Buying Secondhand: Good for the Wallet and the Environment

By Elyse McConnell
CG Commentary

In the world of fashion, one day you’re “in.” And the next day… You’re in a landfill.  Every year, each American sends 68 pounds of clothing to a landfill.

Secondhand stores in Athens offer a variety of clothing and other items for low prices, diverting waste from the landfills. Photo by Sara Salman

Just like tie-dye t-shirts and MC Hammer pants, today’s styles typically end up buried (literally) before they have a chance to be “cool” again. Some of these materials will never biodegrade fully, while others leave behind the chemicals, pesticides and toxic dyes used to produce them.

Given these concerns, some American companies are working to rescue some 2.5 billion pounds of clothing otherwise destined for the landfill. A number of these companies employ people to dig through bags and bags of old clothing. Clothing in good condition is sold, bulking up the ranks of certain secondhand stores, while less stylish apparel is sent to non- industrialized nations (if you ever wondered why villagers in remote places often sport American brands, now you know).

When a culture has such an emphasis on being “in,” it can be hard on someone with a green conscience, and their wallets, to navigate the wily ways of trends, but secondhand stores can be the answer. In Athens, secondhand stores abound — whether you are looking to dress inexpensively, stylishly, uniquely or eco-friendly. Athens Underground, New-To-You Shoppe and Goodwill are sources for fall and winter fashion that suit the budget and the mind.

Athens Underground (90 N. Court St.) is a vintage shop located uptown. Down a set of steps from street-level is a relaxed atmosphere, soft blues music and a catacomb of clothing. Neatly grouped on shelves, display cases, and clothing racks are an assortment of vintage chemises, beaded dresses, fedoras, shoes, jewelry and more. The store is also full of classic fall staples like T-strap heels, neutral trench coats, faux pearls, white button-up shirts, plaid scarves and sheath dresses. They carry fur coats and leather jackets that are so central to this fall’s style. The prices were reasonable for a store stocked with hand-picked gems — like a pair of navy and orange knitted flats priced at only $3.50.

Court Street dead-ends into Carpenter Street just a few steps north of Athens Underground.  Turning left on Carpenter, the looping road heads north to New-To-You Shoppe (90 Columbus Road). New-To-You is a thrift store run by the Athens County Foster Parent Association, with profits benefiting foster children by aiding with the costs of camp, instruments, sports fees and more. There is a small consignment section, but most of the items have been donated. The prices are very low and the items all seem to be in good condition. On the day that I visited, the store was disheveled by the huge amount of inventory, and noisy from several crying children, but I managed to find a sweater for $1.07. They had a large housewares section and a copious amount of purses, but finding unique clothing here was somewhat more difficult. However, their constant stock rotation means that new items appear in the store frequently — it’s just a matter of visiting often and having an eye for that perfect item.

East Carpenter Street meets up with East State Street, on which the local Goodwill store (743 E. State St.) can be found. The Athens Goodwill thrift store can be somewhat overlooked because of its location, but the shop is clean, tidy and well-stocked. Each Goodwill store is run autonomously, so the purchases made at the Athens Goodwill benefit those in this region. The store’s inventory is entirely donated, and the $3 or so paid for a sweater goes to help those that have disabilities or have experienced downsizing. Like New-To-You, Goodwill has a constantly rotating stock of apparel, some of which is new or like-new and still in style. They have frequent sales, specific to their store location. They also have some classic staple pieces, always a good buy, and tons of acid wash jeans for those wishing to relive the ’80s. What can’t be sold at Goodwill will frequently be donated to organizations that re-purpose the garments — for example, some groups turn t-shirts into cleaning rags.

With options like these that benefit local businesses and organizations, the effort to lower one’s ecological footprint isn’t a chore at all. A little luck and ingenuity is all that’s needed to find unique clothing and to divert millions of pounds of textiles a year from landfills.

