by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

Change Changes.

I’ve been looking for a car that I can run on local bio-diesel. I found and almost purchased an old (1983) Mercedes – a beauty – on Craig’s List a few weeks back – which excited me beyond all reason (it had 265,000 miles on it for one thing). In the tell-tale ending, the owner decided/realized he couldn’t give “her” up. Going local-biodiesel does that to folks.

I remember the joy of purchasing our Prius Hybrid car in 2004. I fell into eco-love – that feeling of doing it right – of “being the change”. There was even a day shortly afterwards when I found myself transporting 4 Buddhist Monks to my yoga studio (it’s a good story, really) in that then-new car, feeling nothing if not karma-rich and snapshot ready. Fours years later, I’m no longer feeling like quite the eco-hero.

For better or worse, change keeps changing and the feeling of wanting to do more keeps growing. It’s a good sign, I think – to not give in to complacency. We have a lot to do and the abundance of new ideas and innovations is indeed my source of motivation and hope for the future. The more you do, the more you’ll find you can do – that’s the fun part, really.

So, both Jerry and I kept searching for an older car we could run on bio-fuel and within a couple weeks, came across a used VW Beetle. It just arrived from Alabama last week. We’re excited about joining the local bio-diesel co-ops, Piedmont Biofuels, and another smaller operation in town where you put it some sweat equity each week making the fuel. Don’t panic, this is not a requirement in most cases. I chose to include this option because I’m actually looking forward to learning about the process. We’ve also got a friendly little community in my area and many people are offering helpful advice regarding all I need to know to be a bio-driver, including where my bio-fuel comes from. (Now, this feels good – maybe not as eco-good as being on a bicycle instead of in a car, but pretty darn close!)

You never know, maybe I’ll come across those monks again.

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

Carol Moseley Braun learned a thing or two from her political career – much of it in regards to the problems with with farm policy. As a former Senator, Ambassador and presidential candidate, Braun calls the current farm subsidies, “hideous” and advocated more practical assistance for farmers wanting to transition to organic growing and other programs that would put healthier foods in communities and schools. An advocate of the teachings of Rudolf Steiner and Adelle Davis, Braun is still walking the talk.

In a recent interview in Grist, Braun’s post-political endeavors supports biodynamic farming – “the most sustainable farming model in the world.” Biodynamics is more than “organic”. It uses methods which optimize the health value of food and the land it comes from. “Bios” means life and “dynamis” means energy – meaning biodynamic farming refers to working with the energies which create and maintain life.

In 2002, Braun founded Good Food Organics, a parent company to Ambassador Organics, a line of coffees, teas and spices now being carried in Whole Foods Markets and other health food stores. As the first company to market the benefits of biodynamic farming, she hopes it build a constituency and serve as a “point of reference” for people in choosing best quality for best health. Braun hopes to expand her product to “real food” and to make it more accessible to lower income communities.

For more on the methods and benefits of biodynamic farming, enjoy this contribution from friend and nutrition counselor, Greg, below:

by Greg Gillette, Asheville, NC

Biodynamic farming is the most comprehensive, holistic approach to working with the land. It encompasses the Earth, stars, planets, animals and humans working together to bring forth a truly self-sustaining living farm. It is far more than organic farming. Biodynamic agriculture is an ongoing, living path of knowledge rather than an assemblage of methods and techniques.

Many wonderful methods are utilized on a biodynamic farm, such as: integration of crops and livestock, crop rotations, comprehensive composting, planting and harvesting to the cycles of the moon, sun, planets, and stars, using livestock manure as fertilizer, feeding the livestock from the crops, careful observations of nature, and the use of special Biodynamic preparations, which consist of naturally occurring plant and animal materials that are combined in specific recipes in certain seasons of the year, and then placed in compost piles. These preparations bear concentrated forces within them and are used to organize the chaotic elements within the compost piles. When the process is complete, the resulting preparations are medicines for the Earth, which draw new life forces from the cosmos.

