February 10, 2009 by Ben.

THIS JUST IN:
YERT’s dear friend and Pittsburgh City Councilman, Bill Peduto, yesterday proposed that the City of Pittsburgh become the first city in America to be lit by LED lights. Check out the full article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette HERE and feel free to call or contact Bill and give him some major props. WAY TO GO, BILL!!

Posted in Issues, Ben, Uncategorized | No Comments »

September 17, 2008 by Erika.

While in Bismarck, North Dakota, YERT spoke with Roger Johnson, the state commissioner of agriculture, about a crop he feels would be a wonderful asset to North Dakota’s economy. He has been trying to get it approved for many years.  “There are farms just ten miles into Canada growing it and making a profit. We’ve made it legal at a state level in North Dakota, and yet farmers here cannot grow it, as it would be against the Federal law,” he said.

What he was referring to is industrial hemp. His is not a plea we have never heard before, but his voice stands out amongst the “legalize hemp” community.  Sitting in a pressed shirt in front of a bookshelf and an American flag, he looked like the last person you might expect to empty a bag full of hemp milk, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap, hemp fabric swatches and hemp balm onto his large desk (which, in fact, he did). But don’t be fooled. He’s a big fan, and carried his support all the way to D.C.

His reason? Reason.  He finds it quite difficult to comprehend how our neighbors to the north as well as most (all?) of Europe has managed to legalize and profit from the growing of industrialized hemp.

It wasn’t always this way.  Hemp, the non-psychedelic cousin of marijuana, has been touted for hundreds of years for its ease of growth and wide array of uses.  It is a source of clothing, textiles, oil, food, paper, biofuel, lotions, soap, rope, conditioner, among many other uses. Some of the first US settlers grew hemp to make a strong canvas for sails, and it is thought that the Constitution was drafted on hemp paper.  Even as late as World War II, the US government encouraged farmers to grow hemp through the “Hemp for Victory” campaign when more than 400,000 acres of US soil was dedicated to support this war effort.

Since then, the plant has become confused with marijuana, though the two plants are easy to identify as distinct plants with the naked eye. The leaves and stalks are different to the trained eye, while even an untrained eye can distinguish the two based on growing height alone.  Roger suggested that he would we able to quickly identify illegally grown marijuana from a plane if necessary.

One of the most common misconceptions is related to the presence of THC in hemp. This chemical is responsible for the “high” induced by marijuana, but is found in very low concentrations in hemp.  As Roger put it, “Sure. You could ‘smoke’ hemp, but the joint would have to be the size of a telephone pole.”

Roger was also quick to suggest the idea of random sampling to ensure that marijuana isn’t growing hidden amongst the hemp plants. The notion that drug dealers might try to “hide” marijuana plants in a field of hemp concerns some, but not Roger. He pointed out that though hemp and marijuana are distinctly different, they do cross pollinate. This would create some very weak marijuana, and bring up the levels of THC in the hemp- making it likely that the marijuana crops would lose their potency, and that the farmer would get caught.

So if hemp is so great, it’s easy to identify, and straightforward enough to regulate it, then why aren’t we profiting from it here in the US?  Politics, red tape, and lobbyists from plastics companies like Dupont.  If you’d like to join Roger Johnson in his fight an easy first step would be to check out the following sites:

http://votehemp.com/

http://www.americasheartland.org/video/315_2_controversal_crop.htm (video)

And send a standard form letter to your representative here:

http://capwiz.com/votehemp/issues/alert/?alertid=9370876&type=CO

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September 6, 2008 by Erika.

. . .Or, “If BMX racing is now an Olympic sport, why not snowkiting?”

To Cross the Moon, also known by the hip acronym “2XtM”, is a wind energy awareness project started by Sam Salwei. An avid snowkiter, Sam decided to use his passion for snowkiting (a growing outdoor sport where a person in skis or a snowboard is pulled by a kite) to promote another passion— wind power.

Through two expeditions, Sam and friends have used the awesome power of the wind to pull them across the winter landscape of North Dakota, holding educational seminars with community groups along the way. Together, they have informed around 10,000 people about the potential of wind power in the state, demonstrating just how much power there is in the wind, and how foolish it would be of us not to take advantage of it. According to the 2XtM website, North Dakota is ranked as the number one state for wind energy potential.