Bluegrass: Raising the Voice to Lower the Footprint

By Alex Snyder

By Becca Cochran
CG Lifestyles and People

If you walk into Casa Cantina any Monday night, you’ll find yourself surrounded by a crowd of Birkenstock-clad, lively folks. Some are students, and some are Athens residents, but all are groovin’ to the sounds of Athens’ own Rattletrap Stringband. As you sit enjoying your food and beverage from the bodega, sounds of the fiddle, banjo, guitar and bass waft over the restaurant.

It’s a scene not uncommon to Southeast Ohio, a place where for two hundred years coal mining has been not only a way of supplying energy, but also a way of life.  Within the detailed history of coal in Appalachia is the story of its music: bluegrass. This style of music seems so inherent to Appalachian culture that it is often easy to forget its evolution alongside coal. The two have an intertwined history that resulted in their unique companionship, and so to understand this form of music, it is important to consider the background of the backcountry. (Oh, and fear naught, it bears little resemblance to Deliverance.)

The development of bluegrass culture was due in large part to the geographical and socioeconomic aspects of Appalachia. For nearly two centuries the economy of Appalachia has been contingent on the mining of coal, one of America’s most required, though nonrenewable, natural resources.

By the late 18^th century and into the 19^th century, jobs were hard to come by, and so many men submitted to the arduous lifestyle of an Appalachian coal miner. The work itself was rigorous, and working conditions were far from ideal.  A typical mine was cold and dark and exposure to large amounts of coal dust over time gave many miners the disease known as “Black Lung.” The risk of working in the coalmines, coupled with inadequate pay, made for a taxing life. And so in the tradition of Scotch-Irish and Anglo-Celtic ballads, the trials and tribulations of Appalachian coal miners were conveyed in song:

“Coal mining is the most dangerous work in our land today
With plenty of dirty slaving work and very little pay
Coal miner won’t you wake up and open your eyes and see
What the dirty capitalist system is doing to you and me
They take your very life blood and they take our children’s lives
They take fathers away from children and husbands away from wives
Oh miner, won’t you organize wherever you may be
And make this a land of freedom for workers like you and me.”
-(Come All ye Coal Miners)  – Traditional Ballad

The songs have continued to flow over the hills of Appalachia, telling the stories of miners and their families. Listening closely, you can hear a heedful plea: “…organize wherever you may be,” in order to, “…make this land of freedom for workers like you and me.” It was this sense of collective strife and determined human spirit that led to the organization of labor unions by coal miners in the late 1800s. The labor movement that emerged from the coal miners’ struggle defined labor standards for generations to follow.

Today, through the music of bluegrass, that struggle is remembered. But where does bluegrass grow today? Many might be surprised to find that it hasn’t died out, but has been instead transplanted into the hands of the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the original authors of traditional Appalachian music.

Today, nonprofit environmental groups such as Aurora Lights strive to preserve the traditions of Appalachia while maintaining a balance between its people and the earth. Based in Morgantown, West Virginia, Aurora Lights fosters locally based projects in Appalachia through education, restoration, and yes, bluegrass. Through the collaboration of local artists from Appalachia, Aurora Lights has recently compiled its second album of bluegrass songs featuring interviews with Appalachian residents who have been affected by mountaintop removal coal mining.

Why is bluegrass now the music of environmentalists? Perhaps it always has been; perhaps coal miners were environmentalists in disguise, only trying to make a living — bluegrass being their only way of telling the story of their strife. Or perhaps bluegrass has rooted itself even deeper into America’s history, as the spirit of those old Appalachian ballads seems to have relevance still today: people living in the Appalachian area continue to change the quality of their surroundings, just as early coal miners did through song.

Matthew McElroy has been playing the fiddle with Rattletrap for almost ten years, and he still finds a connection with that Appalachian spirit: “Where it comes from appeals to me … the community of it — the small contingent of people trying to keep its heart beating.”

