March/April 2011 Indiana Living Green by Indiana Living Green

C O N T E N T S Community • KI EcoCenter: An urban neighborhood embraces sustainability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

eDUCATION

publisher Lynn Jenkins Lynn@IndianaLivingGreen.com (317) 769-3456

• Gardens grow in Central Indiana schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

EDITOR Betsy Sheldon Editor@IndianaLivingGreen.com

H O ME

C O N T RIBU T O RS Megan Fernandez Helen W. O’Guinn Wendell Fowler Ryan M. Puckett Jesse Kharbanda Maria Smietana Shawndra Miller Jerry Williams S A LES Sales@IndianaLivingGreen.com (317) 769-3456 graphic design Paul Wilson, Wilson Design, LLC e - n e w s l e tt e r Ed i to r April Perkins Web Design Margaret Hsu Stout Greenway Consulting, LLC

ad v i s o r y b oa r d Hugh Baker John Hazlett Bill Brown Grant Jenkins Jeff Echols Jesse Kharbanda Liz Ellis Glenn Livers Deb Ellman Greg Martz Bert Gilbert Ellen Michel Carey Hamilton p r i nt i n g The Papers – Milford, Indiana s u b s c r i p t i on s $18, six issues Indiana Living Green 1730 S. 950 E. Zionsville, IN 46077 Sign up for our e-newsletter online www.IndianaLivingGreen.com

HE A L T H • How livestock operations threaten Indiana water, air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 • Are home cleaning products making you sick? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

T r an s p o r tat i on • On the road toward a bike-friendly city . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

f e at u r e s • • • • • • • • •

Eat Right Now with Wendell Fowler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Footprints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Garden Roundup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Green, Greener, Greenest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Green Greetings from the Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Green Marketplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Hoosier Environment with Jesse Kharbanda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 The Last Row . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Media Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

• News Briefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Advertise With Us Take your message to our 60,000 readers who want to know more about sustainable living. ILG RE A D ERS Gender: 30% Male and 70% Female Age: 80% over 35 Homes: 70% Own their homes Income: 68% ≥ Over $60,000 30% Over $100,000 Education: 90% College 47% Post Grad Contact your Account Executive or call 317.769.3456 Sales@IndianaLivingGreen.com

INDIANA LIVING GREEN is published bimonthly and is printed on recycled paper with soy-based inks.

MAy In Our Next Issue june The real cost of bottled water Recycling roundup Lovely lawns, less water

ON THE COVER: Harmony School in Bloomington has maintained a student-tended garden for 20 years. Photo courtesy Harmony School and Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard.

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GREEN

GREENER Greenest!

Indiana Living Green offers ways for you to make a difference.

Green 1. Exchange your standard cleaning products for safer eco- (and people) friendly products. Don’t toss the old—they need to be discarded at Tox-away or HHW (Household Hazardous Waste) events. 2. Buy non-CAFO beef, poultry, pork, eggs, and milk from local farmers who show respect for both the land and the animals. 3. Incorporate biking as one of your activities, whether riding to work, the store, the library, or just for fun.

Greener 1. Do some research online to understand the dangers of chemicals commonly used in cleaning products, as well as in many furnishings, paints, and flooring. www.epa.gov/iaq/voc.html 2. Try Meatless Mondays (www.meatlessmonday.com) or adopt a flexitarian lifestyle to lessen the impact of meat on the environment. 3. Participate in Bike to Work Day on Friday, May 20.

Greenest 1. For occasional “fixing up” or major remodeling, choose environmentally friendly and kid-safe products and materials that don’t contaminate the indoor air with VOCs. 2. Be aware of and take action against the devastating impact of CAFOs in our rural communities and their health effects on the community, the environment, and land values. Visit www.indianacafowatch.com or www.hecweb.org. 3. Develop a plan to use your bike or public transportation to get to work at least once a week or more.

www. Indiana L iving Green.com

green greetings

FROM PUBLISHER

LY N N

JE N K I N S

Welcome to Indiana! Recently, I received a surprising email: Andrew W. wrote that he and his wife wanted to relocate to a place that supported sustainable living. He said, “Our investigations have Indiana on the shortlist and I was wondering if you might be able to offer a sort of ‘sales pitch’ for Indiana …” This caught me off guard: Indiana on a shortlist for sustainable living? I wondered if Andrew had seen the 2007 Forbes report, which listed Indiana as 49th in “greenness” with “lots of pollution and consumption and no clear plans to do anything about it. Expect them to remain that way.” I thought long and hard about how to respond to Andrew. Ultimately, this is what I sent: Please do join us, Andrew—Indiana is a great place! Its green rating is pretty low, and it relies far too heavily on dirty coal for its power. Most of Indiana’s rivers are mercury-laden, and our limited forests are under threat from commercial lumber manufacturing. State laws and agencies tend to favor the interests of industrialized farms, which further pollute our water and air. The American Lung Association already grades Indiana’s air quality well below healthy levels. However…please don’t judge Indiana by state government actions alone. Many Indiana cities are working for positive change. Bloomington has long championed mass transit and bicycle-friendly infrastructure, and has led the way in local food initiatives, with Bloomingfoods co-op and an outstanding farmers market. In Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard has established SustainIndy to guide the community toward “a sustainable and livable city.” A community garden challenge, several biking initiatives (see related story on page 22) enhanced recycling programs, and green infrastructure upgrades are just some of the programs in the works. Several other major cities in Indiana, including South Bend, Evansville, and Fort Wayne, are tackling such issues as well. Just as important are the grass-roots efforts. Organizations such as Hoosier Environmental Council, Indiana Recycling Coalition, and Health by Design rally for better air and water quality as well as more transportation options. Nearly two-dozen local land trusts actively protect green spaces. Green Drinks (in nine Indiana cities), Sierra Club, Slow Food, Indiana Organic Gardeners Association, Indiana Conservation Alliance, USGBC/Indiana, and A Greener Indiana (online) help us to connect. Together our voices are stronger. Andrew, you can find many places with more visible commitment to sustainability. But in Indiana you will discover a dedicated group of Hoosiers with a passion for improving the quality of life and a desire to make a real difference. Please come to Indiana—we need more people willing to make the effort for a more sustainable lifestyle. We welcome you! And, Andrew, thanks for your comment about the ILG website: “Finding your site is a definite ‘plus’ for the state…” For that, kudos go to editor Betsy Sheldon and web guru Margaret Stout! n M arch/Apr i l 2 0 1 1

NEWSBRIEFS

Alcoa grant to fund Superbowl recycling effort—and more The Indiana Recycling Coalition has received a $124,252 grant from Alcoa to create a public space recycling bin grant program. The grant will provide recycling bins for public venues including college and university athletic venues, publicly owned athletic venues, publicly owned golf courses, state parks, and municipal parks across the state. The funds also will be utilized to provide recycling for the 2012 Superbowl. IRC executive director Carey Hamilton, who serves as co-chair of the Superbowl’s sustain-

Carey Hamilton (left)

IRC’s Hamilton elected to Keep America Beautiful board Carey Hamilton, executive director of the Indiana Recycling Coalition, has been elected to the board of Keep America Beautiful (KAB). “I am pleased to join the board of this impactful organization as its focus on waste reduction and recycling is expanding,” says Hamilton. “There is much work to be done and I believe KAB is quickly becoming a leader in advancing waste reduction and recycling across the United States.” Hamilton has served as IRC’s executive director since 2008 following a career in environmental consulting and advocacy. She has previously served as a program manager for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, where she specialized in air-quality issues. Under Governor Frank O’Bannon, Hamilton led the Indiana Greening the Government Program in 1999 and 2000, overseeing environmental practices for 700 state offices.

