The best part of my day at Harmony Festival (and there were some great moments!) was discovering the SUSTAINABLE LIVING ROAD SHOW and the Eco-Grove…

a variety of attractions and vendors – ranging from live art to a living mandala to a “guess your carbon footprint” calculator and a whole myriad of other things in between.  Well – yes- seeing Caroline W. Casey was an unequaled unrivaled wordsmithing  blast…but that’s a subject for another day…

A rare family day for me & walking into the Eco-Grove took us right into a carnival!  Five year old Adrien was immediately completely at home & wanted to be there more than anything else all day long – including the climbing structure.  Why not?  Brilliant – the eco-carnival games – yes, getting out sustainability information – not as a lecture or a blog – or any other wordy attempt to educate, but rather – as fun!

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Tossing out Fossil Fuels – a favorite.  You toss bean bags at pictures of ugly drilling rigs or big trucks & if you hit it- it turns to a colorful image of a solar panel or a bus (They forgot to put in a train, darn it!)  All for a donation of – whatever you want.

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Eco-opolis, a Model Green City was a favorite! Here you invest money (tossing coins) into various structures & areas of a Dream Green city built entirely from discards & trash.

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Very fun & punny too!  Best place of all – the LOVE Factory, definitely my next job will be working here…Hard to hit, but Adrien did it, that’s my boy – a love factory investor.

I am sure that what these folks are doing is making a big difference in kids & adult lives, how can you not think about use of fuels or what we are doing for public health when you play these games!?

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Or – how about getting completely covered in mud while you help build a house!  That would have appealed more if I had a change of clothes

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The Earth Mandala was housed under a bamboo structure made by one of their amazing interns,  Ben.  He spent weeks leading up to the festival working on the project – and I must say that all his hard work paid off.  The bamboo structure only added to the impressiveness of the mandala – I mean, it’s an amazing thing on its own, but with this beautifully designed structure, it was incredible! 

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Best of all – way up inside were huge flying honeybees letting us know how important their work is – can you read it?  [1/3 of the human diet requires pollination from our friends - the honeybees]

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~Carbon Footprint anyone?  I am stoked that my carbon footprint appears to be on the extreme lower edge of normal.  Well, I thought I would register even better – but, without cheating on the numbers – it is time for that solar hot water heater!  Maybe that NEV (Neighborhood Electric Car) that I keep threatening to find.

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~Or keeping chickens – that’s it!  Eggs galore & no more slugs, now – that would be paradise…

Back on track (sayings about trains abound!) – I want to mention that you can visit the SUSTAINABLE LIVING ROAD SHOW at their website – even if they don’t come soon to a city near you…you won’t be sorry!

Waste = Food

An inspiring documentary on the Cradle to Cradle design concept of the chemist Michael Braungart and the architect William McDonough. Winner of the Silver Dragon at the Beijing International Science Film Festival 2006. OUTLINE: Man is the only creature that produces landfills. Natural resources are being depleted on a rapid scale while production and consumption are rising in na­tions like China and India. The waste production world wide is enormous and if we do not do anything we will soon have turned all our resources into one big messy landfill. But there is hope. The German chemist, Michael Braungart, and the American designer-architect William McDonough are fundamentally changing the way we produce and build. If waste would become food for the biosphere or the technosphere (all the technical products we make), produc­tion and consumption could become beneficial for the planet. A design and production concept that they call Cradle to Cradle. A concept that is seen as the next industrial revolution. • Design every product in such a way that at the end of its lifecycle the component materials become a new resource.

Cork – One of the most renewable and ecologically friendly materials found anywhere in the world

CORK
Cork is the bark of the cork oak tree (Quercus suber). After the cork bark is harvested from the tree, the bark immediately begins to renew itself. Not a single tree is cut down during harvest. Generally, after nine years of growth the bark is two inches thick. It is often at this point when the tree is re-harvested. Cork trees live 200-500 years.