And as the tune of the fiddle comes drifting o’er the crowd again, you’re reminded again of what that sound represents: nearly two centuries of music and lyrics illustrating the lives of many who dared to raise their voice about their present condition. Glancing again at those Birkenstock-clad folk dancing to the heartbeat of the song, it’s apparent that the roots of bluegrass music run deep. And the song, though it may have changed hands along the way, remains the same.

Forest Carnivore returns to Southeast Ohio

The larger, more asymmetric track was made by a bobcat's front foot. The more round and slightly smaller track was made by the rear foot. Photo by Joe Brehm

By Audrey Rabalais
CG Science

A small predator stalks its way through the night in Wayne National Forest, spotting a turkey feather on a tree and further enticed by the scent of beaver castor oil and catnip. It approaches the alluring trap, relieving an itch against blunt nails under the feather. With two quick camera flashes, the bobcat disappears, leaving only a few stray hairs and its picture on the film.

Wildlife biologists like Suzie Prange live for this hypothetical scenario.

“It used to be that I couldn’t wait to get my hands on an animal, but now just getting pictures is so great,” said Prange who is part of a bobcat research project aimed at documenting the distribution and abundance of bobcats (Lynx rufus) in southeastern Ohio.

Bobcats are an endangered species in Ohio, native to central and southeastern areas of the state. The mid-sized cat with black-tufted ears controls small rodent populations and is an essential component of the food chain and ecosystems to which it belongs.

During the 18^th and early 19^th centuries, bobcats were found throughout Ohio, but as more land was cleared for settlement and agriculture, bobcat numbers plummeted, and by 1850 the species was nearly extirpated. Since 1970, there have been 255 verified reports of bobcats in Ohio. A verified report requires physical evidence of the animal such as roadkill or a photograph. Prange said many of the reports are from people who call in to the local Department of Natural Resources office and many of these sightings remain unverified.

“We get a lot of just folks calling in saying, ‘I saw a bobcat,’ ” said Prange. Although unverified reports are not used to estimate bobcat populations, she said it appears that the unverified report trend supports the numbers of verified reports. Prange suggests that the increase in trail cameras bought by hunters and private landowners has lent itself to a larger number of reports in recent years.

The Ohio Division of Wildlife began conducting its bobcat camera trap and hair snare study in 2007 in three sites across southeastern Ohio. Each site was divided into a grid consisting of 12 one-square kilometer areas where hare snares and cameras were set up. The hair snares consisted of a square of carpet with blunt roofing nails inserted in it that could snag fur when the cats rubbed against it. The carpet was scented with beaver castor oil and catnip to attract the cats by scent. A turkey feather was placed above the carpet pad to attract them by sight as bobcats are flashers, predators attracted through movement.

The mesh bag attached to the scent pad contains catnip, which is just as attractive to bobcats as it is to domestic cats. It entices the bobcat to rub on the scent pad, hopefully leaving hair behind on the blunt nails. Photo by Joe Brehm

Two infrared cameras were placed at 90-degree angles toward the scent pad and feather to capture footage of the bobcats that visit the site. Ideally, two picture angles would be captured of the visiting bobcats, Prange said.

After successful monitoring in the pilot study, 12 sites were set up and monitored during 2008 with photos obtained at four sites and hair sample at six sites. Wildlife biologists are now looking for patterns in the movement and territory of bobcats. Individual felines can be identified by DNA analyses of the hair samples, which are also used to estimate total density of the population. Individuals can also be identified by looking at pelage patterns, or the specific pattern of spots in the fur, which ideally are discernable from the photos taken.

Biologists involved with the bobcat project are also trying to determine if seasons affect bobcat detection rates. However, they are not speaking of your typical spring, summer, fall and winter; these seasons are based on the cats’ biology. The first season begins in May with birth and early kitten rearing, followed by late kitten rearing in August, dispersal in November and breeding in February.

To determine if seasonality affects bobcat detection rates, biologists will resurvey each site   from 2008 at which bobcats were detected during the 2009-2010 survey. This will allow identification of the best time of year to survey the bobcats, generating more efficient surveying techniques and better bobcat management in Ohio.

