Indiana Living Green - February 2013

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ILG /// FEBRUARY 2013 /// INDIANALIVINGGREEN.COM 3

C O N T E N T S FEBRUARY 2013

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DESIGNERS SarahKate Chamness, Will McCarty

05 The crow manJohn Marzluff is a well known researcher, specializing in understanding how birds in urban settings deal with humans.+ BY JIM POYSER

13 The King of RepurposeMichael Bricker, the co-founder of the Indianapolis-based People for Urban Progress, says it’s tough to sum up what he and his organiza-tion do all day.+ BY SCOTT SHOGER

07 The Queen of RecyclingA conversation with Indiana Recycling Coalition’s Carey Hamilton explores more “R”s than you even knew existed.+ BY JIM POYSER

COVER ILLUSTRATION BY RYAN ALVIS

Stories on IndianaLivingGreen.com

ACTrees Appoints David Forsell as PresidentOne of Indy’s own, KIB’s David Forsell, will be stepping up to serve as president of the Mary-land-based national nonprofit Alliance for Community Trees. ACTrees spans 44 states with

over 200 member and partner organizations, including Keep Indianapolis Beautiful (KIB).

Department of Public Works Announces New Director for Office of SustainabilityLori Miser, the director of the Department of Public Works, announced this week that Anna Jetmore-Vargas will be the next acting director of the City’s Office of Sustainability.

The Healthy Rivers Initiative brings their total past 10,000 acresThe Healthy Rivers Initiative (HRI) recently acquired land in four counties, totaling 1,150 acres, allowing HRI to exceed 10,000 acres. The total now rests at an impressive 10,058 acres.

Promised Land is squandered opportunityThe new film Promised Land is certainly one thing: the world’s first major motion picture about hydraulic fracturing. It misses an opportunity, however, to truly advance the conversation about one of the most contentious and important issues of our time.

Doom & Bloom: At the agricultural conferenceI biked to the Marriott to attend the Annual Conference of Indiana Soil and Water Conservation Districts. Lest you think this event is only for giant agri-businesses discussing the latest GMOs or how to take over the planet with monoculture, this three-day con-ference is replete with meetings and presentations that address sustainability and climate change.

D E P A R T M E N T S

4 Doom & Bloom4 Gardening with Lynn5 Watts and Whatnot7 Cover Story16 Advocates20 February Events20 Green Reads21 Eco-Crossword22 The PANIQuiz22 Ask Renee23 Life is an Egg by Joe Lee

4 INDIANALIVINGGREEN.COM /// FEBRUARY 2013 /// ILG

doom & bloom with Jim Poyser

Here in our February issue of many “R”s, I want to add yet another: Retreat. One great recent treat for me was discovering Life Without Oil, published in 2010 by a Purdue University botanist, Steve Hallett. Hallett, along with

co-writer John Wright, put together one of the most comprehensive, chilling and thrilling, straight-talk-ing books I have ever read, and I read a lot!

That Hallett is a Hoosier (note, I only use “Hoosier” when it achieves an alliteration), is icing on the melting glacier — I mean… well, you know what I mean.

Here is a sample quote from this book, that contains the “R” word: “The time has passed for trying to prevent the inevitable; it is time to prioritize the retreat.”

Wow, you don’t often hear that word when it comes to anything regarding the United States of America. It’s blasphemy, an anathema, sacri-lege, cowardly – I’m having too much fun with the thesaurus, sorry!

Hallett makes his case persuasively, leaving no sacred stone unturned, from energy policy to overpopulation. His book is a march through the cavalcade of human destruction, with a mini-Jared Diamond Collapse to set the stage early on. Yes, we humans have run headlong into multiple systemic collapses in our history.

This particular trajectory we’re on is no exception.“Collapse is not freak occurrence,” Hallett

maintains. “Collapse is the norm and is consistently linked with the depletion of resources and ecologi-cal damage.” Moreover, he says, civilization collapse has “been the result of the failure of the established civilization to protect its resource base.”

From this entertaining tour of collapse, Hal-

lett emerges to detail our current — or quickly-coming — peak oil status, which Hallett fears will result in more coal extraction, and thus a continuation of our love affair with fossil fuels.

And thus our hate affair with nature.He predicts, “What we have to look forward to

in the near future is not clean, green fuels, and a cleaner, greener planet, but coal and a planet that is likely to get dirtier, dustier, and more sulfurous…. The legacy of burning fossil fuels is already certain to affect the planet for centuries to come; the last thing we need is a last-ditch, half- century, coal-burning spree.”

He parades the alternative energy options before us, calculating the true costs along the way, from the water resources wasted in the production of oil shale to the complexities involved in nuclear energy to the problems with using, say, corn, as a biofuel.

He’s got some solutions up his apocalyptic sleeve, for sure, such as biofuels from crops that do make sense, like sugarcane or switchgrass. He extols the virtues of hydrogen fuel cells, and makes the case that “reviving the nuclear indus-try may be the only way to preserve our current way of life: if that’s what we want to do.”

Remember, this is a guy who used the “R” word: Retreat. So you know he knows that’s not the way to do it, i.e., “preserve our current way of life.” As Hallett puts it toward the end of his book, “The great energy transition upon which we are em-barking is not a time for trying to save the world as it is but a time for reshaping the world as we would prefer it to be.”

Wise words; hard words; inspiring words. I have good news for 2013. Hallett is about to come out with a book, currently slated for the spring. We’re just getting to know him and the wisdom he has to share. Stay tuned for more.

Our hate affair …

oom & bloom with Jh Jh Jh J JJJimimimimimim m m mmmm PoyPoyPoyPoyPoyPoyPoyPoyPoPoyPoyPoPoyPooPoPoyPoyPoPoPPoPoyPoPoyPoyyyyyyysersersesessssss

with nature

GARDENING WITH NATUREby Lynn Jenkins

Winter’s snowy giftNo wonder

gardeners are so in tune with climate change. We set our clocks by the seasons not the day. Anxious to get our hands back into the soil,

we anticipate spring’s warmth. But let’s not be ungrateful for

winter’s gifts. The cold and snow are much needed in our gardens and yards. I checked in with Spotts Garden Service in Indianapolis after they posted this message on Face-book: “We are loving this snow, and so are our plants!” Spotts designs, installs and maintains earth-friendly gardens. Amy Mullen from Spotts shared some reasons to welcome winter’s snow.

Snow is an excellent insulator protecting plants from the freeze-thaw cycle that can lift them out of the ground. Such frost heave is a killing process that can expose roots above the soil causing desic-cation and death.

Snow or winter rain is also es-sential to the long-term health of the garden, according to Amy. “Part of our horrible drought last summer came from a mild winter when we received little snow to feed the reservoirs.”

Amy also mentioned the “winter chill requirement” that indicates a cold period needed by seeds, bulbs and fruit trees. That dormant period is required for some plants to begin their bloom cycle again. For seeds, the winter freeze can start the break-down of the hard seed coat so that it can eventually germinate.

Unfortunately, it seems to be an old wives’ tale that cold weather will keep insect numbers down. Entomologists say that many insects, including mosquitoes and ticks, go through diapause. Not quite the same as hibernation, diapause allows them to turn their body sugars into a sort of antifreeze so that they are completely inactive—they don’t eat, drink, grow or move. Warm spring weather ‘awakens’ the insect to resume activity.

Waiting gratefully for the cold and snow to pass, we can still make plans for our gardens:

• Order seeds from local, indepen-dent, organic and sustainable nurser-ies when possible.

• Start seeds indoors of cool-season veggies, e.g. cabbage, broc-coli and cauliflower for March/April transplanting.

Enjoy the last few weeks of win-ter’s rest… it won’t be long.

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

Author Steve Hallett


WATTS & WHATNOT ^̂photo by keith brust

John Marzluff watches birds and birds watch him. Sometimes they scold him, even swooping dangerously by his head, but only when he wears his caveman mask (see photo above).

