Green Stuff , from Sapce

NASA 's interactive - climate change website - good place to start on the "think global" part of "Think global - act local"

Locavore Food for Thought

Another reason to eat local: food safety. Check out this article about sanitation issues and produce grown in Mexico and shipped to the US, including the peppers and tomatoes suspected of causing the latest Salmonella outbreaks this summer. 

If you know the farmer, you can talk about how the crops are grown and/or processed. Even better: you can visit the farm! (not at all a shameless plug for the Local Farm Tour on September 27:)

warm up for the locavore challenge!

Wisconsin's first lady, Jessica Doyle, is sponsoring her own locavore challenge--the Eat Local Wisconsin Challenge! Wisconsinites are being challenged to spend at least 10% of their food budget on locally grown foods. This sounds to me like a great way to practice for our very own locavore challenge. 10% isn't so much, but it can make a BIG impact.

The challenge has already started, but it's not too late to sign up! It runs from September 5-14. You can learn more and sign up at www.eatlocalwisconsin.com.

Another good resource for finding locally grown foods is provided with the challenge, at www.savorwisconsin.com

UW-Manitowoc Partnership with the Maritime Metro Transit System

UW-Manitowoc has entered into a partnership with the Maritime Metro Transit (bus system) here in Manitowoc so that you can better access its' services (and save some money on gas). In the past the closest stop was at the corner at Viebahn and 10th Street. Starting this fall we will have a drop off outside of Founders Hall. The Transit will drop off and pick up at UW-Manitowoc at the following times on Monday - Fridays:

8:35 AM

12:05 PM

4:05 PM

5:35 PM

6:35 PM

Our administrative services office will be selling individual and monthly bus passes, with fees as follows:


BUS FARES Cash Tickets Monthly Pass

Adult Fare $1.50 10/$10 $20.00


I encourage all of you to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity!

Sincerely,

Dr. Christopher Lewis

local food fun: food for thought festival in madison

If you're looking for inspiration for the Port Cities Locavore Challenge, consider driving down to Madison for the 10th Annual Food for Thought Festival, September 19-20, 2008. You can also check out the famed Dane County Farmers' Market. 

Shame

For those of us of a certain age who had all of the good thoughts and intentions who more or less let them get away from us - who didn't push harder to make "alternative" the main stream 

Change Everything

Interview from Orion magazine with James Gustave Speth - Dean of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale University.  He discusses his new book Bridge at the Edge of the World and poses the possibilities for a post-modern capitalism which is based on sustainability.

Electric Cars ; Coming Soon?

Considering my commute this could not happen too soon. Also look at this short piece from the Sundance Channel Blog . On another note I have just checked out' cradle to cradle' by William McDonnough and Michael Braungart from our library (an exciting new arrival.) This book and their work was featured in the Museum of Contemporary Art's recent exhibit on Design and Sustainability. I may share some thoughts while reading and I will let you all know when it will be back in th library

Al Gore's Energy Challenge

All 27 minutes - A non- partisan, intelligent challenge to the country to move towards sustainability no matter who is the next president

More Drilling? Gas Prices?

More Drilling? Gas Prices ?  Another view with some good links to information - At this point in the "peak oil" process we cannot afford to be short sighted.  Petroleum products will not be going down in price - the long view demands a firm commitment to alternative energy sources and developing the technology and public awareness (education) to make it so.  

local produce at......Wal-mart????

Indeed, one result of the increase in gas prices may be a boon for local farmers. Wal-mart is increasing the amount of produce it buys from local farmers.

Of course, as the article points out, Wal-mart's definition of "local" is not necessarily the green definition of local. They're looking at miles only, which means that they are as likely to support the megafarms as the local farmer (more likely, I would guess, since megafarms are more likely to be able to undercut prices than a family farm). But, I think the article is interesting for several reasons:

1. It would be a great starting point for anyone who wanted to discuss the issue of locavorism in class. What does "local" mean to you? What does it mean to our students? How do economics drive green trends?

2. Although it's not perfect, it's a start. This is a great way to combine activism with pragmatism. Let's face it, corporations are in it to make money. If green-minded folks can show these companies that yes, going green CAN help the bottom line...we all win.

3. Although not perfect, it's a start. Lots of people, across many demographic lines, shop at Wal-mart. This might be a way to introduce people who are not likely to go out searching the farmers' markets to local produce. Once that barrier is overcome, who knows what could happen? Once people realize that local doesn't have to mean expensive, they may be open to seeing that--at least in our area--buying local from family farms at the farmers' market is no more expensive than buying from Wal-mart.