Temple Grandin: better treatment for livestock. Temple Grandin can be credited for many of the improvements that have led to more humane treatment of animals in livestock handling facilities. The scientist, author, and animal welfare advocate will share her experiences at the IMA on April 28, 7 p.m. She has published three bestsellers that explore the subject of animal treatment and how her own thinking as a person with Autism has influenced her work. For information about tickets and other details, visit www.imamuseum.org. Green laundry crusader enlists support for dry rights As March transitions from blustery to blissful, green-oriented homeowners are reminded of the virtues of solar-powered clothes drying. But residents who have signed the covenants of a neighborhood homeowners’ association, may have signed away their freedom to hang out in their own backyard. Project Laundry List (www.laundrylist.org), an organization looking out for the interests of dry-hards throughout the country, encourages everyone to show solidarity and www. Indiana L iving Green.com

Photo courtesy Stephen Heller/Art Center College of Design. Photo courtesy Angus Bremner, Bremner Photo.

Emily Pilloton: design dialogue. Architect and author Emily Pilloton has traveled the United States in an Airstream trailer spreading the word about designing for social impact. She has appeared on the Colbert Report and published a book, Design Revolution: 100 Products that Empower People. Pilloton will speak at the IMA on March 24, 7 p.m., and will conclude the session with a conversation with the attendees about sustainable design solutions for Indianapolis.

ability committee, comments, “Approximately 30 percent of beverage containers in the U.S. are consumed away from home, and currently the majority of these containers are not recycled due in large part to a lack of public space recycling infrastructure. The IRC has made public space recycling across the state a priority, so we are thrilled to receive support from the Alcoa Foundation for this program.”

RECYCLING State law bans e-trash; new website serves as recycle resource Following the enactment of a new Indiana law prohibiting the disposal of electronics, the Indiana Recycling Coalition has launched a statewide website, www.Indiana-recycles. org, to serve as a resource for Hoosiers. The state law, which went into effect January 1, forbids households, public schools, and small businesses from tossing e-trash into municipal waste that’s intended for disposal at a landfill or by burning or incineration. But this restriction should not pose a problem for Hoosier denizens, according to Carey Hamilton, IRC executive director. “There are now 287 electronics collections sites across the state—and that list is growing—thus making electronics recycling very accessible for most, if not all, Hoosiers. Electronics is the fastest-growing segment of our waste stream. It’s very important for Hoosiers to make sure that these materials are safely recycled.” That effort is bound to be even easier as IRC’s site, sponsored by Coca-Cola Recycling, goes live by March 2011. Now, residents in any location in the state may search for the nearest e-cycle drops, in addition to recycling services for a range of materials from paper to plastic to poisons, and information and resources for other environmental and sustainability issues.

Events IMA to host two Planet Indy events The Indianapolis Museum of Art has scheduled two nationally known speakers as part of its Planet Indy talk series.

Photo courtesy Love’s. Nature

hoosier environment

hang out their laundry on April 19. This year, the day will launch a three-month bike tour across America to promote the benefits of line-drying. If you plan to participate, please send us a picture of your line of laundry waving in the breeze, and we’ll post on www.IndianaLivingGreen.com. Send electronic images to Info@IndianaLivingGreen.com with your name and contact information.

EDUCATIO N I.U. Bloomington receives STARS designation Indiana University Bloomington received a silver rating from the Sustainability, Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS). The rating system is administered by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). To date, nearly 230 higher education institutions have registered as STARS Charter Participants. AASHE’s STARS program is the only one of its kind that involves publicly reporting comprehensive information related to a college or university’s sustainability performance. “Colleges and universities are regularly rated on campus sustainability by a number of publications and organizations,” says Bill Brown, director of I.U.’s Office of Sustainability, “but we are never quite sure how they assign scores, and the focus of their surveys varies considerably. STARS was developed by higher education for higher education to be a consistent, comprehensive, and transparent assessment.” For more information regarding I.U. Bloomington’s involvement with STARS, visit www.stars.aashe.org and www.indiana. edu/~sustain.

BY J e s s e K h a r b anda

The Air Polluter in Our Backyards: Outdoor Wood Boilers When you think of air pollution, what might readily come to mind are coal-fired power plants, factories with large smokestacks, or idling 18-wheelers. Or you might picture the pollutants in your home: strongsmelling cleaning products, woodwork, paint, and carpeting. But there’s another source of air pollution that is of serious concern to many Hoosiers, a culprit that few are aware of: wood smoke from outdoor wood boilers. OWBs can emit soot at levels 1,000 times higher than natural gas furnaces! More than 8,000 OWBs are generating heat in Indiana, primarily installed by home residents in an Emerging research effort to save on heating costs and, for some, to supply indicates that sustained their fuel from within Indiana. On the surface, OWBs exposure to OWBs can may look innocuous—small metal sheds with smokestacks 8 to 10 feet above ground level. Unfortunately, increase the risks of these devices emit a number of pollutants, including COPD, carbon monoxide carbon monoxide and air toxics such as formaldehyde poisoning, and cancer. and benzene, according to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. Disturbingly, many OWBs are near neighboring homes and schools. And University of Washington researchers have concluded that 50 to 70 percent of people made ill by smoke from these OWBs have nothing to do with the smoke’s generation. Toxicologists list innumerable signs of suffering from OWBs: coughing, headaches, inability to catch breath, continual sore throats, bronchitis, and asthma attacks. Emerging research indicates that sustained exposure to OWBs can increase the risks of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), carbon monoxide poisoning, and cancer. The Indiana government, spurred by the tireless efforts of harmed citizens and state and regional public interest organizations, has finally begun taking action. By the time this editorial goes to press, the Indiana Air Pollution Control Board will likely have adopted policies that restrict the type of OWBs that are permissible in the future, and will also place restrictions on when OWBs can be used, and how far their smokestacks are from the ground. While these regulations will be a step in the right direction, children, the elderly, and people with respiratory illnesses may suffer well into the future from the smoke from OWBs. Indiana’s new policy will likely trail national best practices for dealing with OWBs. A longer-term solution for Indiana—and the rest of the nation—is to enact policies that make non-polluting energy technologies such as solar thermal cost-competitive with technologies that should have been left to our past. HEC and our partners will continue to advocate for strong protections for our air quality, and for an energy future much healthier for Hoosiers. To get involved in our efforts, write us at comments@hecweb.org, using the subject header Air and Energy, or join the conversation at www.facebook. com/hecweb. n Jesse Kharbanda is the executive director of the Hoosier Environmental Council. Learn more about renewable standards and the organization’s work at www.hecweb.org

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By Ryan M. Puckett

CAFO-raised animals may live in cages from birth until they’re slaughtered. Their waste is stored, often in large, stinking lagoons like the one below that dwarfs the rest of the operation.

Animal

When it comes to state water and air safety, not all livestock operations are created equal Schacht Farm—a place where chickens, turkeys, hogs, and cattle roam pastures and live according to their species-specific behaviors—is a disappearing breed. The farm outside of Bloomington, owned by Matt and Mandy Corry, produces approximately 20,000 eggs and 65,000 pounds of meat each year. But that’s chicken feed compared to the production levels of large farms alternately known as factory farms or confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs), where animals are kept in close quarters where they eat, sleep, and excrete in assembly-line fashion. The population density coupled with the fact that the’re often not eating a natural pasture diet can lead to illness. To prevent this, animals are routinely treated with antibiotics. Hormones are also

regularly used to speed growth of the animals. These antibiotics and hormones become part of the meat and waste cycle. Concerns about the effect of these chemicals on the health of consumers— not to mention inhumane conditions of some CAFOs (chickens, for example, may not have enough room to spread their wings)—are the stuff of disturbing documentaries.

