Appalachia--Science in the Public Interest

Spring/Summer 2007 Number 89

ASPI 30 Year Anniversary

Thanks to your generous support, ASPI celebrated 30 years of simple living and environmental advocacy on Earth Day in April. Founded in 1977 by Al Fritsch, SJ, we have worked to bring appropriate technology and multidisciplinary environmental research and education to the regular folks of eastern Kentucky and Central Appalachia through years of changing and challenging public debate and policy making. We owe our success to the hard work and contributions of many staff, volunteers, interns, board members, and donors, and congratulate each and every one of you who have had a hand in building one of the oldest environmental organizations in the United States. Here's to the next 30 years, and beyond!

Rockcastle River Day and River Sweep

This year's River Day on June 2nd dawned clear and beautiful and the weather held. We began with a critter catch in the morning at the Wildcat Mountain ford in Livingston and found a good selection of benthic macroinvertebrates and brought them back in our washtubs for the other kids to learn about that afternoon, then let them go. Jack Stickney and his son Caleb canoed the river, pulling up in time for lunch.

Kids enjoy activities at River Day

We had food, bluegrass music, and good conversation, as well as tours of our demonstration facilities. This year several young families contemplating building new homes came to learn more about alternative construction techniques, and were interested in the greywater beds.

Two weeks later it was time for River Sweep. We assembled a team of Rockcastle residents, and cleaned the Dry Fork of Skeggs Creek from Sand Springs south almost to Blue Springs. The creek was dry - drier than usual - but, it allowed us once again to get right down in the creek bed to load some fairly large items. Our biggest piece was a surprise - at first, all we could see was a little front crosspiece in the weeds. Imagine our surprise when we hooked a winch and chain to it and a whole truck frame, complete with rear suspension, came up the bank and out onto the road! We put it on a hastily borrowed trailer and took it to town for recycling. We got a full pickup truck load of tires and old appliances which are an issue here as in other places, where it is costly to have them hauled off.

Although we may move River Sweep to March when the vegetation and ticks aren't so thick on the banks, it's not too early to mark your calendars for next year's River Day, Saturday, June 7th, 2008 - see you then!

Bluegrass Energy and Green Living Expo Date Set

The 4th annual Bluegrass Energy and Green Living Expo will take place October 6th & 7th at Lexington's Heritage Hall with a $5 admission fee. This year’s expanded format will include a tradeshow featuring renewable energy exhibitors and hundreds of green, and energy-saving products and services; workshops with useful information and practical skills for healthy, sustainable living; a huge Children's Expo of fun, hands-on activities for kids of all ages; the Cruising Cleaner Car Show of clean and efficient vehicles using a variety of fuels; and an art exhibit, local musicians, and local and organic food.

We are always looking for volunteers to help plan and execute this event - folks are needed for chores as varied as working the door to presenting workshops and distributing Green Directories, so if you are interested in lending a hand, contact Expo Coordinator Ben Perry at benperry@a-spi.org or 859-327-0924.

KY Solar Partnership

Solar Tours Set: This year's National Tour of Solar Buildings will take place on Saturday, October 6th. ASPI, in conjunction with the American Solar Energy Society is coordinating events in Lexington, Berea, Louisville, and Bowling Green, KY. For more information on events and schedules,
you can check our website or please contact our new energy outreach worker Jessa Turner at jessa@kysolar.org or 859-333-0474.

ASPI Co-Sponsors Frankfort Climate Action Festival: On Saturday, April 14 over two hundred people turned out on a cold, rainy day in Frankfort, Kentucky, to call on Congress to take immediate, serious measures to combat global climate change. The Frankfort Climate Action Festival was held in downtown Frankfort and included a concert of local musicians, an exhibit hall filled with community organizations, workshops, children's activities, and speeches by local political leaders.

The Festival was held as part of the Step It Up Campaign's National Day of Climate Action, which is calling on Congress to commit the United States to a path that would reduce carbon emissions by at least 80% by 2050. Over 1,400 climate action events were held around the country, with events happening in all 50 states. ASPI was one of the sponsors of the event, which was organized by the Frankfort Climate Action Network.

