Indiana Living Green - Nov/Dec 2011

Grab a reusablebag and shop local.

SHOPPING GUIDE HITS STANDS NOV. 23

GO GREEN FORBLACK FRIDAYAmerican shoppers use an estimated 102 billion plastic shopping bags each year — more than 500 per consumer. - RollingStone.com

P U B L I S H E RKevin McKinney

[email protected]

E D I T O RJim Poyser

[email protected]

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

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

Liz Nolan (Columbus)Jennifer Troemner (Indianapolis)

Want to be on the ILG team? Email Jim!

• • •C O N T R I B U T O R S

The ApocaDocs, Wendell Fowler Shelby Kelley, Jesse KharbandaBetsy Sheldon, Maria Smietana

Renee Sweany

• • •indianalivinggreen.com

Tristan [email protected]

T.J. [email protected]

• • •S A L E S & M A R K E T I N G

Josh [email protected]

Robert [email protected]

Mary [email protected]

Lauren [email protected]

• • •D I S T R I B U T I O N

Christa [email protected]

Dick Powell

• • •G R A P H I C D E S I G N

Paul Wilson, Wilson Design, [email protected]

• • •Indiana Living Green is printed on

100% post-consumer recycled paper.Published by NUVO, Inc.

ON THE COVER: Bloomington’s Twisted Limb Paperworks is local and green and makes cards from all kinds of recycled materials, including their Beer Paper Cards, made from recycled paper and spent barley from Upland Brewery. (See page 10)

Photo by Sheryl Woodhouse-Keese: Founding Artist/Owner of Twisted Limb

F E A T U R E S

• Lynn says “Thank You” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

• Holiday Gifts, the Green Way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

• State of the State’s Environment, 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

D E P A R T M E N T S

• Doom & Bloom with Editor Jim Poyser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

• News Briefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

• Hoosier Environment with Jesse Kharbanda . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

• The PANIQuiz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

• Eat Right Now with Chef Wendell Fowler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

• The Last Row . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 1

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

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4 ONLINE AT: IndianaLivingGreen.com

LY N N S AY S “ T H A N K Y O U ”

• • •

Change brings new hope, new passion and

much gratitude Nature continually directs us to change and evolve. Seasons change, animals migrate, seeds sprout and grow , wa-ters rage and recede. Change brings freshness, awareness and new focus. NUVO’s acquisition of Indiana Living Green well fi ts nature’s plan. ILG’s mis-sion to be the “go to” green resource for Hoosiers will change and develop as well.

From the start, Indiana Living Green chose to be lo-cal and sustainable. New owner Kevin McKinney and with new editor Jim Poyser will continue to expand this mission. Although torn at leaving my fl edgling, I know it is in the good care of people that will nurture its development and infl uence. I will surely miss the daily connections with the people that have been instrumental in ILG’s success, including you, our readers, our advertisers and supporters. From your kindest words to your fi nancial backing, your support has been appre-ciated. Most special thanks goes to editor Betsy Sheldon, who as an unpaid partner guided the local stories you enjoyed. Her gracious and affable style, even as I habitually missed dead-lines, made my job a pleasure. There are many others who deserve recognition for their input and backing, but there is not space enough to list all. Please know that your input has made a difference and was sincerely appreciated. ILG would not have had its image and voice without web designer Margaret Stout, creative design-er Paul Wilson, regular contributors Maria Smietana, Wendell Fowler and Jesse Kharbanda. Thanks also to ILG Advisory Board members, Hugh Baker , Bill Brown, Jeff Echols, Deb Ellman, Bert Gilbert, Carey Hamilton, John Hazelett, Grant Jenkins, Jesse Kharbanda, Glenn Livers, Greg Martz and El-len Michel. Further gratitude goes to Hugh “Red” Baker , who from the start encouraged and supported ILG. He never said no when called on for guidance. The list cannot end without the mention of three dedicat-ed supporters, my children Jeni Jenkins, Grant Jenkins and Shari Jenkins. Their encouragement and business assistance were instrumental in ILG’s perseverance – and perhaps my sanity – through nearly fi ve years! Hugs to you all. Enjoy this new issue, support the new owner and editor and please continue to be part of the green wave that is mak-ing a sustainable difference in Indiana! 4 Lynn

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From the start, I

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

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

Broom and Bloom I usually bicycle to work, but one day this fall, I walked. Along the way, I witnessed a familiar sight. A man had a leaf blower strapped to his back. It was a loud, large, gas-powered unit, and he was sweeping its wand in front of him, blowing leaves and grass clip-pings off the sidewalk and into the street. It was working well for him. It took probably 10 minutes to fi nish the job, but it was 10 minutes fi lled with unnecessary noise, noxious exhaust and the burning of carbons.

I thought to myself,

Dude, have you ever heard of a broom?

Using a broom might have connected him a little more intimately with the leaves in front of him, and provided a little aerobic exercise along the way. Also, he could have gathered the leaves into a pile for his compost, instead of cavalierly blowing the yard detritus into the street. But machines can separate us from nature; their ease gives us a false sense of dominion over our habitat. We know how that attitude is working out: polluted air, water and soil; rising tempera-tures; natural habitats encroached upon by mindless development; an environment becom-ing increasingly fragile every day. I can feel myself teetering on the edge of preachiness here, something Lynn Jenkins would advise me to avoid. I hear you, Lynn. It doesn’t do any good to preach; you’re either enticing the converted to nod their heads, or turning the unconverted away from your rhetoric. I owe much to Lynn and what she created over these four-plus years. There’s been a lot of information conveyed, in a fun and lively manner. I intend on maintaining that tradition. I’ve named my column “Doom and Bloom,” because I believe in both. I absolutely know in my bones that Doom is approaching; the Great Unraveling has clearly begun. Yet I also believe we can Bloom — in fact, we have no other choice. Humanity has run amok on the earth, for nearly its entire history. Today, it’s increasingly clear that we are all connected to everything, and so have to walk a different path. Look, nobody’s perfect; but nobody needs to be. All we need to be is mindful about our behavior and its impact on the environment, and then make the appropriate changes. That’s what Indiana Living Green has been about since its inception, and is what it will always be about. Thanks, Lynn. You worked from the heart to build this magazine.It will continue to beat in these pages and on indianalivinggreen.com. Let’s all laugh and learn together how best to make ourselves better people of the planet. I’ll bring the broom. 4

Jim • [email protected]: Send me your story ideas for upcoming issues of ILG.

Indiana Living Green 4 NOV/DEC 2011 5

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Going on a Deer Hunt? There’s an app for that. There’s nothing like some good old-fashioned, free-range venison. It’s antibiotic- and hormone-free, it’s leaner than beef, it helps maintain a healthy ecosystem, it’s good exercise. The only downside (other than cleaning it — eeewww!) is the unpredictability of the whole shebang. Or not, thanks to DeerDiary, lovingly created by Gus Saucerman. The smart-phone app, along with its companion website, DeerDiary.com, tracks weather, photos, notes, and allows hunters to “check in” at their favorite tree stands, and to slurp from the pool of knowledge of their fellow enthusiasts. Users can leave each other notes, give tips and pointers, and share a laugh at the stories that are bound to accumulate — like that one with the bees? Yeah. You know the one. Now if only the deer had a Hunter App. 4

Marriott gets a Green Seal Hold on to your sleeping bags, folks — camping is no longer the only way to make sure your vaca-tion stays eco-friendly. The Mar-riott in downtown Indianapolis (not the new JW, but the Marriott at 350 W. Maryland St.) has been dubbed a Certifi ed Green Hotel, by Green Seal, the head honchos of green labeling themselves. Green Seal’s got one of the most rigorous standards out there, running tests all the way to the raw resources that go into the products a company makes — and in Marriott’s case, that’s beds, rooms, and service. You can rest easy knowing that Marriott passed Green Seal’s standards for waste management, energy effi ciency, water conservation, etc., and that it’ll be held to annual retrials to make sure it stays that way. • SEE: www.indymarriott.com 4