Raising a stink

Photo courtesy farmsanctuary.org

Farm

But one of the most critical concerns about CAFOs is manure. Especially in Indiana. Across the United States, CAFOs produce approximately 300 million tons of manure each year. Many factory farms are capable of producing as much sewage as a town of 10,000 people. Yet unlike a small town, much of the manure from CAFOs—full of hormones, antibiotics, nitrates, phosphates, and pathogens—is not treated. CAFO manure and wastewater is collected in pits, tanks, lagoons, or other storage devices. Eventually, the manure is applied to area fields as fertilizer. With approximately 625 CAFOs, which produce 80 percent of the regulated meat in the state, Indiana contributes heavily to the production of livestock manure. According to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), “When stored and applied properly, this beneficial reuse provides a natural source of nutrients for crop production.” Unfortunately, some CAFOs don’t store or apply it properly. “Manure is an opportunity, not a problem. It just needs to be used properly,” says Nikki Royer, a fifthgeneration farmer who owns Royer Farm Fresh Beef, Lamb and Pork in Vermillion County with her husband, Scott. On their farm, the animals naturally spread the manure as they roam the pasture. But when manure is spread or sprayed and not incorporated, the untreated manure can make its way to natural bodies of water. Bowden Quinn, a conservation program coordinator for the Hoosier Chapter of the Sierra Club, highlights other common problems including lagoon leakage, overflows, and illegal discharge of waste near ditches and streams, as well as spills during transportation. www. Indiana L iving Green.com

Photo courtesy farmsanctuary.org

Victims of water contamination Contaminated water threatens rural residents who rely on wells for drinking water. Another victim of contamination is the fish population. Just last summer, an industrial livestock operator overapplied 200,000 gallons of manure on a 60-acre space, which is alleged to have contributed to the death of more than 100,000 fish in just a few days. “Our concern is millions of gallons of manure in a very concentrated area,” says Falon French, policy research and outreach associate for the Hoosier Environmental Council (HEC). French notes the problems arise when good management practices are ignored. She points to the massive egg recall from 2010, which was linked to two CAFOs in Iowa. Just a few miles over Indiana’s eastern border, Ohio’s Grand Lake St. Marys serves as an example of what can happen when manure problems are ignored. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has deemed the once-popular recreational lake “impaired,” in part due to manure runoff from nearby CAFOs. To fix their ailing lake, CAFOs began trucking their excess manure to Indiana, where it sits in piles until it can be spread. This has led to air quality issues and a brutal stench that’s persuading some rural residents to move. “There is a consistently noxious odor that is affecting the lives and health of rural residents, including other farmers,” says Quinn. The release of hydrogen sulfide and ammonia from manure can cause significant health effects in persons living too close to the operation. M arch/Apr i l 2 0 1 1

“[Small] farmers have a huge investment in their land,” says Barbara Sha Cox of Indiana CAFO Watch. “All of a sudden, everything they have can be destroyed because ordinances are not set up to protect them.” Cox is referring to the fact that Indiana law does not regulate manure from out-of-state CAFOs, revealing a big hole in the regulatory system. “The rural community’s rights have been violated,” asserts Cox.

What consumers can do Although rural folks may be the first to suffer from the contamination, manure runoff is everyone’s concern, says French. “The water doesn’t stop flowing. It ends up in your water tap eventually.” She encourages residents to watch their water quality, testing for pathogens, and chemicals such as phosphates. French says advocacy is key to keeping Indiana’s farming operations safe. “There’s always an opportunity for public comment. Tell officials that you are concerned about water quality.” A number of bills and policy efforts are underway to protect Indiana residents, water and land from CAFO abuse. “An excellent way to bring about positive change in all areas of food production is for consumers to vote with their food dollar,” suggests Royer. “Support restaurants and groceries that sell responsibly produced food. Buy from farmers who are transparent about their farms and production practices.” Quinn agrees: “We encourage people to know the people who grow their food, and to try as much as possible to get meats from local producers who raise the animals sustainably.” To the common complaint that naturally raised meats tend to cost more, Quinn has a simple solution. “Eat meat less often, but eat really good meat.” n

Resources

For more information about CAFO concerns and manure runoff in Indiana, visit www. hecweb.org and www.indiana.sierraclub.org. Ryan Puckett is an Indianapolis-based freelance writer and communications specialist with experiences in industries related to green construction, sustainability, natural and organic products, and health care.

MEDIA REVIEW Animal Factory: The Looming Threat of Industrial Pig, Dairy, and Poultry Farms to Humans and the Environment, by David Kirby, 2010, St. Martin’s Press In his book, Animal Factory, David Kirby investigates the realities of cheap meat. The price we pay for grocery store burgers, chops, roasts, and eggs is not measured in dollars and cents, but in the horrific pollution of lakes and streams, in the air fouled by manure spray, and in the human costs of lost community and reduced home values. The health costs both to those who live near these factory farms and to those who eat the product are also raised. Kirby’s story covers confined animal feeding operation (CAFO) clashes, including

the classic case of Rich Dove in North Carolina. Dove fought industry hog farms that polluted a once-pristine Neuse River with manure discharges laden with pathogens, antibiotics, and hormones. The ammonia and other airborne contaminants not only kept residents inside for long periods, but also contributed to breathing and other health problems. There are Indiana connections in the book: Kirby recounts the determined efforts of Barbara Sha Cox, who, occasionally under physical threat, fights the fast-growing pork industry in Indiana and discloses state government support of CAFOs. The author addresses the

roadblocks that Cox encountered from state agencies and officials, including Thomas Easterly of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, the Indiana Farm Bureau—and even Governor Mitch Daniels. For those interested in Cox’s efforts, the website, www.IndianaCAFOWatch.com narrates a true grassroots David and Goliath story. Don’t be intimidated by the book’s 450-plus pages. You can read from cover to cover or open anywhere and find a story, a harsh reality, or a devastating situation. David Kirby’s Animal Factory is worthy reading if you eat meat, believe that our government should protect our air, land, and water, or if you live anywhere in Indiana. In other words, every Hoosier should read this book. — by Ly n n J e n ki n s

www. Indiana L iving Green.com

eat right now

R e c e i v e

BY W e nde l l Fow l e r

Indiana Living Green

Less is Moo—More or Less

a t

The long shadow of über meat consumption greatly stresses our shared environment. Stewards of Earth already know that reducing meat from the diet is one of the more significant changes a person can make to combat climate change. A recent United Nations report states the typical meat-heavy American diet adds considerably to pollution, water scarcity, and land degradation. Happily, increased public consciousness of meat-associated health and environmental hazards is having a greening effect on American’s dietary behavior. One gi-normous source of greenhouse gases is the industrialized animal factory farm of the modern agri-business model. Digestive flatulence released from mass-produced bovine gulags Go ahead and have contributes a robust portion of methane into our precious a cow, but before atmosphere. While cows naturally produce methane, they don’t submitting to a daily naturally exist in such huge, dense populations. cheeseburger, consider Additionally, it takes about four-and-a-half times the amount the effect on the Earth of land to grow feed for cattle, versus producing local, sustainand its inhabitants. able, sun-blessed plant food ready for human consumption. Local farms are inherently more environmentally conscious, and those that use less aberrant chemicals and feed the four-footed ruminants the grass diet set forth by creation are also gentler on the Earth. Bite by bite, America’s unquenchable, super-sized lust for commercial beef trashes planet Earth like a besotted rock star a hotel room. If less meat is consumed, less livestock will be raised, ergo less environmental injury. What’s important is considering what’s on your plate each meal and then instituting small, enlightened changes. If you crave a burger, buy locally procured grass-fed beef, and stimulate your community economy while satisfying your appetite. Meatless Monday is not about turning everyone into vegetarians, but reducing meat consumption by about 15 percent. It’s a simple strategy: Go meatless for one day every week. The campaign is endorsed by more than 20 schools of public health, including Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, and Harvard, as well as a slew of celebrities such Texan Lance Armstrong, race-car driver Leilani Munter, and Chef Mario Batali. Presidents Wilson, Truman, and Roosevelt galvanized the nation with voluntary meatless days during both world wars, so it’s not a new-fangled concept. Becoming a vegetarian, vegan, flexitarian, or even rawist is one of the single-most effective lifestyle changes one can make to mitigate the cancer of global warming. Unbiased rational thought, curiosity, healthy skepticism, and critical inquiry further a greater harmony and healing. While the prolonged interaction with human beings may be mind-numbing and fatiguing, the best cure for all our ills is living in loving symbiosis with Nature. Go ahead and have a cow, but before submitting to a daily cheeseburger, consider the effect on the Earth and its inhabitants. Switching to a more vegetable-based diet will have a delicious impact on our planet. n Prompted by a near-death experience, Chef Wendell Fowler lost 100 pounds, overcame alcohol, cigarettes, and fast food, and dedicated himself to teaching others about the health-food-environment connection through his TV appearances, speaking engagements, and holistic health columns. Visit his website at www.chefwendell.com.

