Fort Collins Courier, Summer/Fall 2015 by Wolverine Farm Publishing Co. & Bookstore

“We bring you Fort Collins.” Volume 2, Issue 2

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FORT COLLINS SETS IT SIGHTS ON AN AMBITIOUS PLAN TO COMBAT GLOBAL WARMING

AIMING FOR CLIMATE ACTION / BY JOSHUA ZAFFOS / PAGE 3

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Fort Collins Courier Volume 2, Issue 2, August 2015

Cover Artist Steve Sedam/InkPop

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Wolverine Farm Publishing PO BOX 814 Fort Collins, Colorado 80522

The Fort Collins Courier

brings information, tools, and expertise together to help our community members live engaged and more selfreliant lives. We want to explore the paths locals take, and inspire visitors with our city’s unique charm. Our areas-of-interest stem from our decade-long relationship with Fort Collins—in each issue we’ll feature content about bicycling, agriculture and the local food movement, as well as reporting about environmental issues and profiles of local makers and the return to craft. We distribute 5,000 copies of each issue by bicycle to over 50 locations throughout Fort Collins.

contributors

Jenna Allen Evan Brengle Jessica Crouch Dick Diamond Brittany Dolezal Celeste Grace Daniel Hesser Kris Hite Beth Kopp Rico Lighthouse Sarah Justus J. Mark Tebben Joshua Zaffos photographer

Dina Fike research assistant

Delia LaJeunesse publisher/designer

Todd Simmons board of directors

Heather Manier Bryan Simpson Nate Turner Kathleen Willard

WE BRING YOU FORT COLLINS

Wolverine Farm Publishing a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in Fort Collins, CO. We publish books, this community newspaper, and collaborate with other non-profits, businesses, and people toward a more mindful engagement with the world. Donations accepted online or by mail to: Wolverine Farm Publishing PO BOX 814 Fort Collins, CO 80522

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CLIMATE CHANGE

Aiming for Climate Action Fort Collins sets its sights on an ambitious plan to combat global warming

By Joshua Zaffos

ecades ago, rows of wooden pickle-salting vats stood at the intersection of Riverside Avenue and Mulberry Street, where the Poudre River courses toward the eastern plains. The old pickle plant greeted travelers as they entered Fort Collins, but turned into a vacant lot in recent years. But this spring, the land got a facelift: rows of new solar panels, a different welcoming sight to the city, have replaced the pickle vats. The 2,000-panel array is one of the state’s first community solar gardens. The program allows residents who may not own their home or have a suitable roof for solar panels to purchase shares—in this case, at the old pickle plant. Fort Collins Utilities and Clean Energy Collective, a Carbondale-based company that runs the project, are finishing installing panels this summer. When it’s complete, the solar garden will produce up to 620 kilowatts of power, enough for more than 80 households. City officials figured some utility customers would be interested, but they weren’t sure how many people would buy into the novel approach to renewable energy. “People basically stood in line to participate,” says Lisa Rosintoski, Fort Collins Utilities Customer Connections Manager. Residents fully reserved project shares soon after crews broke ground. “Based on this project, we’re going out to look for other sites that have this potential as well. We’re finding ways to keep the solar momentum going.” The project and the “solar momentum” fit into a bold plan to make the city a global leader in addressing climate change and limiting its carbon emissions. This March, Fort Collins City Council adopted a new climate action plan that sets targets to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and become a “carbon-neutral” city by 2050. The goals are among the most ambitious in the country and even the world. They’re “pretty damn aggressive,” says Kevin Cross, convener of the Fort Collins Sustainability Group, which formed to support city greenhouse-gas reductions in 2005. Cross supports the climate action plan and goals, but he also knows the framework is just a promising blueprint. Sticking to it will require lots of money and support from both government leaders and residents, and not just those in Fort Collins.

to avoid a 2 degree Celsius rise in global temperatures and the direst projected climatechange consequences. The plan helped launch ClimateWise, the city’s greenhouse-gas reduction program for businesses, among other first steps, but overall city emissions didn’t slow much and the initiative lacked public visibility. When Kevin Cross and others first formed the Fort Collins Sustainability Group, members didn’t even know the city had a climate plan, and the city was already on pace to fall “far short” of its initial goal. With pressure from the Sustainability Group, city council established a Climate Task Force as a citizen advisory commission in 2007. A 2008 updated climate action plan included new reduction targets, while new city energy-efficiency and conservation policies incorporated programs and rules that would help lower greenhouse gas emissions. Using 2005 as a starting point, the revised reduction goals targeted 20 percent greenhouse-gas cuts for 2020 and 80 percent cuts for 2050. Fort Collins hit an interim target for 2012 – especially impressive considering the steady population growth and the past shortfall. The city made major strides by diverting waste from the landfill and boosting recycling and composting. But hitting the 2020 target is a murkier prospect. Writing in the 2015 Climate Action Plan Framework report, staff concluded: “Our recent experience suggests that reaching an additional 15 percent carbon reduction in five years remains a challenge unless we rethink our approach.” City utilities officials reached out to the Rocky Mountain Institute, a Snowmass-based energy-efficiency group, to analyze Fort Collins—its buildings, its transportation, its electricity—and figure out how and if it could cut its greenhouse-gas emissions by 80 percent. In a 2013 report, the Institute concluded that 80-percent cuts in fossil-fuel use were indeed doable for Fort Collins. And if the city pursued an “accelerated” plan, it could accomplish the cuts by 2030—20 years ahead of schedule. “The report makes the case that there are some unique elements in Fort Collins that position us well for success – not that other communities cannot,” says Lucinda Smith, director of Fort Collins Environmental Services Department.

