2 GOING GREEN | Sunday, March 7, 2010 commercialappeal.

com

What’s in this issue ...

Getting serious
4 Betsy and Thad Howard’s road to
energy efficiency started with a
comprehensive TVA inspection

Expert advice Green cabinets

7 Quantum’s “green
9 Manufacturers target
team” helps design “silent poisons” in
more efficient homes construction materials

Ten ideas to lessen your impact

12 Some easy ways to go green, from
limiting water use to tracking energy use

Burpee rides
16 The high cost
of food waste
17 gardening boom

On the cover
Photo by Ben Fant/Special to The Commercial Appeal

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Going Green is a special online publication of
The Commercial Appeal. We welcome your comments
and suggestions. Follow Going Green on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/GoGreenMemphis.
Editor: Roland Klose, 529-2776,
klose@commercialappeal.com
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, March 7, 2010 | GOING GREEN 3

The Green Page

Events
The Sierra Club Chickasaw
Group’s executive committee meets
at 6:30 p.m. March 8 at Prescott
Memorial Baptist Church, 961 Getwell.
Members are welcome. (901) 829-
4360, e-mail brannon.n@gmail.com.
Wolf River Conservancy’s Dale
Sanders leads members on a canoe
trip on the upper Wolf on April 3. For
more information, e-mail Sanders at
fdales@aol.com. To join the group, call
(901) 452-6500.
Project Green Fork’s Spring
Supper will be at 6 p.m. May 23 at
Sekisui Midtown. The $75 fundraiser
features sushi rolls inspired by Project
Green Fork restaurants. For more The Commercial Appeal file photo
information, go to Sekisui Midtown will host Project
projectgreenfork.org. Green Fork’s Spring Supper.

Groups Mississippi, as well as a (901) 725-4990.

Coalition for Livable
Communities: The
organization advocates
healthy, vibrant and
economically sustainable
communities.
livablememphis.org or
(901) 725-8390.
Friends for Our
Riverfront: Formed in
2003, the group
advocates improvement of
the public space along the
clean and vibrant harbor.
friendsforourriverfront.org
or (901) 496-0736.
Mid-South Peace and
Justice Center: Works
with low-income
communities in Memphis
to plan and plant
community gardens,
providing area residents
with access to fresh
produce.
midsouthpeace.org or
Sustainable Shelby:
Launched by Shelby
County government,
Sustainable Shelby
promotes environmentally
and economically sound
regional strategies for
development.
sustainableshelby.com or
(901) 576-6601.
To submit items, e-mail
klose@commercialappeal.com.
4 GOING GREEN | Sunday, March 7, 2010 commercialappeal.com

Photos by Ben Fant/Special to The Commercial Appeal

Thad Howard got serious about energy efficiency after a TVA inspector
did an energy audit on his home, and he realized how much he could save
by making updates which included blowing in more insulation in the attic.