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By Betsy Sheldon

Getting Ready for a Green Economy On a midwinter Tuesday afternoon, the KI EcoCenter is abuzz with industry: A few middle-school-aged children are absorbed in their computer monitors, click-clack sounds indicate a pool game is underway behind a partition. In a circle around a large coffee table, several young men in layers of T-shirts, sports jerseys, and hoodies slump in their chairs. And a few older adults drift into the group, making their way to the remaining seats. They’re all intent on hearing what the founder of the KI EcoCenter and the 501c3 behind it has to say. Imhotep Adisa started the Kheprw Institute in 2003 as a summer youth mentoring program, and has guided its growth into a true neighborhood center that promotes knowledge, empowerment, community, health, and—in no small way—environmental responsibility. The EcoCenter has connected residents to energy audit training programs, master gardener scholarships, a summer-camp garden project, and enterprise initiatives based on the reuse 12

Photos courtesy KI EcoCenter.

KI EcoCenter serves near-north neighborhood as an information source for all things green—and a whole lot more.

Intergenerational activity helps build community at KI EcoCenter, where seniors teach skills such as sewing, gardening, and cooking, and young men serve as mentors to the younger children.

of everything from clothing to house paint. Adisa established the Kheprw Institute to encourage and develop self-sufficiency and job readiness in young African-American males. But he found that the experience pulled many other threads, and an ecofocus was a natural outgrowth. One of the Institute’s first ventures—the creation of a thrift store—was a lesson in the virtues of re-use. The Institute continued to layer on the green programming and, today, the KI EcoCenter draws neighbors of all ages and backgrounds from the near-north Indianapolis area known as Highland Vicinity. Adisa describes the center as “a communitybased information source for all things green.”

Activist attitude “The environment is the civil rights issue of our time,” Adisa reflects. And with his coaching, EcoCenter has not just confronted the challenge, but has run full-speed toward an activist www. Indiana L iving G reen.com

Photos courtesy KI EcoCenter.

Campers learned other lessons through the garden experience—composting, cooking—and began gravitating toward healthier food preferences. Center regular Dorothy Ross-Willstein remarks, “It’s something else to see the way those kids are determined to be vegans, and how easy it is!”

attitude. Adisa took a group of EcoCenter youth to the Dream Reborn conference in Memphis, Tennessee, in 2008. The next year, he traveled with several college-aged students to attend the Power Shift rally in Washington, D.C., as part of a 10,000-student-strong contingency. Both trips were sponsored by program presenter Green for All, a social justice and green-economy organization then directed by green-jobs advocate Van Jones. These experiences brought home the importance of community connection to economy, opportunity, and sustainability, says EcoCenter program director Paulette Fair, who attended the D.C. trip. “Our neighborhood shares the broader concerns of communities throughout the country. We have unemployment and foreclosures. We have people who stay inside with air-conditioning cranked up, watching TV. They’re not out on their porch, talking to passersby, they don’t hear what’s going on and so don’t feel like a neighborhood.” She adds that EcoCenter promotes lots of activities that pull people away from their TVs.

From fashion to food The center holds a Community Cinema night each fourth Sunday of the month, followed by a student-led discussion. One project refashions old jeans into new creations, from handbags to plastic-bag catchers. Summer Eco-Camp helps kids explore a particular environmental topic. Last summer’s focus was on local food. “We had 10-year-olds who’d never even seen tomatoes except in Styrofoam containers,” says Fair. Food education has been a community concern, both Adisa and Fair assert, bringing in issues of health, lack of affordable fresh produce in the neighborhood, and a disconnect between food and where it comes from. The Eco-Camp garden had the campers digging up the garden beds, planting seeds and seedlings, watering, pulling weeds, and harvesting at the end of the summer. The plot became a gathering place where some locals brought their garden produce to sell on Saturdays. The enthusiasm remained so strong, that the group extended the season in order to get in some winter greens.

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Seniors with GRITS Ross-Willstein, who heads up the center’s eco-fashions program, is representative of the center’s enthusiastic senior members. Many are part of the Senior Citizens Community Program (SCCP), which funds the Goodwill Researcher Innovation Training Seniors (GRITS) internship program for 55 and older. William Watts—had never used a computer until two years ago. Today, he is the organization’s blogger and, “Now you can’t get him off,” says Adisa. Carolyn Roney is currently enjoying her new role as a student: she’s taking the Purdue Extension Master Gardening course. And a stimulus-funded training program has certified several EcoCenter members, including Fair, as residential energy auditors. From Van Jones’ green jobs agencies to Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, the KI EcoCenter has partnered with respected not-for-profit efforts at national and local levels. Most recently, the organization is active as a Highland Vicinity resident in the Mid-North Neighborhoods Quality of Life plan, one of six Indianapolis neighborhoods participating in a revitalization program funded by the Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC). — Continued on page 14 13

garden

Photo courtesy KI EcoCenter.

ROUNDUP — Continued from page 13

Talking trash EcoCenter has a running start on positive change. Several young men, three who were the original Kprehw Institute students, have leading roles and shoulder critical responsibilities in the operation and growth of the center. Khalil Mwaafrika runs the school-age program; Jerome Lawrence and Wyse Logic are Ivy Tech students interning and mentoring; Jerome Hardin, serves as web designer, computer specialist, and savior of salvaged computers. Menelik Adisa is Imhotep Adisa’s son, an I.U. student and mentor at the Institute. He is quick to share his perspective, whether about green jobs or food security. In a conversation about the consequences of over-consumption, he focuses on opportunity. “You can sell trash—it’s all relative.” Logic agrees: “We’re working toward zero-waste— we can be resourceful and figure out how to use trash.” Resourceful, indeed. Surrounding the circle of chairs where the group meets are desks, tables, and cabinets piled with clothing waiting to be repurposed; dismembered hard drives and monitors in need of Hardin’s care, and children’s art projects in various stages of completion. “We often believe we are under-sourced, which creates a focus on consumption,” explains Adisa, as he signals a greeting to a child running past. “Here, we think beyond material acquisition. Ecology is a mindset, a spiritual state—it’s a way of living.” n www.kiecocenter.org 14

