Loving the environment is all the rage lately, and we can all do our part to minimize our carbon footprint and promote ecological biodiversity. Two simple activities that we can integrate into our daily routines are composting and gardening. Even if you’re already involved with one or both of these activities, there’s a lot of innovation going on surrounding these topics, so you might think about adopting a new approach or exercising your green thumb in a new and exciting way.

Think composting is complicated, smelly and wormy? Think again. The art of modern composting is easy, odor-free and Earth-friendly. Compost piles have gained so much popularity lately that even celebrities such as Julia Roberts and Pierce Brosnan have talked about theirs. We all have the materials that are necessary to compost; we just might not know it yet. For the novices out there like me, I’ll start at the beginning and add in some more advanced techniques for those of you who already have the basics down.

First, you’ll need to designate a space for your compost pile. You can buy a variety of compost bins that you can keep virtually anywhere depending on the size of the area you’d like to devote to composting and the amount of organic waste you generate. Or, you can create your own custom bin for your space. To start your pile, collect organic waste in your kitchen in a small vessel (many people swear by using a dishwasher-safe ceramic pot). Just about any type of organic waste can go into it, excluding meat, diary products, oils and fats. You can even add in other biodegradable elements that you generate around your house, including paper towels and paper scraps.

A crucial aspect to creating a stable compost pile is finding a balance between nitrogen-rich “greens” (vegetable/fruit scraps, coffee grounds, plant trimmings, etc.) and carbon-rich “browns” (dead flowers, leaves, twigs, etc.). Spring is a perfect time of year to start composting because you can clean up those yard scraps (or if you don’t have any personally, go to nearby “green space” and collect some) to get it going. Add in those old leaves lying around from autumn, fresh grass clippings, the weeds you pull from your garden, and the scraps from all those fruits and veggies we eat so much more of during the warm weather and you’re well on your way to getting started!

Once you have your pile going, be sure to keep it moist (but not soggy) by either adding materials before they dry out or by sprinkling a bit of water on the pile and then evenly mixing it. The moisture helps to keep the material warm and steamy – perfect for that decomposition that you’re so looking forward to. Also, you’ll want to be sure to “turn” your pile often (at least once a week) to allow it to get plenty of fresh air and evenly distribute the moisture and nutrients.

Once you’ve gotten the hang of composting, another trick of the trade that you may want to incorporate is worms. Vermicomposting is when worms are introduced to the compost to speed up the process and facilitate the production of rich topsoil. You can buy worms online from a variety of sellers or try your hand at collecting them yourself (especially at night when the soil is moist). Red wigglers are the most common worms chosen for composting because they can live comfortably in relatively small composting bins (even the ones indoors!). The only caution to introducing worms to your bin is that they thrive in cool, dark places, so temperatures need to be kept between 40 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. So, if you know your bin runs on the hot side and you sometimes forget to keep the matter moist, forgo the worms and let your matter decompose itself at its own rate.

Now that you have all of this fabulous composted material, why not start a garden to use it in? If you’re introducing your composted matter to a garden space, it is usually a good idea to add it to the existing soil, mix it in a bit, and let it sit for about a week before planting anything, to allow for an even distribution of nutrients. Don’t think you have a green enough thumb to start your own garden? You might be surprised. There are a variety of ways and places to garden, even if you have limited experience and space.

As with composting, the first thing you should consider is where you’d like to locate your garden. For a lot of people in Columbus, outdoor space is severely limited, so we need to get creative. There are numerous resources online where people share their inventive gardening solutions. Some popular ones worth considering include:

Window boxes – These can be made from a variety of materials and are typically hung outside of your window. Flowers are a popular choice to grow in them because they can remain small, you can see the beautiful blooms whenever you look out your window and you can catch their sweet aroma when the wind blows. If flowers aren’t your cup of tea, you can also grow herbs or other decorative plants… just nothing that will grow too large (like a shrub or fruit tree) because these boxes typically aren’t very spacious.

Raised garden beds – The basic premise is similar to window boxes, but with raised gardens you can place them outdoors in roomier areas that just don’t accommodate sprawling traditional gardens. They are ideal for patios or balconies where the space is available, but the soil is lacking. Here, the container is raised above the ground on some type of stand or pedestal. It’s up to you what you grow in them – let your imagination run wild!

Vertical Gardens – For the extremely spatially constricted, vertical gardens could be a great option. The only requirement for these visual marvels is an available vertical space; after that, the sky’s the limit – literally. Get creative with how you fashion your garden “beds.” One style that I’m planning to try this year is mounting planters of all shapes and sizes to my patio fence (think kitschy chic) and planting a variety of ferns, flowers, and herbs in them. Another innovative design is to use a vertical hanging pocket shoe organizer as your planter and cover a wall with flora and fauna. However you choose to fashion these striking beds, they’re sure to be a conversation starter.

Terrariums – A terrarium is a contained ecosystem or miniature landscape with living plants, usually housed in unique glass containers. You can purchase premade ones online or from one of the many shops around Columbus (including the ones from Mister Moss at Suite Q), or try your hand at making your own. Again, there are resources online providing “how to” instructions for beginners. Once you understand the basics, terrariums can really provide you with a great creative outlet and perhaps a way to make a little extra money. While there are no real “requirements” for terrariums, they are usually relatively small and use plants that are fairly self-sustaining, so there’s little maintenance work required after the initial placement.

Still don’t think you have a green enough thumb to tackle creating and maintaining your own garden? There are actually quite a few community gardens in Columbus that you can become involved with. Check out theese resources for more information on composting and community gardening options in Columbus: www.howtocompost.org; www.compostinstructions.com; www.local-matters.org; www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/rrr/composting/by_compost.htm; www.columbuscommunitygardening.blogspot.com; www.fpconservatory.org/g2gabout.htm; www.communitygarden.org; www.columbus.gov/getgreen.

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We all know going green is the new pink is the new black. Recycled bags at the grocery store, biking to work, flushing every other time: these are all ways that trendsetters are going green. These are all great small scope eco-friendly activities. But thinking long term (and big investment) offers another way to be green: electric cars. Electric cars have been around for a while, but are often not an easy option for drivers; refueling an electric is not as convenient as pulling up to the nearest gas station and filling the tank. But good news for the environmentally hip is here. Columbus is bringing in new initiatives to support electrics and make them more accessible and affordable.

