April 29, 2008 by Julie.

Yesterday while we were driving around in the car, Ben announced, “Day 300!”

Day 300. Man. When we started this trip, I wasn’t even sure that I would make it past Day 30. The idea of driving non-stop around the country with 2 dudes for a year (one of them my husband), with no home and one pair of shoes apiece (ok i also had flip flops, but they take up almost no room), interviewing strangers to see how America fares in the new and improved effort to live sustainably in a basically disposable culture…well, it seemed a gargantuan task, to say the least. I really had no idea what to expect. One of my brothers believed I would NOT make it, and was surprised every time I called him from the road. Well-meaning friends assured me many times that they would not think less of me if I left the trip before its end. But I didn’t. I couldn’t. And the only reason I’m leaving now is because I have a new mission: motherhood.

It hasn’t always been easy, with 3 of us tightly packed into our little Ford Escape Hybrid, juggling schedules, roadmaps, phone calls, emails, our psycho 10-CD factory-installed Navigational system, not to mention differing ideas about who & what should not be missed in any given state. We have different personalities, we three. Different preferences, patience levels, tolerances, judgments, thoughts about how things should be done, levels of perfectionism, ways of communicating…We haven’t always seen eye to eye. But I will say that this has provided us a pretty cool opportunity to learn how to navigate our own personal roadmaps…

I think we’ve shared from the beginning a sort of blind trust that humanity is basically good and that, given the chance, (the knowledge, the awareness of HOW to change, and what is out there) people will begin to do the right thing, and our children and grandchildren will have the chance to know how connected we are to every living thing on this planet, and there will be something left of beauty to sustain them.

I am so inspired by Mark and Ben, still - to see them work so endlessly, and to still be so driven after 9 1/2 months of solid work. I am so inspired by the people we have met along the way and the hundreds of blogs and websites we have become acquainted with since Your Environmental Road Trip began. I can hardly keep up with it all, there is so much going on out right now in this push to be green and learn to live sustainably. What an amazing wave of waking up! I had no idea when we left how big a wave we would all be riding. In every single state without exception we have found people caring deeply, working hard, thinking creatively, and making changes that are being reflected in government and legislature and even big corporations. Greenwashing does happen, sure it does, but this trip is making me believe that it won’t hold a candle to the real movement that is washing over us, which is Truth, and which will carry us into a brighter, cleaner, healthier future if we let it.

I am leaving the Road part of YERT for the boys to finish but I will continue the journey in Louisville, preparing for a completely different set of challenges. There are many things which have been made somewhat easy on the trip but which will be harder in “real life” (ie: garbage). I am very thankful to the boys for being gentlemen to me since I’ve been pregnant. I am honored to have been part of these last 10 months, and to have now the opportunity to raise a child who will hopefully benefit from everything we’ve learned.

Here we go. Babysteps to a better way of Life. Bon Voyage, boys, be safe! We will keep the green fires burning….and be sure that the waste smoke is being used for something…

Posted in Travelog, Issues, Julie | 2 Comments »

April 24, 2008 by Ben.

This past week YERT headed into the Big Apple for some big-time green fun. Julie had four days of rehearsals at NYU (she absolutely LIVES for performing in their musical theater grad-student theses and we’re all for nourishing one’s soul, so Mark and I were on our own for most of the week).

We started off our time in NYC right by visiting Bob Fox, principal of Cook+Fox, an architecture firm responsible for one of the most groundbreaking environmental buildings ever - the world’s first LEED Platinum skyscraper…the Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park near Times Square. This building is going to set the standard for skyscrapers - complete with motion-controlled, personally tailored temperature zones to maximize AC and heating efficiency and a giant block of ice made by off-peak solar electricity to help keep the building cool. Cutting edge stuff. Bob also revealed all kinds of green features of the Cook+Fox office (bamboo shelving, innovative daylighting design, Cradle to Cradle carpets, water reclamation, etc.) including a wonderful green roof with one of the best views in Manhattan.

