Leading the charge
Lewiston Tribune | Moscow-Pullman Daily News || February 2011
Pullman business turning sweat equity
into usable energy
inside Green business directory
The Green Revolution on the Palouse, in the Valley and on the Prairie
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2 • Lewiston Tribune / Moscow-Pullman Daily News goinggreen February 26, 2011
ON THE COVERKristin Arola, left, and Ruth Holmes ride stationary bicycles at Yogatopia in Pullman on Feb 21.
The bicycles are equipped to generate electricity. Photo by Geoff Crimmins/Daily News
Lewiston620 Thain Rd
(208) 746-6447
Moscow2275 Nursery St
(208) 883-3007
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CONCERNED ABOUT THEENVIRONMENT?ECHO is proud to be an industry leader in developing engine technologies that meet or exceed EPA emission requirements – and we make it simple to know which models are those.
Just look for the special “Buy M.E.” decal. M.E. stands for “Meets Emissions” – and that simply means the particular model meets or exceeds EPA emission requirements. See your dealer salesperson for more information.
To learn more about ECHO’s Pro Environment stance, visit www.echo-usa.com/green.
Get Ready for Spring – Lawn & Garden Power Tool Tune-upsCall for appointment.
A Greener Palouse promotes sustainable options in Latah & Whitman counties. To learn more, contact Andy Boyd at (208) 882-0590 or Judi Dunn-Gray at (509) 397-5213 or visit Moscow Recycling at www.moscowrecycling.com.
A GreenerPALOUSE
Learn about the benefits of reducing, recycling and upcycling by creating accessories and garments using items destined for the landfill!
Applications will be available in March at Moscow City Hall, Local Schools, & online at www.moscow.id.us/art/ypaf.aspx
Art Classes at the 1912 Center | Saturday, April 2 & 9 |10am–2pmNew workshops sponsored by
City of Moscow Arts Department and Heart of the Arts, Inc.
Tossed and Found “Upcycling”Sewing Class WorkshopsSaturday, April 9 | 10am–2pmMin 5/Max 15 | 12 yrs+Instructors: Allison Cerrillo & Judi Dunn GrayNew Uses for Old Clothes:Learn how to sew, hem, repair and rework garments. Upon registering, please use the list provided to shop at a local thrift store to pick out articles of clothing needed for the class. These will be your items that you will rework. Please bring a lunch. All other supplies provided. The class is $26 and registrations will be handled by the City of Moscow Arts Department.
?DO YOUUPCYCLE
Tossed and Found “Upcycling”Apparel & Art WorkshopsSaturday, April 2 | 10am–2pmMin 5/Max 15 | 12 yrs+Instructors: Allison Cerrillo & Judi Dunn GrayUpcycled Accessories:Learn to make jewelry out of newspaper, toilet paper/paper towel rolls, and other recycled items. Please bring a lunch. All other supplies provided. The class is $26 and registrations will be handled by the City of Moscow Arts Department.
Power in the pedals
When Stacy Pettitt steps into the foot pedal and straddles the exercise bike for her four weekly workouts,
she feels exhilarated.Not only because she’s prepared to burn
calories, but also because she knows that her time on the bike, and the energy she creates is actually generating usable power.
“Not only am I getting a great work out, but it feels like you’re actually doing something,” she said.
Pettitt is enrolled at Yotgatopia in Pullman’s Gladish Community and Cul-tural Center, where owner Aletha Lassiter has recently launched a series of classes using stationary exercise bikes that convert motions for exercise into electricity that feeds directly back to the power grid.
Lassiter said she had long thought it would be smart if exercise equipment could somehow be built to capture energy. Then last year, she saw a news blip about The Green Microgym in Portland, which offered exercise bicycles by Resource Fitness that helped to power the building.
“I thought, ‘That is so awesome, I’m
going to bring it to Pullman,’” she said.Lassiter unveiled the five bikes — called
visCycles — in January, with two instruc-tors teaching nine cycling classes a week.
She hopes to eventually increase the number of bikes and cycling classes offered.
The visCycles need no fancy inverter, but simply plug in to the wall and and instantly transfer the power back into the building.