This is not to say you have to be cutting-edge to appreciate this news. Being green isn’t just trendy; it can save jobs and bring money back into the local community. Much of our petroleum is imported; when that money flows out of the country, jobs go with it. The National Defense Council Foundation estimated our oil import dependence has cost the U.S. an estimated 2,241,000 jobs. Green initiatives support the local community and bring attention to small independent businesses that have joined the movement. Plus, since Columbus is home to the award-winning Ohio State University’s Center for Automotive Research, green initiatives just make sense to expand here.

Another benefit to this trend is the improvement to the environment. Of course walking is better than driving if you really care about the planet, but we all know that you’re not going to be walking to Taco Bell at 1a to get the new Doritos-shell taco. If you’re not going to watch your waistline, you might as well watch your emissions… from your car. Diesel exhaust is a leading source of particle pollution in our air and the leading source of airborne cancer risks. According to the Clean Air Task Force, 21,000 people die prematurely each year due to particle pollution from diesel vehicles. Diesel exhaust poses a cancer risk that is 7.5 times higher than the combined total cancer risk from all other air toxins. Green initiatives reduce exhaust emissions and use of petroleum, providing alternate fuel sources.

“Electric vehicles result in less pollution and more job potential for our residents,” Mayor Michael B. Coleman said. “We can help support the market and our residents, making the choice to switch to an electric vehicle that much easier.”

So how do we make all of this information relevant to our busy lives? One way is to follow the local programming springing up in the city. Clean Fuels Ohio (CFO) is a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the use of cleaner, domestic fuels and efficient vehicles to the transportation industry, government officials and the general public. CFO uses car-charging stations and an initiative called Ohio Green Fleets to provide technical support for transportation professionals. They also advocate for sustainable transportation energy policies and serve as a resource clearinghouse for fleets, policy makers and the public. The fact that they are headquartered here in Columbus makes it harder for you to keep coming up with excuses for that Hummer.

You may have noticed the new car-charging stations popping up around town; those are thanks in part to CFO. With the City of Columbus, they have installed 22 stations around the city, with more installations on the way. The newest stations have just been completed on the north side of Goodale Street between Dennison and Park Street and in front of the city’s Beacon Building at 50 West Gay Street. The stations can fully charge most electric vehicles in 4 to 6 hours. The only cost is for metered parking.

“We’re excited to partner with the city of Columbus to install electric vehicle charging stations in our city,” CFO Executive Director Sam Spofforth said. “As we begin to see electric vehicles purchased in Ohio, consumers will have the benefit of having great locations to charge their vehicles.”This is just the beginning. “A lot more stations will be popping up in the next few months,” CFO policy director Katherine Stewart said. The organization’s current development plans focus on implementing stations in businesses; if your neighborhood is interested in petitioning a new charging station be built in its area, it’s best to contact a local business that would be willing to host a charging station in their parking lot; they can apply for a station with enough general interest. The State of Ohio still has new grants to provide, so it’s worth checking with your neighbors if you think there might be enough interest to petition for a station. It’s time to join the neighborhood big leagues.

“These public charging stations are an important addition to our city as we continue to move toward a more green infrastructure and become a regional destination for travel and business,” said Councilmember Eileen Paley. “We are excited to offer area residents and visitors this amenity to charge their electric vehicles while they enjoy our downtown and the Short North.”

CFO does more than just build charging stations, though. Ohio Green Fleets is a CFO program aimed to improve the environmental performance of business and government vehicle fleets across Ohio through diesel cleanup and other strategies. They’re the ones responsible for developing strategies to improve environmental performance through education, funding, collaboration and public-private partnerships.

Currently, there are 32 designated Ohio Green Fleets across the state, which contains more than 200 public and private organizations. They have already eliminated tons of exhaust and displaced 4.8 million gallons of petroleum. Locals can take pride that many Columbus businesses have already contributed: Frito Lays’ delivery trucks are all green, airport shuttles from the parking garage to the airport are propane-fueled. Select taxis are propane-fueled – you’ll recognize them from the large triangle sticker on their windshield and a CFO sticker on the side.

I asked Stewart if neighborhoods or communities could enroll in the Green Fleets initiative, similar to petitioning for charging stations. Unfortunately, for now she says that, “Green Fleets is mainly geared towards businesses. But [community fleets] is something that we can look into.” Keep your eyes peeled for updates, as we might be able to join this movement soon.

Currently, there are “no specific initiatives for the LGBT community…We know that the community is progressive,” Stewart acknowledges, and advises that the best way to continue to be green is staying informed and involved with Clean Fuels: be connected to social media for updates, sign up for volunteer opportunities, stay an informed queer. “The volunteer and events pages will have listings of upcoming educational events.” You can even be green on the go! There are a lot of apps for your mobile devices to show nearby charging stations.

Want to stay informed without having an electric car? CFO also spends a lot of time on community education and outreach. “We do a lot of work to educate the general public,” Stewart said. “We will have educational events for different types of vehicles.” Keeping the community educated hastens the process of implementing new projects citywide and gathering support for more funding.

It’s a lot of information to digest at once, I know. Luckily, CFO has put all of this information into one spot for your inquisitive little minds. Their website has tons of free information on alternative energy, including details on the health and economic benefits to alternative fuels, as well as, links to other resources. Also available is a Vehicle Buyer’s Guide free download that provides advice when shopping for a new car. The website also gives you information on how to volunteer and the range of opportunities available. For general questions about Clean Fuels Ohio, you can visit them at www.cleanfuelsohio.org or contact them at info@cleanfuelsohio.org.

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When asked what he’s most proud of accomplishing with Eartha Limited, Mike Minnix proudly responds, “Changing the law.” That’s big for a 28 year-old, and technically, since he managed this almost two years ago, that’s huge for 26-year-old-OSU-dropout-parent’s-couch-living Mike. Who needs a degree, when you got passion, right?

And passion is in no short supply at Eartha. With love of the Earth and its sustainability, Mike created a new business venture out of only a few past sustainable side jobs – a venture that couldn’t even begin until he changed the law.