After all, anyone can set up targets. It’s hitting the mark that matters. k

How did our fair city of bicycles, beers, and 155,000 people surge to the vanguard of climate action planning? Let’s pick up the story in Japan in December 1997, when the governments of the world adopted the Kyoto Protocol, the first international agreement to state countries need to reduce greenhouse gas releases to stem climate change. President Bill Clinton signed the treaty, but the U.S. Senate unanimously opposed it. Mandatory greenhouse-gas reductions for the U.S. would hurt the economy. Besides, energy companies and their supporters in Congress were busy denying climate change was even a thing. While the federal government balked, Fort Collins and other cities, along with the states, picked up the slack. In 1999, Fort Collins City Council adopted its first local action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The city began calculating and reporting its greenhouse-gas emissions, and set its first emissions-reduction target for 2010. At the time, scientists recommended curtailing global carbon emissions by 80 percent of past levels by 2050

Those unique assets include the city’s size (not too big, not too small), ownership of its utility (versus having an investor-owned utility, such as Xcel), and a mix of energyefficient and low-carbon initiatives already in motion. Those programs include the city’s bike-friendly habits and amenities, the MAX Bus Rapid Transit line, ClimateWise, solar-installation and energy-efficiency rebate programs, the mayor’s position on a national climate task force, and Colorado State University’s Powerhouse Energy Campus where researchers study renewables and alternative fuels. City council responded by telling staff to aim for the accelerated 80-percent cuts for 2030—and then went even further, supporting carbon neutrality by 2050. The accelerated schedule also reflects revised projections from scientists who now say cuts must happen sooner to avoid severe global climate consequences. The targets put Fort Collins in a class with Copenhagen, Sydney, and a few other cities around the world that have pledged to be carbon neutral by the middle of the century. Meanwhile, the world’s governments still haven’t agreed to a binding international

le op pe 0 00 5, 15 d an s, er be , es cl cy bi of How did our fair city ? ng ni an pl on ti ac e at im cl of rd ua surge to the vang

CLIMATE CHANGE

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climate agreement. Optimists insist this year could finally be the one when the annual climate talks take place in Paris beginning in late November. k

Getting to carbon neutrality by 2050 will also require a measure of optimism along with a lot of administrative and financial grinding from city staff and policymakers, utility managers, Fort Collins citizens, and even neighboring cities. Building on past programs and new efforts, the city’s 2015 Climate Action Plan identifies four sectors ripe for action: building and construction, transportation, energy supply and delivery, and waste management. The latest plan includes “high-level planning” and specific tactics that are more in-depth than previous reports, Smith says. To achieve the 20-percent reductions by 2020, the plan relies on boosting homes’ and buildings’ energy efficiency and developing residential and commercial renewable energy through programs such as solar gardens. To promote greener construction and maintenance, the city plans to expand its home-efficiency loan program, which offers no-money-down loans to install efficient fixtures or appliances. Households that receive the loans can use the projected energy savings as collateral and pay back the money over time as part of their monthly bills. The stakes rise after 2020 when the city needs to ramp up its greenhouse-gas cuts to get to the 80-percent target by 2030. “It’s a very steep ascent,” Smith says, “and it will require some significant changes and costs but also some significant benefits.” Namely, Fort Collins has to overhaul its energy consumption and distribution and wean itself from relying on fossil fuels for electricity, which will require cooperation from other cities. About 95 percent of Fort Collins’ current electricity comes from coal, oil, or gas, mostly from the 280-megawatt, coal-fired Rawhide Energy Station, sited north of the city. But the coal plant isn’t entirely under Fort Collins’ control. Fort Collins, Loveland, Longmont, and Estes Park jointly own the Platte River Power Authority (PRPA), which operates Rawhide; any changes in operations at Rawhide or with other parts of PRPA’s power portfolio would need each city’s approval.

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That may be true on paper, but it’s hard to see how the city can achieve its targets without closing Rawhide k

The energy puzzle for Fort Collins and PRPA underscores a critical challenge: following through on long-term climate-action targets goes well beyond short-term government proclamations. And it will cost money from local governments and citizens. Based on estimates in the 2015 climate plan, launching and following through on climatefriendly programs will cost Fort Collins—and taxpayers—about $300 million through 2020, but if the city sees its efforts through, it will reap between $2 and $6 billion in savings by 2050. “It’s expensive for the first 20 years,” says Kevin Cross, “and not just for the city. It’s homeowners, business owners, and renters” who will help foot the bills. Of course, most families and nearly all politicians have a hard time budgeting for the long run. Homeowners or tenants focus on immediate repairs or the next renovation. Politicians rarely look past the next election cycle—one of the reasons behind Congress’ failure on climate. But Fort Collins leaders are banking on residents taking a long-term view. Money spent now will lead to environmental benefits locally and globally later, and more efficient and less energy-intensive buildings, buses and electricity systems will also help Fort Collins be better prepared for natural disasters or other risks in the future. “We’re focusing on how to engage our community, and that is extremely important,” says Rosintoski. In order to reach audiences, her department is scheduling public meetings or presenting to various organizations and groups in town. “[Citizens’] awareness of what [the climate plan] is and what it is not is very crucial to the success, and it’s truly going to take the whole community. That’s the biggest thing we have to focus on.” Cross and the Fort Collins Sustainability Group are urging city council to start dedicating money and time to develop and expand programs now to get the city on track. After all, the council has raised the bar on its reduction goals, even though it was on pace to miss its previous, more modest benchmarks. Cross also points out there are other gaps in the latest climate action plan. For instance, the city isn’t accounting for its entire carbon footprint: greenhouse-gas emissions associated with food or goods that are consumed in Fort Collins but produced elsewhere have been left out of the accounting. City officials are also realizing that with lofty goals comes elevated scrutiny. Some citizens have already questioned the city’s commitment, claiming plans for a new naturalgas fireplace in the renovated Old Town Square is out of step with the climate-action proclamations. City staff responded that the fireplace would use just one-third of the energy of a small kiosk being removed from the site. “This isn’t new for this community,” Rosintoski says of the climate action plan and targets. “They’ve always been very passionate about where they’re headed.” That passion and increased engagement will be essential to staying the course toward carbon neutrality for Fort Collins, and ensuring its climate pledges aren’t just hot air. Perhaps, what pickles and the farm economy once were to the city, solar panels and renewable energy have become.

