Indiana Living Green - April 2012

ApocaPoetry Contest In honor of the Year of the Apocalypse, Indiana Living Green, along with the Writers’ Center of Indiana (www.indianawriters.org), is announcing a poetry contest. Not just any poetry con-test, but a contest with a theme: the Apocalypse, ya know, 12/21/12. 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 Endtimes.

C O N T E N T S APRIL 2012

PUBLISHER Kevin McKinney [email protected]

EDITORIALEDITOR Jim Poyser [email protected]

EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Alexis Boxer (West Lafayette)Jaclyn Goldsborough (Fort Wayne)Liz Nolan (Columbus)Jennifer Troemner (Indianapolis)

CONTRIBUTORSThe ApocaDocs, Carey Hamilton, Angela Herrmann, Lynn Jenkins, Shelby Kelley, Rita Kohn, Carrol Krause, Joe Lee, Mark Lee, Adam Moody, Anthony Orozco, Janice Ringler, Rev. Dennis Shock, Barbara Simpson, Maria Smietana, Stephen Simonetto, Renee Sweany, Julianna Thibodeaux, Jennifer Troemner

WEBDIGITAL PLATFORMS EDITOR Tristan [email protected]

I.T. MANAGER T.J. [email protected]

SALES & MARKETINGSALES ASSOCIATE Robert [email protected]

DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING Mary [email protected]

PROMOTIONS COORDINATOR Lauren [email protected]

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COURIER Dick Powell

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IndianaLivingGreen.comWant to be on the ILG team?Email Jim at [email protected]!

8 Taking rootAs the executive director of Earth Charter Indiana and its sister initiative, Sustain-able Indiana 2016, John Gibson does not embody the kind of activism that makes headlines.+ BY JULIANNA THIBODEAUX

+ COVER IMAGE BY SHELBY KELLEY

D E P A R T M E N T S

5 Doom & Bloom

6 Watts and Whatnot

15 Adv ocacy

28 Ask Renee

29 T he PANIQuiz

30 The Last Row

31 Life is an Egg by Joe Lee

Indiana Living Green is printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper. Published by NUVO, Inc. ©2012

12 Permaculture potentatePeter Bane, publisher of Permaculture Activist, the nation’s longest-running permaculture magazine, has a new book coming out soon, The Permacul-ture Handbook.+ BY CARROL KRAUSE

24 Food and conversationThe Indianapolis City Market was brimming with activity the first Sat-urday morning in March. Everywhere you turned, people were engaged in conversations, including Laura Henderson, founder and director of the Indy Winter Farmers Market. + BY ANGELA HERRMANN

C O R R E C T I O NIn our March issue in Watts and Whatnots, we stated that the Nina Mason Pullman Charitable Trust intended on donating $5 million to Marian University’s EcoLab. In truth, the Trust’s $1 million gift established an en-dowment to support the EcoLab in perpetuity. Marian’s goal is to raise another $3-5 million for the endowment from other donors over the next couple of years to fully fund the EcoLab operations. We regret the error.

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This may blow your mind, but I had never, until just a couple weeks ago, seen the film Titanic.

Sure, I’d seen scenes here and there. It’s impossible to avoid, but the whole thing, start to finish?

Never.Awakened to the state of peril of

our ecosystem, I now experience entertainment in terms of how it relates to or ignores climate change.

The film Titanic is a perfect metaphor for climate change, so much so it’s cliché.

But I won’t let that stop me.Picture this pivotal scene: the few minutes of stunned

shock that ensue after the collision with the iceberg. A couple of the crew people understand the upcoming catastrophe, and the man who designed the ship gets it, but, by and large, people are in a state of denial.

They think it’s an innocuous interlude and they’ll soon be back cozy in their warm beds.

That’s exactly where we are as a planet.We’ve hit the iceberg: Water is rushing in. Most

of us would rather not believe it, because … well, because it’s just too awful.

How have we hit the iceberg? Let me count the ways. Thirty-five straight years of warming. Arctic Sea in the thrall of a thaw. Methane chimneys bub-bling up from the deep.

Estimates of a 2 degree Celsius rise in tempera-ture now seem almost quaint.

So we sit here in stunned shock, hoping every-thing will go back to normal.

It ain’t gonna happen, people.It’s just gonna get more chaotic: extended drought

some places, too much rain elsewhere, grow-ing warmth here, colder winters there, plus sea level rise, dead zones, industrial toxins, GMOs and garbage-patch islands, across the planet.

On an everyday level, we know what to do. This magazine has and will always present options for

eco-conscious living, for living more in harmony with nature, instead of always at odds, but you already know that, because you’re trying your best every day.

Let’s look at another film-as-metaphor to fully embrace what’s happening.

127 Hours is the true tale of Indiana native Aron Ralston, a mountain climber and wilderness adventurer who, while hiking in the wilds of Utah, has his arm trapped beneath a boulder. The film tracks the 127 hours it takes for him to … well, you know: cut off his arm.

At some point it dawned on me, though, what the movie was about.

Well, sure, it’s about Ralston’s arrogance; he delights in nature, but he uses it as a thing, exploits it for his entertainment. But I think the film is about how stuck we are in the old mode of consumer-ism and waste. The boulder is our comeuppance, a polluted landscape and chaotic weather patterns associated with climate change.

Ralston was not prepared for the boulder.Neither are we.Just as the iceberg has hit, the boulder has fallen.

We’re stuck with a mindset of short-term thinking and maximum profit-seeking. All within the context of our static, inept political system, and a culture that celebrates nature, officially, only one day a year.

How hard will it be to change our wasteful, consumer-oriented, fossil-fuel ways?

As hard as cutting off your own arm but not as hard as sinking into the cold waters of the north Atlantic Ocean.

Look at it this way: Aron Ralston still has three other limbs, plus he published a book, made a movie, met Danny Boyle and James Franco, appeared on David Letterman’s show AND he was in a Miller Lite beer commercial.

And in early April, you’ll get to see Titanic for the first time in 3D; witness the unfolding metaphor for yourself.

Sounds like we might have a beautiful future, after all.

Movie metaphors

doom & bloom with Jim Poyser

about climate change

>> James Franco stars in ‘127 Hours.’

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6 INDIANALIVINGGREEN.COM /// APRIL 2012 /// ILG

The political fight over the right to work law took much of the limelight in this year’s legislative session, but there have been heated battles over eco-related legislation. As the session came to an end on March 14, bills that impact Hoosier farmers, air quality and energy were defended and defeated on the House and Senate floors.

One of the most controversial and dramatic bouts seen in the Indiana Statehouse was House Bill 1091. This bill, which, critics said, redundantly reinforced the Indiana Right to Farm Act, aimed to automatically award court costs to agricultural feeding operations (CAFOs) defendants that are found not guilty in nuisance cases.

Those who opposed the bill said the leg-islation was a scare tactic to defend against environmentalists and neighboring farmers who want to keep factory farms accountable for their waste. Currently, the courts have the option to have plaintiffs pay for the CAFO’s court costs if the CAFO is found not to be a nuisance. This bill would eliminate that dis-cretion and make the payment mandatory.

The bill passed in the House in a 57-39 vote on Jan. 31 and passed in the Senate in a 36-14 vote on Feb. 29 and might become law.

Senate Bill 210 would have taken standards out of the hands of solid waste management districts (SWMD), and given counties the power to allot funds (via collected income tax and user fees) to the SWMDs.

Though the bill would have provided ac-countability for SWMD funds, opponents claimed that fund would have been taken

away from recycling efforts in Indiana. In a deadlock vote of 25-25, the bill was

narrowly defeated. “We support provisions in the bill that

would provide educational standards and bet-ter reporting mechanisms for SWMDs,” said Carey Hamilton, executive director of Indiana Recycling Coalition. “We oppose provisions in the bill that change how districts are funded. We believe such provisions could result in an overall reduction in funding for recycling in Indiana.”

Senate Bill 344 steadily made its way through the Statehouse since its introduction in January. The bill aimed to create a pro-posed Indiana Gasification Substitute Natural Gas plant to be built in Rockport — which may receive $150 million in state subsidies.

SB 344 passed in the Senate in a 28-20 vote on Feb. 1.

The language, including the subsidies, met opposition from a group of 22 legislators led by Susan Crouch (R-Evansville), who voted to oppose taxpayer subsidies to the artificial “natural” gas producer Feb. 22.

The language was altered and amended to pass without the subsidies on Feb. 23.

Smoking and carcinogens were under fire with the statewide smoking-ban bill HB 1148.

The House passed HB 1149 on Jan. 31 with a 62-35 vote and the Senate voted 29-21 in favor of the bill on Feb. 28 — one day after lawmakers amended it to exempt bars and taverns. Owners of such establishments had complained to a Senate panel that their customers would flock to casinos and private

clubs not covered by the ban. The bill also faced opposition on counts of civil liberties, claiming the bill infringed on a person’s right to choose.

The bill — as with some chronic smokers — lost its teeth, gaining no substantial ground for people who would like a smoke-free Indi-ana. The ban has exempted charitable gam-bling operations, veterans’ homes and nursing homes and reduced the distance smokers must be from entrances to public places from 12 feet to 8 feet.

One of the more ambitious bills introduced this year was House Bill 1073. This bill would have established a Regional Transit Authority and a Metropolitan Transit District. These entities would have doubled the Indiana bus service and added train service from Nobles-ville to downtown Indiana.

HB 1073 was voted down Jan. 29 in the House Ways and Means Committee, losing by a single vote, terminating the session’s oppor-tunity to create a robust public transit system.

One bill that got little attention by the General Assembly was House Bill 1032 that would have placed restriction on fertilizer that contains phosphorus.

This bill has seen no progress in the session after being introduced Jan. 9 and assigned to the House Committee on Environmental Af-fairs on Jan. 18. It is rumored the melancholy bill can be found on the steps of the State House sighing the “Schoolhouse Rock” lyrics, “I’m just a bill …”

By Anthony Orozco

WATTS AND WHATNOT

2012 Legislative Round-up


On April 28, 11-4, White River State Park, 801 West Washington Street, will host this year’s free Earth Day Indiana festival. Stephen Sellers has been the festival’s director for six years. Ever since he participated in the first Earth Day while in school at IU he’s been actively involved in conservation and preser-vation.