Only four sightings may not seem much for a field site, but Prange said those pictures make the job worthwhile.

“After a long day in the field, I get into my car and turn the headlights on, driving away wondering if those bobcats are going up to the traps I just put up.”

Prange intends to continue the project as long as it lasts, already persevering through a pregnancy last year. She spoke of seeing video and pictures of herself out in the field, eight months pregnant.

“I look forward to when my daughter is old enough to see it and I can say, ‘There’s mommy! There you are looking for bobcats.’”

It appears that bobcats are back in Ohio to stay, and research on these cats is just beginning for dedicated biologists like Prange. Her research now may help ensure that her daughter grows up in an Ohio with a healthy bobcat population.

As bobcats approach the scent pad attached to the tree, their motion will trigger the camera to take their picture. Photo by Joe Brehm

Commentary: A Walk along the Great Hopewell Road

By Joe Brehm
Commentary

Following the Footsteps of the Ancients
On Oct. 10, about 30 people set out to do something that had not been done in hundreds of years. They began a 7-day, 70-mile walk from Hopewell Culture National Historical Park in Chillicothe to the Octagon Earthworks in Newark. This same pilgrimage was undertaken by the Hopewell people who built these earthen structures 2,000 years ago. Some archaeologists theorize that people may have come to the Octagon Earthworks from as far away as the Grand Canyon for ceremonial gatherings.

Brad Lepper, an archaeologist from Ohio State University, has argued that a road once existed from the Chillicothe Earthworks to the Octagon in Newark, which has been termed the Great Hopewell Road. A diverse group of students, hikers, community members and visitors from other states and countries walked the length of this road from Oct. 10-16. This weeklong journey, labeled “Walk with the Ancients,” was sponsored by OSU at Newark’s Earthworks Center. Walkers’ motives for this pilgrimage were varied. Some participants simply enjoyed walking and hiking and were curious. Others wanted to retrace the steps of their Native American ancestors. Vincent Stanzione, an anthropologist from Guatemala, joined the walk because of his expertise on pilgrimage. Emily Hadet, a senior at Denison University, is researching motivations behind pilgrimage and conducted interviews along the walk.

I had the privilege of joining them for a part of this pilgrimage, and I will never see Ohio’s landscape in the same way. The walk and its participants revealed a new dimension to lands that I travel through often. I have always admired the rolling hills and gentle landscape of southern and central Ohio — its diverse ecology and ephemeral beauty — but never realized that an ancient path of prayer was laid upon the land by those who dwelt here long ago.

Led by Ceremony
I decided to attend the opening ceremony after hearing about this event from Dr. Margaret Pearce, a professor in the Geography Department at Ohio University and Director of the Ohio University Cartographic Center. Dr. Pearce and graduate student Mike Boruta produced the map that guided walkers along their journey.

The deep, resonant beat of a traditional Native American drum sounded across the green fields covering 2,000-year-old earthworks in Chillicothe. A strong October breeze carried the smell of sage and sweetgrass smoke. Lakota spiritual leader Gilly Running and singers Mark Welsh, Hunter Garner and Andrew Baker led a procession of about 70 people to the middle of this cluster of mounds and earthworks. As the pulse of the drum and voices of singers rang out, the large circle of onlookers and walkers faced each of the four cardinal directions — north, east, south, and west — in unison.

The words of a Hunkpapa Lakota elder who had spoken moments earlier settled in my mind: “Most people think that the four colors of the medicine wheel (red, white, yellow and black) symbolize the red man, white man, etc., but that’s not the case. When that wheel starts spinning, the colors blend together, and what you get is brown. When you look around, we’re all just different shades of brown.”

