Indiana Living Green - May 2013

SustainabilityCultivatingCultivating

STORY BY SHAWNDR A MILLER • PHOTOS BY MICHELLE CR AIG

STORY BY SHAWNDR A MILLER • PHOTOS BY MICHELLE CR AIG

KI EcoCenter and the New EconomyKI EcoCenter and the New Economy

2 INDIANALIVINGGREEN.COM /// MAY 2013 /// ILG

C O N T E N T SMAY 2013

PUBLISHER Kevin [email protected]

EDITORIAL

EDITORJim Poyser [email protected]

EDITORIAL ASSISTANTSGinnye Cubel, Jordan Martich

EDITORIAL INTERNSKatelyn Breden, Francesca Conterno

CONTRIBUTORSThe ApocaDocs, Michelle Craig, Lynn Jenkins, Shelby Kelley, Joe Lee, Lori Lovely, Shawndra Miller, Bowden Quinn, William Saint, Renee Sweany, Jennifer Washburn

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

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MEDIA CONSULTANTHeather Leitch [email protected]

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DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETINGMary [email protected]

MARKETING & EVENTS MANAGERLauren [email protected]

EVENTS & PROMOTIONS COORDINATORKate [email protected]

DISTRIBUTION

DISTRIBUTION MANAGERKathy [email protected]

COURIER Dick Powell

ADMINISTRATION

BUSINESS MANAGERKathy [email protected]

CONTRACTSSusie [email protected]

PRODUCTION & DESIGN

PRODUCTION MANAGER/ART DIRECTORDave [email protected]

SENIOR DESIGNER Asha Patel

DESIGNERS Will McCarty

D E P A R T M E N T S04 Doom & Bloom04 Gardening with Nature06 Cover Story12 Advocates14 Cruising Green17 Building Green18 Food & Drink19 Doing Green21 Eco-Crossword22 The PANIQuiz22 Ask Renee23 Life is an Egg by Joe Lee

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DOOM & BLOOM with Jim PoyserGARDENING WITH NATUREby Lynn Jenkins

My adventures in power point have recently taken an interesting turn. For those of you not following my saga (Climate Reality Chroni-cles on Indianalivinggreen.com), I was trained on the Inconvenient Truth documentary-turned-slide-

show last year and by now, I’ve done 25 presenta-tions about climate change to some 3,000 people.

(Would you like be trained on the Climate Reality slideshow? See climaterealityproject.org/leadership-corps.)

This new turn came about in a rather accidental way. In March, I was invited to present at Indiana State Museum’s Going Green Festival. My previ-ous presentations had been to college students, retirement homes, green organizations, but lo and behold, a bunch of 10-year-old kids trooped into the room, and I just had to deal with it.

The slideshow is not for 10-year-olds; there’s too much science in the slides that explain how a slow-ly rising temperature causes the atmosphere to hold more water moisture. That’s why our storms are more severe, our droughts more prolonged.

Within days, two more opportunities to con-nect with kids emerged. I learned through a friend that Center For Inquiry at IPS School 2 had been studying climate change and was looking for a presenter. The second opportunity arose via Twitter, as a science teacher at Brebeuf contacted me about Brebeuf’s GreenCon. That exchange resulted in my being invited to be key-note speaker at that eco-event.

I said yes to both.The CFI visit was on a Thursday, and about 50

fifth graders listened patiently to me, and then stunned me after by the intelligence of their questions and the sophistication of their activi-ties: vermicomposting, vampire loads, recycling, etc. It made me believe our next generation is be-ing well prepared to create resilient communities in the face of our coming climate chaos.

The next day, I did my keynote speech at Brebeuf. One of the Brebeuf students came to the lectern and talked to the group, thanking a number of people at the school for making GreenCon possible, and then she paid special thanks to the maintenance crew.

The maintenance crew?I thought that was significant, especially com-

ing from a teenager, to thank the maintenance crew, but there was something else about that remark, a spark to my inspiration.

So when I stood and began my talk, I thanked her for thanking the maintenance crew, and then I announced to the assembled that we were — all of us — the maintenance crew for the planet. Our elders and we had fouled it up, and now it was time to clean it up. And we would need everyone’s help.

That’s why I’m glad my slideshow adventure is now turning toward kids. The cleanup has begun: the living local, the getting off of fossil fuels, the end of the love affair with automobiles and the beginning of our reconnection to nature. Who better than our youth to lead?

Let’s support them in all their endeavors. Be the best example you can be. While we’re all children of Mother Earth, these newest beings are the ones who will suffer most from our wasteful ways.

It’s time to join the maintenance crew.

And support the childrenJoin the maintenance crew

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That magical dateMay 15 — that’s

when Central Indiana garden-ers can let loose! Although the last frost-free date varies year to year, you can pretty much count on

May 15 as a reliable guide for warm season crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers and green beans. Cool season crops—think broccoli, greens, onions and peas—can tolerate the cooler soil and air temps and so can be planted earlier.

One of the most useful sources of info for Hoosier gardeners is Purdue’s Indiana Vegetable Plant-ing Calendar publication (hort.purdue.edu/hort/ext/pubs/ho/ho_186.pdf). Their well-respected HO publications are available on-line; it’s like having a green thumb expert on call. Besides their County Extension Service and Consumer Horticulture information, Purdue offers the widely acclaimed Master Gardener program. Having taken the course over 25 years ago, I can attest to its strength.

I am sad but honored to bid farewell to Boone Co. Extension Director Doug Akers who is retiring this summer after having trained my daughter this year in his last class and me in one of the earlier groups, as well as many other gardeners over 30 years in Boone Co.

To learn more about the Master Gardener program, visit hort.purdue.edu/mg/basic_training.html or contact your local Purdue Extension office.

Although Purdue never really held to organic methods for backyard gar-deners, they have come a long way from my early days of training when it was a lot of “spray, dust, pour.” Now they encourage IPM (Integrated Pest Management) which allows for a “least use” method of chemicals. For me personally, I still follow or-ganic methods and allow nature time to find her balance.

It was also from a Purdue ento-mologist, the late Bob O’Neill that I learned about beneficial insects. He delighted in describing the sucking, chewing and speed of the many good garden bugs. As many as 95 percent of the insects in your back-yard are beneficial! With that stat, we don’t really need any chemicals. Let nature take her course with birds since even the seedeaters feed their nestlings high-protein, soft-bodied insects, provided in abundance in spring. Perfect timing.

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


“Each student had to have a business plan for our business class,” she said. The germ of her business plan began with a lavender plant that had dried up for want of water. She and a girlfriend realized the neglected plant’s fragrance was as strong as ever. That’s when they hit on the idea of steeping the leaves in water and using the sweet-smelling result in their playhouse. They called their business Flower Fresh, and now it’s a line of floral fresheners

including rose and lemon balm fragrances, marketed for parties and events.

It’s a theme at KI that with the help of your community, your creativity and your drive, you can make something from noth-ing — whether the goal is a moneymaker or a service project, or better yet, both. Just as Asli and her friend turned a dying plant into opportunity, 21-year-old urban farmer Mat Davis, a KI teacher, is harnessing the natural forces of decomposition to make something

new. On any given afternoon, you can find him building the foundation of KI’s fertile garden. Slim, bespectacled, and serious up to the moment he grins at his own goofball joke, Davis each week enlists the students to haul a yellow wagon filled with five-gallon buck-ets of restaurant waste — about a hundred pounds of vegetable peelings, eggshells, citrus rinds and the like — eight blocks from Duos Kitchen to the center. Along with wood chips from local tree trimmers and waste from the community center’s kitchen, the contents of those buckets will eventually feed the soil of the center’s student-tended garden. At the same time, the compost will be used to teach the students practical agricultural know-how and the scientific underpinnings.

All this is emblematic of the work of KI, also known as Kheprw Institute. Here in the shadow of the Children’s Museum and Ivy Tech Community College, the organiza-tion is nurturing an ecologically sound way of life while creating economic opportunity through social engagement. The focus is on creating something from nothing — or from whatever’s on hand — combining ingenu-ity and found resources and relationships to build a viable future. The approach is particularly relevant to many in this part of

photo by michelle craig William Thompson (left) and Chinyelu MwaAfrika stand by KI Ecocenter’s aquaponics project.

T en-year-old entrepreneur Asli MwaAfrika, a student and intern at KI EcoCenter, recently expanded her air

freshener business. She told the story during the monthly jobs creation panel at the

community empowerment center, located north of Downtown at 28th Street and Capitol Avenue. Asli represented the center’s Baby Ballers (so-named because when you’re “ballin’,” you’ve re-ally got your act together). Sitting with the center’s director and two community representatives in front of a room full of people, she was at ease, incandescently self-possessed, as she explained how her business got started.