After the interview, Bob was kind enough to “grease the skids” for us at the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) across the street, so we headed on over for a sit-down with the NRDC’s Air and Energy Program Director, Ashok Gupta, and one of the organization’s energy attorneys, Luis Martinez, at the NRDC’s headquarters - a building that not-coincidentally paved the way for green office buildings back in 1989. Needless to say, Mother Nature has quite the crack team of lawyers and environmental policy gurus working for her - and boy does she need it!

By 3pm, we were exhausted and hungry, so we shlepped over to Bonobo’s on 23rd and Madison Ave. It’s an awesome raw-food vegetarian joint that packs a super-nutritious punch. Best of all, they’ve always got some funky nut/date desert ball of goodness near the cash register - delicious. Luckily, the staff totally “got” the no-trash experiment and we totally got fed.

Friday we headed up to the Goddard Institute for Space Studies to speak with Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig about the effect of climate change on crops and the world’s food supply. This was especially interesting timing given the recent headlines regarding food shortages around the globe. Cynthia said that while increased CO2 may have mixed results initially yielding short-term crop increases in some areas, the long-term prognosis is not good at all, particularly if things continue on as they are. Makes me even more resolute about learning to farm organically once this trip is done.

After her interview, Cynthia sent us over to speak with Nilda Mesa, Columbia University’s first Director of Environmental Stewardship (and knitter extraordinaire). Having not eaten all day, Mark and I were starving by this point and, going way above the call of duty, Nilda and her office bent over backwards to share with us whatever packaging-free food they had lying around - part of a “brick” of cheese, some rice snacks, a banana. Then she took us up onto her office’s green roof and, along with the very knowledgeable Cathy Resler, Manager of Recycling and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Programs, over to the main campus for the dime tour of some of the green stuff going on at Columbia including a cool program developed by a Columbia grad called RecycleBank that pays students (or anyone, really) for recycling by rewarding them with “points” that are redeemable for discounts at stores all over the city (or country). Cathy then gave us the low down on all things recyclable on campus (we even rescued a nearly fully functional camcorder from the electronics recycling bin - Cathy was determined to try to resuscitate it). Finally, we spoke with Hannah Lee (a student delegate to the climate summit in Bali who runs Columbia’s Eco-Representatives program and is one of the university’s brightest eco-stars) to get the student perspective on how the campus is going green. Things sound like they’re heading in the right direction around Columbia…and New York.

Next time NYC Part 2…

Posted in Travelog, Issues, Ben | 1 Comment »

April 19, 2008 by Julie.

…ahhh…home. the smell of the subway, the roar of the…Nothing like setting foot on the train after being on the road smashed into a car with two boys for 9 months…actually, nothing like it at all. Amazing how fast things seem like you never left them.

Julie here, just checking in, relaying that the female(s) of Your Environmental Road Trip are still kicking and breathing. Singing, actually. Baby is getting her first glimpses of what Mama really does..and she seems to like it pretty well. Can’t blame her as, in my opinion, the vibrations that rock the walls daily of NYU’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program on 2nd Avenue are nothing less than delicious, to even the most tested of ears, much less tiny, developing, new ones.

A little backstory: I negotiated with the boys for this week of work, singing in NYC, before we ever left Pittsburgh back in July, and have been looking forward to it fiercely ever since. (side note* this little baby was conceived on the only day on this trip that Ben and I actually sang together, performing a musical reading for a friend in LA back in October. I’m just saying.) Not surprising that everything feels just fine.

The boys have been working their patooties off getting the new website off the ground in flying colors, chasing interviews all over Manhattan, scrambling around the city shooting b-roll, while I sit on the edge of my chair in the rehearsal room with several other singer/actors, learning music and remembering what it feels like to soar. Happy. Free. And yesterday was simply gorgeous, 70’s and breezy… I went window shopping near Union Square just to see what people are wearing these days and i had to laugh bc everything looks maternity! All girls are wearing frocks! hahaha i fit right in. Except for my shoes. I found a spot on a bench and watched the people for hours…

Today is going to be amazing. My dear friend, Erin Crosby, is throwing us a green baby shower! at her apartment in Brooklyn, and I am told she has gone to many lengths to make this as different as possible from the 9 months we have spent in the car with same clothes, same shoes, same equipment, same each other… We have asked that everyone bring something 2nd hand, rather than something new, NO PLASTIC, Pls! and that it be “wrapped” in something completely reusable, and she has done her best to be sure that people are thinking creatively. I can’t wait to see what people have come up with, and I am so so grateful to her for pulling this off. Plus, I can’t wait to feel like a pretty girl again. Ugggh. For literally the first time in months, I will be wearing something other than dirty sneakers.

