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Green Living Journal • Winter 2014
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from the editor
The New Economy, Part 1 By Stephen Morris
mansion. The human species has a long and distinguished 4. We become totally sick of Justin Bieber, never history as a squander-er of resources. Whether it’s want to see or hear of him again, and begin naming cutting down the ancient redwoods, shooting buffalo bogus syndromes after him, such as the Justin Bieber from the train, or killing the elephants for their tusks, Effect. there seems to be an unquenchIn the last issue of Green able gluttony that is innate to Living Journal we reported the species. After all, to quote on the Tesla electric car and the Bible, “Man has dominion” how car dealers in New Jersey over nature, and you can superAs friends of the environment, wanted it banned because it size that. we want to see everyone threatened their ongoing I can cite example after revenue stream from reguexample of species-specific succeed, and these new larly schedule service. Tesla greed, sprawl, and gluttony, but ventures, which promote is barely launched and the let’s take that as a given. What entrenched powers are trying community and offer more I’m noticing recently, however, to squelch it. is a tendency towards some corchoice, are noteworthy, Then, there is Uber, the rective action. This is so conworthwhile and welcome new company that is revolutiontrary to everything I’ve come to izing mobility through its app entries to the economic scene. expect from homo sapiens that that connects people needing I’ve been reluctant to take it Bring ‘em on! arrive with a fleet of indepenout of the “too good to be true” dent drivers willing to provide category. What I’m starting to their time and vehicles for the see... are you sitting down and chance to earn some extra holding on to your hats... are bucks. Who benefits? Consumers, first of all, who some signs of ... oh, I hope I don’t put a jinx on things now have an alternative to traditional cabs, that, if ... are some signs of sanity. you believe the stereotype portrayed on late night talk There, I’ve said it. shows, are notable primarily for their rudeness and Until recently we the species, especially the subaggressive driving. Travis Kalanick is the CEO and cospecies Americanus have been governed by the Justin founder of Uber. He is described thus on their website: Bieber Effect. This is a syndrome that goes like this: 1. There’s something fresh and positive (the clip of Whether it’s founding the world’s first P2P search JB that went viral on the Internet.) engine, or developing the premier enterprise content 2. The refreshing young talent is catapulted to rock delivery system, Travis believes that every problem star status. has a solution. You just have to be creative enough to 3. The newly minted rock star begins almost immefind it. He’s guided the company from a niche market diately to exhibit the behaviors of despicable overin San Francisco to its global presence today. Along indulgence, such as throwing eggs at his neighbor’s the way, Travis has actively invested in and advised other passionate start up entrepreneurs. Somehow, he’s also managed to rack up the second highest Wii Tennis score in the world. Game, set, match. Uber also benefits their drivers, often students or unemployed people looking to turn their vehicle into a financial asset. The environment should benefit as well from more efficient deployment of assets. Who suffers from Uber’s success? Starting at the top, the automobile manufacturers who will not be making the fleets of taxi cabs. Secondly, the cab comNew Economy - Continued page 6 4 •
Green Living Journal • Winter 2014
contents
HOMEMADE BUTTER
FROM THE EDITOR
The New Economy Part 1.......................................................4 The New Economy Part 2 ................................................... 21 The New Economy Part 3 ................................................... 27 Letters ......................................................................................... 7 Short Takes .................................................................................9
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EDUCATION
Bootstrapping ........................................................................ 14 25 Ways to Eliminate Plastics ........................................... 20 David Orr Interview ............................................................. 23
ENERGY AND BUILDING
Net Zero Living ....................................................................... 9 Burning Ring of Fire ............................................................ 17 Wood Pellets ........................................................................... 22
HEALTH
Immune System .................................................................... 42 Detox Your Kitchen .............................................................. 44 Avoid Paint Chemicals ........................................................ 45
MONEY
Divest or Engage .................................................................. 11 Going Mobile to Stay Local ............................................... 29 Co-operative Future ............................................................ 40
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from the editor
New Economy
Continued from page 4
panies with their arcane system of selling licenses or medallions, and finally the drivers themselves. Driving a cab has traditionally for people, many immigrants, who are on the bottom rung of the labor ladder. Also, suffering, again in theory, are governmental agencies that have managed a piece of the transportation pie through fees and taxes. Airbnb.com and VRBO.com (Vacation Rental By Owner) are two enterprises that do with living space what Uber does with vehicles, i.e. make private space publicly available as an an alternative to traditional lodging options. From Airbnb.com’s website:
users, Airbnb is the easiest way for people to monetize their extra space and showcase it to an audience of millions.
Anyone who has had to spend a night in New York City while NOT on an expense account know how expensive city hotels can be. Winners: consumers, home and apartment owners. Losers: traditional lodging options, tax collecting municipalities. One more point, the beneficiaries of the New Economy are the people who can afford decent vehicles and decent places to live, and who are Internetsavvy enough to manage their listings attractively. How this impacts folks on the lower end of the Founded in August of 2008 and based in San Franeconomic scale cannot yet be quantified. Are the cisco, California, Airbnb is a trusted community marbusinesses in the New Economy strengthening the ketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accommodations around the world — online or from a long-neglected middle class, or are they succeeding on the backs of the most needy people in the work force? mobile phone. These are not easy questions to answer. Two issues Whether an apartment for a night, a castle for a week, or a villa for a month, Airbnb connects people to ago in Green Living we profiled Echo Point Books, a start-up that has found a seam of success in the book unique travel experiences, at any price point, in more trade by finding a market for the flotsam and jetsam than 34,000 cities and 190 countries. And with worldclass customer service and a growing community of of the traditional book business. Their business could not exist without the marketplace provided by Amazon, and yet in the subsequent issue we published a letter from the founder of Echo Point (and also this esteemed journal) saying that he recommends a boycott of Amazon due to their exploitative, relentless, Can I catch Ebola from shea butter? and discriminatory business pracNope! tices. Our African shea nut butter is pasteurized, de-watered and Honestly … can it get any super filtered before it is repackaged for sale in the West. more contradictory than this? It is actually certified as food grade in Europe. Raw shea butter refers to the lack of refining in this Our job at Green Living is product. We prefer to reprocess unrefined shea butter to not to answer complex questions keep the goodies in but get the microbes, and plant material out. When we fill tins and other consumer sizes, so much as to bring the issues to we remelt the shea butter and fill containers hot. This pasteurizes it a second time. light. As friends of the environIt is also important to remember that viruses and bacteria require water to exist. Shea butter has very little water in it and thus will actually exhibit mild germ killing properties. ment, we want to see everyone In other words, even if we did not do all of this, it is quite unlikely one can get any disease from shea butter. Even if someone with active Ebola touched the shea butter, succeed, and these new ventures, the virus would have to stay alive for months in a hostile environment (oils). Very unlikely to actually be possible. Not that we would take the chance, but still very unlikely. which promote community and You can be comfortable knowing that you will absolutely NOT get Ebola from VT Soap’s offer more choice, are noteworshea nut butter. It is pasteurized and packaged to food grade standards even though it is used on your skin (in the US). thy, worthwhile and welcome new All the Best, entries to the economic scene. Soapman Stop by our outlet store at Bring ‘em on! 616 Exchange Street Middlebury, VT Or Shop online At www.vtsoap.com Stephen Morris is the national editor of Green Living Journal and Visit www.VTSOAP.com and SAVE an additional 10% for seeing our ad in an enthusiastic user of Airbnb.com Green Living Journal Code: GLJ10 and VRBO.com. He’d give Uber. (Offer Good until 12/30/14) com a try, but they haven’t penetrated his neck of the woods yet. 6 •
Green Living Journal • Winter 2014
Letters to the Editor Hi Stephen, Enjoy getting your publication every Fall when we visit Vermont cousins, the articles really open up my mind to new technology and ideas. Dave Peterson’s letter to the editor has one bad item about Clothes Dryer Venting that my 30 years as a Fire Inspector/Investigator forces me to comment on. Venting for any clothes dryer should always be to the exterior with metal vent or U.L. approved flex hose, as short & direct as possible, terminated with a hooded full open flapper and follow manufacturer’s guidelines. Improper dryer venting & lack of maintenance is in the top 10 Causes of Fires Nationwide. Gas fired dryers produce carbon monoxide, a deadly byproduct of combustion. Electric & gas dryers produce lint, steam & perfumes from dryer sheets, all bad for respiratory systems and household cleanliness. Water filter traps & screened diverter valves require too much maintenance to be reliable “fixes” for these issues. If dryer softener sheets are used, a film is created on the lint screen that restricts air flow. This screen should be gently brushed off every 6 months & water tested under your faucet. The entire dryer exhaust system should be checked and cleaned annually. Following all these guidelines will make for Safe, Energy Efficient drying of clothes. Yours in Safety, David Wilson 174 Nutley Ave Nutley NJ 07110
Southern New England, and I recently decided to explore the possibilities of a “land purchase “ in the area. My question to you is, being the editor or such a great publication which speaks clearly to my lifestyle and sense of humor, could you refer me to me realtor, individual, person or group whom you might recommend as I begin this search? I went to Oberlin college in Ohio, lived in co-ops and try to live as sustainably as possible. I know that there are plenty of folks like me in your area and it is just a natural gravitational pull up there! So if you have any friends who might be up for the challenge … I am ready to look and buy. Hope to hear from you! The next time I will be in NE will probably be the Thanksgiving holiday, I could take a trip up and start to look around, might be best before the snow falls. Happy Halloween! Jennifer Sent from my i Pad Jennifer Gerber jgerber3@verizon.net
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I recently read Green Living from cover to cover and really enjoyed it! Especially the Poop on Pea! The title alone inspires immediate attention.Not sure just where I picked up Green Living but sure glad I did. I like to write and do so everyday, I always try to read the local papers where ever I travel. Anyway my name is Jennifer and I live in Central New Jersey in a green, composting – no garbage pick up, walk as much as I can, kind of way! After reading The Snow pants Rule it brought to mind just how I enjoyed suiting up my children to play in the snow, I really never had to apply the Snow pants rule to them as once I got them out the door they were quite happy to stay out for hours! New Jersey can have some wonderful snow storms! So since both my daughter and son are living in
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Short takes By the Numbers
27 Awesome Ways to Reuse Food Scraps
1. Make broth. Celery tops, onion and garlic skins, carrot peels, and other food scraps are great for flavoring your vegetable broth. Just save the scraps in a freezer-safe container until you have enough to cook them up. When the broth is done, strain out the solids and toss them into your compost bin. 2. Use old lemon peels to infuse liquor. Check out this simple recipe for lemon brandy. You can also use this technique to make lemon vodka, rum, tequila…pretty much any liquor you like! 3. Save those kale stalks. Most recipes for kale and other dark leafy greens call for removing the leaves from the stems, but there is a lot of nutrition in those kale stalks! Try this recipe for kale stalks with chili and garlic. 4. A small slice of citrus peel keeps brown sugar from hardening. Just make sure that you store the sugar in the refrigerator, so the peel doesn’t rot. 5. Is your garbage disposer stinky? Throw citrus peels into the garbage disposer to destink it. 6. Apple peels make a tasty tea. If you want to make this recipe vegan, go for agave nectar or maple syrup in place of the honey or skip the sweetener all together. 7. Use apple peels to clean aluminum cookware. You can get the deets from DIY Network. 8. You can actually eat carrots without peeling them, but if you want to peel your carrots, save the peels. You can use them to make carrot oil, which is a great addition to your DIY beauty regimen. 9. Cucumber peels deter pests. You can find a list here of how to use cucumbers to deter ants, moths, mites, wasps, and silverfish. 10. Reuse those broccoli stems. Like kale stems broccoli stalks have tons of nutritional value. Just slice away the tough outer skin and try some of these recipes! 11. Does your kiddo eat his sandwiches with the crusts cut off? Save the crusts in a container in the fridge and grind them into breadcrumbs. 12. After making almond milk, dry the leftover pulp in the oven and use it in any recipe calling for almond flour. Try these almond flour muffins to start. Related Reading: 10 Foods that You Should Make from Scratch 13. Next time you get a bunch of beets, save the leafy tops. Wash them well to get all of the dirt off, and you can cook them up just like you would Swiss chard, a close relative to the beet. 14. Did someone say chard? Check out this recipe for quick-pickled Swiss chard stems! 8 •
15. After cutting the top off of your pineapple, don’t toss it in the compost. You can actually use that top to grow another pineapple. 16. Save the bottoms of your green onions, too. You can plant them in a pot or your garden to grow new onions. 17. Speaking of onions, you can use the skins to make fabric dye. Both yellow onions and red onions work to make dye. 18. Reuse celery leaves. Celery tops are full of nutrients and flavor. Green Talk shows you lots of ways to cook and store celery leaves. 19. Use coffee grounds to deodorize your hands and cutting board after chopping garlic and onions. Rub them on, then rinse away. It seriously works like magic! 20. Next time you make a romaine salad, save the lettuce hearts to grow more lettuce. Here’s how! 21. Use potato peels as a natural remedy for warts. 22. You can reuse the pulp left from juicing veggies to make broth. Just like tip #1, you’ll probably want to strain out the solids when the broth is done. 23. Leftover fruit pulp adds fiber and vitamins to your smoothies. 24. Instead of tossing peach pits into your compost, try this recipe for peach pit jelly. 25. Got tomato scraps? Use them to make tomato sauce. 26. Save those cracker crumbs. The crumbs from the bottom of that bag of crackers work great as breading or to top off a casserole. If there aren’t enough in the box, mix them with your other breadcrumbs. Maybe crumbs you made from those bread crusts (#11)? 27. Infuse vinegar with citrus peels. Just like with infused liquors, you can experiment with different sorts of citrus and different vinegars. Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/ ways-to-reuse-food-scraps.html#ixzz3GDy2wSNk
Hooray for Scotland Green Living Journal rarely comments on international politics, but in a time when the Middle East is a quagmire of violence and human suffering, isn’t it inspiring that the people of Scotland went to the voting booth to determine whether or not they would separate from the United Kingdom and made the decision in a single day without bloodshed. Democracy isn’t perfect, but it’s the best form of government evolved on this planet up until now.
