Indiana Living Green - January/February 2012

A fresh new look

Writers from across the state

New features, including interactive quiz and advice column

Comic strip by Bloomington’s Joe Lee

Green Marketplace classifi ed section

Newly designed, interactive website

Now on stands 1st of every month

TURNS A NEW LEAF THIS MARCH

IndianaLivingGreen.comSO FRESH & SO GREEN

March 2012

I N D I A N A L I V I N G G R E E N

P U B L I S H E R Kevin McKinney [email protected]

E D I T O R Jim [email protected]

• • •E D I T O R I A L A S S I S TA N T S

Alexis Boxer (West Lafayette)Jaclyn Goldsborough (Fort Wayne)Christina Kratzner (Bloomington)

Liz Nolan (Columbus)Jennifer Troemner (Indianapolis)

Want to be on the ILG team? Email Jim!• • •

C O N T R I B U T O R SThe ApocaDocs, Alexis Boxer, Kim Ferraro, Madi Hirschland, K.O. Jackson, Shelby Kelley,

Joe Lee, Mark Lee, Betsy Sheldon,Maria Smietana, Renee Sweany,

Julianna Thibodeaux• • •

indianalivinggreen.comTristan Schmid

[email protected]. Zmina

[email protected]• • •

S A L E S & M A R K E T I N GRobert Barnes

[email protected] Morgan

[email protected] Guidotti


D I S T R I B U T I O N Christa Phelps

[email protected] Powell

• • •A D M I N

Kathy Flahavinkfl [email protected]

Susie [email protected]

Phone number: 317-254-2409• • •

G R A P H I C D E S I G N Paul Wilson, Wilson Design, LLC


T O S U B S C R I B Eindianalivinggreen.com/subscribe

ON THE COVER: Illustration by Shelby Kelley

IN THIS ISSUE: We are unveiling some new products you’ll begin to see each issue, including Ask Renee, a green advice column by longtime ILG contributor Re-nee Sweany and Life is an Egg by Bloomington-based cartoonist, Joe Lee. In March, ILG will be re-designed and published monthly.

Indiana Living Green 4 JAN/FEB 2012 3

F E A T U R E S

• Play It Green: the Greening of the Super Bowl . . . . . . . . . . . 10

• God + Green . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

D E P A R T M E N T S

• Doom & Bloom with Editor Jim Poyser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

• Ask Renee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

• Watts and Whatnot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

• Hoosier Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

• The PANIQuiz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

• The Last Row . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

• Life is an Egg by Joe Lee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 2

C O N T E N T SC O N T E N T S• • • • • •

• • •Indiana Living Green is printed on 100% post-consumer

recycled paper. Published by NUVO, Inc.

F R O M T H E E D I T O R , J I M P O Y S E R

D O O MD O O M & B L O O MB L O O M• • • • • •

Year of the Apocalypse Welcome to the last year of the world-as-you-know-it. On 12/21/2012, Something Signifi cant will happen — if we believe the fore-tellers, some kind of Apocalypse. Depending on your preferred sooth-sayer, the Something Signifi cant will be nuclear war or the arrival of aliens or The Rapture. I don’t believe in the Apocalypse as some mystical phenomenon. For

me, the Mother-of-All-Disasters we’re approaching is already happening: the wholesale wrecking of our habitat through mindless consumerism, toxic pollution and greenhouse gasses growing out of control. Still, it is a little creepy when you read about those ancient Apocalyptic predications. For example, in October, I was in Miami for an environ-mental journalism conference. As I was wandering through the city at night, one too many mojitos under my proverbial belt, I encountered a screening of Koyannisqatsi, massively projected on the side of an arts facility. People were gathered, sprawled on blankets, sitting in folding chairs and watching Godfrey Reggio’s 1982 hypnotic meditation on the sprawl of humanity and its technology, with that infectious (or you might think, annoying) Phillip Glass soundtrack. What I did not recall from earlier viewings of the fi lm were the three Hopi prophecies at the end:

1) If we dig precious things from the land, we will invite disaster. 2) Near the day of Purifi cation, there will be cobwebs spun back and forth in the sky. 3) A container of ashes might one day be thrown from the sky, which could burn the land and boil the oceans.

Whoa, dude, I thought, that is pretty right on. Prophecy number 1 is fo’ sho’ our fossil fuel foolishness pulling coal and oil and natural gas and rare metals from the earth. And the “cobwebs” thing …? hellooo, wi-fi ! The third one is also easy to interpret: industry of all kinds, especially coal-fi red plants and tsunamied nuclear reactors, burning the land and creating an acidifi ed ocean. These predictions are untold generations old. How’d the Hopi know we’d be faced with such global-scale challenges here at the dawn of the Age of Aquarius — or as the Hopi

would put it, the Fifth World? No wonder there’s such hype around change right now, a sense that we are at a massive, collective pivot point in the development of human evolution. My theory is this, and I’m sticking to it: On 12/21/12 we will come to the end of this stage of time — the time of igno-rance, of mindless consumption, of disconnection to nature. On that date, we’ll hit the tipping point where more people will get it than people who don’t: just that many more people will understand what we’ve done to the planet and what needs to be done to reconnect to nature, to ourselves. Apocalypse? Shmapocalypse. I say bring it on. So. In honor of the Year of the Apocalypse, Indiana Living Green, along with the Writers’ Center of Indiana (indianaw-riters.org), is announcing a poetry contest. Not just any poetry contest, but a contest with a theme: the Apocalypse. Here’s the deal. You must write your poem in the style of James Whitcomb Riley. That’s right, the Hoosier Poet himself. Write in the dialect, keep to the form and rhyme about the Apocalypse, with an Indiana angle. Send your submissions (limit two) to [email protected]. The winner gets $250. We will print any we think are decent or hilarious. Deadline: Oct. 1, 2012; we’ll announce — and print — the winner (and many of the non-winners) in December, of course, just in time for the End Times. 4

— Jim • [email protected]

4 ONLINE AT: IndianaLivingGreen.com

Wth1wteDsbo

ame the Mother of All Dis

Phot

o by

Dav

id Y

osha


What is the best way to recycle/reuse kitty litter? According to my dogs, Miles and Fritz, the best way to recycle/reuse kitty litter is as a bedtime snack. Since that is disgusting, it’s not what I recommend. Unfortunately, there’s no good way to actually reuse the shi — I mean, stuff — so you may want to focus your efforts on fi nding the most eco-friendly litter instead. There are a lot of different kinds out there, using everything from recycled newspapers to corn. I prefer the corn-based products since I like scoopable/clumping litter. Though it gets mixed reviews online, my favorite is Arm & Hammer Essentials. They use discarded corncobs,

rather than taking corn from our food stream. Some things to think about when it comes to disposing of litter:

• “Biodegradable” doesn’t matter here in Indianapolis. Residential trash goes to an incinera-tor, so don’t console yourself by thinking it will just magically disappear in a landfi ll.

• Flushable isn’t any better. Our wastewater treatment plants in the city can only handle so much. On a rainy day, a lot of our sewage overfl ows into our waterways. A bluegill that eats kitty litter does not a catfi sh make.

