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Sunny future on
19 Time to rake up
a compost pile
22 toxic grounds
GREEN PROGRAMS from the Native Americans to the Civil War. And
stick around to watch the sunset over Ole Man
Randolph Bluffs picnic River. No pets allowed due to an artillery
demonstration.
Join the Sierra Club For directions or additional information
and the Tennessee about the picnic, see the Sierra Club
Parks & Greenways Chickasaw Group Facebook page
Foundation for the (facebook.com/Chickasaw.Group), e-mail
Randolph Bluffs Fall hooverkw@yahoo.com or call 363-8299 or
Sunset Picnic today 276-1387. More information can be found at
from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., on 350.org/randolph-bluffs-sunset-picnic.
one of the last non-
privately owned bluffs,
along with the Memphis GREEN CELEBRATION
riverfront. The event
will be held on Ballard GreenUp Memphis
Slough Road near A hike to a nearby A new festival, GreenUp Memphis,
Needham Road, in rare, preserved celebrating things you can do to make Memphis
Randolph, Tenn. underground Civil both more eco-friendly and a more attractive
The outing is War powder place to live, will take place on Oct. 30 from 11
designed to allow the magazine will be a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Green at South Front
public an opportunity to conducted at the (adjacent to the Memphis Farmers Market,
explore, enjoy and help behind Central Station in Downtown).
protect this riverfront
Randolph Bluffs With live music, festival food, exhibits,
property as a site for a Fall Sunset Picnic. prizes and more, this is an event for folks who
future state park. Bring care about their hometown and want to make
a side dish or dessert to share for the picnic, and a difference.
enjoy scenic hikes and living history For more information, call 576-6000 or e-
demonstrations that span the area’s history mail greenup@memphistn.gov.
4 GOING GREEN | Sunday, October 10, 2010 commercialappeal.com
REUSE
section of The Commercial Appeal or on game before it’sno fun anymore. In addition
Freecycle.com or Craigslist. to purchasing these used items on the
4. Baby items:You can find some great Internet, stores like Game Stop not only sell
bargains by purchasing used car seats, used games but will also accept them in trade
strollers, high chairs, changing tables and when making another purchase. If you enjoy
even toys. You’ll want to disinfect them once yard sales, you can often find them there.
you bring them home, but unless you There is real truth in the old adage “One
are purchasing something from man’s trash is another man’s treasure,”and
someone who’s raised seven that applies to music and movies, too.
kids, the stuff is usually in very 8. Books: Many people, and I’m one of
good condition. Blankets and them, don’t read a book more than once.
clothing are also good to buy Reference books, of course, are a different
used. You can even get matter. Used bookstores usually have an
backyard playsets at a steal. extensive title collection, so you can find a
There are several major consignment cookbook or a crime novel. Most
sales in the area at different times of the of the used bookstores
year — just Google children’s consignment accept books in trade, but
and Memphis. they won’t take books of
5. Household appliances: Many people which they have ample
replace washers and dryers that have copies, or that are in
plenty of good life left in them. The latest shabby condition.
trend is a set that washes and dries a load 9. Jewelry: You can
of clothes in 37 minutes. Take advantage of find some real bargains
super-busy folks who have a spare $4,000 by purchasing jewelry
to use saving time, and pick up their old used. As I write this, I am
machines for a song. Used refrigerators can wearing a pair of 14-carat
also be found at great savings. gold earrings I bought at a
6. Electronics:Many people just can’t pawn shop. I can hear the collective
resist the allure of a bigger screen or new gasping, but gold is gold. For those of you
features, so when they upgrade they sell who would never think of setting foot in a
their old sets, which are often in great shape. pawn shop, estate sales are a great place to
Some stores will sell demo models find jewelry, and many antique stores carry
off the floor and that can snag vintage jewelry that is quite stylish.
some savings too. Ever- 10. Sports equipment: The treadmill
changing technology often that has been sitting in the corner of
puts used computers on the someone’s room so long it’s grown cobwebs
market for a bargain price. I is a prime purchase. Dust off those cobwebs
used a reconditioned laptop and you’re ready to go. Trendy workout
for two years. Gaming systems items, like the Doorway Gym and the Perfect
are usually a good bet to buy Push Ups, can usually be easily found.
used, because people often are upgrading Sometimes you can find these at thrift
their systems and switching brands. stores, but you’re more likely to find these
7. Games, CDs and DVDs:Let’s face it, on Craigslist, Freecycle.com or in the paper.
there are only so many times you can defeat a
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, October 10, 2010 | GOING GREEN 7
RECYCLE
the local haunts you’re usually too busy laundry machine only when full; wash
for on the weekends. Or consider a cars rarely, or better yet, take them to a
leisurely train trip across the country. commercial car wash.
