News-Record.com

UNCG broke ground this week for a new 120,000-square-foot School of Education building that is expected to meet LEED green building standards and save about 35 percent on energy costs.

The building will stand at Spring Garden and Stirling streets next to the Bryan School of Business and Economics, house five of six departments, and cost $47 million. The building is scheduled to open in the fall of 2011, according to a press release by the university.

More here.

The Greensboro Community Sustainability Council will hold its monthly meeting on Monday at 3 p.m. On the agenda: the role of the committee in federal stimulus spending and the next steps on finalizing a report of action steps for the city.

Subcommittees have brainstormed numerous action step ideas, including proposing a downtown trolley service (is our downtown large enough to need a trolley service?); setting up an urban demonstration garden downtown; establishing a micro-loan or low-interest revolving loan account for urban sustainability projects; adopting a permit fee rebating program for certified green buildings; and implementing a demonstration water conservation program in at least two neighborhoods.

The city's greenhouse gas inventory also has been updated.

The Sesa Group, an events planning firm in the Triangle, is organizing a career fair for people looking for a "green job." The "Hybrid Future" green career expo will take place on Sept. 17 in Morrisville.

Jessica Averhart, executive producer of the Sesa Group, said she hopes to have 50 companies represented and at least 1,200 attendees at the expo. She also hopes to eventually hold three of these expos a year, with events possibly in Charlotte and Wilmington, she said.

"We want the audience to be broad enough so that it's technical and skilled labor as well as middle managers and executives," Averhart said about who should attend the expo. "It's really across the board."

Averhart has yet to finalize the list of participating companies; when she does, I'll pass that information along.

The Greensboro Chamber of Commerce will host an hour-long presentation called "Go Green & Save Money" at its Piedmont Triad Business Showcase on May 14. Details here.

Check out the latest episode of Turning Point, based on "Cradle to Cradle" architect William McDonough's visit to UNC Chapel Hill last week. (Read some background on this design philosophy from a previous post.)

More than 800 people attended his lecture and book signing, the largest crowd in the history of the 41-year- Fred T. Foard Jr. Memorial Lecture series.

McDonough has designed the Greenbridge mixed-use development in downtown Chapel Hill, which will offer 98 condos, a retail area, green roofs, solar panels, rainwater runoff systems and a community learning center to teach sustainable living practices. (Interestingly, one of the development partners, Tim Toben, is the son of Carolyn Toben, co-founder of the Center for Education, Imagination and the Natural World in Whitsett.)

Some McDonough quotes from his presentation last Wednesday:

"The question at this point in history that we're looking at is what is our intention as a human species? We clearly are now the dominant one."

"What we're looking for is 100 percent fabulous where things can be environmentally intelligent, economically intelligent and socially fair."

"The environment wants to be nurtured. It wants to be fecund. It wants to be generated and regenerated."

"Efficiency isn't necessarily beautiful. The idea of being effective is more interesting to us."

"The question is are we doing the right thing? Then we can go about doing it the right way."

------------------------------------------------

Update (April 9): Eco-cities are not having much success in China, including one of McDonough's projects, according to this article.

A speaker at a Salisbury environmental conference I attended in May 2008 made the remark that he didn't want to try to live an environmentally-friendly life only for his body to pollute the ground after his death.

That's when I first became aware of the desire among some Americans to look for alternatives to conventional funeral practices. That interest is apparently growing as evidenced by the approximate 100 people who attended a related symposium in Greensboro on Saturday.

Carol Cothern, assistant director of the Funeral Consumers Alliance of the Piedmont, said a green burials movement is afoot in North Carolina, motivated by a desire among some for a hands-on approach to death care and displeasure with chemical embalmings and funeral expenses.

Nationally, the number of providers listed with the Green Burial Council has grown from roughly a dozen to 300 over the course of a year, said Joe Sehee, executive director. That includes funeral homes, natural burial grounds, casket providers and other goods and services.

The council works to:
* Develop a certification program that is bringing about a new ethic in deathcare rooted in transparency, accountability and ecological responsibility;
* Build out an international network of "approved providers" who are committed to reducing toxins, waste, and carbon emissions that have been associated with conventional end-of-life rituals; and
*Bring conservation organizations together with cemetery operators, funeral establishments, and cremation companies to create burial programs that facilitate the restoration, acquisition and stewardship of natural areas.

"There's all kinds of ways to get green-washed and what we're trying to do is allow customers to distinguish one shade of green from another," he said.

Many options exist for “greening” a funeral service. They include opting for a wood over metal casket, using dry ice instead of embalming for preservation of the body, and burial in a cemetery that does not require the use of cement vaults.

By law, funeral homes cannot charge a separate handling fee for families that provide their own casket. Also, North Carolina does not require bodies to be discharged from hospitals or nursing homes to funeral home employees. Neither does the state require embalming, which is the process of temporarily preserving a body through formaldehyde and other toxic chemicals.

The state lacks natural burial grounds, with only Chapel Hill and Asheville having sites approved by the Green Burial Council. Families in the Triad without access to a green burial ground can cremate the body or have it buried on private land as long as it meets municipal or county ordinances.

With home-based death care, families need to plan ahead of time in order to overcome several logistical challenges, such as processing the death certificate and picking up the body from a hospital morgue.

But this approach can have many advantages to conventional arrangements, says Sandy LaGrega, a member of Crossings Care chapter in Greensboro. It:

• Helps with the grieving process and empowers family members and friends to get involved;
• Respects the individuality of each family;
• Is more environmentally-friendly because it doesn’t use embalming or dispose of bodily fluids into city sewer systems; and
• Is less expensive than conventional funerals because most of the arrangements are handled by volunteers.

I'll be writing more about this for goGreenTriad.com and the newspaper, so stay tuned.

I found out about these weekend events late, but still thought I'd pass them along:

Art of Well Being and Golden Flower Tai Chi in Winston-Salem will show a film called "The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community," on Friday from 7-9 p.m. I was told this film was done by Peak Moment Television, but apparently another group is working on a documentary about the same subject. Below, a portion on an interview with social critic and writer David Korten:

David Korten on Equity from Chris Landry on Vimeo.

Also, Saturday is the grand opening of Lakeside Avanti Salon and Spa, a Greensboro spa dedicated to green and sustainable practices. Read more from this press release.

I wrote earlier today about the workshop and concert the Peace and Justice Network will hold later this month. I thought I'd link to some of Robert Jensen's writings, if you are curious about the man who will be speaking at the alliance building workshop:

Jensen on the human predicament; Jensen and a Q&A with Wes Jackson of The Land Institute about the future of farming; Jensen on "solutions."

Greensboro, like other cities, is going for every federal dollar it can to pay for projects that help cut the city's fossil fuels use.

For one, Pepco should begin work within the month on its $6.1 million energy performance contract on various city buildings, said Steve Randall, Greensboro's sustainability manager. This work is funded through a loan.

But city applied this year for a Sustainable Skylines grant in partnership with N.C. A&T; I wrote about this previously.

Randall also plans to meet with other city employees next week to determine what projects to include in an application for federal energy efficiency and conservation block grants. These funds help pay for projects that reduce fossil fuel emissions; decrease total energy consumption; improve energy efficiency in the transportation, building, and other energy consuming sectors; spur economic growth; and create and/or retain jobs.

Randall said possible Greensboro projects would be a solar photovoltaic array at City Hall (to complement the solar hot water system it's getting) and training or funding for local groups to perform energy audits and weatherize homes in the city.

Randall said the city is analyzing the costs and payback period for a solar PV system.

"We don't want to spend our money improperly but we also don't want to spend federal money improperly," he said.