STEPHEN SELLERS: Earth Day Indiana has grown to be one of the largest Earth Day events in the country. On a clear April day we’ll host 30,000 visitors. We’ll have 140 exhibits, live music, good food and special activities for kids.

ILG: Tell us more about the exhibits.

SS: Our exhibits focus on environmental protection, conserving natural resources and sustainable living. You will see a variety of organizations and businesses that have some stake in those basic issues, organizations that are advocacy groups. You will see groups that are based on educating people. You will see businesses that have particular products that are environmentally friendly or recycled. You will see exhibits on fuel efficient autos, on lower emission vehicles. Just a whole host of interesting, thought-provoking, and valuable exhibits, so that people can look, choose, dis-cuss and maybe learn something that they can

take home and apply for themselves.

ILG: What kind of activities do you have for children?

SS: We have an entertainment stage, so there will be some entertainment and education for the kids. One of the great features in the chil-dren’s tent is a presentation by Anamalia, a lo-cal group that will bring wildlife that kids can see. They’ll discuss different types of wildlife and the kids will learn and have fun watching that. One of the fun things that kids always get a kick out of is the Industrial Operators Association does T-shirt coloring with the kids, and that is wildly popular. They’ve done that for years, and it’s a feature that brings the kids back.

ILG: What’s the biggest thing you want people to get out of this event?

SS: We hope that people choose a path that is appropriate for them. The great thing about the Earth Day Indiana Festival is that there are so many different organizations, differ-ent choices, different points of view, so that people can come in and explore, and to learn, to make connections, perhaps join an organi-zation, learn about something they can do to conserve or recycle. Really, choose a path that they feel is appropriate for them.

Earth Day 2012

ILG: Is there anything else that you want the readers to know?

SS: Go to the website at EarthDayIndiana.org where we will start posting updates and have a lot more information about what’s coming up, so look for that in April. It’s a family friendly event, so bring the kids, bring the pets, bike in. Pedal and Park will have a corral there, so you can bike here and it’ll be secure. And there’s many things to do once you’re down there. There are muse-ums, there’s the zoo, or just walk along the canal.

ILG: All very green options, I’ve noticed!

SS: Exactly! It’s the premier area in India-napolis to do an outdoor event.

— Jennifer Troemner

>> Last year’s Earth Day Indiana festival


No, Gibson’s sort of activism — the kind that maneuvers behind the scenes, con-necting institutions and communities which often have tense relationships with one another — has done much to engender lasting change in Indiana, and to provide a model for continuing to move toward a more sustainable future.

As Gibson puts it, “I’m trying to be a cata-lyst by connecting the people who are doing the deed and to connecting the public’s aware-ness with what is already here and working.”

This is what Gibson has done from the beginning, first as a minister hired to do com-munity revitalization through the Ecumenical Institute in a rough Chicago neighborhood,

then later as executive director of the Insti-tute of Cultural Affairs, based in Indianapolis, which sprang from the all-faith inclusive, community-building successes of the Ecu-menical Institute.

Gibson’s current energies are channeled into Sustainable Indiana 2016, which he and his colleagues at Earth Charter Indiana put into place to help the state “achieve measur-able progress toward sustainability by Indi-ana’s bicentennial year.”

Enough for all, foreverGibson’s definition for “sustainability” is

simple and poignant: “enough for all, forever.” But within that definition are a multitude of

challenges and competing interests. They have driven Gibson’s life work as an activist who has worked from different angles, tried different tactics and galvanized unlikely com-munities toward that end.

At 79, he’s still at it, with no plans of stop-ping anytime soon.

After taking things a bit slower during and after the extended illness and death of his wife, Anita, in December, Gibson is back at work. He is doing what he and Anita would have done together — this time, he tells me, his sister, a retired member of the clergy from Wisconsin, is partnering in the effort.

While Mapleton Fall-Creek is a neigh-borhood beset by contrasts — poverty alongside upward mobility, some of the city’s highest crime rates and worst schools — Gibson and his wife were committed to their neighborhood. They raised their children there, and became involved in the diverse community as board members of the neighborhood association.

If one defines community as a group of individuals with some common point of con-nection, there is always the possibility that this point is unifying rather than divisive. This is where Gibson has perhaps been most effec-tive in making change happen.

Gibson’s early experiences were formative. He grew up in diverse communities, living in the middle of the Cheyenne Indian reservation in

As the executive director of Earth Charter Indiana and

its sister initiative, Sustainable Indiana 2016, John Gibson

does not embody the kind of activism that makes head-

lines. He doesn’t carry the glamorous cache of a Bono or

Angelina Jolie, nor has he made his name through a grand

gesture of public protest in Washington or the redwood

forests in California.

TakingJohn Gibson’s

legacy of sustainability

By Julianna Thibodeaux


South Dakota for much of his childhood, in dense urban areas plagued by crime and poverty as a newly minted minister and in a Muslim commu-nity in Malaysia where he did ecumenical work.

These experiences gave Gibson a deep sense of our similarities, rather than our dif-ferences, suggesting the potential for unifica-tion rather that division.

The formative yearsGibson was born in 1933 in the midst of the

Great Depression. “When my parents left college, there were no jobs to be had,” Gibson said. So his parents rented a small farm and tried to make a go of it. “But it was dust bowl times; there was no way to succeed in farming. … I was born there in a little farmhouse in the middle of a dust storm.”

An appreciation for nature, with an ironic twist, began at an early age. “My very earliest memory is when I was 3 years old and I went out to play in the yard, and I sat down and started playing with an ant hill, with the ants. And that was a very painful revelation, because they pro-ceeded to bite me,” Gibson said with a laugh.

Gibson met his wife in high school, after his father was transferred to Custer, S.D., in the Black Hills. He and Anita married after gradu-ating from college — both attended South Da-kota State University at Brookings. They soon moved to Chicago where Gibson attended Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, on the campus of Northwestern University, and Anita taught home economics.

After serving as a Methodist minister for several years in various communities, includ-ing towns in Wisconsin and South Dakota, Gibson went to work for an organization called the Ecumenical Institute, with the goal of renewing the vitality of the Christian Church. “One of the ways that they were doing that was to reconnect congregations with the commu-nity around them,” Gibson said. “And to dem-onstrate that they set up their headquarters in the West Side of Chicago in a very tough area, and began to help revitalize the economy and the culture and education of the citizens in that part of Chicago. So that became a living laboratory for how you go about engaging people in their own self-development.”

At the heart of this work was conducting com-munity forums, called town meetings. The na-tional Bicentennial Town Meetings, more than 5,000 in all, were largely held from 1975 to 1978 although it took until 1980 to complete the goal of “at least one in every county,” Gibson says.

“And those had a remarkable effect on the nation because it was a model that brought peo-ple together and allowed them to build consen-sus,” Gibson said. “… Because of the emotional divisiveness of the Civil Rights movement of the ’60s and the Vietnam controversy, a lot of communities were so divided that they couldn’t plan anything. They couldn’t sit in the same room without hollering at each other.” So the institute created a model that “allowed people to talk together, and allowed kids to participate and express themselves as well.”

The notion of equalityThrough this work, Gibson and others

in the Ecumenical Institute saw that such a model worked equally well in a secular setting. In 1980, Gibson became the regional director for that work, based in Indianapolis, under the rubric of the Institute of Cultural Affairs.

“Mainly what we had to offer was a method of high participation and consensus building that allowed people to come together that wanted to make things happen,” Gibson said. “And we simply gave them a way to combine their thoughts, to get their focus, and to overcome some of their issues that were preventing them from achieving their dreams.

“We used these same methods with churches, with neighborhoods, with schools, even in businesses, so that the methodology itself was universal and had many, many applications to it. But what brought people together was their com-mon concern for quality of life, both currently and moving into the future. They were trying to realize some of their hopes and dreams.”

Gibson’s ecumenical background formed a foundation for the work he would continue to do — including the years with Earth Charter and Sustainable Indiana 2016.

“The issues we face as a planet right now are moral issues, in my opinion,” Gibson said. “It’s not a morality related to any creed or dogma. It’s a morality of trying to answer the question of what kind of a world are we leav-ing to our children, and grandchildren, and their children. And to me that’s a moral issue borne of my faith upbringing in justice and charity and concern for your neighbor; and I have had many good experiences to learn to love this planet, and I just want to see it preserved for generations to come.”

At the core, Gibson suggests, is the notion of equality — a notion notably absent in the volatile political discourse of today.

As Gibson puts it, “Growing up in South Dakota, the minorities of South Dakota were

American Indians. I had school friends who were American Indians. My father made many friends across the county who were American Indians or related to them. And so I think I learned just a lot about people through osmosis almost, by being with them and around them — and my father and mother’s teaching us to respect all people — so that it was increasingly hard for me to assume the prejudices that other people sometimes had. …

“Because when you have personal relation-

ships with people, you see things differently, I think. You relate to them differently. When I hear people’s fear about Muslims, for example, it’s hard for me to understand that after living for a year in a hundred percent Muslim village and experiencing their kindness, their gener-osity, their hopes and dreams which are very much like anybody else’s.”

Gibson experienced something similar when he and his wife moved to Indianapolis. “We moved to an area of the city that was primarily African-American,” Gibson said. “So that gave us almost 20 years of having neighbors and friends and just living among African-Americans.”

Earth Charter takes root

Gibson said that by 1986 he began to question the value of his traveling around three states as regional director. He decided he could be more productive if he concentrated his efforts in In-dianapolis. “So I started working more intensely

>> John Gibson with his late wife, Anita.

“For some reason, people don’t expect much of Indiana in this regard. So what if we surprised the world?”

— John Gibson

continued on pg. 10


in the neighborhood and making myself available to schools and churches as a facilitator of strategic planning and team building.”

In 1999, Gibson decided to try more direct action and ran for mayor of Indianapolis. “I wanted to present something different in politics,” Gibson said. “So with the help of my friends, we created an independent party called Our Party.” Gibson and his supporters garnered enough signatures for him to make it onto the ballot, but that was as far as it went.

As 2000 approached, Gibson started wondering, “What am I go-ing to do now with the rest of my life?” With this question in mind, Gibson attended a conference in New York focused on reimagining America in the 21st century.