Biodynamic agriculture is a part of Anthroposophy, which was founded by Rudolf Steiner. Anthroposophy is a spiritual scientific approach to life, which integrates precise observation of natural phenomena, clear thinking, knowledge of the spirit, and our connectedness with each other, the Earth, the Cosmos, and the spiritual world.

Contact Greg Gillette at dancegreg@yahoo.com

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

If you’ve been chosen to Step It Up, Keep Winter Cool, Buy Less Stuff, Flick Off, take the Nature Challenge or, just get sane by consuming less in your own way, you will very soon notice something wonderful happening right in front of your eyes…

You will be creating less trash – a lot less. The good news for you is that you will spend less money, fill far less trash bags and spend less time carrying stuff to the curb, dumpster or recycling bins.

The bad news is that it will hit you – hard – just how much trash you created and sent to the landfill in the first place. Ouch. Yeah. As I’ve said before, the truth sometimes hurts.

Once you recover from this trash-truth, you’ll be able to enjoy the fact that you’ve taken an important step towards a less chaotic, materialistic lifestyle and moved towards more simplicity, happiness and sustainability. Share your revelation with friends and family. You could even flaunt your trash-less state in front of neighbors. You will smile because you are being the Change.

In the U.S. today, we (residents, businesses and municipal facilities) dispose of 251 million tons of trash per year or, 4.6 pounds per person per day. Even more shocking is that as much as 82% of what ends up in landfills in this country could easily be composted or recycled. Below are approximate percentages of landfill materials:

34% paper

14% yard trimmings

12% food

11.7% plastic

5% metals

5% glass.

Currently only 32.5% (of 82%) of this material is recovered for recycling or composting. The remaining 20-something percent of materials in the landfills is wood, rubber, textiles, some of which could be recycled as well.

If just 1 million people cut down their trash by 10%, we could reduce our yearly CO2 emissions by as much as 50,000 tons. PEOPLE WHO TRASH LESS HAVE MORE FUN

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

There’s a productively firey debate going on over bio-diesel – even among the local users who are questioning the inclusion of animal fats in the waste oil blends. Vegans and others are concerned over the possibility of financially supporting the conventional meat-producing industries (who, as we know, practice toxic and cruel methods of farming and slaughter) by purchasing bio-diesel fuel.

As a soon-to-be member in our local bio-diesel co-op at Piedmont Biofuels. and environmental and animal rights activist, I want to know the facts. Below are excerpts from letters recently published in our local Indy, in response to this brief article on Piedmont Biofuels. It is worth reading the entire letters if you can – they frame the debate well.

Letter: “The use of animal feedstocks financially aids the producers of them by providing one more revenue stream, allowing them to avoid disposal costs—whether it is the main item produced or incidental to the production of some other. If you purchase a product, you support its production. ” Read More

Portion of response: “Poultry farmers have been getting paid for their poultry fat for years, this is not a new revenue stream for them created by biodiesel demand. Poultry fat gets fed to cattle, swine, and poultry, and turned into cosmetics among other uses. Small scale biodiesel producers, who are offering an alternative to petroleum, are trying to stay commercially viable by utilizing the feedstocks that are most cost effective; these usually end up being ones that are found closest to home.” Read more

This shows, once again, that there are no uptopian answers to consumption issues and that we should all stay open and informed from all angles when making lifestyle choices.

My bottom line on Bio-diesel? Though it’s preferrable to recycle and reuse our waste products (of any kind), it’s more important to remember that this does not take away the need to REDUCE OVERALL CONSUMPTION. I’m not switching to bio-diesel so that I can wile away the miles in a car with a little less guilt. I’m still going to choose walking, bicycling and mass transit when possible and overall, drive less.

Bio-fuels are an encouraging concept for all countries, but reverting back to a mass-production mentality could land us back in utopia-minded pergatory. By producing bio-fuel from industrialized GMO corn soy or sugar cane, you have taken one step forward and another back. Mass-produced fuels from any source, come with their own set of problems, including the overuse of resources, fertilizers/pesticides, deforestation, soil degradation, soot, or displacement of native plants or wildlife.

