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2 GOING GREEN | Sunday, January 2, 2011 commercialappeal.

com

What’s in this issue ...


Needle and
13 thread
Sewing School
Book teaches how
to “Sew Green”

Christmas
15 trees: edible
and delicious
Leading the way
4 in solar innovation Poinsettias
The Tennessee Solar
18 good for all
Institute awards funds for seasons
statewide energy projects
A new year,
Institutions partner with Oak Ridge
laboratory on research, outreach. PAGE 8 22 a greener
Jacob’s Ladder works on pilot solar
panel as part of its mission . PAGE 11 Chattanooga

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: Kim Coleman, 529-5243, goinggreen@commercialappeal.com
Community Editor: Emily Adams Keplinger, keplinger@commercialappeal.com

On the cover: Electrician Everett Carpenter works on the installation for a solar panel array on the roof of the
Great Neck Saw Manufacturing facility. Photo by Brandon Dill, Special to The Commercial Appeal.
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, January 2, 2011 | GOING GREEN 3

The Green Page


Consignment stores 684-1023 Once Upon A Child
Cleaning out your Sugar Plum 2200 N. Germantown
closets? Thinking about Consignments Pkwy., Suite 12
making your life greener 6100 Primacy Pkwy. 382-3332
by recycling your gently Suite 108 Plato’s Closet
used items? Here is a list 481-9988 2200 N. Germantown
of some of the area’s Summer Kids Pkwy., Suite 17
resale and consignment 5004 Summer
818-6880 386-0340
stores:
Bartlett Germantown
Memphis Design by Consign
Celery Consignpointe
6762 Stage 9030 Poplar Pike
728 E. Brookhaven Circle
384-9555 751-1570
685-2386 Creative Consignment
Consign Pointe 5826 Stage
1626 Union Millington
384-6099 Goodwill
276-2001 Goodwill
Flashback, Inc. 8510 Wilkinsville
6899 Stage
2304 Central 507-3284 872-0280
272-2304
Goodwill Collierville DeSoto County
3830 Austin Peay, Goodwill Bargain Barn
380-3235; 783 W. Poplar 480 E. Commerce
574 S. Highland 854-2274 Hernando
458-6610; Cloudcutter (662) 429-4447
6063 Park Consignments
761-6847; Goodwill
1016 W. Poplar 6396 Highway 51 N.
7040 Shelby Drive; Suite 106-205
754-8500 471-3211 Horn Lake
Junior League Repeat (662) 280-4337
3586 Summer Cordova and
327-4777 Fashion Exchange 925 Stateline
Nice As New 694 N Germantown Southaven
23 S. November 6th St. Pkwy. (662) 342-7097
526-3277 753-8888 The Green Boutique
Plato’s Closet Kids’ Exchange & More 9086 Pigeon Roost Road
454 Perkins Ext. 694 N. Germantown
761-1616 Olive Branch
Pkwy, Ste. 55
Right Click USA 753-8888 (662) 890-8797
5126 Old Summer Road Odds N Ends Jack & Jill
682-6833 1105 N. Houston Levee 418 W. Main
Simply Divine Plus Size Road, Suite 109 Senatobia
699 S. Mendenhall 757-7420 (662) 562-6888
4 GOING GREEN | Sunday, January 2, 2011 commercialappeal.com

Brandon Dill/Special to The Commercial Appeal


Tristate Armature electricians Allen Martin (left) and Everett Carpenter (center)
install brackets on the roof of the Great Neck Saw Manufacturing facility for a
solar panel array that will be in place by March.

A leader in solar
New institute helps fund installation, innovation
By Suzanne Thompson In a speech, Gov. Phil Bredesen said
Special to Going Green he wanted “Tennessee to be a leader in
all things solar,” and mentioned a vision
What started out as a discussion be- for creating the TSI.
tween leaders at the Oak Ridge National The idea was to bring together state
Laboratory and the state of Tennessee experts, scientists and engineers —
has now grown into the Tennessee So- mostly from the Oak Ridge National
lar Institute (TSI). Laboratory — with policy makers and
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, January 2, 2011 | GOING GREEN 5