Edible Gardening to Highlight Orchard in Bloom 2011 While early birds are already putting in potatoes and planting cool-season seedlings such as broccoli, cabbage, collards, and kale in March, growing season revs up for most gardeners in April. And that’s when many local garden events flower the calendar. Educational opportunities and landscape extravaganzas alike. The queen of spring garden festivals in Central Indiana is inarguably Orchard In Bloom, at Holliday Park in Indianapolis—this year from April 28 to May 1. For 22 years, the event has attracted people from all over the state to marvel over magazine-worthy landscape displays and learn about the latest trends in gardening. And over the past few years, Orchard in Bloom has become more and more environmentally attuned. “This year’s Orchard In Bloom event is reaching deeper into a greener, fresher, more natural approach to gardening and living,” says event spokesperson Elliott Pruitt. “With Sara Snow as our mentor and honorary chairperson, we’re hoping to elevate our green standards and inspire everyone to take green living to the next level, with real examples of growing edibles and composting, and resources from Indiana’s green community to bring to light the critical significance of sustainable living.” Snow, author, TV host, and green lifestyle expert, will be the keynote speaker at the Garden and Natural Living Symposium on April 29. Also speaking are Indiana gardening expert Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp and Indiana chefs growing culinary delights. Edible landscapes and edible schoolyard displays will explore the ultimate world of eating local—from your own home, school, or community garden. Other show highlights include landscape displays, a container gardening competition, children’s activities, and the Aladdin Garden Cafe. Besides gardening ideas, tips, and products, this year’s Orchard in Bloom will inspire and instruct people how to grow edible flowers and veggies, offer a hands-on composting demonstration, and share ideas for a greener, healthier lifestyle. Orchard in Bloom, the result of a unique partnership between The Orchard School and Indy Parks, has raised more than $1 million to support outdoor education. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the gate. For more information, visit orchardinbloom.org. n

www. Indiana L iving Green.com

footprints

Teacher’s vision reconnects students to nature Elizabeth Garvey started planting instructional gardens 20 years ago at the Indianapolis School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ISBVI). From a plot tended by a dorm’s residents to a Shakespeare garden to a vegetable bed just for preschoolers, Garvey has seen to it that green and growing things have a place on the 65-acre campus. “Everything we grow is either edible or fragrant or can be used for drying for projects,” says Garvey. Work on her master’s thesis on therapeutic horticulture brought the Purdue student to the school on Indianapolis’ north side in 1989. After completing her master’s degree in landscape architecture, she was delighted to find that ISBVI was eager to start a horticulture program, and she was hired to head it up. Garvey, who inherited a love of the outdoors from her family—and particularly her conservation-oriented grandparents, believes that gardening “satisfies a connection to nature that I think we’re losing.” She says that, like school-aged kids throughout the state and country, ISBVA students spend little time outside and a lack of activity and diet of processed foods puts them at risk for obesity and related conditions such as diabetes. Understanding where their food comes from is a step toward a reconnection. “Some kids have no idea whether potatoes grow in the ground or on trees,” she says. “If they’ve never been exposed to something, they’re generally not interested or afraid of it—especially when it comes to insects. My job is to show them what’s out there and expose them to the world of plants.” And expose them, she does. It’s the students, she says, who maintain growing activity on campus. On any given school day, six classes are in and out of the greenhouse, from preschool through high school. The kids also pitch in with the program’s important fundraiser, a plant sale that offers starts of herbs and vegetables, hanging baskets, annuals, and perennials. “The kids learn about economics, fundraising, interacting with the public, money skills, advertising, and lots more.” Garvey’s interests in the environment aren’t limited to the plant realm—a member of the Indiana Beekeeping Association, she’s also introducing beekeeping and honey production to the school curriculum. But her love of horticulture promises to continue to introduce generations of ISBVI students to the joys of the garden. She says, “Plants are very nonthreatening, people like to have something to take care of, and plants provide great feedback.” The school’s plant sale will run from Monday, April 25 to Saturday, May 7 at ISBVI. www.isbvik12.org. n M arch/Apr i l 2 0 1 1

Photo courtesy Betsy Sheldon

Elizabeth Garvey

By Shawndra Miller

Garden

Smarts Photos courtesy KI EcoCenter.

Many Central Indiana schools are learning that gardening is a great way to teach kids about food, health, and a whole lot more.

It’s no secret that many youngsters’ closest encounter with vegetables these days is found in a fast-food wrapper and fried to a crisp. But some Indiana children are learning firsthand that food tastes better when it’s grown right in their own schoolyard. At Indianapolis Public School #114, a garden next to the playground has opened kids’ eyes and tickled their taste buds. The school benefited from the assistance of Global Peace Initiatives, a nonprofit organization that brought its prodigious volunteer power to bear in building the garden last year. “It’s been a great experience for the children to see that fruits and vegetables don’t just come out of a can,” says Kate Voss, parent and community coordinator. She hopes to use the expanded garden’s produce this year to address hunger among the school’s families.

Pumpkin-patch math Many more school gardens are springing up across Central Indiana, along with all kinds of innovative community partnerships. The trend is largely fueled by concern for the health of children and their families. That’s what motivated Kevin Clary and his wife, Megan, to spearhead the Crestview School (Lawrence Township) garden three years ago. Both pediatricians, the Clarys were alarmed by the epidemic of obesity and lack of fundamental food knowledge among their patients, and they felt that something had to be done. Clary feels that this disconnect from foods’ origins is a major contributor to widespread health problems. “Studies have shown that when school gardening programs are integrated into nutritional education programs, children are more likely to increase their daily intake of fresh fruits and vegetables,” he comments. www. Indiana L iving Green.com

Photo courtesy of Crestview School

Crestview principal Tom Linkmeyer reports that the garden has been incorporated into class work in some surprising ways. Summer school students calculate math equations based on plant growth and the circumference of pumpkins, for example. “It’s gone in so many different directions that I never thought of,” he says.

Relief in ‘food deserts’ The school garden phenomenon got a shot in the arm last year when Indiana University Health (formerly Clarian Health) announced it would partner with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful to pilot school gardens at 10 IPS elementary schools in 2011. According to I.U. Health spokesman Gene Ford, the project will be replicated at schools throughout the city, particularly in neighborhoods considered “food deserts” because of the lack of grocery stores.

Ford cites statistics showing that nearly one-third of Indiana’s high school students are either overweight or obese, and that the U.S. diabetes rate is expected to triple by 2050. And because fresh produce is one of the keys to good health, getting kids hooked on homegrown vegetables at a young age makes perfect sense. Some schools hope to incorporate garden produce into their lunch menus, but even those that can’t go that far have already seen a shift in their students’ openness to eating better. Especially when they connect their favorite foods— pizza, say, or chips and salsa—with the greenery growing outside their classroom window.

It started with salsa Salsa was part of the plan from the beginning for one school. Last year, Carmel’s Woodbrook Elementary School

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Concerned about childhood obesity and poor diets, pediatrician Kevin Clary (far right) got Crestview School students involved in gardening.

fifth-grade students were inspired by an article about First Lady Michelle Obama’s community garden and the schoolchildren who helped her. So teacher Joan Jackson spiced up her history lesson plan with a Colonial garden. The herbs and vegetables planted by the students were varieties that would have been cultivated by early settlers. Even though tomatoes were considered poisonous in Colonial America, the class insisted on growing them after reading about the spread Mrs. Obama shared with her helpers at the end of the season. “They wanted a salsa party,” Jackson says, “so we planted both a — Continued on page 18 17

— Continued from page 17

Colonial garden and a salsa garden.” Throughout the summer, the kids worked alongside Jackson in the garden. When school was back in session, that salsa party became a reality. Though the original gardeners were no longer in Jackson’s class, their sense of accomplishment remained. Ally Stevens, now a sixth-grader, says the hard work was worth it: “It took us a long time to get the garden, and we worked so hard at it, and now it’s a really beautiful garden outside our school.”