Then we got into a conversation about how to structure the energy audit process (I'm wondering who will not be doing these audits by the time the money's rolling in). It makes sense to tighten up antiquated housing stock in the city, but it could get complicated. What if the contractors run into lead-based paint and asbestos? Who pays to abate the lead around the new windows? Randall suggested that the city could screen out homes that don't meet certain characteristics or work with other programs to get those problems addressed.

Then we talked about Randall's development of some green guidelines for new city buildings. It looks like he will model them off what other cities in the state are doing in requiring major city construction to meet LEED certification. Check out Durham's policy and comparisons between different cities.

Greensboro minister Buck Cochran is one of the many people in the Triad who are trying to apply the lofty and sometimes vague "sustainability" label to a real world project. Cochran serves as the executive director of Peacehaven Farm, a burgeoning residential community for adults with disabilities that will feature a community gardening project on an 89-acre farm in Whitsett.

The project is still in its infancy. Cochran plans to hire as farm managers two students graduating from N.C. State in May. Cochran said he expects the farm will need to be up and operating for a while before the 30-35 residents are selected.

Cochran said the project will incorporate sustainable design and practices throughout, from building construction (i.e. solar photovoltaics and hot water systems and rainwater harvesting) to the preference of organic gardening practices over chemicals and large machinery, as the farm is located in a watershed area.

"We want to bring this ethic of sustainability to all areas of the farm...." said Cochran, a former associate pastor at Westminster Presbyterian. "We also think that being sustainable and investing in things like renewable technology will make us financially sustainable over the long term."

However, what Cochran really envisions is a place for people with physical and intellectual challenges to interact with the wider community and reach their full potential. Local food production is a way for them to do that, he said.

I'll check in on Peacehaven Farm once construction and farming begin.

Brian Higgins of Sustainable Greensboro has picked his board members. From a press release:

Sustainable Greensboro, a newly forming non-profit focused on incorporating principles of sustainability into business, government, institutional, and household decision-making processes by providing leadership and developing innovative programs, collaborative projects, and proactive solutions, is excited to present its initial Board of Directors. Lori Jarrett, Dianne Ziegler, Meggan Reagan, Jim Brooks, Rendell Richards, and Tim Knowles have accepted positions on the Board of Directors. Representing a broad cross-section of experience from business, marketing, financial management, landscape architecture, advocacy, non-profits, the board will be meeting frequently over the next two months to develop its initial strategic plan and secure funding....

[Lori Jarrett] is an entrepreneur who comes to the board with expertise in commercial software, strategic planning, growth and change issues, project management and music. Lori, who went through grade school in Greensboro, has been active in community issues since returning to the area in 1995. Dianne Ziegler, employed by Pfizer, Inc., is in the process of renovating a downtown building into a "green" home and retail space with the goal of of obtaining Platinum LEED certification. Meggan Reagan, a graduate of UNC Greensboro, works for Earth Fare, The Healthy Supermarket as their Community Coordinator engaging with non-profits across the community to help support their fund-raising and outreach efforts. Jim Brooks, a native of Greensboro, is president of Brooks Marketing and is active on the boards of the Natural Science Center and Greensboro Beautiful where he serves as curator of the Bog Garden. Rendell (Rendy) Richards has over twenty years of experience in finance and accounting, contracts and procurement, strategic planning, business development and project management with major companies and currently operates his own consulting company, CFO Options, LLC. Tim Knowles, a resident of Greensboro since 1986, is a licensed Landscape Architect working with Borum, Wade and Associates, P.A. whom has won numerous environmental improvement awards and been featured in several magazines for his work.

Higgins aims to have an action plan ready by June.

From a press release: Nominations will be accepted through March 13 for the Leadership in Sustainable Energy Awards, which are presented annually at the N.C. Sustainable Energy Conference to entities and individuals that have made an outstanding contribution in helping North Carolina achieve its sustainability goals.

The awards will be presented at the sixth annual conference, which will be held April 14-15 at the McKimmon Center in Raleigh. They include:

* The Sustainable Energy Champion award, represents the pinnacle of statewide leadership in at least two of the following categories: renewable energy, alternative fuels, energy efficiency, economic development, and environmental stewardship.

* The four Sustainable Energy Leadership awards will recognize the programs, businesses and/or individuals who have demonstrated the greatest impact in at least one of the categories listed above.

Nomination forms are available on the State Energy Office Web site (click on Nominations Form). Please fax completed nomination forms to Jeannette Martin at 919-733-2953 or e-mail to energyinfo@doa.nc.gov. Call 919-733-2230 for more information.

To register or learn more about the Sustainable Energy Conference, call the N.C. State University Office of Professional Development at 919-515-2261, or visit the Web site (click on Conferences).

I just got word that another Greensboro couple is "greening" their home, this time in downtown. Brent and Dianne Ziegler, recent Columbus, Ohio, transplants, have purchased the two-story building at 526 South Elm St., with the intention of obtaining Platinum LEED certification for the 5,000 sq. ft. site, according to a press release by Downtown Greensboro Inc.

The couple plans on living in the 2,500 sq. ft. upstairs loft and leasing the street-level space for a commercial user.

A second couple pursuing LEED certification are the owners of the Greenspiration home in northwest Greensboro. The Habitat for Humanity has also built green homes for lower income residents, although I don't know if they pursued LEED certification. But these examples prove that green building is becoming more accessible to residents with different housing situations. I haven't heard, however, of a case where a local landlord has done this with rental homes or an apartment complex. Let me know if you know of anyone.

Anyway, back to the Zieglers. The couple is filing the project as a Core and Shell Project in order to qualify for the certification. This covers base building elements such as structure, envelope and the HVAC system and is designed to allow future tenants to capitalize on strategies implemented by the designer.

Plans include:

· No VOC materials

· Energy efficient heating and cooling to include radiant heating system

· All energy star appliances

· Solar hot water heating with energy efficient back-up water heating

· Low-flow plumbing fixtures and rain water collection

· Maximizing insulation

· LED lighting

· Upfitting for future photovoltarics and green roof

· Recycled materials, including glass cement for countertops

· Restored wood flooring

Demolition is currently underway on the project with a team comprised of several professionals: architect, Thomas Moreau, AIA, President of tma architect; local construction company, Lomax Construction; MEP: Rehab ENGINEERING, P.C.; and green Consultancy of ihGREEN. Highpoint has a commercial recycling center for construction materials that was also used during the demolition as well.

Early on in the demolition process they reached out to a friend and local remodeling contractor, Todd Rotruck, who specializes in historic home renovation in the downtown area. He was able to reuse many of the items upstairs, including the cabinets, railings, and moldings. The historic building built in 1925 offers many other outstanding features like the exposed brick walls, original wood floors, loft-like high ceilings upstairs, large windows and the great location. The building even has a vintage mural advertising 5¢ cigars on an interior wall that once served as an exterior wall.

The couple found that the most surprising part of the process was the pricing of materials:

Dianne Ziegler said: “The materials have been reasonably priced thus far which was a pleasant surprise. However, what surprised me the most was the variation in all industry-related individual’s prices involved in the project. We received quotes that were on different ends of the spectrum. Due to the LEED and sustainable building practices being new to Greensboro, individuals/companies are still figuring out how to price projects.”

The couple is the process of forming a website at greener-alternatives.com which will display the phases of the project and products being used along with other information useful to those who may be looking to start their own green project.

TS Designs announces today the launch of its "Cotton of the Carolinas" T-shirt brand, using cotton grown, ginned, cut, dyed and printed in North Carolina. More here.

N.C. A&T is wrapping up a $300,000 grant proposal to the U.S. Department of Agriculture that would pay for sustainable agriculture projects at the university farm, professor Michael Roberto announced at a community gardening meeting today.