Getting serious
Energy audit pays off for Mud Island homeowners
By Jonathan Devin
Special to Going Green
When Betsy and Thad Howard moved
to Memphis in 2004, they downsized
and upsized at the same time. They
bought a smaller house, but it came with
a higher utility bill.
They knew that their new home, a
three-bedroom, two-story house on Mud
Island, could be improved for greater
energy efficiency, but unlike their former
home in Durham, N.C., they found that
green building practices were few and far
between.
“We thought that there wasn’t as much
of a culture here of doing energy-efficient
building and we didn’t know the trade
people here, so we didn’t know anyone
who did these things,” Betsy said.
The Commercial Appeal
But the numbers were
unavoidable. In Durham,
a bad month for utilities
brought a bill of around
$200. Here, an average
winter month cost them
more than $300.
This year the Howards
got serious about
becoming more energy-
efficient.
The couple participated
in the Tennessee Valley
Authority’s In-Home
Energy Evaluation
Program, which included
a comprehensive
inspection of their home,
an audit of their current
energy usage and physical
improvements to their
home.
They started by getting
educated. Betsy contacted
TVA and set up a class on
energy saving for First
Congregational Church in
Midtown. The Howards
co-chair the church’s
green committee. There
they learned about IHEE
and late last year, they
started the process.
Betsy worked for the
Environmental Protection
Agency for 20 years
before the move, studying
air quality issues, so some
of the issues in the home
were obvious to her.
All of the windows on
the north side of the home
are single-pane because
they were meant to be
Sunday, March 7, 2010 | GOING GREEN 5
Division, were connected
to a TVA representative
who scheduled their
inspection with Scott
Little of Conservation
Service Group.
“We walked through
the house with him and
he showed us things and
educated us,” Betsy said.
The results of the
inspection were eye-
opening.
The 20-year-old, 2,000-
square-foot home had at
Help keep heat from least 25 square feet of
drafting into the attic completely uninsulated
by creating an insulated attic space.
foam core box for your Their crown molding
drop-down attic stairs. was not sealed to the
wallboard, allowing heated
air to be siphoned through
the cracks above and
below, up into the attic.
Their heating and air
conditioning unit was
sealed with tape instead
of mastic, a putty-like
substance which hardens
Applying caulk to crown into cement around the
molding around your duct connections.
ceiling can seal in heat After the audit, the
that otherwise can Howards received a report
escape into the attic. detailing the changes
needed, along with the
decorative. Entries to the estimated costs for
house for the dryer vent improvement and energy
and other pipes and hoses savings so they could set
were made too big and not priorities for their
well-sealed. projects. The windows,
They called the number they decided, would have
listed on TVA’s Web site to wait for now.
and, through Memphis On Feb. 11, Betsy’s
Light, Gas and Water birthday, a slew of TVA-
6 GOING GREEN | Sunday, March 7, 2010
Ben Fant/Special to The Commercial Appeal
Place insulating foam into holes and gaps where
electrical cords, plumbing or air conditioning lines
enter the house.
approved contractors
arrived with cases of caulk
and blown insulation and
started to work.
Fortunately, some of the
projects were fairly simple.
The gas line in their
fireplace was sealed with a
fire-proof mortar. Loose
ceiling supply registers
were screwed tightly in
place so that the air flows
into the room, not between
walls and floors. A wooden
box cover was installed on
top of the pull-down attic
staircase to keep it from
sucking heat up through it
like a chimney.
“The contractors don’t
get their money until
TVA inspects their work
and says you’ve done
quality work,” said Thad,
who works for St. Jude
Children’s Research
Hospital. “They’re going
to make sure that they do
it right.”
TVA spokesman Mike
Bradley said the program,
which started in May
2009, is taking off, albeit
slowly. A total of 4,631 in-
home evaluations have
been conducted across
TVA’s seven-state service
area, 3,737 in Tennessee.
Seventy-four power
distributors have signed
on.
“We’re hoping for more
(participants), and the
program is still evolving,”
Bradley said.
Bradley said there is a
separate weatherization
program aimed at the less
affluent and funded by
federal stimulus money to
commercialappeal.com
do much of the same kinds
of work. TVA is training
auditors for the program.
But the IHEE is not
without its financial
benefits. As part of the
program, the Howards
paid $150 for the audit,
which is refundable by
TVA. Also TVA will pay
them up to $500 for the
first $1,000 they spend on
improvements.
Essentially, they will
receive $650 back.
The Howards may also
qualify for a tax credit,
good through 2010, of as
much as $1,500 for
approved materials at up
to 30 percent of the cost.
The Howards haven’t
completed a billing cycle
since the work in their
home was finished, but
Betsy says she can
already tell that the house
is warmer and less drafty.
“When I take a nap I
don’t have to crawl under
as many blankets,” Betsy
said. “I’m not wearing as
many sweaters. I think
when it will really pay off
the most is this summer
because our upstairs air
conditioner couldn’t
handle it.”
“With all these
incentives, it was like if
we don’t do it now, why
bother?” said Thad.
For information, go to
tva.gov/ee/in_home_eval.htm.
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, March 7, 2010 | GOING GREEN 7

Dave Darnell/The Commercial Appeal

Quantum Showrooms owner Kevin Wright started the Green Team meetings
to give Memphians ideas for making their homes more energy efficient.

