JULY 2013
CONTENTS
D E PA R T M E N T S
PUBLISHER Kevin McKinney kmckinney@IndianaLivingGreen.com
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Doom & Bloom
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Gardening with Nature
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EDITOR Jim Poyser jpoyser@IndianaLivingGreen.com
Cover Story
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Advocates
EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Ginnye Cubel, Jordan Martich
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Cruising Green
EDITORIAL INTERNS Katelyn Breden, Francesca Conterno, Laura Fernandez, Aiste Manfredini
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Imbibing Green
WEB
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Doing Green
I.T. MANAGER T.J. Zmina tjzmina@IndianaLivingGreen.com
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Eco-Crossword
SALES & MARKETING
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The PANIQuiz
MEDIA CONSULTANTS Nathan Dynak ndynak@nuvo.net
Ask Renee
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Life is an Egg by Joe Lee
Indiana Living Green is printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper. Published by NUVO, Inc. Š2013
DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING Mary Morgan mmorgan@IndianaLivingGreen.com
SENIOR DESIGNER Asha Patel DESIGNERS Will McCarty, Erica Wright
COVER PHOTO
DISTRIBUTION
At the June 1 Beyond Coal rally at the Indiana State Museum, our photographer Michelle Craig captured this beyond cute image of three year old Finn, son of Indy-based Kathleen Comerford.
DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Kathy Flahavin kflahavin@IndianaLivingGreen.com COURIER Dick Powell
ADMINISTRATION BUSINESS MANAGER Kathy Flahavin
Want to be on the ILG team? Email Jim at jpoyser@IndianaLivingGreen.com!
PRODUCTION MANAGER/ART DIRECTOR Dave Windisch dwindisch@IndianaLivingGreen.com
EVENTS & PROMOTIONS COORDINATOR Kate Bragg kbragg@IndianaLivingGreen.com
Darrell Mitchel dmitchel@nuvo.net
IndianaLivingGreen.com/subscribe IndianaLivingGreen.com
PRODUCTION & DESIGN
MARKETING & EVENTS MANAGER Lauren Guidotti lguidotti@IndianaLivingGreen.com
Heather Leitch hleitch@nuvo.net
Phone: 317-254-2409 To subscribe:
CONTRACTS Susie Fortune sfortune@IndianaLivingGreen.com
David Searle dsearle@nuvo.net
EDITORIAL
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kflahavin@IndianaLivingGreen.com
ACCOUNT MANAGERS Kelly Pardekooper kpardek@nuvo.net
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Ask Renee Sweany, of Green Piece Indy, a question about living A iin n an environmentally friendly way and get an eco-friendly answer! Green Piece Indy is now Ask Renee. Receive these green tips in your inbox twice a week when you subscribe to the newsletter through Indiana Living Green.
Sign up for ASK RENEE at indianalivinggreen.com ILG
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GARDENING
DOOM & BLOOM with Jim Poyser
WITH NATURE by Lynn Jenkins
Get kids in the garden As gardeners, we understand better than most how linked to nature we humans are. We do not— and cannot—live in a bubble disconnected from her forces. To live well, children too, must connect with nature. In his book, The Nature Principle, Richard Louv emphasizes the significance of bringing children to nature. He worries that our culture has become more connected to technology than nature. Kids, he says, develop self-confidence, awareness, empathy and responsibility when given regular opportunities to be in nature. Concrete playgrounds and organized sports on manicured playing fields aren’t enough. Children need to be in a natural environment, whether led or on their own, in order to learn, discover and grasp the awesomeness of the natural world. Tending a garden, whether vegetable or flower, is an easy way to bring kids into nature. And insects are an intriguing attraction. Insects are abundant in organic gardens, and according to entomologists at Purdue, over 97 percent of the insect species in our yards are either beneficial or do no harm. Insects are also the baseline of the food chain, so the more bugs in your yard, the more birds and other critters you will enjoy. We can’t cherish just white tail deer, chickadees and box turtles; we need to develop an appreciation of the entire food chain and web of life. Unfortunately most of us are raised with the “EEK, a bug!” mind-set. Challenging children to find a value in each insect is a fun way to revamp that thinking. In his fascinating and awardwinning book, Insects and Gardens, Eric Grissell enlightens us as to the many virtues of backyard insects. Written with wit and humor in a non-scientific style, the book also features amazing photography of alien-like insects capturing and devouring their enemies—clashes that will bring a “Wow!” from most of us—young and old. Invite a kid into your garden with a jar, a magnifying glass, a bug book and a “catch and release” approach. You and your young friend will be amazed at the fascinating world that is in your own backyard. Got a comment, question or a tip to share? Contact Lynn at Lynn@IndianaLivingGreen.com 4
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IT’S TIME
WANTED: A FEW GOOD KIDS Join the movement to demand our government take action now to protect us from fossil fuel emissions and climate change so that our future includes a safe environment. BROUGHT TO YOU BY EARTH CHARTER INDIANA
info@earthcharterindiana.org ^ ^ illustration by shelby kelley
According to an Indiana statute — a statute that governs our environment — “The purpose … is to preserve, protect, and enhance the quality of the environment so that, to the extent possible, future generations will be ensured clean air, clean water, and a healthful environment.” (See Ind. Code 13-12-3-1(3).) That is a powerful message — and it’s consistently ignored
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by our state leaders especially when it comes to coal. Case in point: Governor Pence’s recent opinion that Obama should reject EPA’s CO2 emission standards. The EPA standards would require new coal-fired plants to achieve carbon emissions levels at a rate almost 50 percent lower than current technology can provide. As reported by Indiana Public Media in late May, Pence said: “Given the importance of low-cost energy to Hoosier jobs and economic
growth, we’re going to continue to provide a very strong voice on behalf of common sense at the EPA and at the federal level,” he says. Coal, however, is harming Indiana in many ways, including particulate pollution in the form of mercury and other contaminants. For example, the link between coal-fired plant emissions and asthma has been documented numerous times. And coal is one of our most powerful greenhouse gases, creating a gradual warming of the atmosphere that is already creating extreme weather events all over the planet. I guess we can plan on plenty of jobs and economic growth when it comes to our health sector, as we become sick from coal’s impact. Then there was the discovery earlier this year that two Indiana lawmakers, Sen. Jim Merritt and Rep. Matt Ubelhor, have deep ties to coal. As David Hoppe wrote for ILG: “Merritt is a Vice president for Corporate Affairs with the Indiana Rail Road Co., a freight-hauling business that carries coal from mines to places that burn it; and Ubelhor is an operations manager for Peabody Energy, Indiana’s biggest coal mining company. Both men have been responsible for amending Rockport-related legislation in order to compromise regulations affecting the new plant in the hopes that this will make it easier (make that cheaper) to get the plant built.” Enter the kids. A newly formed organization by Earth Charter Indiana will be comprised of kids from all over Indiana, and they will rise up to meet this challenge, engaging in a formal legal process that will result in a state-wide Climate Action Plan for Indiana. They will be successful if we support them as they demand that our politicians respect the earth, put people over profits and ensure them a safe environment.
r ille M a dr awn h S By
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THERE’S A COAL PLANT ON CAMPUS
^ photo by michelle craig
Jodi Perras (left) and Megan Anderson head up the local Beyond Coal effort.
