Cortland County Sustainable Living Tour 10/8/11

Twin Oaks Dairy Tracking Solar PV System

Uttech Property

Please join us for the first annual Cortland County Sustainable Living Tour on October 8, 2011.  The day includes two tours.  Tour highlights will include: Straw bale and earth-berm construction, solar thermal, solar photovoltaic, geothermal, sustainable gardening, passive solar, LEED Silver building standards, and energy retrofits.

For more info please go to: cortlandgreenhomes.wordpress.com  or contact Beth Klein (607-753-5682) solarbeth@gmail.com

TOUR 1: Businesses and Organizations

10:15-11:00 Cortland YWCA, Cortland  - solar PV system

11:30-12:30 SUNY Cortland Professional Studies Building, Cortland – Meets LEED Silver standards, geothermal heating and cooling, and more

1:00-2:00 Lime Hollow Center for Environment and Culture Visitor Center, Cortland – Geothermal, solar PV system, and other green building techniques.

Tour 2: Farms and Homes

9:15-10:00  Twin Oaks Dairy, Truxton – tracking ground mount solar panels

Klein garden and Solar PV system

10:30 – 11:30 – Klein home, Solon  - ground mount solar PV system, solar thermal hot water system, on-demand hot water, wood stove, root cellar.  Jon Wood of Cortland and owner of  Green Sun Solar  will be on hand to talk about his solar thermal installation here.

12:00 – 1:30 –  Northland Sheep Dairy, Freetown/Marathon
Karl and Jan North Home: Earth-berm construction and passive solar, and more.
Donn Hewes and MaryRose Livingston Home: Straw bale construction, passive Solar, and more.

2:00-3:00 – Uttech home, Lapeer – Solar PV, solar thermal hot water, wood stove and more

Uttech Solar PV controllers

Finally some fruit!

Apples

Barlett Pear

Asian Pears

Mulberries

Grapes

hazelnuts

making strawberry jam

After many struggles with growing fruit (clay hardpan dirt, too much rain, not enough rain, several late frosts after too early springs, pests, etc) we are finally seeing some rewards - but we still have our challenges this year.  This season we are finally getting a number of pears and apples.  Our cherries were looking good this spring, until we had a ton of rain just as they were getting ripe, so they all split on us.  Blueberries did not have enough rain while they were ripening, so many shriveled or are very tart. Our grapes are doing mixed, many looked great, some are shriveling, others look like they may make it.  Mulberries are doing very well, if I can beat the birds to them that is.  We are getting a lot of apples this year as well, although they are small, those we already have harvested seem to be sweet. Also this season we are getting our first hazelnuts, and harvested a bunch of currants (white and black).  Our strawberries did great early on, but our everbearers didn't like the drier and hotter than normal weather we had much of July.  Our Elderberries are not doing well this year, although last year we had a bumper crop. In talking with others, they have also had a mixed success this year both with fruit and garden veggies.  Some explain how they narrow down what grows best, others plant a variety as they've found (as have we) that some years some things do great and others don't and other years it is the reverse.  As climate change effects become more dramatic here in the Northeast, I expect this will become even more complicated.

Sustainability Week Events

Next week on the SUNY Cortland Campus is Sustainability Week.  Below is a list of events.  All events are free and open to the public.  Sessions address issues such as sustainable food, local foods, renewable energy, climate change, etc.  Hope to see you there!

Saturday April 16th from 8:30 to 11:00am:  

Sixth Annual Community Cleanup Day
Meet at the Chamber Parking lot at 37 Church St.
Organized by the Cortland Downtown Partnership, the City of Cortland, the Cortland Chamber of Commerce, the SUNY Cortland Institute for Civic Engagement, and SUNY Cortland AmeriCorps

“Fresh from the Farm” Little York Farms at 5668 U.S. Route 11, Homer, NY. from 9:00am to 2:00pm
A NEW opportunity to buy locally grown and processed foods including: local pasture-raised beef, free range eggs, honey, herb plants, real maple syrup, semi-soft cheese, homemade beef soup, and baked goods.   
Organized by Healthy Now Cortland County (For more information call 607-591-9727)


Sunday April 17th From  9:30 to 1:30pm 

A Trip to the Seneca Meadows Landfill
Meet at the loading dock behind Bowers Hall
Organized by the SUNY Cortland Environmental Science Club


Monday April 18th  

SUNY Cortland Sustainability Week Keynote Address 7:30 - 9:00 pm Sperry Hall 205
“Pedaling Climate Change: A bike trip from Delaware to Oregon, talking about climate change”
Dr. David Goodrich, former Director of Climate Observations at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and former director of the Global Climate Observing System Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland


