Hope for the Future
What is sustainability, and what does it have to do with refugees? Sustainability means running a society in such a way that it could continue indefinitely, something that we are obviously not doing.
While there are pockets of sustainable activity, taken as a whole, our global society is heading for a crash. Deforestation, species extinctions, loss of farmland and topsoil, water shortages, air and water pollution, the ozone hole and global climate change are the results of our lifestyle, and refugees result from each of these.
When people can no longer live in their traditional manner because their prey is gone, their waters are dried up, their farms no longer produce, or their forests have been cut down, they either move or die. DOERS has helped refugees and internally displaced people because we want to end the human suffering caused by war, poverty and natural disasters.
But if our world does not drastically change its habits, all of us will soon be refugees, looking for a safe climate that no longer exists. The examples that I saw on the Sustainable Sweden tour last summer have given me hope that we can avoid this fate.
I hope that you will join us in making sustainability our main objective in all that we do. The articles in this newsletter will give you knowledge and offer you ways to be a “doer” for our earth and its inhabitants.
Phyllis Hasbrouck
DOERS receives tax-exempt status
Due to the work of DOERS member Shan Thomas, DOERS received its 501-c-3 status in May. This means that all of your donations (not payments) to DOERS from 2004 can be deducted from your taxes. The Haitian dinner tickets were “worth” $15, so if you paid more you can deduct the difference.
Torbjörn Lahti and Sarah James to visit Dane County!
Torbjörn Lahti, the father of the Swedish Eco-municipality movement, and Sarah James, an American community planner who co-wrote a book with him, will speak at Olbrich Gardens on Wed., Mar.2, at 7 p.m., and at the Stoughton Opera House on Fri., Mar. 4 at 7 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public. The quote below gives you an idea of the amazing changes you will learn about in their illustrated presentation.
Twenty years ago, Ővertorneå, (pop. 6000) in Sweden’s remote rural north, was struggling with a declining population and an unemployment rate of over 40 percent. Changes began in the mid-1980’s, when town planner Torbjörn Lahti initiated a participatory community revitalization process. Today, Ővertorneå is Sweden’s first official “eco-municipality.”
During this process, citizens came to a better understanding of their own inner and outer resources. Gradually, says Lahti, local attitudes changed from “I can’t” to “we can.” Since then, local citizens have formed some 300 eco-businesses. They include an organic food service for schools and the elderly, industries producing smoked salmon and honey, and a sheep cooperative.
Growing number of farms converted to organic agriculture, and some 40 farmers joined together to package their own products. The municipal government developed an “ecological school,” integrating environmental learning into the curriculum. A local day care center did the same.
For its part, the town of Ővertorneå converted its five heating plants from oil to wood burners, and, over several years, replaced its gas-powered car and bus fleet with alternatively fueled vehicles, and made all public transportation within the town free, increasing ridership by 500 percent.
A Look at the Future: Sweden’s Eco-municipalities and Eco-firms
by Phyllis Hasbrouck
Have you ever looked in the trash bins behind a conference center? Can you imagine how many containers they fill in a day, a week or a year? Would you believe it if I told you that Sånga Säby, a conference center outside of Stockholm, created only one cubic yard of landfill-bound trash in 13 months? It’s incredible, but true.
I was privileged to be part of a 10-day tour of Sweden last August, to see and study Sweden’s eco-municipalities and eco-businesses. It was hosted by ESAM, a “human ecological company” that does trainings, advising on management systems, consultancy to businesses and municipalities, and international networking. I’d like to share with you a few of my impressions of the accomplishments we saw.
GreenZone is a transportation complex in the university town of Umeå, at around 64 degrees of latitude north. It’s a new commercial park containing a Ford dealership, a McDonald’s, and a Statoil business, which contains an oil change facility, a car wash, a convenience food store, and an energy station.
This state of the art, environmentally designed facility is the brainchild of Mr. Per Carstedt, who owned a Ford dealership. When he realized that his business was so destructive to the planet, he didn’t only grieve, he got to thinking. And luckily he met Anders Nyquist, a sustainable architect, and the folks from ESAM, our hosts. Together they created a holistically organized system that conserves natural resources to the best extent possible.
