Jan/Feb 2010 - Indiana Living Green by Indiana Living Green

ON THE COVER: Debra Denslaw buys Asian greens at the Indianapolis Winter Farmers Market. ©Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp

publisher Lynn Jenkins Lynn@IndianaLivingGreen.com (317) 769-3456 EDITOR Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp Editor@IndianaLivingGreen.com C O N T RIBU T O RS Brandt Carter Wendell Fowler Kathleen Hull Jennifer Jenkins Jessa Kharbanda tom mcCain Ed McKinley Maria Smietana Jennifer Streisand Renee Sweany COPY EDITOR Joseph L. Bennett S A LES Sales@IndianaLivingGreen.com (317) 769-3456 graphic design Wilson Design (317) 624-9900 Web Design Margaret Hsu Stout greenway@margaretdesign.com p r i nt i n g The Papers Milford, Indiana s u b s c r i p t i on s $18, six issues Indiana Living Green 1730 S. 950 E. Zionsville, IN 46077 c i r c u l at i on 20,000

INDIANA LIVING GREEN is published bimonthly and is printed on recycled paper with soy-based inks.

The development of wind farms, such as Fowler Ridge in Benton County, is one way construction and manufacturing jobs will grow. For more about Indiana’s green jobs, see page 24. Photo courtesy BP Wind Energy.

T A BLE O F C O N T E N T S b u i l d i n g / r e m od e l i n g • New Home Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 f a m i l y / h o m e / e d u cat i on • Green Investing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 • Green Jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 • Wedding Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 l oca l f ood s / b e v e r a g e s • Winter Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 • Honey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 f e at u r e s • Book Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 • Business Service Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 • Footprints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 • Green Finds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 • Green Marketplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 • Hoosier Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 • News Briefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 • Publisher’s Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 • The Last Row . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 • Wendell’s Way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

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green greetings

FROM PUBLISHER

L YNN

J ENK I NS

Old Resolutions Go Green The pleasures of winter holidays fall quickly to the stark New Year. Besides the short days and gray weather, we have those darn New Year’s resolutions — personal commitments we make to enhance our lives. Problem is, they are hard to keep because they are personal. They only affect our own lives, and so it’s easy to let them slide. What if our commitments affected the earth as well as us? What if we added a green dimension to our resolutions and see if we can make them stick? For example, if we consider some of the top resolutions made, and twist them green, we just might find a better you and a better earth. Try these popular resolutions: • Lose weight. Instead of just losing five pounds, why not resolve to lose 5,000 pounds off your carbon footprint? • Exercise more. Most try to get fit by joining a gym or taking up biking or walking. Why not add those calorieburning moments to your trip to work or for errands? Instead of driving your car, walk, bike or take the bus. That regular addition of movement costs less than joining a gym or buying the latest flex-machine, and gives you a trimmer shape and the earth a lot less carbon emissions. • Quit drinking. To this common resolution we add “from plastic bottles.” Add a reusable water bottle to your daily efforts to drink more water and totally ditch the plastic! • Eat healthier. Do it with local organic foods, grass-fed beef, pastured pork and free-range chickens and eggs. Or go vegetarian a meal or more each week. Drink organic milk, and for something a little more potent, try the local wines and brews. The carbon footprint from a local winery is much less than one from France, Italy, Australia or Chile. Besides being healthier for you, buying local foods and drinks has a positive financial impact on your local community. • Get out of debt. Want to save money? Do so by lowering your thermostat

in the winter, and raising it in the summer. Add layers of clothes and keep lap blankets or Snugglies handy at home in the winter and use fans rather than AC in warm weather. Save money AND the environment. • Learn something new. Join an environmentally friendly organization. Some, such as the Sierra Club, Slow Food and Green Drinks, have active and fun meetings. Others work hard to inform and encourage participation in policy making such as the Hoosier Environmental Council and Indiana Conservation Alliance, or INCA. (Join INCA at Conservation Day at the Statehouse this year! See info on page 13). Some, such as Central Indiana Land Trust Inc., Sycamore Land Trust and Friends of White River, protect our natural resources. Still others are more locally focused on improving the sustainability of your particular city or region. Keep an eye on the ILG calendar online for events and opportunities to join in and have fun while making a difference. With these ideas, you can make a difference for yourself, your family, your community and the earth. Share your own green resolutions at the ILG forum on our Web site. Happy New Year! n

SUBMISSIONS: Letters@IndianaLivingGreen.com • Fax: (317) 251-8545 Indiana Living Green 1730 S. 950 E., Zionsville, IN. 46077 January/February 2010

C O MI NG UP:

footprints

Ma r c h April

BY LYNN JENKINS

A passion for stewardship

C o u nt e r tops Green, durable, affordable and fashionable, too.

T r i kk e When two wheels aren’t enough and four are too many.

G r ow Y o u r Own Tips for starting your own vegetable garden.

In t h e Wor ks: Lotions and soaps that are good for you and the environment. Spotlight on Energy Star® washers and dryers. Are clotheslines making a comeback? Sampler of baby-care Products for green-minded moms. We are welcoming the Health and Wellness family to ILG with some super specials on advertising. 317-769-3456

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retired teacher with a deep admiration for Rachel Carson, Rosie Bishop has boundless energy for her green endeavors. Having spent 25 years in public school classrooms showing children what she calls the “WOWs of Nature,” Bishop has retained her enthusiasm to teach children about the Earth. Whether at her own booth at Earth Day where she is usually surrounded by children observing her tadpoles, earthworms, beneficial insects and compost, or with neighbors and kids in her Homecroft neighborhood on Indianapolis’ south side, Bishop eagerly shares nature’s wonders with anyone who will come and observe. A passion for stewardship of the land motivates her. Along with more common green practices like recycling, avoiding plastic and using mass transportation, her most dramatic gesture has been cutting grass, that is, removing it ALL from the yard. Now, she nurtures the living soil while growing food for humans and wildlife. She has been working on this project since 1994 after she retired and her children were grown. She and her husband, Bill, have found that neighbors don’t have objections to their “yarden.” In fact, frequent admiration accompanies continual change in color and form each season. The Bishops find that sharing native plants and seeds builds friendship and allows additional opportunity to teach about nature from monarchs to mulching. Long before rain barrels came in vogue, their yarden was filled with them. Participation in the Indiana Organic Gardeners Association, as well as Southport United Methodist Church environmental projects, has resulted in encouraging curbside recycling on Indy’s Southside and the establishment of an organic community garden. Rosie Bishop’s appreciation for nature’s magical processes is hands-on, ongoing and edifying. She believes that such care for the Earth and concern for those who come after us are the most likely to sustain the environmental movement. n

sales@IndianaLivingGreen.com

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nEWSBRIEFS F oo d

To market to market Greenfield, Ind. — The direct-to-consumer marketing of farm products, often referred to as “market gardening,” can help non-farmers get into the business of being growers and can help current farmers diversify the products they offer and the customers and markets they serve. To help both groups, the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service is offering a series of evening programs to introduce new entrepreneurs to the world of direct marketing and help refine the skills of current direct market vendors. The Growing for Market, a Purdue School for Beginning Market Vendors, will be held on five consecutive Thursdays, beginning Jan. 28 at 20 sites throughout Indiana. The cost is $50, which covers reference materials and refreshments. For more information and a copy of the registration brochure, please visit the Hancock County Extension Web site, http://bit.ly/8GVe1h, or call (317) 462-1113.

