PLENTY
100+ Holiday Gift Ideas | cycling laos | Sheryl Crow’s Unsung Talents
Eric Ripert’s Seven-Course Feast / LA’s River Battle
december/ january 2009
Heirloom Tomatoes
Organic,
Other
The World In Green
People’s
Line-Drying Laundry
Fair Trade, Local,
Junk
STUFF
Shade-Grown, Grass-fed, Cage-Free, Free-Range,
Rainforest Alliance–Certified, Salmon-Safe, Bird-Friendly...
Bamboo Underwear
Solar-Powered, High-Performance, Outdoor Adventure Gear Made From Recycled Materials
Carbon Calculators
Antibiotic, Hormone, Chlorine, PVC, BPA, and GMO-Free
Raising Chickens
Leo
ENVIRONMENTALISTS Getting Better Mileage Than You
Vegan Belts
Compost
Guilting Wind
Michael Pollan’s Books
Totes with a Slogan
Hand-Crank Appliances
Unplugging Everything
LIKE By Christian Lander
Documentaries with Alarming Stats
On July 7, 2007, Live Earth: The Concerts for a Climate in Crisis became the largest global entertainment event in history, reaching an estimated 2 billion people with simultaneous concerts worldwide.
December 7, 2008 Mumbai, India
Live Earth’s mission centers around leveraging the power of entertainment through integrated events, media and experiences to ignite global movements aimed at solving the most critical environmental issues. To learn how to actively participate in solutions, visit www.LiveEarth.org.
PLENTY The World In Green
In today’s culture of gas station sushi, it’s hard to overestimate the impact of responsibly minded chefs like Eric Ripert.
photograph by Marcus
Nilsson
—p. 64
contents>december/January 2009
64
Magnificent Seven
A chef’s genius in the kitchen combined with his dedication to sustainable seafood adds up to one sublime fish feast—from lighter-than-air scallops to hearty stuffed calamari. Recipes By Eric Ripert
72
The Banks Job
Twelve activists defy the Army Corps of Engineers and break the law to prove that the LA River can be navigated— all in the name of clean water conservation and helping to keep a $2 billion restoration plan alive.
78
Stuff Environmentalists Like
A beginners’ guide to accessing, befriending, and exploiting earth-conscious people— with helpful notes on dining, child care, transportation, personal hygiene, and more.
By Christian Lander
By Frederick Reimers
2 | december-january 2009
Nature’s Path® has always sought to minimize our impact upon the earth, while maximizing our ability to deliver the earth’s nutritional bounty to our customers.
CEREALS & SNACKS
www.naturespath.com
Founder Arran Stephens has always dreamed of creating delicious, organic foods.
Gwen Stephens, Pioneering Organic Farmer & Mother of Nature’s Path Founder Arran.
PLENTY The World In Green
by
Tktktktktk
On the road to Kasi, Laos (p. 38).
contents>December/january 2009
88 Last Word
Ann Packer turns into a bag lady—finally.
SPECTRUM
15
+ Top Venture Capitalists Predict 2009’s Brightest Cleantech Stars + Charting Wind Power’s Astonishing 21st-Century Growth + The Private–Jet Set Go Carbon-Neutral
32 Tech
+ Unleashing Asphalt’s Power + Developing the Steam Engine of Tomorrow
34 Activist in Residence
Bill McKibben sees the legacy of the Bush Administration in the state of our salmon population.
LIVING People
37
Remote-Controlled Seals + Holiday Excess by the Numbers + Toasting the Season with Fair Trade Wines + A Fond Farewell to Dubya + All Tomorrow’s Eco-Cities
Eco-Star Sheryl Crow on Steam Showers, Michelle Obama, and Baton Twirling
24 Life in the Green Zone
+ Laos’ Hidden Eco-Potential + Green City Guide: Montréal
Comedian Lizz Winstead road-trips through bucolic America—from the stunning Jersey Turnpike to Minnesota’s glorious Garage Mahal.
CURRENT Science
27
+ Why All Trees Aren’t Equal in the Fight for Climate Change + How Geology is Being Inspired by Google Earth + What the Ivory Trade is Doing to Africa’s Elephants (Again)
38 Travel 42 Food
+ Farm to Fork with Dan Barber + The Best Organic Soups
44 Home
+ Architect Craig Steely Renovates His Family’s Live Work Space + Eco-Mattresses That Keep the Sheep Away
48 Trash to Treasure Plenty’s DIY Christmas Tree
4 | december-january 2009
50 Style
+ Evening Wear That Lets You Shine at Night + Summer Rayne Oakes on Accessorizing Holiday Party Outfits + Perfumes with Natural Frisson + Take Two: Transforming Sweaters into Scarves
52 Green Media
New Books and Music for the Ecophile
GREEN GEAR® Annual Gift Guide
55
No dearth of green gift ideas this year— the mainstream is finally catching on, and sustainable options abound. Whether you’re shopping for the adventurous college student, gadget-obsessed dad, humanitarian mom, or greenophyte sibling, we’ve got you covered with more than 60 options.
PLENTY LABS Tester’s Choice
83
+ Wiping Our Way Through Nontoxic Glass Cleaners + Scrubbing in the Tub with Natural Bar Soaps + Behind the Wheel of the Mini Cooper Clubman S + Best of the Rest: Tanita’s Solar-Powered Scale
85 Green, Greener, Greenest
Three-Tiered Solutions for a Sustainable Christmas with Lori Bongiorno
(Ottoman, soup, scarf); matthew kadey (top)
Eco–Gift Wrapping, Dirty Laundry Redux, and Finding Cradle-to-Cradle Products
30 Business
anthony verde
6 8 Editor’s Letter 9 Land of Plenty 10 Contributors 11 Readers’ Letters 12 Ask Plenty
Photographs by
IN EVERY ISSUE Plenty Online
plentyonline
Just can’t get enough PLENTY?
Check out plentymag.com to satisfy your daily craving for the latest news, blogs, and exclusive online series reviewing the environmental highlights of 2008 and the people and companies to watch in 2009. web series
Highlights and Hopes The past year produced environmental highs and lows: polar bears reached endangered species status, Congress debated the first national climate change legislation, pharmaceuticals turned up in our drinking water, and financial blows shook FutureGen (right), the world’s first coal-fired, nearzero emissions power plant. Meanwhile, 2009 looms large as a year of change—with a new president in the White House, discoveries in renewable energy, and international plans to reduce global warming on the horizon. In December we’ll revisit 2008’s environmental highlights and bring you predictions for the future in an exclusive online series.
Plenty Poll results
What do you think about genetically modified food, fuel, and fibers? 43% I’m no government Guinea pig. 32% Why rush/manipulate evolution? 16% If it feeds hungry people, make more faster. 9% No worries whatsoever.
PLENTY
plentyeditor’s letter
The World In Green
Editor in Chief & Publisher Mark Spellun Creative Director Tracy Toscano Deputy Editor Anuj Desai Articles Editor Paul Tullis Senior Editor Mindy Pennybacker Associate Editors jessica Mischner, victoria schlesinger Assistant Editors Tobin Hack, Sarah Parsons Style Editor Starre Vartan Copy Editors Iya Perry, Dave Zuckerman Proofreader adam Stiles Fact Checkers Bryan Abrams, Christine Gordon Editorial Assistant Jessica a Knoblauch Intern rachel brown Contributors Dan barber, lisa selin davis, liz galst, bill mckibben, lizz winstead Art Associate Art Director Lindsay Kurz Associate Photo Editor Rachel Leibman Contributors josh cochran, camilla slattery, Al Rivera, felix sockwell, anthony verde Advertising & MArketing Associate Publisher Lisa Haines 415.887.9574 | lisa@plentymag.com Western Manager Nina Sventitsky 818.981.4958 | nina@plentymag.com Midwest Manager Cheryl Kogut |312.494.1919 | ckogut@newco.com Detroit Manager Joe McHugh 586.360.3980 | joewmchugh@hotmail.com Marketing & Creative Services Manager Morgen Wolf | 212.757.0048 morgen@plentymag.com Published by Environ Press, Inc. Chairman: Arnold Spellun 250 West 49th Street, Suite 403 New York, New York 10019 Phone: 212.757.3447 Fax: 212.757.3799
Subcriptions: 800.316.9006 Unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, and other materials must be accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Plenty will not be responsible for unsolicited submissions. Send letters to the editor to letters@plentymag.com or to Plenty, 250 West 49th Street, Suite 403, New York, NY 10019. Copyright ©2008 by Environ Press, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited. Views expressed herein are those of the author exclusively. Plenty (ISSN 1553-2321) is published bimonthly, six times a year. The annual subscription price is $12 per year. Plenty is a publication of Environ Press, Inc., 250 West 49th Street, Suite 403, New York, New York 10019. Periodical postage paid at New York, NY, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Plenty, P.O. Box 621, Mt. Morris, IL 61054-7568 or call 800.316.9006.
PLENTY is printed on body stock that’s free of elemental chlorine and contains 85 to 100 percent recycled content (20 to 30 percent postconsumer). Our cover stock uses 10 percent recycled content, is Forest Stewardship Council–certified, and is made using green power. Plenty offsets its carbon footprint with eMission Solutions, a division of Green Mountain Energy (green mountain.com). Please recycle.
T
Booms & Busts
he current financial crisis is affecting every sector of the economy, and we can already see the ripple effect spreading through the cleantech sector. With GM and Chrysler talking about a potential merger to keep themselves afloat, it was no surprise that Tesla Motors, a Silicon Valley– based electric-car company, announced in mid-October that it would have to lay off staff and delay the introduction of its family sedan from 2010 until 2011. Other startups will be following Tesla’s lead. Not only have banks stopped lending, but the market for venture capital will be incredibly difficult, at least until investors decide that the financial markets and the broader economy have stabilized. Emerging companies will be forced to cut costs to keep going rather than invest in their futures. Green investment funds have also taken a hit, falling faster than the overall market. With oil prices plummeting on fears of a global recession, it’s not hard to guess why cleantech stocks have lost value so much quicker, since they rely on high energy prices to stay competitive with fossil fuels. Gloomy as all of this is, there are some interesting signs of what a new Congress will do in 2009. As part of its $700 billion bailout package, Congress passed a $3,000 tax credit for the pur chase of plug-in hybrids and extended the 30 percent tax credit for new commercial solar power facilities to 2016. It also eliminated the $2,000 taxcredit limit for individuals who install solar panels for their homes—Americans
are now eligible for a more generous 30 percent federal tax deduction on top of existing state incentives. Less generous but certainly noteworthy incentives were also created for biofuels and wind. If we move into a recession or even a depression in 2009, undoubtedly Congress will put together a large stimulus package to help reinvigorate the broader economy. Ideally, this would be used as an opportunity to jump-start even greater efforts to transition away from the use of fossil fuels. Initiatives like carbon trading—which raises the cost of doing business—are probably destined to be put off until a later date, but nothing could help stimulate the global economy more than the creation of millions of jobs building and installing new solar and wind technologies. At a time when holding onto the jobs we have would be a great enough victory, creating millions of green-collar jobs would set a strong foundation for a lasting recovery. In crisis mode, Congress has already started to show that it understands the need to support cleantech. While lawmakers have effectively nationalized much of the banking sector, the same will not be necessary for the renewable energy industry. All that’s really needed for rejuvenation is a level playing field with the fossil fuel industry. In this one sense, let’s hope Congress continues to operate in crisis mode in 2009.
land of plenty Our readers across the country (and around the world) are making strides toward living a green life and creating a modern Land of Plenty. We’ve selected a few of their eco-accomplishments—both big and small— to share. Send us stories about how you’re trying to make a difference; we’ll publish as many as we can in an upcoming issue of the magazine. E-mail us at landofplenty@plentymag.com Ride Hitch Revival While driving one day in the ever increasing traffic of Fresno County, California, listening to people on the radio talk about how fuel prices were going up, I started thinking about what I could do that would both help traffic congestion and allow people to save money and reduce emissions. The idea I came up with was an Internet-based ride-sharing program. Knowing nothing about Web design, I contacted a Web designer named Steve Jones. We started kicking ideas back and forth about a site called hitcharidenow.com. We decided it would serve as a social network that would allow users to find or offer rides to people traveling in the same direction or participat ing in the same events. The site has now been up for over a month, and it has generated an overwhelming amount of interest. Some users are looking to save on fuel, some are looking to reduce emissions, and still others are looking for a quicker commute by traveling in the carpool lane with multiple riders. We’ve even gotten posts from people outside of California and from all over the world.
A Renaissance Among the Pews In the summer of 2006, the Gathering United Methodist Church renovated an old sanctuary building in Saint Louis that dates back to the 1900s and is located in a diverse and ec lectic area. Challenged with a small budget and narrow window of time, a group of congregation members used old pews taken from the sanctuary to create a 14-foot-tall wooden cross. The Members of a St Louis church made this cross from old pews. adaptive reuse of 100-year-old oak pews reduced raw material costs and construc tion waste. In addition, the remainder of the lumber was used for furniture that compliments the cross. The reusing of old pews is a wonderful symbol of moving into the future with a recognition and celebration of the tradition of the space and people who worshipped there before us. The differently shaped pieces that make up the cross also remind us that even though we are all very different people, we are one community. The project has also inspired others to think differently about all the “junk” they have lying around—one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
Roger Flud Clovis, California
Ryan and Sarah Fronick Rock Hill, Missouri plentymag.com | 9
plentycontributors
Amber Bravo A former senior editor at Dwell, Bravo imagines her ideal home to be some mixture of Scandinavian and Mediterranean influences. “It would be small, made of wood and concrete and glass, and full of plants,” she says. Until building that dream dwelling, Bravo, who is a longtime contributor to Plenty, is content writing about other people’s custom eco-homes, as in this issue’s look at ar chitect Craig Steely’s renovation of his own place (“Steely Den,” page 44). Bravo’s strangest cure for the common cold was offered to her at a restaurant in Jerusalem, where the chef handpicked herbal tea and instructed her to sip it through a licorice root. “I don’t know if it helped my cough,” she says, “but it certainly made me feel better.”
Christian Lander If there’s one thing Lander knows, it’s white people. For starters, he’s one of them. In addition, his new book, Stuff White People Like: A Definitive Guide to the Unique Taste of Millions, is a bestseller based on his wildly popular blog, Stuff White People Like. We decided to, um, challenge him to file a story called “Stuff Environmentalists Like” (page 78). Lander insists he’ll be decidedly white this holiday season, purchasing gifts such as art, homemade jams, and Whole Foods gift certificates for friends and family.
Anthony Verde A longtime contributor to Time, Entertainment Weekly, People, Life, and Plenty (Holiday Gift Guide,” page 55), Verde has produced thousands of still life images. He spends much of his time with his two sons on “photo safaris” in NYC, “walking around for a couple of hours just shooting whatever strikes our fancy,” he says. But traveling through the American Southwest last spring was one of his most enjoyable experiences as a photographer. Verde’s still life work can be found at verdephoto.com.
Frederick Reimers Traveling at the pace of water has always made sense to Reimers, who developed a love for paddling after spending long stretches of his youth at a Canadian canoe camp. “It’s a place where it’s easy to find peace,” he says. By the time he was 20, Reimers had been on four expeditions of more than 40 days in length, so a three-day journey down the Los Angeles River to uncover an emerging battle for the waterway’s future was hardly a tactical challenge (“The Banks Job,” page 72). But it was an unusual exercise in avoiding the authorities—the riverbed is off-limits to the public. A former editor of Canoe and Kayak, Reimers has also written for Outside, Men’s Journal, and Sports Illustrated.
plentyletters
For the Birds Your fine article on the importance of sustaining cork forests (“Put a Cork in It,” October/November 2008) neglected to mention one important element. There are a number of birds that use the cork forests as migration stopover sites or wintering areas. For a number of years, the British have supported a modest campaign (sponsored by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) favoring cork for wine bottles. The reason is very simple: Sustaining unique cork forests will protect special birds. For example, Spanish and Portuguese cork plantations often harbor black-winged kites, booted eagles, hoopoes, short-toed creepers, golden orioles, and hawfinches. It’s good to see this effort spread to our side of the pond. Paul Baicich Oxon Hill, MD
PLENTY
THE WHOLE EARTH CATALOG> HOW THE CULT BECAME THE CULTURE
Bill McKibben On Global Warming And The Next President
THE WORLD IN GREEN
OCTOBER/ NOVEMBER 2008
The Dynamic Individuals, Companies, And Ideas That Are Changing The World FEATURING ECO AMBASSADOR AL GORE
MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY TALKS SHEEP | ORGANIC COCKTAILS Cover NO BAR.indd 1
8/7/08 4:05:31 PM
The Beef with Beef
Not Enough Diversity
I found it interesting that you chose to feature Matthew McConaughey in the last issue (“Eco-Star,” October/November 2008). However, I think you missed an opportunity to ask him a question that has been bugging me (and probably some others) for quite a while now: How does he justify his work as a spokesperson for the “Beef: It’s What’s for Dinner” advertise ments in light of his belief in green living?
I was saddened but not surprised to see that even Plenty’s list of 20 environmental leaders (“The Plenty 20,” October/November 2008) included only 25 percent women, 10 percent nonwhite people, and no women of color. The environmental movement is continually vulnerable to the elitist profile it suffers from as a result of this kind of promotion, especially when there is so much diversity and mutual self-interest in the cleantech and environmental justice fields. In fact, many of the people on The Plenty 20 list can tell you where to find the leaders I am referring to. I look forward to seeing a Plenty 20 next year that reflects the genius and diversity of America.
Anita Williams Seattle, WA
More Animal Info Love your magazine! I’m a fairly new subscriber, and I really like the product reviews. One key element seems to be missing, though: animal-testing status. Plenty helps raise awareness of green issues and provides some good choices for people who want to make environmentally and socially responsible choices. However, when presenting decision-making information, I believe it’s important to include whether the products you’re highlighting are tested on animals. Julie Braford Phoenix, AZ
James Chase New York, NY
Green Wannabes Am I the only one who is puzzled or even miffed that the people being featured as “green” are all newbies—or what my husband would call “jump-on-the-bandwagon types”? I ask because everyone I know who has lived green, simply, and off the grid has been doing so since the late ’70s. But alas, I guess we are all unattractive when held up next to the well-off eco types who seem to be getting all the media attention. No one stops to talk to the folks in Jackson, California, who grow a massive garden, or the solar cabin owner near Sheep Ranch, California. The only folks I see getting media nods are the people who buy, buy, buy, as long as they’re buying green products. Their homes are still close to McMansions, they still aren’t off the grid, and they still jump on planes and take exotic holidays. Little is said about how they are not what green is or should be. Beth via email
Write us at letters@plentymag.com
plentymag.com | 11
askplenty by
Tobin Hack
I’d like to green my gift-wrapping routine this year. Nothing junky, though— ideally, the finished products will still be distinguishable from the contents of my trash can. Any thoughts? —Grayden, TX No need to trash talk, Grayden. With eco–paper companies like Paporganics, Paper Mojo, and Savitris hitting the scene, rubbish is the last thing your green-wrapped gifts will look like. Lots of the recycledpaper, hemp, and cotton options hitting the market are tasteful enough to see you though a holiday party at the Ritz. But for more informal situations, never underestimate the fun to be had and money to be saved with a DIY approach. Wrap that John Adams biography for your über-Republican roommate in a Bush-as-Satan cartoon from The Nation, or that
Will I use more water doing my laundry by hand or throwing it in a washing machine? —Janet, MN
F
irst of all, let this serve as evidence that environmentalists do, in fact, wash their clothes. Sometimes. Laundry is like data crunching—you can do it yourself, but it will be painful, and a modern machine can do it more quickly, more efficiently, and just plain better. Today’s average front-loading Energy Star washing machine uses about 18 to 25 gallons of water per load (compared to the 40 gallons an older, conventional machine uses). That may still sound like a lot of water, but you try getting eleven T-shirts, three pairs of jeans, and two fluffy towels spanking clean with just 18 gallons of water and a bathtub. Not as easy as you thought. As with dishwashers, you’ll get the most bang for your buck if you cram the machine full to capacity, and forgo bells and whistles like “extra rinse.” Still tempted to try your hand at board washing? Invest in a Wonder Washer (amazon.com), which uses human power (that’s you), a touch of warm water, an airtight drum, and a lot of pressure to clean a few shirts at a time. Whatever route you go, promise us that before you knock natural detergents, you’ll try one out at least once. They work, they work, they work. Scout’s honor.
rifle for your hunting-obsessed uncle in an essay from Vegetarian Times. For a retro look, use cut up brown paper grocery bags (unprinted side facing out), and tie the package up with yarn. Once your family’s gift blitz is over, rummage through the refuse to collect cloth ribbons, sturdy boxes, and gift bags for reuse. Final tip: If you do ever wind up buying conventional wrapping paper, steer clear of heavy metal embossing (this goes for cards, too). It’s not recyclable and can ruin an innocent batch of pulp at the recycling plant.