Here’s a thought on making your poo scooping a bit greener. Instead of using trash bags to hold your waste until it makes its way to the curb, re-use the plastic bag that the litter came in. If you’re even thinking about saying, “Well, I re-use the plastic grocery bags I get at the store. That’s green, right?” NO! Since you’re using reusable bags for your grocery shopping, you shouldn’t have any of those pesky plastic bags in the fi rst place!

How does one go about shopping green on a budget? Green does not always mean expensive. Sure, organic bananas often cost about 20-cents more per lb. But there are plenty of budget- and eco-friendly shopportunities out there. Here are some of my faves:

• Shop in bulk. I’m not talking about buying a 20lb. jar of pickles (unless you’re into that). Many stores (typically health food stores where many people often think things cost more) have bulk bins where you can buy as much or as little as you need. Only need 1 cup of fl our for a recipe? Only buy 1 cup. Want enough sesame sticks to last for two-weeks-worth of snack breaks? Fill up a whole bag! Recently I re-stocked eight jars from our spice rack and I spent less than $5. Eight pre-packaged spices would have cost more than $40! How is this green, you ask? Duh. Bring your own containers for the bulk section. Anything from paper sacks, cotton bags, glass jars or baggies – the person at the register can get a tare weight and you only pay for what you put inside.

• Bring reusable bags. This one is a no-brainer. You can fi t more in them. You don’t end up with a wad of plastic under your sink. And many stores offer a 5-cent credit on your bill.

• Ride your bike to the store. Before you look at me like I’m crazy, I’d just like to point out that riding your bike probably means that: you’ll only buy what you need at the moment (spend less on food); you won’t be driving your car (spend less on gas); and you’ll get great exercise (spend less on a gym). Hey, you asked. 4

Got a “green” question for Renee? Send to [email protected]

Wk

rwro

rlifa

B Y R E N E E S W E A N Y

A S K R E N E EA S K R E N E E• • • • • •Ph

oto

by S

teph

en S

imon

etto

Energy prices are rising Solar prices are falling…

Time to take control of your energy costs now with solar solutions for your home or business

from MPI Solar

Contact us today to fi nd out how you can control

your monthly energy costs, save money and improve our environment with :

· Solar PV for electricity ·

· Solar hot water ·

· Solar attic fans ·

· Solar lighting ·

· Solar hot air ·

· Solar Wall ·

Indy’s OriginalIndy’s OriginalHealth Food StoreHealth Food Store

Indy’s OriginalIndy’s OriginalHealth Food StoreHealth Food Store

Tremedous Selection of Organic, Local & Fair-Trade

Products

Local, Family-Owned & Independent for 4 decades

Huge Variety of Vitamins & Supplements at Discount Prices

Bulk Herbs, Spices, Coff ees, Teas & Foods

Open 7 Days a Week!

317-253-3709www.good-earth.com

6350 Guilford Ave. 46220

The CityBus offi ces, located in downtown Lafayette, are now powered by three onsite wind turbines, which someday could be used to help power their vehicles. Even at a time when many industries are suffering, CityBus has found that,

though there was a slight dip during the hardest moments of recession, they are expecting to have the highest ridership in their history, with over fi ve million rides this year. “The green message resonates here,” Metzinger said. “We are seeing people choosing to leave the car at home and take the bus to work and class.” Being one of the fi rst in Indiana to embrace sustainability and invest in hybrid technology has proven benefi cial as CityBus has worked

with Purdue University and the Indiana Transportation Association (ITA), making them a leader among Indiana public transit agencies. Metzinger added: “Being a member of ITA allows us to share best practices and create close associations but also allows us to learn from each other.” When asked if they have seen fi nancial savings from these initiatives, Metzinger replied, “This is a new pro-gram and the project hasn’t come full circle yet. But this isn’t why we are doing it. We made this commitment because being a good steward and protecting the environ-ment is the right thing to do.” Editor’s note: At press time for this issue, we learned of “greening the fl eet” news in Indianapolis: The U.S. Depart-ment of Energy’s Clean Cities program and the Indiana Offi ce of Energy Development gave $318,300 to the city to retrofi t eight trucks to run on propane, which they said costs an aver-age of $2.50 per gallon. This will result in a 24 percent reduc-tion in the vehicles’ carbon emissions with 90 percent of the effi ciency of unleaded gasoline. The money will also be used to underwrite the purchase of 25 2011 Ford Fusion Hybrids to replace older and less-effi cient Crown Victorias as well as the conversion of 11 vans to bi-fuel propane systems. 4


Conservation Day at the Statehouse Mark your calendars, folks! On Jan. 24, the Indiana Statehouse will be hosting Conservation Day, where Hoosiers will have a chance to talk to our legislators and let

WattsWattsthem know how we feel about conserving natural resources and our environment. Conservation Day is also a chance to get in touch with the conservation organizations all over Indi-ana. Registration starts at 10 a.m. in the North Atrium of the Statehouse, and the event will run until 1:30 p.m. Grab your friends, your questions and concerns, and head downtown to show the people running our state how much it means to us. For more, see indianalivinggreen.com.

a n d

whatnotwhatnot

Get on the (green) busB Y A L E X I S B O X E R

Indiana isn’t known as a state with many alternative transportation options, nor is it known for supporting renewable energy projects, especially during a recession. It’s no easy task to get people out of their cars and onto buses, but during a time of rising cost for fuel and fi nancial insecurity, one local transit authority has seen over-whelming support for its alternative transportation initiatives. Lafayette CityBus has undertaken the task of greening its fl eet and incorporating sus-tainability into its mission and values. In 2007, CityBus made the decision to transition part of their fl eet to diesel-electric hybrid buses, bringing the number of hybrid buses up to 20 out of their collection of 70. This helped CityBus with their image and mission to ‘go green,’ but also led to new jobs created in Indiana by partnering with businesses such as Allison Transmission and Cummins Engine. “The engines and transmissions were all made in Indiana,” said John Metzinger, Manager of Development at CityBus. “Reducing fuel consumption and emissions is important, but we also know it’s politically important to create jobs.” The new buses run with a combination of diesel fuel and a 900 volt battery affi xed to the roof, which powers the initial acceleration of the bus and is recharged by the forward momentum of the vehicle. In 2009 as a part of the federal stimulus package, the federal government launched a program called TIGGER (Transit Investments in Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduc-tion) to spur innovation and investments in clean energy projects in transportation. CityBus applied for a grant and was chosen as one of 43 programs in the U.S. to receive funding. They were awarded $1.8 million and set to work improving infrastructure, investing in clean energy for their offi ces and increasing the capacity of their fl eet.

