8A NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2008
》 ENVIRONMENT
Local groups, stores focus on 'green' living, eating
BY MARY SORRICK msorrick@kansan.com
Bright red reusable bags may become the latest fashion accessory on campus this week.
Members of the KU Alternative Energy Society will distribute 755 bags for free Thursday and Friday on Wesco Beach as part of their celebration of Earth Week.
The bags for the Reusable Bag Program were produced by the California-based company 1 Bag At A Time. They will be equipped with the logos of four local businesses that helped finance the project.
James Roberts, Overland Park senior and co-chairman of AES, said the bags would act as a coupon at each of the stores that advertised on them.
That way, Roberts said, the bags helped support local businesses while also reducing the negative environmental impact of traditional plastic bags.
"Instead of wasting plastic bags, you remember this bag because you have a reason to take it," he said. "It inspires people to think about where they're shopping and what they're shopping with."
Local businesses advertising on the bags are the Arizona Trade Company, 736 Massachusetts St., Liberty Hall, 642
Source:1 Bag At ATime
bag stats
Mindy Ricketts/KANSAN
Contributed photo
—The petroleum used in 14 plastic bags could drive a car one mile
—Americans use more than 380 billion plastic bags each year
—Seventy percent more greenhouse gases are emitted making a paper bag than a plastic bag
—Disposable bags cost cities up to 17 cents for disposal per bag
—In 1999, Americans used 10 billion paper bags, consuming 14 million trees
The KU Alternative Energy Society will be handling out 755 free bags Thursday and Friday on Wesco Beach in celebration of Earth Week.
Massachusetts St., Local Burger, 714 Vermont St., and White Chocolate, 1005 Massachusetts St.
Any Harris, Overland Park senior and co-chairwoman of AES, said though the specifics were not official, each business would offer a different incentive to shop with the reusable bags.
"It's cool to get a discount at places you usually go to anyway," Harris said. "We want to make this a tradition - something you can see on campus as well as in the community."
Roberts said the aspect of the program that supported local businesses was a unique twist on the movement for reusable bags.
The bags used for the Reusable Bag Program also required less petroleum to produce and lasted longer than plastic, paper or canvas grocery bags.
"I did a lot of asking around, and nobody else is doing it, really," he said. "Everybody's really excited about it. They say it's a totally new angle."
According to 1 Bag At A Time, the reusable polypropylene bags contain less than one-tenth the plastic of traditional plastic bags and last for more than 100 trips to the grocery store.
Though the Reusable Bag Program was in its early stages and was somewhat limited in scope, Roberts said he planned to propose the project to campus dining halls, bookstores and departments to help make it a fixture on campus.
Edited by Jessica Sain-Baird
Local food becomes popular choice; discussion and lecture to address benefits
BY MARY SORRICK msorrick@kansan.com
Megan Paisley spreads fresh bread, cinnamon rolls, scones, cookies and homemade soaps across three tables at the Lawrence Farmers' Market.
Paisley, Stilwell, resident, woke up at 3:30 a.m. to prepare her homemade Crane River Farm products. She is one of dozens of local food producers whose goods are available for Lawrence residents on Saturday mornings at the Farmers' Market.
The market is one place Lawrence residents can go to support local farmers and help create a more environmentally sustainable community. And in honor of Earth Week, the benefits of buying food grown locally will be the focus of a panel discussion and lecture taking place tonight and Tuesday.
Gary Nabhan, author and ethnobotanist, and Rohnda Janke, associate professor of horticulture at Kansas State University, will conduct tonight's panel discussion. Tuesday,
Nabhan will speak about endangered foods and cultural importance of local food and diets.
Megan Paisley, from Crane River Farm in Stilwell, packages up some pastries for Sarah Crawford-Parker, associate director of the honors program, and her husband, Doug, and daughter, Isabella, 5, Saturday morning at the Farmers' Market on New Hampshire Street between Eighth and Ninth Streets.