MORE THAN RENEWABLE
Cork not only begins to renew its bark immediately after harvest but during the trees entire lifespan it is filtering carbon dioxide thereby reducing greenhouse gases. Furthermore, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) “cork oak forests support one of the highest levels of biodiversity among forest habitats, as well as the highest diversity of plants found anywhere in the world”.

NOT GOING EXTINCT
Despite rumours, cork is not going extinct. However, some winemakers are causing the cork habitat to be threatened by converting from real wine corks to synthetic and screw caps. Because of the decrease in use of real wine cork, the value of cork as a raw material has gone down. This may cause cork forest owners to sell their land, which in turn may be converted to alternative use (such as real estate development).

BY USING CORK YOU ARE HELPING OUR PLANET
The more cork that is used, the more value the farmers who own the forests get out of their land, making it less likely they will sell their land for development. By using cork you are helping to preserve the forest habitat and thereby reducing greenhouse gases and contributing to biodiversity among plant and animal life. There are many other benefits, including poverty alleviation (many cork forests are in rural North Africa and are critical to their local economy) and employment.

The construction industry has been quick to embrace cork as an acoustic underlayment in multilevel units and for flooring. The interior design industry is also on the cutting edge with unique uses of cork. Both industries also recognize that cork contributes favorably to the LEED rating system. Please encourage your favorite winemaker to support the natural solution and think how you can integrate cork into your home or office.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Please visit this cork website or this link to the World Wildlife Fund:
http://www.jelinek.com/wwf

Here are some facts I’d like to offer:Less than 1% of all plastic closures in the US are recycled. Plastic closures are not bio-degradable; they are made from petrochemicals, which are neither renewable nor sustainably sourced. Solvents cause leaching in petrochemicals, wine is a solvent. There is an island of plastic …garbage, twice the size of Texas, floating in the Pacific.Screw caps are not recycled in the US, the mechanism used to sort metals eliminates them, and they end up in landfills. Bauxite mining, from which aluminum is made, remains one of the most toxic and environmentally hazardous mining practices.Harvesting of cork is the most environmental and sustainable forestry practice on earth. Natural cork can and is being recycled here in the US; it is not being reused in for wine closures. Opting for screw caps and plastic closures directly causes the loss of sustainable livelihoods as the cork forests are a vital source of income for thousands of family farmers.

So – support the cork forests, buy only wine using real corks. I understand the argument for using synthetic corks since I avhe some 50 year ports where the corks have deteriorated, however the cork forests provide greenery and help our environment. An occasional spoiled bottle of wine due to a bad cork is still better than the plastic world of technology.

On Wed, October 28th, I gave a presentation on Sustainability & Localization at Angel Farms in Pahoa, Hawaii. It was a handpicked group of local sustainability & permaculture groups of the Big Island. I made a similar presentation 3 years ago at La’Akea Permaculture Community nearby in the Puna area, and am excited to see how interest & area projects relating to food & energy Localization & emergency preparedness have seemed to increase since then!

There was lots of thoughtful & experienced input & the lively discussion continued out into the parking lot & hopefully will accelerate now as the local alternative news – Big Island Weekly – covered the event, and several present were very pleased to have made contact for the first time.

More networking is required as there is so much wild food available, & there are so many people living simply & sustainably already, and any number of organic farmers, skill sets & best practices available to share.

Some Local PUNA projects represented –

Aloha Mahalo Apono
Papaya Field Restoration & Canoe Projects

*AMA’s mission is to foster stability in our community by creating programs that help to connect people with nature, and enhance their ability to live in harmony with others.

La’akea Community

La’akea is a local example of integrating modern permaculture with the natural

rain forest on this island

Greenwill Conservancy

Working with at-risk youth & mentoring to pass on skill sets that will offer jobs in the areas of Green Construction & sustainability

Keana Okuda

www.iftheboatsstop.wordpress.com

*Keana is making a difference in her lifestyle in 2010 & will be blogging her year of living locally on what is already on the Island. She is asking us to consider -What if the boats really stopped?  What if we weren’t able to ship the countless amounts of stuff we use here every week?  Would we survive?  Could we thrive?  The boats have stopped before.  What is our sustain-ability?