In short, I am giddy with anticipation and thanking in advance Erin, all my friends who are meeting us today, NYU, and my YERT boys for letting me have this window where I get to remember the joy of being a girl…greenly…before I leave this tour to learn how to be a green mom. Stay tuned…we’ll let you know how it goes.

Posted in Travelog, Issues, Julie | 1 Comment »

April 17, 2008 by Ben.

The “green” movement has been steadily gaining momentum for the last decade or so, and exponentially so in the past two years. Al Gore’s “Inconvenient Truth” and a more environmentally sensitive Congress in 2006 helped America really start to turn a corner that it had been sitting behind for quite some time. Since then, “going green” has become a sort of national mantra - recited even by corporations. There are “green” cars, “green” clothes, “green” buildings, “green” makeup, “green” literature, a host of new “green” TV channels, “green” hotels, even “green” adult toys. Apparently, it’s also always very important to put “green” in quotes when using the word this way so as to clarify that, for instance, the “green” makeup isn’t actually green (unless you’re playing Elphaba in “Wicked,” in which case it actually is).

But with each new “green” product or service, we as a society move ever closer to “over-greenification” - that dangerous backlash that happens when a word ceases to mean what it once meant, when we start to build up a sort of social immunity to the very movement that’s trying to save us. We begin to get suspicious of the integrity of the “movement” (and rightfully so) when oil companies start touting their “green” credentials in TV commercials and car companies like GM start advertizing “green” cars that don’t yet exist (Volt) or “green” hybrid SUVs that that get a whole 20mpg rather than the 19mpg of their non-green counterparts (Tahoe). These kinds of quantum leaps by industry are WAY to radical - I’m not sure the country is ready just yet for something as mind-blowing as an SUV that’s almost as efficient as a backhoe. We have to be careful here. Sure “green” means “go”, but it’s time to add a little caution to the mix - a little “yellow” into the “green” movement, if you will. Time to slow this bad boy down just a bit before it loses all real meaning, before it peaks and then slides away into oblivion. We need a new color that’s as “yellowy green” as corn-ethanol. A color like…”chartreuse.”

Ah, “chartreuse” - that wonderful color exactly half way between yellow and green (much like the color palette of this blog). And isn’t that really what we’re talking about here anyway? I mean, let’s call a spade a spade: a 20mpg SUV isn’t green - it’s “chartreuse”, baby! An awesomely cautious dip of the toe into the vastly expanding pool of what qualifies as “green”. It’s a fabulously slow move in the green direction - a “yellow” green if you will. After all, “yellow” represents that moment in heavy traffic when you decide either to deny good sense and “run” what you know will probably be a red light or to pretend that you’re still in “green” territory - it’s a wonderfully delusional color - the perfect addition to the “green” movement in our newly-minted “‘clean’ coal” world. But mere “yellow-green” doesn’t cut it. No, it has to have the cache of “chartreuse.”

Yeah…”the chartreuse movement” - rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it? Think about it for a second. It’s so very French. So exotic. Tres chic, no? And talk about a colorful history, chartreuse is a liquor, a Catholic monastery, even an official uniform color of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury. It also happens to be the most visible color to the human eye. Eye candy, if you will - just like a 20mpg Tahoe, corn ethanol, “clean” coal, or a 25,000 square foot “green” mansion. Eye candy that tells us that we really can buy our way to sustainability - we just need the “market” to show us the best way to consume the planet into restoration. Sounds like a winning plan.