“And while I was there, one of the concurrent workshops being offered was called the Earth Charter. So I went to that work-shop, and I really liked what I was hearing and seeing there because coming out of a decade-long process that was worldwide and was intergenerational, and inter-religious and multinational, it just seemed to transcend all conven-tional barriers and boundaries of people. Maybe as many as 100,000 participated and had input into what kind of a future we wanted on planet Earth, and how to get there. It was called a declaration of interdependence, and it was all about sustainability.”

In a sense you could call this Gibson’s “aha” moment, when his life’s work up to that point seemed to coalesce into a common gesture of working toward sustainability.

As he explains it, “All of my life I had been working on social and economic justice, nonviolent peacemaking, environmental is-sues, and then this respect for com-munity. And lo and behold, here was an international effort that brought all those thoughts together. And so instead of having to decide to take one path or the other, here was something that united all of these and made it clear that all of it needed to work together in order for there to be success.”

Gibson recruited Jerry King to help build Earth Charter Indiana as the Hoosier arm of the global Earth Charter initiative. And as they say, the rest is history — or history in the making.

“In March of 2001, about 15 local civic activists gathered in our living room and we looked at the Earth Charter,” Gibson said. “We read it through. We consid-ered whether or not it would add value to what was already going on here. We agreed that it would. And so we agreed that we would create a summit that would make people aware of the charter and its potential, along with 11 other cities in the United States.”

That fall, Indiana held one of 12 simultaneous summits on the Earth Charter.

continued from pg. 9

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A people’s treatyThe charter itself, Gibson

said, “is a document that is used around the world. But it’s not an organization as such. It’s sort of like a people’s treaty that’s out there for anybody and everybody to use as they wish.”

At this point, Gibson left his work at the Institute of Cultural Affairs to direct Earth Charter Indiana as a full-time volunteer. Others joined him and the effort has been a largely volunteer one ever since. The Earth Charter is supported by memberships and a small number of grants. The sup-port covers a modest budget for rent, printing, office expenses, and some programmatic expenses.

The Indianapolis Food Coali-tion, for instance, sprang from the Earth Charter a few years ago. Earth Charter continues to serve as fiscal manager. Now that grant funding for that initiative has run its course, the Coalition must find its own way forward without a paid manager.

“Through the work of April Hammerand,” Gibson said, “that’s

been evolving and coalescing, and I’m not exactly sure what the next step is for that. But that will be determined pretty much by this coalition of people who are all stakeholders in the food system. And of course we have a deep concern for that, so we’ll be as supportive as we can in whatever way we can or are asked to.”

Earth Charter continues to hold annual summits at various locations in the city, from uni-versities to churches to cultural institutions. Between summits, Earth Charter has held training programs on civil discourse and in 2006 launched Sustainable Indiana 2016.

This decade-long program “was intended to evolve through the years as we gained more informa-tion and more insight about how to proceed,” Gibson said. “So then a lot of my energy was taken up developing an infrastructure around Indiana, including what we call transition teams in nine different regions of the state, and developing a program design that was interactive and synergistic.”

A brighter future … maybe

Environmentalism can evoke stereotypes such as tree huggers and far leaning leftist liberals. And Indiana is not typically thought of as sustainably minded or environ-mentally progressive. With such obstacles, how can an initiative such as the Earth Charter take root and grow here?

As Gibson puts it, “The Earth Charter itself takes a positive ap-proach. It acknowledges that the glass is half empty, that there are real issues in the world that are urgent. But at the same time, it is a set of principles and core values that are hope producing. It gives you a track to run on. It gives you a blueprint to follow. It also suggests inclusiveness. In other words, it’s not a solution just for environmentalists.

“And that makes me happy because even though we want to save the spotted owl, so to speak, we have to also be concerned about the jobs for people that are going to be lost; so you can’t just be concerned with one little

part of it. Now this makes it more complex. But I think it makes it also more hopeful.”

While Gibson is hopeful, he’s

not naïve about the challenges. “We’re not going to become paradise by 2016. We will not be totally sustainable by 2016. But what I’m hoping we can celebrate is that we have made an enor-mous stride forward and have set a new trajectory,” he said.

“I’m not the artist. I’m not the organic farmer. I’m not the green architect. But what I see myself doing is making our fellow citizens know about these things, appreciate them, access what they can of them for their own home or their own yard, and trying to build a sense of pride and purpose in becoming a greener more sustainable state.

“Not only for what that could mean for our own health and future, and our economy, but for what that example would be … for the states around us, for the nation. Because for some reason, people don’t expect much of Indiana in this regard. So what if we surprised the world?”

For more information about Earth Charter Indiana and Sustainable Indiana 2016, visit earthcharterindiana.org and sus-tainableindiana2016.org.

“Sustainability: enough for all, forever.”

— John Gibson


Peter Bane, publisher of Permaculture Activ-ist, the nation’s longest-running permaculture magazine, has a new book coming out soon, The Permaculture Handbook. More than 600 pages long, it is destined to be the ultimate reference for urban or suburban homeowners who would like to convert their lawns to ed-ible landscapes or even mini-farmsteads.

Indiana Living Green: First of all, for those who may not be familiar with the term, please define the word “permaculture.”

PETER BANE: Permaculture is a response to the global environmental crisis based on the science of ecology and the art of design. It originated in Australia some 35 years ago but has spread around the world. It’s been in the United States for more than thirty years already. It proposes to educate people in the energy principles by which nature operates; at bottom, it’s about “who eats whom, and what the rules are.”

It’s often associated with gardening, which is an excellent metaphor for the concept of care that lies at the root of permaculture. But it also encompasses our social relations and the built environment

as well, including energy-efficient building design and the placement of infrastructure in our neighborhoods and towns.

By this point, “permaculture” is a word that most knowledgeable people have heard. It’s not quite a household word yet, but young people who are current on things tend to have some idea of what it means. That says a lot about how far we’ve come.

Permaculture Activist has even made it into the U.S. government’s indexes and bibliogra-phies. The government has issued grants to research permaculture systems.

ILG: How did the concept originate?

BANE: The co-originators of permaculture are Bill Mollison and David Holmgren. They were original thinkers of different ages in Australia who spent three years together documenting ecosystems. They then co-authored the book Permaculture One. Its impact was enormous — it went like a shot around the world and was widely read and reviewed. It was one of the most important

books of the 1970s, without a doubt. It’s a cohort of Christopher Alexander’s architec-ture book, A Pattern Language, which also came out during the 1970s. Permaculture is the pattern language for human settlements. (The now-famous book A Pattern Language provides more than 200 basic templates for intrinsically amenable human dwellings and public spaces, including the ideal height for a window sill and how many pedestrians an arcade can accommodate.)

ILG: Permaculture is about sustainability in the long run. It began by implying “permanent agriculture,” but now it generally means “per-manent human culture.” Can you elaborate?

BANE: A core belief of our modern society is that there will always be more, and that technology will save us. I have the unfortunate task of being a Cassandra, someone warning

Permaculture potentateAn interview with Peter Bane

^̂photos courtesy of carrol krause

Peter Bane

By Carrol Krause

This is the response to alienation — go outside and garden!


society about its use of fossil fuel. Oil is non-renewable and as it goes, huge upheavals will be inevitable — they’ve already begun. Household incomes will continue to shrink in the years to come, and the household wealth that has evaporated in the past few years will not be coming back. We haven’t had a gold standard for our money since the 1970s; instead we’ve had the oil-based dollar and our access to oil is declining.

But this is not all bad.When we study the shadow side

of our oil-based prosperity we find unhappiness, broken families, and dis-

trust. Look at what fracking has done: this frantic search for more energy at any cost is blowing apart all social bonds. When someone offers you a million dollars to frack your farm, it’s hard to say no, but easy to say yes and ruin your neighbors’ lives.

We are on the leading edge of the mother of all depressions. We can view this either as a crisis or as an opportunity. My book is a positive response to the environmental cri-sis, which is also an economic crisis. The storm is on us, but we can take the resources we have and begin bolstering the real foundations of an enduring economy: the household, and its relationship to its neighbors and the community around it.

The good news is that we will substitute social capital for financial capital. We have hard work and diffi-culties facing us, but also the oppor-tunity to be near friends and family and to solve problems creatively in ways that will help the places we love, our homes and communities.

Overcoming challenges can be rewarding and it’s easier to do this with help. People are already living in multi-generation households to save money. We will begin to do things for ourselves, like our great-grandparents did in the Great Depression.

This is the response to alienation — go outside and garden! You’ll have lots of fun and you will meet people and be rewarded! At the end of the day you’ll be tired, but you won’t be beaten down.

ILG: What advice do you have for readers who want to lead a more per-macultural life?

BANE: I tell people to look around their household and landscape, and notice what isn’t working. Unless

you’re a Mormon, you’ll usually not have a lot of food stored, so store more food. Then learn to grow some of it. The things that keep you alive — heat, water and food — are controlled by forces far away.

Begin to think how you can become more self-reliant. If you have extra space on a wall, put up shelves and make a pantry, learn to can. Get an idea of what foods will keep. If you don’t do a lot of cooking, start trying to do more, using whole foods like vegeta-bles, grains and clean local meats.

Organic greens are far better for you than conven-tional greens. In addition to these changes in diet and cooking hab-its, plant a small garden. Start outside your back door. Learn to grow five differ-

ent vegetables this year — that’s within anyone’s capacity.

Don’t be upset if two of them fail; that’s the farmer’s life!

See how much water and heat you use and try to figure out ways to re-duce. Is your house drafty? Get a can of spray foam and fix the leaks! If you’ve been meaning to insulate but haven’t done it, get on it!

The point is to start reducing your consumption and becoming aware of the energy embodied in what you use and eat and buy. It’s about lifestyle: walk the talk. The biggest change read-ers can make is to become producers, not just consumers.

ILG: Renaissance Farm, your seven-tenths-acre property near Bloomington, used to be just an ordinary lot with a drab little house and a lot of grass around it. Today there are all-season crops planted virtually from fence line to fence line in both the front and back yards. It’s a wonderful example of how permacul-ture can transform our landscape. Can you describe the changes you made?

BANE: We moved here six years ago. At that time there were two little rundown ranch buildings, a house and a former garage. It was a grass-covered lot with a few big trees — a blank slate.

We began with the buildings. They were in poor condition; anything that could be worn out or run down or broken was in need of fixing. The first year was triage. We had to start with the buildings. We lived in one and ran the magazine out of the other.