Ben, Mark, and I were swept away one afternoon when we met with Sam and his girlfriend, Kathryn. Literally, swept away. Because it was the middle of summer, we each got to try kiteturfing, same idea as kitesurfing, but on land. After a quick lesson and getting strapped in, the kite took off, and so did we. Ben probably got the strongest impression of how strong the power of the wind truly is, by getting dragged across the field by a runaway kite. (His clothing bore the holes and grass stains to prove it.) Mark, the runner of the group, wouldn’t let the kite get the best of him, and rather than have it pull him down, he would run after it, with Sam laughing and shouting, “Where are you going?!”

I also had the chance to take on the wind with a smaller handheld kite that was still incredibly powerful. It kept flying away from me; I just couldn’t hold on tight enough. Every now and then I would feel in control- even if only for a moment- and experience a balance of tug-and-pull. Feeling the wind pulling the kite, literally harnessing its power with my two hands, was incredible. Right then, I realized, that there is power- energy- embodied in every gust of wind, power that we are wasting by not taking advantage of it. It felt clean, powerful, and abundant.

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July 22, 2008 by Erika.

Bike/Walk to Work DayWe are still in catch-up mode as we excitedly welcome Ben and Julie’s new baby into the world and rev up for the next phase of YERT.  Bear with us as we work to get you caught up on where we’ve been and what we’ve seen! Now to spend a couple more blogs wrapping up Minnesota . . .

* * *

Many people recognize Portland, Oregon as one of the most bike and public transit friendly cities in the nation.  The city is so well known for its mass transit efforts that help the environment, in fact, that YERT’s Oregon green video is centered around this theme.  But would you have guessed that Minneapolis- a city known for its chilling winters- would come a close, unofficial second?

On the Twin Cities’ Bike/Walk to Work Day walkers, bikers, and the sun were all out in full force.  The parks scattered throughout downtown help to break up the high rise buildings and the Greenway- a bike/pedestrian path that extends for twenty miles- provides a straight pathway for commuter cyclists riding to work downtown.  We camped out at the Greenway and stopped a few riders for some of our ‘peeps’ on the street. For some, even the chilling winters were only a small worry compared to the benefits of saved parking fees, additional exercise, a shorter commute (in some cases), fresh air, and smaller carbon footprint.

Also while in the twin cities area we interviewed Ari Ofsevit with hOurcar, a car sharing service in Minneapolis.  Like most car sharing programs, the concept is simple- rather than drive a car of your own, you reserve one online for only the hours you need it. Pick it up at a designated neighborhood spot, drive it around for the hours reserved, then return it to the same spot when finished. Gas is included in the hourly price.  It offers a lot of convenience without a lot of hassle.  Unlike many of the larger car sharing services, however, hOurcar is a nonprofit, dedicated to the mission of promoting environmentally sustainable communities.

Here are some ideas and tips that might make a carefree, car-free lifestyle a bit easier.

Buy a great book- Who wants to sit in traffic, anyway?

Carpool- Yeah, you’ve heard this one before, but this time actually do it!

Pimp your ride- Take pride in your bike. Get it ready for a trip to the grocery store, for transporting papers to the office, and for riding after dark by outfitting it with side bags, a light, and a basket.

Hitch a ride- Type “ride share” into Google to find a bunch of sites that offer ways to meet up with others interested in carpooling or dividing the expenses and driving of a longer trip.

Live near work- Probably the easiest way to cut down on the amount of driving is to live, work, and play in the same area. If having all three isn’t a possibility, at least try to live near where you work, as commuting accounts for 734 billion miles driven by Americans each year.   

Posted in Erika, Travelog, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

June 21, 2008 by Erika.

In this year on the road, YERT has come across many individuals planting seeds of green right from their living rooms, kitchens, and basements.

Plastic zipper bags really are convenient— great for helping parents pack kids’ lunches, freezing leftovers, hauling food to/from a tailgate party—but they’re also incredibly wasteful when used only once.  Bag-E-Wash helps maintain the convenient lifestyle we have grown accustomed to while also becoming more environmentally responsible.  Just a few pieces of nylon snap together to hold, wash, and dry plastic zipper bags in the dishwasher.  She recommends using the freezer bag variety because it is durable— lasting up to 50 washes— and,

Tony Kvale has a similar story.  His board game, Head1Liners, looks like any other game on the shelf, but is made of recycled materials paper, soy-based ink, and recycled glass.  He works from his St. Paul home with help from his 3-yr-old daughter, Greta, who receives free room and board for helping her daddy sort colored game pieces in their basement.  

