It’s late August in Western North Carolina, and the trees are drooping due to lack of rain. The French Broad River is at a record low level, gas prices are higher than ever and the skies are stained with smog.
Yet the message at the kickoff of the Southern Energy & Environment Expo in Fletcher on Aug. 21 was distinctly optimistic. Some prominent figures in the region’s environmental community assembled at the start of the three-day event to sound off about solutions to widespread energy issues that they say can be embraced immediately.
“We have all the technology we need—right now, off the shelves—to do the right thing,” declared Richard Fireman, western regional coordinator for the N.C. Council of Churches’ Interfaith Power & Light initiative. “And we’re going to do this here in Asheville and Western North Carolina, because there’s great public understanding and support for energy efficiency, renewables and a sustainable ... energy economy.”
Standing alongside Fireman were representatives of local nonprofits, a solar-energy company, a small-scale biofuels producer, a green plumbing business and others.
“We are in a climate crisis,” proclaimed Mary Olson of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service. “However, I see it as the bigger hammer that is going to bring us all to make the effort that we’ve known for years we’ve needed to make. I actually think it’s good news that nuclear power is on the table again. Nuclear is not the answer. But it is so damned expensive that we can now credibly say that solar and wind and energy efficiency are a much cheaper alternative to the mainstream-promoted answer of nuclear. We can show ... how much cheaper solar is, how much cheaper wind is and how fabulously profitable energy efficiency is compared to nuclear.”
For the past eight years, the Southern Energy & Environment Expo has drawn thousands from throughout the region to learn about renewable energy, green building, energy efficiency and other tools for sustainable living.
Nice save
The North Carolina Utilities Commission is considering a proposed statewide energy-efficiency program that would operate independently from those offered by utility companies. Opponents of Duke Energy’s Save-a-Watt program, which is also under consideration by the Utilities Commission, say an independent push for energy conservation would be more effective than a program led by a utility that has a financial incentive to sell more power.
Dubbed NC SAVE$, the alternative energy-efficiency course was charted by a statewide coalition of environmental and social-justice organizations. Clean Water for North Carolina, a statewide nonprofit, helmed the project.
“There’s no excuse for putting up with the inherent conflicts of interest in utility administration of energy-efficiency programs, the lack of transparency or cost-effectiveness for ratepayers,” says Executive Director Hope Taylor. “If we have to pay the kind of profits to investors that Save-a-Watt was asking for, we’ll never achieve the energy and greenhouse-gas reductions we need so urgently.” Duke Power, meanwhile, has publicly defended its program, which company CEO Jim Rogers has characterized as “the most ambitious energy-efficiency program in the world,” according to a recent article in Raleigh’s News & Observer.
The commission will be accepting public comment on the NC SAVE$ proposal through Friday, Sept. 5. To view the proposal, go to http://www.ncuc.commerce.state.nc.us and search for Docket E-100 Sub 120.
Paving Nantahala?
A coalition of environmental groups has blasted a draft environmental-impact assessment completed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. The 561-page study determined that a 10-mile segment of the proposed Corridor K highway would inflict little environmental damage. The four-lane highway would stretch from Stecoah to Robbinsville in Graham County, cutting through a portion of the Nantahala National Forest.
The draft assessment predicts that the highway construction would result in the relocation of 38 residences, impacting 86 acres of farmland, 65 acres of National Forest lands and 5,400 feet of mountain streams. The total cost estimate averages out to about $38 million per mile, with roughly half going toward construction of a tunnel through Stecoah Gap, underneath the Appalachian Trail.
The plan is part of a road network planned by the Appalachian Regional Commission in the 1960s to bolster impoverished communities. “Part of this is addressing the economic woes of 40 years ago,” says Senior Attorney D.J. Gerken of the Southern Environmental Law Center in Asheville.
“The Stecoah and Cheoah Bald areas are environmental treasures, and we are deeply concerned about the impact road construction will have on the exceptional mountain streams, wildlife and pristine forest habitat here,” says Hugh Irwin, programs director for the Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition. Comments on the study will be accepted until Oct. 10. To view an excerpt of the document, visit http://www.mountainx.com/xpressfiles.
Sunrise in these parts means it’s time for plant grabbing—and I don’t mean sitting in the garden picking tomatoes. Au contraire: The woodsy maverick travels into unknown thickets of thorny menace to hunt up his pot of grub. Without so much as an ounce of peanut-butter sandwich to stave off the hunger, these tough pickers tumbleweed through the woods, eating what they need along the way.
Don’t call ‘em primitive-living folks or survivalists, either; many are self-described (and at times self-taught) ethnobotanists who study the lore and use of plants to keep in step with Mamma Earth’s beat. Luckily for Asheville, there are a legion of these plant fiends milling around somewhere in the woods nearby. Every once in a while, they stop at the watering hole for a piece to impart their hard-earned wisdom to those who’ll listen. But they don’t stop often, so listen up.
