October 31, 2007 by Julie.

ok so
The flight to Hawaii happened.
My camera still doesn’t have good focus but i am just taking pictures anyway till we get to Oahu.

YERT spent the first 3 days here hiding out in an eco-lodge on the Big Island called Lova Lava Land Eco Lodge which has one YURT (Ben & I are staying in) and quite a few VW buses to choose from. (The bus Mark is staying in is called Daisy.) Anitra and Trond are great hosts who are doing their best to lighten their load on the earth by running their establishment entirely off of solar panels, complete with gravity-fed shower and composting toilet. On our first day they had a neighborhood BBQ and cooked us tofu burgers with cheese that were pretty tasty…

We have eaten every meal at the Desert Rose just up the street; We now have their menu memorized. Did not set bare foot in black sand or sandal on lava until Ben finished the Iowa pod (which was finally birthed yesterday at the Desert Rose). As soon as he was done, we put on swimming suits and drove North 20 mins to one of the loveliest beaches I have swum in. We stepped into the clearest blue water and one of the most gentle - and powerful - surfs I have ever experienced. We swam out over our heads and the boys floated on their backs, it was so sweet….but on our way back in i got pummeled and am still fishing sand out of my ears, among other things.

Today we checked out the Energy Lab near Kona airport for a few hours, then drove down the South Point, stopping only for cookies from the bakery with no bag. South Point happens to be the Southernmost tip of the Island but also the Southernmost point of the entire USA, so Ben was super-psyched to be there. He loves the superlatives and was sorry that there was no sign announcing that fact. Plus now he owes me $5.

Tomorrow we are going to interview our host here at the Lodge before heading off to Maui where we might actually take those couple of days off that we keep threatening…

for now, happy halloween.

Posted in Travelog, Julie | 3 Comments »

October 30, 2007 by Mark.

Dear YERTians,

Hello! Please help us get the word out about YERT and bookmark us with digg, del.icio.us, facebook, furl, or another bookmark of your choice. Just find this button: on the YERT video page, click on it, then choose your favorite bookmark service and mark away! Every bookmark improves our– er, MOTHER NATURE’S web footprint, ranking, and general standing online. And now on to our (ir)regular programming…

Greetings from YERT in Hawaii, our 18th state! As we settle into a new, slower pace here on the Big Island, we have also enjoyed a retro look at the footage from our adventures in Iowa. Yes, we know, it is essentially foolish to spend our time in Hawaii looking at video from Iowa, but the schedule calls, and we answer. Now let’s get down to the corny details…

Ok, we couldn’t help ourselves– we had to take a look at corn in Iowa, and you helped us decide HOW to take that look. In "YERTpoll3: How should we explore ETHANOL in Iowa?" your favorite choices were "Interview corn farmers," and "Visit and ethanol manufacturer." We rolled both of these angles into the latest video, not to mention a "Corn Challenge" with the following rules:

Mark – Can only eat corn. No butter, no salt. Just corn.
Ben – Can only eat products that contain at least one corn-based ingredient. That appears to include nearly everything processed.
Julie – Can eat anything, so long as it includes no corn-based ingredients.

We completed the challenges without sustaining too much damage, and our trials and tribulations around this ancient grass plant forced us to dive deep into surprisingly complex questions surrounding corn: What are the impacts of using food for fuel? Does biofuel generate a positive return on energy input? How do corn subsidies affect our food supply, and our health as a nation? How much water is available to grow plant-based fuel? It seemed that the deeper we dove, the more questions formed in our heads.

