The Cliffs Cottage at Furman

Tightening Up

When I arose this morning and the indoor temp was a cool 58 degrees, I took pity on my huddling kitties and turned the switch igniting the gas burner for the first time since April. We have fended off the indoor chill for a month or more with sweaties, turtlenecks, polar fleece and quilts. Now comes the inevitable capitulation to creature comfort.

Having previously lived in a 110 year-old home in a much cooler clime, this time of year I often reflect on the sage advice of Tom Silva, of This Old House (PBS) renown. Some of Tom’s simplest, low-cost, cold-deflecting actions and weapons of choice include:

• Foam in a can to fill in air spaces around outdoor light fixtures, electrical outlets, windows, and foundations.
• Putty or aluminum tape to caulk leaky ductwork.
• Insulation for exposed water pipes in unheated spaces. Heat loss can be as great as 2-5 degrees every 10 feet.
• Changing furnace filters for more efficient heat flow.
• Repairing cracked panes and window glaze.
• Locking your windows to keep cold air at bay.
• Installing glass doors on the fireplace. This will retain radiant heat, drawing air from the chimney rather than from heated indoor areas.

When you’ve finished tightening up, grab a cup of hot chocolate, the afghan crocheted by your great aunt, and a good book. If you’ve done your job well, you’ll save money and energy resources, and best of all, it’ll never be more than a two dog night.

Becoming a Water Miser

This month's utility bill arrived with a plea for voluntary reduction of water use by 15%. The Upstate of South Carolina is in a rather severe drought. Long before this state of affairs became prevalent, we have been folks who thoughtfully limit our use of this precious resource. How on earth are we going to save an additional 15%?

Behaviors already generally in place:

• Use of the Quadruple P---"Powell Potty Poetry Principle" of flushing only when necessary. "If it's brown, flush it down. If it's yellow, let it mellow."
• Run dishwasher and washing machine only in full loads.
• No more baths or dawdling showers.
• Fixed leaky toilet tank.
• No car washing or outdoor watering of plants.
• Turn off tap when brushing teeth, shaving or soaping up.
• Handwash and rinse dishes in standing water rather than running water.
• Save vegetable cooking water, foot-soaking water and (even) dropped ice cubes for running the garbage disposal and watering indoor plants.

Hmm, okay. I can also:

• Put a couple of bricks or a gallon jug in each of the toilet tanks.
• Keep a big pitcher or bucket near the sink to catch water running to get hot or cold; or, use the microwave to heat water and, planning ahead, the refrigerator to cool water.
• Become more vigilant by examining my usage patterns, limiting quantities, looking at simple creative alternatives and solutions, and continuing to change behaviors.

Most importantly, if and when the drought lessens, I need to resist the temptation to resort to my old wasteful ways!

Five to fifteen gallons of pure fresh water flow out of a tap every minute. That is more than the average person in Kenya makes do with throughout an entire day.

A Walk in the Woods - Unplugged

Just out the back gate of the Cliffs Cottage, a paved path gracefully encircles Furman Lake. Even at 6 AM, the lake walk is dotted with joggers, dog-walkers, and purposeful, energetic striders. Many are plugged into their iPods, with cell phones at the ready. Minds and mouths are mimicking the frenetic pace of their exercise, already fully engaged with the minutiae of the the day ahead.

Although I too am enjoying a brisk jaunt, I detour onto one of the wooded trails and slow to a saunter through the cool, shady refuge of green sun-dappled trees. The music of birdsong, chattering squirrels, and leaves rustling in the early morning breeze signals my entry into a slower, gentler world.

Breathing deeply, I inhale the rich scent of moist warm humus. I begin to observe carefully the combinations and formations of plant life, and pausing, finger-trace the pattern of bark on a tree, and examine the fragile petals of a wildflower.

I tread more softly now, watching for signs of insect and animal activity: tracks, openings to secret dens, scat, owl pellets, webs or galls. Surely I spot one of the legendary swamp rabbits nibbling his breakfast at the grassy edge of the trail!

As I quicken my pace yet again, rejoining the stream of techno-connected lake circlers, I hold in my senses the quiet image of those few moments spent connected to life in the real world.

Solitude and silence in a natural setting will:

• enhance mental alertness
• decrease stress levels
• cause reconnection with surroundings
• remind us of why the environment is worth preserving

Reviving a Lost Art: Slow Cookery

Slow food is: local, healthy (organic or without additives), tasty, biodiverse, unprocessed or minimally processed in small quantities, produced and purchased in a manner fair to others.

Cooking is: thoughtfully assembling and preparing ingredients for eating, usually with an application of heat.

Cooking is not: tearing open pre-processed, packaged food and shoving it in the microwave.