G a r d e ning

Purdue vacates Indy Zoo Indianapolis — Purdue University has terminated its agreement with the Indianapolis Zoo to provide staff support for the Dick Crum Resource Center. Mary Welch-Keesey, a consumer horticulturist who staffed the resource center, has been reassigned to the Marion County Extension Office, where she is revising the Master Gardener training manual. What will happen to the resource center at the zoo was not known at press time.

En v i r onm e n t

Snowflakes tell tales West Lafayette, Ind. — There is more to the snowflake than its ability to delight schoolchildren and snarl traffic. The structure of the frosty flakes also fascinates ice chemists like Purdue University’s Travis Knepp, a doctoral candidate in analytical chemistry. Knepp studies the basics of snowflake structure to gain insight into the dynamics of groundlevel, or “tropospheric,” ozone depletion in the Arctic. His work on snowflake shape and how temperature and humidity affect it takes place in a special laboratory chamber no larger than a small refrigerator. Knepp can “grow” snow crystals yearround on a string inside this chamber. The chamber’s temperature ranges from up to 110 degrees above zero down to minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit The differences he sees not only explain why no two snowflakes are identical, but also hold implications for his ozone research in the Arctic Ocean region. His study was published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. To read more, http://bit.ly/7IoMrW

SUBMISSIONS: For the latest news about green living, visit: www.IndianaLivingGreen.com. Submit your news items with high-resolution images to: editor@IndianaLiving-Green.com. January/February 2010

By Jo E l l en M ey e r s S h a r p

Green Building Photo courtesy Vine & Branch

from the g ro u nd u p

Protect trees on wooded lots during contruction or remodeling.

When you build a new home, you have the opportunity to be green from the ground up. And it starts when you select the land. For new construction, building on a vacant lot in existing urban or suburban neighborhoods is more green than building in a new development, said David Gulyas, who recently built a 1,710-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bath home in urban Bloomington. Many of these vacant lots are within walking distance to retail shops and services, said Gulyas, a LEED-accredited member of the American Society of Interior Designers (www.davidgulyas. com). His new house is one-fourth mile from his neighborhood’s farmers market on Bloomington’s west side. Prime lots are wooded, and when the house is sited correctly, trees shade it in summer and allow the sun to warm it up in winter, reducing heating and cooling costs, said Uriah Bontrager, owner of Bontrager Homes, an Indianapolis-area builder who specializes in green custom homes (www.bontragerhomes.com). If your lot is wooded, you should work with a certified arborist knowledgeable about tree preservation before the home’s footprint is designed, said Jud Scott, owner and president of Vine & Branch, a tree service company and a certified consulting arborist (www. vineandbranch.net). Wooded lots add tremendous value to properties, so it’s smart to determine

which trees are worth saving, he said. The arborist, working in conjunction with the builder, architect and landscape architect, can discuss vistas and establish a plan with contractors to protect the trees during the construction process. “We usually get called a year or two after the house has been built with questions about why the trees look so bad and what can we do with them,” Scott said. “I ask them where they would like the firewood, because it’s too late. One client, with a $1 million log cabin, showed me a tree that he said was the focal point of the property. The tree was rotted and cracked. A lot of builders do not know how to evaluate the health of trees.”

Think energy conservation Bontrager and Gulyas said they offer several levels of sustainability for their clients, from designing the greenest home possible to helping families select which options work best for them, their lifestyle and budget. If financing is severely limited, put your dollars in the heating, air conditioning and ventilation systems and in energy-efficient appliances, especially the refrigerator and clothes dryer. Installing faucets and plumbing that conserve water also reduces the use of that resource and cuts bills.

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Photo courtesy David Gulyas

Marko Spiegel of Conservation Technologies International developed the design concept used in the Gulyas home (above) in Bloomington, which will be painted when the weather warms up.

When designing and building the house, consider adding the elements or infrastructure necessary for the future installation of sustainable initiatives, such as solar collectors, said Gulyas, who built his garage in Bloomington with just that in mind.

Sustainability experts “All of our clients have some concern about green building and they seem like they want to do something, but they don’t know what,” said Bontrager, who has been building homes for 20 years. “That’s where our experience comes in.”

Gulyas agrees and advises consumers to select an architect, designer, landscaper and contractor who are knowledgeable about sustainable construction. These LEED-certified professionals should be able to do the research necessary and develop the best approach to sustainable construction methods and materials. The experienced builder knows which elements offer the best savings for the investment, from how walls are made to which windows to install.

long to get back (the expense) and save money,” he said. In Bloomington, Gulyas built an all-electric house, which will allow him to participate in energy credit programs with his utility, which will get his usage to net zero. “The best reason to go green is energy efficiency, which is a huge savings,” Bontrager said. n

Return on investment

• •

Bontrager said a green home “is not a whole lot more expensive” than a home built with traditional methods and materials. “But the energy savings are tremendous. If you can cut your energy expenses from $400 or $500 a month to $75 or $100 a month, it doesn’t take too

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RE S O U R C E S : United States Green Building Council, LEED guides and other resources, www.usgbc.org Indiana Chapter, U.S. Green Building Council, to find one of nearly 1,000 LEED-accredited professionals in Indiana, www.usgbc-in.org

By e d m ck i n l e y

Sustainable investing yields green returns “Green” investing brings peace of mind for environmentally conscious Bert Gilbert. Instead of using his money to back companies he sees as polluters and exploiters, he owns stock in firms that use wind and solar energy to generate electric power and in ones with humanitarian policies. “I feel good about it,” says Gilbert, a remodeling contractor in Solsberry, an unincorporated town 12 miles southwest of Bloomington. Diane Packett of West Lafayette, a limited term lecturer at Purdue University, seeks consistency through green investing. “I was mostly interested in bringing all aspects of my life in line with my values,” Packett says. To that end, she withdrew her retirement money from her former employer’s stock and some mutual funds so she could reinvest in tech stocks that pass social-screening tests and in companies dedicated to health care, green energy and low-income housing. Pam Raider, a retired Nashville social worker, felt empowered when she cashed in the far-from-green stock she inherited, especially holdings in a tobacco company she says lied to Congress about cigarettes causing cancer. She used the proceeds from her stock liquidation to buy shares in green and socially conscious companies. “We vote with our money,” Raider says. “My conscience pushed me into making my life more integral with my beliefs and values.”

