Monday Mailing
Year 19 • Issue 23 04 March 2013 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
Travel Oregon Gives Money for Sustainable Tourism Five More Food Websites You Can't Live Without Oregon Department of Energy Announces Renewable Energy Grants Willamette Futures Project 9 Lessons From Iceland for Building Better Places USDA Releases Report on the Growing Importance of Food Hubs in Rural America New Seasons Market Awards $85,000 to Local Farmers Markets and Agricultural Programs Solar Farm Gets Approval to Move Forward Bills Target Genetic Engineering Multnomah County Releases Review of Coal Train Health Effects Fresh from Oakland, check out Earth Amplified's new video "Food Fight".
1. Travel Oregon Gives Money for Sustainable Tourism Oregon’s most ardent tourism booster is giving money to state communities working on sustainability related opportunities.
Quote of the Week: “What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other’s folly- that is the first law of nature.” ~ Voltaire Oregon Fast Fact #12: The huge Bonneville Slide collapsed into the Columbia River in about 1700 and temporarily blocked it with a 200-foot-high land bridge. Indian legend called it the Bridge of the Gods.
Travel Oregon gave more than $14,000 to a total of seven projects in each of the state’s “tourism regions.” The group’s money will go toward the new Mosier Plateau Trail, the Sustainable Seafood Initiative and the Living Highways project, among other causes. The money comes from the group’s Oregon Travel Philanthropy Fund. “The Oregon Travel Philanthropy Fund is helping us create a European-type trekking experience that allows people to love the Columbia Gorge without loving it to death,” said Kevin Gorman, executive director of the Friends of the Columbia Gorge group. Tourism is an $8.8 billion industry in Oregon. The sector employs nearly 92,000 residents. 2. Five More Food Websites You Can't Live Without 8 months ago, I reported on “Nine Innovative Food Websites You Can’t Live Without.” But food and technology innovation of course did not stop there. Since June, several new (or newly designed) foodcentric websites have hit the internet. NOAA’s FishWatch Are you confused about whether or not it is okay to be eating seabass? How is the salmon population doing now that the fish is listed on every menu in the country? The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has developed FishWatch, a website to “provide easyto-understand science-based facts to help consumers make smart sustainable seafood choices.” The site allows users to look up information by species and explains the differences between wild
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caught and farmed fish. While it does not discuss current debates in fishery management, the site is a great primer for anyone interested in making better consumer decisions at the fish counter. Just Label It This website was born out of the genetic engineering (GE) labeling movement, and provides up to date information about what is going on in the campaign to mandate companies to include GE information on food. The group’s home page provides a link to easily contact Congress and the FDA to express your views on the matter (a service all advocacy sites should include) and a video explaining the reasons why many believe such foods should be labeled. The “About GE Foods” page could be more robust, but the site is well designed and easy to use. To access the full list, click here. 3. Oregon Department of Energy Announces Renewable Energy Grants The Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) has issued an opportunity announcement for renewable energy development (RED) grants under the department’s new Energy Incentives Program. RED grants will be awarded via a competitive review system of qualifying renewable energy production systems. Qualifying systems may use biomass, solar, geothermal, hydrothermal, wind, landfill gas, biogas or wave, tidal or ocean thermal energy technology to produce electrical energy. Approximately $1.5 million in grant funds are available for this program on an annual basis. Projects eligible for application must not exceed 35 megawatts of nameplate capacity and must be located in Oregon. Grants will be reduced if an applicant receives government support (including grant support) in excess of 75 percent of the total cost of the project. Grants may not exceed 35 percent of the cost of the project and may not exceed $250,000 per system. Applications must be received by March 15, 2013 and prior to the installation or construction of the system. For more information, click here. 4. Willamette Futures Project Willamette Futures Project offers a collection of stories and a forthcoming feature film about the challenge of restoring the ecological value of Oregon's big river, the people who are rising to that challenge, and the growing community conversation about the future we want for the Willamette River and its tributaries. To access the Willamette Futures Project Website, click here. 5. 