Let’s Shweeb! Farm to School
Wood in the Course of Human Events
The ABC’s of Fresh Food
A Hoop (House) to Holler About
The Painted Hills Go Green A Smart Grid and Lots More!
Flea Time · Essential Oils for Travel EV News · Book Reviews · Gardening
Fisher’s Landing Opening Fall 2011 New Seasons Market at SE 164th & McGillivray Blvd.
www.greenlivingpdx.com
,OCAL AND /RGANIC 0RODUCE s .ATURAL -EATS AND &RESH 3EAFOOD .ORTHWEST #HEESE s /RGANIC "READS "AKED )N STORE #HEF PREPARED &OODS s %XTENSIVE "EER AND 7INE 3ELECTION
%!39 &5. 4/ 3(/0 s ,/#!,,9 /7.%$ /0%2!4%$ NewSeasonsMarket.com
2
A Practical Journal for Friends of the Environment GreenLivingJournal.com Fall 2011
9-Month Certificate • 2-Year A.A.S Degree
study clean p wer Renewable Energy Technology Columbia Gorge Community College
541-506-6017 • The Dalles, OR www.renewableenergycareers.org
Publisher’s Page Wood in the Course of Human Events ....................4 Local Notes ..........................................................................6 Building The Painted Hills Go Green .............................................8 Local Sources of Reused Wood ......................................9 Energy The Smart Grid ............................................................. 11 Behavior and the Human Dimensions of Energy Use .................................................................... 12 Biomass Energy in John Day ................................... 13 Transportation Hydrogen Fuel Economy is Here............................. 14 Shweeb: Light Rail for Bicyclers............................... 14 Roll Over America - Velomobiles ROAM .............. 15 Electric Vehicle News BRD Electric Motorcycles .......................................... 16 New Leaf Pays Its Way ................................................. 16 John Day or Bust 2011 ............................................... 17 Volt Owner gets 300+ MPG ...................................... 18 Pets - Flea Time ................................................................ 19 Health - Essential Oils for Travel ................................ 21 Gardening Use Wood Mulch .......................................................... 22 Hoop Houses.................................................................. 24 Food/Education Farm to School - The ABCs of Fresh Food ........... 25 Education - Sustainable Schools ............................. 26 Book Review The Homeowner’s Guide to Renewable Energy ... 28 Up Tunket Road ............................................................. 29 Events ............................................................................... 30 Classifieds ..................................................................... 30 Cartoon Leah Wittenberg ............................................. 31
Columbia River PDX Green Living Journal No. 14 Fall 2011
3
www.greenlivingpdx.com
Enroll in a nationallyrecognized program. Live in the breathtaking Columbia River Gorge. Create a better world.
Contents
www.greenlivingpdx.com
Green Living Journal
Publisher’s Page continued
P. O. Box 677, Cascade Locks, OR 97014 Publisher: Columbia River Press LLC PDX Editorial Team: Katie Cordrey, Gary Munkhoff, Susan Place gary@greenlivingjournal.com 541.374.5454 Advertising: Susan Place 541.374.5454 crads@greenlivingjournal.com Prepress/Graphics/Ad Production: Katie Cordrey iByte Company info@ibytecompany.com 509.493.1250 National Editor: Stephen Morris ed@greenlivingjournal.com Webmaster: Michael Potts Michael@thepublicpress.com Distribution : Ambling Bear, Portland Pedal Power Cover Photos: The following are used under licensing unless noted: Background - Portland Japanese Garden by Flickr User, ahp_ibanez; Totem by Flicker User, smith; Carrot by Flicker User, marc_buehler; Hoop House by Flickr User, knitting iris; velomobile by Flickr User,Watson House; Schweeb courtesy of Shweeb.com
disposable commodity in our society. Our landscapes are littered with and our landfills are full of old newspapers, magazines, furniture, lumber (used and unused), fast food wrappers, cardboard boxes, disposable diapers and on and on and on. Is this any way to treat a product that comes from trees that have taken anywhere from 40 to 400 years to grow? And while they are growing they are also giving us oxygen, clean water, wildlife, a place to play and refuge from our hectic lives? Surely we can do better than to turn them into roadside litter and landfill garbage. While wood may not be getting the respect it deserves, the trees and forests from which we harvest our wood are, but only after four hundred years of reckless exploitation. Over the years we have passed many laws and regulations that require sustainable management practices that insure our forests will remain productive, healthy, sources of wood. On a national level we now grow more wood than we harvest even as we set aside more and more areas of our public forests for recreational use, species habitat, and scenic values. All of which should be reason enough for us to feel good about wood. In an effort to encourage more respect for wood and forests the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has developed a certification program that assures the purchaser that the wood that bears their logo is from responsibly harvested and verified sources. This is a great program for the concerned consumer and should make a difference in how people think about the wood products they are buying. Please support this voluntary program by purchasing wood products bearing the FSC certification logo. You will be adding another good reason for feeling good about wood. The FSC certification program covers just a very small segment of the wide range of wood products that we consume daily. So, while we are doing a reasonably good job of managing our forests, we cannot say that we are acting responsibly in how we put our wood products to use. One reason for this is that some products such as paper no longer bare any resemblance to wood or trees, and so there is a definite disconnect in the consumer’s mind. It’s not wood, it’s paper, and nothing points out our attitude towards paper more clearly than our love affair with fast food. It’s the poster child of our “no respect" for wood attitude. The fast food companies are some of the largest consumers of paper products in America. There are close to 100 paper packaging mills in the southeast that produce the paper needed by the giant fast food companies. They chew up a lot of trees. Millions of pounds of paper are used to wrap and bag the billions of burgers, tacos or chicken nuggets that are consumed each year. To say nothing of the
Printed with soy-based inks on Blue Heron recycled paper by Signature Graphics. The Columbia River edition of the Green Living Journal is published quarterly and 16,000 copies are distributed free of charge throughout the Portland-Vancouver metro area. We encourage our readers to patronize our advertisers, but we are not responsible for any advertising claims. Subscriptions $9.95 per year. Copyright © 2011 Columbia River Press LLC The Green Living Journal Family is Proud to be a Member
Publisher’s Page Wood in the Course of Human Events By Gary Munkhoff
Wood has got to be one of nature's most miraculous gifts to the human race. We have depended on wood for fuel, tools, weapons, and shelter since before the dawn of history. Even in this high tech world of the twenty first century there is wood everywhere, in one form or another, no matter if we are flying across the country at 30,000 feet, riding in a subway beneath the streets of Manhattan, or sitting on the sofa in front of the TV set. The sad fact is that wood has been with us for so long and is present in so many different forms that we no longer notice it or give it a second thought. Wood is much like Roger Dangerfield in that "it gets no respect" and therein is the problem: abundant, cheap, invisible wood is an overly A Practical Journal for Friends of the Environment GreenLivingJournal.com Fall 2011 4
Sustainable Business Directory
and Resource Guide
15 billion disposable hot beverage cups that are also used annually. We all know what happens to all of this paper, because we see it everywhere we go. Americans have, in their quest for personal comfort and convenience declared that the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” mantra has no place here. Would that we could achieve the 100%+ recycling rate that steel enjoys (according to the Steel Recycling Institute). A major shift in attitude is needed here before we can feel good about the wood used here. We have an ever growing and seemingly insatiable demand for wood. Riding shotgun along with our voracious appetite for wood is our urban-centric driven need to set aside more areas of our forests as places of refuge and sanctuary from our own self -indulgent, fast-paced lifestyle. These set aside forests, in most cases, are no longer available for harvesting. These two diverging trends produce a gap between the amount of wood that we consume and the amount of wood that we can harvest on a sustainable basis. A gap that we now fill with imports. But for how long? The worldwide demand for wood is also growing every year. As the world's population grows and their standard of living
rises, their need for more wood will eventually exceed the growth rates of the world's forests. What does the future hold for our beloved wood? Here is what comes to my mind: t The law of supply and demand drives prices up; demand goes down and once again comes into a balance with harvest in those countries that have strong regulations and the will to enforce them. Elsewhere, forests will be cut at an increased rate for the quick buck. t Consumers get serious about “Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle” as the law of supply and demand gives us the price points that allow for a profit incentive to do so. Or, we could institute a Sustainable Consumer Certification (SCC) program in which consumers would have to demonstrate that they “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” according to predetermined levels of acceptability. They would then be issued a card showing their sustainability rating. This rating would then allow them to purchase only those wood products that are suitable for use by that class of consumer. Hmmm. Maybe we aren’t quite ready for this as yet.
Columbia River PDX Green Living Journal No. 14 Fall 2011
5
www.greenlivingpdx.com
Publisher’s Page continued
www.greenlivingpdx.com
Local Notes GoGreen ’11 Portland
Food Day - October 24, 2011
Showcasing the importance of waste reduction strategies for business, GoGreen ’11 Portland will feature a dedicated panel session on the topic and runway show by the Junk to Funk Trashion Collective at its event, Tuesday, October 4, 2011. During the program portion of GoGreen ’11 Portland, attendees will hear from local experts on waste reduction and zero impact strategies for business during the Collaborative Approaches to Achieving Zero Waste at Your Business Panel Session. That session will be lead by Metro’s Sustainability Center Business Waste Reduction Planner, Will Elder, and features locally sourced case studies. GoGreen Conference Portland 2011 is an all-day sustainable business conference brought to you by Pacific Power, Tuesday, October 4, 2011 from 8:30am-5:00pm at the Gerding Theater at the Armory in Portland’s Pearl District.