Feeding into the curriculum Passing on the art of gardening to the next generation is just one benefit of school gardens. Nothing less than reengagement will satisfy Alan Archibald of The Growing Community, a nonprofit organization that works with lowerincome youth. He takes kids from two eastside Indianapolis grade schools, IPS #54 and #15, into Dewey’s Garden on the John H. Boner Community Center campus every week. The afterschool program is sponsored by the Boner Center and supported by Department of Justice funding, with units on soil, climate, plant parts, and other grade-level science. But it’s the experiential aspect that is key, according to Archibald. In the garden, students can learn by experimenting, discovering, and best of all, eating. “There are so many varieties

www. Indiana L ivingG reen.com

Photo courtesy of Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Students shoulder a lot of the responsibility for maintaining the campus gardens at the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

of things to do,” Archibald says. “Everyone finds something they like. Some kids start digging and they just dig and dig and dig. Some like to pick different leaves and are very gentle and careful with the plants.” Others, he says laughing, are “looking for something to eat.” Similarly, at Bloomington’s Harmony School, students are given the chance to develop skills beyond the pen-to-paper variety. Harmony is the site of a 20year-old garden maintained in partnership with the local food pantry, Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard. The produce feeds the hungry, while gardening activities feed into the school’s curriculum. According to high school science teacher Emily Sprowls, her two-hour botany class is divided into one hour indoors and one hour outdoors. In the classroom, her students learn about horticultural techniques and botanical structures. They read The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan. They write papers. Then they head outdoors to plant, prune, dig, and build.

Skills beyond gardening

Young people who take part in tending a garden seem to come away with a — Continued on page 20 M arch/Apr i l 2 0 1 1

Fifth-graders at Woodbrook Elementary were inspired by First Lady Michelle Obama and motivated by the promise of a salsa party if the harvest was good.

Photo courtesy of Woodbrook Elementary School

— Continued from page 19

sense of pride and ownership, especially as they become the experts. Jackson’s former fifth graders are now mentoring her current class in the art of planting. Archibald’s grade-school kids love to give their parents a tour of the garden they’ve come to know so well. And in a few schools, the experience goes beyond gardening to outright farming, leading to even greater self-management. “You sort of learn real-life aspects of life and how to do stuff and be independent,” says 12-year-old Evan Gray of Geist Montessori Academy. “I thought it was going to be hard and boring. It turned out to be a really fun experience.” The McCordsville school partners with

two working farms, allowing the junior-high class to spend one week out of six at Apple Family Farm in Hancock County and Fermenti Artisan in Indianapolis. The rotation, so far, has seen the kids dig potatoes, tend equipment, mend fences, and take cows to pasture. At Emmerich Manual High School in Indianapolis, the Agricultural and Environmental Science STAR Academy students have been raising tilapia and chickens as part of their course work. They also care for a “peace garden,” one of many throughout the city created by Global Peace Initiatives (GPI), with a goal of feeding the hungry. GPI founder Linda Proffitt points to these students’ knowhow as one of the boons of GPI’s partnership with the academy. GPI volunteers provide the school with

extra help—building a greenhouse in addition to putting in the garden— while the students provide GPI with “ag expertise.” She notes that STAR kids have repeatedly won top honors at 4-H and FFA competitions in soil judging, attesting to their skills.

Getting down and dirty A volunteer-driven organization, GPI maintains the gardens during summer when students are away. “These gardens do not happen through magic,” Proffitt says, emphasizing the need for community members to get involved. She notes that helping to plant or maintain a garden can be an incredible learning experience. “Getting down and dirty – that’s how you learn.” At the Maple and White Elementary Schools’ garden, a project of the Avon Outdoor Learning Center,

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help comes from many quarters. Staffer Jen Davies enlisted an Eagle Scout to build a greenhouse next to the new garden. She plans to harness the expertise of master gardeners to help teachers incorporate the garden into their lesson plans. And for the summer break, Davies has lined up yet another partner: Kids enrolled in the local YMCA’s summer program will keep the garden going. IPS #114’s Voss believes the movement will only grow, and likens the efforts at each school to dropping a stone in a pond, with far-reaching ripples. “If we get the kids excited about gardening and nutrition, we can also inspire their families.” Reaching into the community is the next natural step. One thing’s for certain: In the coming years, it won’t be so easy to find a child in Central Indiana who’s never tasted a homegrown tomato. n Shawndra Miller is a freelance writer and active member of the Irvington Green Initiative in Indianapolis.

Wheels in By Megan Fernandez

Motion Photo courtesy Mayor’s Office

With a push from local bike organizations, Indy’s reputation as a bicycle-friendly burg is moving forward

Indianapolis earned a bronze-level designation as a bicycle-friendly community from the League of American Bicyclists in 2009. Accepting the award are: Andy Lutz, DPW bicycle and pedestrian coordinator, Mayor Greg Ballard, Randy Clark, .. president of Bicycle Garage Indy, and Karen Haley, director of the mayor’s Office of Sustainability.

Indianapolis is home to a handful of hardy cyclists who keep rolling right through the slush and sub-zero temperatures of winter, but most of the twowheeled crowd—a growing population in the city center and suburbs alike— hibernate until the spring. This year, the cyclerati will wake up to a city that has put some forward-thinking changes in motion. More bike lanes. Indy’s first commuter facility. A long-range bike plan expected to be adopted by the city. Legislative bills addressing bike safety. With these developments, Indy is speeding toward a transformation into a respectable bike-friendly city.

A bicycle revolution Credit a new atmosphere of collaboration between the city’s established biking groups (as well as one instrumental newcomer) and Mayor Greg Ballard’s administration. “Over the last five years, the acceleration of excitement about cycling has been unbelievable,” says Randy Clark, president of Bicycle Garage

Indy and longtime advocate for a better biking environment. “There are a lot of people out there who want to commute, and there hasn’t been the infrastructure to do it. That’s where the mayor is making a big difference.” Indianapolis has the genes of a bona fide biking city. Major Taylor Velodrome—named after Indy’s international cycling champion at the turn of the century—is one of only 22 cycling arenas in the country. Bike clubs—Central Indiana Bicycling Association and Hoosier Mountain Bike Association— have been active and strong for decades, and the Hilly Hundred in Bloomington has had a national reputation since the 1970s. More recently, the popularity of the Monon Trail and smaller greenways has made a spin through the neighborhood fashionable. What happens when people start riding a bike? They want to ride it more. These days, Indy residents can saddle up for group rides offered by bike shops, organized rambles on country roads, and even recreational bicycle polo. But until recently on the bike front, www. Indiana L iving Green.com

John Baldwin, 61 Photo courtesy Mayor’s Office.

Under Mayor Ballard’s administration, Indianapolis has witnessed the addition of bike lanes, laws for bike safety, and other steps forward. Ballard leads a bike ride (above) each summer.

civic progress has been eating the dust of the social scene. With no bike lanes, few laws in place to support bike safety, and little evidence that motorists here would happily share the road, Indy fell flat in rankings of bike-friendly places.

On the path of Portland Look how far we’ve come in a short time: Last month, the city’s bicycle advisory council (which didn’t exist three years ago), led by the Department of Public Works bicycle and pedestrian coordinator Andy Lutz, hosted Mia Birk, the pioneer of the biking revolution in Portland, Oregon. Now a consultant to urban planners hoping to follow in her tracks, Birk was brought in by Health by Design to present the benefits of creating a bikefriendly environment to Indy lawmakers and civic leaders.