Under existing projections, Rawhide will run—and keep belching out greenhouse gases—until 2046, while two additional coal plants in Craig, Colorado, partly owned by PRPA, are scheduled to be retired in 2042. But if Fort Collins has a chance of meeting its 2030 and 2050 targets, the Craig plants would have to shut down by 2019 and PRPA would have to drastically scale back production or shutter Rawhide by 2029. Otherwise, carbon neutrality is just a pipe dream. “Rawhide is an important resource in our mix, and we’re always looking at how to make it more efficient,” says Pete Hoeschler, PRPA spokesman. “But what do we do with those [coal-fired] units for the long term?” PRPA has already added 60 megawatts of wind power since 2013, tripling that piece of the energy portfolio, and it’s planning to install 30 megawatts of solar panels at the Rawhide site, which should be running by August 2016. The authority is also converting some facilities to run on natural gas instead of coal. Still, Rawhide and coal power provide some of the cheapest and most reliable electricity in the state, and utility customers across northern Colorado will likely face electricity rate hikes amid a major transition to renewable energy. Consider: It would take 420 pickle-plant-sized solar gardens to generate the energy that comes from Rawhide, which means a lot of new land dedicated to solar arrays and a lot of support from utility customers. Kevin Cross and others are reaching out to like-minded climate activists in Longmont to start building support for PRPA’s renewable makeover—and Fort Collins’ climateaction goals—even though neither Longmont nor the other communities have similar carbon-reduction targets. Fort Collins may also finally get some help from D.C. President Barack Obama’s recently proposed Clean Power Plan would force utilities to finally cut their carbon emissions and whittle down their coal use. If the plan stands, it will be a key motivating factor to further reduce coal power. “There isn’t one silver bullet that’s going to make or break [the climate plan],” says Rosintoski, partly downplaying the importance of closing Rawhide. “There’s not one [strategy] that far outweighs the others.”

“Fort Collins does have an opportunity to be a model,” Smith says. “It’s ambitious, but I really believe there’s great value in setting auspicious goals. There’s a sense of pride – and heavy responsibility.”

BICYCLING

Bicycling

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LITERATURE

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Literature

2015/2016 Fort Collins Poet Laureate:

ABY KAUPANG By Delia LaJeunesse

recently had the pleasure of spending a rainy afternoon with Aby Kaupang, Fort Collins’ newest poet laureate. While listening to The Touré-Raichel Collective, Paul Simon, and Tom Waits, we discussed the potential power of poetry to approach a traumatized environment, our political culture, and our local community. Walking into Aby’s home is enchanting. In her garden she notes, “We have to beat back nature or it would eat the house,” and explains that the town arborist used to live here. Aby is sweet and soft-spoken, warm and welcoming, leading me barefoot around her garden, checking on a cake, and brewing strong coffee. Throughout our conversation extemporaneous wisdom flows effortlessly from her. She’s frank and poignant, discussing challenging topics with grace and ease. As poet laureate, she intends to run workshops to unite poetry and the environment, bringing out poetry’s earthier grass roots. She wants to create poems using trash and recyclables as word banks, to source Coloradoan articles and respond via poetry in the op-ed section, to take writers on field trips to compose poems for the pine beetle and the Aspen, and to excite political activism through creativity. Aby runs the reading series, EveryEye, with her husband, Matthew Cooperman, writer and CSU professor, which usually meets at The Forge; she is excited to merge the series with Wolverine Farm’s Letterpress & Publick House. Aby, author of two full-length poetry collections, is also a bold mother of two sweet kids and an occupational therapist working in Early Intervention and at Global Villages Academy.

“It’s a rich life. It’s a really full life, exceedingly full, but rich.” Fort Collins Courier: How long have you been writing poetry? Aby Kaupang: Since childhood, I suppose. I fell in love with my mom’s records and the lyrics of Paul Simon, Leonard Cohen and the like…that pretty much did me in. Then I found myself, surprisingly, in a medically oriented high school. Side by side were my Grey’s anatomy texts and Latin verses. I’d signed up for journalism, but they put me in Latin… I fell for Virgil, Ovid, Catullus and Sappho. In college, I’d meant to become a doctor, but I was derailed by a post-World War II lit class. The tragedy of it all. I pursued my BA in English. For more then a decade, I was half on the medical track, half on the writing track, just back and forth. Now I hold two master’s degrees, one in Creative Writing and the other in Occupational Therapy. I’m still in awe that I can experience two professions.

dren’s psyche ward for a month. Who wasn’t frantic? When we returned to our home, Maya wanted to play in the car—that was the only place she wouldn’t scream and bang her head—at four or five in the morning. So many mornings I let her climb around in the Saab while I sat on the lawn and I wrote and worked out my anguish that summer. That’s often how projects occur for me; I get utterly wrecked about something and then just write it in anger and sadness and grief. Poetry has been an exploration tool… a poetics of response to crisis. I’m drawn to observing, inhabiting human grief and suffering, those grittier aspects of humanity. Poetry allows us to inhabit the ambiguous spaces for which our society often has no tolerance. What do you think poetry does for the world? I think it’s a balm and a bomb. When well-crafted, written with love or urgency, or any type of merit, then poetry can bring something to the world that is healing or enlarging. When it is a bomb, it points and proclaims, it draws attention and engages. Part of why I’ve written about my daughter so much is that I think there are more kids like her but they’re hidden, they aren’t in public often because the environment is not suited to them… I need poetry to engage in the conversations when there are a lack of conversations; I need it as advocacy. Ernesto Cardinal claims that poetry and art are closely linked to the political and the environmental and that they are a force in resisting all forms of silence and domination. While we are not all directly involved in overthrowing oligarchies, we are all imbedded in capitalism, environmental issues, and facing forms of control—I believe poetry is an appropriate and important reactive politically charged response.