I liked the Cradle to Cradle product spread in your October/November issue, but when I’m at the store, how do I know if something is really C2C? —Sara, NJ Well, you know it’s C2C if the television commercial for the product has impossibly beautiful people running around barefoot in the grass. Wait, hang on, that’s not it. You know it’s C2C if Adrian Grenier sponsors it. Oops, that’s not it either. Right: You’ll know an item is C2C if it’s certified by a third party! Third-party certification is our favorite here at Plenty. Not because it has anything to do with parties in the Diddy-sipping-Cristal sense of the word (it doesn’t), but because it’s all about consumer-industry transparency. Third-party certification labels are your best bet when it comes
to making purchases that jibe with your personal values. In the US, McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC) is the only company offering C2C certification. MBDC focuses on three Es—ecology, equity, and economy—and works with companies like Seventh Generation, Herman Miller, and G Diapers to promote closed-loop production and design. (For newbies: Closed-loop production is about as close to zero waste as you can get.) Look for MBDC’s C2C certification logo (interlocking green and blue Cs) as you navigate the aisles, and visit mbdc. com/c2c to browse their list of certification criteria.
Pressing eco-inquiries, conundrums, snafus? Write to askplenty@plentymag.com 14 | december-january june-july 2008 12 2009
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one shot
plentyspectrum
Photo by Dan Costa
Sealed with a sensor
Before you dial the nearest PETA chapter, fear not: This elephant seal is safe and sound, despite its strange headgear. The mammals are helping scientists conduct an innovative research project. Using adhesives to affix a sensor on a seal’s noggin—the device eventually falls off when the animal molts its fur—research ers can track them as they swim beneath Antarctic sea ice, an area that usually can’t be monitored by ships or satellites. “The main reason to do this work is to understand seal behavior and population dynamics,” says Steve Rintoul, a biologist at Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization. “As a bonus, we learn valuable information about the ocean currents and sea ice.” The data also helps researchers discover more about climate change, one of the greatest threats to seal habitat.
plentymag.com | 15
> by the numbers
spectrum
Holly Jolly Consumerism The holidays bring cookies, cards, carols, and another big C: consumerism. Here’s a breakdown of the seasonal excess that goes way beyond partridges and pear trees.—Jessica A Knoblauch
as n tm r i s e r ic a h r of C A m e a e r r age ac h y b m e e Nu e av n d s t h d se s l d ca r u s e ho Number of singers in the ho world’s largest caroling group when it sang at its peak membership in Canada in 2003
2 69
e ac
26
h y e Nu m b e ar i n t h r of w r e W e at h it e h s h Hou u ng se
1,175
of ber Nu m id a y l w ho n ne 5 o t n sp e i n 2 0 0 a rs s d o l l r a t io n o de c
llion i b 8 15 .
1
Av of p o e r a g e nu m du r i n u n d s e a c b e r h Am g t he er h ol id a y s e ic a n g a i n a s on s
th
5m
e
tr
ee
300,000 Number of trees harvested to make holiday cards each year
118 m Nu i l l ga mb ion S a t he e r o
of
io n
r f c o lv a t e d i n d ol l a rs i n l l e c t io n A 2 0 io n r m of 07 P ke y ttl do y e a r e rce es b e n a t io l y c h n t a g a n t w e e n s m a r it e ge dN n ab e nt a Pe r c a l e w T h a a d e le n n Y o s k a ea r ’s sgiv of s e l s a le s D a i ng flora set tias y p o i n u nt f o r o c c a
50
S
25 Percentage by which the
volume of US household waste increases between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day
an ec e ca k a s t h t i f r u it h n a t a id e d i n a h t s pr o v or e d t ea r f y ib l e , i s s o d r d n e e sa mb i n N u r e m a a t iv e r v d a n e s e r a i ne ag e ht pr c o nt r ig t ig h t a ir Christmas trees cut in the US in 2002
25
16 | december-january 2009
4 million Number of tons
of gift wrap and shopping bag waste the US produces every year
20.8 million
and
tU
brian rea
83
Kim bost
2b ill
illustration by
(a Douglas fir at Northgate Shopping Center in Seattle, WA, in 1950)
Height of the tallest Christmas tree in history
221 feet
N de u m pa b e rt r o m fd en o t s lla to r s re m s i ad n e De in ce re m ta be il r 2 sa l 0 0 es 7 a
s
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power this year’s tree in Rockefeller Center
2.
y sea a ll ba e holida dur ing th
N
363 Number of solar panels that will
34
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ile
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spectrum
7.1’
He Said/She Said
“A few years ago it got to the point where if I said anything I truly believed about the Iraq war or global warming during a concert, people would get up and leave. That’s fine with me. Actually, it’s a badge of honor.”
5.1’
Joan Baez
325 pounds
> transportation
Street Smarts S
martCars, the pint-sized autos that get upwards of 40 miles to the gallon, are a clear choice for greenies and frugal consumers looking to save at the pump. Lately, though, the petite ride has garnered support from the most unlikely celebs. Check out the motley crew we spotted in the Smart. —Sarah Parsons reportedly purchased a Smart ForTwo convertible, proving that even 7’1”, 325-pound behemoths can cram into the dainty ride. Despite photographs of the NBA star sitting in the driver’s seat, we’re dubious as to whether he really fits when the car’s top is up.
Shaquille
O’Neal
Redman broke a time-honored rap tradition in
/eco•speak/
his recent video for the song “Run My Block,” ditching a sexy, sizeable car like the Cadillac
Author James Howard Kuntsler to Stephen Colbert
Escalade for a Smart. In the process, the rapper successfully reduced his carbon output below his cussing quotient. Miley Cyrus, aka Hannah Montana and daughter of country crooner Billy Ray Cyrus, snagged a Smart in March 2008. The singer even had the car detailed to read “Miley—Girls Night Out” on the door. There was just one problem: The pop princess was only 15, one year short of the legal driving age.
The eco-friendly Smart also cruised onto the silver screen, appearing in flicks such as The Da Vinci Code, Pink Panther, Legally Blonde 2, and even the super-macho Bourne Ultimatum. Turns out high-speed chases are just as thrilling with tiny cars.
eco-opportunist [e·koh] [op·er·toon·ist]
“I rescue dogs, so I would probably rescue kids. I feel like, with global warming and all, why produce more? Foster parent. Adoption.” Pink
“That bothered me ’cause it’s my home. It’s where my kids roll around in the grass and swim in their pools and throw their footballs and kick their soccer balls.” Lance Armstrong, in response to accusations that his mansion’s lawn is the largest consumer of water in Austin. The cyclist took more issue with the media showing his home than the accusation itself.
THE BIG PICTURE by Bob Eckstein
n. A person who advocates for the environment not because of actual concern for the planet, but because it benefits him or her in some way.
photos by www.smartcar.com (top left); Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images (top center)
1,852 pounds
“You’re probably one of these people who thinks that the world has a creamy nougat center of oil, but it doesn’t.”
Sample usage: “Hey Emma, who’s that guy in the parking lot with his shirt off, leaning against a Prius?” “Oh, that’s creepy Stew. He uses that car as a chick magnet. He’s such an eco-opportunist.”
18 | december-january 2009
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spectrum > trend
Emerald Cities
Size 1.62 km² housing 13,500 people
6,000 people
Size 6 km² housing
Expected completion
50,000 people
Expected completion
Expected Completion
Between 2020 and 2022 Energy Solar, wind, wave power
Within the next 15 to 20 years Energy Wind, solar, surplus power from wastewater facilities
2016, first phase completed in 2009 Energy Solar, wind, waste-to-power plants
EcoBay, Estonia
Transportation
Transportation
Transportation
Electric shuttles, clean ferries, free bikeand car-share programs
City design minimizes need for motorized transport; tramline under discussion
Green goals
Green goals
Car-free; electric public transport, including light rails and six-passenger rapid-transit vehicles
220 acres of open space for sequestering carbon; organic farm in center of the island; eliminate all solid waste by 2020; decrease carbon emissions by 60% per person annually
Reduce home energy use by as much as 70%; city’s design enhances present biodiversity
20 | december-january 2009
Green goals
Zero carbon emissions; recycle all waste and most water; organic farming
Size 2.3 km² base
(city is inside a pyramid) housing up to 1 million people Expected completion
No firm date Energy Steam, wind,
solar Transportation
Car-free; transport pro vided by an integrated, 360° network (kind of like horizontal and vertical elevators) Green goals
Pyramid houses build ings, schools, homes, hospitals, lakes, and parks but takes up less than 10% of original land area, so surrounding area can be used for agriculture and forests; reduce carbon emissions by 90%
Dongtan, China Size 86 km² housing 500,000 people expected completion
Last phase finished in 2050 Energy Solar, wind, biomass, waste-topower plants Transportation No carbon-emitting vehicles allowed; public transit such as solar-powered water taxis or hydrogen fuel-cell buses being discussed Green goals 60% of open land for farms, parks, and wildlife habitat; “plant factories” for growing organic crops; recycle 90% of all waste
simpson
Size 4.6 km² housing
Masdar City, United Arab Emirates
Treasure Island, United States
Ziggurat, United Arab emirates
illustration by jameson
Some cities claim to be green—think Chicago, San Francisco, and Portland— but they have nothing on the eco ’hoods currently under development. Future communities worldwide aim to operate less like metropolises and more like ecosystems, implementing closed-loop systems for energy, recycling, and food production. These cities are still in the planning stages, but keep an eye out to see if their lofty goals come to fruition in the coming years. —Sarah Parsons
He was a hardworking farm boy. She was an Italian supermodel. He knew he would have just one chance to impress her.
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Bye-Bye, Bushie The environmental policies of the Bush Administration were a mixture of the awesome, like creating the world’s largest marine sanctuary, and the awesomely bad, like refusing to endorse the Kyoto Protocol. We looked back on the most memorable eco-decisions of Dubya’s presidency—eight years never felt so long. —Rachel Brown March 28, 2001 The White House says the US will not endorse the Kyoto Pro tocol, a 1997 agreement among industrialized nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
August 8, 2005 The National Marine Fisheries Service designates Alaska’s Aleutian Islands as a protected area.
could be harmed by the construction.
May 3, 2002 The EPA issues a new rule: Companies that remove mountaintops in search of coal can dump the rubble into rivers, lakes, and wetlands.
June 15, 2006 The administration establishes Papahnaumokukea marine national monument, the world’s
raises fuel economy standards by 40 percent,
December 12, 2002 The administration allows the For est Service to largely forgo environmental impact STATEMENTS before logging
national forests.
October 27, 2004 James Hansen, a top climate scien tist at NASA, accuses the administration of suppress ing scientific evidence
of global warming.
May 5, 2005 The administra tion repeals President Clinton’s Roadless Area Conservation Rule, a policy that protected 58.5 million acres from logging and road building.
largest protected marine area. February 7, 2007 President Bush pledges $1 billion in taxpayer’s money over ten years to enhance national parks and challenges the private sector to raise an additional $1 billion, which the
government would match dollar for dollar. October 23, 2007 The Department of Homeland Security waives a federal court ruling and continues
construction of a US-Mexico border fence.
The Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that 75% of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge
December 19, 2007 President Bush
requiring cars to get 35 miles per gallon by 2020. Hours later, the EPA rejects California’s decision to set stricter state emissions standards than those re quired by federal law. August 12, 2008 The administration overhauls the Endangered Species Act, allowing federal agencies to bypass independent environmental impact reviews before constructing dams, highways, and other projects. September 2, 2008 The EPA cites the Clean Water Act in prohibiting construc tion of the Yazoo Pumps Project, preserving about 67,000 acres of Mississippi wetlands.
nature reinvented It turns out, mother does know best—Mother Nature, that is. Scientists are using flora to solve one of world’s most pressing problems: discovering and removing land mines. Danish research company Aresa has developed the BioSenser, a genetically modified tobacco plant that changes from green to red when it contacts nitrogen dioxide leached from underground explosives. The UN estimates that more than 110 million active land mines are scattered in 68 countries, many of them leaking harmful chemicals as they decay. Researchers drop seeds from a plane, wait ten weeks while plants grow, and look for leaves that have changed color. The practice is a welcome alternative to past detection methods, which often involved digging up large plots of land or accidentally stepping on a mine. —Jessica A Knoblauch
> For more worldwide nature-inspired projects, check out plentymag.com. 22 | december-january 2009
photo courtesy of Stellar Organics (left)
spectrum Glass Act Instead of bringing the same old boring bottle of liquor to a party, try some liba tions with a twist: Fair Trade–Certified wines. Vinos from Stellar Organ ics, Target’s Wandering Grape,and Neu Direc tion from Sam’s Club now carry a label from TransFair USA, joining other certified products like coffee, flowers, and chocolate. The Fair Trade seal guarantees that workers behind the wines receive decent wages for goods they produce, as well as “a premium they can invest in community projects such as hous ing, schools, health-care facilities, and community programs,” says Anthony Marek, a spokesperson for TransFair USA. The or ganization also requires wine operations to be environmentally sustainable, offsetting any greenhouse gas guilt you may feel from drinking South African wine in South Dakota. —RB
> politics
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by
Lizz Winstead
Life in the Green Zone
24 | december-january 2009
Lizz Winstead is the cocreator of The Daily Show and former cohost of Air America’s Unfiltered. She currently stars in Shoot the Messenger, a satirical review of the media world running in New York City (shootthemessengernyc.com).
beth perkins (top);
billow from a Gary factory and bounce off the sun to create their own spectacular aroma borealis. Made up of the towers of corporate bounty like Sears, Blue Cross, and Chase, Chicago’s skyline is impressive, but it’s the home stretch of the journey up through Wisconsin that brings you back to the wonderment of America. I mean, where else but in Wisconsin do they offer “Taxidermy and Cheese”? Stuffed animals and cheddar—two great tastes that belong together. Cross the mighty Mississippi and it’s time to pull into Bloomington, Minnesota, where people travel from around the world to pay homage to stuff at its ultimate monument: The Mall of America—or as I like to call it, Garage Mahal. But just another ten minutes north of the mall is the spot I always head to first when I go home: my brother’s restaurant, Ike’s Food and Cocktails, where I sit down for a Bloody Mary and a burger. He owns the place with a pal of his, and it’s right off the downtown exit of I-35. I always forget how close it is to the interstate. Sipping on my second Bloody Mary, I have an epiphany: “There is probably some cool place to stop ten minutes from almost any exit.” Now, if you’re like me, more often than not, you focus so much on getting to and from places that you don’t explore along the way. Behind the interstate’s rest stop and roadside buffet, there’s always a mom-and-pop diner, local produce, or a place with an approach that’s sensitive to its surroundings. If the point of my trip is taking my dogs to a grassy wonderland, why am I stopping at every concrete crap-hole I pass? Maybe it was the liquor talking, but that day I promised myself and my four-legged friends that on our next road trip, we’d stop and smell the roses. Some of us may even pee on them. ✤
lizz winstead
recently rented a minivan and drove from New York City to my hometown in Minnesota. It was time to get my two dogs out of the concrete jungle to visit their country cousins and to give them a taste of the great Midwestern lawn. Well, lemme tell ya, if you want to have a look at how America honors the natural environment, drive across this beautiful portion of our country and experience it first-hand. It’s a twenty-hour drive across seven states, but you’re gonna want to give yourself some extra time to take in the majesty. Don’t forget your camera! You begin your journey with some leisurely cruising through the bucolic Superfund sites that make up the landscape around the New Jersey Turnpike and Interstate 80. For lunch, try the meat-like sandwiches at those quaint luncheonettes named after everybody’s favorite cowboy, Roy Rogers. Keep an eye out for them—they’re built to blend in with the natural beauty of the sixteen-pump truck stops, so you might miss them at first glance. Continuing into Pennsylvania, you see beautiful hills and valleys that make a perfect backdrop for soaring coal industry billboards that tell us how to best use our natural resources. These 50-foot-tall messages read something like, “Clean Coal: Redefining Clean.” Every road trip needs its pick-me-up snacks, and the Keystone State’s rest stops offer a mélange of green options. I suggest dill pickle in a plastic bag. Wash it back with its own natural juices. If it’s coffee you’re hankering for, variety is everywhere. Options range from coffee to decaf coffee, with your choice of hazelnut- or macadamia-flavored powders. Whether it’s 8 ounces, 16 ounces, or a silo that you need, rest stops have it covered—in convenient Styrofoam cups. As you head west into Ohio, the Amish provide a fun look into a lifestyle free of SUVs. How quaint—America is so diverse! But you gotta ask, how do they shop at Costco with just a buggy? And then—lo and behold—the towering smokestacks of Gary, Indiana. When backed by a Midwestern sunset, they make your heart skip a beat. If you’ve seen the Northern Lights, you’ll understand how special it is when the mossy green by-products gently
photographs by
I
(bottom)
Lizz Winstead’s postcards from roadside America reveal an utterly unique (cough, cough) majesty
Slinky ® is a registered trademark of Poof-Slinky, Inc. Poof-Slinky does not endorse this product and is not associated or affiliated with the book’s publisher or author.
Can your shortwave radio walk down stairs? (Alone or in pairs?) Of course it can, if it’s a Slinky®. All the amazing details are on page 105. Invented in 1943 by a Navy engineer, Slinky quickly became a toy store sensation. It was put to even better use during the Vietnam War, where American soldiers used Slinkys to construct primitive shortwave radios. Dazzle your friends with fascinating facts on the games, events, and pop culture trends that make life interesting and fun! Packed with 365 daily readings, The Intellectual Devotional: Modern Culture quenches your intellectual thirst while shedding light on the modern experience.
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plentycurrent
science
Forest Stump
Want to prevent climate change by saving forests? All trees aren’t created equal
H
ere’s a show stopper: The second greatest factor driving climate change is deforestation. So says the highest authority in the land when it comes to global warming, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)—which calculates that the simple act of felling trees accounts for 17 percent of the world’s annual greenhouse gas emissions, second only to the burning of fossil fuels. While we fervently discuss carbon dioxide–free forms of energy and fuel, scientists and policy makers increasingly espouse that ending deforestation is a vital short-term solution to rising emissions. But the devil is in the myriad details of this seemingly obvious idea. Determining the best forests to save is tricky, and incentivizing their preservation around the globe is even trickier. This latter issue will top the agenda of world leaders attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznan, Poland, this December. The conference kicks off the final year of negotiations for a post-Kyoto agreement, which will determine an international plan for addressing climate change. But the rush to embrace trees as a solution bumps up
against a dearth of scientific data on which types of forest are best to save. Because, as it turns out, not all trees contribute the same way in the fight against global warming. Gordon Bonan, a senior scientist with the National Center forAtmospheric Research, has thought long and hard about climate and forests. It’s not just that trees, which cover about a third of the earth’s surface, absorb CO2 as part of photosynthesis and thereby Each forest type affects the climate differently depending on its carbondioxide absorption, sun absorption, and evaporative cooling.
Moderate sun absorption
prevent the greenhouse-heat-trapping gas from ascending into the atmosphere. The planet’s approximately 42 million square kilometers of forest also affect global tempera ture through their moisture levels (a process known as evapotranspiration); their ability to reflect heat (called albedo); and their role in fires. “Those [processes] have important influences on climate, too,” Bonan says. “There are so many different climate services of forests, and carbon is just one of them.” A forest’s cooling strength and capacity to store carbon varies with forest type (see illustration below). For example, tropical ecosystems both sequester a lot of carbon and have a very strong evapotranspiration effect. Boreal forest trees, while they do store carbon, also overshadow snow on the ground, preventing it from reflecting sunlight. Ideally, considerations of how carbon storage, evapotranspiration, and albedo enhance or detract from a forest’s effect on global warming would inform our post-Kyoto policy. “The problem is we don’t yet have a climate model that integrates these three influences so that scientists can assess how they interact with each other,” Bonan says. The implication of “holes” in today’s climate models is significant. While participants of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) work to build a post-Kyoto agreement during 2009, they are limited by the best estimates of current climate models. As a result, the UNFCCC is focused on curbing deforestation in developing countries, many of which are in tropical zones, by paying them to leave trees standing. But the question remains whether emissions will be reduced. >
Strong evaporative cooling
Moderate evaporative cooling
Weak evaporative cooling
Strong CO absorption
Strong CO absorption
Moderate CO absorption
2
Tropical Forest
Strong sun absorption
Moderate sun absorption
2
2
Temperate Forest
Boreal Forest plentymag.com | 27
science
current
FINDINGS
1
Ensuring that developing nations have the resources to assess which tropical forests to preserve, as well as the means to protect them is a herculean task. The UN launched pilot projects last September in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and elsewhere, to test new monitoring systems. There is also concern that only forests with high carbon content will remain standing, while by necessity, others will be felled, regardless of their biodiversity or importance to communities. “Even if something concrete does happen in [terms of climate] policy, it’s not a panacea,” warns Valerie Kapos, a forest ecologist with the United Nations Environmental Program. “The currency is carbon,” she says about negotiations between leaders and the UN. “Everything else is gravy.” While plans to preserve tropical forests are challenging enough, the question lingers: Do other types of forests have an even greater impact on climate? The data is contradictory over whether expanding our temperate forests in the US or sustaining crop land will increase evapotranspiration (and its cooling effects). According to Bonan, “The system we understand least is in our own backyard.” —Victoria Schlesinger Cretaceous > The Age of Dinosaurs came to a close and the world continent Pangaea continued to break apart. This is also where the United Kingdom’s largest aquifer—known as The Chalk—sits. Triassic > Transition was afoot on Pangaea as the first true mammals and earliest dinosaurs evolved into being. Permian > The largest mass extinction recorded in the history of life on Earth occurred during this period, ultimately clearing the way for the Age of Dinosaurs. Carboniferous > Vast forest swamps turned into the major coal reserves that supply much of the world’s energy today.
