Using Bamboo To Fight Climate Change

Bamboo--technically a grass, not a tree--has the potential to significantly offset carbon emissions, and has been the center of discussions this week during the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancun.
The "grass" is stronger than steel and is a buffer against climate change in two ways: by providing low-income communities with a material to build climate-resistant homes and by sequestering carbon faster than other species such as eucalyptus. It also grows at the rate of 1.2 meters per day.
"Bamboo is a remarkable resource for driving economic development, and is readily available in many of the world's poorest countries," said Coosje Hoogendoorn, director-general of International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) in Cancun.
"Bamboo should be referred to as the wise man's timber," said INBAR regional coordinator Alvaro Cabrera, because it helps support the livelihoods of 1.5 billion people, grows fast, is found across the globe, and is a significant source of trade dollars at about $5 billion per year.
China, India, and Vietnam are the main sources of bamboo for trade and there is talk of developing schemes whereby bamboo stocks come labeled with a sustainability certification and indication of the the source country. The bamboo discussions held today in Cancun indicate the growing effort to diversify climate change tactics.
from Fast Company

A Gift Of Fresh Produce In These Boxes

And now for something completely different — a gift that truly keeps on giving. It comes in a box but has no ribbons. Unlike a new puppy, it takes care of itself. It isn't Godiva chocolates, but it's definitely edible. So, what is this unique and delicious Christmas gift that you can give away or give to yourself?
It's a self-sustaining vegetable garden that requires no watering, no fertilizing, no weeding, in fact, no work at all except picking the bounty. Mike Saraylian, born and raised in Laguna Beach, is the man behind Harvest To Home, a seasonal organic vegetable and herb garden service. Make your choices from a seasonal menu and the pre-planted box(s) will be delivered and installed with optional stand, trellis or self-watering system.
We visited Mike, and he showed us the endless flats of seedlings and garden boxes with young plants, being prepared for delivery. Each winter box contains six to 14 different plants — either herbs, lettuces, vegetables or a mix chosen by the customer. Sitting out on the deck surrounded by edible greenery, Mike told us that after attending UC Santa Barbara, he came home and worked in the RV industry, eventually becoming a manager. He moved on to Blick Industries in Laguna Canyon and worked in sales and marketing. His job involved traveling around the U.S. and Europe.
In Italy, he was amazed by the brilliant flavors of a simple salad made with perfect tomatoes and freshly picked lettuce, and dressed only with oil and vinegar. Mike said he had loved to cook since he was a child, and after his Italian epiphany he found himself thinking about everything he was eating and developed an interest in health and diet.
Every Friday at Blick there was a company barbecue on the rooftop. Mike always made the salads from the 70 boxes of garden produce grown right there on the roof by a retired doctor, Myron Wacholder, who was the father of one of the employees. The doctor became his gardening mentor.
Mike came up with the idea for his business, inspired by those boxes on the rooftop. Although he knew about sales and marketing, he had no clue how to start a business, but he was influenced by his boss, John Blick, who said that if you really want to, you can do anything. Mike had some money saved, got some from his family, then taught himself every facet of business from designing a website to accounting and operations.
In the beginning, he found himself building planters and shoveling dirt. He ate what he grew and lost 15 pounds in the process, but he became addicted to freshly picked vegetables and herbs and hopes you will too. He is filled with passion and energy for what he does and has grown his business like his vegetables: with care. Now, you can see his boxes at a growing number of restaurants around the OC, including: The Cottage and Coyote Grill in Laguna, 118 Degrees in Costa Mesa and Cucina Alessa in Newport, Huntington Beach and now Laguna.
The beauty of these planters is that you can be a great gardener without benefit of a green thumb. They are constructed so they are semi-hydroponic. There is a separate reservoir of water beneath the soil, which the roots eventually reach. You can refill the reservoir yourself or purchase their inexpensive watering device, which is spliced to your garden hose and automatically does the job. Before the plants reach your home, they have been sprayed three times with an organic mixture made from neem oil and hot pepper wax. They also have an organic spray for caterpillars. No additional fertilizer is needed.
from The Daily Pilot