While we don’t have rock solid answers, we do have a few reflections on all of this. Hopefully these thoughts will help you navigate the terrain yourself:
- Reflection #1: You may want to ask your elected representatives about the energy input/output ratio of biofuels. There is such a wide range of answers to this question that the only thing we truly know is that we need better answers.
- Reflection #2: Products with processed corn-based additives generally come in packaging (waste) and sit on shelves for a while (preservatives). I suppose that if corn wasn’t essentially the cheapest form of edible biomass we’d find other cheaper ingredients to preserve our foods. How much processed corn do you want to put into your body? If you can eat it, does that make it food?
- Reflection #3: Subsidies etched into the Farm Bill have more to do with our lives and diets than YERT ever imagined. Keep an eye on this legislation and let the government know your thoughts on the matter. A recent article here indicates that the Farm Bill will hit the Senate floor any moment now.

That’s all for now– we’re gonna hit the beach for a few days of actual vacation on this beautiful cluster of islands, so don’t hold your breath for the next blog or video, but we’ll jump back on schedule in Nevada, our next state.

Biologically Yours,
Julie, Ben, and Mark (Your YERT Team)

team@yert.com

P.S. And now for Breadcrumbs! If you want to learn more about the topics in this video, check out these resources:

• Lincoln Way Ethanol Plant - John and Randy showed us around a real, live ethanol plant in Iowa. It seemed to work like a giant brewery, except that the output wasn’t food grade. Technically.
• Associate Professor Robert Anex - Associate Director, Office of Biorenewables at Iowa State University. We were hoping that Professor Anex would be able to give us the definitive answer about the energy input to output ratio of corn-based ethanol, but no luck. Despite his brilliance and ease with the topic of advanced biofuels, we couldn’t get him to give us a firm answer– because the answer depends primarily on the input assumptions. Nonetheless, we think you’ll appreciate his insights. We certainly did. Read more about his research here.
• BECON - Keith Kutz, Administrative Specialist, Iowa Energy Center. These folks turn corn (and other biomass) into all sorts of things.

YERTYERTYERTYERTYERTYERTYERTYERTYERTYERTYERTYERTYERTYERTYERT

Posted in Video | 1 Comment »

October 28, 2007 by Mark.

I’m writing this from the inside of a VW Bus, aka my room, at the lovely “Lova Lava Land Eco-Resort” on the big island in Hawaii. I feel like I could be a hippy in the 70’s except for the fact that I’m getting wifi in here, and I have a cell phone, laptop, and little solar-powered LED lamp to keep me productive in the dark.

Another telltale sign that I’m not in the 70’s is that I’m reading up on GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) crops in the Hawaiian islands. Apparently, islands don’t get much more remote than Hawaii, making this the perfect place to test delicate things like GMO crops. I checked out Higean.org, which reported the following: “As of November 2002, there were 166 open-air field tests of genetically engineered crops being conducted over 8000 acres of land in the Hawaiian islands, more test sites and more acreage of experimental field trials than any other place in the world.”

I used to be a big believer in the benefits of GMO crops, until I heard about this lawsuit, in which Monsanto sues a Canadian farmer who’s crop was somehow unintentionally tainted by Monstanto genes. That suit struck me as so twisted that I took a closer look and I’ve since switched to a more cautious position on the issue– one of “let’s know what we’re doing before we risk accidentally pollinate our most important crops with genes that couldn’t ordinarily exist in those crops.” I’m leaning heavily in the “better safe than sorry” camp, though I’ll take a second look at anything. In the meantime, I’m disappointed that Hawaii has become a favorite testing ground for these crops, and I hope that we’re not permanently undoing a few hundred million years of genetic evolution by swapping in a few new genes. Time, and testing, will tell… and do tell, what do you think? Answer the poll below.

<a href="http://www.micropoll.com/akira/MicroPoll?mode=html&#038;id=61733">View MicroPoll</A><br /> | <a href="http://www.questionpro.com" title="survey software">Survey Software</a><br /> | <a href="http://www.micropoll.com" title="free online poll">Free Online Poll</a><br /> | <a href="http://www.contactpro.com" title="email marketing software">Email Marketing Software</a><br />

Posted in Travelog, Issues, Mark | 25 Comments »

October 26, 2007 by Julie.