I'll be honest. I am not a Wal-mart fan, and I avoid shopping there whenever possible, for many reasons. But, I also think that we need to make room at the table for the big boxes, if we want to make changes on a large scale. Wal-mart is a huge influence, like it or not, on our consumer culture. If they make changes, perhaps others will follow suit.

More info here, from an in-house Wal-mart blog. I bet other companies wouldn't mind saving millions in shipping costs...

Great Blog on Sustainable living and Design

Calculate your carbon footprint and find out how to live greener- lots of great ideas here!

Recycle Mania: Let's Join the Fun!

Check out this website for info on Recycle Mania, a "friendly competition" between colleges and Universities across the nation. Last year, several UW campuses participated, and UW-Madison even ranked #7 nationwide! I say, let's show them that UW-Manitowoc is just as devoted to recycling. If you would like to be in charge of this project (hint, hint) please let me know! I believe the competition doesn't start until Spring semester, so we will have plenty of time to practice and to revolutionize our campus recycling efforts. This would be a great project to link to classes! 

More Thought Food

We are doomed! Sort of!
Earth in crisis, food and water increasingly scarce, people freaking out. Should you join them?

The "sustainable spectrum" is often fraught, sometimes panic stricken and the flood of information is daunting;  too many good ideas? an abundance of riches? crass commercialism disguised as concern for the environment?----  Some observations and a caveat we should probably pay attention to -- 

Locavore 100 Mile Radius Map - Manitowoc

View Larger Map

What's a locavore? Well, short and sweet, a locavore is a person who does their best to buy and eat foods that are grown within a certain radius of where they live. The most common radius is 100 miles.

And why do people do this? Well, for a few reasons;

Eating local means more for the local economy. According to a study by the New Economics Foundation in London, a dollar spent locally generates twice as much income for the local economy. When businesses are not owned locally, money leaves the community at every transaction. (reference)

Locally grown produce is fresher. While produce that is purchased in the supermarket or a big-box store has been in transit or cold-stored for days or weeks, produce that you purchase at your local farmer's market has often been picked within 24 hours of your purchase. This freshness not only affects the taste of your food, but the nutritional value which declines with time.

Local food just plain tastes better. Ever tried a tomato that was picked within 24 hours? 'Nuff said.

Locally grown fruits and vegetables have longer to ripen. Because the produce will be handled less, locally grown fruit does not have to be "rugged" or to stand up to the rigors of shipping. This means that you are going to be getting peaches so ripe that they fall apart as you eat them, figs that would have been smashed to bits if they were sold using traditional methods, and melons that were allowed to ripen until the last possible minute on the vine.

Eating local is better for air quality and pollution than eating organic. In a March 2005 study by the journal Food Policy, it was found that the miles that organic food often travels to our plate creates environmental damage that outweighs the benefit of buying organic. (reference)

Buying local food keeps us in touch with the seasons. By eating with the seasons, we are eating foods when they are at their peak taste, are the most abundant, and the least expensive.

Buying locally grown food is fodder for a wonderful story. Whether it's the farmer who brings local apples to market or the baker who makes local bread, knowing part of the story about your food is such a powerful part of enjoying a meal.

Eating local protects us from bio-terrorism. Food with less distance to travel from farm to plate has less susceptibility to harmful contamination. (reference)

Local food translates to more variety. When a farmer is producing food that will not travel a long distance, will have a shorter shelf life, and does not have a high-yield demand, the farmer is free to try small crops of various fruits and vegetables that would probably never make it to a large supermarket. Supermarkets are interested in selling "Name brand" fruit: Romaine Lettuce, Red Delicious Apples, Russet Potatoes. Local producers often play with their crops from year to year, trying out Little Gem Lettuce, Senshu Apples, and Chieftain Potatoes.

Supporting local providers supports responsible land development. When you buy local, you give those with local open space - farms and pastures - an economic reason to stay open and undeveloped.

From "10 Reasons to Eat Local" by Jennifer Maiser
http://www.lifebeginsat30.com/elc/2006/04/10_reasons_to_e.html

Be sure to watch for the UW-Manitowoc Locavore Challenge...coming soon!

it's time to have some fun: selecting readings for the common theme!

fresco of Sappho, from wikipedia commons, in the public domain

I've been reading some interesting books lately, especially Carlo Petrini's Slow Food Nation, about the slow food movement, and Russ Parson's How to Pick a Peach, about how to select produce thoughtfully--that is, exploring all the issues behind the plant foods we eat, whether local, sustainable, organic, seasonal or not. As you might imagine, he believes that seasonal local foods often taste the best. So, I've been eating mostly asparagus and greens and now, finally, strawberries, since that's what's in season in our little corner of the world.