"April 14, 2007 marks the beginning of a movement to solve the climate crisis," said Andy McDonald, who helped organize the event. "Here in Franklin County, the Frankfort Climate Action Network wants to inspire and motivate actions to address climate change and dramatically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions."

Andy McDonald inspects solar panel, Hyden, KY

Frankfort Mayor Bill May kicked off the Festival by welcoming the crowd, and discussed Frankfort's efforts to be a good steward of the environment and encouraged people to call on him and local leaders with ideas for how Frankfort can address the climate change issue.

"The event was a great success," said McDonald. "Despite the rain the turnout was tremendous. This sends a clear message to our political leaders that it's time to get serious about addressing climate change."

The Festival was put together with the support of people and organizations throughout the community. The concert was originally planned to be on the lawn of the Old State Capitol, but was moved indoors to the Frankfort School of Ballet at the last minute due to the weather. While the concert was held downstairs at the School and the Exhibit Hall was set up upstairs, workshops were held across the street at the second floor of Completely Kentucky, a shop that sells crafts made exclusively in Kentucky. The children's activities, meanwhile, were held down the block at the Frankfort Yoga Studio.

"The way this event came together says something about the changes society needs to make to address climate change," said Connie Lemley, another festival organizer. "We held the event downtown, with the support of local businesses and associations. We wanted to show our support for locally-owned businesses and walkable communities that are less dependent on cars."

The Festival offered people many opportunities to show their concern and learn about what they can do to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Before the Festival started, a group of about 20 Frankfort High School students and other community members marched through the rain from South Frankfort to the Festival. The marchers arrived just in time to hear the opening remarks.

Among the speakers at the event were Veronica Judy-Cecil, spokesperson for Congressman Ben Chandler, who said, "(US Representative Chandler) is with you 100 percent." Kentucky state legislator Carl Rollins expressed his support for the goals of the event, and encouraged those present to contact him to discuss policies Kentucky should implement to address the climate change issue. Frankfort City Commissioner Kathy Carter also expressed her support for local efforts to fight climate change, and spoke of the need to increase recycling as one important part of that effort.

The Frankfort Climate Action Network collected signatures for a petition that will be sent to Congress, along with photos and stories from the other 1,400 events that were held around the country. You can see photographs and read about these other exciting events at www.StepItUp2007.org.

On April 13, the Frankfort Climate Action Network kicked off the weekend's events with a slideshow presentation entitled, "Global Warming: Confronting a Crisis," presented by Andy McDonald at the First Christian Church in downtown Frankfort. The presentation attracted 50 community members and was recorded for later broadcast by Frankfort's local TV station Cable 10. McDonald noted that he is available to offer the presentation to other community groups. If you would like a presentation, or to get involved with the Frankfort Climate Action Network, contact Andy McDonald at solar@kysolar.org or 502-227-4562.

Carbon Offsets - A New Tool for Fighting Global Warming: As more people become concerned about the threat of global climate change and their personal contribution to the problem, some are turning to carbon offsets as a means to reduce their impact on global warming. Carbon dioxide is the primary greenhouse gas responsible for global warming. Efforts to stop global warming and minimize the effects of climate change are focused on reducing humanity's emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHG's) and removing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in reserves such as forests (also known as carbon sequestration).

A carbon offset offers you the means to displace your personal carbon (or GHG) emissions by paying for GHG reductions or sequestration in another location. Numerous websites now exist that allow you to estimate your personal carbon emissions and then purchase offsets to "cancel out" those emissions. The offset provider uses the money you pay them to invest in projects that either reduce GHG emissions (such as renewable energy or energy efficiency projects) or sequester carbon (such as tree planting). These websites usually focus on emissions from our homes, transportation, travel, and office or business operations.

There is currently no regulation of the carbon offsets market, although a number of independent, voluntary standards are either under development or have been recently established. For this reason, the advice "buyer beware" applies to carbon offsets. The quality of the offsets offered by these various companies can vary as do the specific projects funded through the offsets that they sell.