Marzluff, professor of wildlife science at the University of Washington, will speak at Butler University, Feb. 5 at 7:30 p.m. in the Atherton Union Reilly Room as part of the spring 2013 J. James Woods’ Lectures in the Sciences and Mathematics. He’ll share his remarkable research on corvids — crows, jays, ravens and magpies — trying to make sense of how creatures with a brain the size of your thumb can be so darn smart.

Yes. I said caveman mask. One of Mar-zluff’s best-known experiments involved capturing crows while wearing a caveman mask. After about ten minutes, he let the bird go, and any subsequent interaction in that same area would result in crows scold-ing and yelling at him — but only when he wore the caveman mask.

Over time, Marzluff and his research associates found that more and more crows would scold him — over further and further distances — demonstrating both horizontal and vertical social learning behavior, just one indication of the highly intelligent nature of these birds.

Marzluff lives in Seattle; we spoke by phone in anticipation of his upcoming visit.

INDIANA LIVING GREEN: I’ve heard you say that you study crows because of their “variable be-havior repertoire.” What do you mean by that?

MARZLUFF: You might think of quick responses to novel challenges in their envi-ronment; for example, when new foods are made available, a new crop or a new source of human refuse. Take something like Cheetos. How does an animal respond to a bright orange pile on the sidewalk? Most animals would go right by, not even give it a second chance. A crow will take a look, take a peck at it, sample it and incorporate it into its diet – if it’s edible or avoid it if it’s a dangerous thing. So they are always testing their environment.

Another example is the comings and goings to a night roost. Crows, if they are harassed in one area, will avoid that area … they won’t continue to go back to a bad situation, such as a farmer protecting his field with a shotgun.

They’ll immediately shift their behavior, and all the other birds associated with those pio-neer learners will follow course — and they’ll be a lot safer because of that ability to adapt.

ILG: Your response reminded me of the description of a human toddler: constantly testing their environment.

MARZLUFF: Corvids are quick, even quick-er than we are when we are very young, at incorporating these reinforcements from their environment – be they positive or

negative – into their routine. That’s what makes them able to survive with us.

ILG: A lot of your research is about the social learning strategies in crows.

MARZLUFF: It’s quite simple. They commu-nicate mainly by demonstrating. Birds that have had an experience and gained knowl-edge act in a different way. They go to the food without hesitation or stay away from a danger. Other birds key upon the actions of those knowledgeable individuals.

They are watching extremely closely everything in their environment, including one another. When they see one crow swoop down to a food source that they have no idea about, they are right there with them. They don’t hesitate. They teach through demon-stration … With respect to learning through demonstration, we humans demonstrate a lot of things, but we don’t model excellent behavior probably nearly to the extent that crows and other animals do. There’s such a high survival premium on doing the right thing and having reliable knowledge …

ILG: A lot of human social interaction now takes place on platforms like Facebook. Are there any comparisons you can make of crows to human obsession with social networking?

MARZLUFF: Information spreads ex-tremely rapidly through a crow society. There aren’t sending messages through

An interview with John Marzluff By Jim Poyser

The birds are watching us

John MarzluffFeb. 5, 7:30 p.m.Atherton Union Reilly RoomButler UniversityFREEFor more: Marzluff is co-author of numerous books, including In the Company of Crows and Ravens (with Tony Angell, 2005 Yale U. Press), Dog Days, Raven Nights (2011 Yale University Press) and Gifts of the Crow (2012 Free Press).


WATTS & WHATNOT the ether to each other. Maybe it’s the antithesis of Facebook. That is, they get face time with one another. And they do it every night gathering at large roosts, up to a million or more individu-als in some places. They’re chatting and screaming and yelling and I don’t know what all is going on, but they are all there and participating face to face.

I saw an extreme example of this just a few nights ago watching the local roost. They came in and sat in the higher trees – and there are about 5 or ten thousand birds; it’s Hitchcockian. What they do just as it’s getting dark is all land on a new softball field. It’s artificial turf so they aren’t foraging. They are stand-ing shoulder to shoulder – thousands of birds – blackening the ground. They are getting face time.

It’s the opposite of what we now are doing. We’re avoiding those close, tight encounters where a lot of important biological signals are given off. I think we’re missing out on that kind of close, personal communication that these crows are doing every night.

ILG: We have massive roosts here in Indianapolis.

MARZLUFF: We don’t fully understand the social dimension of it. But the direct benefits are pretty clear. One thing they are doing is reducing commuting costs among the group. They may be foraging in several places dur-ing the day. They come to an intermediate place to spend the night so the amount of travel for each individual bird is minimized.

ILG: Is it fair to say that the encroachment by humans led to crows being so intelligent?

MARZLUFF: It made them more abundant than they otherwise would be. The way we change the landscape plays perfectly into their hand. We make exactly what crows want: a mixture of land covers. In terms of challenging them and causing them to evolve with us … you can’t imagine a more unpredictable envi-ronment than one caused by humans. One day it might be forest, the next day it might field. Or, the temperature fluctuates widely. All the things we do happens on a quick time pace.

For a bird to be able to respond to us —es-pecially when it lives 20 or 30 or more years

— they have to be able to learn and remem-ber and adjust. So I think living with a smart animal makes you smarter. Or it makes you extinct. Unfortunately we’ve done both.

They were pretty darn innovative before we here, though. This has been their lifestyle to forage in rich but unpredictable places, be they buffalo kills or tidelands or whatever. They were ready for us when we came on the scene.

ILG: What can we learn from crows?

MARZLUFF: The animals we share the world with are watching us very closely. Their brains are finely tuned to our activi-ties. They remember what we do. They learn from our actions how to take advan-tage of us or how to avoid us. They are very very keen on what we are doing.

My suggestion is that we use that same lens when we look at the wild animals around us. We don’t just ignore them. We don’t do things we know are destructive to them. We think carefully about what we’re doing and how that might affect them. Just as they are think-ing carefully about what they are doing and how they might affect us.


^̂illustration by ryan alvis

THE THE MANY “R”S OFMANY “R”S OF

A CONVERSATION WITH IRC’S CAREY HAMILTONA CONVERSATION WITH IRC’S CAREY HAMILTON

earth stewardshipearth stewardship


There are many “R”s to consider when it comes, ahem, to rescuing the ecosystem. There’s the anathema “R” — retreat — I mention in my column [pg. 4], and the truth is, there is a lot of overlap regarding ones be-havior; you might say there’s a redundancy.

Reduce, reuse, repurpose, repair — and finally, recycle — are all essential to ad-dressing our need to eliminate waste and reduce carbon emissions.

We can find no one better to address this overlap — with the key emphasis on recycling — than Carey Hamilton, Executive Director of the Indiana Recycling Coalition.

Indy-based Hamilton has worked in the environmental field for almost twenty years. Over that time she has developed several policy initiatives and public outreach programs including managing the State of Indiana Partners for Clean Air Program, directing the State of Indiana Recycling Program and spearheading the development of Indiana’s Greening the Government Pro-gram, a program that she led until 2000.

She joined the IRC in September, 2008, and since then has more than tripled the organization’s budget. In early 2009, she led the IRC’s statehouse legislative campaign that culminated in the passage of Indiana’s electronics recycling law. In addition, Hamil-ton served as Co-Chair of the Environmental Programs Committee for the 2012 Indianapo-lis Super Bowl Host Committee and she is a board member of Keep America Beautiful.

We started our conversation with my blunt question: Why does recycling matter?

CAREY HAMILTON: Recycling matters because when we recycle we conserve vast quantities of natural resources as well as significant amounts of energy. That energy is conserved both because recycled material is often transported shorter distances than raw material and it uses significantly less energy to make a new product out of recycled material versus raw material.

In the case of an aluminum can, it takes 95 percent less energy for a manufacturer to make an aluminum can out of an alumi-num can, versus bauxite ore that was mined far away and mixed with other material to turn into that new can.

Recycling is one of the easiest ways to reduce our individual carbon footprint.