While Tony’s wife, Brenda, made sidewalk chalk drawings outside with Greta, Ben, Mark and Tony played a round of Head1Liners, which is simple and easy to pick up.  One player chooses a picture from a box and then all of the players must each make up a headline for the image.  All the players vote (but not for their own!) and move according to the number of votes they received.

Wanna try? Kudos to whoever comes up with the best headline for this shot of Ben. (It’s a sneak peak of what is coming up in a future blog entry.)

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June 16, 2008 by Erika.

The Twin Cities did a great job of keeping us busy as three little bees—so much in fact, that we decided to pay a visit to our black-and-yellow striped friends with beekeeper hobbyist Stevie Ray.

Colony collapse and declining bee populations is a serious and scary situation we’re facing. So serious, and so scary that even Haagan Daaz is airing depressing commercials to help save the honeybees.  It’s estimated that the honeybee population in the US has declined by 25% over the past few years alone; some sources say the decline in the wild honeybee population has been as much as 90% since the 1970’s. 

I’ve never been fond of bees, but even so, I recognize how critical they are for our survival.  The vast majority of crops in the US is non-native, and relies on the cross-pollination of bees in order to produce food for us and the livestock we raise.  As it stands already, some farmers pay large-scale beekeepers to drop palettes of bees into the middle of their land to ensure that the crops like broccoli, onions, apples, and avocados get the pollination they need.  Without this, the crops prosper and eventually die off.

Colony collapse- a recent phenomenon where bees mysteriously abandon their hives- poses very serious concerns for the survival of honeybees. The exact reasons for decline colony collapse are unknown, but are often attributed to insecticide use, urbanization, GMO crops, mites, and pollution— which limits bees’ ability to find flowers.

Bees truly are fascinating. After goofing around in beekeeper outfits for a couple hours, it was easy to see why beekeeping makes such a great hobby.  It takes a minimal investment of time and money, the extra honey makes a great gift for friends, and farmers love you.  Oh, and the fact that the majority of the US food supply may come to depend on the hives of local beekeepers is also pretty enticing.  You can’t say that about stamp collecting.

Did you know?

• Honeybee colonies are 95% female.

• The queen bee is the only female capable of reproducing.  She mates only once, storing the sperm in her body.  As her female worker bees pet and preen her, she secretes a toxin that keeps them sterile.

• Bees are totally capable of staging a coup.  To overthrow their queen, the other bees will pick a particular larva to be their new queen.  By secretly feeding this larva royal jelly, the worker bees (or is it the males?) actually change the DNA of the larva from a small, sterile female worker bee into a larger, elongated and fertile queen bee.  As soon as she is born, the original queen is assassinated.

• By ingesting small doses of allergens over time, eating local honey can help build a resistance to allergies in your area.
  

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January 24, 2008 by Julie.

k i am pretty sure we are a-ok but how do you know when you don’t own your own Doppler to hear your baby’s heartbeat and s/he is still too small to feel kick you in the ribs as reassurance??? How do mothers get through the panic and the worry to actually have a baby?

I have spent the day today feeling a bit off. I ascribe it to hormones but i confess to being affected by the weather. It’s been cold and rainy here in Austin and, though it IS winter, i was hoping for some warm weather to boost my spirits.

Austin is a really cool town. It’s easy to see that there’s much going on here environmentally and no way that we will possibly be able to cover but a little corner of it in the short time that we’re here. We are getting used to that feeling but, anticipating a “dry spell” in the remainder of the South, i’ve been looking up natural food options in Mississippi and Alabama. In case they don’t have any. Cause i can’t just be eating fried pickles.

Ben is still editing the Washington pod, has been for days now. We had so many hours of footage. Looks like this will be his all-nighter tonight… I hope that he is able to pull it off by morning. It’s a tough job, it really is, I couldn’t do it. I will have to sleep just to support him. And thank our little jelly beano traveler for letting me know when it is time to rest.

I heard some very sad news today about someone we just met and I have to acknowledge it. A great great loss. My heart is heavy and flying out to them all at the same time. I am so thankful for my family, for this trip, for the amount of time I have gotten to spend with the people in my family…Everytime somebody dies I am reminded to make better use of the time i have with the people i am with.
This is no exception. I am so grateful.

Posted in Julie, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

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

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September 24, 2007 by Ben.

