by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

I met Lisa Frangipane today, resident/owner at The Flats in Carrboro, and founder of the Todd Street Community Garden. A smaller version of the flourishing spot nearby, which has already seen two bountiful harvests, this happy veggie garden is also lovingly cared for by residents and rain barrels.

Whenever I meet someone who is doing something unusual and interesting, it seems like they are doing even more interesting and unusual things. This holds true for Lisa, a teacher and avid cyclist who also commutes on her beloved two-wheels. I met with Lisa and took these photos just before she left for a Summer in MA, where she will be living off-grid with friends and building a yoga studio.

Lisa was inspired to blog about this adventure. You can catch up with her at Wicked Mad NE

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

We were back in VT this past weekend, making more plans regarding our eventual relocation to Brattleboro. We had to fly again, and yes, I have some eco-conflict over that, but will now stick to visiting one/time per year for an extended period, making the road trip in my Hybrid and not driving when I get there. That’s an Eco-promise.

The local food co-op, located downtown, was once again a source of nourishment during this trip, for both my body and soul. Here’s some highlights:

The first thing we came upon after arriving on Saturday, was The Plastic Monster – a mean-looking, definitely UNgreen man made of plastic bags, standing menacingly at the front door of the Co-op. It spoke a loud and clear message regarding our country’s Death By Plastic. I can imagine  that the patrons who forgot their reusable bags in the car were readily walking back to get them. I’m certain this creative plastic presence will plant more seeds in others. Nice.

A Co-op event on Saturday was Member Appreciation Day, where they served local beef and veggie burgers for a $1 suggested donation – the money collected going to stock local food shelves. Sweet.

On Sunday, we returned for lunch to find a group of enthusiastic and adrenalized women outside the storefront, who had ‘Baked for Obama’ – offering up the homemade treats to passersby, in trade for a donation towards his campaign support. They tirelessly engaged people in conversation, asking and answering questions from all. When Hillary’s name came up, one of the Obama Bakers showed me her Hillary button, now retired under a layer of clothing. Smile.

Strolling past again that afternoon, a creatively designed bicycle parked outside caught my eye. Making a trip for groceries with his small daughter, this industrious dad had left the car at home and pedaled down on this awesome kid-carrying bike/cart. He told me a friend from Oregon makes them. Cool!

In many parking lots throughout town, particularly at schools, there are “No Idling” signs which asked people to tun off their engines when stopped. Ahhhh

On Sunday afternoon, we found a swimming beach secluded along the River, just a short bike ride out of town. Although it was obvious that this is a popular Summer gathering spot, it was clean and free of trash. And the water was warmer than I expected! Double Ahhhhh.

On Sunday evening, we sat overlooking the River with our new VT friends, and enjoyed watching some young Brat Boys below. There, in long shorts and shirtless, they did what young men do…when Summer comes North…and the River runs. Sigh.

Some things just feel right. OM

While visiting Minneapolis and enjoying another local lunch at the neighborhood food co-op, I saw this poster (to the left). It sounded like a great idea – an invitation to view the important and timely Green documentaries with your neighbors, for free! I’d heard of, but had not yet seen these films – End of Suburbia, The Power of Community and Oil on Ice. The name of the contact site, “Coffee Table Productions”, further intrigued me, so I took a look online and then contacted Deb and Doug Pierce, the minds behind this master plan – and around a coffee table.

Deb and Doug, both full-time professionals, have been growing progressive and sustainable ideas into working groups and community events – usually while sitting around a coffee table – for years. Doug is a licensed architect and sustainable design planner with Perkins & Will of Minneapolis, while Deb is an award-winning, published illustrator and graphic designer. Deb found time between their jobs and community efforts to speak with me about Coffee Table Productions. Read on.

Tao: What inspired you to take on environmental and social issues on a grassroots level?

DP: We each grew up in small towns where we could see firsthand the impact an individual or small group could have on a community. It gave us an understanding of the connection we all have with each other and the earth. We each became activists in college and over the years found that advocating for sustainability is a natural tendency, like caring for one’s family.

Tao: In your experience, what most motivates people to “be the change”?

DP: The personal connection with the issue, and believing they can do something that matters. Being able to engage in an authentic message delivered with love, respect and compassion.

Tao: You are currently spearheading an eco-film series in your community.  Why are these films important? Do these films reach the right audience or simply “preach to the choir”?

DP: The films are an excellent source of information and invite dialog. Even informed persons can benefit—we can’t know it all. “Preaching to the choir” isn’t  necessarily a bad thing. Even if those who attend our events are active and/or informed on current issues, my experience has been that they are grateful to see others like themselves. Not only can they teach each other, if they know they are not alone, they can feel more empowered in their work towards creating solutions for all.