Sustainable Settings Can't Compost Way Out Of Toilet Issue

CARBONDALE, COLORADO - Sustainable toilets at Sustainable Settings have ironically thrown a wrench into the farm's attempt to comply with health-code requirements.
Brook Le Van, executive director of Sustainable Settings, thought installing composting toilets at the farm and learning center outside of Carbondale would be sufficient to satisfy Pitkin County's requirement for restroom facilities. That has not quite been the case.
The two sides have been at odds for three years over the toilet issue, prompting a two-hour meeting Wednesday between Sustainable Settings' board of directors and Pitkin County commissioners that failed to produce a compromise.
Rather, sympathetic county commissioners told Le Van that Sustainable Settings' ability to host school groups, adult workshops and other programs remains limited, based on the capacity of the two composting toilets that were installed last summer, along with a hand-washing facility.
“No matter how much we support and appreciate and love what you do, you still have to comply,” said Commissioner Jack Hatfield.
“The health issues are very real,” added Commissioner Rachel Richards.
Commissioners essentially directed Sustainable Settings in December 2007 to cease most of its programming because there were no public rest-room facilities available at the farming and ranching operation, located about 4 miles south of Carbondale off Highway 133.
The Sustainable Settings store, where its agricultural products are sold, could continue to operate, but visits by school groups and other programs were suspended.
The board of directors subsequently put the 240-acre property up for sale, intending to move the operation to a place where, Le Van suggested, costly regulatory requirements wouldn't threaten its viability.
The real estate market subsequently tanked, the property was taken off the market and the board agreed last spring that Sustainable Settings would stay put. A commercial well was drilled to comply with a county requirement and the two composting toilets were installed at a cost of about $10,000 — the most the nonprofit could afford to do, Le Van said.
And, the composting toilets meld with the nonprofit's sustainable philosophy, he noted. Having a vault toilet pumped, and the waste trucked elsewhere, would not.
“Are we complying? We thought we were. Now we're finding out, well, we're limited,” Le Van said.
Based on the manufacturer's input on the toilets' capacity, Sustainable Settings remains limited in the size and frequency of groups it can host. Gatherings like community potlucks are not allowed. Neither is camping by visitors.
And, because the toilets are in an unheated building and the hand-washing facility was an outdoor affair, they essentially don't work in the winter months, leaving Sustainable Settings with functioning facilities from roughly May through September or October.
But the farm's representatives suggested Wednesday that the toilets can be emptied regularly, and the contents moved elsewhere at the farm to complete the composting process, meaning they can function all year long and with unlimited capacity.
“It's a litter box, basically,” Le Van said.
State regulations allow for composting of waste elsewhere at the farm, according to Carla Ostberg, county environmental health manager, but that plan assumes that the composting process would occur first in the toilets. If the state is OK with bypassing that step in the process, commissioners indicated they'd agree to it, as well.
Le Van conceded Sustainable Settings needs public restroom facilities, but the cost of installing them is a hurdle. He told commissioners he'd like to work with Ostberg on determining exactly what will be required to meet the needs of Sustainable Settings' future vision, which includes a new barn and a dairy barn, as well as a commercial kitchen where farm products will be made.
The operation currently includes livestock, poultry and crop production, and the farm now has nine dairy cows that will provide members in a co-op venture with fresh milk, he said. Similarly, the farm has members who prepay for a share of the organic produce.
Sustainable Settings had been hosting about 9,000 visitors annually before the county ordered aspects of the operation shut down. Visitation dropped by about half, Le Van said. The drop-off had a financial impact, as some of the programs involved a fee paid to the nonprofit by participants, he said.
The farm also hosts a couple of large fundraising events (with portable toilets) each year, and Le Van asked commissioners to exempt the nonprofit from the county's special events permitting process, which involves time and expense. The commissioners declined. All special events are required to get a permit, said Commissioner George Newman, refusing to set a precedent by letting Sustainable Settings out of the mandate.
from The Post Independent