Although Gilbert, Packett and Raider all want their investment dollars to support green causes and shudder at the thought of aiding oil refiners or sweatshop proprietors, they don’t relish spending their days or evenings enmeshed in the intricacies of the markets. That’s why all three have turned to a green investment advisor. As clients they simply express their desires in broad terms, and the green investment advisor attends to the details. Bill Stant, a green investment advisor affiliated with the California-based Financial West Group, does business in Indiana from an office on the edge of Brown County’s Yellowwood State Forest. His firm bears the L.B. Stant LLC name that his father, insurance agent Louis B. Stant, established in the area. The younger Stant added socially responsible investing, or SRI, to the insurance business. A self-described “anti-capitalist, radical, progressive type,” Stant found

counseling clients on green investing gave him a way to believe in the financial services business. He entered the field in 2001, and these days 90 percent of his 250 investment clients are green investors. Most live in Bloomington but a smattering are scattered throughout Indiana. Advisors can aid procrastinators who put off starting or augmenting Individual Retirement Accounts, 401(k) plans, stock portfolios or mutual funds, says Stant. “You’re making your life difficult in retirement,” he warns, by failing to set aside funds. Advisors can offer important insights, even when the choice of investment vehicles is among mutual funds, Stant says. Stant often nudges customers with larger accounts into individual stocks, thus avoiding the costs of mutual funds, but finds it easier to diversify smaller accounts through mutual funds. Investing in mutual funds has a price because the funds have to pay managers and

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Socially conscious investing satisfies philosophical, financial goals

Socially responsible investing, or SRI, can help achieve two goals — making the planet greener and achieving social justice. The idea’s been around for about 40 years. “I date social investing in its modern form to about 1970,” says Steven D. Lydenberg, vice president of the Domini Funds, the New York-based mutual funds. That’s when some mutual funds began developing an environmental and social conscience and started proposing shareholder resolutions that eventually influenced corporate management. “Prior to that, there were a substantial number of church groups that didn‘t invest in alcohol, gambling and tobacco,” Lydenberg says. “There were a few, such as the Quakers and the Mennonites, that didn’t invest in military-related companies. The Christian Scientists didn’t invest in health care.” An Indiana predecessor to today’s SRI investing came up in a conversation with Meg Voorhes, deputy director and research director of the Social Investment Forum, a Washington-based socially responsible investment trade association. Goshen-based Mennonite Mutual Aid, founded in 1945 by the Mennonite Church, remains very much alive today under the MMA name, Voorhes says.

researchers, while covering rent and commissions. However, mutual funds offer the advantage of automatic diversification — investing in more than one place — which can head off disaster if a single company encounters trouble. Caution should guide individualistic green investors who decide to pick their own stocks, the experts say. “You can’t just throw darts at these companies,“ advises Glen A. Larsen Jr., a professor of finance at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis. Larsen favors companies with earnings growth and cash flow after taxes. He reminds potential investors that “sustainability” isn’t a magic word. While that kind of enlightened self interest forms the basis of all investing, green investing also offers the chance to change society though collective action known as shareholder advocacy. Stockholders have the right to vote on candidates for company boards of direc-

tors, speak out on issues at annual corporate meetings, cast non-binding votes on resolutions and attempt to engage management in informal conversations. “There’s no question the disruption of business-as-usual at the corporations’ annual meetings has had a profound effect,” Stant says of shareholder advocacy, which met with management hostility when it began in the early 1970s. At first, green shareholder resolutions seldom garnered a vote of more than 3 percent to 5 percent, says Meg Voorhes, deputy director and research director of the Social Investment Forum, a Washington-based socially responsible investment trade association formed in the late 1980s. That number of votes was not enough to sway management but enough to allow activists to reintroduce the resolutions at the next board meeting, in accordance with Securities and Exchange Commission regulations. These days, green shareholder resolutions often net 30 percent to 40 percent of the votes cast, which many advisors consider the threshold for influencing corporate decision makers. A few resolutions even gain a majority, advisors say. The increase in votes is helping to

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accomplish what advocates set out to do. “Social investing’s real purpose is to facilitate dialogue between corporations and society,” says Steven D. Lydenberg, vice president of the New York-based Domini Funds, which started in 1990. For activists, resolutions and discussion are replacing confrontation, strikes and boycotts, says Lydenberg. “If you wanted to communicate with Bank of America before 1970, you threw a rock at their headquarters,” he says. Many green mutual funds work hard at activism. Take the Appleseed Fund, an Indianapolis-based socially responsible mutual fund. Appleseed policies encourage management teams to strive for transparency in communications with shareholders and to operate in environmentally friendly and sustainable ways, says Adam Strauss, an Appleseed portfolio manager. Pursuing those ideals need not preclude seeking profit. Once again Appleseed is an example. The fund, launched in 2006, arrived on the scene just in time for the economic downturn many are calling the “Great Recession,” which —Continued on page 12

Sustainable investing yields green returns

— Continued from page 11

$1 of every $9 linked to green investments Few could argue against socially responsible investing — an attempt to use Wall Street’s power over corporate America to promote environmental sustainability and humanitarianism. But determining the size and growth of the movement can prove slippery. One group gauging the phenomenon is the Social Investment Forum, a Washington-based trade association. The group based its latest report on the subject, dated 2007, on year-end figures for 2006, says Meg Voorhes, the Forum’s deputy director and research director. An updated version remains in the works, Voorhes says. The Forum defined green and socially responsible stocks broadly, using three criteria. It included stock issued by companies with shareholders who had filed resolutions on relevant issues, firms that passed screening for clean operations, and institutions helping to develop underserved, impoverished communities. Only assets under professional management were included, she notes. By those measures, roughly 11 percent of assets, nearly one of every nine dollars, is/are linked to socially responsible investing, or SRI, the Forum says. SRI assets rose more than 324 percent from $639 billion in 1995 to $2.71 trillion in 2007. “During the same period, the broader universe of assets under professional management increased less than 260 percent, from $7 trillion to $25.1 trillion,” the report says. But how much better are the SRI stocks than the run-of-the-mill variety? Calculating that can prove difficult, too, because of the assumptions made when defining the stock — in other words, what constitutes green or responsible? Such considerations aside, Erin W. Gray, director of marketing and strategic analysis for Green Century Funds, two Boston-based socially responsible mutual funds, cites a report released last year. In the study by Trucost a Londonbased research firm, the stock of 16 U.S. SRI mutual funds averaged 226 tons of carbon per million dollars of revenue, compared with 384 tons for the stocks in the Standard & Poors 500 Index, a standard benchmark, Gray says. b y ed mc k inle y

began in 2007. “The timing wasn’t terrific,” Strauss admits, but the fund has performed 13 percent above the market in general, generating a positive return since its inception. Although green stocks proved more volatile than other stocks during the 2007 recession, they fared well in general and should continue to do so, investment, advisors say. Volatility, they explain, means green stocks declined more than the average for all stocks when the market crashed — but recovered more quickly and strongly than most as the market recovered. Moreover, investment strategy affected how green mutual funds performed in recession, advisors say. Results hinged

on whether investors and advisors pursued growth or value, chose small or large companies, or salted portfolios with bonds, which tend toward less volatility than stocks. Advisors also expect green stocks to become less volatile as they age. In any case, green investing may have long-term advantages over investing predicated only on profits, says Erin W. Gray, director of marketing and strategic analysis for Green Century Funds, two Boston-based socially responsible mutual funds that started in 1991 and return all of their profits to the eight public-service groups that founded them. Gray notes that states, regions and some nations are introducing market-

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based regulation of carbon emissions. The U.S. Senate may return to its deliberations on cap-and-trade carbon regulation, an issue still unsettled at press time, she says. Such measures would force companies to spend money to reduce carbon emissions, thus decreasing the value of their stock, she says, noting, “carbon intensity indicates financial risk.” That also means companies don’t have to engage in a strictly green business, such as making windmills, to qualify as green. The green label fits companies that make any kind of widgets — but make those widgets in a green way. Mutual funds screen companies and find the ones working hardest to make their operations green. Green Century, for example, has invested heavily for a long time in Johnson & Johnson, the New Brunswick, N.J.-based health care and pharmaceuticals company. “It doesn’t jump out at you as the greenest company, but it is one of the country’s largest purchasers of alternative and renewable energy for corporate operations,” says Gray. Many companies are catching on to green initiatives. One group, the non-profit Boston-based Ceres, founded in 1989, advises companies on how to become greener. Ceres used to seek out companies, but in the last few years companies have approached Ceres because improved transportation and processes can save them money, says Matt Moscardi, Ceres manager of investment programs. Some firms are becoming greener to achieve greater efficiency, not as a public relations ploy, he says. Yet much work remains. Ceres also alerts institutional investors, such as pension funds, to their green investing options and finds many have much to learn. “You’d be surprised.” Moscardi says, “how far behind the curve some institutions are — even on the definitions of sustainable investing or green investing.” n Ed McKinley, a freelance writer and editor, is a former reporter for the Indianapolis Star. He divides his time between Chicago and Monticello.