SustainabilityCultivatingCultivating

BY SHAW NDR A MILLERBY SHAW NDR A MILLER

KI EcoCenter and the New EconomyKI EcoCenter and the New Economy

ILG /// MAY 2013 /// INDIANALIVINGGREEN.COM 7

the city where the majority of the residents are poor or working class.

Hidden in plain sight for years, Kheprw seemingly sprouted out of the buckled ce-ment of the inner city in the same way for-gotten corners give life to lamb’s quarters and purslane —plants that are considered weeds but are sources of nourishment that also often go overlooked.

The name Kheprw (pronounced KEprah) is a reference to Khepri, the Egyptian god rep-resented by a man with a scarab beetle head. A scarab beetle was a symbol of rebirth in an-cient Egypt. This is the same insect as the dung beetle — yes, that beetle, the one that spends its life pushing a clod of dung around. It turns out there’s a good reason for that: The female lays her eggs in that dung. Rolling the dung ball across the ground, the beetle was seen to mirror the regenerative force of the sun on its journey across the sky. Its young emerge from the dung fully formed, like a miracle.

Imhotep Adisa, the founder of the grass-roots community organization, is no stranger to seeing the possibilities in items — and people — society tends to discard. Testament to that is his longtime work with African-American boys and young men, who face a greater rate of imprisonment, a greater chance of being killed, and a greater chance of being unemployed than any other demographic. It’s also embodied in the philosophy he has espoused every step of the way: to approach each project with a fierce commitment to self-determination. The former Boy Scout is an entrepreneur with an engineering background

and a lifelong commitment to giving back.He points out that “doing without” has

pretty much always been a matter of necessi-ty in the economically distressed community he’s called home since childhood. This is the norm and it’s also a gift, in his eyes, because it makes it easier to see what really matters.

“We’ve always had to be resourceful,” he says on our first meeting. He’s slouched in a vinyl armchair with a rip in its arm, his lanky frame clad in sagging jeans and an oversized black sweatshirt. Traffic in the community center this morning is a few elderly people seeking a quiet place to sit and a few youthful neighbors coming in to shoot pool or to use the phone or computers. A game of chess is set up near the entryway of the former convenience store. The front room is open and inviting, with coffee perking and jazz bopping.

The nonprofit inhabits this corner with pride, having refurbished the former 7-Eleven on a shoestring budget. They took the building from bare shell to comfortable space with no grants or loans — and no help from any well-meaning nonprofit group from outside the community. Every inch of the space has had the hands of local people on it, be they youngster or elder.

Adisa, whose gray hair frizzes out from under his woven cap and whose chin sports a goatee, knows he and his cohorts at the center have a reputation among some of the neighbors for being slightly odd, though there’s respect for the work, too. “We’re those weird guys on the corner that drive those raggedy cars and wear those funny clothes,” he says. “We try real hard to swim upstream against that consumer culture.”

Building relationships, cultivating a sense of purpose, contributing to community — these take away the need to buy a lot of “trin-kets,” he tells me. “It’s not a sacrifice anymore. You begin to see that those things actually have not served your happy quotient or your well-being, but really have contributed to an unhealthy mental and spiritual state.”

That clarity of vision has served him and program director Paulette Fair well as they have given nearly a decade to this organization.

From the ground upIt began, as these things do, with a deeply

personal desire to address a problem. Origi-nally a homegrown summer enrichment pro-

photo by michelle craig KI Ecocenter citizens: (floor) Asli MwaAfrika and Chioh MwaAfrika; (sitting on couch) Sarah Wells, Vaysha Owens, Chinyelu MwaAfrika, Khalil MwaAfrika (teacher),

William Thompson and Deja Bebley; in back, Mat Davis.

lityCultivating

We try real hard to swim

upstream against that consumer

culture.— IMHOTEP ADISA”

“


gram, the initiative was borne out of a need to make then 14-year-old Diop Adisa, the son of Adisa and his wife, Pambana, realize the error of his ways. The high school freshman had failed algebra and then compounded that mistake by failing to inform his parents in time to sign up for summer school. The elder Adisa, who had often led summer reading clubs and offered Afro-centric history lessons to the local youth, and by summer’s end, the three boys didn’t want to quit. So it became an ongoing afterschool mentorship with a focus on African-American boys.

From that small seed, Kheprw has grown into a holistic community organization where doors are wide open to the neighborhood’s various populations — encompassing an inde-pendent school for black youngsters, a mentor-ing program for young adults of all races and a drop-in center for aged and indigent people. It’s also a model for broader societal transfor-mation, as wider audiences are attracted to Kheprw’s work at the intersection of social justice and environmental stewardship.

Green for All, a national organization founded by Van Jones that is working to build an inclusive green economy, tapped Adisa for its fellowship program in 2011. Green for All fellows are grassroots lead-ers in the movement to bridge the gap between low-income communities and the opportunities afforded by the new economy. The fellowship spurred a commitment to

spreading the word beyond the auspices of the immediate neighborhood and spawned a film series, jobs creation panels and monthly open mic events — increasingly attended by residents from other parts of the city.

Though the years have brought many changes, program director Fair and Adisa have kept in mind their goal: youth-focused initia-tives for community empowerment through self-mastery. It’s a mouthful, but what it means is respecting everyone’s voice while expecting them to live up to their potential as reflective, contributing members of the community.

Case in point: educational director Khalil MwaAfrika expects his 10 young charges, ages 10 to 16, to display a high degree of autonomy. Older children often research material to teach the younger students and each is expected to show up with full com-mitment to learning. The educational style is an amalgam of Montessori and other phi-losophies — including the Kindezi approach of the Congo’s Bantu people. This approach has children shadow their parents, grandpar-ents and older siblings to practice work skills while hearing stories of their history.

A large part of the KI students’ coursework, which is tailored to each of their interests and needs, is grounded in skill development — from building planters out of salvaged clapboards to rebuilding computers that have broken motherboards. MwaAfrika and the other adults coach the children in the difficult

art of bringing great ideas to fruition. As Fair says, “You don’t just have a good

idea that everybody thinks is a great idea and it just sits there and develops by itself. There’s the day-to-day, which is the execu-tion, which young people find difficult.”

Each child is responsible for developing a startup business. These range from pottery to blogging to childcare to dog walking to the aforementioned Flower Fresh. They also run an in-house fair trade coffee shop, the 317 Media Café, as a fundraiser for the nonprofit.

The students are further charged with laying the groundwork for partnerships with other organizations in the community. Adisa wants them involved in relationship build-ing, believing the most powerful opportuni-ties for resource sharing are in the human arena, not the monetary. “We’re creating this experience with the youngsters, so by the time they get to be older they already know how to do this. So it’s our effort to build in-stitutional capacity with an emphasis on the social/human side of infrastructure.”

Cultivating this generation of minds is critical, says MwaAfrika, to preparing them for whatever is ahead. He notes, “No-body really knows, but our existence on earth is really in question right now.” With an eye toward self-sufficiency, the students learn food preparation from a nutritionist who lives in the neighborhood, handyman skills from MwaAfrika, Adisa and various

photo by michelle craig Urban farmer Mat Davis is a teacher at KI.


elders, and urban agriculture from Davis. These are braided together and integrated with studies of the sciences, critical think-ing, social issues and so on.

In urban ag, they’ve covered composting, seed starting, soil building, and worm com-posting. Chinyelu MwaAfrika, 12, teams with 16-year-old Rasul Palmer to take the lead on an aquaponics project — raising fish and produce together in an integrated system — in the works. The experiment has brought a partnership with Purdue and later this year several students will travel to Ghana to see an aquaponics operation. That project was started by young African-American men from Washington, D.C., who took their unemployment checks and lit out. It’s clear they’ll click with the KI people’s commit-ment to self-determination.

But prepping a new garden plot was on the agenda on the sunny November day I stopped by. We all grabbed shovels and walked a half dozen blocks to the garden. “They look like the Little Rascals,” Davis joked, pointing to two girls in the group who were marching ahead of us with shov-els across their shoulders.

The plot-to-be was bordered by a drive-way on one side and a sagging wooden fence on another. A pile of horse manure sat waiting to be spread, prompting much banter regarding its source. (Asli: “Thanks for generating that for us, Mat.”) Two straw bales were also ready to be pressed into service, but today’s job was to turn the soil — the other layers would be for later sessions. The ground was weedy and hard as a rock in some places, with tree roots twining through. The kids squealed over the bug life revealed when Davis moved the straw bales, then dove in with varying degrees of willingness.