(144 to 65 mya)
Last year, CO2 concentrations exceeded experts’ worst-case scenarios. The greenhouse gas rose 37 percent above its concentration at the start of the Industrial Revolution in 1750, the Global Carbon Project says. Present concentrations are the highest they’ve been in the last 650,000 years and probably during the last 20 million years.
>Species Watch
African elephants (Loxodonta africana and L cyclotis) African elephants, among the largest mammals on Earth, are in big trouble. Poachers are killing up to 8 percent of the population annually to feed the demand for illegal ivory, according to Samuel Wasser, director of the Center for Conservation Biology at the Univer sity of Washington. Outrage over elephant poaching in Africa led to an international ivory trade ban in 1989. The ban succeeded initially, and poaching was nearly eradicated. But then protection and enforcement relaxed. Increased worldwide demand for ivory since 2004 has resulted in a drop in elephant population from about 600,000 pre-ban to less than 470,000 today—and that number could plummet to 150,000 within fifteen years. Authorities believe crime syndicates are driving the trade. —John R Platt
Britain’s coastline
(248 to 206 mya) (290 to 248 mya)
(354 to 290 mya)
Granite batholiths (think Half Dome in Yosemite National Park) form from cooled molten magma and solidify within the Earth’s crust, which is 18 to 22 miles thick.
Approximately 1 million boreholes—shafts drilled into the ground—in Britain inform 3D geological maps. The colored disks at the ends of the boreholes represent geologic changes.
2
Wind turbines pose little threat to seed-eating birds, corvids (the crow family), gamebirds, and Eurasian skylarks inhabiting farmlands in Europe, according to a study by Newcastle University. However, the distribution of common pheasants was impacted.
3
Single-celled microbes are feasting on a buffet of compounds that compose crude oil off the shore of Santa Barbara, California. Munching thousands of feet below the surface, microbes apparently prefer the light components of oil rather than tar. One by-product appears to be natural gas.
4
Roving grasshoppers and crickets are the latest means for tracking climate change in Britain. Especially sensitive to temperature, these insects are expanding their range as the region warms. With a new public monitoring system, citizens can record their sightings of all 27 cricket and grasshopper species.
5
Chemicals found in cosmetics are also turning up in the bloodstream of adolescent girls who use the beauty products. Vulnerable during development, the teens are absorbing chemicals that have been linked to cancer and hormone disruption, the Environmental Working Group says.
Geology’s Google Earth Fault planes are the area where rocks move against each other.
OneGeology Portal, the first interactive site to bring together all of the world’s currently available geological map data, is making geology more digestible both for experts and the public. “We’re unlocking information that already exists but is difficult to get out,” says project coordinator Ian Jackson. Launched in August 2008, with participation from 94 countries, 30 of whom have supplied data to the portal, OneGeology assembles pieces of the global geologic jigsaw puzzle down to the scale of 1:1 million (one foot on the map equals one million feet on the ground). At that scale, it would take about 480 square feet of map to represent the entire US. The portal works a lot like Google Earth, except that the view is the ground beneath your feet. Different types and layers of rock, sediment, and soil— anywhere from Afghanistan to countries in Africa—give a glimpse into deep geologic time, from the dinosaurs to the formation of coal reserves. —Jessica A Knoblauch
graphic This 3D view of Britain’s subsurface geologic structure, as it appears looking west from the Netherlands, displays the quality of technology OneGeology hopes to have in place within ten years. Each layer represents the transition from one geologic period to the next.
28 | december-january 2009
Save Power. Save Space. Save Money. Save the Planet. See how Sun’s new Eco Innovation Initiative can help you cut your energy costs by 60%, increase your server efficiency by as much as 85% and consolidate your data centers by up to 75%, all with a simple 3-step approach: assess, optimize and virtualize. With open source Solaris™, virtualization is free, making it easier for you to get maximum utilization of your resources. See how faster can be cooler, better can be cleaner and cheaper can be greener. SM
Good for your business. Good for our planet.
Who needs expensive, proprietary virtualization software when, hey, you can get it free with open source Solaris. © 2008 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved. All logos and trademarks are property of their respective owners.
business
current
Capital Gains The VC market’s big players predict the next bursts of cleantech growth in today’s volatile market
T
hough financial markets around the globe crashed in 2008, Sili con Valley’s venture capitalists continue to believe in the power of clean technology. Why? Here’s one theory: VCs are inherently optimistic creatures, accustomed to taking big risks for the chance at much bigger returns, so what’s a little economic turmoil? As the world increasingly wres tles with climate change and looks to a post-oil future, some of those bets are sure to pay off. We asked five top venture capitalists to each name two companies poised to make the leap in the next twelve months or so from de velopment phase to gaining mainstream traction—one firm from their own portfolio, and one they’re not invested in. —Dan Fost
Matt Trevithick venrock partner
His portfolio’s pick
sapphire energy This green crude provider “produces high-octane gaso line using sunlight, carbon dioxide, and algae,” Trevithick says. “Not ethanol, not biodiesel—but renewable gasoline.” Even better? “It works with the existing refining, distribution, and vehicle-fleet infrastructure, and can be produced at massive scale on nonarable land.” His other pick
J Stephan Dolezalek
Rosemary L Ripley
vantagepoint venture partners
ngen partners
managing director
managing director
His portfolio’s pick
Her portfolio’s pick
better place Imagine a world in which
powerspan In the fight against green
your car runs on “a cell phone–like monthly usage program.” Better Place is working toward it, building infra structure that will allow electric cars to charge and swap batteries. Israel and Denmark have signed up already. “When these countries’ utilities connect the cars to a solar- and wind-supported grid, you get a preview of the 21stcentury power network,” Dolezalek says.
house gases, Ripley says, Powerspan has a “leading technology for capturing carbon dioxide from the waste stream of a coal-fired power plant.” (Worldwide, coal plants account for about 20 percent of all emissions.) With contracts in place and projects underway, Ripley adds, Powerspan is ready to roll.
His other pick
mendel biotechnology “They’ve stood out as a pioneer in the development of new seed and feedstock products,” Dolezalek says. Now Mendel will pro duce plants with high-energy biomass inputs to help biofuel production reach carbon neutrality. “Look for them to be a real player in the emerging bioenergy market,” he says.
esolar “Utility-scale, concentratingsolar power plants are projected to start coming online in 2009,” he says. This would allow utilities to store larger quantities of solar energy for hours and then send it to the grid at times of peak demand. ESolar uses mirrors to concen trate sunlight and produce steam, and it nailed a big contract with Southern California Edison to start construction on a power plant in 2009.
Her other pick
silver spring networks The makers of wireless devices that monitor energy efficiency across the grid already have “a couple of large orders” from utility companies Florida Power & Light and Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E). Other VCs like it, too—this past fall, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers led a $75 million invest ment. “It’s hard to say it’s next year’s big idea,” Ripley says, “but certainly in the next four or five years.”
30 | december-january 2009
Raj Atluru draper fisher jurvetson managing director
His portfolio’s pick
brightsource energy For solar energy to replace coal, Atluru says, “the real key is: How do you get to utility scale?” Bright Source, he believes, has “a terrific system”
for generating utility-scale power by con centrating solar heat the way a camper uses a magnifying glass to start a fire. Look for its plant in the California desert to pro vide hundreds of megawatts to utility giant PG&E by 2011. His other pick
tesla motors Higher gas prices are spur
Steve Vassallo foundation capital principal
His portfolio’s pick
sunrun This energy provider is looking to “make solar available and affordable for average people, not just for rich people,” Vassallo explains. SunRun, which already launched in California, removes the onus of owning panels from its customers, in stead providing a system and selling the power generated. This pay-as-you-go plan could prove as crucial as auto financing and leasing have for car sales. “Consumers want clean, affordable power, but they do not want to own more junk,” the veteran VC says. His other pick
fisker automotive “Plug-in hybrid or dual-fuel cars have the potential to be shipping in late 2009,” Vassallo says. He worked with Henrik Fisker at BMW and says, “most car companies screw it up, but BMW gets it right every time. Henrik can get it right. The Fisker Karma will be the blowaway car.”
Instead of offering voluntary carbon offsets, Ecostreamjet purchases them with its gross profits.
Jet set Neutral
Now on the market: private air travel with a conscience
E
ven if you don’t fly to work on a private jet, those flights affect you. A short flight from Teterboro, New Jersey, to Midway Airport in Chicago, burns enough fuel to emit nine tons of carbon into the air. Enter Ecostreamjet, the first jet carrier–brokerage firm to offset 100 percent of the carbon emitted on all its clients’ flights. Commercial airlines and mainstream brokerages like Expedia give customers the option to pay more for carbon offsets. But Ecostreamjet, which purchases its offsets from renewable provider Native Energy, does so
Winded These days everyone, from politicians to actor Ed Begley Jr to oil baron T Boone Pickens, is eager to tell you about the wonders of wind. A look at the output numbers (right) reveals why: After inconsistent growth in the early 2000s, wind power is now poised for yearly growth beyond the next decade. Accord ing to a recent study by Emerging Energy Re search, the US will pro duce more than a quar ter of the world’s wind power by 2020. Prepare for lift-off. —HKC
with its gross profits, at no additional cost to the customer. Founder Ric Shiarella— a professional jet pilot, life long animal rights activist, and Sierra Club member— hopes to eventually see fundamental changes in the industry. “In our society, air travel is well-ingrained,” he says. The company’s goal is to reduce the pollution air traffic generates and “join with people in significant ways to research those alternative ways of propelling airplanes.” Someday, he might put himself out of a job. —Helen Kaiao Chang
American Wind Output
Source: Emerging Energy Research
ring demand for electric cars, Atluru says, and “Tesla is capturing the imagination of end-consumers and pushing automak ers forward quickly.” Recent management restructuring aside, the company’s pricey Roadster model looks good, but even more critical to capturing consumers should be their Model S, a five-passenger sedan slated for release in 2011.
plentymag.com | 31
tech
current
Radiating Roads Capturing the heat in hot asphalt for power
S
“We view it as almost an entirely new source of energy,” says Hulen, who has patented an idea that he calls Roadway Energy Systems. The technology could have several lucrative applications. The most straightfor ward is simply to heat water without electricity—as with swimming pools—but on a larger scale. “Say you have a big hotel with a big parking lot, as well as a lot of laundry and people taking showers,”
32 | december-january 2009
Hulen says. “You run a piping system under the pavement, heat the water up, and use it for your laundry or whatever you want.” That captured heat can also create electrical power by producing highpressure steam from water or other liquids that boil at lower temperatures. The pressure would spin a turbine and produce kilowatts, or possibly megawatts, of power. Hulen hopes to begin commercial installations by 2010.
rachel leibman
The thermal energy absorbed by concrete has been used to warm eco-friendly swimming pools since the 1970s. The process is simple: pool water is circulated through a network of pipes embedded in a driveway or patio; sunlight warms the pavement and in turn heats the water, which is then pumped into the pool. Michael Hulen, founder of tech company Novotech, thinks the concept could be implemented at the commercial level.
With more than 10,000 miles of new roads built in America each year, the opportunity to install the technology is vast.
photograph by
ometimes there’s a bit of unharnessed genius lurking under our noses. Think of those occassions when someone says, “It’s so hot you could fry an egg on the sidewalk,” or those summer days when you’re walking down the street barefoot, doing your best to step in the cool shadows. Nestled in those moments of everyday life is a potential source of renewable energy that scientists are investigating. Instead of warming up cities and blistering your feet, hot asphalt could also be used to generate electricity and heat water.
Another eco-friendly benefit to sucking the heat out of paved surfaces is that, by doing so, you can cool down urban areas. During the summer, the heat trapped in concrete can warm cities and suburbs 2–10°F above the temperature in lessdeveloped areas nearby. Water-filled pipes laid beneath streets could wick away up to 50 degrees from the surrounding asphalt, helping reduce cities’ swelter. “You’ve got all these man-made surfaces that can’t do anything with the sunlight that’s hitting them,” says Jamie Paquette, of the nonprofit Solar One, describing what scientists call the “urban-heat island effect.” “Right now all they can do is absorb it, hold onto it, and radiate it back later.” Sizzling cement is such a familiar experience to most of us that this thermal-energy technology seems a sure success, but maximizing the temperature and heat transfer is crucial. Optimal conditions include hot climates with long hours of sunshine, where embedded pipes can heat up water to nearly 210°F. Only 10 to 20 percent of the solar energy that hits the pavement can be transferred to the water. But that still equals up to 200 watts of power per square meter, according to Sankha Bhowmick, an
associate professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Massachusetts and a member of the Roadway Energy Systems research team. Scale that up to the size of a major road or a large parking lot, and it could provide cheap, green electricity to help power commercial or industrial operations. Bhowmick and his colleagues are trying to increase the heat transfer from the hot cement to water-filled copper pipes that have a three-quarter-inch diameter. Much depends on the components of the cement and design of the pipes. For example, Worchester Polytechnic Institute graduate students found that replacing limestone with quartzite in the paving mix produced asphalt that had 1.5 times as much heat capacity and 2.5 times as much conductivity. “This isn’t going to replace nuclear or coal in the United States, but the infrastructure is already there, except for the piping,” Bhowmick says. With more than 10,000 miles of new roads built in America each year, there is ample opportunity to install the technology. “Since asphalt systems exist, why not see if we can get anything useful out of them?” —Jacoba Charles
HEAT STREET
The warmth asphalt accumulates on a sunny day is providing a new source of energy. All it takes are pipes, water, and a turbine. Here’s how it works:
ILLUSTRATION BY
JASON LEE; PHOTO BY THE SHAW GROUP LTD (TOP RIGHT)
➌ As steam, the hot water ➊ Sun increases the pavement’s temperature. ➋ Water-filled pipes in the pavement absorb the heat.
drives a turbine to create electricity. Once cool, the water returns to the pipes, and the cycle begins again.
ON THE
drawing board
Hard to imagine, but true: Cement production creates a hefty chunk of global carbon dioxide emissions, roughly 3.4 percent in 2000, according to the EPA. To help address the problem, Canadian company Carbon Sense Solutions wants pre-cast concrete companies to store the CO2 they produce and is pilot testing its idea in 2008. Concrete naturally reabsorbs CO2 through chemical reactions, a process that typically takes centuries. But Carbon Sense speeds up the reaction by exposing fresh concrete to CO2-rich flue gases for curing. Unlike typical concrete production, the process requires no heat or steam, so it saves energy in addition to absorbing the greenhouse gas, which could amount to a 20 percent net reduction in the industry’s CO2 emissions. —Jessica A Knoblauch
> patentwatch What’s old is new again. Cyclone Power Technologies’ modern-day steam engine has the potential to replace the internal combustion engine in cars or just about any other type of motor. Sound like a tall order? Similar to all steam engines, the Cyclone can burn “fuel” ranging from algae to trash, potentially reducing harmful emissions. The Cyclone differs from the last 2,000 years of steam-engine technology because it raises the pressurized steam’s temperature so high that it converts the heat to energy more efficiently. Also, the fuel is burned at roughly 2,000°F, incinerating it almost entirely. The technology swaps oil for deionized water to lubricate the engine, forever eliminating the need for oil changes. Cyclone Power says the patented technology is running full steam ahead and expects to go into production in one to two years. —JAK
plentymag.com | 33
columnist
current
by
Bill McKibben
activist in residence
Bill McKibben sees the environmental health of a nation in the plight of our salmon and the battle over offshore drilling
As the environmental group Save Our Wild Salmon puts it, under the new federal plan recent gains “will fall by the wayside.” Meanwhile, in Alaska’s Bristol Bay, there’s actually a healthy salmon run—the largest in the world. I’ve sat on a lifeguard chair next to a state employee with a clicker who counts the fish running upstream to make sure there’s a sufficient spawning population before each summer’s fishing season can begin. It’s one of the world’s very few sustainable fisheries, a triumph of conservationist foresight that yields a healthy economic boost to the state’s fishing fleet every year. Wild Alaskan salmon is one of the few fish on the planet you can eat with a clean conscience. If our forefathers had known anything about limits, our whole continent could look like Bristol Bay. But forget the forefathers. Our current government wants to lease large parts of the Bering Sea, including Bristol Bay, for oil and gas development. They have enthusiastic supporters—Sarah Palin, for instance. Shell is doing its part, running a clever campaign
34 | december-january 2009
with the tagline “oil and water can mix.” You can take an oil company’s word, or that of, say, World Wildlife Fund spokeswoman Margaret Williams. “Based on the best available science and published literature,” she says, “offshore development is too great a risk to pose to a renewable resource that feeds millions of people.” Still not sure? Google “Exxon Valdez.” There’s no question that we’ve endured the worst environmental policies of any president since the word environment was coined. They haven’t simply neglected the environment; they’ve concentrated on destroying it—and in countless places they’ve succeeded. But where health remains, where renewal is still a possibility—places like the Snake River—well, that’s where we’ve got to focus our own efforts. The election is over, but the work is just beginning. ✤ Bill McKibben is a scholar in residence at Middlebury College, the author of a dozen books about the environment, and the cofounder of the 350.org campaign, a global grassroots effort to fight climate change.
illustration by
o stand by a stream choked with spawning salmon is to understand nature’s abundance in a new way. You can barely see the water for all the fish. Plentiful carcasses discarded by bears fertilize the surrounding forest—scientists have found salmon nitrogen in the needles of nearby pines. This is how the whole world once was. Our continent alone had dozens of places— the Grand Banks, Chesapeake Bay, the Everglades, the mouth of the Mississippi or the Hudson or the Columbia—that teemed with underwater life. Only a few of those places are left. That’s why it’s so maddening that, even as the Bush administration finally fades away, they’ve aimed a few of their parting shots at this most iconic of American fish. Consider, for instance, Idaho’s Snake River, where the annual sockeye run was once mammoth and predictable. More than 40,000 fish arrived each year at this terminus of their life’s journey, ready to reproduce and die. Connecting Redfish Lake was named for the color the water seemed to become when all these fish returned. In 2007, just four fish made it back. Biologists were using the term “functional extinction.” But this year the number topped 400. The reason why is clear: Two years ago, a federal court judge forced the dams on the river to flush more water than usual over the top—that let many more fish survive the trip downstream. If we just took out those dams, there’s every reason to think the run would return in force. What small amount of electricity the dams generate could be replaced by energy conservation or alternatives such as sun or wind power. This should be sweet news for salmon, for fishermen, for windmill makers—for everyone, really. But the Bush administration has a different storyline in mind. This fall, they released a Biological Opinion, or BiOp (available at www.nwr.noaa.gov/Salmon-Hydropower), that covers hydropower management. It could prevent the kind of court intervention that set up this year’s salmon success.
barry bruner
T
Keeping your household clean isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t easy. But it can BeGreen Now.
Learn more about offsets, find out how to balance out the emissions from your car or home, and check out our Gift of Green products at www.begreennow.com.
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by
Victoria De Silverio
people
plentyliving
Eco-Star
Sheryl Crow
The singer-songwriter and activist who accidently turned TP into a cause dishes on John Deere and the paparazzi-free life
photo by Norman Jean Roy
N
ine-time Grammy Award–winner Sheryl Crow swears she never actually suggested Americans should limit their toilet paper consumption. “It was a joke!” she insists. In April 2007, she confronted Karl Rove at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner about the Bush Administration’s envi ronmental policies. After that incident, a tongue-in-cheek comment about toilet paper use she’d made on the Stop Global Warming College Tour was taken out of context, seemingly planted in the media, and “spun to make me seem ditzy.” Thus, TP-gate. Crow, who just released a Christmas album and designed a reusable shopping bag for Whole Foods, has since retreated to her farm outside of Nashville with her oneyear-old son, Wyatt. We checked in to see if motherhood and escaping the media’s fickle glare have mellowed the 46-year-old at all. (Our take? Not so much.)