When you’re talking bio-diesel fuels as a sustainable and low pollution solution to energy consumption, local – once again – leads the way. Although experimental cellulose ethanol, made from native switchgrass, slash and agricultural bi-products, can produce a bonus in clean energy – they can store excess CO2 in their roots and the surrounding soil, reducing global-warming gases by as much as 90.9% – mass production could cause logging slashes and destruction of wildlife habitats. In truth, it will take a combination of conservation and sustainable fuel production to derail what could be nature’s – or at least, our own, demise.

In my area, we have bio-diesel plants making fuel from local waste oils, the majority of it from plant-sources. Any fuel production takes equipment and resources, but locally-produced bio-fuels can provide us with the most sustainable source of fuel yet available. Its production recycles a material that would otherwise be discarded and a DIY version is affordable and accessible to those willing to do the work. Widespread use of local used cooking grease bio-fuel would require little land use and could reduce global-warming gases as much as 75.6%.

Do you hear the quiet but persistent voice underneath all the debate? “Think globally, act/produce/buy locally…” There’s environmental and economical promise in the right blend of local and sustainable production of fuel, food and all other consumables. For a thorough and concise comparison on the available sources of bio-diesel, go to Sierra Magazine.

Community + Diversity = Sustainability. Are you bio-ready?

Money or, more accurately, saving money, influences everything we buy or even think about buying, often with no relation to income level. More often, with little to no consideration for the cost to our lives, the lives of others and the environment.

Price (dollars and cents) vs Cost (quality). There’s a lot to consider. And nothing demonstrates this as readily as the process of greening our lives. In my experience, “saving money” is the most common objection to buying organic food or clothing, fair trade products or local goods from independent stores.

I was raised with the same misplaced values – get it on sale, make sure it’s a bargain was the house rule. My mother spent hours every Sunday clipping coupons. Consequently, as I grew up and left home, I moved into green thinking far before my budget did. I knew better but still resisted buying smart (instead of cheap) initially – doing the calculations and then rationalizing my way back into some cheaper, conventional purchase. And I noticed two things. First, I did save money – but just a little. Second, in the end, it didn’t feel so great to save that money, whether it was on food, furniture, clothes or hardware.

As Jerry always reminds me, “the truth shall aulde” (be revealed) and that’s what happened to me, I suppose. What I saved in dollars, I lost in quality, integrity and  satisfaction. Instead, I was sometimes left with a haunting feeling of selling out, of being “part of the problem”. It wasn’t exactly guilt, more like a feeling of baffling disappointment.

So, I sucked it up. I made new commitments in my shopping habits. Sometimes it meant a creative balancing act with my checkbook, but one that was simpler than I expected. I bought in bulk, stayed away from packaged food and cut back on soy lattes at the coffee house as well as video rentals. I’ve since found many other ways to cut out unnecessary spending – for instance, I now make my own toothpaste and cleaning supplies. The end result? I eat healthier, drink less caffeine and read more books. It feels good to shop consciously and I haven’t subjected myself to a mall in almost 10 years.

One friend accepted my challenge to make the switch to organic food. After doing the math, she was surprised to find out that she actually spent the same or less overall, attributing it to the fact that she didn’t as readily give in to junk food impulses or extra quantities that often were wasted.

Used or new? Big or small? Independent or Corporate? Name brand or generic? Sweatshop produced or Fair Trade? Organic or conventional? Choosing wisely makes what you save in dollars pale in comparison to what you save for:

1. Your/Our planet

2. Your/Our health

3. Your/Our happiness

3. Your/Our future

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

Along with several others, I have this sticker on my bicycle…I picked it up at my local cycle shop – I liked it since I had recently decided to drive a lot less and start getting to work and around town by bicycle and yes, I thought of it as a responsible action.

