Appalachia--Science in the Public Interest

Autumn 1998 Number 57

Third Artificial Wetlands. Lewis Van Winkle has just completed the third ASPI artificial wetlands that cares for the grey water from the Nature Center and the apartment immediately below it. For technical details see our Technical Paper # 30, Artificial or Constructed Wetlands. Such devices are an affordable and efficient answer to straight-pipe problems now being handled by mega-bureaucratic municipal sewer approaches of rural areas.

Nature Center. Work will be starting in the fall on furnishing the interior of the Nature Center with illustrations and information on the flora and fauna of the heart of the Mixed Mesophytic Forest (where the Nature Center is located). An anonymous grant is allowing for the completion of this work and it will be available in 1999 for tours by school children in the Appalachian region.

Gardening. Central Kentucky has been hit by the driest August on record after some spring and early summer record rainfalls. This has cut into our Garden yields especially as fall comes on. The Mount Vernon cistern has been a godsend. As of the first of September, 1009 pounds of produce has come from our one-twentieth of an acre - thanks to heavy yields of tomatoes, cucumbers and Swiss Chard. We are praying for autumn rains.
Solar Home Tour-98. Remember the Solar Home Tour which will include sites in Lexington and Berea as well as ASPI at Livingston. Tour is 10:00 to 4:00 on Saturday, October 17th. Call or see ASPI's Web site for information (see note on page 6 about directions).

Forestry Issues

Appalachian Ginseng Foundation Planning Session. The planning meeting for launching the Appalachian Ginseng Foundation will take place at our ASPI Mount Vernon office as mentioned in the summer newsletter. This will begin at 9:00 a.m. and end with a lunch on the birthday of Daniel Boone, November 2nd, 1998. We want your advice so we are offering a free lunch and literature. This is being opened both to growers and those interested in ecologically compatible economic development. Hopefully the Foundation will be able to secure funding and be able to develop a program of disseminating educational materials on planting, protecting growing areas, and halting poaching of wild ginseng on private lands. Further research in grading products and securing properly regulated markets are needed.

Overseas Solar Work

Mark Schimmoeller has reported on a highly successful solar cooking series of workshops in Malawi this summer. The National Park Service of that country would like for him to return in the future. While in Africa, Mark, with local assistance, developed a type of solar cooker that could be used for cooking the main dish of the country — something that requires constant stirring. He seeks funds to help set up a small cottage industry for constructing a parabolic solar cooker that he helped design in Malawi.

ASPI Publications

New Publications. ECOLOGY AND RELIGION: SCIENTISTS SPEAK compiled by John Carroll and Keith Warner, has just been released by Franciscan Press at Quincy, Illinois and has a section entitled “Touching the Earth” by Al Fritsch. Books can be purchased at bookstores or from ASPI Publications for $22.50 plus $3.00 P&H.

The ASPI Technical Paper series now contains the following additions:

T.P. 46 Backyard Gardens: The Last Frontier — compiles timely advantages of such garden plots and twelve steps for making an excellent backyard garden.

T.P. 47 Wood Waste Utilization — lists the common wood harvesting, processing, construction, storage and razing of wastes and novel ways of utilizing them.

T.P. 48 Domestic Wildscape — gives reasons for a home wildscape, suggestions on installing and expanding these resource efficient areas and hints on how to obtain wildscape acceptance within a town or neighborhood.

Send $2.00 each to ASPI Publications or view on our ASPI Home Page.

The 1999 Simple Lifestyle Calendar, which has been distributed since mid-August, has received good reviews from our regular supporters, especially how the recycled paper stock highlights the quality of the black and white photos. Brochures for placing orders are enclosed.

ASPI TV. Our Earth Healing television show will be expanding to other stations in 1999 thanks to a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency. We are now able to develop for viewing specific programs on a variety of pollution prevention and alternative technology methods on our regular show on WOBZ in London, KY. We will speak more about this upcoming project in the near future. Recent summer tv shows have included Chuck Crimmins at the Heifer Project (Perryville, AR), the staff of the Richmond - Madison County Recycling Center (KY), the Earthways House at St. Louis (MO), and Teresa Maurer at the Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA) Center (Fayetteville, AR).

Unsolicited Letter “I just wanted to let you know your publications can have an impact. In 1993 you published my study of St. Louis, Michigan. Over the past several years the problems of the community have been reopened and late last year the EPA agreed to consider removal of contaminants from the Pine River in St. Louis (the worst site of DDT contamination in the U.S. by EPA admission)....The Community Advisory Group for the site has ... applied to get Technical Assistance Grant funds, as recommended in the ASPI report....Thanks for all you do.”

- Dr. Ed Lorenz, Alma College, MI

Appalachian Waste Disposal

A Sorry Tale. Over and over tourists tell us how disappointed they are that our beautiful Bluegrass State has allowed itself to be trashed. The trashing is officially recognized by all including the State Government. In fact, a strange sign appears at the entrance to highly popular Cumberland Falls State Park which apologizes for the litter on the banks. The apology sign really tells the sorry state of our State. Kentucky’s per capita waste generation is no greater than other parts of the nation — but the recycling programs lag far behind and there is no mandatory pickup in many rural places. Attempts again this year for a Bottle Bill were vetoed by beverage interests who do not want responsibility for the disposable containers.

