What’s my carbon footprint?

By Alison Baenen
Greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide emissions, fossil fuels . . . unless you're an environmental policy wonk, an earth activist or an ecosexual (a new breed of online singles looking for sustainably committed partners -- seriously!), it's hard to keep all of today's green-minded jargon straight.

Carbon footprint -- a phrase that has become as ubiquitous in pop culture as "LOL" -- has a simple definition, but for the everyday person, understanding its parts takes some digging.

In short, our individual carbon footprint equals the amount of carbon dioxide we give off. You're giving some off right now just by exhaling, but what concerns environmentalists are the emissions we release indirectly.

Heating your home, driving a car and even buying a carpet (more on that later) all contribute to the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Of course, some carbon dioxide in the air is natural -- and necessary, since trees and plants absorb it and use it for photosynthesis.

But climatologists are concerned that we're producing too much of it. The result is that carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, is trapping heat from the sun and sending it back to Earth, resulting in global warming.

It's a big problem, but there are ways to reduce your own carbon emissions (carbon footprint sounds much cooler, right?), thus helping decrease global warming. Here are five easy ways to step lightly:

1. Change your bulbs.

Switch to compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs). They last longer, use less energy and will save you money.

2. Take a walk.

Drive less, bike more. Your bod -- and the globe -- will thank you.

3. Warm up your windows.
Adding a layer of insulation to your windows will keep warmth in and heating costs down.

4. Reduce waste.
Cut down on what you throw away, and use reusable goods whenever possible. If you can, compost your food. Reducing household waste and putting energy back into the earth means less trash in landfills and more land to plant carbon dioxide-absorbing trees.

5. Go for small.

When it comes to rugs in your home, smaller ones require less energy to make. Perfect for your smaller footprint!

North Central Michigan College to offer workshops for farmers, gardeners

By Petoskey News

PETOSKEY — North Central Michigan College will offer workshops for farmers and gardeners on Wednesdays in June, July and August. The workshops are part of the college's Growing Our Future Farm and Garden Series and are presented by Corporate and Community Education at North Central.

Farmers, gardeners, food producers, sellers and people interested in healthy local food production are invited to the workshops to learn and share ideas.
The summer series includes workshops on garden planning and planting for the long-term from 6-8:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 13. Weed identification and management will take place from 6-8 p.m., Wednesday, July 18, and using cover crops in the garden will take place from 6-8 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 22. All workshops will be held at the Petoskey Community Victory Garden on Sheridan Street.

In addition, Michigan's cottage foods law will be the topic of discussion from 6-9 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 1, in room 143 of North Central's main administration and classroom building.

For more information or to register for these workshops, call (231) 348-6705

BBQ & Brew Fest returns to Glen Arbor

by Glen Arbor Sun

Kick off summer in the Most Beautiful Place in America. After a one-year hiatus, the fourth annual Glen Arbor BBQ and Brew Festival will be held on June 16 from noon – 6 p.m. in Glen Arbor, in the heart of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. This year the event will be in the center of town, on the corner of Lake Street and M‐22, just a block away from beautiful Lake Michigan.
Admission for the event is $15, which includes two drink tickets that may be redeemed for samples of local and regional microbrews. This year the event will have more breweries than ever: Bell’s Brewery, Founders Brewing Co., Arcadia Ales, Jolly Pumpkin, Right Brain Brewery, Schmohz Brewery, Mount Pleasant Brewing Co., Cheboygan Brewing Co. and Dark Horse Brewing Co. Each will be on hand with brewery representatives to tell you all about their ice cold craft beers.
To balance out your brew, the event will also feature six restaurants, each providing traditional or unique BBQ fare. Serving up BBQ will be these local favorites: Cherry Republic, Art’s Tavern, Western Ave. Grill, Bear Paw Pizza & Market, McCahill’s Crossing and Foothills Café. Traditional and unique BBQ samples will be served, and range in price from $1 to $5 each (cash only).
For those who prefer the BBQ without the brew, there will also be local, alcohol‐free beverages on hand from Great Lakes Tea and Spice, Northwoods Soda, Cherry Republic and Bay Lavender. This is a family‐ friendly event, and admission is free for kids 12 and under.
Live music will be provided throughout the entire event by the Traverse City based band, Erratixz. They’ll be rocking M‐22 with 80s and rock classics.
The event will follow on the heels of the Glen Arbor Solstice 5K and Half Marathon, taking place on the morning of the 16th. The half marathon will take runners around picturesque Big Glen Lake, and back into downtown Glen Arbor. Come watch racers cross the finish line, then head over to the fest for the post‐race party! More information about the race can be found at enduranceevolution.com.
The Gold sponsors for this year’s event are Leelanau Vacation Rentals, Art’s Tavern, Northwoods Hardware, Gordon Food Service, G.J.’s Rentals, Boonedocks and North Coast Design. For a complete list of the 27 event sponsors and more information, please visit bbqandbrewfest.com.
To purchase tickets to the BBQ and Brew Festival in advance, please visit bit.ly/bbqtickets.