"Additionality" is one of the key concepts related to the quality of a carbon offset. Does the money invested by the offset lead to carbon emission reductions that would not have occurred otherwise? Does it result in additional carbon reductions? Or would the project have happened anyway with or without the investment from the offset? For example, paying a timber company to plant trees that they were already intending to plant would not lead to additional carbon savings. On the other hand, helping low-income families purchase more efficient home heating systems, which they could not have afforded otherwise, would lead to additional carbon savings.

In December 2006, Clean Air/Cool Planet published A Consumer's Guide to Retail Carbon Offsets Providers. This report was the first effort to assess the quality of the carbon offsets offered by 30 providers and offers a valuable review of the various issues that affect the quality of a carbon offset. The basic question you want to answer is: will the money I spend for this carbon offset actually lead to the promised amount of reductions in GHG emissions, and will the reduction be permanent?

Clean Air-Cool Planet's report did not study the issue in enough depth to offer a clear ranking of all offset providers. Instead, it indicates which providers are more likely to be offering higher quality offsets. They suggest ways that these new businesses can improve their services and enable consumers to better understand what they are getting when they purchase a carbon offset.

The report's conclusion emphasizes that purchasing carbon offsets should be neither the first nor the last step individuals or businesses take to address global warming. Our first priorities should be directly reducing our own GHG emissions, through energy conservation, using renewable energy, and by other means, and working to influence climate change policy at the local, state, and national level. If the purchase of carbon offsets is used as permission to not change any of your personal habits or to avoid thinking about how we can resolve this crisis as a community and nation, then the sale of carbon offsets could do more harm than good.

While the current carbon offsets market has its limitations, it could serve as a valuable tool for increasing investments in projects that address climate change. It can also serve to raise awareness about global warming and the need for serious action to dramatically reduce GHG emissions.

ASPI is studying our energy consumption over the past year to determine our annual CO2 emissions and what the cost would be to offset our emissions. We'll provide the results of this study in the next issue of Appalachian Alternatives.

Staff Spotlight: Jack Kieffer, SJ

Fr. Jack Kieffer came to ASPI in 1992 from Love Canal, where he had been a technical consultant for the citizens' advocate organization The Ecumenical Council. With a degree in Chemical Engineering from University of Detroit, and a doctorate in Environmental and Sanitary Engineering from Washington University, he knew how complicated what would become a Superfund project could be. He watched over the contractors responsible for monitoring the site, pointing out problems like their reporting of zero water contamination in monitoring wells, when in fact the only reason no contamination was found was that the wells were dry.

After arriving at ASPI he busied himself with various projects including organic gardening, maintenance of our cisterns, greywater beds, composting toilets, and consulting for people wanting to install alternative wastewater systems.

These days Jack divides his time between his parish at St Peter's in Monticello, KY, and ASPI's organic gardens at the river and appropriate technology library in Mt Vernon, with frequent trips to New York state to visit with his mother. Always busy, he does ginseng research, conducts visitor tours of our facility, and works closely with our students and interns, who value his deliberate pace and the opportunity to learn about the soils and plants of our region. When asked what he likes most about being at ASPI, he replies, "Striving to live simply in harmony with the earth and helping others to discover that joy." We are fortunate to have him here and thankful for the support he and his Jesuit brothers bring to our organization.

ASPI organic and pollinator gardens

This year has been tough on our gardens due to the crazy weather over the winter and spring, and the continuing severe drought in our region of Kentucky. Even with watering, plants are not thriving in the extreme heat, but thanks to the continuing efforts of Board president Terrie Curd, we do have a good crop of native flowers and herbs to feed our butterflies, bees and hummingbirds, and should have standing seed heads for for our winter birds. Pollinator gardens are more important than ever, as mowing and sprawl eliminate essential native wildflower habitat across our fields and fencerows.

Bee populations are of particular concern, with beekeepers reporting disappearing colonies in hives around the US. There is some evidence linking this decline of bees to unusual weather fluctuations, but also the recent introduction of supposedly less-toxic nicotinic acid-based pesticides for use on American crops. Funding for study of the problem is tied up and in doubt in the current version of the Farm Bill.

