By Terry McAfee, Nevada Bicycle Coalition

Q. What is the biggest thing that you can do to help save the planet and have a blast doing it?

A. Park your car and ride a bicycle!

If more people bicycled instead of driving cars, money would be saved, less oil imported (and spilled in the Gulf), the air cleaner, the roads less congested and waistlines would be smaller. So, why don’t more people bicycle? Why don’t you bicycle more?

Many people don’t feel safe riding on the streets. It’s valid, sharing the road with motorists, more distracted than ever, can be intimidating. What makes it less intimidating and a lot safer are bike lanes.

In a 1998 study by University of Washington Professor William Moritz, on-street bike lanes were found to be 3.4 times safer than multi-use paths and about 40 times safer than bicycling on a sidewalk. Bike lanes make roads safer for bicyclists and make roads “feel” safer, too.

There are almost 200 miles of bike lanes and paths in Washoe County. The general rule for new bike lanes is that every new regional road is designed and built to meet federal standards, which require enough shoulder to make a bike lane. Local government decides if it is to be striped and signed for a bike lane. The general rule for a bike lane to be installed on an existing regional road is: 1) is it in the regional plan? 2) is the road being resurfaced or rehabilitated? 3) is there room? That last criteria is usually the sticking point, especially if parking has to be removed to make room for a bike lane.

The Washoe County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC), with the help of the Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee, is in the process of doing a thorough survey of Washoe County’s bicycle and pedestrian facilities. About this time next year, they should have a professionally designed plan for a bicycle lane and path transportation network that the RTC, Washoe County, Reno and Sparks can use as a design guide for future transportation improvements. One of the requirements when seeking federal funds is that the project be part of a comprehensive plan.

Recent improvements to the local bicycling infrastructure have included a bicycle boulevard on Riverside Drive between Wingfield Park and Idlewild Park. Have you tried it? Plans taking place this year include “road diets”, like Mayberry and Wells Avenue, Holcomb, Arlington, El Rancho and parts of California, calling for a total of 24 more bike lane miles to be added.

Like much of life, bike lanes are what you make of them. You can make the safest bike lane really dangerous by riding against traffic, on the wrong side of the road. Some bicyclists believe that riding against traffic flow gives them the advantage of being able to see the biggest threat to their safety, the car coming directly at them. Unfortunately, that is not where the biggest threat lies. The biggest dangers are cars waiting at intersections and in driveways preparing to cross the bicyclist’s path. When a bicyclist is on the wrong side of the road, the crossing motorist doesn’t expect a bicyclist to be there so he doesn’t look there. A surprised motorist is a dangerous motorist. Don’t be a victim of a motorist who will say, “I never saw him.” Always ride with the flow of traffic.

Enjoy those bike lanes safely!

Terry McAfee is the President and Founder of the Nevada Bicycle Coalition, Inc. The mission of the coalition is to promote safe bicycling in Nevada.

We’re excited to announce that GReNO’s Volume #5 is currently in distribution for your reading enjoyment throughout Reno.

You can also download your free PDF copy here!

fer

by Dale Carlon

With all of the planning and preparations that we have done so far to ensure our new trees success we can’t stop once it’s in the ground. The first growing season is critical – things we do now, both right and wrong, have impacts on the tree for decades to come, if indeed it gets the chance to last for decades.

Irrigation

The most common question I get is, “How much water do I apply?”  As always the type of soil you have and the environment the tree is in makes a huge difference. However, for the sake of this discussion let’s assume that the tree was planted in a good planting mix with average exposure (full sun, full wind). After the planting we have built a berm around the tree forming a saucer. There is an inner ring that prevents water from soaking the base of the trunk, so our saucer looks more like a doughnut. For the first growing season the soil should be just kept moist, not soaking wet. A good rule of thumb is that you fill the doughnut up three times a week. If you install drip put three one gallon per hour emitters about one foot out from the trunk set to run for one hour three days a week.

Fertilizing

The metabolism of a newly planted tree is stressed from being dug up at the grower, transported to the nursery, and then sitting in a black pot on asphalt at the nursery waiting for you to buy it. Adding fertilizers at planting speeds up the metabolism and adds stress. When we have used a good planting soil the nutrients are there and no additional fertilizers should be applied. In about three growing seasons you can start fertilizing with a deep root feeder, opening up the soil and injecting a balanced set of nutrients.

Pruning

It is a myth that newly planted trees should be pruned. Again, reducing stress is important. Pruning makes the tree work on healing wounds when it should be making topgrowth and root system. Only prune off any dead or broken branches, wait till the third growing season to start pruning.