Tuesday April 19th  Sustainability Week Sessions at SUNY Cortland Campus

1:40-2:40 pm in Bowers 155: The Environmental Impact of Tobacco: Working toward a Tobacco-Free Campus
The SUNY Cortland Tobacco Advisory Committee

3:00-4:00 pm in Bowers 155: A Not-So Temperate Environment and How it Affects Forests (and People, too)
Neil Pederson, Doherty Associate Research Scientist, Tree-Ring Laboratory, LDEO & Columbia University

4:00 to 6:00 pm Hoxie Gorge: An Outdoor Classroom for Sustainability: A tour of the 169-acre Hoxie Gorge Nature Preserve guided by two faculty from the Biology and Geology departments. Following an overview of ongoing research, the discussion will focus on carbon sequestration; biomimicry, and nutrient cycling.
(Note: You must sign up in advance by contacting the Center for Environmental and Outdoor Education at 607-753-5488 or emailing outdooredinfo@cortand.edu.)

7:00pm in Sperry Hall 205:  Annual Connie Wilkins Bird Lecture
“The Surprising Behavior of Crows”
John Marzluff, Professor of Wildlife - Habitat Relationships and Avian Social Ecology & Demography at the University of Washington in Seattle
Organized by the Lime Hollow Center for Environment and Culture and the SUNY Cortland Biology Club


Wednesday April 20th Sustainability Week Sessions at SUNY Cortland Campus

1:40-2:40 pm in Bowers 155
Doubt mongering in environmental issues A presentation by the ENS 486: Environmental Science Seminar class

3:00-4:00 pm in Bowers 155
Local Foods Movement: Learn about the local foods movement in our area and how you can get involved!
Beth Klein, SUNY Cortland; Christine Applegate, Co-Chair Cortland County Local Agricultural Promotions Committee ; Heather Birdsall, Cortland County Cornell Cooperative Extension; and more.

7:00-9:00 
Screening of “The Greenhorns” a documentary film exploring how young people are making a difference in America’s sustainable food movement. 
A discussion led by young, local farmers and beginning farmer mentors will follow the film.
Sperry Hall 105


Thursday April 21st Sustainability Week Sessions at SUNY Cortland Campus

12:00 – 1:00 pm Earth Week Sandwich Seminar 
“Sustainable Heating at SUNY Cortland Using Biomass and Geothermal Energy”
Matthew Rankin, Senior in Biological Science
Jacobus Lounge (Brockway Hall) 

1:40-2:40 pm in Bowers 155
Student Actions for Sustainability A presentation by the Environmental Science Club (C-SAVE), the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), and the SUNY Cortland Recreation Association (SCRA)

3:00-4:00 pm in Bowers 155
The Technical and Economic Success of Renewable Energy in Central New York
Melissa Kemp, Director of Halco Renewable Energy

7:30 - 9:00 pm:  Energy and Sustainability
“The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident: Lessons for U.S. Energy Policy in the Era of Extreme Energy” Sperry Hall 105
Brice Smith, Associate Professor and Chair of Physics and author of Insurmountable Risks: The Dangers of Using Nuclear Power to Combat Global Climate Change


Friday April 22nd
Student/Staff Events in Honor of the 41st Anniversary of Earth Day
Build Your Own Wind Turbine Physics & Engineering Club 11:30 am - 1:30 pm Under the Sustainability Week tent between Bowers and Sperry Halls
The Facts About Fracking New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPRIG) 12:00 - 3:00 pm Under the Sustainability Week tent between Bowers and Sperry Halls
Earth Café 2050 Environmental Science Club (C-SAVE) 12:00 - 3:00 pm Under the Sustainability Week tent between Bowers and Sperry Halls
Local Foods Resources and Composting Made Easy Cortland Faculty, Staff, and Community Members 11:30 - 3:00 pm Under the Sustainability Week tent between Bowers and Sperry Halls
3rd Annual Outdoor Gear Sale and Fender Blender: Bike Your Own Smoothie SUNY Cortland Recreation Association 12:00 - 5:00 pm Community Bike Shop Building next to the Lusk Field House

4:30 – 7:00 pm   Earth Day Open House
Center for Gender and Intercultural Studies (CGIS), Environmental Justice Committee and the Gas Drilling Awareness for Cortland County community group (GDACC)
Beard Building 9 Main Street Cortland, NY 13045
The Open House will include a screening of the film "My Name is Allegheny County." The film chronicles the way in which residents actively organized resistance to siting a low level radioactive waste dump in Allegheny County. Jim Weiss and Paul Yaman, two residents active in the resistance in Cortland County, will speak after the film.
The program will also highlight the need for greater activism to promote the use of clean, safe, and affordable energy.