business leaders all across the state, said Programs through


Stacey Patterson, director of Research the Solar Innovation Fund
Partnerships for the University of Ten-
nessee system. Technical assistance: Applicants
The UT system is the umbrella or- will obtain tools and resources
ganization that manages all of the Uni- needed to implement sustainable
versity of Tennessee campuses and in- clean energy programs in their place
stitutes. of operation.
TSI received its initial funding in Work force development: Applicants
September 2009, and since then it has will participate in work force
garnered millions in grant money to pro- development projects that include
mote the installation of solar panels and education and training programs
other aspects of the solar energy chain. related to the manufacturing, sale,
The start-up money for TSI came from installation and maintenance of solar
a grant from the Department of Energy systems and equipment.
as part of the state’s energy program and Renewable energy products
the American Investment and Recovery integration: Applicants will
Act of 2009. incorporate renewable energy
The grant was made to the Tennessee products in their place of operation
Department of Economic and Commu- with the intent of reducing
nity Development. The UT system has greenhouse gases and energy
been contracted to oversee, manage and consumption. These improvements
implement specific programs that were also demonstrate commercially
outlined in the grant. available renewable energy
Currently, within the TSI, two major technologies to potential customers.
grant programs are funding solar projects Process improvements: Applicants
throughout Tennessee. will integrate manufacturing process
“The two most common that everyone improvements that increase overall
talks about are through the $23.5 million efficiency and productivity.
Grant of Solar Opportunity Fund, and it’s Technology improvements:
broken up into two grant programs — Applicants will incorporate changes
the first being the Solar Installation in manufacturing operations by
Grant and the other a Solar Innovation adding new technologies and
Fund,” Patterson said. methods that speed the deployment
The Solar Installation Grant consists of of products and create opportunities
$9 million to be used as a kind of cost for entry into new markets.
share to Tennessee businesses that install Facilities and equipment
solar panels. improvements: Applicants will
“They are reimbursements based on reduce energy consumption through
install capacity,” Patterson said. “The lev- traditional energy efficiency retrofits
els of funding are for the first 1 to 30 by upgrading facilities and installing
kilowatts where the reimbursement is $2 energy-efficient equipment.
per watt; 30 to 60 is $1.50 per watt; and
6 GOING GREEN | Sunday, January 2, 2011 commercialappeal.com

Workshop
The Tennessee Solar Institute will hold a
Grant Workshop from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Jan. 5 in Nashville at the UT Center for
Industrial Services, 193 Polk Ave. The
workshop is designed to walk applicants
through the Solar Innovation Fund
application process.

from 60 to 200 kilowatts is $1 per


watt.”
The funds available through the Solar
Installation Grant have been fully com-
mitted to 109 projects across the state,
in all nine congressional districts.
Of the 109 projects, 97 Notices to
Proceed have been issued.
“About 30 percent of those have ac-
tually started installation, and we’ve
had three installations completed,” Pat-
terson said.
The Great Neck Saw distribution cen-
ter on East Raines Road is one of four Brandon Dill/Special to The Commercial Appeal
Memphis companies that received a So- Allen Martin (left) and Everett
lar Installation Grant. Carpenter discuss what to do next while
On Aug. 24, Great Neck Saw received installing brackets on the roof of the
a letter of approval for $980,000 in Great Neck Saw Manufacturing facility.
grant funds, according to Ron Dunlevy,
vice president of distribution.
“We have already started the prep “Our location in Memphis makes it
work for installation to put solar panels more attractive for us to be able to do
on top of our roof,” he said. that,” Dunlevy said. “It’s a win-win deal
The company’s 235,000-square-foot for everyone, and I think it’s a great deal.”
center is broken into four separate The second program of the Grant of
suites, and the solar panels funded Solar Opportunity Funds, the Solar In-
through this grant will be installed on novation Grant Program, is a $14.5 mil-
one of the suites. lion fund to provide grant opportunities
Renewable energy is important to to Tennessee companies that are part of
Great Neck Saw, and installing solar the solar value chain.
panels at its Memphis distribution cen- Six areas were identified that need
ter — where the weather is so warm — help to improve the solar value chain —
seemed a natural. technical assistance, work force devel-
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, January 2, 2011 | GOING GREEN 7

Electrician Everett Carpenter (left) shows Great Neck Saw manufacturing vice
president Ron Dunlevy one of the tools used to install the rails for a solar panel
array. The company received nearly $1 million in grant money with help from
the Tennessee Solar Institute.