The first several years were dominated by ordinary, un-sexy stuff like blowing insulation into the attic, repairing windows, fixing siding, replacing the inefficient refrigerator, fixing the leaky pipes. The second year

This frantic search for more energy at any cost is blowing apart all social bonds.

— Peter Bane

>> Aspects of Bane’s permacultural approach to living.


we began to do basic garden infrastructure, and turned more of the lawn into garden.

We also built a 10,000-gallon ferrocement cistern to catch rainwater from our roofs, and we put in the pipes and hydrants that allow us to water the garden with it. We also put up a large hoop house that would let us grow food through the winter.

The third year we planted 10 apple trees, five pears, two plums and three peaches. We kept adding to the gardens by sheet-mulching the lawns until they covered most of the prop-erty. We took on a live-in apprentice to help us get things done, and that moved us along faster. We addressed our energy consumption and our energy efficiency. We increased the solar gain on the house so we were generating more of our own warmth. The fourth year we replaced the broken slab in front of the house and built a porch in its place with solar panels on the roof that now provide all our electricity.

The fifth year, the summer of 2010, put the fear of God into us in terms of drought. We added ponds for additional water storage ranging from 300 to 1,200 gallons each, so we now store more water in the landscape. This year we added a barn, which will allow us to do many things we couldn’t do previously. We’re building a second cistern of 4,000-gal-

lons, and we’ve poured foundations for a building that will house rabbits and ducks. We plan to increase our output from the garden and market more of it. We hope to train farm-ers eventually by offering a farm school.

The new book will be the textbook that shows people how to do what we have done.

ILG: What will we find inside the new book?

BANE: I’ve cast permaculture in the language of gardening and small-scale farming, so it’s about what people can do on small urban or suburban properties from a back yard on up to 25 acres. It’s about addressing your own household needs first, and secondarily about selling your produce. The book has more than 400 photos, four case studies of permaculture farms and many drawings. I wrote A Pattern Language for gardening, taking Christopher Alexander’s thinking about building forms and applying it to the productive landscape.

Until now, there’s been no major American permaculture text that addresses everything that this new book does. There is a good book on perma-culture gardening but it doesn’t include animals, and it doesn’t address interactions with family and neighbors.

I’m the first North American, I think, who has attempted to blend all these things — permaculture design, gardening, marketing, and sociology — in one book.

I’m hoping to help people envision what they’re headed for: that a household equals a sustainable economy that can save us as the global economy disappears. Everyone’s

going to become thrifty again, the economy is forcing it. But people can get there faster with less struggle (and maybe even make money!) by incorporating permaculture into their lives.

This is a step-wise process. It doesn’t hap-pen overnight, and it won’t happen in a year. But if you are steady, in three years you’ll be living a different way of life; you will feel dif-ferent, and you will be a lot happier, healthier and thriftier.

Learn more, and order Peter Bane’s new book, The Permaculture Handbook: Garden Farming For Town and Country at permacultureactivist.net.

PETER BANE, AT A GLANCE:

Born in a central Illinois cornfield when Harry Truman was still president.

Raised amidst a quarrelsome tribe of Irish immigrants; hung out in the trees.

Graduated from the University of Illinois with a major in Political Science before abandoning the conventional career world for travel and adventure.

Self-employed as publisher of Permacul-ture Activist since 1990 and as a teacher of permaculture design since 1992.

Lives outside Bloomington on a suburban farm.

Bloomington favorites: Bloomingfoods Coop for everything, strolling the courthouse square, bar food at Finch’s Brasserie, and a cruise through the Game Preserve to see the latest offerings.

I’m the first North American, I think, who has attempted to blend all these things — permaculture design, gardening, marketing, and sociology — in one book.


Normally my job consists of working to affect public policy to promote recycling in our community. But I realize that for

people not “in the business,” the recycling they care most about takes place at home.

So, here’s how I apply my professional recycling knowledge around the house.

First, I reduce and reuse as much as possible. Packing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? Re-use bread bags — or the bags from cereal. Cloth napkins? I’ve fallen in love with them. Using them is much more enjoyable than paper napkins, and they take almost no space in the laundry.

How to clean a sticky peanut butter jar? If you don’t have a dog to lick it — I have a very happy dog — then a good swipe with a spatula will get it clean enough to recycle.

Now that most waste haulers take glass, cans, plastics num-bered 1 through 7, paper and cardboard, you can recycle pretty much all the packaging you bring into your house. This includes milk jugs, pop cans, beer bottles, soup cans, cereal boxes, yogurt cups, cracker trays, corrugated boxes, and plastic bags. Since my waste hauler began collect-ing plastics beyond #1 and #2, I put almost nothing in my trash anymore. (Check with your service provider/drop-off location manager to learn exactly what items they take.)

You’re probably already put-ting those obvious items out at the curb. But, wait, there’s more. Plastic and metal lids are recy-clable. Plastic caps can be screwed back on the empty container, while metal caps can go in the bin separately. You do not have to take the paper labels off cans and jars. But it’s good to remove

them if they come off easily, as it makes the recycling system more efficient. The paper labels can be recycled, too.

Away from the kitchen, there is more paperboard to be found in the packaging of toys and elec-tronic gadgets, as well as toilet-paper tubes and tissue boxes. (Remove any plastic liners that peel off easily.) And while you’re in the bathroom, don’t forget the bottles that shampoo, soap and cosmetics come in.

You can make recycling these items easy and convenient by having recycling containers on your second floor and basement, in addition to your primary recycling station in the kitchen, garage or utility room.

Don’t forget your office – or that place by the door that’s a magnet for all things paper. Catalogs, newspapers, magazines and office paper can go in your recycling bin. If you recycle at drop-off locations, find out if your local school or church has a paper-recycling bin, which often generate revenue for the host facility. We save up paper to take to my kid’s school, benefiting the environment and the school with that small effort.

Back to the kitchen – and into the yard. A huge amount of waste can be diverted from landfills by composting kitchen scraps. In fact, 14 percent of our waste stream is food waste. Keep a container on your kitchen counter or under the sink in which to put coffee grounds, banana peels, apple cores, veggie peels, egg shells and other biodegradable waste. (Meat, oils and starches do not compost well.)

Then put the kitchen scraps in a compost bin – which you can make or buy. Or you can find a dry shady spot in your yard, pile up some leaves, branches and twigs, and then add your kitchen scraps. Before long, voila! You have rich dirt to use around your trees and shrubs. You can even compost indoors. For more

detailed instructions on various types of composting, check out epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/rrr/composting/by_compost.htm

For everything else, visit indi-anarecycles.org. Type in your ad-dress to find out where to recycle numerous other materials, from electronics to tires to eyeglasses. This site lists hundreds of recy-cling drop-off programs around the state.

With a little organization and a few well-placed receptacles, recycling can be easy.

And there are numerous other ways to reduce waste — and save money. Please share your waste reduction tips on the IRC Face-book page.

Carey Hamilton is Executive Di-

rector of Indiana Recycling Coalition.

indiana recycling coalition with Carey Hamilton

Recycling startsin the home

You’re probably already putting those obvious items out at the curb. But, wait, there’s more.

Mon-Sat9am-7pm

NEWNEW Sun hours11am-6pm


I chose to attend Purdue for its prestige and oppor-tunities. Last year, while adjusting to college, the Mid-west and Indiana weather, I discovered that Purdue burns coal to power and heat the campus — and the utili-

ties plant is less than a mile from where I am getting an education.

When choosing a college, I didn’t even think about health and environmental con-cerns. Now, knowing I was paying Purdue to pollute my air and put my health at risk infuriated me.

I wanted to learn about the true impacts of fossil fuels and why such an internationally recognized university relied completely on an energy source that has undeniable health and

environmental consequences. This inquiry led me to the environmental community and I formed the Purdue Sierra Student Coalition, where I am currently president.

When I returned from winter break, I learned Purdue had released a comprehensive energy master plan. With further investiga-tion, Purdue Sierra Student Coalition discov-ered no renewable energies were included in the plan, even though the plan was designed

for the next 20 years. A small group of us col-

lected and delivered more than 1,000 comments from the Purdue community in support of a clean energy future at Purdue. We had a news conference with key people speaking about why we need renewable energies at Purdue, then

went to an administration meeting, where there was a panel of key players who needed to hear what we had to say.

By forming the Purdue Sierra Student Coalition, I wanted to provide a place where students could get involved and take action. However, being an “activist” on a conservative Indiana college campus isn’t easy. There are days I want to transfer to a

school that truly invests in sustainability. But I realize that if I leave, there will be no one at Purdue to implement the change that is needed.

I also have fallen in love with Purdue, the amazing students and faculty and community.

It is my new home; I can’t just leave it. I believe that environmentalism is a people

issue, not a nature issue. I was born and raised in Hawaii, where the environment is impor-tant, where we believe we are connected to the land. I am an environmentalist because I am a humanitarian.

Saving the environment and the human race will take more than recycling and indi-vidual changes. It will take individuals coming together to change institutions.

Big goals result in big changes, which is what we need.

That’s what I am trying to do. It is really that simple. I want to show students we can do so much more than little initiatives and, as a collective body, we can change anything we want.

We have the right to live in a safe, clean and healthy environment, now and in the future.

If you know a college activist whom you feel should be featured in this regular column, contact Jim Poyser at [email protected].

Big goals result in

COLLEGE ACTIVISMwith Janice Ringler, Purdue

Saving the environment and the human race will take more than recycling and individual changes.

big changes

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Clean water is fundamental to a healthy life for both hu-mans and wildlife. Living in a watershed, we can all influ-ence the quality of our water. How we manage our land affects stream habitat, water quality and soil health. Using

wise conservation principles on your land can help protect our water resources and wildlife.

Impacts to wildlifeWater naturally cycles through the envi-

ronment, evaporating from bodies of water, plants, and soil and returning to the Earth as precipitation, which may enter groundwater aquifers or run off into streams and rivers.

When we alter an ecosystem’s composition, we affect this hydrological cycle. Replacing a swath of native grasses with farm fields, a lawn or pavement, for example, prevents water from effectively penetrating the soil and replenishing groundwater supplies. As a result, the velocity and volume of water flow-ing in a stream can exceed capacity, degrading stream banks and eroding soil.