Aimed at promoting healthy, sustainable, affordable and just food systems in America, Food Day is a national grassroots mobilization backed by some of the most prominent voices for change in the food movement. On October 24, 2011, people will gather at events big and small and from coast to coast in homes, schools, colleges, churches, city halls, farmers’ markets, supermarkets, and elsewhere to raise awareness about food issues and advocate for change. Think of it as an Earth Day for food! Spearheaded by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest, Food Day is organized around six main policy priorities: 1. Reduce obesity and diet-related disease by promoting healthy foods 2. Support sustainable family farms and cut subsidies to large farms 3. Eliminate food deserts by providing access to healthy and affordable food 4. Protect the environment and farm animals by reforming factory farms 5. Promote children’s health by curbing junk-food marketing aimed at kids 6. Obtain fair pay for food and farm workers
Please visit: portland.gogreenconference.net for additional event information and to purchase tickets online.
For more info contact Susan Navrotsky 503-232-5657, snavrotsky@gmail.com, or go to: http://foodday.org
11th Annual Columbia Gorge Earth Center Enviro-Home Tour The 11th annual Columbia Gorge Earth Center EnviroHome Tour takes place on October 1, 2011. Over ten green remodeled and new homes in Hood River and surrounding communities will open their doors for either a self-guided or coordinated walking/bicycling tour. Chat with hom6
A Practical Journal for Friends of the Environment GreenLivingJournal.com Fall 2011
Local Notes continued eowners, designers, do-it-yourselfers and contractors. Learn about solar panels, solar PV, energy efficiency retrofits, passive house design, green building materials, alternative building techniques, and Energy Performance Scores. Cost: $20 per car or family. Pick up your Tour Booklets at the Rebuild-it Center (995 Tucker Road) between 9 am and 2 pm on Saturday, October 1.
The Earth and Spirit Council Presents The Economics of Happiness
Hosted at the Columbia County Fairgrounds in St. Helens, OR, as well as in the City of Portland, this event will include a broad spectrum of presentations, activities, tours and opportunities to get involved. This year’s Convergence theme is “Finding Common Cause”. By that we mean, expanding both our thinking and our networks to include a broader range of allies and partners to work with for making those deep changes. Permaculture and Finding Common Cause – this year’s event will engage all ages and interests ranging from urban to rural, hands on, from education to timely social, spiritual and economic innovations – local to bio regional. Please join us! Meet and greet. Show and tell. From early morning to after hours, we anticipate a lively, creative and productive 2011 Northwest Convergence. For more info visit: http://nwpermaculture.com
Tenth Annual Build It Green! Home Tour Location: N, NE, SE, and SW Portland Tour Date: Saturday, September 24 Twenty-two green remodels and new homes open their doors around the Portland metropolitan area for this popular annual self-guided tour. Start and stop where and when you choose. Chat with homeowners, designers, do-it-yourselfers and contractors about solar panels, ecoroofs (green roofs), rainwater harvesting, natural landscaping, affordable housing, water and energy conservation, natural building materials, alternative construction techniques and much more! Pick up some great ideas for YOUR current or future home. Tickets: $15 adult $10 seniors/students/alternative transit FREE for children 13 and under
t Natural Way: Indigenous Voices-bringing authentic indigenous knowledge to their audience through elders, story tellers, and oral tradition. t Internet Wisdom Education: Videos and recordings of the Natural Way voices saved for posterity. t Earth Arts: K-8 Multi-arts eco-education program. Nurturing children’s curiosity and love for the living Earth through art and story making. For tickets and more information about the Earth and Spirit Council: http://www.earthandspirit.org/ Columbia River PDX Green Living Journal No. 14 Fall 2011
7
www.greenlivingpdx.com
Friday Oct. 14th at 7pm at The Hollywood Theatre An eye-opening documentary exposing the truth about the real price we pay for a globalized economy, The Economics of Happiness also offers a powerful message of hope for the future. The film features a chorus of voices from six continents calling for systemic economic change, including David Korten, Bill McKibben, Vandana Shiva, Rob Hopkins, Richard, Heinberg, Juliet Schor, Michael Shuman, Helena Norberg‚ÄêHodge, and Samdhong Rinpoche, the Prime Minister of Tibet’s government in exile. The Earth & Spirit Council is a 501(c)(3) educational organization dedicated to strengthening our connection with the natural world. Their mission is to encourage and support people in developing a healthy, sustainable relationship to the Earth. The Council reaches out nationally and internationally with large scale community projects, classes and workshops. Their 3 current projects are:
Northwest Permaculture Convergence Oct. 14-16
Building The Painted Hills Go Green
www.greenlivingpdx.com
By Jim Hammett The Park Management Team at John Day Fossil Beds National Monument successfully pursued building an unconventional, state-of-the-art zero-energy home as a replacement for the ranger residence at the remote Painted Hills Unit The goal, which is to make the park’s Painted Hills Unit carbon neutral and energy self sufficient in housing, administration and transportation, was close to being realized with the completion of the new residence. This house, built at a cost comparable to standard construction, not only eliminates utility costs to the ranger in residence, but it also exposed local contractors and the public to a building method far more energy efficient than anything
Photo Courtesy of FourDirtMag.com
they were familiar with. The house is so efficient, in fact, that it generates far more energy than it uses, all of which is carbon free. The original residence had reached the end of its useful life. It was costly to maintain, did not have a foundation, was built on expansive soils, and was not energy efficient. The park management team decided to pursue building an unconventional, state-of-the-art zero-energy home as a replacement for the house. They researched the possibilities thoroughly, developed a plan, and submitted a well developed project proposal for funding to the Pacific West Region. The plan included building a house that would not only produce more energy than it would use, but would also be focused on the conservation/efficiency side in order to treduce energy needs. An additional goal was that the house would cost no more than a house built using the standard housing designs in the NPS housing program. Because this project involved building nonstandard housing, approval was problematic. However, the Pacific West Region sup8
ported the project after the park presented its potential advantages at a regional project review. The house is a 1200-square-foot structure constructed on a heavily insulated concrete slab. It utilizes structural insulated panels (SIPs) for both walls and roof to provide a very air tight building envelope with extremely low heat transfer. SIP construction eliminates thermal bridging in the exterior walls caused by the wall studs used in standard construction. Because the SIP panels are manufactured to order with all window and door openings pre-cut, there is very little construction waste.. Besides the SIP construction, the house incorporates several other innovative energysaving measures including: t A heat recovery ventilation (HRV) system that uses exhaust air to heat or cool incoming fresh air to avoid losing energy while providing a constant supply of fresh air. This HRV can also be used as an economizer, utilizing temperature differences to capture and store heat or cool air in the early morning or late afternoon, depending upon ambient air temperatures. t Better than Energy Star appliances throughout the house. t A mini-split, high efficiency heat pump to provide what little heating and cooling that is required. t Triple glazed, argon gas-filled windows t Double- and triple-sealed doors to eliminate air leakage. t A grid-tied photovoltaic system and drain-down solar hot water panels on a south-facing roof, optimally angled for solar gain The constructed house has a home energy rating (HERS) of -43. This compares to a rating of +100 for an average home constructed to code today, and a rating of +80 for an Energy Star-rated home constructed in central Oregon. This extraordinary HERS rating means that the home will actually generate 43% more energy than it will consume. The house also will achieve an Emerald Rating from the National Association of Home Builders through its National Green Building Standards program. This rating is the highest standard of the rating system. Very few homes can qualify at this level. But the house was only the beginning. To establish a carbon-neutral operation, the transportation requirements also needed to be factored in. Polaris stepped up to address this need and loaned the monument an electric vehicle. Says Jim Hammett, the park’s superintendent “We’ll be able to plug it in at the house and use the surplus solar-based
A Practical Journal for Friends of the Environment GreenLivingJournal.com Fall 2011
Building continued energy it generates to charge it,” he said. Additionally, through an agreement with Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), the energy purchased by the monument from BPA is produced using only renewable, carbon-neutral sources. The techniques and materials used to construct this residence are directly reproducible and can be used in any national park, wildlife refuge, national forest or other federal agency to construct housing. Similarly, the use of SIPS, HRVs, mini-split heat pumps, are directly applicable to any facility construction anywhere. Finally, exposing the public to this type of construction furthers its adoption as a new standard for construction and could go very far in reducing carbon emissions associated with residential energy consumption.
In a conversation with Jim Hammett we were also impressed with his dedication and drive to push the envelope of change that can be wrought even in a federal agency. Sound research and creative thinking enabled Jim to put together a house design that not only exceeded everyone’s conservation goals, but did that at no extra cost over normal construction. But Jim isn’t stopping here. He and his team are ever on the search for ways to reduce energy consumption and are now planning to replace the halogen lights in the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center’s gallery with LED lights. He is also working on ways to spark employee energy awareness and savings.