opment, renewable energy products in- to apply for grants in each one of the six
tegration, process improvements, tech- different categories, Patterson said.
nology improvements and facilities and Mid-South Sustainable Energy Solu-
equipment improvements. tions Inc., and Sharp Manufacturing Co.
The state released its request for pro- of North America are the Shelby County
posals (RFP) for money in the Solar businesses that will receive funds from
Innovation Fund in August, and accept- the first round of grant approvals.
ed applications until Sept. 24. TSI officials announced Dec. 8 that it
The 116 RFPs that were received has begun accepting applications for the
were evaluated by TSI and sent on to a second round of Solar Innovation Fund
third party for final approval. Grant money.
On Dec. 8, TSI announced the com- Applications for companies wanting
panies that were approved for funding. to vie for funding must be received by
The number of RFPs isn’t representa- Jan. 20. Detailed information and ap-
tive of the number of companies that ap- plications are available on the TSI web-
plied, because companies were allowed site, solar.tennessee.edu.
8 GOING GREEN | Sunday, January 2, 2011 commercialappeal.com

A $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation is being used to build
a statewide research and education program for solar energy.

Education for the future


Institutions By Suzanne Thompson
Special to Going Green
partner with
The Tennessee Solar Institute is assembling a group of
Oak Ridge professors from different public and private universities
around the state and researchers from Oak Ridge National
laboratory Laboratory to participate in the Tennessee Solar Conversion
and Outreach through Research and Education (TN-
on research, SCORE).
The program is being funded by a $20 million com-
outreach petitive grant the TSI was awarded from the National
efforts Science Foundation.
The $20 million will be disbursed over a 5-year period.
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, January 2, 2011 | GOING GREEN 9

The idea is to promote energy- Training opportunities


related research and education The Tennessee Solar Institute, in
throughout the state. conjunction with the UT Center for Industrial
“Oak Ridge has people and facil- Services, which is an agency of the UT Institute
ities and equipment and technology of Public Services, is bringing training classes
that is just nowhere else in the coun- for installation of solar panels to Memphis.
try, so we will partner with them on The classes provide training approved by
the research part of that,” said Stacey the North American Board of Certified Energy
Practitioners (NABCEP).
Patterson, Director of Research Part- The training is scheduled for Jan. 24-29 in
nerships for the UT system. Memphis.
Dr. Yongmei Wang, a professor of A test is given at the end of the classes to
chemistry at the University of Mem- gain NABCEP certification.
phis, is a member of one of the Stacey Patterson, director of Research
research groups. Partnerships for the UT System, said previous
Researchers for the U of M group classes have been well-received.
“They have been wildly successful. Of the
have been allocated $1.2 million of three classes we have held, 53 people have
the $20 million. It will be shared by attended,” she said.
the five faculty members participat- The first class had a 100, percent pass rate.
ing in the research during the 5-year The Memphis training classes will be at the
span of the project. Fogelman Center on the University of
“What’s exciting about this is that Memphis campus.
it doesn’t just include UT,” Patterson There is no cost to attend the class, and
said. “The University of Memphis is lunch is provided.
A prescreening exam is required for all
playing a key role in this project.” registrants.
The opportunity to have a group For more information or questions, contact
of researchers from several institutes Earl Pomeroy, (615) 532-8657.
allows the UT Institute for Public
Service to conduct research in sev- Registration
eral different areas. To register for this solar PV course, contact:
“Basically, there are four different Tennessee Career Center-Memphis
investigators around the state that 444 N. Main, 2nd Floor
form clusters of centers which try to Memphis, TN 38105.
align assets from campuses and fac- Jackie Ervin
ulties around the state along the (901) 545-2846
lines of energy conversion and stor- Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology entry-level
age,” Wang said. training Includes:
“They have three different areas of North American Board of Certified Energy
research, but it is partly flexible, so Practitioners entry-level Certificate of
whatever our research kind of match- Knowledge exam
Photovoltaic history and market
es with the goal, that’s what we will developments
work on, and that’s how it works,” Solar concepts and terminology
Wang explained. Onsite Photovoltaic system configurations
The three areas are: advanced so- and components
lar conversion and innovation; com- Photovoltaic safety
10 GOING GREEN | Sunday, January 2, 2011 commercialappeal.com