NNEEWWSSBBRRIIEEFFSSIndiana green jobs are revving up Green jobs in Indiana are on the rise. A good chunk of them include opportunities in construction and green manu-facturing, which don’t require specialized skills, and many are an eco-friendly call-back to the sort of on-the-job training familiar to auto expats. According to a survey by the Depart-ment of Labor and IU’s Kelly School of Business, the Cross-roads of America is home to more than 46,000 green jobs and another 17,000 that encourage green business. That’s also good news for the rest of us: as gas prices rise, so will the mar-ket for our homemade energy-effi cient vehicles. More demand means even more jobs, which means a stronger economy, and that gives us all something to smile about. • SEE: http://news-info.iu.edu/news/page/normal/19542.html 4

Powerhouse solar idea Solar panels are great in theory, but theory doesn’t help you install clunky panel racks to your roof or make them look any prettier once they’re attached to your house. Dow Chemical Company decided to do something about that — they’ve cre-ated solar shingles: solar panels cleverly disguised as ordinary roofi ng shingles, and about as easy to install. It may not sound like much to the more determined among us, but it’s such a big leap that Time Magazine named solar shingles one of the “50 Best Inventions of 2009”. The Dow Powerhouse shingles will be hitting test markets in 2012, and if they take off, Dow will also be building a large-scale factory for distribution, creating more than a thousand jobs in the economically-hurting state of Michigan. • SEE: http://www.dowsolar.com/ 4

Purdue wins award, but Indianaindustries get the prize Purdue’s School of Engineering and Technology just won the jackpot: a $1.3 million award from the Department of Energy to send IUPUI’s engineering program in greener directions. Ten to fi fteen students every year will receive specialized training in energy management, assessment and effi cient processes, but that’s not all they’re in for. They’ll be putting their new skills to use at local industrial and manufacturing facilities. Between their classroom education and fi eld experience, the Department of Energy hopes to see these students lead the nation into energy effi ciency and a greener economy. Going still further, Purdue’s School of Engineering will use its award to conduct 20 annual energy assessments and implement improvements on a larger scale. But the program isn’t dependent on its award. The Lugar Center for Renewable Energy is planning to add momentum to research and support, to keep it going strong for years to come. • SEE: http://engr.iupui.edu/ 4

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Purdue gets grant to turn grass into fuel Turning grass into fuel may sound too good to be true, but after receiving a $3.8 million federal grant, more than a dozen Purdue research-ers are trying to do just that. The study hopes to fi nd out whether grasses and crops can become an environmentally safe and effi cient bioenergy. It also gives researchers the opportunity to create a production system that gives farmers information on how to maximize bioenergy grass growth on unused farmland. A Purdue offi cial said that at its core, the project is about making good choices. But Purdue is not stopping there – they are taking extra steps to fi gure out the best ways to market and distribute the biofuel. From the farm to the fuel tank, Purdue is discovering how to make bioenergy happen. While most of the work is already underway because of previous projects and funding, the federal grant will fund the work through 2016. • FOR MORE ON THE PROJECT: http://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/energy/ 4

Connect with nature on the Towpath Trail If you think Fort Wayne’s new Wabash & Erie Canal Tow-path Trail is simply a path for a short stroll after work, think again. The 5.5-mile trail along an historic trade route connects 50 miles of trails across Allen County. You can reconnect with nature, see scenic marshlands and travel through some areas featuring local businesses. The Towpath Trail features unique public art sculptures, interpretive signage and outdoor space for meetings. Man-made sculptures in a park may seem like an oxymoron, but designers incorporated nature in each piece with depictions of people enjoying the outdoors and raised impressions of the various forms of wildlife found in the region. The former trade route was once used by settlers who would tow goods by mule, canoe or canal boat. Now it’s an iconic scenic landscape ideal for biking, walking, jogging and appreciating nature in Northeast Indiana. • FOR MORE ON

THE TOWPATH TRAIL: http://www.fortwayneparks.org 4


Endangered species list grows … and shrinks The Indiana endangered species list is set to get a little bit bigger. A recent vote by the Indiana Natural Resources Commis-sion approved the addition of two rare species and the removal of a third. The two breeds to be added — the plains leopard frog and the mole salamander — are diffi cult to fi nd in Indiana these days. The plains leopard frog hasn’t been seen here since 2004, which made it a perfect candidate for the list in 2005. The mole salamander can be found at a nature preserve in Posey County, but that is their only known habitat in the state. The four-toed sala-mander no longer needs protection because it can be found throughout the state and the INRC voted to remove it from the list. All three will have to wait for approval from the At-torney General and the Governor before their status offi cially changes. • FOLLOW THE LIST AT: http://www.in.gov/dnr/naturepreserve/4725.htm 4

Up close and personal with your kidney’s worst enemy We’ve all heard that spending too much time on the TV or computer will rot our brains and turn us to goo, but it’s not the screens we need to worry about. When these electron-ics are improperly thrown away, they can contaminate our food with carbon nanoparticles (which is a mouthful, so we’ll call them CNPs). CNPs have their uses — they help with drug delivery and give us the vibrant colors we love to see on plasma screens. They’re not overtly toxic, but when CNPs get into your blood stream through contaminated foods, they create tiny leaks in your lungs and kidneys — the latter are the lovely little organs that keep your bloodstream urine-free. According to the study at IUPUI’s school of science, it doesn’t take a lot of CNPs to start messing with the body and leaking refuse into our blood, and that’s a big deal. • SEE: http://science.iupui.edu/news/carbon-nanoparticles-break-barriers-and-may-not-be-good 4

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Ah, green gifts. If you’re thinking about ‘em, then you probably fi t into one of three categories: you’re a greenie who wants to give your favorite eco guy or gal the perfect gift; you’re a treehugger who wants to give someone not-so-green a nudge in the right direction; or you’re not exactly an avid environmentalist, but you care about someone who is. Regardless, there are only two rules to remember.

1) A green gift isn’t really green if it isn’t wanted. Even the coolest solar-powered handheld fan or hottest recycled cork trivet isn’t green if it’s going to end up in a closet

collecting dust.

2) A green gift isn’t really green if it creates waste.

Consider these facts:

• According to the EPA, about 40% of all battery sales occur during the holiday season.• 38,000 miles of ribbon are thrown away each year, enough to tie a bow around the Earth.• From Thanksgiving to New Years Day, household waste increases by more than 25%.• Half of the paper America consumes is used to wrap and decorate consumer products.

Hey, maybe the Grinch was on to something when he said, “It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes, or bags!” So here you go: some low-impact and low-waste gifts that will have a big impact on your loved ones.