Green Living Journal • Winter 2014
ENERGY & BUILDING
Net Zero Living
By Lise Howrigan In Vermont it’s no secret that there’s a real connectedness to the environment, so shouldn’t we be responsive to what we do to it? That’s why at one Colchester based design firm, they’ve adopted the motto, “Creative Sustainable Solutions”. In every project, the focus is to design solutions that respect the building’s occupants, the client’s budget, timeline and most importantly- the environment. Serving as a showcase for their clients to look at cost effective, versatile design, they designed an office space which conserves water, uses energy efficiently and provides a high level of indoor air quality on a tight budget. However, it doesn’t Steve’s tank going in. stop there; both David and Steven Roy, LEED AP’s, brothers and partners at Wiemann Lamphere Architects, each designed their own netzero homes. What is a net zero home? A net zero home is a house that uses less energy than it produces through on-site renewable energy annually. This is done through a highly efficient infrastructure; mechanical system, lighting and water efficient fixtures, a robust building envelope consisting of low rates of air infiltration, as well as efficient windows and doors. Each of the Roy homes were designed to fit their own life goals. David Roy designed his 2,300 square foot home to use geo-thermal heating and cooling and
solar thermal for domestic water use. This is done by a thermal exchange between the well and the surrounding geology which maintains a uniform temperature of 55 degrees throughout the year. The geo-thermal system taps into this and pulls heat from the ground for heating or rejects heat to the ground to allow cooling. What better heat exchanger than the Earth?! David already needed the well for domestic water consumption, so it was more cost effective to be geothermal and have it serve a dual purpose. The entire system is backed up with a wood pellet boiler. Solar PV generates enough electricity to operate the house throughout the year. In an effort to avoid fossil fuels and work towards carbon neutrality, Steve’s home also has no connection or need for natural gas, oil, or any other carbon emitting or dirty fuel. The home is a traditional design fit onto a small village lot, and produces all of its own heat and electricity. The heating system is a group of evacuated tube solar collectors that stores the heat in a large, heavily insulated tank built by a local Vermont company. The heat distribution system has been
Steve’s house.
Net Zero - Continued page 10 Visit us online at GreenLivingJournal.com • Green Living • Winter 2014 • 9
EDUCATION Net Zero Living Continued from page 9
carefully designed to take advantage of the solar storage and can provide 100% of the home’s heat and domestic hot water demands. A photovoltaic array is also placed on the roof to provide enough electricity to meet the demands of the household. The sun’s energy is free and abundant so he wanted to use that to his advantage. Less obvious sustainable details are the quad pane windows and the attention to air sealing to help reduce drafts and wasted energy. The wall system is a double wall that can provide an R-value (a measure of resistance to the flow of heat through a given thickness of a material) of 40 by using cellulose insulation, a product that is more than 80% recycled newspaper. The cost to upgrade Steve’s house to be net-zero energy was approximately $30 per square foot after all current incentives. If you are considering a net zero home, begin by making a thoughtful decision on what your goal is and how best to meet that goal, keeping in mind the size of the home, climate of your location and the use pattern of the home’s occupants. A sacrifice of just 400 square feet can enable a house to be built for the same cost
Full
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Divest or Engage? SRI Mutual Funds Debate Best Way to Tackle Fossil Fuels By Todd Walker The launch of the Fossil-Free campaign in 2008 by Bill McKibben and 350.org -- calling for the divestment of the “Top 200” publicly-traded energy companies based on estimated carbon reserves in the ground -- has divided the socially responsible mutual fund industry into essentially two camps. Both sides have the same goal of weaning the world from CO2 producing fossil fuels in favor of cleaner alternative energies. But they differ on their approach to forcing big oil to change. On the one side is the “Total Divestment” camp comprised of SRI mutual funds that embrace 350.org’s call for fossil-free investing -- and even take it one step further, eliminating all fossil fuel companies from their portfolios, including coal, oil, natural gas, pipelines and energy service companies. Leading proponents of this fossil-free group include the Green Century funds, Portfolio 21, and Shelton Green Alpha Fund. The larger camp includes those fund companies
who believe that rather than shun fossil fuel companies entirely, it is more productive to continue to invest in the most enlightened of the industry – those that are making the most positive steps toward environmental change – and then “engage” these companies as shareholders to promote even faster change through various forms of “shareholder activism”, such as: • Dialogue with company executives • File shareholder resolutions • Work in coalitions with other shareholders and stakeholders • Vote proxies • Conduct letter writing and email campaigns • Work with government regulatory agencies, such as the EPA and SEC • Attend and speak at annual share-holder meetings Divest or Engage - Continued page 12
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Divest or Engage Continued from page 11
The engagement group includes such industry leaders as The Calvert Funds, PAX World, and Domini Funds.
Engagement or Divorce?
The fossil-free funds admit that engagement has an impact, but they say that the process is taking too long given the increasing speed of climate change. Their stand is that the only way to stop or slow down climate change is to simply leave the carbon in the ground. Once it’s extracted it will be burned and then there will be no turning back. Therefore fossil fuel companies must be forced to stop extracting by what amounts to a boycott of all their securities, much like the antiapartheid boycott on South African investments by the developed world in the mid-1980s. The funds promoting engagement have always included divestment as part of their screening process, eliminating companies that are unrepentant offenders – such as Exxon and Monsanto – but have attempted to work with more open-minded companies that are attempting to change and are generally less carbonintensive. They question whether essentially declaring investment war on a whole industry really forces it to change, or instead closes off any chance for effective dialog. They point to the major gains that have been made through their engagement efforts through the years.
Are Both Right?
At the moment, it’s hard to say which approach is more impactful. The Divest movement is relatively so young and the fossil-fuel stock boycott so small to date that there really isn’t any hard evidence yet that it is making any significant impact on the extraction rate of fossil-fuel companies. The engagement camp has the advantage of a far longer track record of policy results, but while it has slowed down the release of CO2, it has not prevented it from recently rising above 400 parts per million. But is it wise to cut off all engagement with big oil in favor of an adversarial boycott strategy that is largely untested? Is it better to try to convert the devil you know than create a more hostile devil? The decision is up to every investor, and fortunately now there is a clear choice among mutual funds, according to the philosophy that appeals to you most.
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“When the goal is to reduce the production and use of fossil fuels, Green Century believes that divesting from fossil fuel companies is the most effective way Divest or Engage - Continued page 13
12 •
Green Living Journal • Winter 2014
MONEY Divest or Engage
Continued from page 12
for investors to pressure those companies on climate change, and to clear the path for policy and regulatory changes needed to curb carbon emissions.” Green Century Funds “For Portfolio 21, it is not about divestment. We do not own these stocks because our research tells us that these companies pose too much risk to the environment and society, and that they face too much risk based on their business operation profile.” Portfolio 21 “For us, there has never been a question of divesting from fossil fuels, because there has never been the possibility of investing in them. The equities of fossil fuel companies, far from being the relatively secure source of risk-adjusted returns that they were in the past, now represent substantial systematic portfolio risk. What’s more, broadly speaking, the intersection of costs between fossil fuels and renewable energies occurred in 2012 or 2013, and from that moment forward, fossil fuel prices will continue to become less and less competitive over time.” Shelton Green Alpha Fund
Engagement/Dialog “Divestment is a valid choice, but so too is active ownership that challenges companies to curb carbon emissions and to point us toward a renewable energy economy. What Calvert finds unacceptable is not exercising our rights as shareholders to push companies to look over the horizon and see the compelling need for dramatic action to address this growing crisis.” Calvert Funds “Another concern about divestment as an exclusive strategy is that when you sell your shares you lose your seat at the table, your voice, your entitlement to vote your proxies at the Company’s annual meeting, your ability to support shareholder resolutions, including resolutions asking companies to disclose or reduce their carbon emissions, and so forth. The role of activist investors in prompting
change should not be completely discounted.” Pax World Funds “Domini pursues a strategy of partial fossil-fuel avoidance, combined with corporate engagement. We believe a range of strategies need to be brought to bear on the problem of climate change. We currently exclude individual companies that, in our view, fail to responsibly address the key sustainability challenges they face. We apply exclusions to entire industries only where we believe the core business model is inherently destructive, and incapable of reform. Nuclear weapons manufacturers and tobacco companies are good examples.” Domini Funds Todd Walker is a Financial Advisor Representative based in Wells, VT with Progressive Asset Management Group, the socially responsible investment division of Financial West Group (FWG), Member FINRA/ SIPC. He can be reached at 802-325-2200, twalker@fwg. com or www.PAMGVermont.com. Office of Supervisory Jurisdiction: 55 Main St., Suite 415, Newmarket, NH 03857.
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edUcation
Bootstrapping A CSA Operation By Nathan A. Winters Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a farming model in which community members invest in the farmer and, in return, they receive produce and any number of other farm prod-
ucts the CSA grower offers. A person interested in starting a vegetable CSA should be prepared to not only grow an abundance of good food but also run a business. It will take endless planning, hard work, creative thinking, marketing and customer service
to be successful. Taking on CSA members also nullifies any possible shortcuts you may take in your personal garden; perhaps you are not fond of kale, or maybe you find that harvesting arugula is a bit more time-consuming than you’d like. When growing food for a community, such workplaces | new homes | renovations | additions | design shortcuts are not an option. Valued energy retrofits | institutions | schools | construction management members will be disappointed if their weekly shares do not include Green building such tasty treats as kale and arugula. As a CSA farmer, your goal can be comfortable should be to provide a bounty of diverse crops that will exceed the and beautiful. expectations of your members and leave them thumbing through their cookbooks, wondering what to do We’ll show with all the delicious food you have you how. grown. If you can do that, you will be prosperous, and over time you will craft a relationship that cannot be achieved at any supermarket – a www.pvsquared.coop personal connection between producer and consumer.
