by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

My leg is getting strong again and I am back on my bike, commuting around town, enjoying the new Spring weather. But, in my exuberance and glee, I found myself tempted to forget that there are rules to the road – and cars are not the only ones who need to follow them.

Like other cyclists, I like to complain about drivers who don’t share the road respectfully or carefully. When I first started riding my bicycle to work in another busier city, I proudly (but also rebelliously) wore a black t-shirt which – in big white letters – said, “ONE LESS CAR”. I just wanted “a little respect” and maybe some admiration, but perhaps should not have been shocked when I instead received a couple drive-by epithets.

Still, it would be nice if there was more communion between cars and bicycles and I think it’s time for cyclists to bear some of the burden. If you ride like I used to, you don’t always stop at signs or lights. You only occasionally signal a turn or lane change. Maybe you hop on and off the sidewalk, or take a shortcut around a corner through a parking lot. All these things may make you feel like a real road warrior, but they also put you and others in danger. And they certainly don’t help the wobbly relationship that already exists between riders and drivers.

Granted, cars kill cyclists, not the other way around, but copping an attitude as a rider won’t move us towards a more bike-friendly world. If you want to brush up on bike safety and etiquette, this is the best source I’ve found. More here on urban cycling. Of course, always wear your helmet, lose the headphones and sacrifice speed for caution.

PS. If you like that t-shirt, it’s still available from the San Francisco Bicycle Coaltion at sfbikes.org.

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

It’s Spring. You know what that means. And I’m not talking about the birds and the bees. I’m talking about lawnmowers, weedwackers and leaf blowers. That insidious noise that drowns out the above mentioned, seems to be endless between March and October, and pollutes more than our ears. Did you know:

Gasoline-powered landscape equpment account for over 5% of our urban air pollution.

Running your lawnmower for 1 hour is equal to driving a new car between 200 and 300 miles from an air pollution standpoint.

And, each year, more than 17 million gallons of fuel are spilled during the refueling of power lawn and garden equipment. (See here for sources.)

Not surprisingly, Mik and Jodi Beetham found the noise and smell of their former NYC home “tame compared to the pollution of traditional lawn equipment used every day here” in the sub-urban areas of NC. So, they did what more and more eco-minded folks are doing – something about it. They started a business called, Green Energy Lawn Care.

I met these two at the Farmer’s Market last weekend, where they were enthusiastically talking about life with lawns. They believe that home/yard-owners should have the option of making a difference in their carbon footprint. Their inclusive yard servicing is powered by battery/electric equipment and small, fuel efficient trucks. They use solar generators for recharging and the carbon they do create is entirely offset by NCGreenPower.

Green Energy Lawn Care is a contributor to the Environmental Defense Fund and the Natural Resources Defense Council. Learn more on their website, or call for a free estimate in the Triangle area at 919-338-2667.

Mik and Jodi should team up with Alix and The Goat Patrol – now there’s a holistic green landscaping idea!

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

We Americans love our luxuries and pampering, especially when it comes to our sorry butts. We use – no,  demand  – fluffy soft toilet paper in every bathroom, and we do so more than any other country. Although the switch to recycled TP seems like one of the no-brainer steps to helping the environment, the demand for thick and soft has prevailed beyond reason, and again, Americans lead the way in this phenomenon. I just have to ask, What gives?

Manufacturing recycled, unbleached paper of all kinds saves trees, water,  and creates less waste. The “required” softness is not available in recycled form since it is the longer fibers from standing trees which create the fluffiness. Although up to 50 percent of the pulp used to make toilet paper for this country comes from tree farms, “the rest comes from old, second-growth forests, some from the last virgin North American forests, an irreplaceable variety of endangered species, environmentalists say.” (NYTimes.com). Losing these trees also means more losing in the fight for the environment, since they are important absorbers of CO2.

The recession may help change our attitudes (though it’s a sad marker for our willingness to do our part in environmental stewardship). Recycled TP costs less and companies themselves may finally begin to move from ‘softer is better’ to a more truthful environmental campaign message.