And “chartreuse” is defined, yet malleable - so intriguingly descriptive. Heck, “chartreuse” itself underwent a sort of re-invention in the 1990’s when it gained a web-presence and became delineated into “web-color chartreuse” and “traditional chartreuse.” It’s an internet-savvy 21st century color for an internet-savvy 21st century movement. Best of all “chartreuse” doesn’t require quotes the way “green” does becau…um…I mean, chartreuse doesn’t require quotes the way “green” does because no one will think your makeup is actually chartreuse - they’ll just know it describes an awesomely hip new movement that values the backwards energy balance and land-use nightmare of corn-ethanol just as much as the mountaintop removal and groundwater pollution that gives us our “clean” coal that hasn’t been invented yet.

Oh, some people also call chartreuse “puke green.” But, they’re probably just jealous of my new Tahoe.

Posted in Issues, Ben | 2 Comments »

April 1, 2008 by Ben.

Today in DC we had the rare privilege of sitting down with Ilene Tuderyte, one of President Bush’s senior energy policy advisers, to discuss the nation’s energy future and whether President Bush is still even able to affect US environmental policy this late in his second term. We were surprised and encouraged to find that what we thought was a lame-duck presidency, still has a bold vision of what is possible, and Bush recently appears truly to have turned a corner in his environmental and energy positions. Ms. Tuderyte assured us that the president has a very strong desire to help the country wean itself off of foreign oil - and oil altogether, for that matter. Kudos to him. When we pressed her for specific initiatives, she unveiled one of the most groundbreaking ideas we’ve heard all year.

The following are excerpts from an internal Department Of Energy memorandum she shared with us:

“As a nation, we are seeing increasing rates of obesity across all age groups. Nearly 65% of all Americans are now considered obese - a 50% rise in obesity in the last 30 years - and the rate of childhood obesity is rising three times a fast as it is for adults. When it comes to body fat - the U.S. is the world leader. This incredible surplus of cellulite stored in the bodies of our citizens represents one of the most underutilized natural resources we have - a truly renewable energy source that is INCREASING at nearly 3% annually. Oil prices have recently eclipsed $110 dollars/barrel and will likely surpass $170 dollars/barrel by the end of 2008. As the world’s largest consumer of petroleum, we will soon be facing a shortage in our oil supply while enjoying a record surplus of cellulite - our most plentiful home-grown bio-fuel resource. In the next two weeks, we will be making recommendations to Congress to legislate strong financial incentives for domestic auto manufacturers to increase basic research into the development of a cellulite-powered car engine capable of a minimum of 35 miles per pound of human body fat.

With a sharp increase in the number of elective liposuction procedures during recent years, the future of American body fat as an alternative fuel is indeed strong. On a per capita basis, the average American is 58.3 pounds over weight. With 302 million people in the U.S. this translates to nearly 17.6 billion pounds of excess fat. With current national stores of excess body fat at 17.6 billion pounds and projected to rise to 20 billion by 2010, assuming an average fuel economy of 35 miles per pound, human cellulite has the potential to meet all of our national automotive fuel needs by the end of the decade. Several preliminary joint studies conducted by GM and several liposuction labs in Los Angeles and Miami confirm that efficiencies as high as 40 miles per pound are theoretically possible with more energy dense fat from the buttocks and thighs, while belly and underarm fat yield between 23-31 miles per pound, depending on the individual’s diet. An additional fuel efficiency benefit may come from a decrease in mean passenger weight as individuals’ fat is increasingly used to power their cars. However, it should be noted that this may happen at the expense of domestic fat supplies, in which case restrictions will be required and a national fast food subsidy program may need to be implemented to maintain sufficient national fat supplies.

Given that effective public relations management of this unorthodox proposal is essential during the coming months, the DOE will be working closely with American car manufacturers on initial product marketing and positioning. Several preliminary campaigns are:

“Having trouble burning off those extra pounds…FORD’s here to help. The new FORD Fatster.”

“A Lean, Mean, Lard-Driving Machine…the 2009 Chevy Cellulite.”

“Dodge Dimple - Now you can ride on the most durable spare tire of all…yours.”

“Drive your way to thin with a Lincoln Lipid SX.”