Participants
“It is also about outreach
Faculty from 11 institutions are
committed to participate in the and education. So we will
nodes. The institutions include: also promote research
East Tennessee State University
among the students and
Fisk University
King College collaborate for the good
Middle Tennessee State of everyone.”
University
Oak Ridge National Laboratory DR. YONGMEI WANG
Tennessee State University Professor of chemistry at
the University of Memphis
Tennessee Technological
University
University of Memphis
ponents and devices for energy
University of Tennessee, storage and conversion; and
Knoxville nanostructures for enhancing en-
University of Tennessee Space ergy efficiency.
Institute The program is so new, that Pat-
Vanderbilt University terson just recently had the first
face-to-face meeting with partici-
Projects pating faculty members at the U of
Specifically, the grant will fund: M, so organizers are in the process
of ironing out the exact details.
Awards to new faculty at “Our research might have
nonresearch-extensive institutions. slightly different goals and we are
Scholarships/stipends for doing a lot of research here. For
graduate students participating in that specific project, we don’t
academic bridge programs between know what specific thing we are
Fisk University, Tennessee State supposed to work on,” she said.
University, Vanderbilt University Wang speculates that most of
and other research universities. the research conducted by the
Summer research experience for group she is in will center around
undergraduates. solar storage.
Summer mini-sabbaticals for But the project is not purely
high school, community college and about research, Wang pointed out.
four-year college faculty. “It is also about outreach and
Outreach to K-12 classrooms. education. So we will also pro-
mote research among the students
Summer internships and a and collaborate for the good of
yearlong undergraduate training everyone,” she said.
program.
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, January 2, 2011 | GOING GREEN 11

Solar collector project’s in the can

Mike Maple/The Commercial Appeal


Christian Lopes (left) and Bill Marler, executive director of Jacob’s
Ladder, display the Angel Fire solar collector. It is made from aluminum
cans, cut in half lengthwise, and placed between panes of tempered glass.

By Suzanne Thompson Development Corp.


Special to Going Green A high crime area, the Beltline
does have a safe haven for children
The economically depressed Belt- and adolescents thanks to two com-
line community behind the Liberty munity centers operated by Jacob’s
Bowl, south of the railroad tracks on Ladder.
Southern Avenue, is a part of town But Bill Marler, executive director
that has been virtually forgotten, ac- of Jacob’s Ladder, said he thinks
cording to Rev. Marise Tuttle, di- that’s just not enough, not by a long
rector of Jacob’s Ladder Community way. So, the organization is thinking
12 GOING GREEN | Sunday, January 2, 2011 commercialappeal.com

big. base by building solar collectors,” Mar-


With the help of Dr. Ed Perry, a ler said.
professor at the University of Memphis, Finally, the solar panels could help
Jacob’s Ladder has designed a solar develop a workforce in the Beltline.
energy device called an Angel Fire solar “We’re trying to educate children and
collector. to give them opportunities to do some-
Made from aluminum cans, cut in half thing for themselves,” he said.
lengthwise, and placed between panes Marler submitted an $800,000 grant
of tempered glass, the device uses the proposal earlier in the year, but did not
energy from the sun and converts it to receive the funding.
power in the winter, Marler said. The Rotary Club of Memphis Central
The prototype of the device, which is providing money for the production
was built by Christian Lopes as his of another solar collection panel, which
Eagle Scout project, is about the size of will be tweaked a bit for the second
a queen-size mattress. prototype before it is installed on one of
Having Lopes construct the device the Jacob’s Ladder community centers.
was in a sense part of the research for “It’s going through some modifica-
the project, to see if someone with very tions right now, sort of like the Wright
little training would be able to suc- brothers with their first plane,” Marler
cessfully build one. said.
Marler is seeking grant funding to go The eventual goal is to put one of the
into production with the panels as part devices on every home in the Beltline.
of a three-pronged approach to help the For a typical home in the area, a solar
Beltline community. collection panel about the size of a full
“For us it really mattress would be
has three benefits,” “We’re trying to educate required.
Marler said. Marler has no il-
The first is to pro- children and to give them lusions about the
vide heat for homes opportunities to do scope of such a goal,
in the low-income and is re-writing the
area. something for themselves.” grant proposal in
The second is to hopes of gaining the
teach business skills BILL MARLER much-needed fund-
to young people in Executive director of Jacob’s Ladder ing.
the community and “To do this on a
to provide a manu- large scale, we’re go-
facturing facility to encourage an ad- ing to need a big chunk of money,” he
ditional skill set. said.
“Memphis has made a radical shift Fortunately, the nonprofit organiza-
over the past 30 years from being a tion has neighboring companies that
manufacturing base to being a service have committed to pitch in to get the
base. We’d like to go back and see if the project going.
Beltline could become a manufacturing Known as the Beltline Energy Con-
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, January 2, 2011 | GOING GREEN 13