OK I know that flying to Hawaii is the LEAST environmentally friendly thing we are doing on this entire trip, and I don’t really believe in purchasing “carbon offsets” to relieve our guilt about our flight… but we “offset” the journey nonetheless and I am totally CHARGED about getting to see these islands that I have never seen before outside of Magnum PI and Ricardo Montalban…
We will be leaving our car in a friend’s garage (Thanks, Michael and Katie!!) and renting as eco-friendly an auto as we can once on the Big Island…I totally have a headache in anticipation.

OH! looking forward to some nature! I have heard about the black beaches, volcanoes, amazing balmy winds and brilliant birds like the japanese white eye and the java sparrow, and I am more than excited to see them. (Hawaii even has its own penguins, for heaven’s sake!) Hopefully we will have fabulous still photos for you…but our little Canon Elph has stopped focusing properly…one too many drops out of my lap onto the pavement as we’d spill out of the car in the dark at a new destination…so we’ll search for a store that’ll honor the amazing 1-yr Warranty. Wish us luck! I will not be a happy camper without the little camera that has become my best friend on this trip…

AND…YERT is finally staying in a YERT. Our friend, Emily Ellis, found one on the big island with wifi, and emailed us the link. (Thanks, Em!) We are psyched. For privacy’s sake we have also rented a converted VW bus that Mark may frequent. I can’t believe we are about to relax…

GOAL: To actually take it easy for a day or two before diving into all things environmental.
Also: Possibly to find a ukulele on the Big Island that is somewhat affordable (what they call seconds). YERT has got to start making some music…
Also: snorkeling…

(Because all work and no play makes YERT dull-ish.)
That’s all for now, as we continue packing for tomorrow…no sleep till…the big Island…

Posted in Travelog, Julie | 1 Comment »

October 23, 2007 by Julie.

The last few days have been kind of terrific in my opinion, in that we got to stay with the Maylands in LA, I got to take my first yoga class so far on this journey (Thank you, Aria!) and Ben and I got to sing in a reading of a developing animated musical called Willoughby Tree which Mark taped. (Here I am recording with Jason, Thank you, Jason!) Though still green (the musical is about trees lol), the musical reading was a blessed departure from interviewing, filming and blogging. (I would include editing in that list but that Ben was still editing the Chicago pod and didn’t finish until just a few hours before we performed.)

On the interview front, we visited with Dr. Yorem Cohen, professor at UCLA’s Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department (also Director of the Water Technology Research Center) to gather some of Dr. Cohen’s thoughts on the future of water desalination technology in America and where we are headed regarding the sustainability of our water resources.

What he told us is that desalination technology, particularly for reverse osmosis membranes, is about 30 yrs old and needs a booster! (This rings familiar as we just heard Stanford’s President commenting in the roundtable about technology for solar panels having stalled in its tracks 15 yrs ago.) New improved technology is a major focus of research but needs more financial support, as does the infrastructure of desalination plants on our coastlines. This is tricky because water issues are generally state-oriented, and many states do not see a water shortage issue (ie: the Northeast) and therefore do not feel any financial responsibility toward supporting desalination.

The Federal Government regulates some water rights but most water laws are decided at the state and regional level. Which seems odd considering that, except for lakes and ponds, most waterways do not sit still. Many states share rivers. And tributaries travel through states into others. Many states are fed by the same aquifer. So, how do these state laws work with each other regarding water rights?
We would love to talk to someone regarding these question so if any of you out there have a clue where to send us to find out, please don’t hesitate to email us directly…
Also, “Big Agriculture” gets huge subsidies from the government for the water that they use to irrigate crops, masking the true cost of water collection/filtration/transport…

We talked to Rupal Patel of Communities for Clean Ports, who described a notably increased cancer risk in communities living close to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. We then visited with Art Wong (Port of Long Beach Assistant Director of Communications/Public Information Officer), who let us know that this massive Port is working hard to reduce pollution and change the way that ships and trucks think about energy with its Green Port Policy. Although he isn’t certain exactly how fast the changes are going to take place, he believes that they will and he is looking forward to it. He told us that marine life has doubled in the last 2 decades, and bird life has quadrupled, so he feels encouraged.