Local Sources of Reused Wood As the demand for wood and products made from wood increases, the world’s forests will, at some point, no longer be able to sustainably grow all the fiber consumed. Reducing our demand for wood, reusing wood products that already exist, and recycling the disposable wood products such as paper and cardboard are all steps that must become the norm. In the Portland area there are numerous businesses that offer wood products that have been in use at one time and are now available for reuse, often in a totally different way.
Building continued Columbia Riverwood This company’s wood is derived from classic “boomsticks” that made up the perimeter of log transportation rafts from over 50 years ago. These select old growth Douglas fir trees were hand-picked for their straight and branchless trunks, that when chained together would form one of the original water transportation technologies for logs— technology that has since been replaced by more efficient methods. As time progressed, the old log rafts became obsolete and the boomsticks were slowly forgotten about, often stored along the riverside. After decades in the Columbia River, each boomstick is lifted out of the water, loaded onto a log truck and transported to a FSC-certified sawmill in Mehama, Oregon.All of their lumber products are accurately documented and tracked from their location in the river to final lumber production in order to provide their clients an FSC-certified, green product. More info at: http://columbiariverwood.com
Salvage Works Owned and operated by Preston Browning, Salvage
Columbia River PDX Green Living Journal No. 14 Fall 2011
9
www.greenlivingpdx.com
Editor’s note: For the past five years we have spent the last week end of July in John Day at the SolWest Fair. Jennifer Barker and her crew put on such a special event that the trip is always worth it. This year we were especially impressed with the National Park Service’s (NPS) booth display featuring their new residence and electric vehicle.
EARTH E ARTH-CENTRIC CENTRIC Sustainable Nature-Based Product Alternatives
Nature-based renewable products made from…
CornCorn C orn-based BioPlastic & PLA, Recycled Sugar Cane Bagasse, Bamboo, and New Sugar Cane Copy Paper Biodegradable/Compostable BAGS: Shopping, Trash Liners , and Pet Care.
www.Earth-Centric.com Online Discount Promo Code: “GREENLIFE”
6017 NE Sandy Blvd., Portland, OR 97213 eMail: info@Earth-Centric.com (503) 281-0307—Store Hours: Mon-Sat—10-6
www.greenlivingpdx.com
Building continued Works is in the old Lovett Deconstructiion location at 2030 N Willis St. They carry a choice selection of architectural salvage and vintage house parts reclaimed from local deconstruction and salvage projects, as well as an interesting array of vintage curiosities for the home. So if you are looking for lumber, doors, windows, flooring, molding, lighting, hand-made furniture or collectibles check with then before buying new. More info at: http://www.salvageworkspdx.com
schoolhouses. Viridian’s story was born in 2004 down at the shipyard, with a lot of grit and a couple of friends’ idea to rescue some really amazing wood from winding up in a landfill. Wood from far off ports arrives daily as shipping pallets and crates, but it’s extremely difficult to recycle. Through years of trial and error they pioneered a method for up-cycling these dock-side discards into products with lasting value. Located at 421 N Broadway. More info at: http://viridianwood.com
Urban Hardwood Recovery
Goby Walnut Products
Tyler Evans mills, kiln dries and sells hardwood lumber from urban trees in the Portland area that have fallen or must be removed for some other reason. Normally these trees would end up as firewood or landfill debris. He is constantly on the look out for trees that need to be turned into lumber rather than end up some other place. He is not looking to see any healthy trees removed for the sole purpose of creating lumber. He does “reclaimed”, “rescued”, “green”, and “salvaged” wood only. His pricing is designed to put Oregon wood back into the hands of Oregon woodworkers, while covering costs, and enabling the business to grow and broaden its impact. It’s not free, but it is designed to be the lower cost for comparable quality. His only minimum is at least one whole board. No partial boards, but other than that there is no minimum to buy.
Their wood comes from local Northwest trees that are either hazard or salvage. Their buildings are heated with offcuts from these trees through a very efficient wood fired boiler system. Side cuts from flooring become butcher block countertops. Walnut planer shavings are a natural weed suppressor and they are developing packaging to sell the shavings as a natural alternative to chemical weed suppressants. The Goby delivery truck runs on bio-diesel and Goby Walnut Products is in the process of “smartwood” certification. They see no reason why responsible environmental practices cannot co-exsist with successful business. Located
More info at: http://www.urbanhardwoodrecovery.com
Viridian Wood Products Most reclaimed lumber companies find their inspiration in old barns and 10
A Practical Journal for Friends of the Environment GreenLivingJournal.com Fall 2011
Building continued at 5315 NW St. Helens Rd. More info at http://www.gobywalnut. com
Rebuilding Center
More info at: http://rebuildingcenter.org
Energy The Smart Grid An excerpt from “Beautiful and Abundant” by Bryan Welch Our current power grids are dumb. They are great examples of 20th-century technology, but they should get much better. We have the technology today to make our power grid more sustainable, cleaner, more robust and more reliable just by replacing old-fashioned metering with “smart-metering” and agreeing to pay enterprising power consumers for generating some of their own electricity. Today, almost all our electricity is distributed from power plants through the power grid to customers. The electricity only flows one way. The utility generates the power, which flows through wires to homes and businesses. The homes and businesses use the power. The utility measures how much power its customers use, and sends us the bills. The new, smarter grid allows every power customer to become a power generator as well as a power consumer. The customer and the utility are interconnected. “Smart meters” measure the power flowing both directions and the utility compensates the customers for their contributions to the power supply. Where “net metering” is available, utilities measure the customer’s “net” power usage, that is, the amount the customer uses minus the amount the customer produces. If
Energy continued you can generate some of your own electricity with photovoltaics, wind or any other power source, the utility buys it from you and sells it to other customers nearby. When electricity is distributed across long distances, some of the power is lost in the process. About 6 percent of the power generated in the United States is lost to transmission inefficiencies. If utilities empower individuals to produce their own power and pay them for it, the electricity is distributed more efficiently because it doesn’t have to travel as far. The utility customer gets compensated for the power, the utility gets a new, inexpensive power source and the grid becomes more reliable and efficient. Our old-fashioned grid is unnecessarily vulnerable to weather and incompetence. When things go wrong, homes and businesses can go without power for days or weeks. On a hot afternoon in August 2003, a technician in Ohio forgot to restart a computer program after a routine procedure. Then maintenance problems shut down a nearby power plant and some power lines sagged into trees nearby in Walton Hills and Parma, Ohio. Within hours, 55 million people in the United States and Canada were without power. Every year hundreds of thousands of North Americans experience temporary power outages due to weather. Scientists in 2005 estimated that power outages cost the United States about $80 billion a year, on average. The principal method for preventing outages is to produce surplus electricity so that peak demand doesn’t stress the system. That’s costly, both for the utility customers and for the environment, unless that electricity is being generated by utilities, individuals and businesses using clean, renewable energy sources. The utility can acquire that power at an attractive price, and it doesn’t have to plow billions of dollars into new generation facilities. Our power grids are getting smarter. Most U.S. states now have laws that authorize net metering. Part of the grid used net metering in at least 35 states at the time of this
Columbia River PDX Green Living Journal No. 14 Fall 2011
11
www.greenlivingpdx.com
The ReBuilding Center, a project of Our United Villages, is a vibrant resource working to strengthen the environmental, economic, and social fabric of local communities. Founded by volunteers in 1998, The ReBuilding Center carries the region’s largest volume of used building and remodeling materials. It provides resources that make home repairs affordable to everyone, with the goal of promoting the reuse of salvaged and reclaimed materials. Three hundred visitors come to The ReBuilding Center every day to browse the ever-changing inventory that includes sinks, tubs, tile, lumber, doors, windows, trim and much more. Located at 3625 N Mississippi Ave.
www.greenlivingpdx.com
Energy continued writing. Unfortunately, implementation of net metering and smart meters has been relatively slow. Consumer demand may accelerate the process in the near future, and consumers will probably open new pricing negotiations with the utilities as well. Imagine a power grid that includes millions of individual generators, photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, big coal plants, natural gas cogenerators, etc. interconnected with smart meters, paying on a net-metered basis and supporting each other. On the long days of midsummer when North American demand for electricity peaks, the photovoltaics are also generating more electricity. When overgrown trees interrupt the power supply from a coal plant in Ohio, wind power from Pennsylvania takes up some of the slack. Photovoltaics and wind energy were pioneered by independent spirits who wanted to live “off the grid.” The most negative aspect of an off-the-grid system is the necessity of storing electricity in batteries, an expensive, toxic and inefficient technology. Interconnection with a smart grid allows individuals and businesses to benefit from generating their own power without the necessity of storing it in batteries. And our supply of electricity becomes more reliable and secure when the big industrial generators are supplemented by thousands-or millions-of small independent producers. In other words, we reduce risks when we don’t put all our eggs in one basket. David Gelbaum is one of the country’s most influential advocates for smarter grids. He’s a successful investor and generous philanthropist whose attention has lately been trained on green technology and wilderness preservation. Since 2002 he’s invested about $500 million in about 40 different clean-technology companies, including renewable energy and smart-grid technology companies. At the same time he’s given almost as much money to environmental charities, including $250 million to the Wildlands Conservancy, a land trust he co-founded to preserve wilderness in California and to promote “distributed generation,” that is, decentralized small generators spread widely across the smart grid. He’s betting a lot of money on the success of the smart grid. Unfortunately, utilities have hampered efforts to implement net metering on a large scale. Most states limit the amount of power an independent generator can sell to the grid, even where net metering is available. In most places, consumers are pushing their utilities and governments to liberate the utility grid, so it can get smarter.