sortium, Coca-Cola, along with Bin-


swanger Glass and Shelby Millworks,
are doing what they can to help Marler
and the community.
Officials at the nearby Coca-Cola bot-
tling facility have agreed to donate re-
cycled cans for the prototypes.
Leaders at Binswanger donated the
glass for the first prototype, and have
committed to sell the glass to Jacob’s
Ladder at below market prices, once the
projects is under way.
One pane of the glass, which is tem-
pered and suitable for use on a patio door,
is about $95, according to Les Davis, as-
sistant branch manager at the Bin-
Book teaches
swanger location on South Hollywood.
Davis said he is happy that Bin-
swanger can help with a project that
to ‘Sew Green’
will improve the community.
“It’s a proactive way of trying to By Marci Woodmansee
green up the neighborhood, and our Special to Going Green
neighborhood needs it — anything we
can do to help spruce up the neigh- Grace-St. Luke’s Episcopal School
borhood,” he said. senior kindergarten teacher Amie
Preliminary testing on the solar panels Plumley recently published her first
has been very promising, Marler said. book, “Sewing School.” Co-written
In research conducted by Perry, who with long-time friend and Memphis
teaches mechanical engineering, the An- Brooks Museum of Art public
gel Fire solar collector heated from 68 relations manager Andria Lisle,
degrees Fahrenheit to 125 Fahrenheit “Sewing School” is a how-to-sew
under late afternoon sun exposure. book for ages 5 and up. It features 21
The solar collection panels are part of step-by-step projects to inspire young
a bigger plan. needle -smiths to create useful,
“I think that the greatest thing that modern objects with minimal adult
we are facing today is how are we going supervision. Many of the projects
to take care of our planet so we can were tested by students at Grace-St.
hand it off to our children and to their Luke’s School during sewing
children,” Marler said. enrichment courses and summer
Marler said he believes the solar col- camps taught by Plumley and Lisle
lectors have the potential to turn things over the past few years.
around for the Beltline. Full-size patterns are included in
“It could be a game changer.” the back of the book so kids can get
14 GOING GREEN | Sunday, January 2, 2011 commercialappeal.com

At Davis-Kidd Booksellers, Grace-St. Luke’s fifth-grader Zen Auguiste enjoyed


viewing items on a display table set up for Amie Plumley’s book “Sewing School.”

right to work on projects, and Plumley wonderful to have this project come to
and Lisle are proud that it fits their fruition, and we are getting great
green philosophy. feedback from everyone who has seen it.”
“It’s a great way to encourage recycling Each project is accompanied by
and reuse,” explains Lisle. “Children can photos of child-created examples and
learn how to make projects from scraps step-by-step instructions written
and outgrown T-shirts, and mend clothes specifically for kids. The book’s full-
and stuffed animals rather than throwing color photos of the authors’ actual
them away.” workshops are by Justin Fox Burks, a
“By sharing basic sewing skills early photographer for Memphis magazine.
with children, we can teach them Plumley has taught kindergarten for
confidence, improve fine motor skills, six years at Grace-St. Luke’s Episcopal
encourage creativity and provide the School in Midtown Memphis. Plumley
experience of pride through crafting,” and Lisle have also launched a sewing
says Plumley. blog: SewingSchool.blogspot.com.
“This is a kid-tested curriculum that we Marci Woodmansee is a communications
developed over years of teaching sewing associate for Grace-St. Luke’s Episcopal
workshops for kids ages 5 to 10. It is School.
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, January 2, 2011 | GOING GREEN 15

EVERGREEN,
EVER DELICIOUS
A new way to recycle your Christmas tree: eat it
By Rene Redzepi
The New York Times

COPENHAGEN — In
Denmark, as in the United
States, the Christmas tree is a
primary icon of the season,
along with the falling snow and
Father Christmas. On Juleaften,
or Christmas Eve, around 9 or
10 p.m., most Danish families
join hands, dance in a circle
around the tree and sing
carols — a communal yet
intimate celebration of
Christmas.
Then we exchange
presents and everyone
exclaims over his
homemade cookies,
marzipan and other
sweets, along with dried
fruits and nuts.
16 GOING GREEN | Sunday, January 2, 2011 commercialappeal.com

The needles can be dried and mixed into a powder for an aromatic spice or
thrown into cooking butter to add flavor. Branches of spruce or fir can be used
as you would a sprig of rosemary or thyme.