Gifts you can hold in your handWho woodn’t love a one-of-a-kind travel mug crafted by a local furniture maker? Dickinson Fine Furniture of Greenfi eld uses locally and sustainably harvested Indiana hardwoods, most of which are from wind-damaged trees and furniture scraps. Dickinson kitch-enware products are available online or at the Indy Winter Farmer’s Market, Binford Indoor Farmer’s Market, Christ-mas Gift and Hobby Show, Handmade Indiana at the Indiana State Museum, and Munster Holiday Arts and Crafts Fair. Prices range from $3 to $45. • SEE: www.customfurniture4you.com

Whether you fondly remember the big white bubble on the Indianapolis skyline or you just love the idea of creatively recycled stuff, People for Urban Progress creates nifty gifty items from the former roof of the Hoosier Dome. Slip a Dome Bookmark into a stocking ($5), adorn your sustain-

ably harvested holiday tree with a Dome Flake ($7), tuck a gift card into a card holder that

can be reused as a business or credit card holder ($12.50), journal your

holiday haps in a Noteable ($24), or go for a Dome wallet or purse ($40-65). All of these items are practically indestructible, just like your pride in supporting local. • SEE: www.peopleup.org

The person who has every-thing can never have enough locally produced treats from

farmer’s markets and local retailers. Organic baked goods

from Zionvsille, marinara from

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

THE GREEN WAY

IndianaLivingGreen.com

Holiday Gifts, Holiday Gifts,


Sheridan, natural wreaths from Fillmore, honey from Ander-son, apple butter from Trafalgar, goat cheese from Greenville, organic popcorn from Sunman – Indiana is ripe with goodies that won’t have a huge carbon footprint to get from producer to present. For $25 you can pack a lot of holiday joy into a reusable gift bag. Wondering where to get these goodies? I recom-mend fi nding a nearby orchard or farm store. You may also con-sider canning your own garden gifts. From salsa to pickles, thought- and fl avorful gifts are a water bath away.

SOME OF MY FAVE SHOPS:

• www.andersonorchards.com• www.huntershoneyfarm.com• www.apple-works.com• www.spencerberryfarm.com

This fall I bought three oyster mushroom kits from Back to the Roots to give as Christmas gifts. After a few weeks, curiosity got the best of me and I had to start one for myself. The kit comes with everything you need, including recycled coffee grounds for soil, to grow 1.5 lbs. of pearl oyster mush-rooms. I know I’ll be ordering more kits to cross the mushroom lovers and gardeners off my list. Back to the Roots kits also makes a great edu-cational gift for kids and teachers. ($19.95) • SEE: www.backtotheroots.com

From Schererville, where you’ll fi nd Clifty Creek Soy Candles, to Indianapolis, where you’ll fi nd Herbal Art, to Holton, where you’ll fi nd Otter Creek Candles, our state is aglow with soy candle makers. What’s special about a soy candle, you ask? Soy is a non-petroleum renewable re-source that burns cleaner and longer than paraffi n wax. If you’ve ever wondered about the black soot that coats the inside of a typical candle, know that that same soot is also released into the air you breathe. You’ll want to look for 100% soy candles that also have a cotton wick for the cleanest burn. One soy candle maker in Indy really lights me up. Green Illuminations hand-pours soy candles into hand-cut recycled beer and wine bottles. Their Illuminated Wine Bottle Lantern ($16) might just be the second best use of a wine bottle I’ve seen.

Clifty Creek Soy Candles • www.cliftycreekcandles.comHerbal Art • www.herbalartonline.comGreen Illuminations • www.green-illuminations.comOtter Creek • www.ottercreekcandle.com

The Spirit of Christmas Present is a present of Christmas spirits. A growler of local beer or a bottle of local wine is sure to thrill the dickens out of the recipient. Heartland Distillers uses local ingredients, like Indiana corn and sorghum, to make small batch spirits, including vodka, fl avor-infused vodka, gin, bourbon and rum. A gift set of Indiana Vodka and Hoosier Momma Bloody Mary Maker (both available at liquor stores throughout Indiana) is almost as perfect a pair as turkey and stuffi ng.

• www.indianawines.org• www.brewersofi ndianaguild.com• www.indianavodka.com• www.hoosiermomma.com

If you have an eco-kiddo on your “Nice to the Planet” list, check out Global Green Pals, a Scher-

erville company. With names like Carbon Offset Chet, Clean Air Kate, Pani Rani, Pink Coral Laurel, and

Recycle Kyle, their crew of certifi ed organic cotton and post-consumer recycled plastic PET bottle stuffi ng dolls will make great green friends to the tiny treehuggers in your life. A portion of each purchase supports earth-friendly efforts through One Percent for the Planet. ($27.95) • SEE: www.globalgreenpals.com

It’s the thought that counts (ideas that aren’t exactly tangible) A few years ago a good friend of mine got engaged just before Christmas. Knowing that a wedding budget was forthcoming and that

they were setting out on a lifetime of getting to know one

another, they decided to exchange experiences as their gifts. Each planned a special

activity to give the other a peek into their past. I still love to hear stories about the city boy who straddled his trusty steed and the country girl who hit the dance fl oor at a hip-hop concert. Give the gift of green by giving some green on behalf of your Earth-loving gift recipient. Love nature? The Nature Conservancy of Indiana has protected more than 80,000 acres of forests, wetlands, prairies, lakes and streams in the Hoosier State. Love trees? Keep Indianapolis Beautiful’s Neighborwoods program will plant 100,000 trees in 10 years. Love recycling?

Indiana Recycling Coalition encourages source re-duction, reuse, composting and recycling activities throughout the state. Love conservation? Indiana

— Continued on page 10

has more than 20 Land Trust organizations with a mission to protect our land and water resources. For less than $20 you can give someone three months of curbside recycling from a company like Republic or Ray’s. According to the Indiana Recycling Coalition, recycling is one of the easiest ways for Hoosiers to reduce our carbon footprints, to conserve natural resources and to make Indiana a greener state. You can start by tossing all the post-holiday boxes and wrapping paper into the convenient curbside bin.

Paper or plastic (gift certifi cates and gift cards) Everyone needs to buy groceries. Why not support sustainable agriculture, local economy and natural health while you’re at it? I found local food cooperatives throughout Indiana on www.coopdirectory.com. A gift certifi cate to Bloomingfoods (Bloomington), Pogue’s Run Grocer (Indianapolis), River City Food Co-op (Evansville), Three Rivers (Fort Wayne), Maple City (Goshen) or Lost River (Paoli) will result in a cartful of holiday joy. Though not a fan of plastic in most cases, I do love a good gift card. Especially one that supports the local food move-ment. Use www.localharvest.org or the Indy Food, Farm & Family Coalition Local Food Guide to fi nd restaurants that source local ingredients. Of note: According to Earthworks, a Midwest gift card recycler, over 75 million pounds of PVC material from plastic cards enters our waste stream each year.

Remember, empty giftcards can be recharged or recycled. Here’s an interesting tidbit. The amount of cards sold during the holiday season would fi ll a football fi eld 10 stories high, and requires the harvesting of nearly 300,000 trees. If you must send a card, here are a few options to lessen your impact.

• Reduce the amount of paper per card by sending holiday postcards. Less paper, no envelope, and postcard postage is only 29 cents. Take it a step further… • Reuse last year’s holiday cards to make your own postcards. Simply slice of the back of your old, used cards and, voila, a postcard. Reused cards also make great gift tags.• Recycled cards from Twisted Limb Paperworks are local and green. They make cards from all kinds of recycled materials at their Bloomington, IN headquarters.

Perhaps you’ve gotten a buzz from, er, I mean, heard the buzz about their Beer Paper Cards, cards made from recycled paper and spent barley from Upland Brewery. • www.twistedlimbpaper.com

HOLIDAY GIFTS, THE GREEN WAY — Continued from page 9

Stocking stuffers Santa always delivered very practical items to our stock-ings when growing up. Here’s some simple, sustainable selec-tions for Santa’s stocking stuffer standbys. Stuff a stocking with…stockings! Locally made soy socks can be found at U-Relish in City Market and at the Trader’s Point Creamery Christmas on the Farm (Dec. 10 and 17). They make a variety of designs, including pink ribbons and Colts ($7-10). Preserve makes toothbrushes from 100% recycled #5 plastic, and you can return your used toothbrush to be recycled into new products. Preserve toothbrushes can be found in markets throughout Indiana. 240Sweet of Columbus makes gour-met marshmallows in nearly 100 fl avors, including pumpkin pie, gingerbread and candy cane. Pet lovers will chase their tails in excitement over Purrfect Play’s organic fl eece catnip mice and organic plush squeaker bones made in Chesterton. Remember, no matter how naughty someone has been, a lump of coal is defi nitely not green! 4

2011State of the State’s Environment


Here are the responses we received.

