“Know Your Non-Profits” Series, #3, Ecological Landscaping Associaton

Our third segment in the series “Know Your Non-Profits is by Penny Lewis, Executive Director of the Ecological Landscaping Association, www.ecolandscaping.org

Are you concerned about the quality of water in our watersheds, the health of the lawn your family and pets play on, the spread of invasive, exotic plants?

So are we – the Ecological Landscaping Association (ELA).

In 1992, a dedicated group of landscapers started looking for alternatives to traditional landscapes and traditional landscaping methods that relied on man-made chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides. They were interested in biological diversity, healthy soils, native plant conservation, clean water, and reduced pesticide and fertilizer use. They learned how to build healthy, sustainable landscapes that nurtured the delicate balance between all types of life and the environment without the use of toxic chemicals that threatened the health of the landscape and its residents. They found others who shared their commitment to gathering and sharing information and formed ELA.

For nearly two decades, ELA’s commitment to improving the environmental impact of landscaping has continued and grown. ELA is a member-based non-profit whose membership continues to grow and includes landscaping professionals, community activists, estate managers, schools, golf courses, and home garden enthusiasts.  Alongside a growing membership, ELA’s educational programs have expanded and been instrumental in raising awareness of environmental issues.

Now, as ecological, sustainable, and organic landscaping becomes even more widely sought after, ELA remains the source for accurate, reliable information. The public’s heightened awareness of ecological landscaping and concerns for the environment have magnified interest in the ELA’s educational offerings such as the ELA Conference & Eco-Marketplace, Roundtable presentations, Eco-Tours, and free monthly newsletter. If you want to learn to develop healthy soils, maintain an ecological lawn, harness rainwater potential, understand climate change & tree stress, control invasive species, produce edible landscapes, and more, check out ELA’s calendar of upcoming events at www.ecolandscaping.org.

Our Mission: ELA advocates for environmentally responsible stewardship of land and natural resources in the landscaping and horticultural practices of professionals and the public. Through education, collaboration, and networking, ELA promotes the design, installation, and maintenance of landscapes that are guided by a knowledge of, and respect for, natural ecosystems.

D2E Boston 2010 Update!

We have less than a month to go before the third annual Down:2:Earth Expo (April 9-11!) and we are committed to making it the most valuable and entertaining event to date. We’ve been hard at work this year to provide you with the very best in green information and exhibits.

Keynote Speaker James Hansen

This year we have something for everyone! Check out the highlights below including talks by James Hansen and Mayim Bialik, workshops on everything from the future of energy to butter-making and special features such as our Local Bites event and a Water Sculpture by Christine Destrempes.

Spread the word!

We’ve also been highlighting opportunities for the greater Boston community to come together around green lifestyle online, by bringing you updates, promotions and info on our facebook page, via twitter and here on our blog. Be sure to friend and follow us to contribute to the conversation! Watch for special discounts and promotions from us and our exhibitors over the next month!

In addition to over 100 exhibitors this year, we also have seven areas for workshops and activities, including the D2E Main Stage, Green in Action room, Thought Leaders Room, Spring Eco-Garden Stage, Kitchen Theater, Kids’ Block and Video Project Theater.  See below to learn more:

Climate Change

We are delighted to have James Hansen – noted climate scientist and author of “Storms of My Grandchildren” – join us to discuss the urgent crisis we currently confront.

Green Living Speaker and Celebrity Mayim Bialik

Homes and Families

• Mayim Bialik of the hit 90s tv show “Blossom”, will be talking about her commitment to green living and parenting on our main stage.

• Natural Home and Garden Magazine Editor In Chief Robyn Griggs Lawrence, will take you on a virtual tour of the greenest homes in the US.

• Local green home experts Laura Catanzaro and Paul Marquis will teach you how to green your small condo, dorm or apartment.
  

Local Business

NPR’s WBUR host Robin Young joins us for an in-depth interview with Laury Hammel, executive director of the Sustainable Business Network.