After the ceremony, the walkers began their journey and I rejoined them at Rock’s Mill near Lancaster on their fourth day. After an evening program about the history and restoration of the mill, some of the walkers participated in a traditional sweat lodge ceremony. I sat by the fire as hot rocks were pulled from the coals of a large fire, glowing red in the darkness of the night. The sound of the rushing falls at the mill and the crackling of the fire blended with songs of prayer from the sweat lodge. Those walking along the Great Hopewell Road may have done the very same thing at this place two thousand years ago.

As I sat on the ground near the fire, my thoughts turned to a sweat lodge I participated in several years ago. Sitting in the hot darkness, I had waited for something extraordinary to happen to me, but my expectations were not met as the ceremony carried on. I realized then that the sweat lodge was not about me, it was about the good of all people. So I tried to catch on to the songs and add my voice to the collective prayers of everyone there. Looking back, it is clear that I ended up receiving much more than I gave.

The walkers reflected on their pilgrimage up to that point at a talking circle the next evening in Baltimore, Ohio. Walkers told powerful stories of sharing, getting to know fellow walkers, and walking along the same path as the Hopewell people long ago. The participants inspired me through their commitment to this walk, to each other and to the ancients. Even though I went about my usual routine in Athens — going to environmental studies classes, doing homework and bartending — my week did not feel normal. My thoughts were with those on the pilgrimage. They reminded me that there is much more to sustainability and environmental issues than an ecological footprint.

After some encouragement, I decided to put off my responsibilities for a day and walk with everyone on Thursday (Day 6). It was cold and raining, but the group was in amazingly high spirits. We walked 11 miles along roadsides through Baltimore and along remnants of the Erie canal en route to Buckeye Lake. We traveled past corn and soybean fields, forests, homes and horse pens and conversed with each other about our lives and motivations for making this pilgrimage. We stopped only twice in the light rain and cold wind — once to sing a traditional Lakota song together, and once to eat lunch. Both stops provided much needed nourishment.

As we approached Buckeye Lake, I occasionally had to step off the road and into the grass to avoid traffic. When I glanced down at the wet grass I saw the footprints of those who had traveled before me. I could not see or hear all of them, but I knew they had walked across the very ground that I now tread upon. We were connected by the path we walked. The same is true of the Hopewell people that walked this path long ago. At that moment, I felt connected not only to all the walkers on this trip, but also to everyone who had ever made the pilgrimage. As one of the elders pointed out, we are all human beings, all searching for the same thing. I think that is why many of the people made this pilgrimage — to connect to ancestors who were also trying to be the best human beings they could.

Mary Borgia, a teacher in Newark, wrote a song for “Walk with the Ancients,” and one verse in particular resonated after this experience:

I walk with mothers and with fathers
With my sisters and my brothers
Our sons and our daughters
Give us strength to carry on

Implications of Walk with the Ancients

I spoke with Carol Welsh, the executive director of the Native American Indian Center of Columbus, Ohio (NAICCO), about the importance of this event. She felt a sense of pride from the complex earthworks constructed by her ancestors, and also gladness that scientists are finally acknowledging the complexity and brilliance of the mound builders. She also saw this event as important in bringing awareness to Native American issues in local communities in Ohio and also across the U.S.

I believe that “Walk with the Ancients” certainly did bring awareness to local communities. The many local residents who attended evening events were curious and eager to learn about the walk, its participants and Indigenous culture. The hospitality that walkers received along the way also indicated that Welsh’s vision for this event was fulfilled. The churches, community centers and parks where the walkers stayed were very friendly, giving and eager to learn about this pilgrimage.

Everyone took something different from this experience. I learned from great people such as Running and Sandy Garner that sustainability is not just about the kind of car you drive or putting up solar panels. It is about ceremony, renewal and a long-term sense of place that can only be earned by fostering a relationship with the landscape over hundreds of generations. It is about taking the time to sit around a fire and think about our ancestors. It is about cultural sharing, and stepping outside of a western, scientific worldview. Finally, it’s about a love for fellow human beings and for the land. I am thankful for the opportunity to walk for a while with so many great people on such a meaningful journey.