Mayor Greg Ballard PROGRESS • Indianapolis is a more pedestrian and bicycle-friendly community. Residents are exploring alternative forms of transportation, thanks to our trails and over 30 miles of bike lanes added in 2011 alone. We undertook energy-effi ciency retrofi ts in city-owned buildings. The City added new

snow trucks with diesel particulate fi lters that can reduce air pollution up to 90 percent, began using propane in the fl eet, which helps lead to cleaner air, and has 116 hybrid vehicles, up from one in 2008. We increased outreach efforts for the Knozone program through daily email alerts with tips and educational events in schools, libraries and other venues.

BAD NEWS • Like many communities in the state of Indi-ana, Indianapolis is combating a growing infestation of an acutely invasive pest known as the Emerald Ash Borer. This beetle can kill smaller ash trees in about a year, and losing trees due to the damage ultimately impacts air quality. But the City recognizes we need to do something, and so we have formed partnerships to address the problem. The City’s Forestry Division is participating in a fi ve-year program to treat trees in parks with insecticide. We also are pursuing grant funding so we may increase our efforts to address this problem. Mayor Greg Ballard created the City’s Offi ce of Sustain-ability in 2008 to coordinate environmentally friendly policies across city government. Editors note: We went to press for this issue of ILG without knowing the results of the election.

Alexis Boxer PROGRESS • In my opinion, the best improvements have come not from the statehouse but from people in communities all across the state. The local foods move-ment in Indiana is a great example – one of many – of an issue that people are excited about and proud to support. Farmers

markets statewide have expanded and been very well attended all spring and summer. We have also seen community sup-ported agriculture, local grocers and organic produce come a long way in recent years. Supporting sustainable foods and local farmers is a great way to improve our food system, help build the local economy, be a good neighbor and a responsible consumer.

BAD NEWS • (Disclaimer: this is about coal) One of the largest blows to improving the environment in Indiana this year came from our universities. While we have seen many schools making great strides toward sustainability, several of our leading campuses have delved into some less than savory work. IU and Purdue have partnered with the coal industry and other institutions to develop and research “clean coal.” It is well understood by many that coal is never clean because throughout its lifecycle it leaves a huge negative impact on people and the planet. It is a real blow to see our places of higher education buying into “clean coal” propaganda. Alexis Boxer is an organizer for the Sierra Student Coali-tion working on transitioning our campuses’ coal plants to clean energy alternatives.

Michael Bricker PROGRESS • Green and sustainable practices are fi nally the new normal, and Hoosiers are realizing that small changes can be affordable and impactful. The Hoosier mindset is changing – sustainability equals responsibility, with more and more people growing their own food, biking to

work, and shopping local. Many Hoosiers are turning these activities into micro-businesses, creating local jobs and a third “community-place” for working together.

BAD NEWS • Indiana has a quality problem. Many mid-to-large green initiatives are just sound bites or headlines, rather than fully-formed systemic solutions. Sustainability isn’t about how many solar panels we install or how many trees we plant. It’s about how well we do those things, and how they can be a catalyst for greater community change. Indiana

We felt our end-of-year issue of ILG to be a perfect venue to reach out to academics, activists, politi-cians and stakeholders across the state to let us know what they’re thinking. We asked two questions: What progress has been made in improving the environment in 2011? And: What has been the most signifi cant setback or “bad news” regarding the environment in 2011?

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should be the crossroads of innovation, where design, technol-ogy, and creativity challenge developers and lawmakers to do better. Michael Bricker is an Indianapolis-based designer, fi lm-maker, and Executive Director of People for Urban Progress.

Tim Carter PROGRESS • I think the growth of urban agriculture has led to benefi cial discussions and actions around the issue of vacant land within cities. This is an area where Indiana is particularly well-suited to distinguish itself environmentally, since Indianapolis, for example, has thousands of vacant prop-

erties and the state has such a rich agricultural heritage. The ecological and human health improvements really resonate with people and the interest in creating habitat and productive spaces within cities and towns across the state is encouraging.

BAD NEWS • Anytime that major infrastructure improve-ments are being made without considering innovative ecologi-cal design at the front end, I think it’s a missed opportunity. While these sorts of projects obviously take years to get planned, the fact that so much infrastructure construction this past year either has had major environmental impacts or doesn’t make major environmental steps forward, is one major disappointment for me, especially because chances to implement comprehensive “green” infrastructure practices on a large scale don’t come around all that often. Tim Carter is the Director of the Center for Urban Ecology at Butler University and a passionate advocate for home coffee roasting.

Gabriel Filippelli PROGRESS • The inclusion in the Clean Air Act of mercury as a pollutant with signifi cant negative health risks is a very positive step toward ridding us of this contaminant, and signifi cantly cleaning up “dirty coal” in Indiana and other states. We now know that mercury emission from local

plants are resulting in local contamination of waterways and people, and thus cleaning up these facilities – or even shutting them down – will promise a brighter future for all of us.

BAD NEWS • The challenges to the new EPA regulations on carbon dioxide as a contaminating gas in the atmosphere have been very discouraging, as little resistance has been put up from the Administration to counter these challenges. Yes, the economy is bad and jobs are important, but this is not time to relax critical environmental protections and allow industries to continue or even expand local, regional, and global environmental pollution for the sake of some jobs. At stake is our environment, and more importantly, our children’s environment. Gabriel Filippelli is a Professor of Earth Sciences at

IUPUI, where he directs the Center for Urban Health and conducts research at the interface between the environment and human health.

Jaclyn Goldsborough PROGRESS • Fort Wayne has made tremendous progress this year with the development of a new city recycling pro-gram. Launched in January, Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry adopted a new recycling program called One Cart Recycling that lets residents dispose of recycling without

sorting through material using one simple bin. When the program was fi rst launched almost half of the city’s residents signed up, an increase from before the program. The Indiana Association of Cities and Towns honored Fort Wayne with the Community Achievement Award for reducing recycling costs, adding revenue and doubling participation in the program. The program is a huge leap forward for Fort Wayne and a great model for other Hoosier cities hoping to practice sustainable living. For more information on Fort Wayne recycling, visit: www.recyclefortwayne.org

BAD NEWS • In 2007, Fort Wayne developed a program to create 20 large and 1,000 small rain-gardens to reduce the amount of sewage overfl ow into the rivers. The only reason the city developed this plan was because it had to spend a certain amount of money on “green” initiatives to prevent possible fi nes from the Environmental Protection Agency. However, after three years, Fort Wayne has created only eight large and 100 small rain-gardens. This has done little to stop the sewage. The situation is not just a city government prob-lem, but also a resident participation problem. To solve it, the city and its residents need to get together to establish these gardens and maintain them. If not, who knows what crap will be in the rivers – literally. For more information on the raingardens visit: www.catchingrainfw.org A recent Ball State grad, Jaclyn Goldsborough is an Online Content Manager for FortWayne.com with a passion for sustainable living, and a dedication to always keep laughing.

Reverend Marian Patience Harvey PROGRESS • 2011’s “progress” is the undeniable exposure/dissolution of the irreverent life we have been living that no longer serves the earth, the animals or ourselves. Thanks to the mass media, the dire consequences of choices we have made,

intentional or not, become increasingly apparent. Systems intended to support and protect refl ect arrogant disregard for the sacredness of life. Manipulating external change within these greedy systems is futile. For example, even the most clean/environmentally compliant confi ned animal feeding operation (CAFO) confi nes animals in cruel sterility. Aware-

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ness heals. No hog wrestling at the Putnam County Fair this year! That’s real progress!