By Suzanne Thompson

Teaming Special to Going Green

A $74 monthly utility bill for a

5,300-square-foot house seems like an

up for impossibility, but it’s not, according

to a local building expert.
Walter Nelms, a mechanical engi-
neer, cited the remarkably low power

savings
Experts help trim
energy use, utility bills
bill as an example of how Memphis
homeowners can save money by act-
ing to improve energy efficiency.
Nelms is a member of a group of
builders, contractors and architects
— informally known as the Quantum
Green Team — who meet once a
month with interested citizens to dis-
8 GOING GREEN | Sunday, March 7, 2010 commercialappeal.com
cuss ways to make homes Nelms said, converted to with new high-perfor-
more energy-efficient. a geothermal heating sys- mance water heating sys-
“It’s free. We feed tem and four separate tems, about the size of a
them, and we’re trying to temperature zones, and small microwave oven.
educate them on how to now reports an average For each topic, Nelms
lower their utility bills,” monthly utility bill of $74. breaks down the addition-
said Quantum owner The program at Quan- al cost of using green
Kevin Wright. tum provides information building alternatives and
Although Wright initiat- about foundations, fram- gives the time it takes for
ed the meetings, Nelms, ing, windows, lighting, in- the improvement to pay
who specializes in energy- sulation, comfort control for itself in energy savings.
efficient home building, and hot water systems. High-performance
now runs them. For instance, traditional lighting, a relatively mod-
“I’m here to pro- est investment, pays
mote green building for itself within six
practices, and how months and pro-
they apply to Mem- vides a 200 percent
phis,” he said. return on invest-
Using thermal ment.
imaging and other The greatest area
testing methods, for improvement of
Nelms’ company, energy efficiency is
Engineered Com- usually the duct
fort, performs ener- work in a house,
gy assessments on Jupiter Images where heating and
houses to help ed- “It’s possible, using all green building air- conditioning
ucate homeowners practices, to have a utility bill that is leakage can be as
on changes they can $37 per month,” Walter Nelms says. much as 30 percent,
make to lower their Wright said.
utility bills. The slab foundations are more Even making
cost is between $100 and efficient than monolithic small changes, like caulk-
$300. slabs, which are quicker ing cracks around win-
“No one can tell from and cheaper, but less resis- dows and doors, can save
just looking at the out- tant to termite infiltration. people money on their
side of a house what High-performance win- utility bills.
changes need to be made dows make a big differ- But for the really big
to correct energy leak- ence in energy efficiency, savings, the way to go is
age,” he said. Nelms said, as up to 50 from the ground up, with
The investment in envi- percent of energy transfer new construction.
ronmentally conscious is through windows. “It’s possible, using all
building and remodeling Imagine never running green building practices,
isn’t just good for the plan- out of hot water. That as- to have a utility bill that
et. It also saves money. surance, along with a life- is $37 per month,” Nelms
One former client, time guarantee, comes said.
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, March 7, 2010 | GOING GREEN 9

Eco-friendly cabinets

Karen Pulfer Focht/The Commercial Appeal

Amy Baxter designs “green” kitchens for the shop Gallery Kitchens near
Poplar and Perkins.

Manufacturers target VOCs in construction materials

By Suzanne Thompson These “silent poisons” are
Special to Going Green
most often in such small
proportions that they go
MOST PEOPLE NEVER
undetected because the human
REALIZE IT, but when they are in
body can usually tolerate a certain
their kitchens, they could be
amount of such emissions.
breathing in noxious fumes emitted
Usually, but not always.
by the finishing of their cabinetry.
10 GOING GREEN | Sunday, March 7, 2010
Amy Baxter, a kitchen
designer for Gallery
Kitchens, LLC, said she
once had a client with
severe asthma who
almost couldn’t breathe in
his kitchen that contained
new cabinetry.
In 1999, California
enacted tough emissions
standards that started a
movement to regulate the
amount of volatile organic
compounds (VOCs), such
as formaldehyde,
contained in construction
materials.
Formaldehyde is an
organic compound used
in the production of
resins and hardwood
furniture finishing. Its
fumes are harmful when
inhaled in areas with poor
ventilation.
The Environmental
Protection Agency
carefully monitors
formaldehyde emissions
from cabinet finishes, and
American manufacturers
must ensure that their
finishes contain no more
than .30 parts per million
of harmful emissions.
Some cabinet
manufacturers are making
more efforts to reduce or
eliminate the emissions
and to build cabinetry in
an environmentally
friendly way.
A number of factors
other than the finishing
commercialappeal.com
Formaldehye, frequently
used in cabinet finishes,
produces fumes that are
harmful in areas with
poor ventilation.
“(Green cabinetry is) more
contents are considered or Lyptus wood, a
when determining how composite made from two
green cabinetry is. Even types of eucalyptus.
the way the wood is The ratings are based on
grown and processed a point system developed
factors into the ratings. by agencies such as the
How green consumers U.S. Green Building
want to go when building Council, under which the
or remodeling is up to Leadership in Energy and
them, Baxter said. Environmental Design
“It’s more of a finished (LEED) program
product — a renewable operates.
resource that is also Baxter said Gallery
produced in a way that it is Kitchens is the only
not emitting anything company in the Mid-
harmful into the home,” South that carries Eco-
Baxter said. “If a customer Friendly Cabinetry, one
wants 100 percent green, line of cabinets that
we can do it.” adheres to the strictest
Cabinets can be termed guidelines in producing
eco-friendly if products that are
manufacturers use only completely safe in all
the most organic finishing aspects of design.
products on their Consumers pay for a
exterior. cleaner environment
Other cabinet makers because the price is 70
can take the percent to 80 percent
environmental element to higher than that of
a higher level by using cabinets made with less
only fast-growing woods rigid green practices.
such as Alder, which Signature Kitchens also
regrows from the stump, carries cabinets from
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, March 7, 2010 | GOING GREEN 11