The Hilo County Government is currently funding a project – The Kohala Center is doing an inventory of food sources & also is asking for citizen input on the future of island agriculture, and so it is a good time to put localization of residential food supply on the table.

On the subject of energy, every new housing development is now required to have a solar hot water installation. Residential water collection is becoming more common, thus saving lots of energy to move district water supplies around. Transport is rural & so is a challenge, but a FREE bus system was recently instated by the county, which connects many rural roads into the towns.

A further note, there are about 200k residents now, and before the advent of imported food, the island supported a population of 300k! A potentially do-able local food transition…so – dig that Taro!!

Aloha,

Annie “NOjeans” SurfWaters

IT’S ABOUT THE JOURNEY…

I RODE THE TRAIN TODAY – NOT JUST ANY TRAIN, IT IS THE WORLD FAMOUS “SKUNK TRAIN” THROUGH ANCIENT REDWOOD FORESTS, AND AN ALMOST UNTOUCHED WATERSHED THAT BIRTHS the WILD SALMON for california’s MENDOCINO PACIFIC COAST.

IMAGINE this journey with me….

Close your eyes & take a window seat on a Vintage Rail Cruiser as we journey on one of the most scenic railroads in North America – the Skunk Train. Let’s journey back in time into one of the last temperate rain forests. We ride deep into the headwaters of the Noyo River Canyon & watershed. We stop to pray and ask for forgiveness from the Old Growth Redwoods that have been saved from the logger’s ax over & over in the last 100 years. The story of these trees is phenomenal, and transcends time. Some of them are 1500 years old. Some of them may be felled this next season.

redwoods

Now open your eyes and look around you – your own beloved trees, your own beloved watershed and hometown with its potential developments & progress. What do you want for your own local community? What will you pray for? Work for?

~everywhere – The TREES ARE IN DANGER OF BEING CUT FOR LUMBER. THE SALMON ARE IN DANGER OF EXTINCTION. IT SEEMS THAT so many lives HANG ON The THREAD OF BELIEF, ON THE THREAD OF LOVE, ON THE THREADS OF RELATIONSHIP THAT WE create TOGETHER ON THIS FRAGILE PLANET WE CALL HOME.

I invite us all to dream together as the deepening dark draws us inward, as the bear begins her hibernation. let us dream of a nation united – a nation united by bands of steel & friendship, a nation we create in our hearts, a nation of one people. May we imagine our lives & the world as we want it to be – fir me – that is a future filled with beauty and peace, voices speaking & singing truth. May we blend our voices and speak for the biggest dream that we imagine – let’s sing the chorus of life – creating the future we dream by our speaking, our telling, our stories, our every action.

blessed bee,

annie Brigit waters

Ralph Pisciotta, super-solar-installer, threw the “on switch” today to turn on my wonderful, yummy shiny brand-new grid-tie solar panels!  My solar education took a big leap as I saw he electric meter immediately begin running backwards…and, although the panels are configured to a summer tilt (it is January after all), the indicator panel read that 850 out of a possible 1000kw was being generated on this sunny crisp day.   The installation is placed on the highest point on my roof, and out of sight line except to those looking for it.  Ralph measured with his magical solar meter and found that in a few years – a maturing redwood tree a few lots further south will just begin to create a shadow on the edge of my panels. At that point, we can make an adjustment, I think.

It has been a very exciting and well-anticipated day, and I look forward to seeing how my electric bill relates to this new input in the next months! Net-metering in California opened up a new grid-tied market for PV in the 1990s.

The financial rewards are a great incentive, and also the feel-good factor…I am not expecting my meter to show a negative for the total annual use, but who knows how the development of PG&E’s rebate/payout program might evolve?

In Germany  – the solar future has gone wild! The secret of German success is the “feed-in tariff” (FIT). Anyone generating electricity from solar PV, wind or hydro gets a guaranteed payment of four times the market rate – currently about 35p pence a unit – for 20 years.r grid-feed, and people installed solar by the droves!

