In advance of our Recycling Rock Show at the Opolis tonight, we would like to share with the community some of the facts we found about commercial recycling…

• Commercial Recycling generates new job growth: in recycling collection, support, supervisory and management roles.

• The cost-effectiveness of community recycling is primarily influenced by the amount of waste targeted for retrieval – by adding commercial recycling to our already existing residential recycling participants, we will increase the cost-effectiveness of both.

• Cost-effectiveness is also influenced by density – in areas such as Campus Corner and Downtown, the higher density of businesses with recyclables will make the system more financially viable.

• Trash disposal needs will decrease with a commercial recycling program, which will in turn could reduce already existing costs for business owners.

(Information from the 2011 CalRecycle Cost Study on Commercial Recycling)

Here are a few:

• Food knowledge
• A sense of action
• Community connection

Look how far we’ve come

What’s the value of growing our own food? Does anyone have data on the amount of Carbon that’s saved by growing your own green beans vs. buying a can from the grocery store? What about a sense of action? How do you quantify the sense of action and self-satisfaction that one feels by doing something that, if scaled globally, could radically change our health and connection to the source of life? How do you put a price on engaging with your neighbors about the garden’s purpose? Or sharing knowledge about what’s happening with curious young people? What choices will they make as a result of those discussions? How will it affect their consciousness? I don’t know and I doubt if I could accurately estimate any of those ‘unintended benefits’, but they make it worth while and that’s probably why I love it so.                                                                           

Questions or comments? Please email me at evan@normansustainability.org 

Until next time,

ev

This bond package, consisting of eight projects, will mostly address problems that are a culmination of the issue of continued outward growth, over several decades, on all edges of the urban area of the city of Norman. Generally, I have found that public infrastructure improvements – like the widening of roads – tends to be the last piece when it comes to sprawl. To me, this means that we must get ahead of this exact type of unsustainable growth before new developments begin. If we fail to do this, it is very likely that we will be asked to approve another round of infrastructure projects in 6-8 years to address the negative effects of more outward expansion.

Another event that relates to this focus on responsibly growing cities is the recent series of public discussions on the future of high density development in certain areas of Norman – Downtown and Campus Corner to name  few. The outcome of these discussions will determine what kind of options and alternatives will be available to counter the outward, low density growth that dominates our current zoning ordinances (which date back to 1950′s).

This article is meant to be a brief summary of a what we are dealing with as a community when it comes to the affects of growth, and my hope is that more people will get involved in how these decisions are made. Together we can be more sustainable.

Stephen Tyler Holman

(Most of) The Wednesday night YouTube crew

Thank you to everyone who came out Wednesday night, Amanda, Steve, Mary, John, Andy, Laine, Kendrick, Connor, Katelyn, Nicole, the nice girl who will have to remain nameless since I never properly                                                                                   introduced myself, Michael, Brooke, Chris, and Jack. I hope you all enjoyed the shows. I would also like to show some appreciation to Gray Owl Coffee on E. Gray St. in Norman, for allowing us to use their patio, electricity, and most necessarily, their wifi. We couldn’t have done it with out you all. For those of you who may not have been able to come, we watched two episodes from a series created by Bill Mollison. The series is called GLOBAL GARDENER and it’s about the variability in application for permaculture-based principles in the design, not just of gardens, but human settlements, as well. Here are the links:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD2CBLmkw6c&feature=plcp (Dry Lands) and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF9IgvjCv84&feature=plcp (urban).

Bill Mollison

Bill Mollison is the founder of permaculture and a hero of mine. I’ve watched these videos numerous times and still find them to be inspirational and informative. I hope you enjoy them as well.

Next Wednesday, September 12th (weather permitting) the theme will be SUBURBIA, and we’ll show a video 20 minute talk from James Howard Kunstler, (the author of THE LONG EMERGENCY, and most recently TOO MUCH MAGIC), then a 50 minute documentary called THE END OF SUBURBIA. The quality of the YouTube upload isn’t great but it’s should be adequate. We hope to see you there.