suppliers that use environmentally safe the government requirements, and these
manufacturing procedures, and they doggone China imports come in and
have been around for quite a while. they are loaded with formaldehyde; they
One such supplier, don’t meet any of those
Vasco, carries a line requirements.”
called Quality Cabinets, of a finished product Although such
which is 100 percent — a renewable product lines are
green, said Bob Ranson, available, Ranson said
who was, until recently, a resource that is also the demand for such
vice president at produced in a way that cabinets is not that great
Signature Kitchens. locally.
“I like to say that it is not emitting “I’d say 10 percent
Quality was green before anything harmful into would be a generous
green was cool,” he said. estimate.”
While American-made the home.” Ranson said the price
products are monitored point for Quality
and comply with EPA AMY BAXTER Cabinets has remained
and other agency Gallery Kitchens, LLC in line with those of
standards, the same other labels. Like all
standard does not hold products, he said, prices
true of imported can vary widely from
cabinets, Ranson said. manufacturer to
“That really burns me because our manufacturer, though cabinets made
cabinet manufacturers go to great pains using green practices are generally high-
to do this — to be green and to meet all end products.

Cabinet makers can take the environmental element to a higher level by using
only fast-growing woods such as Alder (left), which regrows from the stump, or
Lyptus wood, a composite made from two types of eucalyptus (right).
12 GOING GREEN | Sunday, March 7, 2010 commercialappeal.com

A better
home for
a better
world
10 ways to
conserve —
with less pain
By Alyson Ward
McClatchy Newspapers

