How to make ‘going green’ more than words

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:19:00 GMT

BY TOBY HENRY

The Massabesic Audubon Center is turning its attention toward pursuing an “eco-friendly” lifestyle with upcoming presentations on the benefits of eating local food and reducing energy usage.

Center naturalist Alison Dixon said the events, dubbed the Green Living Lecture Series, came about after center volunteers and officials tried to identify workable ways to help reduce the human impact on the environment. Dixon said that for many people, there is a growing urgency to “walk the walk” with regard to putting environmental ideas into action.

First keynote speaker David Carroll, the author on two books on the benefits of small-scale farming, said the first and most crucial step that many can make is to start their own community or family gardens. Carroll said the food currently on supermarket shelves may be more costly than just a little while ago, and wrapped up in that cost are expenses from fossil fuels used during transportation, non-natural fertilizers and other practices that do nothing to improve the environment.

“Shipping in apples from China is industrial agriculture at its worst,” he said.

And while there may be plenty of food on the shelves today, Carroll noted that there’s no guarantee it will be available in the future. The reason, he said, is due to volatility in price and ongoing supply problems that will only get worse in the future.

But Carroll said New England residents can easily reap the benefits of local food, an option that can reduce price, help the environment and boost hometown economies. While a local-food-only grocery store probably wouldn’t have the exotic offerings that many commercial supermarkets do, he said that the region can still produce specialties that include a wide variety of dairy products, meat and seasonal fruits and vegetables.

The state’s best organic food asset is the “pastures of plenty” that are currently woodland areas, he said, and the high soil quality and ready water supply also play to New Hampshire’s advantage. While some foods are only available seasonally, he said technology makes it possible to produce many kinds of food year-round.

Carroll used Vermont and Maine, where as much as onefifth of the food on dinner plates is local, as a collective barometer for what New Hampshire’s “food self-sufficiency” could look like.

Currently, however, only 4 to 5 percent of what is served at home is locally grown, he said.

Kelly Dwyer, a MAC volunteer and trustee, said the lectures are intended as a way to demonstrate how someone can put the concept of “being green” into action. She said that although the phrases “eco-friendly” and “go green” are often used, many people don’t realize the simple steps they can take to make these concepts a reality.

“It seems like at this point in time, people aren’t just saying it, they’re really interested in finding out how to do it,” she said.

Carroll’s lecture is scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 18, at 1:30 p.m. It will be followed in February by a presentation from Denise Blaha of the New Hampshire Carbon Challenge on ways to reduce energy usage, and presentations later on in the year will focus on solar energy and water conservation.

Admission is free for Audubon members and $5 for nonmembers.

For more information, contact the center at 668-2045.

Auburn News : going green

How to make ‘going green’ more than words