The project idea is an outgrowth of Roberto's work with an IMPACT Greensboro economic subcommittee and it would involve research and demonstration of organic gardening practices on 15 to 20 acres that could be used by community and professional gardeners. The project would also involve public outreach and education components, he said.

"It's very important in proposing this grant to the USDA that the research project that begins at A&T is strongly connected to the community," Roberto said, explaining his attendance at the meeting.

Roberto said grant applications are due sometime this spring with grant recipients announced by July. If the university gets the grant it would begin work this summer, he said.

Roberto said local food production is important for the weathering of the current economic storm
and after. University and federal policies prohibit the university from selling food grown on its farm, he said, "but we can certainly give it away. We plan to expand that production and distribution significantly."

A&T was just one of many groups represented at the second city community gardening meeting, organized by Parks and Recreation employees and the Guilford County Cooperative Extension. More than 30 people attended, representing places like Peeler and Nathanael Greene elementary schools, Greensboro Neighborhood Congress, St. James Presbyterian, Starmount Presbyterian, St. Francis Episcopal, and a landscaper helping the Sheriff's Office and Cooperative Extension expand food production at the prison farm.

The group will next meet at the Agricultural Center on Burlington Road at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 4.

By the way, I heard that UNCG will have a free workshop called "Growing to Community: Community Gardens" "Growing in Community: Gardening to Nourish Self and Neighbor" on Saturday, Feb. 28, from 12:30 to 5 p.m. Speakers include Dr. Charlie Headington of UNCG and Michael Schut of Seattle Tilth. The workshop will have break-out sessions on edible school yards, neighborhood gardens, faith-based or university gardens and so on. I'll post it on the GoTriad.com calendar once I verify some information.

Update: The workshop tentative schedule.

It seems a dauntless and near impossible task to transform our societies into those that purposely restore and nourish natural habitats when many householders still have to be convinced to recycle and use compact fluorescent light bulbs.

But as I watched "Waste=Food" at Weatherspoon Art Museum last week, I couldn't help but think that the "cradle to cradle" concept espoused by William McDonough and Michael Braungart gives the "sustainability" movement weight, direction and a sky's-the-limit ambition.

The idea behind the cradle to cradle design philosophy is to eliminate the concept of waste and, in the industrial sense, design products to either serve as a feedstock for a future product or as food for nature. For example, in the film Braungart mentions a European company that makes a biodegradable icecream wrapper that melts and contain seeds so you could actually toss it on the ground and grow plants.

They both ridicule the word "sustainability," saying it is too vague and doesn't prove that humans are actually helping the environment. They believe that a human "footprint" can be good if it actually restores natural habitats. They also say energy efficiency and the "triple bottom line" are not enough.

McDonough and Braungart believe that human societies are ill designed and that's why people and the Earth suffer from so many problems, such as the depletion of natural resources, pollution, etc. Thus, in their minds, environmental regulations are "a signal of design failure."

They write: "Regulations are not the answer to our environmental woes. Traditional regulations are aimed at limiting environmental destruction, and if a system is highly destructive regulations will never be able to compensate for poor design.... There is an alternative. When we see a heavily regulated industry, rather than condemning either the industry or the regulations, we seen an opportunity for re-design, a chance to make energy and manufacturing systems so inherently healthful, productive and socially beneficial regulations become unnecessary. This shift from mere compliance to creative innovation is a key to competitive advantage in the global marketplace."

Design is important because it helps steer human behavior and can suppress both our positive and negative attributes. David Orr of Oberlin College in Ohio is another who believes human societies need to be redesigned.

He wrote in "The Nature of Design":

"The foundation for ecological enlightenment is the 3.8 billion years of evolution. The story of evolution is a record of design strategies as life in all of its variety evolved in a vast efflorescence of biological creativity. The great conceit of the industrial world is the belief that we are exempt from the laws that govern the rest of the creation. Nature in that view is something to be overcome and subordinated. Designing with nature, on the other hand, disciplines human intentions with the growing knowledge of how the world works as a physical system."

Orr goes on in his book to write that if societies follow the model of nature, then:
* Farms will work like forests and prairies (think permaculture);
* Buildings will accrue natural capital like trees (producing more energy than they consume);
* Waste water systems will work like natural wetlands;
* Materials will mimic the ingenuity of plants and animals;
* Industries will work more like ecosystems (i.e. closed-loop production); and
* Products will become part of cycles resembling natural material flows.

A tall order, huh? So what does this mean for the Triad? This region just woke up to the sustainability movement and its implications. The South has long been seen as a follower regarding environmental progressiveness, for various reasons.

Does North Carolina have the capabilities and will to be a leader? Or, is cradle to cradle just too over our heads and beyond our reach?

Update: Interesting reading on eco-capitalism from Terracycle.

People give different names to the era they hope humans will soon transition into: The Great Turning. The Era of Sustainability.

Thomas Berry, cultural historian and Greensboro native, envisioned an "Ecozoic Era," one in which humans live in a mutually beneficial relationship will all communities of life on the planet. It is his definition that Greensboro couple Nelson and Elaine Stover are using to educate people through classes and a "Universe Story" walk on their property.

I find eco-spirituality a fascinating aspect of the global sustainability movement. All over the world, people are calling for the reinvention of human beings and society while imagining how those societies would work. One component of that is changing how we perceive God, a higher being, or the purpose of the universe. Thomas Berry has offered one view. So have others, such as eco-philosopher Joanna Macy.

But if you want to learn more about Berry's ideas and how to translate that into practice, the Stovers can help. Nelson will be giving 30-minute presentations at various places during the year and the couple will offer a weekend workshop called "Our Great Work: Toward a New Earth Resolve" in March.

From the flier:

"This 2-day course allows participants to live for two days in a new context thereby: 1. Communicating the urgency of The Great Work in the 21st century; 2. Awakening participants to the vision of a time when humans live in a mutually enhancing relationship with the entire community of life systems; 3. Modeling and eliciting holistic involvement in the Earth community; 4. Inspiring a spirituality that discovers awe and beauty in the natural world; and 5. Instilling in participants a realistic hope for coming generations."

Find more information here or contact the Stovers at stovern@bellsouth.net.

At least that many people showed up tonight at Studio B to hear what Brian Higgins had to say about his Sustainable Greensboro idea. Find background here.

I saw a lot of the movers and shakers of the city's environmental movement there as well as many people I've never met. Time will tell if the energy and interest displayed at the meeting will translate into a board of directors and $100,000 seed money for the new organization.

Early in the meeting, Higgins asked the crowd to name cities they consider "green" or "sustainable." They shouted Portland, Seattle, San Francisco and Chicago in response.

Higgins said: "I've lived in Portland. I've lived in Seattle and California. I've lived in places where people sort of take this thing for granted.... There's no reason why Greensboro, given some time, can't be mentioned in the same breath."

Higgins is not wasting any time. He said he hopes to have three to five board members by mid-February and an organizational identity by early summer. He intends for the organization to be membership-based as well as possibly drawing upon grants, donations, and service fees.

Taking green building to the next level: lifecycle construction. A Southeast conference is planned for late February and takes place in Atlanta. Early registration ends Jan. 31.

From the Web site:

This is the first conference of its kind focused on the Southeast! We will examine issues that may have substantial impacts on design and construction in the Southeast such as: drought, congestion, diminished air quality, stormwater, energy costs, greenhouse gas emissions, and construction waste and recycling. The conference will consider the complete construction lifecycle-- site preparation, building materials selection, debris management, air pollution control, stormwater and sediment control, demolition, converting buildings for reuse, design for disassembly and creating buildings that facilitate and anticipate future changes. You will hear from Regional and National experts on the full construction lifecycle; and network with federal, state and local government officials and regulators.