Digging presented some problems for the tweens: Taylor crinkled her nose when direct-ed to pull out a wayward rock. “I don’t touch that, it’s nasty,” she said, indicating the dirt. “I used to but not anymore.” Meanwhile, Sarah wailed, “I cut it in half!” over a worm. “Just leave it there, leave it there,” Davis counseled.

Mischief-maker Chinyelu chimed in, “They’ll be half-brothers!”

As the area grew cramped with shovels and claw tools, Davis put a few kids on other duties. William, who said his wooden bead crucifix is “just an accessory,” was charged with moving broken concrete pieces and big stones from a pile by the porch to edge the bed.

By the end of the hour the rectangle of dirt was thoroughly flipped and stirred. It was easy to picture it tucked in for the winter under layers of manure and straw — resting in readiness for the tomatoes 13-year-old Vaysha wants to grow, “fried green tomatoes,” specifically.

Bootstrapping for visionariesJust as the beetle offspring of its name-

sake emerges in full armored splendor and the earth regenerates every spring, the first generation of Kheprw’s participants have emerged as a source of renewal — leaders ready to feed their energy back into the place that shaped them. Over the years they had opportunities to practice business prin-ciples in the marketplace. They sold mis-tinted paints — collected free from a local paint store — to their neighbors for $5 a gal-lon. They started the Good Stuff Thrift Store to circulate unwanted clothing and other items back into the community. Now they’re continuing in this vein, always with that same scrappiness. They call it Bootstrapping for Visionaries. The social enterprises they

work on are centered less on financial profit than human impact. The goals are threefold — to give back to the community in some way, to serve as funding streams for the center and to develop skills.

Adisa is guide to these young men and women as they take their own path to employment and engagement outside the conventional marketplace. Davis is a prime example with his community composting endeavors. This spring he plans to offer bags of finished compost to the neighbor-hood’s gardeners. Many participate in a Saturday farmers’ market in the parking lot where tables are free, and anyone can give or sell their homegrown produce.

Meeting another need born of our drought-prone summers, KI EcoCenter has won a grant from Green for All to start a new youth-driven enterprise, Express Yourself Rain Barrels. An intergenerational team of Baby Ballers and Bootstrappers work together to produce the 55-gallon barrels, each custom-designed with customer input. The goal is a steady enough revenue stream to employ a community member, demonstrating the green economy in action. But the possibility of KI serving as a national fulfillment center has come up as well.

And Diop Adisa, that teenager whose recal-citrance inspired the program? He’s now 24, a college graduate, and head of the organiza-tion’s flagship enterprise, KI NuMedia. This is the center’s social media, graphic arts and web design initiative that started out with zero funding. The computers were salvaged from the trash, brought back to life by the center’s tech-savvy crew. The work serves the community as an inspiring forum — host-ing transformative articles, videos of older people’s reminiscences and blog posts of community members’ insights. Meanwhile the income from outside projects can support

photos by michelle craig Left: Imhotep Adisa is founder of this grassroots community organization. Right: Paulette Fair with Adisa.


Kheprw’s work. In classic Kheprw style, the project also offers Rasul, who is a KI NuMedia programmer, a proving ground as he develops his skills — and it’s a model for all the other young people in the program.

A study in the future of young unleashed power, the younger Adisa is his father’s son. Though he could seek employment in a cor-porate setting, he eschews that life because it is not people-centered. He says his philoso-phy degree has prepared him for this point in time, which he sees as a crossroads. “The best thing about this time is that it demands we re-assess our value system,” he says, speaking of a shift in consciousness that he senses is com-ing, if it’s not already here. Like his father, he’s slouchy of body and eloquent of voice. Like his father, he takes the road less traveled in terms of acquisition. His possessions are few and his living situation is modest at best — but his days are full of stimulating conversations and meaningful work, and he has everything he needs to live. On paper he may live below the poverty line, but his life is rich.

The younger Adisa doesn’t think the “what-was economy” is coming back anytime soon, and he’s glad about that. “I think that’s a good thing, because for a lot of people it will eliminate the option of dependency.” Instead of hardship, he sees opportunity, the chance to show others how to be their own resource.

His father agrees. “We come from communities that are resource rich but economically poor in reference to dol-lars. The primary philosophy here is to show that you don’t need anything but creativity and resilience.”

The Bootstrapping model has such prom-ise that KI is expanding its reach through a “Greenhouse Incubator.” This fledgling initiative brings like-minded entrepreneurs together to share office space, technical

support, administrative assistance, mentor-ship and more. While startup dollars may be few, relationships beget synergies, and creative resource acquisition is the name of the game. The elder Adisa hopes to nurture social enterprises for the betterment of the community — and the world.

Of course, nothing is a sure bet, and not all the young people who come through the doors are able to stay out of trouble, let alone effect this kind of social change. Adisa says in the short term, at least numerically, they’ve had more failures than successes. “A lot of the young folks who we work with daily have still gotten caught up” in drugs or gang violence or other poor choices, a fact that pains him. But the incidence would surely be higher without their work, and a metrics system equal to measuring the impact of this type of program does not exist. How does one know what might spiral out from this work in the future? How does one measure the creative energy of one grown-up Rasul, or Asli, or William? How does one measure the potential impact of a Mat or Diop, now fully in charge of his own destiny and fully invested in giving back? How does one know, for that matter, the impact of one unnamed stranger who attends one thought-provoking panel discussion, possibly never to return, but taking fresh insight home to his or her own neighborhood?

People who have historically had to do without, Adisa suggests, have a worldview that can be of use to the broader society right now. It turns out that depending on family and neighbors for the kinds of ser-vices that wealthier people pay a stranger for — childcare, say, or good advice, or car maintenance, or any number of things — brings a high level of social interaction that is food for the soul. When I suggest this might be the economy of the future, Adisa, resting his coffee mug on the arm of

his chair, leans forward and says, “It’s been our economy all along.”

He muses, “With the state we find the world in, I think we do have a unique oppor-tunity right now to tell this other story. And maybe more people will embrace the idea that we need a human-centered economy — a human-centered way of living to counter a world view that’s clearly not sustainable.”

And that is yet another gift from the depths of this transformational place, as nutrient-rich and warm as compost steaming in the sun.

Express yourself rain barrelsTo purchase a rain barrel through this

innovative project, go to rainbarrels.kieco-center.org and upload your design, photo, or logo to be printed on your barrel. With the purchase of two barrels, those who work with youth or a community garden can take a tour of KI’s urban agriculture initiatives.

Open source activismThis youth-led initiative focuses on using

technology as a tool for transformative social change. By developing mobile web applica-tions for community use and offering free weekly classes on social media, the organiz-ers make technology accessible to all.

Editor’s note: With this issue, ILG is starting a Cool Schools series on In-dianaLivingGreen.com. Is your school involved in eco-activities? Email Jim at [email protected]

photo by michelle craig Left: Chioh MwaAfrika; right: Rasul Palmer, Asli MwaAfrika and Sarah Wells.

LINKSKI ECOCENTER: kiecocenter.orgGREEN FOR ALL: greenforall.org

Indiana Landmarks Center 1201 Central Ave

6 - 7 pm - Reception in theater7 - 8:30 pm - NUVO Cultural Vision Awards Ceremony Featuring an opening performance by Time For Three

Every year, NUVO awards a Cultural Vision Award

to 6 individuals and organizations who are cultural innovators.

sponsored by:

June 7, 2013 • 6 - 8:30 pm


SIERRA CLUB

More than half of our country’s rivers and streams are in poor condition, according to

a survey by the U.S. Environ-mental Protection Agency.

Coming 41 years after Con-gress passed the Clean Water Act, that assessment should serve as a wake-up call for all of us. We need to do more to protect and restore the waters we cherish.

The problem, by and large, is from activities that are part of our everyday lives: agriculture, urban living, building new homes and businesses, getting rid of our waste. For the most part the Clean Water Act has done a good job of limiting pollution from industrial discharges but that isn’t enough to heal our waters. We need to change the way we live.

The EPA joined with state and tribal partners in 2008 and 2009 to assess water quality at almost 2,000 sites around the country, selected so the results indicate the general condition of our flowing waters, and recently published their findings. They determined that 55 percent of our rivers and streams are in poor biological condition.

The West had the most higher quality waters. Almost 70 percent were rated good or fair. In the rest of the country about 60 percent of the rivers and streams are in poor bio-logical condition.