It Creates Abundance. Obviously. A billion generators are better than one.
It’s Fair. On the Smart Grid, utilities and customers are partners. Everyone is a buyer. Everyone is a seller. The utilities control the economics, of course, and fair policies obviously have to be renegotiated. It’s Contagious. Every utility grid in the world can be a smart grid. Presumably, with new technology, grids will only get smarter over time. Pretty soon, power customers just won’t put up with stupid grids. Bryan Welch is known for his optimism, sense of humor and his commitment to empowering people to live their own versions of the good life. Welch runs Ogden Publications, publishers of Mother Earth News, Natural Home, Utne Reader and other media brands. “Beautiful and Abundant” sells for $25.95 and is available through MotherEarthNews.com or at (800) 234-3368.
Behavior and the Human Dimensions of Energy Use This is a growing area of research and activity for customer energy efficiency programs. Behavior is clearly a cornerstone of energy efficiency: it affects the purchases we make, the buildings and systems we design, and how we use energy-consuming equipment. To leverage technology and practices for greater savings, energy professionals can use social science to understand both how customers use energy and how programs can benefit customers. This goes beyond simply providing information. Understanding how customers think about their energy use can help programs select technology and engage participants in reducing their energy use through energy efficiency improvements. Considering energy users as members of communities and social networks suggests some possible approaches.
It’s Beautiful. Or it can be so long as we pay attention. Fewer high-voltage transmission lines will be necessary. And fewer smokestacks. 12
A Practical Journal for Friends of the Environment GreenLivingJournal.com Fall 2011
RENEWABLE ENERGY TRAINING
Solar Energy International is celebrating 20 years of renewable energy training in 2011. Learn more about these courses and workshops, and many more, by visiting solarenergy.org today.
Register at
solarenergy.org or call 970.963.8855
In-person workshops on Guemes Island, WA Oct. 10-15 Oct. 17-22 Oct. 24-29
PV101: Solar Electric Design and Installation (Grid-Direct) WP101: Wind Design and Installation WP201: Residential Wind Maintenance and Repair
Energy continued
For more about this: www.aceee.org/topics/behavior Reprinted with permission from Energy Independence Sol-Utions.
Biomass Energy in John Day Generations of sawlog harvesting can leave commercial forests choked with forestry leftovers: sapling-sized and un-merchantable trees, which need to be thinned to make way for healthy growth. In January 2009, Grant County government began an investigation to see whether there was enough of this type of woody biomass in the area to support a pellet plant, and what that plant might look like. The Grant County Fiber Utilization Study took more than 4 months and enlisted the help of several local, state and federal agency employees, foresters and business people. When complete, the study was shared with individuals, government agencies, legislators and congressional delegates. Because the county had a completed study, it was a prime candidate for support from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The pellet plant went into production in March, 2011, and is designed to produce approximately 50 tons per day of wood pellets and bricks. Pellet plant supervisor John Rowell reports the plant employs 11 people and supports two additional jobs at the chipping station. The pellets and bricks are marketed and distributed by Bear Mountain Forest Products of Portland, Oregon. Modern wood pellet and wood chip fueled heating systems are capable of achieving particulate emissions levels that are 10-50 times lower than EPA certified wood stoves, without expensive secondary filtration devices. If lower emissions are required, flue gas cleaning systems are available that achieve particulate emissions similar to natural gas fueled systems. New boilers have been installed at the Grant County Regional Airport and the Blue Mountain Hospital. Both systems were purchased from A3Energy from Portland and will use locally produced Bear Mountain Pellets. The system at the hospital cost $411,000, and is projected to save approximately $50,000 per year in 2011 energy dollars. Reprinted with permission from Grant County Economic Development and SolWest Fair
Columbia River PDX Green Living Journal No. 14 Fall 2011
13
www.greenlivingpdx.com
Communicating about social norms – showing customers how their energy use compares to others’ – can lead to energy savings. Programs also use many other approaches, including tapping into social networks, encouraging participants to educate and compete with each other, and providing incentives and recognition.
Transportation
www.greenlivingpdx.com
The Hydrogen Fuel Economy Is Here Almost everything we use in our daily lives spent some time on a truck in reaching us. The huge fleet of trucks needed to move all of these goods consumes around 54 billion gallons fuel a year and produces tons of emissions. If America is ever to reach energy independence and have clean air this truck fleet needs to make changes. The Vision Motor Corp of El Segundo, CA. is making changes. Seems they are in negotiations with Total Transportation Services, Inc. of Rancho Dominguez, California, to purchase one hundred zero emission Tyrano™ hydrogen fuel cell-electric, class 8 heavy-duty trucks at a total purchase price of approximately $27,000,000 dollars. The purchase is subsequent to the successful trial of the initial vehicle that was delivered to TTSI on Friday the 22nd of July. The Tyrano is an electric truck with batteries recharged by hydrogen fuel cells. The fuel cell generates electricity from a reaction of hydrogen and oxygen. There is no combustion and no air pollution. The truck is powered by a 536 HP electric engine creating 3,300 ft./lbs. of torque. No
internal combustion engine means no carbon footprint, no carcinogenic particulates and no noise pollution. Many transportation visionaries believe that hydrogen fuel cells are the true future of transportation and almost all of the major auto manufacturers are working on them. Unfortunately, it will be several years before you can walk into a dealer and buy one. We just might see fuel cell 18 wheelers on the highway before then.
Shweeb: Light Rail for Bicyclers Here’s an idea that seems to be the Portland bicycler’s dream come true: a recumbent bike enclosed from the “Oregon Mist” and suspended safely above auto and truck traffic. Or, as their website states, “By integrating the unique properties of monorail and recumbent cycle technologies, Shweeb delivers a personal, efficient, and cost-effective transport solution with applications for urban commuting, recreational and fitness markets. “ 14
Transportation continued Shweeb is designed as a personal transport solution for shorter, urban journeys. The concept retains the benefits of reduced costs and comfort of mass transportation but offers the convenience, personal space and flexibility of personal transport. It delivers mass transportation on a personal level - personal “trainsportation”. Personal, aerodynamic pods are suspended from a monorail, propelled by an innovative transmission powered by the rider’s own pedal power (or alternatively, electric assistance is available). The riders and their luggage are accommodated in a comfortable, recumbent seat with a 360-degree panoramic view. The Shweeb proves that by intelligently removing resistances, the energy required to move a vehicle becomes very small. So small in fact that it becomes possible to dispense with the mechanical engine and utilize the organic engine that the human passenger already carries muscle power. The Shweeb is a zero-emission transportation system. Because it is so easy to pedal, the rider will not even emit much more carbon dioxide than he/she would if using a more passive transportation mode!
A Practical Journal for Friends of the Environment GreenLivingJournal.com Fall 2011
Transportation continued Roll Over America The Roll Over America (ROAM) tour of over 50 velomobiles began July 28 in Portland and ended August 24th in Washington, DC. The ROAM tour captain is Josef Janning, a velonaut himself, who’s devoted much of his life to promoting alternative commuting methods, healthy lifestyles and creating bike-friendly communities The participants come from Europe, Canada and the U.S. and what
Velomobiles in the Gorge courtesy Flickr user JenniferKubus
separates them from the rest is that they were riding in state of the art human powered vehicles. http://www.rolloveramerica.eu/
In a recent email from Peter Cossey, Managing Director we learned that the Shweeb is still in the R&D stage as they work through the technical problems involved in turning what is essentially an amusement park ride into an urban people mover. They believe that they have solutions for everything and are in process of trying to turn these into reality. For more information go to: http://shweeb.com
oregon green & solar tours Join us at 15 green & solar tours across the state to see the latest green tech in action! solaroregon.org/2011tours
Columbia River PDX ď Ł Green Living Journal ď ¤ No. 14 Fall 2011
15
www.greenlivingpdx.com
Last century the human body was viewed as a piece of cargo that had to be carted, immobile, to its destination. This view is quickly changing. A sedentary lifestyle is now understood to engender a host of problems (obesity, heart disease, etc). Opportunities to exercise are harder to attain, leisure time is shrinking, and open space is diminishing. Thus the Shweeb adds value to your commute by giving you mobility and fitness simultaneously. In September 2010 Google Inc. announced an investment of one million dollars in Shweeb to assist with transit research and development.