But Wong is a realist when it comes to keeping business relations afloat. Changing things at the Port of Long Beach is important, says Wong, because “We have this little window where we’re the only port…” for many companies, so boats will have to comply with the new greener initiatives to dock there. “Where are the resources to clean up gonna come from if we screw this up and scare away all business?” The Port is voluntarily looking for ways to improve its pollution profile, awarding “green flags” and discounted docking rates to ships for compliance with the voluntary speed limit reduction (saves fuel and pollutes less). “We know now that we have an impact,” says Wong. “The Port needs to weigh in because the Federal Government is working too slowly - We can’t wait for the federal government to legislate.” So, the Port is offering “literally billions” of dollars to innovators to come up with energy and technology shipping alternatives. Wong adds, “When you require people to make greener technology, it’s amazing what they can come up with…We don’t know if any of them will work but we hope that they will. We don’t know what we’ve started and we don’t know where it’s gonna go but it’s gotta be better than what we’ve got now.”

Gotta start somewhere…

Posted in Travelog, Issues, Julie | 2 Comments »

October 20, 2007 by Mark.

Dear YERTians,

Hello! This is Bioneers weekend, so we’re very happy but also swamped and not sleeping too much. That said, still want to share a little eco-love with you all. Our latest video focuses on the Solar Decathlon going on RIGHT NOW in Washington D.C.

What is the Solar Decathlon? Well, according to their website, "The Solar Decathlon joins 20 college and university teams in a competition to design, build, and operate the most attractive and energy-efficient solar-powered house." During our brief exploration of the MIT and Illinois houses, we were impressed by the clean, thoughtful, minimalist designs. A small, well-designed home really could feel sufficient– even luxurious! This insight reminded us about what we learned during a visit to Ted Owens’ perfect little home in Albuquerque, New Mexico (pre-YERT): it isn’t the size of the home, but how you design and use every single feature within it that counts most!

Three cheers for intelligent, voluntary simplicity!!

Cheerfully Yours,

Mark, Julie, and Ben (Your YERT Team)

team@yert.com

YERTYERTYERTYERTYERTYERTYERTYERTYERTYERTYERTYERTYERTYERT

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

October 20, 2007 by Mark.

I just spent the day at the Bioneers conference in Marin County today, and enjoyed seeing Van Jones show the important relationship between green and the ghetto. Indeed, former President Clinton heard about the concept and invited Van Jones to the Clinton Global Initiatives event, and it seems that things are really moving now.

At last year’s Bioneers conference I frequently heard about how the environmental movement needed to jump on board the social justice movement, and ever since then, YERT has been trying to figure out ways to introduce social justice into our eco-adventure. Today, Van Jones reminded me that we simply needed to jump on board the social justice train and get rolling. So, if you have any insights or stories for how the budding green movement has played a role in your city’s social justice efforts, we’d love to hear about it.

In the meantime, check out this great article by Van Jones. And consider becoming a Bioneer yourself…

Cheers,
Mark

Posted in Travelog, Mark | 1 Comment »

October 19, 2007 by Mark.

I recently was introduced to a nifty fun new eco-video program called ZapRoot. At YERT we’ve been tossing around the idea of a miniature headline-reading addition to our weekly podcast, but haven’t had the time to squeeze it in with all the travel and interviews and sleeping and eating that we’re doing on the road.