Jobs

Find a career path that contributes to the green economy at our jobs workshop.

Energy and Water

• Learn about the future of energy with our panel of clean energy experts.
• Teens – find out what clean energy means and how you can learn more.
  
• How sustainable are your water practices? We’ll dive into regional issues with our expert panelists.

Food

• Oleana Chef Ana Sortun and Siena Farm’s Chris Kurth join us for a unique cooking demo.
  

• Our Local Bites Party brings together local sustainable chefs, food producers, green restaurants, sustainable wine and beer to celebrate Boston\’s thriving local food culture.
  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/left-hand/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

Garden

• Learn about organic lawn care at our Safe Lawns session sponsored by Mahoney’s.
  

• We will have an entire garden area set up at the show. Don’t miss it!

Check our full schedule for more related events.

Check out our exhibitor list for related green products and services.
_________

Get your tickets now and get ready for D2E 2010!

Friday, April 9 – 5:00pm-9:00pm: Local Bites Party
Saturday, April 10 – 11:00am-7:00pm
Sunday, April 11 – 11:00am-5:00pm

D2E’s 2008 Office Recycling Achievements

Well, we try to walk the walk here at D2E. So we signed up for Earthworm recycling in 2007 to get us started. They take all of our excess paper, and considering the amount of mail that comes into this small office, we needed the service.

According to Earthworm, in addition to helping support their non-profit activities, D2E has also benefited the planet by the following:

811 pounds of paper was recycled rather than thrown into a landfill
6.88 trees were saved (we are a small office)
1.23 cubic yards of landfill was not used
27 pounds of computer equipment was recycled
4.32 pounds of lead was diverted from a landfill

In addition to the paper and computer recycling, we have been making an effort to use our mugs and not get paper cups from the coffee shop. We also use our sturdy water bottles rather than buying plastic throw-away bottles. Check out Affirm if you need a water bottle – they are a locally owned small shop and they will be exhibiting at D2E.

It looks like Earthworm is expanding their services into bottles and cans as well. If you do not have a recycling program in your office, definitely check out their website. This company has been very easy to work with, and it makes the whole office feel good to discard less trash.

Now, the big questions is, “When am I going to fill up that big box from Terra Cycle with my yogurt containers?!?” I have been diligently eating yogurt every week, cleaning my container and stacking them up, but the box is not even half full. I don’t think they realized how small our office is… but we love it anyway. In good time I will fill the box and then all of my yogurt containers can become tooth brushes.

Tags: recycle, water bottles

A local business and church making a difference

Anton Cleaners are accepting winter jackets. They clean them and then pass them on to someone that needs it.

This morning on the way to work I stopped at my local Anton Cleaners to drop off an old winter jacket. It was in great shape, but just did not fit me right. No matter how much I like to think I am still a small, I really need to wear a medium these days. So it felt great to know that this slightly used jacket was going to be cleaned and then given to someone who needs it. While there I noticed that they have an eco-clean program. So here is an example of a local business that is thinking about the community and the earth.

We at D2E love to hear about our local organizations pitching in to help the greater community. Sustainable living is about everything – not just “going green”. It’s about people and business and how we all affect one another.

I came across another great local effort from one of our local Unitarian Churches. I grew up a UU and I learned a lot about community with our church.

Learn about the growing green economy

Join UU Mass Action and the Boston Green Justice Coalition this Sat to kick off an exciting and innovation campaign to ensure that our region’s growing green economy will create quality jobs, healthier communities and energy savings for low-income residents.

Saturday, December 6th @ 10:00am
Twelfth Baptist Church Roxbury (150 -160 Warren St.)

Green Jobs are a major component of the UU commitment to address the effects of Global Warming. Please support this coalition in their efforts to realize this goal in Boston. The Green Justice Coalition is a partnership of community groups, labor unions, environmental organizations and other allied organizations who are building a broad-based effort in support of a sustainable, equitable and clean energy economy in the Boston region.