Do you have a practice to keep yourself inspired and productive? Saturation and inundation sessions between sessions of life’s utter chaos. Two weeks ago I went to a conference exploring relationships between literature and the environment and wrote prompts there for myself so that when I came back, I’d not be in the throws of waiting for disaster to motivate me, but would posses present and non-egocentric writing engagements. Navel gazing is embarrassing. But back to your question, I don’t have a specific daily practice but I do posses a daily close awareness of language and its roots as it permeates the day, the child’s speech, the office, the street sign, my mouth… that is my practice. To be available. Even in not writing, there is attention. Listening is a productive practice.

I’m curious what poetry means to you and why you do it? What is your goal for your workshops? For me poetry is usually about working things out. I approach poetry when I don’t know the answer to something. So I write in fits and spurts; some people have a gorgeous daily writing practice; I envy them. For me, “inspiration” used to occur when I was a wreck—not a healthy way of going about it, but effective. The last project I completed, a collaborative manuscript with Matthew, is called NOS or Not Otherwise Specified. It’s about our daughter Maya and time spent in hospitals and diagnostic labs; she’s nine now and thriving but lives on the autism spectrum. She was quite ill and we spent a long summer at Children’s Hospital. Maya was four, had stopped walking, and was all bones and wails. It was an awful experience with sometimes ridiculous doctors and depressingly, comically bad prescriptions. They put her in the equivalent of a chil-

Erasing some of those lines between groups, say the university and the non-university affiliated, the young war vets and the office workers, those with disabilities and those with other abilities and bringing them into conversations that they wouldn’t have been in before. I don’t mean to be polar about it, more so, inclusive. Non-dichotomous. I’d like to see some environmental/political writing and projects. I’m so excited about the new space for Wolverine Farm, the letterpress machines and the gorgeous walls waiting for visual arts…it is summer and time to resurrect some joy and fun, I’m really delighted to have this opportunity.

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LITERATURE

Poems by Aby Kaupang if I follow hard

walk as far as our house

if in following there is no rest self set if in after the mats a washing after the going of metonymy after the feet of the written word that was my friend after the washing the re-laying down of the mat after the feet of my friend which was the word

we lay our mat so go walk here our mat for you is laid out I will rise to greet the life that walks as far as our house is my life far from my house is my life laying on a mat you are my liI go to lay to rise to meet

the word is the friend and the entrance and the exit is the friend and the foot is a carrier which is revelatory today I bathe and the mat is washed repeatedly and offer myself and ask for the manna and ask for the fish in the river the mat is weighted and pulls after the living go go after the living (go) in violet light the going calms the living inviolate in calming light what goes is soft and the if you are apart if you are violet then go it will come after you living (the) I will in evening on the mat the headdress of the living lay in violet light and after washing offer the friend unto itself a written word

distance is the measure of a life how it lolls how tongues unroll multiple lands and we lay our head matted to the soil soft regrets I have them sadly regrets are soft not real hard mats regrets like pillows rather have them rather friend I hand them out soft regrets for my friends matted head red in the soil and so he wants soft I have a pillow and a mat and he when he rises loves he hates he sad his soft regret of a head to my cheek and who was world-ed the fish whose gills come

lay your head then poignant on the walk the living go where they go they lay their mats a distance of the mats to mats

FORT COLLINS BOOK RELEASE A Reading and Celebration of the Wild Human Spirit

Tuesday, November 3rd Wolverine Farm Letterpress & Publick House OPEN HOUSE: 5:30-8pm, reading at 7 316 Willow : Free : All ages

LITERATURE

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Hausfrau: A Novel, by Jill Alexander Essbaum Review by Daniel Hesser It is tempting to say that reading Essbaum’s debut novel will serve as a primer to Leo Tolstoy or Sylvia Plath. It is, in part, an exploration of one woman’s descent into the mine of depression, at once claustrophobic, with signs at the periphery hinting at some epiphanal reemergence. Essbaum maps a unique tale of self-discovery, in a taut language which reminds us that she is, first and foremost, a poet. The book’s opening, pregnant line…Anna was a good wife, mostly…sets the tone. Here is someone who needs to feel and express love, or, as the author believes, a version of love. She apparently receives little from her husband, and even less from the other men that she exasperatingly pursues. Her one love may be her youngest son, who expresses the honest, innocent love that keeps her going. Here, at least, there is no subterfuge.

We Will Be Shelter: Poems for Survivial, edited by Andrea Gibson Review by Sarah Justus

The dialogue with her therapist, peppered throughout like daydreams, hints at the collective consciousness of repression, reminiscent of Victorian-era heroines. Rather than delving deeper into the psychology of her protagonist, however, we are maddeningly swept up into her decisions.

I found the subtitle, “Poems for Survival,” to be an apropos description of the purpose of this book. With each poem, I found myself feeling so much empathy for the feelings elicited by the poet. I could identify, and learn from them how it feels to be transgender, a person of color, a survivor of assault, homeless. Although reading through this book felt like a barrage of pain, I also realized that these are all descriptions of what it means to be human. If we are all to survive in this world, we must have compassion for each other. Though I personally do not often read poetry, I was moved by the power of words to illuminate stories and bring them to life, to inspire change in society, and in ourselves.

