Sweeping This Weekend

When we walk the roadways, we usually need a bag. We can't pass by litter without picking it up and disposing of it properly.

So we love events like this, bringing our communities together in concert to clean up our land and water.

On Saturday, October 2, volunteers from all over North Carolina will pick up litter from land and waterways. The NC Big Sweep stewardship project is part of an international coastal cleanup plan, but has expanded to include removing trash on the land.

The organizers say since they started the event twenty years ago, they have collected 9.8 million pounds of trash.

I'm sorry that we missed South Carolina's Big Sweep effort last week, on September 25th. Thank you for your part in taking care of the environment!

This weekend, the Big Sweep needs you in North Carolina. There is something going on in every county. We will play a part this weekend: can you join us?

To help, visit the web site and Volunteer Sign Up page. You can offer donations, or become a member as well. For more information, contact North Carolina Big Sweep, P.O. Box 126, Zebulon, NC 27597; Phone (919) 269-9380, or ncbigsweep@bellsouth.net.

Citizens Meet the EPA

Charlotte, NC hosted one of the hearings by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week. The hearing allowed citizens to comment on the EPA plans to regulate coal ash disposal.

An overflowing conference room at the Holiday Inn Airport spilled out into the hall (in photo at right), through the lobby, and into another room full of people listening to the speakers remotely over an audio system.

The EPA Press Release of May 4, 2010 states that the purpose of the regulation is to ensure the structural integrity of coal ash impoundments, to prevent accidents like the one that occurred in Kingston, TN. There, a dike failure spilled 5.4 million cubic yards of fly ash into adjacent sloughs and into the main Emory River channel, covering about 300 acres.

The Proposal is also intended to prevent groundwater contamination and threats to drinking water. You can get a copy of the Proposed Rule on the EPA Website.

Registration was high for speakers, so time was limited. Bonnie Crihfield of Roxboro, NC flashes a smile after she spoke at the Charlotte hearing (in photo at left). She is a machine operator at Separations Technology, and concerned about the EPA's regulations regarding coal ash.

Some coal ash is safely recycled into building products like cement blocks and wallboard. Crihfield wants to continue recycling the coal ash and keep producing in her job.

The proposed regulations state that the Environmental Protection Agency strongly supports these recycling efforts. The hearing issue is really about what citizens want them to do about the residual part of the coal ash, after the recyclable contents have been removed.

The Proposal offers two plans of action, with Key Differences Between Subtitle C and Subtitle D Options of Coal Combustion Residuals.

Coal ash impoundments are numerous across the Eastern United States. A map collated by the Sierra Club shows 17 in North Carolina and 11 in South Carolina.

Upcoming hearings will be September 21 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and September 28 in Louisville, Kentucky. Due to high response, they have announced an additional public hearing in Knoxville, Tennessee during the week of October 25, 2010.

Public comment is invited by the EPA online and through the mail. Written commentary on the proposal will be accepted until November 19, 2010.

Tour the Farms This Weekend

A Piedmont-area group is offering a special event this weekend: the Second Annual Charlotte Area Farm Tour, on September 18-19, 2010. On those afternoons, from 1:30-6:30 p.m., twenty-seven local farms will open their barn doors for touring.

Presented by Know Your Farms, a community-supported agriculture program, and the Carolina Farm Stewards Association, the tour will show us how local farms grow their produce. We can learn more about these local resources, participate in farm activities, and pick up some fresh food right where it is grown.

At right is Martha Robinson, with some of her family's produce. Tega Hills Farm has extensive greenhouses utilizing hydroponic techniques. They grow lettuces, microgreens, and herbs year-round; and grow other vegetables seasonally.

The Charlotte Area Farm Tour event includes participation by restaurants and culinary school students, nutritionists, and master gardeners. There are a wide range of farms to visit and things to do, even camping out at the Birdbrain Ostrich Ranch.

We hope to get inspired at a nearby farm that we'd like to know more about. It's also a great way to participate in the Farm-to-Fork 10% Campaign, supporting efforts for healthy food sustainability in North Carolina.

You can even volunteer for the event one day, and get a free pass. For more information, call 980-225-1020, or check out more at Know Your Farms.

Meet Surya Biofertilizers

Good for the Earth and the community-- a cleaner, greener fertilizer. Shootup is one of a new line of natural biofertilizers offered by Charleston-based Surya.

These biofertilizers are soil treatments that are probiotic, meaning they contain natural beneficial microbes that help plants to thrive. The microbes convert elements in the air and soil into forms that plants can easily utilize.