For more information, please visit our website: uumassaction.org

Tags: business, green jobs, local, sustainable

Appliances: Energy Saving and Earth Saving

Last week I traveled to NYC to attend the LIVE World Summit – Leadership, Innovation & Vision for the Earth. This was a great gathering of people that want to learn more about how they can make the world a better place. Topics covered everything from health issues, to the ocean, to branding and finance.

My friend Evan generously let me crash at his apartment – so of course I had to take a photo of his super cool and energy efficient washer/dryer combo. Also note the bamboo wood used for the cabinetry in his bathroom. What a cool guy! I never thought I would be inspired by a bachelor pad, but between the countertops made from recycled materials and the bamboo floors, this was one cool place to hang out. Remember the coffin in St. Elmo’s Fire? I think an eco-friendly bachelor pad is the chick magnet of now.

Anyway, back to the conference. One of the topics that was new to me was about refrigeration units. A woman from Greenpeace talked about how detrimental refrigerators are to the environment. And after reading more about it, I can’t believe I was not already aware of this. Considering how much I read up on these topics, it just goes to show you that there is always something to learn.

GreenFreeze is Greenpeace’s campaign to transform the refrigeration and cooling industries by eliminating the use of F-gases, the chemicals used to cool refrigerators, homes, cars, and food in stores and vending machines. F-gases are responsible for 17% of the world’s global warming pollution. CFCs such as Freon, which you’ve probably heard of, have been banned. However, the HFCs that were presented as the “environmental alternative” to CFCs by chemical companies have had a similarly grave impact on the environment — which is why we need to eliminate them now.

And though it was upsetting to learn how long it took for the US to accept the new technology, it was heart warming to hear that Ben & Jerry’s, a D2E exhibitor, played an integral role in getting this technology to the US. Apparently, common sense does not always prevail in Washington. Lobbyists for the big manufacturers held up the process, so caring and responsible business owners like Ben & Jerry, and community organizers like Greenpeace had to rally together to make it happen. See a more detailed report from Treehugger (9/30/08):

Greenpeace researchers in Germany first developed the precursor to the climate-friendly freezer in the early 1990s when it became clear that HFCs, which the chemical industry had marketed as a safe alternative to ozone depleting clouroflourocarbons (CFCs), were accelerating global warming.

The technology showed, contrary to industry claims, it was possible to use effective refrigerants that protected the ozone layer and the climate. In fact, the cooling units turned out to be more efficient than those using HFCs.

Greenpeace made the technology available to industry free of charge, and it is now used by leading manufacturers such as Haier, Whirlpool, LG, Bosch, Panasonic and Samsung and can be found in over 300 million refrigerators worldwide.

However, the HFC-free refrigerators weren’t allowed in the United States until this year when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency allowed Ben & Jerry’s to run a test trial of 2,000 Greenfreeze-equipped freezer units at shops across the country.

I never thought I would feel warm and fuzzy inside while eating ice cream, but this Ben & Jerry’s sure tastes good!

Tags: appliances, business, Energy, Home, innovation, policy

Save money if you can!

I just found some information on how to save tax money in 2009. These types of incentives are great – but I was bummed to realize that both Betty and I have made some home improvements in 2008 that will not qualify. Dang-it! Ted did a big insulation and roofing job this year, and Betty installed new windows. But since the work was done in 2008 we don’t qualify for the savings. When every dollar counts, this one hits hard.

I pulled this information from a blog called The Daily Green. Ted and I need to sit down and plan for 2009 so that we can maximize our efforts. We have many plans for solar, wind and green roofing. But all of these efforts require time and money. (Ted is in construction, so we usually handle our own home improvements.)

The information below is bitter sweet. Glad to see there are incentives, but really bummed that I can’t take advantage of them because I acted too soon.

1. $500 for energy efficiency
   If you can, wait until Jan. 1 to install new insulation, energy-efficient windows or an energy-efficient furnace, boiler or air conditioner.

