GroovyGreen.com – Start Today :: Save Tomorrow

This is the 25th year that New York has had a 5 cent deposit on all soda cans and bottles. According to NYPIRG this means over 5 million tons of recycleable glass, plastic and aluminum has been kept out of our state’s landfills. Our current rate for recycling deposit containers is at 80%, 70% through bottle redemption and 10% through curbside pickup. This is an impressive rate that has rid streets, parks and lots of refuse, and saved energy and reduced landfill.

It has been hard to ignore the explosion in popularity of sports drinks, iced tea and bottled water over the past decade. These bottles are currently exempt from the 5 cent deposit in NY state, although they are accepted in curbside recycling pickup. Despite the availability of blue bin recycling, only 20% of non-deposit containers are recycled. You can see it in airports, workplaces and schools, plastic water bottles fill trash cans – and head straight to the landfill. Not valuable to those searching for redeemable containers, they remain as litter on the side of the road and in the street.

Governor Spitzer has included the expanded bottle bill in his budget proposal being sent to the legislature. The 5 cent deposit would apply to bottled water, iced tea, and juice containers for most sizes found in the supermarket. Exempt would be milk and dairy products.

As a twist, Spitzer is marketing the expanded bill as a way to bring about $25 million in new revenue to help pay for environmental programs. Currently the money from non-redeemed bottle deposits stays with the bottlers. Under his plan the money would now go into the state’s Environmental Protection Fund. According to the Albany Times-Union:

In his State of the State address, he cited the $100 million to $200 million in anticipated unclaimed deposits from an expanded bottle law as the source for any future increases in the Environmental Protection Fund, which currently gets $225 million a year in state money. The fund is the pot from which virtually every environmental expense, from land acquisition to landfill closures, is paid.

I have been waiting to see what the election of Elliot Spitzer would mean to the environmental future of New York. If this bill is any indication, I think that the future is looking a little brighter.

For more information on the Bigger, Better Bottle Bill check out these facts from NYPIRG (who has been pushing for it unsuccessfully for quite sometime now)

This is where I borrowed the bottle pic from, the Bottle Bill Toolkit website, out of MA. They found that 81% of all containers picked up in a clean up of the Charles River were non-deposit containers.

For video hounds, here is the local news report on the story.

The debate over climate change has moved significantly in the past few years. Things are now to the point where it is the deniers who are seen as out of touch with popular opinion instead of the advocates. One of the movement’s long term supporters is veteran arctic explorer Will Steger, who is leading an expedition this spring to Baffin Island, Canada to document the changes both the land and its Inuit inhabitants are experiencing thanks to the rapid increase in the melting of the ice sheets.

The expedition team held a sendoff event at the Saint Paul Winter Carnival on January 27^th. It was fitting that after a long stretch of above-average temperatures dating back to before Thanksgiving, winter finally showed up to inaugurate the Carnival. The weather during the expedition kickoff (which was held outside) was a balmy 14F with high winds, making the effective temperature much colder. Steger and his fellow expedition members were among the few people who truly looked comfortable in the cold, amiably chatting with supporters throughout the entire event.

Will Steger being interviewed by local media.

Recent events such as the collapse of the Larsen B ice shelf in Antarctica and evidence that the Greenland ice sheet is starting to melt faster has focused more attention on the state of the polar ice caps, and their importance to both the local and global population.

The Global Warming 101 booth drew a crowd at the Carnival.

At the local level, the Inuit who inhabit Baffin Island rely on the rapidly-shrinking ice sheets for much of their food production through hunting. Globally, scientists are starting to warn that increasing sea levels from melting polar ice will threaten many of the major cities that are close to the ocean. One of the purposes of Steger’s expedition is to raise awareness with the American public of the implications that ice melting on the far side of the planet can have on everyone.

The 1,200 mile trip will start in the middle of February, with the team making stops in several Inuit villages along the way to interview village elders and document the changes they have seen in the land over time. In addition to collecting scientific and cultural information, the expedition is bringing along communications equipment that enables them to post pictures, video and audio items to the team website, allowing educators and students to keep track of what they are up to. Check out the globalwarming101.com site for more information and educational resources related to both the expedition and global warming in general.