BAD NEWS • Our disregard for man’s tragic impact on our environment is blatant and bipartisan. Corporate power controls. Indiana welcomes the construction of not only new CAFOs but spent chicken factories, and inoculation units. We accept animal waste from surrounding states. Our new Board of Animal Health protects agribusiness rather than the animals and our land. Concerns are dismissed as “myth” or “radical.” This year Harrison County approved construction of a confi ned hog operation despite warnings that a CAFO would “rip the social fabric of community.” (www.corydon-democrat.com Dr. JE Ikerd, 6/22/2011.) This just didn’t seem to matter. We forget our interconnectedness. Reverend Marian Patience Harvey is a nurse, terminal midwife, Ayurvedic health educator and earth/animal advocate living in Putnam County with Jay Johnson on a few acres with 40 rescued cats and a pack of seven dogs.

Steven HiggsPROGRESS • Whatever environmental “progress” that is ever made in Indiana is always overwhelmed by the historic envi-ronmental conditions that earned the state the 49th worst environment ranking by Forbes in 2007. The only positive develop-ments for Indiana are the resurgent grass-

roots democracy movements that have arisen in Wisconsin, New York and now nationwide. It’s the only force on the planet with any chance of environmental redemption.

BAD NEWS • The worst news for Indiana’s environment in 2011 was the continuation of the anti-democratic, business-as-usual mindset of the state’s leaders, who owe their power, careers and fortunes to the polluter class. Whether it will be the best or the worst remains to be seen. The Blooming-ton/Monroe County Metropolitan Planning Organization’s upcoming decision on whether to include or exclude the I-69 extension in its local Transportation Improvement Plan will be the most critical environmental issue for Southwest Indiana. I include it in the “bad news” column because I expect Bloom-ington Mayor Mark Kruzan will cave when decision time comes in November. Steven Higgs is a veteran environmental journalist and editor/publisher of The Bloomington Alternative.

Melina KennedyPROGRESS • I am pleased that this Mayor has continued much of Indy GreenPrint policies of the previous administration in-cluding an offi ce dedicated to sustainability, continuing the cultural trail and bike lanes. But it’s not enough. Indianapolis is falling behind. Clean air and water are not just a

quality of life issue for our residents but also for those that

might move here. Pedestrian friendly cities and neighborhoods attract people to live in those cities. That’s why I offered eight points I will pursue to move Indianapolis forward in sustain-ability and environmental practices by making improvements or enhancements in the following: 1) Making sustainability and environment protection priorities; 2) Clean air, water and neighborhoods; 3) Environment and health; 4) Solid waste; 5) Urban planning and development; 6) Economic development; 7) Transportation; 8) Energy.

BAD NEWS • According to Sustainlane, a non-profi t group that evaluates cities and their sustainability practices, India-napolis ranks 44th out of 50 major cities. We’re falling behind and we need a vision for the future. The quality of a city is measured not by the brilliance of its skyline but by its stew-ardship of the land on which it exists. A clean environment and sustainable practices are integral to achieving our eco-nomic goals and a desirable quality of life. We need to create a culture supportive of business while maintaining a strong focus on green initiatives. For example, nine of the top 15 most sustainable cities are also top ranked in high-tech, high paying jobs. Melina Kennedy is the Democratic candidate for mayor of Indianapolis. Editor’s note: We went to press for this issue of ILG without knowing the results of the election.

Jesse Kharbanda PROGRESS • People with respiratory problems will be better protected from the dangers of particulate-fi lled outdoor wood-boiler smoke, thanks to new state safeguards adopted in February. The harm that unchecked factory farms have had on our countryside will be reduced due to new

statewide policies that will be adopted before the end of this year. And Indiana has at last reduced a major barrier to greater investment in renewable energy, making installations of wind and solar more affordable for businesses, universities, and community centers. Environmental advocates worked tirelessly to achieve successes on all of these fronts.

BAD NEWS • The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has become a punching bag for some prominent Indiana politicians. Rather than offering healthy, productive solutions about how to cut air and water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions while strengthening the economy, some Hoosier politicians have unfortunately chosen to miscast the EPA’s motivations and actions for political gain. For example, Sena-tor Dan Coats talked of the EPA having a “narrow ideological agenda” in discussing its legally authorized right to implement the Clean Air Act, and Congressman Mike Pence has repeat-edly referred to EPA’s efforts to make modest reductions to greenhouse gas emissions as a “national energy tax.” Jesse Kharbanda is Executive Director of the Hoosier Environmental Council, which is working hard with excellent allies to advance public transit, green energy, and sustainable

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INDIANA’S STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT, 2011 — Continued from page 13


agriculture, and tackle problems like mercury, coal ash, polluting factory farms, and damaging highway projects. Read his column in Indiana Living Green on page 20.

Kim Ferraro PROGRESS • Nationally, the EPA fi nally proposed regulations for coal ash manage-ment and disposal which has largely been exempt from regulation despite the enact-ment of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) over 30 years ago. The EPA made environmental justice one

of its top priorities and is looking to regulate air emissions from concentrated animal feeding operations. In Indiana, the Legal Environmental Aid Foundation of Indiana (LEAF) held developers accountable for repeated violations of the state’s storm water and erosion control laws. It obtained a $100,000 settlement for a family whose property was inundated by soil and sediment runoff from a developers’ construction site. It also settled with the Northern Indiana Public Service Company on a plan for the cleanup of an unlined landfi ll in Pines, Ind., and convinced the 7th Circuit federal appeals court to reverse a lower court ruling to “abstain” from hearing an RCRA citizen suit. The court said citizen suits are necessary because govern-ment often does not protect people from polluters due to the “phenomenon of agency capture” by corporate interests.

BAD NEWS • President Obama backed down on strengthen-ing ozone/smog standards, deciding instead to keep in place Bush-era standards described by EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson as “not legally defensible given the scientifi c evidence on the record” of dangers to human health. Congress slashed funding for EPA as the Republican-controlled House tries to gut environmental regulations and end the EPA’s environmen-tal justice program. We still lack any sort of climate change legislation and it does not look like there is any leadership on the issue. A graduate of Valparaiso University School of Law, Kim Ferraro founded the Legal Environmental Aid Foundation of Indiana, Inc. (LEAF) to address the inequitable distribution of environmental burdens, such as pollution and industrial facili-ties, on poor and minority communities in Indiana.

Christina Kratzner PROGRESS • I think Hoosiers are making strides in recycling. I’ve witnessed Indiana businesses making huge efforts to increase their recycling. I’ve seen an entire offi ce spend days packing up paper waste and then a morning delivering it to a recycling plant. Everyone on my street recycles and

more grocery stores seem to stock paper bags than two or three years ago. Add that to the fact that everywhere you go you see reusable bags and water bottles, and it’s pretty obvi-ous people in Indiana are reusing, reducing and recycling.

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BAD NEWS • Although this isn’t a problem specifi c to Indiana, I have to say that the worst setback this year was the continued inability of governments worldwide to come to a decision on climate change. The United States still hasn’t rati-fi ed the Kyoto Protocol and without making Kyoto or other international agreements a priority, there just isn’t enough hope that we can turn things around before it’s too late. Christina Kratzner is an Indiana University School of Journalism graduate student who writes about foreign affairs, literature and the environment.

Sam Miller PROGRESS • Here in Indianapolis we continue to move forward with important steps related to infrastructure improvements that are long overdue. Leadership from Mayor Greg Ballard has helped move the needle in a visible way, although we still have much to do. Local design profession-

als have stepped up to turn ideas into reality. Typically, this is exciting, but not very glamorous work. Another exciting development is the wind farms around the Lafayette area. In the last fi ve years, a gigawatt of power has quietly been constructed making Indiana the fourteenth largest producer of wind energy nationwide.