This runoff often carries sediment, chemicals and nutrients into streams and lakes. In Indiana, the majority of surface water runoff travels down the Wabash or Ohio Rivers into the Mississippi River.

Once in the water, nutrients can accelerate the process of eutrophication, a natural aging process where organic material accumulates in a body of water. The nutrients stimulate the growth of algae, which shades underwater life and inhibits photosynthesis, plants’ essential food-making process. Algae, depending on the

species and conditions, are capable of produc-ing toxins that can harm fish and people.

When algae die, oxygen resources are drained by the decomposers in the food chain. Organ-isms living underwater depend on oxygen just like those on land. Oxygen dissolves in water, and aquatic wildlife use it for respiration. Aquatic critters suffer when oxygen levels change sig-nificantly, and they do not survive in extremely oxygen-rich or oxygen-deprived conditions.

Indiana’s water qualityIndiana is the smallest state in the Mississippi

River Basin, which drains 40% of the nation’s waters, yet we are the third largest contributor of phosphorus, a nutrient that encourages eutrophication, to the Gulf of Mexico’s eutro-phic dead zone, as reported in a US Geological Survey study. In 2011, the dead zone grew to 6,765 square miles, larger than Connecticut, and second only to the Baltic Sea’s dead zone.

Indiana’s waters are a consistent contribu-tor to this lifeless area. IDEM’s 303(d) List of Impaired Waters, which identifies and explains Indiana’s water quality problems, has grown by 200 rivers and streams since 2008. Classification of impairments can include E.coli, taste and odor issues, impaired biotic communities, nutrients and algae.

These data illustrate the magnitude of our struggle to protect quality habitat and clean wa-ter resources in Indiana. Prioritizing conserva-tion practices on private and public land is criti-cally important to achieving improvements.

Conservation practicesAs the foundation of a healthy ecosystem,

soil cycles nutrients, filters pollutants, man-ages water supply, supports buildings and provides habitat for flora and fauna. Poor soil hampers plant growth and organism survival by restricting the availability, and preventing the storage of water and nutrients.

Implementing conservation practices that minimize soil disturbance and compaction are important in establishing quality habitat space and restoring our natural resources. For example, planting riparian vegetation along stream banks not only stabilizes the soil, but also creates an important food source for fish.

Habitats native to Indiana, such as a prairie, forest, or wetlands, provide space for wildlife. With abundant food and water resources, wildlife species can grow and thrive. Over 95 percent of Indiana’s land is privately owned. As private landowners, whether we have a small backyard or 1000 acre farm, it’s up to all of us to help restore Indiana’s natural heritage of clean lakes and streams through the use of sound conservation practices.

Barbara Simpson is the Executive Director of the Indiana Wildlife Federation, a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to Common Sense Conservation since 1938; www.indianawildlife.org.

INDIANA WILDLIFE FEDERATION

Addressingwater quality

Indiana’s waters are a consistent contributor to this lifeless area.

with Barbara Simpson

Expires April 30, 2012


hoosier interfaith power & light with Rev. Dennis Shock

Last summer I took my eight-year-old grand-son fishing. He was so excited! We had great luck. He caught a nice bass on the

first cast and we caught five more within an hour. When I wanted to release the bass, he said, “Grand-pa, let’s eat it!” I was reluctant. Not only did I not want to kill and clean it, but I remembered what I had read from the Indiana State Department of Health: Many of our fish contain high levels of mercury, a very toxic element especially to children under 10.

I took a chance and we cleaned, cooked and shared it with the fami-ly. I made sure everyone, especially my grandson, just ate a small por-tion. Luckily, we didn’t get sick.

Where does the mercury come from that is increasingly found in our Indiana freshwater fish? It comes from the burning of coal. We burn trainloads of it every week to produce 95 percent of our electricity. The burning of coal is very hard on our environment. Its harmful byproducts are numer-ous, including arsenic, mercury and sulphur dioxide, which is responsible for acid rain.

Many people of faith feel an obligation to their Creator to take care of creation so that we will continue to have a beautiful and healthy planet for generations to come. In the Hebrew scriptures, in the book of Genesis, we read that when the Creator brought about creation the Creator said it was good. Seven times the Creator said it was good!

“……indeed, it was all very good.”

In the next chapter human-kind is commanded to care for creation; to take care of the garden. We are the stewards of the natural world by command of the Creator. I saw a bumper sticker recently affirming that we are not the earth’s owners:

“The Earth does not belong to us. We belong to the earth.”

We are but passing through here for a short while and then the earth goes on to those who follow.

The Earth is our Mother that nourishes us. But we too often treat it without love. We treat it as something to conquer or to simply exploit without regard to consequences. Our scientists document many abuses. But what alarms them most is the increase in carbon dioxide in the atmo-sphere caused by our burning of fossil fuels for energy. 97 percent of all climate scientists and virtually every major scientific organization in the world is telling us we need to drastically reduce this “carbon footprint” or the earth will suffer greatly. And we need to do it soon, within the next decade or so.

Caring for creation is more than just admiring the wonder and beau-ty of this earth. It is taking action to live more sustainably and more simply — and electing leaders who will support laws that take seriously the need to care for creation.

Rev. Dennis Shock is a retired United Methodist pastor and board Treasurer for Hoosier Interfaith Power and Light (H-IPL). An affili-ate of the national Interfaith Power and Light, H-IPL seeks to inspire and equip Hoosiers of faith to respond to climate change. You can follow their columns in Indiana Living Green.

HIPL’s first Seventh Day congregation just received first prize in a national competition. A third of its members reduced their energy use by at least a seventh with several board members reducing by over 40%.

In recent weeks, Muncie’s new interfaith creation care group held its second meeting, Indianapolis Green Congregations organized a work-shop to help new congregational creation care teams form, Hoosiers in Evansville met with -IPL’s Chair to discuss creation care, and clergy met in Muncie, Bloomington and Indianapolis to consider the impact of coal. To find out more: http://www.hoosieripl.org.

Indeed,it was very good

Hoosier Interfaith Power and Light (H-IPL) in Action


Forty to fifty years ago, agricultural producers, or farmers, were much more diversified in their produc-tion than they are today. A typical 200-acre farm often had 20 cows and/or 20 sows, 25 laying chickens and a fam-

ily milk cow. You were also likely to find fields of corn, oats and clover hay grown in seasonal rotations primarily to feed the livestock.

There were permanent pastures and groves of trees on the hillsides and in the low spots of the fields. The nearest rural town had no more than 600 people and boosted numerous busi-nesses from car and farm equipment dealers, retailers, grocery and furniture stores, lumber yard, slaughter and butcher shops, a soda fountain shop, various mechanic shops, banks, diners and three full service gas stations.

Ok Moody, let’s leave Mayberry and move forward fifty years!

Today’s farmers specialize in grain produc-tion or a specific breed of livestock and have reached almost perfect efficiencies in these production models. The flip side of this is by raising raw farm commodity products like corn, soybeans, hogs, etc., in order to increase profit, one must become more efficient and internally produce more units.

Some may say, “What’s wrong with that? That’s capitalism at work.” In the case of eco-nomics, I would agree. However, a strong case can be made that though nature does tolerate local sensitive innovative tweaks in food

production systems, she does not recognize capitalism as a long term justifier to drift out-side her parameters. And as we all know from the margarine commercial from the 70s “ …it’s not nice to fool Mother Nature.”

There are two systems: economic and ecologic. Farming is one of the few places these two meet up in the battlefield. Agricultur-ally, this conflict is evident by the continuous and increased use of external inputs of herbicides, pesti-cides, genetically modified seeds (in order to withstand the herbicide), higher and higher doses of petroleum-based fertilizers and, in some cases, even irrigation.

On the livestock side of the equation we have placed animals that were once roaming in fields and pastures into climate-con-trolled buildings. These practices continually push nature as they result in higher uses of pharmaceuticals, vitamin and mineral replacements and, in some cases, continuous use of antibiotics. Though it can be stated these “modern advancements” have allowed fewer farmers to farm more ground while raising more bushels per acre and more head of livestock per square foot, one must look at what lies in the wake of these efficiencies to determine the cost.

What was an attempt to increase farm wealth has only resulted in larger volumes of capital flowing through farmers’ hands. Statis-tics show that when adjusted for inflation we as a group are making no more than we were in 1969. However, we have become a very good cash flow conduit to the efficiency innovators

in the supply and market ends of farming. And what about Mayberry? Not any better

there, either, as now you can only buy beer and gas, which is also where you get your groceries.

Not to worry folks. Next month I’ll lighten the room with life from the soil!

Adam Moody owns and operates a 200-acre sustainable farm in Montgomery County, Indiana and is the founder and CEO of Moody Butcher Shops in Ladoga, Avon and Zionsville.

happened?

Though it can be stated these “modern advancements” have allowed fewer farmers to farm more ground while raising more bushels per acre and more head of livestock per square foot, one must look at what lies in the wake of these efficiencies to determine the cost.

What the hellTHOUGHT FOR FOOD with Adam Moody


Children are not little adults. From conception through early childhood, the body is still developing, and the brain is especially vulner-able to toxins such as lead and mercury. The nervous system is still maturing and

making connections. The immune system has not yet developed fully to protect the child.

At the same time, infants and small children have higher rates of exposure to environmen-tal threats. They crawl on the floor, play in the dirt and put everything in their mouths. Compared to adults, infants have greater skin surface area that absorbs chemicals more readily. They breathe more air, drink more water and eat more food in proportion to their body size than adults.

These statistics were compiled by Dr. Philip J. Landrigan at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine:

• Birth defects are now the leading cause of infant death in the United States. Certain birth defects, such as defects of the male re-productive organs, have increased sharply in frequency.

• Neurodevelopmental disorders, such as dys-lexia, mental retardation, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism, affect 5 – 10 percent of the 4 million U.S. babies born each year.

• Asthma has more than doubled in frequency since 1980 and has become the leading cause of pediatric hospitalization and school absenteeism.

• Although cancer deaths are declining due to improved treatment, leukemia and brain cancer in children have each increased in incidence by more than 30 percent since the 1970s.

According to Dr. Landrigan, “Scientific evidence is strong and continuing to build that hazardous exposures in the modern environ-ment are important causes of these diseases.”