Students waste more food during no-tray meal

By Gabriel Weinstein
CG News Staff
gw711008@ohio.edu

While results from the Oct. 5-8 Nelson Dining Hall food audits showed that student waste habits have slightly improved, the results from the “no-tray” meal at Nelson Dining Hall last night did not reflect this trend.

The 1,077 diners at Nelson generated an average of 6.02 ounces of waste per person during the tray-less meal. The highest amount of waste produced during the Oct. 5-8 Nelson audits was 5.54 ounces per person.

On “no tray” day during the winter of 2008 Jefferson Dining Hall audits showed that students generated 4.52 ounces per person, the lowest figure of the audit.

Staff of the Office of Sustainability hoped that no trays would cause students to reevaluate their food consumption habits.

“The point of ‘no-tray’ day is to get students to pause and think: ‘Hey maybe I’m not going to eat all that food and waste it’,” said Kim Criner, an Office of Sustainability employee.

Criner said no trays would cause some students to reevaluate their waste habits while others would simply continue their current routines.

Sophomore Chris Schade’s said the absence of trays made it more difficult to carry his food, but it did not affect the amount of food he ate.

Unlike Schade, sophomore Chelsea Barranco said not having a tray would definitely affect the amount of food she took without trays and in the future with trays.

“With a tray you pack it all in until it’s filled and sometimes [you] don’t eat it all,” Barranco said. “But after not having a tray I’ll be able to see what I can really eat, and once trays come back I’ll probably adjust my habits.”

The Office of Sustainability and Dining Services collaborated for “No Tray” night in their search for solutions to reduce food waste.

“Dining Services’ support is critical when we do things like this,” Criner said.
Frank Rzesutock, a manager in Nelson Dining Hall, said Dining Services has been eager to have a no-tray meal for a few weeks and wants to reduce the amount of food waste produced.

“Dining services is in favor [of generating] less waste,” Rzesutock said, adding that trays are likely to stay because even though students usually generate less waste without them — though this was not the case at Nelson last night.

“We’re still in the experimental stages with the no-tray things,” he said.

The Nelson “No-Tray” night does not mark the end of the Office of Sustainability’s and Dining Services food waste research.

Criner said the Office of Sustainability and Dining Services is planning more food audits to get a better measurement of food waste and learn how further improve waste strategies. Criner said the next food audit will be later in the school year.

Appalachian Regional Commission wraps up conference

By Lisa Gumerman
CG Lifestyles and People Editor

The Athens-hosted Appalachian Regional Conference wrapped up today with a closing reception and lunch in Walter Hall. Those in charge considered the conference, whose attendees totaled over 450 during its three-day span, a success.

“I think we met our objectives,” said Fred Deel, director of the Governor’s Office of Appalachia, part of the Ohio Department of Development. He urged the crowd not to forget what they learned and imagined during the conference.

“I challenge you … to take what we pulled together in this conference and take it to your local communities,” he said. Regardless of the region’s size, ideas that worked in one area could be translated to another. And if even one of the ideas sparked during the conference were enacted in each community, Appalachia would be just that much more poised for the future.

The ARC conference in Athens closes with a speech from Fred Deel, director of the Governor's Office of Appalachia, Ohio. Photo by Sara Salman

Representatives from Appalachian colleges and universities meet to discuss the future of green energy

By Elyse McConnell
For CG News

Representatives from several Appalachian universities discussed the prospects, implications and funding for developing sustainable energy projects in a roundtable discussion Wednesday at Ohio University’s Baker University Center.

The discussion, titled “Appalachian College Presidents’ Discussion: Green Facilities and New Curriculum Opportunities,” hosted eleven panelists as a part of the Appalachian Regional Commission’s series of panels on energy. Methods of greening campuses were among the topics debated, along with plans on how to finance the projects.