Surya makes the all-natural products beginning from worm castings and clean vegetative compost, then cultivates select populations of microbes in a laboratory. These provide the probiotic advantages for soil to gardens, without growers having to meet the demands of vermiculture.

They produce different blends for various applications. They offer Shootup for growth, foliage and blooming; Growmend for soil and root improvement; and Growsweet for better fruit and vegetable harvests.

In June, Surya's products were certified by the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI), approving them for use by USDA-certified organic growers.

We appreciate that the products are manufactured with organic methods. They are non-pathogenic, without infectious microbes, and are okay to use around people and animals. They also do not contribute any unsafe run-off in our waterways.

You can use these natural methods of soil preparation to have a better, healthier garden. Stronger plants in the garden require less water, and are less susceptible to plant pests, too.

We're glad to see this Carolina company growing. We'll be evaluating their products in our gardens, and reporting about them here. Check out their line at Surya Grow, or call (877) 465-2345 for more information.

Saving Energy and Money in NC

North Carolina is developing a plan—to reduce energy consumption and save money for our citizens. State Representatives Blue, Tolson, Glazier, and Harrison are the primary sponsors for House Bill 1050, designed to create an independent energy efficiency program.

The Bill is to establish a comprehensive, statewide program, NC SAVE$ ENERGY. This program will lower energy consumption, save energy costs, reduce pollution, and create thousands of 'green-collar' jobs for the State.

The plan to combine weatherization, incentives, and job training will provide healthier, more affordable homes for our citizens. Those thousands of jobs created are the kind that will continue to thrive after they are established. They will include home energy auditors, installers, and materials manufacturing jobs.

Jennie Renner-Yeomans, Harry Taylor, and Kelly Picarsic listen to discussion on the statewide plan at an informational meeting in Charlotte (in photo above).

Charlotte-area environmental group leaders talked about ways to let citizens know more about the benefits of NC SAVE$ ENERGY. As the program reduces home energy costs, it will help consumers decrease their housing expenses.

The bill provides for residents above the poverty line to fund the program for the first year, at two dollars per month for each household. That's about the cost of buying light bulbs, but with far greater results. It will also provide a public benefit fund to receive and use State and Federal grants to improve energy efficiency. Households would be assisted by weatherization of their homes—providing better living conditions, saving money, and saving wasted energy.

Contact your local State Representative and let them know you want them to support House Bill 1050. You can join the voices on NCSavesEnergy.org, or Facebook page. Let them know you want to lower energy bills, reduce the environmental cost of energy production, and create new green jobs for North Carolina.

Plant a tree for free!

You can plant a tree in a North or South Carolina State Park, if you vote for your state with a click.

Odwalla, a juice and snack company, has dedicated $200,000 in trees for this Plant a Tree campaign. You can cast a vote for your favorite state; each vote counts for a dollar to be used to plant a tree in one of the state's parks. At the Plant a Tree site, it is easy to choose your state, plant a tree, and check out information provided by your state's Park System. Afterward, watch the thank-you video. (I like the Barry White voice impersonator on NC's site.)

You need a different email address for each vote. So tell your neighbors, tell your friends - or find Odwalla on Facebook and learn how to start a virtual microforest!

Love Carolina beaches!

Thanks to all the Earth Month volunteers who helped clean up Carolina waterways! Here Coast Guardsmen are helping clean up Folly Beach, South Carolina. Petty Officer 2nd Class Drayton Parker and Petty Officer Gary Barnum remove sand fencing deposited by erosion, in this photo taken by Bob Orenstein.

We continue to care for Carolina waters. Last Saturday the Old Town Cleanup was held in Bluffton, SC, at the southern tip of the state. Volunteers were picking up trash before it could get into the pristine May River. They were especially concerned about fishing line and plastic six-pack holders; they are dangerous to birds like gulls, who get entangled and can't free themselves.

Today at North Topsail Beach, North Carolina, volunteers from the New River Foundation and Keep Onslow County Beautiful cleaned up the shoreline. They feel it's important for their economy, marine life and for their health and safety, according to Lisa Graham. Also today, SUP Cleanup performed its monthly cleanup at Wilmington, NC. Standup paddle boarders are good at locating trash along shores. The frame at the right was captured from NEWS 14 Carolina. Read about how SUP Cleanup was born in Wilmington in 2009, with the motto, "Stand Up for a Clean Ocean." It now has chapters in several states, including Virginia, Washington, and Hawaii. And in Portugal.

Lets keep it up - appreciating our beautiful coastline and making it as healthy as possible!