More than corn in them thar biofuels In our country’s effort to get out of our oil-dependent rut, we fi rst turned to over-subsidized corn megaliths to provide for all our ethanol needs, which caused a whole mess of other problems. This time around, the fed-

eral government is doing what every country boy and stock-broker knows best: starting to diversify. A new program will support research and production of biofuels that don’t come from corn kernel starch, and that’s getting more than 157 bio-fuel producing companies thinking outside the bushel. Instead they’re looking into food and yard waste, landfi ll gasses and crop residue. On top of helping us quit foreign oil, switching to sustainable biofuels will trim our greenhouse emissions and let us recycle mountains of waste into earth-friendly solutions. insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?ID=50538 4

The Biggest Loser: Energy Effi ciency Edition The applications are in and the Community Conservation Chal-lenge (CCC) is ready to begin! The CCC has nearly $1 million in federal grant funding ready to pass out to the selected projects, all of them run for Hoosiers by Hoosiers, who had

to fi nd ways to improve energy effi ciency with the help and support of the communities around them. Of the 77 organiza-tions who ran the gambit, four caught the eye of the CCC: LOGAN Community Resources, Inc, and its efforts to revamp its South Bend facility; The Affordable Housing Corporation of Marion’s project to weatherize and reduce the energy costs of 100 homeowners; Monroe County’s work to greenify a county-owned building and monitor the energy output of three county schools; and e-biofuels, which will retrofi t its boilers for higher energy effi ciency. Find out more at energy.in.gov, or follow progress on twitter @IndianaEnergy 4

Catching fungus in the ’Net Researchers at Purdue University are ganging up with the public to delete thousand cankers disease (TCD) before the infection hits the heart-land. TCD is a fatal fungal disease that’s been chomping

on black walnut trees in the western states, and covertly snuck over to the eastern states last year. On TCD’s side are millions of walnut twig beetles, which infect a tree with the fungus. On the home team, though, are Justin Arse-neault of Purdue University and his team. They’re calling the public to arms with a new website designed to educate Hoosiers on how to recognize and deal with TCD, before it robs our state of $1.7 billion in hardwood species and natural beauty. Check out the site yourself at thousandcankers.com 4Indiana Living Green 4 JAN/FEB 2012 7

— Continued on page 8

Try Stuffi ng This One Under the Tree! ’Tis the season for giving, and the late Van Eller has given a gift to all of Indiana. Before his pass-ing last year, the Indiana farmer

and conservationist donated 40 acres of land — valued at a whopping $2 million — to the Central Indiana Land Trust, in the booming area between Fishers and Carmel on 116th Street. Eller grew up and lived most of his life on that land, and his gift will make sure that people will always be able to enjoy the woods and wildlife he loved in life. Right across the street from the donated land lays Wapihani, a 77-acre park that Eller and other landowners had sold to the Land Trust at a discount years before. Like Wapihani, this new stretch of land will be restored and made accessible to the public in a way that’s safe for people and wildlife alike. Find out more at conservingindiana.org/ 4

Climate change = screwed beasts In a recent study conducted by Indiana University, it was discovered that the rate at which our climate is changing is rapidly bypassing the rate

at which species can adapt. The study, “Pleistocene Climate, Phylogeny, and Climate Envelope Models: An Integrative Approach to Better Understand” focused on North American rattlesnakes, which are a good indication of climate change because they rely on the environment to regulate their body temperature. By 2100, the climate will be changing more than 100 times faster than it currently does, and will be two to three orders of magnitude greater than the change over the past 300 millennia. For the rattlesnakes in particular, this climate change will be a detriment to their way of life, severely limiting the states in which they are able to live. But it’s not hard to imagine we’ll all be in a pickle. For more on the story: plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone 4

Survey says: Recycle! Car batteries are corrosive, explosive, and downright dan-gerous — and that’s why they’ve topped the list of electronic waste that absolutely needs to be recycled, according to a study by Harris Interactive. Of everyone surveyed, 90 percent overwhelmingly agreed, and 93 percent said they should be recycled on American soil, where we can keep our eyes on them, instead of paying other countries with more fl oppy environmental regulations to do it for us. There’s not a lot of downside to recycling them domestically: It gives Americans the jobs we’ve been craving, and it lets us make sure nobody’s dumping battery acid into our oceans. slabwatchdog.com 4

Ye Olde Library gets a green facelift The Shelby Branch Library just fi n-ished a four-month makeover that’s transformed it into a lean, green, en-ergy-effi cient learning machine. With the new look comes a new name: the Garfi eld Park Branch. Teaching

people about the importance of energy and resource conserva-tion is a big goal for this library, and they’re going all out to lead by example. Look up new green tips on their new com-puters, which are run by energy monitoring programming. Those who drive electric vehicles can let your car charge while you get cozy with your favorite book under natural lighting, or while you take a stroll through the butterfl y garden and the wild bird garden, both of which are blooming with native Indiana plants. Come visit at 2502 Shelby St. or see: imcpl.org/about/locations/garfi eldpark.html 4

Greener homes, better planet Energy Star rated homes built in 2012 will go even further toward making both homeowners and the planet happy. Over 400 builders have already committed to new home construc-tion that the Environmental Protection Agency says will be 30 percent more energy-effi cient than new homes without the Energy Star label. New measures include some of the usual suspects — energy-saving light fi xtures and appliances, high effi ciency heating and cooling and high-performance windows — and at least one measure that all homeowners probably expect: properly installed insulation. The EPA says the new Energy Star homes will be a win/win with lower energy costs and less pollution. Last year Energy Star homes and applianc-es saved an EPA-estimated $18 billion while preventing green-house gas emissions that equal those created by 33 million vehicles. Learn more about the new standards at energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=next_generation.ng_qualifi ed_new_homes4

Kokomo Subway restaurant goes green

B Y K . O . J A C K S O N

Subway restaurants, the chain that boasts healthy choices over typical fast food, is now working toward a greener environment. The chain recently opened fi ve Subway Eco-Restaurants designed to reduce energy, water and waste consump-

tion while improving indoor air quality. The Markland Avenue Subway in Kokomo, Ind., is the fi rst such Sub-way east of the Mississippi River. As part of its “Eat Fresh, Live Green” initiative, Subway encourages franchisees to create eco-restaurants. Subway res-taurants that cannot be rebuilt are using fi xtures like low-fl ow faucets and toilets, energy-saving appliances, motion-sensor lights and recyclable trash cans to green their stores. The new Subway in Kokomo is constructed entirely from recycled materials, and features an energy-saving LED-lighting system and a large monitor that displays the restaurant’s real-time energy usage. “It’s good to come in here and see all that goes on to make your food and how conscious they are about saving energy and the environment,” customer Cathy Riley said. “More businesses should be following this lead for the community and to educate our children about recycling.” The restaurant’s grand opening attracted local celebrities and politicians, including Indy-based Subway spokesman Jared who, after touring the restaurant, said, “This is the Taj Mahal of Subways — and I’ve been to many of them.” Students from the nearby Elwood Haynes Elementary School planted more than 2,000 plants outside the res-taurant to create a rain garden. The diverse collection of

Indiana-native plants will fi lter and clean the water supply before it returns to the ground, alleviating some of Koko-mo’s sewer overfl ow issues. Brandon Pitcher, the chief sustainability offi cer of Kokomo-based Fortune Management, Inc., was involved in negotiating the new restaurant’s lease. Pitcher said the rain garden will help reduce the amount of water burdening the city’s CSO (Com-bined Sewer Overfl ow) system. “This may be the most important ecological crisis we must solve, as it is a federal mandate that is unfunded,” said Pitcher, who’s a Lugar Energy Patriot award winner. “Over the next few years, the students will be able to watch their plantings grow from their playground while remembering a great com-munity building experience with Subway, which also provided a healthy meal for lunch. “The building overall will have value for decades as an educational model for current development practices to reducing the energy consumption by over a third. It is just the beginning.” Columbus, Ind., businessman George Estep is the fran-chisee of the new eco-restaurant. His energy-effi ciency efforts were recognized this fall, when Sen. Richard Lugar presented him with a Lugar Energy Patriot award. The store was also nominated for a national LEED award — a third-party certi-fi cation program for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. For Estep, the awards are only one part of his business’ many accomplishments. “[The rain garden] gives students an opportunity to start learning about recycling and protecting the environment,” Estep said. “For Subway, it’s all about taking what we have and recycling to be better eco-friendly. “From a business standpoint, on a return on investment, we are saving $600 monthly in our water and electric bills. Over time, that savings is going to increase. It’s a business plan others can follow. It’s something that we will do over and over again.” 4