According to the Resource Fitness Website, a 30 minute visCycle workout will yield 50 to 150 kilowatts — enough to charge 10-15 smartphones, five compact florescent lightbulbs or five netbooks.
Lassiter said there is equipment to track the amount of kilowatts being generated, and hopes to buy one in the future to get a more definitive understanding how much energy the bikes generate.
She’s done some preliminary math and said if she increases her bikes to 23 and of-fered four classes a day 365 days a week, it would save $800 a year.
Lassiter notes that that’s enough to purchase a window for Gladish, where an
Lewiston Tribune / Moscow-Pullman Daily News • 3goinggreenFebruary 26, 2011
Kristin Arola rides a stationary bicycle at Yogatopia. The specially equipped visCycle can produce 50-150 kilowatts of electricity during a 30-minute workout.
cover story
At PullmAn’s YogAtoPiA, cYclists burn cAlories, creAte electrictY
See YOGATOPIA, Page 7
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4 • Lewiston Tribune / Moscow-Pullman Daily News goinggreen February 26, 2011
Rebekah King knows where the hotspots are for used clothing on the Palouse. The Pullman resident pe-ruses thrift stores frequently
and has found deals on everything from luxurious faux fur vests to designer purses and jeans.
“It’s not like normal shopping —it’s an adventure. You never know what you’re going to find,” said King, who coordinates promotions and volunteer recruitment at the Hope Center in Moscow.
Rather than try to ward off competition to her low-cost fashion finds, King is part
of a cooperative effort to get more people to shop used. She’s an organizer for “Hop to Shop,” a published directory of stores in Whitman and Latah counties that sell used clothing.
That includes thrift and consignment shops, even churches that donate clothing to people in need.
“Hop to Shop” is slated to debut for the University of Idaho Mom’s Weekend April 15. Judi Dunn-Gray, recycling waste reduc-tion education coordinator for Whitman County, is spearheading the project, and said it will not only draw in customers to the cheap deals, but also will promote the affect buying used has on the environment.
Gray said too many people are eager to buy new goods before looking for gently used items first. Some of those used clothes are donated, but she said too much is simply thrown away before its time.
“It ends up in the landfill,” she said. “We’ve become such a disposable society.”
It will cost each store or agency $10 to be listed in the publication and organizers are working to connect with what could be up to 50 used-clothing outlets in the area, Dunn-Gray said.
The “Hop to Shop” is a product of A Greener Palouse, a coalition coordinated by Dunn-Gray that also includes Moscow Recycling, the University of Idaho, Wash-ington State University and environmental groups and agencies in the area. A Greener Palouse receives grants through the USDA and coordinates activities to promote reuse ad recycling. Workshops offer knowledge on how to upcycle — making something new out of something used, such as turn-ing a well-worn pair of jeans into a bag, or a belt into a cool cuff bracelet.
The group also has created a directory of businesses that sell environmental prod-ucts or include green techniques in their practices, along with the Tossed and Found Fashion Show which shows off upcycled outfits.
The “Hop to Shop” was a natural next step for A Greener Palouse, Dunn-Gray said, noting that so far, it’s been well received.
“I haven’t had one turn down. Every store owner says ‘I’m in, absolutely,’” she said.
Melanie Hodges, owner of Lily Bee’s Consignment in Pullman said she’ll defi-nitely be involved. She’s attracted to the ef-forts to unite used-clothing stores and give customer choices to buying new items.
“I believe we’re drowning in consumer stuff and this stuff needs to find a home,” she said.
The $45 someone could spend to buy a shirt at the mall could be spent to buy five to 10 great used finds, Hodges said, noting that especially during the economic down-turn it’s “important for people to stretch their dollars.”
“For me, I know I’m more about how much I can save, not how much I spent,” she said.
King agrees. She noted that used clothing is practical for people on a tight budget, those with children that grow out of new items quickly, those that want to play with their style, or those seeking quality vintage pieces. Buying used items also promotes a sustainable community by keeping goods local.
King said the possibility of updating or expanding “Hop to Shop” each year is likely if it becomes popular.