Evan 405-625-5655

Evan Dunn: the author

Hi everyone, I hope you’ve been enjoying the festivities and relaxation of Labor Day Weekend, I personally have spent much of the past two days reminding myself that the Public Library is closed; I love that place. I do have some fairly good news to report about the garden: it’s not dead , but coming along. It’s been about 3 weeks since the initial planting and I’ve come to the conclusion that some seeds must have been planted too deeply, or perhaps there was some soil erosion that extended the period in which visual confirmation of germination hasn’t been possible. I hesitate to dig everything up simply to say ‘oh I wish I hadn’t done that b/c there are the sprouts!’. In spite of depth issues, the bush beans are doing quite well, the lettuce is coming along, the beats are beating, and the broccoli is  beginning to broccolize (I just made that up but it seems appropriate). Mysteriously, dozens of mimosa seeds have sprouted, and I’ve struggled to definitively account for this; were they in the compost? Were they dormant seeds? Did Johnny Mimosa-seed surreptitiously plant them under cover of darkness? Who knows? If I hadn’t used the same two bags of compost I would have been able to do a comparative study, eh? I’ve used some pine needles from our tree as mulch for the beans since they’re fairly well developed, however the beets, lettuce, kale, and broccoli haven’t yet reached the height that would allow for significant mulching…should I mulch anyways? I suppose it is possible to mulch without the plants reaching a specific height, and it would probably reduce water loss; even it is a negligible amount, it would still be something saved…hmmm? Another thing I regret NOT doing is having the front yard soil tested. I began the OSU master gardener program last Thursday and it was incredibly informative. Professor Zhang Hailin gave a lecture about the importance of soil testing and the appropriate balance of soil nutrients for vegetable growth. This is of course fairly variable given the type and variety, however he gave us general ranges in which pH, Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium need to be. Approximately one month before the class began, each student was allowed to take a soil sample, submit it for testing, and then receive the results on the first day of class. Remarkably, the soil that I sampled, which was from the back yard garden, had more than 3 times the amount of phosphorous, and close to 2 times as  much potassium as I needed. This shouldn’t effect the vegetable growth negatively though since plant growth is based on a Liebig’s Law of the Minimum; meaning that the nutrient that is in least supply will be the regulating factor for growth and yield. This is of course good to know, however the problem was that those results came from the back yard and not where I planted in the front, so I actually have no idea what the nutrient mix is in the front. Eh, live and learn, it was fun to not only learn from him but to also speak a little Chinese. We’ll see how things turn out. Overall, it’s progressing and it’s already been a subject of interest with some of the neighborhood kids. They’re curious about a lot of things and although a front yard garden isn’t as exciting as say…the X-box, I’ve been fairly impressed with their enthusiasm. It is rather incredible how we put a seed in the ground and then a living thing comes up…what a world . Enjoy the rest of the holiday and happy gardening.

Please feel free to email me at evan@normansustainability.org or  call me at 405-625-5655 if you have any questions or comments.

Hasta luego,

Evan

Any questions?  Send us an email!  info@normansustainability.org

Ellen Dunham-Jones

Retrofitting Suburbia (2008)

As I’m sure, many of my fellow NSN‘ers are aware, Norman has been holding a series of community-wide discussions about the formulation of a ‘High-Density’ ordinance that defines what it is, where it can go, and what limitations there should be for ‘High Density’. I’ve been fascinated by this process and have looked for additional information. I’ve sought and I have found a fascinating TEDx lecture given by Ellen Dunham-Jones entitled ‘Retrofitting Suburbia’, based her book of the same name, that is full of great ideas about how to deal with the future changes that appear to be inevitable. I’ll be sure to mention the High-Density discussions at the coming Green Drinks party, but I would also like to coordinate a watch-party before the next ‘High Density’ discussion, (scheduled for Aug. 30th, @ 6:30pm at the Norman High Conference Center). Hopefully we can work out some of the details at our next meeting. Contact me anytime!

All the bests until then,

ev

405-625-5655

evad223@gmail.com

How did I begin?  I started out by trying to examine the space that was available and then ruminated about how the garden could fit into the context of the existing landscape. The garden is based on a 10′ x 10′ box with the corners shaved off. I knew I wanted to add two pathways that criss-crossed the garden to make 4 equally sized quadrants. This would allow for my nieces to play and also make it easier to tend the garden from all sides. It required a fair amount of calculations to determine the correct positioning, however having discussed it with my dad, and having concluded that it was in the appropriate place, I began the process of digging it out.