A Week of Sustainability Activities!

This week the Cortland Community will be involved in several sustainability activities. Here is the schedule. All Activities are FREE and OPEN to the public!

Sunday April 18th at 3:00
Public Forum: Gas Drilling Impacts on Drinking Water Dusty Horwitt, Senior Counsel for the Environmental Working Group and author of “Drilling Around the Law”
3:00 to 4:00pm at the Beard Building (9 Main Street)
Organized by Gas Drilling Awareness for Cortland County (GDACC)

April 4th through 28th
Earth Stewards Coalition: Artists Respond to Gas Drilling in the Marcellus Shale
SUNY Cortland Memorial Library
More than forty artists from across the country are featured at an exhibit that encourages viewers to explore their thoughts and feelings about the potential for high volume hydrofracture drilling for natural gas being permitted in New York State.

Tuesday April 20th at 7:00
Showing of “Food Inc.” the Academy Award nominated documentary film
This film will be followed by a local foods panel discussion. Panelists include: Chris Applegate (Virgil Farmers Market), Lisa Lickona (East End Farmers Market), Kathie Arnold (Organic Dairy Farmer and Chair of the Cortland County Local Agricultural Promotions Subcommittee), Elaine Norris (Homer Community Gardens and Master Gardner), Sean Duffy (Rising Moon, Setting Sun CSA), and Jeremy Sherman (Organic Dairy and Produce Farmer).
7:00 pm in Brown Auditorium in Old Main on the SUNY Cortland Campus

Wednesday April 21st
Sustainability Conference All Day on the SUNY Cortland Campus
All Concurrent Sessions will be held in Bowers Hall Rooms 146, 155, and 161

First Concurrent Session (9:00 - 10:00 am)

1. A Culture of Sustainability in an Academic Department
Lynn Anderson, Professor and Chair, RPLS Department
Eddie Hill, Assistant Professor, RPLS Department
Amy Shellman, Assistant Professor, RPLS Department
Sharon Todd, Associate Professor, RPLS Department

2. Green Parenting: Baby Steps Toward a Green Planet
Aaron Zipp, Instructor and International Coordinator, Sport Management Department
Sarah Zipp, Instructor, Sport ManagementDepartment


Second Concurrent Session (10:30 - 11:30 am)

1. Energy Conservation Measures for the Campus
Nasrin Parvizi, Associate Vice President for Facilities Management
Jeffrey Lallas, Director of Facilities Planning, Design and Construction
Timothy Slack, Director of Physical Plant
Lisa Kahle, Director of Academic Computing and Classroom Media Services

2. A Consumer Society’s Effects on the Environment
Alyssa Neely, student in Social Philosophy
Krystle Caggiano, student in Social Philosophy

3. Cortland Community Sustainability Efforts
Members of Cortland community groups working on sustainability projects in the town and county

FREE Sustainable Lunch (12:00 - 1:00 pm)
Talk by Bill McNamara, Director of ASC Dining Services
Jacobus Lounge (Brockway Hall) (Note: Lunch is limited to the first 80 attendees.)

Third Concurrent Session (1:30 - 2:30 pm)

1. Formula For A Successful Bike Share Program
Lindsey Brown, Graduate Assistant for the Community Bike Project
Lynn Anderson, Professor and Chair in the RPLS Department
Eddie Hill, Assistant Professor in the RPLS Department

2. Can a World of More than Seven Billion Persons Sustain the Eating of Meat?
Scott Anderson, Associate Professor and Chair, Geography and GIS Department
Andrew Fitz-Gibbon, Associate Professor, Philosophy Department
Lisi Krall, Professor, Economics Department

3. Student Actions for Sustainability
C-SAVE (Cortland Students Advocating for a Valuable Environment)
Green Reps Program
NYPIRG (New York Public Research Interest Group)

Fourth Concurrent Session (3:00 - 4:00 pm)

1. Renewable energy for homes, businesses, and schools
Melissa Kemp, Halco Renewable Energy
Duncan Cooper, Renovus Energy

2. Urban Forestry and Tree Campus USA
Steven Broyles, Professor, Biological Sciences Department

3. The Environmental Impacts of Tobacco
Katelyn Upcraft, Public Health Educator with the Onondaga County Health Department


Keynote Address (7:00 - 8:30 pm)
Dr. Arjun Makhijani, President of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research
“Carbon Free - Nuclear Free: A Roadmap for U.S. Energy Policy”
Sperry Hall 105 on the SUNY Cortland Campus