Jodi Perras has a clear memory of the moment she experienced, viscerally, the depth of her concern about the climate crisis. She was at an environmental workshop participating in a visioning exercise. The facilitator guided attendees, eyes closed, to imagine themselves in a field, 100 years from now, surrounded by their great-great-grandchildren. Perras recalls that the facilitator said, “Imagine they’re asking you, ‘What did you do? What did you do when (cataclysmic climate change) was happening?’” She tears up at the memory. Her own 6
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epiphany, she was applying for her current position as the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Indiana campaign representative. Now she’s a full-time fighter for those future generations, working to move Indiana away from dirty, expensive, dangerous coal and toward the clean energy future she knows is inevitable. “I’ve always felt like whatever job I had I was trying to make the world a better place, and I could get out of bed in the morning to do that. But I feel like this is the most important thing I could be doing to make the world a better place.”
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son is 21, her stepson 31. The power of that exercise drove home her sense of urgency to do something. It’s not like she was a stranger to activism and advocacy: In her off hours she worked with the green team at her church, Epworth United Methodist, where a monthly film series spreads the word about environmental issues. In her workaday life she was the director of Improving Kids’ Environment, which strives to protect children from environmental health hazards. But as it happened, at the time of this
With the burning of coal responsible for fully a third of U.S. carbon emissions, it’s hard to disagree about the importance of her mission. And that’s even before considering the health impacts — from asthma to neurological problems — engendered by coal. For her Beyond Coal Indiana cohort, Bloomington native Megan Anderson, it’s the health angle that makes coal a particularly personal hot button. She recalls being fairly disconnected from various environmental actions during her freshman year at IU. Then she learned something that surprised her. “I was relaxing in Dunn Meadow, and someone tapped me on the shoulder and asked me if I knew there was a coal plant on campus.” Anderson had just been diagnosed with asthma the year before, and though she’d seen coal trains go through Bloomington, she’d never given it much thought. Thrilled to be at IU, pleased with her hometown’s leading-edge vibe, she felt disillusioned. “I was pretty shocked—and scared. My little brother and sister were really young at the time. I thought, ‘They’re growing right now and this coal plant could be affecting their development.’” She further learned that alumni who’d been at IU in the 1970s witnessed the paint peeling off their cars from the plant’s fumes. Some mornings, they would wake up with a sulfur taste in their mouth. She became the president of Coal-Free IU, eventually visiting the epicenter of mountaintop removal coal mining, West Virginia, the origin of the coal burned in Bloomington. “This is an issue that impacts people in so many ways whether they know it or not. It’s so important that we take the time right now to move forward. People don’t need to be dealing with toxic water from mountaintop removal sites leaking into their homes, or coal pollution in communities like Indy. People don’t need to have asthma.”
^ photo by michelle craig
On June 1, some 150 people convened on the lawn of the Indiana State Museum to spell out the words Beyond Coal — with their bodies.
In Indianapolis alone, according to the Clean Air Task Force, toxic pollution from the south side’s Harding Street coal plant contributes to 78 asthma emergency room visits and 1,300 asthma attacks each year. The impacts of coal go beyond just healthcare costs, points out Perras. The educational system also shoulders the burden. For example, children with asthma who live close to coal plants are more likely to have attacks, and asthma is the number one reason children are not in school. Additionally, poor families who rely on fishing Indiana’s waterways for part of their caloric intake are likely eating mercurytainted fish because of coal emissions. Women of childbearing age and young children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of this neurotoxin: Mercury is linked to in utero brain damage, as well as ADHD, autism, learning disabilities, and lower IQs—all conditions that set a child up for lifelong difficulties. Anderson decries the injustice of this trend—effectively holding back generations of kids because of their zip code. “People are inherently disadvantaged because of where they live. And that’s not OK.” Not only that, but given the obesity epidemic and the rising number of bad air days, children who can’t play outside because of asthma are at further health risk. “These kids are inside half the summer when they should be playing outside.” People of color are disproportionately affected; one coalition led by the Black Leadership Forum cited U.S. Census data demonstrating that 68 percent of African-Americans live within 30 miles of a coal-fired power plant. That’s why the NAACP has lent its clout to the movement as well. (About 56 percent of white
Americans live within that radius, which represents the distance within which the maximum impact of smokestack plumes are felt.) Then there are the infamous coal ash ponds, which in the Harding Street plant’s case are located in a flood-prone area right by the White River. “What is that going to look like in 20 years?” Anderson asks. “Those coal ash ponds are not lined. They weren’t built to be there 70 to 80 years.” Continuing to burn coal means putting anyone working or living near those coal ash ponds at risk.
THE TIME IS RIPE What are these energy warriors up against? Namely, Indiana’s continued reliance on coal for 95 percent of the state’s electricity generation, and a right-leaning electorate. But the time is ripe for a change, and moving beyond coal doesn’t have to be a partisan issue. As Perras explains it, concerns around coal’s health impacts have been dismissed for years because coal was so cheap. However, it just isn’t cheap anymore—even before factoring in the strain on our healthcare and education systems. That’s partly due to new federal standards governing mercury and air toxics—compliance would involve a major upgrade of the plants. “Our electricity rates used to be in the bottom five, now we’re around 23rd in country in terms of rates,” Perras says. “Because of the health protections that are coming down from federal government to ensure utilities have to do their share in protecting environment, utilities have to decide: ‘Are we going to keep this coal plant burning for 25 years or are we going to look at something else?’” Anderson adds, “As consumers we need
to understand that these are old coal plants. They’re 50 years old, primed for retirement. They’re not a good investment.” Between the new federal standards and the age of the plants, the expense of burning coal is becoming more transparent. Indeed, IPL has decided to retire a number of coal plants or transition them to natural gas, deeming them too costly to retrofit for coal under the new standards. However, they plan to retain the largest five coal plants and cover the cost by increasing customer rates. It’s a fantastically flawed plan, say Anderson and Perras. In May, the Sierra Club and Citizens Action Coalition filed a brief exposing the sketchy logic IPL presented to the Indiana Utilities Regulatory Commission. (See sidebar.) Instead of pushing forward with these aging and expensive coal plants, Beyond Coal wants IPL to seek 30 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020—instead of the miserly three percent currently pledged. Billions and billions of dollars in subsidies
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^ photo by michelle craig
Speaking at the rally was Denise Abdul-Rahman, the Environmental Climate Justice Chair of the Indiana NAACP.
have allowed IPL to get to this point, say Anderson and Perras, and now they want to force ratepayers into investing in a continued poor risk. They’re asking the IURC to raise rates just so they can continue to burn coal—meanwhile selling their electricity on the wholesale market, because they generate more than consumers need. In short, “We’re paying for them to make money,” says Anderson. “As customers we have to engage or we’re going to get ripped off. We’re going to get ripped off because of our health, and because of our rates in the future when we will be totally dependent on these coal plants that are falling apart.” This is the case with more than half the coal plants across the country.