At the time, Franklin County was one of the last counties in the nation that classified restaurant food scrap as ‘hazardous waste.’ Absurd to all of us with a lick of common sense, the designation could only hold true if restaurants hung onto those scraps for a few weeks before trying to toss it. Being that one of the big components of Eartha’s business is food scrap hauling, it was imperative to overturn designation. To get an archaic law off the books, Mike teamed up with local restaurateur Liz Lessner and the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO). After relentlessly and persistently educating and advocating boards across the city Mike and his cohorts were able get the law changed. Thanks to him, we joined the rest of the US in sensible scrap laws. Now, we can do cool things with that Thurminator you failed to finish.

Anaerobic Digesters – these giant pods are larger-scale versions of the compost bins from your backyard. They turn food scrap into renewable biogas. A single ton of waste yields about 18 gallons of the gas. Thanks to the process of anaerobic digestion, the landfills have less stinky food waste. And it’s a growing renewable resource, one that can and often will generate new income for restaurants by paying for bulk food scrap. Maybe you’ve seen the anaerobic digester off 71 South; there are only three digesters in Ohio, and we’ve got one within spitting distance. Mike is pretty confident that Eartha can eventually make this a new source of income for all restaurants, by basically turning what was once wasted money, into enough cash to at least break even on the raw ingredients.

He’s turning heads with the water-into-wine approach.

Founded in 2009, Eartha Limited exists to do a few humble things in this city. Aside from hauling food scraps, they educate and empower businesses to go green with serviceware that’s not harmful to the environment – serviceware that they also distribute in the Central Ohio area. Styrofoam is a sin, ladies, and seeing as how cities are starting to ban the use of it, Mike doesn’t think that Columbus will be too far behind. When businesses are at the point of having to re-evaluate how they do their disposable serviceware, I bet Eartha will be in a good spot with their affordable green options.

Growing up, I remember hearing about the mythical bread bowls and bread plates that would become a staple in my future; that soon, we’d all be eating off of edible and biodegradable dinnerware. The technology has only recently caught up with the idea. We’ve all had that terrible experience where a green disposable fork snaps in two while trying to eat. That’s why we haven’t seen more of them. “Compostable serviceware was too costly and not very high quality before. They were crap,” Mike says. “Your spoon would melt in the soup. That’s why slow progress has been made.” I take a sip out of my Cup O Joe coffee while he’s talking. “Look right here,” he says and spins my cup around. There’s a symbol for how biodegradable the cup is. “When you don’t notice the difference, the quality is there.”

For the Average Joe, you can find Eartha around town at the city’s festivals, donating energy and resources into smaller fests like Independent’s Day and partnering with the mainstays. Columbus loves a good outdoor party. Like any soirée, there’s a lot of trash left behind. That’s where Eartha comes in. “I don’t mind staying up late and hauling trash,” Mike says. For many festivals, the waste is a huge part of the preliminary budget. “To do good is to get good,” Mike believes. And he’s getting a lot of good by helping out so many of our city’s summer traditions.

Eartha is just getting started. While he’s already made a huge impact, Mike is still working to make his primary mission a reality. “I want to make this successful for everyone. Saving money while becoming sustainable – everyone wins.”

I think that Eartha’s model will become the mandatory way we handle all our food waste in the future. Evidence of that? Remember those anaerobic digesters? Ohio may only have three right now, but expect up to 12 more in the near future, which is great news for Eartha and our City. As Mike says, “It’s a very exciting time to be a garbage man.”

Mackenzie Worrall already lived on his parents’ couch for a year, but doesn’t have nearly as much to show for it.

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Chains of hateful criminal activities have marred the constituents of the Ohio State University and the Columbus community lately. The serial swastika spray-paintings in the city, the arson against a Muslim Middle-Eastern student’s house, the vandalism on buildings with hate-speech against African-Americans, have all sent a message against identity inclusion and diversity.

In stark contrast, offering hope and rejuvenation for the futures of the glitter-starved queers, the scholarly rainbow flag-waivers unite at the Ohio State University to present Queer Places, Practices, and Lives: a Symposium in Honor of Samuel Steward. This monumental event will be held May 18-19, 2012.

This two-day conference will celebrate the expansion of scholarship in queer studies by honoring Ohio State University alumni, Samuel Steward. The setting will provide the coolest, most inspiring forum for creative writers, scholars, archivists, artists, students and community members to interact, present and converse about their works relating to queer issues.

The conference will feature a multitude of topics ranging from “Regionalism, Radicalism, Terrorism,” to “Poetry, Pederasty, Retrosexuality.” The keynote speaker is New York-based writer Justin Spring who wrote the award-winning book on the honoree called, Secret Historian: The Life and Times of Samuel Steward, Professor, Tattoo Artist, and Sexual Renegade.

Debra Moddelmog, Professor in Ohio State University’s English Department, Co-Director of Sexuality Studies and the Co-Organizer and Director of Diversity and Identity Studies Collective (DISCO), says that the conference will welcome scholars from all around the country. The event is free and open to all who may be interested. Some of the speakers scheduled include renowned transgender studies pioneer Susan Stryker of University of Arizona; Brian Glavey, an Assistant Professor of Literature at the University of South Carolina (I’m from South Carolina, and I’m amazed that anything “queer” is allowed to be taught in my home state); Professor Kale B. Fajardo of University of Minnesota; and Professor Tim Dean of the University of Buffalo.

Moddelmog is proud that graduate students and faculty from the English, Women’s Gender & Sexuality Studies, Art Education, Geography, History, Comparative Studies and Asian American Studies departments all had a part in organizing the event. Sponsors range from the Multicultural Center, Evolved Body Art, OSU’s GLBT Alumni society, and Outlook Media among others. The Samuel Steward/Eric Walborn Endowment Fund, the College of Arts and Sciences, and a Research and Creative Activities Grantawarded by the Division of Arts and Humanities provided the primary funding for the conference.

So who was this strapping stud that led a life worth commemorating?