Tao: If someone is interested in organizing their own community to take action for environmental and/or social issues, what advice would you give them?

DP: There are many things to consider, but the 3 things I think of immediately are: 1) Begin by focusing on a specific issue or event so you have a common goal and a good place to put your energy. As you grow, you can branch-out into other areas. 2) Know that one cannot separate environmental, social and economic issues, they are intertwined/connected. 3) ALWAYS make time to thank each other and those who have helped you in your efforts. HAVE FUN, the spirit must be nurtured to stay healthy and strong!

There you have it – local activism can begin with “waking up” over a cup of coffee with friends and end with a lot more than a caffeine buzz.

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

If you’re here, you know the many ways that you can save resources, create less trash and use less energy. You will also know that I am a fan of No Impact Man – and last week he offered a list of changes he made over the last year to green his life and the planet. Although he went back to using a refrigerator and washing machine, he found at least 42 green habits that are just too simple to ever give up. I can say I’ve joined him in all of them and yep, they are darn easy. And, as NIM has been reminding us, the best news is that all of it has made me happier and healthier in the process.

Below are a few more resource-saving ideas that I’ve discovered along the way. The best part is that it’s been a kind of thrill to figure out these things and realized how much of it is common- sense-simple. See what you think below

** You can now recycle your cds, dvds, jewel cases, cell phones, electronics, printer cartridges, and videos through Greendisk.com. I just sent in a whole box of dvds and videos for only the cost of a mailing label. They also provide recycling services to businesses with high volume.

** If you use a vacuum cleaner, try reusing the full bag by simply emptying the dust bunnies out the top (put your fingers in and pull). It works fine, is not as icky as it sounds, saves money and resources. Those bags are thick and durable and will go through many uses if you are willing to take this extra step.

** If you use cotton balls, remember to save the stuff that sometimes comes in the top of the vitamin supplement jars.

** When the ink runs out, don’t throw the entire pen away – save the cartridges. You can take them to most office supply stores and purchase or order refills. I collected about 25 in one year and was able to get replacements for most. Same thing for scotch tape! If your local store doesn’t carry refills – encourage them to do so.

** If you have a hole in your sock, try your hand at darning – I’ve rescued a few of my wool pairs. If that doesn’t work, cut off the foot part, make a few stitches to create a thumb space and you have half-gloves.

** Athletic shoes too worn to donate? Recycle them through Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe program or check in with your local powers that be for shoe collection events. Oh, and be sure to take out the laces – they are most likely still usable. There may be Check here for recycling programs for sports shoes.

** Save water by rinsing lightly, but NOT washing recylables until squeaky-clean. It’s on the record – the process handles a percentage of excess “contaminants” just fine.

** Use yogurt-style plastic tubs as planters for spring seedlings or house plants – just poke holes in the bottom.

** Rainy day? Put on rain gear – or a bikini – and wash your car – use a little bio-degradable soap and a rag and let the rain give it a good rinse.

** Clothing that is too worn for donation make great rags, gift wrap, reusable napkins and dishtowels – just get out the scissors.

** A plastic bag dryer is on of the few “gadgets” that is worth its weight in green – I’ve rinsed and reused plastic bags, that hold my vegetables, dozens and dozens of times because this simple design allows them to dry completely and quickly. It works for used plastic wrap or foil as well. Order one here.

I’m sure I’ve missed some things. Please send me your ideas! Thanks and happy greening.

by Tao Oliveto

Solar panels already in place on Town Hall, council members in Woodstock, NY, passed a resolution to become the first American community to become carbon nuetral within a decade (as reported by correspondent, William Kemble on DailyFreeman.com). The resolution, approved unanimously by the Town Board in 2007, will allow a task force to pursue this goals by increasing recycling, implementing green building standards, establishing land-use policies to reduce sprawl, tree-planting for shade, promoting renewable energy sources, such as methane and wind and promoting fuel efficiency with an anti-idling message.

Locals of this forwarding-thinking town will be encouraged – through tax and other incentives – to change light bulbs, drive less, recycle more and improve energy efficiency on homes. Community by community, individuals and groups, it’s a familiar movement that is available to us at this kind of grassroots level.

If it all sounds familiar, take a look back to the revolution of the Sixties. After all, the hippies may have temporarily lost the battle to runaway consumerism, but they got plenty of things right. As Mark Morford points out in his San Francisco Chronicle column,

“All this hot enthusiasm for healing the planet and eating whole foods and avoiding chemicals and working with nature and developing the self? Came from the hippies. Alternative health? Hippies. Green cotton? Hippies. Reclaimed wood? Recycling? Humane treatment of animals? Medical pot? Alternative energy? Natural childbirth? Non-GMO seeds? It came from the granola types (who, of course, absorbed much of it from ancient cultures), from the alternative worldviews, from the underground and the sidelines and from far off the grid…”

Peace and Love (repeat when necessary).