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Green Living Journal • Winter 2014
First, you need to consider the number of members you will take on. This number will determine the amount of capital, land and labor you will need to get started. My advice is to start small. If you are plowing new ground, take the time to learn about your soil and its ability to yield crops so you can meet the expectations of your members. How many members should you accept? In my experience, feeding 20 people and your family on 1 acre of land with one full-time labor assistant is achievable. That equation is scalable. If your goal is to feed 60 people, consider growing 3 acres of crops and hiring three assistants or volunteers for the season. You must be realistic when it comes to Bootstrapping- Continued page 15
design & landscape
Many people go with a CSA primarily for the in-season offerings, like squash. Photo by Nathan A. Winters
how much land you can cultivate, how frequently you can succession plant, how much labor you will have available, and how many members you can acquire. Receiving members in February is great, and it will alleviate financial strain, but not having enough crops or labor to fulfill your customers’ needs in August will leave you emotionally and physically exhausted.
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Membership pricing should be fair and reflect both your end-product and your operating expenses. Consider the following pricing structure for your start-up CSA: $25 per week for a single adult, $35 for two adults, and $45 for a family of two adults and two to three children. Over the years, as you expand, your growing season will become longer, your overhead will rise, and the quality and quantity of your Bootstrapping - Continued page 16
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EDUCATION Bootstrapping
Continued from page 15
shares will increase. As a result, your prices will increase accordingly. Each week, your members should walk away with more food for less money than they would receive at the farmers’ market or grocery store.
Seed order
Harvest no more than four days per week; your plants need the rest, and you will need the remaining three days to get caught up on other farm-related tasks and projects. If you decide to deliver your shares to a larger nearby community, pick a convenient location with ample parking. Allow at least a 90-minute window during the late afternoon for pickup. Driving to deliver your shares will result in more work, and a delivery fee is warranted.
Nothing is more alluring on a cold winter night when snow blankets the fields than scrolling through colorful pages of seed catalogs. They can easily make you forget the frigid temperatures, as well as how many varietShares ies you can conceivably plant. Starting Weekly shares will vary in diversity seeds happens as early as March, so and quantity depending on the time of you should place the bulk of your seed year and Mother Nature. You should aim order by mid-February. to provide five to seven items early in the In the mail, you’ll receive a simple season, and eight to 15 items come fall. cardboard box filled with seed packets. Strive to deliver one to three salad There is nothing boring or ordinary greens, at least two cooking greens (colabout the contents of this box, which lards, Swiss chard, kale), two varieties of will produce thousands of pounds of root vegetables (carrots, beets, potatoes), food for you and your members. The one to three fruiting vegetables (tomatoes, arrival of the season’s seed order will corn, squash), at least one allium (onions, have you wishing for an early spring so garlic), two brassicas (broccoli or cabyou can sow those seeds directly into bage), and as many herbs as possible at the the soil. peak of your production. You should plan on spending $1,000 It is important to pay close attention to on seed per acre. When ordering your At the pickup site, a board lets the succession planting guides to keep these seeds, buy in large quantities to avoid consumer know what’s in each CSA crops readily available throughout the seare-ordering more seeds and accruing box. Photo by Nathan A. Winters son. additional shipping fees. Surplus seed Managing cash flow can always be used the following season. Even with careful budgeting, it will be difficult for a Infrastructure new CSA farmer to rely solely on membership funds to Certain items are essential in your first CSA season. If make it through that first season. Look for other options you are lucky, you may have a few of these items kicking for alternate sources of income. around; otherwise, they should be acquired with memYou can allocate at least 25 percent of your crop probership dollars as early in the year as possible. duction for weekly sales to local chefs, retail outlets or At minimum, invest in the following: cold frames roadside farm stands. If your crop yields are abundant, and/or a small-scale greenhouse; a rototiller (or consider take on new members midway through the season at hiring someone with a tractor, plow, disc and harrow to a prorated price. If you have the ambition, sell baked prepare your garden plots); large coolers for the delivery goods, pestos and salsas. Don’t be afraid to raise moderof produce; seedling trays; lumber to build a washing ate amounts of small-scale livestock; having a few critters station; salad spinners; and packaging materials such as around will create value-added meat and egg sales, and lettuce bags, rubber bands, storage totes, paper bags and/ will also provide organic fertilizer for the gardens. or boxes (Uline.com is a great source for these things). Running a CSA is not just about growing veggies six Relying on recycled materials and DIY projects will save months out of the year, it is about staying creative and money, and it has the added bonus of keeping your farm running a viable business. Without proper management looking like a rustic homestead. of cash flow, failure is likely. Excerpted from GRIT, Celebrating Rural America Harvest and Delivery Since 1882. To read more visit Grit.com. Copyright 2014 Schedule at least one on-farm pickup to allow memby Ogden Publications Inc. bers to observe their membership fees at work and enjoy the scenery. 16 •
Green Living Journal • Winter 2014
ENERGY & BUILDING
The Burning Ring of Fire By Paul Gardener Maybe it appeals to your primal instinct, or you simply enjoy being outdoors. Maybe it’s even that you get better results for a variety of reasons, plus cleanup is easy. Whatever the case may be, everyone seems to love cooking outdoors. It seldom gets any better than firing up the grill and tossing on a couple of quality burgers or steaks and maybe roasting up some fresh veggies from the garden. Whatever your culinary passion, savory smoke and fresh air just seem to make food taste better. Many of us dream of adding to the tradition of charcoal or gas grill on the back patio, and taking it a step further by building an outdoor space – where family and friends can gather, laugh, cook, eat and share. It may be as simple as a sturdy backyard fire pit for cooking hotdogs and s’mores and for warming the gathered bodies on cool fall evenings. Or you might be looking for the full accompaniment of grill, fireplace or pizza oven and outdoor dining area. Luckily you’re only limited by your imagination and willingness to do a little research and hard work.
Design and Build
While you’re designing your outdoor fire-feature, think of how you want to be able to use it. If cooking is going to be a consideration, and really it should be, then this is a good time to plan out how you will want to do that. As with campfires, there are a number of simple solutions available that can be placed over a pit to allow for grilling or cooking. Some are removable, others permanent and adjustable, but all should meet the requirements that you most commonly will be using them for.
If it’s going to last, going all out for an outdoor fireplace is a worthwhile investment. Photo by David Liebman
I always like to look into a recycled, reused or homemade option when I am planning a project like this. Frequently you can find used barbecues at thrift stores or in community bulletin boards online that Bootstrapping - Continued page 18
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ENERGY & BUILDING Ring of Fire
Continued from page 17
come with perfectly serviceable cooking grates. With some simple modifications, these can make for perfect removable cook surfaces for a number of outdoor cooking applications. A simple tripod constructed of 1/2-inch rebar could easily suspend a grill or castiron pot for instance, transforming your fire pit into a vintage “western” cowboy cookery. If a fireplace is the option that you’ve chosen to go with, there are designs and products available that allow you to insert a grill for use in cooking that can be removed afterward to allow the fireplace to be used purely for ambience and enjoyment. You may even want to design your fireplace to be used more as a stone, brick or even clay oven for cooking pizza, breads or overnight slow cooking of meats or beans. Because these methods and materials have been in use for thousands of years, there is a wealth of information available for many methods of constructing them. (Find GRIT’s article for outdoor bread/pizza oven
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plans at http://bit.ly/NCMv7i.) Probably the single most popular feature of this sort is the fire pit or outdoor fireplace. These serve as a focal point of any backyard get-together and can easily be taken to the next level and become an enjoyable addition to an outdoor cooking area. Creating one can be as simple as re-purposing an old cast-iron manhole frame (I’ve done this, and it works wonderfully) or as elaborate as a masonry or slate pit with intricate designs; the details are limited only by your creativity. After determining what material you will use, you’ll naturally be guided to the correct way to begin your installation. Simple ring-over-earth fire pits like my manhole frame require little more than ensuring the ground is level and the site is a safe distance away from flammable objects. No special treatment is required of the ground beneath the fire area; it will essentially just become a permanent campfire of sorts and will require only the occasional shoveling out as ash begins to pile up. On the other hand, a brick, rock or paver type construction – because it is built from many pieces – requires a somewhat more intense approach to ensure that it is built on stable ground so it will last for many years to come. Much like laying pavers, you will want to trench out a ditch and line it with a course drainage grade rock. In this case, dig to approximately 12 inches deep and the width of your pavers or bricks, and then fill the bottom of the ditch with a good 6 inches of rock. This allows for drainage around the stone base, preventing settling in rainy areas or winter heaving in cold climates, as well as giving you a stable base to build the first layer of bricks on below-ground level. This will help to maintain the form and shape of the pit or fireplace as you continue to build. You could also choose to pour a cement base rather than laying your first course of stone below ground level. This is generally a good guideline for starting most outdoor hardscape construction, but more detailed instructions can be found at your local hardware store or online – it all completely depends on your budget and skill. What if you don’t have room for a large feature in your yard space, ore you simply don’t want to dedicate the space you do have to something
Green Living Journal • Winter 2014
Ring of Fire- Continued page 19
ENERGY & BUILDING Ring of Fire Continued from page 18
permanent, but you do want to take advantage of cooking outdoors or enjoying a fire with friends and family on occasion? There are always a number of portable fire pit options available for fairly reasonable prices. While they do easily solve the problem, all of the ones that I have come across are either lacking in size, durability or cooking features. That said, there’s no reason you couldn’t build a temporary fire pit or outdoor cook area that could easily be stored until needed. Bricks can make great A well-fabricated fireplace and rustic chairs combine to make the perfect focal point in the rural backyard. Using brick adds a nice touch. Photo By Jean M. Fogle small, open fireplaces or fire pit rings by simply stacking them in a safe area. Even old 55-gallon drums can be cut down to 12 to 15 inches high, layered with brick or rock on the bottom, and used as temporary fire pits, and standard circular barbecue grills can easily be placed over the top to cook on. By elevating the ring on double bricks placed on three or four sides, you can even use it over your lawn with little if any damage to the grass. Watering the area below is a good idea as well to keep the ground from overheating. I’ve even seen old wheelbarrows used as fire pits by placing a layer of bricks across the bottom (not recommended unless fixed to prevent tipping). Talk about multi-use! So as you can see, there are numerous ways to go with an outdoor fire feature: large or small, permanent or temporary, and limited only by your desire and creativity. Whichever way you choose to go – fire pit or fireplace, granite or urbanite – as long as you take the time to plan thoroughly and you think about the ways you want to use the feature, and then build appropriately for the materials being used, you are sure to enjoy your outdoor cooking area for many years to Call 802-446-6100 come. for full color brochure Excerpted from GRIT, Celebrating Rural America Since 1882. To read more articles visit Grit.com. Copyright 2014 by Ogden Publications Inc. Visit us online at GreenLivingJournal.com • Green Living • Winter 2014 • 19