The word “green” has

been part of our
vocabulary for years. We
know we need to reduce,
reuse, recycle — but for
most of us, there’s a
disconnect between what
we know and what we
really do.
It’s true: Going green
isn’t always convenient.
But it’s a lot easier than it wealthy. homes more sustainable.
used to be — and more We talked to Jennifer (Find it at sierraclubgreen
affordable. In just the past Schwab about the best home.com.)
two or three years, eco- ways to go green this year. With Schwab’s help,
friendly choices have Schwab is director of we’ve come up with ways
become more accessible sustainability for Sierra you can help save energy,
and less expensive, and Club Green Home, an water and landfills this
going green is no longer online resource center year — without a lot of
just for the dedicated that the Sierra Club set up pain. Here are 10 ways that
environmentalists and the to help people make their you can make your home
The Commercial Appeal
(and, therefore, your life)
more eco-friendly and
energy-efficient.
1. Install a
programmable
thermostat
Heating and cooling
account for about 55
percent of your energy use,
according to TXU Energy
in Dallas. The efficiency
folks at Energy Star
estimate that the average
household could save $180
a year by switching to a
programmable
thermostat.
How does a
programmable thermostat
work? You can set it to, say,
turn the heat down at night
while you’re sleeping, then
warm back up in the
morning. In the summer,
you can set it to keep the
air conditioner off during
the day while you’re at
work, then cool the house
down by the time you get
home.
Programmable
thermostats are sold at
home-improvement
stores; you can find a
good one for less than
$100. Energy Star has set
up a guideline for how to
program your thermostat
so you’ll save money and
energy. Go to
energystar.gov.
Sunday, March 7, 2010 | GOING GREEN
2. Track your energy
use
Nothing makes you
want to save energy like
seeing the hard numbers.
You can use a software
program to analyze your
home’s energy use — or
even track it live online.
Several programs are
available to help you get a
handle on your energy use.
One we like: Microsoft
Hohm, an application that
launched last spring. It’s a
free download, available
at microsoft-hohm.com.
The program asks you to
enter information about
your home, your
appliances and your
habits. Then it draws up a
personalized energy
report: You’ll find out
what’s sucking up the
most energy in your house
13
and what you can do to
make your numbers better.
3. Switch to
renewable energy
You might not even have
to change providers. Many
traditional companies
offer customers the option
to use renewable energy.
The rates are slightly
higher, but the impact on
your carbon footprint is
amazing.
The electricity that goes
to your home doesn’t
change; it still comes from
the grid that lights us all
up. But when you have
renewable power, your
money is designated for
renewable energy. The
more people who pay for
wind instead of coal, the
more of that big grid will
be powered with wind
instead of coal.
4. Invest in efficient
appliances
You have no idea how
much energy is sucked up
by old, inefficient
appliances. So if you
replace an appliance this
year, go with the Energy
Star designation. Energy
Star appliances require a
lot less energy — which,
in turn, requires a lot less
money. An Energy Star
refrigerator, for instance,
uses at least 20 percent
14 GOING GREEN | Sunday, March 7, 2010
less energy than a
standard fridge.
Go to energystar.gov to
find a buying guide for
major appliances.
5. Seal up your
doors and windows
Especially if you have an
older home, you’re likely
to have some drafts and
some air leaking in around
your doors and windows.
Go around your windows
and see if you can feel the
spots where air is moving
through. You can find
sealants at your nearest
home-improvement store
for less than $5.
6. Limit your home
water use
If you install a few tools
to help you use less water,
you might not even notice
commercialappeal.com
the difference.
If your faucet doesn’t
have a low-flow aerator,
add one. Screwed onto
the end of your faucet, it’ll
reduce the flow of water
— sometimes down to a
half-gallon per minute.
Meanwhile, it adds air to
the flow so you won’t
notice a reduction in
water pressure. You can
find a good aerator for
less than $5.
And consider a low-flow
shower head. Since 1992,
new shower heads sold in
the United States can’t
use more than 2.5 gallons
per minute, according to
the U.S. Department of
Energy. But you can find
low-flow shower heads
that use 2 gallons, 1.5
gallons or even less.
Most major shower-
head companies make a
low-flow option, and
they’re getting better and
more sophisticated.
7. Rethink your
garden
This spring, save water:
Don’t plant tropical plants
or flowers that require
constant attention and
watering. Instead, look for
native plants to fill your
garden.
If you’re not sure what
to plant, consult your
local extension office.
The Commercial Appeal
Find one in your area at
pickyourown.org/
countyextensionagent
offices.htm.
8. Vow to use less
plastic
Yes, plastic is easy, but
it’s not always the
greenest option. So use
glass containers to store
and heat food. Take your
own bags to the grocery
store to avoid taking
home those filmy plastic
bags that can’t go in the
recycling bin. And commit
to stop filling the fridge
(and the trash) with water
bottles. If you’re opposed
to tap water, get a filtered
pitcher or attach a filter to
your kitchen faucet.
If you like the
convenience of bottled
water, consider this
instead: A company called
Clear2O makes a water
bottle with a built-in filter.
You can fill it up anywhere
and drink filtered, good-
tasting water. It retails for
$15.99 and is available at
sporting-goods stores and
some grocery stores, or
go to clear2o.com.
9. Dispose of things
responsibly
If recycling isn’t
available at your
residence, take your
recyclables to a nearby
Sunday, March 7, 2010 | GOING GREEN
drop-off station.
Memphis, for example,
has five drop-off stations.
(Call 576-6851 or go to
memphiswaste.org for
more information.)
