Hark Upon the Green

Though environmental issues are growing in prevalence and pertinence on a national and international scale, they seem to be losing their footing in the mainstream media. In March, the New York Times announced the cancelation of their Green Blog, which was designed to provide news and commentary and foster discussion surrounding energy and environmental topics. This announcement came just months after the Times dissolved their environment desk, a team of two editors and seven reporters who have since been assigned to other departments. In the wake of these events, many creators and consumers of environmental news are wondering what impact the Times‘ decisions will have on the landscape of environmental reporting.

When the environment desk closed, New York Times editors insisted that they remained as committed as ever to covering the environment. Now that the Green Blog has also met its end, they are echoing the same defense. In their announcement, the New York Times asserted that they planned to “forge ahead with our aggressive reporting on environmental and energy topics, including climate change, land use, threatened ecosystems, government policy, the fossil fuel industries, the growing renewables sector and consumer choices.”

In an editorial for the Columbia Journalism Review, Curtis Brainard excoriated the Times for their abandonment of the environmental beat and their lack of commitment to covering some of the most pressing issues of our time. Brainard, whose sentiments have been echoed by other environmental news consumers and writers, believes that the canceling of the environment desk and the Green Blog reflects a lack of interest in the environment on the part of the Times, and that the continued commitment they speak of in their press releases is just media posturing.

It’s entirely possible that the cancelation of the desk and blog reflect a genuine disinterest and lack of prioritization on the part of the Times. It’s really too early to say. However, I would suggest that these events might reflect less the views of the Times‘ editors, and more those of the Times‘ general readership. I would also argue that, if the Times follows through on their proclaimed commitment, dissolving the environmental desk and blog and integrating their content into the rest of the paper could be a step forward, not backward, for environmental reporting.

Anyone familiar with my writing here, at Hark Upon the Green, or in The Dog Street Journal is aware that I believe in the crucial importance of writing about the environment. At the same time, writing for an “environment section” of a newspaper strikes me as strangely analogous to writing for the “people section.” This “people section” would be ludicrous, if it existed. Aren’t all stories about people, in some way? Similarly, the environment is central and foundational to all of our actions. It underlies and surrounds everything that we do as individuals, as communities, as countries. I firmly believe that environmental issues, and therefore environmental news, cannot be extricated from the social, the political and the economic.

Dean Baquet, the managing editor for news operations at the New York Times, spoke with Inside Climate News about the decision to close the environment desk. When the environment desk was founded, he said, the environmental beat was “singular and isolated.” Today, Baquet stated, environmental topics are highly interdisciplinary, “partly business, economic, national or local, among other subjects…they are more complex.” Embracing this complexity, and emphasizing the crossover between the environmental beat and other news sections, may point the way forward for environmental reporting.

Among the disappointed commentators on articles about the Green Blog’s demise, some pointed out that the blog did not draw a great number of reader comments. Maybe the Times did not ruthlessly slash this news beat as much as they laid to rest an already dying section. Perhaps, as much as environmental advocates might wish differently, the environment is simply not at the top of the average citizen’s list of concerns.

A poll by the research consultancy GlobeScan asked participants how serious they considered various environmental issues to be. The issues included air pollution, water pollution, species loss, automobile emissions, fresh water shortages, and climate change. Results of the survey demonstrated that concern about all of these issues, save climate change, had reached its lowest point since tracking began 20 years ago. Environmental issues worldwide may have been supplanted in recent years by more immediate economic and political concerns. In the United States, we may simply be too distracted by the economic crisis and political debates on health care reform, immigration and gun control to give a second thought to the environment, or to seek out environmental news in the “Green” section of the paper. For many of us, “Green” translates to “Things that can wait. Things that happen slowly. Things I don’t have to think about right now.”