EDUCATION 25 Ways to Eliminate Plastics in Your Home By Sarah Lozanova Plastics: They’re everywhere and in most everything — from electronics and automobiles to food containers. In fact, the average American generates between 88 and 122 pounds of plastic waste at home each year. Plastics contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals that interfere with the balance of hormones in the body, and researchers have found that most plastics — even those labeled BPA-free — can leach these chemicals into food. A study by the Endocrine Society found that even low exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals can cause significant adverse health effects, including cardiovascular disease, obesity, cancer and infertility. Plastics are also made from petroleum (a nonrenewable resource) and can be difficult to recycle. Use the strategies that follow to help keep your family — and the planet — healthier by learning about the dangers of plastics and cutting back on your use of them. Buy goods made of natural fibers: Engineered fabrics such as polyester, nylon and vinyl are all made of plastic. Clothing, accessories and bedding are frequently made of engineered plastics. Avoid polyester blends for clothing and bedroom linens, opting instead for items made of organic cotton and wool. Choose a smarter shower curtain: Many shower curtains are made of vinyl, a synthetic material that releases compounds into the air in a process known as offgassing. Offgassing is particularly problematic in small, poorly ventilated bathrooms, where chemicals can be concentrated. Opt for natural curtains that aren’t chemically treated, such as the organic hemp shower curtain available from Rawganique or a flaxbased linen shower curtain from Gaiam. Choose natural flooring: Carpet and vinyl flooring contain the carcinogen polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and release volatile organic compounds — including formaldehyde from glues, fabric treatments, stains and varnishes — into the air, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Use low-emission alternatives including bamboo, cork, linoleum, ceramic tiles or hardwood. Build a better bathroom: Bathroom products generate large amounts of plastic waste. One option is to make your own personal-care products and store them in glass or tin containers. Try whipping up your own toothpaste, lotions and soaps, for example. Alternatively, buy products with little or no packaging. Minimally packaged bar soap can sub for 20 •
liquid hand soap, body wash, and even shampoo and shaving cream. Mountain Sky Soaps sells bar soap in paper packaging, including bars of shaving soap and shampoo soap. Use refillable products: Reusing is even better than recycling. Instead of plastic disposables, choose refillable/reusable versions of toner cartridges, pens, lighters, toothbrushes, razors and the like to reduce waste. Avoid liquid laundry soap in plastic bottles: Use powdered laundry detergent packaged in paper boxes or make your own soap using washing soda and grated bar soap. Opt for nonplastic food-storage containers: Although lightweight and convenient, plastic food containers contain chemicals that easily migrate into food. Giving up plastic containers is a great place to start your plastic-purging campaign. Ceramic and glass containers work well at home, and metal containers are great on the go. Drink tap water: Bottled water is costly, less regulated for quality than tap water, and produces waste. The average person uses 167 plastic water bottles annually, and recycles only 38. At home, drink tap water — if you are concerned about contaminants, install an on-faucet or whole-house filter. (To learn more about your water quality, check the Environmental Protection Agency’s Local Drinking Water Information.) When you’re on the go, take stainless-steel water bottles. Aluminum water bottles can be lined with an epoxy-resin lining containing bisphenol-A (BPA); avoid bottles with a golden yellow coating inside. Avoid plastic wrap and wax paper: Plastic wrap is difficult to recycle and may contain PVC, a known human carcinogen. Most wax paper is coated in paraffin wax from a petroleum base or a formaldehydebased resin. Instead, store food in ceramic, glass or stainless-steel containers. Plastic lids don’t leach toxins into food if the product doesn’t come in contact with the lid. Choose local and homegrown: Farm- and gardengrown produce is rarely, if ever, packaged in plastic. Whenever possible, skip the grocery store produce and opt instead for food available via your own yard, a farmers market or a local community-supported agriculture (CSA) subscription. Excerpted from Mother Earth Living, a national magazine devoted to living wisely and living well. To read more visit MotherEarthLiving.com. Copyright 2014 by Ogden Publications Inc.
Green Living Journal • Winter 2014
EDUCATION The New Economy, Part 2
Will Free-Market Capitalism Survive our Abuse of It?
By Bill Schubart All this and Kansas call into question the conservative There’s some discussion these days about the survival axiom that free-market capitalism with its relentless of free-market capitalism. Conservatives believe it suffers demands for de-regulation and lower taxes for job from too much regulation and taxation, while liberals creators will float all boats. Many boats sank. believe it needs more of both. If there ever was such a thing as American Conservatives argue that free-market capitalism, left exceptionalism, a grandiose term once to its own devices will strike a balance applied to the war and post-war period between the interests of workers of from Roosevelt to Kennedy, it’s diminished all socio-economic classes wanting to today. Our rankings in key international earn a living and amass wealth, and the benchmarks for access to health care, food general economic health of the nation, security, education, affordable housing, which they seem to view separately. livable-wage employment, and a shared Liberals tell us that today’s capitalism potential to amass wealth have declined primarily serves the needs of the steeply, while the stock market and the richest while our fastest growing sociofew it serves have prospered. The great economic sector today is the working free-market experiment has not served poor. us well. The small scale free-market We have much to be grateful for and capitalism that many of us ageing much to celebrate in America today boomers grew up with worked well. but there’s danger ahead. If the current After World War II, my hometown was political impasse persists and we fail to a bustling community of about 3500, participate deeply and meaningfully in the filled with small shops and shoppers. democratic process by researching and Locals understood scarcity yet felt BILL SCHUBART electing leaders who disdain ideological security. Their complaints about taxes jousting and are willing to find a center and regulation were mostly philosophical. and lead us forward, our children will witness further Purchased goods had a different value-assignment decline in their lifetimes. than consumer goods today. One saved up to buy them, We need laws, equitable taxation, and regulation. We scarcity prevailed, and one rarely bought on impulse or need transparency to deter corruption. Capitalism can on credit. Dry goods and tools were expected to endure indeed serve all Americans well but it needs rules and and be passed. watchful eyes. Something changed in the 70s. The small-scale Bill Schubart is a writer and social commentator. This capitalism that had provided a secure living and valued piece aired originally on Vermont Public Radio, and is used goods disappeared. To day, we discard functioning by permission. To learn more about Bill’s other writings laptops and cellphones costing several hundred dollars. visit schubart.com. Today, local commerce mainly serves immediate consumption – grocery, pharmacy, restaurant, fuel. GOODRIDGE LUMBER, INC. White cedar from Businesses aggregated in scale Vermont’s Northeast and ownership. Regional malls Kingdom! From the dotted the landscape and are now time cedar logs enter the sawmill yard until they fast becoming mere showrooms leave as finished products, for e-commerce. Value-creation the Goodridge family jobs were exported, resulting in are all actively involved White Cedar Log Homes & Log Siding Rough and Finished White Cedar Lumber in the manufacturing lowered cost-of-goods but leaving Decking ● T+V Groove ● Shiplap ● Square Edge process and look forward only service jobs that couldn’t be Perma-Chink Products for Log Homes to assisting you with www.goodridgelumber.com exported, with a few exceptions your white cedar project. Bailey-Hazen Road • Route 14 Goodridge Lumberlike e-commerce call centers. FreeAlbany, Vermont quality lumber and market capitalism abandoned labor 802-755-6298 service since 1974. Superior Cedar Products & Services since 1974 and now rewards only ownership and equity. Visit us online at GreenLivingJournal.com • Green Living • Winter 2014 • 21
enerGY & BUiLdinG
Wood Pellets Go Down
Keep It in the Basement
Compiled by the editors of Green Living Journal Heating with wood pellets is no longer just a stove thing. Wood pellet boilers are now used to heat homes and businesses with all the comfort people have come to expect from their traditional heat sources. One million units are now in service throughout Europe, showing this to be a proven way to heat a home. Now, advanced European technologies are readily available for American homes. Almost any home can be retrofitted with a wood pellet boiler, either as a stand-alone heat source, or as a primary heat source in conjunction with a secondary boiler which serves as back up, or in some cases, as a supplementary heat source. Pellet technology has now gone downstairs. Advances in combustion technology and improvements in bulk fuel
delivery and storage have made heating with pellets as clean, convenient and carefree as any fossil fuel options. Here’s a basic primer to determine if pellets have a future in your basement: Q: Why heat with solid biofuels? A: Wood is the most widely available and least expensive biomass fuel. Firewood is normally sold in units called cords. A cord of wood is a neat stack measuring four feet wide by four feet high and eight feet long. The heat content of a cord will vary depending on the species of wood. A cord of mixed softwood will have a heat value of 17 or 18 million BTU and a cord of mixed hardwood will have a heat value of 27 to 29 million BTU. A gallon of No. 2 fuel oil has a heat value of 140,000 BTU per gallon and propane has 93,000 BTU per gallon. Wood, as opposed to gas and oil, is a renewable resource. Q: What are pellets? Pellet Stove - Continued page 23
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Wood Pellets Continued from page 22
A: Wood pellet fuel is manufactured from milled wood particles including waste wood and, less commonly, bark, which are pressed through dies at very high pressure. Pellets can be purchased in bulk or in 20 or 40 lb bags. The energy content of pellets is more constant than corn because of lower moisture content (4-8%). As a rough approximation, 17.5 lbs of wood pellets provide the same amount of heat as a gallon of heating oil. With these characteristics, wood pellets burn very efficiently. They are also very easy and safe to transport and store. Wood pellets have an average net BTU rating of 8,200 BTU/lb. Q: What is the difference between a pellet furnace and boiler? A: A pellet furnace relies on a home’s duct work to distribute the heated air via a distribution fan. A pellet boiler is a hydronic system that heats water that is distributed throughout the home via in-floor heating systems, wall radiators, etc. A pellet boiler can also be integrated into an existing force-air furnace system through the use of a water-to-air heat exchanger placed inside the plenum/ duct. Pellet fueled boilers can also assist supplying your domestic hot water needs. Wood pellet boilers function much like oil and propane boilers, with fully automatic operation, domestic hot water heating, and zoned comfort control. Typically, an ignition element lights the pellets as needed, while Pellet Stove - Continued page 24 Visit us online at GreenLivingJournal.com • Green Living • Winter 2014 • 23
ENERGY & BUILDING Wood Pellets Continued from page 23 wood pellets are fed to the burner in measured doses via an auger connected to an attached hopper or adjacent storage bin. These systems are convenient enough to be a logical alternative to fossil fuel fired boilers. There are important differences between wood pellets and the fossil fuels. Wood pellets cost as much as 60% less, plus they are a sustainable, renewable, and carbon-neutral fuel source. Wood pellets are made in dozens of locations
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Until recently, pellet boilers have been virtually non-existent in the US. European countries without fossil fuel resources of their own have been leaders in the push toward renewable energy. Companies in Europe developed products that could advance the comfort and convenience of wood pellets beyond what is possible with stoves. Pellet boilers are suitable for people who are interested in saving money, lessening their environmental impact, and keeping their heating dollars close to home. A new Made-in-the-USA option is Pellergy’s steel and cast iron wood pellet boilers, available in three sizes.Pellergy wood pellet burner systems have been extensively tested with these ASME-Rated, specially developed wood pellet boilers in both residential and commercial applications. The high efficiency, triple pass cast iron boilers are designed to burn fewer pellets and provide ease of clean out via a front hinged door. Pellergy’s ASME-Rated Steel wood pellet boilers provide high efficiency and water volume, an optional domestic hot water coil, ease of cleanout and are lighter weight for moving into basements and hard to access areas.
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many homeowners 40-60% on their heating costs. • Alternatives to pellets, such as heating oil and propane (a.k.a. LP-Gas) are in the midst of lengthy , inflationary trends. (13+ years of 9.2% and higher inflation) • Families enjoy the same (or better) level of comfort from a retrofitted pellet central heating system as they do from their traditional fossil-fueled heat source. • By some conservative estimates, an investment in a pellet boiler can provide a return on investment (ROI) as high as 49% per year over 15 years. • Wood pellets are readily available throughout North America, and can be delivered to your home. • Pellet boiler technology is proven, with one million successPellet Stove - Continued page 25
24 •
Green Living Journal • Winter 2014
ENERGY & BUILDING Wood Pellets Continued from page 24 ful installations in Europe. • Wood pellet fuel is not as bulky, burns cleaner, and is much more convenient than firewood. • Wood pellets help sustain the regional economy where you live. • Wood pellets improve the energy security of the region where you live. • Wood pellet prices are not impacted by world markets, the inflationary effects of a weakening dollar and the growing demand for energy abroad. • Rebates and grants for MA, NH & VT residents can bring installed costs down.² • Fuel cost savings can amount to tens of thousands of dollars, which can be saved, or spent in better ways.