ILG: Tell me more about that.

HAMILTON: A lot of the energy savings happens at the manufacturing site — whose energy sources are often coal or natural gas.

Recycling reduces the demand for those fossil fuels.

Energy savings and resource conservation make the environmental case. The economic case is this. On average ten jobs are created for every ton of material recycled versus one job when that material is trashed. When you recycle, you also create a chain of activity that translates to jobs. Recycled material gets put in a container that is taken away by a person in a vehicle that is then processed potentially once, maybe twice, by people. And then it’s moved to a production facility where it’s turned into an energy efficiently made product. That is a great deal of productivity in our economy and that equals jobs, mostly local jobs.

ILG: How’s recycling going in Indiana?

HAMILTON: Recycling rates in Indiana are very low. We think at best we’re recycling about 30 percent of our waste. That’s probably a high estimate — un-fortunately we don’t know how much we recycle because we don’t collect good data. That’s one policy the Indiana Re-

cycling Coalition would like to see: good recycling data collection requirements.

ILG: Where would you get that information?

HAMILTON: From municipalities, solid waste management districts and the private sector haulers/recyclers.

ILG: Are there exemplary communities in Indiana in terms of recycling?

HAMILTON: Bloomington has instituted what is commonly perceived as one of the better ways to provide curbside recycling and that is by incentivizing recycling. The amount of trash you can throw away is limited but recy-cling is unlimited. If you need to throw away more than the trash limit, you have to pay an additional to do so. That is a simple incentive called “Pay as you throw” that results in signifi-cantly improved recycling rates for communi-ties that institute this type of system.

ILG: The theme of our issue is many “R”s. It’s hard to separate all these “R”s, isn’t it?

HAMILTON: Yes, it is. Reduce is the first thing everyone should think about if they care about the environment. There are countless simple ways for people to reduce the amount of stuff in their lives — from taking reusable

photo by nikki acosta^^

Carey Hamilton in her IRC office

THE MANY “R”S OFEARTH STEWARDSHIP BY JIM POYSER


cups and service ware to restaurants and cof-fee shops to using reusable shopping bags. It’s so easy to do. Once you get in the routine you can save endless amounts of waste.

Editor’s note: in our November issue, writer Mary Brock’s story contains tips on reducing waste at restaurants.

ILG: It is easy; so why don’t more people do it?

HAMILTON: I think it’s simply that change takes time. Twenty years ago, few people brought reusable bags to the grocery store. Changing public consciousness about that takes time. There’s a critical point and when people start to see other people doing it that helps sway more people. I don’t think we’ve achieved that critical point yet in Indiana but we are making progress.

ILG: Why are plastic bags even available?

HAMILTON: In Indiana we have a low regula-tory threshold. I don’t think it’s likely that un-til most states have bans on things like plastic bags that Indiana would even consider it. At the IRC we like to remind folks that if they need to use plastic bags or water bottles — and hopefully they don’t most of the time — to be sure and recycle that material. Indiana’s manufacturers want your plastic recyclables because it reduces their energy costs com-pared to using raw material so recycling that material does help the environment.

ILG: We touched a bit about reduce. There’s another “R” – Reuse.

HAMILTON: Absolutely. We support organi-zations that refurbish electronics and bicycles and clothing and … we are really excited to talk about the benefits of getting material reused before it ever needs to be recycled.

ILG: People for Urban Progress comes to mind. [see pg. 13]

HAMILTON: Yes! One of the things we like about PUP is that with their creative ap-proach to reuse, they raise the public profile of the issue. The reclamation of the RCA Dome material made many people in our community think about waste in a new way.

ILG: How do you make your work at IRC visible?

HAMILTON: We have two key audiences. The general public and policy makers. There’s an overwhelming need to provide public educa-tion about the benefits of recycling. We are working more than every before in 2013 to get the word out to the average Hoosier about the importance of recycling to our environ-ment and our economy. There’s also our key, policy-making stakeholders across the state — legislators, business interests and community leaders. We do a variety of things to reach out to those folks: presentations, lobbying, build-ing relationships.

There are a lot of business entities in Indi-ana — because we are a manufacturing state — that rely on recycled material and support our goals to increase recycling of material that they

would use as feedstock in their operations. We are working with these businesses to help de-velop policies to advance recycling in Indiana.

ILG: What’s an example of that?

HAMILTON: The glass industry. Verallia, a global glass company with their North Ameri-can headquarters in Muncie, are desperate for more glass. Verallia and some of the other glass manufacturers in Indiana are shipping glass in from as far away as Canada and Iowa while we’re throwing tons of it away here in Indiana every day. That same story is true for manufacturers of aluminum and plastic.

We also have a new plastic processing company in Richmond, Indiana. They will turn soda bottles into a flake product that can be used to makes jeans, fleece jack-ets, new bottles and other products and they are nervous they won’t be able to get enough material. They are wondering how far away they’ll have to go to get their main feedstock – recycled soda bottles - until Indiana does a better job of recycling.

Another goal for the IRC in 2013 is to reach out to schools across the state to offer resourc-es and make connections so that schools that are not yet doing so can implement recycling programs. There are simple barriers, like not being able to afford bins or not understanding who the local service providers are who might be able to provide recycling for little or no cost that we can help overcome.

There are too many schools in Indiana that don’t recycle. And, we know that when kids recycle at school every day they bring that recycling ethic home.

ILG: You have a program getting kids to compete in making videos about recycling.

HAMILTON: That’s been really fun. We’ve seen dynamic presentations from high school stu-

dents from all over the state working as teams to communicate the importance of recycling.

Both the environmental and economic messages are very powerful and resonate with different audiences so we have stressed both messages in the video contests.

ILG: I look forward to the day when that is the same conversation.

HAMILTON: Yes, absolutely.

ILG: What is standing in the way of that happening?

HAMILTON: Recycling is still thought by many to be just a feel-good environmental issue and not the major energy saving, jobs-engine that it is. I believe that someday most will understand that feel-good environmen-tal issues are also inevitably tied to creating a sustainable, thriving economy. In the case of recycling, we are working hard to make that change happen sooner rather than later.

In this past year we’ve brought a wide range of industry stakeholders together to discuss how to advance recycling in Indiana. We have major manufacturers at the table with waste/recycling haulers, bottlers, and other industry interests try-ing to find common ground on policies to advance recycling.

One area of common interest we’ve identi-fied is the desire to re-instate Indiana’s recy-cling fund. In 2009, Governor Daniels froze the recycling fund which brings in $5-$6 million a year and this group, representing tens of thou-sands of Indiana workers, has signed a letter to Governor Pence to get these dollars back.

Editors’ note: The following organizations signed that letter: Alcoa, Verallia North America, Waste Management of Indiana, NuGenesis Environmental Services, Knauf Insulation, Per-petual Recycling Solutions, Strategic Materials, Owens-Illinois, Ardagh Group, Petoskey Plastics,

^̂photo by nikki acosta

IRC Staff: Jonathan Allinson, Carey Hamilton and Annie Hostetter


Republic Services of Indiana, US Greenworks/RecycledGranite.com, National Solid Waste Management Assoc. of IN, Hoosier Beverage As-sociation, Indiana Beer Wholesal-ers Association, Indiana Retail Council, Indiana Beverage Alliance.

HAMILTON (CONT.): That’s a powerful message. If we have industry saying we need these dollars to invest in recycling in-frastructure for business reasons — that starts to transform the conversation at the Statehouse.

We do have legislators who care about environmental ben-efits, but there are not enough of them; and most legislators say they support investing in job-creating activities. This business coalition will help bring the recycling/jobs connection to light. It’s a starting point for more transformative policies.

ILG: Indiana Living Green read-ers are committed to improving their relationship to nature. What can an individual do to move beyond their own person-al impact-lowering behavior?

HAMILTON: Most people have a workplace or church or place they volunteer. Bringing a waste reduction and recycling ethic to those places is a great way to have a broader impact.