Anyway, I digress. We need to start creating our green text-bank. One idea I had was to create reading clusters--say, a group of readings on green design! Green economics and business practices! Green science! Eco-literature...you get the idea. Now, what do you think of this model? Or, should we mix it up more thematically rather than by discipline? Say, a cluster of readings on green eating, which could include a range of disciplines. Now that I type this, I like the thematic model better. Think of the interdisciplinary fun we could have! 

So, I'm asking you to weigh in on how you'd like the readings to be organized; what readings you'd recommend for your discipline and/or personal interest; and finally, to think about how you would like to use the readings. 

Inhabitat - Green Design Site -

Great site for Green Design news, information and links -

Masdar- Who Knew

From Mark Morford's  "Errata" column for June 18th - "Hell of a year (so far)" 

"And just look at those United Arab Emirates, would you? Talk about your giant sun-baked mixed blessing. Those UAE gazillionaires, desperate to be taken seriously for something other than living atop giant maws of oil and oppressing women and providing the impetus for countless wars and brutal socioeconomic injustices of the world, these guys have now decided to build the weirdest, most violently garish and overpriced megalopolises known to man — Abu Dhabi, the richest city in the world, and, a mere 90 miles away, Dubai, easily the weirdest. (Average net worth of every one of Abu Dhabi's 420,000 citizens? Seventeen million dollars. Hello, Las Vegas? Ppptthhbbbbtt).

But wait, it gets stranger. Because just down the road, these same gazillionaires are also proposing to spend $22 billion to build what just might become — if it actually succeeds — one of the most forward-thinking, sustainable, environmentally conscious social experiments in the world, a mini-burg called Masdar City, a place with no cars, full solar power, advanced water-saving systems, complete energy independence, 100 percent walkability, zero carbon emissions, zero waste, full of so many radical enviro-friendly ideas it seems almost impossible, considering it's also being built on one of the least hospitable hunks of land anywhere.
Verily, it's like a bloated Republican capitalist's wet dream (Abu Dhabi) right next door to a liberal environmentalist's cute little utopia, two extremes of vision competing for your attention and tourist dollar and God's love, except it's not God at all. It's just a lot of really, really hot sand.
Never heard of Masdar City? Here, let me grab some links for you."

Great Portal page to Green Issues

http://www.organicconsumers.org/ Follow this link to a great portal page with a full spectrum of news and views about sustainable eating and other issues

Greening Articles

I noticed this morning when looking up some things a few new articles of interest regarding "greening" your home...I encourage you all to take a look at these ideas for ways that you too may be able to change some of your habits at home!

How to Green Your Kitchen

MSN now has a whole section on being green

Check them out if you have the chance!

how much food is wasted?

I'm on a green food kick, and this article from The New York Times raises important questions about how we use--and more importantly waste--the food that's available to us. 

thinking and acting green

Now that the semester is winding down, I'm beginning to read more eco-literature in preparation for the theme next year. Last night I was reading some of Wendell Berry's essays, and found quite a few gems of wisdom to pass along. For those of you unfamiliar with Berry, you can find more information on him here. Berry himself does not have a website because he famously rejects computer technology, and is critical of technology and industrialization. 

This passage is from his essay "Think Little," and it encourages us to make little changes in our own lives to have a considerable environmental impact, rather than waiting for big ideas and bureaucracies to make changes. Enjoy!

"For most of the history of this country, our motto, implied or spoken, has been Think Big. I have come to believe that a better motto, and an essential one now, is Think Little. That implies the necessary change of thinking and feeling, and suggests the necessary work. Thinking Big has led us to the tow biggest and cheapest political dodges of our time: plan-making and law-making. The lotus-eaters of this era are in Washington, D.C., Thinking Big. Somebody comes up with a problem, and somebody in the government comes up with a plan or a law. The result, mostly, has been the persistence of the problem, and the enlargement and enrichment of the government. But the discipline of thought is not generalization; it is detail, and it is personal behavior. While the government is 'studying' and funding and organizing its Big Thought, nothing is done. But the citizen who is willing to Think Little, and, accepting the discipline of that, to go ahead on his own, is already solving the problem. [...] A man who is willing to undertake the discipline and difficulty of mending his own ways is worth more to the conservation movement than a hundred who are insisting merely that the government and the industries mend their ways. " 

Berry, Wendell. "Think Little." The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays of Wendell Berry. Ed. Norman Wirzba. Washington, D.C.: Counterpoint, 2002. 81-90.

What do YOU think about Berry's ideas? Can individual action make a big impact? Is there value in Thinking Little over Thinking Big? Do we need to think BOTH Little and Big? 

We are On the Map -

A marker for UW -Manitowoc has been placed on the Sundance Channel's Greezine Eco Map feature - Noting a Green Action Taken"  go to: http://www.sundancechannel.com/thegreen/#/homepage and click on "eco-munity" - 

good news for the lakeshore!