   A tax credit of up to $500 that expired in 2007 has been renewed for 2009. It covers up to 10% of the cost of a range of projects that meet certain specifications. Do $5,000 worth of qualifying work, and you not only get a $500 rebate, but also savings on energy bills for years to come.

   Why wait? Of course, the heating season begins before Jan. 1, giving homeowners facing a northern winter reason to invest now — but because Congress had let the tax credit lapse, work done in 2008 doesn’t qualify.

   • Windows: $200
   • Exterior doors, roofing or insulation: $500
   • Most heating, ventilation and air-conditioning improvements: $300
   • Furnaces or hot water heaters: $150

Also note these important limits, which cap the amount you can claim for any particular project:

Tags: Energy, home improvments, insulation, taxes, windows

Policies for our future

Sometimes we have to be told what to do. As stated in earlier posts, we are learning how important policy is to our future. And though responsible businesses are taking the lead, we need policy to make everyone play nice in the sandbox.

Since it is difficult for the normal person, busy trying to make a living, to keep up with what is going on in our local governments, D2E is working to organize a panel discussion on policy. We want to create a forum for citizens to listen to and speak with their policy makers. The goal is to shed light on how our government can help us move faster towards a more sustainable world. Town, city, state, national and international policy makers have to step up to the plate and help us move forward. What have we done? What are we in the process of doing? And what should we do? Unfortunately the US is behind the game compared with other developed countries, but I have faith that we can catch up.

In today’s Globe I read an article by Erin Ailworth:

Under an ordinance set to be considered by Boston city councilors today, commercial waste haulers could lose their licenses if they don’t offer recycling services to customers. …. “If there’s an area that we can improve in, it would be recycling,” said City Councilor Michael P. Ross, who drafted the proposal.

Go Michael! I love hearing that elected officials are taking their responsibilities seriously. This is great news. Our cities have to make these rules, otherwise it might never happen.

Tags: boston, globe, Government, local, officials

Recycled Art by John Bassett

John Bassett will tell you he’s fascinated by light, structure, line, texture, balance, and color … in that order. Growing up in a family of both artists and thinkers, it’s not surprising that he can articulate his creative process in such exacting terms. What might surprise people is that he can also beautifully articulate what he does for an audience of five-year-olds. And for someone who has recently exhibited his work at the Children’s Museum, he’s has a lot of practice doing just that!

Big question first: So what are you doing to reduce your global footprint?
I make art from recycled stuff.

That works! Now, onto what we’re all wondering: How do you explain your profession to a five year old?
“I melt bottles and make things for people to look at.”

Have you always been a glass artist?
No, I actually worked most of my life as a carpenter, but I’ve been doing glass since 1979.

What is it about glass that you find so interesting?
I’m happiest in the rich, associative world of recycled glass and other found objects. I find myself focused on that most conventional quality of glass—its transparency.

Any early influences?
I was a kid who drew and painted. My uncle, Richard Bassett was a painter, but I think it was really my grandmother’s gardener who was my biggest influence. His name was Joseph LeBeau. Today, he might be considered a “naïve artist.” He also made fantastic, wonderful moving toys for kids using brightly painted Popsicle sticks and discarded lumber. He gave them all away. I have only a very small toy he made and don’t know if there are any others left. I think the kids who enjoyed his toys were the only people who appreciated what Joseph made.

That seems sad.
Joseph LeBeau’s story isn’t really sad, I think. He was loved and is still remembered by me and probably by his family and a few other kids. A lot has changed for the better since the 1940’s and 50’s when he made his toys. People have learned to see and to value naive artists and the things—buildings, signs, manufactured stuff—we see every day. And people have also learned to value kids’ art. I remember when I was an architecture student about 1963 going into a public elementary school in Cambridge and asking for kids drawings and paintings. Teachers were surprised by my interest and many didn’t save the art—and neither did the kids. That wouldn’t happen today.