To determine the causes of this deterioration, the study looked at four chemical “stress-ors”: phosphorus, nitrogen, salinity and acidification. The greatest damage is from nitrogen and phosphorus. These two nutrients give rise to excessive amounts of free-floating algae

and aquatic plants that disrupt the biological conditions of our waters. High phosphorus levels can also result in the growth of toxic algae, which is an increas-ing problem here in Indiana.

These nutrients come mainly from excessive or improper application of fertilizer, both on farms and on our lawns, and from human waste either through leaking septic systems or discharges of sewage.

The survey also looked at physical conditions that result in poor aquatic habitat such as excessive sedimentation from soil erosion and lack of streamside vegetation. In these categories the regional comparisons reversed, with the West having the most waters adversely impacted (24 percent) and the middle of the country the least (17 percent).

The study also divided the country into nine “ecoregions.” Central Indiana is in a region called the Temperate Plains, where almost 55 percent of the rivers and streams are in poor condition for small animals like insects and 35 percent are in poor condition for fish. The main cause is excess nitrogen, which impairs more than 57 percent of the waters, followed by phosphorus at almost 31 percent impairments.

In an effort to counteract these trends, the Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter is organizing volunteer monitoring teams to assess the condition of our local waters. The sampling is easy and we supply the equipment. Volunteers can choose a moni-toring location or we can help them find one. If this sounds like something you’d like to do, please contact me at [email protected] or call our office at 317-822-3750.

By Bowden Quinn

our waters backBringing


CITIZENS ACTION COALITION

Did you know that most of us use more water when we turn on the light, rather than when we directly use

water for activities like washing clothes and showering? Electricity generators withdraw and consume large amounts of our freshwater supply as they heavily rely on electricity from fossil fuels. Water withdrawal is the total volume of water removed from a water source, such as a river or aquifer, and can often be returned to the source after serving its purpose at the power plant, thus becom-ing available for reuse. Water consumption, however, is the volume of water lost, reducing the amount of water available for other purposes such as recreation, fisheries and public water sup-plies. Thermoelectric generation must be abandoned, not only for our air, but also for our water.

In a report called Burning Our Rivers — The Water Footprint of Electricity, River Network found that if an average household uses about 1,000 kWh of electric-ity each month, that household indirectly consumes 39,829 gallons of water. This is five times more than the direct residential water use of that same household, which would use 7,336 gallons on aver-age each month for sinks, toilets, dishwashers, washing machines, faucets and hoses combined.

Producing energy from coal requires a lot of water, and we are facing many factors that threaten water availability, making deci-sions to support retrofitting water guzzling coal plants all the more puzzling. In 2011, the National Energy Technology Laboratory released a report analyzing water-related risks to coal-fired genera-tion and identifying over 350 coal plants vulnerable to potential water demand or supply conflicts

over the next 20 years. Eighteen of the most vulnerable plants are located here in Indiana.

There’s also the imminent EPA rule, Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act, which requires that cooling water intake structures used by coal plants and other facilities use the best technology available to minimize harmful impacts on the environment. This could require the construc-tion of cooling towers at coal-fired power plants. These new cooling towers would fortunately decrease the amount of water withdrawn, but unfortunately increase the amount of water consumed. Why should we invest in prolonging coal plants when they might not even have enough water to continue to operate?

We must move on to renewable sources that would not only pro-vide us with cleaner air, but also increased water quality and quan-tity! Wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies have by far the lowest water-use factors (from zero to 231 gallons used/MWh produced) while hydropower, coal and nuclear have the largest water use factors (ranging from 14,811 to 440,000 gallons/MWh).

River Network found that eliminating ‘once-through’ cooling at thermoelectric plants and in-creasing wind and solar PV energy to 40 percent of the grid together would reduce consumptive water use by 27 percent and reduce thermoelectricity’s water footprint by 82 percent.

What should we do? End our reliance on thermoelectric power plants. Integrate water and energy planning. Promote greater access to the electric grid for low-water renewables such as wind and solar PV. Lower energy demand with energy efficient measures.

Jennifer Washburn is Assis-tant Counsel for Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana, Inc.

By Jennifer Washburn

burns up our riversElectricity footprint


CRUISING GREEN^submitted photo

cost-efficient racingOn the wings of eco-friendlier,

By Lori Lovely

Speed and competition make motor racing exciting. But innovation, which has been central to its appeal for more than 100 years, makes the sport fresh and relevant. Addressing contemporary concerns of efficiency and eco-friendliness now defines the direction of motor racing innovation.

Many components designed for or refined on the racetrack have become standard features on our daily drivers. Safety features such as rear view mirrors, disc brakes and traction control/antilock braking systems are familiar, as are performance-enhancing ele-ments like engine air intakes, dual overhead camshafts, aerodynamic design, spoilers and lightweight materials such as carbon fiber and aluminum. Now the focus also encom-passes fuel efficiency, from turbochargers and superchargers to flywheels – kinetic energy recovery systems (KERS).

Ben Bowlby, head of Ben Bowlby Racing, LLC in Zionsville, took ground-breaking ideas to the limit when he designed the DeltaWing while still technical director for Target Chip Ganassi Racing. “There are few shortcuts to developing technology,” he says. “Motorsports is one.”

ConceptOriginally designed as a 2012 concept car

to present as an option for IndyCar’s future after eight years with the series’ car designed by Dallara, the DeltaWing project generated

the ICONIC committee – IndyCar’s techni-cal team that chose the series’ next chassis.

Bowlby’s concept was born from input regarding the state of the series: atten-dance and TV ratings were down, partly due to lack of interest in the car that all IndyCar teams had used since 2003. “Our hypothesis was that the lack of innovation resulted in no drama. IndyCar was built on radical, new, innovative ideas.”

Thus, he prepared a concept for “more interesting contemporary auto technology” in which form follows function.

“We wanted to make a car that is twice as efficient in every way,” Bowlby says. “It should use half the fuel, cost half as much, use half the engine power and weigh half as much, yet still go as fast or even faster than a current Indy car and get twice the fuel mileage.”

That, he believes, would re-engage fans. Un-like today’s IndyCar culture, which redirected the focus from the cars to a battle between drivers, motor racing was founded on automo-tive technology. “The car was the star,” Bowlby says. “Cars made heroes of the drivers.”

At the end of the day, he believes, it’s called motor racing for a reason: “That’s what’s interesting.”

Plan BThe unique DeltaWing car, constructed

by Dan Gurney’s All American Racers, made its debut at the 2010 Chicago Auto Show.

Delivering all Bowlby promised – includ-ing reduced drag and superior handling – it attracted attention.

The DeltaWing is about innovation – changing the status quo. “Humans have an affinity for toys, gadgets and jewelry,” Bowlby explains. “Technology is desirable; rejecting it is a mistake.”

Ironically, the ICONIC committee did reject it. Despite inviting innovative ideas (the first “i” in ICONIC stands for innovation), the committee had “no format for a radical, new, different car to compete,” Bowlby surmises. Fearful of the DeltaWing’s reliability and insisting on an “all or nothing” choice for the series’ new car, the committee said no.

Conceding that the committee made the right decision at the time, Bowlby acknowl-edges that people either love the DeltaWing or hate it. “There is no middle ground.”

Many did hate it. Criticism challenged ev-ery element of the car, derisively nicknamed the Batmobile. An unusually long, narrow nose and small front tires caused concern about how the car would corner. Bowlby says he’s grateful for the criticism, which he evaluated to make the car “a lot better.”

Luckily for its designer, the DeltaWing was seemingly “made” for Garage 56 at Le Mans. The 56th entry in the Le Mans 24 Hours en-durance sports car race is a slot reserved for experimental vehicles. Thanks to Don Panoz, owner of International Motor Sports Associa-

Ben Bowlby is creator of the DeltaWing race car (center).


CRUISING GREEN cont’d

tion, an invitation was extended for the 2012 race after drivers Alex Gurney and Marino Franchitti tested the DeltaWing at Buttonwil-low Raceway in California.

The DeltaWing, driven by Franchitti, Mi-chael Krumm and Satoshi Motoyama, quali-fied 29th at Le Mans with a time slightly more than 18 seconds behind the fastest car. Its best race lap time over the 8.469-mile road course was 3 minutes, 45.737 seconds, an average speed of about 135 mph and rivaled some of the LMP2 cars, the second-fastest classification of cars at Le Mans. Unfortunately, it lasted only 75 laps before an accident took it out.

Similarly, a crash relegated it to a 43rd starting position in its North American debut at Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta last year, but the car rallied to a fifth-place finish.