ILG: What do you do to help those people?

HAMILTON: We connect people to resources close to them. Re-sources for recycling are unique to each community and we know many of the providers across the state that can help. We also have a recycling bin program where we can lend bins for special events like festivals.

About a third of 4.4 billion beverage containers consumed in Indiana every year are consumed away from home. Thus, having ac-cess to recycling in public spaces is very important . Involved with a festival or other public event? Dedicate a few volunteers to recy-cling and you can have an impact. You’ll also create the indirect benefit of exposing non-recyclers

to recycling and possibly inspiring them to think differently about the waste the create.

Editor’s note: This year, Indiana Living Green will be disseminat-ing information at festivals that ensure you can have your beverage container refilled — as long as the lip of your container doesn’t come in contact with the filling devise (the tap). In case you want to know more, here’s some language from the Indiana State Dept. of Health: 410 IAC 7-24-247 Refilling return-ables; section (a)(3) promotional beverage glasses may be refilled by employees or the consumer if refill-ing is a contamination-free process as specified under section 261 (a)(4) of this rule… 410 IAC 7-24-261 (a)(4) The dispensing equipment actuating lever or mechanism and filling devise … shall be designed to prevent contact with the lip-contact surface of glasses or cups that are refilled. (Note: a violation of this is a “noncritical item.”

ILG: What are some things you can do at your favorite restau-rant or bar?

HAMILTON: You can ask for beverages that are on tap using a reusable glass – and ask your server to refill that same glass . Same is true for wine... refilling the glass. You can also ask the owner or your waiter if they provide re-cycling, and if they don’t, tell them you’d appreciate it if you did. The amount of glass plastic and alumi-num beverage containers that are thrown away at restaurants and bars is staggering.

ILG: We know in Indianapolis, Slippery Noodle was a real leader in this, along with Green-ing Broad Ripple.

HAMILTON: In Broad Ripple, for example, approximately 10 tons per month is recycled. Still, that’s just scratching the surface.

ILG: How do we move beyond just scratching the surface?

HAMILTON: I believe we need major public policy change. A few ideas have been discussed among our industry stakeholders. Indiana could increase fees on waste at the landfill and having those fees go to grants to invest in recycling infra-structure and public education.

THE MANY “R”S OFEARTH STEWARDSHIP CONTINUED

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Producer responsibility is another policy option requiring manufacturers of products to bear some responsibility for the end of life of products and/or packag-ing. Bottle deposit container laws are on the table. Those laws have a high success rate in collecting beverage containers.

At the local level we could encourage “Pay As You Throw” programs that incentivize curb-side recycling participation.

Those are some key ideas discussed by this group.

ILG: Speaking of curbside recycling, so much now can be recycled. But I’ve always been curious: how clean do these recy-clables have to be? How do you handle, say, peanut butter jars?

HAMILTON: People often skip recycling when it comes to items like peanut butter jars or cans with food that sticks. The trick is to know it doesn’t have to be perfectly clean. Mostly clean and mostly dry is fine. For peanut butter – well, first, I let my happy dog lick it as much as she can —

ILG: That’s a form of reuse.

HAMILTON: Yes, it is. And, if you don’t have a dog a good rule of thumb is that containers need to be as clean as you can get them with a good swipe or two of the spatula. Next to the dog, the spatula is your best recycling tool.

ILG: And if your spouse isn’t recycling properly, you can whack them with it.

HAMILTON: That’s right!

ILG: And if you have any other recycling questions you can always Ask Renee.

HAMILTON: I have never known her to be wrong.

ILG: If she was ever wrong, would you say so during this interview?

HAMILTON: Absolutely not. (Whispers) Of course, I’m one of her sources.

ILG: We’ll just keep that be-tween us.

Get involved with the Indi-ana Recycling Coalition — vol-unteer, get the newsletter and legislative updates — by visiting indianarecycling.org.

THE “R”s ARE COMMON SENSELet’s be clear that — while we are interviewing experts in

these fields — plenty of this is just common sense. “Repair,” for example, should be an automatic option when

something in your house has failed you. To throw out something old because it does not function both creates waste (in that you have to toss it out, ideally to someone who will repurpose or recycle it), and creates more waste (the box the new gadget comes in) and creates even more waste (if it’s a product built to NOT last, since the cycle will start all over again, soon enough). Call it robsolescence (because in a sense, you’ve been robbed).

I myself went years, even decades, replacing broken things with new things. Then a few years ago, I discovered this phe-nomenon called the “internet,” a timesuck of a vortex that also, fortunately includes free videos featuring prosaic, badly lit (usu-ally) men instructing the viewer on how to fix something.

It was a revelation! Instead of buying something new or bugging a knowledgeable friend, I now had scads of free videos to watch. Over the subsequent years I have fixed my garbage disposal, my leaky faucet, my fridge, my washer and my dish-washer. I have learned how to better maintain my bicycle. In the process, I have begun to feel a little less powerless when it comes to the world of stuff.

Because that’s the key, isn’t it? Taking the reins and learn-ing how to be better stewards. It benefits all: Mother Earth and Father Pocketbook.

Note also that you can always Ask Renee, too, or visit her archives at indianalivinggreen.com.

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recycle bulbs, batteries, tritium exit signs, ballasts, and electronic scrap. Each kit is lined to protect from damage and harmful chemi-cals. Once a kit has been utilized its components are then recycled or reused and turned into more kits. Companies can have these custom labeled to promote their own name. Even homeowners can utilize the unique service buy purchasing smaller kits for their bulbs and sending them in. The company also sells cardboard ki-osks that allow a business to set up a recycling outpost for employees and customers to use.

EZ on the Earth began in 2010

when the need for unique recy-cling possibilities became evident. Out of the 500 million straight lamps sold each year only 160 million are recycled. EZ on the Earth is responsible for 25 million of those recycled lamps, and their business is still expanding.

Even though fluorescent and other lamps are regulated as universal waste by the federal government, most are thrown away. “Our biggest competitor is the dumpster,” Knight says.

For more information visit their website at EZontheEarth.com or call 855-EARTH-55.

Bruce Knight of EZ on the Earth, in Greenwood, Ind., has helped to change the relation-ship between waste and our environment since he began a career in the hazardous waste industry. He’s worked to get auto companies from depositing recyclable materials into landfills and, more recently, for an orga-nization that recycles fluores-cent lighting, batteries, ballast, electronic scrap, and more.

Knight is ecstatic about recent developments, like the phospho-rous powder in lamps now being recycled to obtain valuable mate-rial used to manufacture elec-tronics. New outlets have been identified to recycle glass, and recently a company in Chicago has found use for plastic covering some lamps. His excitement for this work is because connections like this are always being made, repairing holes in the manufac-

turing and consuming cycles that have damaged our environment.

The Greenwood plant re-cycles lamps from 20-30 states, breaking down the fluorescent bulbs into aluminum end caps, phosphorus powder, cleaned glass, elemental mercury, and polycarbonate plastic.

The facility features state-of-the-art machinery which keeps the risk to employees and the environment at bare minimum, as do Lighting Resources facilities around the country. They are set apart from the rest by their ability to recycle mercury containing de-vices like thermostats, upgrading their system in February of 2013 so that they can also distill the toxic element into a product.

Behind the Greenwood loca-tion’s office is the EZ on the Earth division of Lighting Resources that a creates recycling kits to be sent out to companies wanting to

^̂submitted photo

These machines separate components of the bulbs so that they can be recycled.

RECYCLING IS EZON THE EARTH BY JORDAN MARTICH


Michael Bricker, co-founder of the Indianapolis-based People for Urban Prog-ress, says it’s a little tough to sum up what he and his organization do all day. But it’s not for want of trying. Think of PUP as a “do tank” instead of a “think tank.”

By design, PUP’s story is best told through its projects, each of which addresses at least two of the organization’s three key concerns: transit, environment and design.