Related:

Turning House Millworks, a subsidiary of Bassett Mirror Co. in Virginia, hopes to position itself as a leader in the Southeast for reclaiming and giving new life to rare and precious hardwoods - Southern Longleaf Pine, wormy chestnut, fiddleback maple - used in industrial buildings from the 19th and early 20th centuries. The company expects to recover roughly one million board feet of lumber out of the mill, enough to floor more than 650 homes and save 19,000 trees.

"We don't believe the economy will change the direction of our society," said Jerry Dodson, president and chief operating officer of Turning House Millworks and sister company, Turning House Furniture. "The green building movement is long term. We are well-positioned to ride that wave."

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission released this week its "green growth toolbox" to be used by communities to preserve natural habitats.

From a press release:

The Green Growth Toolbox contains information on the state’s most important habitats, as well as community-planning methods and site-design techniques that can help conserve North Carolina’s priority species.

“Our goal is not to inhibit development,” said Jacquelyn Wallace, a biologist with the commission. “We want to show how we can build new homes, businesses and shopping centers while conserving habitats. We have put together a menu of conservation strategies that counties and towns can pick and choose from, and we can help communities choose the best options.”

"The Zoo Horticulture Staff was recognized for their work on water saving projects which have resulted in the zoo saving more than 3.3 million gallons of water and reducing costs by $27,852 over the past year."

Details here.

Brian Higgins, founder of Green Drinks Greensboro, is forming a new organization in Greensboro that aims to expand upon the various sustainability initiatives now underway. He will hold an organizational meeting on Jan. 27 for those interested in learning more about Sustainable Greensboro, volunteering or serving on advisory boards. Learn more about the organization at his Web site.

Meeting information:
When: 5:30-7 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 27
Where: Greensborough Gateway Center, 620 S. Elm St. (at Lee St.), Third Floor Conference Room
Who: Anyone interested in serving on the Board of Directors, Advisory Boards, Volunteering, or just learning more about Sustainable Greensboro.

I'll have more details about this new effort once I interview Brian this week. From an e-mail he sent out today:

"The momentum for this movement must be maintained. Just think...how successful would the redevelopment of downtown Greensboro be without Downtown Greensboro, Inc.? How would our educational system succeed without the support provided by the Guilford Education Alliance? Greensboro has an opportunity to turn the momentum behind sustainability here into more than just an underlying buzz. A positive reputation for innovative and creative sustainability projects and programs can raise our profile in the state and country as a desirable place for business and relocation. Yes, sustainability not only increases quality of life but also is good for business.

"To paraphrase a popular saying: "You do not serve the world by being small." Together, we can be big enough to create some fundamental change in our neighborhoods, communities and city that can continue to nurture and grow the movement for sustainability. Individuals, groups, nonprofits, businesses will all be needed to support this movement."

The Sustainability Festival makes a comeback in Stokes County as the Hare Krishna community in Sandy Ridge hosts its second event in January, this time focused on food production.

The community held its first event in November and included workshops on everything from solar photovoltaics and sustainable businesses to finding security in uncertain times. Organizer Mitra Das said someone remarked to him that subsequent festivals should elaborate separately on the topics of food, shelter and transportation.

The centerpiece of the upcoming event will be a sit-down with local farmers who will share their agricultural wisdom with whoever desires to listen. Also planned for the agenda are presentations on seed saving, gardening for lazy people, encouraging young and new farmers and harvesting year-round without a greenhouse. Local music and food, to boot.

Who should go?

"Anyone with a mouth and a stomach," Mitra Das said. "Each and everyone of us depends on food everyday."

The festival will take place from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 17, at Prabhupada Village, 1283 Prabhupada Road, Sandy Ridge. The event will be indoors; shoes off in the temple according to tradition so wear nice socks.

Transition United States, a wiki site whose mission is modeled off the Transition Town grassroots movement in the United Kingdom, has added North Carolina and other states to its network. The transition movement is one of the more fascinating social movements taking place in the realm of sustainability, and it focuses on reducing communities' reliance on fossil fuels.

Plus, a critique of the Transition Town movement.

Local food enthusiasts and newcomers will meet at SciWorks in Winston-Salem tonight to brainstorm ways to encourage and develop local food economies that are based on sustainable agricultural practices in North Carolina. More than 100 people have RSVP'd.

The meeting is being held by the Center for Environmental Farming Systems and is the fifth one held this year after strong participation at meetings in Raleigh, Burgaw and Asheville. The meetings will culminate in a statewide conference in March, to be followed by the creation of a state action plan.

The center has made available the notes from the previous meetings, including questions and comments participants had about defining "local food" and what is needed to develop it.

I just found this out today, but apparently a national energy forum is taking place on Wednesday and Thursday. It's free and online.

Details from a press release:

WHO: Fortune 500 CEOs, COOs, CFOs, public policy leaders, sustainability & energy experts & innovators of energy products & services.

WHAT: www.VirtualEnergyForum.com, a free online-only conference, brings together 5,000 Fortune 500 executives, public policy leaders & energy innovators in an innovative interactive format. Live video presentations by energy experts, with questions answered real-time.

Topics: Obama administration, federal funding, municipal or public works, green building, energy-efficient technologies, sustainability, alternative energy, clean technologies, and manufacturing.

WHEN: Wednesday and Thursday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST.

WHERE: Entirely online at www.VirtualEnergyForum.com. Register and Login Dec. 10-11 to attend this live, interactive event, from the ease of your PC. To view coverage of the last Virtual Energy Forum by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, or to view the complete list of speakers and agenda, visit www.VirtualEnergyForum.com.

WHY: President-elect Barack Obama pledged on Dec. 6 to launch the biggest public works program since the construction of the interstate highway system in the 1950s. The estimated $700 Billion plan is projected to include a push to make federal buildings more energy efficient.

The Virtual Energy Forum includes speaker sessions that address this topic, including:

· Mike Kearney of Siemens Building Technologies, speaking on "Practical Strategies to Green Existing Buildings" on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

· Kevin Kampschroer, US General Services Administration, "Making the Federal Green Building a Reality" on Thursday at 5:15 p.m.

· Public sector keynote speakers at the event include:

o The Honorable James T. Kelliher, Chairman of the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

o The Honorable Ed Markey, US House Select Committee on Energy Independence

o Kathleen Hogan, US Environmental Protection Agency

o Paul P. Bollinger Jr., United States Army

o Kevin W. Billings, of the United States Air Force.

This sounds interesting and I will try to check it out this week.

Supporters of President-elect Barack Obama are coming together on Dec. 13 and 14 to discuss what ideas they have. His transition team will be collecting the feedback and is encouraging people to sign up to host or attend a "Change is Coming" house meeting.

This would be a good opportunity for the public to talk about the challenges the country is facing in the areas of energy and the environment and brainstorm ways to address it on the federal level (although individual and community action might be the most effective in the long run).

Check out Obama's agenda concerning these matters and let me know if you host a meeting next weekend. Three meetings are already listed for Greensboro.

Update: I just learned that the city of Winston-Salem is also applying for the grant. The city has already completed its greenhouse gas inventory and the City Council also approved an action plan earlier this year (Greensboro has yet to complete its municipal and community inventories). A community sustainability program committee, similar to Greensboro's, is in the works.

* * * * * *

The city of Greensboro and N.C. A&T have teamed up to apply for a Sustainable Skylines grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The city's Community Sustainability Council will help put the proposal together and will talk about this on Monday during its regular monthly meeting.