“Not a car, not a truck, not an SUV - It’s a Blubber. The Blubber B3 - a vehicle as big as you are.”

“People used to call me Porky, now they call me an environmentalist. - Come check out the all new 6-cylinder Mazda Muffintop.”

“Get it off your butt and into your car - Fat makes America run.”

In short, we believe that a strong national energy policy begins and ends with a triple cheeseburger, milkshake, and side of extra large fries - it’s time we recognized our national obesity “problem” for the energy independence answer it is. And it’s time we replaced high prices at the pump, with live humans hooked up to the pump. We have the need, we have the supply, and we have the technology - liposuction/filling station hybridization. It’s time to get off of oil - and onto cellulite. Time to declare our energy independence. America’s Energy Future Is Fat and Free.”

Oh, and…
HAPPY APRIL FOSSIL FOOLS’ DAY!

Posted in Events, Travelog, Issues, Ben | 3 Comments »

March 30, 2008 by Ben.

Monday, Jan 14th, we drove our way from Arkansas to Texas stopping by a very suspicious looking buffet at a Western Sizzlin’ in Oklahoma for what might qualify as food in some parts of the world, but was terrifying to us - suffice it to say a lot of iceberg lettuce, mashed potatoes, and creepy mac and cheese was consumed in the name of dodging the four-day-old “everything else at the salad bar.” Thankfully we made it safe and sound to our fine hosts in Dallas, Tom and Joy, who had agreed to take us in on spectacularly short notice.

We spent Tuesday playing catch up and running errands - as we must on occasion - enjoying an enthusiastic conversation about YERT and the art of quitting smoking with the manager of a local Chipotle franchise over burritos served on pizza pie tins. It’s always nice to see the no-trash rule bringing people together. That evening, based on a photo of the facade and a quick glance at the menu online, I suggested that we take a chance on a little vegetarian Dallas eatery called the Cosmic Cafe. None of us was prepared for what an absolutely wonderful dining experience this was to be. As we travel, one of the most comforting things for me to find in any town is a local haunt where you know you can find reasonably-priced, freshly prepared, creative, delicious food (preferably vegetarian) served with care in an eclectic and friendly environment. Most city’s worth their salt have at least one and the Cosmic Cafe simply blew us away by almost every criteria - ten seconds poring over the menu at the table and the three of us knew we had hit the jackpot. Generally when we find a place like this, we make repeat visits, and sure enough, the next night saw us back once again for their delectable vegetarian fare - complete with a live accordion concert this time.

Wednesday, we headed to the Fort Worth Stockades for a little Western culture to see the running of the bulls, or, as it turns out in Texas, the walking of the steers. The whole gang there really rolled out the red carpet for us and we had a heck of a time learning all about one of the lone star state’s original “low emissions vehicles” - the Texas longhorn steer. Julie even found herself sitting on top of one for a second.

Then we headed into downtown Fort Worth for an interview with one of our key Texas liaisons and a one-woman eco-dynamo, Haily Summerford, Public Education Specialist for the City of Fort Worth’s Environmental Management Department. Haily taught us all about Fort Worth’s “incredible shrinking garbage” and even introduced us to a real-live cardboard cartoon super hero - Captain Crud (he gave a riveting interview) - who’s helped increase Fort Worth’s recycling diversion rate from 6% to 20%. Haily is truly doing yeoman’s work in North Central Texas.

After Crudding about, we hustled over to the EPA’s Region 6 headquarters in Dallas for a sit-down with three of their experts to find out all about the Sustainable Skylines initiative to improve air quality in the Dallas metro area, a team effort between the City of Dallas, the EPA, and the North Texas Council of Governments. Apparently, Dallas was selected from a pool of several cities as the first in the nation to test-drive this innovative program made up of a number 3-year projects which could serve as a model for programs in other cities. This sounds like good news and bad news - the good news is that it finally looks like there’s a program starting up that might help address some of Dallas’ air quality problems, the bad news is that those air quality problems are so severe in Dallas as to warrant starting the program there first. Oh well, better late than never. And of course, so as to leave no stone unturned in this quest for clean air in North Texas, Thursday morning we had an even larger roundtable discussion with the North Texas Council of Governments’ crack-team of air-quality policy peeps in Arlington, TX to get the skinny on Big D’s dirty air and to probe even further into the Sustainable Skylines initiative.

