Chico, Sustainable

The Butte County Mosquito and Vector Control District has resumed the systematic fogging of our neighborhoods, with the goal of combating mosquitoes that may be carrying West Nile Virus.

The very concept of fogging our neighborhoods with chemicals that kill things is very scary to me. This is NOT the best way to "Fight the Bite."

It isn't necessary.
It doesn't work effectively.
It isn't healthy and harms our environment.
There are better ways of fighting West Nile Virus.

Spraying isn't necessary
Correct me if I am wrong, but am I the only one that has noticed that if there has been ONE silver lining to the smoky air, it's that the mosquitoes have been kept at bay for the past month and half? The same dry spring that contributed to the fire situation in the first place has also played a role in reducing this summer's mosquito populations. And now that the air is clearing, they want to spray? Haven't our air, our lungs, and our health suffered enough?

It doesn't work effectively
Close to 99.9 % of sprayed chemicals go off into the environment where they can have detrimental effects on public health and ecosystems, leaving 0.1% to actually hit the target pest. The "Chemical Use Guide" prepared for the Oregon Department of Human Services cautions that "the aerosol fog kills only mosquitoes that contact insecticide droplets; the fog soon dissipates. Although the local mosquito population is reduced for a few days, fogging does not prevent mosquitoes from re-entering the area."

Spraying isn't healthy
For me this is a no-brainer. Any chemical that is designed to kill small creatures--even a chemical derived from a flower--will have some sort of detrimental effect on big creatures (like us). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency continues to research whether or not pyrethrins are carcinogenic to humans. Meanwhile, mosquitoes aren't the only critters to get nailed. Pyrethrin is known to be highly toxic to fish and tadpoles, and toxic to beneficial insects that prey on mosquitoes and many aquatic invertebrates. A second chemical in the spray, piperonyl butoxide (PBO), is a suspected carcinogen, and a suspected liver, reproductive and neurotoxin. PBO can render pyrethrin 10 to 150 times more toxic than what EPA testing shows, as their testing procedures are only conducted on single ingredients.

And the poisoned icing on the cake: Scientists are now suspecting a link between pyrethrin and incidents of autism.

There are better ways of combating West Nile Virus
Numerous U.S. cities have adopted no-spray policies, including Boulder, Fort Worth, Washington, D.C., Shaker Heights, Ohio, and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. In 2003, the City of Seattle adopted an Integrated Pest Management Plan for Mosquito Control, which identifies, in rank order, public education and outreach, monitoring of public health, identifying and reducing breeding habitats as the top strategies that the city will use to combat the threat of West Nile Virus. Mosquito fogging is not listed as a part of the management plan. (www.cityofseattle.net/environment/Documents/WNV%20IPM.pdf).

Sadly, here in Butte County a comprehensive public education effort is something that the Butte County Mosquito and Vector Control district has barely attempted. Case in point: I would insert a link to their website here if I could, but as this writing, it doesn't yet exist. But just to keep you informed, here is the public information website on West Nile Virus preparedness for King County (Seattle). Theoretically, the Butte County Public Health website also posts timely information regarding when and where mosquito fogging will occur in Butte County.

To voice your concerns, gain more information on how the Butte County Mosquito and Vector Control District combats the mosquito population, or to be notified by phone or email of when spraying is scheduled to occur in your neighborhood call the District office during business hours at (530) 533-6038.

To learn about Safety Without Added Toxins (SWAT), a citizens' group in Chico that was formed earlier this year out of concern for the neighborhood fogging of adulticide, contact Amy at (530) 566-0181.

Lastly, here is a link to information on West Nile Virus and mosquito control from the California Department of Public Health.

Posted by jmiller at 03:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Believe it or not, I can picture a moment sometime this winter when I will miss the taste of zucchini in my pasta.

Yes, I know that pretty much anything from the garden can be canned and placed on the shelf. But I have also begun to recognize that canning is a big process, especially for two people in a conventional kitchen. This is complicated by the fact that the zucchini in my garden (or any garden) do not all come ripe at the same time. (This problem is avoided with tomatoes, where certain varieties tend to ripen all at once, and are grown with home preservation specifically in mind).