VICTORIES PILING UP NATIONALLY Undaunted by an uphill battle, Perras and Anderson see this time as a prime opportunity to transition Indiana’s energy sector, positioning the Hoosier state as a leader. Their vision goes above and beyond stopping Big Coal, encompassing a healthier, cleaner, more prosperous Indiana. Countless jobs could be brought back home, to keep up with demand for wind and solar installations. (Wind turbines are made up of some 8,000 components—potentially translating into thousands of manufacturing jobs.) Meanwhile, Hoosiers would have more energy choices and would even be able to generate their own energy, feeding it back into the grid. Sound farfetched? They point to another stolid Midwestern state, Iowa, for inspira8
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tion. Led by primarily Republican lawmakers, Iowa is poised to obtain 30 percent of its energy from wind within the year. Two of our neighboring states, Ohio and Michigan, are among the top 10 in the nation creating jobs in solar energy. And nationwide, victories have begun to pile up: Los Angeles decided to move beyond coal. Nevada shut down coalfired plants that were slamming a local Native American community. Chicago’s mayor pledged to shut down coal plants. In North Carolina, a thousand people showed up at a hearing to call for clean energy. “This is not pie-in-the-sky, future Star Wars stuff,” says Perras. “This is stuff that people are doing right now, and we’re being held back in Indiana.” In fact, coal represents a key moral issue of our time, she says, with disadvantaged communities saddled with a disproportionate share of the fallout. And then there is the specter of the planet left those great-great-grandchildren, an earth heated beyond the point of habitability. As Perras puts it, “How livable is (the earth) going to be for the people who are most vulnerable, and the animals and plants and wildlife that are most vulnerable? People like me can probably adapt, but not people who are living on the edge or who are living in an island nation that might be underwater.” “My concern is for those folks who won’t have the means or ability, and those creatures who won’t be able to adapt.” For a gallery of Michelle Craig’s images of the Beyond Coal rally, see indianalivinggreen.com.
STATUS OF KEY BATTLES Rockport, Ind.: Leucadia Coal Gasification Plant Thanks to over 6000 actions taken by concerned Hoosiers all over the state, this spring the Indiana General Assembly voted to protect ratepayers from a proposed “Leucadia Tax” which would have made consumers foot the bill and assume the risk for an out-of-state company’s poor investment. The new law allows legal challenges to play out and gives the state another opportunity to review, modify, or reject this expensive and dirty project. IPL’s Harding Street and Petersburg Coal-fired Plants IPL requested a $511 million rate hike to cover the cost of retrofitting the plants. Sierra Club and CAC’s brief filed with IURC calls the utility company’s calculation a “back of the envelope” analysis. “Rather than considering all alternatives to meet EPA requirements and protect ratepayer interests, IPL apparently decided first to keep the units running, and then asked its consultants to produce a cost for doing so.” Ignoring lower-cost and healthier alternatives to coal, the utility company plans to continue selling excess power wholesale, which puts 100 percent of profits in shareholders’ pockets. “Yet IPL’s analysis…made it appear that ratepayers would benefit from sales of excess electricity.” A decision is expected from IURC this summer. To get involved with Beyond Coal, go to content.sierraclub.org/coal/indiana or contact Anderson at megan.anderson@ sierraclub.org.
RESULTS ANNOUNCED
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
GEORGIA STREET nuvo.net/bestofindy
BESTS, WORSTS, TRAGEDIES, TRIUMPHS Indiana is replete with exemplary models for sustainability and conscious growth. We identify here some of our favorites — and a few things we don’t like at all. Each year, we hope to build on this list and engage readers in the process of identifying these heroes, and some zeroes as well.
trying to save the world, it’s not working. This read is certainly a testament to community resiliency. Toms River, by Dan Fagin, is a remarkable tale of a New Jersey-based company who poured toxins into a nearby river… for decades. It’s a narrative about activism, politics, business and cancer: a perfect story for our time. Look for coverage of all three books in upcoming issues of Indiana Living Green.
BEST ENTREPRENEURIAL EFFORT BY A COLLEGE KID
WORST STINK IN DOWNTOWN INDY
Adam Swartz, a 20-year-old senior at Indiana University and a rising savvy entrepreneur is the founder of Green Dream Clothing, a clothing line that distinguishes itself by planting a tree for every article of clothing sold. The Indianapolis-native began this green endeavor out of pure boredom, and has come much further than he originally expected with his eco business plans. Green Dream Clothing is partnered with Plant-It 2020, a nonprofit foundation that ensures all designated trees are planted. Green Dream Clothing strives to bridge the gap between inner city and country club lifestyles, while supplying fresh fabrics with positive messages. See: GreenDreamCloCo.com
We broke this story a few months, “broke” being a super technical term for “we published this story before any one else did.” Anyway, pride aside, there’s a sulfur-y, rotten egg-like stink in downtown Indy and most folks point to a company called Metalworking Lubricants as the culprit. Keep your eye (but not nose) on ILG as we’ll continue following up on this story. See: indianalivinggreen.com/ something-rotten-in-downtown-indy
BEST COOL SCHOOL
Editor’s note: for an interview with Swartz, see indianalivinggreen.com
EASIEST WAY TO REDUCE AIR CONDITIONING COSTS Up, up and away! Make sure that heat doesn’t stay. Our favorite heat-relieving product is the Solar Attic Fan by SunRise Solar Inc. that pulls heat right out of your attic! No heat in the attic = no dissipating back into the living room or other areas of the house = less air conditioning costs. It may seem a little pricey, but it’s a one-time fee in comparison with air conditioning that just keeps on adding up ... AND you get a tax credit. This is an Indianabased business that sells the Solar Attic Fan; you can find other versions at local hardware stores near you. See: sunrisesolar.net
BEST SUMMER READS Three new books published this spring make unbeatable reads, all of them — of course — being eco in nature. The Pipeline and the Paradigm is Kentucky-based Sam Avery’s soulsearching journey all along the Keystone XL pipeline, interviewing activists and ranchers and Transcanada potentates all along the way. A must read for an essential decision. The Efficiency Trap is Steve Hallett’s highly anticipated book on how efficiency is actually making things worse. His provocative book is sure to tweak any environmentalist (including ourselves) with his main message: It’s time to stop 10
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C’mon! You actually think we’re going to pick the “best” school? Would you pick your “best” kid, leaving the rest of your kids to weep openly in front of you? Of course not! So we’re going to pick this as, ahem, (trumpets blaring) our best new idea, that is, to get local schools to let us know their favorite eco-efforts, be they planting a garden, having chickens or recycling. Go to our site to learn more the example young people are creating. Then spread the word so that other eco-schools can contribute.
BEST ARTS PROJECT Ball State is exemplary in many ways, anchored by their geothermal system, but the theater department got in the game with a production of Still Life With Iris, by Steven Dietz. The footprint of this production was tiny, compared to others, as props were fashioned from found or reused materials, and the scenery crafted in a similar manner. All props, wardrobe pieces and scenery productions were recycled, reused or sold. Finally, students involved with the show tracked the carbon footprint created throughout the production; preparing to plant enough trees to offset the environmental impact caused by driving to the set and the electricity used during the show.
BEST EXAMPLE OF THE TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS Foodtrucks. Yeah, we were the first to jump on the bandwagon so to speak, when ILG
^ submitted photo; submitted image; photo by michelle craig
Top: Adam Swartz, whose Green Dream Clothing Company plants a tree for every purchase; essential summer read, Toms River; Tragedy of the Commons, a noisy, fuel-burning generator for a foodtruck.
foodtrucks entered our realm. And each individual truck is absolutely a plus to our Indy landscape. However, get a few of them together and you begin to see the carbon problem. Generators are constantly running. Sometimes the truck itself has to run for hours on end. Earth Day festivals this
year invited foodtrucks so folks could eat. Sweet! But yet they sat there and ran … and ran … and ran… Other than generators running from, say, discarded cooking oil from the cooking operation itself, we have no solutions. Just kvetching.
Game Day Challenge recycling competition. IU athletes appeared in targeted public service announcements; volunteers gave out IU recycling bags and recycling bins increased to see this college tradition make a step towards sustainability.
LARGEST COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY COMMITMENT TO ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
MOST AMBITIOUS RESEARCH ON URBAN SUSTAINABILITY
Ball State University’s geothermal project is set to end the use of their two coal-fired furnaces to heat and cool the campus buildings. With the first phase already serving the north side of the Muncie campus and the budget to expand further approved by state legislature, construction on the site is once again underway.