Simply put, Samuel Steward was everything. His legacy encompasses influence and valor in a plethora of areas – writing, teaching, academia, erotica, art and tattooing – that allow for a beautiful and unique story about history, homosexuality and scandal. Steward was a gay man living in the 1920s, decades before homosexual identities were politicized or embraced confidently as a norm. However, his works were bold and he intentionally did not live a closeted life. If anything, it appears that Samuel was living, in all of his endeavors and expressions, to create a capsule of exposed gay life for later discovery. Author Justin Spring would put the pieces together to enable his story to come full circle.

In the Life media composed a wonderful short video featuring Justin Spring’s discoveries, giving one an illustration of who Steward was:

Samuel Steward was born in 1909 in Woodsfield, Ohio. Sex and sexuality were central to his life early on and he had lots of it in his life. He was 17 when he had a sexual encounter with actor Rudolph Valentino, after seeking an autograph, of which he chronicled with kept remains of Valentino’s pubic hair.

He was a literary all of his life, always chronicling events and escapades through art or writing. His writing and sexual nature garnered him initial attention in academia. His entrance essay for admissions to the Ohio State University openly alluded to homosexuality, and his is dissertation for graduation in the English Department also had a gay theme. Both bold statements at the time. The Sexuality Studies Department cites, “His Ohio State connections reveals that his experiences here as an undergraduate and graduate student from 1927-34 shaped his life in important ways, helping him to make contact with major writers of his day, such as Gertrude Stein and her partner Alice Toklas; generating interest in an academic life which he later eschewed; and providing the setting for one of his major novels.”

He was trained as a librarian when he attended the Ohio State University, and he left us “The Stud File” – a carefully cross-referenced, cataloged record of all of the people he had sex with in his life to show us his acquired skills. The cards feature coded names, dates, penile dimensions, and descriptions of the sexual encounters. There are almost 900 cards. He also had a typewritten diary of his sexual escapades. Steward was a sexual renegade – he collected leather and disciplinary devices, and was interested in how pleasure and pain could be combined for a heightened sexual experience, what we call S&M. He was kinky and humorous and wrote homosexual erotica under the name Phil Andros. This guy was the ultimate sex symbol, if you ask me.

And did you know that Steward was Alfred Kinsey’s theoretical muse? Steward met Kinsey in 1949 and became an unofficial collaborator in his research. Spring cites, “Steward’s highly detailed documentation of his sexual experiences underscored and supported Kinsey’s controversial work about male homosexuality.”

In the 1950s Steward began his career as a tattoo artist when tattooing was still an underground artform. With what we know about his daring, gritty, sexually artistic personality, it is only divine destiny that he would end up in this field. Steward was a sly guy, building a clientele exclusively of sailors, bikers, hustlers and street thugs to be his sexual prospects. No longer Phil Andros, he became Phil Sparrow. Owning a tattoo parlor in Oakland, California in the 1960s, he came across the now famous Ed Hardy, and it was under Steward’s mentorship that Hardy would begin his tattoo career.

Steward died at age 84. We are now able to construct a very iconic piece of sexual history from the 1920-50s, and to build on queer academia with the instructions left by him and his estate.

What will the event held in Steward’s honor mean for GLBTQ awareness on campus and in Columbus, and support for queer studies and our departments on campus that promote diversity?

Moddelmog replied, “The symposium will draw attention to OSU for being GLBTQ friendly. It will raise political awareness and awareness for teaching and research work in the field for students.”

“For me, as a WGSST instructor and grad student, and a queer woman myself, it’s exciting to be able to offer several speakers that can touch upon the history of Queer Life in Columbus and Chicago, an important step in helping our queer and GLBT students feel connected to their history and inspired toward more activism,” said Moddelmog.

Professor Shannon Winnubst proudly affirmed, “We have worked hard to give this conference high visibility, so I hope the campus and city do feel the impact of the two days. Work in queer studies brings an unusually critical eye to all kinds of normativity, whether sexual, racial, class-based, gender, nationalist, religious, ability-centered, or however. To have hundreds of people coming together for two days of intensive academic and activist conversations about this should be invigorating for everyone on campus interested in such dynamics.”

This symposium is historical in that it is the first in hopes of becoming an annual event. In honoring Steward, it validates queer identity and practices. He was a pioneer in presenting queer scholarship to OSU. Education pertaining to difference in people, practices, and places will always be integral in creating an environment that is founded upon diversity and inclusion. I am proud to be able to claim Samuel Steward as a part of the Buckeye Nation, and more importantly the QUEERS!

The event is free of charge and open to the public. May 18-19, 2012. For info on the conference: https://sexualitystudies.osu.edu/samuelstewardsymposium and to give to the Samuel Steward/Eric Walborn Endowment Fund: https://www.giveto.osu.edu/igive/onlinegiving/search_results.aspx?fundnum=607512.

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In today’s society it has become normal to have our Starbuck’s coffee put in a recycled cup and grocery shop with reusable bags. A former vice president has even addressed the country on the need to be environmentally friendly and recognize the mark we leave. “Going green” has become the trend of our generation, and the business world is jumping on the bandwagon.

In 2008, Ohio Senate passed a bill stating that by 2025, 25% of Ohio’s energy must come from alternative energy sources. In order to reach this goal, it is important now, more than ever, that Ohio companies begin to focus on alternative energies that are environmentally minded. “There is lots of capability and expertise in Ohio from a variety of different types of organizations with different perspectives,” said Kimberly Gibson, executive director of the Ohio chapter of Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) and EWI Energy Center director.

Nationally, AEE represents the industry of advanced energy and provides a voice in public policy and acts as a support for energy companies. There are currently 10 chapters in states across the country, and 12 in development. AEE Ohio collaborates with companies from around the state; these include Tech Columbus, Cincy Tech, Rocket Ventures, Dayton Development Coalition, Tech GROWTH, and Nor Tech. EWI Energy Center handles the research and analysis for AEE Ohio and Ohio Business Council for Clean Economy deals with the advocacy and action side of the organization. The organization is reaching all corners of the state to ensure its goal of promoting new energy is reached.