Despite all the sentiment we kinds of plants on earth, by eating


attach to our Christmas trees, we it?
still get rid of them quickly once It is a shame, because
the holiday ends. Three or four evergreens are delicious. At my
days after Christmas, abandoned restaurant we use their needles as
trees are discarded in the streets a spice. You can cook with a
as if they were garbage. branch of spruce or fir as you
Isn’t that a shame? Nature takes would a sprig of rosemary or
enormous time and effort to thyme. Wouldn’t it be beautiful if
produce something that we use families gathered after Christmas,
only briefly. Why don’t we make festively removed the decorations
greater use of this living tree, as and then cut off the tasty needles
we make use of so many other of the tree to flavor their food?
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, January 2, 2011 | GOING GREEN 17

The needles can be dried and mixed into


a powder that makes a light, citrus-y and Spruce Butter
very aromatic spice. Sprinkle that powder 7 ounces butter
into cookie dough, add some to rice as you 3 1/2 tablespoons pine
needles
cook it, or even rub it on chicken before Sprig of lemon thyme.
roasting. Dried needles can even be used
to smoke meat, and then you can use the 1. Mix in a
tree’s wood for kindling. blender for eight
minutes until soft
Small spruce branches can also be used and green.
to add flavor. The next time you steam 2. Pass through a
spinach or other greens, throw one in at chinois sieve.
the very last minute to give a light aroma
and a lemony feel to the dish. Or, after Spruce Oil
cooking steak in a pan, flavor the cooking 3 1/2 ounces pine
butter with a fistful of spruce needles. I needles
find that game meats respond especially 3-4 tablespoons finely
well to these flavors — which is not chopped parsley
1 1/4 cups neutral oil.
surprising, when you consider how animals
like to eat the tender, bright-green shoots 1. Blanch needles
in spring. for four minutes,
Spruce and fir are useful in many other then dry.
dishes as well. Fresh fish, salted for a day 2. Mix all
and covered in fresh needles, absorbs the ingredients in a
forest aroma and emerald color into its blender until it
flesh. Needles work especially well in oils reaches 160
and vinegars, condiments that my staff and degrees.
I lavish on fresh sweet peas every spring. 3. Pass through a
chinois sieve.
Each year more than 100 million trees
are produced for Christmas worldwide. Spruce Vinegar
Considering that it takes 8 to 12 years to 3 1/2 ounces pine
produce a decent-sized tree, it seems needles
pointless simply to discard this bounty 3 1/2 ounces apple
after only a few weeks of using it as vinegar
ornamentation. I don’t mean to sermonize. 1. Briefly mix in
I want only to point out that food is blender.
everywhere, that a tree is more than a 2. Rest in a
symbol or a decoration: It is delicious food. sealed container
This year, let’s all butcher the tree. overnight.
Rene Redzepi is chef and co-owner of the
3. Pass through a
restaurant Noma and the author of “Noma: Time chinois sieve.
and Place in Nordic Cuisine.”
18 GOING GREEN | Sunday, January 2, 2011 commercialappeal.com

Po in s e ttia s
Consider
saving yours
for summer,
and again

any time of the year for next


Christmas
By Kathy Van Mullekom Christmas tree is down.
Newport News (Va.) Daily Press A poinsettia planted outdoors
when warm weather stabilizes can
The poinsettia you brought home turn into the prettiest tropical plant
from the garden center or grocery in your yard. Even if it doesn’t
store could be your first step bloom again next Christmas, you
toward sustainability. can still enjoy it for many months.
In other words, consider keeping Here’s what you should do for
the plant around for a while instead your poinsettia now and through
of tossing it in the trash once the 2011:
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, January 2, 2011 | GOING GREEN 19

Taking care of it now a lot of foliage.


Avoid exposing the poinsettia to As soon as new growth appears, begin
freezing conditions. fertilizing once a week with a well-
Place your poinsettia in a spot with balanced, all-purpose fertilizer. This is also
bright natural light, but do not expose it a good time to replant your poinsettia into
to direct sunlight. a larger pot. If the container is too large,
Do not place your poinsettia in an the soil can hold too much water, causing
area where it will be exposed to drafts, the roots of the poinsettia to rot, so it’s
heat from appliances, radiators or best to choose a new container that is no
ventilation ducts. more than 4 inches larger than the
The color of your poinsettia will last original. You can also move your poinsettia
longer with temperatures around 65 outside for the summer months.
degrees Fahrenheit during the day and Around mid-July, pinch each stem
60-65 degrees at night. back, leaving three to four leaves on
The soil should be kept moderately each stem. This makes your poinsettia
moist; check every few days and water nicely branched and bushy, and also
when the soil feels dry to the touch. creates lots of blooms. If you moved
Before watering, remove the pot covers your plant outside, bring it back inside
or foil wrapping; water to saturate the around the middle of August, and
soil, and then allow the pot to drain. Do continue to water and fertilize through
not let the plant sit in standing water. the rest of summer and early fall.