BEST COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY COMMITMENT TO RENEWABLE ENERGY Goshen College now purchases 100 percent of its electricity from renewable sources like wind and solar. Before transitioning to green energy, around 12 tons of coal per student were needed to supply electricity for the year. The school’s carbon profile has now been reduced by 45 percent.
BEST COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY RUN URBAN GARDEN IUPUI’s DIGS is a student run project that grows agriculture and promotes sustainability on campus. By utilizing green techniques like composting and organic pest control, DIGS contributes a significant amount of organic, locally-grown produce to Indianapolis food pantries and, through a partnership with Chartwells, offer these foods in the Campus Center Food Court.
LARGEST REDUCTION IN TAILGATING WASTE Indiana University was able to take their tailgating waste diversion from 37 percent in 2011 to 54 percent in 2012 through the
Butler University’s Center for Urban Ecology has been cultivating a culture that allows for a balance between urban innovation and ecological stewardship. From providing valuable knowledge to the students of Indianapolis, caring for 10,000 bees, running an urban farm and much, much more, this center is shaping the nature of the city that Indianapolis will become.
FOCUS ON FOOD: A LUNCH AND LEARN SERIES
WEDNESDAYS, 1-2pm
Bring your lunch and enjoy conversations with experts in the food systems field.
May 29-August 7 The Platform at The Indianapolis City Market 202 E. Market Street
A detailed schedule available online
growingplacesindy.org • 317.454.8515
MOST RESPONSIBLE EXIT Flanner and Buchanan’s Kessler Woods is one of the largest natural gravesites in Indiana. The folks at Flanner and Buchanan don’t use formaldehyde; they use biodegradable coffins, and offer a choice of burial in a wooded or prairie setting. Talk about a responsible way to leave!
BIGGEST AIRPORT SOLAR INSTALLATION With over 41,000 solar panels, the Indianapolis International Airport is the nation’s largest airport-based solar farm. The solar farm is projected to produce over 17,000,000 kilowatts of power annually.
BIGGEST MIDWEST SOLAR INSTALLATION Sunrise Energy of Minnesota recently obtained approval to build a 286-acre solar field in southwestern Marion County. The three 10-megawatt arrays will generate enough energy to power 7,500 homes. According to a press release from Sunrise Energy, this is one of the largest solar projects currently in the Midwest. Compiled by Ginnye Cubel, Jordan Martich and Jim Poyser. ILG
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SIERRA CLUB
Coal loses a round ...
in clean water fight
In an excellent display of government sluggishness, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has finally announced its decision on Indiana’s 2010 list of the state’s most polluted waters, three years after the Indiana Department of Environmental Management submitted it. The E.P.A. rejected IDEM’s attempt to keep streams with high metal levels off the list, which the department had done at the behest of coal interests. The federal agency added back about 140 impaired waters that exceed pollution limits for aluminum, copper, iron, lead or zinc. IDEM had initially proposed having these waters on its 2010 list but took them off after receiving comments from Alcoa, the Indiana Coal Council and the trade association for Indiana’s coal-burning utilities. The switch was made at the insistence of IDEM’s chief lawyer,
David Joest, who before becoming the head of the department’s Office of Legal Counsel had worked for Peabody Coal for 22 years. The E.P.A. first indicated its disagreement with IDEM’s rationale for not listing the metals-impaired waters in a letter it sent in June 2011, but since the agency hadn’t issued a final decision IDEM kept the waters off its 2012 list. (States submit their lists of polluted waters every two years.) We can only hope that the agency issues its decision on that list before the next version is due in 2014. However, the dispute about waters with high metal levels is only part of the assault that utilities are making on our clean water rules. They are waging a similar fight over mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls, two substances that potentially have much greater impact on human health. Unfortunately, they appear to be winning the battle over mercury. Before 2008, IDEM listed as impaired any water for which the state Department of
HANCOCKSWCD.ORG • HAMILTONSWCD.ORG MADISONSWCD.ORG • MARIONSWCD.ORG
Fall Creek Watershed Partnership YOUR GUIDE TO THE BACKYARD CONSERVATION PROGRAM
• Rain gardens to pique people’s interest – pollinator gardens, shoreline plantings, native prairie plantings and more… • Site evaluation to determine the best options for your property • Written conservation plan outlining best management practices (BMPs) for your yard • Lists of resources for installing and maintaining your BMPs • Possible financial assistance within the designated Watershed area • Education through workshops, literature and demonstration areas
For more information contact:
Leslie White Backyard Conservation Coordinator PHONE: (317) 773-2181 EMAIL: leslie-white@iaswcd.org
hancockswcd.org/Fall-Creek-Watershed-Partnership/ 12
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By Bowen Quinn
Health issued a fish consumption advisory due to high mercury or P.C.B. levels. The logical rationale for these listings was that if eating the fish could endanger people’s health, the water shouldn’t be considered “fishable.” However, since burning coal to generate electricity causes mercury to be pervasive in our environment, all of our waters could have fish with mercury in their tissues. So in 2008, IDEM began listing only those waters where it had actually caught and sampled fish that had mercury contamination exceeding health guidelines. That still required the department to list almost 350 mercuryimpaired waters in its initial 2012 list. So, taking advantage of recent E.P.A. guidance on setting mercury limits, IDEM decided to use a weighted average of all the fish that it sampled at a location. Mercury accumulates in predator fish, so including samples from other types of fish results in lower average numbers. Bingo! Just like that, IDEM succeeded in removing more than 230 mercury-contaminated waters from the list. But simply de-listing the waters doesn’t make the fish in them any safer to eat. To do that, we have to replace coal-burning power plants with solar and wind power.
CRUISING GREEN ^ ^ submitted photos
Tesla Model S
Making Nikola proud
The Tesla all-electric car
Named for Nikola Tesla, the engineer, physicist and inventor best known for his work as a consult at Westinghouse where he developed the modern alternating current electricity supply system, the Tesla Model S is an innovative all-electric plugin luxury sport sedan. Dubbed by Consumer Reports as the best car it ever tested, with “off the charts” overall performance, the Model S ranks as one of the most energy-efficient and quietest vehicles in production. But it’s the car’s acceleration, braking and ride quality that impress. There are two versions of the Tesla, both of which are capable of producing impressive horsepower and torque: the Model S and the Model S Performance. Various model and battery options provide different ranges and performance characteristics. • The Model S 60kWh option produces 302 hp, with a range of 208 miles. It’s capable of going from zero to 60 in 5.9 seconds. Sticker price starts at $62,400. • The Model S 85 kWh option produces 283 hp, with a range of 265 miles. It’s capable of going from zero to 60 in 5.4 seconds. Sticker price starts at $72,400.