“I think it’s good to connect rather than compete in this industry,” she said. “We sell things, but its not about the money. It’s about the environment. It’s about helping someone in need find a good pair of jeans for less than $100. It’s about people.”
For more information, or to be listed in the “Hop to Shop,” contact Judi Dunn-Gray by e-mail at [email protected]., or by calling (509) 595-5880 or (509) 397-5213.
‘hop to shop’ concept gains momentumBy hillary hamm | for NWgoinggreen
thrift store, consignment shoPPing Adventure to debut At ui’s mom’s Weekend APril 15
PULLMANRECYCLES
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During times of an eco-nomic downturn, most people, in their own way, become a bit more thrifty. Did you know
that thriftiness is also a great way to act more sustainably?
From a sustainable standpoint, thrift would be defined as a the wise use of resources, being an educated consumer and waste reducer.
A Greener Palouse (AGP), a regional non-profit promoting sustainable options available in the Palouse region, is also promoting thriftiness. AGP, in conjunc-tion with Whitman County Solid Waste and Recycling and Moscow Recycling, are providing workshops throughout both counties promoting thriftiness.
These workshops, entitled “Tossed & Found: Upcycled Apparel and Art,” are de-signed to educate regional residents about waste reduction options in our region, while at the same time, provide hands-on training creating fashion and apparel out of items destined for the landfill.
All too often we don’t consider the impacts of the items we send to a landfill. This workshop will help unveil the po-
tential of items we throw into the garbage everyday through Upcycling.
Although there are many uses for items we throw away, creating fashion out of this ‘stuff ’ helps the environment in many ways.
First, it keeps materials from being shipped to a landfill where it is likely to never be used again, not to mention the fuel used and pollution created when ship-ping garbage close to 200 miles away.
Second, by reusing items to make new items, it reduces the need to for new raw materials to be harvested from the earth (also reducing energy use and pollution created).
Finally there is the industry itself: A study by the nonprofit Earth
Pledge found approximately 8,000 syn-thetic chemicals are used throughout the world to turn raw materials into textiles
According to figures from the U.S. National Labor Committee, some Chinese workers make as little as 12–18 cents per hour working in poor conditions.
The USDA states that one-quarter of all pesticides used nationwide go toward growing cotton, primarily for the clothing industry
The EPA considers many domestic textile manufacturing facilities to be haz-
ardous waste generators According to the EPA Office of Solid
Waste, Americans throw away an average of more than 68 pounds of clothing and textiles per person per year
AGP hopes that you will consider join-ing us at these workshops for some fun activities that will help you become a better consumer and environmental steward.
There are still several workshops that have yet to be scheduled in our rural towns, so please feel free to call: in Latah County, Andy Boyd at 208 882 0590; and Whit-man County, Judi Dunn-Gray at 509 397 5213 for more information.
Please also consider entering each
county’s recycled art contest at the county fairs this September as upcycled fashion is the theme for these contests. You can enter something made at a workshop or another fashion item you have made from trash, recyclables or old clothes.
AGP will also be holding a “Tossed & Found: Upcycled Apparel and Art” fashion show in November of 2011. This will be an extravaganza of couture fashion made from trash, recyclables and reworked clothes.
Green advertisers were invited to submit copy for the publication. This is one of those submissions.
Lewiston Tribune / Moscow-Pullman Daily News • 5goinggreenFebruary 26, 2011
a greener Palouse promotes ‘upcycling’By andy Boyd | Moscow Recycling
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6 • Lewiston Tribune / Moscow-Pullman Daily News goinggreen February 26, 2011
In the fall of 1997, a miracle was desperately needed for our 4-year-old son.
He was too young for a kidney transplant and we were facing up
to eight years on dialysis due to severe kid-ney damage caused by a rare bladder defect. Unable to accept this option and its bleak prognosis, I found courage to seek healing along a path I knew very little about; the world of herbs.
I discovered plants have been the pri-mary source of healing for centuries, and even today drugs are made largely from plant sources. Roots, leaves, bark, flowers, berries and fruits containing beneficial compounds, unfolded their secrets within the pages of fascinating books cluttering our home in the Montana wilderness.