The literary critic Julia Kristeva might enjoy Essbaum’s use of this device, and language itself, to embody the psychological paths Anna saunters down. It is a reminder that language can create dissonance. Her walks at night, meant to reclaim semiotic territory, serve to push her manic nature to the brim. It is perhaps our orthodoxy which produces people who yearn for an unfettered life lived in the light. If Essbaum continues this important exploration in her future stories, I imagine it to be just as tantalizing and suggestive as Hausfrau. Hausfrau: A Novel, by Jill Alexander Essbaum Publisher: Random House (March 17, 2015) Hardcover: $26.00

We Will Be Shelter: Poems for Survival is a compilation of poems that relate to themes of social justice, edited by Andrea Gibson. She often performs as a slam poet intending to inspire education and passion in social change. This book is another facet of the same goal. Poems are grouped in sections titled to suggest certain health or social issues, such as “Pendulum Heart.” Gibson provides a short biography of each poet and information on non-profit organizations that address issues presented in the work.

We Will Be Shelter, by Andrea Gibson Publisher: Write Bloody Publishing (December 10, 2014) Paperback: $19.95

The Third Plate, by Dan Barber Review by J. Mark Tebben “Farm-to-table” eating is at the forefront of the local food movement, with home cooks and chefs alike clamoring for locally-grown, organic ingredients. But in The Third Plate, chef Dan Barber of New York’s Blue Hill restaurant, argues that the movement doesn’t go far enough. If the “first plate” is an industrial-food-system meal, then a farm-to-table meal, the “second plate,” is just a dressed-up version of the first. Instead, Barber proposes his “third plate,” a meal dictated by the demands of the land on which it’s grown. He splits the book into four parts—Soil, Land, Sea, and Seed—and in each gives examples of “good food as inseparable from good farming.” As a chef, Barber’s end is a great-tasting meal, but he sees flavor as an indicator of the health of agricultural ecosystems and the complex web of connections that underlie them. Barber’s writing style reflects this interconnectedness too. He weaves personal anecdotes, scientific observations, philosophy, and naturalism into his narrative, making for an engaging read, as well as a potentially revolutionary one. If we all paid more attention to why our food comes from a place, and not just the place itself, our cuisine and our environment could be transformed. The Third Plate, by Dan Barber Publisher: Penguin Books (April 7, 2015) Paperback: $18.00

DONATE!

Seeking quality used book donations in the following categories: • Children’s picture books • Poetry • Nature • Classic fiction • Spirituality

Wolverine Farm Publishing Co. & Bookstore | www.wolverinefarm.org | 144 N. College Ave, Fort Collins CO | (970) 472-4284

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Mosquitoland, by David Arnold Review by Brittany Dolezal Mary Iris Malone, or Mim, is seventeen. She’s been uprooted from her hometown of Ashland, Ohio, and moved to Jackson, Mississippi, along with her father and new stepmother. Mim is caring, hilarious, witty, quick, assured, and cocky, but also healthily unsure of herself as any teen would be. When Mim learns her mother is sick, she sets out on a journey to find her. The cover illustration alone is reason enough to buy the book. Between the cover illustration and all the hype it got on Twitter, it snagged me. As Mim initially sets out, she finds herself on a Greyhound bus. I found the medley of Greyhound characters a humorous and accurate depiction of the types you might meet in such a setting. I liked the book’s attempt to address stigmatism surrounding mental illness and mental disabilities. Mim’s mentally challenged friend, Walt, was my favorite character and their relationship I found more dynamic and interesting than her romantic interest. I did find the book to be predictable at times and a little too adorable. I couldn’t help but think about the author’s portrayal of a young woman in this book. As a male writer, where is his inspiration for what constitutes a “strong” female character? At times it read slightly like a John Green book, but not, if that makes sense. Overall the book is about a road trip: trusting the right and wrong people, spontaneously letting things happen, trying to fix things out of your control and, of course, finding love romantically, within yourself, and in friends. Mosquitoland, by David Arnold Publisher: Random House (March 17, 2015) Hardcover: $17.99

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LITERATURE

Missoula: Rape and Justice in a College Town, by Jon Krakauer Review by Beth Kopp

All the Wild That Remains: Edward Abbey, Wallace Stegner, and the American West, by David Gessner Review by Dick Diamond

“Rape is unique. No other violent crime is so fraught with controversy, so enmeshed in dispute and in the politics of gender and sexuality. . . . And within the domain of rape, the most highly charged area of debate concerns the issue of false allegations. “ -David Lisak, Lori Gardinier, Sarah C. Nicksa, and Ashley M. Cote “False Allegations of Sexual Assuault” Violence Against Women, December 2010

In the literary West, Stegner and Abbey’s shadows loom larger than any mountain peak, and Gessner’s All the Wild That Remains is a entertaining, informative roadmap to both men. Following their respective trails out West, Gessner explores how their common themes—environmental degradation, freedom and responsibility, conservation—have grown up, for better or worse, in the last century. For those who want to re-acquaint themselves with the creator of George Hayduke, or read for the first time about Big Rock Candy Mountain, you can find it all right here.