Staking

The argument about staking is a complex one that I will describe in detail in Greno #5 as there is a lot to understand. For today however, let’s admit that we live in a high wind area. As I write this the winds are at about 60 miles an hour in Reno. We do need to stake. Set your stakes outside the rootball so they penetrate the native soil. Orient them in a west/east configuration. Use a soft material to connect to the trunk, and take them off after the first season.

For more information check www.communityforestry.org and please friend me on Facebook at Dale Carlon Consulting LLC, you will enjoy my daily tree tips, and I love to answer questions there.

We’re proud to announce that the Volume 004 of GReNO is now available for you to pick up for free at any of these central locations: distribution map!

And when you’re done enjoying this “POWER UP!” edition, be sure to pass it along to a friend!

You can also download your free PDF copy of this edition GReNO_Vol.4_PowerUp! Enjoy!

image courtesy of ecojovenes.com

by Marc Tiar from EcoReno

Have you ever seen packaging or advertising for a product, proudly proclaiming the environmental virtues of the company or product, and wondered how “green” it really is? Or seen earth-loving claims by a company that reeks of pollution, excess packaging, and conspicuous consumption? Then you have potentially been greenwashed.

The term “greenwashing” is slowly creeping into the mainstream, and while the term may still be unknown to the majority of consumers, more and more people are getting familiar with the concept. In fact, the word was been in the Oxford English Dictionary for over a decade now, defining greenwash as “Disinformation disseminated by an organization so as to present anenvironmentally responsible public image.” While I would argue that “disinformation” may be a narrow view of greenwashing, implying that green claims are outright lies, that is at least part of it.

Much more broadlyseen are the sugarcoating, wolf-in-sheeps-clothing, and distractions from the man behind the curtain that go on in over 90% of “green” products investigated by environmental marketing firm Terrachoice. Terrachoice has defined the “Seven Sins of Greenwashing” in an effort to bring more public awareness to the widespread practices of companies looking to cash in on consumers’ efforts to be more environmentally aware.

The classic example of greenwashing I couldn’t omit, as it was this practice that led to the coining of the term – although I can’t quite decide whether it’s the Hidden Trade-Off or the Lesser of Two Evils – is hotels asking you to reuse towels and linens to “save the planet” when, in fact, their main reason for doing so is to increase profits, and when you look around the hotel, you see all kinds of energy waste, no recycling, and little to no environmental effort made anywhere else.

It’s not hard to figure out why greenwashing is rampant in today’s marketplace. Everyone knows green is the new black, so to speak, and the LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) consumer segment is worth more than $200 billion per year. According to an article in Time magazine last year , sales of organic products alone went from $10 billion to more than $20 billion in four short years, from 2003 to 2007.

So, what can you do to avoid being greenwashed? The Federal Trade Commission is working to update their so-called Green Guides (originally issued in 1992 and updated in 1998), and there are slowly emerging legitimate “seals of approval” from third-party certification organizations .

But until such standards are common in the marketplace it’s up to you to do your homework, research companies environmental claims, and be skeptical. You can also go online to greenwashingindex.com or Greenpeace’s stopgreenwash.org to check out examples.

Jennifer Cole is a native Nevadan, the mother of two beautiful girls, and the owner of Once Upon a Child, located at 4040 Kietzke Lane; Once Upon a Child is a localstore that buys and sells gently-used children’s clothing, toys, and equipment.Jennifer is like many of us, doing our best to spend our dollars where they benefitthe community, and support the growth of a sustainable local economy.

Let’s face it, sustainability is a nebulous concept. A commonly accepted definition is: the synergy between environmental, social, and economical responsibility. Great, but what does that mean for me? How can I define that within my own life and live it? Maintaining a balance between the environmental, social, and economical that can, well, be sustained, on a day to day basis by regular people like you and me is a real challenge.

What is environmentally friendly isn’t always economically viable and what is affordable isn’t always socially responsible and so forth. Thus the question I asked myself for this article: Is living sustainably possible for a family of four, in a smallish, desert city, in the winter, on a budget, with both parents working full-time?

First, I had to define sustainability in a more concrete way in order to be able to quantify my success in achieving it. To me, it means buying organic, local, and recycled, with minimal packaging, staying within my budget and not wasting time or fossil fuels. This is a tall order when your shopping is done during a 40+ hour work week, between school drop-off, nap time, dance classes, etc. It also means recycling, composting, and reusing as much as possible. This, too, is a tall order with a curbside recycling system in our city that does not comingle or recycle items such as #5 plastics or cardboard.