Most of us over forty types (especially women) received fairly extensive skill development in food management at a young age (i.e. purchasing, preparation, preservation, and perhaps even, propagation). With the explosion of fast food chains, convenience stores, and microwave ovens in the 1970s, this home economics training began to seem time-consuming and irrelevant to our busy modern lives. Currently half of our food dollars are spent on meals prepared outside the home, and half of the meals we do consume at home contain no from-scratch items or fresh ingredients.

We think we are saving time. Time to work, time to play, time to relax, time to run our kids to twenty different programs. Yet statistics show that the average American family who spends less than 30 minutes a day in the kitchen also finds time daily for 240 minutes of TV.

In recent years, the cost of this cultural shift away from personal cultivation, connection, and control of our food has begun to manifest itself in increasingly alarming trends:

• Industrial agriculture or factory-farming has eroded and polluted the land with commercial fertilizers and pesticides on a grand scale, and contributed to the loss of 70% of family farms and 97% of cultivated food species in the US since 1940.

• Food allergies are increasing exponentially, and are directly attributable to: a lack of diversity in our diet (eating the same 10-15 foods every week); consumption of artificial preservatives, sweeteners, and flavor enhancers; herbicides and pesticides; hormones and antibiotics through "enhanced" meat products. Eating locally grown organic varieties, and local products such as honey can assist in counteracting some sensitivities.

• Food contamination has resulted from outsourcing processing to countries with less rigorous monitoring practices. Even widespread distribution of U.S.-grown products makes it difficult to trace any potential foodborne illness quickly.

• Obesity, and conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, are inextricably linked to the nutritional poverty of the American diet and heavily contributing to a national crisis in healthcare.

Slow food, or the art of thoughtful, delicious and wholesome cookery, begins with setting aside that most precious of commodities--time. Begin to consider how you can choose and combine locally grown, organic ingredients into savory meal experiences full of real, natural flavors. Relax and enjoy. It's so good for you....

Taking the Pledge

For two years now, we have offered graduating seniors at Furman the opportunity to sign a non-binding, but hopefully thought-provoking, "green" pledge. Some among us feel that it is not quite comprehensive enough, while others are cautiously optimistic that it makes a good, consciousness-raising first step. It states:

"I, __________, pledge to explore and take into account the social and environmental consequences of any job I consider and will try to improve these aspects of any organizations for which I work."

I personally am one who wishes this pledge encompassed all arenas of life rather than focusing solely on the work scene. Yet, I also recognize the unspoken realization that, if indeed, one thoughtfully internalizes and pursues these ideals, they will emerge in everyday living.

A few practical expansions on "The Pledge"

• Review the overall mission and goals of your place of employment with an eye toward social justice and environmental responsibility in their purpose, their products, and their dealings with investments, suppliers, customers, and workers.
• Examine current practices and workflow in your own department. Make suggestions toward improvement in the handling of resources: materials, energy, human.
• If there are larger issues of concern which you might want to address in some manner, formulate an alternate course of action for presentation to your supervisor or CEO. If you eventually find that your personal code of ethics is irrevocably at odds with your employer's, you may want to look for another workplace.

Learning to Plan Ahead vs. the Lure of Convenience

Ah, the slippery slope of seduction! Here in the 'burbs, I find myself constantly at war between a lifetime of country frugality bred in commercial isolation, and the allurement of proximity to conveniences designed to not only satisfy my every whim, but to create more. Luxury, entertainment, and that most exalted of commodities--saved time, can literally be found around the corner for the right price.

But the truth is, the cost is just too high. What may appear to be a gain in time or ease through some frenetic acquisition is, without exception, a loss for the natural world. Convenience, whether it comes in the guise of a single serving package, bottled water, development of fast food chains and pharmacies on every corner, or even the large shiny appliances in my own home, ultimately undermines our health, depletes our natural
resources, creates mountains of waste, pollutes our air and water.... You know the story.

How do we begin to heal the disconnect between what we know to be true, and acting upon that knowledge?

It takes time--the very substance we have supposedly been saving with all of our gadgets and services on demand. It takes time to reconsider our activities and behaviors, and make changes accordingly. It takes time to plan ahead for the little contingencies which enable you to live more lightly on the earth.

A few twigs to kindle the fires of more thoughtful sustainable living:

• Prepare your box lunch at home the evening before. Use washable, reusable containers. Include healthy snacks to get you through the munchies rather than relying on vending machines or fast food establishments. Purchase a refillable water bottle.
• Think through the routes you may travel during the course of the next day, and particular shopping needs or errands you might perform in order to minimize multiple trips. Call ahead to determine availability of items you are seeking rather than making a trip for naught. Park and walk rather than idling in drive-thru lines for several minutes.
• Plan your wardrobe so that you have time to hang your laundry to dry on clotheslines, racks or hangers. Plan simple, healthy meals using as little meat as possible. Shop in bulk rather than purchasing individually wrapped servings.

