A goat chews on weeds on the dam face of the Boulder Reservoir on Wednesday. | Photo: Greg Lindstrom / The Camera

Goatscaping is one of my favorite blog topics.

So you know I’m going to let you know about Boulder bringing in 300 goats to eat weeds at Boulder Reservoir, which means not using chemicals. Every time I read about this topic, I learn something new. Here’s this week’s tidbit:

“Goats are browsers versus grazers,” said Matt Claussen, manager of urban resources for the Boulder Parks and Recreation Department.

“They actually prefer forbs to most grasses and will therefore eat weedy species, such as knapweed before moving on to many of the native plants,” he said. “The goat herder will move the goats along as they graze, so as not to harm beneficial native species and focus on the target species.”

A runner passes a group of goats eating knapweed at Boulder Reservoir. | Photo: Greg Lindstrom / The Camera

So that’s why they’re a natural choice for weeding.

If you’re wondering about the animal rights issues here — and I know some of you are — PETA has addressed the question and, as PETA is wont to do, has raised another question. Here’s something I’ve quoted from TechCrunch before:

Says Amy Cook, an Assistant Manager of Marketing for PETA:

PETA has no problem with letting goats do what goats want to do (e.g., look cute and eat weeds), but we do have concerns about how the goats may be transported, whether they are provided with access to shelter during storms and shade as well as water during hot weather, where they are housed when they aren’t “working,” what kind of veterinary care they receive, and what becomes of old and/or excess goats. PETA has found over and over that whenever animals are used by a business to make money, corners are cut and animals often suffer as a result. And that really gets our goat, if you’ll pardon the pun.

Click here to view the embedded video.

File photo: Mark Guttridge, of Ollin Farms, at right, passes on a bag of fresh spinach to Steve Toon on the first Wednesday night of the Boulder Farmers' Market in 2010. Toon from Golden, works in Boulder and considers going to the market his hobby. | Paul Aiken / Camera

This via Top 10 farmers markets in U.S. | Gadling.com:

4. Boulder Farmers Market, Colorado

Regional farmers prove that a short growing season can still be spectacular in the form of red sunchokes, fingerling potatoes, maroon heirloom carrots, and peaches to die for from Morton's Orchards. A kaleidoscope of cut flowers and an adjoining prepared food section make this bustling market a colorful-and delicious- community hot spot.

What do you think — is #4 good enough?

Boulder Community Computers' Eric Jackson | Photo: Mark Leffingwell, Camera

Great idea (and they were the hosts of the most recent Green Drinks). Eric Jackson fired up Boulder Community Computers, a nonprofit that aims to get working computers into the hands of people who need them — and to help people earn said computers. From the Camera:

Jackson, a longtime computer hobbyist, set up Boulder Community Computers, a nonprofit on Pearl Street that accepts donations of old computers, then offers low-income people the opportunity to earn one. People who are working to earn machines learn basic computer skills and help refurbish the old computers.

“Our mission is to bridge the digital divide,” Jackson said. “For me, it’s not about computers, it’s about enhancing other parts of people’s lives.”

Boulder Community Computers also helps solve a second problem: the difficulty of disposing of e-waste, which is often dumped in developing countries where the heavy metals can contaminate local communities.

Somebody from Boulder Community Computers (maybe Jackson?) also hung around in the comments of that story, so check out the comments for even more information.

E-waste is really, really gnarly, and if you don’t know much about it, watch this thing 60 Minutes did on it.

Green Drinks June

Month in and month out, I can count on you to be the thing that makes my Wednesday just a little more difficult after having one too many tasty local beers while enjoying the company of local eco folks.

But I have to say, this week, you outdid yourself. When I saw the event listed on Green Drinks Boulder’s facebook group, I thought that a party at Boulder Community Computers and iSupportU — about whom I knew nothing apart from having seen their bikes around town — had potential to be terrible or great.

Yeah, well, there was an 80’s band, sunshine, Avery beer, and a choreographed dance to Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out For a Hero.” So I’d call that a success.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Holding out for a heroic dance party at Green Drinks Boulder

The only complaint I heard about the entire event was that some of the grub came from a certain local Italian restaurant that uses anchovies in all of its sauces — and so none of its food is veg-friendly.

I saw a lot of familiar faces from previous Green Drinks events — and a lot of folks who just dropped by because they heard the partying. (In fact, I’m given to understand that there were two uniformed visitors of this variety later in the night — we left at 7 p.m., but apparently the party went on for several hours.)

In any case, I’d go ahead and say it was the best Green Drinks yet — a lot of smiling folks, a new place, new faces and a lot of chatter.

Sofia Joffe, 9, left, and Amaya Baccellieri, 10, pull weeds in a garden area of Foothills Community Park on Tuesday afternoon. | John Weller

On Tuesday, the Earth Guardians joined with Bike-America to pull weeds at Foothills Community Park in north Boulder as a show of support for natural alternatives to herbicide use. The group hopes Boulder will become pesticide-free in the future.