January/February 2010

BOOK REVIEWS When Changing A Lightbulb Just Isn’t Enough: 150 Ways to Slash Your Household Bills and Save Energy, Too by The Editors of Popular Mechanics, Hearst Books/Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 2009, $14.95, ringed binder Individual households account for 17 percent of America’s CO2 emissions, and in When Changing a Light Bulb Just Isn’t Enough: 150 Ways to Slash Your Household Bills and Save Energy, Too, you learn how to reduce a home’s carbon footprint, save money and extend the life of your investments. Tips and projects are divided into chapters, such as The Great Indoors, The Exterior of Your Home, Gadgets and Gigabytes, Money-Saving Home Improvements and Car Care. Projects may be five-minute fixes or cover a weekend. Tips of the Trade sections, such as How to Install a Water Softener, help non-professionals with simple, easy to understand info. The book includes standard projects and tips, such as why and how to fix a leaky faucet, to more unique suggestions, such as how to replace your damaged car fender with a used one. The layout of the book, presented on a ring binder, makes it easy to use as a basic reference for any project you want to tackle. Even the experienced DIYer will find material presented in an interesting and quick-read manner, so that you could read it cover to cover without falling asleep in your Lazy Boy. Although some projects are more DIY than green focused, this book can certainly get you started in the right direction when it comes to slashing household bills and saving energy. B y J e nnif e r J e nkins

Native American Medicinal Plants: An Ethnobotanical Dictionary by Daniel E. Moerman, Timber Press, 2009, $29.95, paperback If you have ever found yourself wondering what people did before there were big drug stores and Big Pharma, Daniel Moerman’s latest book, Native American Medicinal Plants, will help answer that question, at least as far as Native peoples are concerned. Before medicines were readily available in the form of tablets, syrups and injections, like everyone else in the world, the Native Americans turned to the woodlands and meadows and gathered plant materials that generations of their forebears had learned to use wisely. As the subtitle suggests, this book is not a thrilling bedtime read but rather an exhaustive reference that should be on the library shelf of everyone deeply interested in native flora, native cultures or the history of medicinal plants. It is very helpfully arranged in three sections. The largest is a Catalog of Plants by scientific names that gives the medicinal uses various tribes made of each species. The other two sections are an Index of Tribes listing the particular plant practices of each of 217 groups and an Index of Plant Usages that lists all plants used under condition headings, such as “Gastrointestinal Aids.” Moerman’s authority derives from an extensive academic career. He is currently the William E. Stirton Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. His earlier book, Native American Ethnobotany (Timber Press 1998), was the recipient of the Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries Annual Literature Award in 2000. B Y K AT HL EE N HULL, M. D ., head of t h e M edicinal Plant Garden at the I n d i a na Medical History Museum.

Rural Free: A Farmwife’s Almanac of Country Living by Rachel Peden, Drawings by Sidonie Coryn, Quarry Books, 2009, $19.95, paperback RFD was the U.S. Post Office acronym for Rural Free Delivery, which, at the turn of the 20th century, finally brought home delivery of mail to farms and rural folk. An older generation might have made the connection between the old postal routes and the book title, Rural Free. But although the younger, back-to-the-land generation may miss the double entendre, they will lose neither the timeliness nor the timelessness Rachel Peden’s country life sketches. Originating as regular columns for local papers in Muncie and Indianapolis, these stories recount far more than just the drudgery of farm chores. Peden’s prose is stunning, causing the reader to stop and read again its beauty. Phrases such as “October inherits summer’s hand-me-downs” and “Queen Ann’s lace is now an heirloom” give the reader a chance to relish both the image and the language of this chronological story of farm life, rural neighbors and nature’s beauty. Although Peden declared that a farm’s year begins in spring or fall, the reader can open the book to any month and enjoy snippets of wisdom, observation and simplicity. Originally published in 1961, Rural Free will again speak to country dwellers, urban farmers, homesteader wannabees, naturalists, environmentalists and even urbanites who just long for a little enriching respite from city bustle. B y L Y N N J e nkins

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green

finds Eco Yoga Mat Yoga is the perfect practice for the New Year’s resolution to get into better shape, and a good mat is a must-have. The reversible Eco Yoga mat, made from a patented biodegradable, environmentally sensitive material, is free of latex and phthalate. The mat, which comes in lavender and orange, is 68 inches long, 24 inches wide and 1/8-inch deep. $40, plus shipping, from TuwA.com

Organic Bouquet Organic Bouquet has many selections for Valentine’s Day and other occasions, with flowers plucked from artisans and growers who adhere to domestic and international sustainability standards. They provide safe and just working conditions with a livable wage and reinvest in their communities. Organic Bouquet is a member of Green America business network. A dozen roses is $50, plus shipping. Info: www.organicbouquet.com

Seed Savers Exchange As you plan this year’s garden, Seed Savers Exchange is a terrific source for organic heirloom seeds for vegetables, herbs and flowers. The 35 year-old not-for-profit based in Decorah, Iowa, collects and packages heirloom seeds, which it sells to gardeners. Many of the varieties have deep roots in Europe, Eastern Europe, South America and the United States, where they’ve been cultivated for hundreds of years. A 50-seed packet of Cherokee Purple is $2.75, plus shipping. The group also offers heirloom transplants for $3, plus shipping. Info: www.seedsavers.org

January/February 2010

Green steps down the aisle Renee Sweany from Green Piece Indy newsletter is getting married in May at the Indianapolis City Market in a gown made by her mother from fabric from her grandmother’s wedding dress. She and her fiancé are looking forward to a room full of fresh-cut lilacs in bud vases used in a friend’s wedding.