Brian Sifton, Kansas City, Mo., senior and president of KU Environs, said the events would draw attention to people's growing separation from their food.
"As we have industrialized more and more, people are more disconnected from how they get their food," Sifton said. "They don't think about how it's grown, transported and how much energy that actually takes."
Jeff Severin, director of the Center for Sustainability, said one benefit of buying local foods was avoiding the carbon footprint attached to shipping food across the country.
According to a study from Iowa State University, produce travels an average of 1,500 miles from where it was grown before reaching grocery store shelves.
Other benefits of buying local food include supporting the local economy and developing a sense of community that comes from knowing the source of the food on
the dinner table.
"If you just get food from a package at a store, you don't know what's been put on the food or how it's
food events
Local foods dinner and panel discussion Today at 6 p.m. Ecumenical Christian Ministries, 12th and Oread Streets Local organic greens will accompany a panel discussion moderated by Kelly Kindscher Gary Nabhan and Rhonda Janke will speak.
been processed," Sifton said. "There's food security in knowing the seller's name."
Kongs said local milk, meat, and produce were all available at places such as Local Burger, 714 Vermont St., The Community Mercantile.
Geography of Food Endangerment: Strategies for Renewing America's Food Traditions Tuesday, at 7 p.m., "The Commons" at Spooner Hall
Gary Nabhan, an ethnobotanist naturalist, MacArthur Fellow and Director of the Center for Sustainable Environments will speak about endangered foods.
Jennifer Kongs, Topeka junior, said she tried to eat local food as much as possible.
food stats
"If you just get food from a package at a store,you don't know what's been put on the food or how it's been processed."
—Food from grocery stores travels an average distance 27 times longer than food from local sources
—Forty percent of our fruit is
Forty percent of our fruit is grown overseas
Kongs spent
—Nine percent of our red meat is shipped from overseas sources, including countries as far away as Australia and New Zealand
-Eighty to 90 percent of the revenue from farmers' markets goes to the farmer
—Three and a half percent of the revenue from food sold at the grocery store goes to the farmers; the rest goes to suppliers, processors and marketers
Rongs spent the month of September eating only foods from within a 100-mile radius of Lawrence.
BRIAN SIFTON KU Environs president
Though buying local food can be more expensive, Kongs said the taste of fresh vegetables and meat made it worth the price.
"As someone who loves to cook, the freshness of the food is really important to me," she said. "It just tastes better."
901 Iowa St.,
The Casbah
Market, 803
Massachusetts
St., and the
Lawrence
Farmers'
Market.
Paisley, while manning her table at the market, said she also tried to buy locally produced foods when possible.
"It's more of a human thing for me," she said. "It builds friendships and relationships. Even though you live miles apart, you can still feel like neighbors."
Edited by Jessica Sain-Baird
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The KU Alumni Association presents
TRADITION KEEPER Appreciation Week
Rock Chalk!
We'd like to thank our current Tradition Keeper members and encourage them to renew for 2008-09 on Optional Campus Fees! Also, it's not too late to join for this year if you'd like to be a member just stop by our events this week and find out how to be a proud member of this Jayhawk flock!
Monday
8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Hospitality
Room in Adams
Alumni Center
We'll have an
extra special
spread for our
TK study hours
in the Paul
Adam Lounge.
Stop by and
check it out!
Tuesday
8 a.m.-5 p.m.
T-shirt Day
Get spotted in your current
TK Shirt on campus today
and the prize posse may reward you!
Wednesday
11:30 a.m.-
1:30 p.m.
Lunch and Learn
Stop by our
table on
Wescoe for a
free slice of
pizza and learn
about the
Alumni Association.
Wednesday
25
Thursday
10 a.m.-2 p.m.,
Thirsty
Thursday
Enjoy a free
drink on
Wescoe.
Friday
8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Friday Freebies
Stop by the
Adams Alumni
Center and
grab some
great freebies!
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION The University of Kansas
www.kualumni.org