All of the buildings have green roofs, covered with growing sedum, a succulent plant. The roofs absorb 50 % of the rainwater that falls on them, help cool the buildings as the water evaporates, and offer habitat to birds and insects. Instead of asphalt, the roads and parking lots are made with concrete paving tiles, which admit some water between the cracks, or reinforced grass, i.e. flagstones with openings where grass can grow.
The rainwater that does run off of the roofs and paved areas does not become part of the city’s stormwater system. Instead it collects in a created pond, called a water garden, that has 10,000 plants. It is filtered and then used to supply water to the toilets and the car wash, and then filtered again.
The vacuum toilets in the complex use only 1.2 liters of water per flush. The human waste is collected and converted into fertilizer for agriculture.
In each building you see many large glass cases filled with healthy green tropical plants. These purify the air of contaminants and add oxygen.
The Ford dealership uses natural ventilation, which means it happens without the use of added energy. It uses an underground cooling duct for entering air. The difference in temperature when the cooler air enters the ground floor results in natural air circulation. It is helped along by wind-powered fans, aspirators, which are installed on all the roofs. They also serve to ventilate the roof structure, thereby avoiding the risk of moisture damage.
More energy is saved by the use of lantern skylights. They reflect sunlight into the buildings using a reflective film, the first of its kind in the world. The florescent lights supplement the daylight only to the extent needed, to achieve 600 lumens on the floor. All lighting in less frequented rooms is controlled by motion sensors. Shortly after everyone has left the room the lights are turned off automatically.
One of the most exciting features of this park is the way the 3 businesses are connected so that nothing is wasted. In America, the waste heat from one McDonald’s, that could heat 20 detached homes, is wasted in the winter, and contributes to the “heat island” effect in the summer. In the GreenZone, it is recycled into the heat pump in the car dealership by way of a culvert. So in winter the McDonalds’s fryers are helping to heat the other buildings, and in the summer, the surplus heat is cooled in drillholes in the bedrock, which are part of the heat pump system for winter heating.
There is also a huge solar panel on the southern wall of the Carstedts dealership. It heats the intake air so efficiently that it significantly reduces the need for energy from the heat pump or the back-up electric boiler. The total heat and energy demand for GreenZone is estimated to be reduced by around 60% compared with modern, conventional solutions.
And it’s not just the buildings that are more sustainable, it’s the business too. In 2002, 94% of the new cars sold at the Ford dealership were Flexifuel cars, able to run on ethanol or methane. In Sweden, ethanol is produced from the waste products of the forest industry. (cont. on pg. 3)
Saving Money and the Environment at GreenZone
· Recyclable material used: 99%
All of the building materials are either screwed or bolted together, so that when the building is destroyed, it can be taken apart and reused. Nothing will have to go to a landfill.
· Reuse of nutrients: 100%
· Collected surface water: 100%
· Renewable energy: 100% The electricity they use comes from a windmill on the coast.
· Reduced fresh water consumption: 70%
· Minimized use of environmentally hazardous chemicals.
The maintenance garage, which is on the second floor of the dealership, is the cleanest I have ever seen. Carstedts has closed systems for handling liquids and has introduced “the environmental plug,” making it possible to change motor oil or other fluids without any physical contact. Each is sucked into its own container, then piped out of the building to be taken away for destruction.
It’s important to note that all of these ideas did not come from just a few people. When Mr. Carstedt organized this park, he hired ESAM to consult, and they work with the Natural Step method. (See sidebar.) That means all the construction workers, all the car salesmen, the chicken fryers and the janitors received 4 to 8 hours of training. This showed them why it was important to do things differently, and encouraged their suggestions for increased sustainability at every step of the way.
The result of all these innovations is not just a huge benefit to the environment, it is also a financial benefit to the owners, who spend less as they conserve energy and materials, while receiving added income from people who want to support their ecological stance. Though the GreenZone cost 17% more to build than a conventional facility, it costs 8% less per year to run.
Another benefit has been to the workers, who get to work in such a clean, beautiful workplace. Carstedts Ford dealership has the lowest sick rate of all car dealerships in Sweden. The workers also appreciate having their suggestions accepted and acted upon.
Study visits are common at GreenZone: there have been 250 from 30 countries. The total number of visitors (both eco-tourists and people who just want services) are estimated at around a million people annually. There are signs posted all over offering bits of education to the casual visitor.