4. Choose sustainable building 8. Easy behavioral changes: By
materials, furnishings and cleaning turning down your thermostat by just one
products: Explore green design features degree you could cut your heating bills by
for your home — solar heating, 10 percent; turning it down by four
rainwater barrels or gray-water degrees could save the
recycling system, and recycled average home 5 percent of
materials. Look for furnishings its total ecological footprint.
that are secondhand, recycled Other easy changes
or produced in a sustainable include:
manner. Clean or replace dirty air-
Drought-tolerant or conditioner filters as
native plants in your recommended to keep the AC
garden and yard will help operating at peak efficiency.
reduce the amount of Unplug your
water and pesticides electronics when not in
needed to maintain your use. To make it easier,
outdoor space. use a power strip.
Finally, when it’s cleaning Dry your clothes
time use biodegradable, nontoxic outside whenever
products. possible.
Defrost your
5. Buy secondhand or refrigerator and freezer
borrow: On average, 10 regularly.
percent of our footprint is Choose green electricity.
made up of the things we Many utilities give you the option
buy new. Houses are often to purchase electricity generated by
cluttered with items that get wind and solar power for a small rate
used or worn only a few times. surcharge.
6. Home energy efficiency: 9. Vegetarian diet:
This tip is one of the simplest to follow. The ecological footprint of vegetarians
Improving your home’s insulation, which who eat a moderate amount of milk and
can be quick and easy, will typically recoup eggs could be 40 percent lower than their
the cost in reduced energy bills within a few counterparts who consume a low-meat
years. When it’s time to replace appliances, diet.
choose efficient models as well as installing 10. Recycle everything:
low-flow shower heads, faucets and toilets. Avoid overpackaged products when
7. Adopt water-saving habits: Take shopping. Donate unwanted items to
shorter, less frequent showers (saves charity shops. Use your curbside
water and the energy used to heat it); recycling collection and find out where
turn off garbage disposal and compost you can recycle items that are not
instead; run the dishwasher and the collected.
10 GOING GREEN | Sunday, October 10, 2010 commercialappeal.com
By Jim Coleman
Special to Going Green
Kennedy Ross
(left), 7, and
Remy
Feathers, 8,
work with
Steve Ross in
the vegetable
garden at
Evergreen
Montessori.
Mike Maple
The Commercial
Appeal
Among those
participating in the
ceremony were Bobby
White (left), chief of
staff for the Memphis
mayor; Shelby County
Mayor Mark Luttrell;
CBU president John
Smarrelli; U.S. Rep.
Steve Cohen and CBU
board chairman Robert
McEniry.
16 GOING GREEN | Sunday, October 10, 2010 commercialappeal.com
Tastin’ groovy
Siebert’s business
is about art as
well as eats
By Angela Knipple
Special to Going Green
WHEN UELE
SIEBERT started
Groovy Foods in
2002, she never
thought of it as being
strictly a business.
For her, it is as much
about art as it is
about food.
“When people think
of art, they think about
painting and sculpture
first, but people are
starting to have a
greater perception of
food as art. For me,
that’s what it is. It’s a
way of expressing
myself, of being able to Photos by Justin Shaw/Special to The Commercial Appeal
put my touch on Groovy Foods owner Uele Siebert sees her products
something, of tweaking as a form of art. “It’s a way of expressing myself, of
it somehow,” she says. being able to put my touch on something,” she says.
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, October 10, 2010 | GOING GREEN 17
Start simple
to build
compost pile
By Dawn Hinshaw
McClatchy Newspapers
GREEN SUMMIT
The Memphis Urban Garden Program, Speakers will include Dr. Jac Varco
along with the Sunshine Crew Garden of Mississippi State University, Dr.