1
Her eco-hero Ed Begley Jr. For
years and years he’s been riding around LA on a bike—and that’s not easy to do! He’s one of the only people I know who really walks the walk as far as the environment is concerned.
6 7 8
Her eco-sin I have a steam shower,
but I don’t use it that often.
Her dream carpool mate
Michelle Obama.
Her environmental pet peeves
2
If she were president I’d imme-
diately institute subsidies for solar panels, and I’d try to concentrate the country’s focus on creating self-sustaining energy sources.
3
Must-have eco-product My
Klean Kanteen water container. It’s stainless steel, reusable, and 100 percent recyclable.
4 5
last thing she did for the environment I just put in solar
panels on my house.
The next-to-last thing I swapped
my gas-operated John Deere Gator Utility Vehicle for a solar-powered golf cart.
That people still want to debate whether global warming really exists ... and are not willing to make the necessary sacrifices now that will ultimately be demanded later.
9 10
Her unheralded skill Twirling
a baton. Why she ditched the farmers’ market for the farm My life
shifted when I started undergoing breast cancer treatment and adopted a new baby. There’s no paparazzi out here, thank god.
11
Her original fortune cookie wisdom What you say
is what you are.
plentymag.com | 37
travel
current living
by
Matthew Kadey
The road to Luang Prabang passes through rustic villages full of bamboo houses on stilts and the clickety-clack of textile looms.
Luang Prabang
Tour de Laos
Vangviang
28 | december-january 38 august-september 2009 2008
jameson simpson
The virtually traffic-free roads, from well-paved mountain traverses in the north to sometimes-rugged paths in the south, enticed my partner, Tabi Ferguson, and me to put our bikes in boxes along with our luggage and pedal the country. We cycled from the northwest to the deep south, visiting a mix of well-known and off-the-path places to get a biker’s-eye view of what this pedalers’ paradise (and former French colonial holding) has to offer. While it’s small, Laos is packed with diversity, includ ing an astonishing 100-plus ethnic groups
map by
Laos
matthew kadey;
N
o longer closed off from the world by a xenophobic ruling party, Laos is experiencing a renaissance ripe for rugged travelers. Small (about the size of Oregon) and landlocked—bordered by Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, and China—Laos is what Thailand was circa 1980, with plenty of unexplored wilds, minimal super-chain presence, and bargain-basement prices. There’s also a green twist: As part of its increasing commitment to eco-responsibility, the communist Laotian government has set aside more than 18 percent of its land as National Biodiversity Conservation Reserves, making it one of the most protected countries in the world.
Khiet Ngong Bolaven Plateau
photos by
A two-wheeled ramble through this surprisingly eco-friendly destination reveals untouched villages, Buddhist icons, and ample chances for outdoor adventure, all for $15 a day
and terrain that includes everything from pristine jungles to mighty rivers, all naviga ble in the span of five leisurely weeks.
Luang Prabang Designated a world heritage city by UNESCO in 1995, this historical center of Theravada Buddhism (which remains the country’s primary religion) is situated at the conflu ence of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers in northeastern Laos. On the ride here, we got into the Laos groove passing through rustic villages—mostly collections of bam boo houses on stilts—where the locals showered us with loud choruses of sabai di (“hello”), while the clickety-clack of looms sounded in the background. Luang Prabang’s tradition of reli gious devotion is on display in its 30-plus temples, most in the compact Old City, where coconut palms sway overhead and jocular, young monks gather in their shade. Wat Xieng Thong temple, built in 1560, with its characteristically sweep ing roof that nearly touches the ground, is a standout, with gold details everywhere. We spend several days soaking up the atmosphere and visiting the many tex
tile shops and restaurants tucked away in well-worn French colonial homes called shop-houses. Cold mango and pineapple shakes at L’Etranger Books & Tea, one of the town’s many cafes, are a welcome re spite from the midday sizzle. In the even ing, we wander the half-mile long street market, where stunning silk scarves and hand-stitched bags are inexpensive tro phies, and where fiery papaya salads and salted Mekong fish stuffed with lemon grass are transcendent street food. At daybreak, we wake to clanging and thumping—the sound of the drums and cymbals being played by saffron-robed monks as they prepare to collect their morning alms. For a day trip, try the 20-mile ride from Luang Prabang along the Me kong on a quiet road dotted with ethnic Khamu villages. You’ll end at Tat Kuang Si Waterfall, which tumbles over limestone rocks, through lush vegetation, and into a series of deep-azure pools.
Vangviang The 130 miles of rollercoaster hills between Luang Prabang and Vangviang to the south
Clockwise from top left: Monks gather to pray at Luang Prabang’s Wat Mai temple; Tad Yueang Falls in the Bolaven Plateau; minty noodle soup, a Laotian breakfast staple that sets the hungry tourist back about 50 cents.
include views of perhaps the nation’s most stunning peak, Phu Pha, a chunk of karst rock that penetrates the late afternoon haze. Nestled in a valley on the banks of the Nam Xong River in north-central Laos, Vangviang is surrounded by moun tains, misty jungles, and capacious caves witness to postcard sunsets, making it a popular spot for outdoor adventures, from kayaking to rock climbing. Ignore the banal hotels, Internet cafes, and unappetizing Westernized restaurants in town and go hiking and mountain biking among the peaks of Phan Tang and Phatto Nokham under a canopy of virgin rainforest. At the day’s end, the Vangviang Organic Farm Café is the place to refuel with bar gain vegetarian fare like spring rolls, harvest curries, and mulberry shakes—sans pesti cides. Two miles from town, the eponymous farm that supplies the cafe’s ambrosial edibles offers picturesque accommodations where guests can get their hands dirty in the demonstration garden. Activist Th
plentymag.com | 39 28
travel
living
By Air There are no direct flights to Laos from North America. Your best bet is to fly into Bangkok, Thailand, and get to Vientiane or Luang Prabang via Lao Airlines (laoairlines.com) or Air Asia (airasia.com). By land Ecotourism Laos ecotourismlaos.com Your best resource for green stays and guided eco-adventures. Tiger Trail Outdoor Adventures 856-71-212-311, laos-adventures.com Offers several scenic bike tours that support local employment and environmental initiatives.
luang prabang Apsara Hotel 856-71-254-670, theapsara.com A reinvented French colonial home with commanding views of the Nam Khan River. L’Etranger Books & Tea 856-020-537-7826 Great fruit shakes, plus free water bottle refills.
anongsi Solangkoun started the project— staffed entirely by Hmong and Kmou ethnic minorities—to demonstrate that there are viable, sustainable alternatives to chemicalbased agriculture.
Bolaven Plateau Bidding adieu to the north, it takes us about a week to ride to the southern province of Champasak and its fertile Bolaven Plateau, where the coffee crop dominates the landscape. (Bolaven farmers tend their fields among unexploded US ordinance, a dark legacy of the Vietnam War.) The region’s high altitude brings a welcome respite from the humidity of the Mekong Valley, and while the roads can be unkempt, we savor the scarcity of cars and scooters. The main attraction here is hikes organized by Green Discovery Tours, with local, English-speaking guides. We start at the Tad Fane nature resort on the edge of the tiger-friendly Dong Hua Sao reserve, with a clear view of the Tad Fane waterfall cascading from primeval jungle and dropping some 120 meters below. We spend the rest of the day hopping between spectacular tumbling chutes, exploring the Alak, Laven, and Suay ethnic villages, and visiting bird-saturated coffee plantations.
Khiet Ngong A full day’s pedal from the Bolaven Pla-
Clockwise from left: A $4 bungalow in Vangviang with a priceless view of Laos’ karst mountains; monks collecting morning alms in south-central Laos; Phou Kham cave’s reclining Buddha outside Vangviang.
teau on a teeth-jittering, dust-filled road is Khiet Ngong, a village in the deep south. Nearby, the tony Laotian-Italian Kingfisher Ecolodge sits on the fringes of the massive 2,665-square-kilometer Xe Pain National Protected Area. Far removed from the cultural and scenic draws of the north, this is a gem that won’t be found on a tourist map. Khiet Ngong is surrounded by a mix of deciduous forest, plains, and wetlands, and it’s believed endangered clouded leopards, tigers, elephants, and even rhinoceros still roam here. Solar energy powers the village, only locals are hired as guides and hotel staff, and programs stemming illegal hunting and logging ensure that Kingfisher treads lightly and responsibly. In need of a little downtime, we forgo many of the biking and hiking activities on offer and instead enjoy our roomy wooden bungalow and relaxing hammocks. From our porch we watch resident elephants splash their way across the landscape. Beyond the gentle giants is what appears to be an endless stretch of wetland, a testament to a country that is shaking its third-world stigma while treasuring its natural gifts. ✤
28 | december-january 40 august-september 2009 2008
Tamarind 856-020-777-0484, tamarindlaos.com Ideal temple-hopping break in the form of a one-day cooking class. Score striking Laotian textiles by weavers who are fairly compensated at Kopnoï (856-071-260-248, madeinlaos.com), Ock Pop Tok (856-071-253-219, ockpoptock.com), or Mulberries (856-021-561-271, mulberries.org).
Vangviang Vangviang Organic Farm Café 856-23-511-220, laofarm.org Accommodations are spare, but profits help support sustainable agriculture. Bolaven Plateau Tad Fane Resort 856-20-553-1400, tadfane.com Cushy bungalows and a restaurant with a panorama of Dong Hua Sao reserve. Green Discovery 856-21-264-528, greendiscoverylaos.com Adventure trips offered throughout Laos, including Pakxe, 20 miles west of the Bolaven Plateau.
Khiet Ngong Kingfisher Ecolodge 856-030-534-5016, kingfisherecolodge.com Nature, outdoor activities, and good grub abound in this idyllic setting. En Route November through February are the driest months and are ideal for adventure pursuits. The rainy season generally runs from May to September. Fifteen-day visas are available at most border crossings and airports, and can be extended in the capital of Vientiane.
going places
Montréal
If you don’t have the time or carbon offset funds for a pricey Paris jaunt, Montréal makes a stellar alternative. This bilingual town plays second fiddle to none and has planted the seeds for establishing itself as one of Canada’s greenest cities. An island flanked by the Saint Lawrence River, Montréal is steeped in a European joie-de-vivre, even in the dead of winter, when festive lights and snow-capped trees only enhance this unique city’s charm. —Ben Barna TASTE Even in a city as openminded as this one, Spirite Lounge (514-522-5353) is
photos by jean-francios leblanc/agence stock (top left); garth gilker (middle)
SEE The city’s Mount Royal Park is a network of gravelly trails and expansive lawns designed by Central Park mastermind Frederick Law Olmsted in the nineteenth century. During warmer months the trails are spotted with joggers and bikers; in the winter, more adventurous types strap on snow shoes or cross-country skis and climb the park’s namesake hill for sublime panoramic views of the city. (Equipment rentals are available at Beaver Lake, 514-868-4144.) For a taste of Montréal’s celebrated nightlife, visit during the High Lights Festival (above; montrealen lumiere.com). This two-week peak-of-winter culture carnival culminates in Nuit Blanche (February 28 in 2009), a free, all-night party crawl between the city’s galleries, museums, theaters, and other makeshift venues, with transportation provided. For a mellow yearround alternative, try Casa del Popolo (casadelpopolo.com), the maternity ward of Montréal’s now-famous indie music scene. This part fair-trade café, part music venue is where bands like Arcade Fire first nurtured their live acts.
considered eccentric. A hodge podge of rooms with foil-lined walls, it features a morphing menu of vegetarian delights made with all-organic produce. But there’s a catch: A no-waste policy charges diners $2 for unfinished meals (proceeds go to charity), and you’re banned outright if you leave any dessert on your plate. If that’s too much pressure, Aux Vivres (514842-3479) is a favorite among the residents of Montréal’s laid-back Plateau neighbor hood, where legendary crooner Leonard Cohen has a home. Ingredients are locally grown, and the teapots are made by local artisans. Aux Vivres is most famous for its BLT, though the “B” is actually smoked coconut. For non-veg eats, another Plateau meeting spot called Santropol (below; santropol.com) has one of the city’s best multi-season terraces, and the menu includes organic meal-size soups and mile-high artisanal sandwiches.
STAY A fresher and quainter boutique version of its everso-chic big sister, the W Hotel chain, the aloft hotel (aloft hotels.com) is not far from the city center. Boasting inspired landscaping, a 24-hour gym, and prime parking for hybrid users, Aloft encourages guests who drive green to keep their rides clean with a self-serve car wash that uses eco-friendly products. For a downtown stay, consider booking at the Novotel MontrÉal (above; novotelmontreal.com), which, for each online reservation made, plants a tree to keep Canada’s forests thriving.
BUY Montréal is well-known for its thrift shops in the walkerfriendly Plateau and Mile-End neighborhoods, especially hotspots like General 54 and Local 23 (above and below; both at general54.blogspot.com). The Plateau’s Rien à Cacher (rienacacher.com) features a great selection of sustainable brands. They sell bags made out of recycled car scraps and stock Veja shoes, a French brand that, in lieu of launching seasonal marketing campaigns, finances a cluster of Amazonian cotton farmers and naturalrubber makers. In addition, la Gaillarde (lagaillarde.blogspot. com) is a small eco-fashion enclave that sells textile waste, organizes fashion shows, and holds classes on sewing and recycling jewelry. Overall, the winter wonderland that is Montréal has plenty of tantalizing green intrigue.
plentymag.com | 41
food
living
by
Deirdre Dolan
taste test
Well Stocked Seeking ready-made comfort? These five organic soups are as good as they are easy
1>
2>
3>
4>
Imagine Foods Organic Creamy Butternut Squash imaginefoods.com Smooth, sweet, and buttery, this is the closest thing to home made you can get off a shelf. Plus, it’s packaged in a lightweight, recycla ble aseptic carton.
$4.39 for 34 oz
2> Best Chicken Noodle
3> Best Vegetable Broth
walnutacres.com
pacificfoods.com
Achieves that delicate balance of vegetable, meat, and pasta required of any good chicken noodle, without a slimy consistency or added sugars. Keep a can in the pantry for the next time you call in sick.
A nice, complex stock; people kept asking why the rice I made with it tasted so good—even with less than 140 mg of sodium per serving!
Walnut Acres Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup
$3.49 for 14.5 oz 42 | december-january 2009
Pacific Natural Foods Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Broth
$3.20 for 32 oz
4> Best From a Can Amy’s Organic Summer Corn & Vegetable amys.com This is Amy’s master piece. The corn is tasty and bright and, along with the potatoes, adds substance to the savory red pepper and onion broth. No added sweeten ers, but the sodium was the highest of the group, at 680 mg per serving.
$3.29 for 14.5 oz
5> Best Tomato
Pacific Natural Foods Organic Light Sodium Creamy Tomato pacificfoods.com Some say tomato soup is like water: You only notice it if it’s bad. In that case, this is the Perrier of tomato soups. Creamy and tangy, not too thick or too thin, with a satis fying hint of grilled cheese and only 380 mg of sodium per serving.
$3.39 for 32 oz
photographs by Anthony
1> Best Overall
Verde; eco-styling by camilla slattery
5>
farm to fork
Dan Barber
In the right hands, winter vegetables can be every bit as enticing and flavorful as their warm-weather counterparts
F
armers complain constantly, almost as much as us chefs. Northeastern farmers, in particular, have made an art of detailing the hardships of a short growing season. I wouldn’t argue, except
to say that for anyone in search of great flavor, cold-climate vegetables have some distinct advantages. Stone Barns’ vegetable farmer Jack Algiere has learned to embrace them all. Take
Recipe
photos by
jen munkvold
Sunchoke Gratin 1½ ¼ 2 1 1 ¼ 1 1 1
pounds sunchokes, washed and peeled cup dates, chopped cups heavy cream cup milk teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg teaspoon salt clove garlic teaspoon butter generous grind of black pepper
❶ Preheat oven to 350°F. ❷ Slice sunchokes into ⅛-inch rounds using a Japanese Mandolin or the slicer attachment of a food processor. ❸ Toss sunchokes in a large bowl with
dates, cream, milk, thyme, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. ❹ Gently smash the garlic clove and rub it around the inside of a shallow, 1½ quart casserole dish to season. Then, with your fingers, rub the casserole dish with the butter. ❺ Add the sunchoke mix to the casserole dish; press down on the sunchoke slices and, if desired, shingle the top layer of slices. Pour any remaining cream mixture from the bowl over the sunchokes. ❻ Cover with foil, place on a baking sheet, and cook in oven for 25 minutes. Dan Barber is the executive chef and coowner of Blue Hill restaurant in New York City and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, located within Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, a pioneering farm and education facility in Pocantico Hills, New York (bluehillnyc.com).
Jerusalem artichokes, which Jack plants in the summer and harvests as far into early winter as possible. Why winter? Because Jerusalem artichokes and other root vegetables increase their sugar content when exposed to cold weather. The harshness of the freeze actually guarantees that most root vegetables will taste significantly better. A plant physiologist once explained it to me as a survival tactic: The plant fears that the water in its cell structure will freeze—in other words, it’s scared of dying—so it raises its own body temperature by converting its starches into sugars. We may taste sweetness, but the plant is tasting death. In order to harvest the sweetest Jerusalem artichokes possible, Jack uses a refractometer to test a sample crop. A refractometer is a small, handheld device that measures Brix, the sugar content of a fruit or vegetable (it’s commonly used to check the sweetness of grapes, helping winemakers predict ideal harvest times). Lengthy storage and transportation often reduce the sugar content by weight—and, by extension, the flavor—of a supermarket vegetable to almost zero. But at Stone Barns, it’s not uncommon to hear Jack boast of his most recent Brix reading—a 9 or a 10 in the case of the best Jerusalem artichokes (compared to, say, a tomato, which reads from 3 to 12 Brix). For him, and for any diner in search of the best tasting vegetables, that’s a perfect score. ✤
plentymag.com | 43
home
living
44 | december-january 2009
by
Amber Bravo
Steely Den When architect Craig Steely became his own client, instead of creating a new eco-dwelling, he opted for a crafty renovation job
‘‘S
photos by rien van rijthoven
o often people remodel in terms of resale value rather than their own common sense,” says architect Craig Steely. Steely recently completed a year-long renovation of his own family’s early-1900s, previously Edwardian-style house, which serves as a live-and-work space. “We designed the house specifically for our needs,” he explains. “Unless our requirements change drastically, why would we need to move again? We plan on living here for a very long time.” At the time the 43-year-old and his family decided to renovate, he was running a three-person architecture studio out of the house, which he and his wife, Cathy Liu, bought thirteen years ago. Liu, a painter, was working in the space, too; and their son Zane was sleeping on a bed that folded into the cabinetry in the living room. (“It’s been a challenge to get him to let go of that Murphy bed,” Steely says with a laugh.) The couple opted to reconfigure instead of building from the ground up because they felt it would be the more earthfriendly approach. A dramatic addition of square footage was less important to them than making more of the space they already had. Situated on a narrow, yardless lot in San Francisco, the newly remodeled
home—which features solar-generated electricity and radiant heating throughout—maintains the footprint of the original structure. “It only made sense to think eco-consciously,” Steely says. Two desires guided Steely’s designs: one for outdoor space and another “to make it obvious,” he says, “where the office was.” To these ends, he combined the family’s kitchen, dining, and living rooms in a 500-square-foot area on the top floor, and added an expansive south-facing deck. He raised the kitchen—the space furthest from the deck—about 16 inches, to ensure this room too offers a clear view of the outdoor area and cityscape beyond. Steely’s studio space occupies the second floor, with the family’s bedrooms tucked
The Steelys’ renovation was guided by two main goals (opposite page): a desire for outdoor space, and a clear distinction between home and office. FSC-approved Ipê floors (top left), along with remarkable custom woodwork by guitar-maker Wayne Berger for the front doors (top right) and kitchen and bathroom cabinetry (above), lend distinct character all over the house.
behind it. Even though there’s no need for a Murphy bed in the new house, there’s no denying that the home still has that same spirit, containing all the living space in a relatively small area. Steely hired guitar- and ukulele-maker Wayne Berger to do most of the custom woodwork in the house. Berger’s work is on display in bathroom and kitchen cabinetry made of diagonally laid zebrawood
plentymag.com | 45
home
living
“We rented the house across the street during construction,” recalls Steely. “I was always running across saying, ‘Wait! Wait! Don’t do that!’ I never got anything else done.” that, along with the home’s polished Ipê wood floors, were sourced from FSCcertified lots. The instrument maker’s remarkable level of craftsmanship is most apparent in the kitchen cabinets and the front doors. He made the latter of Peruvian walnut with acrylic inlay that, with its linear perforations, casts a dappled light along the stairwell. Now a focal point for much of the family’s leisure time, the 500-square-foot deck echoes, in its materials and design, the house’s weather-resistant Ipê and Corten steel façade. In lieu of a yard, landscape designer Fred Ballerini added potted plants and a circular mound of California-native grass to the second-floor space. A large overhang on the sod roof, which Steely designed to minimize solar gain, also houses a rotating fireplace by Fireorb that can be turned to face indoors or out. Renting a house across the street during construction provided Steely an endless series of distractions. “I was always running across saying, ‘Wait! Wait! Don’t do that!’” he recalls. “I never got anything else done.” But that’s no longer the case: Steely’s new office offers more than enough space for his studio, and Liu has room to work upstairs. Zane, who’s started attending a kindergarten that’s a bike ride away, now has the family’s longest commute. ✤ The view from Steely’s office (top), located one flight down from the comforts of the family room sofa, which is reputed to put anyone to sleep within five minutes. The kitchen (middle) features cabinetry made of diagonally laid zebrawood and is raised more than a foot so that cooks can also see the deck (bottom), with its mound of native grass and rotating Fireorb.