• The top-of-the-line 85 kWh Model S Performance option produces 416 hp, with a range of 265 miles. It’s capable of going from zero to 60 in an impressive 4.2 seconds. Sticker price starts at $87,400, which includes upgraded drivetrain, interior and suspension. Like any high-performance luxury sedan, the Model S comes with a hefty price tag. However, a $7,500 federal tax rebate and various state tax incentives for electric cars put the Tesla within reach of the modestly wealthy. In fact, the Model S is currently outselling other full-size luxury sedans such as the Audi A8, Lexus LS, Mercedes-Benz S Class and BMW 7-Series. In the first quarter, more people bought a Tesla Model S than any of the similarly priced, traditionally powered cars from the top three German manufacturers, according to LMC Automotive. The lithium-ion batteries, which carry an 8-year warranty, come with a 110-volt standard household outlet adapter, a 240-volt outlet adapter and a J1772 public charging station adapter. A full charge takes about six hours from a 240-volt outlet, according to Tesla. Bigger battery
By Lori Lovely
packs can also use a dual charging system that can charge in half the time. Tesla is also building a network of highspeed superchargers that promise 160 miles worth of charge in only 30 minutes. Regardless, with its long-distance capability limited and its reliability untested, for most, the Model S remains a daily driver rather than a long-distance traveler. Professional testers claim it drives just like a conventionally powered vehicle, but it’s difficult to score a test drive because Tesla is the only U.S. automaker whose business model is based on selling directly to consumers rather than relying on a dealer network. Operating on a build-to-order basis, Tesla has sales outlets in select malls in 12 states. Cars are delivered directly to the customer. It’s a challenge to the traditional auto industry that is meeting with opposition from lawmakers in some states. North Carolina legislators recently approved a bill outlawing direct car sales. Minnesota, Massachusetts and New York have already defeated legal challenges banning the manufacturer. Undeterred, Tesla has plans to build the Model X, a crossover SUV, a less expensive car and possibly other models. ILG
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^ ^ photo by aiste manfredini
Indy’s electric car share program is eyed at City Market.
Sharing is caring:
Indy’s soon-to-be all-electric car share program By Aiste Manfredini
Looking for options to zip around town without the hassle of catching a taxi or driving your personal car? Well, look no more. The yet-to-be-named Indianapolis car share program modeled after Bolloré’s popular Autolib’ service in Paris is aimed at providing new mobility options to the public of Indianapolis in 2014. The Bolloré Group is investing in $35 million toward Indy’s program to transform habits of car ownership, reduce pollution and relieve traffic congestions. The program — the largest in the country slated for launch next year — is based around short one-way rentals; users pay a membership fee (daily, monthly, or annually) and receive an RFID card. Features include: 500 electric vehicles and 1,200 charging stations at 200 carshare locations. The rates for the Indianapolis service have not yet been established, but in Paris, membership costs $16 per month and a 20-minute trip costs about 14
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$4.50. This revolutionary transportation program may transform Indianapolis as one of the most “electrified” cities in the U.S. and spark eco-conscious ideas even further, perhaps even producing this electricity with renewable energy instead of coal.
Facebook and Twitter powers a car? Teens involved in a non-profit afterschool program that inspires at-risk teens by focusing on electric car design called Minddrive, transformed a Volkswagen Karmann Ghia from 1967 into a futuristic car – one that can be fueled by a Twitter post or a Facebook “like”. Using an Arduino – a microcontroller device –the students are able to program the vehicle to fit their specific needs and engineer the car to be fueled by social media interactions. Hashtagging #MindDrive on Twit-
ter and Instagram (3 watts), liking their Facebook page (1 watt), watching their video on YouTube (3 watts) and a petition signature (10 watts) all puts fuel in their tank. When this device recognizes any of these social media connection, the car has essentially been programmed to move forward. The students are planning on road tripping to Washington D.C. – while using social fuel to get there – in order to raise awareness about the benefits of this innovative kind of education.
Indianapolis Cultural Trail takes the spotlight From a trail that started off as too disconnected from the heart of downtown, the Indianapolis Cultural Trail has become the centerpiece for Indianapolis’ burgeoning bike scene. The trail is one of the most widely heralded and influential public works projects
CRUISING GREEN cont’d
to take place in Indianapolis in years. This visionary, eight-mile path through Indianapolis highlights various icons and landmarks, while giving users a good reason to explore the city. It’s an urban bike and pedestrian path that connects Fountain Square, Indiana Avenue, Mass Ave, the Canal and White River State Park and the Wholesale District, while providing links to the entire Central Indiana greenway system. Led by Central Indiana Community Foundation, among others, the Cultural Trail is a true collaboration, highlighting health, along with appreciation for our ever-growing Downtown. The trail is used as an occasional way of spending quality time with their friends and family, but for others, it has turned into a personal passion. So, take your bike, rollerblades – anything but your car – for an enthralling experience in exploring Indianapolis.
Elio Motors: The future of transportation From vibrant colors like “red hot” to “sour apple,” Elio is not your typical vehicle – it’s a lifestyle statement. Considered a motorcycle, this sensational three-wheel automotive innovation is extremely fuel efficient with a
^ ^ photo by aiste manfredini
unique exterior and interior design. The Elio has an eight-gallon tank that gets 84 miles to the gallon on the highway. That means you can go from Indianapolis to Philadelphia on one tank of gas! It costs $6,800, which is great for college students, workers, commuters and people of diverse lifestyles. And it all started with car enthusiast, and CEO Paul Elio, who had a simple plan: to create a vehicle for today’s generation of drivers that addresses their transportation needs and the world’s new realities. This American made, 5-Star safety-rating vehicle is not only impressive and unique in its
mechanism and features, but will also help create an estimated 1,500 jobs at their Shreveport, La. plant beginning in the spring of 2014. So why pay more for an old clunker when you can buy a brand new, eco-friendly Elio vehicle; that will save you money on gas, do good for the environment and enhance your eco persona. Elio is currently accepting reservations for purchase. If you’re curious to find out more about Elio, visit their website at eliomotors.com or contact the Vice President of Marketing, Chip Stempeck, at tellmemore@eliomotors.com.
start/finish/ registration 435 Mass Ave downtown Indy
We couldn’t throw this without the help of our volunteers!
contact Kate Bragg at kbragg@nuvo.net. For more information and sponsorship opportunities
mass ave criterium august 10, 2013
contact Lauren Guidotti at lguidotti@nuvo.net.
Visit us at mac.nuvo.net follow us on facebook at Mass Ave Criterium
Championship Bicycling event ILG
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IMBIBING GREEN TPC is located at 9101 Moore Road; get all your info at: tpforganics.com.
^ ^ submitted photos
New Organic Heights
The Loft Restaurant and Traders Point Creamery
Maybe it’s the velvety cows moseying in from the pasture, flanked by golden light. Maybe it’s the fresh rosemary sprigs bending in the wind, or the ice cream made and consumed in a barn of reclaimed wood. From many angles, Traders Point Creamery, now in its tenth year, is a deeply romantic place. So much so that Traders Point chefs keep running off with their co-workers, owners Fritz and Jane Elder Kunz admit with a laugh (it’s happened twice). But everyone expects the new executive chef at The Loft restaurant to stay a while. His name is Brandon Canfield, and he’s ready to cement The Loft as the best farmto-table restaurant in the state. After all, it’s the only one in which the table is literally on, well, in the farm. Here, “food miles” are reduced to food inches. Canfield wants your dining experience at The Loft to recapture your best food memories — like picking corn and eating it an hour later, or savoring the rows of preserves in grandma’s larder. He grew up in southeastern Indiana, graduated from IU, went to culinary school in New York and most recently, headed the kitchen at Deleece in Chicago. “I’m excited about seizing the bounty of Indiana local food,” he says. “Summer is the chef’s playground, with so much in season.” 16
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Canfield’s been studying vintage cookbooks, immersing himself in what rural Americans were eating in the pre-TV dinner era. He’s ready to reinvent traditional beef and noodles, chicken and dumplings. “Cooking at the Creamery, I can do a hyperlocal buttermilk biscuits and gravy,” subbing Traders Point yogurt for the buttermilk. It’s Heartland cuisine with an organic spin. Canfield is hoping urban neighborhood foodies (he himself lives in SoBro) will trek to The Loft for dishes like poached pork tenderloin stuffed with liver pâté and pan-fried with crispy lettuce and red onion marmalade. He’s into animal offcuts (“nothing’s wasted on the farm”) but also “loves to braise greens … and let the veggies do the talking.” The Loft menu reveals plenty of asterisks signifying organic ingredients “made/raised on our farm.” There are burgers with housemade cheese, soups made from ridiculously fresh veggies, salads starring fresh fromage blanc, frittatas and quiches made with organic eggs from joyous free-roaming chickens, and yogurt parfaits of the best yogurt in the state. What Canfield doesn’t source from his immediate farm surroundings, he gets from carefully curated partner food producers or other organic sources. [Have a hook-up for locally farmed bluegill or foraged berries?