Hyperhealth, a software program containing a library of herbal and dietary supplement clinical trials became a trusted resource and is one every mother with an interest in natural health will find extreme-ly helpful and very easy to use.
An excellent resource to check to safety and whether or not an herb is appropriate is The PDR (Physicians Desk Reference) Of Herbal Medicine. Both are readily avail-able online and even I, with only a high school level education, found them easy to use.
I began to apply what I learned, work-ing with our pediatrician, a wonderfully patient doctor whose horizons were open to alternative medicine. Lab work was done weekly and then monthly as Tristan’s kidneys responded to the simple remedies and toxin levels in his blood dropped.
The adult blood pressure medication was discontinued; he was no longer the pale anemic child of yesterday. Improve-ment was gradual but amazing. One year later the lab report showed his kidney function to be at 90 percent and being a mom, I cried. For the next twelve years he enjoyed a relatively normal life escaping dialysis completely.
Dietary supplements are not without controversy and herbs in particular are seen by many as dangerous or risky. Lack of a healthy respect for nature in all its forms is foolhardy and definitely dangerous. None of us can survive without water; however, jumping into the lake during a thunder-storm without knowing how to swim can end your life. The same is true of herbs. Too much of a good thing in the wrong context can hurt you, while the right herb
in the correct context can improve and even save a life.
Modern medicine undoubtedly has done much to save life, while it deserves our respect and gratitude for the advances being made. The benefits and advantages of nature’s gifts or the growing concern for some aspects of what is normal in modern medicine should not be ignored.
My instinctive response as a mother and herbalist when asked, “But aren’t herbs dangerous,”is “relative to what?” If we are talking relative to prescription, and even over the counter drugs, then statistically herbs are the safer option .
Green advertisers were invited to submit copy for the publication. This is one of those submissions. Garber will be at Rosauers in Moscow on February 27th from 1pm – 5pm. See ad for full details.
Can herbal remedies work, and how safe are they?By Kathy gerber | Mountain Meadow Herbs
Refillables make for greener wine bottles
SANTA ROSA, Calif. — Forget the cellar; everyday wines are meant to be poured, not stored. Which has led a handful of wineries to turn to the refillable
approach in hopes of putting a cork in their bottles’ environmental impact.
Or, as Idaho vintner Stephen Meyer puts it, “Think green, drink red.”
Meyer is president and winemaker at Pend D’Oreille Winery in Sandpoint, Idaho, where a red blend called Bistro Rouge is sold in 1.5-liter glass bottles that customers can bring back, well washed, and
get a refill at a discount from the regular price.
“It’s turned out to be just an awesome program,” Meyer says. “It’s a good deal for the customer, but more importantly it’s taking solid waste out of the landfills.”
The winery refills about 350 bottles a month — quite high considering Sand-point’s population is about 8,000 — and the program has proved so popular they’ve added a white blend, Bistro Blanc.
One winery has booted the bottle altogether.
The NPA (Natural Process Alliance) winery in Santa Rosa sells its wines in Kleen Kanteens, a BPA-free stainless steel
bottle more commonly used for water.“We wanted to have a package that was
as clean as what we consider our farming and our winemaking to be,” says Hardy Wallace, who handles sales and marketing for the winery.
Wine from The NPA is made with minimal intervention, and no tweaking or overt manipulation of the grapes.
As part of that philosophy, the wines are sold only within a 100-mile radius. Wallace drops off a little more than 100 Kanteens a week, including many to restaurants in nearby San Francisco.
Why steel?It’s easier to clean and tougher than
glass, says Wallace. “We haven’t had to retire one yet.”
The wines sold in Kleen Kanteens are meant to be drunk young. “We really want our customers to think of them almost as they would dairy,” he says.
Wallace doesn’t have a picturesque dairy cart. But he has spray painted milk crates to use for his deliveries.
Refilling wine bottles is common in Europe. So far, the refillable approach isn’t widespread in the United States, but Meyer’s heard from a number of wineries in California “who think it’s a great idea and are interested in doing it.”