Newsweek has a nice little piece written called “7 Simple ways to save the world.” Click on the link to read it.

The thing that most struck me from this article; they are talking about going to all CFLs.

Phasing old bulbs out by 2030 would save the output of 650 power plants and avoid the release of 700 million tons of carbon into the atmosphere each year.

650 power plants! Holy smokes. That’s huge. And consider that each plant would cost in the neighborhood of $300 million (for coal the cheapest initial cost plant) and that is a ton of money too.

You should give the article a read.

Hat tip: Treehugger

I was pleased to get my hands on a video taken of my interview with Chris Paine at the NAIAS reveal of the Chevy Volt. Unfortunately it is only the second half of the interview, but worth sharing. We discuss the Chevy Volt introduction, battery technology, and Chris’ future film making plans.

I was excited to speak to Chris and as I said he had the best quote from the debut of the Volt:

“This [the reveal of the Volt by GM] means more to me than winning any award for my film.”

Me: Do you feel vindicated?

Chris: “Yeah, like we were able to make a difference.”

[a shout out to Treemo for hosting our video and audio files. Looks nice and crisp thanks to them. Also to The McGinn Group, especially Chanelle N. Sirmons for providing us with the video]

This would be huge. I get a little “down” some times thinking that the environmental writers and blogs are just preaching to the choir. Then, once in a while something like this comes along and makes me believe that the memes that are kicked around in the blogosphere do make it to the public consciousness and yes, even to law makers.

Reuters: (via Drudge, who as of today has many GW articles linked)

A California lawmaker wants to make his state the first to ban incandescent lightbulbs as part of California’s groundbreaking initiatives to reduce energy use and greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.

The “How Many Legislators Does it Take to Change a Lightbulb Act” would ban incandescent lightbulbs by 2012 in favor of energy-saving compact fluorescent lightbulbs.

“Incandescent lightbulbs were first developed almost 125 years ago, and since that time they have undergone no major modifications,” California Assemblyman Lloyd Levine said on Tuesday.

“Meanwhile, they remain incredibly inefficient, converting only about 5 percent of the energy they receive into light.”

[snip]

About a fifth of the average U.S. home’s electricity costs pays for lighting, which means even if CFLs initially cost more than conventional lightbulbs, consumers will save, Jones said.

A 20-watt CFL gives as much light as a 75-watt conventional bulb, and lasts 13 times longer, according to the Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonprofit group studying energy issues.

No this isn’t a commercial, but I had to do a double take (and believe me it was easy as the commercial played several times) on a Toyota Prius ad that I saw run during primetime tonight.

It made me wonder, hmmm… is Toyota having trouble finding buyers for the Prius? I guess good mileage, and low emissions isn’t enough for the car buying public. I had heard that the tax credit for the Prius had expired, but honestly didn’t think that it would have that big of an effect on sales. A used 2005 Prius has sat on a local lot for over 3 months now, they’ve even cut the price (believe me, my inner consumer has been watching it).

My guess is the sliding price of oil and gasoline has much more to do with it. That and the perception that if you want a Prius, you’ll have to fork over some dough and wait 6 months. The commercial was clear about that too – we have your Prius waiting for you at your local dealer, no wait.

Perhaps the economy just isn’t that great, I have heard much more talk about paying down debt lately in the news. Perhaps traffic is just down across all automobile lines.

What ever the cause may be, I have to admit that I was a little shocked at such an incentive being used to entice buyers in. Has every tree hugger out there that wants a Prius already purchased one?

While we can argue the merits of Wal-Mart for eons and eons, there has to be something good to say about a company that is willing to make green changes to their business.  Especially when it’s the largest real estate owner in the world. Especially when it’s the largest company in the world (measured by revenues).  Especially when the company has the most employees in the world.  (Imagine the eco difference if they gave each of their 1.8 million employees 2 CFLs to put in their house…)

Today I see that Wal-Mart is starting their own electricity wholesale group.  Granted, they are doing it to save money, but that’s why any company would do things like this.  As the article mentions this could be a good way for them to enter the renewable energy business to meet their previously stated goals of using renewable power for their operations.  Previously there was a rumor out that they had RFPs out to equip their rooftops with solar arrays.