It’s impossible to completely avoid toxic chemicals in the environment. Lead, pesti-cides, toxic air pollutants, phthalates, and bisphenol A are ubiquitous in the modern world – easily found in our homes, schools, indoor and outdoor air, and in consumer prod-ucts we use every day. Low-income children and children of color often suffer the greatest exposures because of poor housing and un-healthy neighborhoods.

Mercury, which damages the brain and nervous system of children in the womb, falls from the smokestacks of coal-fired power plants and contaminates Indiana’s fish. We ap-plaud new federal regulations that will finally reduce mercury emissions from power plants, but mercury will persist in our environment for many years to come.

Knowing this, what can we do to bet-ter protect children from environmental threats? We believe Indiana should require training for healthcare providers on envi-ronmental health, require doctors to use screening tools to identify environ-mental threats during pregnancy and early child-hood, and educate parents about reducing exposure to toxic substances.

Parents can easily become confused and over-whelmed by complex environmental issues and varying risk factors associated with envi-ronmental exposure. Moms and dads already know they should quit smoking, especially around children. They should also be taught

to use pest prevention to control bugs instead of bug sprays; to clean with non-toxic cleaning products, and to use glass instead of plastics to store and microwave food.

Experts also recommend choosing fish less contaminated with mercury, but Indiana’s fish consumption advisory is 44 pages long and requires at least a high school education to decipher. Shouldn’t there be a smart phone app for that? If I’m fishing on an Indiana lake, I should be able to instantly look up the fish I caught and whether it’s safe to bring home to feed my kids.

The University of California, San Francisco has created a brochure called “Toxic Matters,” which gives parents advice for avoiding exposure to toxic substances in many settings. It is available in both Span-ish and English at: http://www.prhe.ucsf.edu/prhe/toxicmatters.html

Other tips for parents, schools and health-care providers are available at the Improving Kids’ Environment website: www.ikecoalition.org/childrenshealth.

Too many Hoosier children live in unhealthy homes or live in neighborhoods

burdened by pollution. We must do more to reduce health disparities and improve the overall health of Hoosier children and, in the long-term, the adults they will become.

Children need special protectionfrom environmental threats

improving kids’ environment with Jodi Perras

Lead, pesticides, toxic air pollutants, phthalates, and bisphenol A are ubiquitous in the modern world.


The Indianapolis City Market was brim-ming with activity the first Saturday morning in March. Everywhere you turned, people were engaged in conversations, including Laura Henderson, who was selecting carrots from Joe Gady’s Farming For Life table as she prepared to leave for a yoga workshop.

Used to be that this much activity around the City Market was confined to Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. — on week-ends the place was deserted. That is until last November, when Henderson, founder and director of the Indy Winter Farmers Market, relocated it to the City Market, its fourth home in as many years.

“I spent a lot of time in conversations with the city as they worked with us to make that happen for this season,” Henderson said.

The effects of sugar and caffeine

Henderson came to Indiana from Louis-ville, earning her bachelor’s degree in public relations and journalism from Butler Universi-ty in 2000. While at Butler, Henderson signed up for a study-abroad program in Tasmania through the Institute for Study Abroad at Butler (IFSA-Butler).

“I was looking at research behind improved childhood development and nutrition and real food,” Henderson said. She admitted she had not given the issue much thought before.

“That’s just part of the conversation — what are the effects of sugar and caffeine and of elim-inating those options in schools,” Henderson

said. “That was one of first things that started to pique my interest in agriculture and local food.”

Upon returning to Indiana, she accepted a position at IFSA-Butler. She married her husband, Tyler, in 2002. Together they served as house parents at the Delta Tau Delta fraternity, started a garden and worm-composting program with the students, paid off their student loans, and dreamed of their next overseas adventure.

Be present to grievingIn 2004, two months before they were to

leave for Norway for her husband’s two-year graduate program, Henderson, then 26, learned that her 18-year-old brother, Samuel Johnson Ad-ams, had been killed in an automobile accident.

“He’s been an inspiration to the path that I’m on. You don’t know how much time you have,” Henderson said. “You don’t have a choice. It takes your whole reality and erupts it into a million pieces and then you have to figure out how to piece it back together.”

Part of her healing process included learn-ing and teaching yoga at a studio in Norway and reading Barbara Kingsolver and Michael Pollan. After two years Laura and Tyler re-turned home to their community of friends.

A new way of livingHenderson said she didn’t want to be here

initially, but a yoga teacher told her she shouldn’t live life as a victim, sitting around complaining. It’s just that she and her husband had experi-enced a different way of living while in Europe, spending more time cooking and making smaller,

more frequent trips to markets for fresh food. “I told Tyler, ‘We’ve either got to move

or we’ve got to start doing things,’ ” said Henderson, who travels around mostly on her mother-in-law’s old blue Schwinn bicycle.

They transformed their small Cottage Home yard into raised beds, and started a neighbor-to-neighbor market to exchange produce and baked goods. In 2009, the Mother Nature Network included the Hendersons among the 40 farmers under 40. They made and sold 400 rain barrels.

The sustainability conversations began and their projects grew, starting with Urban Earth Indy and Slow Food Indy.

Along with the Indy Winter Farmers Mar-ket, Henderson is executive director of Grow-ing Places Indy at White River State Park, a yoga teacher at Invoke, and a consultant with Wishard Hospital on the new roof-top Sky Farm, a first of its kind anywhere.

The deeper Henderson’s involvements in these efforts, the deeper the questions become for her.

“Why are we importing 90 percent of our food when we’re the ninth largest agricultural state in the country,” Henderson said. “Why are we not growing food? We need to keep having the con-versation and be honest about what’s happening.

“If we don’t start talking about it, nothing will change. Anytime there’s a conversation, about food and the relationship to health, the individual, the community, the environment, the economy … when we talk about it, we’ll start to think about it, and do things about it. I’m not out to change the world, I just want to encourage the conversation.”

FOOD AND DRINK

Laura Henderson:love of food and conversation By Angela Herrmann

p̂hoto by stephen simonetto

Laura Henderson (left) talks with Kathy Ambler of Yeager Farms Produce.

Celebrate our Launch Party and Earth Hour - Lights out from 8:30-9:30

JOIN INDIANA LIVING GREEN AS WE

START IT UP BYTURNING TURNING IT OFFIT OFF

It’s All New!

“Everybody dances orwe can’t save the planet!”

–Editor Jim Poyser

SATURDAY MARCH 31, 2012 CITY MARKET WEST WING. 7PM-3AM

Live Music Performances • All Ages WelcomeBeer Garden • DJs • Catacombs tours

International Earth Hour Fashion Show

FREE


PEACEFUL GROUNDS’ GRAND OPENING CONFERENCEMarch 30-April 1Peaceful Grounds: A Center for Agriculture and Sustainable Living167 Van Dyke Street; SouthportWe were so excited about this event, we did an entire cover story on Linda Proffitt and her new center. So here’s your chance to check it out for yourself. Here’s the breakdown. Things kick off Friday, March 30, with a Private Recep-tion with Will Allen ($75); March 31 - April 1: Saturday & Sunday full work-shop includes all meals and keynote speech by Will Allen ($275); March 31: Saturday-only workshop and dinner with keynote speech by Will Allen ($175); March 31: Saturday Grand Opening Celebration Dinner only ($50); April 1: Sunday-only workshop ($120). Workshop Breakout Sessions: Composting For Safe Soils, Aquaponics, Hoop House Construction, Mushrooms, Kitchen Gardening, Kiln Building, Cheese Making, Community Project Design, You Can Can. Need more info? [email protected] or www.globalpea-ceinitiatives.net.

INDIANA LIVING GREEN LAUNCH PARTYSaturday, March 31, 7 p.m. - 3 a.m., FREECity Market, 222 East Market St., IndianapolisThis party not only celebrates the launch of this magazine you hold in your hands, but also the global effort to reduce energy use, Earth Hour. Lots of great, green activities are planned, from a 7-8:30 p.m. bring-your-own potluck (com-prised of locally sourced ingredients) to an international Earth Hour-themed fashion show. Expect visits to the catacombs beneath the City Market, locally brewed beer and, you never know, maybe even zombies.

APRIL EVENTS

>> We don’t know if this little guy is native to Indiana, but we’re pretty sure he’s summoning Bruce Wayne.

INDIANA ARTISAN MARKETPLACEMarch 31-April 1State Fairgrounds, IndianapolisThe Expo Hall at the Indiana State Fairgrounds will be hosting the second annual Indiana Artisan Marketplace, where you can partake in unique artisan food and wine, local art, and live Indiana music. The Marketplace will host more than 125 artisans from Indiana and 75 from Kentucky, to showcase a whole spectrum of crafts from beekeeping to jewelry design to woodworking, and everything in between. Admission is $10 for adults, free or children under 7, and free for volunteers. Info: www.indianaartisan.org .

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: WHOSE AIR, FOOD, WATER IS IT, ANYWAY?Wednesday, April 4, noon-12:50 p.m., FREEWFYI in Indianapolis, 1630 N. Meridian St., IndianapolisThis forum is part of the ACLU of Indiana First Wednesdays series. ILG Editor Jim Poyser will moderate a discussion about environmental justice, explor-ing the disparities that exist in our community with access to clean air, clean water and healthy food. Panelists: Dr. Gabriel Filippelli, Professor of Earth Sciences and Director of the Center for Urban Health at IUPUI; Kim Ferraro, Water and Agriculture Policy Director for Hoosier Environmental Council; John Gibson, Project Coordinator of Earth Charter Indiana’s bicentennial initiative, Sustainable Indiana 2016; and Nathaniel Jackson, IUPUI’s Execu-tive Chef, who is transforming food services on campus. This is a “brown-bag discussion” - i.e. bring your own lunch. Event information, including a map, is available at http://www.aclu-in.org/events.html .