Then, just for good measure we headed just down the road to tour the AbitibiBowater recycling facility - one of the world’s largest newspaper recyclers - where we watched giant machines do all sorts of cool stuff with all things recyclable - shred, sort, compact, cube, tie. In a word it was…neato. By Thursday afternoon, though we’d already seen a lot in Dallas, we were just getting started in Texas and headed west in search of wind…

Stay tuned for more Texas in the next installment (what can I say, it’s a big state and I’m sleepy).

Posted in Travelog, Issues, Ben | 1 Comment »

March 19, 2008 by Ben.

THIS
MUST
END.

It’s the phrase that’s been going through my head all weekend in West Virginia. We’ve been “digging into” mountain top removal (MTR) coal mining out here - unbelievably tragic stuff and arguably the most environmentally destructive process that mankind engages in.

Saturday morning, we took a small plane up over southern WV - there’s a great little operation out of Asheville, NC called Southwings where pilots volunteer their time and money to take people up in the air to show them the MTR that’s happening out here. Our wonderful pilot, Susan Lapis, has given tours to everyone from Robert Kennedy Jr. to Woody Harrelson and was an unbelievable guide and pilot. There’s really no substitute for seeing this problem from the air. Evidently, everyone who takes the flight has the same initial response to seeing the devastation - “I had no idea!” We were certainly no exception.

Then we visited with a man named Larry Gibson, a mountain-loving native of Appalachia who lives in a humble cabin perched on the last remaining sliver of Kayford Mountain in a sea of MTR coal mining. His cabin used to be one of the low points in the area and now it’s one of the highest. He’s a one-man army taking on big coal and speaking around the country about MTR. Fighting to protect his “family’s mountain,” he was emboldened even further after the coal companies blew up one of his family’s grave yards in the course of destroying a neighboring mountain to get at the coal underneath. Though of small stature, Larry is truly a giant among men - just the warmest, most colorful, caring activist. We first spoke to him in his cabin on a rainy Saturday afternoon, and then returned to him on Sunday for a grand tour of his little “island” in the sea of “big coal,” complete with an enormous mining operation right in his back yard. Having been threatened, shot at, and had his cabin torched, he’s fighting the big-coal monster, and willing to lay down his life to do it. A true hero.

Finally, on Monday, we traveled into a hollow (a valley hamlet, pronounced “holler” if your local) and spoke with Bobby Mitchell and Maria Lambert. Maria lives in one of many hollows that have been ravaged by water pollution from MTR mining, where the incidents of certain cancers and diseases are off the charts - in one hollow, nearly every person has had to have their gall bladder removed. The things that come out of Maria’s tap look like a toxic science experiment gone awry, and the seemingly innocuous creek running in front of her house is untouchable - she won’t even let her granddaughter stick her foot in it. Bobby is helping to organize and empower local citizens like Maria to unite around these issues, get their water tested, and start raising some hell about these life-threatening problems. More often than not people like Bobby and Maria are given the run-around by local agencies and governments, but they continue to persevere. It’s a daunting and thankless process, but there’s nothing like having your life and health on the line to motivate you.

Pictures can not begin to do this MTR issue justice - the amount of devastation going on in Appalachia in the name of cheap energy is just mind-blowing. In Wyoming, coal seams are, in many cases, just under the surface so companies can essentially “scoop” it out rather than burrowing underground like in traditional mining. This kind of strip mining is cheaper and requires fewer workers than traditional underground mining, so in order to stay competitive with cheap Wyoming coal and to make an extra buck, companies that mine in West Virginia and eastern Kentucky are increasingly relying on MTR coal mining. Huge mountains are simply gone and the “overburden” is dumped into the valleys, polluting waterways and ecosystems. Over 1200 miles of streams and rivers in WV have been effectively buried or poisoned from MTR - there are all kinds of heavy metals and chemicals that leach into the surface and groundwater when coal and rocks that were never meant to see the light of day are suddenly and violently exposed (not to mention the witches brew of toxic chemicals used to “clean” and process the coal before it is shipped off). So much illegal is going on in these mountains it’s hard to know where to begin - one mining operation was committing an average of 26 violations per day, every day for 6 years! Of course, all of this has been getting dramatically worse under the current administration.