By Anne Laker
… let him know!] He recently made some wonderfully dangerous-sounding pesto from foraged stinging nettle. The Loft’s menu, organic ethic, and exposed beam ambiance are huge reasons to come to Traders Point Creamery, but everyone knows there are more. Kids can race the chickens. Couples can get dinner on the deck during the Green Market any summer Friday night. Daydreamers can circle the fire pit. A sparkly new kitchen – triple the original size – means more catered private events and space to process the dewy produce coming in from the field. And soon, everyone will be able to belly up to the new ground-level dairy bar under construction. The minds behind the Traders Point brand are the Kunzes. Jane and Fritz met in kindergarten, and have been married 24 years. While they both know how to drive a tractor, they’re also expert experience designers. While Jane talks excitedly about the construction upgrades at the farm, Fritz waxes on the emotional power of barn architecture, the purity of heritage ice cream flavors and the “happy place” the farm evokes for its visitors. For anyone in love with sustainability, or even just good food … it’s all part of the truelife fantasy of Traders Point Creamery.
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^ ^ photo by mark a. lee
Binford Farmers Market
A guide to farmers’ market shopping There is not a more pleasant way to spend a weekend morning (or weekday lunch) than strolling among the quaint tabletop bounty of central Indiana farms. You want your produce both local and sustainably grown. Chemical-free when possible. You might even plan your meals around the seasonal produce. When you visit a farmers’ market, a few simple questions could go a long way.
1) Did you grow or make this yourself? “Unless customers are asking questions, there’s the illusion that everything at market is local,” said Maria Smietana, former market manager of the Trader’s Point Creamery Green Market and now manager of the new Farm to Fork Market at Normandy Farms. Smietana has adopted strict no-reselling policies at both markets she’s been affiliated with, requiring vendors to sign affidavits to that effect. But not all markets adopt this no-reselling policy, with understandable reasons. From a market manager’s perspective, allowing resellers is a way of diversifying offerings at market. For instance, growing berries in Indiana can be challenging for many small farmers, so bringing berries in from larger farms is a good way to provide a broader range of produce. “We allow limited reselling to provide
our customers with a wide variety of local produce — items that would otherwise not be available (or available in sufficient quantities) at our market,” explains Barbara Wilder, market manager at the Broad Ripple Farmers’ Market. “The best example is strawberries. Berry producers often have a fairly short season, and when their fruit is in season, they are often too busy with U-pick and getting product to their established customers to staff farmers markets.” But when products being resold are purchased at wholesale auction, there’s a downside for producer-only vendors: It establishes an unfair price structure, undercutting prices on locally plentiful products like melons and tomatoes. If the small farmer is left with a table-full of produce at the end of the day, it makes it difficult for her to stay in business. So if supporting a small producer farm is important to you, don’t be afraid to ask.
2) Tell me about your growing practices. Just because something is sold at the farmer’s market doesn’t mean it was grown using sustainable or chemical-free farming practices. There are currently only two area markets that allow either only organically grown produce (Farm to Fork Market at Normandy Farms) or actively seek out organic/sustainable growers (Indy Winter Farmers Market).
By Katy Carter
“I am happy when people ask questions -- I want them to ask questions. I don’t feel like there’s anything that I can’t tell my customers about the food that I’m selling,” says Farm to Fork’s Smietana, longtime columnist for ILG (The Last Row), adding that educating the customer is part of being at market. Of course, some crops are much more difficult to grow organically (in Indiana) than others, such as fruits and berries, which have a hard time with the humidity and bugs. But heat-loving crops like tomatoes can be grown quite successfully without the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. So if your goal as a market patron is to avoid chemicals, look for vendors that advertise “chemical-free,” or check with your vendor.
3) What’s the best way to store/cook/ grow this? If your vendor grew the produce you’re buying, he or she can likely offer a wealth of knowledge about everything from how to grow that food in your own backyard to favorite ways of cooking it. Don’t be shy if you walk past a table and don’t recognize a vegetable. Farmers are usually more than willing to chat. SEE, ILG
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GUIDE, FROM PAGE 17
FARM TO FORK MARKET AT NORMANDY FARMS HOURS: Fridays, 4-7 p.m.
While not exhaustive, use this list as a guide, but remember to ask questions at your market, as policies can be difficult to enforce.
LOCATION: 7802 Marsh Road
BINFORD FARMERS MARKET
HOURS: Saturdays, 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
HOURS: Saturdays, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. LOCATION: 62nd Street and Binford Boulevard Allows limited reselling: some vendors sell items produced by friends or family. No reselling from auction or wholesale allowed.
LOCATION: Intersection of SR 32 and SR 19, Noblesville Allows reselling. Requires that non-local produce be marked as such (e.g., “Texas tomatoes”).
BROAD RIPPLE FARMERS MARKET
HOURS: Saturdays, 8 a.m.-noon; Wednesdays, 2:30 - 6 p.m.
Strict no-reseller policy, enforced by affidavits signed by vendors.
NOBLESVILLE FARMERS MARKET
OLD TOWN GREENWOOD FARMERS MARKET
HOURS: Saturdays, 8 a.m.-noon LOCATION: 1115 Broad Ripple Ave. Allows limited reselling at the discretion of the market manager — but only from an Indiana farm (or farm within 100 miles of Indianapolis). Vendors are required to label the resold produce with the name and location of the farm.
LOCATION: 525 North Madison Ave, Greenwood Does not allow resellers, and all produce must be grown in Indiana.
THE ORIGINAL FARMERS MARKET HOURS: Wednesdays, 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
CARMEL FARMERS MARKET HOURS: Saturdays, 8-11:30 a.m. LOCATION: 5 Center Green, Carmel Vendors must grow 50 percent of what they sell at market. Vendors may then sell from other producers, but may not resell items purchased at auction or wholesale.
ZIONSVILLE FARMERS MARKET HOURS: Saturdays, 8-11 a.m. LOCATION: S. Main and W. Hawthorne streets, Zionsville Allows limited reselling at the discretion of the market manager, and working toward a no reseller policy. Items resold are from neighboring farms, not auction or wholesale.
^ ^ submitted photo
By Aiste Manfredini
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“Finish Line cares about the well-being of our employees and has implemented many wellness initiatives that encourage employees to live a healthy lifestyle,” Kim Kurtz, benefits manager for Finish Line, said in a press release. The goal is to make every employees’ healthy eating initiatives a success, by providing free tools for guidance, like Q&A sessions to introduce staff to the service, recipes, tips and resources that enable lastILG
HOURS: Fridays (May-Oct.), 5-8 p.m.; Saturdays (Nov.-April), 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. LOCATION: 9101 Moore Road, Zionsville No resellers allowed. Farmers from outside Indiana (southern Michigan) allowed at market for items such as berries and fruits.