Undaunted by the crashes, Bowlby re-mained impressed by the car’s performance and by the attention it drew. “I think we created the best-performing car. No one has gone as fast at Le Mans on the amount of fuel we consumed: 3:45 on 3.65 liters.” Fuel wasn’t the only savings. The DeltaWing used only one set of tires during its entire first test session at Le Mans.

The DeltaWing became the test case of concepts, proving that newness attracts and innovation matters. “These pioneering steps, unseen on the track for 50 years, created a level of excitement. It gained attention.”

Mad design skillsBowlby intended the radical design to

be noticed, hoping to lure manufactur-ers back to motorsports to explore ideas for improving fuel efficiency that can be integrated into road cars.

When designing the visually striking car, he insisted on incorporating technology the auto industry uses. “It’s what I’ve done all my career: make cars more efficient from a mass stand-point and from an aerodynamic standpoint.”

Throwing away the rule book and testing “wild and wacky things” in a virtual wind tun-

nel on the computer with engineering firm CRP Technology, Bowlby was able to achieve a reduction of drag by a factor of two. “Del-taWing is a story of halves,” he summarizes: “half the drag, half the power, half the weight, half the fuel. And yet, it can go just as fast.”

Speed comes, in part, from a cleaner aero-dynamic shape that can be changed to make aero improvements because, Bowlby points out, it’s not a spec car. By reducing aerody-namic drag, it produces faster straight-line and corner speeds with half as much weight, engine power and fuel consumption.

If it weighs half, you only need half as much downforce to gain an advantage, explains the designer. Instead of creating downforce, or aero grip, by incorporating front and rear wings in the design as Indy cars currently do, Bowlby devised two tunnels underneath the car that use airflow to help the car “stick” to the track. An advantage of the twin-vortex un-derbody downforce system is that it isn’t sus-ceptible to turbulence from the cars in front, which disrupt the downforce on a traditional front wing of the following car, compromising its steering ability. By adding stability, Bowlby’s design introduces more passing opportuni-ties. “The following car doesn’t suffer a loss of performance due to the wings. It’s a savings in turbulence, drag and the cost of the wing.”

It wasn’t the only area that saw savings. Saving weight was key to the formula. “We downsized the turbocharger and added a lightweight engine with direct injection,” Bowlby says. Nissan provided the initial 1.6 liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine.

Bowlby also wanted a “seriously light” gear-box, which he considers one of the essential elements of the car design. The EMCO trans-mission weighs less than half its IndyCar coun-terpart; including only five gears plus reverse keeps the gearbox small and saves weight.

The weight and size of the gearbox match the amount of torque needed. Bowl-by didn’t want lots of torque at low revs, so he capped the torque from the engine. The transmission produces a flat torque curve.

“We kept the torque constant to avoid beefy gears. It’s good for fuel efficiency.” Torque vectoring isn’t necessary for handling.

Next, Bowlby considered how to get traction. Four-wheel drive burns fuel, so he put weight in the driven tires. The weight on the front wheels is only 28 percent of the total weight of the car. This increased stability, even though the Michelin tires maintain half the contact patch.

It also added to the car’s efficiency and per-formance. The smaller front tires see the same load whether they’re cornering or not, he ex-plains. “Cornering force doesn’t transfer load. We leveraged the front tires for consistent, efficient turning.” And because the car’s narrow nose has low drag, the DeltaWing is nimble at changing direction and easy on tires.

“Once we realized that it drives from the rear, we stumbled onto the fact that braking is enhanced,” Bowlby explains. Carbon disc brakes and forged aluminum monoblock ZR43 and ZR41 Zero Drag Calipers are light, precise and efficient. Because the load between front and rear is shared more evenly, stability is greatly enhanced: The car is less likely to spin.

Green flagDefining it as “the most green event in

racing that’s ever happened” and “the big-gest technological change,” Panoz says, “It has all the function of a hybrid, but doesn’t need batteries or electric motors. It uses aerodynamics and physics instead.”

Although low drag and downforce were the buzzwords of the DeltaWing design, aerodynamic advantage was not the only goal. Bowlby calculated cost, performance and eco-logical factors into the efficiency equation.

If you save weight, you save money. It’s just that simple. Less material means less cost. For example, the brakes cost half as much as brakes for LMP1 cars, the fastest category rac-ing at Le Mans. Because the weight of the car and the spares is reduced by as much as half,

^submitted photossubmitted photos

SEE, ECO-FRIENDLIER, ON PAGE 16

According to Ben Bowlby, “We wanted to make a car that is twice as efficient in every way.”


CRUISING GREEN cont’d

weight of the car and the spares is reduced by as much as half, costs are lowered not only for materials, but also for shipping. That includes transportation of materials to the manufacturers and from them to the teams.

One way he kept costs in line was to choose the same materials as those already being used. “We didn’t use exotic materials.” It’s a point of pride that the DeltaWing is not a new invention. Bowlby merely applied existing technol-ogy in a new way. “We took state-of-the-art technology and applied it in a new concept for racing.”

Other important aspects of the project included ensuring that components are made in In-diana and that his design didn’t take away from local suppliers. “We sourced the capability to make everything here. No profit margins were hurt,” he insists.

But it reaches beyond cost. “The sustainable impact is amplified when you reduce everything by half,” Bowlby says. “The gearbox weighs half. You’re using half the mass of tire material.” Cutting the amount of material used also means less material to dispose of later, reducing the carbon footprint of this race car.

Another step toward con-servation was achieved with downsized powertrains. “The reduction of horsepower and consumption was an important challenge,” Bowlby says, adding his concern of the risk of un-foreseen consequences resulting from our actions with fossil fuels.

Racing to the futureAlthough regulations shape

each series, Bowlby believes that being carefully aligned with the needs of the customer is important – and by customer, he means the auto industry.

Getting the auto industry in-volved is critical and has proven successful over the decades. “There are multiple examples of technology developed through racing,” Bowlby says. “Fuel injec-tion, developed by Audi, saved millions of gallons in road cars.”

Typically, improvement in ef-ficiency in the automotive world is gradual, but the DeltaWing shows steps in efficiency that can be tak-en immediately without a change of technology, Bowlby says.

The next step is to look at the technology itself. “We can explore other ways to improve efficiency, such as hybrid, bio-fuel or electric.” He says Ford, Daimler and Nissan are develop-ing hydrogen fuel cell technol-ogy and Swift is working on an all-electric drive. Look for a zero emissions race car in “Garage 56” at Le Mans this year.

Motorsports has the ability to change the perception of tech-nology. “It’s not rocket science,” Bowlby says. “Make it interest-ing.” There are many ways to create an interesting technology story by promoting the image of bold, successful, risk-taking inno-vation – because innovation sells.

“The most important feature of auto shows is innovation,” Bowlby says. “It’s the reason people go. The car is the star. We just proved it, but too often, we forget that.”

^submitted photosubmitted photo

ECO-FRIENDLIER, FROM PAGE 15

Bowlby: “The car is the star. We just proved it, but too often, we forget that.”

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demonstrates LEED valuesRedeveloped home

By Jordan Martich

In January of last year, local green build-ing contractor and consultant William Wagnon of Green Path Homes noticed a property for sale in Fountain Square through the Southeast Neighborhood Development (SEND) organization. The abandoned home was being bid on for redevelopment through the non-profit’s Transfer and Transform program, which seeks to reinvigorate the community. Wagnon had been looking for an opportunity to do a U.S. Green Build-ing Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) platinum-certified redevelopment on a house that could serve as an example of green building for contractors, homeowners and a city in need of sustainability.

The home at 1055 Elm St. was built in 1910. It’s a solid two-bedroom, one-bath with 960 square feet, a stable foundation and straight, level floors. Initially there was a small hole in the ceiling, but it was easily patched up. A team of professionals seeking experience in LEED certification building was organized to assess and address the building’s key issues. Wagnon makes it clear he sought to prove a point with this project – that green building is an economically viable way to change Indianapolis for the better. No subsidies or donations were taken to help the project along.

“We wanted to do it as a market-rate project so that nobody could make an excuse for not doing it. That’s the point I wanted to make,” Wagnon said.

Wagnon started renovating homes in 2005 and became interested in sustainable building by purchasing green materials for his projects, which led him to learn about the science involved in green building in 2009. Since then he’s become a U.S. Building Council Green Associate and a LEED Ac-credited Professional, valuable experience he’s spreading by including local profession-als on the renovation.