“AEE Ohio is committed to fact-based analysis on issues that are important to advanced energy businesses. This analysis combined with the experience of member companies provide the best real world information that can be shared with policymakers,” said Gibson. “Energy is a complex subject and investments and policies require long-term thinking. Our organization structure will facilitate this approach of research combined with real-world experience to provide the best information possible into the conversation about energy in Ohio.”

Gibson said the organization’s vision is to create a unified voice for energy companies, along with creating a competitive landscape of approaches to energy, looking at long-term global energy choices and the cost and risks of choices transparent. “AEE Ohio’s unique niche is coordinating and synthesizing those voices to present a broad view of the energy situation. We want to be an honest broker for business interests in the energy space,” said Gibson.

Companies around the state are stepping up to the plate to find new approaches to energy that are environmentally friendly. EcoChem Alternative Fuels, here in Columbus, is one of those companies. The company produces High Performance Clean Diesel (HPCD), a cleaner burning fuel than Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD), which is more commonly used. Josh Koch, president of EcoChem, said he saw the need for a better diesel fuel in 2006 when ULSD was mandated by the United States.

“By addressing the inadequacies of standard ULSD, improving the purity and the molecular makeup, HPCD is a superior fuel in many respects,” said Koch. “Since the 2006, mandate for low sulfur diesel fuel, multiple studies performed by organizations such as John Deere, Cummins and Dow Industries have found #2 ULSD to be of poorer quality than its predecessors. More troubling was the discovery in these studies that #2 ULSD potentially increases the chances for fuel tank corrosion and filter clogging.”

Last March, the city of Dublin decided to test run the HPCD fuel for one year in all of their city vehicles, including vehicles for Dublin City Schools and Washington Township Fire Department. Koch said the results from the testing co-op showed a 16.1 percent reduction in miles per gallon and 12 percent reduction in emissions. He said once these results were made public, other schools and cities have decided to upgrade to HPCD. “The Dublin validation platform was very important to the development of the brand. The partnership was and is a benchmark for other communities and businesses to corroborate in the campaign for a clean, efficient and sustainable future,” said Koch.

This discovery of changing fuel could mean big changes for the pollution and emission levels in Columbus. The car has always been blamed for its contribution to the carbon print, but reality is vehicles are never go to be non-existent. EcoChem’s work allows us to not feel guilty every time we’re on the road.

Another company in Columbus is also looking at things in a new, creative way to produce energy and other products in a cleaner way. AlgaeVenture Systems (AVS) received the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA-E), award Ross Youngs, CEO, and the company $6 million for their research on Algae.

“We have been supporting the message while finding ways to create a sustainable private company with opportunities to make great products and profits. Support in the form of a loan and grant from Ohio has really helped, Federal Government financial support for advancing technology has been critical,” said Youngs. “We are very persistent people, we will find a way to make a profit and grow the company, so this is one of those overnight successes in the making, check back in 10 years.”

David Coho, vice president of business development for AVS, said that they understand that algae is a very dynamic plant and has a lot of potential in the amount of products it can help produce and its ability to clean up water. “We see it as an opportunity for foods, feeds, pharmaceuticals, energy and fuel,” said Coho.

Aside from the products it will produce, algae has the potential to clean up bodies of water. Ross said that algae is at the base of aquatic food chain and is critical to the recycling of CO2 and Oxygen. “We are firm believers that the massive productivity of the small water plant known as algae is important to human civilization. Starting to learn how to use algae commercially will lead to a more sustainable future, along with cleaner waterways,” said Youngs. “400 years from now it may be possible for our ancestors to be looking at the clear rivers and lakes of Ohio again. Algae could be recycling wastes into products and energy. AVS is one of the first in a field that will continue to grow for decades, or maybe 100 years or more.”

In March, Gov. Kaisch signed in to law House Bill 276, defining production of algae as agriculture in the Ohio Revised Code. Rep. Jim Buchy and Sen. Lou Gentile sponsored the bill, which creates Algaculture. AVS said in a press release, “Researchers and technologists worldwide are investigating and exploring algae for recovering nutrients from agricultural wastes and turning them into products. With the considerable support from Representative Hall, Chairman of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee and Senator Hite, Chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Environment & Natural Resources Committee, Representative Buchy, Senator Gentile and Governor Kasich, Ohio is positioned to innovate and continue its strong tradition of leadership in agriculture into the future, and give farmers another crop to grow and generate income for their families.”

Coho said this (bill) is Ohio saying they are open for business and AVS applauds the state leadership for this. “We are really seeing the merit’s of algae for the state of Ohio,” he said.

AVS is not the only environmentally minded company that Youngs has founded. Univentures, which produces soy-based packaging for compact discs, and Alter-E, which commercialized products produced by AVS, are two of his other companies in Columbus. “It is rewarding to continue to create products and technologies that in anyway can be an improvement or benefit for someone,” said Youngs.

It is an exciting time in Ohio, especially in Columbus, to “go green,” with local companies and government taking a serious look at the things that need to be done to ensure our state is at the forefront of new energy technologies.

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Come on, everyone does it. Haven’t you ever wanted to, just to see how it feels? I promise it won’t hurt.

I’m talking about recycling – what did you think I meant? And in Columbus, it’s getting easier than ever for even first-timers to get into the habit.

The city has a new program this year that provides 64-gallon, blue recycling carts to residents of single homes and apartment buildings (but not apartment/condo complexes) that have fewer than four units.