Now more than ever it is important to maintain native, natural, and healthy sources of nectar for our pollinators. We are expanding plantings to our second raised bed in Mt Vernon beginning this fall. This plot had become over-run with bindweed and lespedeza and nothing else could thrive despite vigorous weeding. Of course we did not consider using a chemical weed control spray. Instead, we are using a permeable, reusable woven black fabric, made from recycled plastic which is working well. We laid a thick layer of straw over the huge mat of vegetation, and then staked down the geotextile fabric over that. Decomposers have been working hard all summer! The result is a virtually weed free, rich soil under the fabric which we will allow to rest over the winter and sow with annual and perennial herbs and wildflowers in the spring.

Volunteers and Service Learning News

Spring and summer have brought us students from University of Notre Dame's Appalachian Studies program, alternative break immersion students from Loyola University Chicago, Eckerd College service seekers, and ETHOS Club engineering students from the University of Dayton.

Projects included spring cleaning with repair and refurbishing of demonstration facilities on the River, and posthole digging, sod removal, and tree planting in the new riparian buffer at Lake Linville. A milestone was marked also, with the completion, after three years of spring and fall work, of the removal of a dump on Hammonds Fork of Clear Creek in northern Rockcastle County, which residents had been chipping away at for three years even before ASPI got involved.

For the first time, the groups from UND, LUC, and Eckerd College journeyed to eastern Kentucky to learn more about mountaintop removal mining, with assistance from EKU history grad student Jeff Combs of Hazard and members of the Perry County community of Vicco. Students met with folks at the Kodak Church and visited active mining sites, learning firsthand how extractive industries are negatively affecting the ecology and people of eastern Kentucky.

Each group also attended presentations on global warming given by Ed Councill and Andy McDonald, who have trained with Al Gore. This presentation is based on the one depicted in the film, An Inconvenient Truth, and which Andy has modified to heavily stress solutions which individuals and communities can implement. One student told us later that he had hope and resolve now, because as he put it, "I thought the global warming crisis was unfixable. Everyone always talks about how terrible it is and they sound so hopeless. I didn't know there were things we could actually do about it with existing technologies!"

Trips to ASPI involve a lot of community work, but there is some play too! Volunteers visited Board member Susana Lein's Salamander Springs Farm on Clear Creek for a tour and lunch, and spent an evening with Board member Jamie Johnson's family in Laurel County. Visitors also attended bluegrass and gospel singings in Livingston and Conway, as well as a fish fry at the Lake Linville boat dock hosted by our county PRIDE coordinator James Renner.

We would like to acknowledge the importance of the contribution which Our Lady of Mt Vernon Catholic Church makes in spring and fall, when they allow our service learning students to camp out in their Community Hall. Without the availability of that living space, it would be much more difficult for us to host our volunteers.

(More photos on our website: www.a-spi.org)

Watersheds

Over the summer ASPI has hosted an intern from EKU, Courtney Lewis. We were successful in partnership with Upper Cumberland Watershed Watch in securing a small grant from the World Wildlife Fund's Southeast Rivers and Streams Project to conduct trainings for volunteer stream habitat assessors and conduct a biohabitat assessment campaign. Courtney worked on updating and maintaining volunteer records, organized trainings, contacted sampling volunteers to get trained and do assessments, and is entering data collected by the samplers into the Upper Cumberland River Watershed Watch database. Courtney is also researching possible grant funding for capacity building for Upper Cumberland citizen monitoring programs.

ASPI also hosted a one-week teacher "externship" with the Gear Up Partnership at Berea College. Rebecca Schwab, an 8th grade science teacher from Madison County's Foley Middle School, spent time at our Nature Center and office, learning about organic gardening and soil building, appropriate technologies, solar and other alternative energies, and working in our library to help finish our cataloging. She kept a daily journal and constructed lesson plans from her experiences, and we enjoyed her service and lively commentary! We are looking forward to seeing her again, and participating next year in the Gear Up program.