Ecological Impacts:
Heating with a carbon-neutral fuel such as wood pellets is a sustainable solution that’s better for our ecosystem than are non-renewable fuels such as propane, natural gas, oil, and most electric power. To learn more, visit one of these websites: pellergy.com ecoheatsolutions.com gasboileersforhomeheating.org sandri.com woodboilers.com
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• Pellet fuel is bulkier than oil
[one gallon (7.2 lbs) of heating oil = about 17 lbs of pellets.] • A little less convenient than oil and gas. Bagged wood pellets must be loaded weekly (or more often with smaller bins) if not delivered in bulk. • Most wood pellet boilers need to have the heat exchanger brushed clean (usually by the owner) every 1-2 weeks during the heating season to maintain best efficiency. • Ash bins must be emptied. Because wood ash consists of naturally occurring minerals, the ash can be spread on lawns, gardens, and the woods.
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Green Living Journal • Winter 2014
edUcation The New Economy, Part 3
The Dark Side of the Green Planet
Cashmobs, crowdfunding, toolsharing … there are many sparkling lights on the current economic horizon. As much as we would like to be unbridled boosters of the New Economy, there is another side to the proverbial coin. Here are a few items in the news that have caught our notice recently: In Al Jazeera America on September 29, 2014 Kristyn Martin writes that “Farm to table restaurants are a growing concept, but many farmers aren’t making money.”
Dark Side - Continued page 28
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Nourishing
She quotes Bren Smith an oysterman on Long Island Sound off Connecticut who provides sustainably raised oysters, clams and seaweed to local restaurants as saying the average immediate income for farmers is less than $1500 a year. “We’re celebrated at events. People write about our stories” he says, “but we need to figure out a way that the farmer also makes a living.” So while the farm-to-table movement thrives, largely fueled by high-end restaurants and chic specialty markets that can charge a premium for the finished product, the farmer is often left with the smallest piece of the economic pie while taking all the risk. Smith’s oyster beds were wiped out entirely twice in the last five years by Hurricanes Irene and Sandy. The same oyster that may sell for $3.00 in a restaurant, he points out, nets him roughly $0.60. “That’s a lot of markup that isn’t going to the farmer.” Typically, restaurants keep food costs to 30% of what the customer pays. If that rule holds, says
Smith, farming will continuously be “a beggar’s game.” “It’s expensive to be healthy in America,” he concludes. He works a second job to keep his family solvent and looks forward to being part of the eventual solution. “I really want to celebrate the first stage of the food movement,” says Smith. “Who would’ve guessed that food would have been a centerpiece of the national debate and discussion? It’s now time for a Food 2.0. Another stage to really think about this. “We should be the firemen, the nurses, the doctors the lawyers of theland, he said. “Because we provide incredible social value, good healthy food that people value and I think we need to have a debate about how much we value our small farms in our communities and create a policy around that.”
Nourishing
By Stephen Morris
Visit us online at GreenLivingJournal.com • Green Living •
Share the harvest,
EDUCATION Dark Side Continued from page 27 From Smithsonian Magazine One of the most commonly repeated criticisms of wind power is that it kills birds. But how many birds really do die? If you look around for statistics about bird deaths from wind turbines get you wildly different numbers. Some say just 10,000 birds a year meet their end at the hands (blades) of the wind industry. Others ramp that number up to 600,000. Now, a new study tried to actually use science to estimate. Using 58 mortality estimates that met their criteria, the scientists estimate that between 140,000 and 328,000 birds die each year from collisions with wind turbines. That’s not all, explains the blog Natural Reactions: There is a greater risk of fatal collisions with taller turbines. This is a real problem, as larger wind turbines may provide more efficient energy generation. Consequently, it is expected that new wind farms will contain even bigger turbines, which will result in even more bird deaths. Future developments therefore will
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have to give very careful consideration to potential wildlife impacts when planning the type of turbine to install. The estimate, and conclusions, don’t let wind turbines off the hook. And with recent rulings to try and protect certain species from the spinning blades, the scrutiny will probably continue when it comes to bird deaths due to wind power. But at least now there’s a scientifically derived number for those deaths. Full story at: smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ how-many-birds-do-wind-turbines-really-kill180948154/#xzfmAf4tOrDfSgVb.99 Huffington Post reports bird dangers from solar, too IVANPAH DRY LAKE, Calif. (AP) — Workers at a state-of-the-art solar plant in the Mojave Desert have a name for birds that fly through the plant’s concentrated sun rays — “streamers,” for the smoke plume that comes from birds that ignite in midair. Estimates per year now range from a low of about a thousand by BrightSource to 28,000 by an expert for the Center for Biological Diversity environmental group. “It’s hard to say whether that’s the location or the technology,” said Garry George, renewable-energy director for the California chapter of the Audubon Society. “There needs to be some caution.” The bird kills mark the latest instance in which the quest for clean energy sometimes has inadvertent environmental harm. Solar farms have been criticized for their impacts on desert tortoises, and wind farms have killed birds, including numerous raptors. The $2.2 billion plant, which launched in February, is at Ivanpah Dry Lake near the California-Nevada border uses more than 300,000 mirrors, each the size of a garage door to reflect solar rays onto three boiler towers each looming up to 40 stories high. Federal wildlife officials said the plant might act as a “mega-trap” for wildlife, with the bright light of the plant attracting insects, which in turn attract insecteating birds that fly to their death in the intensely focused light rays. (Editor’s note. At Green Living Journal we embrace renewable energy resources, but think that the related technologies should be small-scale, decentralized, and local. Trying to make the sun and the wind into a power source like coal or nuclear is bound to come with a broad array of environmental downsides.)
Green Living Journal • Winter 2014
moneY
Going Mobile to Stay Local By Lauren Turner For many farmers, raising poultry is an attractive and marketable option. Not only does poultry require relatively little space, the birds also reach market size fairly quickly. How does that food get to the plate exactly? This is where the challenge sets in: How to process the birds for sale in a manner that allows the greatest benefit for both grower and consumer. Your average small-scale poultry farmer has two options to get her product to market: on-farm processing or traveling to an off-farm slaughter facility. Because slaughter facilities are out of reach of many small farmers, some chicken farmers simply have no choice but to process their birds on site. State restrictions, however, may limit sales of animals slaughtered on the farm to on-farm sales, as well as the number of birds that may be sold annually. Many producers thus choose to transport their Going Mobile - Continued page 30
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MONEY Going Mobile To Stay Local animals to distant slaughter facilities for the additional sales opportunities it provides. But farmers who transport their birds can lose as much as 15 percent of their flocks due to transportation stress, and they pay a high price for having their birds processed in those facilities. However, an alternative processing option has many producers joining forces and sharing a mobile poultry-processing unit (MPPU) that comes straight to the farm. While MPPUs range from open-air equipment placed on a trailer to completely contained units, farmers who are fortunate enough to have access to a full-sized, certified mobile poultry unit – such as the one run by The Kitsap Poultry Growers Cooperative (KPGC) in western Washington – have all the amenities of the slaughterhouse brought right to the farm: saving on processing fees, fuel, stress to the birds, and more. Because the USDA delegates the oversight of poultry processing to state agriculture departments for intrastate sales, laws governing MPPUs vary by state. Working within the regulations set forth by the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA), the Kitsap co-op’s MPPU offers producers the opportunity to not only share the cost of the facility with other producers, but also to upgrade to the WSDA food processor license by using the MPPU as their certified processing facility. This allows farmers to sell both frozen birds and cut pieces at farmers’ markets and to local grocery stores and restaurants. Without the food processor license, growers in Washington are limited to selling fresh, whole birds from on-farm
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Continued from page 29
processing directly to consumers within 48 hours of slaughter. The KPGC formed in 2009, guided largely by the leadership of founding members Stuart Boyle and his partner Michele Gilles. The mission was simple yet vital: “To support, educate and advocate for producers and consumers of sustainable, locally grown poultry.” Jerry Darnall was the co-op’s first president from 2009 to 2011; Boyle has served in that position since 2011. Not all founding members were farmers. Sixty-five consumer members made small donations to start the cooperative. At first KPGC did not have funds for the dream of a full-sized certified MPPU. Members pooled their money and then needed an organization to manage it. They turned to nonprofit Northwest Cooperative Development Center (NWCDC) for technical assistance in developing legal documents, a business plan and budget, and establishing a board of directors. Most of that work was done under a USDA Rural Enterprise Grant to the NWCDC. Because there are no specialized MPPU manufacturers, trailer manufacturers usually build the units according to a buyer’s specifications, which can get expensive. While the co-op got an estimate from a manufacturer for a self-contained unit, a farmer in eastern Washington fortunately listed an MPPU for a considerably lower price. Boyle got to work finding a source to finance this happy find, and within 30 days he had collected about 50 pledges, then commitments from 36 people who support small-scale agriculture. To handle the money collected for the purchase, the co-op established the Western Washington Farmers Holding Co. The MPPU is currently being leased to the co-op by the holding company until the donors are repaid, and then the holding company will dissolve. The contributors are to be repaid within five years. Acquiring a truck to haul the MPPU to the farms is the co-op’s next priority. They hope for a donation of a used truck to the Kitsap Community Agriculture Alliance (KCAA). The person would donate the truck to the KCAA, which would turn it over to the co-op. The MPPU became fully operational in 2014. In 2013, three producers actively tested the unit and wrote a training and operations manual for users. The co-op also plans to begin growing its membership this year from the current 65-mile radius to a 150-mile radius around Silverdale, Washington. In the hopes of enticing more participation, they Going Mobile - Continued page 31
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Green Living Journal • Winter 2014
MONEY Going Mobile Continued from page 30 will be changing their name to Western Washington and a concrete pad or gravel area for the trailer to back Poultry Farmers Cooperative (WWPFC), since they up to. The WWPFC hopes to have up to six licensed will be servicing farmers outside of Kitsap County. operators actively using the MPPU this year. While membership is a requirement for renting All cutting, eviscerating, and chilling birds to equipment, this certainly doesn’t preclude other types a specified temperature must occur in the “clean of members. room” of the MPPU. The Anyone can join, from comphysical size of the clean munity members who support room limits the numlocally raised poultry products ber of animals that can to farmers and producers thembe processed. Between selves. Members who don’t raise 150 and 200 chickens, their own poultry may receive or 75 turkeys, can be discounts on products from processed in the MPPU producers. in a day. Fees pay for the purchase When asked what and maintenance of equipment advice he would give as well as educational proto someone wanting to grams, including a Washington start a poultry-growers’ State University Extensioncooperative, Boyle said sponsored “Pasture to Plate” that establishing the course that demonstrated what community is foremost. it takes to process birds from He recommends having start to finish. They trained a small board of direccommunity college culinary tors and seeking out volstudents, and they plan to offer The work tables are kept spotless. Credit: Photo by Lauren unteers, since farmers future classes on food safety Turner are busy and co-op work practices. does not pay. Focus on Members from the hobby level up may rent the the group’s purpose, and know your state’s laws for portable processing equipment. Farmers who rent the local processing and on-farm sales. And effective MPPU, however, must have the WSDA food procescommunication is essential. sors license. WSDA licenses each farmer individually. Access a comprehensive guide to buying or buildThe MPPU is the WSDA designated facility assigned ing your own MPPU at http://nesfp.org. You can also to each licensee. learn more about the Western Washington Poultry Boyle and Gilles provide farmers the required oneFarmers Cooperative at www.KitsapPoultry.com. day training on how to use the trailer, and requirements Excerpted from GRIT, Celebrating Rural America they need to meet at their facility. To use the unit in Since 1882. To read more visit Grit.com. Copyright Washington, a farmer must have a 220-amp electrical 2014 by Ogden Publications Inc hook-up, waste-water capture and disposal capability,
Visit us online at GreenLivingJournal.com • Green Living • Winter 2014 • 31
ON THE NIGHTSTAND
The Solar Living Sourcebook What book would you want if you were stranded on a desert island? Widely regarded as the ‘bible’ of off-grid living, The Solar Living Sourcebook might be your best choice. With over 600,000 copies in print worldwide, it is the most comprehensive resource available for anyone interested in lessening their environmental footprint and increasing their energy independence. The Solar Living Sourcebook - 14th Edition is the ultimate guide to renewable energy, sustainable living, natural and green building, off-grid living and alternative transportation, written by experts with decades of experience and a passion for sharing their knowledge. This fully revised and updated edition includes brand new sections on permaculture and urban homesteading, and completely rewritten chapters on solar technology, sustainable transportation and relocalization. It also boasts greatly expanded material on: • Natural Building • Permaculture and biodynamics • Electric and biofuel-powered vehicles • Passive solar • Solar water heating John Schaeffer • Grid-tie photovoltaic systems -- plus maps, wiring diagrams, formulae, charts, electrical code, solar sizing, worksheets and much more. Whether you’re a layperson or a professional, novice or longtime aficionado, the Sourcebook puts the latest research and information at your fingertips -- everything you need to know to make sustainable living a reality. John Schaeffer is the founder of Real Goods - the foremost global source for tools and information on renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable living. He sold the very first photovoltaic module to the North American public in 1978 and over the years, through Real Goods, he has provided over 150 MW of solar power and has helped solarize over 18,000 homes. John is also the founder of the Solar Living Institute, based at the 12-acre solarpowered Solar Living Center in Hopland, California. The SLI hosts over 200,000 visitors a year, provides hands-on education about all aspects of renewable energy and sustainable living, and produces the SolFest renewable energy fair. John and his wife M-W 9-7, Th.-F 9-8, Sat. 9-6, Sun. 11-5 Nantzy grow biodynamic olives, grapes and lavender at their SunHawk Farms off- grid retreat in Mendocino County. ®
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Green Living Journal • Winter 2014
EDUCATION
David Orr Interview An Ecology-Based Education Interview with David W. Orr from SuperConsciousness Magazine What is the purpose of education? What exactly are we trying to achieve by sending kids to school for twelve years? Many people talk about reform, but Dr. David Orr, Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies at Oberlin College, says we need to rethink our school systems altogether. Further, he sees a direct connection between how we teach children and the disastrous impacts of our dependence on fossil fuels. A pioneer in the ecological literacy movement. “All education is environmental education,” says Orr. “Students either learn that they are a part of or apart from the natural world.” He points out that some of the worst atrocities in modern memory, including those perpetuated in Nazi Germany, were carried out by highly educated people. “Much of what has gone wrong with the world is the result of education that alienates us from life in the name of human domination . . . and unleashes on the world minds ignorant of their own ignorance,” he says. One result is the abuse of the environment, leading to an accelerated rate of climate change.