Bricker’s own life is project-based: when not hanging out at PUP’s outpost/factory store in the Murphy Arts Center, he works as a production designer on increasingly high-profile indie films, notably Natural Selection, the winner of the 2011 SXSW Grand Jury Prize.

As ILG talked with Bricker on a First Friday at the Murphy, he was preparing to head to Utah for Sundance, then Albuquer-que to work on a film by “mumblecore” director Andrew Bujalski. His twin sister, PUP lead designer Jessica Bricker, picks up the slack during his absences, along with a small crew of part-time employees and a battalion of volunteers.

In 2013 PUP hopes to mount their single biggest installation: an interactive sculpture comprised of coin-operated parking meters, which PUP took off Indianapolis’ hands when parking was recently privatized and “modernized.”

Here’s more about that project, due to be installed in the Indianapolis City Market’s courtyard this summer, as well as several others on PUP’s slate. Head to peopleup.org for progress updates, videos and opportunities to get involved.

PARKING METERSBecause of the unitary nature of PUP’s

work — one canopy here, a row of seats at a bus stop there, a wallet made from shards of the RCA Dome roof in that pocket — it’s tough to point to any one project and say, “There, yes, there is where PUP made its mark.” PUP’s parking meter installation on the City Market’s west plaza could go a long way to addressing that situation, being “a permanent showcase for our work and other non-profits,” accord-ing to Bricker. Each parking meter has been refurbished with a three-way light that runs from red to yellow to green. Insert a coin into one of the meters — over 50 of which are to be installed this summer in concentric semi-cir-cles on the plaza — and the light goes from red to green. Coins will be collected monthly and donated to that month’s featured non-profit. A

prototype of a meter is currently on view at PUP’s Murphy Arts Center headquarters.

PEOPLE’S GUIDESWorking from the idea that the mighty

UNIGOV isn’t conspiratorially trying to exclude citizens from the decision-mak-ing process, PUP is designing dense but user-friendly infographics, or People’s Guides, that guide the average person through the who, how and why of city government. For Bricker, it’s a matter of showing “how you have to do it to make change.” As such, the project is a non-partisan, collaborative project open to input from the city (a city councilor, for instance, helped to correct and clarify the People’s Guide to City Government).

SUPER BOWL AND RCA DOME MATERIAL

It’s PUP’s reason for being and alba-tross: cast-off material, including the RCA Dome roof (nearly 90 percent of which was reclaimed by PUP in 2008) and all manners of tarps that covered Indianapo-lis during the 2012 Super Bowl. Over five acres of RCA Dome roof are still housed in storage; over nine acres of Super Bowl materials also remain to be put to some sort of use. Products made from the roof,

from wallets to purses, are sold at retail-ers around the city, helping to fund other PUP projects. The RCA Dome roof, made of a sturdy material that will look the same in 100 years as it does now, has also been used as the roof for two canopies that PUP has helped to install in an urban farm and neighborhood-gathering place. PUP is brainstorming on different ways to use the material over the coming years, including as stuffing for chairs or other products.

BUSH STADIUM SEATS“Everyone remembers sitting there:

it’s nostalgia that can’t be thrown away,” says Bricker of the Bush Stadium seats that have been installed in bus stops throughout the city. Not only do these seats offer a place to rest weary legs where there were none before, but they also provide a mini-history lesson, or least a reminder of the former home of Indianapolis Indians ballclub, and just how much fun it was to watch a game there. Not that it’s easy to refurbish the seats. They have to be completely sandblasted and reconstructed, both to do away with their peeling lead paint as well as to make sure they’ll still open for business after being exposed to all man-ners of weather.

^̂photo by mark lee

Michael Bricker sits on Bush Stadium seats now repurposed into bus stops chairs.

THE KING OF REPURPOSEPUP’S MICHAEL BRICKER BY SCOTT SHOGER


Just south of downtown India-napolis, tucked off of South Harding Street, is a bright blue building quietly turning trash into energy. The Indianapolis Covanta facility is Indiana’s first and only Energy-from-Waste (EfW) facility and is not only producing enough energy to power 50 percent of downtown but is also complementing the process by recy-cling thousands of tons of metals.

Recently, I was fortunate enough to take a tour of the facility and see for myself ex-actly how efficient Covanta is and how it differs from land-fills. Guided by Brian Foster, an Environmental Manager; James Regan another manager; and Meg Morris, Vice President of Covanta Corporate I was able to see first hand the journey trash takes in becoming energy.

1. TIPPING/BUNKER AREAMy journey began exactly

where the Energy-from-Waste process begins — in the tipping and bunker area. Here trucks from Marion County and sur-rounding areas unload enormous cargos into what looks like a giant chamber known as the tipping area. A little further in and the tipping area turns into a large pit, or bunker, where the waste is stored until being moved to the combustion chambers. I know what you’re thinking — it probably smells awful in there. But it’s actually not bad! Covanta uses a process called negative pressure to contain the smell and prevent it from leaching outside of the tipping/bunker

area. Essentially, a vacuum-type pressure sucks air out of the area and directs it into the combus-tion chambers to fuel the fires. Out on South Harding Street you don’t smell a thing!

2. THE CLAWWhile still in the tipping/bun-

ker area, the next step in the En-ergy-from-Waste process is what Brian affectionately refers to as “The Claw.” A giant claw descends into the bunker and does one of two things: it either churns the waste to ensure a uniform mixture is fed to the combustion chamber or it picks up a mound of waste to add to said combustion chamber. Either way, watching the massive claw in action is exactly like being a kid and watching the claw game. Only this time, what you’re grab-bing for doesn’t slip through.

3. COMBUSTION CHAMBERAfter being ensnared by the

claw, the waste is fed into hoppers and slowly pushed down into the combustion chamber. Now, generally speaking, burning garbage is hor-rible for the environment. Brian and James made sure to emphasize the distinction between burning waste in an incinerator and Covanta’s innova-tive combustion chambers, which require no fuel (other than garbage) to sustain the flames.

Maintaining high temperatures in the combustion chamber, the hot gases created from the burn-ing waste is guided to a series of boilers to produce steam. The steam in turn drives turbine generators to create energy. Some of that energy is used to power

^̂photos by mark lee

RECOVERY: A WALK THROUGH COVANTAWHERE TRASH IS TURNED INTO ENERGY

BY GINNYE CUBEL

^̂submitted photo

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the Covanta facility while the rest of it is sold to Citizen’s Thermal Energy and distributed to the In-dianapolis downtown steam loop. (Covanta powers almost all of the downtown businesses!)

4. POLLUTION CONTROLUnfortunately, a by-product of

fires and steam is emissions. Dur-ing the tour, Meg noted that EfW facilities often receive criticism for creating emissions. But, she point-ed out; emissions from EfW facili-ties are generally less polluted than emissions from landfills. Emissions from EfW facilities are funneled into highly controlled stacks where toxins and particulate matter are removed before the air is released. Landfills secrete emissions into the air without any form of monitoring and may contain over 44 different toxins. Covanta works diligently to minimize any harmful pollut-ant from its emissions before it’s released. For instance, to extract mercury, activated carbon is injected into the stacks where it at-tracts and neutralizes the mercury molecules. Additionally, fabric filters strain out particulate matter before releasing anything into the environment. Currently, the India-napolis Covanta facility operates between 60 and 90 percent better than permitted emission limits.

5. MATERIAL RECOVERYSome things just won’t burn. And

it’s a good thing too—because they’re recyclable! Metals generally don’t melt or burn at the temperatures in the combustion chambers and can be seen poking out of the ash. Covanta, like nose-to-tail eaters, is determined to use all parts of the waste. They separate ferrous metals from the

ash using magnets and non-ferrous metals with eddy current separators. Eddy current separators use a reverse magnetic force to eject non-ferrous metals off the conveyer belt and into a containment area. I didn’t get to witness any non-ferrous metals flying off into the containment area, but I did get to see chunks of cement (an unrecyclable substance that won’t burn either) clunk down off the con-veyor belt. What does end up in the containment area is taken to recycling facilities where it can be reused to its fullest potential.