Their mouths water when they think about hors d’oeuvres from a favorite farmers market vendor. Their rings are made from re-claimed metal and recycled diamonds by a fellow Midwesterner. Perhaps their most exciting detail: they will make a donation to the Humane Society of Indianapolis in honor of their guests and their rescued dog, Miles, who will serve as ring bearer. Indiana Living Green asked Sweany to share 10 tips for her green wedding. Many of them apply to any special event: 1. Reduce paper. Traditional invitations often have a whole tree’s worth of paper. Cut back by consolidating information. Use recycled, post-consumer paper from a local vendor. Consider having an RSVP web site instead of cards (you’ll save on postage too!). 2. Reuse centerpieces. Search online and among family/friends to find used vases and candle holders for centerpieces. Look at resale shops for mix-andmatch pieces with character. 3. Recycle a used dress. Retrofitting an old dress isn’t just for Pretty in Pink fans. Check out Mom or Grandma’s gown for reusable fabric, or look for the perfect dress at a consignment shop. 4. Marry your significant other in a significant place. Find a venue that sup-

ports a cause, like a museum or public garden. 5. Consider a local caterer. Food travels an average of 2,000 miles to get to the grocery store. Choose a caterer who uses locally produced foods for your menu. 6. Raise your glasses to the newlyweds and the planet. Choose reusable glassware and flatware, rather than plastic. Invest in kegs over individual bottles of brew. 7. Sniff out a local florist. More than 100 species of flowers are grown right here in Indiana. Support a local grower with bouquets and decorations using locally grown flowers that are Hoosier natives. 8. Do the planet a favor; make a donation. Instead of providing small favors that guests may or may not keep, make a donation to a favorite nonprofit in honor of your guests. 9. Get a room. Reserve a block of rooms for out-of-town guests at a hotel that makes an effort to be green. From recycling to solar panels, there are properties that share a commitment to the planet. You may also consider carbon offsets for traveling guests. 10. Green bling. Work with a local jeweler to create ethical, environmental rings. Reuse a family diamond or other

www.IndianaLivingGreen.com

Photos courtesy Garnet Vaughan

Above: Venture Catering of Indianapolis served a green wedding last summer at German Park in Indianapolis. Tables were set with plates and glasses purchased at second hand stores or garage sales. The patterns didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t match, but tableware carried the same colors or comple-mentary hues. Right: Flat rocks were used as place cards.

vintage jewelry as a symbol of your love for the planet. There are even ecofriendly options made from wood. Sweany said that of all the green tips, perhaps the most important is: be intentional. Find meaning in each detail. This is your special day and each aspect should be a reflection of you both. n

Linda Sweany (left) will help her daughter Renee Sweany (right) alter a wedding gown worn by her grandmother, Phyllis Huffman in 1948.

J a n u a r y / F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 0

Photo courtesy Chris Sublett

Renee Sweany is co-publisher of Green Piece Indy (www.greenpieceindy.com), a newsletter that offers green tips, and owner of Green Savings Indy, (www.greensavingsindy.com), a coupon book.

wendell’s way

B Y W ende l l Fowl e r

Fresh winter produce enriches family diet

he initial question from those who want to eat local is: “How, in the dead of an Indiana winter, can I obtain enough wholesome local foods to sustain a healthy mind and body?” For a start, patronize your local winter markets (see Page 20). Produce shipped 2,000 miles from the field to your crisper is prized for travel, but not taste. At the market, you’ll find sweet potatoes; regular potatoes in various colors, such as white, red or blue; turnips; brussels sprouts; parsnips; carrots; mushrooms, salad greens and more. Roast the root vegetables or use them in soups or stews. Mix the mushrooms in stir fry with other fresh veggies. Prepare a January salad of Hoosier greens with diced butternut squash, walnuts, Hoosier wheat berries, flax seed and carrots for colorful nutrition and texture. Raw butternut squash and turnip “sticks” make tasty additions to celery, carrots and peppers in a crudités. Apples are plentiful in winter markets, too. Add unpeeled cubes of apple to your oatmeal, along with roasted walnuts, almonds or pecans. Consider cooking your oatmeal in sweet, delicious apple cider instead of water. You can lightly sauté apples to sauce a pork loin. At bedtime, peanut butter on an apple slice can curb your wayward cravings. See, there are lots of ways to eat fresh and local, even in winter. n

Chef Wendell Fowler (www.chefwendell.com) has been a vegan vegetarian for 20 years, prompted by his near-death from terminal viral heart disease. He lost 100 pounds and overcame alcohol, cigarettes and fast food. Death can be rather motivating.

Brussels sprouts salad: • With a mandolin, food processor or knife, thinly slice or finely shred 1 1/2 pounds of fresh brussels sprouts to make about two cups. • Toss sprouts with 1 1/3 cup toasted, chopped hazelnuts; 3 tablespoons of lemon juice; 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and 2 ounces aged grated cheese, such as Parmesan or Romano. Sea salt to taste. • Top with 1 teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves. • Serve at room temperature or chilled.

ÂŠ Lynn Jenkins

Lauran Gady of Farming for Life sorts carrots at the Winter Green Market at Traders Point Creamery

Winter markets { } Are Hot

The growing season is over for most of us, but that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean we have to give up fresh greens, root vegetables, eggs or other locally grown food.

B y J o Ell e n M e y e r s S h a r p

J a n u a r y / F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 0

We can go to winter farmers markets, which are sprouting up throughout Indiana. In the past two years, the number of winter farmers markets has grown from two to at least eight, according to an informal survey by Indiana Living Green. These winter markets offer fresh, local food, soaps and lotions. The markets also have lengthened the growing and selling season for farmers and artisans. Many of them grew more potatoes and other late-harvest food and they planted fall crops of lettuces and other greens. As a result, several farmers have extended their seasonal offerings for their Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, subscribers.

Demand increases The two-year-old Indianapolis Winter Farmers Market has grown from 22 vendors in its first year to 45 on opening day last November, said Tyler Henderson, who founded the market with his wife, Laura. The market also has moved to a new location in the last year. The vendors would not be there if they didn’t think customers were there, he said. Teresa Birtles, who with her three daughters operates Heartland Family Farm in Bedford, is a regular at the Bloomington Winter Market, one of Indiana’s oldest. Last year, she added the Indianapolis venue, but ran out of goods to sell. “This year, we planned and planted more fall greens and more potatoes,” she said. That has helped extend the season for her 100 CSA subscribers, too. This year, Heartland Family Farm will introduce its own line of heirloom seeds from the plants grown on Birtles’ seven acres in Lawrence County. The family does not grow hybrids. About one-half acre is devoted to an extensive cut-flower garden of annuals and perennials.

The Winter Green Market at Traders Point creates a community among vendors and shoppers. Fresh greens are a staple at the Indianapolis City Market Winter Market, held Wednesdays through April. Photo courtesy Stevi Stoesz/Indianapolis City Market

Traders Point tradition Zionsville’s Traders Point Creamery, the oldest winter market in the Indianapolis area, adds value to the shopping experience with Fresh Breakfast on Saturday mornings from November through April. Like many farmers markets, no

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matter what the season, Traders Point has developed a large, strong community that relishes time in the Big Red Barn on Saturday mornings. Bill Swanson of Valentine Hill Farm in Boone County, a long-time vendor of breads, rolls and cookies at Traders