WATTA AND WHATNOT — Continued from page 8Ph

oto

by R

yan

Fitz

patr

ick

Few would dispute that hosting the Super Bowl is a good thing for Indianapolis, and indeed, the state. In ad-dition to the media spotlight, the city benefi ts from a sig-nifi cant economic impact: With an estimated 100,000 to 150,000 visitors coming to the city, a staggering amount of money will be spent here. But there’s an environmental impact as well — and on fi rst glance, it would not appear to be a benefi cial one. While exact fi gures are hard to come by, due to the way trash is processed and disposed of, literally tons of solid and food waste are generated during each Super Bowl and related events, not to mention excessive water usage and carbon emissions related to transportation and other energy expen-ditures. (One fi gure estimates that an average of 65 tons of trash are generated in the stadium alone on game day.) The National Football League has taken notice, though, and for the past 18 years, its Environmental Program offi ce has initiated collaborations with Super Bowl host cities to address some of these issues — from solid waste management and recycling programs to reducing energy consumption ini-tiatives. Reduce, reuse and recycle are more than buzzwords. They offer a template for an ambitious set of programs and strategies that are already in play, some generated from the NFL offi ce, and many sprung from home turf. Jack Groh, director of the NFL’s Environmental Pro-gram, acknowledges that these efforts are not widely known. “We’re not a public relations driven program,” he says. “It’s not really about the politics or the green image. It’s really driven by, ‘Does this make sense? Is this a smart way to run our operations?’ ” Since its opening in 1994, Groh’s Rhode

Island-based offi ce has been oper-ating under the mantra “to incorporate environmental principles into the management of events consistent with sound business practices.”

PLAY IT

How the Super Bowl is making Indiana more sustainable

B Y J U L I A N N A T H I B O D E A U X

Green


Illustration by Shelby Kelley

What are those practices? Recycling programs may be the most visible. At each Super Bowl, along with related events such as NFL Experience — an interactive football theme park, which will be set up for Super Bowl XLVI in the Indiana Convention Center — recycling bins are in plentiful supply, along with a cadre of volunteers who will point out the bins’ presence and their proper usage. Indy’s 10-day “Su-per Bowl Village,” located on a three-block area on Georgia Street in downtown, will roll out the city’s homegrown Geor-gia Street Improvement plan, which is both aesthetic and sustainably-minded, with pedestrian-friendly features and, of course, recycling bins. Add to this a number of recovery programs put in place to reapportion and repurpose everything from food to offi ce supplies to plastic banners — which can be remanufactured into reusable shopping bags. Offi ce furniture from the Super Bowl XLVI offi ces, for instance, will be sold at bargain bin prices and/or donated to local nonprofi ts. The NFL-initiated Super Kids Super Sharing program collects books and sports equipment for redistribution in local communities. Groh says 130 donor schools are already on board in Indianapolis, representing 17 school districts. “Some of the lower income schools, rather than participate as donor schools, are lining up to be recipients for the materi-als,” Groh says. “It’s a great way to get stuff in the hands of people who need it.” In addition, kids who participate learn

valuable lessons about helping others. Then there are the trees. Each Super Bowl host city

is benefi ciary of an ambitious NFL-generated tree planting program. But in Indianapolis, the

program has grown beyond expectations — “2012 Trees by 2012,” a collabora-

tion with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, has surpassed its goal with nearly

3,000 trees and counting planted locally and around the state.


“Over the Top” Customer Service

Unparalleled Selection

Comfort Guarantee

Complete Payment Flexibility

“Lickity Split” Repair Turn-Around

North4130 East 82nd Street

317-842-4140

South997 E County Line Road

Greenwood317-885-7194

Downtown222 East Market St, Suite E101

Indy Bike Hub YMCA @ City Market317-612-3099

CHECK OUT OUR NEW DOWNTOWN LOCATION!CHECK OUT OUR NEW DOWNTOWN LOCATION!


From the ground up As local environmental liaison, the Super Bowl XLVI En-vironmental Programs Committee — a subcommittee of the multifaceted, 800-plus member Super Bowl XLVI Host Com-mittee — has taken the environmental ball and run with it. If momentum continues at its current rate, efforts here at home may end up doing more than offsetting the environmental cost of the event. Summer Keown, on loan to the Super Bowl Host Committee from the Indiana Department of Environmen-tal Management (IDEM), where she normally works in the offi ce of air quality, is working to ensure that a number of environmental programs initiated by the Su-per Bowl will continue long after the last touchdown. “We want to be respon-sible about the event,” Keown says, “and with the number of people coming to town, there will be a lot of resources used.” To this end, the Environ-mental Programs committee (with its seven subcommit-tees) has developed and implemented, among other programs, the statewide “1st and Green” program, which has already gotten football and non-football fans alike to step up. Through the online site 1standgreen.com, indi-viduals and groups can sign up to track carbon and water usage, and therefore savings. As Keown explains, “It’sa way to maybe engage people who aren’t as interested or involved in the envi-ronment; but through their interest in football and the Super Bowl, encourage them to take the small actions that add up to making a big difference in air quality and water conservation.” For instance, if you turn off the water while brushing you’re teeth, the site will calculate how many gallons of wa-ter you will save. If you carpool, you can track your mileage and learn how many pounds of carbon you’ve reduced. By taking even these seemingly small actions, Keown says, you can see “that it really does add up.” There’s strength in numbers, too. “We can see the impact that everyone is making altogether through the master calcu-lator on the site,” she says.

Keown’s hope is that by developing these habits now, they’ll continue long after the program is complete. In the spirit of the Super Bowl, which is a competition, after all, individuals, households and even classrooms and businesses are competing against one another to see who can save the most water or the most amount of carbon. The weekend prior to the Super Bowl, Keown says, the winners will be recognized onstage at the Super Bowl Village.

On the 1st and Green website, visitors and participants can learn more about how to reduce energy usage — from the little stuff, like unplug-ging electrical equipment when it’s not in use, to the bigger things like biking to work or insulating the crawlspace to save energy. As of this writing, the 1st and Green website boasted 1,137,243 pounds of carbon offsets — that means individuals and groups from offi ces to families have undertaken efforts to save energy that have nothing to do with Super Bowl Sunday, and if these efforts become habit,

they’ll continue long after.Building on the 1st and

Green program, the local committee’s Green Corps pro-gram has enlisted schools to get involved in saving energy. Each school district nominat-ed a student or two from the class of 2012 as representa-tives; the students are charged with initiating environmental initiatives locally.

“We really just said, you can do anything you want, if you see an environmental need in your community,” Keown says. “One of our schools in Fort Wayne held an eco-week … they had a weeklong chal-lenge for each classroom to collect as many recyclables as they could, and we got to go

award reusable water bottles to the class that won. And they were so excited. They had, I think, eight enormous trash bags of recyclables that they collected in just a week.”

