The Providential Gardener

Providential Gardener Interviewed on Renewable Now

Renewable Now, an eco-conscious TV series hosted by Peter Arpin and dedicated to the "business side of green," recently featured Sue Korté, The Providential Gardener. We had a wide-ranging discussion about RI's environmental community, the business of agriculture, aquaculture, time banks, and the Coalition for Transportation Choices, among other topics.

This weekly show is now moving to Channel 6 and can be seen at 3pm on Saturdays. The full archive of interviews is available at Renewable Now's website (two videos show at a time at the bottom of the home page -- click the arrows on the side of the video on the right to see more). Check out the series -- there are a lot of interesting discussions there.

Greening the RI Economy ~ Conference Report #1

On Saturday, September 27, 2008, about 100 Rhode Islanders met at New England Institute of Technology to consider what we can do to create green jobs and businesses in the Ocean State. We heard from several panelists, as well as Mayor Cicilline of Providence and a brief videotaped greeting from Senator Whitehouse, which is now posted on the Greening the Rhode Island Economy website.

I have an audiotape of most of the conference, and I've begun posting notes on the Greening RI website. The first panelist, Dr. Joseph Ilaqua, Professor of Economics at Bryant University, was a bit contrary, making a point of saying he wasn't a green economist. Yet you'll find when you read the notes that he supports green job development. He quoted Tip O'Neill's famous remark, "all politics is local" and applied it to green:

"It's impossible to change the basic political and economic system.... Understand that green is also local," but not in the sense of Think Global, Act Local.

"If we're going to get anything done in the economics of green in Rhode Island, we have to think local and act local."

The Independent Man comes to mind ~ we can't change the rest of the world, but it's within our power to change the Rhode Island labor market. Don't wait for the world to change, maybe they'll follow us, maybe not. Let's just do what we can right now, right here in the Ocean State.

Dr. Ilaqua also mentioned a report featured by the Sierra Club and posted on the Green Jobs for America website, Job Opportunities for the Green Economy: A State-by-State Picture of Occupations that Gain from Green Investments.  

I'll be posting the rest of the remarks during the next few days on Greening the RI Economy, as well as links to reports and other information that will help Rhode Islanders create green jobs and turn our economy around.

Greening Rhode Island's Businesses & Economy & Jobs

Rhode Island's unemployment rate is 8.5% if I remember correctly what I read in the Projo last week, and the economy isn't doing well on most fronts, but a lot of folks in Rhode Island are determined to turn things around. They are gathering at New England Tech on Saturday morning, September 27, for two hours to begin coordinating efforts to Green Rhode Island's Economy.

Green Economy is a key element in future economic growth, if not THE key, and leaders such as Sheldon Whitehouse, who will keynote Saturday's event, and Mayor Cicilline of Providence see the exciting prospects for our state by developing businesses geared to providing green products and services. The market for these is growing and promises to be vast.

Please join your neighbors and see how you can make this happen. For more information and to register, see the website, www.GreeningRIEconomy.com.

What is a "Certified Forest Ally"?

The Providential Gardener scans the Providence Journal regularly for their reporting on "what's growing on" in Rhode Island and posts the article titles, with occasional comment. You can find all of these posts under the category PROJO DIGEST. While this is derivative rather than original research, there's no point in reinventing the wheel, and the Providence Journal is reporting on many environmental issues the public needs investigated. When I can, I'm adding some further background on news stories reported elsewhere so Rhode Islanders will be even better informed.

This news brief [scan down the page] was in the Projo on June 20, 2007, and that's how I came to read about the "chain of custody certification" program of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). According to the FSC,

Chain-of-custodý is the path taken by raw materials from the forest to the consumer, including all successive stages of processing, transformation, manufacturing and distribution.

The first U.S. engraving company to earn this certification is just over the border: Artcraft Company is located in North Attleboro, MA. This company also has earned the Rainforest Alliance's SmartWood certification program. There are four Smartwood certifications. These function for wood products somewhat like fair trade coffee certification does, assuring consumers that products have been tracked from their origins to retail outlets and have met the criteria the certifications specify. A Providence resident, Vincent Standley, wrote a 2005 article at the National Geographic Traveler comparing coffee and wood certification programs: " Where Fair Trade Certification works to ensure fair wages and labor practices, Rainforest Alliance Certification works to transform land-use and business practices as well as consumer choices to protect ecosystems."

Are any Rhode Island companies seeking Smartwood certifications? And what about Rhode Island forests and their products? As with most issues, there is substantial background to master. Blog posts can hardly scratch the surface. But here are a few starting points for further research if you are interested in seeing such programs develop in Rhode Island:

• Heidi Hausman wrote her 2003 senior thesis at Brown on this topic. See her summary slides, "The Future of Certification for Rhode Island Forests and Forest Products."
• Sustainable Forestry Initiative is another certification program Heidi Hausman compares with Smartwood
• Evaluation and Assessment of Sustainable Forestry Initiative
• Analysis: Sustainable Forestry Initiative.... ~ This report appears to be critical - website is named "dontbuysfi.com"

Lots of knotty issues here. Forestry folks, RI Tree Council members, and companies involved in wood products need to understand all the aspects of such certifications. Many of them probably already do. Contact the DEM Forestry Division and ask your questions about our state forests.