Striving for Portland’s level of success isn’t too ambitious for Indianapolis, according to Connie Szabo Schmucker, advocacy director for Bicycle Garage Indy (one of the few stores in the country to employ a full-time advocacy expert). “Indy is where Portland was 10, 15 years ago,” she says. ”In fact, we have better roadway conditions.” Clark points out that at a time when cities are strapped for money, the mayor has kept alternate transportation a priority. In addition to engaging the various bicycling groups (newly organized and energized by a creative advocacy group called IndyCog), the administration announced plans to create the city’s first network of bike lanes—220 miles over 15 years. Bike lanes are dedicated, striped zones in the street for twowheelers, and they serve to make cyclists feel safer and to signal to drivers that cyclists have the right to use the road. The network, called Indy BikeWays and part of the SustainIndy initiative, got off the ground with 23 miles of lanes

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Occupation: Applied and Future Technologies director, Riley Children’s Foundation. Life on wheels: Has ridden leisurely since he was a kid, and biked to work since the 1980s. Now commutes if the temperature is above 25 degrees and the streets are clear of snow and ice. Commute: Between Fountain Square home and office on South Meridian Street. Route: Sidewalks and roads. Distance: Less than a mile. Time: 15 minutes. The ride: A Dahon folding bike or a Jamis commuter bike. Commuting attire: Office clothes. Motivation: “I can leave my car in the garage for a week at a time. And it’s faster to bike commute.”

introduced since 2009. The city has funding to build extensive lanes on Lafayette Road, Madison Avenue, Capital Avenue, and Illinois Street in 2011. — Continued on page 24 23

— Continued from page 23

Kathi Moore, 52 Occupation: Communications director, Indiana State Museum. Life on wheels: Took up biking recently for commuting purposes. Commute: From 56th Street and Emerson Road to the museum in White River State Park. Route: Fall Creek Trail, Monon Trail, and Indianapolis Cultural Trail. Distance: 10 miles. Time: 45 minutes. The ride: Inexpensive GT commuter bike with toe clips and a rack over the back tire. Commuting attire: Padded shorts and moisture-wicking shirt; carries office wear in a bag and keeps shoes at the office. Motivation: “To save gas and exercise. The time I spend on commuting can now also count as my workout time.”

Photo courtesy of John Baldwin

“ Indianapolis is taking what may be the boldest step of any American city toward supporting bicyclists and pedestrians.” — New York-based Project for Public Spaces

High praise from national groups Indy BikeWays helped the city to earn a bronze-level designation as a bicyclefriendly community from the League of American Bicyclists in 2009. Carmel had already earned the designation, and the Hamilton County city continues to blaze new trails for bikers—including families and casual riders. The Carmel Access Bikeways plan identifies about 100 miles’ worth of routes around the city for both leisure and express trips. No community—here or elsewhere in the country—can claim a project quite like the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, the mightiest cog in the city’s biking wheel. Since breaking ground in 2007, the $62 million project has earned high praise from national groups such as New Yorkbased Project for Public Spaces, which said: “Indianapolis is taking what may be the boldest step of any American city toward supporting bicyclists and pedestrians.” Around half of the 8-mile trail is finished and open for pedestrian and bicycle use—including the legs that join up with the 10th Street trailheads of the Monon and the White River Greenway, allowing commuters from the north side to stay on a trail when they reach downtown. It is scheduled to be com-

pleted by the end of 2012. There have been other victories, too. Mayor Ballard leads a summertime bike ride that has been a big success, and Bike to Work Day (May 20 this year) continues to grow, including morning group rides to introduce rookies to good commuting routes. In 2009, the city passed a bike-safety ordinance, outlawing parking in bike lanes, and requiring motorists to maintain a three-foot clearance when passing a cyclist. In January, Bicycle Indiana’s new “Share the Road” license plate became available, and proceeds from the plate will fund the statewide advocacy group’s efforts.

Mark Cline, 29 Occupation: Freelance writer. Life on wheels: Regular suburban usage as a kid, but no deeper love for bikes beyond their usefulness. Commute: From SoBro to Monument Circle. Route: Monon Trail, Indianapolis Cultural Trail, and Market Street. Distance: 6.5 miles. Time: 30 minutes. The ride: “The second cheapest bike at the store that day.” Commuting attire: The day’s outfit or gym shorts and T-shirt. “I ride with a messenger’s bag. If it doesn’t fit, it doesn’t make the trip.” Motivation: “The trails offer a pleasant calm before, and after, the workday storm. Riding your bike is very humanizing. You get to spend some time with yourself.”

City Market bike center: 2011 This year, another first is on the way. A commuting center will open in the east wing of City Market, across the street from the Cultural Trail, possibly by July. Plans were still being finalized in the winter, but Clark of Bicycle Garage Indy was optimistic that his shop would win the bid to provide the bike storage, rentals, and repair services that would be available for a fee. There will also be shower and locker facilities, likely overseen by the YMCA. The city is providing approximately $800,000 for the hub,

which could have capacity for some 150 bikes. Several years ago, Clark was instrumental in introducing downtown’s InBikePort lockers. The 40-some storage pods—outside the Indiana Government Center and NIFS and in a parking garage

www. Indiana L ivingG reen.com

As long as the streets are ice-free and the temperature is above 25F, John Baldwin (left) rides his bike to work.

Lydia Spotts, 24 Occupation: Grad student. Life on wheels: Started commuting as an undergrad student in 2004. Rides daily, unless severe weather is expected. Commute: From south side of downtown to IUPUI. Route: City bike lanes and White River Trail. Distance: 3 miles. Time: 10-15 minutes. The ride: Grant Tran Send commuter bike with a rear basket. Commuting attire: Office clothes, extra reflectors on dark mornings, and clear protective glasses. Motivation: “I enjoy my own energy to get where I need to go. And I hate sitting in traffic.” on South Meridian Street—are used by downtown commuters who want a high level of security for their bikes. Bicycle advocates are watching the progress of two bills in front of state legislatures. One, SB0353, would establish the three-feet passing clearance statewide. The other, HB1354, aims to require new roads to qualify as “complete streets,” which take all forms of traffic into consideration. Perhaps most important, the Bicycle Advisory Council is drafting a comprehensive, long-term bike plan for the city, aiming to ensure that future administrations continue on the current promising path. n

Resources

IndyCog, www.theindycog.com Bicycle Indiana, www.bicycleindiana.org. Bicycle Garage Indy, www.bgindy.com. Central Indiana Bicycling Association, www.cibaride.org. • Hoosier Mountain Bike Association, www.hmba.org. • • • •

Megan Fernandez finds that biking to work is the best way to start the day. She is a senior editor at Indianapolis Monthly.

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By Helen W. O’Guinn

Clearing the Air What you don’t know about your home cleaning products can hurt you—and your kids

problems, including asthma. Faulty ventilation, high humidity, and biological pollutants such as pet dander are common culprits of bad indoor air, as are building materials and even furnishing. But cleaning agents play no small role in contributing to home pollution. The good news is this: With minimal effort, no sacrifice in results, and possibly even cost savings, you can banish the most obnoxious cleaning solutions and replace with reliable and considerably safer substitutes.