Club, St. Luke United Methodist Church Barry Colley of Forrest City, Ark.,
(HARC), and 7th Harvest Farms, will host Robson Zimuto of Zimbabwe and
a Green Space Summit II on Thursday Donna Downen of the UT Extension
from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at St. Luke’s Service. Information will also be
Fellowship Hall, 480 S. Highland. available about scholarships in
The session will offer information agriculture and consumer science.
about utilizing green space in Shelby The public is invited. Registration is
County with an added nutritional value. available at surveymonkey.com
Topics will include backyard and /s/LKVMCTC or by e-mail to
community gardening soil preparation, greenspacesummitII@gmail.com.
Shelby County’s available land use, You can also register by calling Rose
nutrition, hoop houses and year-round Gales of the Sunshine Crew garden
growing, and social economics. group at (901) 745-5240.
20 GOING GREEN | Sunday, October 10, 2010 commercialappeal.com
Q: I’m a contractor.
Recently I started
working with a designer
on a project, and she is
very excited about us
offering the homeowner
the option of an “eco,”
instead of a conventional,
bathroom. I’m new to all
this eco thinking for
bathrooms and would
like your views. Can you SHNS file photo courtesy DIY Network
explain in plain English
some basic components Cast-iron tubs and sinks are back in style since they
used in eco bathrooms? are made from about 90 percent recycled materials.
A: Simply put, an eco
bathroom should Vanities and high demand. However,
incorporate as much countertops: Natural environmentally friendly
natural and recycled stone is a great choice for and energy-efficient,
material as possible, and vanity tops, along with lightweight concrete
efficient plumbing, man-made countertops flooring can be a good
lighting, heating and that use recycled choice for bathrooms
cooling equipment. But it materials. For vanities, with radiant-floor
doesn’t stop there; the natural moisture-resistant heating.
materials used for the products like teak are Plumbing fixtures:
project should also be becoming a popular Cast-iron tubs and sinks
ordered from factories choice. are back in style since
and manufacturers that Wall tiles: Natural- they are made from about
have kept environmental stone tiles and recycled- 90 percent recycled
concerns in mind when glass tiles work well. Also, materials. High-efficiency
making the products. fired-clay tiles that toilets and shower heads
That’s the short version. incorporate recycled are flying off the shelves,
For a more detailed material and lead-free since new flushing
breakdown, here are a glazes are commonly systems and pressure-
few ideas and tips that used. delivery designs allow for
can be used to create an Flooring: Once again, top performance while
eco bathroom: natural-stone tiles are in using less water.
22 GOING GREEN | Sunday, October 10, 2010 commercialappeal.com
Robert
Bucknam
Jr. (left)
and Bill
Geary look
over the
Clean
Harbors
site while
holding the
plans.
Charles Fox
incinerated at, Rollins. The facility Geary says. “We can also sell it
operated in stunning proximity to back” to the utility grid, he adds.
the Raccoon Creek, the Delaware “Turning brown into green,”
River, and farms and homes. It agrees Robert W. Bucknam Jr., the
closed in 2001 after its owner at the Haddonfield, N.J., lawyer who
time, a company called Safety-Kleen, helped Clean Harbors obtain the
went bankrupt. approvals required for the project.
Although the landfill was sealed The chair of the land use and
before 2002, Clean Harbors has environmental permitting group at
since spent $7.7 million to remediate Archer & Greiner, Bucknam praises
other environmental damage on the the state’s innovative and aggressive
property. The new $7.2 million solar incentives for solar development.
panels will offset the use of No wonder private firms are
commercial power on the site. rushing to install solar panels atop
“The remediation itself will be the vast warehouses along the
powered by renewable energy,” turnpike; closed landfills are likewise
Geary says. attractive. Arrays are already in
Noting that the New Jersey place on two former landfills, and 15
township has installed solar panels more are in development elsewhere
on the municipal building, Logan in the state.
Mayor Frank Minor is enthusiastic. “We looked at 20 other locations
“It’s wonderful,” says the mayor, in other states, but we decided on
who hopes the project will generate this one because of New Jersey’s
jobs as well as electricity. incentives,” says Geary, citing in
Surplus power could well be an particular the state’s Solar
incentive for adjacent development, Renewable Energy Certificates.