Perhaps, in isolating and sequestering “the environment” from the rest of the news, we encourage this nonchalant attitude towards the environment. Perhaps we are also missing the opportunity to connect the environment to values that are held closely to people’s hearts – health, economic security, and human rights, to name a few. A story about climate change could just as easily go in the New York Times‘s “World” or “Health” sections. Hydraulic fracturing might find a home in the “Business” beat, while news on alternative energy sources would fit naturally under “Technology.” By deleting the environmental section of their paper, the New York Times may simply be moving environmental coverage from the bottom rung of the interest ladder and into realms that garner more public attention. All issues are connected, anyway. The environment belongs with the other social issues of our day as much as it merits its own category. To quote Audre Lorde, “There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives.”

Still, it will take a concerted effort on the part of news organizations and journalists to make sure the environment has a place in this interdisciplinary vision of journalism. Without the space to fill in newspapers and on web pages, environmental stories, and those who write them, will have to fight for their space in the media. On the upside, this fight will likely force environmental stories to adapt, and therefore to improve – to become more integrated, relatable, and human than ever before.

-Sharon Hartzell
Originally published at unsilentspring.wordpress.com

This month, it finally happened: we reached 400 parts per million of CO2 in the atmosphere.

Though we inched over 400 briefly last summer, this is the first time that NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, witnessed a daily average at 400 ppm or above. To those familiar with the math of climate change, this number is far outside of our climate comfort zone. James Hansen, former NASA Climatologist, has stated that “If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced … to at most 350 ppm.” 350 ppm, in response to this statement, has become a rallying point for the climate movement. 350.org, an organization founded by journalist and environmentalist Bill McKibben, aims to lower CO2 levels down to this “safe” range. 350.org explain their namesake in the following video:

There is nothing significantly more distressing about 400 ppm than 399 ppm, of course. The importance of the 400 ppm marker is mostly symbolic. The environmental movement must cling to checkpoints like this, because the slow-building disaster of climate change takes place over long timescales and is, at most times and in most places, easy to ignore. Except, of course, when and where it isn’t.

If the number 400 does not speak to you, perhaps some other statistics from 2012, one of the most extreme years in terms of weather and climate, will have more of an impact:

5: The number of countries that set heat records in 2012.

144: The number killed in the flash floods that struck the Krasnodar region of Russia in July of 2012. Similar floods were experienced in Pakistan and China.

2300: The number of counties impacted by drought in the midwestern U.S. last summer.

13: The height in feet that Hurricane Sandy’s storm surge reached in some parts of New York City.

285: The total number of deaths attributed to the superstorm.

65,000,000,000: The cost of Hurricane Sandy, as estimated by London-based reinsurance firm Aon Benfield.

Looking to the future, Scientific American reports that, due to “a combination of local geography, vulnerable coastal development and already-happening sea-level rise as a result of climate change,” flooding like we experienced during Sandy will be commonplace, rather than unprecedented. The “frankenstorm” may soon become just a “storm.”

On a global scale, one extremely troubling number emerged from the 2012 weather and climate statistics:

18: The percentage that summer sea ice in the Arctic shrank below its previous low.

We will likely see 400 again. Perhaps we will adjust to it; perhaps 400 will become the new normal, and 450 will become the new Statistic of Doom. But 400 is only one number among many, and it may not be the most important. From 350 on up, we have experienced the devastating effects of climate change, and we will continue to see this destruction play out in statistics and in stories. The doom and destruction associated with the outcome of unmitigated climate change may not hit us on a global scale at 400 or at any number near to it, but for those who have died in floods and freak storms, or have lost their livelihoods to drought, this destruction is very real and very present. It is these numbers which make up the real statistical drama of climate change, and it is these numbers which may be most powerful in reversing our climate trajectory.