Electric Vehicle News BRD Electric Motorcycles
“We expect people to ride the snot out of these in a way that hasn’t been possible on previous electrics - that’s going to affect the range and we want to be careful about getting the specification right.” A unique manufacturing approach creates a distinctive design. Chief Design Officer, Jeff Sand explains: “While the chassis geometry is conventional, packaging an electric drive-train required rethinking frame design”. The motorcycles will be sold through conventional motorcycle dealerships to ensure superb warranty and service support. Specifications and product images can be found at BRD’s website: http://www.faster-faster.com.
www.greenlivingpdx.com
New Leaf Pays Its Way BRD Motorcycles recently announced its new electric motorcycle, the RedShift, targeted towards off-road and urban use, and intended to outperform gas-powered equivalents. “We just want to make faster motorcycles,” said CEO, Marc Fenigstein. “We’re a team of riders and racers with high-performance gas machines in the garage. We’re building the bikes we’d rather be riding.” Like a gas supermoto, only faster The RedShift SM, the urban version, was unveiled recently in San Francisco at the Dainese D-Store SF. The unit is said to be a pre-production prototype, with production planned for 2012. The RedShift MX, the dual-sport version, is in parallel development. The models share a proprietary chassis and drivetrain, producing 40hp and weighing in at approximately 250lbs (240lbs in off-road trim). They feature fully adjustable suspension, with conventional wheel and sprocket sizes. Both versions of the RedShift use a 5.2kWh battery that should deliver about 50 miles of range based on other electric motorcycles in the market, but BRD refrained from specifying a range until further testing. Fenigstein clarified,
16
Oregon Electric Vehicle Association (OEVA) member Chris Arnesen and his wife are the proud owners of a brand new, all electric Nissan Leaf after being without a car for almost two years. During that time they used public transportation and joined the car-sharing program, Zipcar. They have been keeping track of the cost of the electricity to “fuel” their Leaf since they got it in March and it averages around $34 a month. When Chris was commuting in their 2003 Subaru the gas bill was $240 a month, so they are saving just over $200 a month in fuel costs alone. Commuting 60 miles daily to his job and back on buses may have been cheaper in dollars, but he spent many more hours in travel time each month than in a car. So no matter how you look at it, Chris is far better off driving an electric vehicle (EV). But the dollar savings that the Leaf provides go far beyond just the cost of its fuel. Over time, and Chris expects to keep this car at least 10 years, his EV will save on maintenance costs as well. No more oil changes, no more replacing timing belts, mufflers, exhaust pipes, spark plugs, antifreeze, oxygen sensors, catalytic converters, fuel pumps, fuel
A Practical Journal for Friends of the Environment GreenLivingJournal.com Fall 2011
EV News continued injectors and so forth. Yes, at the end of 10 years the Leaf ’s battery pack may hold only 80% of the charge that it did when it was new, but he can still continue to commute his 60 miles a day with absolutely no “Range Anxiety” whatsoever. Now, if all of that that isn’t enough to send you running for your Nissan dealer, think about this: Chris and his wife will never again be spewing exhaust fumes into the air over the Rose City, nor will they ever again send any of their hard earned dollars to a third world OPEC country that could very well be supporting terrorist activity against America. Put a price on that.
By Ray Blackburn Editor’s prologue - Interstate 84 wasn’t exactly choked with electric vehicles leaving Portland for John Day to take part in the SolWest Fair and the John Day or Bust EV convergence that took place the last weekend in July. However, there were three hardy souls and two EVs that did strike out on Thursday, July 28, thereby keeping this event alive for another year. John Christian, Chair of the Oregon Electric Vehicle Association, drove his brand new Nissan Leaf and Ray Blackburn, OEVA Treasurer , was, for the second year, at the wheel of his converted Toyota Yaris. Riding shotgun was Phil Hochstetler, another member of the OEVA. Many folks think the Leaf should not be pushed beyond its limits and should not be used for long trips like this but here is what the John Day or Bust trip accomplished more than anything. It opened up the eyes of the Port of Cascade Locks, The City of The Dalles and The Dalles Chamber of Commerce, the Dufur Chamber of Commerce and the Condon Chamber of Commerce. All of them were confronted with charging EV’s recently. Now they are contemplating the tourist impact and how it might be beneficial to be “charge friendly” for their respective cities. The more EV’s that go through these towns the better for EV’s and the infrastructure that supports them. Plus tmore money is coming to these towns from EV drivers that are
captivated until charging is finished. I am sure many of the entities above have heard EV’s are coming, but we let them know they are here and the occupants and cars have needs right now, not some time in the future. A special thanks to Jennifer and Lance Barker, Gary Munkhoff, Ernest Hagel who played a part for us to get charging points along the way and the people who allowed us to charge. The trip was made possible by folks such as: Kristi Bengtson at Port of Cascade Locks, Nissan of The Dalles, (though Sid in the service department could not confirm the chargers were operating but believed they were), Ron, at the city park in Dufur and Vernon Grey of Grey & Sun Condon Wind. Solar store in Condon (but beware of the .50 cents charge per KW there). The rock solid Kendall Derby at the Juniper Sawmill and Kiln who allowed us to arrive anytime day or night and camp in Fossil and charge. In Dayville it was Brian Smith the electrician that let us charge, and in John Day, Jennifer and Lance Barker allowed us to charge at the John Day Fair Grounds. Some interesting points, problems and fun things along the way. At The Dalles Nissan we could not get both cars to charge off one charger, so we called the number on the charger but it was not much help unless we needed a tow. After a few hours of trying to get the charger to cooperate, I left Phil and John in The Dalles and headed for Dufur
Columbia River PDX Green Living Journal No. 14 Fall 2011
17
www.greenlivingpdx.com
John Day or Bust 2011
EV News continued where I knew there was a 14-50p ,50 amp outlet that would charge my Yaris. As luck would have it there was also cell phone coverage so I could call John and Phil and let them know I was charging on 240V. When John and Phil were fully charged I was only at 91%. Since I am very familiar with my car and had made the trip before, I figured this was enough to make it to our next charge point in Condon Ore.
out, tail them a while and then blow by them again in the same manner, then find some bushes to hide behind and repeat. One eventful thing we discovered on the way back from John Day. In Condon, Vernon Grey told us some motorcycles ran into range anxiety because they reached Condon at 8 pm and the gas station was closed. The motorcyclists were forced to spend the night in Condon until the gas station opened in the morning. Oh yeah, John brought back a placard for Best Green Manufactured Vehicle at the SolWest Fair. To be honest, there was no other competition in this category as his was the only Leaf to fall in John Day this year.
www.greenlivingpdx.com
Volt Owner Gets 300+ MPG Charging Outlets at Port of Cascade Locks Marine Park
We arrived at Condon around 8 pm. The Leaf was put on the 240V and the poor baby Yaris was stuck with 120 volts The Yaris does not utilize 120V well at all for charging. We walked all through the town and could not find one restaurant open, and by this time “starvation anxiety” was setting in. Finally, we decided we would tell the Elks Club our predicament as they were the only ones still open and see if they would allow us to eat. A man there by the name of Kay sponsored us and it was goulash all around. In hindsight I should have ordered a hamburger, but ate all my goulash anyway. By now it was late and time to push on to Fossil, just 21 miles away, where we would all spend the night. However, since my car doesn’t charge well on 120 volts, by the time we did arrive in Fossil my batteries had only a 4% charge remaining. This was the lowest state of charge for the Yaris for the whole trip. , We left Fossil the next morning with both cars fully charged. I was bored the last 100 miles and having made the trip before I knew the Yaris was home free as far as making it the rest of the way to John Day. Phil and John were taking it easy on the Leaf, not having made the trip before, so for fun I would pass the Leaf at about 70 mph and keep pouring on the coal until I was well out of sight. and Then I would slow down and look for a place to hide. After a while the unsuspecting Leaf would go by and I would pull
When General Motors unveiled the Chevrolet Volt, the media was caught off balance and failed to fully appreciate what the engineers at GM had come up with. Is it an electric car? Is it a hybrid? Is it an extended range electric car? The debate went on and on. Does it really matter and who cares anyway? So while the auto techno-experts argued over where exactly to put the Volt, people were quietly buying them and putting them in their garages. Best of all, Motor Trend magazine got it right and called the Volt “Car Of The Year”. One of the new Volt owners was Jeff Parmet, who purchased his in December 2010, left the dealership with a full tank of gas and a fully charged battery, drove the car 2,500 miles over a six month period, and only then did he have to buy eight gallons of gas to refill the gas tank. Do the math and the debate over the Volt’s label becomes irrelevant. Any car that gets over 300 miles per gallon deserves the “Car Of The Year” title. There are numerous websites and blogs dedicated to Volt owners where you can read more stories. Here is the official Chevrolet website: http://www.chevroletvoltage.com
Visit Our Advertisers They Have Great Goods & Services And They Make This Magazine Possible 18
A Practical Journal for Friends of the Environment GreenLivingJournal.com Fall 2011
“Grab and Go” Battery Design
• • • •
High power lithium ion Long run time Long battery life LED power charge indicator
Safety Features
• •
Built-in, articulating safety chain brake Low kickback chain and guide bar
PowerSharp® Sharpening System
36 Volt INDUSTRIAL QUALITY in a Battery-Powered CHAINSAW
NO EXHAUST NO GAS NO ENGINE NOISE!