Mary E Fritsch Nature Center

Nature Center Coordinator Nancy Seaberg concluded this year's Appalachian Ecology classroom program in April, having served over 600 students in underperforming schools from the Rockcastle region with both classroom instruction and field trips to the Nature Center. The program, which thanks to a grant from the Toyota Corporation has been offered to third graders for the past three school years, has focused on the mixed mesophytic forest of Central Appalachia. The schoolkids learned about forest ecology and the part we all play in the web of life, and enjoyed hiking, games, and a picnic in our river woods. One of their favorite exhibits at the Nature Center is the Gene Wilhelm bird collection, and they enjoy the "touch table" activities where they get to handle fossils and bones and other items from nature. We are currently seeking funding to continue this wonderful program which provides basic natural science instruction as well as regionally-specific curriculum materials for teachers.

We are heading into our first full school year of science programming for home-schoolers and youth groups after a successful trial run over the spring and summer. We have hosted participants at the Nature Center, as well as at Great Saltpetre Cave, in partnership with the Rockcastle Karst Conservancy. We are currently seeking dedicated monies to fully fund and develop this program. This effort is self-funded at present, with some of the costs covered by a minimal participation fee, and the rest through your generous donations.

Ginseng Foundation News

Jack Kieffer continues his ginseng leaf extracts work, using leaf sent from KY and NC. Extracts are analyzed for active components using Thin Layer Chromatography, and are sent on to Laura Murphy at Southern Illinois University, as part of a study of the impact of the herb on the inhibition of breast and prostate cancer cells.

Long-time ASPI ginseng collaborator Syl Yunker reports: "This past month I sold some green ginseng that I propagated in my forest for slightly more than $800.00 a dried pound. Currently the co-op has orders for 1500 green wild roots. The co-op will pay one half of agreed price before you harvest and the balance when you deliver your estimated amount. Roots should be seven years of age or above. I must see plants in the ground and proof of either ownership or proof of owner's approval to harvest. If you own property with ginseng and this is of interest to you, call Boone-Sang Marketing Co-op at 606-481-0924 or write Boone-Sang Co-op, P.O. Box 717, Stanton, Ky. 40380."

Staff News and Notes

Andy McDonald, KY Solar Partnership Coordinator, recently completed training with Al Gore to present a Global Warming slideshow and discussion program for interested community groups. If your church, social club, or or other organization would like Andy to visit, please contact us.

Deb Bledsoe, Executive Director, has been attending organizational and board development seminars at The Kentucky NonProfit Leadership Institute at the University of Kentucky, as well as participating in Leadership Rockcastle and serving on the Rockcastle County Solid Waste Advisory Board.

Jack Kieffer, SJ, spent a week at the Caring Love Camp, which hosts disabled folks from ages 16 to 80, giving their family caregivers respite and offering new horizons for campers, some of whom have never been away from home. He serves as camp Chaplain, and counselor for the Wheelchair Cabin.

Nancy Seaburg, Nature Center coordinator, has attended many meetings and events over the spring and summer opposing mountaintop removal. She worked at a 3 day cobb oven workshop in which 10 folks participated, and traveled to Kentucky's Salato Center to participate in Project Wild and Project Wild - Aquatic trainings. Most recently she has returned from Twin Oaks Community Conference, where she learned more about Intentional Community structure and decision-making during their weekend of workshops, community-building and culture creation.