Vendors must grow at least 80% of what they sell at market. Out-of-state goods are not permitted without approval of market manager. If goods from other farms are sold, vendor must provide in writing the farm information to consumers. No product can be purchased at auction or wholesale supplier and resold.
Green Bean begins office delivery option
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LOCATION: Outside City Market, Market St.
Get your Green BEAN Delivery… to your office.
Many of you know Green BEAN Delivery as the company that delivers fresh produce from area farmers right to your door. Recently, they have extended that service to the workplace. Green BEAN Delivery launched this new service to its first client – Finish Line, Inc. – an athletic footwear, apparel and accessories retailer in Indianapolis. Their goal is to encourage a community-based approach to corporate wellness by allowing small farms to reach a larger customer base.
^ ^ photo by mark a. lee
ing diet changes, access to a nutritionist for advice and programming, and reporting to track participation in the program. “When we found out about Green BEAN Delivery’s services, we knew it was a perfect addition to our wellness program. Green BEAN Delivery makes it convenient for our employees to eat healthy by providing at-work delivery of organic produce and natural groceries,” said Kurtz. “Making it convenient, making it affordable and making it accessible is a key component to people eating healthy,” Matt Ewer, Green BEAN Delivery CEO, said in a press release. Green BEAN Delivery members have had successful experiences in improving their health by switching their diets to whole vegetables and fruits through this delivery service. For instance, customers have experienced health benefits, like losing 35 pounds, blood pressure dropping 20 points or cholesterol levels dropping 55 points. Businesses of all sizes can partner with Green BEAN Delivery, and the service is provided without start-up costs, additional management fees or contracts. “Many business owners are willing to take an extra step to help their employees live happier, healthier lives, and our new platform provides that opportunity,” said Ewer.
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DOING GREEN ZOOLAPALOOZA July 5, 12 & 19 Jam to live music with the animals every Friday from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.! Animal and rides will be available until 7 p.m. There will be plenty of food options, great company and lots of room to dance. This event is free for zoo members and is included with regular zoo admission. Hosted inside the Party Pavilion - the open tent offers a pleasant outdoor atmosphere with tables and seating for concert viewing. Lawn chairs are welcome. For those over 21, there will be sampling by Sun King Brewery. Check out below for concert lineups. Visit indianapoliszoo.com/SitePages/SpecialEvents/Zoolapalooza.aspx. July 5: Jennie Devoe One of the Midwest’s most highly respected and well-known singer-songwriters, Jennie DeVoe’s voice has been described as “smoke honey on a sultry summer evening.” Her blues/R&B rooted vocals have evolved into a flavor all her own that will leave you mesmerized. July 12: My Yellow Rickshaw Pop, rock, bluegrass and R&B covers share the same set list when My Yellow Rickshaw performs. This Indianapolis favorite covers artists across the spectrum in each fun and humorous show. July 19: Funky Shoes Put on your “funky shoes” to wrap up the 2013 Zoolapalooza season! Groove the night away to the sounds of Motown, Soul and Reggae classics.
fest! It will be an evening of green – with live entertainment, hands-on activities and demonstrations. From 5:30-9 p.m., everyone at this family-friendly event will have something to do from environmental exhibit booths to vendor tables featuring local food, products and services. There will also be live entertainment, recycled arts, crafts and other activities. Don’t forget to visit the booths to learn about organic food, solar energy, environmentallyfriendly lawn care or even pause for a moment to try yoga. Food vendors will provide delicious locally grown and prepared food. In addition, those over 21, can indulge in wine or a cold brew from some of the local breweries.
ANGOLA BALLOONS ALOFT July 12-13 Up, Up and Away! Head out July 12-13 to see the 4th annual Angola Balloons Aloft at the Tri-State Steuben County Airport. Come see hot air balloons and aviation inspired entertainment hosted free by Parkview Health. Friday’s events will include food vendors, Balloons Aloft Bazaar and a Hot Air Balloon competition. Saturday’s events begin with a Hot Air Balloon competition and Pole Grab. Just to name a few of the events, there will be helicopter and airplane rides, class car display, a skydiving competition and Children’s Fun Zone. Visit angolaballoonsaloft.com/schedule.html to learn more about what each day entails. And did we mention it’s totally free?
BIKE-IN MOVIES: A CHRISTMAS STORY
FREEWHEELIN’ FAMILY FUN RIDE/INDY CRITERIUM
July 5 The drive-in days may be a thing of the past, but never fear, bike-in movies are here! For first Fridays the Garfield Arts Center will be hosting free outdoor movies starting at dusk. Audience members are encouraged to ride their bikes to the art center, located just one mile south of Fountain Square on Shelby St, and to bring blankets to spread out and enjoy the film. Food trucks will be available on site for anyone that gets hungry during the movie. July’s feature will be the 80s classic A Christmas Story. So hop on your bike and head down to Garfield Arts Center for some summer movie fun!
WABASH RIVERFEST
ELKHART 18TH ANNUAL ENVIROFEST July 12 Elkhart Environmental Center and 88.1 WVPE are hosting some green fun at the 18th annual Enviro-
July 13 Hop on a set of wheels and come to downtown Indianapolis to for a unique opportunity to race the city streets on your bike in the 4th annual Indy Criterium. Rides include an early morning kick-off ride that takes you north through Downtown and Crown Hill Cemetary. Families can enjoy a fun ride at 9 a.m. where participants lap once around the race course and then have an opportunity to continue on a 2 mile long ride along the Indianapolis Cultural Trail. To register for the actual race or any of the other rides, visit indycritride.eventbrite.com.
July 13 Take the family out to the Wabash Riverfest in Tapawingo Park from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and check out all the great activities! Kids can keep busy with pony rides, big bounce house, fishing derby,
educational exhibits and educational games. Balloon Artist Joe White will also be making an appearance - challenge him to make your favorite animal! There will also be canoe races, local food vendors, live entertainment, a cornhole tournament and conservation booths. Fight hunger at the Food Finders Canoe Challenge - fill a canoe with canned foods and non-perishable items. And don’t forget the Riverfest 5k! The 4th annual Riverfest 5k will feature runners and walkers from the entire region as they walk/run along Heritage Trail and through West Lafayette. Visit visitwabashriverfest.com.
MICROBREWERS FESTIVAL BROAD RIPPLE July 20 For the 21 and over crowd, come out to Optimist Park in Broad Ripple between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. for the 17th annual Microbreweries Festival Broad Ripple - Indiana’s largest craft beer event! Cornhole games and beer – what could be a better way to spend a Saturday? There will be both contests and open play of cornhole. Some local favorite microbrewers will be joined by a select group of non-Hoosier guest brewers from around the country with over 300 beers to choose from! A portion of the proceeds go to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Ticket prices vary depending on the type of ticket:
RECYCLEFEST July 27 Held in the MacAllister Amphitheater inside Garfield Park, the inaugural RecycleFest, presented by Indiana Living Green in collaboration with Indy Parks and MOKB. RecycleFest will be an all day festival featuring activities, education, demonstrations, and live music, all while promoting environmentally responsible initiatives. Recyclingbased demonstrations will be a focus, as well as a “recycled fashion” drive and Pattern Magazine will be collecting donated clothing. There will also be plenty of gourmet food options with the Indiana Food Truck Alliance participating. Upcoming bands will provide entertainment as bands perform 40 minute sets, half original music, and half “recycled” music (cover songs). Artists include Darwin Deez, The Main Squeeze, KO, The New Old Cavalry, Hotfox, The Pro Letarians, Rodeo Ruby Love, Blue Moon Revue, and the Bonesetters. Tickets go on sale on Friday, May 3 at 10 a.m. via Do317.com and Ticketfly.com for $15. ILG
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^ ^ submitted photo
Eco destination of the month:
Indiana Dunes
By Laura Fernandez
active blog for more information about the Beyond the Beach Discovery Trail. Here, you can enter your bird sightings in the e-bird log, Tweet about your exciting discoveries along your Beyond the Beach travels, or read the latest entries on culture, nature, history and recreation opportunities along the trail. The Visitor Center is located at 1215 N. State Road 49, Porter, Ind., just north of the Indiana Toll Road and Interstate 94, and just south of Indiana Dunes State Park and U.S. 20.