The council plans to incorporate recommendations from a November community gathering of local environmental organizations. Check out the full list of suggestions, but council Co-chairman Robert Powell noted that projects relevant to the grant would be:

* A green bike program;
* A home audit/upgrade program;
* Greening the Greenway;
* Water use reduction/lawn reduction
* Intergenerational collaboration for sustainable Greensboro;
* A bus idling program;
* A commercial building educational program; and
* An educational/community based project

The national Interfaith Power & Light organization is sponsoring a contest in 2009 to motivate faith congregations to lower their carbon emissions. Those that enter by Dec. 31 of this year and compete during the next year will be eligible to win $5,000 in cash prizes. Find out more here.

Other events:
* The Solar Energy Research Center and the Research Triangle Energy Consortium will hold a symposium on next generation photovoltaics and solar fuels in January at UNC Chapel Hill.

* The N.C. Sustainable Energy Association will begin taking early bird registrations for a February energy forum called "Making Energy Work."

* Clergy and laity can register for a "Caring for Creation" conference in March at Lake Junaluska Retreat Center. Find out more here.

The Piedmont Triad Research Park in Winston-Salem will hold a meeting for people in the community who want to shape the Northern District development plans, which aim to incorporate energy efficiency and environmental stewardship.

That meeting was postponed from this week to 3-4 p.m. on Jan. 27 in the Chestnut Room at 115 S. Chestnut St., Winston-Salem. RSVP to Kate Casas at 314-335-2950 or e-mail Katherine.casas@urbanstrategiesinc.org.

The park announced in June that it planned to adopt Sustainable Development Guidelines based on the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED rating systems. The guidelines will include; specific performance targets, processes, and recommendations for energy efficiency, renewable energy sources, storm- water management, reduction in potable water consumption, care and management of material resources, and other areas of development and operation.

More than 100 people representing about 50 groups attended the city's Community Sustainability Council gathering on Thursday night. The advisory group wanted to tap into the existing environment and energy-related projects happening in the city and incorporate those ideas into its recommendations to City Council next year.

Participants divided into about a dozen different groups to brainstorm next steps for the CSC with topics including waste management, maintaining nature in the city, renewable energy, land use policies, water resources, transportation and local food production.

Some of the ideas: Neighbors pooling funds to purchase and install insulation in homes; church competitions to reduce energy consumption; wildlife education; improving public transit; incentivizing reduced water use and developing distribution networks for locally produced foods (i.e. processing plants and food preservation classes).

The CSC's report is due to council in March next year. I'll be following the group's work over the coming months to see how it influences the promotion and adoption of related initiatives.

Plus, a couple announcements:

* Green Drinks Greensboro meets on Wednesday at the Proximity Hotel's Print Works Bistro.

* UNCG students will present on Tuesday, Dec. 9, a community-oriented performance examining topics related to the "Going Green" movement. The inter-disciplinary performance will feature research relating to many different topics including: food production, wildlife conservation, economics and public policy, as well as sustainable design and a look at the practice of corporate "Greenwashing."

The performance will be staged in the auditorium of the Ferguson Building, located on Spring Garden St. on the UNCG campus. The approximately half-hour long show begins at 7:30pm and will be followed by a short question and answer session with the students as well as a small reception. The event is free and open to the public.

* Also, the Really Really Free Market returns to The HIVE on Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving):

What: Really Really Free Market
When: November 28, 10 am - 3 pm
Where: The HIVE, 1214 Grove Street, Greensboro, NC
How Much: FREE!
Contact: Kathy Clark at 336.409.9195 or Chelsea Simpson at 617.913.5964

"Here's how it works: Bring stuff you don't want or need. Leave it for others to take. Then look through all the stuff that other people have brought. It's like a yard sale, only FREE! Books, clothing, kitchenware, electronics, art supplies: you will find these and many more for FREE!

As well as loads of free stuff, there will be gift-making demonstrations, free musical performances and free food. Avoid the crowds and credit card debt. Consider buying nothing at the Really Really Free Market!"

Discovering the treasures of one's own community is one of the themes in today's sustainability movement that seeks to rebuild local economies, wean society off fossil fuels, reverse environmental degradation and restore people's connection with their natural environments.

On Saturday, Nov. 8, Stokes County residents will come together to for a "sustainability festival" at the Hare Krishna temple grounds in Sandy Ridge (1283 Prabhupada Road). The festival will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and feature local food, musicians and speakers.

Organizer Mark Walters, who goes by the name of Mitra, said he's hoping for a crowd of about 200 people. The event will include presentations on creating a local economy by Eric Henry of TS Designs in Burlington; on community-supported agriculture by Tony McGree of Stokes CORE; on the history and possible revival of hydroelectricity in Stokes County; local herbs and their uses; on and turning scarcity into abundance by Greensboro activist Liz Seymour.

"The world is ready for good ideas and it's exciting," said Mitra, who works for a new organization called My Green Earth Foundation. "It's become a patriotic thing to save energy and try to do something sustainable."

The festival will also include a solar oven competition, talks about alternative vehicles and a tour of a straw bale house and cob structure. Mitra said people who are not of Hindu faith should not be deterred from participating.

"We're not going to try to stop people from being Christians or whatever their religion is," he said. "I don't want people to be scared away thinking we are trying to lay something on them."

Above, a photo Mitra sent along of Norma-Jean and Lewis Hutchens, who will be supplying sweet potatoes for the event.

The Greensboro Community Sustainability Council invites members of environmental/energy-related organizations to attend a community gathering from 4-7 p.m., Nov. 13, at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church on North Greene Street. The networking meeting will help determine the advisory group's focus going forward.

One group that recently joined local green efforts is Action Greensboro with its "Naturally Green, Cool by Design" campaign. April Harris of Action Greensboro told members of the sustainability council at a Monday meeting that committees are trying to determine how to best support current initiatives. Harris said the organization's goal is to promote green building programs and connect neighborhoods to the outdoor environment.

Action Greensboro is also pushing for passage of a $134 million transportation bond that would provide funds for a 4.8-mile downtown greenway.

Piedmont Green Gala? Check. Emerging Issues forum? Check. Nov. 13 Greensboro community sustainability gathering? Check. My calendar is filled with local energy and environment-related forums and workshops taking place this fall. But I'm still waiting for a comprehensive conference on how Triad governments, businesses, community groups and individuals can best prepare for the end of the fossil fuels era. One that draws more than the "experts" and activists.

I'm sure some of these conversations are going on behind closed doors and around the water cooler but the public needs to hear it and talk about it. Many questions are lingering in my mind:

1. How can local foundations and grant-making organizations help fund community-based initiatives to create local energy production or resilience? What obstacles do they face to diverting funds to these projects?

2. What can Triad communities afford to do under a worst-case scenario of limited/declining investment dollars?

3. What strengths or opportunities do Triad governments have that can be applied to the tackling of future energy challenges? For example, one county might have a stellar economic development team that could turn on a dime to draw alternative energy businesses; a city might have public strong support for public transit.

4. What is the public educational system doing and not doing to prepare students for 21st century energy challenges and new lifestyles?

5. What level of agreement do communities have about climate change and peak oil and their potential consequences? In what ways are shared and separate approaches needed?

6. In what areas do cities and homeowners associations need to relax, modify or add codes to help residents and businesses adapt to more expensive energy? What other reasons -- be it health, quality of life, etc. -- exist for making changes?

7. What conflicts do we see arising in necessary changes and business models that have to be addressed (i.e. city revenue vs. decreased water usage; discouraging plastic bags use vs. needed them for recycling business)?

8. What roles do the formal, informal and household economies play in community adaptation? Should residents expect to reduce their energy use and environmental impact through the purchase of goods or services, barter/gifts or do-it-yourself?