Some initiatives included motion sensors for lighting, investing in renovations to become LEED silver certified, improving campus landscapes by planting trees and exploring the remediation of brownfields, which are underused or abandoned plots of industrial land that may or may not be contaminated with hazardous substances. But it was some of the programs that Shawnee State University had implemented that seemed to catch audience and panelists’ attention.

Jeff Bauer, associate provost of Shawnee State University, said many of their older buildings had been retrofitted and the new addition to their student center involved geothermal energy. The water beneath the campus is circulated through the chillers in the student center.

“We estimate that the cost-savings will be between $15 and $20,000 a year,” he said.

Two of the renovated buildings have carbon dioxide sensors connected to a computer system.

“When CO₂ levels drop to a certain level that is considered healthy, we cut back on the air intake into these buildings,” he explained.  The initial cost is small compared to how much money is saved over time, Bauer said.

Financing these projects was another central theme of the discussion.

Sonia Marcus, sustainability coordinator at OU, suggested that one of the commonalities among Appalachian universities is that they are in areas where they can’t always rely on third-party contractors or public entities to provide certain sustainability services, even those considered to be standard.

To make a project with slower payoff more appealing to board of trustees members, Marcus suggested bundling several initiatives together.  For example, projects with a 30-year payoff could be grouped with projects whose payoff was only 2 to 5 years into the future.

The Appalachian region’s history in energy might hinder the process of incorporating more green technologies.

“Traditionally, we have had strengths in the areas of resource extraction, and specifically fossil fuel extraction.  We have to recognize that that’s part of who we are.  That’s part of our legacy; that’s part of our pride,” Marcus said, referring to Ohio University’s advanced coal-research center.

Citing the fact that the Ohio River Valley is one of the most industrialized places “on the planet,” Marcus said, “This is where power is generated.  There is no better place to be learning about, talking about and engaging with sustainability issues than here.”

 

ARC Conference keynote speaker voices Duke Energy’s sustainability objectives

By Gabriel Weinstein
CG News

Duke Energy Corporation President and CEO James Rogers affirmed his company’s commitment to energy efficiency and addressed Appalachia’s future challenges in switching to clean energy technology in his keynote address Tuesday at the 2009 Appalachian Regional Commission Conference at Ohio University’s Baker University Center.

Rogers said the economic future of Ohio depends on developing green jobs and a healthy, more advanced infrastructure. Although Rogers said large and costly changes are needed for the U.S. and Appalachian areas to stay economically competitive, he is confident that the right changes will be made.

“In ten years we will look back on our [current] energy efficiency and realize how primitive it was,” Rogers said.

Duke Energy’s main sustainability objective is to reduce its carbon emissions by investing in solar, wind, biomass, nuclear and clean coal technology. Such changes will at once reduce environmental harm and help revitalize Appalachia, Rogers said. Creating the technology necessary for decarbonization will “stimulate growth and create jobs.”

To illustrate his point, Rogers pointed to recent Duke Energy projects, such as a more efficient Ohio power grid and the new Piketon power plant.

“The Piketon plant will not only create thousands of construction jobs, but [long-term] careers that 700-800 people could live on,” he said. “These types of projects are how we can rebuild the middle class.”

Rogers was adamant that, though solutions for energy efficiency and green energy employment exist, the lack of the technological infrastructure is preventing alternative energy development. The current lack of nuclear technology construction materials is causing the U.S. to fall behind other nations such as China.

“We’ve got to get on it,” Rogers said. “At the end of the day, they’ll have the supply chain, and we won’t have it.”

While Rogers was optimistic about the potential for green energy technology, he did warn the audience that the full transition to green energy technology would be long, costly and difficult.

“Let me say it you in a kind of a blunt way,” Rogers said. “[Switching to alternative energy is] not going to be cheap. It’s going to raise prices. It’s not going to be quick. … We’ve got to be committed … and realize it’s going to take multiple decades to transform our power grid.”