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and Indiana Dunes State Park are comprised of fifteen thousand acres of beaches, prairies, wetlands, savannahs and forests. This fragile, breathtaking and diverse ecosystem is home to beaches that rank among the top five family beaches in the nation; over 70 miles of hiking and biking trails that go through a landscape of rolling dunes, oak barrens and native prairies. Hiking on the trails that weave through dune woodlands and prairies, you will experience the largest “living” dune in Indiana Dunes National Park, dozens of fishing hotspots and over 350 species of migratory birds. The Beyond the Beach Discovery Trail is a self-guided tour of 60 sites that allows you to set your own route and visit the sites that best fit your interests and timetable. Before you arrive, check out the website to eye the map and plan out your journey. You can also visit the inter20
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SUMMER HOURS: Memorial Day to Labor Day: 8 a.m.- 6 p.m. CST, seven days a week. Off-season Hours: Labor Day to Memorial Day: 8:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. CST, seven days a week. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Local telephone number: 219-926-2255 Toll free number: 800-283-8687 E-mail: info@indianadunes.com Web: indianadunes.com ILG
^ ^ photo courtesy of central indiana land trust
Eco destinations:
Land trusts add acreage By Aiste Manfredini
June’s cover story included an exhaustive accounting of land trust holdings in the state. Since publishing that, we’re pleased learn of even more land preserved for Hoosiers’ enjoyment of nature. The Department of Natural Resources completed the purchase of an addition to Shades State Park in Montgomery County, which is well known for its numerous deep and rugged ravines along the south bank of Sugar Creek. The 359-acre tract features mature second-growth hardwood forest and warm-season grass plantings. Two retired sociology professors from Purdue University recently donated approximately 64 acres to the Central Indiana Land Trust, which works to conserve and protect natural areas that Hoosiers hold dear. Thanks to this generous gift of land, Turtle Bend will soon be open for the public to enjoy in Parke County.
IN-vert by William Saint
See solution in the August issue of Indiana Living Green. See June’s solution on pg. 22. ILG
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THE PANIQuiz
ASK
RENEE
The ApocaDocs’ Pre-Apocalypse News & Info Quiz (PANIQuiz) tests your knowledge of current environmental news. Brought to you by the ApocaDocs, Michael Jensen and Jim Poyser. Check your results (at the bottom), then see www.apocadocs.com to find out more.
Q:
1. What did a study find that compared you We have a having your groceries delivered to you vs. you pack of roof driving your car to the grocery store? shingles __ a. Depends on whether the truck is driven or pushed. that we __ b. Driving yourself is greener. would like to get rid of. __ c. Delivery is greener. __ d. Not eating at all is greenest. Our roof was replaced __ e. It was a wash. with a different color, 2. What is the EU doing about the pesticides so we no longer need thought responsible for bee deaths? these to keep as __ a. Nothing spares. Will someone __ b. Banning them take them to re-use? __ c. Diluting them with wine
Thanks. Julie Hi Julie, Between your seemingly new shingles and the possible damaged shingles (and other housing materials) from recent storms, this question seemed timely. If you have perfectly usable home goods, donate them to a Habitat ReStore. While you’re there, shop around to see if there are any home improvement treasures you need at a fraction of their retail price. Donations and purchases support Habitat for Humanity’s mission to build affordable, decent homes in your community. Thanks to a recent Facebook post by the Johnson County Recycling District, here are some resources for damaged goods: • Shingles can go to White River Recycling, 200 S. Harding Street in Indy. 539-2024 or 1-800-531-6752; • Vinyl siding can go to Exterior Building Products, Inc. 6212 W. Stoner Dr., Greenfield, 317-894-5300. Drop-off bin available 24/7; • Glass windows can go to Strategic Materials, 2550 W. Minnesota St., Indianapolis, IN 46241, Phone: 317484-2550 I’m also loving the programs offered by the Monroe County Indiana Solid Waste Management District. Check out their Materials for the Arts and The Reuse Sidewalk Exchange. Wherever you are, great things are happening – look up the Solid Waste District in your county for similar programs. Piece out, Renee SIGN UP for the Ask Renee newsletter at indianalivinggreen.com 22
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8. Three years after the “chemicals of concern” list was delivered to the White House OMB, what has happened? __ a. The list was only partially approved. __ b. The list was approved completely. __ c. The list dissolved in toxic pollutants and no one can find it. __ d. Nothing __ e. The list was rejected by industry.
9. Why is the Arctic Ocean acidifying so quickly?
__ d. Diluting them with honey __ e. Diluting them with water
__ a. It’s in a hurry to be destroyed. __ b. Ice solidifies the acid, making it less soluble. __ c. Absorption of CO2 increases in cold water. __ d. CO2 is being carried by polar bears. __ e. Ice solidifies the acid, making it more soluble.
3. Cellphones are environmentally damaging. How many mobile subscriptions exist, worldwide?
10. At what rate are aquifer levels in the U.S. dropping?
__ a. 6.8 billion __ b. 6 billion __ c. 5.5 billion __ d. 3 billion __ e. 850,000,000
__ a. They are not dropping at all, worrywart! __ b. “Three times as great as any time during the 20th century.” __ c. What’s an aquifer? __ d. They are not dropping but are contaminated by fracking. __ e. “Twice as great as any time during the 20th century.”
4. What does evidence now prove happened in historic Jamestown? __ a. The colonists created the first rain barrel. __ b. The colonists recycled. __ c. The colonists did not recycle. __ d. The colonists created the first agri-monoculture. __ e. The colonists engaged in cannibalism.
5. What recently disappeared from the EPA website? __ a. The word “Protection” __ b. Lisa Jackson’s bio __ c. Total spill figures for Enbridge pipeline __ d. Keystone XL pipeline comments __ e. Promises from Obama
Correct Answers: 1. (c): Delivery is greener. (University of Washington); 2. (b): Banning them (Reuters); 3. (a): 6.8 billion (International Herald Tribune); 4. (e): The colonists engaged in cannibalism. (Smithsonian Institution); 5. (c): Total spill figures for Enbridge pipeline. (InsideClimate News); 6. (a): Lets each country set its own goals. (Reuters); 7. (e): It leaked radiation. (Detroit Free Press); 8. (d): Nothing (Center for Public Integrity); 9. (c): Absorption of CO2 increases in cold water. (BBC); 10. (b): “Three times as great as any time during the 20th century.” (Reuters)
Got a question for Renee? askrenee@indianalivinggreen.com
JUNE SOLUTION:
6. What does a new, global, US-led plan do about climate change? __ a. Lets each country set its own goals. __ b. Encourages the construction of nuclear plants. __ c. Gives each country a strict limit. __ d. Gives each country “carbon credits,” depending on their emissions. __ e. It encourages a transition to all-renewables.
7. Why was the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan shut down? __ a. It was too old to function. __ b. It blew up, killing thousands. __ c. It was overrun by illegal aliens. __ d. It was accosted by activists. __ e. It leaked radiation. JULY 2013
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