BAD NEWS • What has been the most signifi cant setback or “bad news” regarding the environment in 2011? As someone interested in renewable energy, the simple fact that the Ed-wardsport coal gasifi cation plant is still under construction is truly heartbreaking, especially since a recent report on electric-ity usage nationwide shows a decrease in electrical demand. Sam Miller is an architect who has been an advocate for sustainable design and planning for over 20 years.

Jodi Perras PROGRESS • Indiana schools, where our children spend many of their wak-ing hours, will be healthier thanks to two rules that went into effect in the past year. Under one rule, only trained staff may apply pesticides or herbicides on school grounds, and schools must meet requirements for

pre-notifi cation, storage and record-keeping. Also, a new school indoor air quality rule will help ensure that schools are following best practices to ensure indoor air meets minimum standards. It will be important for the state to monitor and enforce these rules to improve the health of school buildings, especially with many schools cutting back on maintenance and repairs to save money.

BAD NEWS • The assault on environmental regulations at the state and federal levels is a signifi cant setback. Rarely is there acknowledgement that rules for cleaner air, reduced mercury emissions or lead-safe renovations will also prolong

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lives or help children grow up healthy and safe. The cost of compliance is a higher concern than the cost to children’s health. Companies have had many years to plan for some of these rules, yet the rules are now being delayed as they are portrayed as too rash, too expensive, too burdensome, etc. Congress is buying into the excuses, resulting in further delay or ultimate inaction on rules needed to protect human health and the environment. Jodi Perras is executive director of Improving Kids’ Envi-ronment, an Indiana non-profi t that works to reduce environ-mental threats to children’s health so they can succeed.

Brandon Pitcher PROGRESS • The most important thing that is happening now to improve Indiana’s environment is education. People every-where are starting to learn about sustain-ability and ways to incorporate it into their lifestyles and businesses more than ever. And the more we learn to see the world

through the perspective of sustainability, interconnections and innovation, the more we will be able design a world in which our environment, our communities and our businesses thrive. Keep learning and implementing. Our survival depends on it.

BAD NEWS • The worst thing is continued lack of educa-tion and disengagement of so many. Sustainability affects everything we do as humans and affects all living species. We still have not taken that necessary leap that turns our communities, cities and businesses into something that regen-erates nature, produces no wastes or emissions and seeks full employment strategies for all. Brandon Pitcher is a leading change agent in the Midwest for sustainable development. He is Chief Sustainability Offi cer of Fortune Management, Inc., a real estate development fi rm, and 5 Kingdoms Development, LLC, a consulting company specializing in sustainable technologies for energy, water, food, health, education and buildings.

Scott Russell Sanders PROGRESS • The most promising envi-ronmental efforts in Indiana are coming from nonprofi t organizations, such as the Hoosier Environmental Council; land trusts; watershed protection groups; farmers’ mar-kets and community gardens; from enlight-ened city governments, as in my hometown

of Bloomington; from universities working toward sustainable practices, as at Ball State, Indiana State and IU; from inves-tors who are recognizing Indiana’s potential for generating energy from wind and sun; and from countless households and individuals that are reducing their ecological impact through conservation, lowered consumption, and sharing.

BAD NEWS • The most harmful impacts continue to fl ow from state policies, the fossil fuel lobby and industrial agri-

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culture. A short list: increased cutting of trees on state forest land, including in the oldest stands; the push to build I-69 extension; the opposition to building passenger rail; the marketing of corn- and soy-based ethanol as a “green” fuel; the underwriting of coal gasifi cation with public money; the subsidizing of coal-generated electricity by passing on to cus-tomers the cost overruns on the Edwardsville plant; the silence on global warming, or, in many cases, the active denial that greenhouse emissions are disrupting the climate. Bloomington-based Scott Russell Sanders is the author of many books, including “Hunting for Hope” and the “Conser-vationist Manifesto”.

Barbara Sha Cox PROGRESS • I am encouraged that there is more unity among the environmental groups. There is a growing awareness of the issues in both the rural and metropolitan areas of our state. Concern for the environ-ment is increasing. People are realizing how many streams, rivers and lakes in Indiana

are impaired and they are willing to work toward making Indiana a cleaner and healthier state in which to reside.

BAD NEWS • A setback in the legislative process this past year should concern every citizen. In the east central coun-ties of Indiana, manure from Ohio has been and still is being dumped without any runoff protection. Semitrailer after semitrailer of manure is piled high in these counties. Dumping without any regulations has the potential to impact the water-sheds. White River headwaters are in Randolph County. A bill that would have regulated the Ohio manure was not heard in the House Agriculture Committee and has left us without protection. While the State Chemist Rule will take effect later, I question how much pollution has and will occur that could have been prevented. Barbara Sha Cox is a retired registered nurse and a farm owner who has been active in trying to prevent the loss of quality of life in rural areas due to pollution of air and water. With a core group of individuals, she helped form Indiana Cafo Watch (www.indianacafowatch.com) in 2007.

Grant Smith PROGRESS • The grassroots will always be the best thing for the environment. I am reminded of the citizens in New Carlisle, Ind., who stopped a highly polluting coal gasifi cation plant, Citizens for Appropriate Rural Roads in Bloomington taking action against the I-69 extension, and citizens in

Milltown and Scottsburg who fought off ill-conceived and highly polluting biomass plant projects. I have seen it happen numerous times over the past 30 years – local citizens fi ghting for their health against corporate malfeasance and state gov-ernment hubris. Sure, they partner with statewide grassroots

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organizations. But without citizen action, Indiana’s environ-mental quality would be a lot worse.

BAD NEWS • The most signifi cant setback for environmen-tal quality in Indiana is the fact that Gov. Mitch Daniels is still in offi ce. The legislature should have changed the state slogan when he was elected to: “Banana Republic Since 2004.” Daniels is a corporatist, pure and simple. His one-dimen-sional energy policy (i.e. more coal mining) will create huge amounts of additional pollution. His one-dimensional trans-portation policy (i.e. I-69) will destroy thousands of acres of rural topography in Southern Indiana. His one-dimensional environmental policy (i.e. non-enforcement) is already having its negative impacts. His policies refl ect various corporate business plans. His agencies are run by corporate representa-tives. Grant Smith graduated from Indiana University. He worked for Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana from 1985 until June of this year. Smith is currently Senior Program Director, Energy Policy for the Civil Society Institute, a pro-gressive think-tank located in Boston. The views expressed by Smith are his own and not those of the Civil Society Institute or Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana.

Bowden QuinnPROGRESS • Global warming is the big-gest threat to our environment and to our future. Burning coal is the single biggest contributor to the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that causes global warming. So decisions not to burn coal are the best environmental news for this and

many years to come. In 2011 Purdue University abandoned its plan to add a new coal-fi red boiler to its utility plant, opting for natural gas instead. Proposed regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency have also led electric utilities to announce plans to retire several coal-burning units around the state.

BAD NEWS • With progress being made to shift from coal to clean, renewable energy sources, our state government continues to support proposals for costly new coal plants, putting the fi nancial burden to build them on customers. The Indiana Finance Authority signed a contract with a private company for a $2.7 billion coal-gas plant in Rockport that will require customers to pay above-market rates. Meanwhile, the projected cost of the Duke Energy coal-gasifi cation electric power plant at Edwardsport has soared over $3 billion and there’s talk of a $3 billion coal-liquefaction plant on the site of the former Newport Chemical Depot. Bowden Quinn is the conservation program coordinator for the Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter.