When you think of recycling, one of the first images in your mind might be tossing your soda can into a blue bin or piling a neat bundle of newspaper on your curb. Get with the program! There’s a lot more you can recycle – and when you get the cart, you won’t even need to bother with sorting. Beside aluminum cans and paper, here are some common things you can recycle:

• Paperboard and corrugated cardboard: Lots of food packaging is made of paperboard. Think cereal boxes, your late-night five-buck box from Taco Bell or that case of Yuengling in your fridge. In Columbus, even paperboard lined with wax or a film – like milk, ice cream and juice cartons – is recyclable. For corrugated cardboard, think of the package your UPS guy delivers to your door. Not that package, the cardboard box! You can identify corrugated by its two thin layers joined by a squiggly layer in the middle. Keep in mind for both paperboard and corrugated that if it contains food residue, like that greasy pizza box or paper plate, it doesn’t go in your recycling bin. Make sure you flatten your boxes before recycling.
• Plastic and glass bottles: You wake up Sunday afternoon after a party that lasted God-knows-how-long at your apartment the night before. You look around and there are beer bottles everywhere, half-empty two-liters of Coke and Sprite, bottles of rum and vodka lying on their side, and apparently some jokers decided to have a shampoo fight – in the kitchen. When you recover enough to start cleaning up, remember to drain and rinse all those containers. It doesn’t matter what number is in the recycling symbol on the bottle. As long as a plastic bottle has a neck and is clean, throw it in the bin. Then you can crawl back into bed and try to recall with whom you were making out all night.
• Steel cans: You know it’s feeding time for the cat when she takes a break from completely ignoring you to remind you how much she cares for you. (Cares for you, controls you – same thing.) After you pop open a can of Fancy Feast for the prissy little pussy and plop it ever-so-appetizingly into her bowl, rinse out the can and throw it in the bin. You don’t even need to remove the label. Steel lids for glass containers, like jelly or spaghetti sauce, go in the recycle bin, as well as empty aerosol cans.
• If you’re new to the recycling game, you’re going to make mistakes. To help guide you, here are some things you should NOT put in the cart:
• Plastic-lined foil: Juice pouches, yogurt lids and condom wrappers go in the trash, but clean aluminum foil goes in the bin. The key to remember is that the plastic lining means it’s not recycle-friendly. Eat yogurt and care about breast cancer? You can send specially marked pink foil lids back to Yoplait for their Save Lids to Save Lives campaign.
• Certain Papers: Paper towels, cups, tissues and textbooks are examples of paper items that don’t go in the bin. Most other types, including glossy magazine pages, are accepted, as long as they are clean and grease-free. If you can’t sell your textbooks back and don’t want to keep them, ask your bookstore about recycling or consider donating them to a non-profit.
• Certain Plastics: Yogurt cups, plastic silverware, butter tubs. A general rule of thumb is if a container doesn’t have a bottleneck, it’s not recyclable. Plastic bags are a no-no, but you can recycle those at the grocery store or drop them off at your nearest dog park.
• Certain Glasses: Mirrors, windows and dishes. If it’s reusable, give it to Goodwill or Salvation Army.
• Other: Hazardous material containers, light bulbs, yard waste, batteries, Styrofoam. The easy thing to do is just throw all of these in the trash. But that’s not the responsible thing, and you know it. The Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio has a list of places on its website that offer safe disposal and recycling. Go to www.swaco.org. Yard waste is still collected, but it does not go in the blue bin. It must be set out separately in biodegradable bags or a rigid container.

The city started delivering carts to eligible residents in April. Southwest Columbus residents should get their carts in May, with Monday collection beginning June 4. Carts will begin arriving in southeast Columbus in June and July, with Tuesday collection starting July 31. If you’re north of Route 161, you should see your cart in August or September, and your collection will be Wednesdays starting Sept. 26. Residents north of Interstate 670 in the central part of the city will get their carts in October and November; their collection will be Thursdays starting Dec. 6. Northeast Columbus will get carts in December and January, with Friday collection starting Feb. 1.

To find out if you’re eligible for a blue cart, call 614.645.3111.

After your materials are picked up each week, they have to make a stop before they can be turned into the recycled products on store shelves. Columbus’s recycling provider, Rumpke, has a material recovery facility on Fields Avenue near the Ohio State Fairgrounds where the items in your bin are delivered and sorted. If you accidentally put something in your bin that you shouldn’t have, this is where it gets weeded out. Sorting is done both by large machinery and by hand at the facility. Items such as plastic bottles are baled together and shipped to manufacturers who transform the old products into new ones.

You might know that by recycling, you’re saving the earth by helping to conserve energy and natural resources, reducing pollution and cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions. But you’re also helping the city save money. That’s why the recycling program won’t cost Columbus residents extra. The program is completely voluntary, but the more people participate, the more the city potentially saves. The city says that for every ton of trash recycled instead of buried at the dump, Columbus saves more than $55 in landfill fees.

For more information about the city’s recycling program, you can visit the new recycling site, www.recycolumbus.com. You can even contact Rumpke at 800.828.8171 for tours of its material recovery facility.

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How do we handle the problem of diminishing water ways? Or what can urban planners do to mitigate the effects of deforestation and habitat loss on regional and worldwide ecological balance? These are serious topics requiring the world’s most intelligent scientific minds to come together and discuss solutions for long-term sustainability and ecological planning. Fortunately, though, that meeting of the minds is happening this September at The Ohio State University in Columbus.

EcoSummit 2012 is an annually-held global event to discuss important trends in sustainability, restoration, global change, corporate involvement in the environment and more. It is the first event of its kind that connects the Ecological Society of America, the International Association for Ecology and the Society for Ecological Restoration International. Scientists and dignitaries from all over the world, including winners of Nobel, Kyoto and Pulitzer prizes are convening for several days of sessions, workshops, symposia and excursions to observe the ecological systems in the Ohio and American environment. Even the President of Iceland will be speaking there. According to the website, this summit will provide “a high-profile platform for dialog among researchers, planners and decision-makers to develop a better understanding of the complex nature of ecological systems and the means to protect and enhance their services.”

The chair of the summit, Ohio State University Distinguished Professor of Environment and Natural Resources Dr. William Mitsch, is a Stokholm Water Prize Laureate and Director of the Olentangy River Wetland Research project. He is an expert in environmental and ecological issues having given talks, chaired committees, edited journals, and taught in universities all over the world. He was the main force in bringing the event to Columbus.

“I’ve been involved in the EcoSummit since the very beginning; it was our turn. We have a group of editors of journals who oversee the selection site, and we had a lot of discussion two years ago on various sites. There were different proposals; I put a proposal forward for Columbus, and after much discussion, I asked, ‘Who would agree to Columbus?’ Everybody did,” stated Mitsch.

The week-long program is in its 4th year, and will combine abstracts from 102 countries in order to attack major global problems. Previous events were held in Beijing, China, Copenhagen, Denmark and Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. According to Dr. Mitch, these discussions are not about “saving energy in your garage,” but geared toward developing “ecological solutions to ecological problems.” Workshop topics during this event include things like stream and floodplain restoration in the Eastern US, urban ecological restoration, and managing the balance between humans and nature.