Associated Press
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Moscow Glass & AwningMoscow Glass & Awning
Lewiston Tribune / Moscow-Pullman Daily News • 7goinggreenFebruary 26, 2011
AGRICULTURE Blue Mountain Agri-Support Co. 620 Thain Road, Lewiston (208) 746-6447 www.bluemountainag.com
BUILDING Wasankari Construction 2730 Highway 95 South, Moscow (208) 883-4362 [email protected]
FUNERAL HOMES Shorts Funeral Chapel 1225 E. 6th St., Moscow (208) 882-4534www.shortsfuneralchapel.net
HERBSMountain Meadow Herbs PO Box 9227Kalispell, Mont. (888) 528-8615www.mountainmeadowherbs.com
RECYCLINGLatah Sanitation / Moscow Recycling 401 N. Jackson St., Moscow(208) 882-0590www.moscowrecycling.com
Pacific Steel & Recyling 604 12th Street N, Lewiston (208) 743-2181 || (888) 455-3598www.pacific-recycling.com
Pullman Disposal Service135 NW Harold Dr., Pullman(509) 334-1914www.pullmandisposal.com
Lewis Clark Recyclers, Inc. 0335 3rd Street, Lewiston (208) 746-1187 www.lcrecyclers.netDoc. destruction/Event recycling
WINDOWSMoscow Glass & Awning 1018 South Jefferson, Moscow (208) 883-1850 www.moscowglassandawning.com
green directoryYour source for sustAinAble ideAs, resources
effort is being made to install energy ef-ficient windows to save on power costs. For now, she hopes that the visCycles will help at least cover the costs of the energy to run her fans and CD player.
Yogatopia opened in May 2009. Lassit-er, who has a bachelor’s degree in kinesiol-ogy and is a registered yoga instructor, had previously been teaching yoga and belly dancing classes for the City of Pullman and at the Washington State University Recreation Center.
The idea of Yogatopia, she said, is to create an place that brings together com-munity and the environment.
The addition of a cycling class with visCycles is part of the business’ mission by promoting not only exercise, but riding bicycles for function and recreation to and from work, for instance, or exploring the local trails.
“It’s the ripple effect,” Lassiter said. “It’s the idea that this small step builds aware-ness and consciousness.”
Lassiter said her classes have grown sig-nificantly, with 100 students enrolled at the
end of last year, and nearly doubling size by the end of February.
Yogatopia now teaches everything from prenatal yoga to Zumba. The cycling classes range from the 5:30 a.m. Sunrise Spin, to Palouse Trails, which mimics the trails around the area. The YogaCycle class incorporates 40 minutes of yoga followed by 40 minutes of cycling.
Lassiter said the combination of yoga and cycling create an intense, cohesive workout, as both exercises promote breath-ing, flexibility and endurance. In addition to Pettitt, Lassiter said student feedback has been good. In fact, the cycling classes filled up almost immediately. “There were people lined up at the doors,” she said.
Pettitt, who has participated in triathlon and enjoys the variation of yoga and cycling in Yogatopia classes, said she lucked out and was able to reserve a seat on a visCycle through this spring.
She credits Lassiter with “thinking out-side the box” and bringing the bikes — and a new point of view — to Pullman.
“Any way we can put things back into our environment — especially when we’ve been taking so long — is awesome,” she said.
Yogatopiafrom Page 3
Fish Wrap? Fine with usThis publication is
printed on 40 percent post-consumer recycled newsprint, and is 100 percent recyclable.
a th Da
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at n
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8 • Lewiston Tribune / Moscow-Pullman Daily News goinggreen February 26, 2011
Harness the power of print and Web
Welcome to the (Green) bundle!
Businesses big and small can nd a greenmarketing campaign to t their budget in 2011.
Advertise in four key products this yearto assure your business:
> The right frequency> The right audience> The right message
Talk to your print and Web marketing expert at the Lewiston Tribune or Moscow-Pullman Daily News
about how you can reach an unrivaled audience at an unbeatable price by bundling your buying power!
For additional information please contact a sales representative in Moscow at (208) 882-5561, or Lewiston at (208) 743-9411 .
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