Yet, It wasn’t until the other day that I realized the history behind this specific design. Look again at the drawing – a hand on the heart – this is a “pledge of allegiance” to a nation – a direct reference to a time in our country when citizens were asked to give and make changes – to sacrifice convenience and luxury for patriotism and a common good. These days, with the exception of some displaced flag waving, does the average citizen really feel a sense of duty to home and country, let alone the planet?

I learned a lot more about this time in history when reading an issue of Sierra Magazine and came upon an interesting and moving article by Mike Davis, Home-Front Ecology, siting historical evidence from the 1940′s WWII era, that citizens can and did work together and make sacrifices in the name of duty and an “economy of conservation”.Gasoline rationing didn’t bring rioting, but voluntary car-sharing and less driving and a return to commuting and recreating by bicycle, celebrations and advertisement of the patriotic advantages of traveling on two wheels. It truly was “My duty to ride.” The auto, by comparison, lost it’s luster with slogans like, “When you ride ALONE, you ride with Hitler!” Nothing like the naked truth to get people moving.

During this time, at the government’s urging, children participated in urban gardens while parents borrowed their bicycles to get to work. These Victory Gardens produced 30 – 40% of the nation’s vegetables, while the farmers fed soldiers. The Office of Civilian Defense, sponsored the “rational consumption” movement, encouraging a new mindset by any standard, “buy only for need”. There were size limits on new home construction and existing large homes and mansions were even used for communal living. The message sound familiar, but the response, very different at this point.

Although campaigns are today being waged at a grassroots level, governing bodies are strangely mute and participation is nothing to write home about. All of these efforts would go a long way in protecting our country, helping to end the war and save planet. What has changed so drastically 50 or so years later? After all, our country is, once again, at war. There are huge deficits accumulating of money, resources – and of hope. Even mainstream media no longer keeps secrets in regards to our dying environment.

Where now is the sacrifice, the willingness to do the work? Where are the leaders who can assist us in mobilizing for a common good, patriotic or otherwise? When will government learn to actually govern with conviction and reason instead of catering to industry and money-driven prospects?

The time is ripe. Despite evidence to the contrary – I believe most Americans are ready and even waiting for a way to fill a void of meaning and purpose in our lives as well as a way to face our fears of the future head on – to answer a call to duty. While we can keep pushing the iceberg towards change with our individual efforts and commitments, it will take leadership to motivate the masses and conscious governing to turn back the wheels of industrial nihilism and unsustainable consumerism. Bring it on.

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

I’ve been raving about the eggs I’ve been getting from my CSA, my co-housing community and the Farmer’s Market. I know they are better because they look different – beautifully and variable colored shells, the yolks are a rich, dark gold – and they taste better. That part is somewhat indescribable. Words like – real, rich, smooth, fresh and more, come to mind. The dogs, who would not eat any conventional egg shells I tried to add to their food, enthusiastically gobble up the local version. I happily pay around $3.00/carton for these beauties. I’m getting more than my money’s worth.

The results are in. Mother Earth News Egg Testing Project announced that eggs from organically and naturally fed, free-range hens are nutritionally superior to industrialized chicken farms which deprive chickens of natural food, light or living conditions and administer hormones, antibiotics, and use pesticides. I’ll bet you didn’t know there have been at least 8 studies done of this nature since 1978, showing similar results. The FDA may have had something to do with that.

According to the study of 2007, “real free-range eggs contain as much as:

1/3 less cholesterol, 1/4 less saturated fat, 2/3 more vitamin A, 2 times more omega 3 essential fatty acids, 3 times more vitamin E and 7 times more beta carotene.

USDA labeling regarding the definition of “free-range” is yet unclear, allowing large, conventional producers to mislead consumers about the actual farming practices being used. And, if you think turkeys have it bad, it’s equal or worse for the masses of chickens raised and slaughtered in horrific conditions.

If you don’t have access to a Farmer’s Market, research your community’s CSA groups. Even metropolitan cities like Minneapolis have them. Talk to your grocer and ask about his egg suppliers.

Is the value of our food and planet in our hands as consumers? Eggs-actly.