Cleaners Great-Grandma would love As a college student, Staci Cool cleaned homes to earn money. She enjoyed the work, but suspected that the chemicals in the cleaning products were making her sick. So she searched for alternatives to the ammonia, butyl cellusolve, phthalates, perchlorethylene, benzene, ethylene glycol, ethylene dichloride, 2-butoxyethanol … and an alphabet soup of other shady agents. She discovered that in her own kitchen cupboard were ingredients that worked as hard and cost a lot less than commercial cleaners—and for the most part could be ingested: Vinegar, baking soda, and lemon juice are some of the pantry items great-grandma would approve of. (See the sidebar on page 25 for more natural cleaning ingredients.) In 2008, Cool, along with Cressa Gamache, founded Green Sweep, a home and commercial cleaning service that uses only nontoxic cleaning agents, including formulated products from TraceyClean, a locally manufactured line of green cleaning products. Conscientious Hoosier consumers check for radon, lead paint, black mold, and other hazards when buying a home or doing a major renovation—wise steps to protect the loved ones under their roof. But such efforts to create a healthy and safe environment are often negated by the very products they enlist to keep their home germ-free. Many familiar household cleaning products may harbor hazards to home air quality, and children and people with respiratory

illnesses are at the greatest risk. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, indoor air pollution is one of the top five environmental risks to public health. Levels of pollutants inside a private home are often five times higher than the outdoors—and under certain circumstances, they can be as high as 1,000 times more. Poor indoor air quality can cause headaches, dry eyes, nasal congestion, nausea, fatigue, and other symptoms. And it can lead to a slew of more serious respiratory

Kids at greatest risk Cool explains that part of Green Sweep’s service is to educate clients about the products they’re bringing into their living and working spaces. “When you walk into a house and smell chemicals, you may think it smells clean,” she says, but warns that those strong, sometimes eye-watering odors are signs of substances you don’t want to breathe in. “Kids, whose lungs are growing, are absorbing [the chemicals],” she says.

www. Indiana L ivingG reen.com

Plus, as the EnviInternet (TraceyGreen cleaning ronmental ProtecClean.com and tion Agency (EPA) TraceyCleanNatuexplains, kids “eat ralProducts.com), more, drink more, and at Pogue’s and breathe more in Run Grocers in To keep noxious cleaning formulas out proportion to their Indianapolis. of your broom closet, turn to your pantry body size.” Parker, who and medicine cabinet for ingredients that It’s not easy to acquired the will safely serve. This list appears in Green ascertain just TraceyClean Cleaning for Dummies, by Liz Goldsmith. what chemicals a company last year, • Lemon juice • Cornmeal commercial product provides one of • White distilled • Club soda contains—that’s many examples vinegar • Cream of tartar because the manuof potentially • Baking soda • Salt facturers aren’t harmful ingredi• Cornstarch legally required to ents: “Ammonia • Liquid castile • Washing soda list the them. You can cause chemical soap • Essential oils can find them on burns, cataracts, • Hydrogen • Borax the Household skin cancer, and peroxide Products Database corneal damage; it • Glycerin • Pumice website (hpd.nlm. destroys plants, • Castor oil • Sunshine nih.gov) by looking animals, and fish, up the Material so how can it be Safety Data Sheet. good for people? But unless your best friend is a chemist, But glass cleaner and furniture and you’ll probably have to do some metal polishes are all apt to contain additional digging to understand what ammonia.” Her glass cleaner, she says, you’re reading. is vinegar, water, and essential oils—all For example, Tide laundry deterplant-based. gent contains ethanolamine, which the Tide website describes is “an organic VOCs are in the air liquid that helps the different types of Chemical-laden cleaners aren’t the surfactants remain evenly distributed only contributors to indoor air pollution in a concentrated detergent.” The site in the American home. Volatile organic offers no further explanation. The most compounds (VOCs) include a variety authoritative website listing is a redirect of noxious substances, such as benzene, from the EPA site to the New Jersey tuolene, and formaldehyde, and are Department of Health and Senior found in carpet, paint, varnish, upholServices, which says that ethanolamine stery, cabinets, and pressed wood used is “a corrosive chemical and contact in construction, walls, and furniture. can severely irritate and burn the skin (Remember those toxic post-Katrina and eyes, with possible eye damage.” FEMA trailers? The problem was A crusader for safe home cleaning formaldehyde.) formulas, Mary Parker sells the locally VOCs are released into the air as made TraceyClean line of cleaning vapor—a process called outgassing or solutions at farmers’ markets, on the offgassing—and contribute to what’s

Essentials

Resources • TraceyClean, natural cleaners are available online at www.traceycleannaturalproducts.com,

and at farmers’ markets (check www.traceyclean.com for locations and schedule)

• Green Sweep, Inc., www.teamgreensweep.com, 317.603.4039, 317.578.0351 • Green Cleaning for Dummies, by Liz Goldsmith, with Betsy Sheldon, 2009, Wiley

Household Products Database website, hpd.nlm.nih.gov

• GreenMunkii Cleaning Products and Services, www.greenmunkii.com

M arch/Apr i l 2 0 1 1

been dubbed sick building syndrome. Eventually, VOCs dissipate — anywhere from three months to five years or more. But in the meantime, they’re known to cause both short- and long-term adverse affects, ranging from eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches; and nausea. They also damage the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system. Some VOCs are suspected or known to cause cancer in humans, according to the EPA. To add more fuel to the fire, indoor air quality can get worse when you have a mix of chemicals within the confines of your house—in other words, your new floral sofa and the ammonia-polished vinyl floor may clash in more ways than just design. And while you may not be willing to return the sofa or tear up the floor, you can subtract the ammonia from the equation—and mop up with a gentle solution of water, vinegar, and a squirt of castile soap. n Helen O’Guinn, a freelance writer in Indianapolis, will attest that it’s easy—and a lot cheaper—to clean up after her five grandchildren with vinegar and water.

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the last row

BY m a r ia s m i etana

Lessons from Tomato Seedlings I’ve always thought that almost nothing in the edible plant world is more fun to grow, sell, and eat than tomatoes. So when I took up farming, I went nuts growing tomato plants. Still do. I soon learned that starting seedlings by the thousands requires a whole new way of operating, and space in my makeshift basement growing room—no surprise—was finite, as were my time and my budget. I resorted to a solution that seemed to solve all these issues at once: 2-inch peat pots, in cases of 3,000. Pots that size were extremely cheap, and I could squeeze huge numbers of them into the space I had to work with. Best of all, I figured, by placing the seed directly into the pot, I could save myself the added step of first sowing into seedling flats, and then transplanting the seedlings to pots. It took me a couple of seasons to fully appreciate that a 2-inch pot might be economical, but it is a very tiny pot, and tiny pots result in, well, puny plants. The roots run out of room and the soil runs out of nutrients. That meant when the time came to make the transition from the growing room to the field, many of the little plants weren’t quite robust enough to hold their own against the elements. In plain terms, a lot of my baby tomatoes croaked as soon as they hit the dirt. “You need bigger pots,” my Steadfast Spouse informed me in that tone of voice that straddles the fine line between helpful and irritating. I took his advice and upgraded to 4-inch pots. Had either of us bothered to think back to high-school geometry, we would have remembered that a 4-inch pot doesn’t take up twice as much room as a 2-inch pot, as one might assume. It actually takes up four times as much. It happens to be four times as expensive, too.

Over the years, I had also learned that even when buying from quality seed vendors, germination rates (like love, weather, and chess) are highly unpredictable. This means that a certain number of the pots never sprout a little plant, which results in a wasted pot that ends up in the compost pile. Moving up to 4-inch pots only multiplied the cost of the waste. All of which brought me around, of course, to the fact that this is why most farmers start seeds in the tiny cells of plastic seedling flats in the first place, and then transplant only the most vigorous sprouts to larger containers. OK, I was ready to admit it was time to change course. I could no longer fight the fact that seedling production is a two-step process, much as I loathed the idea of the added transplantation time and the extra expense of seedling flats. On the plus side, I had done this for enough years now to know which tomato varieties had the best germination rates, and my technique had improved

to the point where more of my seedlings survived transplantation and made it to maturity. That meant I didn’t have to start quite so many seedlings in the first place. A little more thinking and—bingo! —I found the perfect cheapskate alternative to seedling flats: used egg cartons (the cardboard kind only), which hold moisture nicely and offer the added benefit of being compostable when their seedling duty is done. Best of all, they’re free! From the cartons, the most robust seedlings get transplanted to 3-inch pots (my default size from now on), which are big enough to grow a decent plant without swallowing up growing room space and busting my budget. It’s an almost perfect system. All that’s missing is an elf who loves to sow seeds and is willing to work for free. n Maria Smietana is a refugee from the corporate world who now writes and grows organic produce on her mini-farm in Boone County.