Building it greenSeveral infrastructure improvement and beautifi cation

projects with a green slant will also have a lasting impact on the city far beyond Super Bowl Sunday. The most promi-nent are Super Bowl Legacy investment on the city’s Near Eastside and the locally initiated Georgia Street Improve-ment Project. The Georgia Street improvements coincide with the increased downtown pedestrian traffi c for the Super Bowl and is the site of the Super Bowl Village, where visitors and residents will congregate during the days lead-ing up to and during the big event.

GREENING OF THE SUPER BOWL — Continued from page 11

[1st and Green is] a way to maybe engage people who aren’t as interested or involved in the environment.

— Summer Keown

Summer Keown (upper left); Kären Haley (below).

Phot

os b

y M

ark

Lee



The Georgia Street improvements include converting the four-lane street — comprising three blocks from Pennsylvania Street to Capitol Avenue — to a two-lane, curbless street with a pedestrian mall in the median. Aesthetic improvements include historical Warehouse District signs, lighting and irrigation improvements and alternative drainage systems. These efforts will result in safe pedestrian access to Conseco Fieldhouse and the Convention Center — making Indianapo-lis even more walkable for Super Bowl visitors and residents. Although the Super Bowl will take place in Lucas Oil Sta-dium, all the major downtown venues will be in use in some way or another — and having such a walkable city makes the event even greener. Kären Haley, co-chair of the Environmental Programs Committee (and former director of the Mayor’s Offi ce of Sustainability), has worked to make sure that, in addition to the recycling bins in place at the stadium on game day, the Georgia street improvements will include recycling bins in perpetuity. Haley is even more vested in the city’s green im-provements as the director of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail. It has attracted national attention for its sustainable focus — including recycling bins and because it is also pedestrian and bicyclist friendly. “The city is going to see a huge infl ux of recycling bins,” Haley says. But these don’t come without challenges — par-ticularly when they’re an unfamiliar feature on the landscape. “There’s a learning curve just like anything,” Haley adds. “At the beginning, you see a bit more contamination [of recycling bins with trash]; so you have to do some education and some outreach. So the bins that we have on city streets are mainly for beverage containers.” Also signifi cant is the Near East Side Initiative — part of the Super Bowl’s Lasting Legacy grant program. Haley is particularly excited about the impact this effort has already had. Funds from the Super Bowl’s Near Eastside Legacy Proj-ect “are making buildings on the near east side more energy effi cient,” Haley says. To this end, 800 homeowners have received energy audits on their homes, and 200 Near Eastside businesses have been extended the same offer. “There was a waiting list,” Haley adds. As a result of these audits, up to 1,500 energy effi cient improvements will be made. “I don’t think that program would have happened without the Legacy Project,” Haley says. A trip just east of the city on 10th Street reveals how much some of these efforts have already accomplished. The John H. Boner Center has brightened up a formerly blighted area, and businesses have sprung up to make the most of the economic and environmental makeover — from rain gardens along East 10th Street, to a LEED-certifi ed community center on the campus of the Arsenal Tech High School that will in-clude a rooftop garden. Haley says four alleyways in the area have been retrofi tted with permeable pavement to improve drainage. “Now that the city is monitoring and seeing how it works, it allows us to continue to do something new and creative in a sustainable way for the city of Indianapolis.” All because of a football game.


Feeding frenzy The Super Bowl is an excuse to get together with friends and family and eat — a lot. But a good percentage of that food will be thrown away, added to the spoils of the game. Only on Thanksgiving do Americans traditionally eat more. The biofriendly.com website boasts that eight million pounds of guacamole and 14.5 tons of chips are estimated to be consumed on Super Bowl Sunday. The Environmental Programs committee has taken notice of this, too — and plans to donate unconsumed prepared foods from local hotels. The foods will be re-prepared into nutritious meals by Second Helpings, which will redistribute the food to local food pantries, soup kitchens and daycare centers. The NFL’s Groh estimates that food recovery efforts could result in up to 75,000 pounds of repurposed food, “if it’s recovered well.” The JW Marriott hotel is taking food waste prevention one step further. It’s the host site for a food scrap recycling pro-gram with GreenCycle, which will collect kitchen scraps from the Super Bowl’s media center and turn them into compost. While it may not be possible to eliminate all the waste generated on game day and the days leading up to and after-ward as visitors drive or fl y home, an environmental optimist might say that the long-term benefi ts of increased environ-mental awareness — accompanied by the actions necessary to back it up — may result in a net gain after all. What are the biggest obstacles? “As with anything, I think communication is probably the most important thing,” Groh says. “In general, people want to do the right thing and the smart thing. In general. The biggest challenge is we don’t always know what the right decision is. … But if people have the right information, they make smarter decisions. Our big-gest challenge over the last 18 years has been, number one, to identify which decisions are better than others, from both a business perspective and an environmental perspective.”As local communities take ownership of some of these deci-sions, the long-term future is inevitably brighter. Besides, who could argue with more recycling, more trees? “Regardless of what you feel about climate change, the benefi ts of more trees are pretty much endless,” Groh says. “I love going back to Super Bowl cities years afterwards and seeing those little saplings that now people are sitting under them and picnicking under them, and kids might be swinging from the branches and stuff. And people remember that this was something that happened during the Super Bowl.” 4

Phot

o by

Mar

k L

ee

Georgia Street in downtown Indianapolis.



Ed Cohen found himself preaching to the choir — a fairly small one at that. The longtime Indy crusader for energy conserva-tion sought to take his message to a larger audience. Along the way, he found religion. But not necessarily the kind his mother might have hoped for. Defi ning his religious affi liation as “born into a Jewish family,” Cohen began reaching out, not only to rabbis, but also priests, reverends, nuns, monks and imams in the late ’90s to share his conviction that Earth stewardship is a religious imperative. “I saw that care for this created world was part of every religious faith,” he refl ects, “but it seemed to be largely ignored.” Cohen is one of the early activ-ists in Indiana who recognized the power of a faith-based environmental movement. In a state in which 40.3 percent of the residents are affi liated with a faith congregation — a statistic that mirrors national fi gures — that could convert into a hefty support base. Over the last decade, the efforts to bring religion into the climate-change conversation have been fruitful, and the ranks of faith advocates have multiplied. Today, not only are proac-tive congregations growing in number, they’re teaming up with other faith communities and generating enough zeal that Indiana’s infant interfaith resource is fi nding itself quite busy. Hoosier Interfaith Power & Light (HIPL) introduced itself to the faith community in March 2011. As a state affi liate of the national Interfaith Power & Light, HIPL works to empower religious institutions to respond to climate change through a prism of faith. The well-attended kickoff, held at First Baptist Church in Indianapolis, drew about 200 attendees to hear denomina-tional faith statements and participate in a colorful and ecu-menical service. Clergy and lay leaders represented 19 faiths, including Christians, Catholics, Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs and Unitarians.