Finally, it means developing practices that make sense for my family and can be maintained without completely depriving or inconveniencing us. I determined, right off the bat, achieving all aspects of my definition of shopping sustainably was not possible in one spot in Reno. However, store hopping also breaks the tenets of not wasting fossil fuel or time. Therefore, I decided that making one trip to the one store that could fulfill the majority of my shopping needs for that day was the most sustainable approach. This required me to be flexible with my list. For example I shop for “fruit” instead of “strawberries,” and “vegetables” instead of “asparagus” leaving me open to choose what is local, or freshest, or most affordable. The stores I shop regularly in order of closest to farthest from my home are: Raley’s (walking distance), Great Basin Food Co-op, Costco, Trader Joe’s, and Whole Foods. All of these stores provide enough variety for me to purchase most of the products I would shop for in a week. I also shop a good deal at Eco Reno for more occasional purchases such as personal care, household, and cleaning products.

All of these stores have “organic” covered more or less. Raley’s has fair sized organic produce section and carries a variety of organic products in their natural foods section. Costco adds more and more organic products each month. I recently found organic eggs, agave nectar, flour, sugar, coffee, ground beef, chicken, raisins, peanut butter and milk there. Great Basin is totally committed to organic and sustainable. Trader Joe’s is approximately 50/50 organic to conventional, but even their non-organic products are produced with a natural or healthful focus. And Whole Foods clearly has the largest selection of organic items. Once we get to “local” however, is where we have a major problem in Reno.

OK, we live in the high desert. We aren’t going to find much local produce in the winter. However, it is important to me to buy as close to home as possible.

Unfortunately, it is often difficult to tell precisely where products originate. Sometimes “a product of the USA” is the best you can hope for. I try to never buy food from outside the country. However, my kids love blueberries and red peppers, both of which are available in abundance right now, but only from Chile. Can we substitute apples or pears, or frozen berries even? Sure, but I will indulge them occasionally especially when it comes to vegetables since they only enthusiastically eat a few. The other aspect of shopping local is keeping your dollars local. So, the Great Basin Food Co-Op and Eco Reno are the clear winners in this category. The Co-Op is locally owned and operated by its members with a strong commitment to local products. Eco Reno is also locally owned and carries many items by area artisans such as soap, jewelry, clothing and accessories. Raley’s tends to carry a fair amount of California-grown produce and Whole Foods labels everything as to origin, so it’s easy to choose as close to home as possible.

Recycling is easy too. Recycled paper products can be found pretty much everywhere. I personally like the toilet paper and paper towels from Costco. I can buy in bulk, affordably, and even the packaging is 100% recycled. Eco Reno and Whole Foods both carry a variety of paper products and 100% recycled Preserve table ware. Whole Foods is also a “Gimme 5” collection location where you can drop off your #5 plastics for recycling into Preserve products.

As far a minimal packaging, Trader Joe’s and Costco can be challenging for shoppers. Trader Joe’s packages much of their produce with a tray and plastic wrap; however they have switched to a paper board tray and offer more bulk produce recently. Costco products frequently have double packaging (boxes within boxes, bags within bags) but some bulk items actually have less packaging such as one 5-lb bag of organic fair-trade coffee versus five small bags.

Finally we get to affordability. Costco wins hands down for a typical shopping list for my family. However, if you shop for what is on sale, not just what is on your list you can get great deals anywhere. I found organic lemons on sale at the Co-Op when I was there last, and apples and pears at Whole Foods for $.99/lb a week ago. Plus your membership at the Co-Op gives you 10% off your purchases all the time.

So what is the answer, can my family live sustainably in Reno? Well, sometimes, and not as consistently as I’d like. The idea of balance is really the crux of the problem. The stores that are the most affordable offer the fewest local options and tend to over package their products, the stores with the most local options have the least variety and often the highest prices, etc. So, what’s the answer? The answer is to be flexible, do your best, and keep voting for sustainability with your dollars. Support your local stores when you can, but when you shop the big guys read labels and buy responsibly.

Just by virtue of the fact that this is being discussed on a broader scale in our community is a positive sign. More and more Renoites are thinking about sustainability every day as is evidenced by the proliferation of green business and products within the last few years. There is hope and change happens a little at a time. I will continue to do my part and will try to do better tomorrow than I did today. And, that’s all we can really ask of each other, isn’t it?

GReNO

Greno was created because it’s time. As educators, local experts, business owners, and residents in Northern Nevada collaborating to grow a more sustainable region – we realized that this publication did not exist, and it needs to. We needed a place to be on the same page with each other and speak with the community at-large. We were interested in helping others increase their knowledge about different and more sustainable means of prospering, feeding their families, and powering our cities. Daily, more and more people in Northern Nevada are deciding it’s time for them and their families to live better and more responsibly – to waste less, to reduce consumption or reuse an item – because every little step adds to the momentum of this sustainability movement growing in our region.