Ind ia na’ s Win ter Far m er s Mar ket s Winter markets generally operate from November through March or April, but check with the one in your area to make sure. Most are in heated indoor spaces, and they offer refreshments or breakfasts. • Bloomington Winter Farmers Market, 909 E. 2nd St., Saturdays, Jan. 23 through March 27, 9 a.m. to noon, http://bit.ly/4Icdun • Farmers Market at Minnetrista Center, 1200 N. Minnetrista Pkwy., Muncie, through April, third Saturday of month, 9 a.m. to noon, http://bit.ly/6vJ0r4 • Hancock County Winter Market, 4-H Fairground Show Arena, 620 N. Apple Street, Greenfield, first and third Saturdays through April, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., (765) 763-0246. • Hendricks County Winter Market, Hummel Park, 1500 S. Center St., Plainfield, Thursdays, 4 to 7 p.m., (317) 839-9121 or jaime@tourhendrickscounty.com • Indianapolis City Market Winter Market, 222 E. Market St., Wednesdays through April, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., www.indycm.com • Indianapolis Winter Farmers Market, 901 N. East St., Saturdays through April 14, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., http://bit.ly/5PqyEd • Madison Winter Farmers Market at the 605 Grille, 605 W. Main St., Madison, Saturdays, 8 a.m. to noon, http://bit.ly/4KyFMz • Pendleton Winter Farmers Market at Smith Family Farms, 7055 W 675 S, Pendleton, second Thursday of the month until spring, 4 to 7 p.m., (765) 208-5791 www.smithfamily farms.com • Traders Point Winter Green Market, 9101 Moore Road, Zionsville, Saturdays through April, Saturdays, 9 a.m. to noon, www.tpforganics.com Compiled by Jo Ellen Meyers Sh a rp

www.IndianaLivingGreen.com

Point, added the Indianapolis Winter Farmers Market to his sales locations when it opened. Swanson’s production goes down in winter because he serves fewer markets. In summer, Swanson’s organic baked goods can be found at eight or nine farmers markets, while in winter, he’s at two. Swanson, and his wife, ILG columnist Maria Smietana, operate the farm. Recently, they added a plastic hoop house to grow lettuces, greens and radishes for the markets and for their CSA subscribers. The winter markets “are an incentive for farmers to go ahead and develop more fall crops and make the investment needed to extend the season,” Birtles said. Her farm has an 18- by 26-foot polycarbonate house with roll up sides. She uses it for growing crops in a protected environment early and late in the season.

Consumers notice “The turnout from the public has been remarkable,” Henderson said of his Indianapolis winter market. “I couldn’t have envisioned the number of people. We’ve been averaging 1,500.” The success can be attributed in part to its new location, within one-mile of the city’s center. Last year, the market was about 2 1/2 miles from the center of town. “Our goal was to be as close to downtown as possible, where we could draw from the neighborhoods, where people walked or rode their bikes,” he said. At least one shopper has become inspired. “Since I got used to going to the Broad Ripple Farmers Market, I now buy more produce at the markets,” said Debra Denslaw, a law librarian in Indianapolis. “We’re blessed with several places for quality food, including the traditional chains. But the market has introduced me to things I probably wouldn’t have known about — bitter gourd and varieties of eggplant, for example. It has also made me much more mindful of the seasonal nature of fruits and vegetables. And getting good greens in the winter has inspired improvements and an expansion of my cold frame garden for this winter.” n

January/February 2010

By b r andt ca r t e r

in the

Three fortunes pollinated my fondness for bees and honey. First, as an amateur herbalist, I grew to like bees visiting my garden. Second, my aunt guided me to Gene Stratton Porter’s charming book, The Keeper of the Bees. Third, my son became a beekeeper, introducing me to the joy of honey straight from the hive. Although I had grown up in a household where flower gardens were both a seasonal preoccupation and a must for beautifying our corner landscape, it was not until I had my own yard that herb gardening captured my energy. Then, wanting a bee-friendly garden just came naturally. I chose plants of varied shapes and colors to attract varying pollinators. I also adopted the bee skep as décor in my backyard herb garden. Before long my eye was being drawn to bee pins, honey pots and all manner of objects decorated with bees. Friends picked up on my fancy, indulging me further. Suddenly the bee motif was all around me. Like so many people, I relish good books. I got hooked on Porter’s when a favorite aunt brought the book with her for a week at the lake. Porter, an Indiana naturalist and author, weaves the tale of a master bee keeper, his bees and the natural beauty of California as he sets about restoring a wounded World War I veteran to health.

If there’s a single influence that has led me to love having honey on hand it was my son’s becoming a beekeeper for several years. One of his graduate school professors was a renowned beekeeper who shared his knowledge with my son. I had the wonderful fortune of two special visits to his hives. The first time, we drove into the country on a cool, foggy morning and wandered up the drive of a farm to the back 40 where several beekeepers had their hives. Watching my son work around his hive, donning his protective clothes, firing up the smoker and tenderly moving the frames to check the honey production was thrilling. I couldn’t have been more impressed if he had just triumphed at a music recital. About a year later, I met him at another place where he had moved his two hives. This was a glorious location because the acreage’s flora included a lavender garden and linden trees. He opened his hive, took out a knife, and carefully scraped out hunks

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First Aid for Your Dog By b r andt ca r t e r •

Car Sickness — Use 1/2 cup of honey. Let your dog eat it a half-hour before getting into the car. This soothes the dog’s stomach.

• Wounds — Put a generous amount of raw honey on a gauze pad and place it directly on the injury or surgery area. Bind or tape the pad in place. Cover the area with an old T-shirt or sock to keep the dressing from being eaten away by the dog. Change the dressing daily. You will notice there is no honey on the dressing or wound when changing the bandage. Honey mixes with the body fluids and releases a chemical that functions like hydrogen peroxide. As honey continues to dissolve, it releases healing properties slowly and acts as an antiseptic. From experience I have found that honey is soothing and doesn’t burn when applied to an open sore.

of beeswax dripping with pale golden honey. We scooped up the sample and ate the honey, drops oozing from the corners of our mouths. The delicate lavender flavor of the nectar and the moment imprinted my memory forever. I have learned that I prefer raw honey (right from the hive) rather than pasteurized honey. Granted the processing sterilizes the honey and improves shelf-life, but it can darken bees’ gift to us, also reducing specific enzymes

www.IndianaLivingGreen.com

Pure gold pantry

Beekeeping 101 •

The Indiana Beekeeping School will have classes Jan. 22 and 23 in Indianapolis, Terre Haute, Nashville, Columbus and Fort Wayne. For details: http://indianabeekeepingschool.com

• The Indiana State Beekeeping School will have a class Feb. 20 in Marion. For details: www.hoosierbuzz.com

and affecting taste. I like to slip raw honey into my first-aid kit. From sore throats, laryngitis, burns and wounds to upset stomachs, I have used honey for humans and pets. Haven’t we all heard the merits of honey and tea or honey and hot whiskey as a remedy for colds? Many of us subscribe to a preference for local honey (retrieved from hives close to where we live) because its pollen from the everyday environment is an immune system booster. By consuming honey from the allergen source before the source releases its pollens, some people have effectively used it to fight allergies. Honey therapy is inexpensive and easily accomplished. n

RE S O U R C E S : You can find more information about healing with honey on the Internet, including numerous therapies. • • • •

The American Apitherapy Society Inc. www.apitherapy.org Indiana State Beekeepers Association www.hoosierbuzz.com Indiana Beekeepers Association http://bit.ly/6wXE5b Hunter’s Honey Farm www.huntershoneyfarm.com, is one of the best-known producers in the state. It sells its honey at Meijer, farmers markets, Bloomington Winter Farmers Market, Bloomingfoods, Georgetown Health Foods, Huber’s Family Farm and dozen of other retailers, as well at its Martinsville farm.