9. What social mores, expectations and taboos need to be shifted (i.e. quick and convenient travel, readily-available ice cold drinks, etc.)

10. What grand projects must communities sacrifice because of a shift in priorities?

What questions do you have that you would like to see addressed in a public forum?

Update: The Institute for Emerging Issues holds an energy forum in Greensboro on Nov. 6. (By the way, I'm scratching my head on the panelists listed on the agenda. The N.C. Zoo?)

I'm waiting on details but I just found out that some Stokes County residents will hold their own sustainability festival, complete with alternative energy displays, local food and music, on Nov. 8 at Prabhupada Village in Sandy Ridge. More here.

Also, Lester Brown, a renown environmental analyst who founded the Worldwatch Institute and Earth Policy Institute, will be speaking about an hour away at the Center for the Environment in Salisbury. Free event but registration required.

Brown will speak on his latest book, “Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization.” Below, one of four YouTube clips of Brown speaking on his plan.

I once read somewhere that people often overestimate what they can accomplish in a year, but underestimate what they can get done in a decade. That thought came to mind as I reflected upon the many steps TS Designs in Burlington has taken to make its business more sustainable -- more specifically, following the triple bottom line of pursuing economic prosperity, social justice and environmental stewardship.

TS Designs hosted on Saturday what they hoped to be the first of many Piedmont Green Galas. The company and its roughly 300 guests that day celebrated the additions of an 8.6 kilowatt per hour solar array atop the roof and biofuel fill-up station outside for members. Inside and outside demonstrated what can happen when a business, organization or family does something... and then something else... and then something else.

In TS Designs' case, they started with getting rid of Styrofoam cups and planting trees. Now, the organic T-shirt-making company composts, brews biofuel and Fair Trade coffee, uses grey water to flush toilets, and gardens to supplement employees' meals.

(Behind garden, visitors check out a solar-powered go-cart.)

Sit in on a discussion about the jobs of the future and theories abound -- as do theorists -- as to the shape future jobs will take. Some people believe globalization will keep chugging along, with careers drawing upon math and science skills the high payers. Others agree that the next labor trend will fit within the existing capitalism paradigm, but it will have a green twist to it.

For example, the Ella Baker Center defines the green economy as "a rapidly growing billion-dollar sector that includes renewable energy sources, organic produce and products, green buildings, alternative fuel vehicles, and more."

The center defines a "green-collar job" as "a paid position providing environmentally-friendly products or services; term suggests high standards regarding fair wages, equal opportunity and healthy working conditions; employer may be a private business, government, non-profit or cooperative. For example: organic farmer, sustainable forestry worker, recycling technician or solar panel manufacturer."

In other words, the green economy is just a new-and-improved, decentralized version of industrialization. Investment flows to the most promising technologies and business ideas that ultimately generate more wealth. Green entrepreneurs also are motivated by a desire to stay competitive against other companies producing similar or identical products.

One doesn't have to live next to a smokestack or mountain top removal coal mining site to understand and sympathize with the plight of people living on the underbelly of industrialization.

All one needs is a sense of decency and compassion. But as this country lurches from one economic crisis to another, the question becomes will decency and compassion or fear and competition undergird the next wave of jobs? And can the transition being pushed by many to a "green economy" happen without repeating the social sins of America's past?

About 200 activists, community organizers, educators, students and business owners struggled with this and other questions at a green jobs conference that took place on Saturday at N.C. Central University.

This movement, pioneered in New York and California, has taken hold in the Tar Heel state and folks wanted to know how North Carolinians could enable and benefit from new industries that pay adequate wages while reducing the state's dependency on fossil fuels and better managing its natural resources.

Landscape architects, government officials and builders will gather at the downtown Marriott Sept. 9-11 to learn practical ways to plan and maintain sustainable green urban environments.

The conference -- "Trees for an Urban Future: Emerging Issues, Innovations and Current Trends" -- will be hosted by the N.C. Urban Forest Council, N.C. State University’s College of Natural Resources and the N.C. Division of Forest Resources.

Keynote speakers:
Dr. Kathleen L. Wolf, research social scientist at the College of Forest Resources, University of Washington;
Gary Moll, vice president of the Ecosystem Analysis Center at AMERICAN FORESTS.

The Bryan Family YMCA seeks support from members to implement a comprehensive environmental initiative, according to an August newsletter. The organization requests suggestions, fundraising ideas, professional advice and volunteers to green its building in downtown Greensboro on West Market Street. According to a statement by executive director Joe Hennigan:

"...We also believe our facility, with its already high profile, has the ability to be a catalyst for spurring environmentally responsible downtown development. We are convinced a public, concentrated, ongoing campaign to lesson our carbon footprint will engage our existing membership to be more involved with the YMCA and attract new, active members who are committed not only to environmental stewardship but the overarching mission of the YMCA."

I'll post more as I get more details. Know of any other organizations going green?

Various dates: Greensboro Community Television, Cable Channel 8, will air a 90 minute presentation about peak oil given in July by Peter Kauber of Guilford Solar Communities at the following times: Sunday, Aug. 17 at 6:00 p.m.; Friday, Aug. 29 at noon; and Monday, Sept. 1 at midnight.

Aug. 20: Greensboro Green Drinks (5:30-7:30 p.m. at Natty Greene's)

Sept. 20: A "Growing a Just, Green Economy" conference will take place in Durham on the campus of North Carolina Central University. Early registration fee is $20.

Keynote speakers include environmental justice activist, Majora Carter, founder of Sustainable South Bronx, and minister, community activist and State President of the NAACP the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II. The day-long event will also feature panels and workshops covering policy, business development, job assessment, education and training, and resource security.

Sept. 25: “No Child Left Inside” talk and book signing, starting at 5 p.m. at Greensboro Montessori School, 2856 Horse Pen Creek Road. Call 668-0119 for more information.

According to the school: Author Richard Louv, whose award-winning book "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder" has sparked an international movement to reunite children and nature, will bring his message to Greensboro at a public lecture and book signing at the school.  The free event, which will be held (appropriately) outside, will begin with an array of family-friendly activities; Louv will speak at 7. 

Louv’s visit to Greensboro will be the centerpiece of a community-wide celebration of national "Take a Child Outside Week," September 24-30 that will include everything from a night hike at the library’s Kathleen Clay Edwards Family Branch to a workshop on wilderness skills at Bur-Mil Park. 

Sept. 29: Starting on this day, UNCG will host a "Sustainability" book club. To register, call Barry Miller at 256-0112 or go here.    

Other events here and here.

The city of Greensboro had its day in the spotlight last year when former mayor Keith Holliday signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, a first step toward it becoming a "Cool City."

Now, local residents are working to expand sustainability efforts at the county level. The group, called Green Guilford, is working with Rob Bencini, the county's director of economic and community development. They aim to educate the public about environmental issues, support governmental purchases of environmentally-friendly products, create a neighborhood sustainability advisory board (Ahem... homeowners associations), and tap into existing soil and water conservation groups.

Now, the group must win over the public and county commissioners. I anticipate this plan could get a lot of resistance from businesses that stand to lose money if the county switches products and services. But many "green businesses" are willing and eager to take their place.

What do you think about this group?

Perhaps you read this recent story from a colleague of mine on a High Point woman facing fines from her homeowners association because of her grassless lawn:

"Similar battles have been waged on a statewide level recently, as the drought has turned attention toward the vast amounts of water sprinkled and sprayed on suburban lawns each summer.

"In its past session, the General Assembly passed a bill limiting the ability of homeowners’ associations to fine residents who don’t water their lawns during a drought."