And learn, once and for
all, where to take all that
hazardous stuff that
shouldn’t go to the
landfill: batteries, motor
oil, electronics and old
compact fluorescent light
bulbs.
If it can be recycled, you
can go online to find out
where to drop it off. Go to
earth911.com and use the
search tool at the top of
the page. Enter your ZIP
code and type in what you
want to get rid of —
plastics, motor oil, yard
waste, old computers —
and you’ll get a list of drop-
off stations and recycling
centers for your area.
15
10. Try your hand
at composting
Yes, you can divert
household waste from the
trash and do something
good for your garden.
“Composting diverts so
much unneeded waste
from the landfill,” Schwab
says. In the past few years,
composting has gone a bit
more mainstream — and
it’s easy to find bins of all
kinds (and at various
prices) at home-
improvement stores. For
composting basics, go to
howtocompost.org.
If you want to go high-
end, Schwab recommends
the NatureMill
composting bin
(naturemill.com), which
she uses in her own
kitchen. The compact
bins can be used outside,
but they fit easily into a
kitchen cabinet. You drop
in food waste and the bin
does the rest: the turning,
the mixing, the
maintaining of moisture.
Every couple of weeks, a
light tells you the compost
is ready for emptying.
“It’s a lot less involved
than making your own”
compost pile, Schwab says,
and it looks good enough
to leave out in the kitchen.
(Warning: They’re not
cheap — models range
from about $300 to $400.)
16 GOING GREEN | Sunday, March 7, 2010
EARTH TALK
Wasteful ways with food come at a cost
Dear Earth Talk: What are the
environmental implications of all the
food we throw away?
Food waste is a huge issue in the
United States, especially in light of the
growing divide between the profligate
rich and the hungry poor.
According to the U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s Food Loss Project, we throw
away more than 25 percent — some 25.9
million tons — of all the food we produce
for domestic sale and consumption.
A 2004 University of Arizona study
pegs the figure at closer to 50 percent,
finding that Americans squander some
$43 billion annually on wasted food.
Lead researcher Timothy Jones reported
that on average, U.S. households waste
14 percent of their food purchases. He
estimates that a family of four tosses out
$590 per year in meat, fruits, vegetables
and grain products alone.
Once this food gets to the landfill, it
then generates methane, a greenhouse
gas 23 times as potent as carbon dioxide
in trapping heat within our atmosphere.
Furthermore, researchers at the
National Institute of Diabetes and
Digestive and Kidney Diseases
concluded in a 2009 study that each year
a quarter of U.S. water consumption and
more than 300 million barrels of oil (4
percent of U.S. oil consumption) go into
producing and distributing food that
ultimately ends up in landfills.
They add that per capita food waste
has increased by half since 1974.
But environmentalists are optimistic
commercialappeal.com
Patrick Michael Mcleon, courtesy Flickr
A 2009 study suggests that per
capita food waste in the United States
has increased by half since 1974.
that Americans can reduce their food
waste. Restaurants and markets are
finding outlets, such as soup kitchens,
for food they would otherwise toss.
Some communities pick up and centrally
compost food waste from commercial
and residential buildings and put the
resulting nutrient-rich soil to use in
municipal projects. And a few
enterprising cities have waste-to-energy
technologies that extract methane from
landfills for use as fuel.
The University of Arizona’s Jones
suggests more careful purchase
planning, including devising complete
menus and grocery lists, and knowing
what foods are lurking in the fridge and
pantry that should be used before they
go bad. And don’t forget that many
foods can be frozen and enjoyed later.
Send questions to Earth Talk, P.O. Box
5098, Westport, CT 06881 or e-mail
earthtalk@emagazine.com.
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, March 7, 2010 | GOING GREEN
Seed giant courts bumper
crop of backyard gardeners
By Debbie Arrington
The Sacramento Bee
Gardening grows on you.
That’s one reason so many
people discover the hobby
later in life.
Baby boomers are
gravitating toward gardening
as a way to exercise, unwind
and spend time together. It’s
one of a number of trends
that converged in backyards
across America last summer
as more than 7 million
families planted vegetable
gardens for the first time,
according to the National
Gardening Association and
other experts.
Those newbies fueled a
major boom for Burpee, the
go-to seed source for
generations.
“It’s been a wonderful two
years for us,” said Burpee
owner George Ball. “We
were at the right place at the
right time. So many trends
came together at once. It
was a perfect storm for
Burpee mailed out vegetable gardening.”
almost 1.8 million Burpee saw its sales go up
of its signature 20 percent to 25 percent in
Burpee Gardening 2008 and again in 2009 —
catalogs in the biggest surge for the 134-
December. year-old Pennsylvania
17
company since 1973, itself a
recession year.
Spurred by the current
economic downturn, many
American families returned to
gardening or tried it for the
first time as a way to save
money. Growing one’s own
food also is a way to ensure its
safety, another major concern.
“But there’s this big
background trend behind all
that now,” said Ball, 57, an
avid gardener himself. “We’re
getting older. We have more
time. We may finally have a
home of our own and a
backyard. We have space. We
want to garden. That trend
will continue even as the
economy improves.”
Burpee mailed out almost
1.8 million copies of its
signature catalog in
December; another 600,000
catalogs under its other
nameplates are also arriving
in mailboxes.
As always in its catalogs,
Burpee trumpets what’s new
and unusual.
“We scour the world
looking for them,” Ball said.
“We’re always trying to push
the envelope. It’s not the
same old seeds we offered 30
years ago.”
18 GOING GREEN | Sunday, March 7, 2010 commercialappeal.com