Tamara Roske, co-founder of the Earth Guardian Community Resource Center, said pesticide-free towns are popping up all over the country. In May, all New York City school fields and playgrounds became pesticide-free when the Safe Child Playing Field Act was signed into law.

Sarah Huntley, Boulder spokeswoman, said the city uses an approach called integrated pest management, taking into account mechanical, biological and other controls before considering the use of synthetic chemicals.

“We try to use these kinds of alternatives whenever possible,” Huntley said. “When it’s not possible, the chemical goes through a review with a subcommittee that takes a careful look at the information and decides what pesticides go on the approved list.”

The Integrated Pest Management Subcommittee has approved Tenacity and Barricade for use in Boulder parks and recreational areas. The Colorado Daily offers more information on the Boulder pesticide and herbicide list and how the process works.

Learn more about weeds, pests and plant diseases and get the facts on specific pesticides.

-Hannah Gentry

Bikes on a Boulder bike rack| flickr user niehoff

It’s not too late to get into Boulder Walk and Bike to work Month: Bike to Work Day is June 23.

For those who have already pulled their bikes out of winter storage, or never put them away (or maybe you’re even a practitioner of Winter Bike to Work Day), June 23 is just another Wednesday. For everyone else it marks the day the excuses run out. Leave the car in the garage, pump up your tires and get out onto the many bike paths Boulder has to offer.

Bike to Work Day veterans, remember how great last year was?

Just past 6 a.m. on Wednesday, more than 40 Boulder businesses broke out bagels, fruit, organic breakfast bars and hot meals to serve the thousands of people who were participating in this year’s Bike to Work Day.

The annual event was expected to draw more than 35,000 across the state, with more than 6,300 registered to participate in Boulder.

Not a Bike to Work Day veteran? No worries. Whether or not you’re an experienced cyclist on Boulder’s bike paths and main roads, here’s everything needed to help make Boulder’s 34th annual Bike to Work Day the biggest one yet–and how to get as many perks as possible for your hard-earned sweat.

Get started

If you’ve never biked to work mapping the best route can seem a daunting task. Even for experienced riders there is always a need to find the best way to get where you are going. To help with the task GO Boulder has a MapQuest-style Boulder bike route mapping website specifically designed to get you where you need to go, by bike — and Google Maps now has bike path information and streetview for some bike paths in Boulder.

With your route in hand, hit Boulder’s Bike to Work Day 2010 registration.

Why bother registering for Bike to Work Day? Well, GO Boulder is counting on you. Last year 7,132 people registered for Bike to Work Day, according to the Go Boulder Boulder Bike to Work Day 2009 Wrap Up. If you are not registered, you are not being counted–although you are still reducing the number of cars on the road.

No excuses

The bad weather seems to have finally passed–hopefully there won’t be any June snowstorms. A more likely weather deterrent in June is 90 degree heat. Allay your qualms about arriving with a smell by checking out Jenn Fields’ tips on how to bike to work and not stink, including:

Don’t just keep deodorant in your desk drawer — add a washcloth for warmer rides that require the bathroom-sink mini sponge bath. Also, witch hazel sprizted on the washcloth is a helpful de-funkifier. Ladies, do your make up once you get to work. This could apply to men, too. We don’t judge.

To help you make sure your bike is in working order there will be bike repair stations set up around Boulder. A few are listed below.

Boulder Cycle Sport, 4580 Broadway

Great Harvest Bread Company, 2525 Arapahoe, service provided by Performance Bikes

Whole Foods Market, 2905 Pearl, service provided by Bicycle Village

Don’t forget breakfast

June 23 many restaurants and businesses will be offering breakfast stations for participants. Whichever area of town you are coming from, or headed toward, there is an official breakfast station near you. Below are a few places around town that will be participating. For a complete list of participating businesses check the Community Cycles Website.

Half Fast Subs, 1215 13th Street

Moe’s Bagel on Arapahoe, 3075 Arapahoe

Moe’s Broadway Bagel, 2650 Broadway

Ozo Coffee, 5340 Arapahoe

Celestial Seasonings, 4600 Sleepytime Drive

Boulder Chamber of Commerce, 2440 Pearl

Get involved

Events on Bike to Work Day don’t end when you arrive at work. The CU Environmental Center, along with Community Cycles, is hosting the 4th annual Bike Shorts Film Festival at Old Main on CU’s Boulder campus.

Community Cycles and GO Boulder work year round to help more people find ways to make bicycling more convenient and possible for more people in Boulder and Colorado. To help keep Boulder moving check out volunteer opportunities and how to donate an old bike.

Show your Bike to Work Day pride with the official Walk and Bike to Work Month T-shirt.

Now that you’re in the know, see you on the streets!

-Mikaila Altenbern

A crowded bike rack | flickr user phlyingpenguin

Recently, my complex doubled the amount of bike parking available on my side of the building. That parking immediately filled up with bikes. My guess is that if they knocked out another car parking spot, yet another 12-24 bikes would materialize and be parked there — bikes that people are currently storing on their balconies or in their kitchens or wherever else. 