-Sharon Hartzell

Borenstein, Seth (2012). 2012 Extreme Weather Sets Records, Fits Climate Change Forecasts. Huffington Post Green. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/21/2012-extreme-weather-climate-change_n_2348079.html

350.org (2013). http://400.350.org/

BBC News (2012). Russia Flash Floods: 144 Killed in Krasnodar Region. BBC News, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18751198

Rice, Doyle (2013). Hurricane Sandy, drought cost U.S. $100 billion. USA Today, http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2013/01/24/global-disaster-report-sandy-drought/1862201/

This year, William & Mary’s annual Earth Week event was centered around the theme of Origins. Said Blair Doucette, one of the event’s planners, “The week will be all about knowing the origins of our lifestyles, from the food we eat to the power we use, allowing us to make conscientious decisions every day.” The event began on Sunday, April 14th, and culminated in a campus-wide celebration on the Crim Dell Meadow on Saturday, April 20th.

The events throughout the week drew attendance from William & Mary students, faculty, staff and community members. On Monday, The Swem Reading Group met to discuss The Forest Unseen, in which author David George Haskell recounts the year he spent in intense observation of a one-square-meter patch of old-growth forest. In his book, Haskell, a biologist, delves into the natural history of the forest he observes, and even the origins of the materials (two golf balls, for example) that tarnish its pristine wilderness.

On Tuesday, students explored the origins of their favorite study aid – caffeine – with a Fair Trade Coffee Event at Greenberry’s in Swem Library. Greenberry’s, based in Charlottesville, is a new addition to William & Mary, and a number of their coffee selections are organic and fair trade.

Through tours of the Millington Greenhouses and the College Woods, students had the opportunity to learn more about the natural history of our College and its environment.

A screening of the movie Switch: To a Smarter Energy Future taught attendees more about the origins of their energy sources, and a gardening day on Thursday gave volunteers the opportunity to dig their hands into the soil that some of their food comes from.

Saturday’s celebration, organized through a partnership between the sustainability community and AMP, was an unprecedented success. The Crim Dell meadow was flooded all day with students, faculty, staff and community members who gathered to hear live music, eat a vegetarian feast prepared by W&M Dining, and listen to Taylor Reveley read Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax.

With the theme of Origins, Earth Week provides an opportunity to reflect on the “origins” of Earth Day itself. The first Earth Day was held on April 22nd, 1970. Earth Day was founded by Gaylord Nelson, a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, after he witnessed the 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. He took notes from the anti-war movement that was sweeping the nation’s college campuses, and strove to harness that energy and direct it towards an increased awareness of our nation’s environmental challenges. His idea was for a “national teach-in on the environment,” which he organized with a national staff of 85 people. On April 22nd, rallies erupted in major cities across the United States. Earth Day events included speeches, performances, and protests, and managed to unite Americans across political barriers in a common cause: the promotion of a healthy, sustainable environment.

William & Mary’s Earth Week celebration is a worthwhile tribute to the history of Earth Day. By holding events, screenings, and tours throughout the week, designed not only to celebrate but to educate, we hearken back to the origins of Earth Day as a national “teach-in.” The crowds on the Crim Dell Meadow on Saturday are evidence that the environmental movement is still succeeding in bridging differences and uniting diverse groups in a common cause.

On March 15^th and 16^th, the William & Mary Law School hosted the 2013 Environmental Law Symposium, an event that brought together speakers from a variety of disciplines to discuss present issues facing the Chesapeake Bay.  The Symposium hosted a variety of speakers and featured panels that addressed topics like sea-level rise, wetland quality, and the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), which specifies the maximum pollutant level that a body of water can hold while meeting water quality standards. The symposium was co-sponsored by the Environmental Law & Policy Review Journal, the Environmental Law Society, and the Virginia Coastal Policy Clinic.

Mary-Carson Saunders, a William & Mary law student, was tasked with inviting speakers and developing the educational direction for the event. “I really enjoyed all the speakers!” Saunders said. “I found VIMS Professor and researcher Mark Luckenbach’s talk on Oyster and Clam aquaculture, as a potential tool to meet TMDL reduction in Virginia, especially interesting.”

Mark Luckenbach was one of the Symposium’s many speakers, who represented a variety of public and private sector careers and offered diverse perspectives on issues facing the Chesapeake Bay.