It's only a matter of time before grassless lawns move away from the minority to the mainstream as homeowners deal not only with perpetual drought, but rising food and energy prices. Urban gardening and edible landscapes are becoming more attractive to Americans across the country, even in Greensboro, where public schools are putting their lawns to use for educational purposes.

HOAs serve their purpose, namely to protect property values and maintain joint-owned amenities, such as pools and recreation centers. In some cases, the HOAs pay to cut grass or repair exterior surfaces of the homes. But HOAs are vulnerable during recessions when cash-strapped mortgage payers stop paying their assessments on time. And HOAs have to be carefully managed; otherwise, funds get misspent, leaving homeowners in the lurch. (I've owned a home where I paid a monthly HOA and experienced a near 50 percent increase in one year.)

At any rate, will homebuyers continue to favor neighborhoods with HOAs or will the associations come to be seen as unnecessary and expensive burdens for residents to carry? Neighborhoods that gain in value may very well be those that allow their residents to install clotheslines and solar panels and grow food instead of teh water-hungry, glorified weed called grass. (More on edible landscaping here.)

I've been mulling for the past week whether to participate in any of the various local food challenges going on in North Carolina and across the country. Not because I don't think it would be possible. In fact, I believe North Carolina is one of the best states to do it in. I just don't know if I want to add more rules or guidelines to my life.

I actually thought about participating in the 100 Mile Diet last year and blogging about it for the News & Record, but I scrapped the idea once I became pregnant. Now that my daughter is six months old, I feel comfortable trying it. Plus, eating locally is becoming more popular and I've got to be in the in-crowd, now don't I? (Yeah, right.)

I've been gardening in a small plot and shopping at the farmers markets in Greensboro and Colfax since last spring. Resources such as Slow Food Piedmont Triad and Local Harvest have helped me find sites for all kinds of goods, such as locally milled flour, chicken and herbs. I just need to decide how strict I want to be and how long I want to go. Do I cut out rice and pasta, salt and pepper? Do I go for a week, a month or the rest of the year? What restaurants in Greensboro would be off limits?  

Whatever I decide, I have made the commitment to increase the amount of locally-grown and produced foods I eat. I like feeling connected to farmers and artisans in Guilford County and North Carolina and being able to ask them face to face about their products. But I want my purchases and food preparations to be both a joy and learning experience, not a guilt-ridden chore. 

Read more here.

The Rev. Canon Sally Bingham, president and founder of Interfaith Power and Light, asked as much during the closing keynote addresses at the conference on faith, spirituality and environmental stewardship, I attended with almost 300 others in Salisbury last week. With all the work to do globally regarding climate change, it seems the pace of change on the government, business and community level is mighty slow.

But Bingham and other presenters made the case that people of faith have much to contribute to the transition away from a carbon-based society to one that relies on conservation, efficiency and renewable energy to meet its needs. I left quite inspired to do as much as I can personally and professionally in Greensboro.

Bingham said: "I think we are at a point where enough people have realized we are destroying ourselves.... I see a wonderful horizon. It may get worse before it gets better but I believe it will get better."

To which Gary Gardner, senior researcher of the Worldwatch Institute, responded: "I don't think we should underestimate the challenge that is before us. The challenge is huge."

Highlights from the conference (pictured below is Dr. Samuel Dansokho, an associate professor at Hood Theological Seminary, who gave a presentation):

Gardner said humans need a new understanding of progress, one that is not based on material consumption and lack of boundaries. He said religion can spiritually ground people to find their self-worth in something other than wealth generation.

Matthew Sleeth, an evangelical Christian who gave up his career as an ER physician to preach a green message, said that churches are starting to open up to the message of being better stewards of their natural resources. One session he gave was on observing the sabbath, both as a way of taking care of one's health and also as a way of reducing material and energy consumption. Sleeth said on Sunday, he and his wife only drive to church. They take walks and don't require anyone else to work on that day, for example, by ordering takeout.

"I don't think God intended our lives to be one long run-on sentence," Sleeth said.

Erik Assadourian of the Worldwatch Institute listed 10 ecological ethical choices for people to follow in their daily lives: right diet, just livelihood, active political engagement, life of service, mindful consumption, family for all families (population control), renewing life rituals (and planning green versions of funerals, weddings, etc), preparing for a changing world, spreading community and shifting perspective. Assadourian said he doesn't see any reason why a coffee shop can't use reusable items, compost its waste and provide locally-produced products, such as garden produce, etc. (Sounds like a business idea!)

Of course, a lot more happened, but I think you get the point. If you are interested in any particular session, I will try to provide more information. Also, the Center for the Environment plans to some video of the keynote speakers online.

Update (June 2): Deep Roots Market also kicks off an eat local food challenge on June 10.

All you budding localvores out there can participate in a challenge to eat only North Carolina-produced food during the week of July 7-13. (Why not get an early start by holding an all local Independence Day food fest?)

This challenge is being publicized by the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, which has the goal of increasing the number of organic farms in North Carolina and South Carolina. The association wants participants to blog about their experiences.

Food and gardening challenges are all the rave now and have become a popular tool for raising awareness about particular issues or initiatives. Path to Freedom has just started a social networking site called Freedom Gardeners and participating bloggers can add widgets/icons to their sites representing various challenges, including the 100 Foot Diet and Harvest Keepers (for the more radical gardeners out there).

Are any of you out there participating in online challenges or sticking to a local diet, for that matter? Share your stories and/or photos and I'll post them on my blog.

Logo courtesy of Carolina Farm Stewardship Association

I am fascinated by the prospects of consciously participating in the evolution of my species and the transition from one age to another. I find myself a big picture thinker, so I need frameworks under which to operate and be motivated to make sacrifices so that my family and community can live more sustainably.

One resource that I have come upon is the Center for Ecozoic Studies, which publishes literature on the burgeoning Ecozoic Age, made popular by Greensboro ecologist and cultural historian Thomas Berry. He maintains that we are moving from the Cenozoic Age that began with the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago to the Ecozoic Age. Why is this new age so important? The health of the planet has been endangered because of human activity, according to Berry, and we need to move to an era where the well-being of the entire planet is our primary concern, not just the well-being of humans. Berry also says it is the responsibility of every human to participate in shepherding in this new era.

Of course, that task is supremely difficult. Herman Greene, founder of the Center for Ecozoic Studies wrote (starting page 92) that:

"What we are dealing with is something very different than any social cause we might have been involved in before, or that any human has every been involved in before. This doesn't, however, mean we can't learn from and apply our experience. It just means we can't predict this future -- the ecozoic future-- from the past, and we can't "solve" this problem of how to get to an ecological age the way we have solved past problems.... Our world is changing faster and faster and in general is moving in the direction of more stuff, more industry, more cities, and more human impact. It is kind of like there is a GREAT BIG FREIGHT TRAIN moving across the whole Earth. What are we to do to get out of the way? The answer is something like disassemble and reassemble the freight train before it hits us and change the crew... and we are the crew."

Which I took to mean that humans must simultaneously create a new way of life while living in the existing one (although some argue nothing less than an evolutionary leap is needed). What more, not everyone agrees that we are on a freight train or that we are in any way culpable for the problems we are facing. But all over the world, people are making changes, even in Greensboro. They see the current way as a dead end, our longstanding institutions as dysfunctional, our very symbols and verbal constructs as obsolete, and our business practices as in need of a change.

Yet, we've got to pay the bills. And we've got to maintain our sanity because this journey is daunting. Personally, that means going to work everyday while trying to build the connections and skills that will enable my family to meet its needs and stay relevant in the next age (and I'm not talking power lunches and green schemes). That means living simply, learning to garden, researching more and watching little television, making peace with the circumstances of my life, and taking the personal risk of seeming a little "out there" in my conversations in order to attract those of like mind. All the while realizing there are no guarantees.