Fortunately, however, ZapRoot has taken care of this angle with zip and polish, and we think that you may well enjoy them, too. Do take a look: http://www.zaproot.com

I also noticed that they’re getting a bazillion (100,000’s) of hits after their recent launch, noted here, and so I scoured around to see how they did it. My research brings me to the following quick conclusions: they’ve got an awesome show and a perfectly suited, very watchable host, they’re well connected in the Internet video space, and they’ve deployed their videos to countless Internet video sites. Indeed, according to this post by Tilzy.tv, Veoh employs one of the producers of ZapRoot, Sarah Szalavitz, and is featuring ZapRoot programs on the front page of Veoh. Nice! Mystery solved. Hats off to Damien and Sarah at ZapRoot for connecting all the right dots! (YERT is primarily on Blip.tv and YouTube, but not on Veoh. I’ll be looking into that platform asap…)

And now we head into the Bioneers conference in just a few hours. Can’t wait!

Signing Out,
Mark

Posted in Mark | 1 Comment »

October 17, 2007 by Julie.

***Apologies, as this blog did not get transferred from my babystepstotheelevator blogsite back when it was first published and so it is appearing out of order…
After saying goodbye to Jim and the critters, YERT headed toward Boise, where a lovely lady named Bonnie was waiting to hear from us since we’d had no cell phone service or internet connection for days. We saw more gorgeous scenery and hills, such as this one, left, with its encouraging message, as well as some weird sights like completely burnt forests, and what looked to be have been a river with no water in it…

Mark had to finally call Bonnie from a roadside phone booth. I had forgotten how a phone booth could look so necessary. By the time we rolled in, it was dark but not too dark for us to realize what an awesomely cute neighborhood she lives in (She calls it a completely blue neighborhood in a red state). She had made amazing veggie dishes for us (thank you, Bonnie!) and we also got to talk to Chris Walser and his cool wife, who told us that the Governor of Idaho went on record saying that he wanted to be the first to “tag” a wolf when the Bush Administration opens season on them (in the works.)

Mark got to do two of his Al Gore Climate presentations on Monday, at Albertson College and then talked to students afterwards about what YERT has been up to, while Ben and I went downtown and walked into a wonderful building that seemed to be filled withsustainable environmental goodness. We talked to Jessie Timberlake of Defenders of Wildlife about their wolf compensation plan - “paying” farmers for livestock lost to the occasional wolf’s meal - who then suggested that we go downstairs and talk to John Robeson at the Idaho Conservation League (awesome as Ben had been trying to get ahold of John anyway.)

John Robeson is part of Idaho Conservation League, a grassroots organization that is protesting against the Atlanta gold mine (a Canadian company has mining rights to the land, which, according to the Mining Law of 1872, gives them carte blanche to do with as they will). The process to leach microscopic gold out of tons of dirt by cyanide takes off an entire mountaintop at the headwaters of the Boise River, and cannot guarantee not to leach cyanide into groundwater and the river itself. As John said: To the people who fish there, who swim there, who drink from that river (all of Boise), the Boise River is worth much MORE than gold.

At about 6pm Ben and I wrapped up with John and turned our cellphones back on, but not soon enough to get to Mark and to our next appointment with an environmental reporter named Jill. We had gone right over our time and Mark was stalling for us but she had been having trouble reaching us when we were out in Elk Bend and was done, so we lost that interview. We felt pretty bad about it until her husband, Bob, took us to dinner and explained that she was actually quite swamped with work and was relieved not to have the appointment. (Thanks, Bob!)

Our next stop was a surprise. It was John’s recommendation - the Evangelical Vineyards. Here, Christians are sensing an imbalance and coming together to be better stewards of God’s Green Earth: Let’s Tend the Garden. (See also Restoring Eden.) Ben and Mark interviewed Josh, one of the flock, who told us of a dog-shaped B&B on our way up North. (I just googled b&b central idaho shaped like a dog and we found our place to stay. Ben made sure that we did it immediately as he did not want to miss out on this great opportunity.) Then we interviewed the gardener, “Mr. Bill,” who insisted that when we pick the organic raspberries, we must eat one for every two we put in the basket. Mr. Bill (Bill Meeker) also told me that the best success for the community garden is getting people to adopt a vegetable. Then they care about its development, and it thrives from individual attention. Hence his giant melons.