In the epigraph of his newest book, Missoula, Jon Krakauer cites the above academic study to help dispel the myth of women “crying rape.” The book is partially dedicated to this cause. Krakauer reports on the stories of several women in the college town of Missoula, Montana who reported rapes to the authorities between 2010 and 2012. In most cases, the entire town seemed to be on the side of the accused rapists, who also happened to be football players at the University of Montana. In a round-table discussion with feminist bloggers, Jon Krakauer said he “didn’t set out to write about football players, it’s just that quite a few of the rapists [he] wrote about were football players.” The question of entitled sports players is definitely a theme throughout the book. If hometown pride didn’t run so deep in Missoula, would the victims have a better chance at justice? This book is not an easy read, in spite of Krakauer’s fastpaced writing style. The accounts of rapes are written verbatim and are very graphic. It was both enraging and terrifying to imagine what these women went through only to be called liars by their community and local presses. People need to be educated on acquaintance

All the Wild That Remains: Edward Abbey, Wallace Stegner, and the American West, by David Gessner Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (April 20, 2015)

rape, consent, and how our justices systems handle these cases. It’s an uncomfortable book for sure, but probably one of the most important I’ve read in a long time. Missoula: Rape and Justice in a College Town, by Jon Krakauer Publisher: Doubleday (April 21, 2015)

PARTICIPATE!

Take part in our regular monthly events: • Poetry Slam - 1st Fridays, 8pm • Little Wolverine’s Story Hour, 1st and 3rd Saturdays, 10am • Open Mic Night, Last Fridays, 8pm • Letter Writing Club, Last Sundays, 3pm

Wolverine Farm Publishing Co. & Bookstore | www.wolverinefarm.org | 144 N. College Ave, Fort Collins CO | (970) 472-4284

LITERATURE

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WOLVERINE FARM

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summer / fall 2015

Letterpress &

ver two years in the making, Wolverine Farm’s new building is in the final stretches of construction, with an anticipated opening of fall 2015. Part community gathering space and part workshop, the Letterpress & Publick House will be a dynamic hub of activity—a place to engage with literature, art, and the movers, shakers, and makers of our community. Join us in the River District to celebrate local literature, art, agriculture, bicycles, history, and the return to craft. For more information please visit www.wolverinefarm.org.

{Event Hall}

for large workshops, literary readings, films, townhall meetings, music, farm dinners, dancing

{Conference room} for meetings, literary/art workshops, retreats

{coffee & Beer bar} featuring Bean Cycle coffee and local/regional craft beer (But Wait! Hear This! No To-Go Cups will be offered, so please drink it here or bring a travel mug. Thanks!)

{bicycle exhibits} with a revolving selection by Jeff Nye

{Letterpress print shop} focusing on local literature, art, and print ephemera

{local goods} with a revolving selection by local makers

Sample Programs and Events

{outdoor courtyard} with beer garden, performance space, outdoor markets

FALL EARTH ART October 24th, 10am-1pm Celebrate the fall by making Leaf Sun Catchers, Autumn Crowns and Nature Necklaces. Register at wildrootsstudio.com WILD MAMA BOOK RELEASE November 3rd, 5:30 - 8pm A celebration of the wild human spirit

MAKER-A-MONTH Each month we will feature a different Fort Collins maker. Support these local creatives by purchasing their products or attending a talk, class, or workshop.

CRAFTY HOUR Monday – Friday 3-6pm Be creative during your happy hour! Specials on beer and wine for anyone creating anything. Bring a project to work on or try one of our free weekly crafts. FEATURED NONPROFITS Look for special workshops, events, and fundraisers from The Growing Project, Sustainable Living Association, Project Youth and Chamber Music, as well as other local non-profits and organizations. Coming soon… Lettering Lab, Typewriter Club, Book Discussions, Writing Groups, and more! For information on hosting an event at the Letterpress & Publick House, contact publickhouse@wolverinefarm.org.

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summer / fall 2015

Publick House

WOLVERINE FARM

COMMUNITY

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summer / fall 2015

Community

Celebrating I mmig rant Inventiveness by Brittany Dolezal

read an article the other day called, “The Full Time Job is Dead.” The article suggested that the structured work week may become a thing of the past. There is a new trend focusing on “micro-careers”—a type of free agent workforce. Agencies such as Etsy, Lyft, and Airbnb have already started this trend with many people throwing in the towel on the nine to five for more creative work. Last week I visited a bar opened by a friend of mine. Outside the bar were food trucks selling unusual food combinations. This got me thinking about the food truck trend that is gaining popularity in Colorado. It aligns with this new, creative “labor market,” but I wondered, what is the origin of the food truck? Is it uniquely American?

If one truck is doing well, then the other is doing bad. There is no collaboration, just a lot of selfish thinking. The other trucks think you do your thing and we do ours.” Conversely, Lastra sees a lot of collaboration within the American food truck community. He notices that they often show up together for events and don’t mind setting up next to each other.

