Clay Pope The program works on a simple premise to reduce ecological damage: Those who can, do. Those who can’t, buy passes. Each $5 pass sponsors one acre of agricultural land for a year, giving the farmers funding to switch to conservation practices such as no-till farming, tree planting, and riparian restoration. When implemented, these […]
sustainability
Posted inArts & Culture
Getting scrappy
Best of all, the dirty work is done for free by bazillions of invisible, bacterial workers that never take breaks, vacations or even ask for raises. The result is compost. “The value is black gold,” said Zitterkob, co-founder of Fertile Ground Compost Services with Craghead. At any given time, the duo has piles of what […]
Posted inNews
Pedal power
Downtown Oklahoma City Inc. and the city’s Office of Sustainability are officially launching a new bikeshare program on that date, which happens to coincide with national Bike to Work Day. Called Spokies, the program allows participants to rent a bicycle from one of six solar-powered kiosks located in several locations throughout downtown. The kiosks are […]
Posted inNews
On rotation
Piece by piece, 18 helices are being installed on the roof of OMRF’s new research tower to turn Oklahoma wind into energy. The project makes OMRF one of the first entities in the U.S. to receive the helix turbines, and they will stand alone among medical research facilities that receive on-site wind-generated power. All together, […]
Posted inNews
You call that green?
I’ve never seen such a conflicted publication. First, according to core samples at landfills, it’s not disposable diapers, but newspapers (including Oklahoma Gazette) and Yellow Pages taking up all that space. Next Greg Horton sings the praises of a so-called man of God who denigrates the Bible, the basis for the Christian faith. Then we […]
Posted inNews
City life on the farm
Elia Woods Mark Hancock At the forefront of this realm of agriculture is Elia Woods, who enlisted the help of neighbors to form CommonWealth Urban Farms. After years of teaching weaving at City Arts Center, Woods was ready to change gears. She took a market gardening course at Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City and the idea […]
Posted inNews
Green on red
Hunter Magness Mark Hancock Higher learning has picked up the lessons of sustainability. At the University of Central Oklahoma, for example, a commonsense idea to make university leaders better stewards of tuition and tax dollars has become a campus-wide culture. “Somebody has to take a leadership role and see if these things work,” said Tim […]
Posted inNews
Off the grid
Scheduled to last an hour, the Dec. 1 event stretched close to double that, as dozens of audience members asked questions and shared ideas. “This is probably the biggest group we’ve ever talked to,” Johnson said. “I’m amazed. I’m overwhelmed.” Johnson and Hagen, married since 1987, reside on acreage northeast of Oklahoma City. They call […]
Posted inNews
Off the grid
Scheduled to last an hour, the Dec. 1 event stretched close to double that, as dozens of audience members asked questions and shared ideas. “This is probably the biggest group we’ve ever talked to,” Johnson said. “I’m amazed. I’m overwhelmed.” Johnson and Hagen, married since 1987, reside on acreage northeast of Oklahoma City. They call […]
Posted inNews
Taking the LEED
The event will introduce the idea of green building and the LEED certification standards for those looking to make their homes or the structures they are building more sustainable. “People are interested in living in more sustainable lifestyles now, and people are interested in saving money,” said Jennifer Gooden, sustainability director for Oklahoma City. “So […]