9 Lessons From Iceland for Building Better Places I like to travel purposely, first, for visual inspiration, and second, to inform professional practice regarding settlements and cities. I found fodder for both a few days ago in Iceland, amid a basalt terrain of lava fields seemingly created only yesterday, among contemporary accounts of renewable energy and epic stories of settlement dating back little more than a thousand years. In Icelandic landscapes, in small towns, and in the resurgent capital city of Reykjavik, are scenes and stories that transcend nature, culture and the built environment. In the imagery of such places, we see scaled expressions of urban settlement and transport, both past and present, including dramatic examples of human interactions with the raw elements of nature. Others have described how the legendary sagas that help define the country’s national identity largely lack description of visual surroundings, but rather center on elements of humanity and survival. As a modern supplement, here is my more image-oriented summary of lessons learned from Iceland’s Page 2 of 6
interplay of the natural and built environments, including human capacity to adapt to the opportunities and constraints of place. To access the full article, click here. 6. USDA Releases Report on the Growing Importance of Food Hubs in Rural America Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan announced the release of a report which provides a comprehensive look at the economic role, challenges and opportunities for food hubs in the nation's growing local food movement. The announcement was made during a visit to Hollygrove Market and Farm, a produce market, local distributor and farm in downtown New Orleans. In operation since 2009, Hollygrove Farm and Market sources from twenty local growers across southern Louisiana and Mississippi. Hollygrove's mission includes increasing access to fresh produce for underserved New Orleans neighborhoods. The organization first began operations as part of the city's post-Hurricane Katrina rebuilding efforts. "At USDA we are committed to food hubs because we believe that they offer strong and sound infrastructure support to producers across the country which will also help build stronger regional food systems," said Merrigan. "This report is an important addition to the ongoing research in this field and Hollygrove is an example of how it is done." The new report is titled The Role of Food Hubs in Local Food Marketing. With an increasing demand for fresh, local, foods, the report finds that the success of food hubs is rapidly expanding, with well over 200 food hubs now operating in the United States. They are a part of a distribution system designed to move locally produced food into mainstream markets by supplying chains for goods to go from farms to the table efficiently. To view the full report click here. 7. New Seasons Market Awards $85,000 to Local Farmers Markets and Agricultural Programs New Seasons Market is celebrating its 13th birthday today by giving gifts of financial support to 34 local nonprofit organizations dedicated to strengthening the region's network of small farms, and improving access to fresh, local food. The New Seasons Market Grant Fund is awarding $85,000 to dozens of neighborhood farmers markets that are working to subsidize food access to communities in need and assist minority farmers. "Supporting the local farming community and addressing hunger relief is a vital part of our 13-year history and our future," said Wendy Collie, President and CEO of New Seasons Market. "We are passionate about sustaining a healthy regional food economy that connects our local food producers to our community of shoppers, and are proud to support the work of our grantees." This year's grant awards, ranging from $450 to $5,000, went to 27 neighborhood farmers markets for projects focused on better serving their communities. Sixteen of the farmers markets will use some or all of their grant funds to match Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) dollars, making it easier for low-income shoppers to enjoy fresh, local produce. Three markets, Cully Community Market, Lloyd Farmers Market and St. Johns Farmer's Market, will partner with community organizations to identify families and individuals experiencing high levels of need and provide them with vouchers that can be redeemed at the market for fresh, healthy produce. In addition, Lloyd Farmers Market and Cully Community Market will use New Seasons' funding to subsidize the vendor fees of underrepresented or minority farmers.