“It will be the best assemblage of ecological scientists ever in Ohio and maybe even in North America because it’s so international. We have abstracts from 102 countries. It will very definitely be an international view of how the rest of the world and how the United States of course deals with ecological problems but also deals with how to solve ecological problems. I’ve said from the very beginning the theme of this meeting is not just describing problems but solving them. So we have fields of like ecological restoration and ecological engineering that are problem-solving oriented.” Mitsch explained.

Some of the content collected for the event focuses on the unique ecological framework of Ohio, the Midwest and the US at large. One of the workshops evaluates techniques for storm water management used in the Weinland Park neighborhood in Columbus. And, symposia are filled with scientists from all over Ohio and the world. A symposia seemingly stemming from the events of last fall’s Zanesville exotic animal massacre is exploring the topic of carnivore conservation in human-dominated systems.

Additionally, before and during the summit, participants will get to explore ecological systems up close. Prior to arriving, participants can tour several ecological observation sites all over the country – including trips to the everglades, the Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi River Delta, and the Appalachian mountain regions of West Virginia. On Wednesday during the event, scientists will embark on a tour of all kinds of ecological sites around Ohio, evaluating watersheds, wetlands, urban and rural areas, wildlife conservation and habitat restoration. Each participant will pick one tour and will spend all day exploring Ohio’s diverse ecological systems.

The 2012 EcoSummit will be held on the campus of The Ohio State University from September 30th to October 5th. You can find more information on the event, including registration and full agenda and symposia information at www.ecosummit2012.org.

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Luke Scholl Interview

Very Mary Kate

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The thought of something called “Equality Express Bus Tour” might invoke images of a bunch of activists or politicians coming around to rally citizens around their causes. And in most cases in an election year, that is true. But this is not your normal election-year bus tour. As the recent mantra of many LGBT-focused organizations is to put faces on our community and to show how vital LGBT people are to the community infrastructure, this bus tour is designed to engage communities through service while building relationships in cities and towns across Ohio.

“We wanted to try something different. We are fortunate this year that in Ohio the three major cities have their Pride [festivals] back to back. With the ability to hit three prides, three weeks in a row, and the ability to reach out to mass amount of people all at the same time, we decided to take advantage of that,” explained Lee Reinhart, Community Organizer for Equality Ohio and coordinator of Equality Express.

“It’s a communication starter…to get around to parts of the state where not many people have seen or heard of Equality Ohio, or for some places, not seen or had 12 LGBT representatives roll into their town all at the same time. [It's] the aspect of the imagery of the decked out RV with Equality Express on both its sides rolling into these communities only to offer our help,” said Reinhart.

As you probably know, Equality Ohio is in the forefront of the fight for equal rights for LGBT citizens, but this program takes a different approach. Instead of coming to cities and imploring people to support LGBT issues, Equality Express is simply bringing a group of young LGBT interns to communities to help register voters and complete community service and rebuilding projects. And while doing so, hopefully leave an impression on, and start a discussion with, the people in the communities they serve along the way.

The Equality Express will kick off with a launch party at Thurber Park, participate in Columbus Pride, and then make the journey to Cleveland and Cincinnati Pride festivals. In between, the tour will hit Zanesville, Akron/Canton, Toledo/Bowling Green, Dayton/Springfield, Athens, Lima and Chillicothe. In each place, the team of 12 interns and staffers will help register more voters and work with service organizations like Habitat for Humanity and United Way, helping to rebuild communities by completing jobs like painting and cleaning for deserving social service organizations across the state.

Although the main directive is to help, the underlying hope of this project is to give exposure to the positive things that LGBT people contribute to the community, while giving the these communities and organizations what they need: hands to help them rebuild.

For example, in Akron/Canton, the Equality Express tour will be working with CANOPI, a social services organization that helps low-income individuals, including those living with HIV/AIDS. The Equality Express crew is going to pitch in and spruce up some of the housing properties.

“Their homes might need painted or work done. So, that would be one of our projects,” said Reinhart

Reinhart hopes to connect with organizations like CANOPI all over the state to provide critical assistance on the simple things that help keep the businesses running. He would like to have a social service organization to work within each community that the Equality Express bus visits, to help engage each community with beneficial service projects. He wants to point out that the organizations they are helping do not need to be LGBT-focused; the tour is targeting other service organizations as well.

“The two main focuses of the tour are to offer voter registration and community service,” said Reinhart. “What I hope comes out of this, is that, it’s building for the future and it’s starting the conversation by showing the representation of our community. We are just like you, our neighbors, and all we want is equality. And it will start the conversation.”

However, an adventure like this does not come without cost. Reinhart is working with community leaders, businesses and individuals to help raise money and supplies for expenses on the trip. Since the bus team will be traversing the state far from home, Reinhart hopes that members of the communities that the bus visits will be able to provide volunteers with a place to stay.

“That’s part of the experience, too. To engage LGBT members that live in those cities, and have them house our crewmembers, so they feel that they are empowered as well. Those are simple things that the people in the community can help us find – supportive members in each of these cities that can let our crewmembers stay one night or two while we’re in their town. And that’s a learning experience not just for the hosting family, but for the crew.” Through these connections, Reinhart hopes that the local hosts and the crew can share experiences and learn from one another.

“They’ll get to see how a gay person is received in Zanesville, which might be different than how they are in Columbus or Lima, as well as, how it’s different to live openly gay in Lima versus in Columbus,” added Reinhart.

Businesses large and small are also desired to help defray costs for the month-long tour. Companies looking to sponsor Equality Express can make a donation and have their logo printed on the back of the vehicle. If a large donation is not possible, smaller donations of gift cards and other smaller items from individuals and companies are very welcomed and needed. But whether the donation is large or small, Reinhart encourages everyone to participate in some way, either through donations of money or sleeping space, or volunteering time to work on the community service projects within the various locales.