Perhaps the best thing we heard at the GreenZone was that the Chicago division head for McDonald’s is very interested in this model, and is thinking of reproducing it there.
For a longer report on my trip, visit www.doerswisconsin.org .
The Natural Step framework
In 1988, a Swedish oncologist, Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt, alarmed at the huge increase in childhood cancers, asked other Swedish doctors and scientists to join him in analyzing what was unsustainable in our world, and in developing a set of principles for a sustainable society. After years of discussions, they came up with 4 principles that they call the 4 system conditions of the natural step. Here they are, with comments in Italics.
1. In the sustainable society, nature is not subject to systematically increasing
concentrations of substances extracted from the Earth’s crust. Think about things like fossil fuels, and the damage they cause when they’re extracted, shipped, and burned, and about heavy metals like lead and mercury.
2. In the sustainable society, nature is not subject to systematically increasing concentrations of substances produced by society. Think about DDT, methyl bromide, atrazine, and dioxins.
3. In the sustainable society, nature is not subject to systematically increasing degradation by physical means. Think of cutting down forests, using up all the ground water, and destroying coral reefs and mangrove swamps.
4. In the sustainable society, human needs are met worldwide. This is important first because it is morally necessary, and second because without it, none of the first three is possible. For example, if desperately poor people in Brazil don’t get their needs met, they will cut down the rainforest to farm.
For more info, visit www.naturalstep.org
Calling all DOERS!
The Swedish example and the tool they use to switch to sustainable practices are an inspiration and a guide. This country needs more leaders who understand these things. Sustain Dane, a local group inspired by Torbjörn Lahti’s Madison visit in 1998 is offering study courses in the book, The Natural Step for Communities: How Cities and Towns can Change to Sustainable Practices, by Torbjörn Lahti and Sarah James. For just the cost of the book ($25) you can participate in this 9-week course, meeting once a week with 9 to11 other participants to discuss the book and what it means for our lives.
Whether or not you yet see yourself as a leader for
sustainability, please sign up for this course.
The 60 people currently enrolled find it fun, educational and inspiring. Ages range from 11 to old.
Please indicate on the coupon if you would like to participate. We will order books based on your response. DOERS has a goal of 50 households participating: can yours be one of them?
If you would like to help spread the word on this very important visit by Torbjorn Lahti and Sarah James, please contact Phyllis Hasbrouck at (608) 223-9571 or phyllis@terracom.net to volunteer. We are especially wanting to get business and government leaders to attend the presentations.
Help Spread the Word about Sustainability
Contact Phyllis Hasbrouck if you would like a slide show presentation on eco-municipalities, eco-businesses and The Natural Step. We have a 20-min. and a 90-min. presentation, and could customize one to your needs.
This would be appropriate for any of the following: government bodies, top management of businesses, classes of all ages, non-profit groups, book clubs, retirees groups, political groups.
The presentation includes a power point with many photos of Sweden, a tri-board exhibit, and Q&A. Prices are reasonable and negotiable. phyllis@terracom.net, (608) 223-9571
Red Snapper Alert
After our Haitian dinner last year, new DOERS member Sara Green informed us that our menu choice of red snapper was not sustainable! We sincerely apologize for our mistake, and asked her to give us more info. Read on.
Baked, broiled, blackened or grilled: There is no doubt about it… red snapper is delicious! Unfortunately, the red snapper population is in jeopardy. In fact, in 2003, the Marine Fish Conservation Network listed red snapper as one of its “Top Ten Missing Fish”.
Decline in red snapper population is due to two factors: extensive overfishing and bottom trawling for shrimp, which kills juvenile snapper as bycatch and severely damages precious ocean floor habitat.
In order for red snapper populations to rebuild, shrimpers must agree to add bycatch reduction devices to their trawls (from which juvenile snappers can escape), and anglers must abide by regulations that close red snapper fishing “season” after a specified number of individuals have been caught.
A management-rebuilding plan aspires to allow for the return of healthy population levels by year 2032. However, enforcing healthy management practices is extremely difficult, and red snapper management remains contentious and controversial. Thus, destructive practices endure, and red snapper continue to be caught more quickly than they can reproduce.