Thursday April 22nd (40th Anniversary of Earth Day)
Sandwich Seminar (12:00 - 1:00 pm)
“The Cortland County Relocalization and Resilience Initiative: Building Community Sustainability”
Beth Klein, Professor of Science Education and Chair of the Community Forum Sustainability Track, and
Brice Smith, Associate Professor and Chair of Physics and Co-Chair of the Community Forum Sustainability Track
Jacobus Lounge (Brockway Hall on the SUNY Cortland Campus)

Saturday April 24th 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Cortland Blooms
Cortland County Gymnasium (46 Greenbush Street)
Interactive family festival featuring exhibits on topics such as wildlife, recycling, composting, backyard gardening, alternative energy, and health and safety. Sponsored by Leadership Cortland, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Cortland County Soil and Water Conservation District and the Local Agricultural Promotion Committee.

The Only Way to Have a Cow and Eat Food, Not Too Much, Mostly Plants

Two authors I respect a great deal are Bill McKibben and Michael Pollan. Both have advocated for what I consider a reasonable response to issues of climate change, animal abuse, and other associated problems with our diet.

McKibben has recently authored an article in Orion Magazine, “The Only Way to Have a Cow”, which discusses the issues of factory farms, animal rights and carbon emissions. McKibben’s stand is that although he rarely eats meat himself, looking at the carbon emissions, and process of carefully raising grass-fed animals he has little problem with individuals eating it “as a condiment, a flavor, an ingredient, not an entrée". It isn’t a stance, he points out, that either McDonald’s (with their use of cheap CAFO meat) or Paul McCartney (a well-known vegetarian) would like.

Michael Pollan’s saying “Eat Food, Not Too Much, Mostly Plants” is also representative of a similar position as McKibben. In this New York Times Magazine article, he also discusses issues of “nutritionism”, bad nutrition science, and of course the issues of processed foods.

For my family, we have reduced the amount of meat we eat. We mostly only purchase locally grown, grass-fed meats (from farms listed on the side). As I mentioned in an earlier post , having a mixture of dairy, eggs and meat in small portions (2.2 oz. per day) may be more sustainable if one is eating mostly local foods in Central New York than eating vegetarian or vegan diets.

ADK Sustainability Course and July Garden Update

This month, we took a little time away from the garden and spent a week in the Adirondacks teaching a field-based graduate course that included sustainability topics - things the students can use in both their personal and professional lives as well as what to include in their classroom (since most of the students were teachers). To see what we did, you can look at the course blog. We had a great group of students/teachers who, as you can read from their blogs which are linked to the course blog, are excited about focusing more on local foods, looking to join a CSA, and thinking about ways to incorporate the outdoors and sustainability topics into their classrooms.

So far it has been a fairly cool, damp summer. Our garden along with the fruit trees and shrubs are keeping us occupied. While walking the paths through our fields to pick wild raspberries, the scent of milkweed was sweet in the air. The wild flowers, especially the daisies, are having a banner year!

In addition to lots of weeds (most inedible) that seem to always grow well, we are managing to get a few things to eat from the garden. This is what is available to eat from the garden today:

Onions
Early Cabbage
Carrots
Beets
Peas
Broccoli
Swiss Chard
Lettuce
Turnips
Kohlrabi
Radishes

Coming in soon we should be adding:
New Potatoes
Zucchini
Red Cabbage
Royal Burgundy Beans

And a little slower this year:
Tomatoes (will they ever turn red?)
Eggplant
Cucumbers (I got a late start on these)
Brussels Sprouts
Pole Beans and Bush Green Beans (having a hard time this year and also a late start)
Winter squash (also having a hard time this year and also a late start)

Celery, late season cabbage, garlic, potatoes, shallots, and popcorn are all doing very well. This week I need to plant our winter or storage root vegetables. This would include beets, carrots, and turnips. And I also need to plant some late season broccoli and peas.

Our blueberries are just starting to come in. Especially those we just transplanted which were given to us by our friends Rand and Sharon Johnson in Chenango County. Along with the wild raspberries, our cultivated raspberries and black raspberries are ripening. Mulberries have been ripening a few at a time for the last week and we still have some strawberries ripening as well.

Because of the weather, which climate scientists predict will be come the norm for Upstate New York (as wetter, cooler summers are predicted as our climate changes), we are considering high tunnels and a larger greenhouse to get things going sooner and longer. By the way, as you can see by the article I linked to above, it is predicted that our winters will be what warms more significantly, less snowfall, less days below freezing. For some, you are probably saying, "Great, I don't have to move to Virginia for the milder winter weather. It will come to me". But along with these milder winters, we'll see more ticks and other insects and more invasive species. We'll see less blueberries, less maple trees, and even less apples. And also wet summer weather may be pretty dramatic, in other words more flooding, more often. That isn't even discussing the ocean level rise, which will force the relocation of millions of people downstate to probably, well, here I guess . . .