Burpee keeps fresh every

winter with a plethora of eye-
popping, never-seen vegetables
and flowers. Those new
introductions — such as Tie-
Dye Tomatoes and RSVPeas —
take five to six years to develop
as hybrids. Some fruit trees
take decades before they reach
the catalog, which has 75 new
introductions for 2010.
“Gardeners want to know
what’s new,” Ball said. “They Jupiter Images
want all that sweat to pay off
every year with something they The USDA has revised its rules on access to
can’t find anywhere else. It’s a pasture for organic dairies’ livestock.
really big deal. It’s hard to find
something exciting every
single year.”
Ball understands what USDA clarifies
gardeners want. For decades,
the Burpee owner and
chairman has seen fads come
organic dairy rules
and go, but his brand has
remained supreme. By Robin Shreeves
The main Burpee catalog is Mother Nature Network
supplemented by two niche
catalogs: The Cook’s Garden When we buy organic milk or any other
for gourmet veggies and organic dairy product, we’d all like to think
Heronswood for rare that the cows have happily and leisurely grazed
perennials and weird plants. in a pasture each day before making their way
Ball has kept his company in up to the barn to be milked. Unfortunately,
step with modern trends while because of the way the U.S. Department of
keeping the Burpee name Agriculture worded the rules for organically
synonymous with vegetable raised cows, that didn’t always have to be so.
seed. Not only does it have the The former rule, which was amended last
country’s top catalog, but it sells month, said that livestock must “have access” to
seeds in supermarket kiosks and pasture. Having access to a pasture doesn’t mean
home-improvement stores. the same thing as actually grazing on pasture.
The most popular sellers are Milk-producing livestock for some of the
the standards: zucchini, larger organic dairy companies technically had
sunflowers and zinnias. access to pasture, but they spent less time
“They’re easy” for gardeners, pasturing and more time in cramped conditions.
Ball said. In 2008, the Cornucopia Institute rated
The Commercial Appeal
dairies on the living conditions of
their livestock and found several of the
larger dairy producers “ethically
deficient.” These dairies included
Horizon, one of the most recognizable
organic labels, and Aurora, a dairy that
packages its milk under private labels
for stores such as Costco and Safeway.
Because the USDA rule on having
access to pasture was silent about the
amount of time livestock should spend
on pasture, many of the larger organic
dairy companies could say they were
doing nothing wrong. However,
Cornucopia Institute’s report, along
with cries of foul from other groups,
got the USDA’s attention.
On Feb. 12, the USDA clarified “the
use of pasture in raising organic
ruminants.”
Here are some of the new rules that
will go into effect on June 17.
Animals must graze pasture
during the grazing season, which
must be at least 120 days per year.
Animals must obtain a minimum
of 30 percent dry matter intake from
grazing pasture during the grazing
season.
Producers must have a pasture
management plan and manage
pasture as a crop to meet the feed
requirements for the grazing animals
and to protect soil and water quality.
Livestock are exempt from the
30 percent dry matter intake
requirements during the finish
feeding period, not to exceed 120
days. Livestock must have access to
pasture during the finishing phase.
Robin Shreeves blogs about finding eco-
friendly food options at mnn.com/featured-
blogs/sustainablefood.
Sunday, March 7, 2010 | GOING GREEN 19
Finding sweet success
with Fair Trade flavors
By Siel Ju
Mother Nature Network
Here’s some sweet news for ice cream
lovers: Ben & Jerry’s ice creams will soon
all be Fair Trade sweetened and flavored.
The popular ice cream company first
dipped into the Fair Trade movement
back in 2005, when it started using Fair
Trade coffee, cocoa and
vanilla for some of its
flavors — ensuring that
the producers of those
ingredients got a fairer
share of the profits from
the ice cream.
But the company kept
using conventional sugar
instead of Fair Trade-
certified sugar in the ice creams with the
Fair Trade logo.
Now Ben & Jerry’s is ready to make a
complete switch. The company is going
to use Fair Trade sugar in all its ice
creams — making pretty much every
flavor eligible for Fair Trade certification
— and also will switch away from
conventional products for all ingredients
available with Fair Trade certification.
That means 11 ingredients in Ben &
Jerry’s products — from sugar to coffee
to banana to some nuts — will all be
Fair Trade certified. The switch to Fair
Trade will be complete by the end of
2013.
Siel Ju blogs about health, beauty and life at
mnn.com/featured-blogs/greenliving.
20 GOING GREEN | Sunday, March 7, 2010 commercialappeal.com

