We teach students how to make friends,” says Austin of Bayhill High School. “Sometimes these kids talk too loud or poke other children. We help them learn how to control their impulsive behavior.”

Barbara Saunders, a special education teacher at Willow Glen High School in San Jose, agrees. “Kids can learn to cope if they are taught some basic self-control. Often, these children have learned to get attention by misbehaving. It helps for the teacher to connect with the child and figure out what he or she is interested in.” ADD/ ADHD students often earn the label of being “difficult,” which lowers their self-esteem and leads to more negative behavior.

At Bayhill High School, math teacher Jason Bystrom spends one-on-one time with his students.

At Bayhill, students get two five-minute “chill breaks” or timeouts per hour, during which they are allowed to leave the classroom. “It teaches them not to just jump up and run around the room,” says Austin. “They have a legitimate reason to leave, calm down, and return.”

Behavioral modification, therapy, and classroom assistance help most children with ADD/ADHD, but some do not respond to these techniques, in which case medication may be recommended.

Typically, the medications for ADD/ADHD are stimulants such as Ritalin, Adderall, and Concerta. “Stimulants increase the amount of dopamine in the brain, [helping] those with ADD/ADHD to focus,” says Dr. Narasimhan. Nonetheless, she adds, “the goal is to avoid medication wherever possible. Drugs have side effects.”

Narasimhan prescribes medication “in cases where a child is failing in school, or has been asked to leave more than one school.”

These experiences damage the child’s self-esteem, she says, leading to more problems in the future.

Saunders expresses caution about using medication for ADD/ ADHD. “The kids don’t like how it makes them feel,” she says.

“It changes their personalities. Sometimes they can’t sleep.”

One of the side effects of ADD/ADHD drugs is a loss of appetite. Teen boys “don’t want to look skinny or underweight. Inadequate diet is a real problem for them,” says Austin. “They are willing to go off their meds and try harder with behavior modification.”

Mark encourages ADD/ADHD sufferers to stay open to the idea of taking medication and to discuss it with their doctors.

“I was Mr. Organic,” he says. “I wouldn’t even take aspirin.”

A doctor convinced him to try Wellbutrin, which is not a stimulant and was developed to assist with smoking cessation, depression, and anxiety. He found that this drug helped him whereas others did not. “For me, stimulants were too stimulating. I couldn’t function at all on them,” he says.

People with attention deficit disorder can and do achieve success in life, careers, and relationships. “For every negative about ADD, there’s a positive,” says Mark. “My ADD has helped me as much as it has hindered me.” As a parent of a child who also has ADD, Mark says, “It can be exasperating, but having a child with this condition gives you the opportunity to love yourself through your child.”

Saunders says that if she has one piece of advice for parents and teachers of ADD/ADHD kids, it would be: “Be patient. Don’t give up on these kids.”

lane johnson

add/adhd continued from page 19

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make a wish

˙

October is Children’s Health Month. Since our young people will inherit the environment we leave them, consider the following tips to help make kids and Mother Earth healthier and happier. BY rhea maze

Kids’ birthday parties need not result in an overflowing trash can. To cut down on packaging, serve pitchers of water or lemonade rather than juice boxes. Have kids bring an unwrapped book or puzzle from home to swap, so everyone takes home something “new.” Skip the junkfilled goodie bags and organize a craft project or outdoor activity instead.

daily dose The National Wildlife Federation recommends that all kids have one “green hour” per day of unstructured time to play outside and interact with nature. Scientific evidence confirms that this works wonders for a child’s mind, body, and spirit.

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Studies show that simple contact with good old-fashioned dirt through digging holes, gardening, and making mud pies improves a child’s mood, reduces stress and anxiety, and exposes him or her to healthy bacteria that builds the immune system and lowers the risk of developing asthma or allergies.

get connected Introduce your teen to local outdoor organizations such as www.planetconnect.org, which inspires youth to learn about environmental issues, explore green colleges and careers, and share ideas about protecting the planet.

get moving American kids spend an average of 44 hours a week in front of an electronic screen. In the past 20 years, childhood obesity rates have more than doubled, and children are spending 50 percent less time outside. Help your kids find activities that get their blood flowing and won’t ruin their eyes.

Buy non-plastic, non-toxic toys and recyclable glass bottles for the babies in your life. Even better, shop for them at secondhand stores. Use cloth diapers, or sign up for a compostable diaper service that delivers clean, biodegradable diapers to your door and hauls away the dirty ones to a local composting facility rather than a landfill.

Sources: www.nwf.org, http://epa.gov, www.enviromom.com

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Green Tips

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October 7, 2012 is International Walk to School Day. Get out your sneakers and go.

Listen to Eucalyptus Magazine’s daily green tips on the radio at MIX 106.5 and 94.5 KBAY.

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