46 | december-january 2009
> ins & outs
Sleep Easy Natural mattresses make counting (free-range) sheep a thing of the past
A
dults ideally spend about eight of every 24 hours asleep, and babies and children should log more. That’s too much time to spend pressed up against synthetic foams and fabric treatments that can release irritating, toxic vapors. The following greener mattresses (prices are for queen size) go gentler on your health and the environment—which should add up to a better night’s rest. —Tracy Tullis
Innerspring Mattresses
Natural Latex
Greener Mainstream
These mattresses are a purer version of what most people are accustomed to: They are made with steel springs and are usually paired with a box spring. The models below use naturally fire-retardant and water-resistant wool instead of chemicals.
A rubber mattress sounds like child’s play rather than a place for grown-up repose (or recreation). But natural latex, tapped renewably from rubber trees, has a gentle give that’s not too bouncy.
Conventional mattresses are getting green makeovers, though they still use some synthetic materials and chemical fire retardants.
A Hastens organic mattress (above) is the ultimate in natural luxury: handmade with a patented spring system crowned with cotton, flax, wool, and horsehair. The Swedish royal family rests on these beds.
The Vimala by Greensleep combines three layers of latex to provide soft, medium, or firm support—and each of you can customize your half of the bed. All thickly wrapped in organic-cotton velour, wool, and silk. $3,378, greensleep.ca
Starting at $4,000, hastens.com
RoyalPedic’s Swiss-designed coils and organic cotton-and-wool padding provide firm support. $2,535, royal-pedic.com Commoners with a taste for luxury can indulge themselves with Vivetique’s organic cotton and PureGrow wool, sheared from free-range Sonoma County sheep. About $1,450, vivetique.com
The Lifekind Trio’s three latex layers (above), medium-soft to firm, are each encased in organic cotton. You specify the combo, and, if you later change your mind, the company will exchange a layer.
Simmons’ Natural Care line designed by Danny Seo has a blended latex core (65 percent natural, the rest synthetic), on top of a base foam layer that’s part petroleum-derived, part soy. $999, naturalcarebed.com
EcoMemoryFoam (above) uses about half petroleum-based and half botanic or recycled materials. The company aims for zero emissions in manufacturing and compresses its mattresses for shipping. $1,099 and up, ecomemoryfoam.com
$2,995, lifekind.com
The Serenity from Earthsake, covered in organic cotton and PureGrow wool, has bands of different firmness running crosswise to coddle each body zone. $1,995, earthsake.com
plentymag.com | 47
diy
current living
> trash to treasure
DIY Christmas Tree
Instead of store-bought trimmings for our office Christmas tree, the Plenty editors (along with a few crafty friends and family members) made ornaments entirely from found or recycled objects— no buying or using anything new. The resulting decorations were fresh, festive, and, well, surprisingly good. Here are a few standouts.
❶ Clean and dry cans. Then, carefully cut off each can’s top and bottom and uncurl the remaining piece of aluminum, flattening overnight under a heavy book if necessary. ❷ Make basic origami stars using flattened aluminum instead of paper (just be careful of the sharp edges). You can view an animated diagram of the pattern and folding technique at origami-club.com/en. ❸ Use one of the flattened 42 oz cans to make the biggest origami star. Use the aluminum take-out containers to make stars that get gradually smaller as you layer them. I used three stars for stacking. ❹ Use another 42 oz can to cut out the flat base star. ❺ Coil the third flattened can into a cone shape. Use a dab of nontoxic glue to seal the overlapping edges. ❻ Hold the smallest origami star
with its center point facing away from you. Place a dab of glue inside the point. Put next biggest star inside the smaller star, glue next center point and attach a slightly smaller star, and repeat, working toward the smallest star. ❼ Place the stacked stars on the base star. Add dots of glue where stackers touch the base star’s surface. Make rays from thin strips of tin. Glue these to the back of the base star. ❽ Carefully place star on tin cone, using a tiny dab of glue. Tin cans come in every conceivable color and pattern—have fun mixing it up.
48 | december-january 2009
Bottle-cap-andRibbon Bows MATERIALS • Photos or magazines • Bottle caps • Nontoxic glue • Leftover scraps of gift-wrapping ribbon, various lengths and widths ❶ Cut an image to fit the size of the bottle-cap interior and glue it in, pressing to make sure the image lies flat. ❷ Take one of the wider ribbons and tie it into a bow proportional to the size of the bottle cap. ❸ Then, take a thinner ribbon, preferably one with wire in it for stiffness, and thread it through the top of the bow’s knotted center. Once threaded, pull ribbon to de sired length and tie a knot at the top to form a loop. ❹ Glue the back of the bottle cap to the bow.
Gingerbread Man MATERIALS • A piece of sandpaper • A used brown paper bag • Thread • Large handful of dryer lint • String • Scraps of used ribbon • Mismatched buttons • Scrap of old fabric ❶ Using sandpaper, lightly sand the surface of the paper bag until it has a soft, felt-like texture. ❷ Cut two identical gingerbread man shapes out of the paper. Sew together with thread, using large stitches, ⅛ inch away from the edge, stuffing the dryer lint into the arms and legs as you go. ❸ Once you have fully stuffed and sewn up the gingerbread man, make a hole at the top of the ornament and thread a piece of string or ribbon through. Knot at the top to form a hanging loop. ❹ Glue the buttons down the front of the ornament and draw a face with a pen. Cut a thin strip of fabric from the scrap to tie on as a scarf.
anthony verde
Wreath MATERIALS • Coffee can lid • Shells • Nontoxic glue • Raffia (or yarn) ❶ Cut out the inside of coffee can lid to use as wreath base. ❷ Wrap raffia around the lid and tie in back to make a loop. ❸ Glue cut shells and smaller seashells onto raffia. ❹ Glue on raffia for hook to hang.
Photograph by
Tin Can Star MATERIALS • Three 42 oz aluminium cans • Aluminum take-out food containers
Special Thanks to Lewin Farms in Calverton, New York for donating plenty’s office tree.
Faux Finish A recycled-cardboard trophy head adds a bit of whimsy to a wall or mantle. Even more fun—it’s a puzzle. $52 (for large size), cardboardsafari.com
Solar string lights
$40, ecogeekliving.com
Tree skirt
$130, amenityhome.com
plentymag.com | 49
style
current living
Let It Glow
The nights are long and dark, but you can shine during evening parties in luscious jewel tones, shimmery neutrals, and sparkly accessories. —Starre Vartan on dar It’s time they called you dapper. Organic cotton oxford from Timberland ($60, timberland.com), paired with a Preloved repurposed men’s vest ($109, oliounited.com); EcoGir 50% recycled-polyester suit pants ($75, sears.com); and Cydwoq veggie-tanned leather shoes ($285, cydwoq.com).
A Frei Designs silk organza blouse made in Chicago, ($550, robinrichman .com) with a pair of Lara Miller silk/hemp tuxedo-inspired pants ($325, kaightshop.com); and a pair of red Cri de Coeur vegan vixen pumps ($240, Cow Jones Industrials, 518392-2139) brings a sexy, mens wear feel to party clothes. Toby Pomeroy recycled-goldand-diamond hoops ($1,905, tobypomeroy.com); Kirsten Muenster recycled-silver-andbetel-nut ring ($475, kirsten muenster.com); and Teich’s gold vintage lambskin clutch ($195, nimli.com) are pure femme details.
on sonja
Delicious layers of fuschia silk (also available in bamboo or bamboo/silk mix) in this Maine-made Brook There dress ($330, brookthere. com) conjure mod-cupcake fantasies; black Cri de Coeur pumps ($240, Cow Jones Industrials, 518-392-2139) and a silk/hemp Heather Heron clutch ($350, roseark.com) ground you in reality.
on vanessa
50 | december-january 2009
PURE PLEASURE
New perfumes give natural some added frisson
S
photograph by beth
perkins; set styling by camilla Slattery; hair and makeup by soula kalamaras
ince the days of frankincense and myrrh, perfumes have been precious essences for giving—or alluring. But until recently, nonsynthetic spritzers were relegated to vials of one-note essential oils. Now, thanks to a handful of botanic alchemists, those who want complex, grown-up fragrances that are also natural don’t have to wait for the big brands to go green. Here are a few choices for high-end “eaux de eco” that will make your season bright.
Iris Pallida 2007, the radiant new scent by Italy’s Artisan Parfumeur, is painstakingly distilled from a vintage crop of the rare purple Tuscan flower and smells of the woods and wine ($295, artisanparfumeur .com). With artisanal roots in the south of France, Parisian Philippe Gounel travels the world for his organic Patyka line, which includes a blend of ylang-ylang in the elegant scent Chypre ($98, patykausa .com). In Musc Botanique, Strange Invis ible Perfumes concocts a sexy, sultry number with frankincense and Egyptian geranium for your inner Cleopatra. Ce-
rebral types will dig the cool bergamot, orange, and jasmine notes of Focus by Intelligent Nutrients, all certified USDA organic and not tested on animals ($65, intelligentnutrients.com). Women and men can enjoy any of Florascent’s many seventeenth century–style elixirs with abandon; their Violetta is sweet, fresh, and clear ($129, saffronrouge.com). Aveda’s latest, the beguiling Ancient Attar, adds sandalwood to the old-fashioned charms of rose and rose geranium, all certified or ganic ($70, aveda.com). —Alexandra Zissu
“
This is the time of year you can get creative with accessories. Try a vintage hat, for instance. It’s better to have one really nice, versatile dress with a few accessories that can transform it, rather than three dresses that you can’t wear all the time. Saves on space, saves on time, and if you know how to pick your accessories—can save you money, too!
”
Summer Rayne Oakes Eco-model and fashion and beauty advisor for Planet Green
TAKE TWO
Sweater to Scarf, Sans Knitting Morph an old sweater into a scarf with felting, which condenses knitted yarn into a solid fabric in no time ❶ Choose a machine-knit, 100 percent–wool sweater that’s not machine-washable. Unsure? Look for the univer sal hand/bucket symbol on the label, which indicates hand-washing. ❷ Use a washing machine (preferably a top-loader) to felt the sweater: Choose the lowest water level possible, add a tablespoon of laundry detergent, and set your
machine to agitate with hot water. You may have to run through the cycle more than once before the visible knitted stitches transform into a solid piece of fabric; then let it run through the rest of the wash cycle. ❸ Throw the sweater into the dryer for a regular cycle, or let it air-dry. Just be sure to watch out for shrinkage in the dryer.
❹ Once the felted sweater is dry, you can cut it like any fabric. Decide on the width of your scarf, then cut out panels and sew them together using a zigzag stitch—get creative by scalloping the edges. I like preserving some of the visible characteristics of the sweater, like ribbing or pockets. —Leigh Radford, as told to Starre Vartan
plentymag.com | 51
reviews
living
Witness to Extinction: How We Failed to Save the Yangtze River Dolphin By Samuel Turvey Oxford University Press $29.95
> green media
New reading and music for the ecophile Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating By Mark Bittman, Simon & Schuster, $24
Confession: I’m a gourmand. A lover of beef cheeks and foie gras. So it was with trepidation that I approached Food Matters by New York Times food columnist Mark Bittman. The book was inspired by a UN report that pinpoints livestock production as the cause of one-fifth of all greenhouse gas emissions (one steer consumes the equivalent of seven barrels of crude—enough to get an SUV halfway from Manhattan to Los Angeles). When Bittman dug deeper, he found—like Michael Pollan before him—that the US food industry is a cesspool of lobbying and lies. Unnaturally-low meat prices, a manipulated food pyramid, and Big Farm ad campaigns (“Beef: It’s What’s For Dinner”) have force-fed Americans the idea that we should eat more protein and refined carbs than our bodies actually need. Add to that the fact that the meat we’re overconsuming is pumped full of antibiotics and that we’re eating 25 percent more calories a day than we did in 1970, and the results are predictably grim: 52 | december-january 2009
obesity, heart disease, and global warming. For Americans to continue to eat as we currently do, he says, would be “insane.” Bittman’s Times column is called “The Minimalist,” so it’s no surprise that his solution to to day’s series of food crises is straightforward. And luckily for foodies, he doesn’t rule out a little indulgence now and then. Simply put: Load up on fruits, veggies, and whole grains as often as possible while limiting meat intake. (Apparently, if we each ate three fewer cheeseburgers a week, we’d cancel out the effects of all the gasguzzling autos in the country.) Bittman’s own meal plan—which helped him lose 35 pounds in four months and reverse his dangerously high cholesterol and blood-sugar level—suggests we go vegetarian before dinner, then take a relax ed attitude toward protein and carbs (and wine) till the next morning. The book’s 75 recipes are hardly draconian and quite easy to follow—good news for both the earth and our waistlines. —Katie Baker
The story of the baiji, or Yangtze River dolphin—believed by many Chinese to be the reincarnation of a drowned princess— is rooted in poetic myth but ends with harsh, scientific finality. In 2007, conservation biologist Samuel Turvey and a team of scientists returned from a sobering six-week survey of the river without having spotted a single baiji. The elusive mammal, characterized by a long beak, white skin, and tiny eyes, was declared the first large vertebrate to disappear in the past 50 years. Witness is Turvey’s impassioned account of how disinterest among international conservation groups, decades of population growth, development, heavy boat traffic, illegal fishing, and pollution led to the dolphin’s demise. And it’s not just the baiji that has suffered—today, 400 million people live along the Yangtze, which flows from the Tibetan Plateau to the East China Sea. By 2013, 70 percent of the water may be unusable, and the river has lost a lot of wildlife already. Frustrated by how little funding and media attention baiji conservation projects received, Turvey rails against “a general inertia and feeble-mindedness” in the conservation community. “We were experiencing the disappearance of a species in real time,” he writes, “and the worst thing was that nobody even seemed to realize it.” —Kaija Helmetag
The Long Thaw: How Humans Are Changing the Next 100,000 Years of Earth’s Climate By David Archer Princeton University Press, $22.95
If you think global warming is going to stop in its tracks as soon as our fossil fuel fix runs its course, think again. Intensifying hurricanes, mega-droughts, and the mass extinction of species are just the beginning, says leading climatologist David Archer, renowned in part for his work with the respected blog RealClimate. Though we still have time to avert the worst of climate change, he says, the ramifications of our carbon spewing (think a ten-foot rise in ocean levels) will last well beyond even our grandchildren’s years. A good storyteller, Archer walks us through the history of climate change, starting in the 1800s, when the term greenhouse effect first made its way into scientific parlance. Tempering techie speak with accessible analogies, Archer manages in this James Hansen–approved volume to speak to scientists and laymen alike. —Jessica A Knoblauch
The Super-organism: The Beauty, Elegance, and Strangeness of Insect Societies
The Stuff of Life: A Graphic Guide to Genetics and DNA
The Lost Art of Walking: The History, Science, Philosophy, and Literature of Pedestrianism By Geoff Nicholson Riverhead Books, $24.95
At precisely the moment in history when people no longer had to walk, they almost invariably chose not to. And what a loss. Nicholson, for one, has hobbled, hiked, slogged, and even slunk. He has walked for work (garbage man) and to avoid work (Harrods department store). He has accidentally walked alongside Christina Ricci and walked to explore new cities. So great is his love of walking that when he moved to LA (you do not walk in LA) he not only refused to give up the habit but also decided to write a book about it. Walking is great fun— a mirthful ode to one of the most sustainable things a person can do. —Tobin Hack
By Mark Schultz; Illustrated by Zander Cannon and Kevin Cannon Hill and Wang $30 hardcover $16.95 paperback
It takes a rare breed of graphic novelist to bring genetics and DNA out of the laboratory and onto the funny pages, but Mark Schultz was up to the task. Get ready to dive into cloning, stem-cell research, and bacteria therapy with a cast of screwball characters—from eccentric spliced DNA to bumbling bacteria to manic, genetically modified plants (“I feel tingly all over!”). You’ll be so charmed that you won’t even notice you’ve absorbed an entire scientific field (screened for accuracy by genetics professors) in 140 pages of wacked-out comics. — TH
By Bert Hölldobler and EO Wilson WW Norton & Company, Inc, $55
This Warm December: A Brushfire Holiday, Vol 1 Brushfire Records, $12.99
Finally, a holiday record hip enough to slap in the stereo for your ironic ugly-sweater party. Warm December includes a track from each of the ten un flappable artists on Brushfire Records, eco-god Jack Johnson’s own label. The collection—from G Love’s “Christmas Baby” to Money Mark’s “Stuck at the Airport”—is more indie rock than carol classics. At least until you get to Jack Johnson’s chilledout rendition of “Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer”—a tune that’s hard to miss, no matter how mellow the singer— and Zach Gill’s beautiful “Silent Night.” Pour the organic eggnog, light the sustainable, compressed-coffee-ground-log fire, and hit play. — TH
Anyone who’s ever spent ten minutes observing an anthill knows that colony-forming insects wrote the book on teamwork. In this follow up to their 1991 Pulitzer Prize–winning The Ants, scientists Hölldobler and Wilson explore the intricate social lives of ants and bees— highly sophisticated, hierarchical cooperators that work as a single organism, or superorganism. So long as footnotes don’t bother you, you’ll have a field day exploring Hölldobler’s and Wilson’s insights into evolution and human behavior. —Alisa Opar
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PLENTY ’s
4th Annual Holiday Gift Guide By Jessica Mischner ❦ Photographs by Anthony Verde Illustration by Hinterland Now that green living has gone mainstream, chances are even the most stubborn eco-phobes on your list are hoping for something a bit more inspired this year. In other words, ’tis the season to think outside of the old tie/sweater/CD gift box (we’re guilty of it, too!) and flex a little creative muscle. Fortunately, there are literally thousands of consciously produced, environmentally sensitive options out there: high-tech gadgets and highperformance gear; one-of-a-kind home goods from upand-coming designers; recession-friendly items that won’t blow your budget; even updated (and upcycled) versions of beloved basics. So whether you’re giving to the wellheeled, the well-traveled, the do-gooder, or the recent convert, we’ve got you covered with more than 60 ideas for every person—and personality—on your holiday list. —additional reporting by Jessica A Knoblauch
plentymag.com | 55
®
green GEAR
What to get for ...
The Adventurous College Student
Because extreme-living, proselytizing coeds are trying to change the world one Facebook friend at a time—and they need the gear to do it The Novara Buzz Fly-by bike’s aluminum frame folds into an incredibly compact package. $699, rei.com
Rechargeable LED Lantern $50, grassrootsstore.com
LL Bean’s first PVC-free backpack, the Classic Continental, is made from recycled polyester. $39, llbean.com
Each pair of these merino socks has a barcode that lets you trace its supply chain all the way back to the sustainably raised sheep. $17 for pair shown, icebreaker.com
Organic cotton T-shirt $24, alternativeearth.com
Terraclime 30 camera case, made from more than 95 percent recycled materials $23, lowepro.com
Two of the first recycled tents to hit the market Salt Creek 2, $350, bigagnes.com; Nano OZ, $449, nemoequipment.com for retailers
With a bamboo shank and 40 percent postconsumer–recycled rubber outsole, this mountain sneaker walks the walk. $90, thenorthface.com
56 | december-january 2009
What to get for ...
The green tot
Because kids learn everything faster than adults Battery- and paint-free toys with lots of bells and whistles Discover Rig, $60; Rally Racer, $25; sprigtoys.com for retailers
Organic cotton fleece blanket $118, robbieadrian.com
Natural linen and cotton Flopsy $18, peterrabbit.com/naturallybetter
Organic cotton â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Buddhaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; onesie $24, rocknrollbabies.com
Handcrafted wooden rattle colored with lead-free vegetable dyes $16, earthentree.com
Celestial Parade organic cotton crib set $395, qcollectionjunior.com
FSC-approved SmartWood Easel from Ecotots $180, 2modern.com
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®
green GEAR
What to get for ...