The house now features around $7,000 worth of insulation, putting the home’s heat-ing efficiency well above most standards. The floor plan was changed to allow for a contemporary living style. Raised ceilings and other space improvements provide max-imum storage in the home. A rain garden now sits at the front of the house, fed by a drainpipe from the roof. The backyard deck looks out onto a single-car garage, raised planters for growing vegetables, a rain barrel and a patch of lawn.

Most of the green renovation process is based around simply putting quality first and paying more attention to detail. The paperwork and bureaucracy involved in LEED certified commercial-scale building

isn’t found in residential projects. Steps are still inspected and tested, but many contrac-tors avoid green building bids because they aren’t aware of the how the process works and the standards they would have to follow. According to Wagnon, Indiana’s residential sector lacks green construction because only a few builders attempt to learn about initia-tives like LEED.

“If you could go 90 percent or 85 percent of what we would, you could do it for a lot less – which is part of the conversation,” he said. “Some people just aren’t even bothering to do basic minimal stuff.”

Though the numbers for the project’s budget and selling price are still being determined, Wagnon expects to make a reasonable profit from the home’s sale at fair market value. He’s confident that this will be a practical and affordable home for first-time buyers. The transitional nature of Fountain Square made this renovation financially viable and the location attracts eco-minded buyers to fit the home’s design, he explained.

“The biggest thing is for people who want to live a sustainable urban lifestyle and push the envelope of what that could be, both in terms of how the house is and how they live in the house,” Wagnon said.

^photos by mark lee

Above left, William Wagnon of Green Path Homes.

BUILDING GREEN


FOOD & DRINK

FARMERS’ MARKETS ABOUNDBy now, spring is in full swing, and farmers’ markets are opening up all over Indiana. Here are the markets we could fit in this issue, but go to indianalivinggreen.com for a comprehensive list.

BOONE COUNTYGREEN MARKET AT TRADERS POINT CREAMERYLOCATION: 9101 Moore Road, Zionsville, INHOURS: Winter Selling Season (in the Red Barn): Saturdays 9 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. • Nov. - April | Sum-mer Selling Season: Fridays 4 - 9 p.m. • May - Oct.

The Green Market at Traders Point Creamery is Indiana’s first year-round farmers’ market. The market features produce, coffee, dog treats, baked goods, eggs, body care products, crafts, and other great products created and grown within one hour of Indianapolis. Breakfast in the barn is served from 9 to 11 am during the winter season, and dinner during the summer season on Fridays from 5- 9 p.m. Summer markets will be moved inside the barn during inclement weather.

ZIONSVILLE FARMERS’ MARKETLOCATION: Main St. & Hawthorne, Zionsville, INHOURS: Saturdays 8 - 11 a.m. • May - Sept.

The Zionsville Farmers’ Market is impressive in size, including over 35 vendors who participate in the market. The vendors dole out products from local farmers such as: fruits, vegetables, pastries, cheeses, meats and eggs. Not only are a variety of products available, but the market holds special events that include live music.

HAMILTON COUNTYCARMEL FARMERS’ MARKETLOCATION: Center Green at the Center for the Perform-ing Arts, City Center Drive & 3rd Ave. SW, Carmel, INHOURS: Saturdays 8 - 11:30 a.m. • May - Oct.

The Carmel Farmers’ Market boasts roughly 55 vendors every week, and nearly 60,000 people visit the produce supplier. Indiana grown organic products include fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, eggs and plants. In addition to ingredi-ents , the market also has jams, salsas, breakfast sandwiches, Belgian waffles, Danish pastries and honey available for purchase. Thanks to the markets location next to the Monon Trail it is extremely bicycle friendly, and free Wi-Fi is also available for visitors.

NOBLESVILLE FARMERS’ MARKETLOCATION: Riverview overflow parking lot, Noblesville, INHOURS: Saturdays 8 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. • May 18 – Oct. 12

This farmers’ market offers a variety of produce, craft items, soaps and other similar items. This year the venue will feature live music, and other special

days. There will be several special event days such as: kids’ day, pets’ day and a pie-baking contest.

HENDRICKS COUNTYPLAINFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FARMERS’ MARKETLOCATION: 105 S. East St., Plainfield, INHOURS: Wednesdays 4 – 7 p.m. • May 29 - Oct. 2

This farmers’ market offers a plethora of vegetables and fruits along with English goods, handmade soaps, Red Family Farms meats and baked goods. Roughly 15 vendors attend every market meeting.

MORGAN COUNTYMONROVIA FARMERS’ MARKETLOCATION: Center of town Monrovia, INHOURS: End of April to the end of Oct.

MORGAN COUNTY FARMERS’ MARKET: MARTINSVILLE LOCATIONLOCATION: 180 S. Main St., Martinsville, INHOURS: Saturdays 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. • May 4 - Oct. 5

This farmers’ market competes with larger farm-ers’ markets, but being smaller allows it to accom-modate smaller vendors. This, in turn, allows for a more personable, customer-oriented experience. As far as products are concerned this market offers honey, sweet corn, melons, green beans, non-traditional items such as yard long beans, edamame and other oriental goods. All items sold at this market are produced in Indiana. Occasion-ally, music is also featured at the market along with various community-based days.

MORGAN COUNTY FARMERS’ MARKET: MOORESVILLE LOCATIONLOCATION: MSCSC Education Center,11 W. Carlisle St., Moorseville, INHOURS: Saturdays 3 – 7 p.m. • May 8 - Oct. 9

All items sold at this market are produced in Indiana.

MARION COUNTY38TH & MERIDIAN FARMERS’ MARKETLOCATION: 3808 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis, INHOURS: Thursdays 4 - 6:30 p.m. • June 6 - Oct. 24

The market at 38th & Meridian features a variety of vendors, selling produce, baked goods, honey, beef, pork, eggs, and chicken. Some vendors ac-cept WIC vouchers. Pets are welcome.

ABUNDANT LIFE CHURCH FARMERS’ MARKETLOCATION: 7606 E. 82nd St., Indianapolis, INHOURS: Thursdays 4 - 7 p.m. • June - Sept.

Abundant Life Church hosts this market every Thurs-day from June to September. Vendors sell produce, honey, baked goods, lamb meat, crafts, household items, and other goods. The church aims to connect with its community and support local farmers.

BINFORD FARMERS’ MARKETLOCATION: 5060 E. 62nd St., Indianapolis, INHOURS: Saturdays 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. • May 4 - Octo-ber. Some indoor markets in March, April, Novem-ber, and December in the Hawthorn Plaza.

Sponsored by the Binford Redevelopment and Growth (BRAG) Group, this farmers’ market features 21 food vendors. Products include meat, dairy, eggs, baked goods, bread, produce, pasta, tea, and even dog treats.

BROAD RIPPLE FARMERS’ MARKETLOCATION: 1115 Broad Ripple Ave., Indianapolis, INHOURS: Saturdays 8 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. • May to the weekend before Thanksgiving

Broad Ripple Farmers’ Market, located in the parking lot behind Broad Ripple High School, opens on May 4, 2013. Products include produce, meat, dairy, flowers, prepared foods, maple syrup, herbs, salad dressings, and more. No crafts are sold at this strictly-food mar-ket. Broad Ripple Village Association, sponsoring this market, encourages shoppers to find crafts and other art in the shops around Broad Ripple.

CUMBERLAND FARMERS’ MARKETLOCATION: 11501 E. Washington St., Cumberland, INHOURS: Saturdays 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. • May 1 - Oct. 31 | Tuesdays 4 - 7 p.m. • June 1 - Sept. 30

Part of the Buy Fresh, Buy Local movement and the Hancock Harvest Council, Cumberland Farmers’ Mar-ket features a variety of meats and produce, as well as products such as honey, cheese, and eggs. Hand-made crafts, jewelry, and artwork are also available. Cumberland Farmers’ Market especially encourages


submitted photosLeft: Diana Shellhaas is Honorary Chair of 2013 Orchard in Bloom.

Orchard in Bloom, a nationally recognized garden show now in its 24th year, will take place on May 3-5. Enjoy landscapes and microgardens featuring a variety of in-season, local plants. The Gardener’s Market will include regional and na-tional vendors and exhibitors selling merchan-dise for garden, home and consumer. Children can enjoy face painting, art, hands-on activities, a play garden area, and other crafts and enter-tainment in the children’s area. Aladdin Garden Cafe will offer meals and snacks for purchase. The Garden and Natural Living Symposium features a variety of speakers on topics ranging from composting to garden photography.

Interview with Diana Shellhaas, 2013 Honorary Chair of Orchard in Bloom.