Wisconsin legislature passes the Great Lakes Compact: http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=751119

And, it's passed the Michigan Senate as well. Only Pennsylvania and Ohio left...

Summer Opportunity

http://www.unity.edu/Academic/Workshops/Orion/OrionWelcome.aspx

If you haven't booked your whole summer - this looks really interesting

Green Lunch, Monday, May 12, Noon-ish, Commons

Wear your favorite Green shirt and join us in the Commons at lunchtime to brainstorm ideas for next year's theme!

I hope to see you there! If you can't be there, you can check back here for a synopsis of the meeting.

*The Green Campus*

Check out this book review from the Chronicle Blogs....

Sundance Channel Goes Green

Here's a great link from Berel Lutsky for a wealth of Green Resources and nifty tidbits at the Sundance Channel's website.

Urban Gardening Program, May 7, 6:30-8:30, Stumpjack Coffee Company

Here's another exciting event to attend! You can learn about urban gardening, local foods, as well as meet others in the community who are interested in these topics. I know it's the same day as Dr. Trask's "Last Lecture," but consider coming for a little while! I'm looking forward to attending both events! And, if you've never been to Stumpjack, you're in for a treat! It's a coffee shop but they also have local beer:)

Welcome Back, Manitowoc Farmers' Market!

Spring's first vegetables and fruits...
Plants for abundance in the coming months...
Artwork....
Baked goods...
Egg Rolls....
Conversation with you neighbors and friends after a long winter indoors...

Let's celebrate the opening day of the Manitowoc Farmers' Market, this Saturday, May 3, from 7 am to 1 pm. (the market also runs on Tuesdays, same hours). The market is located in the parking lot along Lake Michigan, across from the Public Library.

I hope to see you there!

Simple Steps to Reduce Our Impact!

Last Night's global warming speaker, Robert McAfee, gave a wonderful presentation. Of course, the news is dire, but he provided some very simple changes we can make to help conserve energy:

* drying clothes outside rather than in a dryer
* changing your lightbulbs to CFLs
* using powerstrips or unplugging appliances to negate phantom energy
* keeping your car tires inflated to the proper level
* installing low flow shower heads (Seinfeld come to mind?)
* taking shorter showers

What other suggestions do YOU have for minimize your environmental impact?

how far has your food traveled?

Here's an interesting article from The New York Times on the subject of food, transportation, processing, pollution, and economics. Stay tuned for more info on the Locavore movement, which directly challenges this idea of a global food market...

Go Green Links from Chris Lewis

Here's a selection of related websites that Chris Lewis forwarded to me...if you see any activity or project that strikes your fancy, please pursue it!

http://www.terracycle.net/
http://www.recyclemaniacs.org/Index.htm
http://climatechallenge.org/
http://www.aashe.org/index.php
http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/

reading ideas

I spent some time this past weekend thinking about readings for my own classes next fall, and other readings that you may find interesting.

My English 102 class will read Prodigal Summer, Barbara Kingsolver's novel chronicling issues of culture, love, agriculture, and hunting; Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer's non-fiction account of one young man's attempt to return to nature; and The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan's fascinating narrative of human-plant interdependence.

My American Literature Survey class will spend more time discussing the Transcendentalists, namely Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, and the Alcotts. I'll also highlight the poetry of Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Gary Snyder as well as native American literature.

I'm still working on my English 101 readings...

Other Suggestions that are rather literary in Nature:
Poetry by Mary Oliver, Robert Hass, Wallace Stegner
The Practice of the Wild, Gary Snyder
Animal, Vegetable, Miaracle: A Year in Food Life, Barbara Kingsolver
The Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan
In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan
Coming Home to Eat: The Pleasures and Politics of Local Foods, Gary Nabhan
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Annie Dillard
Anything by Wendell Berry
Barry Lopez
Gretel Ehrlich

Sustainability on Wisconsin Public Radio!

I heard a snippet of what sounded like a good discussion on sustainability--with a focus on sustainability at the community level--on the Joy Cardin show on WPR (88.1) this morning. You can access the archived show here:

http://www.wpr.org/webcasting/audioarchives_display.cfm?Code=jca

It is the Monday, 4/14/2008 8:00 a.m show. I would guess it will be up tomorrow--maybe even this afternoon.

Next week, (4/21-4/25) she will also have a "Green" themed show every morning during the 6:00-7:00 a.m. hour. I am personally quite grateful for audio archives, so I can listen to the show once my brain is actually awake!

welcome

Over the next few days, we (the authors) will be posting some definitions of sustainability, reading suggestions, and other tidbits of interest. Please check back regularly for updates on our Common Theme, and please feel free to comment on our posts!