OU program, area school chosen for ARC grants

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and ARC Co-Chair Anne Pope stand with a check for Appalachian development programs. Of that money the Voinovich School will receive $100,000 and West Elementary will receive $45,000. Photo by Alex Snyder

By Erich Hiner
CG News Editor
eh146106@ohio.edu

Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs and an area elementary school are among the 18 recipients of this year’s grants from the Appalachian Regional Commission.

Announced by Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland this week at the 2009 ARC Conference in Athens, the grants will allow the schools to expand their programs and educate students about energy in Appalachian Ohio. The Voinovich School will receive $100,000 and $45,000 will go to West Elementary in the Newcomerstown Exempted School District in Tuscarawas County for the construction of a 10-kilowatt wind turbine.

At a Tuesday press conference in Baker University Center, Strickland praised the ARC’s awarding of the grants as a step toward modernizing Ohio’s economy through green energy development.

“Partnerships with the ARC and our local universities and schools are making it possible for Ohio to advance toward our goal of becoming a global leader in developing and supplying next-generation energy technologies in the world while employing more and more hard working Ohioans to make it happen,” Strickland said.

The project at West Elementary was chosen because of its educational value for students, parents and staff. Strickland said the turbine will be a useful teaching tool and could save the district $2,400 to $3,000 a year in electricity costs.

The Voinovich School was chosen so it could expand its “energy efficiency and energy services work,” Strickland said. Students at the school are trained as consultants who can then educate local leaders about new energy technology and sustainability. Such services are important because they help spread environmental knowledge, Strickland said.

ARC officials said this year’s grants were especially competitive. More than 70 schools, colleges, vocational centers and non-profits applied for grants and requested a total of nearly $3 million, ARC Federal Co-chair Anne Pope said. Eighteen applicants were chosen from 12 of the 13 Appalachian states.

At the press conference, Strickland accepted a check made out to “the people of Appalachia” from the ARC in the amount of $470,000, the total amount that will be disbursed in grants to the chosen projects.

Developing, promoting local level renewable resources are the topic of ARC panel

By Meghan Ventura
CG Web Manager
mv256706@ohio.edu

The sun, wood chips, cooking oil, wind and garbage might seem unrelated, but local leaders across Appalachia are finding ways to turn all of those things into clean, renewable energy.

Community leaders from Athens, Ohio, Madison County, N.C., and Hoover, Ala., met Tuesday to discuss unconventional energy sources for “The Growth of Green Communities,” a panel discussion held for the 2009 Appalachian Regional Commission Conference taking place in Ohio University’s Baker University Center through Wednesday.

The panelists shared their ideas for renewable energy programs and discussed how those ideas might be adapted to other cities in Appalachia.

Elahu Gosney, Tony Petelos and Steve Garrison during a question and answer session with the audience. Photo by Joe Edmonds

Athens City Council member Elahu Gosney talked about how to fund renewable energy projects within a community by focusing on the Athens Solar Initiative. The initiative aims to harvest the city’s sunlight by installing solar panels on residences and businesses. Athens residents who want to install solar panels can now take out special city bonds to help with the price, Gosney said. Those residents can then pay back what they owe over time through property taxes.

Steve Garrison, county manager of Madison County, N.C., discussed how his community is partnering with organizations like ARC to build wind turbines and solar panels at public schools. Garrison’s presentation also addressed how his county plans on integrating alternative energy into the classroom.

Tony Petelos, mayor of Hoover, Ala., explained how his city is turning industry refuse such as cooking oil and wood chips into energy.

Petelos said Hoover’s cooking oil recycling program turns 500 gallons of used oil per month into usable biodiesel. Using a special machine, the city can refine the oil for less than a dollar per gallon, Petelos said. Fifteen of the city’s vehicles now use the recycled oil instead of regular fuel.

The city of Hoover has also been working with Gulf Coast Energy to gasify wood waste from the logging and lumber industries to create wood ethanol. Petelos said the wood waste in Alabama alone could create 1 billion gallons of wood ethanol.

“Anything with carbon can be made into fuel,” Petelos said. “The answer [for renewable resources] is all of the above.”