The event began on the afternoon of March 15^th. Daniel Doty, editor of the William & Mary Environmental Law & Policy Review, and the William & Mary Law School’s Dean Ronald Rosenberg, gave the opening remarks. That afternoon, the Symposium hosted speakers including Joe Maroon of Maroon Consulting LLC, Robert Nelson, a public policy professor at the University of Maryland, Russ Baxter of the Department of Environmental Quality, George Kelly of Environmental Banc & Exchange LLC, attorney Donald Carr, Professor Jim Perry of W&M and VIMS, attorney/banker Whitney Saunders, Steve Marin of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Carla Poole of AquaLaw, Rick Parrish of the Southern Environmental Law Center, and Jeff Corbin of the EPA. These speakers and panelists discussed the Chesapeake Bay restoration, TMDL clean-up strategies, the Ecosystem Services Trading Business, and water quality mitigation, as well as the conflicting motivations of the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Saturday’s speakers included Margaret Sanner of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Shana Jones of W&M and the Virginia Coastal Policy Clinic, Lewie Lawrence of the Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission, Whitney Katchmark of the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, Arthur Butt of the DEQ, James Davis-Martin of the Department of Conservation and Recreation, Mark Luckenbach of VIMS, Troy Hartley of the Virginia Sea Grant, Jessica Grannis of Georgetown Law, Skip Stiles of Wetland Watch and Carl Hershner of VIMS. These speakers discussed the TMDL, including the role of non-profit organizations in meeting it, as well as non-point source compliance, sea level rise and wetland issues. Tayloe Murphy gave the keynote speech Perspective from a Lifetime of Service – Public to Private to Non-Profit, and Congressman Rob Wittman offered the closing remarks.

It was this diversity of perspective that made the Symposium a success for Zander Pellegrino, one of the few undergraduates in attendance. “Seeing policy-makers, scientists and litigation lawyers work together, and seeing how they talk with each other and how information flows between these parties was really interesting,” Pellegrino said. He added, “You could see the speakers … were very active in the creation of policy and in the scientific research that informs it.”

Saunders was impressed with the involvement of the business community in the symposium. “In my opinion,” Saunders said, “a successful Bay program requires the cooperation of many different stakeholders and actors in the watershed.  The symposium sought to articulate the power of a collaborative approach and the participants from the private and public sectors helped us deliver this message.”

The Environmental Law Symposium has been hosted annually since 2010. When asked about the future of the Symposium, Saunders was hopeful that the next Symposium would bring more interest from the undergraduate and other graduate schools, and other members of the community. Though Pellegrino said he had “a lot to catch up on” since he was not a law student, he thought that it would be valuable for other undergraduates to attend the Symposium.

“We hope that by providing a policy perspective, in addition to the traditional legal perspective represented in law school symposiums, people will feel the presentations are more accessible and relatable to their personal lives,” said Saunders.

Pellegrino certainly found the Symposium relatable. “Getting a little more background on local issues was very interesting. It’s a good reminder that where we’re living is more than just the area between Richmond and Jamestown Roads,” he said.

With the semester quickly winding down and summer break just around the corner, it’s important for students leaving campus to try and make a greener transition when moving out. After all, with so many people transitioning at the same time, the effects can be a major stress on the local environment.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pdwhitney/3936031508/sizes/z/in/photostream/

That being the case, even before final projects are handed in and tests taken, consider some of the following eco-friendly and sustainable ways to finish up the academic year and return home on a greener note.

1. Textbooks: Every semester students usually have to purchase a few text books for each class, yet the majority won’t be used after the class has been completed. Instead of taking them home where they will sit on a shelf or in a box in the basement, sell them to students who may need them next year. Also, check with the university book annex as they often buy back books in good condition that will be used again.

1. Furnishings: Whether it’s a rug, comfortable chair, or wall decoration, students sometimes purchase a few extra furnishings to make dorm rooms or off campus housing a little cozier, but may not take these items home. Instead of putting them on the street for the trashman, try reselling or passing them on to other students who could put them to good use next fall.

2. Clothing: If students know they want new outfits for the coming months, hold a dorm or campus clothing swap before everyone departs. A small fee could be charged with all proceeds going to charity.