Brandt Carter is a lover of nature and captures its wonders as a freelance writer, artist, herbalist and trainer of service dogs. She and her husband own Backyard Birds in Indianapolis, www.feedbackyardbirds.com

the environment

B Y J e s s e K ha r b anda

Indiana primed for green jobs

ouldn’t it be great if there were jobs in Indiana where you did something that you enjoyed, got paid pretty decently, and were healing the planet, all at the same time? That type of job exists — and, no, I don’t mean working as a senior executive at the Indianapolis Zoo! Emerging in the background of Indiana’s tough economic climate are green jobs — opportunities to design, build and sell the next generation of sustainable products, from electrical vehicles to wind turbines to zero emission buildings. According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, Indiana already has about 17,000 of those clean energy jobs. Indiana could be a major player in the green jobs market. In fact, the Renewable Energy Policy Project contends that Indiana has the second highest potential in the nation to lure jobs in green manufacturing, and could attract an additional 40,000 jobs. On top of a superb manufacturing base, we have universities and warehouses that are primed to house new entrepreneurs and new assembly lines. What Indiana sorely lacks, however, is strong public policy to attract those jobs. Right now, for example, we’re the only state in the Midwest without a Renewable Electricity Standard, a policy that sets aside a part of our electricity system for green power sources, like wind and biomass. Having that policy in place gives green businesses the confidence that Indiana is truly open for business when it comes to green energy. And when states pass RES laws, green manufacturers mightily come, as has happened in Illinois, Michigan, Iowa and Pennsylvania. Some of our elected officials get a bit antsy about green jobs. They ask, “Is it for real?” There’s no better indicator of the reality than the fact that green tech is the world’s fastest growing part of the world economy, and it’s primed, ready to grow even faster when the world gets around to a comprehensive solution to cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Indiana has a proud history in auto manufacturing. Let’s make our state develop a wonderful new chapter in green manufacturing. To help create that future, contact your legislator (http://bit.ly/h63fY) in support of a “Renewable Electricity Standard” for Indiana. n Jesse Kharbanda is the executive director of the Hoosier Environmental Council. You can learn more about renewable standards at www.hecweb.org

J a n u a r y / F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 0

By j e nn i f e r s t r e i s and

Green jobs for today and tomorrow By now, most people have heard the term green jobs, but an abundance of examples in Indiana still are hard to find — perhaps because energy consumption and everyday lifestyles are just beginning to transition to green here. Bona fide green jobs do exist in Indiana, and all of the signs point to more in the future. Many of the jobs are new positions created in organizations to facilitate using more renewable energy or to educate Hoosiers on how to conserve energy.

Energy Savings At Hoosier Energy REC, Inc., a Bloomington, energy cooperative, at least six positions would be considered “green collar,” or jobs that pertain to planning and educating on the subject of sustainability. One such job belongs to Caleb Steiner, a graduate of the Indiana University School of Public Environmental Affairs. As a renewable energy specialist, Steiner seeks to educate customers by searching for the most efficient and least expensive renewable energy methods to offer them. Four or five other positions also involve working with cooperative members to help them make lifestyle changes to cleaner energy. That includes educating consumers on ways to reduce overall energy consumption, which is the cleanest energy of all, Steiner said. “It’s what they call the negawatt,” he said. A negawatt “is not using energy,” which reduces or eliminates the need for solar panels or wind turbines. “You are just not using power, which ultimately curbs demand.”

Recyled fuels The City of Kokomo has used mostly current employees for its Kfuel program, which is gaining recognition around the state as an example of energy and cost efficiency, said Randy Morris, director of operations for the city. Kfuel takes used cooking oil, mostly from area restaurants, mixes it with diesel fuel and uses it in city vehicles. The result has been roughly $1.47 in savings per gallon of diesel fuel for the city, he said. One of the city’s green initiative positions was used to help start the program in February 2009, said Morris. “The program has been overwhelmingly successful. It gets the community involved in understanding biodiesel fuels through green initiatives, as well as being a savings to the city on diesel operating costs.”

Wastewater plant generates energy Approximately 100 construction jobs were necessary for the 2009 retrofitting of a West Lafayette wastewater utility to make biogas, which generates electricity to run the plant, said Doug Stout, manager on the renovation project for Bowen Engineering Corp., the general contractor. One person or organization determined to help the rest of society make the transition to using cleaner energy can make a significant difference.

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Jobs in Agriculture In September 2009, Purdue University announced a collaboration with Dow AgroSciences, Purdue Research Foundation and the state of Indiana to construct and operate a new research facility at Purdue Research Park in West Lafayette, and a 6,000-square-foot greenhouse near Ross Enterprise Center. The project is expected to create at least 30 new jobs with additional employment for contract workers as they explore technologies to create new crops. Building up the local and regional food infrastructure with more uniform processing standards will enhance the marketplace for local food distribution, and ultimately produce more revenue and jobs, said Annie Schmelzer, program manager for Entrepreneurship and Diversified Agriculture at the Indiana State Department of Agriculture. Schmelzer also expects more jobs in the area of cellulosic ethanol production, which means converting plantbased material to ethanol, she said. “It’s kind of the next step in the evolution of biofuels, and so we are right on the cutting edge of new jobs being allocated for that development.”

Potential not yet realized By far, the largest block of green jobs in Indiana is in its potential to develop them. A report conducted by the Renew-

www.IndianaLivingGreen.com

able Energy Policy Project, a Washington, D.C.,-based organization, shows that Indiana is second only to Illinois in the number of manufacturing jobs to be created in clean energy among 11 states. The mammoth potential for renewable energy jobs in Indiana was echoed in a report, “A Clean Energy Economy for Indiana: Analysis of the Rural Economic Development Potential of Renewable Resources,” released in October 2009 by the Natural Resources Defense Council, an international non-profit organization that advocates for the world’s environment and public health. Indiana is primed to become a hub and a center for renewable energy — perhaps the best potential in the country — given its resources and its proximity to eastern load centers, which distribute power, according to the study’s author Martin R. Cohen, an independent energy analyst. In this respect, it is more competitive than other Midwestern states, including the Dakotas and Nebraska. Cohen said, “Indiana has some of the richest land in the world,” which is a perfect blend of agricultural areas and urban centers for manufacturing. The transformation could generate thousands of renewable energy jobs.

—Continued on page 26

January/February 2010

green jobs for today and tomorrow

— Continued from page 25

One person or organization determined to help the rest of society make the transition to using cleaner energy can make a significant difference. New Technologies Some of those jobs will likely come when Energy-Inc., opens a facility in Elkhart County. The company uses advanced thermal conversion, or high heat, to convert different kinds of waste into different kinds of energy. If all goes as planned, Energy-Inc. is expected to create about 500 permanent jobs at the facility, and 1,500 additional positions related to its operation. The Las Vegas-based company retrofitted a former manufactured housing plant, with initial operations that began last fall, said Kim Kirkendall, president and chief executive officer. Advanced thermal conversion takes waste, such as plastics and rubber, and turns it into energy, specifically, a synthetic gas that can be turned into electricity or a liquid form of fuel. Although the technology uses high heat, there is no incineration involved, and it’s clean technology that accelerates the decomposition of wastes, said Kirkendall. The retrofitted facility will manufacture the equipment necessary to use the technology, and that equipment will be sold to organizations and institutions around the world. The equipment will be licensed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the state of Indiana, he said. Energy-Inc. chose Indiana and Elkhart County because of its manufacturing workforce and its location. Elkhart was thrust into the spotlight when President Obama made it his first stop outside of Washington in early 2009 to promote the legislation that was to become the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Elkhart and Goshen metro areas have the highest unemployment rate in the state, hovering around 16 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. “It’s simple,” Kirkendall noted. “They

have a tremendous need there, and it is centrally located between the major metropolitan areas of Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit and Toledo, where we need to get our materials.”