Leslie Webb PROGRESS • Carmel continues to make great strides to-

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ward sustainability. There’s a lot of greening going on in our schools, congregations and businesses. The highlight this year? The City of Carmel passed an ordinance for a cost-effective, energy effi cient and environ-mentally-responsible municipal solid waste system thanks to the leadership of Mayor Jim Brainard, and Councilors Ron Carter

and Kevin Rider. The city’s new residential trash and recy-cling program saves residents money and reduces the number of garbage trucks driving through our neighborhoods. This means cleaner air for our children, less fuel and carbon emis-sions and more recycling which saves precious energy and resources.

BAD NEWS • Environmental awareness in Carmel is fl our-ishing especially among our young people. Participation in the Carmel Green Initiative Earth Day art contest increased from 125 K-8 students in 2010 to 1,250 in 2011. Our young people get it and we owe it to them to address energy and climate is-sues before it’s too late. As the 49th greenest state according to Forbes.com, Indiana has a long way to go. Perhaps the greatest disappointment this year is the continued lack of environmen-tal leadership at the state level. Indiana needs to move beyond coal to clean energy, and invest in public transit to reduce our dependence on diminishing oil resources. Leslie Webb is president and co-founder of Carmel Green Initiative.

Kevin Whited PROGRESS • On a local level it would have to be the proliferation of the bicycle infrastructure around Indianapolis. Since transportation is the second largest source of pollution, including CO2 emissions, I feel that it is important to give people trans-portation options. The great thing about

implementing bicycle infrastructure is that it is comparatively cheap and easy to implement, as opposed to a rail line that may take 20 years to implement. On the state level, little to nothing has been done, especially for transportation. On the federal level, the Obama administration has done a great job of trying to fund bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure projects, but due to the change in Congress, that is becoming much more diffi cult.

BAD NEWS • See above. The change in Congress has set back the environment movement considerably. In fact, under the fl ag of economic development, our Republican-led House of Representatives is doing everything it can to pull the U.S. back to the 1950s. Furthermore, there is a new transporta-tion funding bill that needs to be developed and the Congress is doing everything in its power to strip bike and pedestrian funding. Kevin Whited is currently the Board President of INDY-COG and Program Manager for Bicycle Indiana. 4

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A Challenged PlanetBy R. John Gibson & Kelly Jones Sharp

It’s good that we are having a community conversation about the moral obligation of protecting our planet. This conversation about clean water is taking place not just among the city’s green activists, but in part-nership with mainstream Institutions such as Marian University and the Indianapolis Museum of Art, meaning that despite well-funded propaganda waged by special interests against environmental protection, the spirit of “doing right” among Hoosiers will not be denied.” Environmental stewardship programs like Marian University’s “Super Cities Don’t Wreck Their Watery World” and the IMA’s “Flow: Can You See the River?” are indica-

tors of environmental progress.” “Super Cities,” headlined by Michael P. Nelson, co-editor of the anthology “Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril,” was attend-ed by a room not-quite-full of people you don’t ordinar-ily see on Earth Day. The university’s Sacred Choir sang angelically about “protecting God’s creation,” and the audience was called to discover and share “where our joy and duty to society intersect.” All good. That the auditorium wasn’t packed wall-to-wall with television cameras and a more diverse demographic of concerned citizens is the real tragedy of our time. Do you hear us? Our planet is in peril. Water is our most precious resource. We have a moral obligation to protect the envi-ronment for our own survival. When this thoughtful gathering was over, the audi-ence completed postcards encouraging Indiana’s Water Pollution Control Board to strongly regulate confi ned feeding operations. We then adjourned to a reception where plastic plates and cups were the vessels for carbon-footprint heavy tropical fruit and drinks, yet there was no obvious way to recycle.” In fact, during the program, the organizers had noted the unfortunate use of bottled water, and that institutions often struggle to reform such habits. Indianapolis is showing improvement with environmental consciousness, but these details show we still need some work. Gibson is Project Coordinator of Earth Charter Indiana’s bicentennial initiative, Sustainable Indiana 2016. Sharp is a freelance writer who lives on the White River in Indianapolis. 4

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Your voice is needed to defend an unprecedented assault on Federal environmental protection. Forty years ago, Republicans and Democrats worked together to pass an array of measures to protect air and water quality. The results: In just the last two decades, our most common air pollutants have declined by more than 40 percent, while our national economy has grown by more than 60 percent. But today, bipartisan environmen-tal problem-solving largely seems gone. In the last ten months alone, the U.S. House voted on 159 bills that would weaken environmental protection and the U.S. Environmen-tal Protection Agency (EPA)’s capac-ity to protect our environment. Surely, some of this activity is driven by genuine anxiety about how strengthened environmental protection will affect industry and, ultimately, jobs. But to a great degree, based on statements made by politi-cians and industry offi cials, the push to weaken environmental protection is driven by misinformation and the narrow interests of our nation’s big-gest polluters. The stakes of defending environ-mental protection are high for the

sake of our public health. Among the most damaging of rollbacks proposed pertain to mercury emissions and coal ash dumps. Mercury, emitted primarily from dirty coal plants, is poisonous to developing fetuses and to infants. Astonishingly, we have no national protections from mer-cury coming out of our power plants. Coal ash, laden with toxic metals, poses danger to our streams and groundwater and ultimately our own health. We’ve seen the tragic conse-quence of poor coal ash protection most recently in Tennes-see, where a massive coal ash storage break contaminated 5.4 million cubic yards. In the case of both mercury and coal ash protections,

opponents of continued progress on environmental protection desire to weaken and delay safeguards — safeguards that have already been long delayed due to past lobbying campaigns and lawsuits against the EPA. Opponents of sustained progress on environmental protec-tion continually claim that environmental safeguards are “job killers” which will “bankrupt” the country. But past econom-ic evidence shows that these kinds of claims are exaggerated. As an example, the coal and coal electric utilities claimed that 1990 improvements to the Clean Air Act would cost between $2.4 billion and $5 billion per year. The reality: $836 million a year — no more than 1/3 the projected cost. And as to the idea that strengthened envi-ronmental protection will inevitably shut down American manufacturing, consider this: A study by the distinguished academic economist Richard Morgenstern of the pollution-in-tensive steel, petroleum, plastics and pulp and paper industries showed that the data did not support claims that environ-mental spending signifi cantly reduces employment in these industries. Not only are the health benefi ts of environmental protec-tion ignored and the costs of environmental safeguards greatly infl ated, the job benefi ts of strengthened protection are often overlooked. In real life terms, strengthened environmental protection means jobs in construction and installation of new pollution equipment and new electric generation, and subsequent jobs in operations and maintenance. For two specifi c proposed federal environmental rules, alone, an average of 291,577 year-round jobs would be created in the fi rst fi ve years of each rule, according to a Feb. 2011 economic analysis. These new jobs have to be accounted for when politicians and industry talk about the jobs lost when aging coal plants are shut down because they’re unable to affordably produce cleaner energy. Tell Senators Dan Coats and Richard Lugar and Congress-man Andre Carson to not jeopardize forty years of progress to protect the environment through Congressional micro-management. Instead, let the EPA do its job, and if industry legitimately needs more time to meet its goals, those can be negotiated between the EPA and industry directly. 4

Jesse Kharbanda is Executive Director, Hoosier Environmental Council (HEC). Learn more about HEC at www.facebook.com/hecweb or www.hecweb.org.

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An Imperiled EPA H O O S I E R E N V I R O N M E N TH O O S I E R E N V I R O N M E N T• • • • • •


1. What did a study fi nd regarding organic poultry farms?__ a. Their chickens are less neurotic.__ b. Their chickens are more neurotic.__ c. They have less antibiotic resistant bacteria.__ d. They are far more productive.__ e. They are not as organic as they appear!

2. How did fans at a Nebraska Cornhuskers game react to a Keystone XL pipeline company logo displayed on the stadium screen?__ a. They went stone silent.__ b. They did the “wave.”__ c. They did the “pipe.”__ d. They booed.__ e. They cheered.