By Howard Lovy

The fall colors are past their peak, the sounds of summer festivals a distant echo, the taillights of the last tourist's car only a faint red as it travels south of M-22. Once again, Leelanau County is left to those who live here year round.
For some businesses in Michigan's peninsula-within-a-peninsula, now is a time for hibernation, to live off summer's earnings through the winter ahead.
J.T. "Chip" Hoagland, chairman of the Leelanau County Economic Development Corp., is having none of that.
There is work to be done to create an economy that keeps people working long after the snowbirds have flown south. And he has one word of advice: "charcuterie."
The word refers to a method of preserving and presenting pork — or, as Hoagland likes to call pigs, "local proteins," since he hopes to build on Leelanau County's growing reputation as a foodie's heaven. He just wrapped up a celebration of local proteins he called "Pigstock," where local chefs were introduced to local pork.
So what does this have to do with creating jobs in Leelanau County? It's about extracting more business and employment out of existing strengths and local conditions, as opposed to attracting entirely new industries.
Another of those strengths, simply put, is people — more of them. In the last census period, two parts of the state saw growth: West Michigan and northwest lower Michigan. It's also a population whose level of education rivals that of Washtenaw and Oakland counties.
Aside from tourism, Leelanau County's economy is built upon farming. While northern Michigan cherries are widely known, their season has come and gone. Pigs keep giving year round.
Hoagland pictures a test kitchen and restaurant incubator — much like the high-tech business incubators in Oakland and Washtenaw counties — where startup restaurants can work with local farmers to get their businesses off the ground.
The numbers seem to back up Hoagland's pigs-for-jobs strategy. According to a report produced by the Northwest Michigan Council of Governments "accommodation and food services" represented about one in six total jobs available in Leelanau County as of 2009. And, increasingly, these jobs are no longer seasonal only.
"It's really interesting how many restaurants are in the county and the fact that most of those stay open year round," said Matt McCauley, director of regional planning for the council of governments.
Like Hoagland, McCauley credits the local-food movement for a restaurant boom that is not so dependent on tourist season.
"Leelanau County is truly a leader in a resurgence around agriculture," McCauley said. "Because of the wineries, hops farms, all sorts of burgeoning agriculture and value-added activity, all sorts of people are choosing to locate here to be part of that."
By "value-added," he means businesses such as Cherry Republic in Glen Arbor, which not only uses local cherries but also turns them into chocolates, jam and other products that then are shipped around the world.
In addition, McCauley said, "The restaurants in the region — and we're getting more and more notoriety as a foodie destination — are choosing and actually seeking out local products for their menu items."
Hoagland uses the example of Bare Knuckle Farms, near Northport at the tip of Michigan's pinkie. The farm is run by two young business partners who met while attending the University of Michigan and wanted to test what they learned about linking a restaurant to a specific piece of land.
Bare Knuckle is small, as are other farms run by transplanted farmers in the local food movement. But McCauley and Hoagland both see the county's future in them.
Indeed, according to a recent Michigan Agri-Business Association report, agriculture represents a $70 billion piece of the state's economy and has been the most significant contributor to economic growth in Michigan in the past decade. It's also an industry, the association said, that's struggling to find enough people to fill jobs, "From high-level, technologically advanced professional jobs to managers to field workers who can help with harvest and milk cows."
Businesspeople such as the ones behind Bare Knuckle Farms embody what McCauley calls Leelanau County's increasingly educated "human capital." The county ranks third in the state in the percentage of the population with bachelor's degrees or higher — behind Oakland and Washtenaw. Those two counties have knowledge-based economies, for the most part.
"That same thing is happening in Leelanau County, but just at a smaller scale," McCauley said. With more workers choosing, out of necessity, to be self-employed, it is easy to live in Leelanau while telecommuting for a company in Chicago or New York, he said.
Still, what is happening now with local food is building for the future. The present still looks like a recession. The unemployment rate might be down to 7.7 percent, the lowest since 2008. But as the Leelanau Enterprise newspaper points out in an editorial, the local economy "is feeding off a solitary diet of tourism — and is now suffering from a lack of diversity."
Which brings up baabaazuzu, the next stop on any tour of Leelanau County's possible future — one that looks beyond the county's borders. The Lake Leelanau-based clothing company received the first-ever loan given out by the Leelanau County Economic Development Corp. — $25,000 in 2008 and 2009. That helped push baabaazuzu from a small operation in which clothing was cut by hand to a more automated manufacturing site whose products are sold at more than 900 retailers worldwide.
Baabaazuzu co-owner Kevin Burns said the county previously never pursued manufacturing, choosing purely agriculture. Baabaazuzu rests on the only plot of land in the county designated for industrial use. Burns credits the loan — which baabaazuzu since has paid back — for funding the equipment the company needed to grow.
Baabaazuzu has no intention of moving out of the county as it grows. As Burns says, you can't beat a commute that involves only one stop sign.
"We like the idea that we can produce in Leelanau County," he said. "We like the idea that we're from Michigan. People are cheering for us."
And, said co-owner Sue Burns, baabaazuzu has no need to move because Leelanau County has a pool of talented workers — especially off-season.
Baabaazuzu consistently has grown 30 percent to 40 percent every year, the owners said, except for last year — growth was 10 percent.
So, how can Leelanau County produce baabaazuzus?
"We're fortunate in that we produce a unique product that is not dependent on summer trade," Sue Burns said. "We don't get a lot of foot traffic; we sell our products out of Leelanau County. We're not dependent on this one little nucleus. I would encourage that.
"Whatever you're going to produce, how can you make it sell outside of this region?"
Just as baabaazuzu and Cherry Republic are successful because their products are in niche markets and can be sold around the world, local small farmers and restaurants have found success because they can sell locally.
Although Leelanau County is beginning to feel its way toward an economy not based on tourism only, these disparate attempts at adaptation are only in the beginning stages.
McCauley, who is also involved in a 10-county regional partnership known as the Grand Vision, sees hope because there is strength in numbers. An educated workforce with ambitious, innovative ideas is seeding the entire region.
"We remain a growing part of this state, and, as a result, a lot of economic opportunity is going on," McCauley said. "And population growth remains a true force behind all economic growth in this region."