Now, we have a tool, a place to turn to for guidance, education, community news, and inspiration as we continue to grow a more sustainable, responsible, and green region.

We all eat! So, we decided to focus Greno #003 primarily on food, where it comes from, and those who are working to provide our community with nutritious edibles. This eating process is a big portion of how we live, and in this issue you will meet new ideas and practices that may lead you to change something about how you eat, one spoon at a time.

When we eat Lay’s Potato Chips, drink a Coca-Cola, or even a Fig Newton there is a chain of resources and people who effectively engineered that possibility for us, and unfortunately these companies may not be thinking about our health, but the dollars we give them in exchange for their brilliant engineering!

In this issue of Greno we are investigating a healthier alternative when consuming edible, drinkable and packaged products. Every choice has a ripple effect that connects each vegetable we eat to a network of people, places, vehicles, chemicals, or not. It’s time to get down and dirty!

Please enjoy this issue. We enjoyed putting it together.  Download your free copy of GReNO here, or visit your local sustainable store for your free copy.

We look forward to growing with you,

The Greno Team – Morgan, Christal, Larry, Marc and Jason

by Meghan Collins and Amber Sallaberry

Imagine you are a one-dollar bill, crinkled in the stuffy pocket of a Reno foodie. Your short-term use for your transporter is to purchase tomatoes, who faces a decision: run to a big-box store or shop at the local grocer down the street. This is a choose-your-own-adventure story of a dollar bill spent in one of Reno’s locally owned grocers vs. that spent in a brand-name grocery chain.

OPTION 1: BIG -BOX SPECIAL!

Your shopper walks through the sliding doors to the produce section, where she notices a large pyramid of tomatoes on the left wall. Choosing tomatoes only takes an instant because they are all the same shape, size and faint smell.

As she checks out, your rumpled dollar-bill-self goes in the drawer next to a few others of its kind, and it begins the journey in our global economy. It’s a fact that only 43% of money spent in a non-local business remains in the community (www. the350project.net). Where does the rest go on this hypothetical journey?

You, the weary dollar, enter into a pool of many others of your kind. This pool is divided in many ways. The first destination is to the retailer, taking a large percent of the revenue to cover overhead. Payroll stays local, as do taxes and utilities, but there is a great deal of money that is spent afar. Sources of products, supplies, and equipment are likely to be sourced from out-of-town. These chain stores also have the buying power to purchase distributors in large quantities from far-away industrial zones, contract with overseas merchants, or to the intensive costs of transportation and packaging itself. Past the owner of the franchise, a portion of the monies heads to the corporation’s HQ for research and development on market trends (heard of green washing?), advertisement, and costs of lobbying the federal government.

National and transnational shareholders, depending on the chain, often times see a large portion of year-end profits. This is significant because those monies are not being rolled back into location where money was spent to improve it, where individuals might have a vested interest in improving the community.

OPTION 2: HAND-PICKED BASKET

One alternative path for our tomato dollar begins at the independent grocery store, taking the locally-owned food cooperative as an example. In this case, the breakdown is much simpler. Compared to the $43 above, in the local scenario $68 of $100 returns to the community through payroll, taxes, and other similar expenditures (www.the350project.net).

Shopping takes a bit longer in this case. The owner of the dollar is surprised by the tomato selection at the Co-op. Because this enterprise supports many local Nevada growers, there is a large variety to choose from: slicing tomatoes, vine-ripened tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes and roma tomatoes.

The patron picks out a Cherokee purple heart heirloom and can smell its strong flavor even before cutting into it. The rumpled dollar is handed over to a worker paid a living wage for the region, and the patron’s eye catches a photo.

It depicts the farmer who grew the tomato. Next to this biography is a map of the Co-op’s ‘foodshed’ of the 95-mile radius around Reno, from which it aims to source the majority of its goods.

In the Co-op’s case, many supplies and equipment have been donated by members of the community. Some are recycled, some are handmade, and others come from other locally-owned businesses. The retail floor reflects a mentality of ‘bigger is not always better’, where products are sustainably produced and fresher, and where the space restriction might require you to get to know other ‘neighbors’ shopping alongside you.

Marketing in the case of the Co-op refers to education. Why is it important to buy local? What is the true cost of food, factoring in farm workers’ conditions and environmental aspects such as transportation and production methods? Why do individuals collaborate to form cooperatives in the first place? The list goes on…

The moral of the story is that spending the dollar locally provides more power to the region, as opposed to diluting it at a convenient franchise.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?  Visit www.greatbasinfood.coop or come and visit us at 542 Plumas St. Reno, NV 89509 (775) 324-6133

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