INDIANA LIVING GREEN: How did you first get involved with Orchard in Bloom and how has it changed over the years?

DIANA SHELLHAAS: I can remember the very first Orchard in Bloom in 1989, held in a small warehouse in Park 100. As a faculty member [at the Orchard School], I volunteered to help out at the show which was organized by our parents’ association as a fundraiser for the school. I re-member it was all indoors, so inclement weather was not an issue. It took about an hour at the most to walk through everything. I helped with ice cream sales. It was a great beginning, but moving the show outside definitely added the “gardening feel” and provided much more space to expand every aspect of the show.

ILG: Orchard in Bloom has raised over $100,000 for outdoor education programs for India-napolis children. Does the event automatically donate a certain percentage of proceeds?

SHELLHAAS: Since the show now takes place in Holliday Park, a flat sum of $10,000 is given to the park to support educational

programs at the nature center there.

ILG: What should garden show newcomers expect and bring with them?

SHELLHAAS: Wear comfortable shoes for strolling through all the wonderful displays as well as the vendors’ tent areas. Also, be prepared for any type of weather (it is Indiana, after all). The show goes on, rain or shine! It is definitely a family event with gardens and information for the adults and a tent full of children’s activities as well. Parking is off site with shuttle buses that run continually to bring you to the park, but you can easily drive your car back to the park to pick up any items you may have purchased from a variety of vendors. Package pick-up convenient-ly holds everything for you so you don’t have to carry. There is not an ATM available, but most vendors will take checks and/or credit cards. There is also lunch available at the Garden Cafe.

ILG: What kind of food is served at the Gar-den Cafe? Are there any other food vendors?

SHELLHAAS: The grills are going with burg-ers, brats, chicken, and hot dogs. There are also salad options for vegetarians as well as home-made soups, chips, brownies, and cookies. The usual drinks are available. A lot of the Orchard faculty volunteer in the Garden Cafe. Other food vendors usually include Traders Point Creamery with their ice cream and yogurt cart and of course kettle corn and almonds.

ORCHARD IN BLOOMFriday, May 3, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. • Saturday, May 4, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. • Sunday, May 5, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.Holliday Park, 64th & Spring Mill RoadFree parking at Second Presbyterian Church, 7700 N. Meridian St. with shuttles to the eventTICKETS: Presale: $10 • Gate Price: $12 • 3-Day: $15 • Children 14 and under admitted free

I came to learn about the book, The Pipe-line and the Paradigm, in the following way.

On Feb. 17, I was in Washington, D.C., part of the Forward on Climate march, organized by the Sierra Club, 350.org and the Hip Hop Caucus, among others. Forty-five thousand of us were there to pressure Obama to say no to

the Keystone XL pipeline.A number of us from Indiana were stand-

ing in the muddy grass of the National Mall, freezing, listening to speaker after speaker. So I began to roam, to stay warm.

Orchard in Bloom

The new ecologic paradigm

DOING GREEN

SEE, PARADIGM, ON PAGE 20

By Katelyn Breden

By Jim Poyser

interaction between farmer and consumer, describing the farmers’ market as a social experience.

IRVINGTON FARMERS’ MARKETLOCATION: Ellenberger Park, 5301 E. Saint Claire St., Indianapolis, INHOURS: 2nd Sunday of each month 12 - 3 p.m. • June - Oct.

This market, regularly featuring 60 to 70-plus vendors, offers a wide variety of produce, meats, cheeses, honey, flowers, plants, baked goods, herbs, and other delicious local products. This lively market also includes booths for non-profits and other organizations, as well as live music, prepared foods, and picnic tables.

ORIGINAL FARMERS’ MARKET DOWNTOWN AT THE INDIANAPOLIS CITY MARKETLOCATION: 222 E. Market St., Indianapolis, IN; Outside the City Market located on Market St., between Delaware St. & Alabama St.HOURS: Wednesdays & Saturdays 9:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. • May - Oct.

The Indianapolis City Market houses the original farmers’ market downtown. This large market offers produce, meats, dairy products, baked goods, spices, herbs, kettle corn, granola, wine, and much more. Dif-ferent vendors close at different times. Related to this market is the Indy Winter Farmers’ Market, located in the market building during the winter months.

STADIUM VILLAGE FARMERS’ MARKETLOCATION: 801 S. Meridian St., Indianapolis, INHOURS: Tuesdays 4 - 7 p.m. • May 22 - Sept.

This market, located in Shapiro’s parking lot, features produce, meats, honey, baked goods, and other products. Accepts SNAP / food stamps. Visit each week for a different theme.1st Tuesday: Art Appreciation2nd Tuesday: Health & Wellness3rd Tuesday: Community Partners4th Tuesday: Green Living

HANCOCK COUNTYHARVEST MARKET AT THE FAIRGROUNDSLocation: Hancock County 4-H Fairgrounds, 620 N. Apple St., Greenfield, INHOURS: Summer Market: Saturdays 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. May - Oct. | Wednesdays 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. July - 2nd Wednesday in Oct. | Winter Market: 1st & 3rd Saturdays 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. • Nov. - April

Located at the Hancock County Fairgrounds with a winter market in the show arena, this market features a variety of meats, produce, cheese, honey, crafts, and baked goods. Harvest Market is sponsored by the Hancock Harvest Council and the 4H Ag Association.

JOHNSON COUNTYGREENWOOD FARMERS’ MARKETLOCATION: Greenwood United Methodist Church parking lot, 525 N. Madison Ave., Greenwood, INHOURS: Saturdays 8 a.m. - noon • Wednesdays 2:30 - 6 p.m. • starting April 27

Greenwood Farmers’ Market features a variety of produce, meats, baked goods, crafts, flow-ers, eggs, and more.


IMBIBING GREEN cont’d

EVENTS

THE RETURN OF THE ORIGINAL FARMER’S MARKET May 1, 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.This marks the 16th year of the Original Farmers Market, which provides delicious and nutritious Indiana products to consumers every Wednesday from May 1 to October 30. Come to the City Mar-ket’s Whistler Plaza (Market Street between Ala-bama and Delaware Streets) to buy from the 50+ producers that travel to the heart of Indianapolis to share meats, eggs, cheeses, poultry, honey, syrups, plants, produce, flowers, baked goods, and more!

SCIENCE ON TAP: DISCOVERY OF A NEW PARTICLE?May 1, 5:30 p.m.For over a decade, Purdue physicist Daniela Bortoletto has been looking for the Higgs boson, a theoretical elementary particle predicted to exist by the Standard Model of particle physics. She thought that she and her colleagues at CERN had finally discovered the elusive “god particle” last summer… or at least they thought they had. Come to this free event to hear her story! Science on Tap events, held in the Tomlinson Tap room on the second floor of City Market, feature informal discussion and riveting subject matter over pizza and beer.

INDIANAPOLIS CULTURAL TRAIL OPENING: “GET DOWN ON IT”May 10 –11A project 12 years in the making, the India-

napolis Cultural Trail is finally ready to open. An eight-mile beautifully paved and exception-ally landscaped trail, the Cultural Trail will con-nect the 5 downtown cultural districts as well as connecting with the 6th, Broad Ripple, via the Monon Trail. The ribbon cutting ceremony (location to be determined) will take place on May 10 at 4:30 p.m. After the ribbon cutting and on May 11, the public will be invited to par-ticipate in a variety of activities and special-event programming throughout the trail and throughout the day. Walkers, bikers, strollers, and wheelchairs are all welcome.

2 WHEELS, 1 CITYMay 11, 2 – 6 p.m.Hosted by INDYCOG and Sun King Brewing at City Market, this year will mark the 4th annu-al “2 Wheels, 1 City” event, which allows the public to celebrate biking through a variety of biking events, music, food, Sun King Beer, and kids’ game. Admission to the event is free, but any proceeds generated, including from a bicycle fundraising drive, will go towards Freewheelin’ Community Bikes, an organiza-tion that teaches bicycle maintenance and repair to at-risk yout h. The community initia-tive also repairs gently used bikes to sell at a reasonable price to the public.

SCIENCE ON TAP: SHOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOUR ROBOT? May 15, 5:30 p.m.Anyone interested in robotics and the interac-tions they have with humans should visit this

talk led by Selma Šabanovic. She studies the interaction of robots and humans in order to design robots that can usefully meet the needs, values, and apprehensions of everyday people. Come to this free event to learn more from an expert! Science on Tap events, held in the Tomlinson Tap room on the second floor of City Market, feature informal discussion and riveting subject matter over pizza and beer.