When asked if he has experienced rivalry with the new food trucks, Lastra said he has not. “When I first started I thought Mexicans would be my clients. However, it is mostly Americans.” He pointed to the street and began laughing as a food truck selling American vegetarian food passed. This reminded Lastra of a particular incident. To answer these questions, I consulted Jimena Sagàs, a leader in the Fort Collins Latino According to Lastra, a local community center held an event in the park and asked for community. “There is a thriving community here that we don’t always recognize. The food trucks to participate. However, the American food trucks involved did not want food trucks here have long been in Fort Collins, and the Latino food trucks to participate. Lastra seemed Loncheras, as food trucks relatively unaffected by this rejection, but he would have they are a tradition that goes way back for the Latino community,” said Jimena. liked to participate and collaborate. He said, “If the are known in the Latino event would have let us, we would have loved to. We community, began with To learn more, I wanted to speak directly with the would love to further collaborate with the American Mexican immigrants in Los vendors themselves. Jimena helped arrange and translate food trucks.” interviews with local food trucks operators. Angeles. After ordering two amazing tacos and a tostada for only We spoke with Hector Lastra, owner of La Campechana, a food truck usually found in five dollars, I turned to Jimena and asked, “Why don’t you think more people visit these the parking lot outside of Auto Trends at the corner of Hickory and College. “Lonchfood trucks?” After all, the food is really amazing. “Most people think Fort Collins eras, as food trucks are known in the Latino community, began with Mexican immiends at the bridge,” Jimena said, which is kind of true. This end of Fort Collins lacks grants in Los Angeles,” said Lastra. “Before the term lonchera was coined in L.A., we certain bread and butter establishments, and as I looked around me I notice that this called them camiones cucaracha,” he added. The term “cockroach trucks,” refers to the end of town doesn’t really feel like the Fort Collins I’m used to. The streets are under trucks’ mobility and ability to fit anywhere. Lastra explained, if something breaks on construction and it doesn’t have that certain appeal that makes someone want to stroll his truck, replacement parts must be ordered from a company in Los Angeles, giving up and down the street. There are not even sidewalks. Jimena pointed to the construcfurther evidence for the lonchera culture’s Southern California roots. tion, saying, “I was on a committee for a number of years that helped fight to get sidewalks for the community here. Now that there is more demand for new businesses Lastra’s truck seems to be one of the more popular loncheras in the area. This summer, in Fort Collins, I see that the city is finally realizing it needs these sidewalks on this side the Coloradoan featured La Campechana in an article called, “Secret Lunch Spots in Fort of town.” Collins.” Lastra and his wife started La Campechana three years ago after working in loncheras for five years. Since buying his own truck, Lastra has been invited to cater Finally, I asked Lastra how he thinks his lonchera and other Mexican food trucks weddings and has collaborated with local schools, donating a percentage of the prohave added to the community in Fort Collins. He answered, “If anyone can claim the ceeds to them. “It took only one year to buy the second truck, which is brand new,” goodness and community that food trucks have brought, it should be us, Mexicans! We Lastra pointed out, “whereas it took me four to five years to buy my first used lonchera. created them and we should be proud!” Business is good right now!” What is at the heart of this trend, Jimena and I decided, is creative ingenuity and imWhen asked if he has noticed a rise in the trend of mobile food, Lastra said, “Yes, defimigrant inventiveness. The food trucks illustrate an idea that is rooted in one particular nitely.” He said there has been a marked increase in the number of food trucks in Fort history, which has evolved and been adapted into a whole new culture. From camiones Collins. Lastra continued to explain, “There is mostly rivalry between the Mexican food cucaracha to food trucks, new trends are not always new. trucks. There is no collaboration. Other Mexican food trucks see it as competition.

NATURE

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summer / fall 2015

Nature

People Who Give a Damn: Will Walters

t a recent public meeting about the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP)—the project that proposes to build Glade Reservoir near Ted’s Place— Will Walters was the last person to share his thoughts about the project with the Army Corps of Engineers and the public. We were impressed with his thoughtful questioning of the project, and wanted to know what drives him to be an engaged citizen around the issue of water use and conservation. The Fort Collins Courier recently caught up with Will to learn more. Why do you love the Poudre? First thing, moving water is nice. It feels good, sounds good, it’s refreshing. I run a lot, and my favorite place to run is along the Poudre. You see wildlife, it’s green, natural, still a little bit wild. It changes all through the year, it’s alive, a living place. Why are you opposed to the NISP? We’re going to take more water out of the river, and that water is important. They want to take out what they are calling “extra water,” it isn’t extra water, it’s water that has been serving a purpose for millenia, and I don’t think we should take it out. We’ve already taken out half the water that would normally come through, and it’s a different river than it was, but it doesn’t mean we should continue making it worse, and kill off more of the river corridor.

Why do you give a damn? My parents were a teacher and a social worker, so I grew up in a mindset of wanting to give back, to make the world a better place. I don’t know any other way. It’s how I look at the world. Find a way to contribute and make it better. I want this place to be a better place for my kids, and even a better place for my grandkids. I think I share a vision with many people that we can do better, that we can live in harmony with our planet, and be happy at the same time. That vision is always there--how do we get there? When I run along the Poudre I often find myself imagining what it looked like 150 years ago, before we started diverting water out of it. And sometimes I imagine one of my descendants, many generations from now, running along the same river corridor. I enjoy that thought. It inspires me. I imagine the different possibilities they might see. Will it be a shadow of what I enjoy today? We decide now what we want that future river to look like, and then we hand it off to the next generation. Hopefully, we pass on some wisdom too. That the natural world has intrinsic value that transcends all of us. That we can live in a way that protects that value for the future.

The proposed Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP) aims to take out an additional 40% of the remaining water in the Cache la Poudre River. NISP includes two new reservoirs—Glade Reservoir, near Ted’s Place, and Galeton Reservoir, northeast of Greeley—and if built, would further degrade the already endangered Poudre River. Now is the time to address your concerns. Send in your written comments by SEPTEMBER 3rd, 2015 to the Army Corps of Engineers. More details available at savethepoudre.org and http://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/Missions/RegulatoryProgram/Colorado/EISNISP.aspx

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AGRICULTURE

fort collins courier

summer / fall 2015

Agriculture

Heart of Summer Farm Dinner July 19th, 2015 Hosted by Dennis & Bailey stenson, Happy Heart Farm Created by Fortified Collaborations Photos by Dina Fike

fort collins courier

summer / fall 2015

FOOD & DRINK

Food & Drink YOU CAN EAT ACORNS? By Rico Lighthouse

ou can eat acorns? Is a question I’m often asked each fall as I’m out gathering these crafty little nuts. Everyone seems to have a certain nostalgia for them, fond childhood memories of playing with the caps, making little fairie hats, wishing they could eat them. Well, there’s good news, you can eat them. For thousands of years people the world over have eaten acorns, and it is only recently that we have forgotten how to do this. So I’m going to walk you through the process of turning acorns into a wholesome and delicious food.