The cutting-edge dad
Because he’s the most plugged-in member of the family RoHS-compliant, Energy Star–certified dual iPhone/iPod alarm clock $130, i-luv.com
Recycled-cardboard travel chess set $12, paradoxyproducts.com
Energy-saving power monitor $100, blackanddecker.com
Super-cheap, energy-efficient, paperback-sized PC $249, cherrypal.com for info
Storvino postconsumer–recycled plastic wine crate $20, target.com
Plug your MP3 player into the Phonofone II and let this ceramic gramophone use acoustic vibrations— not batteries or electricity—to make sweet music. $495, aplusrstore.com
Petrochemical-free grooming kit $70, lizearle.com
Five percent of the purchase price of this Energy Star-certified plasma goes to an eco-org like the Nature Conservancy. $3000 for model shown, panasonic.com
58 | december-january 2009
What to get for ...
The Humanitarian-minded MOm Because sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a worldly crusader who preached the fair-trade gospel long before it was cool Fairly traded recycled-sari ottoman, handmade in India $199, gaiam.com
Rainforest-friendly bath set $20, saveyourworld.com
Mini file folders made from recycled maps $8, donovanbeeson.etsy.com
Recycledâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;mosquito netting wallet made in partnership with Cambodian workers $41, threestonesteps.com
Buffalo horn-and-wood salad servers, handmade by Vietnamese artisans $40, originalgood.com
Dear Mom necklace from an LA jewelry shop that uses eco-friendly molds $98, dogeared.com
These handbeaded safari animals provide employment for 450 South African women and support HIV/AIDS relief. $158, Monkeybiz.co.za
From Ojon, the White Ball is a full-body cleanser made in the Central-American rainforest from sustainably harvested ingredients. $65, sephora.com
plentymag.com | 59
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green GEAR
What to get for ...
The home-obsessed sister Because her habitat is her humanity Nontoxic, nonstick Ceramcor cookware $400 per set, chefsresource.com
Transglass recycled-wine bottle vessels Carafe, $50; cups, $73 for four; re-modern.com
Bamboo-handle knife set $20, ikea.com
Organic truffle-flavored olive oil gift set $75, shopdarosario.com
Raksha Bella organic cotton bedding Duvet (Queen) $273, rakshabellaorganic.com
Recycledâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;metal sign platter $400, eco-artware.com
Cotton-yarn towels handwoven by Indian cooperatives $25 for a set of three, karaweaves.com
Recycled rice-and-feed-bag laundry carrier $36, vivaterra.com
60 | december-january 2009
What to get for ...
The greenophyte guy Because these days, everyone’s a convert Recycled-rubber basketball $15, wilson.com
Reusable bags $6 each, baggu.com
Bio-compostable drumsticks and guitar picks Drumsticks, $15 per pair; guitar picks, $4.20 for 12; wheatware.com
Nothing since the picture of the whole earth has done more to engender awe and appreciation of the environment than the BBC’s Planet Earth series—now available in a DVD set. $50, shopping.discovery.com
Get a free CFL bulb when you purchase this organic vodka. $22, vodka360.com
Chemical-free home cleaning kit $26, eco-me.com
Water-powered clock $16, bedolwhatsnext.com
Pen made from salvaged ballpark stadium seats From $140, uncommongoods.com
The Global Giving gift card supports humanitarian, economic, and educational initiatives around the world—and the card is biodegradable. Prices vary, globalgiving.com
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®
green GEAR
What to get for ...
The super-stylish girl Because green is the new black
Geraldine Rincon orange tagua necklace— a vibrant alterative to ivory $200, greenwithglamour.com
Rocket Farms mini orchid $23, rocketfarms.com
Natural canvas tote $27, dogeared.com
Brad Pitt cocreated Kiehl’s aloe vera body cleanser, the first-ever Cradle to Cradle–certified beauty product. $16.50 for 6.8 oz, kiehls.com
Organic cotton scarf $10, maggiesorganics.com
Louise Galvin shampoos and conditioners are free of sodium lauryl (and laureth) sulfate, with no preservatives. $44 each, blissworld.com
Postconsumer–recycled paper notebooks $8.50 each, seltzergoods.com
Buy one pair of these slip-ons and Toms will give one to a child in need. $48 for blue glitter style shown, tomsshoes.com
Douglas fir sachet $9, beklina.com
Heather Heron organic–hemp silk clutch “Magnolia” $350, roseark.com
62 | december-january 2009
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The Magnificent Seven A master chef reinvents the classic Christmas Eve fish feast using sustainably sourced seafood. The result is one unbelievably delicious, seven-course meal
Recipes by Eric Ripert Photographs by Marcus Nilsson
grooming by soula
kalamaras; set styling by camilla Slattery
I
n the food world, the name Eric Ripert is synonymous with seafood at its best, each dish as close to its origins as fruits de mer fresh off the boat. The famed chef and co-owner of New York City’s threeMichelin-star Le Bernardin and author of the newly released book On the Line (Artisan), honed his technique as a young line cook in Paris, working the fish station. Cooking seafood has fascinated him ever since. During his early days at Le Bernardin, Ripert expanded his criteria for evaluating fish beyond quality and freshness to include sustainability, as well. “As soon as we became aware of overfishing and pollution, it was just logical for us to be involved,” Ripert says. “We started by joining the Give Swordfish a Break campaign in 1998 and then moved on to Chilean sea bass, and we still print a list of those and other fish we don’t serve on our menu.” For the fish he does offer, Ripert closely follows the guidelines of groups like Sea Web, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and Oceana, and relies on a trusted network of small-scale, East Coast fishermen for 80 percent of his supply. “If we support the small-fishing economy that doesn’t use huge fleets of boats and nets or stay at sea for a week at a time,” he explains, “then we’re doing the right thing, and the fish won’t be disappearing.” In today’s culture of gas station sushi, it’s hard to overestimate the impact of responsibly minded chefs like Ripert. They not only introduce untold numbers of fish eaters to the right kind of seafood but also enable small fishermen and farms to continue fighting ecologically devastating and inhumane industrial fisheries. For these reasons and more, Plenty asked Ripert for his interpretation of the classic Italian Feast of the Seven Fishes. Traditionally, this Christmas Eve meal represents abstinence, as it is prepared without meat or dairy products, like butter or milk. Ripert’s take is slightly different. Filled with an abundance of sustainble, holiday-worthy options—from the practical (seasonal scallops) to the luxurious (lobster and smoked salmon) to the classical (calamari and bacalao)—his menu celebrates the beauty of seafood for seafood’s sake. The result is anything but sacrificial. It’s an elegant and festive meal infused with bright flavors, the comforts of home-cooked dishes, and a passionate commitment to restoring the seas.
Lemon-Splashed Slivers of Scallops with Extra-Virgin Olive Oil and Chives
Serves four Scallops
8 ounces sea scallops ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil 2 teaspoons shallots, minced 2 tablespoons fresh chives, thinly sliced 1 teaspoon pique (see recipe on right) 1 lemon, cut in half and wrapped in cheesecloth Espelette pepper, fine sea salt, and freshly ground white pepper
Pull the muscles off of the scallops and discard. Slice each scallop horizontally into ⅛-inch-thick slivers. Arrange 2 ounces of scallop slivers in a circle, leaving a ½-inch space between the slivers and the rim of each of 4 plates. Season the scallops with sea salt, pepper, and Espelette. Generously brush the scallops with extra-virgin olive oil. Sprinkle shallots and chives over each plate, then drizzle pique over each plate. Squeeze lemon juice over the scallops and serve immediately.
Pique (make at least one week in advance)
1¼ cups water 3 ounces pineapple skin 6 Thai hot peppers 1 small Scotch bonnet pepper 1 teaspoon garlic, peeled and sliced 1 cilantro sprig 1 basil sprig ¼ teaspoon black peppercorns ¼ teaspoon sugar Pinch of fine sea salt
➊ Combine water and pineapple skin in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove pan from heat and allow the water to infuse for 5 minutes. Strain and reserve the water; discard the pineapple skin. ➋ Pierce peppers with a paring knife. Add peppers, garlic, cilantro, basil, peppercorns, sugar, and salt to a sterilized jar. Add pineapple-infused water. Allow contents to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate and leave the jar to sit for 1 week, covered loosely with plastic wrap. Store up to 1 month.
Opposite page: Eric Ripert takes a break in the kitchen at Le Bernardin, his New York City restaurant.
plentymag.com | 65
Baked Lobster with Baby Leeks and Sauce Gribiche
Serves four
Sauce Gribiche
2 egg yolks 2 tablespoons lemon juice 10 ounces unsalted butter, melted and hot 1 tablespoon cornichons, chopped 1 tablespoon capers, chopped 1 small shallot, minced 1 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns 1 tablespoon tarragon leaves, sliced 1 tablespoon chives, sliced Fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Braised Baby Leeks
24 baby leeks 3 cups water 2 tablespoons unsalted butter Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Baked Lobster
8 ounces unsalted butter, cut into large dice 4 Spiny or Maine lobster tails, split in half 4 Spiny or Maine lobster claws (poached to medium rare and taken out of the shell) Fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
➊ For the sauce, combine egg yolks and lemon juice in a blender. Set speed to medium and drizzle the butter into the blender in a steady stream until it has emulsified into the eggs and is fully incorporated. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper; keep warm. ➋ To prepare the braised
leeks, trim the ends of the leeks and remove the tough greens; wash thoroughly. Place leeks in a shallow pot and cover with 3 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of butter. Bring to a simmer, lightly seasoning with salt and pepper, and cook slowly until the leeks are very tender, about 20 minutes. Allow the leeks to cool in the braising liquid. Reserve. ➌ Preheat the oven to 350°F. Make a beurre monté by
bringing ¼ cup water to a boil in a small pot. Whisk in the butter in increments; season to taste with salt and pepper and keep warm. When ready to serve, season the lobster tails with salt and pepper and brush them with beurre monté. Put the tails in a pan and bake them until done, about 3 to 5 minutes. Meanwhile, drop the lobster claws into the warm beurre monté to heat, and stir the cornichons, capers, shal-
lots, cracked pepper, tarragon, and chives into the sauce. Gently reheat the leeks in the braising liquid. ➍ To plate, arrange 6 leeks on each plate parallel to one another. Take the lobster tails out of their shells. Arrange 2 lobster tail halves on top of the bed of leeks; place a lobster claw next to the lobster tails. Spoon the sauce gribiche over and around the lobster. Serve immediately.
“If we support the small-fishing economy, then we’re doing the right thing, and the fish won’t be disappearing.” 66 | december-january 2009
Grilled Salted Cod Salad with Avocado and Romaine
Serves four
Grilled Salted Cod Salad
2 6-ounce Pacific or Alaskan codfish fillets 1 teaspoon Viking smoked salt 2 tablespoons plus ½ teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil 2 teaspoons fresh chives, thinly sliced 2 teaspoons red onion, minced 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar Fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
Garnish
4 tablespoons guacamole (see recipe below) 12 romaine heart leaves (very small inner leaves) 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil Viking smoked salt Fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
➊ To make the salted cod, season both sides of the fish with the Viking smoked salt. Place the cod on a towel-lined plate, cover, and refrigerate for 24 hours. ➋ When ready to serve, preheat the grill. Rinse the cod and dry it well. Marinate with ½ teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil and white pepper. Place the cod on the grill, marking each side and cooking only until medium rare. Place the fish in the refrigerator to prevent
overcooking. When the fish is cool, gently flake it apart with a fork. Add the chives, red onion, sherry vinegar, and remaining olive oil. Gently mix everything together, trying not to break the fish up too much. Season to taste (adding more salt if needed) and reserve. ➌ When ready to serve, arrange the salted cod salad in a 3½-inch ring mold in the center of each plate. Put 1 tablespoon of guacamole on the center of each salted cod salad. Season the romaine heart leaves with salt and pepper and toss with sherry vinegar and olive oil. Arrange the romaine on top of the guacamole. Remove the ring mold from each plate. Serve immediately. Guacamole
1 avocado 1 tablespoon red onion, minced 1 tablespoon lime juice ¼ teaspoon sherry vinegar Fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
Cut the avocado in half and remove the pit, then scoop out the flesh with a large spoon. Place the avocado, red onion, lime juice, and sherry vinegar in a stainless steel bowl and gently smash with a fork. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Reserve.
Ripert with his executive sous chef, Eric Grestel, and research and development chef, Soa Davies.
Kitchen Speak, French-Style Beurre monté Butter normally breaks down into its basic components (fats, solids, and water) at 160°F, but in a beurre monté, the butter is heated with water in such a way that it remains emulsified up to 180°. Bouillabaisse Traditional Provençal fish stew,
made with the freshest possible seafood, herbs, and vegetables. China cap Similar in shape to the chinois (see below) but with an all-metal body and much larger holes. Chinois Conical sieve with an extremely fine mesh, used to strain custards, soups, and sauces; produces a smooth texture. Confit Refers to any food that has been immersed
in a substance for both flavor and preservation (think tomatoes in olive oil or ducks in fat rendered). Consommé Clarified, deeply flavorful broth (whether from meat, poultry, or seafood) that has been skimmed and strained of all fats and impurities. Fumet Concentrated stock made from fish or
mushrooms, used to add depth to mildly flavored soups and stocks. Julienne Technique that involves cutting an item
(typically vegetables, such as carrots and potatoes) into four-sided matchsticks that measure about ¼-inch thick. Pique A traditionally Latin-American spiced vinegar-
and-fruit-based hot sauce. Raft Refers to a combination of ingredients that are added to clarify a broth by trapping impurities so they then float to the surface in an easily removable mass held together by an egg protein. Sauce gribiche Tartare-style sauce served warm or cold with seafood or boiled meats; made by emulsifying egg yolks with butter or oil, corni chons, and fresh herbs.
plentymag.com | 67
Sautéed Calamari Filled with Sweet Prawns and Wood Ear Mushrooms in Calamari Consommé Serves four Calamari Consommé
1 teaspoon canola oil 3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced, plus ½ garlic clove, peeled and minced ½ small red Thai chili pepper, stems and seeds removed 1 pound cleaned calamari, plus 2 ounces, cut very small 1½ cups fumet (basic recipe) 1½ cups water 1 egg white raft Fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
Calamari and Filling
4 ounces wild-caught Oregon or US shrimp, cut very small 4 ounces Stone or Dungeness crabmeat, cleaned ¼ cup dried wood ear mushrooms, rehydrated in water, then minced ¼ cup onion, minced ¼ cup rice vermicelli, rehydrated, then chopped ¼ cup carrot, finely grated 5 tablespoons shrimp stock, reduced by half 4 teaspoons soy sauce 12 baby calamari tubes and tentacles, cleaned 4 cups canola oil Wondra flour, as needed Fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
Make sure the ingredients are very cold—otherwise the egg whites will coagulate too quickly and the raft will not form properly. Whisk the ingredients into the cold calamari broth and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon so ingredients don’t stick to the pot. Stop stirring when the raft starts to turn gray and solidify; clarify the broth at a low simmer for 10 minutes. Carefully ladle consommé through a coffee filter, being careful not to break up the raft too much. Reserve. ➋ To prepare the calamari filling, preheat the oven to 375°F. Combine the shrimp, crab, mushrooms, onions, vermicelli, and carrots in a bowl. Mix thoroughly and season to taste with
salt and pepper. Transfer to an oven-safe dish or pan and bake until the shrimp is just barely cooked, about 3 to 5 minutes. Allow filling to cool, and stir with a fork to break apart the bigger pieces. Mix in the reduced shrimp stock and soy sauce; season to taste. Stuff each baby calamari ¾ full with filling. Secure the open ends with a toothpick and refrigerate until ready to use. ➌ For the garnish, warm the mushroom stock and add the wood ear mushrooms to rehydrate; keep warm. Using a candy thermometer, heat canola oil in a pot to 400°F. Bring the consommé to a boil; keep warm. ➍ To cook the stuffed calamari,
heat two nonstick sauté pans. Season the stuffed calamari with salt and pepper, then sear on both sides. Dust the tentacles with Wondra flour and fry in the hot oil until they are crispy and golden brown. Transfer tentacles to a paper towel–lined plate and season with salt and pepper. To plate, place 3 to 4 pieces of wood ear mushrooms in the center of each shallow bowl. Remove the toothpicks and place 3 calamari on top of the mushrooms. Place an arugula leaf between each baby calamari, 3 per dish. Place a fried tentacle on top of the calamari ends. Pour consommé around calamari. Drizzle with chili oil, and serve immediately.
Garnish
½ cup mushroom stock (basic recipe) 12–16 pieces dried wood ear mushrooms 12 baby arugula leaves Chili oil
➊ To make the consommé, heat canola oil in a small stock pot over medium heat. Add the sliced garlic and red chili pepper, and sweat until softened but not browned, about 1½ minutes. Add the pound of calamari and cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently, without letting it color. Add the fumet and water. Bring to a boil and allow broth to simmer for 40 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, remove from the heat, strain the broth through a fine mesh sieve, and set aside to cool. To clarify the broth, whisk the egg white in a medium bowl until frothy, then stir in the chopped calamari and minced garlic. 68 | december-january 2009
Baked Striped Bass and Tomato Agnolotti in Bouillabaisse
Serves four
Tomato Agnolotti
2 tablespoons butter 1 small shallot, minced 1 clove garlic, minced 2 cups tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced 1 egg Fresh pasta dough (available at most gourmet markets) Wondra flour, as needed Fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
Bouillabaisse Broth
1 tablespoon canola oil 4 Spiny or Maine lobster bodies, torn in half, cut up 1 small fennel, thinly sliced ½ cup shallots, peeled and thinly sliced ¼ cup garlic, peeled and thinly sliced 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1 tomato, cored and chopped ½ teaspoon saffron ½ star anise 1 tablespoon fennel seeds 6 cups shrimp stock (recipe on right) ½ pound nonoily white fish (like bass or red snapper), cleaned, cut in 2-inch pieces Fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
Striped Bass
4 6-ounce striped bass fillets, skin off 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (about 4 ounces), cut into large dice 1 teaspoon canola oil Fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
➊ For the agnolotti, melt the butter and sweat the shallots and garlic. Add the diced tomato and cook until all of the liquid is reduced; season with salt and pepper. Cool completely. Make an egg wash by whisking 1 egg together with 1 teaspoon of water. Carefully lay out the roomtemperature dough on a work surface dusted with Wondra flour. Lightly brush the bottom half of the dough with egg wash. Place 20 mounds of the cooled tomato confit (about 1 teaspoon per) 1½ inches apart on the egg-washed dough. Fold the top half of the dough over the filling. Dust the top
with Wondra flour. Seal the agnolotti by molding the pasta over the filling. Cut the agnolotti with a 1-inch round cookie cutter, trimming very close to the filling—there should be no more than ¼-inch of pasta around the filling. Place the agnolotti on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet that has been dusted with Wondra flour. Dust the top of the agnolotti with more flour. (The agnolotti can be made up to a week ahead and frozen.) Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. ➋ To make the bouillabaisse broth, heat the canola oil in a heavy-bottomed stock pot. Add the lobster bodies and sear. Reduce heat and add the fennel, shallots, and garlic; sweat the vegetables for a few minutes and season lightly with salt and pepper. Add tomato paste, tomato, saffron, star anise, and fennel seeds; sweat for another few minutes. Cover with shrimp stock, bring to a simmer, and cook for 20 to 30 minutes. Add the fish and cook for another 10 minutes. Season to taste. Strain the broth through a fine mesh sieve. Set aside. ➌ For the striped bass, preheat the oven to 375ºF. Make a beurre monté by bringing 2 tablespoons of water to a boil. Gradually whisk in 4 ounces of butter a tablespoon at a time until fully incorporated; season to taste with salt and pepper. Brush beurre monté over the bottom of a baking dish. Season the striped bass on both sides with salt and pepper and lay it in the baking dish. Brush the top of the striped bass with more beurre monté, then add ½ cup of water to the baking dish. Bake the fish until it is just warm in the center (a metal skewer inserted into the fish should give no resistance and, when left in for 5 seconds, feel warm to the touch). Meanwhile, cook the agnolotti in boiling, salted water until they start to float, about 30 seconds; drain on a towel. Bring the bouillabaisse
to a boil and keep warm. ➍ To plate, put the striped bass in the center of each bowl; place 5 agnolotti around the fish; pour 2 ounces of bouillabaisse into the bowl. Serve immediately. Shrimp Stock Makes 1 Quart
½ 1 ¼ 2 2 8 5
tablespoon canola oil pound whole wildcaught Oregon or US shrimp (about 40 to 50) cup onion, medium-diced tablespoons carrot, medium-diced tablespoons celery, medium-diced ounces tomato paste (about 1 cup) cups cold water
To make the stock, heat the canola oil in a wide, shallow, heavy-bottomed pot until the oil is almost smoking. Add the shrimp, and sear until most of the shells are bright orange, about 2 minutes. Add the onion, carrots, and celery, and cook until the vegetables start to get tender, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and mix in well with a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring constantly (being careful not to burn the bottom of the pot), until the tomato flavor is cooked out and the color of the tomato paste has changed from red to orange, about 10 minutes. Add the water to the pot and bring it to a boil. Remove the pot from the heat and carefully process the stock in a blender or food processor until the shrimp is coarsely chopped. Return the stock to the heat and bring it to a simmer; remove it from the heat again and let it sit for 10 minutes to let the flavors infuse. Strain the stock through a China cap and then through a chinois, pressing in the China cap to extract as much liquid as possible from the shells. Refrigerate until ready to use.