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Grants also went to organizations that support local, small-scale farming, many of which work to end systemic issues surrounding poverty and hunger, including Zenger Farm, Food|Waves and Mercy Corps Northwest. "New Seasons Market has been a sponsor of our farmers market since 2008," said Jackie HammondWilliams, manager of Oregon City Farmers Market. "With their support, we have been able to grow and to serve more low-income customers year-round by offering Oregon Trail (SNAP) cardholders a match of up to $5 on their purchase of fresh, healthy foods from our vendors. New Seasons' support has also inspired others in our community to support the SNAP program. This year, we will have more than $3,500 in matching funds to offer to SNAP eligible customers." 8. Solar Farm Gets Approval to Move Forward Following an initial appeal, the Crook County Planning Commission granted Crook County Solar 1 approval to build the first solar farm in Central Oregon. The Commission held a public hearing on the project on Wednesday following a prior hearing in January that was spawned by an appeal filed by John Moss. The Powell Butte resident was upset that an access road would run directly through his farming operation. Crook County Assistant Planning Director Phil Stenbeck said that Moss and Crook County Solar 1 representatives Craig Kilpatrick and Ryan Hulett had reached an agreement prior to Wednesday that alleviated Moss’ concerns. “During the course of construction, maintenance, and deconstruction, access will be supplied from the north from Lone Pine,” Moss said of the agreement. The solar project will occupy a 12-acre portion of Kilpatrick’s 173-acre property in northern Powell Butte, just south of O’Neil Highway, about nine miles west of Prineville. The 500-kilowatt array will fill about 3.8 of those 12 acres with future phases expected. Each phase will similarly require Planning Commission approval. While Moss’ appeal prompted the public hearings, he is not the only one who raised concerns about the solar project. On Wednesday, three people spoke against it. To access the full story, click here. 9. Bills Target Genetic Engineering More than a dozen bills dealing with genetically engineered crops are circulating the Oregon Capitol, calling for everything from a state ban on their production to labeling all food with GE ingredients. The bills have the mainstream farm lobby on the defensive. "We're supportive of people having the ability to utilize the technology," Katie Fast of the Oregon Farm Bureau said. "And we don't believe the Legislature should be making choices about what crops you raise and how you raise them." Among bills dealing with biotechnology: * House Bill 3292 bans certain GE crops from the state. * House Bill 3290 prohibits growing GE alfalfa in Oregon.
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* House Bill 2715 "authorizes counties to establish control areas for commodities containing genetically engineered material." * House Bill 2532 "makes foods that contain or are produced using genetically engineered material subject to labeling requirements." Rep. Paul Holvey, D-Eugene, said he brought forward the labeling bill because "I just think consumers have a right to know whether or not the food they are eating has been genetically modified." Holvey is chief sponsor of the HB2532, which also is sponsored by Reps. Phil Barnhart, D-Eugene, Peter Buckley, D-Ashland, and Alissa Keny-Guyer, D-Portland. Scott Dahlman, executive director of Oregonians for Food and Shelter, said OFS opposes the bills on several premises, including that no scientific evidence exists showing GE crops are harmful to grow or consume. Dahlman said concerns raised by organic farmers fearful that a GE crop could contaminate their crop are unfounded. To access the full story, click here. 10. Multnomah County Releases Review of Coal Train Health Effects Coal trains traveling through Multnomah County to new export terminals in the Northwest would generate relatively small increases in diesel pollution and noise, a new review from the county's health department concludes. But the coal industry's data is too scant to gauge the health effects of coal dust blowing off trains, the report says. The mile-plus-long trains could create cumulative delays of up to two hours per day at atgrade rail crossings. And the trains would run through areas already heavily hit by pollution from cars and trucks, trains and industry, the report's analysis of census data indicates. The health analysis, publicly released today, calls for the federal government to conduct a Northwestwide review of terminals proposed in Oregon and Washington to export coal to Asia. The coal and rail industries should also demonstrate that the uncovered trains would not be harmful before the terminals are allowed to move ahead, the report says. Gary Oxman, who recently retired as the county's health officer, oversaw the study. He said Thursday that the biggest unknown is the health impact of low-level exposure to coal dust from trains. To access the full story, click here.
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11. Fresh from Oakland, check out Earth Amplified's new video "Food Fight" We feel the greatest hope for fundamental change starts with the foundation for the future -- our youth -- so the Food Fight team combined music and film with a school curriculum, to help teachers engage students on the most pressing issues we face, in a unique way. The flaws of our global economy are best exposed by looking at our food system -- soil-depleting and oil-depleting factory farming, economic policies that contribute to starvation abroad, and disease and obesity at home, all packaged with a marketing campaign to enforce the "buy first, ask never" social contract -- just buy what they say to buy, and eat/shut up. If we care about our kids, ourselves, and our planet, it's time to expose the truth on a broader scale, and hope enough Food Fighters step up to make the changes we need. Earth Amplified and New Message Media are proud to announce the launch of a comedic musical video, called Food Fight, and the accompanying school curriculum, designed to teach teens online and in the classroom about the realities of our food system. To check out the video, click here.
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