In the beginning … The HIPL creation story involves a host of organizations, congrega-tions and individuals. The “begats” started more than 10 years ago. The movement might have technically kicked off in 2001. Indiana was one of 18 states that received a grant from the National Council of Churches’ Interfaith Climate Change Cam-paign. The Church Federation of Greater Indianapolis managed the program, which was well received by local clergy. But when the grant money ran out a couple of

years later, the initiative dissolved. Cohen, who’d been active in that effort, then directed his energies into Interfaith Alliance of Indianapolis. By 2005, he’d proposed, launched, and accepted leadership of IA’s Care for Creation committee. While Cohen was spreading his gospel of green, Jodi Per-ras, inspired by an Indianapolis Spirit & Place event in 2005, brought green activism to Epworth United Methodist Church. “I took ideas from the program to my church and talked to staff and the pastor,” Perras says. In short order an active green team, which Perras chairs, was formed. “I felt an over-whelming amount of support from my own congregation.” Before long, the team had instituted changes as small as eliminating Styrofoam coffee cups to conducting a complete energy audit of all church-owned structures and making major improvements to cut energy use.

Finding Common Ground Throughout the faith community in Indianapolis, similar congregational green teams were forming — and reaching

God+greenFaith communities embrace Earth stewardship

B Y B E T S Y S H E L D O N

Interfaith weatherizing: Philip Anderson (left) is a contractor who volunteers for Earth Care. Meghan Pottenger is with First Christian Church of Bloomington.


out to each other. By 2007, several, including Epworth, Unitarian Universal Church of Indianapolis, St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, Christ the King Catholic Church, and First Mennonite Church had united as the Green Congregations Task Force. Meanwhile, in Bloomington, representatives of eight faith communities established Earth Care. Madeline (Madi) Hirschland, HIPL board vice chair [see Hirschland’s es-say on page 18], is one of the Earth Care founders. “All of our faiths talk about the concept of caring for creation,” says Hirschland, a member of Congregation Beth Shalom. “So faith seems an obvious place from which to respond to climate change. The issue can be politically charged. But when faith communities address it, they talk above it. They transcend politics.” Eventually, the groups from Indy and Bloomington — representing about 25 congregations — connected, and ultimately agreed that affi liating with a national interfaith organization would further strengthen their efforts. In 2009, HIPL became the 38th affi liate of Interfaith Power & Light.

Task of the month While not its primary focus, HIPL advocates on issues con-nected to climate change and energy use. “We are absolutely focused on reducing our carbon footprint,” says Rev. Dr. Lyle McKee, HIPL board chair. McKee, the pastor of St. Thomas Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bloomington and a founding member of Earth Care, notes that HIPL is calling for a shift away from coal, with the target of reducing coal-fueled house-holds by one-eighth percent in the next three years. McKee and other board members will tell you that HIPL is not a leader of, or a substitute for, local inter-faith bodies. It is a facilitator and resource for creation care groups throughout the state. “We don’t want to be centralized,” Hirschland says. “We want to ignite interest, and give communities help when they reach out. We have the resources for vir-tual libraries — there’s even a set of sermons available. When people see that all the pieces have been put in place, it’s easier to commit.” HIPL offers workshops to assist in forming congregation-al green teams and interfaith groups, a fi lm library, a manual on managing energy-saving projects for building commit-tees — a checklist that helps determine the cost, savings, and payback period for energy improvements, and a website with a do-it-yourself carbon calculator. HIPL’s Seventh Day Initiative challenges congregations to cut their energy use by one-seventh. Its solar leadership initiative provides support materials for groups that want to organize their own solar leadership forums.

The issue can be politically charged. But when faith communities address it, they talk above it. They transcend politics.

— Madi Hirschland


The Task of the Month toolkit appears to be in hot demand — some 80 congregations now have the 12-month program that tackles one energy-reducing behavior per month. Dr. Stephanie Kimball developed the toolkit and is HIPL program manager. “The toolkit was designed to help members think about their own use of creation’s resources in terms of their faith’s call to stewardship, and to take action to cut waste,” Kimball says. Congregations like Task of the Month for a few reasons. It’s simple to achieve, and participants working on the same task can offer one another support. Kimball says there’s a collective sense of success — and awareness that “Each household’s efforts are magnifi ed by the fact that others are also taking each step. They have sense of hope and purpose, and they realize they are not in this struggle alone.” The availability of the Task of the Month toolkit and others seems to have encouraged interfaith group develop-ment in cities including West Lafayette, Richmond, Evans-ville, Terre Haute, and Muncie. “I was green with envy over the things they were doing,” says Jennifer Rice-Snow, a congregant at United Methodist Church in Muncie. “They showed the power of working to-gether.” Muncie’s fi rst interfaith meeting attracted 17 people from eight faith communities, including Muslim and Baha’i, Lutheran, Unitarian, Jewish, Presbyterian, Methodist, and Catholic. “Everyone was really impressed when we read our faith statements. It almost felt like a worship moment, even though we come from different traditions.”

Dominion — or domination? McKee concedes there are devoted souls, congrega-tions, and even a few denominations that don’t see the connection between God and Green. “Many people of faith may have interpreted religious scripture as unsup-portive of environmental activity. They’re mistaking ‘do-minion’ with ‘domination.’ We need to reach those who are misinformed,” McKee says. McKee, who has been “preaching and teaching” environ-mental stewardship for a long time, affi rms that the science behind climate change is sound, but his approach is theo-logical and not scientifi c. He directs parishioners to biblical passages that support creation care. “Everything created is holy. We take these passages very seriously,” McKee says. While her congregation has embraced creation care, Perras concedes that not all parishioners are on board. Some, she says, express their disagreement vocally, others just shake their heads. One member, she recounts, re-fused to pay assessments that would cover some energy-conserving building renovations. She has also been ac-cused of supporting “a bunch of environmentalists using religion to achieve their aims.” “I have been a person of faith for much longer than I’ve been a green advocate,” Perras says. “But in both, I felt the call to stewardship of creation, and am connected to the environment through faith perspective.” Perras has suggestions for how to approach green activ-ism among resistant congregations. “Start with things that everyone can support — energy effi ciency, recycling, a com-munity garden,” she says. She recounts successful efforts including a second-hand fashion show, a community garden and dinner featuring local food, and a fi lm series. The lineup included An Inconvenient Truth, Who Killed the Electric Car, and other fi lms that increased environmental awareness and stimulated discussion. “Emphasizing things everyone could agree with helped us gain community support, and then we were in a better position to talk about climate change,” Perras says. By the time HIPL had established itself, Ed Cohen had moved from Indiana. But he still shares in the sense of ac-complishment with the others. “The fact that such an entity exists is wonderful because it now gives every person of faith, every congregation, a place where they can learn, get energized, and turn back to their own community and begin the work that needs to be done,” he says.

For more information• Hoosier Interfaith Power and Light, hoosieripl.org• Interfaith Power & Light, interfaithpowerandlight.org• Green Congregations, ikeroundtablelive.org• Earth Care, earthcareindiana.org

Religious leaders from various faiths gathered in the early days of HIPL to talk about ways to merge faith with environmental steward-ship. Clockwise, from the top: The Venerable Dr. Zundui; Rev. Mary Ann Macklin; Rev. T. Wyatt Watkins; Rev. E. Anne Henning Byfi ield; K. P. Singh, member, Sikh Satsang of Indianapolis.

Phot

o by

Mar

k L

ee


Climate Change, Hope and ActionBY MADI HIRSCHLAND, HOOSIER INTERFAITH POWER AND LIGHT

How much we hope has a direct relation to how long it will take to see change ... Hope is believing in spite of the evidence and then watching the evidence change.