We could freeze our bounty, but we don't have the space.

Then, following advice from a recipe and a friend, I sliced up a few fresh squashies and arranged them in the food dehydrator. Four hours later I had an answer to my problem.

The resulting zucchini chips taste delicious as a snack and take up very little space. I assume they can be rehydrated as needed for a winter enjoyment.

Here are recipes for zucchini chips and refrigerator dill pickles, for when you get a bunch of cucumbers at once and are not up to a full-blown canning session.

Both recipes are simple. Simple is good.

DRIED ZUCCHINI CHIPS

1. Slice zucchini into 1/8 - 1/4 inch rounds.
2. Place in food dehydrator* for about 3-4 hours at 140 degrees.
3. Finished zucchini chips should be slightly crunchy. Place in a plastic bag. For long term storage I recommend placing in the fridge or freezer.
*Zucchini can also be sun-dried, but this takes longer. I would suggest using a clean, metal window screen and covering it with cheesecloth.

REFRIGERATOR DILL PICKLES
Note: Though the resulting pickles will keep for as long as an opened jar of store-bought pickles, they must remain refrigerated.

1. Bring to a boil 6 cups of water, 2 cups white or cider vinegar, and 1/2 cup of salt. Set aside.
2. In a large glass or ceramic container (bowl, 1 gallon mason jar, etc), layer 2-4 cloves of chopped garlic, 1 bunch fresh dill weed (about 1/4 lb), 2-4 whole cloves, and as many cucumbers as you can make fit in your container (perhaps 4-5 lbs, whole or sliced lengthwise in thirds or quarters)
3. Pour vinegar solution over the top, let set on counter until cool.
4. Cover and refrigerate, ready to eat in 2 to 4 days.

Posted by jmiller at 08:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My first blog post, ever, was one year ago, on July 26, 2007. This is number 153.

I have surprised even myself regarding the number of topics that fall under the umbrella of sustainability,

Of late, a lot of them appear to also be under the topic of food. But that's okay, food is important.

There are plenty of blogs out there dedicated to national issues; I have done my best to keep things relevant to fellow Chicoans, and to anyone who feels they can relate to this type of community.

I have also tried to approach topics from an informative perspective, and have attempted , to the best of my ability, to avoid the ranting tree-hugger label, as well as the eco-elitist label.

Are there any topics that I have not yet discussed, that folks would like to see? Anyone interested in writing their own "guest post" on this blog?

Here's to another year of blogging.

Posted by jmiller at 08:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

In July of 2006, in anticipation of a move to Chico, I typed in "real estate agent," "green homes" and "Chico" into Google.

This is how we met our real estate agent, and now friend, Scott Wolf.

For the most part, this blog focuses on the "smaller ticket items" of sustainability, such as how to reduce gasoline consumption, or why I value locally-grown organic rice.

But the choice to purchase one home over another based on environmental factors has hundreds of times the impact as compared to the decision to bring your own mug to the coffee shop vs. using a disposable cup.

If you are in the market for buying a house, now is certainly the time, and if energy-efficiency and sustainability are factors that are important to you when seeking a home, I can't recommend Scott highly enough.

The first certified "EcoBroker" in the North Valley, Scott patiently showed us dozens of houses in the fall of 2006. When the owner or listing agent was present, Scott asked them about the heating and cooling bills and insulation, and took note of each property's potential for solar panels and garden space. He educated us regarding the value of features such as whole house fans and dual-paned windows.

And in March of 2007, he helped us purchase our first home.

Here is a link to Scott's website, where you can learn more about green home buying, Scott, and what services he has to offer. He can also be reached at (530) 592-5357 or you can email him. Say that you read about him on this blog and get a free smile.