The bottom line? We should avoid eating red snapper, at least for the time being. Instead, better seafood choices include farmed tilapia, Alaskan wild-caught salmon, and trap-caught shrimp (NOT trawl-caught). For more information regarding sustainable seafood choices, check out the Monterey Bay Aquarium web site, www.mbayaq.org.
Second annual orchard day at Turkey Ridge on April 23
Join us as we take a luxurious bus out to Gays Mills, WI to help the organic apple orchard and farm known as Turkey Ridge. On Earth Day, 2004, 20 DOERS supporters planted over 200 apple trees, mulched, fertilized and cleaned up mature trees, hung birdhouses and planted beneficial flowers. Despite a late frost that knocked out many blossoms, the Turkey Ridge cooperative had a great year and harvest, and almost all of our trees survived and thrived.
According to Turkey Ridge co-op member Fay Rogers, the arrival of the pigs, sheep and chickens just after our workday, ushered in a new era at the orchard. “We hardly ever use the tractor anymore,” she said. “The sheep do the mowing and light pruning, the pigs eat the fallen apples and do the tilling, the chickens and pigs eat bugs and grubs, and all of them fertilize as they go!”
Every 3 days, the co-op members take apart the animal fencing and rebuild it in another location, so that each section of the orchard gets its turn to be serviced by the animals. This year, one of the jobs available to DOERS volunteers will be fencing and herding the animals.
We will meet at the parking lot of Orchard Ridge United Church of Christ, 1501 Gilbert Rd, Madison at 9:30, on Sat., April 23, and depart at 10 a.m. sharp. We’ll work from noon to 5, have a great dinner provided by Turkey Ridge, and arrive back in Madison by 9 p.m. at the latest. Please indicate on the coupon if you can come, and please invite your family, friends, club or class to join us. Bus tickets are $10: ask about scholarships if you can’t afford it.
Future Fruit needs DOERS’ help
When we put out the call for volunteers to help Turkey Ridge a year ago, they were in a very dicey situation financially. Today they are doing well – was it the DOERS touch? (Let’s not forget to give credit to the pigs and sheep and chickens!)
Now we have the opportunity to offer help to another struggling orchard. Our only source for locally grown organic pears, a family orchard called Future Fruit, has been set back by hailstorms and other freak weather.
They’ve decided to diversify by planting strawberries. Let’s offer them a hand, in thanks for their stewardship of the land, and for the delicious pears and pear butter that they make available to us!
This spring DOERS will sponsor a volunteer strawberry planting day at the Future Fruit Orchard, near Spring Green, WI. To cut back on our CO2 emissions, we ask people to contact us to arrange carpooling to the orchard.
Handicraft sales send 4 Afghan widows to school in Kabul
At holiday gift fairs in Nov. and Dec., DOERS sold over $1500 worth of jewelry and handicrafts supplied by Fahima Vorgetts of Women for Afghan Women. The profits from the sales, together with donations, were enough to sponsor four widows in Kabul to take the sewing, embroidery and literacy course. Upon graduation (after 9 weeks) each woman receives a sewing machine and worktable.
If you or your group would like to sponsor an Afghan widow, please send a check for $112, made out to Afghan Women’s Fund (tax-deductible), to DOERS. We will send it on, and you will get a thank you from Women for Afghan Women.
The following is an excerpt from Fahima Vorgett’s report of her trip to Afghanistan in Sept. 2004. You can read the whole report at www.womenforafghanwomen.org
I opened two literacy
classes and two sewing classes in the Kunduz district. The last time I was in Afghanistan,
many women in this area begged me for classes, and I’m grateful that I was able
to grant their wish. I also opened a sewing class in Kabul.
One woman (who has 12 dependents) attended sewing classes I had set
up on a previous trip. She finally mastered the skills, but when it came time
to open a store, she had no money. So I paid six-months rent and bought her two
sewing machines and two tables. She will eventually repay us.
I bought carpets for students enrolled in seven literacy classes so
that they would not have to sit on the bare cold floor. (There are no desks and
chairs.)
In all, I opened 17 literacy classes: 5 in Khost, 2 in Kunduz, 2 in
Farza, 8 in a rural area of Kabul. I paid the teachers’ salaries for nine
months and bought school supplies for all 340-360 students.