Call me crazy, but it seems like they are extremely serious about these plans to increase the environmental friendliness of their stores.  Now if they can just work on the employee friendliness… 

Here is a link to a page on their website that details their sustainability aspirations.

Like something out of a Michael Bay movie (written and directed), Scientists are ringing the warning bells of danger over an imposing mass of ice set to wreak havoc on shipping lanes this summer. The two-million-ton, 25-square-mile block of ice is part of the Ayles ice shelf and was recently spotted using NASA satellites. While it is a docile beast this “winter” season, come summer, it will slowly start to drift as pack ice melts away. This is bad news for oil rigs and large commercial ships. Imagine seeing an island come towards you the size of London….
From the article, “The ice could move several hundred miles over the summer, taking it closer to busy shipping routes for oil and gas. “If it ever came on a collision course with an oil rig, it is unlikely that we would be able to do much to stop it,” said Dr Copland. “Maybe you would have to consider aerial bombardment to break it up, or use lots of tugs to try and move it, but it would be a lot of ice to move.”

No kidding. The usual suspects are at play here with climate change and temperature increases. Average temps over the past few months have been almost 7 degrees Celsius than normal. Adding to more sleepless nights, the ice shelves have shrunk by up to 90 per cent in the past century – a loss of 3,500 square miles of ice, along with an unknown number of life forms.

Poor oil rigs. Looks like mother nature is striking back. Though unleashing frozen angry Yetis buried for thousands of years would make for a much more interesting plot line. Maybe they’re on the island.

Hit the article for more information!

My friend (who lives in KC and calls me his hippie friend from up North) shared a link to a series of news stories that the KC Star did on local food available in the Kansas City area. To access them you will have to log in, but it’s free.

If you’re concerned about getting deluged with junk mail you can use a fake e-mail because they don’t validate it before letting you read the stories. Use a fake mailing address too if you are so inclined.

[ed note:  to avoid registering for sites like these, try bugmenot.  All you have to do is open the site up in a different tab (or window) and enter the url.  bugmenot will give you an anonymous login that works for most sites.  Great for annoying newspaper and media sites that require logins]

It’s an interesting series of stories. Local food wasn’t such a large thing back when I lived in KC. I rememeber shopping at some of the stores mentioned and I’m glad changes to the grocery stores are being made.

The story is at this link on the upper right hand side.

If you live in KC I hope these articles are a resource for you as you plan and make your food choices. And don’t forget about the City Market downtown and the Overland Park farmer’s market for other local food choices when they are available.

Changing your eating habits is one of the easiest changes you can make to your life to start making a difference out there.

An eccentric group of community-minded leaders shuffled in to the room. They were leaders from the dozen or so neighborhoods of Bloomington, Indiana. The group known as CONA – Council of Neighborhood Associations – normally meets to address issues of public concern, such as parking availability, safety, noise complaints and reducing blight. Tonight, however, their guest was Peter Bane who was coming to give a presentation on permaculture and discussion on “how these ideas can help shape neighborhood projects and planning for Bloomington.”

The room settled in as Peter entered, looking sage-like with a small group of permaculture “disciples” in tow. Soft spoken and even keeled, Peter jumped right into his lecture. Tonight’s meeting would deal with much more existential issues than noise ordinances and neighborhood watch groups. A few jaws dropped and eyes widened as Peter matter-of-factly discussed the coming peak in global energy supplies, and the need for quick and prudent action at the community and city level to prepare for this eventuality. He brought up the negative effects of globalization of the economy and its unsustainable future. Although Peter’s talk was meant to open eyes, he wasn’t there to focus of problems, but to talk solutions.

These solutions would not come from federal nor state government, but from the people. He believes that “we lack the political will, but have the technology to maintain life sustainably.” What followed, Peter admitted was a quick overview of the tenets of permaculture, and how they apply to Bloomington. However, his lecture could have applied to many small cities throughout the northern half of the country, adequate rainfall, walkable streets, and ringed by farms. His nearly 2 decades of workshops and teaching compacted as neatly as possible into a 20 minute lecture and discussion. Peter was generous enough to let us record and broadcast his appearance.