North Country Sustainable Energy Fair

On Saturday, my husband and I trekked up to Canton, NY (in our Prius) for our third annual trip to the North Country Sustainable Energy Fair. This conference, hosted at SUNY Canton, has been going on for 14 years. It offers great exhibits and wonderful workshops and presentations in lots of topics including renewable energy, alternative transportation, homesteading, peak oil, bio-diesel, transition towns, alternative housing, climate change, etc.

Last year we were pleased to be able to meet keynote speaker Richard Heinberg. Heinberg is the author of 8 books including Powerdown and Peak Everything and is senior fellow of the Post Carbon Institute.

This year the conference included a presentation by noted peak oil blogger and author Sharon Astyk. Sharon conducted a presentation about the need for 100 million farmers based on her recent book with Aaron Newton called A Nation of Farmers: Defeating the Food Crisis on American Soil. I’m in the process of reading her book now. I find it informational and I enjoy the somewhat sarcastic tone. Sharon and her family live in the northern Catskills and are homesteading as much as possible.

Interestingly, at all sessions I attended this year, each presenter early in their presentation had a graphic or slide about Peak Oil. And each time they arrived at the slide asked if anyone in the audience didn’t understand Peak Oil. Each time, everyone – yes EVERYONE indicated they had a pretty good understanding. This is a significant change from even 2 years ago. Word does seem to be getting out, and many people are at different stages of working toward solutions to a post carbon world.

Excuses for Eating Meat?

OK - I admit it. I eat meat. I know for some, eating a vegetarian diet is a means to improve their health, reduce their environmental impact, and show their concern over the treatment of animals. However for me, going vegetarian is not really what works best for my health and overall well being. Apparently, I’m not the only one who feels this way. This article discusses how some former vegetarians are again eating meat and some reasons why.

Even to me though, it makes sense that eating lower on the food chain is more ecologically sustainable than those diets that include meat. In fact, studies have found that a person who eats a lot of meat will need 3-7 times the amount of land to support their diet than a low-fat vegetarian. Meat production, especially that from grain fed cows and pigs in large confined animal feeding operations (CAFO), uses lots of fossil fuels in the process and emits lots of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Knowing this, I have reduced the amount of meat I eat and have minimized eating grain fed meat from CAFOs. Instead, we purchase locally grown, pasture raised meat as much as possible from farmers we know and trust to treat the animals (and the environment) with respect and care.

Although eating lower on the food chain seems to make sense, some recent research indicates that vegetarian diets may not be the best for central New York. A study by Cornell University found that eating a diet that includes dairy and meat may be more ecologically sustainable in this part of the country. How is this possible? The issue comes down to what type of land (and climate) is needed to grow vegetables versus meat and dairy. In central New York, it would take a lot of energy to produce and store enough vegetables year round to support our population and it would be hard on the land. The study indicated that a mixed farming approach with animals providing the needed compost and grazing on land that would be unsuitable for vegetable growing would provide a more sustainable local food supply. Keep in mind that the amounts of meat/eggs per day recommended in the study are small, only 2.2 oz. versus the 5.8 oz. that most Americans eat each day. Luckily for me, I have a few friends in the area who are vegetarians, so I have offered to eat their 2.2 oz. portions every now and then to help make them part of a more sustainable central New York☺

Calculating Your Carbon Footprint

In our last post we discussed why we should eat local foods.  One of the reasons was to lower our carbon emissions, or carbon footprint.  Direct and indirect emissions of carbon is the main contributor of global climate change.  So reducing our carbon footprint will help reduce the effects of climate change.  To do our part, my family has reduced our travel, purchased fuel efficient cars (one is a hybrid Toyota Prius), put in a 4 KW photovoltaic system that provides about 80% of our electricity, reduced our consumption, buy local and bulk as much as possible, and we use organic methods to grow most of our vegetables.

To figure out your carbon footprint, there are several online calculators.  The Nature Conservancy has a nice one located here.   There are also several hints there on things you can do such as switching out all your incandescent light bulbs for compact florescent (CFLs) bulbs. Switching out even one bulb saves 500 pounds of coal which reduces CO2 pollution by 1430 pounds over the lifetime of the bulb!   Don't forget to "buy local" and support your local businesses.  This is particularly critical during this economic downturn.  Your neighbors need your support and your planet can use the lower carbon emissions:)