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

Not surprisingly, in public opinion surveys, ‘women express higher levels of environmental concern than men, Riley Dunlap, a professor of sociology at Oklahoma State University’, as reported in NY Times last month. Motherhood can and does stir up feelings about protecting and nurturing offspring, and that includes protecting the environment around them, the food they eat, the air they breathe, their future on the planet.

Granted, things seemed to backslide when mothers decided to trust television commercials before their instincts. Like many kids, I grew up with Tide, Windex, Velveeta and Jello. (More recently and more shocking, I witnessed doting new parents holding a can of Coca-cola to the lips of an infant.)

But moms are waking up and when they talk, the world – and the market – listens. EcoMoms Alliance is a growing organization with 11,000 members from all over the world, dedicated to greening motherly ways and more. Sign on with EcoMoms and you are immediately asked to take 10 First Steps for A Sustainable Future – a challenge which includes changing lightbulbs, changing your driving habits and composting. But don’t expect to stop there. These Earth Mothers talk the walk – from local living, smaller cars, smaller houses, clothing swaps, natural cleaning products and water reuse. The mission is to share, support, teach and learn – not just with each other, but within schools, neighborhoods, communities and beyond.

The organization, founded and led by Kimberly Danek Pinkson, includes an extensive and impressive team, including experts in areas of environmental medicine, waste management, eco-gardening and more. Not just for the SUV-driving soccer moms, the Alliance reaches far and wide with educational outreach programs, campaigns and training for a new generation of women leaders. With celebrity members like Robin Wright Penn and corporate sponsors, Native Energy, Method and Sustainable Websites (to name just a few), EcoMoms Alliance is poised and ready to join the mainstream and be a force for good.

by Tao Oliveto

Some things are so simple.

For instance, clean-up at public urinals is a disproportionate problem in many places. Then someone in Europe decided to strategically place a small drawing of a fly inside the basin as a “target”. The problem decreased by a measurable 80%.

Hmm. This makes me think of the issue of plastic bag use. Years ago, Whole Foods stores started offering a nickel back for bringing your own bag and over a decade, has encouraged approximately 20% of their customers to reuse. Ho Hum. As an new and enthusiastic employee back then, I suggested that charging a nickel for bags instead would be a stronger motivational message and decrease bag use even further, saving waste and the company dollars. I also thought we should sell our reusable canvas bags at cost in compensation for any perceived “inconvenience” to customers. Nobody agreed.

Wouldn’t you know it…a decade later (as reported in Fast Company), Ikea stores in the UK decided to charge their customers 5 cents for every bag they took. Plastic bag use dropped by 90% in less than two years! When the same policy took effect in U.S. stores in Mid-March, 2007, bag use dropped by 50% in less than one year – more than anyone expected. Ikea also dropped the price of their re-usuable bags to 59 cents at checkout – and those sales increased 10 times.

Can green guidelines live happily with customer service and profits? It sure looks that way.

For better or worse, we humans are a predictable bunch – and more willing to Change than marketers realize.

Simple as that.

by Tao Oliveto
Bats are dying in mass numbers in at least 6 states in the Northeast. Reports show 40% dead in 4 caves in New York State alone, predicting a loss of approximately 1/2 million in the region.

A mysterious fungus, showing up on the noses of the dead and dying bats, is thought to be a symptom of what is still an unknown affliction causing the mass extinction. Ten laboratories are working on the issue, studying what could be causing the fungus as well as what appears to be a severe decrease in body fat on the bats which normally provides the warmth and nutrients needed during hibernation.

Since bats migrate hundreds of miles and colonize by the thousands, the disease can and is spreading rapidly. Decreasing populations at this rate is compounded by the fact that female bats give birth to only one pup each year.

Scientists wonder if recently introduced pesticides are contributing to to the the problem, either as a toxin causing illness, depleting immune systems, or by decreasing their natural food supplies. Read this NY Times article for details.

Nobody is yet talking about global warming in this issue, but, as revealed in both West Nile Virus and the tree-eating beetles, it’s bound to link up in some way. I don’t know about you, but I keep hearing Mama Earth saying, “Can you hear me now?”

Bats play a large role in keeping insect populations balanced, protecting crops and people and are an important part of our fragile eco-system. You can help protect bat populations in your area by decreasing light pollution and providing safe nesting sites by hanging bat boxes. In return, they will decrease your populations of bothersome insects. Besides that, you’ll barely notice them as they are clean animals who work the night shift.

I recently purchased a bat box at my local hardware store – a small, affordable, specially-designed box that is easily attached under your roof line or to trees. I’m now thinking of getting a few more. You can read all about bats and bat boxes here.