“Americans use an average of 23.6 rolls per capita a year.” (NYTimes.com). Maybe we’ll all finally get some perspective and stop making trees the butt of this joke.

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

Why do creative people create? Of course, we are all creative and eventually discover the ways we can express our gifts. But some people just can’t stop and it’s a beautiful thing to behold! My co-housing neighbor, Giles Blunden, is one of these people.

His comfortably compact, 800sqft home is a work of wabi-sabi art always in progress. He lives off-grid on solar power with an outdoor shower and has an underground cistern holding thousands of gallons of rainwater captured from the roof. He has no grass lawn, but instead, an artistic array of stones, branch sculptures and wildflowers surrounding the house. He rides a bicycle to work each day, some rainy/windy days with a DIY “windshield” attached, and sometimes accompanied by his wife on what I call the “Green Machine” – a double seater that he has rigged as a extra comfy bicycle built for two.

Recently, our community lost some of our chickens to predators, so we’ve been reluctant to restart a brood, wanting them to have both safety and room to roam. Giles came to the rescue, immediately putting his creative mind to work – you can usually see it on his quietly smiling face. The result is this “Chicken Chapel” – made from fallen branches and soon to be enclosed with a comfy indoor coop inside. It just makes you smile, doesn’t it? (His house is in background, in photo below, on right.)

I consider myself darn lucky to be next to such an inspired, purposeful creator and his work. It’s helping me understand that quote that says, “The opposite of war is not peace, it’s creativity.”

Giles Blunden is a sustainable architect. You can visit his web site at

BlundenStudio.com

By Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

Although I wax and wane like everyone else when it comes to feeling inspired – I mean, truly and unreasonably inspired – but after 2 months of injury and 2 varieties of the flu, I’ve found some. First, there was Back Alley Bikes, giving me back my bicycling groove, and today, the nuns.

Okay, so there’s this convent in Brooklyn…It’s been around for awhile so the nuns are between 50 – 87 years old – or young, I should say, because these women are nothing if not ready to rock and roll with Change – and into a green life. Although it took awhile for the Order to reach consensus when the conversation began a decade earlier, they are now whole-heartedly committed to life on Earth as well as in Heaven.

Where to begin? They belong to the local CSA, they grow food, shop otherwise organically and fair trade, they compost, they sold their van and joined a ride-share and needless to say – waste not, want not. Wait, there’s more. They are looking for a supplier to make their habits out of organic, fair trade cotton and will soon be building an even more green living space – complete with living roof and solar-energy system. Even composting toilets are under consideration.

It’s cold. My leg still hurts and I just got my appetite back after 5 long days. But, I’m inspired and I’m smiling!

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

I didn’t think it would happen, but it did. I haven’t done a bicycle commute since December. No, it’s not only the Winter issue. It started with my thigh injury on December 1st – I couldn’t even consider riding for the first 6 weeks. And I missed it. I mourned each day when I would be driving the 2.5 miles into town, missing the pedaling, the feeling of moving over the ground by my own strength and I especially missed the feeling of belonging to the bicycling community.

I tested out my leg around week 7 – pedaling with my dog, Ayla, around our our old farm route and found out that it felt pretty good. In fact, the therapist assured me that it was a good place to continue my rehabilitation. But, it has been a bit Wintery since then and I admit it – I’ve lost my bicycling groove. I’ve lost the rhythm of “gearing up” and getting on my way. Somehow, it seems daunting at this point and the car keys are just sitting there. Yeah. This is how it happens, I suppose. Denial. Defeat. But in the end, I know I’m missing out – not just on greening my ride, but on the fun. Hmm. Now what?

Then it happened. Last weekend, while wandering around downtown Carrboro, I stumbled upon a bike shop I hadn’t noticed before. There was a hand-painted sign hanging above the window, that said, simply, “Bike Shop”. Needing a spare tube, I wandered in and immediately felt at home. I’m not sure why since the atmosphere fell somewhere between grunge bar and tattoo parlor. But, I sensed art, purpose and a little bit of rebellion at work. As well as the friendly, laid-back attitude that strolled out from the back room to greet me – from behind a door which said “Santa’s Playroom”.

