by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France champion, has announced plans for opening a bike shop and commuting center in downtown Austin, TX, in May of this year. It will include bicycle/gear sales, bicycle storage and showers for commuters, a training facility and a cafe. Now you can ride in to work, grab a shower, breakfast and a chat with other riders before continuing to the office (by foot, bus, or pedicab).

Mellow Johnny’s, named for the yellow jersey, is making good-sense use of an existing 1950′s building and it is not just about the bike. Lance acknowledges the importance of encouraging and supporting a cycling culture in growing cities like Austin, “We have to promote (bike) commuting. This can be a hub for that.” Armstrong also promotes the addition of safe roadways for cyclists, positioning the new shop in close proximity to the the Lance Armstrong Bikeway, a path conceived of by a local cycling activist and subsequently funded by the city of Austin, that loops approximately 6 miles through the center of the downtown area.

With the revitalization of urban areas and the move towards mixed-use communities, an accessible mass transit system combined with a commuter bike center and safe bicycle lanes is what every city needs and what an eco-motivated population deserves. And I think many of us are motivated and inspired by new ideas and hope for a liveable and happy future.

And, I’m motivated by heroes like Lance, who, instead of resting on his laurels, is doing what he knows best and doing it for Change. Now I know that I’m riding with the best of them.

This product showed up at Whole Foods Market last week and I almost squealed with joy. You see, in my naive way, I thought we could save billions of gallons of water by simply learning to love our dirty little cars. Waking up is hard to do, but I’ve seen the error of my wishful ways. For the time-being, it seems we like our cars and we like ‘em clean.

Enter the environmentally safe, water-saving, super-effective and easy to use waterless car wash formula. Not a moment too soon. Just spray and wipe. If you don’t believe me, visit the websites, read the testimonials or just check in “down under” – it seems they’ve been using this similar formula there for years.

Now available in the U.S.. In fact, the clean car lover is covered coast to coast by two companies who are in it for all the right reasons. Eco Touch, based in the Northeast, was launched by James Dudra after spending a college semester abroad in drought-sick Australia while the Lucky Earth folks, Jeff and Lisa Peri, on the West Coast, set their sights on eliminating the chemicals used in conventional car washing.

Missions accomplished on both fronts. Now we just have to get it out there. Home washing wastes hundreds of gallons compared to pressurized commercial sprayers, so tell your neighbors, families and friends. Then get the word out to your full-service detailers, car dealerships and municipalities fast. And please, oh please, someone enlighten the well-meaning school-kids, raising money with hoses and buckets at parking lots all over America this Summer!

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

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.

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

It snowed a few inches over the weekend. Temps stayed below freezing for 3 days, giving us a short window of Winter play. My cross-country skis still live with family in MN, so I spent much of the weekend hiking with the dogs and, more noteworthy, on my bicycle.

Yep. I did what I thought I wouldn’t/couldn’t do and rode my bike in 20-something temps – with even a bit of windchill. I dressed well in layers and covered my face. Mittens are always much warmer than gloves but I was able to navigate gears and brakes surprisingly well. I did it – I rode on paved and dirt roads as well as on snowy fields at the farm near me. My Border Collie, Ayla, ran along with me and we stopped to scratch the heads of the cows and mules – well, I scratched, she stared. The sheep are more wary of BC ways, and stayed out of reach.

Why is this worth writing about? Because I have proven to myself that choosing bicycle over car is possible even in colder weather. This is a big deal to me since I’ve been trying to do a green commute more often. If you’ve been feeling wimpy about your green commute in the cold, please be encouraged by my experience. Although I love Winter, I’m always worried about staying warm and was really reluctant to try below freezing bicycle ride. But it worked -

I found there are two useful strategies (besides dressing right):

1. Ride fast to increase body heat.

2. Ride more slowly to decrease the windchill effects on extremities.

#1 works best if you are stopping only when you reach your destination and can go indoors before cooling down and riding slowly works best for pleasure rides where you’ll be taking breaks..

I also discovered that riding on top of snow with knobby tires is a blast.

Bon Iver!

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?

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

Winter has been hard to find lately. Skis, snowboards and ice skates stay stowed away for longer periods of time each year. The mountainous snowbanks that used to still be melting far into a MN spring, now rarely reach a foot or two all year. The shortcut I took across one of the city’s lakes on my x-cross country skis is no longer a safe bet. And now, Winter can’t even seem to find Alaska.

Citing a warming climate and urban sprawl (connection noted), Grist reports that Iditarod officials announced permanent logistical changes in the race course this year, shortening the length and moving the start location 30 miles north – in search of colder temps, less asphalt and more snow.

Other professional Winter sports athletes are having to adjust to warming issues as well. Skiers, skaters and snowboarders are heeding the call to save their careers – and their passion for Winter sport. According to EMagazine, Snowboarders, Gretchen Bleiler, Lindsey Jacobellis joined the cause after experiencing significant and disturbing changes in practice and event conditions all over the world. Five of the original 8 World Cup snowboarding events were canceled last year due to lack of snow and warm temps.

Boston Bruins hockey player, Andrew Ference, wants the entire NHL to go carbon Neutral. He worked with the David Suzuki Foundation, calculating an emissions output of 25 tons of carbon per player during the sports season for flights and accommodations. He and other players now purchase Gold Standard carbon offsets and have made significant changes in their own lives as well – like driving less and recycling more. Similar meetings are happening with 20 other NHL teams while Olympic alpine skier, Kjetil Andre Aamott of Norway, has founded an anti-globalwarming campaign for Olympic athletes.

Lack of snow also has motivated recreational ski resorts to take action and move towards greener – or whiter – mountains. They may have to run snow making machines more, but some are switching to biodiesel fuel while others are purchasing wind power. The Natural Ski Areas Association joined with NRDC’s Keep Winter Cool campaign, supported and promoted by snowboarder, Ross Powers and Alpine ski racer, Picabo Street. Read more about ski areas going green here.

“It’s a lifestyle change.” says Street in EMagazine, who is making changes in her lifestyle on and off the road. “You have to focus on it, and really commit to it.”

Spoken like a true athlete.

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

Morgan Freeman says “Our situation, with global warming and air quality and all of that, has gotten to be catastrophic.” Yet, he also tells us he commutes 1,800 miles in his private 7-seater jet to work in movieland of CA. Nicholas Cage owns 13 homes, Tom Cruise uses and abuses a ton ‘o fuel for 4 jets, while John Travolta travels in his own 5 flying machines, including a Boeing 707 airliner.

None of this is too surprising considering the lifestyles of the in-comprehensively rich and disproportionately famous. But, the denial of reason by many celebrities rarely stops there. Attempt to fathom our own Material Girl, revealed to spend approximately $124,000/year on bottles of water for her family – Kabbalah blessed, of course. At $5/bottle That’s 24,000 bottles annually, or 65 bottles disposed of every day. Recycled or not, that’s a whole lotta plastic.

We can’t complain too much – we’ve fueled the celebrity fire. The good news is that even Hollywooders can grow up and many are joining the green ranks – in style, of course. For better or worse, they have the uncanny ability to influence large numbers of the star-struck masses in endless ways. Thank you, Adrian, Ed and Darryl (and others) who are modeling consciousness as only a movie star can.