— Rev. Jim Wallis, civil rights veteran, May 2011address to 38 Interfaith Power and Light affi liates

Despite the recent negative news on climate change, the work of Hoosier faith communities gives me great hope. I’d like to share a few of their stories with you and then consider how we can fan their fl ames.

• Indianapolis Green Congregations recently convened members of congregations from across the city to learn how to support public transportation. In Indianapolis and Muncie, clergy met to discuss the impact of coal-fi red electricity on Hoosiers and our Earth.

• From Evansville to Goshen, 81 congregations have purchased Task of the Month toolkits to engage their congregations in reducing their energy use. In the fi rst, Congregation Beth Shalom, over a third of the members have reduced their energy usage by a seventh or more. In Bloomington, within four months of a faith-based forum on solar power, an eighth of the participants had installed solar panels on their roofs.

• In Muncie, members from 10 congregations are engag-ing teams from congregations across the city to come together to support congregational energy initiatives. Indiana’s United Methodist Conference has challenged congregations across the state to reduce their energy us-age by 10 percent.

• In downtown Fort Wayne, Trinity English models energy effi ciency with its lighting, solar panels, and geothermal system. In rural northern Indiana, Richland Chapel installed ceiling fans, insulation, and a wind turbine and, when the church is empty, the thermostat is set at 54 degrees.

So how can we help move from hope to change? A recent survey on American attitudes toward climate change provides some clues. A majority of the respondents said they believed or were open to believing that climate change exists, is human-caused, is a threat and is something that together we can do something about. Yet, only a small proportion of even the most alarmed were taking action. Whether they took action was based on two factors. First, those who acted also were talking about climate change. I can see this. Imagine a sunny picnic with friends. Some of us sit chatting, others throw Frisbees. A few half-notice, independently, that it’s become gray and a breeze has picked up. Yet not until someone says, “Say, that looks like a storm!” do we act, quickly, in consort: I pack up, you alert the others, we all race for cover. If we’re not even talking about climate change, how could the threat be so huge and imminent as to require action? If we do acknowledge its gravity, how could we not act? So why aren’t we talking? Do we doubt we can change what’s in store? Which leads to the second factor — hope. Of the people who believed that we could act to avert catastrophe, it was those who believed that we would act, who acted them-selves. This makes sense: If I know that, to be effective, we all must act then I will act only if I believe that we will act. In fact, people of faith across Indiana are acting — and boldly. So what to do? We must talk about climate change and what we’re doing about it — that we’re using less energy and going solar and that others we know are doing the same. Together, we will “curb the beast.” In so doing, we will be our neighbors’ keeper, tend this good Earth and care for the least among us. 4

Madi Hirschland is vice chair of the board of Hoosier Interfaith Power and Light, which helps Hoosiers of faith act to curb climate change. Over a third of the members of her congregation have cut their energy use by a lot — in her case, 75 percent. She’s talking about it. Learn more at hoosieripl.org.


On Dec. 2, 2011, the Legal Envi-ronmental Aid Foundation (LEAF) formally merged with the Hoosier Environmental Council (HEC). The merger confi rms HEC’s long-standing commitment to overcoming environ-mental injustice in Indiana. In its 28-year history, HEC has championed efforts to ensure that disadvantaged communities are not overburdened by the impact of pollu-tion. Indeed, for years, HEC was the

voice for clean air and water at the local level through a broad volunteer base and network of regional councils throughout the state. In more recent years, HEC has focused on education and raising awareness of the connection between environ-mental damage and human health, while promoting sound environmental policy solutions before the legislature and administrative agencies to mitigate environmental harm. LEAF provided legal representation to community groups and environmental organizations to address critical environ-mental threats. In so doing, LEAF set national case precedent confi rming Congressional intent that citizen suit provisions were enacted to ensure vigorous enforcement of environ-mental laws and making it much more likely that citizen suit claims will be heard and decided on their merits. In addition, LEAF achieved several legal victories that have helped com-munities impacted by industrial pollution, factory farm waste, reckless residential development, and coal ash contamination. Through the HEC/LEAF partnership, a new HEC emerges with an expanded arsenal of tools to tackle Indi-ana’s most critical environmental challenges — the ability to take judicious legal action, scientifi c and technical expertise, and signifi cant experience in public and environmental policy. This strengthened capacity is good news for Hoo-siers and signals HEC’s renewed commitment to righting the power imbalance that exists between industry and citizens that has, for too long, allowed polluting industries to degrade our air and water with impunity. Specifi cally, as HEC’s new Agriculture and Water Policy Director, I bring to HEC my legal experience with LEAF in representing Hoosiers before Indiana’s courts, zoning boards and administrative agencies — along with a pas-sion for environmental justice in Indiana. Consequently, you can expect HEC to continue advocating for strong

protection of our waterways at the Statehouse. Indeed, this legislative session, HEC’s water program will address the critical problem of excess phosphorus in our waterways by pushing for legislation to regulate the content, use and sale of phosphorus-containing lawn fertilizers. You can also expect HEC to take a different approach geared toward helping residents in impacted communities to become effective advocates for protection of their water resources and improved quality of life. For example, concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are responsible for about 80 percent of all livestock raised in Indiana, which includes approximately 870,000 cows and calves, 3.6 million hogs and pigs, and more than 42 million birds (chickens, turkeys and ducks) per year. These animals produce vast amounts of manure, containing disease-causing pathogens. Because livestock waste is not treated, and its management is largely unregulated, people who live next to CAFOs are subject to signifi cant health risks from animal waste that enters their surface and ground water from poorly constructed or operated manure lagoons, excessive applica-tion of manure to fi elds and atmospheric deposition. Predictably, most of Indiana’s CAFOs are located in poor, rural communities where people have limited fi nancial re-sources and little political infl uence to fi ght back. As a result, these communities effectively have no say in where or if these CAFOs should be built because they don’t know how to effectively participate in the zoning and permitting approval processes before local planning bodies and state agencies. To help rectify this environmental injustice, HEC is developing a citizen advocacy initiative to help people who live in commu-nities targeted for new CAFOs to understand what their legal rights are under environmental, zoning, land use and open government laws, and how to effectively exercise those rights. When an informed citizenry actively participates in the decision-making process, local governing bodies are forced to take a meaningful look at the type of growth and land use they are considering. With public oversight, governing bodies will feel pressure to take the necessary time to review develop-ment and permitting proposals, consider the best interests of the impacted community, and avoid unnecessary environmen-tal harm. The new HEC will be at the forefront of ensuring Indiana’s citizens are capable of providing this oversight. 4

Kim Ferraro heads up Legal Environmental Aid Foundation, now offi cially merged with HEC.

rfoEmcm

cdoti

B Y K I M F E R R A R O

HEC/LEAF merger expands arsenal

H O O S I E R E N V I R O N M E N TH O O S I E R E N V I R O N M E N T• • • • • •Ph

oto

by S

teph

en S

imon

etto


1. What does renowned skeptic Richard Muller believe about global warming?__ a. It’s what human beings deserve.__ b. It’s a political issue.__ c. He thinks it’s a hoax.__ d. He’s changed his mind and thinks it’s real.__ e. It’s going to be good for the 1 percent.