“As a responsible individual, I don’t want to leave this planet by leaving a disaster behind.”
plentymag.com | 69
Kanpachi Tartare Topped with Wasabi Tobiko and Ginger-Coriander Emulsion
Serves four
Ginger-Coriander Emulsion Makes approximately ⅔ cup
2 teaspoons wasabi paste 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice 1½ tablespoons ginger oil (basic recipe) 4 tablespoons canola oil ¼ teaspoon sugar Fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
Kanpachi Tartare Makes approximately 1 cup
Wild Alaskan and Smoked Salmon with Apple, Celery, Baby Watercress, and JalapeÑo Emulsion
Serves four
Jalapeño Emulsion Makes approximately ½ cup
½ cup jalapeño peppers, diced and seeded 1 teaspoon shallots, minced 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil ¼ cup fresh lemon juice Fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper Wild Alaskan and Smoked Salmon
1 Granny Smith Apple 5 ounces wild Alaskan salmon, cut into 12 2½-by-1-inch rectangles 5 ounces smoked salmon, cut into 12 2½-by-1-inch rectangles 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper Garnish
½ Granny Smith apple, sliced ¼-inch thick and julienned 1 celery stalk, peeled and cut into thin half-moons 1 teaspoon fresh celery leaf, julienned 1 teaspoon fresh Italian parsley, julienned ½ petal lemon confit (basic recipe), blanched and minced ½ teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil ½ lemon, juiced ¼ cup micro watercress Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
➊ Prepare jalapeño emulsion by combining all ingredients in a blender. Process until very smooth and season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a clean container and refrigerate until ready to use. ➋ Peel and slice the apple ¼-inch thick—you’ll need about 20 slices. Trim apple slices into roughly 2½-by1-inch rectangles. Blanch very quickly in boiling water, about 2 seconds, then shock in ice water and drain on a paper towel. ➌ Arrange the salmon and ap ple slices down the center of the plate in the following order: wild salmon, apple, smoked salmon. Repeat 2 more times with a slice of app le in between each slice of salmon (there should be 3 slices of wild salmon, 5 slices of apple, and 3 slices of smoked salmon per plate). ➍ To serve, season the salmon and apple with salt and black pepper and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. In a small bowl, combine the apple sticks, celery, celery leaf, parsley, and lemon confit. Season with salt and black pepper; toss with olive oil and lemon juice. Loosely arrange the salad over the salmon and apple, and top with watercress. Spoon about 1 ounce of jalapeño emulsion around the plate. Serve immediately.
70 | december-january 2009
8 ounces kanpachi, cut into ¼-inch dice 2 teaspoons wasabi paste 1 teaspoon ginger oil (basic recipe) 1 teaspoon canola oil 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice 4 teaspoons fresh cilantro, julienned 1 ounce wasabi tobiko 8 micro cilantro sprouts Fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
➊ To make the gingercoriander emulsion, process the wasabi, lemon juice, and lime juice in a blender. Slowly pour in ginger and canola oils to emulsify. Add the sugar and season to taste with salt and pepper. Reserve. ➋ To make the kanpachi tartare, combine the kanpachi, wasabi paste, ginger oil, canola oil, lime juice, lemon juice, cilantro, salt, and pepper. Gently mix ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Gently fold 2 teaspoons of the wasabi tobiko into the tartare. ➌ Mold ¼ cup of the kanpachi tartare into each 3-inch ring mold. Spread 1 teaspoon of wasabi tobiko on top of each tartare. Transfer the tartares to appetizer plates and remove the molds. ➍ Garnish the top of each tartare with two micro cilantro sprouts. Spoon emulsion around the tartare. Serve immediately.
“People come to Le Bernardin for a nice meal, not to feel guilty about what they eat. We raise awareness in a subtle way.”
1965 Eric Ripert is born in Antibes, France. 1975 Family moves to Andorra, a small, landlocked country between France and Spain. 1980 Ripert leaves home at the age of 15 to attend culinary
1998 The James Beard Foundation names Le Bernardin “Outstanding Restaurant of the Year” and crowns Ripert “Top Chef in New York City.” 2002 Publishes his second book, A Return to Cooking
school in Perpignan, France.
(Artisan), a collaborative effort that was selected by Newsweek as one of its best gift books of the season.
1982 Moves to Paris to cook at the legendary La Tour D’Argent.
2003 Beard Foundation further honors Ripert as
1984 Takes a position at the three-Michelin-star restaurant Jamin, also in Paris. 1985 Leaves Jamin to fulfill his military service. He returns in 1986 at the request of then-chef/owner Joel Robuchon.
1989 Moves to Washington, DC to work under Jean-Louis Palladin at his eponymous restaurant in the Watergate Hotel. 1991 Moves to New York to work briefly under David Bouley as sous chef before departing for Le Bernardin a few months later.
“Outstanding Chef in the United States.”
2008 Publishes On the Line (Artisan), a behind-thescenes look at Le Bernardin.
Sourcebook (Where to buy) Danish Viking smoked sea salt $25 for 3 oz, salttraders.com Scotch bonnet pepper A super-hot, slightly fruity pepper distantly related to the habañero (but hotter). Prices vary, available at most Asian markets. Espelette pepper A staple of Basque cuisine, this AOC-classified pepper has gradually replaced black pepper in southwestern France. $13.75 for 1.6 oz, gourmetfoodstore.com
1994 Ripert becomes Le Bernardin’s executive chef.
Wasabi Tobiko (aka Tobiko Wasabi) Flying fish roe steeped in wasabi for a kick. $14.99 for 4 oz, 7streetmarketplace.com
1995 At the age of 29, Ripert earns a four-star rating from
Wondra flour An “instantized,” low-protein flour that dissolves quickly into liquids; beloved for sauces and gravies. $4.69, smithsfoodanddrug.elsstore. com (also available in most supermarkets)
The New York Times.
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72 | december-january 2009
The Banks Job
The cement-lined LA River trickles through Maywood, in November 2000 (opposite page). If river activists and the city council have their way, industrial lots like these would become parkland.
How do you kick-start a $2 billion plan to transform the landscape (and soul) of Los Angeles into That of a river town? By paddling ahead
photo by Getty Images, David McNew/Newsmakers
By Frederick Reimers great blue heron spooks the same way on every river. When confronted by kayakers, the stork-like, gray-blue bird takes a few mechanical steps, wings akimbo, then lofts 50 yards downstream to the next bend, never reasoning that if it just landed upstream of the paddlers, it could be rid of them. But these awkward birds behave the same no matter where you find them. What’s more surprising than their escape plan is that the herons, the fish on which they feed, and various other parts of this functioning ecosystem, exist here at all, 15 miles into the concrete channel that is the Los Angeles River. For nearly 40 years, the river—the reason the Spanish chose the site that became LA—has been almost completely paved over and mercilessly straightened into an artificial canyon. A fence runs along both sides of the riverbanks, and five yards beyond that, a wall separates the river from twelve lanes of highway and the four mil-
lion people that make LA proper the country’s second largest city. The river runs 51 miles through the metropolis, from its start behind a high school football field in the San Fernando Valley past Paramount Studios, downtown, and Compton, and ends in Long Beach. But many LA residents can’t even identify it. That’s just fine to the US Army Corps of Engineers, who straightjacketed the river more than 60 years ago for flood control and restricted access to it. Which means the group of twelve boaters I’m with is breaking the law. We are paddling near the border of Studio City in the July heat, early into a planned three-day trip. Only a few inches of water—almost all of it reclaimed from the wastewater treatment plant upstream—lap the river’s concrete banks, barely floating our fleet of yellow plastic boats. We figure the police will stop us at some point, since two members of
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LA’s sole water source for 100 years has become nothing more than a storm drain, while controversial pacts suck dry several rivers hundreds of miles away.
In Burbank, LA River Expedition leader George Wolfe navigates the waters under one of the more than 100 bridges that cross over it (above). Wolfe had been planning a descent for longer than a year, but it wasn’t until the Army Corps of Engineers jeopardized protections offered by the Clean Water Act that the expedition became a political stunt (above). Future river-revitalization plans call for transforming bland banks like those at Canoga Park (bottom left) into trail-lined recreational areas with native trees and vines (bottom right).
our group were escorted from the channel twelve months ago, and because the Corps denied us a permit to float the LA River this year. When the Corps announced in the spring of 2007 that the river wasn’t a navigable waterway and therefore not eligible for full Clean Water Act protections, the trip we’d been planning mostly for sheer adventure suddenly became a cause. Now we hoped to create a grassroots uproar that would force the EPA to supersede the Corps and secure those
here have probably been more movies filmed within the LA River’s reaches than actual descents of its waterway. In Grease, rival high school gangs stage a drag race down its dry bed. Punks in Repo Man do the same. And in Terminator 2, Arnold Schwarzenegger flees up the river on a motorcycle while being chased by an 18-wheeler that menacingly smashes stray shopping carts. If you believe Hollywood, the neglected concrete channel is more like a road than a river. But the Los Angeles River could have been to the City of Angels what Central Park is to New York City if the plan envisioned by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr, son of that famed park’s landscape architect, had been adopted. In 1930, Olmsted and his partner, Harlan Bartholomew, submitted a plan to
photos by George Boe (top left); City of Los Angeles 2007 Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan (bottom)
protections. Not only was clean water at stake but so was the recently adopted $2 billion river-revitalization plan—the efforts of a city notorious for ignoring nature to reconnect with its natural history. Farther into Studio City, the water slots into a fast-moving, 8-foot-wide trench in the center of the canyon as it passes behind the Paramount and Warner Brothers lots. I run my kayak over the foot-high waterfall at the head of the trench, dodge a shopping cart, and I’m whisked downstream with surprising speed.
32 Miles of river (out of 51) that flow through city limits 341 total bird species spotted along the LA River and its tributaries 74 | december-january 2009
rivers situated hundreds of miles away. Today, the city gets only 15 percent of its water from local wells. Los Angeles has less green space and fewer public parks than any other city in the country, particularly in the poorer communities through which the river runs. When the city council established the Ad Hoc Committee on the Los Angeles River in 2002, there was plenty of evidence that river revitalization could transform any urban center. Beginning in 1975, Denver turned the area where the South Platte River and Cherry Creek meet into a series of parks, sparking redevelopment of a largely industrial area that had been the site of the city’s founding. An estimated $75 million in accumulated river-restoration funding in Denver has led to $5 billion in private investment in the surrounding, newly hip LoDo (Lower Downtown) district. In the 1990s, San Jose, California, followed suit with a reclamation of the Gua-
An egret searches for food in December 2006 (below), after the season’s first heavy rainfall, when an estimated 150 tons of trash were reportedly collected from the LA River. Group members paddling past the industrial city of Vernon (bottom), just south of downtown LA.
photos by AP photo/Los Angeles County Department Public Works, Bob Riha, Jr. (top right); George Boe (right)
the city that recommended buffering the flood-prone river and its tributaries with parks. Unfortunately, Bartholomew and Olmsted released their expensive proposal shortly after the stock market crash of 1929, and no one wanted to forgo the potential profits of private-sector develop ment along the river. The parks department filed their copy of the plan to green the LA River without ever reading it. Then in 1938, a massive flood killed 85 people and caused millions of dollars in damage, sealing the river’s fate. Three years later, workers began laying 3.5 million barrels of cement and 7 million tons of reinforced steel onto the river’s banks, converting it into a sluiceway meant to move floodwater as rapidly as possible to the sea. It was indicative of Los Angeles’ convoluted water practice: The river—the city’s sole water source for 100 years— became nothing more than a storm drain, while at the same time, LA entered into controversial pacts to suck dry several
$500 Fine for being in the riverbed 1989 Year that assemblyman Richard Katz suggested turning the riverbed into a ”bargain freeway”
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The author (top) paddles below Interstate 710 by the city of Long Beach. Expedition member Jeffrey Tipton displays his commemorative T-shirt (middle) after the first day’s paddle. Detritus spotted during the three-day journey included shopping carts, a three-foot-tall teddy bear, and a Barbie-edition toy Jeep (bottom).
dalupe River; and in 2001, Reno, Nevada’s downtown experienced a renaissance when the city created an island park in the neglected Truckee River. And so the City of Angels’ waterway got a reprieve of sorts in 2007: The city council adopted the $2 billion, 20-year Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan, an incredibly ambitious blueprint of 238 potential projects, from creating parks and bike paths to reducing flooding and removing concrete banks to restoring wildlife habitats, wetlands sites, and recreational boating opportunities. The plan would establish, in Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s words, an “emerald necklace” through Los Angeles. It would also be one of the most significant revitalizations ever, larger in scope than Denver’s 140 acres of parks along a 10.5-mile corridor or the $360 million restoration of the Cheonggyecheon River in Seoul, South Korea. But months after the council’s decision,
y our third and final day on the river, we’ve only encountered the police once, and they didn’t stop us—one of them said he was a kayaker, too. At Taylor Yard, the largest proposed project on the River Revitalization Master Plan, the water table is too high for concrete to adhere to the river bottom, so it’s alive with activity. The waterway almost resembles a natural stream with shallow rapids, and a jungle of 20-foot-high vegetation crowds sandy islands. A family harvests the greenery on one of the islands to use in a soup, and there are a few homeless camps staked out in clearings in the dense brush. On the banks, Latino fishermen cast for carp. (One of our expedition members tells me he once saw a man trap a 10-pound carp in the shallows with his T-shirt.) Plan renderings show Taylor Yard as an area where the river can spread out during flooding while providing a green way during dry spells. The architects’ drawings show gracefully engineered, overlapping terraces of vegetation and swales traversed by walking paths. But not everyone agrees on this vision for the space. Melanie Winter, director of the River Project, one of several LA River advocacy groups, calls the master plans for
photos by George Boe
the Army Corps of Engineers jeopardized the plan by ruling that the waterway isn’t traditionally navigable and is, therefore, exempted from the Clean Water Act. The federal law establishes water-quality standards and provides an instrument for prosecuting polluters, but a recent US Supreme Court ruling opened up a loophole that eliminates intermittent streams, like many of the tributaries found in the river, from those protections. When the Corps’ internal ruling was leaked to river advocates by a concerned employee, the decision made newspapers across the country. State lawmakers appealed directly to the EPA to overrule the Corps, while grassroots efforts continued to focus attention on the river’s livelihood. Three weeks after our own trip, which aimed to prove that the river truly is navigable, the EPA decided to consider it and the Verde River in Arizona for special protections. National Resource Defense Council attorney David Beckman told me later that the Corps had “kicked a hornet’s nest.”
25 Miles of existing bike paths that run along the LA River 100 Years LA previously used the river as its exclusive water source 76 | december-january 2009
Taylor Yard “Disneyland.” Winter believes the plan doesn’t go far enough in creating open space for habitats and flooding zones (which replenish the aquifer). She says these would best be accomplished through buffer areas similar to those proposed in Olmsted’s 1930 plan. “The only thing the city is interested in is drawing development to the river,” she says. A third viewpoint comes from Latino community representatives who say the master plan is elitist, favoring upscale development rather than providing playing fields for local children. Still others say that the plan doesn’t do enough to reduce gang violence. The idea that the master plan can curb gang activity is not so far-fetched. The night before, we’d taken our boats out at Marsh Park, an acre-sized pocket green space that is the most recently completed project on the master list. As we hauled our kayaks up the slope and across the bike path, we stumbled on a marshmallow roast being held by two young women in ranger uniforms and attended by a handful of 13-year old boys recruited from the adjacent, newly completed skateboard park. Joel Jiminez, the young man in charge of monitoring the skatepark, couldn’t believe we were heading all the way to Long Beach via the waterway. “People are afraid of the river,” he says, noting that gang members prowl up and down the riverside bike path. “But parks like this help a lot. It’s killing them with kindness.” ith five miles until the river’s end, the straightaways are so long that the kayaks I can see a half-mile ahead look like dark spots shimmering in the heat waves rising from the concrete. I’m ready to get to Long Beach, where the river tumbles down a final slope into the soft-bottomed estuary at the head of San Pedro Bay. The birds— great blue herons included—are still here. As we near the ocean in the reddening afternoon light, we see ducks swimming in the channel, gaggles of Canada geese standing in the shallows, and hundreds of black-necked stilts mincing around the shallow rills on long, backward-bending orange legs. When we pass, the flocks rise in ragged waves, turn in the air, and settle again behind us upriver, in no apparent hurry to get to the ocean. ✤
“People are afraid of the river,” a local skatepark monitor says, noting that gangs prowl the banks. “But parks like this help a lot. it’s killing them with kindness.”
Though the banks of the Sepulveda Basin are concrete, this two-mile section contains an earth bottom, allowing for vegetation to grow alongside the water and helping to provide a present-day glimpse at what the LA River might look like in two decades’ time.
12 Freeways that cross the LA River $155 Million Annual tax revenues if LA’s four largest River projects are fully actualized
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78 december-january 2009
Stuff
s t s i l a t n E n v i r o n m e Y o u r b e g in n e rs ’ g u id e t o e k i L a c c e s s in g , b e f ri e n d in g , by ch ris ti an la nd er
le p o e p n e re g g in it lo p x and e
il lu st ra t io n s by le if p ar so n s
Choosing one’s friends is a very weighty endeavor that can yield significant benefits. Some people aim to befriend celebrities because of the exclusive parties and the possibility of landing on Perez Hilton’s blog. Other people aim for politicians because of the conStill nections and first dibs on others aim for musicians because it provides a more legitimate excuse to wear tight jeans and not wash your hair. Recently, a new subset of desirable targets has come on the market: environmentalists. Traditionally, environmentalists as friends. This have not been in is in part because they have developed a reputation for being
bumper stickers.
very high demand
E n v ir o n m e n ta c a n see m l ik el is t s a v e r y d if f ic u group to lt in f il t r a t e and eventu ally
exploit.
long-winded and angry
about the state of things, because they want you to replace all of your belongings with green ones, and because until now, they have been largely inaccessible, living in communal farms in Vermont and in the world’s biggest hippie compound—commonly referred to as the Pacific Northwest. They can seem like a very difficult group to infiltrate and eventually exploit. Do not let this deter you from entering into what can be a financially and emotionally beneficial alliance. Under standing and talking about the things that environmentalists to free care about most will be your lightbulbs, handmade soap,and many other perks.
golden ticket
Bringing Numerous Talking Points to Dinner If an environmentalist invites you over for dinner, do not assume that your host’s pri mary purpose is to serve you a meal. The goal is education. You cannot assume your host is vegan or vege tarian either. Doing so could lead to a number of social faux pas that are on par with or worse than calling them a Republican. While many environmentalists are vegan or vegetarian, others can talk for hours about how it is possible to eat meat and still be green. Their require ment of course is that the animal is raised on a small farm and allowed to run around and eat grass. If you are hoping to impress a host in the latter camp, tell a
story about how you are raising a few chickens in your backyard. For extra
points, use the following terms: free-range, factory farm, and antibiotics. If conversation starts to lull, it’s always a good idea to bring up a paradox that engages the entire table. The most pressing question of our generation is: local or organic? This subject is sure to create a lively distraction while you grab whatever delicious food remains, leaving only the tempeh and brown rice for the other guests. Once the meal is over, it’s always good manners to insist on doing the dishes. But do not worry about actually having to do them. Simply walk
into the kitchen, put the dishes in the sink, turn on the hot water, return to the host, and say, “I’m just waiting for the water to heat up.” They will bolt into the kitchen and shut off the faucet to prevent wasting both water and energy. Feign ignorance. They will finish the job and try to offset the awkwardness of the situation by giving you the leftover local, organic peach cobbler to take home. Environmentalists like to offset things.