BATS OF INDIANASaturday, April 7, 1-3 p.m., FREEEcoLab, 3200 Cold Spring Rd, IndianapolisNo matter what you might think, there’s nothing scary about these fuzzy little mosquito-catchers. If you’re feeling batty, come join Jody Nicholson, a resident expert on bats, for a fun and informative program about the winged critters. It will start indoors at the Nina Mason Pullman Nature Center and then take flight into a hike around the beautiful EcoLab. It’s open to all ages, so bring your parents, your kids, or anyone who really needs to stretch their wings. Marian.edu/Ecolab

24TH ANNUAL DOWNTOWN WHITE RIVER CLEANUPApril 14, 8-noon, FREE801 West Washington Street, IndianapolisThe Friends of the White River are getting together to clean up Indy’s water-ways, and they need volunteers to help get the job done. Volunteers will meet up at White River State Park for registration at the beginning of the day, and then bus to locations across central Indy to get to work. Lunch will be provided for volunteers. Bring clothes and shoes that you can get muddy, because the Friends aren’t afraid to get down and dirty to give the White River a helping hand. Friendsofwhiteriver.org

PAUL TUKEYApril 19, 7 p.m.The Toby, Indianapolis Museum of Art, 4000 N. Michigan RoadThe King of the Pristine Lawn, Paul Tukey, comes to the IMA to spread his goodwill message of lawn care without chemicals. Tukey has long been a purveyor of organic lawn care, commu-nicating the downsides of chemical-based treatments that can imperil our environment, our children, and worst of all, our pets! Kidding! Tukey, founder of safelawns.org, is author of The Organic Lawn Care Manual and is also known via the popular gardening program People Places & Plants on HGTV. Let the lawn revolution begin! Admission: $5 non-members; $3 members.


VOLUNTEER CONSERVATION DAYSApril 21, 9-12, FREEEcoLab, 3200 Cold Spring Rd, IndianapolisOur environment isn’t going to protect and restore itself — it needs the help of plucky volunteers like you who are willing to get their hands dirty. Jodi Nichol-son is back to show you how to get active to help our environment, with activi-ties like planting native vegetation, removing invasive species and doing light trailwork to keep our hiking trails clean and accessible. Afterwards, you’ll get a tour of the EcoLab. Bring your work clothes, your garden gloves and a bottle of water, and prepare to have a great time helping out. Marian.edu/ecolab

INPAWS GARDEN TOURApril 21, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.The Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society, Central IndianaAnybody who thinks you need exotic plants to make your garden stunning has clearly never been on the INPAWS tour. The tour will cover gardens and a city park all over Central Indiana that show off how beautiful native plants can really be. Plan to drive, or find friends to carpool with for a greener experience. Also make sure to bring a hat and good walking shoes! Register at inpaws.org

CARMEL MARATHON IS GOING GREENApril 21, 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m.3rd Avenue and City Center Drive, CarmelRunning is a great way to get in touch with the environment, to get and stay in shape, and to prove to yourself what you can do when you set your mind to it. So join 3,000 of your closest friends and come on up to Carmel. This year’s Carmel Marathon falls on Earth Day weekend—what better way to celebrate by greening things up a little? There’ll be a special section for eco-vendors, and they’ll be making an effort to recycle all those pesky water bottles that have become an inevitable part of every marathon. Register at CarmelMarathon.com

CHILDREN’S MUSEUM EARTH DAYApril 21, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.Children’s Museum of IndianapolisCheck out how the world famous Children’s Museum is reducing its impact on the environment, and explore what you and your kids can do to help change our community. Participating organizations include Goodwill Industries, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Sustain Indy, Endangered Species Chocolate and yours truly, Indiana Living Green. The event is free with admission to the museum.

GREAT CLOTH DIAPER CHANGEApril 21, noon-2 p.m., freeBABS or Bloomington Area Birth Services, 2458 S Walnut, BloomingtonBoy do you have some tough choices to make on this Saturday! And don’t suggest cloning, as one of you is quite enough, thank you very much. You have all the above events, plus the Mother Earth of All Earth Day events, Earth Day Indiana (see, Watts & Whatnots, pg. 6), and now this as well: an attempt to break the Guinness Book of World Records for the greatest number of cloth diapers changed at one time. This is actually a worldwide event, and your local host will be Bloomington Area Birth Service and The Green Nursery. BYOB (Bring Your Own Baby) and cloth diapers — but if you don’t have any, there will be some on sale.

JCC’S EARTH DAY CELEBRATIONApril 22, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.Arthur M. Glick JCC, 6701 Hoover Rd., IndianapolisWho ever said Earth Day had to be boring? This is a hands-on, kid-friendly event that’s sure to be as much fun for adults. Make a bird feeder out of recycled materials, make your own paper, even build a mini solar car! If you’re not feeling crafty, go on a woodsy scavenger hunt with Indy Parks or learn about beekeeping with Inverde design — or enjoy all the food, bouncy castles, and face painting that’ll also be there. JCCindy.org

INDIANA RECYCLING COALITION CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITIONMay 9-11The IRC’s 23rd Annual Conference and Exhibition isn’t until May, but if you want the best deal on entrance for this premier green event, you’ll need to register before March 30. The IRC Conference and Exhibition is the state’s biggest event on all aspects of waste reduction, from compost to construction to everything in between. There’ll be special presentations about the Super Bowl, legislative updates, plus exhibits and speakers from all over, covering the full spectrum to help you Reuse, Reduce and Recycle. Register: indianarecycling.org.


GREEN MARKETPLACE

Homemade & Fair Trade

Organic cotton sheets, towels, kitchen linens. Also recycled glass and paper items. Excel-lent place for green wedding registry. Brands include Coyu-chi, Green Glass, In2Green, bambu and more!www.honeysucklehome.com/

Pets

Esoteric Healing with L ynne Hirschman. Remote 30-minute sessions allow your pet to re-ceive treatment without leaving home. Since 1998. Call 317-205-9020.

Health & Wellness

Barbeaux Formulaire is pas-sionate about aiding their clients skin conditions such as: ec-zema, dry skin and problematic reactions to medical aliments through the use of organic spa treatments. Barbeaux of fers a hand-poured jojoba lotion, bath powder and olive oil lip balm. Visit Barbeauxformulaire.com or 1-800-738-1003.Esoteric HealingManual Therapies including cra-niosacral therapy. Esoteric Heal-ing. Serving clients since 1985. Lynne Hirschman, MS, PT. 317-205-9020

You have One Body. We have One Planet. Let’ s T ake Care of Both.Bambu Salon & Spa, an Aveda Concept SalonConnecting Environment, Beauty and Wellnesswww.bambusalon.com317.251.4800916 E. Westfi eld Blvd., Broad Ripple Village

Your Body and WaterIonized Micro-clustered alkaline waterNEGATIVE “ORP” a very potent antioxidantWatch: KANGEN demo on YouTube.com, thenCall 317-370-9994 for a free trial

To advertise in Green Marketplace, contact Robert Barnes at 317-808-4611 or [email protected]

Local Farms

Community Supported Agri-cultureLocal Fruit, Produce and EggsMake a change to 100% local farm produce this seasonCertifi ed Naturally [email protected] Family Farm1949 Sunny Acres DriveBedford, INChemical free, custom grown heirloom and European fruits and vegetables for professional chefs. Produce of exceptional quality and fl avor for the home chef. CSA shares available - summer/winter.

www.localharvest.org/heart-land-family-farm-M9428

Products & Services

Carpet Cleaners - Carpet Cleaning Indianapolis/MetroNatural Solutions-Safer Clean-ing-Better for the Environment. 4 Rooms only $79!Please Call 317-538-0020

www.ecocarpetcleaningllc.com

EARN MONEY, Being Green!with Shaklee “Get Clean”Non-toxic, Non-polluting cleaners.Creating Healthier Lives since 1956.317-695-1047, [email protected]

Olry PhotographyEco-Friendly Wedding, Engage-ment & Event PhotographersProud to be certifi ed members of Greener Photography’ s Leadership Circlewww.olryphotography.com

www.myenergyoutfi tter.comEnergy Outfi tter has the home performance experts to improve the comfort and reduce the en-ergy waste in your home.

Specializing in attic and founda-tion insulation and solar electric energy systems.

Call today for a free estimate 317-797-3500

Organic Foods

Endangered Species Chocolatewww.chocolatebar.comEndangered Species Chocolate is committed to providing premi-um, ethically traded, all-natural and organic chocolate bars. 10% of net profi ts are donated to support species, habitat and humanity. Indulge in a cause.

Litterally Divine T offee and Truffl esNatural chocolates made with organic and locally sourced in-gredients. Found at Indy Winter Farmer’s Market. www.litterallydivinetoffee.com

www.poguesrungrocer.orgAn Indy Food Co-op store, Pogue’s Run Grocer is a full-service natural and organic gro-cery featuring affordable, fresh, healthy, and locally-produced products.

Community

Earth Day Indiana FestivalSaturday, April 28 • 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.White River State Park801 W. Washington St.Downtown Indianapolis

• rain or shine• 130 environmental and con-servation exhibits• live music and good food• special activities for kids.

www.earthdayindiana.org

MAKING INDIANAPOLIS A BETTER PLACE TO RIDE A BICYCLE.

DONATEHelp Support our causeJOINBecome a memberVolunteerBe a part of the action

www.theindycog.com/membership

Orchard in BloomWhere Gardens, Art and Community Grow TogetherApril 26-29, 2012

Gate admission is $12. Children 14 and under are free. Three-day passes are $15.

For additional information & schedule of events, go to www .orchardinbloom.org or call 317.251.9253.

Gardening Services

Organic. Sustainable. Earth fi rst. We design, install, and maintain beautiful, earth-friendly gardens.Love your garden. We do.

SpottsGardens.com317-356-8808

Workshops

Green Turtle Botanical SanctuaryMedicinal Herb Classes with Susan Clearwater RN. Enjoy the sanctuary gardens. Learn to identify and cultivate herbs ~ Create tinctures and salves ~ Use herbs holistically. Go to: www.greenturtlebotanicals.com

Placeyour ad for as

little as$20Add a logo

for $15Contact

Robert Barnes317-808-4611

or [email protected]

ASK RENEE

Got a question for Renee? [email protected]

Q: How easy is it to install a rain barrel?

I’ve got a guy! Circle City Rain Barrels has rain barrel options for the do-it-yourselfer or the I-want-to-leave-in-the-morning-and-come-home-to-a-completed-project-er. And his prices are uber reasonable.

The DIY kit is only $60 — or you can participate in or host a DIY workshop for $80 per person — and he includes everything you need. Or, for $100, he’ll deliver and install your barrel (inside of I-465; addi-tional charges outside of the loop).