3. Storage: Put in storage belongings you know you want to keep but don’t need back home. This will allow for lighter travel with less energy and resources being expended hauling everything back and forth. http://www.flickr.com/photos/pearlbear/203390074/sizes/z/in/photostream/

4. Donate: After all is said and done, anything that’s usable that you weren’t able to sell or give away in time should be donated to a local charity. Donating is one of the best forms of putting things on the path to being reused.

5. Recycle: When cleaning up and clearing out, old handouts, notices, pizza boxes, bottles and other similar items are likely to pile up. Whatever can be recycled should be placed in the proper bin.

6. Cleansers: When cleaning living spaces, try using eco-friendly cleansers. They won’t emit noxious fumes that are unhealthy to breathe, and because they aren’t chemically based, they won’t harm the environment when poured down the drain

7. Reusables: Moving can be exhausting and require plenty of snacks and drinks, so carry a reusable water bottle and reusable cutlery for the trip home. Doing so prevents more non-biodegradable plastic ware from sitting in the local landfill.

8. Classes: Before departing, drop a note to some of your professors who taught classes in which there seemed to be a lot of paper waste. Ask them to find ways to digitize handouts and other materials for fall semester.

9. Carpool: Finally, if everyone leaves in individual vehicles the combined burning of fossil fuels creates a lot of pollution. That’s why if enough students can travel with a minimum amount of possessions and are headed in similar directions, they should arrange carpooling or a special bus to take them home.

-Jakob Barry

Jakob Barry is a green living journalist for Networx.com. Networx.com helps homeowners save time, money and frustration by connecting them with home improvement professionals. From plumbers and roofers to handymen and carpenters Networx simplifies the process of locating a reliable professional.

Bamboo, one of the fastest-growing plants on earth, is used in construction, as a material for furniture, in the production of textiles, and to make products ranging from musical instruments to fishing rods. Bamboo is highly renewable because it is so fast-growing – up to a meter per day! In addition to absorbing carbon dioxide, bamboo releases 35% more oxygen than an equivalent stand of hardwood trees. Additionally, no fertilizer, pesticides or herbicides are typically needed in growing bamboo.

Bamboo Studio, a California-based company, uses bamboo to produce a large catalog of dinnerware products. Bamboo Studio takes advantage of the sustainable features of the plant to create a green alternative to paper, styrofoam and plastic dinnerware.

Bamboo Studio offers several different product lines. Their disposable products are 100% biodegradable, but can be reused several times if washed properly. The disposable products are made from the sheath of the bamboo plant, the protective covering on newly emerging bamboo shoots. This sheath is not usually used, but Bamboo Studio cleans, boils and laminates the sheaths before shaping them into disposable dinnerware. I was able to sample Bamboo Studio’s small hors d’oevres dishes, skewers, and bamboo swords, and think that Bamboo Sheath products would make an excellent alternative to the paper and plastic typically used in food service and for catered events.

They also produce a line of reusable BambooWare Products, for use in the home. I tried a plate, cup and bowl made of this material, and was impressed by its smooth texture and sturdiness. To make the products, Bamboo Studio grinds the fiber of five-year or older bamboo plants into a fine powder, then molds them into dinnerware. All of these products are FDA-approved, and safe for dishwashers. Bamboo Studio’s forks, spoons and knives are made from the bamboo plant itself, which makes for an excellent alternative to plastic utensils. The plates, bowls and cups they offer are also available in a number of colors, and can be custom printed.

Production of dinnerware from traditional materials uses a tremendous amount of energy, and these products often are not biodegradable. Styrofoam is commonly used to make plates and cups, but it does not biodegrade, and can remain in landfills indefinitely. Plastic utensils, plates and cups also take a long time to degrade, and are products of the petroleum industry. Even paper plates have tremendous environmental impacts; study by Canadian scientist Martin Hocking showed that the production of a paper plate is as fossil fuel-intensive as that of a Styrofoam plate.