Posted by jmiller at 05:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The second in a four-part series of free Urban Farming Workshops will take place this coming Wednesday evening, July 23 from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. at the community garden at the corner of W. 16th Street and Normal. This workshop will highlight local urban farming efforts, including community gardens, school gardens, and GRUB's home-grown community supported agriculture (CSA) endeavor, and how people can get involved with each.

The presentations will accompany the regularly-scheduled Gardeners' Swap Meet.

Nani Teves did an excellent job putting together the series' first installment, "Backyard Chickens," at the Grange Hall a couple months back, and I anticipate more of the same this Wednesday.

Posted by jmiller at 01:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I planted 4 squash plants last year, including 2 zucchini. It was plenty.
I wish I had remembered this fact a couple of months ago.
I now have 20 squash plants (though only 14 are really producing, which is still 10 more than necessary).

A sustainable squash garden? I don't think so. A man can't be sustained on squash alone.

Come by a Gardeners' Swap Meet on a Wednesday evening, and I will gladly share some with you, including "Bennings Green Tint," pictured above. (I planted 7 of them.)

ZUCCHINI PANCAKES

4 cups shredded zucchini
4 eggs
1/3-1/2 cup flour (wheat or white)
1/2 – 1 cup chunks of cheese (feta, cheddar, or gruyere)
1/2 – 1 cup chopped onion
plenty of black pepper
salt to taste

Mix together to create a batter, fry in the oil of your choice (olive or vegetable oil).

Serve with yogurt or sour cream.

Posted by jmiller at 10:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It is only a matter of time before we delve into the exciting world of chicken (or possibly duck) ownership--the joy of fresh eggs, free high-nitrogen fertilizer, and garden pest control to boot. All we need to provide is a chicken coop, a water bowl, and some occasional chicken feed.

But it turns out that for us to legally keep chickens in Chico, we may also have to write the city a pretty big check.

Here are the requirements for chicken ownership as listed in the Chico Municipal Code:
--"Fowl shall not be kept within 20 feet of any dwelling or occupied structure." (19.76.040B.2)
--"Calculation of the minimum site area required for animals shall not include any areas within the footprint of a structure used for human habitation, or any areas subject to the setbacks from occupied dwellings" (19.76.040G)
--We must allow 250 square feet of outdoor roaming space for each chicken. (19.76.040G, Table 5-10)

However, I also learned that areas zoned R1 ("Single Family Residential") require a use permit for keeping farm animals on the property. Incidentally, farm animals, including chickens, are not allowed at all in areas zoned R2, R3, R4, and RD. There is no use permit required for properties zoned RR or RS. (19.42.020, Table 4-2) Cut and paste "www.gic.csuchico.edu/projects/urban_parcel/chico/zoning.pdf" to find your zone. FYI This is a big file.

Determining the cost of a use permit was not as simple. I was told to check out the Planning Services Department Fee Schedule, but after being unable to locate a line item stating something like "Use Permit Fee for Fowl," I emailed the city.

The problem was that I was looking for a fee along the same lines as dog licenses--twenty, maybe thirty bucks, or perhaps a cool hundred on the outside.

The cost of a use permit for a "Single family owner occupied residence" is $1,363.

Our future chickens would need to lay 3271 eggs (273 dozen) to mitigate the cost of the permit (at farmers market price~$5/dozen), and that doesn't even begin to account for the cost of feed, the construction of a chicken coop, and the original purchase price of the fowl.

Though this permit would also allow us to keep other larger farm animals such as goats, pigs, and horses (if we had the space and the desire, which we don't), it doesn't make any sense that the fee isn't differentiated for the size of the animal. Also, unlike a dog license, a use permit stays with the property. If we were to move with our chickens to another property zoned R1, we would have to get a new permit.

Like growing one's own vegetables or biking to do errands, the ability to source protein from one's property in the form of fresh eggs makes both economic and environmental sense, and should not be discouraged by a budget-breaking use permit fee.

I will be writing a letter to the city to this effect.

Thank you to Associate City Planners Meredith Williams and Greg Redeker for their friendly, timely, and informative responses to my queries.