Why do a fall garden?  There are many reasons: the most obvious is to grow more food, however energy conservation and the act of making a statement about the un-sustainability of the suburban lifestyle, which is heavily dependent upon fossil fuels, is also part of the my reasoning. Oil is an amazing resource. It’s versatile, energy-dense, easily transportable, and like gold, holds its value. However, we are all aware that its combustion results in the emission of carbon dioxide and other particulates. The idea behind front yard gardens is to increase the capacity that we have to produce more food and use less fuel. Some research has suggested that, in the industrial system of food production, as much as 10 calories of fossil fuels are devoted to the production of a single calorie of food. That figure is calculated based on the fossil fuels used to run the tractors, the fertilizers (most of which come from the refinement of natural gas), the harvesting, the refrigeration, the transportation, and finally the food preparation. This is an incredibly energy intensive operation and it makes one question:  how sustainable it is? In my opinion, it

The author: Evan Dunn

isn’t sustainable. Although I don’t think we can all feed ourselves with two small gardens in our front and back yards, we can all work towards maximizing the amount of food we can produce with what little space we do have, and still have a beautiful outdoor space that we enjoy. I’ll try and continue updating everyone about the progress of the project throughout the fall. If you have any questions, comments, or points of discord, please feel free to express yourself. You can also email me directly at evad223@gmail.com.

Thanks for reading,
evan

The Norman Sustainability Network has been working hard this summer on our Commercial Recycling Petition - so we’ve decided to treat ourselves with another Green Drinks get-together!  On Sunday, August 19th, from 6pm to 8pm we will be hosting a gathering at The Earth Cafe (746 Asp. Ave) that will be open to anyone interested in creating a more sustainable city.  There will be free beer and wine (21+ only) and we will be discussing our current projects, as well as the leadership opportunities available within the Norman Sustainability Network.  Afterwards, we would like to open up the floor for a conversation on the issues that you think are most important to our community and what NSN should be working on.

We are also excited to announce that we will now be updating our website every week!  On Fridays, we will be posting a new blog on exciting developments in conservation and sustainability.  Also, every Wednesday following Norman city council meetings and study sessions on sustainable issues, Stephen Tyler Holman will post on the issues currently impacting our community.

And we’d love to know what you’d like to read about!  Send any suggestions for blog topics to info@normansustainability.org

• Paper is so 20th century… How about sending your loved ones e-cards that will appear in their inbox on Valentine’s day?  JibJab has a great selection of everything from sweet to hilarious, and features video cards that you can insert your own face in!  Use Facebook to become a member so you can easily share and pick photos directly from your albums.
• Forget the bouquet!  Get your honey a potted plant instead – not only does it feel like spring in the middle of winter, it also lasts way longer than cut flowers (as long as one of you remembers to water it…)  Plan on gardening when it warms up?  Find a tote and fill it up with gardening gloves, tools and lots of seeds for a springtime date in the dirt!
• Did we say forget the bouquet?  If your sweetheart loves flowers, make them and the planet happy by purchasing Fair Trade and Organic arrangements – check out One World Flowers and Organic Bouquet for many beautiful, eco-friendly styles.  If you’re feeling creative try to  make a paper bouquet!  Get some plain or colored paper, markers, glue and a pair of scissors to create your own paper flowers that will last a lifetime.
  

  Photo by flickr user &ersand - used under a Creative Commons license.

• For the chocolate lover… Did you know that Fair Trade Certification is not only good for people but the planet, too?  Fair Trade chocolate must meet both ethical and ecological standards of sustainability before receiving certification.  Check out The Earth Natural Foods (309 S. Flood) and Native Roots Market (132 W. Main) for a great selection of Fair Trade and Organic chocolates…
• Looking for ethically sourced goods, or Oklahoma-made gifts?  Downtown Norman is full of locally owned businesses selling just that, including STASH (412 E. Main), MerryBelle’s Gifts (230 E. Main) and local  jewelry by Lindsey Martin at Elusive (209 W. Main).  Don’t forget Campus Corner, where you can find an array of sustainable gifts and flowers at Birdie (566 Buchanan St.)