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Brainwashing Children When it comes to children, environmen talists generally have the same attitude they have toward cars: it’s nice to have your own, but it’s better for the overpopu lated earth to use one that’s already been produced. If you want a child but do not want to go through the hassle of conception and delivery, find an environmentalist with three or more children. They will be more than happy to hand you their youngest child to help offset their family’s impact. In fact, celebrity environmentalist Ed Beg ley Jr has already given away three of his own children to help reduce his carbon footprint. Since the human population is most responsible for the destruction of the planet, you might be wondering if it is appropriate to suggest that an environmentalist commit suicide as a gift to the earth. The answer is no, mostly because environmentalists have so much work to do before they die and are eventually composted. But while they are on earth, one of the environmentalists’ top priorities is to raise a child in the most eco-
friendly fashion possible. This process begins with natural childbirth and quickly moves to a res tricted diet entirely free of processed sugar, bleached flour, and all other food items typically enjoyed by children. The ultimate plan is to force kids to acquire a taste for organic broccoli, whole grains, and tofu before their young minds can yearn for a Happy Meal. This is important to know in the event that you are asked to supervise an environmentalist’s child. More than likely there will be a list— a very long list—of things the child cannot do, so it is essential to do everything in your power to avoid getting involved. If for some reason you do get stuck babysitting, you should feed the child Snickers bars and soda. This is also an excellent strategy for quickly exiting a friendship with any environmen talist who can no longer benefit you in any way.
Being Depressed By Statistics The best way to ensure that you always have something to say around your new friends is to make sure that you are getting information from sources they trust. To determine if a news source is acceptable, simply look to see if it is sold at the checkout stand at Whole Foods. If this is the case, study the content for conversation points. Before you know it, you will be conversing fluently about tidal power, offshore drilling, and gas taxes. Although television is broadly recognized as unacceptable, documentaries are seen as a very important source of statistics and anecdotes. It is essential that you understand how important it is to be able to recite statistics on demand: percentage of Arctic ice melted; average global temperature; days of drought; number of species endangered; and acres of rainforest destroyed hourly. Fortunately,
these numbers change every day, so do not be concerned with accuracy.
Knowing Which Ingredients in Your Shampoo Will Kill You The first thing you will notice about environmentalists is the smell. As it stands, they come in three flavors: lavender, patchouli, and natural. This is due to the fact that environmentalists do not use deodorant because it contains
aluminum and a number of chemicals
that concern them greatly. Instead, environmentalists prefer the scents of nature. The most committed allow their own bodies to dictate their smell identity. More often than not this will lead you to believe that the person you are talking to is an organic onion or garlic farmer. Fortunately, there are no environmentalists who consider it an insult to be mistaken for an organic farmer. As for the rest of their grooming regimen, a look into the shower stall of an environmentalist will reveal several bottles of natural shampoos that didn’t work but can’t be thrown away, and of course, handmade soap. Once you have confirmed that your new friend has an oddly shaped bar of soap, you should ask them if they make their own. If the answer is yes, you have discovered what you will be receiving for your birthday! If the answer is no, then you know exactly what to get them for nondenominational holidays.
Never Throwing Things Away Environmentalists are passionate about bicycling, public transportation, and walking—none of which ever add up to a free ride to the airport. One of the few types of automobiles accepted by environmentalists is a Volvo or Mercedes converted to run on vegetable oil. These are considered valid options because they run on the waste of nonenvironmentalists and they reuse older cars. Environmentalists will go to great lengths to reuse things, even things they didn’t like the first time around. While this emphasis on reuse will ultimately benefit the earth, you should not overlook the many ways in which it can benefit you! When you are in the home of an environmentalist and see something you covet, start dropping hints. Keep saying, “I suppose I’ll pick one up—I just hate to buy new and use all those resources.” If this does not work, you probably aren’t dealing with a real environmentalist. Please note: This tactic will not work if the object in question is a Prius. Procuring an environmentalist’s Prius is a very advanced procedure that is too complicated and delicate to divulge on these pages.
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Having Control Over Everything Environmentalists dislike the feeling that they are powerless cogs in a big machine, which is one reason they talk so loudly at dinner parties about politics and reform. Fortunately for them, their homes are places where they can have complete control over every aspect of appearance, operation, and governance. An environmentalist’s home is like a dictatorship with a compost heap. So if you are invited into the home of an environmentalist, you should try
to make them feel as though they are in control of every
last detail of their entire physical existence. Begin by asking if the house is LEED certified. This will show that you know about green building and that you are intelligent. If the house is certified, you will spend the next 45 minutes learning about indoor air quality, low-VOC paints, and the environmental impact of concrete. Though this may seem like a long time, the inroads you will make in terms of trust will make every second worth it. Also, take notes, as you can then repeat this information to other people and appear smart and aware. By doing this you will be engaging in two activities beloved by environmentalists: lecturing and recycling. If by some chance their home is not LEED certified, you should and look around the house for appliances that have hand cranks instead of plugs or batteries. If there are a lot of these lying around, then you are dealing with an expert-level environmentalist and should immediately talk to them about the Amish colony where they acquired said appliances. These people are also likely to have very strong arms. It is acceptable to touch
drop the subject
them without asking. As you walk around the home of an environmentalist, it’s generally a good idea to avoid looking in mirrors. This is because their homes are most often lit with compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs), which do the amazing trick
of saving energy and making people look 25 years older at the same time.
(For reference, hospital lights are like a Golden Girls sound stage by comparison.) Environmentalists are very aware of this, so after looking at your reflection you should say, “You know I’d rather look ugly in a mirror than beautiful in a wasteland.” Upon hearing this, your host will ask your permission to reprint the slogan on an American Apparel organiccotton T-shirt. Follow this up immediately with a new conversation topic, or your host will begin a long lecture about the impact that CFLs could have on the earth. If they launch into the lecture before you can change the subject, you should think about delicious foods you have eaten in the past. When you hear a pause it is time to say, “I really wish I could afford to replace all the bulbs in my place, but money is tight.” Once you say those magic words, BAM! Free lightbulbs that will actually lower your electricity bills! The only
way you can screw up this transaction is to say the word mercury. CFLs have a tiny bit of toxic mercury in them, which leads to a profound sense of guilt that environmentalists keep buried and repressed. If you bring this guilt to the surface, your chance for free lightbulbs will be lost forever.
you
might be wondering if it is appropriate t o
suggest that an environmentalist c o m m it su ic i d e as a g if t to the earth.
T he an s w er is
NO .
In Conclusion Your hard work will result in free meals, handmade soaps, and companions who will drop whatever they are doing, no matter how important it is, to join you for a bicycle ride or documentary screening. But the greatest benefit of your friendship is that the lectures, e-mail forwards, and long conversations will completely eliminate your need to pay any attention whatsoever to environmental news. You will be ensured up-to-the-minute
information that you can use to impress others and potentially snare brand new environmentalist friends.
Finally, you may have noticed that entertainment is not on this list. That is because all of the things I discussed— helping the earth, researching how to help the earth, telling you about that research, converting you, and starting all over again with someone else—provide environmentalists with all the entertainment they need. If they were to interrupt that process with a single viewing of 2 Fast 2 Furious, 500 acres of rainforest would be burned to the ground, eight billion tons of CO2 would be released into the air, and seven more species of duck would be endangered. No one said it would be easy.
An environmentalist’s home is like a
dicwtitahtorsmhpoipst
a co heap.
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In a Lather
Old-fashioned bars of soap without newfangled chemicals
A
mud bath could probably get you cleaner than a soap packed with toxic, irritating, and unnecessary chemicals. We tested the following natural bars (top to bottom, from left) by sudsing up with a rub-a-dub-dub. —Alexandra Zissu
ONE WITH NATURE ROSE PETAL
A luscious pink soap flecked with rose, it contains salts from the Dead Sea, which is drying up. A portion of the soap’s proceeds goes to Friends of the Earth’s preservation efforts. $3.99, onewithnature.com
KISS MY FACE PURE OLIVE OIL
It doesn’t get any simpler: saponified olive oil, water, sodium chloride (aka salt). Made in Greece, this bar gently cleans and moisturizes. $2.49, kissmyface.com
DR BRONNER’S PEPPERMINT ORGANIC
Tingly, certified-organic, fairly traded and non-animaltested, it feels like heaven after a sticky, laborious day. Melts grime, soothes muscles, and opens nasal passages. (The sensitive may prefer Dr B’s unscented baby soap.) $4.19, drbronner.com
TOM’S OF MAINE natural clear
Fans of moisturizing glycerin will want to grab hold of Tom’s translucent oval, formulated to last longer than most. Makes a great shaving soap, too. $4.79, tomsofmaine.com
PANGEA ORGANICS MALAGASY CINNAMON CASSIS WITH CLOVES
photograph by anthony
verde; eco-styling by camilla slattery
Fragrance junkies who dread an odorless green world will adore such a pungent delight spiced with cinnamon, reputed to be an aphrodisiac. The scent doesn’t linger in that headache-inducing, synthetic way—nor, alas, does the bar, unless you keep it dry between uses. $8, pangeaorganics.com
PLANTLIFE OATMEAL ALMOND
Made with organic oat powder to clarify your skin, this square also uses apricot kernels to exfoliate. It has a refreshing feel and a sweet, toasty odor. $3.59, plantlife.net
WELEDA CALENDULA
Biodynamically grown calendula (marigold) and organic chamomile are the main ingredients in Weleda’s baby line, but their soothing bar, which is certified natural, is for anyone with sensitive skin. The scent is light and the lather is smooth and not overly sudsy, yet dirt slips off with ease. $6, usa.weleda.com our Criteria Whether you’re discovering local handmade wares at the farmers’ market or contemplating the cosmetics aisles, make sure you pick soaps that are free of these suspect petrochemicals: EDTA (said to be problematic in the environment) makes it easier for other toxins to penetrate the skin; triclosan, an antibacterial that promotes growth of superbugs; synthetic dyes (possibly neu rotoxic); and phthalates (suspected hormone disruptors) found in synthetic fragrances. The above soaps all passed muster.
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plenty LABS
behind the wheel
mini cooper clubman
Glass cleaners that won’t make your eyes water Most traditional window cleaners use harsh ingredients like ammonia to get that streakfree shine. Many of the chemicals they’re made with are easily inhaled when sprayed and can irritate your nose, skin, and eyes—and contribute to long-term health problems. Here are some greener alternatives that give grime the slip. —Jessica A Knoblauch
Bioshield
Needed a bit of elbow grease to buff out smudges. ALSO NOTEWORTHY Certified as a “biopreferred” product by the USDA for its use of renewable materials. $7.50 for 17 oz, bioshieldpaint.com PERFORMANCE
Clorox Greenworks
PERFORMANCE Wiped out kitchen-window grease splotches after two quick sprays. ALSO NOTEWORTHY Endorsed by the EPA’s Design for the Environment (DfE) program and the Sierra Club. $3.59 for 32 oz, cloroxgreenworks.com
Earth Friendly Products Window Kleener with Vinegar
Seventh Generation Free & Clear
Performance A fragrance-free formula that’s a relief for the allergic; easily dislodged puppy paw prints. Also Noteworthy Leaping Bunny certified; the bottle is 25% postconsumer recycled (PCW) plastic. $3.49–$4.99 for 32 oz, seventhgeneration.com
Mix ½ cup of white vinegar, 1 cup of water, and a few drops of liquid soap. Shake, and spritz.
DIY solution
For wiping and buffing
Newspaper: The cheapest and arguably best way to get a clear shine.
Performance Slightly streaky, but got toothpaste gunk off the mirror. Very light vinegar scent. Also Noteworthy No animal testing (Leaping Bunny certified); recognized by the DfE. $3.99 for 22 oz, ecos.com
Paper Towels: Seventh Generation or
Seaside Naturals
If you’re fresh out of old rags, one tough Skoy Cloth—washable, biodegradable, chlorine-free—can replace fifteen rolls of paper towels. If only they used recycled cotton and cellulose. $5.99 for four, skoycloth.com
Performance Only required one spray to dissolve smears and smudges. Also Noteworthy Nice smell if you like peppermint. $5.99 for 24.5 oz, seasidenaturals.com
Marcal’s 80% chlorine-free PCW $14.95 for eight rolls, seventhgeneration.com; $12.99 for six rolls, marcalpaper.com
Reusables
our Criteria All the products we selected use plant-based active ingredients and are free of ammonia and petroleum-derived ingredients of most concern, including reproductive toxins like alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs), glycol ethers, and phthalates; possible carcinogens such as sodium laureth sulfate (SLES); and irritants like sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS).
84 | december-january 2009
Photographs by Anthony
I Can See Clearly Now
he thought of stretching the proportions of an automotive icon that bears the Mini name defies all logic. But one weekend with the new Cooper Clubman—essentially an extra-large version of the tried and true Cooper, complete with trick half-doors for rear passengers—puts to bed any worries about diluting the formula that has worked so well since the brand’s global resurrection in 1999. Thanks to a complete lack of heavy truck-based parts, Mini has been one of the few car brands not hurting from recent gas-price woes. JD Power & Associates estimates the Clubman’s average deal ership stay at just ten days until sale, far ahead of the industry average of 69. Grinning ear to ear as you power into turns, you barely notice Clubman’s added heft (177 pounds) and are reminded of its added dimensions (9.4 additional inches) only when glancing into the rearview mirror. Despite the weight gain, the Clubman’s miles per gallon ratings stay the same at 28/37 mpg city/highway, and 26/34 mpg for the turbo-charged Clubman S. The latter’s 172-horsepower, four-cylinder engine provides plenty of get-up-and-go in nearly every gear—the car goes from zero to 60 in about seven seconds—and the length does wonders for its ride quality, making potholes and road imperfections seem noticeably smaller. The other obvious benefit to the Clubman’s design is extra storage space, which expands to 32.6 cubic feet with the rear seats folded down. Like the Cooper, the Clubman’s roof can be ordered in a few different colors, and several two-tone schemes (in cloth or leather) are available for the interior. But the Mini’s usually celebrated interior design does raise some gripes: The centrally located, oversized speedometer
Verde (top left, left)
T
seems garish, and the rear barn doors are very cool to operate but form a black strip directly in one’s sightline when closed. Overall, though, the leap in cost from the Cooper S ($21,200) to the Clubman S ($23,450) is a small price to pay for a green racer that comfortably seats four and skirts around corners with the Mini’s go-kart persona—and its gas efficiency—intact.
Pros Spirited acceleration and handling; non-jarring ride quality; free scheduled maintenance; laundry list of standard features Cons Slight torque steer; overthe-top dashboard panel; partially obstructed rear view; possible wait time the Verdict Hallelujah, there’s more Mini to love. mini.com
Green, Greener, Greenest with Lori Bongiorno
—Stuart Schwartzapfel best of the rest
Scaling Up Tanita’s HS-301W scale has a small built-in solar cell (like a calculator) that powers itself instantly under normal house hold lighting, unlike earlier versions that quit working in the middle of the night and had to be pushed across the floor to charge in a patch of morning sun. Since the scale requires no batteries, you’ll save money, and you won’t have to worry about their disposal. It comes with a three-year warranty and is expected to last as long as conventional models. It’s an energy-saving way to energize your fitness routine. —Brian C Howard
Tanita’s HS-301W scale $37.95, tanita.com, buy at thecompetitiveedge.com
Should I buy an artificial Christmas tree or a real one, and what about lights? —Cindy R, Connecticut I recommend real trees. Although a fake one can be reused every year, most are made of PVC, also known as vinyl—the most-toxic, least-recyclable plastic on the planet. However, not all natural trees are created alike. Below are three ways to deck the halls for a more planet-happy holiday.
Green
Buy cut trees, garlands, and wreaths from a farm that’s as close to home as possible. If you’re sticking with conventional tree lights, be aware when you turn them on: Blinking strings use less energy—the longer the dark interval, the less they use, says Chris Kielich of the US Department of Energy. Trees can’t biodegrade in landfills, so find out where to recycle yours locally and whether your city has curbside pickup, at earth911.org. And skip the bag. Instead, the Natural Resources Defense Council suggests wrapping your tree in a sheet to avoid a trail of pine needles as you carry it out.
Greener Go local and organic. Find organic tree farms nearby at localharvest .org. Upgrade to Energy Star–certified light strings, especially LEDs, which last up to ten times longer than incandescents; stay cool to the touch, reducing fire risks; and use 90 percent less energy. Reuse your tree by placing it in your backyard or in a pond as a refuge for wildlife, or by laying
the branches as mulch on planting beds in the spring. Also, dried pine needles make a classic potpourri.
Greenest Choose a live potted tree that can be replanted—on Earth Day, for instance, starting a new family tradition. Inquire at your local nursery or farmers’ market, or get a tiny “yule tree to-be” at organicbouquet.com. Either way, be sure to get directions on how to care for it. If you don’t have enough outdoor space, ask local conservation groups, schools, or your town’s parks department whether they accept trees for replanting. Of course, the absolute greenest thing you can do is decorate a houseplant or yard tree and forget about a traditional tree and electric lights altogether. Lori Bongiorno is the author of Green, Greener, Greenest: A Practical Guide to Making Eco-Smart Choices a Part of Your Life (Perigree Trade Paperback Original). Ask Lori a question about living green at greengreenergreenest@plentymag.com.
plentymag.com | 85
The ultimate ecoshopping guide
eco-friendly home
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last WORD
by
Ann Packer
Bag Lady e all have them: neighbors who compost while we only recycle, friends who begin to ride their bikes to work just as we finally buy that Prius. Let’s call them green saints and stipulate from the outset that any scorn or irritation we feel is merely a transparent attempt to deny guilt. We should compost, we should ride our bikes, and we should unplug our appliances when they’re not in use and flip our washing machines to the cold-water cycle. How do we live with not being green enough? All of this has been on my mind lately because of my bag problem. To explain, I have to go back to the early ’90s. One day I got in line at my local food co-op behind a young woman who was buying only a handful of green beans. I say “handful” because that’s how she was carrying them, and she set them on the conveyor belt like that, loose. The cashier raked them onto the scale to weigh them. “Would you like a bag?” he asked her, but she was already scooping them up and dropping them into her shoulder bag, four or five beans at a time. “No, thanks,” she said. Then she switched to a sarcastic voice and said, “Actually, yes, can I have a bag for each bean?” and they exchanged a collusive smile. Standing behind her, I felt chastened (I was definitely going to need a bag; I hadn’t brought one, and there was no way I could put a halfgallon of milk, four apples, and an acorn squash in my purse)—but also distinctly annoyed. Such smugness! Two or three years later, a woman I knew had the following story to tell. She
was second in line at the grocery store one day, waiting while the cashier rang up and bagged the purchases of the man in front of her. I don’t know what possessed her, but she tapped this man on the shoulder and said something along the lines of, “Excuse me, but when I go shopping I bring my own bags—it cuts down on waste.” Whereupon he looked at her and said, “Lady, you’re wonderful.” Lady, you’re wonderful. Where had he been when I needed him at the Eugene Food Co-op? I didn’t know which was more impressive, his quick, acerbic comeback or how good-natured it was of her to tell the story on herself. What I did know was that the 21st-century grocery store had morphed into a battleground. For me, the battle seems to be with myself. Here’s what happens: I save my bags after each trip to the store, smoothing them out once I’ve put my groceries away, then I carry them to the car … and that’s exactly where they are the next time I’m at a checkout stand. “Paper or plastic?” the cashier says, and I wilt inside: I forgot them! Again! Should I run to grab them from the car and inconvenience the people in line behind me? Or concede defeat and hope for better luck next time? Given my charged bag history, I suppose it’s no wonder that I keep forget ting. Each trip to the grocery store re quires me to navigate between the Scylla of green-saintliness and the Charybdis of bad-citizenship. It’s a good thing I’ve got a big freezer—at least I have to go
88 | december-january 2009
shopping only once or twice a week. Recently, things have changed. A local market had a one-day giveaway of wovencloth grocery bags with the store’s name printed on them. I happily accepted one, and when I got home I emptied it of that day’s groceries and took it back to the car, where I put all the folded paper bags into it, a bag of bags. And for reasons unknown to me, I remember my bag of bags as regularly as I used to forget the loose ones. This feels good, and I believe it’s that good feeling that led me a few days ago to buy another reusable bag (“I used to be a plastic bottle” it proclaims) so that now I have two nonpaper bags in my car and am considering a third. Was this all I ever needed? A way to turn my bag problem into an opportunity to accessorize? No matter. I am, at last, doing the right thing, at least at the grocery store. And so far, I’ve managed not to lecture the other shoppers or even make smug comments to the checkers. Elsewhere, however … well, do you always take the cardboard tube exposed by the last square of toilet paper and walk it to the recycling bin? Or do you sometimes toss it in the bathroom trashcan? You do, you sometimes toss it in the trashcan? Then come on over here and sit by me. ✤ Ann Packer is the bestselling author of the novels Songs Without Words and The Dive From Clausen’s Pier, as well as the short story collection Mendocino. She lives with her family in San Carlos, California.
illustration by
W
felix sockwell
When the grocery store is a battleground, what’s a girl to do but accessorize?
*E85 is 85% ethanol, 15% gasoline. To see if there is an E85 station near you, go to chevy.com/biofuels. †Very limited availability. **At participating dealers only. ††Chevy Volt not available for sale. Launch targeted 2010. ©2008 GM Corp. Buckle up, America!