Many people are finding every color of water coming out of their tap (black, brown, red, orange, green) and are either dying or suffering a long list of ailments from contaminated drinking water. Much of this news never sees the light of day, and the state and local governments seem to be completely in bed with the big coal companies. This is why, despite the current rhetoric on TV to the contrary, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS CLEAN COAL. Carbon sequestration is such a small tip of such an enormous ice berg. If our excursion into coal country has taught us anything, it is that coal simply needs to stay in the ground, and more people need to hear about what is really going on behind the hills next to the highway. The things that are kept out of sight from the general population out here (and in many other places around the country) would break the hardest heart. Check out a documentary called “Kilowatt Ours” for more about MTR coal mining and what each of us can do about it.

Finally, the next time any of us turns on a light switch or fires up an appliance, we would be wise to remember people like Maria, Larry, and Bobby - because, odds are, somewhere out in Appalachia, a piece of mountain just disappeared and real people suffering as a result.

Posted in Travelog, Issues, Ben | 1 Comment »

March 18, 2008 by Julie.

I am going to bed early tonight in the hopes that I can recharge my own batteries, fully drained by witnessing firsthand mountaintop removal in West Virginia. Susan Lapis, Southwings Conservation Aviation pilot, flew us over the area to see how coal companies are chopping off mountaintops for the horizontal seams of coal that run through them, and then shoveling the rock, the “overburden,” as they call it, into valleys and streams, filling them completely. Words cannot do justice…so here’s one photo for you to ponder while I am off to sleep…
oh, what are we doing?

Posted in Travelog, Issues, Julie | 2 Comments »

March 9, 2008 by Julie.

So, for those of you who may not have gleaned from previous blogs (or my facebook page), WE ARE GROWING A GIRL!!! I flew home to KY at 19 weeks to have some checkups, one with a midwife at the farm and one at the ob/gyn office. Here is our little one giving us her sweet profile at 2nd ultrasound…i think she is pretty already…(and I really hope I am seeing the Evans chin)…

Actually, we considered not having the 2nd ultrasound because, at my checkup at The Farm, our midwife suggested that we research “ultrasounds and autism” before we agreed to have another one done. So, of course, I panicked and googled and read and tried to absorb. Ben read, too, and we both felt worried enough to say Let’s skip it. Even though the fact is that nobody knows WHAT is causing the increased incidence of autism in kids in this country. It’s not that ultrasounds are indicated, exactly - it’s more like they can’t be been ruled out.

Day of my appointment in KY, I called the nurse to let her know our decision not to have the test but Nurse convinced me otherwise. She said this was THE ultrasound, the “anatomical” ultrasound, where they check to see if the baby has all its parts, both lobes of the brain, all 4 chambers of the heart, etc…. So i said ok. I have to say, I felt really sort of happy. I wanted to see our baby again, wanted to be reassured, as I hadn’t started feeling any real movements yet at 19 weeks, and I worried that she was still alive in there. Plus I wanted to know if she was a boy or a girl, even though I was pretty sure she was a she. Which she is! And getting bigger every day. Of course, no I actually get to FEEL her moving around, which is the BEST.

Just wanted to let everyone know that I DID in fact build her a onesie out of Ben’s underpants, but I was wrong: it took 2 pairs, not just one. And the eyelets were not a part of his underpants before I made the little outfit. Here it is, front & back. And yes, moms, that is a snap closure. Made in SC, with love, from Daddy’s underpants. Baby girl’s underpantsuit. Will she hate us for this? Not for awhile, anyway…

Posted in Travelog, Issues, Julie | 1 Comment »

March 4, 2008 by Julie.