But oil in particular was pernicious because it gave us the illusion of mobility. In our access to highways and so forth, the charm of the countryside, rural lives, rural places, urban neighborhoods, the fabric of life was surrendered in the search for velocity.
DAVID W. ORR
If you took fossil fuels out and took the oil out of the human fixture in the twentieth century, we would have educated people radically differently. I don’t think we would have ever made the split between liberal arts and practical arts. We’ve educated people to a
The remedy Orr proposes would teach interrelatedness through schools that are fundamentally rooted in a sense of place. As the driving force behind the erection of Oberlin’s Lewis Center, a building described by the New York Times as “the most remarkable” of a new generation of college buildings, Orr put his ideas into action. The building is a model of sustainable design and students and faculty were included in the planning process. He spoke with SC Magazine about an education that empowers students to be creative and make decisions that enable a renewable future. SC: You’ve said the dependency on oil is a zero sum game which encourages competition. How do you see that impacting education? DO: I think that our civilization is different than any previous civilization because of its connection with oil and coal. On the positive side that created the civilization we have with all its benefits. It isn’t all bad. It’s what powered the medical miracles and much of what we enjoy in life. Visit us online at GreenLivingJournal.com • Green Living • Winter 2014 • 33
David Orr - Continued page 34
EDUCATION David Orr Interview Continued from page 33 very different kind of world. Fossil fuels in funny ways did permeate virtually the entire curriculum and assumptions . . . even now we assume that we’re going to have all the electricity we need to power our computers in this electronic
era that we live in. SC: In Earth in Mind you say that kids and teachers together need to be presented with real problems, not just service projects, but actual real problems and work together to solve them.
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Green Living Journal • 12/12/13 Winter 2014 2:03 PM
DO: We’re starting a project here in Oberlin that will involve rebuilding a pretty substantial part of the downtown. And we’re a little town of 8,500 so it’s not that big, but I think that what we can do is something of a prototype that can happen on a larger scale. As with the making of the Lewis Center, we’re going to involve kids in this, every way we possibly can. The design effort will be a lot better for it and everybody will learn from the engagement in this. The idea of civic engagement is part of urban redevelopment is not common. Typically it’s turned over to professionals who come in and the public just stands by passively and watches. SC: It seems that part of the issue is that we need to rethink education and yet the whole crop of teachers that we currently have were all educated according to the status quo. How can we go about retraining the educators themselves? DO: The kind of people that go into teaching are some of the best people we have. They’re people who care about kids and go into it initially with a lot of idealism and a lot of energy and the system typically grinds them down. It’s pretty clear society puts priorities in building giant stadiums downtown, not in taking care of its schools. So I think we often start with some really good people who are then put in terrible situations and not rewarded nearly as much as they should be. Having said that, I think one proposal is to take all of the standards and tests and toss ‘em out the window and allow much greater local control of the schools. I just am not a fan of standards and David Orr - Continued page 36
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Visit us online at GreenLivingJournal.com • Green Living • Winter 2014 • 35
EDUCATION David Orr Continued from page 34 testing. You know there was no test that could have tested students in Plato’s academy. There’s no test that was appropriate to someone like Abraham Lincoln. I am a believer in a lot more spontaneity. I think that humans are natural learners. I don’t think you beat it into them. Kids are going to be creative. Humans are natural learners at all levels. That’s what we do. It’s highly enjoyable. We like to solve problems. Teaching to the test has killed a lot of creativity in this country. I like John Taylor Gatto’s method of education. I like the sense of that – get kids out. I just had a semester in London. I taught a course there on ecological design in which we used the city as a classroom. We went places, we talked to people, we had kids out in the streets talking to people about things that pertained to design and it was a wonderful course, kids loved it. I think they learned more from that than had we been in the classrooms. They were out and about and they used the city in some highly creative ways.
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SC: What are some of the things you believe everyone should know when they graduate? DO: In facing the realities of more expensive fossil fuels and climate change which are coming at us very quickly, there’s a whole lot of stuff I think we don’t need to know. The things that we do need to know are going to pertain to basics like growing food, building shelter, creating local economies that work, capturing energy and, in our spare time reading Shakespeare and writing poetry and doing those things that make life meaningful beyond a mere requirement to keeping body and soul together. But I think that we’re going to have to learn very quickly. We’re going to need to know or relearn a whole lot of things that we forgot. Our great-grandparents knew but we thought we’d risen beyond that. We’re going to have to relearn that discipline and how to enjoy work, physical work again. The separation we made between liberal and vocational arts I think was a mistake. And I would hope that education in the future could rejoin those for all kinds of reasons, not just because we’re going to have to learn how to do things, but because that’s how we learn anyway.
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There’s one other thought about this that strikes me. We used to learn a lot as kids growing up on farms or around farms or from the village blacksmith, kids learned about metal working and all sorts of practical skills that had liberal arts kind of connotations. It wasn’t just being on the farm. You learned all kinds of metaphorical thinking and practical things, and ways to relate things that appeared not to be connected. Our kids now don’t learn anything like that, in that way. That now is very rare. And I think the creativity of young people has been tragically lost. They’re instantly smart about electronic devices and almost as dumb as they are smart about practical things.
SC: You mentioned that you believe every school, every college and every university needs to take a stand on terms of the climate crisis in terms of ecological literacy. Have you seen any progress on that? DO: Yes, I think there is progress. Twenty years ago during the beginning of the green campus movement, we did food audits in places like Hendricks College and Swarthmore and St. Olaf and Carleton College. I wrote an article in Chronicle of Higher Education proposing climate neutrality as a goal for colleges and universities and that was about 1999 or 2000, and there now is an organization that got more than 500 signatures of college presidents pledging their institutions to go carbon neutral. David Orr- Continued page 39
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Green Living Journal • Winter 2014
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Green Living Journal • Winter 2014
EDUCATION David Orr Continued from page 36 SC: In terms of taking back our power related to education specifically, what can individuals do? DO: I think we have to learn what it is we’re trying to do. Are we trying to equip somebody to be a good, dependable member of the economy or to become a person of considerable stature and potential? If our goal is more to educe, or to draw forth, then I think it’s a very different kind of education and empowering. Taking back the power in some ways is a matter of discovering the power that we have inside ourselves. It’s the power of creativity, it’s the power of discernment, it’s the power of moral character. It is the power to be creative and it is the power to seize power, to make decisions. That’s a much messier process because some people will be given the opportunity and will become destructive in the process. But the best kind of education I can think of is rather more like a combination of Buddhism and Marie Montessori. It has a lot of freedom and it has to begin early because if all of a sudden you say to kids in their sophomore year of college, “now we’re going to give you this freedom,” they won’t know how to handle it.
When it doesn’t start early that means that people like me that teach in the college level basically do a lot of remedial education and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. More often than not I think it really doesn’t work because the habits of independence and creativity and the habits of knowing what to do when you’re empowered just aren’t there. SC: ”All education is environmental education.” What does that mean exactly? It’s the great out of doors that shaped the human mind. I can’t imagine the mind like we have emerging in an indoor setting or something like a shopping mall. And I think our capabilities were honed by tens of thousands of years in the savannah and in forests and looking at the night sky. I think that shaped our religion, our philosophy, our fears, our animosities, the heights and depths of the human character. These are places in which we find ourselves. David Orr is a widely recognized environmental educator who teaches at Oberlin College. Published originally in SuperConscious Magazine. Read more at superconsciousness.com.