• • •
Integrated saw chain sharpening system. Sharpens in 3-5 seconds Never cut with a dull chain again
Fast and Powerful Cutting
• •
14” bar powers through most jobs Limbing cuts in just seconds
No-Tool Side Cover Latch
•
Easy access to bar and chain
Patent-Pending Circuit Board Design Overload and heat protection Soft ramp start up
Henderson Turf & Wear Inc 5120 SE Johnson Creek Blvd Milwaukie, Or 97222 503-777-8611 www.htwinc.com
Pets and only 5% will be adult fleas. It’s not a pretty picture, but that’s just the way it is. By Chip Sammons The first step is to apply boric acid powder to our carpets, and diatomaceous earth or pyrethrum powder to Here’s our choice: utilize preventative measures for hardwood or linoleum floors. Boric acid powder (brand controlling fleas now, or, waiting until those pesky, pointed name: Fleago) actually kills fleas in the larvae stage, thus headed little bloodsuckers drive us to the brink of frustration by setting off some kind of poisonous flea bomb in our homes. preventing the cocoon and adult stages from happening. We humans are the one’s with the bigger brains (though That’s great news! Diatomaceous Earth and pyrethrum we can’t jump as far!), so maybe we should consider some of powder also work on concrete in the garage or on sidewalks, or even in outdoor areas. Diatomaceous Earth actuthe very effective ways to prevent those slimy, dirty, disease ally kills mechanically by drying out adult fleas, where as carrying jumpers from infecting family companion dogs pyrethrum powder not only dries them out, but also affects and cats . . . and us! their nervous system with its potency. Some people (those who don’t know any better) will The next, and very crucial step is to spray our yards with resort to chemicals, pesticides, bombs, and nuclear devices. beneficial nematodes, which also kill fleas in the larvae Others will inject one of the many spot-on types of flea stage. Simply spray a perimeter around your house with a killers without realizing that every single year, according to hose-end sprayer on the end of your hose to create a safety both the EPA and the Center’s for Disease Control, suppressed immune systems, medical problems and even death zone. Even if you have several acres, spray a perimeter around your house creating a moat-like safety barrier. occur on a normal basis with these products. The final stage is to consider natural products containing The solution to all of this is fairly simple. Realize that good quality herbs to put directly on our pets, remembering for every flea that you find on your family pet companion, that whatever we put on them will be absorbed into their there are 200 in your carpet in various stages of life. Most bodies. Remember, we don’t want to suppress them, but will be flea eggs, many will be larvae, some will be cocoons, Columbia River PDX Green Living Journal No. 14 Fall 2011 19
Flea Time!
www.greenlivingpdx.com
• •
www.greenlivingpdx.com
Pets continued we do want to help them to repel these nasty little bloodsuckers. And we can do that just fine with many of the safe products on the market today. One of the biggest challenges today is determining what is safe, and what is labeled as safe, but is really not. For that, I recommend finding an independent pet store with knowledgeable employees. We can prevent our companion family dogs and cats from suffering from the devastating effects of fleas with just a little
20
bit of planning, and purchasing safe and effective flea control products from knowledgeable experts. Good luck! (Chip Sammons, owner & janitor of the Holistic Pet Center has received many local and national awards for helping to spread holistic concepts of caring for our family companion pets for 23 years, and hosts “Pet Nutrition & News,” every Saturday morning from 8 – 9 on KPAM 860 AM. Email Chip at: chip@holisticpetcenter.com, or visit him at 15599 SE 82nd Drive, Clackamas, Oregon 97015.)
A Practical Journal for Friends of the Environment GreenLivingJournal.com Fall 2011
Health Traveling? Have These Essential Oils With You Cinnamon Cinnamomum zeylanicum 1 drop daily for upset stomach or diarrhea. Ginger Zingibar officinale 1 drop 3 times daily for travel sickness. Lavender Lavandula officinalis Blend with aloe vera oil and apply to skin. Use for bites, cuts, and scalds.
Tea Tree Australia Melaleuca alternifolia Blend with aloe and apply to skin for sunburn or apply directly to infection. Ylang Ylang Cananga odorata Apply directly to skin for fungal infection. Courtesy of:
www.greenlivingpdx.com
Lemon Citrus limonum 1 drop 3 times daily. Gargle for sore throat and general anesthetic.
Peppermint Mentha piperita var amara Blend with aloe and apply to skin for aches, pains, and bruising. 1 drop 3 times daily for indigestion.
Apothecary Shoppe of American College of Healthcare Sciences: http://www.apothecary-shoppe.com http://www.achs.edu
COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE
FALL & WINTER
Columbia River PDX ď Ł Green Living Journal ď ¤ No. 14 Fall 2011
21
Gardening
www.greenlivingpdx.com
Use Wood Mulch to Build Great Garden Soil By Barbara Pleasant Most organic gardeners find that following nature’s patterns serves them well. When it comes to building richer soil, nature’s plan relies heavily on trees — fallen limbs, leaves, cones, seeds and, eventually, the massive trunks. Adapting this plan to your garden by using a wood mulch — such as wood chips, sawdust or other woody residues — as soil-building material is a strategy that promises huge, long-term returns. Field studies dating back to the 1950s — and as recent as this year — suggest that a high-fiber diet of woody materials is exactly what many soils need. Rotted bits of wood persist as organic matter for a long time, enhancing the soil’s ability to retain nutrients and moisture, which results in bigger, better crops. But wait: Woody materials are high in carbon and cellulose, so they need nitrogen and time in order to decompose. If you ignore these facts by mixing fresh sawdust or wood chips directly into your soil, the materials will bind up much of the soil’s nitrogen and render the spot useless for gardening for a season or two. The outcome changes, however, if you add nitrogen or time. For example, when researchers planted a new organic apple orchard in northern Maine in 2005, fresh wood chips combined with blood meal (a very high-nitrogen organic material with a typical analysis of 12-0-0) and tilled into the top layer of the soil — plus a surface mulch of wood chips — proved better than three other treatments at promoting rapid tree growth. And, in less than two years, the organic matter content in the chipamended plots went from near zero to 2 to 3 percent. Sawdust has much more exposed surface area than wood chips do, so incorporating fresh sawdust into soil is not a good idea chemically (because of nitrogen tie-up) or physically (the mixture won’t hold water worth a flip). But sawdust makes a spectacular mulch for perennial crops. As long as you scatter a bit of organic fertilizer, poultry manure or other nitrogen source over the surface each time you throw on a fresh layer, sawdust makes unsurpassed mulch for blueberries, strawberries and raspberries, and it can work well with asparagus, too.
observed that the wood chip plots became covered with white mycelium, which is the vegetative form of many fruiting fungi and is commonly known as white rot. The development of these fungi in the wood mulch increases the amount and enhances the character of organic matter in the soil, as well as helps the soil’s ability to retain moisture. The huge group of fungi known collectively as Basidiomycetes is a core player in wood chip decomposition. Many produce mushrooms — pretty, but not generally edible. Where moist wood chips and soil unite, these fungi use enzymes to access nutrients in the wood, which is their energy source for the growth of threadlike, white hyphae. The hyphae knit themselves together into mycelium, which is easy to see. In addition to fungi, several specialized types of bacteria are able to degrade high-cellulose materials such as wood chips, while others digest failing fungi. Seen this way, it’s easy to envision wood chips in soil as life rafts that support three major levels of soil life: the fibrous organic matter of the chips themselves, the biological mass of filamentous fungi that grows on them, and beneficial bacteria that come and go in waves.
Recovering Resources
Wood chips and sawdust are each byproducts of other activities, so finding good-quality, local resources is your first step. If you live near a sawmill, you can probably get sawdust cheap, though you’ll need assurance from the sawmill operator that it doesn’t include black walnut sawdust, which releases a toxin that can be murder on tomatoes and other sensitive vegetables. Also avoid sawdust from plywood and painted or treated wood in your garden because of the glues and other chemicals. With sawdust, the lower you go on the production chain (a sawmill that handles whole logs), the more likely you are to get garden-worthy sawdust. For soil-building purposes, coarse sawdust is better than fine because it’s less likely to pack into a mat, and it lasts longer as organic matter in the soil. If kept moist, sawdust can decompose surprisingly quickly. In a study at Ohio State University, sawdust rotted faster than newspaper or straw, both of which were still recognizable after 16 weeks. To speed up rotting in a pile of sawdust, simply add moisture and nitrogen. This can be done by mixing up a big batch of fish emulsion, pouring it into an already damp, doughnut-shaped sawdust pile, and then covering it with a tarp or an old blanket to retain moisture. After sawdust turns black, you can use it to lighten Mycelium Madness up any soil — including potting soil — for seedlings and In the Maine apple orchard study, the research team container gardening. A Practical Journal for Friends of the Environment GreenLivingJournal.com Fall 2011 22
Gardening continued
www.greenlivingpdx.com
Most of the more recent studies with wood chips used what are called ramial wood chips, which are what you get when you put live, leafless hardwood branches, 2 to 3 inches in diameter, through a chipper to create pieces that are a half to 1 inch wide and 1 to 4 inches long. Ramial chips have relatively little bark and heartwood because of the size of the branches used, which is part of what makes them so attractive as a soil amendment. Superior batches also contain few leaves, cones or other prickly parts. You can get ramial wood chips for free by connecting with tree-trimming crews working in your area. In some towns, such as Oshkosh, Wis., you can take small limbs to a chipping center on certain Saturdays and go home with your own homegrown wood chips. Wherever you live, a few phone calls to local utility companies or tree service companies should be all it takes to find a free supply. Wood chips often end up in landfills; let’s put them to use enriching our garden soils instead. Illustration by Elayne Sears Excerpted from MOTHER EARTH NEWS, the Original Guide to Living Wisely. To read more articles from MOTHER EARTH NEWS, please visit www.MotherEarthNews.com or call (800) 234-3368 to subscribe. Copyright 2010 by Ogden Publications Inc.