6. ASH PITThe last part of my tour, and

subsequently the last stage for the waste, was the ash pit. In this large, echoing room, a single stream of ash pours down like sand through an hourglass. From here, the ash is either used beneficially or taken to a landfill. To be used benefi-cially means the ash is reused in manufacturing construction ma-terials, such as mixing it in with concrete to make it stronger and more durable. By the time the ash reaches this point, it is not only one-tenth of its original size but has also been harvested for all potential energy.

Unfortunately, my tour ended too soon and I was back out on South Harding Street heading towards downtown. As I headed north, I passed all the other industrial facilities located in the area and I couldn’t help but wonder how efficiently they were running and whether or not their smokestacks monitored for mercury emission. I don’t know for certain their efficiency or pol-lutant rate but I will say this: they definitely smelled.

INDIANAPOLIS COVANTA FACILITY FACTS• Opened in December 1988• Accepts and processes over 2,175 tons of waste per day generating nearly 9 million pounds of steam• Recycles 16,000 tons of ferrous metal and 1,100 tons of non-ferrous metals a year• Saves 26,286 kilowatts of power a year• Powers most of downtown Indianapolis in addition to Indiana University, Purdue University Indianapolis campus, and Eli Lilly• 1 ton of waste will produce 550 kilowatts of power — enough to power a standard household for 2 weeks• 100 cubic feet of waste can be reduced to a 10 cubic feet pile of ash

^̂photos by mark lee

For more: covantaenergy.com

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If you’ve been wondering what it’s going to be like in Indiana with Mike Pence as governor and

Republican super majorities in the state’s House of Representa-tives and Senate, look no further than IDEM, the ironically named Indiana Department of Environ-mental Management.

Thomas Easterly has been in charge of IDEM since 2005, when Pence’s predecessor, Mitch Daniels, appointed him, a guy who had spent the better part of 20 years helping big steel and utility companies play dodge ‘em with state and federal environ-mental regulations. Said Easterly at the time: “My boss is very clear; we want to protect the environment, but we also want to have a prosperous economy to raise the income of Hoosiers.”

Well, as we know now, raising Hoosier incomes didn’t work out the way Daniels and Easterly hoped. Indiana ranks 42nd in per capita income. And, while Daniels and Easterly like to boast that Indiana’s environment is better now than it was before, guess what: Forbes, a business magazine no less, ranked us 49th out of 50 states in terms of air and water quality, hazardous waste management, carbon foot-print and energy consumption.

With numbers like these, you’d think it might be time to find somebody new to run IDEM.

Not a problem, as far as Pence is concerned. He wasted little time in announcing that he was retaining Easterly to keep up the good work.

This work apparently includes giving power point presenta-tions to industry lobbyists whose jobs involve helping their clients get around or, better yet, scuttle environmental regulations. In January, The Indianapolis Star

reported that Easterly spoke at the “States and Nation Policy Summit” in November, a confer-ence sponsored in part by six coal and energy companies, including Peabody Coal, the American Co-alition for Clean Coal Electricity and the Edison Electric Institute. During this presentation, East-erly reportedly criticized three federal air-quality rules.

He talked about how Indiana had successfully sued to block the Cross-State Pollution Rule that is intended to protect the public from the negative effects of coal-burning power plants.

He knocked regulations to limit mercury pollution in fish from coal-burning plants, even though the state lists nearly 350 Indiana waterways as impaired from mer-cury pollution found in fish tissue.

And he blasted a federal rule aimed at cutting carbon dioxide emissions from new power plants.

In all these cases, Easterly ar-gued that the regulations would cost a lot of money to imple-ment, create higher costs for consumers, and wouldn’t make much of a difference anyway. This fit nicely with a resolution that was given to everyone at-tending the conference amount-ing to a game plan for how states could obstruct the work of federal air quality regulators.

The tragedy is that Hoosiers are absorbing the effects of of-ficially sanctioned environmen-tal mismanagement based on a false premise. Time and again we are told that pollution is the price we pay for prosperity. If the state’s economy was boom-ing and paychecks flush, this argument might, at least, make us feel conflicted. But Indiana’s bottom-feeding rankings in income, health and environmen-tal quality suggest that, when it comes to top-tier employers, this state may not be a destination so much as a place to avoid.

Thomas Easterly.Again.

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Indiana made significant advances in en-ergy efficiency during most of the Daniels Administration,

but started to regress the past two years. Let’s hope Gov. Mike Pence will reverse the slide and make us a Midwest leader.

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy has published a scorecard of state energy efficiency efforts for the past six years. In its first ranking in 2007, Indiana came in a dismal 41st among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. We didn’t do much better the following year, tied with four other states at 38th.

In 2009 we leaped up to 32nd and then inched our way up to 31st in 2010. At that point we were only slightly behind our Midwest neighbors Illinois (25th), Michi-gan and Ohio (tied at 27th).

Then we began to slide—back to 32nd in 2011 and tied with Georgia and Texas at 33rd in last year’s report. Our retreat is especially noticeable in compari-son to our neighbors. Michigan advanced to number 12 in 2012, Illinois is right behind at 14th, and Ohio is a respectable 22nd.

What do we need to do to reverse the decline and join other Midwest states as a leader in energy efficiency?

The best way to advance is through electric and gas utility programs. The ACEEE consid-ers these programs so important that it awards 40 percent of its points on this basis. Indiana has steadily improved its score in this area, receiving 7 out of a possible 20 points last year. With a renewed commitment to achieving the electricity savings targets ordered by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission in 2009, we could climb higher.

A second category in which we have done well is energy

codes for buildings. In the 2010 report Indiana received 5.5 out of a possible 7 points. That year our building commission up-dated the code for commercial buildings and was in the process of revising the residential code. However, model codes are improved every three years so we are already one cycle behind. As a result we received only 3.5 points last year. We can expect lower scores in the future if we don’t continue to upgrade our codes and improve our building inspection programs to make sure that new construction meets the required standards.

Two other categories where our scores have fallen are state government initiatives and combined heat and power. In the state government category we scored 3.5 out of 7 points in 2011, but received only 1.5 points last year. The Pence Administration could boost our score by calling for more financial incentives for efficiency and “leading by example” through improved energy use in state buildings.

In combined heat and power, which allows buildings to generate electricity and use the thermal energy produced by the process, our scored dropped from 4 out of 5 in 2009 to only two points last year. CHP can be a great benefit for industry so our state government should do more to promote it.

Indiana has never received any points in the ACEEE’s final two categories: appliance effi-ciency standards and transporta-tion policies. The state probably won’t require better appliances anytime soon, but maybe this is the year we start improving our transportation policies.

To learn more about what we could be doing to improve energy efficiency in Indiana, visit ACEEE’s state policy website at aceee.org/sector/state-policy.

Indiana sliding downstate efficiency ranking

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Growing up as a teenager in Maryland, one of my favorite things to do was take the train down to DC so I could practice my right to free speech. With my long hair tied into a ponytail and a political sticker slapped on my T-shirt, I would show up at countless rallies just to have my voice heard. All I wanted was peace, justice, and for everybody to get along. And as long as I showed up outside of the White House with a handwrit-ten sign and a catchy slogan to yell, I believed that these ideals were not too much to ask for. But at the end of the day, when my voice was hoarse from chanting, this utopia that I thought was so real never got any closer.

Somehow, even though I would march in these huge groups of people, I still felt isolated. Most of the people I met at these protests were of my parents’ generation, and they all wanted differ-ent things. Some wanted to end the war in Iraq, some wanted to end the war on drugs, and some wanted to end the government altogether. It was hard for me to find common ground with these people who’d been marching and yelling since the Vietnam War.

Everything shifted, however, when I learned about climate change. As a direct threat to my generation and to all young people worldwide, I quickly found solidarity in the burgeoning movement to save our cli-mate. And, as we are the ones that must deal with the mistakes of the generations before us, it has been young people who have been leading the fight for a sustainable future.