Eight Reasons to Eat Local Foods

by Molly Watson

 

Eating local foods is better for you, for the environment, and (most importantly) for your taste buds. Here are the top eight big, umbrella-style reasons you might want to consider eating more local foods.

1. Local Foods Are Fresher (and Taste Better)

Local food is fresher and tastes better than food that been trucked or flown in from thousands of miles away. Think you can't taste the difference between lettuce picked yesterday and lettuce picked last week, factory-washed, and sealed in plastic? You can.
And fresh food? It lasts longer too.

2. Local Foods Are Seasonal (and Taste Better)

It must be said: Deprivation leads to greater appreciation. When does a cozy room feel best? When you've come in from out of the freezing cold. Fresh corn in season tastes best when you haven't eaten any in 9 or 10 months--long enough for its taste to be a slightly blurred memory that is suddenly awakened with that first bite of the season. Eating locally means eating seasonally, with all the deprivation and resulting pleasure that accompanies it.

3. Local Foods Usually Have Less Environmental Impact

Those thousands of miles some food is shipped? That leads to a big carbon footprint for a little bunch of herbs. Look for farmers who follow organic and sustainable growing practices and energy use to minimize your food's environmental impact.

4. Local Foods Preserve Green Space & Farmland

The environmental question of where you food comes from is bigger than its "carbon footprint." By buying foods grown and raised closer to where you live, you help maintain farmland and green space in your area.

5. Local Foods Promote Food Safety

The fewer steps there are between your food's source and your table the less chance there is of contamination. Also, when you know where your food comes from and who grows it, you know a lot more about that food. During the e. coli outbreak in spinach in 2006 I knew the spinach in my refrigerator was safe because I knew it was grown in Yolo County by a farmer I knew, and, as importantly, that it didn't come from Salinas County where the outbreak was. (The knowledge would have worked in reverse too: if the outbreak had been in Yolo County instead, I would have known to throw that bunch of greens and scrub down the fridge!)

6. Local Foods Support Your Local Economy

Money spent with local farmers, growers, and artisans and locally-owned purveyors and restaurants all stays close to home, working to build your local economy instead of being handed over to a corporation in another city, state, or country. Since the food moves through fewer hands, more of the money you spend tends to get to the people growing it.
To make the biggest local economic impact with your food budget, seek out producers who pay their workers a fair wage and practice social justice in their business.

7. Local Foods Promote Variety

Local foods create greater variety of foods available. Farmers who run community-supported agriculture programs (CSAs), sell at farmers' markets, and provide local restaurants have the demand and the support for raising more types of produce and livestock. Think Brandywines, Early Girls, and Lemon Boys instead of "tomatoes."

8. Local Foods Create Community

Knowing where your food is from connects you to the people who raise and grow it. Instead of having a single relationship--to a big supermarket--you develop smaller connections to more food sources: vendors at the farmers' market, the local cheese shop, your favorite butcher, the co-op that sells local eggs, a local café that roasts coffee.
Eating locally? It connects you to a larger world.