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MONEY
Building a More Sustainable, By Erbin Crowell Imagine what our world could look like if business was driven by our ideals. What if economic success was measured not by market value or much profit generated for investors, but by our ability to provide ourselves with the goods and services we need to live meaningful lives in our communities? What if people around the world saw themselves as the answer to our shared social and economic challenges? Over the past few years, there has been an exciting dialog around the role of co-operative enterprise in a changing world. In the wake of the global recession, the United Nation declared 2012 the International Year of Co-ops, recognizing the resilience of the co-operative business model in times of economic upheaval. Then in 2013, the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) released its Blueprint for a Co-operative Decade, an ambitious document that envisions co-ops as the acknowledged leaders in social and economic sustainability, the business model preferred by people across the globe, and the fastest growing form of enterprise in the world by 2020. In 2014 UN bodies such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) promoted the important role of co-operatives in building food security for producers and consumers as part of International Year of Family Farming celebrations. All of this attention has created an unprecedented opportunity for building real community ownership, empowerment and sustainability through co-operative enterprise. Across our region and around the world, co-ops have been working together to build on the vision of the Blueprint, which focuses on five key priorities: Elevating member participation; positioning co-ops as builders of sustainability; strengthening the Co-operative Identity; ensuring legal frameworks to support growth, and developing sources of capital that support growth while reinforcing member control. Member ownership is one of the key characteristics that make the co-operative model of enterprise unique. In contrast to sole proprietorships and investor owned businesses, co-operatives are designed to empower their members to meet their own needs and goals. Unlike non-profits and charitable organizations, co-ops are owned by and accountable to their membership — the people who use the business to provide themselves with goods, services and employment. This relationship is a key advantage in a competitive 40 •
marketplace where loyalty is an important factor for business success. Sustainability is both an urgent and complicated issue. And while co-operatives must always push themselves to do more, their basic structure is a powerful tool for addressing challenges of economic instability, social upheaval and global climate change. Because their priority is service to their members rather than maximization of profit, co-ops focus less on growth for its own sake. Scale is matched to member needs rather than being driven by the need to extract profit. In this way, the cooperative model represents a more sustainable form of enterprise over time. Another area of opportunity is in communicating the co-operative difference to a world hungry for alternatives. Despite the recent interest in co-operative enterprise, there is limited understanding of the model among governments, development organizations, academic institutions, and the general public. The ICA’s efforts to raise the profile of the movement and unite co-ops behind a common identity are an exciting shift in the dialog. But it will be up to individual co-ops to make the most of their co-operative identity and move beyond marketing their individual business to promoting the wider cooperative movement. The ICA’s promotion of an international co-op marque or logo (see image) and the “.coop” internet domain make it easier for co-ops to communicate their difference, and easier for the public to identify the broader impact of the co-operative movement as a whole. One of the key areas of opportunity we have now is the explosion of interest in the co-operative business model among community activists and young people. Unfortunately, legal statutes for the incorporation of co-operatives in the United States vary greatly from one state to another, and do not support the development of the full spectrum of co-op sectors. As a result, we are losing a new generation of potential co-opreneurs who are instead choosing other business models as vehicles for their creativity. One example of success in this area is the New England Farmers Union’s manual “Growing a Food System for the Future,” which compiles co-operative statutes for all New England states (download a copy at www.newenglandfarmersunion.org). Updating co-op statutes in the United States to include all sectors, including relatively new mod-
Green Living Journal • Winter 2014
MONEY
Co-operative Future Together els such as multi-stakeholder co-ops, which include combinations of members including producers, workers, and consumers, could open the floodgates for co-operative development in our own country. In Italy, for example, the national co-operative movement advocated for the creation of a whole new legal category — the “social co-operative” — in response to the withdrawal of governments providing of social services. The result has been the establishment of thousands of new businesses empowering people to meet their own needs through member-owned and controlled enterprises. While we encourage new growth in co-ops, we also need to be careful to defend the integrity of the “co-op” name and legal statutes to ensure that they represent co-operative principles. For example, the Neighboring Food Co-op Association, which represents over 30 food co-ops and start-up initiatives across New England, recently approved a Resolution on the Cooperative Legal Identity which promotes enforcement of legal restrictions on the use of the co-op name by entities other than co-operatives as well as the development of new statutes that reinforce “democratic member control, allocation of surplus based on patronage, and limited return on capital.” (For a copy of this resolution, please visit nfca.coop/resolutions.) Finally, expansion of our movement will require the development of sources of capital that do not compromise member control or the social purpose of co-ops. In this area, a new wave of co-operatives and conversions is demonstrating the potential of organized co-operative capital in fulfilling growth while reinforcing the Co-operative Identity. Food co-ops in our region, such as River Valley Market, Old Creamery Co-op and Brattleboro Food Co-op have been very successful in organizing member loan campaigns to support new growth. Real Pickles, Simple Diaper & Linen and other worker co-ops have used non-voting
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investment to convert existing businesses into cooperatives, creating a viable alternative to “selling-out” that retains vital community infrastructure. Individuals can also invest in the Cooperative Fund of New England, celebrating its fortieth anniversary this year, while member co-operatives of the Valley Alliance of Worker Co-ops are pooling their funds to support co-op to co-op investment. Are co-ops perfect? Of course not. However, cooperative values and principles — including self-help, equality, democracy, education, solidarity and concern for community — reinforce a very different approach to business. For 140 years, co-ops have offered a concrete, participatory, and successful economic alternative that is also more common than one might think. From farmer co-ops to food co-ops, worker co-ops to credit unions, energy co-ops to housing co-ops, co-operatives are locally owned by a billion people worldwide — more than own direct stock in investor owned businesses. As we consider some of the key challenges of our time, including climate change, economic inequality, and feeding a rapidly expanding global population, cooperative enterprise will continue to a powerful tool for people to meet their own needs and aspirations. The question becomes how co-ops and their members can best use our shared resources to build a better world for future generations. For more information on how you can get involved, visit www.nfca.coop/go. Erbin Crowell serves as Executive Director of the Neighboring Food Co-op Association (www.nfca.coop), a co-operative of over 30 food co-ops and start-ups, locally owned by more than 90,000 people. He is a member of the board of directors of the National Cooperative Business Association and an adjunct lecturer at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he teaches courses on the co-operative movement. He may be contacted at erbin@nfca.coop.
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Visit us online at GreenLivingJournal.com • Green Living • Winter 2014 • 41
HEALTH
Understand How Your By Linda B. White, M.D. fatigue, anxiety and depression. Furthermore, chronic We navigate a germy world. That we rarely sucinflammation accelerates aging and contributes to a cumb to infectious illness is downright miraculous, long list of chronic diseases. and our immune systems deserve most of the credit Acquired. Compared with the prompt but nonfor that. The main function of this diffuse, interacting specific innate immune system, the acquired immune network of cells and chemicals is to combat pathogenic system develops reactions more slowly but creates a (disease-causing) microbes. It patrols the body for specific, enduring response to each type of intruder. anything abnormal and potentially dangerous, such as The acquired immune system contains white blood cancer cells. cells of its own called “lymphocytes.” The two main This complex and fascinating system affects your types of lymphocytes are T cells and B cells. T cells, every waking hour, so learning how your immune which mature in the thymus, can be further divided system works will help you into helper T cells, cytounderstand your body’s toxic T cells, and regulaEat whole foods, sleep amply, be response to infection and tory T cells. After being shed light on how to boost activated by helper T cells, social, stress less, exercise daily, and your immunity. Let’s take a B cells mature and secrete consider crafting some herbal look inside. antibodies (also called immune boosters. The immune system “ i m mu n o g l o bu l i n s” ) , has two main divisions: which bind to microbes the innate immune system, and toxins and recruit which needs no previous experience with intruders other elements of the immune system to help elimito dispatch them swiftly, and the acquired immune nate viruses and bacteria from the body. system, which requires contact and time in order to A body has two ways of developing immunity develop a specific response to a particular pathogen. against a pathogenic microbe. Innate. As its name suggests, the innate immune Active immunity. This immunity development system is in place at birth. It reacts quickly and in a entails exposure to the microbe. The microbe can generalized fashion to any foreign invader. be whole and alive, as usually happens when you’re Fever is a second line of defense; it contributes by exposed to someone who’s sick. Immunizations, on the activating infection-fighting immune cells (“cytotoxic other hand, involve exposure to only a small amount T cells”). White blood cells (called “leukocytes”) form of a weakened or inactivated microbe, a fragment of another component of innate immunity. the microbe, or an inactivated bacteria toxin (such as Some cells release “cytokines” — a large group of the tetanus toxin). Active immunity can last a lifetime chemicals that facilitate communication among cells. when naturally acquired. Immunizations, however, Cytokines stimulate or inhibit activity of white blood often require booster shots to maintain effectiveness. cells, interfere with viral replication, and communiPassive immunity. This second immunity-acquircate with the brain. The brain, in turn, sends signals ing process results from the receipt of antibodies from that influence the immune system and other bodily a person or animal previously exposed to the microbe. systems. People exposed to rabies, hepatitis and other infecHere’s an example: Some cytokines contribute to tious diseases may be given injections of antibodies the “inflammatory response,” the body’s nonspecific against the particular microbe. Additionally, a pregresponse to any irritant, including infection. The nant woman’s antibodies cross from her placenta to body’s characteristic redness, swelling, tenderness and her fetus. After birth, her infant receives these immuwarmth are evidence of increased blood flow and nologic compounds in breast milk. Passive immunity delivery of immunity goods to the site of the irritant. lasts for only a short period of time and does not result Meanwhile, cytokines also quickly reach the brain, in immunologic memory. prompting sleepiness to promote rest. Some microorganisms threaten health while othA steady but less dramatic rise in inflammatory ers support it. A host of beneficial microbes shapes chemicals over the course of the day leads to natural an immune system and forms part of its nonspecific drowsiness at night. Chronic elevations of these chemdefense. About 90 percent of the cells in our bodies are icals may disrupt learning and memory and lead to inhabited by bacteria, fungi or other nonhuman cells. 42 •
Green Living Journal • Winter 2014
HEALTH
Immune System Works Among other benefits, these “good” microbes contribute to immune system defenses. They out-compete pathogenic bacteria in the same way that a well-planted garden leaves little room for weeds. They also amplify the immune system response by supporting the health of immune cells, antibodies and other compounds. One of the reasons antibiotics shouldn’t be dispensed without justification (such as to treat a serious bacterial infection) in humans and other animals is that they can also kill the resident good bacteria. That’s why diarrhea and an overgrowth of yeast in the vagina, mouth, intestinal tract and, for infants, diaper area are typical antibiotic side effects. To restore beneficial microbes after taking antibiotics, try taking probiotic supplements, which are live microorganisms capable of colonizing the intestinal tract, and eating live-culture fermented foods, such as yogurt and kefir. Probiotic supplements reduce the odds of antibiotic-associated diarrhea by 60 percent relative to placebo. Live-culture fermented foods contain strains of probiotics, so can also help keep your bacterial balance in check. Start ingesting probiotics and probiotic-rich foods when you must take antibiotics, and continue for seven to 14 days. To attack pathogenic microbes and abnormal cells, the immune system has to distinguish between self and nonself. Sometimes this intricate system breaks down. In autoimmunity, the immune system attacks the body’s own normal tissue. For instance, in Type 1 diabetes, the immune system attacks insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. In the case of hypersensitivity, the immune system is responding excessively or inappropriately. Everyday examples are hay fever and food or animal allergies. The immune system can also wear down. Immunodeficiency means the system is failing to fulfill its functions, increasing the body’s vulnerability to infection and cancer. Some immunodeficiency diseases are present at birth, while others are acquired from environmental exposures, chronic illness, malnutrition and certain medications. Viruses can impair immune function, a notorious example being the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Several decades ago, scientists discovered that some of their allergic volunteers sneezed after viewing pictures of hay — without any exposure to its pollen. Then, in the mid-1970s, Robert Ader and Nicholas Cohen at the University of Rochester coined the term “psychoneuroimmunology” to describe the study of
how nervous, hormone and immune systems interact. Their experiments showed that animals (human and nonhuman) could be conditioned to develop immune responses to innocuous agents, such as salt water. We now know that depression and anxiety can aggravate allergies and asthma and dampen immune function. Infection and inflammation can also sour one’s mood. In contrast, positive emotions and laughter buoy immunity. Chronic physical or psychological stress impairs immune function, but meditation offers a means to manage stress. A 2012 study from the University of Brasilia Laboratory of Cellular Immunology found that pranic meditation, which employs breathing and visualization techniques, enhanced the function of phagocytic cells. In a 2008 Loyola University of Chicago study, women with early-stage breast cancer who received mindfulness-based stress-reduction training had reduced levels of the stress hormone cortisol, and improved natural killer cell activity and cytokine levels, compared with women who didn’t receive the training. The plant kingdom offers many allies for our embattled systems. Traditional healers have long treasured Asian and American ginseng. Studies indicate that both species positively modify immune function and help prevent some respiratory infections. Ginseng is threatened by over-harvesting, however, and many ginseng products on the market are from cultivated plants. Other immune-tonic plants include Siberian ginseng, ginger, andrographis and medicinal mushrooms, such as shiitake, maitake and reishi. You can take your healing into your own hands by concocting your own teas and tinctures with these ingredients. Now that you know the basics of how your immune system works, you can better understand how to sustain it. The days approaching fall and winter — cold and flu season — are a good time to think about nourishing your immune system. Eat whole foods, sleep amply, be social, stress less, exercise daily, and consider crafting some herbal immune boosters. Rest assured that your remarkable immune system is working day and night to protect you from infection. Now go out and enjoy this germy world. Excerpted from MOTHER EARTH NEWS, the Original Guide to Living Wisely. To read more visit MotherEarthNews.com. Copyright 2014 by Ogden Publications Inc.