3. What did scientists fi nd for the fi rst time in pigs in Africa?__ a. Little pigs__ b. Wings__ c. Swine fl u__ d. MRSA__ e. Avian fl u

4. What is single-handedly blocking federal legislation to strengthen safety rules for oil and gas pipelines?__ a. The son of Ron Paul.__ b. Rand Paul__ c. An idiotic senator from Kentucky.__ d. All of these answers are true.__ e. A tea party darling.

5. What eco-friendly business is thriving in Beaverton, Oregon?__ a. A beaver pelt store.__ b. A dentist.__ c. A bike shop.__ d. A steel mill.__ e. A gas station

The ApocaDocs’ Pre-Apocalypse News & Info Quiz (PANIQuiz) tests your knowledge of current environmental news. Brought to you by the ApocaDocs, Michael Jensen and Jim Poyser. Check your results (at the bottom), then

see www.apocadocs.com to fi nd out more.

6. What do court documents reveal regarding Shell in the Niger Delta?__ a. They were the fi rst to frack in Africa.__ b. They refused to share any profi ts with indigenous peoples.__ c. They were fi ghting for living wages.__ d. They paid Nigerian military to suppress protests.__ e. They wanted the name changed to Shell Delta.

7. What decision by the U.S. government are oil companies celebrating?__ a. The appointment of an oil man as Energy Czar.__ b. The cessation of all support for renewable energy sources.__ c. To allow the sale of oil drilling leases in the Arctic waters.__ d. The suspension of all regulations associated with oil drilling.__ e. The pursuit of prosecution against BP.

8. What was Joe Romm, former assistant energy secretary, referring to when he said “Sadly, it’s probably too late to save much of it”?__ a. Obama’s presidency__ b. Coral reefs__ c. Face__ d. The Gulf of Mexico__ e. Australia

9. What, according to the World Wildlife Fund, is “veering close to ecosystem collapse”?__ a. The Great Lakes__ b. Donald Trump’s hair__ c. Planet Earth__ d. The Marcellus Shale__ e. Nebraskan prairie

10. How much manure can a dairy cow produce in one day?__ a. 140 pounds__ b. 80 pounds__ c. Enough to fi ll a hot tub__ d. Enough to kill a man__ e. Its own weight

Correct Answers: 1. (c) They have less antibiotic resistant bacteria. (Environmental Health News) 2. (d) They booed. (Washington Post) 3. (c) Swine fl u (University of California) 4. (d) All of these answers are true. (Washington Post) 5. (e) A gas station (KGW.com) 6. (d) They paid Nigerian military to suppress protests. (London Guardian) 7. (c) To allow the sale of oil drilling leases in the Arctic waters. (Sydney Morning Herald) 8. (e) Australia (Rolling Stone) 9. (a) The Great Lakes (Reuters) 10. (a) 140 pounds (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

THETHEPANIPANIQuizQuiz


Holidays evoke warm senti-ments, melancholy and delicate wrapped packages of holiday feel-good, creating an ephemeral white-out of snowfl akes the size of corn fl akes, blinding society’s narcissistic acumen regarding planet earth’s observable devastation. Society is told more is infi nitely better. Holiday gifting has become a competition. A 4-foot drift o’ wrapping paper and scotch tape, boxes, ribbons and plastic peanuts are vanity billboards broadcasting, “Hey dudes, look at me.” The aver-age American spends $800 on gifts over the holiday season, though few calculate the carbon footprint from driving around rummaging for items no one truly needs. Fyodor Dostoevsky labeled our species malleable; effort-lessly infl uenced lemmings that, without forethought, mind-lessly follow the crowd, swept up in an emotion, obediently doing what they’re told, in this case, to excessively consume and discard. Alas, it’s an “I want what I want when I want it, and damn the consequences” culture of extravagance, sugar coated with a patina of denial and false hubris. Many believe money parallels entitlement, but then, what does it avail a man to gain a fortune but lose his soulular connec-tion to our rare water planet home and freely partake in its wholesale pillage? The Worldwatch Institute affi rms Americans are ecologi-cal debtors, consuming 207 percent of its ecological capacity and ranking 46th of 151 developed or developing countries. Excessive consumption has led earth down the icy footpath of ecological and economical bedlam. Zero waste sounds like a mad, Pollyanna concept. Nevertheless, it’s not that arduous. Politely refuse what’s not needed. Reduce what you do need. Reuse reusables. Recycle what you can’t reuse and share or compost the rest. Like a barge sauntering down a river, it only takes a wee nudge to alter its course and desti-nation. In the approaching decades, entire sets of assumptions, beliefs and traditions must be reversed if earthlings are to create a fruitful, sustainable economy for the future greater good of our carbon-based species. Give fewer material gifts from China and opt for clean, green, local gifts of love from the heart of your community’s merry ole’ soul. 4

Wendell Fowler can be found at www.chefwendell.com.

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Turkey Toasts: Giving thanks for my fellow farmers

When I sit down to my annual turkey dinner this Nov. 24, I’ll be thankful for the great cook I married and the crowd of friends and family who share our Thanksgiving meal each year. But I’ll also be drinking a heartfelt toast to the fellow farmers who helped me make it through a memorably tough growing season. I’ll especially think back to all the hot, dry Fridays in July and August, clouds promising rain but never deliv-ering, as I bounced my rusty farm truck down the back roads of Boone County to my friend El’s place. El has a knack for raising magazine-cover-perfect vegetables and herbs no matter what the weather conditions. Her neat little rows and squares are bordered by vine-covered fencing, and fertilized with lots of compost and poultry poop. The garden plots are surrounded by all kinds of apple and pear trees and some very productive bee-hives, not to mention a fi ne old grape arbor. She often grows more than she can sell, a skill I haven’t yet mastered, so she would let me come pick for a very cheap price. That was a life-saver, because this year, I often needed to supplement what I could grow myself, or the clients in my vegetable subscription service would have had lots of air in their weekly produce boxes. As I picked, El’s large collection of free-range turkeys and chickens clucked and chortled their way through the grass, picking at bugs, fallen fruit, weed seeds — they’re clearly not fi nicky feeders. I tried to guess which one of the turkeys would be the centerpiece of my Thanksgiving table this year. Their musical non-stop conversation was soothing to my ears as I moved among the fruit trees testing apples for ripeness. El tells me the birds converse to keep track of each other’s whereabouts. I think they’re just gossiping about us humans, and I can’t blame them. Next I’ll be toasting Dan, a nice older farmer from two counties over who doesn’t believe in e-mail, and so would call every week to let me know what he was bringing to the farmer’s market. “And what do you need for your CSA clients, kid?” he’d always ask. Then he would drop off crates of nice plump peppers, perfect eggplant, all kinds of cook-ing greens and occasional surprises like broccoli and then ‘forget’ to bill me until I nagged him about it. It was nice to know that a farmer much older and wiser than myself worried about me. Later in the year, I relied on Heather, who let me pick late-season tomatoes she hadn’t had time to deal with since starting back to school. Her farm isn’t far from mine, an added bonus. The September air was chilly, but it was toasty warm under her plastic-sheet green-houses, and picking the little cherry tomatoes off the tangly vines was a meditative process, even had a rhythm to it. Grab, snap, place in bucket. Grab, snap, plop. Repeat. The nice thing about tomatoes is it doesn’t take long to get a whole lot of them picked, so it’s my favorite harvesting chore. Here’s my thanks to you, El, Dan and Heather, and all the others who helped me out this season. She who farms needs friends, because without friends, small farmers don’t stay in business long. I’m glad I cultivated a bunch of them. 4

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

T H E L A S T R O WT H E L A S T R O W• • • • • •EAT RIGHT NOW

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Indiana Living Green - Nov/Dec 2011