The Dog Bark Park in Cottonwood, ID, was built and painted like a giant beagle. We got there in the dark. Ben and I slept in the body, Mark slept in the head. We had a bit of a hard night; Ben is tired of my mothering him and i am tired of not being a real mother. lots of crying. horrible sleep. no fun in the dog. likely fault of 85 days and no days off. next morning breakfast was all tender, and crap coffee. After we ate we went back to the “Inn” and talked to its owner in his chainsaw sculpture workshop. He and his wife use only deadwood for their carvings and offer their sawdust and wood shavings to farmers for fields. They have had the same truck for 23 yrs, just keep on repairing it. That feels pretty sustainable to them. Our still camera died bc i had not charged batteries, hence no photo of the Inn.

And then there’s solar roadways. This seems a crazy idea but if somebody can take this guy’s cool ideas and make them work, we are all for it. Go onto the website just to sign onto his encouragement page!!!

Posted in Travelog, Julie | 1 Comment »

October 17, 2007 by Mark.

Dear YERTians,

The longer we’re on this road trip, the more we find that ordinary wake-up hours become brutally extraordinary. We take an early one for the team this week to show you the insides of some snazzy environmental business endeavors in da city of Chicago.

YERT woke up at the crack of dawn to meet up with Irv from Irv and Shelly’s Fresh Picks, an organic farm-fresh food delivery service connecting local farmers to hungry Chicago residents. We followed Irv around to learn about the entire CSA process, from buying veggies, to warehouse assembly of the food orders, to delivering the good goodies.

We also visited Chicago City Hall’s lush green roof, complete with herds of dragonflies and a beautiful array of local and hearty plants. There we spoke with Sadhu Johnston, Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief Environmental Officer for Chicago Mayor Daley, and learned how an intelligent plan can lead to great things for the community and the environment. The more we understand, the more we at YERT believe that the “trade-off” between jobs and the environment is truly a false choice. We’re so frequently struck by this realization that we’ve begun to develop calluses.

We also discovered GreenExchange, which is assembling a business community of green goodness in Chicago– perhaps the best example of eco-strength in numbers we’ve seen on the YERT tour. Emerging from an old factory destined for LEED certification, GreenExchange will be hosting a variety of green businesses under one roof, including Distant Village Packaging and possibly Secure Eco Shred. We speak to both of them and more as we hunt for the elusive fourth bottom line beyond people, planet, and profit…

Grounded,

Julie, Mark, and Ben (Your YERT Team)

team@yert.com

P.S. And now for Breadcrumbs! Want to move your business forward into the green-o-sphere? The following green business resources will help you find the right place to start– after you’ve started recycling and replaced your light bulbs with CFLs or LEDs!

GreenBiz.com

• Great Starting Point: http://www.greenbiz.com/toolbox/essentials_third.cfm?LinkAdvID=15205
• http://www.greenbiz.com
• http://www.greenbiz.com/toolbox/tools.cfm

TreeHugger.com

• TreeHugger Guide to Greening Your Company: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/12/how_to_green_your_work.php
• TreeHugger Guide to Greening Your Lighting: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/11/how_to_green_yo_5.php
• TreeHugger Guide to Greening Your Electricity: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/11/how_to_green_your_electricity.php

WorldChanging.com

• Business Blog Section: http://www.worldchanging.com/business/

Co-Op America

• Co-Op America Business Network: http://www.coopamerica.org/cabn/

Flex Your Power

• http://www.fypower.org/bpg/index.html?b=offices

Green Development Frameworks

• Natural Step: http://www.naturalstep.com
• Global Reporting: http://www.globalreporting.org
• Zero Waste: http://www.zerowaste.org

Other Great Resources

• Rocky Mountain Institute: http://www.rmi.org
• Natural Capitalism: http://www.natcap.org

YERTYERTYERTYERTYERTYERTYERTYERTYERTYERTYERTYERTYERTYERT

Posted in Video | 1 Comment »