What more could I do? And how are you straddling the ages?

Another update (May 26): Joel Landau is featured in the News & Record's 10plus column.

Update: I forgot to mention that Landau told me last week that EPA folks met with local government officials at N.C. A&T State University about the possibility of Greensboro applying for a Sustainable Skylines grant. The application deadline has passed, so I am assuming folks here would apply next year. Sounds interesting. FYI, initiatives in Dallas and Kansas City.

A new environmental advisory group hopes to start meeting by June after the Greensboro City Council appointed it last week. Members are still crafting the mission but preliminarily it would "present City Council with specific proposals for reducing local carbon emissions, reducing energy usage, and conserving resources.  Proposals will include projected costs and funding options."

Following is the most recent message sent out to some in the community by Joel Landau, one of the co-chairs of the group:

"Last Wednesday Mayor Johnson appointed, and City Council approved, the members of a newly formed Advisory Group on the Environment! The Group's mission has not been specified, but it will be in the areas of bringing forth initiatives for reducing pollution, conserving resources, improving energy efficiency, and moving towards a more sustainable local economy.

"The group's co-chairs are Bob Powell and Joel Landau. Its members are primarily people who have been active in local sustainability efforts. Our thanks go to Mayor Johnson for initiating the idea and moving forward with it. Steve McCollum [of Environmental Stewardship of Greensboro] was also instrumental in bringing the idea to fruition. One of the hopes for this group is that it will be a focal point for coordinating and publicizing the various sustainability efforts now underway around the City."

In a previous message, Landau mentioned the following folks would be serving on the committee: Art Davis, Maurice Allen, Dr. Debbie Leiner, Derrick Giles, the Rev. Joe Venable, Carolyn Allen, Eric Hoekstra, Bob Powell, Tom Duckwall, Tom Clary, Valerie Vickers, Kim Yarbray, Joel Landau, Marlene Sanford of TREBIC, plus an unspecified representative from both the Chamber of Commerce and one from the Greensboro Merchant Association. They represent each district and include educators, business people, retired city planners, a medical doctor, a reverend, a former mayor and experience in sustainabililty activities.

This grassroots-initiated group will create its own charge instead of relying on a preoccupied council to set the path. It will be interesting to see if these members will have the necessary focus, camaraderie and singular vision to bring the council some innovative proposals and get them funded and accomplished (rather than be overtaken by infighting or self interest). Committees often have the tendency of simmering on the political backburner but I hope that is not this group's fate.   

I oscillate between striving for simplicity and security, flexibility and permanency. For more than a year my husband and I have been trying to decide whether to continue renting in Greensboro or make the commitment and try homeownership again.

But the beacon toward homeownership burns brightly when I see the work going on with these urban homesteaders in Pasadena, Calif. They show what is possible when you stop complaining about politicians and corporations and start making changes in your own life. This family's personal efforts to produce more of their own food and become energy independent has turned into a formal non-profit educational tool and a revolution. I want to join in.

Check out this video about the Homegrown Revolution:

I believe this spirit is catching on in Greensboro. Yesterday, I spoke to two Glenwood residents, one a teacher who has a community garden plot and is starting a garden in her backyard; the other who intends to microfarm in a neighbor's yard. I myself have a garden plot and some herbs growing for the first time on my apartment patio.

What if one out of every 10 homeowners in Greensboro had a 2008 version of a Victory Garden? What if apartment complexes provided space for residents to develop their green thumbs? Imagine the possibilities for both income generation, self-sufficiency and better health.

One might scoff at this idea and say, "Hey, it's just easier to buy one's food at a supermarket. If everyone gardened at home, imagine the possibilities for businesses to close and people to lose their jobs!"

My response is people are already losing their jobs due to global wage arbitrage and the consolidation of corporations. I believe that food reliant on fossil fuels for production and transportation is a system that is under stress now and people need an alternative.

I also believe that if you both provide the infrastructure and education on how to microfarm, more people will do it. It may take time, but it will happen. For example, as an apartment dweller I started gardening when a community garden opened up in Glenwood. The infrastructure provided an outlet for me to exercise my interest. It's kind of like the argument that people don't bike in Greensboro so why pay to expand bike lanes. Well, it's hard for people to bike with no lanes! Chicken and egg.

I attended the 5th annual Sustainable Energy Conference in Raleigh last week as part of my reporting on a project for the N&R. Gov. Mike Easley and others spoke about the need for the U.S. and North Carolina to become more energy independent (i.e. stop importing foreign oil) and the importance of creating a decentralized, diverse energy infrastructure. Overall, the presenters tried to sound hopeful about our opportunities. Below, photos from the conference.

Listen here to the speech Easley gave participants during the conference luncheon (about 20 minutes of unedited audio). He wrapped up his speech by saying:

"We're all trying to get independence from foreign oil. We know we have to have that to survive. America has to have independence from foreign oil to survive.... What will get us there is that new way of life, bringing the future to us now, taking those mini steps in unison."

Scott Sklar, president of The Stella Group, a marketing firm for renewable energy, said Americans must use less energy and become decentralized in our infrastructure, similar to what happened with the Internet and cell phones. He said:

"It is very hard to bring in the new technology when to this very day we're subsidizing the old technology.... They think this is a free market. It is not."

Even with the work being done, government leaders are taking a 10- to 20-year view on reducing energy consumption and some question whether we have that much time to adequately curtail global carbon emissions and prepare for a peaking in conventional oil production. Richard Heinberg, for example, has a greater sense of urgency.  

Today, members of the Greensboro Environmental Stewardship Group, an alliance of members from several local churches, met to help plan a faith and environment forum taking place at the Center for the Environment in Salisbury this spring (I was there representing the environmental stewardship committee at Presbyterian Church of the Covenant).   Director John Wear was at the meeting at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church brainstorming ideas, and said many people of faith have approached him about holding a conference.

"I'm seeing tremendous enthusiasm on this particular topic," Wear said.

A few of the goals of the conference, according to the center's winter newsletter are to:

• Convene faith and environmental leaders for the exploration of environmental issues and the scriptural mandate to care for God's creation;
• To bring diverse people together to examine the relationship between faith/spirituality and the environment and to promote dialogue and strategies to address the environmental challenges we face;
• To inspire participants to assume leadership roles in their communities or churches/temples in developing innovative solutions to environmental challenges.

Workshop ideas were myriad and included: determining your carbon footprint, buying local food, recycling, water/air quality, relocalization and public policy. What would you suggest?

The Greensboro ESG group has been meeting since last year, originating out of a conference sponsored by Holy Trinity. The group is still establishing its goals but has been involved in some local initiatives, including an effort to get free rainwater harvesting barrels to members of the Glenwood neighborhood and the study of  Greensboro "geologian" Thomas Berry's The Great Work.

You can still catch the six-week study groups taking place from April to May at the following locations:

• First Friends Meeting: Contact Valerie Vickers (natureteach@ bellsouth.net), Paul Mitchell (pdmitchell@bellsouth.net) or Emilie Sandin (emilieandtom@yahoo.com) for details.
• St. Paul the Apostle Church: Contact Jacqueline Messick (jmessick2@triad.rr.com) for details.
• The Servant Leadership School of Greensboro: To register, visit www.servantleadergreensboro.com or call 275-0447.

Additional groups interested in having a study leader for their group or sending a study leader to be trained may contact F. Nelson Stover at stovern@bellsouth.net or Steve McCollum at smccollum@triad.rr.com.

The next ESG meeting is scheduled for 2 p.m. March 30 at Holy Trinity. You can also join the Yahoo! group listserv at "Environmental Stewardship GSO."