Back in November, as Ben, Mark and I stood rolling tape and taking photos of shrinking Lake Walker and Lake Meade near sad Hoover Dam, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue called for Georgians to come out and join him in a prayer for God to send rain. I guess I don’t see anything wrong with that except that this is the same governor whose water conservation advice to citizens was to Avoid stepping out of the shower to make a phone call…

So, back to the issue at hand, Georgia: Water. It must have been September when we first started hearing about the drought in the Southeast, and specifically the decline of Lake Lanier in Georgia. Usually, during the winter, the lake rises by about 9 feet but, according to Shanna Udvardy, of Georgia Conservancy, this winter the lake has only been replenished by about a foot. And yet, the government has reinstated yard watering. Is this the right message? Udvardy wonders, especially when coming housing developments are expected to use up to 60% more water than today’s average homes…Here is a nice example of a yard that went thirsty this year due to the drought, right next to one that didn’t…hmmm…

On Monday, Chattanooga mayor Ron Littlefield declared Feb 26th “Give our Friends in Georgia a Drink Day,” and sent an aide down to the City Hall in a coonskin cap with a truckload of Tennessee bottled water…Ben called our friend Richard, at the Chattanooga mayor’s office to ask how it went over. (They weren’t sure yet.) We made an exception to our rules and bought a bottle of water from a Tennessee bottling company to give to Rob Hunter, Water Commissioner for the city of Atlanta. He accepted our offer and asked us to relay a message: If the Mayor of Chattanooga wants to send over some FLEETS of trucks with bottled water, Atlanta would make sure that parking spaces were available. Seriously, though, Hunter feels that the most important understanding people of GA can have is that How we use and conserve water in our daily lives has to change…forever, from here on out.

Meanwhile, Clayton Co, GA has not been suffering the drought like other GA counties have. Mike Thomas, General Mgr for Clayton County Water Authority, said that their approach to water planning was born of necessity, back in the 70’s. 4000 acres of mostly-forested land was purchased and, in the 80’s, a reservoir and pump station built, with over 300 miles of pipeline and 20,000 sprinklers, to irrigate forests to catch water. After awhile, it was discovered that this practice was “not quite sustainable on Piedmont clay soil” so Clayton Co went back to the drawing board and came up with a new solution: wetlands. Thomas says the switch has worked wonders, and they have the added benefit of increasing bird population! Who says you can’t have your water and feed birds too???

Back to prayer, as it were.
Along with the obvious 16 month+ drought that has been pinching Georgia this year, the other issue we have been following with interest, and were happy to focus on in the peachtree state, is the happy combination of treehugging and religion!

The role that faith-based organizations have begun to play in environmental sustainability is encouraging, to say the least. Looking forward to finding out more about this fairly new and important development, we drove to Little Five Points in Atlanta to talk to Katy Hinman. To Katy, a “bat biologist in a former life,” the move from chiroptology to Seminary seemed, to her, a completely natural progression. Her position as Director of Georgia Interfaith Power and Light gives her the opportunity to help people make the natural connection between being good stewards and being faithful followers, a role which she relishes. “Creation care,” as she calls it, is very much a part of most great religious philosophies, and some reference can be found in every text, without having to dig too deeply. Even the mountains are said to praise God in the Scriptures, she says. How can that be when we are blowing them up for money, polluting the water, the land and the air? (Ben remembered a comment from our Vineyard friend in Idaho who said that when the Christ comes he wants to be caught with his hands dirty, tending the Garden, not sitting there doing nothing to care for His Creation.)

When we asked Katy what she could personally do to be more “green,” she said she could probably be a vegetarian but she thinks she needs her strength as she has taken up a new sport. Katy is now one of the Atlanta Rollergirls. Awesome. I can’t wait till she gets her clergy robes and we can see her perform as the Pastor of Disaster.

*Ben and Mark also talked to Dr. Michael Battle of ITC (Interdenominational Theological Center) about TheoEcology, which i sadly missed due to pregnancy sleep-in. They said the interview was wonderful. The website looks totally cool.

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