You can find it here:

I’ll hit the high points of his lecture:

Peter felt that the answer to solving many of the approaching problems lies in our behavior and involves three tenets: 1. Care for the Earth, 2. Care for people – empowering and enabling others to take care of themselves, ending the centralization of processes, and 3. Fair Share – using less fossil fuels, less resources. After we have what we need, we should share it with others in need. He mourned the fact that we are 2-3 generations from the land. That many do not realize the effort that it takes to grow food and sustain life. He went over Permaculture as a design system, involving incorporation of living areas and food production; Cycling of energies, where waste of one system becomes the feedstock of another; and Common Sense, “although sense is not that common anymore.”

He cited phosphorus as an example of a needed nutrient that we were literally “flushing away” in our toilets.

He believed that it was vital to relocalize the production of food and goods, to shorten the supply chain. He believed that Bloomington had the potential to generate all of “the basics” locally. Here is where Permaculture could really assist in the planning process. He spoke of neighbors producing food in backyard and roof top gardens, incentives for upgrades and local rain water collection from roof tops, and the planting of community edible trees along city streets. Also, moving food production currently outside the city to it’s edge. Growing trees among the crops, local fish raising integrated into the farms as well. Now was the time to plan, while natural and financial resources were abundant.

Speaking directly to the neighborhood groups on what they could do to promote this way of life, he had four suggestions:

1. Urban Design

- traffic calming to allow safer pedestrian and bike travel

- promoting continued development of the compact center of the city

- increasing pedestrian and bike routes

- continued development of public transportation

Incorporation of Edible Public Landscaping

- to be started as a private initiative then try to increase public support

- community gardens and green spaces purchased and developed

- would add to local food security
2. Solar Design – Retrofitting of current structures (or retrofitting code for building)

- re-orient energy use towards sun

- promote energy efficiency, and educate homeowners in the importance of solar orientation

- initiatives like in Great Britain to add 4-6 feet of greenhouse to the southern side of homes.

- solar hot water heaters

e.g. his 1950’s ranch home. He tore out a 24 foot south side wall and put in a wall of glass windows, turning his garage into a living room heated by the sun.
3. Water Management

- “green roofs” and water catchment systems that would “drought-proof the city”

- water tanks in each home, or cycle the water into backyard ponds.
- using “swales” to direct run off to follow the contour of the land and be absorbed or directed into wetlands.

Here he spoke of community groups sponsoring an award for the “best backyard farm”, or awarding grants for water catchment. He considered this a good sell to members of the city council, considering the vast amount of money spent on ditches and culverts for directing the overflow of rainwater in the current sewer system. He also advocated the use of permeable paving in roads versus the digging of more ditches, and the increased planting of trees in parking lots which could provide not only shade on a sunny day, but could also help in retain rainwater and reduce runoff.
4. Food Security

- local farmers markets supported

- encourage community gardens near each neighborhood, noting that the city could re-purchase land for that purpose. (Also that this is what sustained the Russians after the fall of Communism.)

- answer to food security for the city lies in “lots of small gardens, close, within walking distance”

- Urban Farmers: city could purchase and acquire potential food growing land in or near city (see Eugene & Portland, OR). Then urban “share croppers” could tend this land for the community, or the same could be done in private unused lots.

He finished by answering many of the groups questions, and offered to give future extended lectures on the ideas presented. His vision of Bloomington included a vibrant city center with identifiable neighborhoods, the rich garden landscapes and expanded bike and bus transportation options.

I recommend taking some time to watch the video above. Think about how these concepts can be applied to your city or neighborhood, and how you can help facilitate these changes.

Peter Bane is the publisher of Permaculture Activist. We thank him for his time and for his conversation after the meeting. Groovy Green wishes him luck as he helps to shape the future of Bloomington.

For more information on Permaculture, check out or buy Permaculture: A Designer’s Manual the source of the small snippet of picture.