Now that I’m a little older, and my hair is a lot shorter, I’ve been keeping up

that fight. I moved to Indiana to attend Earlham College, where both my parents graduated, so I could learn what it takes to ensure that my children will have a healthy world to live in. It didn’t take me long, however, to see that climate change is not just a problem of the future. After witnessing crop-killing heat waves and last year’s disturbingly mild winter, I knew that Indiana’s farmland is in just as much danger as Maryland’s receding coastline.

That is why, at Earlham College, I’ve been putting off papers and working through Saturdays to help launch our RE-Investment Campaign. As a project of the Earlham Environmental Action Coalition, we are working with our ad-ministration to remove our endowment’s holdings in the dirtiest coal companies and move that money into more socially responsible investments.

Littered with coal-fired power plants, Indiana is one of the largest producers of coal power in the nation. Not surpris-ingly, Indiana is also repeatedly ranked as one of the top five states for power plant emissions of toxic heavy metals, includ-ing arsenic, lead and mercury, according to a 2011 report by the Environment In-tegrity Project. The Clean Air Task Force estimates that, because of toxic emissions like these, Indiana suffered around 550 coal-related mortalities in 2010 alone.

Knowing that my school is financially backing King Coal is disappointing, but also presents us with an opportunity. If we move our money now, while Ap-palachian coalmines are shutting down and thousands of miners are being left without jobs, we can invest in socially

positive ventures that would strengthen communities and the environment. Whether that means funding windmills in the mountains of West Virginia or supporting organic farmers throughout the Midwest, colleges are in the unique position to create a better future not just with their graduates, but with their financial portfolios as well.

At some point in my college career, it dawned on me that my degree was going to be useless if I didn’t have a world that could justly sustain my children. And I won’t settle for only my children, but ev-erybody’s children, no matter what they look like or where they live. It’s been a few years since my days picketing at the White House after class, but looking back, I know that the future I was look-ing for was a just climate for all.

Adam Moskowitz is a student at Earlham College.

A just climate

college spotlight by Adam Moskowitz

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On the Origin of Species was the most impor-tant scientific work of the 19th century. In it, Darwin not only

presented evidence for the evolu-tion of life on earth, but he also proposed a mechanism, which he called natural selection, that he believed was responsible for change. With it, Darwin changed the way in which humanity viewed nature and their place in it.

While he is properly recognized as the “father of evolution,” Dar-win should also be recognized as the “father of ecology.” The word ecology didn’t exist until a decade or more after On the Origin of Species was published. In fact, the German embryologist Ernst Haeckel coined the term ecology to describe what Darwin referred to as the struggle for existence. Ac-cording to Haeckel, ecology is “the total relations of the animal both to its organic and its inorganic environment.” The definition has broadened to include not only animals but plants and fungi and bacteria, but the essence has remained the same. Ecology is sci-entific study of how life interacts with its environment.

For the better part of the last 150 years, ecologists labored to conduct their research in areas untrammeled by humanity. It was believed that only in those pristine areas could the interactions between organisms and environ-ments be viewed without the corrupting influence of human activity. This meant that research was frequently conducted in set aside areas, like national parks and forests, or remote areas. The vision of early ecologists as nature loving-Indiana Jones-like figures traveling to far off places is not all that far off the mark.

Things, however, have changed and they have changed forever. Modern ecologists realize that

there isn’t a place on earth untouched by human activity. Moreover, a growing number of ecologists are now conducting their research right in the belly of human activity: cities. Urbanized land accounts for an increasing amount of the earth’s surface (about 6 percent and counting) and so, most of the earth’s popu-lation lives in urbanized areas. Consequently, this is the environ-ment – a built environment that is both organic and inorganic – that life is interacting with with increasing regularity.

When we talk about urban ecol-ogy at Butler University’s Center for Urban Ecology, we frequently talk about ecology in the city, ecol-ogy of the city, and ecology for the city. Ecology in the city focuses on how organisms survive and even thrive despite the buildings, roads, and power lines. When we center on how the city functions as a unit in the same way a forest or prairies does (or doesn’t), we are concerned with the ecology of the city. And when we gather what we know from these approaches and craft ways of building more sustainable and benign urban ele-ments, we are finally talking about ecology for the city.

Darwin famously ended On the Origin of Species with a sentence that states “There is grandeur in this view of life…” when looking at the world as a result of evolu-tionary processes. There is also grandeur in seeing the city as not just an enemy of nature, but as a place where we can observe the same ecological processes that occur on every other ecosystem on earth. The main difference between this ecosystem and all others is that we spend most of our time in it and are least aware of what is going on around us.

Travis J. Ryan is a founding member of the Center for Urban Ecology at Butler University and an Associate Professor in the De-partment of Biological Sciences.

The city is notthe enemy of nature

urban ecology by Travis J. Ryan

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EVENTS GREEN READSWILDLIFE SCIENTIST JOHN MARZLUFFFeb. 5

As part of the spring 2013 J. James Woods’ Lectures in the Sciences and Mathematics, John Marzluff, professor of wildlife science at the University of Washington, will speak at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 5 in the Atherton Union Reilly Room of Butler University. The lecture is called “Paving Paradise: the Response of Birds to Urbanization.” Admission is free and does not require a ticket. (317) 940-9269.

ECO-FILM SERIES: ‘URBAN ROOTS’Feb. 8

This film, winner of the Inspiring Lives Award at the 2012 San Francisco Green Film Festival, tells the story of Detroit residents are doing with their empty lots and defunct factories: growing food. That’s right, Detroit is home to an urban envi-ronmental movement — that might even bring the city to life. Screening is at Epworth United Methodist Church, 6450 Allisonville Road, at 7:30 p.m. The films are free of charge, though free-will donations are accepted. Snacks and soft drinks also provided.(317) 251-1481.

QUIET SPORTS EXPOFeb 15-24

The 70,000 square-foot Quiet Sports and Outdoor Living Pavilion at the Ford Indianapolis Boat, Sport and Travel Show is bringing nearly 100 exhibitors to the Indiana State Fairgrounds to share their expertise on all outdoor equip-ment and services. Experts from activities like hiking, paddling, mountain biking, rock-climb-ing and fly fishing will be at the Pavilion to provide how-to’s and daily seminars.indianapolisboatsportandtravelshow.com

BICYCLE ADVENTURIST WILLIE WEIRFeb. 20

As the featured speaker for the past 11 years, Willie Weir is returning to Indianapolis Wednesday Feb. 20 as part of the Central Indiana Biking Association and Indianapolis Marion County Library’s speaker series. Held in the Clowes Auditorium at the Central Li-brary, the event is free and open to the public. Willie will share his experiences in biking around Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia.

A NEW MUSICAL, UNVEILEDFeb. 22

American Trashcan Treasures is a brand new, origi-nal play/musical about the importance of saving the earth from human abuse, negligence and irresponsibility. The performance features Willy, a boy taught by his mother to take care of the Earth as best he can to make it habitable for all crea-tures. Along with his friends Billy and Jose, he plays music and sings to inspire others to join the Save Mother Earth Crusade. Filled with enthusi-asm and urgency, Willy’s message reaches out to both present and future generations. Wabash College, Salter Hall, 5:30 p.m. Admission, $10 for adults, $5 for students and free for children under 7. Order tickets: [email protected].

BUTTERFLIES OF INDIANA: A FIELD GUIDEJeffrey E. BelthIU Press$20

Come on. Do you really need me to say anything about this book, but the

title over and over again? It’s a guide to butterflies of Indiana, people! What else do you need? You either are a butterfly person or you aren’t, though it’s really difficult to imagine non-butterfly people even exist. Let’s try it out. Hi, my name is Jim. I love Indiana basketball and locally made beer — but I’m not really into Indiana butterflies. Tried to smear one on my toast this morn-ing, didn’t work. Who needs ‘em? Lucky you, butterfly lover. This book features nearly 150 species of butterflies and skip-pers (no, that’s not a friend of Barbie), with over 500 color photographs and plenty of prose, including a bit about the natural history of butterflies. Hmmmm… Sounds like a Valentine’s Day present for a special someone! Nothing says “romance” like a butterfly! Now if I could just find the jam.