Posted by jmiller at 02:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Chaffin Family Orchards will be offering its first ever jam making class on the evening of July 17th at Bacio Catering, 179 E. 19th Street in Chico. The cost to participate is $35 and you must bring with you 12 8oz canning jars. The fruit and all other supplies will be provided. Each person will go home with a full case of peach jam. Pre-pay and RSVP by 07/14/08 by calling Chris Kerston at 530-533-1676.

Preserving the pleasure of summer fruit for enjoyment in the winter months through canning has become a lost art. We are too used to the convenience of being able to hit up the supermarket for road-weary, fossil fuel-laden Mexican tomatoes in February, or for New Zealand peaches in November.

Even rarer is the idea of the canning party, where groups come together to celebrate the harvest as well as preserve it. This was more common once, and believe it or not there are still some towns that have community canning centers. Not only is this more fun than canning alone, it is also more efficient. My wife and I preserved over 7 gallons worth of kiwis chutney this winter, and it is indeed an energy-intensive process (Though in our case, we did it over the gas stove when the power was out this past January, so the endeavor had the secondary bonus of being able to help heat part of our house).

I would be curious (and perhaps a bit fearful) to compare the energy required by Trader Joe's to grow, harvest, process, and ship a year's worth of organic pasta sauce for a family of four vs. the energy required to do your own canning. Other factors that go into this comparison--which are near impossible to quantify and balance--include the joy one gains from gardening, the value one puts on being self-sufficient, the true cost of growing a tomatoes at home (seeds, time, water, tomato cage, etc.), the carbon footprint incurred by the industrial process of growing, canning, and transporting the product, and the value one places on the total time it takes grow and can a batch of tomatoes vs. the amount of time it would take to purchase a year's worth of pasta sauce from the market.

With a canning party, at least some of the economies of scale can be improved over doing it yourself, especially when using a kitchen geared to handle the process, though I doubt it would ever come close to the efficiency of an industrialized system.

It is when canning is looked upon as a pleasurable community-building event, comparable, perhaps, to la barbecue or a bowling outing that its true merits are realized. The difference is that you don't return from the bowling alley with a case full of home made jam.

Look for another canning event at the Chico Grange Hall this August.

Anyone else think a Community Canning Kitchen for Chico would be neat idea?

Posted by jmiller at 11:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

No, we are not getting rid of our Subaru, at least not yet. But we did just finish reading the new book Farewell My Subaru by Doug Fine. Fine tells his tale of his 2006 move to a 41 acre ranch in New Mexico in an attempt to reduce his carbon footprint and his addiction to oil. Along the way he installs solar panels and a solar hot water heater, parks his Subaru and replaces it with a diesel truck converted to run on veggie oil, and learns the challenges of raising goats, chickens, and vegetables in the harsh New Mexican environment.

Though a fun and inspiring read, Fine's off-the-grid lifestyle did not have as much relevancy for us as the two other books I have mentioned in this blog, Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma.

The bottom line is, rural New Mexico is a long way from suburban Chico. As such, one must recognize that the methods one uses to reduce their ecological impact will no doubt vary from location to location, with some strategies being more appropriate than others.

For example, while I agree that a veggie-powered pickup truck might indeed be the most sustainable form of transportation for someone who chooses to live in a rural setting, here at the edge of the Sacramento Valley I feel that biking, carpooling, and use of public transportation (and lobbying for improved public transportation) are the best bets.

It is also unlikely that it will ever make sense for us to install solar panels with the intent of living off the grid.

We are, however, hoping to get chickens in the next year or so.

Posted by jmiller at 09:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Two years ago - before we moved to Chico - my wife and I used to do much of our grocery shopping at Trader Joe's. Why not? Plenty of organic options, relatively inexpensive, convenient locations all over California, and manageable-sized stores that don't require a map. The fact that 95% of the food came from mythical "Monrovia" didn't phase us.