Shower products in the ONE line from Target come in a cardboard container
that can be recycled, with a tin for traveling.

Ditch the bottles

Shower bars use less packaging with the shampoo bar,
formulated with
oatmeal and natural
By Kim Ossi products that has oils, in just three or
McClatchy-Tribune actually put some four rubs over your wet
thought into packaging. hair. And then follow
Think about all the The ONE line’s solid up with the solid
bottles you have in your shampoo and conditioner bar to
shower right now. Likely conditioner bars ($6.99 hydrate. Available in
the collection includes each) are concentrated, four scents, each is
shampoo, conditioners, with each shampoo bar formulated for a
body washes and scrubs, equal to a 24-ounce different hair type.
facial scrubs, soap and bottle of liquid Also included in the
masks. shampoo. The bar ONE line: bar soap
Now think about how comes in one recyclable ($5.99), Bath Fizzers
many bottles you’ve cardboard container ($5.99), After Shower
just tossed in the trash and includes a tin for Skin Conditioner Bar
because there’s no travel. The ($6.49), Shea Body
recycling bin in your concentrated bars also Butter ($9.99), Lotion
bathroom. Make the are much lighter to Massage Bar ($9.99)
decision to end the ship to stores, reducing and more.
cycle now and stock up the carbon footprint of The ONE collection
on the new ONE line of the product — and is available at all Target
eco-friendly cleansing your own when you use stores and online at
and moisturizing it. You can lather up Target.com.
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, March 7, 2010 | GOING GREEN 21

‘Compostable’ plastics on the way

By Sandy Bauers
The Philadelphia Inquirer
London researchers have come up
with a new sugar-based polymer that
they say could make food packaging and
other disposable plastic items suitable
for being composted at home along with
the usual veggie peelings and other
organic waste.
Right now, most “compostable”
plastics have to be sent to industrial-size
facilities. And they’re often made from
food crops such as corn, sugar beets and
potatoes, creating ethical concerns in a
world where many poor people go
hungry and using food stocks for plastics
might drive up prices.
The degradable polymer is made from
sugars known as “lignocellulosic
biomass,” which come from fast-growing
trees and grasses, or renewable biomass
from agricultural or food waste,
according to a press release from
Imperial College London, where the
team of engineering and physical
sciences researchers is based.
Lead researcher Charlotte Williams
said significant research is going into
developing greener plastics — not only
for environmental reasons, but also
because of economic and supply
considerations.
About 7 percent of worldwide oil and
gas resources are consumed in plastics
manufacture, with worldwide
production exceeding 150 million tons
per year.
For the plastic to be useful it had to be
manufactured in large volumes and
produced in a low-energy, low-water
process, Williams said.
In contrast, the leading biorenewable
plastic, polylactide, is formed in a high-
energy process requiring large volumes
of water. In addition, when it reaches the
end of its life polylactide must be
degraded in a high-temperature
industrial facility.
The new polymer’s oxygen-rich sugars
allow it to absorb water and degrade to
harmless products — meaning it can be
tossed on the home compost heap and
used to feed the garden.

Just one thing

Rethink your toothbrush. Millions of plastic toothbrushes are disposed of
in landfills every year. One company, Preserve, makes its toothbrushes from
recycled yogurt cups and even lets you return them, in postage-paid
envelopes, to the company to be made into recycled plastic park benches
and other useful stuff. Learn more at preserveproducts.com.