Incentives Key Although Energy-Inc. is a good beginning, reaching Indiana’s potential to produce clean energy jobs will be difficult without better economic incentives to attract manufacturers to Indiana, said Jesse Kharbanda, executive director of the Hoosier Environmental Council. “Around 40,000 clean energy manufacturing jobs could be drawn to the state due to our ability to retrofit various manufacturing sub-sectors, like automobile components to produce clean energy manufacturing components, such as gearboxes for wind turbines,” Kharbanda said. Energy analysist Cohen suggested those incentives may include tax, spending and regulatory policies to create a marketplace for renewable energy, and that marketplace would create jobs.

Solar Options Indiana’s obvious potential to be a renewable energy hub was reinforced by another source, but this time in the area of solar energy. Mark Pinto, chief technology officer for Applied Materials, Inc., a California company specializing in nanomanufacturing, including solar photovoltaic cells and energy efficient glass, has lectured at Purdue University about Indiana’s ability to be a manufacturing and consumer center for solar energy, such as Eastern Germany. Economic incentives don’t mean cheaper labor, but stronger corporate and governmental policies that make the best financial sense for manufacturers, Pinto

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said. With solar, several different kinds of manufacturing jobs will be necessary. “One is at the factory itself, but then from the factory upstream, there are jobs to produce the glass and the materials that would go into the factory. There are jobs on the solar installation side, as well as jobs to produce other materials necessary including the electronics,” Pinto said.

Wind Energy At High Speed Indiana is generally known more for wind energy than solar, with commercial ventures such as the Benton County Wind Farm and the Fowler Ridge Wind Farm up and running. Individual homeowners and businesses are also erecting wind turbines. More customers of Indianapolis Power & Light Co., will have electricity generated by wind as a result of the Hoosier Wind Project, which began construction in Benton County in April 2009, said Sandra Briner, marketing manager at EnXco, a California-based company. It will operate the wind farm and will sell the electricity generated to Indianapolis Power & Light Co., for use by its customers. EnXco operates wind farms in at least seven other states. The company estimates that 200 jobs were created during the construction. The wind project also involves landowners and farmers, who will receive payment for the space allocated for wind turbines to be built on their property. “The turbines use up less than a quarter of an acre on the properties. We do build access roads to each turbine for our maintenance group,” said Briner. Between 400- to 500 construction jobs were necessary to build phase one of the Meadow Lake Wind Farm, north of Lafayette, said Stout of Bowen Engineering, contractor for phase one of the project by Texas-based Horizon Wind Energy.

Mass Transit Funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included allocations to develop clean energy jobs, as well as $8 billion nationwide to develop

www.IndianaLivingGreen.com

a high-speed rail line, said Bruce Childs, deputy commissioner for communications at the Indiana Department of Transportation. The high-speed rail line in the Midwest would link major cities such as Chicago, Detroit and Indianapolis with Chicago as the hub. The high-speed rail, part of the ninestate Midwest Regional Rail Initiative, is just in the planning stages, but it will have a significant positive impact on the environment because it will reduce road congestion, Childs said. At the time of publication, it appeared that Indiana saw the Chicago-to-Fort Wayne-to-Cleveland rail service as a higher priority than a Chicago to Indianapolis to Cincinnati route.

More Jobs Loom More clean energy jobs will likely be one of the results of the federal American Clean Energy and Security Act passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, but still under consideration in the Senate. In good economic times or bad, the transition to renewable energy will take place, but it’s the speed of the change that is in question, said Pinto of Applied Materials. “How fast do we want to make this change? It will happen over time, no matter what, I think, because the costs will come down, but we can accelerate it by a number of years.” The key is better incentives and examining the impact that traditional types of fuel have on our environment, he added. n

Jennifer Streisand, a freelance writer based in West Lafayette, Ind., has written more than 100 business articles and taught undergraduate courses in communications at Purdue University. A former broadcast journalist, she holds an Indiana teaching license in English and journalism.

If you are interested a green-related job, here are some links: • EcoEmploy, www.ecoemploy.com • GreenBiz.com, http:// jobs.greenbiz.com

January/February 2010

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the last row

B Y ma r ia s m i etana

Hooping While Hoping I’m an incurable optimist, so I’ve always believed that lack of complete evidence for the viability of a concept is no reason not to pursue it. My hubby, on the other hand, has never pursued anything not backed by a rock-solid body of data. So after a couple of years of running our small produce farm with a modest level of success, hubby was content to leave well enough alone. But I was determined to become a shameless season extender. Ordinary May-to-September cropping just wasn’t enough anymore. I wanted to be one of those farmers who sell sugar snap peas before Easter, and lettuce so late in the year that customers would serve it with their Thanksgiving leftovers. There was only one thing to do, I informed my hubby, and that was to buy a hoop house. He gave me the same look I got the year I announced we needed to quit our day jobs and start a produce farm. Undeterred, I spread out recent issues of the FarmTek catalog, and pointed out the merits of the various types of hoop structures. By the time I was done talking, I think I had him convinced that a moderately priced high-tunnel model was the way to move our farm into the future. But as one season passed into another that year, something else always swallowed up the money that was supposed to buy the hoop house. By late fall, we were ready for the build-it-yourself solution, our usual fallback position for farm projects. Our first attempt at season-extending construction was, to put it kindly, a spectacular failure. We thought a tentlike structure might be a cheap and reasonable alternative to a hoop house, so we joined several rolls of heavy plastic on the sewing machine, and stretched it over a makeshift wood-and-metal frame. To our credit, it took us about

two minutes to realize that the triangular geometry we had chosen was too steeply sloped to allow any real growing space, and would sag just enough to be nothing more than an efficient collector of winter precipitation. Feeling foolish, we folded up the plastic sheeting, tearing a big gash in the process, and left the odd-looking frame standing where it was. Just how odd-looking wasn’t fully obvious until a state trooper came down our lane in late winter, and sat staring at the structure before driving on without a word. Not sure whether he thought we were engaged in some sort of illegal activity, or merely channeling aliens, but I wasn’t about to ask. By early spring, enough weeks had passed to repair our pride, and a trip to the hardware store did much to restore our courage. One truckload of 2-by-6 planks and a few dozen lengths of vinyl conduit later, we had the beginnings of

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a workable, if not exactly elegant, hoop house frame. With the help of conscripted friends and family, we managed to anchor the huge plastic sheet, gash and all, onto the frame before the spring winds carried it into the next county. I planted a haphazard selection of herbs, some fool-proof lettuces, a row of spinach, a colorful mix of radishes and a little bok choy under the now tropically hot structure, and hoped for the best. No one was more surprised than I was when the vegetables actually sprouted, and then beat the eager spring weeds, to maturity. The hubby meanwhile, became a hoop house convert. Heard him mumbling something about growing palm trees instead of lettuce this year. n Maria Smietana is a refugee from the corporate world who now writes and grows organic produce on her mini-farm in Boone County.