Recently I made a run to TJ's and noticed how little I was purchasing. Since settling down in Chico, our food-purchasing habits have certainly changed. Here is a list of what we used to purchase frequently at TJ's, and where we buy these goods now:

-Flour, sugar, nuts, rice, cereal, pasta, olive oil, honey, liquid hand soap, shampoo, and tofu are now all bulk purchases at Chico Natural Foods or S & S. Of these, the rice, cereal, tofu, olive oil, honey, and many of the nuts are locally produced or grown.

-Bottled milk is also now purchased from S & S/Chico Natural; the glass bottle is returned for its redemption value.

-Most of the bread we now purchase is from the Farmers Market.

-My daily glass of TJ's frozen orange juice has been replaced by 1-2 fresh-squeezed glasses a week from Farmers Market oranges (when in season).

-Carrots and basil are also now Farmers Market buys, when in season.

-Hummus, when we have it, is now usually homemade.

-Cucumbers, fresh tomatoes, and frozen fruit (for making smoothies) are now all sourced from our backyard or from the Gardeners' Swap Meets.

-Avocados are only bought at TJ's when the label says they are from the U.S. (which indicates that they are probably grown in California).

-Bananas are no longer a regular part of our diet.

Here are the items that we still regularly buy from Trader Joe's. We look forward to reducing this list further and continuing to liberate ourselves from the Kingdom of Monrovia.

Ak-Mak Crackers
Avocados (organic, sourced from the U.S.)
Baked Blue Corn Tortilla Chips (organic)
Bar Soap
Brown Sugar (organic)
Butter (organic)
Canned Soup (organic)
Canned Tomatoes (organic)
Canned Vegetarian Chili (organic)
Crumbled Cheese (feta, blue, goat),
Laundry and dishwasher detergent
Mayonnaise (organic) and a few other condiments
Pasta sauce (organic)
Pepperjack cheese (organic)
Pine nuts (organic)
Sour Cream (organic)
Turkey Jerkey
Toothpaste
Whole Wheat and Corn Tortillas (organic)
Yogurt (organic)

Posted by jmiller at 10:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

We purchased our first bike trailer last week, a sparsely-used 10-year-old Burley in near perfect condition. It has a payload capacity of 100 lbs, which further reduces our need to drive a car. We paid $250 for it, just over half of what it costs new. With the help of commutesolutions.org, I calculated that if we use it in place of the Subaru Impreza for 379 miles then it will pay for itself, when personal, environmental, and social costs are all taken into account. Here is the math:

Direct Costs
Fuel (based on $4.55/gal, 25 mpg): 18.2¢/mile
Maintenance and Tires: 5.3¢/mile

Indirect Costs
Accidents (government-paid cleanup, lost economic activity, etc.): 4.6¢/mile
State and Local Construction, Improvements and Repair: 1.1¢/mile
State and Local Highway Maintenance and Operations: 0.6¢/mile
Parking (commercial and employer-paid, including government tax): 6.4¢/mile
Waste Disposal (highway cleanup, tire and oil removal): 0.3¢/mile
Air Pollution Damage (health costs, crops, trees, materials, etc.): 5.3¢/mile
External Resource Consumption Costs (economic trade and natural resource use): 3.2¢/mile
Road Noise (property value decrease and abatement): 1.1¢/mile
CO2 Reduction (motor vehicles only): 0.5¢/mile
Water Pollution and Hydrologic Impacts: 1.7¢/mile
Transportation Diversity and Equity: 0.7¢/mile
Barrier Effects on Pedestrians and Bicycles: 1.2¢/mile
Land Use Impact Costs: 7.4¢/mile
Roadway Land Value: 3.2¢/mile
Congestion Costs: 5.4¢/mile

Total Cost Per Mile: $0.66

Purchase price of bike trailer
divided by
Cost of operating a vehicle per mile
equals
Number of miles required to use my bike trailer in place of my car to offset purchase price

$250/$0.66 per mile = 378.8 miles

That's just under 8 miles a week for a year. I think we can handle it.

Posted by jmiller at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)