BIKE TO WORK DAY May 17Last year’s bike to work day was the largest in the history of the event, attracting about 1,500 partici-pants; this year, the goal is to double participation! Those who try it once are more likely to do it again and the benefits are extreme both in terms of indi-vidual health and positive effects on our commu-nity (improved air quality and congestion levels). Cyclists will meet at 7:00 a.m. at Big Hub Plaza/Market St. for complimentary breakfast and coffee, and at 7:55a.m. Mayor Ballard & others will give presentations. Later, free lunch will be available for commuters on Market St., and finally, Sun King will sponsor a Happy Hour Fundraiser for INDYCOG from 3:30 – 6:30p.m. Parking will be available. For more events, go to indianalivinggreen.com

Suddenly, a man stuck a postcard in front of me and asked me, “Would you be interested in my book?”

I eyed the card: The Pipeline and the Paradigm; Keystone XL, Tar sands, and the Battle to Defuse the Carbon Bomb. With a title like that how could I resist?

“Heck, yeah,” I responded. We exchanged informa-tion, and I learned the author, Sam Avery, lived near Louisville, and that his book had been given the kiss of credibility: a forward penned by Bill McKibben.

I never saw him again that day, as we both were absorbed into the mass of protestors. Within a week, I had acquired a review copy and gobbled up the text.

The Pipeline and the Paradigm is a mixture of sci-ence, philosophy and first-person advocacy, a story also of Avery’s soul search for answers. For those of you thinking the book is a polemical, Avery gives space to the other side, not only respectfully letting them have their say, but having their side of the story deepen his thinking about the issue.

Even so, Keystone XL is a disaster in the making, one more heinous step in the wrong, fossil-fuel-emitting direction. Many in the environmental movement believe this to be the turning point in the struggle to exist on a livable planet.

Sam is definitely an activist. The book begins with a picture of him in handcuffs in D.C., purposely being arrested to protest the Keystone XL pipeline. Espe-cially in its second half, the book is a travelogue of his adventures across the U.S. and Canada, interviewing activists and pipeline proponents all along the way.

But Sam is also a businessman, a solar installer, so he knows this issue from an essential angle, that of an expert in renewable energy.

In the book, he calls for a new paradigm, an ecologic one.

“In the ecologic worldview, biological com-munities exist in their own right, whether or not they are ‘useful.’ Trees, soil, animals, streams, plants, lakes, deserts, and oceans have no less right to exist than human communities.” He adds, “The living world includes the economy, but it is not limited to the economy.”

Ultimately, in the ecologic paradigm, “human need is subordinate to the Earth’s capacity to sustain life ... We fit into it.”

Lucky for us, Sam is coming to town on May 9 for two appearances. The first as at 5 p.m. at Indy Reads Bookstore, 911 Mass Ave and at 7 p.m. at Bookmamas, 9 Johnson Ave. in Irvington. Want to learn more about Keystone from someone who knows the issue inside and out? Sam’s the man and of course, both events are free and open to the public.

Even if Obama has said yes (which is likely) or no to Keystone by May 9, no matter. Come and listen to Sam, find out more about Keystone XL, and see what might be the next steps in the battle for Mother Earth.

SAM AVERYThursday, May 9; reading and signing his bookIndy Reads Bookstore, 911 Mass Ave.; 5 p.m.Bookmamas, 9 Johnson Ave.; 7 p.m.

^submitted photos

Author Sam Avery

PARADIGM, FROM PAGE 19


START YOUR GREEN ENGINES by William Saint

See solution in the June issue of Indiana Living Green.See April’s solution on pg. 22.


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 PANIQuizASK RENEE

Got a question for Renee? [email protected]

Q: I have several older knives that have broken handles or

cannot be sharpened that I need to dispose of. I do not feel good about throwing them in the trash but I am not sure what to do with them. Which made me wonder, what do people do with razor blades? And old pots and pans?Thank you, Yvonne

Hi Yvonne,

I’ll get straight to the point. This is a great lesson in the 3 Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Reduce: You get what you pay for. A cheap knife is likely a disposable knife, one that won’t last long. If you cook a lot, spending a little bit more on a few good knives will pay off (financially and environmentally) more so than spend-ing less on a full set of cheap-o knives.

Reuse: Those knives (and pots and pans) that seem like they’re ready for retirement to you, may help someone who can’t afford new ones. Take them to Goodwill or another charitable organization that may be able to put them back to use. ALWAYS be sure to cover the blade to protect the person unpacking the goods.

Recycle: If your knives are truly kaput, RecycleForce will take them at their drive-through, 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. weekdays, 9:00 a.m. - 1 p.m. Saturday, 1125 Brookside Avenue, Suite D12, or at an upcom-ing event (there are currently events scheduled for Brownsburg, down-town Indy and Johnson County) . Again, be sure to cover the blade and let the attendant know that your recyclables include knives.

As for razor blades, I think the saf-est place is in the trash. If I hear dif-ferently, I’ll be sure to let you know. In the meantime, apply the 3 Rs: reduce waste by using a razor with a reus-able handle where you only replace the blade or blade cartridge. I like the recyclable Preserve razor.

Piece out,Renee

SIGN UP for the Ask Renee newsletter at indianalivinggreen.com

© 2013 William Saint

1. What are a growing number of college students trying to accomplish?

__ a. Paying off loans__ b. Fossil fuel divestment__ c. Making beer pong an official Olympic sport__ d. Graduate__ e. Getting jobs after graduating

2. What do researchers think will trigger the large-scale release of methane in Siberian permafrost?

__ a. 3,000 more farts__ b. 12 more scientific papers__ c. 50,000 more juicy steaks__ d. 30 more new coal plants__ e. A few tenths of a degree

3. What, for the first time in its history, is Sierra Club doing?

__ a. Releasing an app.__ b. Operating without a chief.__ c. Engaging in club-sanctioned civil disobedience.__ d. Ceasing publishing a newsletter.__ e. Increasing its club dues.

4. What is ALEC calling their proposed legislation to eliminate state requirements for renewable energy use?

__ a. Solar and Wind Suck Act__ b. Fossil Fuels Are Good For You Act__ c. Coal Freedom Act__ d. Volition for Volts Act__ e. Electricity Freedom Act

5. What do scientists now believe helped mute the impact of global warming between 2000 and 2010?

__ a. An especially persistent El Nino__ b. Strides in methane reduction via sheep and cows__ c. An especially persistent La Nina__ d. The Great Recession__ e. Aerosols from volcanoes

6. Out of 104 nuclear reactors in the U.S., how many have logged incidents of a core meltdown being 10-fold more likely than usual?

__ a. 20__ b. 40__ c. 10__ d. 5__ e. 60

7. How are meat and poultry industries fighting back against animal welfare advocates?

__ a. Imprisoning them on their farms.__ b. Eating the animals with relish!

__ c. Treating animals with great compassion.__ d. Eating the activists with relish!__ e. Legislation that thwarts their investigation.

8. What are lakes tainted with metals doing to fish?

__ a. Ruining their sense of smell.__ b. Turning them all into Asian carp.__ c. Making them susceptible to magnets.__ d. Causing their fins to fall off.__ e. Causing skirmishes over their “bling.”

9. What has the State Department decided, regarding public comments about Keystone XL?

__ a. They are turning them into a book.__ b. They are censoring the curse words.__ c. They are turning them into an opera.__ d. Only way to see them is to request a FOIA.__ e. They are cutting them off at 1000 comments.

10. How is the Weather Channel changing the conversation about climate change?

__ a. Using verbs before nouns.__ b. By denying its existence.__ c. By using pig latin to talk about imate-clay ange-cha.__ d. By ignoring it altogether.__ e. By talking about it on their broadcasts.

1. (b): Fossil fuel divestment (Rolling Stone); 2. (e): A few tenths of a degree (New Scientist); 3. (c): Engaging in club-sanctioned civil disobedience. (Politico); 4. (e): Electricity Freedom Act (Grist); 5. (e): Aerosols from volcanoes (Uni-versity of Colorado at Boulder); 6. (b): 40 (Midwest Energy News); 7. (e): Legislation that thwarts their investigation. (Huffington Post); 8. (a): Ruining their sense of smell. (Envi-ronmental Health News); 9. (d): Only way to see them is to request a FOIA. (InsideClimate News); 10. (e): By talking about it on their broadcasts. (Fast Company)

big blue marble appreciation dayAPRILSOLUTION:


Look for the June issue of ILGon stands May 27

Travel destinationsIncluding a round up of Indiana’s

numerous landtrusts.

LIFE IS AN EGG by Joe Lee

Documents

Indiana Living Green - May 2013