To rebloom it The tricky part


From January through March, continue Poinsettias are short-day plants,
to care for your poinsettia as you did when meaning they naturally flower when the
you first brought it home. Allow the surface day length is less than 12 hours. Starting
of the soil to dry between waterings, and Oct. 1, poinsettias need 14 hours of
be sure to apply enough water so that the complete darkness daily, 6 p.m. to 8
pot is evenly moist and some drains out a.m. Cover the plant with a cardboard
the bottom. Do not let it sit in water. box (or some other container that light
Keep the plant near a brightly lit can’t get through), or place the plant in a
window, in a room where the day closet or cabinet or even garage. No
temperatures are between 65 and 75 light, not even coming in under a closet
degrees. Night temperatures can be door, can happen. The dark treatment
cooler, but make sure your poinsettia must be done every day from Oct. 1 until
doesn’t get colder than 55 degrees. Thanksgiving.
On April 1, cut the poinsettia stems At the end of the dark treatment, the
back to about 8 inches, and don’t worry bracts (modified leaves that turn the
if you don’t have many leaves left after showy colors we think of as poinsettia
you cut it back — more leaves will sprout “flowers”) start to change colors. Stop
along the stems. Continue watering as fertilizing at this time, and continue to
before, but keep in mind you will most care for your poinsettia the same as
likely be watering less since you removed when you first purchased it.
20 GOING GREEN | Sunday, January 2, 2011 commercialappeal.com

The responsible regift


4 ways to offload a holiday misfire and make it count

ramseymohsen/Flickr
It’s not hard to find a good use for that tacky sweater, ceramic frog or even the
nice food processor that you just don't need.

By Matt Hickman pole. Just what I wanted!”


Mother Nature Network The typical holiday gift reject
finds its way into a re-gift pile,
There’s nothing quite as heart- joining a bounty of clueless, ex-
breakingly awkward as opening an traneous and straight-out tragic
undesirable holiday gift while the items. Eventually, you may have the
gift giver looks on, all smiles and chance to free yourself of the gift in
anticipation. You, in turn, feign ex- question at a “white elephant”-style
citement and gratitude, even as the gift exchange. From there, it may
only thing running through your continue to circulate through the
mind is how you’re going to get rid tongue-in-cheek gift-exchange cir-
of it. “Well, thanks, Aunt Enid! An- cuit, being passed from recipient to
other ceramic frog holding a fishing recipient until it reaches someone
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, January 2, 2011 | GOING GREEN 21

who truly wants and needs a pair of way. Donating it to a thrift or charity
squirrel underpants or a “Solid Gold” store is the easiest and most obvious
workout video. next step. Someone is bound to take a
And then there are the less inher- liking to your passed-on present and
ently ludicrous gifts that you simply swoop it up, with the proceeds going
don’t need. Maybe you already have to a charitable cause.
the item, maybe it’s the wrong size, or 3. The repurposed holiday reject:
perhaps you just don’t have room in Before you try to get rid of an un-
your kitchen for another hand mixer. wanted holiday gift altogether, put
For these kinds of items, the natural yourself in a DIY state of mind and
impulse is to wrap it back up — sav- think outside the gift box. Is there a
ing you time and money and elim- way a rejected item can remain in your
inating waste — and bestow it to a home but serve another purpose? If
friend or loved one who you think you’re handy with a needle and thread,
could truly use it. But this standard transform that hideous sweater set in-
method of re-gifting isn’t the only op- to a comfy blanket for your pooch. Or
tion. There are other ways, both char- break out the craft supplies and give
itable and crafty, to part with unwant- the coffee mug your cousin bought at
ed presents. the Cancun airport a makeover, turn-
Here are some of our favorites: ing it into a pencil or paintbrush hold-
1. Toy time: Has your scatterbrained er or a planter.
elderly neighbor given Junior the same
SpongeBob LEGO set for three years 4. Host a re-gift exchange: A white
in a row? Community toy drives are elephant gift exchange is a fun and
an excellent, feel-good way to part harmless way to unload questionable
with new, unused toys your family gifts on others while freeing up valu-
doesn’t need. The granddaddy of them able real estate in your home — and
all, the Marine Toys for Tots Foun- keeping rejected gifts out of landfills.
dation, offers nationwide toy drop-off But if you want to keep things on a
locations ensuring that your un- non-gag note, plan a re-gift exchange
wrapped re-gift makes its way to a less with friends and co-workers who also
fortunate child in your very own com- have amassed unwanted gift stockpiles
munity. Or, if you don’t have a surplus and want to keep things on the cheap.
of new-toy rejects, you can make a These get-togethers can be particularly
financial contribution to the founda- successful if everyone involved has a
tion. Another popular option is giving common interest, whether it be fash-
to the Military Children’s Charity. ion, cookware or interior decor. You
2. Get thrifty: Let’s say you have a never know ... you could walk away
slightly used gift on your hands — a with a pair of designer sunglasses or a
pair of shoes that don’t quite fit, or a bottle of your favorite red wine.
throw rug that became an eyesore af- Matt Hickman writes about the best ways
ter a weeklong trial run — and it can’t to go green at home on this blog:
be tactfully re-gifted the traditional mnn.com/featured-blogs/greenhome.
22 GOING GREEN | Sunday, January 2, 2011 commercialappeal.com