Keeping it Cool Inside!

As balmy May temperatures blossom into summer heat, we begin to deny ourselves the sunlight we so craved in February. Blinds and drapes are pulled against the daylight glare. Windows and screen doors are thrown wide to capture evening breezes. We dress in lightweight fabrics and light reflective colors. Many of our cooling strategies are simply common sense, and hopefully, common practice.

How can we step beyond the obvious into more sustainable behaviors, and alter our surroundings to reduce consumption?

Inside most of our homes in this warm climate, fans are essential equipment. Attic fans and strategically-placed box fans can cross-ventilate, exhausting much of the warmer air of the day, and drawing in cooler evening air. Ceiling fans keep individual rooms comfortable. At
our house, we play an annual game with ourselves to see how long we can refrain from turning on the air conditioning, and how soon we can turn it off in the Fall.

When inevitably, we succumb to turning on the air, we should make sure that our filters have been recently changed, and keep the setting just over 80 degrees in order to use as little power as possible to cool our living spaces. Folks with zoned heating and cooling have the added benefit of being able to adjust high and low usage areas accordingly.

Out of doors, there are more adjustments we can make to keep our quarters cooler, thereby reducing energy use. Is it time to repaint or re-roof? Consider light, reflective colors and materials. Install retractable awnings to cover windows and patio/deck areas with sliding glass doors. Create shade by planting trees and bushes, especially on the south and west sides of your property. Shade your air conditioning unit. Place trellises for climbing plants 6 or so inches away from walls, leaving a buffer of air. When you are finished, plant even more green living things around your home, not only to keep you cooler, but to absorb carbon dioxide, prevent flash flooding and soil erosion, and provide habitat.

A few pertinent figures

• Fans can use as little as a 10th of the power of air conditioning.
• In the sun, dark surfaces can be up to 70% hotter than light ones.
• Shading can reduce indoor temperatures by up to 20%.

The Furman Garden

April is national gardening month and an apt time to update everyone on the new Furman garden project. Our quarter acre plot is adjacent to the new Cliffs Cottage Southern Living Showcase Home and the future Center for Sustainability at Furman. It is on the reclaimed site of the old tennis courts behind the bell-tower student residences.

For the past few months, we have been eagerly awaiting the time when we can get in the garden. During this time, a committed crew of students have started seeds and nurtured the plants in one of the beautiful greenhouses at White Oaks. Earlier this month the formal boarders of the garden were in place and the site’s compact clay soil was loosened to a depth of two feet to allow good drainage. The next step was to screen, haul over and spread composted topsoil and organic matter that had been moved from another project on campus. It was a great relief, and an example of sustainability, to use this existing on campus resource. From our soil tests we learned that we’ve got a great foundation for soil building.

Once the site was ready for us, we began building beds and incorporating natural soil amendments. We have been cutting and laying drip irrigation lines. One row of our summer cover crop of buckwheat and cowpeas has been sown and on Saturday April 26 we put our first plants in the ground.

This summer myself and 3-4 students will be tending the garden and growing over 70 varieties of vegetables, herbs and flowers, many of them heirloom. Heirlooms are the open pollinated, regionally adapted varieties over 50 years old whose seeds have been saved for generations and passed down, usually by families, and most have interesting stories that come with them, stories that connect us to the natural and cultural history of the south. These are seeds that have been saved not because the travel well on a truck across the country or can sit on a supermarket shelf for weeks, but because they are productive, nutritious and they taste great. Isn’t our food supposed to taste good? Equally important is that heirlooms preserve diversity in our food supply (genetically, nutritionally, and flavorfully) that is being lost in the industrialized homogenization of conventional agriculture.

In harmony with nature and Furman’s commitment to sustainability and the amazing Cliffs Cottage, our project aims to be an experiential venue where Furman students, faculty and staff and those in the upstate community can study and research sustainability, agriculture, and food-related issues, and participate in small scale food production.

I’m most excited about working with one of Furman’s newest student organizations, the Furman Organic Garden Club. I can tell you that we will be spending far less than national average (approximately 90%) of our time indoors. We will get acquainted with the sun, soil, and the seasons, learning where our food comes from and experiencing first hand an alternative to the conventional industrialized food system. Stay tuned for more information on our weekday afternoon farm stand and we are in the process of organizing a harvest market on campus where we’ll be selling our produce alongside other producers in our community. Better yet, come by and help us harvest and take home fresh vegetables, herbs and flowers as a token of our appreciation. We will be eating well and sharing the harvest and all of our experiences along the way with the Furman community and beyond.