“Fortunately,” writes Bamboo Studio, “there is a great alternative to the age old question of “Paper or Plastic.”" Bamboo may truly be the dinnerware product of the future!

To learn more about Bamboo Studio’s dinnerware, you can visit their website at http://www.ecobambooware.com/

-Sharon Hartzell

This spring break, eleven William & Mary students spent a week getting their hands dirty at Lynchburg Grows, an urban sustainable farm in Lynchburg, Virginia. The trip was run through the Branch Out National Alternative Breaks Program, and gave students a chance to explore the concepts and practice of sustainable agriculture while giving back to the community.

Lynchburg Grows was founded in 2003. In addition to sustainable agriculture, the organization prioritizes community involvement, especially for those with special needs. Trip leader Aidan De Sena says the farm is working on “being more of a community center, and incorporating people with disabilities.” The farm gives back to the community by providing to restaurants in the area and to the local school system. They are planning to institute a food mobile, a refrigerated van to bring food to food desert areas. They also offer prices that are marked down for people who can’t afford their regular CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) prices. One day they hope to have their own farmer’s market, said De Sena.

Throughout the week, the William & Mary students spent much of their time on tasks that the farm wouldn’t have the chance to do otherwise. “There was a lot of physical labor,” said trip member Miranda Clarke. Students worked on infrastructure in the farm’s greenhouses, put in an irrigation line, dug a trench for a water pipe, and built a gravel bed for strawberries to help prevent weeds from growing. They also worked to clear brush from rose bushes, planted lettuce medleys, and helped with food packaging.

The students learned more about sustainable agriculture in general through discussions on food insecurity, access to nutritious food, and composting. Said De Sena, the trip was a great introduction to sustainable agriculture, something he’s been really interested in and was glad to have the chance to learn more about. “One thing that they’re working on is making eco-agro systems,” De Sena said, or making a greenhouse “more like an ecosystem so it can almost function on its own.” An example of an eco-agro system, De Sena shared, would be using wildflowers to promote ladybug populations that control aphids, which are harmful to crops. “It’s good to see how creative you can be when you’re trying to do things sustainably,” De Sena said.

Community farms like Lynchburg Grows provide an alternative to industrial agriculture. “We also talked about how these sort of community gardens are never going to take over and substitute all industrial agriculture, but if each community had their own, industrial farming could be limited to exports,” said De Sena. However, without government support, “it will be difficult for sustainable agriculture to be economically sustainable,” De Sena said.

The students from the trip are interested in continuing their own involvement in sustainable agriculture. Clarke said they discussed getting more involved with gardening as a group. De Sena also shared opportunities with student organizations including RealFood Williamsburg, FORKS, and the Student Environmental Action Coalition’s gardening campaign with the team. For herself, Clarke is making an effort to eat more sustainably.

Lynchburg Grows is always looking for volunteers and donations. To learn more about the organization and how you can get involved, visit their website at http://www.lynchburggrows.org/

-Sharon Hartzell
Photo credits: Aidan De Sena

Two William & Mary students are striving to bring a mobile farm to our campus. The truck farm, say sophomores Jes Carr and Nicole Broder, will “ignite curiosity not only in students at William & Mary, but also in students at surrounding elementary, middle, and high schools, about where their food really comes from.”

Some more facts about the Truck Farm:

It will…

Be the first Truck Farm on a college campus!
Provide educational outreach to students of all ages regarding sustainable agriculture and gardening practices.
Partner with professors and local teachers to bring hands on learning to the classroom.
As a visible fixture in the community, spark individual and communal curiosity and discussion about America’s farming practices and the benefits of local eating.
Allow students collaborative opportunities to further their research in clean energy through working to convert the truck’s engine to run on waste vegetable oil.
Inspire the creative thinking necessary to tackle America’s current problems regarding food production and clean energy.
Further advocate for innovation and ingenuity in the growing urban agriculture movement.

For more information, or to support this initiative, visit http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1966501246/tribe-truck-farm-a-mobile-classroom