Back Alley Bikes sells, repairs, and custom rebuilds exclusively used bikes. They know their sh*t, they love to ride, they offer great rates and service, they promote conscious-commuting and they don’t need to prove anything to anyone but themselves.

There is a resident dog, some random art-like displays and t-shirts with obviously original designs that looked a lot like this cool image above from their website. When I saw that the shirts themselves came from the fair-trade U.S.-based company, American Apparel, I bought two. I couldn’t resist. I was back. I wanted to gear up and I wanted to ride. And nothing is going to stop me. Thanks Back Alley Bikes – for being the real thing and helping me re-discover the real me.

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

Sadly, I’ve been driving more over the past 6 weeks – you know, the leg thing – I’ll be back on my bike soon, but in the meantime, each time I walk out to the parking lot, I look at the Prius and the Bio-Beetle and wonder which one I should take. (I also remember to be grateful for the fact that I’m lucky enough to have the choice.)

As a member of Piedmont Biofuels, I’m a supporter of local fuel production, mostly from used oils, so I’ve got that issue out of the way. But it’s been cold enough here to mean our B100 had to be mixed to a B80, so am I still in the carbon emmissions “black” with the Bug? Umbra’s recent column on Grist was really helpful since she, coincindentally, chose to compare the carbon footprint of a Prius and a used Diesel VW Beetle here. It looks like the Biodiesel still comes out on top, but….

Except for one 30 mile drive to Raleigh each week, I am usually driving only about 3 miles each way for my other work and activities (which is why I can easily ride my bike). Since most of the emissions are released in the first minutes of a car warming up, am I still best to skip the Prius?

Ok, am I nitpicking? I could be sounding like one of those extremists. Really, I’m not. If I was, I would be jumping on the bus instead of driving more during my recovery. But, man, the bus still requires a mile walk to and from the stop with lots of bags to carry and well, this limp is making me nuts right now. See, I’m darn human and not so happy about it.

That was a bit of a tangent. The real news is that bio-diesel is becoming more available, more popular and more local. Consider your driving options AFTER you consider driving less. And if you’re into the numbers of both cost and emissions, it can be pretty interesting. Here’s another post on the matter here.

Happy Friday. Happy Winter. Stay warm, Stay green as you can. Tao

Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

“Endure” is a word that has a lot of meaning and a lot of negative connotations. But, since my experience with the horses last week, I’ve realized that somehow and for many yet unknown reasons, I’ve been meant to “endure” the physical and emotional pain from my injury. In general, I’m learning about myself, about acceptance, about will, balance…it’s growth. Specifically? Well, it’s slowly beginning to show up…Not coincidentally, I’m certain, I then read a post on NoImpactMan, by Sean Sakamoto, who blogs at idratherbe.tv/injapan. He wrote about his experience this Winter, living in rural Japan without heat, this way:

“It is what the Japanese call “Gaman.” It means “endure,” or “tolerate” but there’s more to it than that. It ascribes value to enduring something difficult. To Gaman is a principle, its a virtue. It’s a cross between hanging in there and fighting the good fight.”

This makes me think of so many things beside my “poor me, my leg hurts” experience. What about the ways we are changing our earth/resource depleting lifestyles to become less tethered to luxury and convenience and to learn what we really “need” vs what we think we really “want” ??? Walking/cycling short distances instead of driving, turning out the lights, cutting down on industrial meat consumption, choosing reusables instead of disposables – they may feel like a lesson in enduring as we begin. But what happens next? Sean, who is not just turning down the heat, but using quilts and hot water bottles in place of it, really should have the last word here today:

“There are times when gaman is a pain. Sometimes enduring hardship as a virtue when the situation could just as easily be made more comfortable seems nuts. But as a cultural value, doing your best and enduring hardship is refreshing….The connection between comfort, consumption, and happiness seems to be more tenuous than I once thought. Here I am in Japan, my fear of a heatless winter come true, and I’m happier than I’ve been in years.”

Thanks for sharing your experience, growth and wisdom, Sean. And Namaste,

Tao