— JIM POYSER

FOOD AND THE CITYJennifer Cockrall-KingPrometheus Books$21.00

Cockrall-King intro-duces a history of urban agriculture that projects a path towards a healthier,

greener, more sustainable future. Urban agri-culture is nothing new. Trendy craft sites and DIY-ers have been growing smaller plants and herbs for years. It’s delicious, it’s simple, and it’s fun. Food and the City argues that if more of us took on a share of our own food supply we would reap numerous benefits.

By spreading the small-scale farming trend into the major cities of western nations like the U.S. And Canada we can cut transporta-tion emissions, improve overall health, be prepared for emergency situations, and be-come reconnected with our meals. She illus-trates that the negative consequences of our own industrialized food system are tied to so many other issues in our lives - healthcare, globalization, etc. Repairing a connection to the food on our plates is a way to combat global economic issues while strengthening our local communities.

The small-scale urban farming that she calls for action to support is the future that we now need to adopt. By showing how our food sources got out of control, and how some of us have developed our own sources, Cockrall-King

inspires readers to start fixing our broken food system. She exposes a history of urban agricul-ture that shows a promising future for North Americans stuck in the current harmful system. Pointing to the success of current models like the urban gardening in Cuba and in Paris, read-ers have a vision of how agriculture and city life can become harmonious.

— JORDAN MARTICH

THE PERMACULTURE HANDBOOKPeter BaneNew Society Publishers$44.95

You survived the Apoca-lypse. Now own the book

that will ensure you survive the eco-Apocalypse. Bloomington-based Peter Bane has created one of the most comprehensive approaches to ecological design ever wrapped into one tome. And what a tome it is! Nearly 500 pages, filled with photos and illustrations, The Permaculture Handbook is, literally, the one book you’ll need for the desert island you might find yourself stranded on. It encompasses the essential “R”s — resilience, recovery and restoration — rendered in Bane’s accessible, straightforward prose. In its entirety, this book is the answer to those who think we can’t solve our enormous problems. In fact we can, by going small and getting smart, one aspect of our lives at a time.

— JIM POYSER

THE WORLD UNTIL YESTERDAYJared DiamondViking$36

Diamond has produced two of the most instruc-tive and entertaining

books currently sitting on your shelf, unless your so-called friends haven’t returned them: Guns, Germs and Steel and Collapse. This book, in some ways his most personal, asks the question: What can we learn from traditional societies? Of course, the answer is “a lot.” Since modern, developed societies are hellbent to destroy the entire habitat, it’s essential to turn our attention to the smaller-scale, more sensible traditional society and learn from their lessons. These lessons include resolving conflicts, raising self-reliant children, respecting the elderly and enjoying a healthier lifestyle. Through-out, Diamond illustrates his anthropologi-cal survey with personal stories of his own adventures in New Guinea. The world today isn’t functional; Diamond inspires us to look to yesterday for some answers.

— JIM POYSER


See solution in the March issue of Indiana Living Green.See January’s solution on pg. 22.See solution in the March issue of Indiana Living GreeSee January’s solution on pg. 22.

the three r’s by William Saint


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.

THE PANIQuiz

1. What new (but old) kind of strategy exists to sell solar panels?

__ a. Ads with doctors__ b. Door-to-door salespeople__ c. Tupperware parties__ d. Smoke signals__ e. MySpace

2. When was the last month with a below average temperature?

__ a. December, 1996__ b. March, 2002__ c. Last month__ d. When the cows came home__ e. February, 1985

3. What are scientists now linking temblors to?

__ a. Scary news about climate__ b. Oil and gas drilling__ c. Invasive species__ d. Climate change__ e. Obesity

4. What does a new study reveal about old trees on the planet?

__ a. Their leaves are just as old!__ b. They are dying off fast!__ c. 400 years is the new 300 years.__ d. Old money doesn’t grow on them!__ e. They are demanding botox treatments!

5. What has a new study found to inspire conservatives to support eco-issues?

__ a. Re-frame as WWRRD: What Would Ronald Reagan Do__ b. Re-frame as “make progressives mad.”__ c. Re-frame as “purity” and “sanctity.”__ d. Re-frame as “Brownie Points in Heaven.”__ e. Re-frame along “patriotic” lines.

6. What have researchers determined about White Nose Syndrome?

__ a. It can be passed along to humans.__ b. It is not caused by cocaine use.__ c. It has now spread to barn swallows.__ d. It is also the cause of Colony Collapse Disorder.__ e. It lives on after the bats are dead.

7. Where are wireless companies looking to expand their service via cell sites?

__ a. Blimps__ b. Human cells__ c. Really tall people__ d. Church steeples and crosses__ e. Really tall trees

8. What, along with obesity, is the world’s fastest growing cause of death?

__ a. Heat exhaustion__ b. Time__ c. Air pollution__ d. Malnutrition__ e. Terrorism

9. What did an investigation reveal about the fossil fuel industry and major media outlets?

__ a. Major media outlets are often owned by the fossil fuel industry.

__ b. Major media outlets tend to be fueled by fossil fuels.

__ c. Major media outlets tend to support clean energy over fossil fuels.

__ d. Major media outlets tend to support fossil fuels over clean energy.

__ e. Stories critical of clean energy do not reveal their fossil fuel funding support.

10. What novel legal theory is being used to force government action on climate change?

__ a. The writ of “we will all be habeas corpses” if we don’t change.

__ b. Earth’s ecosystem is an “abandoned property.”__ c. The “M’Naghten Rule” that climate change is a

form of insanity.__ d. The atmosphere is a “public trust.”__ e. That God provided us a “warranty” for our existence.

Correct Answers: 1. (c): Tupperware parties (New York Times); 2. (e): February, 1985 (London Metro); 3. (b): Oil and gas drilling (E&E Publishing); 4. (b): They are dying off fast! (New York Times); 5. (c): Re-frame as “purity” and “sanctity.” (University of California - Berkeley); 6. (e): It lives on after the bats are dead. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel); 7. (d): Church crosses and steeples (Los Angeles Times); 8. (c): Air pollution (London Guardian); 9. (e): Stories critical of clean energy do not reveal their fossil fuel funding support. (Mother Jones); (d): The atmosphere is a “public trust.” (E&E Publishing)

ASK RENEE

Q:My office mates and I have some questions.

I know that the paper that reams of paper are wrapped in is not recyclable as plain white office paper, but will Republic recycle it?

Also, can paper towels be recycled? I suspect you will tell my office mate not to use paper towels, but we wanted to know anyhow!

Do you know who takes used cooking oil?

Lori

Hi Lori,

I would put it in my bin, nope, and your local ToxDrop program, respectively.

While the paper that wraps a ream of paper typically has color on it, I would consider it to be the same quality as office paper and would include it in my recycling bin. It can definitely go in Paper Retriever bins and City drop-off locations.

As for paper towels, your suspicions are correct! But if you do use them, they cannot be recycled as their fibers are usually too thin and there is too great of risk for bacteria. Make sure your office and office mates seek out PCW (post-consumer waste) recycled paper towels (and other paper prod-ucts) and consider composting them.

Most Departments of Public Works offer ToxDrop programs (check out the one in Indianapolis) for unwanted or unused Household Hazardous Waste. Taking things, like used cooking oil, to a ToxDrop keeps nasty stuff out of our sewers and waterways.

Now get back to work!

Piece out,Renee

SIGN UP for the Ask Renee newslet-ter at indianalivinggreen.com

Got a question for Renee? [email protected]

penny pinching power padsJANUARYSOLUTION:

© 2013 William Saint


Look for the March issue of ILG on stands Feb. 25th

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Indiana Living Green - February 2013