We in California may soon get a similar opportunity to actually sell excess electricity back to the grid. Now, wouldn’t that be something – to receive a check from PG&E?

Now – if only I could threaten to cut their power off if they were late on a payment!

One more thing – most states now have incentive and  rebate programs for grid-tie solar and wind…why not find out for your area?  Click this link!

I encourage any of you to put on solar, install wind or other alternative power and reduce our oil dependence, take back local power generation, and make a difference to the kids who will inherit this pretty planet…

Arriving into DC on the TRAIN, Obama reminds me of the old time train rides of many Presidents and campaigners…it gives us hope – not only for the needs of our nation in so many ways – but, also – hope that the trains will again be on the agenda as a viable transportation option for all of us!! We certainly need daily commuter trains to run again here in Calif as they do back East. I am grateful for the SMART intiative, and High Speed trains coming on track…how fast can we get them built – and how can we each best support these projects? (imagine arriving in LA from SF in only 3 hours from an uncrowded platform near several common residential areas)

Oh, yes – here’s a thought – the sum spent on the 700 Billion Bailout would have developed 2 Cross Country High Speed Trains going East-West and numerous North South routes as well! Everyone would have benefitted from this expenditure, not just the wealthy Takers, I mean – Bankers.

Photo courtesy of this website article- http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/01/18-0

Rumors from across the pond suggest that thousands of  these little affordable cars are being produced and will hit the roads soon in India, Germany, France and other forward thinking nations…

How  about us???  Here  in the good ole USA?  I mean – I grew up just over an hour from Ford Motors original production plant…dont I deserve the best car that the planet can offer…not just a 20 miles per gallon vehicle cuz that is all the car dealers have around!!??

OR -Does this mean a road trip to buy an Air Car overseas and ship it back in small pieces so that customs doesn’t declare it to be illegal?  What else can a greengirl do?

By the way -I sold my cute 45mpg biodiesel Jetta and have now gotten a Honda Odyssey Minivan, only 20mpg…so that I can carry around my tons of stuff – like a good American Consumer….seems to be a constant need to carry around stuff!!

And – oh, yes  the best part….I traded out the cars for over $5000 to my favor- now going toward my new solar panels!!  That is one of the real reasons I traded out my sweet little Jetta…go solar!!!

By the way – that terrible $700Billion bail out had a rider for an  extension on  the 30% Federal  Tax Credit for solar panels (eight-year extension and expansion of federal tax credits that will save the homeowner installing an average photovoltaic system an additional $7,000)- and no $2000cap either – so get some installed!!!

Everything has its up and down  side I  guess…

Wow – a just in time response from my great friends – Lanny and Karina – got me into a working vehicle – an old Dodge Caravan – which just now carried me 80 miles so that I could play “Nana” tomorrow …

Ok, the full story – I spend every Monday with my grandson – Adrien – so his mom and dad can go to work, and we get to play together. It is important to the continuity of their lives that I make it when I promise – every time!

To my rescue was the loving generosity of my true friends – pure and simple. Now, this is not exactly car share officially – but isn’t it great that we can occasionally help each other out with an extra vehicle?

More on the embarrassing details…of…..BIODIESEL MAINTAINANCE

Despite the benefits of biodiesel- Yesterday I put some bad fuel into the tank of my Jetta, and now the filter is clogged, perhaps even the line – so, my car is out of order…no fuel is getting to the engine…it will cost me to make up for this simple mistake..

I knew better…that is the worst part…having not checked the bottom of my little storage tank in 2 years – not changing the pump filter also – always being in a rush!!!

Anyway, you know that sucking feeling when you suddenly realize that your fuel storage tank is emptying the dregs in the bottom into your car’s fuel tank? No? Well – learn from my story – if you are going to store and pump your own biodiesel, you gotta take charge of details like fuel quality and filtration! I won’t go into it here – click on that link for more…about algae, water, other  potential contaminants and how  to avoid them…

CAR SHARE

For several years in Willits we studied how to create an official “car share” in our small, rural town, and although we have not yet found how to do it economically (without simply creating a commercial rental business)…the unofficial sharing of vehicles is a family tradition that helps everyone get around.  Let’s face it- We have gotten used to the convenience of owning a separate vehicle, hopping in and going…………… wherever!