Cover Crop and Lawn & Pasture Seed
Serving Camas/Washougal Since 1993
3501 NE 3rd Avenue (Behind Kudos Coffee)
(360) 835-0164 HOURS: M-F 8-7 • SAT 9-5 • SUN 10-4
5
COUPON
OFF your
purchase of $30 or more
COUPON
LJC FEED Garden & Country Store
Home Decor Gourmet Foods Designer Handbags Unique Jewelry
$ COUPON
We Offer Organic Fertilizers
ONE COUPON PER CUSTOMER CANNOT BE COMBINED WITH ANY OTHER OFFER EXPIRES NOVEMBER 30, 2011
Columbia River PDX Green Living Journal No. 14 Fall 2011
23
Gardening continued Hoop Houses: Eat From Your Garden Earlier and Longer
www.greenlivingpdx.com
Photo courtesy knitting iris on Flickr
Hoop houses are a great do-it-yourself project that can make it possible for you to garden all year long. They can also be used for storage, as a temporary garage, or even as a workshop. They are inexpensive, easy to construct and when completed they also: t Add up to two months to either end of your growing season. t Provide room to set out your plant starts until they can be planted in your garden. t Let you grow winter greens, like spinach, all through the winter season. t Give tomatoes those over 60 degree warm nights that they need for setting fruit. t Protect your plants from wind and frost. t Prevent heavy rain from damaging your plants, compacting the soil and washing seeds away. t Minimize insect infestations. t Can be used as a place to set up your lounge chair and sip ice tea in January and enjoy the 85 degree inside temperature. t Can be covered with a tarp for firewood storage. t Can be covered with shade cloth to be used as a pen for poultry or game birds. Your hoop house should be situated on a well-drained level spot that receives as much sunlight as possible. It should be located near a water source. Unlike a greenhouse, a hoop house is not usually heated in the winter. If you plan to heat yours you will need access to electricity Hoop houses can be assembled quickly with minimal skills and tools. How long it takes to set one up depends on how large yours will be. They can be built just large enough 24
to cover one raised bed a la a cold frame or you can build one large enough to stand up and walk around in. Because it is a portable structure, you probably won’t need a building permit, but check with your local authorities to be sure, especially if your are building a large one. Most hoop houses are made using PVC pipe for the hoop structure, but galvanized electrical conduit can also be used. The hoops are secured to the ground either by slipping them over rebar that has been hammered into the soil or by fastening them to a lumber framework. After the hoops are in place the structure is covered with clear 6-mil polyethylene plastic sheeting. The sheeting can be fastened to the frame in several ways, such as short lengths of PVC pipe that have been slit, clips, screws, bolts, or staples. Tools required will vary depending on the materials you use to build your hoop house, but typically include a hacksaw or pipe cutting tool, a utility knife, a drill or staple gun and a tape measure. Complete instructions and materials lists for building one are available on several websites including: t http://clark.wsu.edu/volunteer/mg/gm_tips/hoophouses.html t http://westsidegardener.com/howto/hoophouse.html t http://www.self-sufficient-farm-living.com/hoop-house-plans.html
Photo courtesy Ciot’s Run on Flickr
If you live in an area that has very warm summer temperatures you will need to open both ends of the hoop house for ventilation. The sides can be constructed in such a way that the plastic can be rolled for additional air circulation. Or, you can completely remove the plastic covering for the summer. If you don’t want to bother locating and purchasing all the materials separately you can order a kit from any of several on line suppliers: t http://bearnakedgardening.com (located in Portland)
t http://www.hoophouse.com. A Practical Journal for Friends of the Environment GreenLivingJournal.com Fall 2011
Bear Naked Hoop House Kits Available in TWO Sizes! Find Out Why:
Small - Up to 20 ft Large - Up to 30 ft
• Our Tomatoes Are Redder Than Yours • Our Flowers Bloom Earlier • We Eat Fresh Greens in January
20’ Kits Starting at $ .00
395
Also: Solar Fans Greenhouse Garden Windows
Assembled Display Kit at: Majestic Building Supply 13421 S.E. Holgate - Portland 97236 - 503-320-5166 Majestic Building Supply Also Features: Patio Doors with Internal Shading Devices • Cabinets • Counters • Insulation
Food/Education will be improved by a preference for fruits and vegetables developed in childhood. By Katie Cordrey Ecotrust, the Oregon Departments of Education and An innovative effort to bring locally-grown foods to Or- Agriculture, Kaiser Permanente, and the Northwest Health egon’s school children and to help them understand where Foundation, have all been involved in nurturing the Farm their food comes from received a big thumbs-up when the to School concept, but others play a role too. Oregon State Legislature unanimously passed House Bill David Shonk, owner of Twelve Mile Market natural 2800 in July. foods market in Gresham, and HB 2800, aslo known as the Bumblebee Farm, a certified “Farm to School and School Garorganic farm in Troutdale, is one dens” bill provides $200,000 to a of an increasing number of farmpilot program to rev up the proviers who supply fresh, local food to sion of Oregon-grown foods and school kitchens. hands-on, garden-based educa“This is Bumblebee Farm’s section to public school students. The ond season supplying fresh from funds will allow school districts an the field food to Lewis and Clark extra 15-cents per school meal to Montassori charter school,” Shonk A local lunch served as part of Portland Public Schools farm buy Oregon foods and produce. says. He goes on to state that he’s to school program featuring regionally sourced products on a reusable tray: Truitt Brothers chili, Don Poncho tortilla chips, This is good news for small excited to be part of the Farm to Bakery cornbread, Willamette Valley Fruit Company farmers whose livelihoods depend Clackamas School program and enjoys knowblueberries, pears from Walter Wells and Sons, and Pacific upon locavore consumption and Coast Fruit Company fresh salsa and lettuce. ing that he is putting healthful food for students whose lifelong health on students’ lunch trays. Description & image courtesy of Ecotrust and photographer Scott Trimble.
Farm to School – The ABCs of Fresh Food
Columbia River PDX Green Living Journal No. 14 Fall 2011
25
www.greenlivingpdx.com
253-223-6392
www.greenlivingpdx.com
Food/Education continued “I love helping students understand and interact with where their food can come from, our local organic farms and gardens.� Shonk posted on the Ecotrust-sponsored Good Grub and Gardens website. The Farm to School program is a great fit for producers like Bumblebee that have made a commitment to superior nutrition, interactive education, and healthy ecology, but it’s not the only way to get field-fresh food on the plates of Oregon’s school students. CREST Farm is a school District-owned producer cultivating a 10-acre parcel of designated farmland adjacent to Boones Ferry Primary School in Wilsonville. The West Linn- Wilsonville District farm meets educational goals by providing hands-on student experiences and bolsters the District’s wellness efforts by providing the District’s cafeterias with quality, fresh produce for their young patrons. Weston Miller of OSU Extension faculty has commented that the CREST Farm to School program and site can serve as a model to other districts in the Portland metro region that want to harvest both educational and nutritional benefits for children in their schools. While CREST is modeling the grow-your-own strategy, Portland Public Schools’ semi-monthly Harvest of the Month program started in 2007. It serves a locally grown fruit or vegetable at lunch to help students connect the food on their plates to where it is grown. The Portland schools’ Local Flavors Program also aims to put more fresh, sustainable food on students’ trays. Fresh fruits and vegetables are sourced from local farmers and more than 30 % of Portland Public Schools’ food purchases are from local suppliers. To provide hands-on learning, Portland’s schools have a resource in Zenger Farm, a non-profit farm and wetland in outer southeast Portland. Zenger offers practical, applied youth education in sustainable agriculture, wetland ecology, food 26
security, healthful eating, and local economic development. Committed students, staff, parents and community volunteers have also provided direct experience and benefited the local community by creating more than 40 edible gardens throughout the Portland School District’s area. With the movement toward healthful eating gathering credibility, supported by national advocates like First Lady Michelle Obama, the vision of serving locally grown produce to students is one fully deserving of citizen support. Oregon’s Farm to School and School Gardens projects promote health, provide education, increase mindfulness about the environment, and help to strengthen the local economy. It doesn’t get much better than that! For more information on Farm to School programs: t CREST FARM: http://bit.ly/q5pLGn t ECOTRUST: http://www.ecotrust.org/farmtoschool/ t OREGON DEPT of EDU: http://bit.ly/oPRRsQ t PORTLAND PUB. SCHOOLS: http://bit.ly/oEg7ZU t USDA: http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/f2s/ t THE IMPACT of SEVEN CENTS - a downloadable pdf report: http://bit.ly/nWfAk4
Education Sustainable Schools-Sustainable Solutions The Zero Waste Alliance’s Sustainable Oregon Schools Initiative, SOSI (pronounced “so see�) has taken a systemic approach to fostering healthy school environments by engaging, educating and inspiring individual schools, districts, and the organizations that support them. Oregon’s schools comprise an infrastructure large
A Practical Journal for Friends of the Environment ď Ł GreenLivingJournal.com ď ¤ Fall 2011
www.greenlivingpdx.com
Education continued enough to house one-fifth of Oregon’s population and that means they have a large carbon footprint. Reducing that footprint will result in a cleaner environment, but will also save money by eliminating waste and increasing resource efficiency. But creating a healthy, sustainable environment is only part of the sustainability solution. Through education for sustainability, SOSI helps to develop school curriculums infused with learning that prepares students to live and work in a sustainable society. The group envisions Oregon schools at the forefront of environmental stewardship and today’s students the creators of a sustainable future. The SOSI website has an impressive list of participating schools and school districts that includes many in the Portland-Metro area. It also provides information about how to join the effort. Visit sustainableschools.org for ways to help and links to more information.