Think you got what it takes to go toe to toe with Rocky? We found out just what it takes, and you have to be on your game. On Thursday, we were lucky enough to speak with Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson at his office in city hall - this guy is one tough eco-heavyweight and he’s not going down without a fight. Determined to deliver a serious body blow to the threat of climate change, Rocky came out swinging at the inaugural StepItUp event in April, putting on one of the country’s biggest and most effective StepItUp events. During our interview with him he went one step further, challenging mayors across the country to StepItUp themselves on Nov. 3rd - the date of the second big StepItUp nationwide rally for taking action on climate change. Check out this video (and Rocky’s left hook) then visit StepItUp2007.org to find out more about what you can do to help.

Just click here or the picture below to watch "StepItUp 2007 - Rocky’s Challenge"

Let’s all StepItUp on Nov. 3rd!

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September 22, 2007 by Mark.

Dear YERTians,

The only things more pervasive than uplifting environmental stories in Vermont were the Subarus. Everybody we met seemed connected to everything…

…to the land
…to the food
…to each other
…to a Subaru
…even to a peaceful kind of inner wisdom.

Just click here or the picture below to watch "YERTpod10: Seeding is Believing in Vermont"

Somehow Vermont was unique, and delightfully so, but why? As we explored these connections in conversations with all stripes of Vermonters, including Mayor Bob Kiss of Burlington, we repeatedly encountered the concept of a “land trust.”

Wikipedia helped us understand that “A community or conservation land trust is an organization established to hold land and to administer use of the land according to the charter of the organization.” We’re still learning about what all that means, but it seems that land trusts can help local communities increase their control over the way their land is used. If the words confuse you, try this imagery instead: A large, pristine, flowering meadow on what appears to be extremely valuable real estate next to a highway. Completely undeveloped. Simply a beautiful view. And it makes all the difference in the world. It makes us love Vermont.

We had difficulty boiling down our Vermont experience into a tiny little video, so we’re asking you, our viewers, to tell us what additional footage you’d like to see in one or more longer videos. Our editing time is painfully limited, so please vote in the poll below on the following options…

1. Kit Perkins, Executive Director of the Intervale Center. This unique institution acts as a farming incubator, and their stated mission is “To develop farm-and land-based enterprises that generate economic and social opportunity while protecting natural resources.”
2. Guided tour of the McNeil Generating Station, a power plant fueled by wood chips from sustainably-harvested forests. John Irving, McNeil’s Plant Manager, gave us a personalized tour of every nook and cranny in this facility, not to mention a candid assessment of the pros and cons of wood-fired power generation.
3. Gil Livingston, President of the Vermont Land Trust (VLT), helped us get our heads around the concept of a land trust and its benefits to folks (and critters) in Vermont.
4. Dan Bradley, Transportation Planner for the City of Burlington, gave us a ride in the city’s experimental hydrogen-powered Prius while discussing the challenges and opportunities of hydrogen-based transportation.
5. Bob Ferris, Executive Director of the Yestermorrow Design/Build School. This creative institution gives designers, architects, and hobbyists an opportunity to hone their eco-building skills.
6. Phil Rice and Daniella Malin, from the Sustainability Institute in Hartland, Vermont, showed us around the Cobb Hill intentional community and introduced us to some award-winning cheese cows, not to mention the innovative systems-based approach they bring to environmental sustainability research.
7. Mayor Bob Kiss of Burlington helped us connect to many of the various “dots” in our Vermont eco-exploration. Mild mannered, friendly, and full of common sense, it was refreshing to speak to such an interesting and interested community leader.

With Love for Vermont, and All Y’all,

Julie, Mark, and Ben (Your YERT Team)

team@yert.com

<a href="http://www.micropoll.com/akira/MicroPoll?mode=html&#038;id=54760">View MicroPoll</A><br /> | <a href="http://www.questionpro.com" title="survey software">Survey Software</a><br /> | <a href="http://www.micropoll.com" title="web polls">Web Polls</a><br /> | <a href="http://www.contactpro.com" title="email marketing software">Email Marketing Software</a><br />

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

• By at least one Canadian measure, Burlington VT is the "Greenest City in the U.S.A." This article in the Toronto Star also names Mayor Bob Kiss America’s greenest mayor. We’re absolutely un-stunned by this result, but the article is a fun read from a foreign perspective. (Country Home magazine also names Burlington the "Best Green City in America" in 2007.)
• It seems that the Vermonter way of life is good for citizen health. This survey found Vermont to be the "Healthiest State" in 2007.

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