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

I could also go on a rant about the lack of convenient public transportation such that we could all find ways to get around without needing a personal vehicle. Multimodal transport – rail, bus, transportation hubs and small electric town cars in combination could free us from the burden of true personal vehicle cost. By the way, we are about ready to vote on 2 important propositions here in Calif & Northern Calif..I urge everyoe in Sonoma and Marin counties to vote YES on the SMART proposal this November! And – YES to High Speed Rail as well!

OWNERSHIP COST

Did you ever do the math on your car ownership costs? Try it! If you add up the various costs for registration, insurance, depreciation, maintenance and fuel, you find out that it costs about $7000-9000 per year to maintain a quality vehicle. How many days a year do you work to make up this expense? OR – how many bus tickets, rail trips and short rentals would it take to equal that amount? Think about it!!! I am sure that the recent increases in gas prices have put car trip costs on everyone’s radar, but most of us still have yet to appreciate the full story on the cost of car ownership. Only a few folks get it, although we are all riding more bikes, sharing rides, walking, making fewer unnecessary trips. By the way, my figure on the true cost of driving does not begin to include the subsidized cost of roads, the cost to the environment for cradle to cradle building and junking cars, sequestering carbon and cleanup of oil spills, and more…

So – although I am in total gratitude for the salvation of my schedule trip by my buddies with an extra car, I am still in a quandary about how to release myself from the ownership of this car!! Nearing retirement forces the question for many of us boomers who will not have the ongoing income to afford this luxury of a personal vehicle. What if I could work less, need less, rather than needing to earn more money to cover expanding expenses? Whew – the innovative possibilities in this answer…who will figure this out for the 78 million of us? Break the chain… Challenge. Change.

I flew to Boston to buy this car in October of 2005…since certain newer diesels are not readily available in California, I searched all over the internet for a diesel Jetta wagon, and hard to find they were! Worth it – power sun roof, lots of headroom, fold down seats with plenty of room to sleep in back or for gear – and even a small craft fair booth will fit! The top rack is built on, the lights a gauges are a wild blue neon enhanced with red – feels like a purple haze driving at night…

To get this baby back to Willits a great cross country road trip was created & enhanced by the shooting of a camcorder video of – “The Last Great American Road Trip”. Well, it could be a great video someday – when I have time to learn how to edit it…

Ok, I was a few years before my time – as usual, because for sure – people are still driving cross country in 2008, even in their RV’s – although fuel is now well over $4 and higher prices are certainly in sight. Diesel is even over $5!! With that in mind – Why did I want this diesel car so badly? Try 45mpg for a start, and I have been almost exclusively driving on biodiesel made by Yokayo Biofuels from completely recycled veggie oil… which I pump out of my backyard 200 gallon storage tank! Now – there is fuel security for ya. Much better than a foreign war, huh? In fact, my pal Mikey gets over 50mpg because he got a manual shift, same car – 10 more mpg. You can take that to the bank, er – tank.

To be sure – I have made my share of biodiesel errors…had hose melt downs, clogged fuel filters, etc…but – I still love the idea of driving – yet not supporting our energy wars, esp the one in Iraq which threatens to spillover into Iran, and is costing us Americans over $400 Million a day!! ! If you can even understand how much money that is – I can’t quite comprehend it myself, but I know that we could put a huge number of freight and passenger trains on the tracks, fix those tracks all over the country and build more so we have a 2 track system nearly everywhere for a fraction of our yearly dues in that misguided, may I say – illegal - “war”.

So – I encourage all of you to turn in those gas hog SUVs & cars, and if you must have one at all – go diesel! In fact – go biodiesel! Enjoy the ride…

By the way – I wrote this partially because of the guys who blog at http://thingsthatmakeyougogreen.com/…but, now I can’t find their cool post on diesel…if anyone can find it in their substantial archives…well, let me know and I will link it right HERE!