Take Frank Cook, an ethnobotanist who’s traveled in more than 50 countries pondering the ways of the wild. He believes the forest provides what most of us take for granted. “We live in an economy that is based on scarcity, yet nature is about abundance,” notes Cook. “We don’t value it; we have apples rotting on trees. You have to ask, how do we shift our mindset to understand wild edibles as a gift, not a nuisance?”
Cook recommends going on plant walks with experts and reading books to learn basic skills. Make it part of your daily life, he suggests, and after three to five years, you’ll be able to recognize between 50 and 100 edible plants.
Local herbalist Sandi Ford recommends picking up A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants by Lee Allen Peterson and Roger Tory Peterson, and complementing it with Newcomb’s Wild Flower Guide by Lawrence Newcomb, which has good technical keys that the Peterson guide lacks, she notes.
Ready to get your legs moving and your palate ready for a feast without the fancy table settings? Mosey out into your own back yard. Head for the fringes where even the mower is afraid to go and take a look around. It’s not just tall grass. Consider that dandelion over there—the kind everybody blew on as kids to watch the feathery seeds waft in the breeze while they wished for diamonds, toys and superpowers. The deeply lobed leaves grow from the base of the plant; a hollow, almost translucent stalk is topped with a composite flower layered with tiny yellow petals. The whole plant is edible, but the leaves are best when they’re young and tender.
Take a closer look at lamb’s quarters, a perennial that starts from a tender green stalk. It grows up to about 4 feet high with an almost 3-foot spread. The diamond-shaped leaves are plentiful and have a waxy, mealy white underside. One telltale sign is a white dust layer at the top of the plant. Due to its high oxalic-acid content, cook this one: It will taste like Popeye’s favorite friend, spinach (rightfully so, since it’s in the same family).
Wood sorrel is another common backyard green. Don’t confuse it with clover: Although it does have the familiar three leaves, they’re heart-shaped rather than oval like clover’s. In addition, sorrel is a lighter, brighter green.
Two wild plantain species also pop up in the backyard edible jungle: the greater plantain (Plantago major) and narrowleaf plaintain (Plantago lanceolata). Greater plantain has broad, oval, hairless or slightly hairy leaves coming from a ground root with a very seedy stalk from top to bottom. In P. lanceolata, look for longer and slimmer leaves with a wiry stalk topped by a seedy flower head resembling a small, white, fuzzy halo. Both have edible leaves.
Marshall resident Kelly Wilkinson attests to the wealth of green edibles hiding out there. Since her property covers more than 200 acres, she can stay home and harvest everything she needs: Stinging nettles, dandelions, violets, day lilies, rose petals and rose hips, milkweed, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, wineberries, sorrel, lamb’s quarters, burdock, wild grape, sumac shoots and flowers, branch lettuce, ramps, ferns, wild plums, cherries and wild apples.
Once the veggies are plucked, Wilkinson says she steams or stir-fries many of them with a light seasoning. Often, however, she doesn’t cook them at all: They’re delicious and nutritious enough in their raw state.
Keep in mind, though, that “green” doesn’t always mean “safe”: Poisonous plants don’t always taste bad. Or, as plant expert Corey Pine Shane puts it, people wouldn’t have died eating poisonous plants if they were all repulsive. Nonetheless, Shane still experiments with tasting different plants. One to scratch off your list is Virginia creeper, which he said made his mouth feel terrible for about 20 minutes after he spit it out. Stay away from the notorious berries of the poke plant, too: They’re poisonous (though Shane says he’s cultivated a taste for one or two at a time, grinning a scarlet smile after chomping on the juicy orbs). To further complicate matters, the young poke plant is edible when properly prepared.
Keep in mind, too, that while plants do contain such essential nutrients as proteins, carbohydrates, fiber, fats and the like, a few crucial things are missing. To live completely off a wild diet, says Cook, you’d have to make regular journeys to the sea for salt or trade for the mineral, the way folks traditionally did. Or maybe you can find a salt lick.
Lastly, do yourself a favor and keep your wits about you when sampling wild plants. Natives learned this stuff over centuries, not after a couple of plant walks and skimming a field guide.
[Jonathan Poston forages in Asheville when he can.]
Climbing Montford: Put your tight little climbing shoes on (tennis shoes will do, in a pinch). The Montford Recreation Center has an indoor climbing wall, complete with new holds and routes. It’s sponsored by Asheville’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts department, and it’s open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 6 to 9 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Cost is $5 per climbing session, with additional fees for renting gear. Belay-certification classes, yearly passes, 10-climb passes, climbing-wall rentals and birthday parties are also available. For more information, contact Adam Kirk at 253-3714 or .
More running girls: Participation will likely double this year for local nonprofit Girls on the Run of Western North Carolina. The organization offers elementary- and middle-school programs dedicated to preparing girls for a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living. Last year, Girls on the Run served almost 500 local girls; this year, they’re expecting more than 1,000.
Starting the first week in September, the 14-week curriculum addresses self-esteem, healthy lifestyle habits, goal setting, teamwork, keeping promises and communication skills. By the end of the program, the girls are prepared to participate in a 5K community run.
For more information, call Molly Peeples at 713-4290 or visit http://www.gotrwnc.org.