Visit us online at GreenLivingJournal.com • Green Living • Winter 2014 • 43
heaLth
Simple Ways to Detox Your Kitchen
By Eliza Cross The kitchen is the heart of the home — a source of warmth and comfort, where people naturally congregate as the aromas of good food waft through the air. Unfortunately, the kitchen can also be a hidden source of toxins and carcinogens. Get rid of these common culprits, and you’ll be able to breathe easier in the most important room of your home.
Circulate the Room.
Research has shown that cooking on gas burners without venting can cause excessive levels of nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide. While electric ranges don’t produce combustion pollutants, all stovetop cooking creates fine particle pollutants; sautéing fats can also produce acrolein, a lung irritant. Get in the habit of powering on the hood vent before cooking on the stove. For the best performance, use the highest vent setting; cook on the back burners; let the fan run until pans are cool; and clean grease traps periodically. If you don’t have a range hood, open a window to increase ventilation and consider running a household fan.
Love Your Oven.
Most commercial oven cleaners contain highly toxic chemicals such as ammonia and lye. These chemicals can remain in the oven after use and come in contact with food during cooking. Some ovens have a cleaning feature that burns off the residue at extremely high temperatures, but proper venting is essential to prevent carcinogens from being released into the air. The safest solution is to clean the oven’s interior while it is cool with warm, soapy water and scrub away any baked-on grease with a scouring pad and baking soda.
Buy Brown.
Most paper products in the U.S. — including coffee filters, parchment paper, muffin pan liners and waxed paper — are bleached with chlorine gas or chlorine derivatives, chemicals known to create dioxins during manufacturing. Dioxin exposure is linked to impairment of the immune system, nervous system, endocrine system and reproductive functions. Use unbleached paper products (look for “chlorine-free” and “dioxin-free” on the label), and opt for a reusable gold-plated mesh coffee filter instead of disposable filters.
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If possible, purchase high-quality stainless steel, castiron, glass, ceramic or ceramic-coated cookware (make sure ceramic bakeware indicates that the glaze is lead-free). Untreated aluminum cookware has been cited as a possible risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases including dementia, autism and Parkinson’s disease, and findings indicate that acidic foods leach aluminum from pans. Anodized aluminum is generally more durable and scratchresistant, but deeply scratched pots should be discarded — choosing higher-quality options is preferable. Also avoid nonstick cookware. Many nonstick pans’ coatings contain possible carcinogens, including perfluoroalkyl acid, which studies find can leach into food. Instead, oil pans to keep foods from sticking. Seasoned cast-iron pans are naturally nonstick.
Make the Cut.
An antibacterial cutting board might sound good, but it’s probably treated with triclosan, a chemical suspected of interfering with the hormone systems of humans and animals. Safer alternatives include nonporous glass, slab wood and bamboo. Scrub cutting boards with hot, soapy water and air dry to avoid bacteria contamination. Avoid antibacterial soaps, which contain triclosan and are no more effective than regular soaps, according to the FDA. Excerpted from Mother Earth Living, a national magazine devoted to living wisely and living well. To read visit MotherEarthLiving.com. Copyright 2014 by Ogden Publications Inc.
Green Living Journal • Winter 2014
HEALTH
Avoiding Toxic Chemicals in Paint By Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk I have to admit that I like the smell of fresh paint. Having lived in a collection of motley old apartments and homes, I loved the way a couple of gallons covered over the scuffs and stains left by the last tenants and created a “new” living space. To me, the aroma of freshly painted walls signified a clean start. But as it turns out, what my nose didn’t know could have been hurting me. That “new-paint smell” is caused by volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a class of chemicals that evaporate readily at room temperature. These toxic chemicals in paint are found in some pigments and also are added to alkyd oil and (to a lesser extent) latex paints to provide certain desirable working qualities, like spreadability, or to improve durability. Low-level exposure to these chemicals may cause temporary health problems, such as headaches, dizziness or nausea. Higher exposure levels, such as with auto spray booth operators, and longer exposure times can cause permanent damage to the kidneys, liver, and nervous or respiratory systems. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, indoor air is three times more polluted than outdoor air. Outgassing from VOCs contributes greatly to indoor air pollution. Outside, VOC emissions react with other hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides and sunlight to create smog. To address some of these problems, more than 20 companies now manufacture low- and no-VOC paints that perform as well as their predecessors. A number of paint products can give your home a fresh start without compromising your health. Here’s an overview of some low- and no-VOC paints, and a few allnatural options you can choose from for both interior and exterior painting projects. Although it can be made up of hundreds of different chemicals, paint still can be divided into two subcategories according to its primary solvent. In latex paints, water is the primary solvent; in alkyds, it’s a petroleum solvent (oil). Latex paints, with much lower levels of VOCs, beat alkyds hands-down for safety. (Even the newly formulated alkyd paints use much more solvent than standard latex paints, and cleaning up brushes, rollers and spills after painting with alkyds requires additional solvents — latex paints clean up with soap and water.) The biggest difference you may notice is with drying time: Low- and no-VOC paints dry a lot faster, and you’ll need to work quickly so that you’re always painting into a wet edge (painting over dried paint will
leave a striped appearance). Because these paints tend to dry faster on rollers and brushes, cleanup may take a little longer. First, don’t confuse “low-odor” with “low-VOC.” Fumes from some VOCs can be masked to make a low-odor paint, which means that what you can’t smell still can hurt you. And don’t assume that all low-VOC paints are created equal. A “low-VOC” label on a can means the paint meets the EPA’s maximum VOC-emission standards: Latex paints must contain less than 250 grams per liter (gm/l) of VOCs; alkyds can contain up to 380 gm/l. When shopping for a safer paint, start by reading the label. Look for paints that have VOC levels of 150 gm/l or lower. Realize that pigments, typically dissolved in chemical solvents, and other additives, such as mildewcides and conditioners, contribute to the relative toxicity of the final paint mix. In addition to choosing a low-VOC paint, pay attention to everything else that’s in the can. Because Toxic Paint - Continued page 47
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Visit us online at GreenLivingJournal.com • Green Living • Winter 2014 • 45
“Folks at The Public
Press say ‘authors are our business partners.’ That isn't just lip service!
A Mim’s-Eye View by Miriam Herwig The Wrath of Irene by The Herald
At a time when traditional publishing is governed by ‘the bottom line," and your best bet is to write a cookbook or rename yourself Stephen King, the Public Press provides an alternative! St. Peter on a pogo stick! The Public Press is the best!”
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Green Living Journal • Winter 2014
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HEALTH Toxic Paint
Continued from page 45
the EPA’s regulations primarily focus on reducing air pollution, other toxic chemicals that do not increase air pollution, such as heavy metals, are excluded from VOC calculations. Besides solvents, heavy metals and crystalline silica (beach sand) are added to paint for color or texture. These ingredients aren’t a problem when suspended in liquid paint, but they are considered carcinogens if inhaled (which can occur when sanding or scraping). Ammonia is used to inhibit bacteria and mold, and to help the paint “flow” off the brush or roller. And although none of the major paint companies use lead or mercury anymore, paints with mildewcide additives still contain trace amounts of formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is a respiratory irritant and potential carcinogen. For this reason, chemically sensitive individuals need to be especially careful about using kitchen and bath paints that contain extra mildewcides. Request a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) from the paint store to get information on everything that goes into the paint. If the store can’t provide one, check the manufacturer’s website or call their customer help line. Vibrantly colored paints predate modern VOC-based paints by
several centuries. The old painted walls of many buildings in Italy, Egypt and Greece attest to the fact that combinations of natural resins, oils, clays, and mineral or plant pigments can be both durable and lightfast. Today, companies such as Bioshield and Sinan have refined those ancient recipes to offer a no-VOC line of plant- and earthbased paints and finishes. (The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company offers a casein, or milk, paint made from a mixture of lime, earth pigments and milk protein.) Because you mix them yourself, these products offer more artistic creativity. They can be applied full-strength for regular coverage, or thinned to produce a washed effect. Because natural paints don’t use the same solvents that give other paints smoothness and uniformity, they can be a little trickier to apply and tend to give walls a more handcrafted appearance. Natural paints are sometimes sold as a powder, or the pigment is sold separately from a liquid base, requiring you to do the mixing. In these cases, you’ll want to make enough for one full coat: Exactly matching one batch to the next is nearly impossible. Natural paints are not always compatible with other paint products. Milk paint works well on new wood and plaster, but can pull off old paint if it’s not adhered well. Milk paints applied over latex binder (used in drywall joint compound) may “crackle.” Some natural paints also waterspot easily. For
walls or furniture that require extra protection, you may need to apply a topcoat of varnish or polyurethane, which means an extra step and the potential for additional chemical exposure. Excerpted from MOTHER EARTH NEWS, the Original Guide to Living Wisely. To read more visit MotherEarthNews.com. Copyright 2013 by Ogden Publications Inc. Imitated, but never duplicated.
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Your donations and purchases provide essential services which help low-income residents in Windham & Windsor counties. Reuse and Recycle — Discover the GOOD BUY STORES for Clothing, Collectibles, Furniture, Vintage, Jewelry & more.10% off with AD. 676 Hartford Ave & Hartford Recycling 2 stores in White River Junction 802-359-4183 or 295-6373
45 Rockingham St. Bellows Falls 802-463-9084
23 Main St. Springfield 802 885-7074
You can drop off clothing, shoes and linens in our little red sheds at recycling centers in Brattleboro, Rockingham, Springfield, Ludlow, Norwich, Plymouth, Cavendish, and 9 other VT locations. We will pick up your furniture donations. Visit us online at GreenLivingJournal.com • Green Living • Winter 2014 • 47
20 Ye a r A n n i v e r s a r y
TARM
Abundant BIOMASS® Renewable - Local
Innovative Leaders in Alternative Heating Solutions
ep l Ke Fue ur rs Yo olla l D oca L
Residential - Commercial - Institutional
• Your complete-line supplier of woody biomass hydronic boilers.
• Providing boilers for heating applications from 10,000 Btu/hr to 3.5 million Btu/hr.
FHG
NE
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Solo Innova
LK Armatur
The little sibling of the Solo Innova is ideally sized for small to mid-sized homes with average to good insulation.
Bonus Plus
P4
Tarm Biomass | 4 Britton Lane, Lyme, NH 03768 | 800.782.9927 | info@woodboilers.com | www.woodboilers.com 48 •
Green Living Journal • Winter 2014