Chris & Della Oberst, Sally Chapell, Frank & Carol Schmidt, Gene & Joanne Wilhelm, Stephen Rhodes, Peg & Richard LaMartina, Amy Ives, Wendell & Tanya Berry, Donna Ford, Ian Rudick, James Hall, Richard & Martha L. Lammers, Charles & Rachelle Holland, Tom Bell, Barry Horowitz, Robert & Rosemary Courboin, Zalla Foundation, Ben Perry, Charles & Kathy Fritsch, Paul & Ann Rapin , Roger Roskin, Frank & Mary Fritsch, Joe & Kathy Cayen, Nancy Osborne, Richard & Barbara Blewett, Robert & Jeannette Cannon, Susanne McMillan, Russ Tucker, Karol Osborne, Margaret C. Smith, Phyllis Jenness, Kris Peterson & Richard Krajeski, Ruth Straus, Wayne & Shirley Davis, Albert J. Fritsch, S.J., Michael & Donna Eisenstat, Colin Raitiere, Clarie Nader/Safety Systems Foundation, Larry & Carol Ann Morrow, Cynthia Shepherd, Ralph Nader, James & Hildegard Wachob, P.Clare McBrien, William & Barbara Boeck, Phyllis Fitzgerald, Nancy Jackson, Richard & Michelle Harr, Leonard Levine, Starna Hill & David Greene, Casey Sterr, Kristin Shrader-Frechette, Ruth C. Miale, Steve & Judith Petersen, Eugene Kieffer, Denise Peterson, Arnold & Kathleen Simonse, Mary K. Wicksten, Philip & Terrie Curd, Frank Ettensohn, Berea Faith Community Outreach, Sr. Carolyn Lambert/Sharing, Robin Hille Michaels/Cumberland Center for Justice & Peace, Thomas Campbell, Kathleen O'Donohue, Leonard & Donna Wrona, Helen Mullins, Francesca Bartos, OP, Mary Chapman, Mary Dresser, Carole, Pierce, Ecology Action, Sue & Carey Koplowitz, Donna Hanley, Ann Magner, George & Charlesetta Perraut, Douglas & Laura Fortmeyer, John & Marilyn Pilmaier, Eric Matchette, Andreas & Francisca Thomsen, Jerry Redden, Betty Graham, Donna Graham, OSF, Mary Cameron Goodwyn, Margaret Gorey, Frank Hare, Sr. Anne Regina Lannon/Saint Stephen Outreach, Leif Hagglund, Sr. Joyce Gros, OP, Peter & Patrice Emmerson, David & Chris Nadler, Ronald & Nancy Leeseberg, Rev. Arthur Redmond, Richard & Mary Marzolf, Richard & Janet Futrell, Dan & Nancy Givens, Sonya Hirschberg, R.J. Hoara, SJ., David Sheley, Barry Howard, Bruce Scott, David & Ethyl Merrick, Hesperia Bevan, Wil Lepkowski, W.L. Galbraith, Church of the Epiphany, Rick Flood, Bernie Engelman, Bonnie Renfro, James West, Mary Clark, Charles & Joy Perry, Kentucky Jesuit Mission, Wendy H. Cegielski, George & Rita Watkins, Frank West, Raymond Graves, Carolyn Brandenburg, James Renner, Bill Simpson, Ben Urmston/Xavier University, Stephen & Patricia Boyce, John & Dorothy Tohill, Mr. & Mrs. Rodrigo Botero, Richard & Elaine Stoltzfus, John Rausch/Home Missioners of America, Wayne & Hermina Robinson.

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Appalachia – Science
in the Public Interest

Working for Healthy Land & Sustainable Communities in Kentucky & Central Appalachia

50 Lair Street, Mt. Vernon, Ky 40456-9806
Phone: (606) 256-0077 Fax: (606) 256-2779

ASPI
www.a-spi.org aspi@a-spi.org

The Kentucky Solar Partnership
www.kysolar.org

The Appalachian Ginseng Foundation
www.a-spi.org/AGF/index.htm

The Bluegrass Energy & Green Living Expo
www.bluegrassenergyexpo.org

Office hours: 9-4 M-F, Facility tours by appointment

If you’d like to receive the newsletter
& updates electronically please email us.

Appalachia – Science in the Public Interest

Working for Healthy Land & Sustainable Communities in Kentucky & Central Appalachia.

Contact information:
50 Lair Street, Mt. Vernon, Ky 40456-9806
Phone: (606) 256-0077 Fax: (606) 256-2779

Office hours: 9-4 M-F, Facility tours by appointment

ASPI website
www.a-spi.org

email
aspi@a-spi.org

A-SPI Programs:

The Kentucky Solar Partnership
www.kysolar.org

The Appalachian Ginseng Foundation
www.a-spi.org/AGF/index.htm

The Bluegrass Energy & Green Living Expo
www.bluegrassenergyexpo.org