Check out Circle City Rail Barrels on Facebook @Circle City Rain Barrels or email him at [email protected].

Of course, you can find a variety of rain barrel shapes and sizes at al-most any hardware store. The prices range from $100-150 and they’re super easy to install. Watch for one that includes a downspout diverter kit; otherwise, you’ll probably need to purchase a flexible downspout to direct the water from the gutter to the barrel. Another cool add-on is a solar pump that will enable you to push water through a hose.

Q: What do I do with my chewing gum when I’m done?

If gum stays in your stomach for seven years when you swallow it, then it surely can’t be good for the environment! Unfortunately, gum is not digestible or biodegradable.

Some other interesting facts: Next to cigarette butts, chewing gum is the second largest litter pro-ducer in the world. Gum is banned in Singapore. A woman in the UK has discovered a way to create plastic out of used gum.

Businesses and government (ahem, us!) pay millions of dollars a year to clean up gum that lands on our pavement. Not to mention all the chemicals (and gum) that then wash into our sewers and groundwater.

If gum is a must-have item, you might want to focus your efforts more on choosing a gum that is made sustainably or has green packaging. Glee Gum is made from sustainably harvested rainforest chicle, includes no artificial flavors, colors, preservatives or sweeteners, and the packaging is recyclable.

And put your ABC gum in the trash for crying out loud!

THE PANIQuiz

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 find out more.

Answers: 1: (c): Industry wants to see the data before the public does. (Center for Public Integrity); 2. (c): Experiments in geo-engineering. (London Guardian); 3. (e): A New York-sized iceberg. (National Geographic News); 4. (e): Phthalates (Environmental Health News); 5. (c): All of these answers are a frothy mix of truth. (Colorado Independent); 6. (a): Methane release (Nature); 7. (d): It may come every 3-20 years. (PhysOrg); 8. (b): Hamburgers (ABC Environment); 9. (d): Sued Monsanto (Washington Post); 10. (b): GOP leader-ship won’t listen to them. (InsideClimate News)


1. Why is the release of a landmark government study of the effects of diesel exhaust being delayed?

__ a. Everyone is too short of breath.__ b. It’s written in Sanskrit.__ c. Industry wants to see the data before the

public does.__ d. The school bus lobby is that powerful.__ e. Obama is kowtowing to the Koch brothers.

2. When it comes to climate change, what is Bill Gates supporting?

__ a. Massive solar projects__ b. Colonizing the moon with Newt Gingrich__ c. Experiments in geo-engineering__ d. Criminalizing CO2 emissions__ e. Geothermal underwear

3. What is a giant crack in Antarctica about to spawn?

__ a. A plague of zombie King Crabs__ b. Son of Antarctica__ c. A Cincinnati-sized iceberg__ d. The Southwest Passageway__ e. A New York-sized iceberg

4. What do overweight children tend to have higher levels of in their urine?

__ a. Sugar__ b. Ho-hos__ c. Globulin__ d. Ding-dongs__ e. Phthalates

5. What did Rick Santorum say about climate change?

__ a. We are here for “our benefit not for the Earth’s benefit.”

__ b. It’s a hoax.__ c. All of these answers are a frothy mix of truth.__ d. That our energy plan should be heavy on

fossil fuels.__ e. We are creatures of God with dominion over

the Earth.

6. Why do scientists believe natural gas might not be better than coal when it comes to climate change?

__ a. Methane release__ b. New developments in coal extraction are

reducing its impact__ c. Fracking spoils local groundwater.__ d. New pipelines having to be built__ e. All the kitchen faucets being set on fire by

drunk people

7. Given climate change, what will happen to the “100-year flood”?

__ a. It may come every year.__ b. It may come every 10-30 years.__ c. It may never come.__ d. It may come every 3-20 years.__ e. It will be brought to you by “Noah’s Ark.”

8. What are scientists in the Netherlands growing that will positively impact global warming?

__ a. Bodacious pot__ b. Hamburgers__ c. Extra scientists__ d. GMO carrots__ e. Geoengineering bots

9. What did a farmer in France accomplish for the very first time?

__ a. Convinced a politician climate change is real__ b. Made a profit__ c. Wed a sheep__ d. Sued Monsanto__ e. Grew a potatobean

10. What do prominent U.S. Republican climate scientists admit?

__ a. They are employed by Heartland Institute.__ b. GOP leadership won’t listen to them.__ c. Rick Santorum is dope.__ d. Rick Santorum is a dope.__ e. Global warming is a hoax.

At last!

GARDENING WITH NATURE

by Lynn Jenkins

Spring seemed to take forever to arrive — maybe because we were enticed so often by the mild winter weather. Now, at last, birds are singing and spring

wildflowers are in full regalia. Spring is such a short season for gardeners and nature enthusiasts as we race toward summer; there is so much for us to see and do.

Consider the benefits of includ-ing native plants in your garden. They are well adapted to our soils and climate. They require less water and fertilizer. They attract birds and butterflies and help offset habitat fragmentation for local wildlife. Using natives in your landscape means less work and more wildlife.

For ideas on how to incorporate natives in your home landscape, join the Indiana Native Plant & Wildflower Society on their free garden tour, Saturday, April 21. Info at inpaws.org.

Tired of the smell of fertilizer, herbicide and gasoline engines? Do your ears ring from the roar of power mowers and blowers? Long an advocate of lawn reduction and natural lawn care, I hope you enjoyed Phil Van Hest’s “Argument for Killing Off Your Lawn.” You may want to fol-low up with a trip to the IMA’s Planet Indy series, which returns with Paul Tukey at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 19. Tukey is the founder of SafeLawns.org and author of The Organic Lawn Care Manual. imamuseum.org/talk/planet-indy-paul-tukey-organic-lawns-and-lawn-alternatives

It’s not hard to go natural and kick the addiction to artificial lawns:

Fertilize only in fall (not spring or summer) and use an organic/natu-ral fertilizer or top dress your lawn with compost.

Don’t water on a fixed schedule, but only when there has not been an inch of rain for at least two to three weeks.

Hand weed; don’t use toxic chemicals to control dandelions.

Appreciate the beauty and diver-sity of a chemical-free mixed lawn with violets and clover in it—birds, bees and butterflies will thank you with their presence.

With native plants and your easy-care lawn plan, you’ll have lots more time for wildlife watching.

Got a gardening question or a tip to share? Contact Lynn at [email protected]

30 INDIANALIVINGGREEN.COM /// MARCH 2012 /// ILG

It’s pretty clear by now that the new millen-nium belongs to those who preserve, conserve and salvage. Nothing is more chic these days than carrying a designer handbag that had a past life as say, a soda bottle or a truck tire.

Eco-conscious parents everywhere are teaching their kids how to save kilowatts and catch rainwater in barrels. Kindly animal lovers from Boston to Baja are rescuing and nurturing every known breed of cat, dog and horse, and lots of other needy critters as well.

Whole organizations are devoting them-selves to conserving the best pieces of our precarious little planet, one precious hectare at a time. Everyone everywhere is somehow saving something for someone.

My three salvaged cats, ancient vehicles and well-preserved husband are evidence that I have at least a start on the whole conser-vation thing, and anyone who’s visited my farm knows that the entire operation pretty much runs on compost and mulch that would otherwise end up in the landfill. But still, I was looking to save something unglamorous and deserving of a little public relations boost; something that would raise questions, or at

least an eyebrow or two. So here it is: I’ve made it my mission to save

some of Indiana’s best weeds. They’re not as chic as recycled handbags,

or as cuddly as a rescued puppy, and it’s worth noting that the term “weed” is pretty arbitrary to begin with, defined basically as any plant that grows where it’s not wanted.

Generally, though, most plant lovers can agree that the plants we call weeds are often widespread, take over quickly, seem to com-

pete too well in whatever niche they find themselves, and are notori-ously hard to get rid of. So why, you ask, would anyone in their right mind want to save something that obnoxious?

Here’s the logic: what’s a weed one year might be a rare and valuable wildflower the next.

The Indian Pipe, or Ghost Plant, is one of my favorite examples. A couple of centuries ago, when early European explorers were propel-ling their silk-stockinged legs through the thick swampy forests of what would later become our great state, this strange white plant was everywhere. One Frenchman described the ghost plant covering forest floors as thickly as summer snow. Now, naturalists tell us, even a seasoned plant hunter would be challenged to find the remaining representatives of this spe-cies in Indiana woodlands. A little habitat de-struction here, a little climate change there, and suddenly, what was once abundant starts to turn up rarely, and finally goes missing altogether.

As do most collections, mine does have stan-dards, though they’re admittedly as capricious as any collector’s. I will only save non-woody flowering weeds, for no other reason than I like flowers, and non-woody plants are easier to dig up. No shrubs or vines need apply. Some flowering weeds, like chicory and wild carrot, (better known as Queen Anne’s lace), are so common that they remain uninvited to the club for now. I’ll re-evaluate my position if they ever go from uber-common to merely plentiful.

And despite my contrarian streak, I won’t collect anything currently on the state’s of-ficial list of invasive species. Other than that, I’ll include pretty much what I please.

I got a tentative start on the collection late last summer, when some stubborn evening primrose specimens set up housekeeping in my lettuce bed and refused to leave. I fell in love with their color even before I noticed their unforgettable scent. Then the mul-lein plants, which look like taper candles on steroids, popped up in the Swiss chard and invaded the grape arbor. By the time their im-pressive single flower stalks had grown taller than me, I was hooked on them, too.

Now it’s spring again, and a whole host of early bloomers will want to join the collection. It’s time to get serious about what to let in, what to weed out, and, where to put a collec-tion that can’t be displayed on a shelf or neatly archived in an album. But you’ll have to wait for the next episode of Survivor…er…Wayward Weed, to see who gets thrown off the island and who gets to stay.

Part 1wayward weedSaving the

What’s a weed one year might be a rare and valuable wildflower the next.

THE LAST ROW WITH MARIA SMIETANA


Where the PLUS is our sincere effort Where the PLUS is our sincere effort to improve the well being of all pets.to improve the well being of all pets.

Serving the communities of Avon,Broad Ripple, Greenwood and Noblesville

www.pspindy.com

Look for the May issue of ILG on stands April 30

In the May issue: local efforts teach

children about sustainability.

Documents

Indiana Living Green - April 2012