2. What are mosquitoes being genetically engineered to do?__ a. Be free of all disease!__ b. Convince other mosquitoes not to bite.__ c. Not make that annoying sound.__ d. Kill their offspring.__ e. Kill their parents.

3. What did sandblasting new blue jeans to make them appear “distressed” result in? __ a. Dead textile workers__ b. Chic chicks__ c. Higher prices__ d. An infl ux of pregnancies__ e. Create rashes on consumers

4. What do researchers now link to children’s lack of outdoor play?__ a. Short-sightedness__ b. Lower IQ scores__ c. Bully behavior__ d. Overall bratiness__ e. The fl ourishing of the outdoors

5. What does a new study fi nd about the extraction of biofuels from forests?__ a. Greenhouse gas emissions will be about the same.__ b. It will increase greenhouse gas emissions.__ c. The squirrels will not survive.__ d. It will decrease greenhouse gas emissions.__ e. Biofuels are the devil’s plaything.

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 fi nd out more.

6. What does a new investigation say about Americans and unsafe air?__ a. The government has succeeded in protecting the people.__ b. Americans THRIVE on unsafe air.__ c. Americans would die outright if they breathed pure air.__ d. The air is safe, it’s Americans who are a danger.__ e. The government has failed to protect the people.

7. According to new research, why are traffi c jams so bad for your health?__ a. Because people listen to too much Radio Disney.__ b. Because people listen to too much Rush Limbaugh.__ c. You arrive late at your destination.__ d. VOCs emitted from dashboards and steering wheels.__ e. Vehicle exhaust damages brain cells.

8. According to the IEA, how long before the door is “closed forever” on keeping global warming at safe levels?__ a. Five years__ b. Twenty-fi ve years__ c. Twenty years__ d. Ten years__ e. That time is already history.

9. What innovation have scientists fi gured out to boost the power of lithium-ion batteries?__ a. Kicking the battery.__ b. Whispering sweet nothings to the battery.__ c. Smearing the battery with jam.__ d. Cursing at the battery.__ e. Poking holes in the battery.

10. According to the Max Planck Institute, at what point does a person’s contributions to global warming decline?__ a. After marriage.__ b. During death.__ c. After retirement.__ d. During the fetus months.__ e. During the teen years.

Correct Answers: 1. (d): He’s changed his mind and thinks it’s real. (Associated Press) 2. (d): Kill their offspring. (New York Times) 3. (a): Dead textile workers (New York Times) 4. (a): Short-sightedness (BBC) 5. (b): It will increase greenhouse gas emissions. (Oregon State Uni-versity) 6. (e): The government has failed to protect the people. (Cen-ter for Public Integrity) 7. (e): Vehicle exhaust damages brain cells. (Wall Street Journal) 8. (a): Five years (London Guardian) 9. (e): Poking holes in the battery. (BBC) 10. (c): After retirement. (Live Science)

THETHEPANIPANIQuizQuiz

GREENMarketplaceMarketplace

TheThe

Coming SoonComing Soon

Featuring• Eco-friendly Services

• Local Farms and Organic Products

• Natural Heath & Wellness Services

• And Much More

Turn to The Green Marketplace in the March issue of Indiana Living Green to fi nd local

businesses to fi t your green needs!

To advertise in The Green Marketplace contact Bob Barnes at (317) 808-4611

www.IndianaLivingGreen.com

B Y M A R I A S M I E TA N A

Keeping the farm fl eet afl oat


T H E L A S T R O WT H E L A S T R O W• • • • • •

If my Steadfast Spouse hadn’t gone to college, and then to graduate school, he likely would have been an auto mechanic. This is for-tuitous, it turns out, because after Spouse and I traded our real jobs for the bucolic life of suburban vegetable farm-ers and bread bakers a few years ago, we gave up a lot of things, aside from the obvious regular paycheck. New ve-hicles, for instance, and even slightly used vehicles, for that matter. This meant one of us had to know how to repair the conveyances we could afford, and it wasn’t going to be me. Despite the many childhood Saturdays I spent hanging out with my dad under the hoods of the boat-like sedans that served as family transportation in the ’70s, nothing stuck from those lessons except good memories of dad-and-daugh-ter bonding. I’d be hard-pressed to tell a distributor cap from a spark plug these days. That left Spouse as lone chief mechanic for a hard-work-ing but needy farm fl eet that consists of a 21-year-old Ford Ranger that just crested the 180,000-mile mark, and a tem-peramental 12-year-old Volvo station wagon with 150,000 miles that we bought on eBay from a shady guy in New Jersey who disappeared from the map the second our check cleared. I suppose we should count the rototiller in the fl eet, too. It’s not exactly transportation, but like the vehicles, it runs on a smelly gasoline engine, and is as temperamental as the Volvo. While other folks keep Reader’s Digest and Newsweek in their bathroom reading racks, ours holds well-thumbed versions of the Haynes Service and Repair Manual; one for vintage Volvos and the other for Rangers and related Fords spanning the era between Ronald Reagan and Beanie Babies. With these tomes of mechanical wisdom and a couple of chests jammed full of Sears Craftsmen tools, Spouse can do major surgery at the drop of a bolt. Of course, the only other thing needed is parts. If it’s the Ford that’s ill or injured, Spouse generally comes home with bags and boxes from Advance Auto. I am therefore familiar with brick-and-mortar auto parts stores and their offerings, though I can’t say I’ve visited many

in person. But I hadn’t consid-ered the huge catalog-order industry that also supplies auto innards to the home mechanic. That all changed when boxes from IPD in Or-egon started appearing on our porch via the UPS man, who no doubt cursed the long trips his brown truck had to endure down our rutted country lane. The Volvo, it appeared, had organs and bones that could not be procured lo-cally. But he works so well

when he works that if buying out-of-state parts was all it took to make him whole again, I was happy to pay the shipping costs. Despite Spouse’s accumulating technical talents, not all repair jobs that started in the home garage ended there, espe-cially where the Volvo was concerned. Sometimes, a trip to the emergency room was required. Such was the case with the brake pad replacement of last season, a job that, on its face, should be been an easy couple of hours of work. The fi rst caliper bolt came off easily enough. The second one wouldn’t budge, despite hours of cursing and grunting and one trip to the hardware store for a new pair of vice grips. Feeling wimpy and defeated, Spouse packed up all the parts and drove to the Place of Last Resort, a swanky Volvo dealership on the other end of town. A bit of his dignity was refunded when even the high-end equipment in their service department could not loosen the bolt. Like a rotten tooth, all that could be done was to drill it out. As a consolation prize for Spouse’s efforts, the shop took his box of parts and fi nished the brake job for him. After that experience, he stuck to oil changes for a while. Now, a drive shaft needs replacing again, and he assures me he’s up for the challenge. He’s done it once be-fore, after all. I trust that all will go well. But if you see me riding to farmer’s markets on the rototiller, please don’t ask me what went wrong. 4

Maria Smietana is a refugee from the corporate world who now writes and grows organic produce on her mini-farm in Boone County.


.com

DAILY FRESH CONTENT

STARTING IN JANUARY

Date post:	09-Mar-2016
Category:	Documents
Upload:	nuvo-newsweekly
View:	222 times
Download:	7 times

Indiana Living Green - January/February 2012

Documents