Green Living Journal Delivered To Your Company’s Lunch Room - Coffee Lounge
FREE - For More Information Contact susan@greenlivingjournal.com 541-374-5454
Columbia River PDX Green Living Journal No. 14 Fall 2011
27
Book Review The Homeowner's Guide to Renewable Energy - Revised & Updated Edition Achieving Energy Independence through Solar, Wind, Biomass and Hydropower
www.greenlivingpdx.com
By Dan Chiras Energy bills have skyrocketed in North America, and traditional energy sources can be as damaging to the environment as they are to your pocketbook. The Homeowner's Guide to Renewable Energy will show you how to slash your home energy costs while dramatically reducing your carbon footprint. Completely revised and updated, this new edition describes the most practical and affordable methods for making significant improvements in home energy efficiency and tapping into clean, affordable, renewable energy resources. If implemented, these measures will save the average homeowner tens of thousands of dollars over the coming decades. Focusing on the latest technological advances in residential renewable energy, this guide examines each alternative energy option available including: t Solar hot water and solar hot air systems t Space heat: passive and active solar retrofits and heat pumps t Wood heat t Passive cooling t Electricity from solar, wind and microhydro t Hydrogen, fuel cells, methane digesters and biodiesel. This well-illustrated and accessible guide is an essential resource for those wanting to enter the renewable energy field. Packed with practical tips and guidelines, it gives readers sufficient knowledge to hire and communicate effectively with contractors and is a must-read for anyone interested in saving money and achieving energy independence. Available from New Society Publishers: http://www.newsociety.com 28
A Practical Journal for Friends of the Environment ď Ł GreenLivingJournal.com ď ¤ Fall 2011
Book Review continued Up Tunket Road - the Education of a Modern Homesteader By Philip Ackerman-Leist Review by Jennifer Barker, EORenew
Book Review continued Like some of my other favorites, this book is full of "aha!" moments, those almost-blinding flashes of self-recognition you get when someone accurately describes something you've known all along, but were never able to put into words for yourself. "Up Tunket Road" is full of stories, but it also spends time analyzing why things worked like they did for the author and others in the stories. The most pressing arguments are in the chapter Oikos: A Household Economy and Ecology. He explains how in our society, economy and ecology are often pitted against each other, yet in a household they must exist under the same roof. He wonders aloud why, if we as individuals can't behave rationally or within our means, we still seem to expect it of our business sector, our elected officials, and our children. No one can truly be independent without renouncing the comforts and conveniences of modern society (and I certainly don't want to do that!). Philip Ackerman-Leist makes it clear right from the start of "Up Tunket Road" that he is searching for community and a certain control over his life, a "crafted interdependence" rather than an abstract idea of self-sufficiency. It's clear to me when I read this book that I find myself in good company. Availabe from Chelsea Green Publishing: http://www.chelseagreen.com
Herman Creek Building Available for Lease
PICTURE YOUR GREEN BUSINESS HERE! From fabulous outdoor activities to art and cultural events, Cascade Locks is a Great Place to Live, Work, & Play!
Commercial Property/Industrial Land AVAILABLE 541-374-8619 portofcascadelocks.org Columbia River PDX ď Ł Green Living Journal ď ¤ No. 14 Fall 2011
29
www.greenlivingpdx.com
We all make choice in our lves, whether consciously or by default. Some of us choose to live lives of intentional involvement with the sources of our sustenance, whether we live in a city, town, or on a farm place. But while Philip Ackerman-Leist followed a traditional path back to the land, he admits that the definitions of homesteading are changing as new generations become interested in "transforming skills and values into a lifestyle, no matter where one feels most at home." Philip is honest and humble about the choices and compromises he has made. His journey, as that of many others, started with the choice to learn about traditional skills and values not generally found in school curricula. His stories resonate with humor and humility, from learning the ways of the land under the tutelage of tarttongued mentors, to the first tentative steps that he and Erin took into raising cattle. It's obvious he doesn't need to go searching for challenges in sports or games, when he can find adventure and engagement right at home. Like many of my own mentors (I think I first heard this phrase from Bob Jackson, a tree farmer in northeast Oregon), Philip believes in the "thoughtful application of manual labor." This doesn't mean beating yourself up doing everything the hard way. It means thinking carefully about where hand tools and methods may be more appropriate and effective than the brute force of machinery. As he puts it, it's a "sense of work, craft, and simple pleasures." He takes pleasure in "beating the system" by doing things for himself, saving both money and resources in the process.
· Events · Events · Events ·
· Classifieds · Classifieds · Classifieds · Classifieds ·
*Organic Soaps Green Drinks *Shower Gel Mt. Hood Organics ECO-FRIENDLY 1st Tues. of every month Eco Trust *Coconut Oils products Building 7-8:45pm *Shea Butter Every little step makes a difference. http://bit.ly/2mkzxw *Coconut-Shea Butter Cream Solar Drinks Health & Beauty, Baby Care Mt. Hood Organics provides non-toxic Pet Care, House & Home, 2nd Tues. ea. mo. visit website for locations quality soaps & body care products Stationary & Office Supplies http://solaroregon.org/event-calendar/month with only the purest organic oils. All the things that you need to SPA OWNERS: Give your clients the City Repair’s Placemaker Academy “Go get your gren on”... finest massage experience with our Sept. 13th to Nov 15th at HARP Check us out every month for incredible coconut oil! Contact us for promotions & updates www.cityrepair.org samples and information on how we Visit us @ 7th Annual Garlic Festival can supply your Spa (503) 936-5759 or www.gogetyourgreenon.com www.mthoodorganics.org Sept.17th Northwest Organic Farms, Ridgefield, WA Read Us Online at http://northwestorganicfarms.com/ annual-garlic-festival GreenLivingPDX.com Portland VegFest 2011 Sept. 17-18 Oregon Convention Center · Events · Events · Events · http://www.nwveg.org/vegfest.php People’s Food Coop Harvest Festival Eco District Summit Sept. 21st Since 1987 Oct. 26-28 Portland http://www.peoples.coop/community- http://www.ecodistrictssummit.com Moving Portland and Beyond room-and-events to a Sustainable Future. 9th Annual City Repair Fund Raiser Build it Green Home Tour “HOWL” SolarEnergyOregon.com Sept. 24th 11am-5pm Oct. 29th www.portlandonline.com/bps/builditgreen http://howlpdx.com From These Hands, LLC NE Sunday Parkways 3rd Annual Halloween Candy Buy Naturally Green Builders Sept. 25th Back Event http://bit.ly/8YfDaP Nov. 2nd Dentus Dental Vancouver, WA http://www.dentus.com Gorge Green Living Tour Oct. 1st Hood River Make Your Own Earthen Paints Home Tours 9am-3pm Nov. 5th 9-11am Mount Tabor Hall Workshops 9am-4pm http://bit.ly/d1NLrI http://bit.ly/q76qnt We help create relaxing places 25th Annual Fix-It Fair Season Go Green Portland Conference 2011 where inspiration can unfold Nov. 19th @ Ron Russell Middle Oct. 4th The Armory School www.sukita.com licensed and bonded http://portland.gogreenconference.net Jan. 21st @ Rosa Parks Elementary 503.957.6132 CCB #174176 School Introduction to Electric Vehicles Feb. 25th @ Jefferson High School Oct. 6th PCC www.portlandonline.com/bps/fif http://bit.ly/qTHngb Wisdom-based Relationships with NW Permaculture Convergence Children Oct. 13-16 St. Helens, OR Dec. 12th Portland Green Parenting http://nwpermaculture.com “The Warehouse” Okanogan Family Faire http”//bit.ly/o4vaUF Oct. 21-23 Tonasket, WA 7th Annual Good Earth Home, http://www.offaire.com Garden & Living Show 14th Annual Green Design & ConJan. 20-22 Eugene, OR A FREE service brought to you by struction Symposium Metro / City of Portland / Clackamas www.eugenehomeshow.com Oct 21-23 Port Orchard, WA Washington / Multnomah Counties http://bit.ly/pzpsDI 30 A Practical Journal for Friends of the Environment GreenLivingJournal.com Fall 2011
· Classifieds · Classifieds · Classifieds · Classifieds · Classifieds · Classifieds · Classifieds ·
728 N.E. Dekum Street 503.288.0220 Buffalogardenspdx.com
With ancient knowledge and modern technique we now have Claylin floors. Made in www.claylin.com Oregon! 503.957.6132
Cartoon
Columbia River PDX Green Living Journal No. 14 Fall 2011
31