Our Lawsuit. The sorry condition of the State is the reason ASPI has joined in a lawsuit with a number of Appalachian citizens to force our Governor and Cabinet of Natural Resources to enforce regulations which are already on the books. While further legislation would help, the existing laws are actually sufficient to clean up our Commonwealth. The Patton Administration says it is doing all it can, but that is hokey, for litter is mounting and new illegal dumps spring up when old ones are cleaned up. After many sound bites to a sympathetic press, this Administration seeks reelection and little more. With the help of two highly spirited lawyers from London, Michael Dean and our ASPI lawyer Phyllis Robinson, we hope to really begin to move this State to action.

Some Blame the People. The routine comment heard, even by environmentally concerned citizens, is that the people are to blame. They throw things away and run their straight pipes into the creeks. No doubt all share blame, but the problem is far more complex than that. Appalachian people simply have no place to take waste materials without paying high fees or traveling great distances. There is little in the way of recycling except in the affluent portions of the State (ASPI carries its recyclables 32 miles to a regional recycling center at Richmond), even though the State could easily encourage more such centers through existing legislation.

The Key is Enforcement. Existing regulations require State agencies to sort out major component parts of the waste stream. Our survey of state agencies found that this is simply not happening in eastern Kentucky. In four counties, and even at the highly popular Natural Bridge State Park, State employees have never even heard of these recycling regulations. One citizen’s group is mounting an advertising campaign to tell out-of-staters to stay away until we put our house in order. That is obviously hard on tourism, Kentucky’s third largest industry, but who else but that sector should put the fire behind cleaning up the State.

Start Catching the Dumpers. The State is now using hidden cameras (actually they have only one operating now). But what is one among 120 counties when we are speaking of literally thousands of litterers and illegal dumpers. Recently a legal garbage collector was caught picking up trash for a fee and then illegally dumping it in our County. While this one was caught, many are not. We are not against cameras, but rather would like to see the $500 fines turned over to citizens who document the illegal dumping.

THANKS (From 5/28/98 to 9/8/98) We want to thank Anne and John Horstman (ASPI 1986 summer intern) for the donation of a 1988 Dodge Colt sedan in excellent condition for use at ASPI. Also thanks to the regular and new calendar customers and to those who have sent books and materials (Nancy Pearlman, Paul Rothkrug, Rosemary Thielke, and Nellie Colson) also for financial donations .... Mary E. Fritsch, Louis J. Lipps, SJ./Jesuit Community of Lexington, Sara Mahy, Catherine Faulstich, Tim & Carol Lamm, Ray Graves, Faber Jesuit Community, John Freda, Church of the Epiphany 10% Committee, Joyce Sheehy, Bruce Griffith, Gerald Grace, SJ., Imogene Morgison, John Keehan, Richard & Dorothy Garascia, Will Ward, Katie Rehwaldt/America the Beautiful, Ronald & Elizabeth Legum, Robert Foster, Rick McGurn, Alice Retzner, Emil Posavac, Ray Dunkelberg, Becky Czarnik, Maggie Brandt, Judith McCandless, Edith Hayes, Richard Perkins, Yvonne Seperich, Pat Bing, Evelyn Kressler, Sr.Carol Stiefvater/Peace Place, Sharon Fradenburgh, Joseph Taylor, Robert & Diane Mushaben, Ken Bossong, David & Barbara Schmenk, Esther Kieffer, Joan Stoeckinger, Sr.Beth Davies, Joseph Hacala, SJ., Betsy Crofts, Myrtle Hendrickson, Jack Vetter, Leon & Phyllis Dickinson, Anne Mae Riggle, David & Nancy Fry, Richard & Jane Frank, Pamela Broadston Waggoner, Anton Prange, Linda Rosenblatt, John Friede, David & Joy Sullivan, Byron & Nancy Stutzman, Donna Hanley, Jim & Heather Bartos, Marilla Berghusen, Elizabeth Oberst, Robert Blinn, Lynn Chong, Margaret Buckley, Sandy McFarland, David Kern, Ann Messer, Lilian Lawrence, Sr. Irene Mongrandi, Jane Rector Donaldson, John Jay Chapman, Marilyn Cleveland, Thomas Bruns, Kit & Evelyn Pilgrim, Charlie & Debra Fowler, Joy Crosby, Dorothy & Edd Singer, Helen Harms, Albert & Marge Cipkar, Sally Firestone, Paul H. Brimo, Angus & Susanne McMillan.

Additions: ASPI is one of 71 environmental organizations which are part of “Earth Day Every Day Radio Station Coalition.” For information write to Traci Hickson at RR2 Box 36, Bar Harbor, ME, 04609.

Condolences — To the Dora Mae Wagers Family. Dora Mae, a life-time resident of Laurel and Rock-castle Counties came quite often to entertain our volunteers and guests. She was the claw-hammer picking champion of America in the 1970s. She planned to fulfill an invitation to be a guest at the University of Notre Dame this year. ASPI will miss Dora Mae, a member of the Board of Directors of the Sand Hill Community Land Trust.

Note on Directions for the Solar Home Tour-98. Lexington, Berea, and Livingston are the three areas representing Kentucky for the National Solar Home Tour. Begin your tour at any of these sites and we'll have directions to the other areas. The Lexington tour starts at the home of Matt Greene, 1148 Centurian Rd. For Lexington directions call (606) 271-9102. For Berea directions call Robert and Ming Wei (606) 985-7199. For Livingston directions call ASPI.

Wish List

We are furnishing the Nature Center and would like to have any exhibits of materials such as insect or mineral collections, nature books, mounted displays of flora or fauna, and children’s nature-related education materials.

ASPI Publications

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