Visions of green

Chattanooga’s Office of Sustainability was created in 2009 as a way to make


the city greener. “This was a year of planning,” said David Crockett, the director
of the Office of Sustainability. “Next year will be our first year of real harvest.”

The Office of Sustainability Crockett, the director of the Chattanooga


Office of Sustainability. “Next year will
envisions a new Chattanooga be our first year of real harvest.”
Mayor Ron Littlefield created the Of-
By Cliff Hightower fice of Sustainability last year as a way
Chattanooga Times Free Press to make Chattanooga a greener city and
named Crockett to lead the department.
David Crockett has a vision of a new One resource he hopes to have by
Chattanooga. mid-2011 is a website for the Office of
The vision includes green, white and Sustainability that explains sustainable
solar roofs atop homes. It has tree-lined practices.
streets with pedestrian and bicycle Two years ago, Chattanooga adopted
paths. There also would be jobs created a climate action plan that identified 47
that help make Chattanooga more sus- initiatives to make the city green and
tainable, he said. helped create 17 action teams. Crockett
He sees it all beginning in 2011. said he wants to streamline the teams
“This was a year of planning,” said because many of them are doing du-
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, January 2, 2011 | GOING GREEN 23

plicate work. He also wants to put them


all under the Office of Sustainability.

Climate action plan


With or without the Office of Sustain-
ability, the climate action plan is under
way, said Jim Frierson, vice chairman of
the Chattanooga Green Committee.
More than 25 Chattanooga buildings
are looking at Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED) certifi-
cation, about 400 electric-car chargers Tim Barber/The Chattanooga Free Times Press
are about to be placed throughout Chat- Electrician Paul McAllister, center,
tanooga by the federal government and positions conduit cut by David Holmes
the city was just chosen as one of nine during a solar panel installation at a
cities across America as a test case for a home in North Chattanooga.
new sustainability rating software sys-
tem, Frierson said. to incorporate those ideas when the city
How the emerging green movement in has the money and when the neigh-
the city has helped curb carbon emissions borhood supports those approaches.
and reach other benchmarks within the As an example, he pointed to a recent
climate action plan is unknown, he said. streetscape along Main Street that uses
A city employee who set and mon- many of the green ideas Crockett talks
itored the benchmarks left about a year about.
ago. Since then, tracking progress has “If we can do sidewalks, we’re going
faltered, Frierson said. to do that,” he said. “If we can do street
“I would have to say, in a systematic trees, we’ll do street trees.”
way, it’s not as strong as it should or Crockett also talked about partnering
could be,” he said. with the Chattanooga Area Chamber of
Commerce to promote ideas such as sus-
Other ideas tainable roofs and green spaces which can
Among Crockett’s goals is finishing a reduce the amount of stormwater runoff.
“complete street” — one that has paved J.Ed. Marston, spokesman for the
traffic lanes, concrete sidewalks and busi- chamber, said chamber members would
nesses on either side, but also has green decide whether to support fully a green
medians and green space alongside the strategy. He said chamber officials have
sidewalks and perhaps a biking trail. had some initial talks about whether
He wants to conduct a series of work- there is enough interest within the
shops in the Department of Public Works chamber to conduct a long-range plan
to teach engineers how to think green. on sustainability.
Steve Leach, administrator for Public “We’re in conversations with a num-
Works, said his department already ber of people to see if there’s enough
knows about green strategies and tries support,” he said.

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