Obviously the first thing to do is to find some acorns. Luckily oak trees are abundant, and most years see a heavy crop of acorns. Look for acorns that have fallen to the ground in early-mid fall. Until you can tell at a glance which ones are good and which are bad, crack a few open and look at them. The good ones will be free of blemishes and discoloration. Gather as many as you need, there will be plenty left over for the bears and squirrels.

Once you get them home you want to dry them or use them right away. I like to dry mine as that allows more time to work with them. Acorns will rot fairly quick if not dried, but once dried they will last for two or three years. Dry them spread out in single layers, I use old screens and shallow boxes. Ideally you’ll dry them in

the sunshine, but keep in mind you may end up with thirty squirrels in your yard and only half your nuts. So I leave them out during the day and just shoo the squirrels away, and bring them in at night. On cloudy and rainy days I’ll dry them inside. A friend of mine put his up on his roof. You’ll know they are dry when the nut shrinks and rattles in its shell. Once they are dry you can store them however you want, or move on to the next step, cracking them.

There are many ways to crack them, but I’ve settled on just hitting them one at a time with a wooden mallet, then peeling off the shell, which is the goal at this point. Dried acorns are easier to shell than fresh ones. Notice in the photos the different colors, this is the result of oxidation, the pink ones are fresh and the dark ones are dried. These are good acorns.

After you crack and shell them it’s time to grind them into flour. If you want to use your acorns fresh, you can grind them in a blender or coffee grinder, otherwise, you’re gonna have to pound them, or grind them in a mill. Pounding is the most labor intensive part of the whole process, so find a nice spot and make yourself comfortable. I lay out a thick piece of canvas over the concrete, a bowl to put the ground acorn in, a sifter, a river rock that fits comfortably in the palm of my hand, and a cup of tea. Then start pounding. It’ll seem slow going but after a time you’ll have a nice pile of acorn flour. Trust me, it’s worth it. The smell of the pounded acorns is heavenly, and you’ll want to pound them just for the aromatherapy. Occasionally you’ll sift your flour over the bowl, then just keep pounding whatever doesn’t go through the sifter. Eventually you’ll end up with sore arms and more flour than acorns, at which point you’ll be tempted to throw the rest of the pile to the squirrels. If you’ve got enough flour then go ahead and do that, they will thank you for it.

Now comes the alchemy, the leaching process, where we remove the tannins and render the acorn flour edible. The basic idea here is to run water over and through your flour until the tannins are leached out, and you are left with a somewhat sweet, mild malty tasting flour. I take a piece of thick muslin, soak it in water for a minute, then spread it over a screen. On top of the muslin spread your acorn flour evenly about 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Then I set up a sprinkler on the shower setting and just let it rain, tasting occasionally, until they are ready to eat. Different species of acorns have different amounts of tannins, so the leaching process can take anywhere from three to six hours. Again, be mindful of the squirrels, though the sprinkler is usually enough to deter them. Once the flour is ready to eat I like to rinse them really good with filtered water. Alternately, if you have a filter on your shower, you can place your screen in there and leach them completely with filtered water.

Now’s the time to make acorn milk. Pick up your flour in the muslin and wring it out really good, collecting the liquid. You’ll get a nice creamy acorn milk, similar to rice milk. Add a pinch of sea salt and a dash of maple syrup and drink right away or store in the fridge. There is nothing quite like it, and the whole process to me is worth a pint of acorn milk.

Now you can use your flour for cooking or you can dry it and store it. Here you are limited only by your imagination. You can mix it with other flours to add flavor and nutrition, or use it by itself as a gluten-free flour. One of my family’s favorite ways to use it is as a pie crust. Use moist flour mixed with a pinch of salt, maple syrup and cinnamon, spread pie crust thick into your pie pans and bake on 350 for fifteen minutes. Then add your pie to it and bake according to your recipe. Acorn crusted pumpkin pie has become a Thanksgiving tradition in my family. Experiment and use your imagination. Taste the flour and think of fun ways to eat it. There are no hard fast rules here. Another good way to eat acorns is as a breakfast porridge. Cook it like you would stone ground oats, or cream of wheat, with butter and maple syrup. Or make rye bread, substituting half of the flour for acorn flour. Or how about acorn pancakes, or waffles? What ever you decide to make with your acorns, rest assured you’ll be keeping alive a time honored tradition and eating a healthy and wonderful tasting food. Enjoy.

For more information on acorns and their use by humans see It Will Live Forever by Julia Parker, and Natures Garden by Samuel Thayer.

VISIONARY

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summer / fall 2015

Visionary

Better than a Birdhouse: Little Free Libraries Article & Photograpshs by Kris Hite

hite magnolia flowers the size of gallon milk jugs drooped all around me in Decatur, Georgia, when I saw what little free libraries do for neighborhoods. The libraries become hubs of local intellect buzzing with your neighbor’s favorite reads. The little free library is a movement of do-it-yourself building, books, and community. The movement started in Hudson, Wisconsin, where a young man named Todd Bol built a small model of a one-room school house to honor his mother, a school teacher. He put the model on display on a post in his front yard and filled it with books and now, six years later, there are over 15,000 registered little free libraries world-wide! When I moved back to Fort Collins in January 2015 after a two-year stint in Atlanta, the first project I undertook at my home was to build a little free library of my own, chopping pieces of beetle kill pine cut at forty-five degrees to make a box reminiscent of a tesseract to be suspended at the average eye level. Not long after the last piece of corrugated steel roofing had been screwed down and the quickcrete had set around the posts, my neighbors began filling up the two little shelves with the books that capture the mood of my neighborhood, here just south of City Park. Standing in my front yard, I watch people of all ages look and point and wonder, “What is that?” I cannot express how much joy this little free library has brought to me. I’ve been lucky enough to be out front weeding the mini-strawberry patch while a curious passerby slows down to get a better look at the books shelved in what could be a birdhouse.

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