Equality Ohio will reveal the new Equality Express bus on June 14th at Thurber Park at a huge party. Reinhart hopes to have live music, food and activities, as well as help recruit people to volunteer. After Columbus Pride, the bus will head north to visit communities like Akron/Canton before heading to Cleveland Pride. If you can, help out the bus wherever you see it this summer!

If you are interested in volunteering for a service project, are a community organization in one of the target cities, or interested in making a monetary or in-kind donation to Equality Express, contact Lee Rinehart at lee@equalityohio.org.

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Luckily, I got lost looking for WVKO Progressive Radio. It’s no longer on Bethel Road, in case you were wondering.

Progressive Radio’s new incarnation is on the second floor of a carriage house off Broad Street in Olde Towne East. My precisely timed entrance at the beginning of Radio Outlook’s broadcast got pushed back to 9:22a instead. Like I said, lucky for me. After a quick text in an empty parking lot to find out where exactly the radio station was, I switched to 1580 AM – that’s right, your car picks up AM too. The first quarter of my visit to the station consisted of me hurrying in my car and cracking up those crazy boys they put on the air.

“How’s it sound on the radio?” Michael Daniels asks me during the first commercial break.

“A lot more professional than it looks,” I tell him. I meant it as a compliment; I promise.

Here’s the truth about good, hard-working modern media outlets: they do a lot with very little. Even in radio. Progressive Radio owns a small office space with a couple of sound dampeners and a fantastic machine that’s been Frankensteined together from the past couple decades of broadcast technology. And again, I mean this all as a compliment. This team is giving the city so much and they bring an unquenchable passion to their work. The fact that they’re doing it with so little is, well, both amazing and deplorable. But the deplorable part is on us as listeners. Why aren’t we giving them more money?

Now, I’ve seen the spectrum of radio stations in terms of how nice their space is. Surprise, surprise, WOSU is by far the nicest. I’m talking straight out of Frasier nice. Growing up, that’s what I thought all radio stations looked like on the inside. But I also thought all print media offices looked like Nightstalker. (Have you seen the outlook office? Because I can’t find it under all of the feather boas and remains of interns.) In the mid-range radio, we have CD101. Which is a really lovely use of a pretty lovely building. It’s just not at all how you picture it. (Sidenote: let’s give them more money, too.) Finally, WVKO is in the upstairs of a carriage house across from that gas station on Broad that you can’t actually go into. I am proud of the quality WVKO puts out.

In fact, they’ve had relatively few problems since going back on the air at the beginning of January.

“We’re way ahead of where we were in 2008 in terms of what we sound like on the air,” Station Manager Michael Alwood tells me. “Back then, we still struggled with automation and what the audience heard.” While he’s tirelessly fixed any technical difficulties the current incarnation has had, there have been a few growing pains. In addition to the technology, WVKO has had a few other changes since 2008. Most obviously, Rachel Maddow no longer has a radio show. I guess we just have to watch that fabulous woman on TV. Damn. Jeff Santos (of RevolutionBoston) has joined the line-up instead.

Most of what the station broadcasts has remained the same since their earlier incarnation. When Clear Channel stopped broadcasting Prog Talk in 2004, Gary Richards (WVKO’s General Manager) heard the rumblings locally to bring back liberal radio in Columbus. “I began thinking about how to make the format work in Columbus,” he says. “[Clear Channel] obviously wasn’t committed to making the format work. I saw it as a viable format, especially with the 2008 election coming.”

This isn’t a risky venture for Richards; he knows what he’s doing. He helped to put CD101 on the air back in 1990, serving as the original GM for that station. Before that, he brought Alt Rock to Columbus with his show “Radical Romper Room” on 107.1. Since leaving one CBus staple, he’s worked on several others, including six seasons of sportscasting for the Clippers. The rest of his team are no rookies either, having all worked with WVKO in some capacity in 2008. Alwood is, of course, Station Manager. Kris Rojas is an account executive, Sean Gilbow handles the news, and Tim Morris is the Business/Traffic Manager.

At the end of progressive talk’s second year on the air, 1580’s holding company pulled the rug out from under Richards and leased to station to St. Gabriel Radio out of Marysville who was looking to expand their programming to Columbus and offered a lease-to-own deal. On Christmas Eve that year, Columbus lost progressive talk radio.

Jump forward three years: The Catholics didn’t buy, and Richards got the gang back together.

I suspect that the listeners of what was Catholic Radio 1580 AM are in for a surprise, especially the most conservative ones who turn into Radio Outlook Saturday mornings from 9a to 11a. There, Alwood desperately tries to keep Michael Daniels and Chris Hayes on track. In two shows, I’ve heard them set sodomy to music, stick it to our Aunt Tom politicians (who support gay rights except in election years), play YouTube videos over the air and have a discussion about gays in the church that didn’t demonize organized religion. No radio show has been this much of an emotional roller coaster since Rush Limbaugh (although his is mostly tears).

“I am always proud of producing Radio Outlook, I’ll tell you that,” Alwood says. After all, it is the only LGBT-centric radio show in Ohio. WABQ in Cleveland is the only other progressive talk radio station in the state, and they don’t even have one.

“When I found out we were going back on the air, the first call I made was to Michael Daniels.”

On top of touting one of our own media productions, Alwood does seriously believe that gay rights are everyone’s rights. Infringing on one group’s human rights is the gentle sloping path to taking away all civil liberties. He may not be gay, but Michael Alwood is one of our most powerful allies (and former gay-bar bartender, woof).

“What I’m most proud of,” Richards weighs in, “was getting the format to work in 2007-08. People said it wouldn’t work (the same thing they told me about doing an all Alternative Rock station in 1989), that it failed before, etc.” With the way things are coming together, he can be proud this year, too.

WVKO has an amazing impact on the gay community and this year’s election. Having an articulate, well-run, passionate progressive talk radio will tip the scales in our favor during this close election in a swing city in a swing state. Because, see, the genius thing about radio is that it exposes people to something they’re not normally open to. Who doesn’t just hit the “up” arrow on the car radio until they hear something interesting? Of course WVKO has its loyal listeners, but there are also the swing voters who will happen upon it. If we keep up the conversation, we can win this.

Print, Radio, Blog, TV… Mackenzie Worrall is taking over your media feeds. Just call him “Big Brother.”

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