I’ll bet Joseph be happy that kids are enjoying you’re work.
I think he would!

Visit John at www.basglas.com.

Interview by Anna Goldsmith of the Hired Pens.

Tags: art, footprint, glass, hired pens, john basset, recycled materials

My own backyard oracle

MARGERIE - My backyard compost bin, not to be confused with a big black silo.

I can remember watching Fraggle Rock when I was a kid. I loved Margerie the trash heap oracle. My mom had a compost pile in the back yard that we lovingly named Margerie, after the wise advisor. When I left for college in 1987 Margerie was but a fond memory. I lived in the greater Washington DC area, and we did not have a compost pile. I did not realize then how hip my mom was – quite ahead of the curve. It was not until 1996, when I attended graduate school in Switzerland that I encountered another compost. I lived in an 8 story apartment building in Basel and there was a compost area in the back garden that all residents could share.

I was amazed at how little trash my roommate and I accumulated. We were keenly aware of this because the Swiss collect their trash collection taxes from the sales of their state trash bags. So, in order to get your trash picked up at your doorstep, you must purchase trash bags with the official state seal. These are more costly than plain trash bags – which encourages you to produce less waste. BRILLIANT!

We only bought the small trash bags, which are about half the size of a typical American kitchen trash bag. We put out one of these small bags a month. All of our fruit and veggie scraps would go to the compost and all of our bottles, cans and paper would be recycled. I am not sure if there was less packaging in Europe, or if I was just too broke to buy items that have packaging. My purchases mainly consisted of food, beverage and train tickets.

Now that I am living in the Boston area and trying to live as sustainable as possible, I have installed a compost bin in my backyard. For those of you that do not have yard space, there are some great indoor compost options to explore, like these from Nature Mill.

And check out this info supplied by Nature Mill:

The Biodegradable Irony
Food and paper decompose by themselves in nature. They are, however, the two largest components in landfills, accounting for nearly 50% of all municipal solid waste. There is more food and paper in landfills than diapers, styrofoam, and tires — combined. According to the US EPA, food waste is the #1 least recycled material.

Landfills are layered deep and saturated with water. No oxygen can penetrate. As a result, even “biodegradable” waste will remain embalmed for centuries to come. Landfills produce methane, a harmful greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide (according to the US EPA), and leach toxic chemicals into our air and drinking water.

Check your local city hall to see if they sell compost bins – or visit Boston Building Materials Coop, located at 100 Terrace Street in Roxbury (near Roxbury Community College). If you don’t have a car or can’t travel to Roxbury, a great on-line store to visit is The Alternative Energy Store. Have fun greening your home!

Citizen Democracy; taking action

MY NEIGHBORHOOD – before taking action
(The trash bag is what I used to collect all of the trash)

The more I learn, the less I know. This is part of the curse of working on Down:2:Earth. I keep learning about more issues that inspire me to change. And change is something we humans don’t do so easily. As I have said on earlier posts, I have found that I am better off focusing on one change at a time. If I try to take on too many at once, I get overwhelmed.

So now I am finally reading Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe, who was one of our keynote speakers from D2E 2008. One of the topics she brings up is Citizen Democracy. At first, this sounded like a weight on my shoulders. I thought that she was going to convince me I have to get involved with a political campaign. But as I read on, I was relieved to learn that though she is talking about action, she encourages us all to find our own form of action. I have never been good at following directions, so when someone inspires me to find my own direction I am much more responsive.

I love that she outright said “stop complaining”. This inspired me to get up early and walk my neighborhood with a trash bag. For the past few weeks I had been complaining about the litter that was left behind from one of our local church festivals. After one morning of work the litter is gone, and I don’t get upset when I take Lucy for her walks. Of course, I am also thinking that though this was a great initial venture into Citizen Democracy, there is more in store for me.

LUCY JOINS ME AS WE FINISH UP OUR CLEANING MISSION

Tags: Diet for a Small Planet, Frances Moore Lappe, local, political