Think about that as a business. If your business is located somewhere with very limited parking — let’s say, downtown Boulder — would you rather have one car parked outside or 12 bikes? The safe bet is that 12 customers are better than however many fit in that hypothetical car. (Needless to say, you’re making the automobile parking situation just a touch worse by making the switch.)

Maybe that’s why San Francisco is moving ahead with on-street bike parking, according to the Bay Citizen:

They’re called bike corrals – racks bolted into the street, using a spot that typically would go to a vehicle. This month a handful of corrals popped up in the city, like the one on Valencia at 22nd Street outside insanely popular Boogaloos restaurant.

A bike corral in Portland, Ore. | flickr user BikePortland.org

Bike corrals are already used in Portland, Ore. There, they’ve got blue bike corrals, uniformly painted, Ryan Van Duzer says writing for elephant, so they settle into citizens’ minds as municipal structures. Business owners can petition the city and ask for a bicycle corral near their business.

Seattle has them, too.

Locally, The Cup has been advocating for these. Kind of a lot. They’re talking about bike corrals on Twitter (check that link for a pic of a bike corral in Durango) and they’ve got a bike corral primer [PDF] on their site, which says:

Bike corrals give bikes a designated place, acknowledge their importance (which cyclists appreciate) and clear the sidewalk. Shop owners like the extra traffic, and have been known to pay for their installation.

What are they?

Basically elongated bike racks, corrals can be installed in a parking space, where they allow 12 to 14 vehicles to park instead of one. The fixed element is often a staggered series of upside down U-shapes (or “staples”) or a metal spiral, though there’s no reason they couldn’t be more imaginative. The City of Portland paints the fixtures all blue, making them recognizable to users as city structures. Corrals themselves cost around $1,000. Labor and additions for stability and safety may bring the total to $3,000 to $4,000.

Here’s a photo of a temporary and very unofficial bike corral in Los Angeles, where an official bike corral program was just approved in April:

"There was no special occasion for the installation of LA's first parking corral - only the brutal necessity of a bike repair collective and the need to keep the sidewalk relatively clear during operating hours. This corral appears temporarily in half a car parking space in front of the Bike Oven most evenings these days. Ramon Martinez deserves the credit for this excellent idea." | photo and caption: flickr user ubrayj02

Where would you put ‘em?

[The Bay Citizen via Urban Velo] ]]> http://biggreenboulder.com/bikes/bike-corrals-on-street-bike-parking-hits-san-francisco-and-durango/feed/ 0 http://biggreenboulder.com/energy/xcel-franchise-agreement-moves-toward-ballot/ http://biggreenboulder.com/energy/xcel-franchise-agreement-moves-toward-ballot/#comments Wed, 02 Jun 2010 16:10:29 +0000 Big Green Boulder staff http://biggreenboulder.com/?p=2972 The Boulder City Council voted 6-3 Tuesday night to approve the first reading of ballot language for a measure that would ask voters to approve a new franchise agreement with Xcel Energy.

Bert Nett (front), John Spencer (back left) and Jane Spencer (right) plant squash seeds at an Earth's Table garden in Boulder | CAMERA/Mark Leffingwell

If there’s one thing the United States isn’t known for, it’s eating well. We’ve got a heck of a reputation for junk food out there.

For some people, it’s because there are six-packs of tiny powdered donuts in the vending machine down the hall (damn you) and they have a problem/are weak-willed*. For others, it’s simply because they can’t afford to eat fresh vegetables day in and day out.

Community Food Share, Sister Carmen Center and others in our community want to help with that second reason so, for one, they’ve set up a plot they call Earth’s Table, where veggies are grown for those in need.

Earth’s Table’s effort is one of several across the county among farmers, service agencies and individual citizens to make it easier to make fresh produce available to those with lower incomes.

It’s a tall order. A state-by-state study last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that no state had met its goal for individual fruit and vegetable consumption. And that didnt even take into account income barriers.

“The nutritional value of fresh fruits and vegetables is so much higher,” says Lonna Lindsay, vice president of policy for LiveWell Colorado. “There are the antioxidants, minerals, nutrients, and the preventative aspect for cancer and obesity.”

via Earth’s Table and others grow food for those who can’t afford it – Boulder Daily Camera.

*Is it just me, or are vending machines satisfying like slot machines you can’t lose?

Todd Young, owner of medical marijuana growing operation the Therapeutic Compassion Center, smokes a joint to help the pain of his back injuries | Daily Camera

Medical marijuana operations are sweeping Colorado. (If you live in our great Rocky Mountain state, I’m sure you’ve noticed).

Lots of folks are psyched. (Especially 20-something dudes with snowboard injuries.) But lots of towns aren’t. This spring, communities across Colorado have gone to great pains to figure out how to regulate these businesses. Mostly, they seem concerned about how close dispensaries are to schools, day cares and each other. And in some towns, dispensaries may be banned altogether in the near future, thanks to a new state law.

The Boulder City Council is concerned about little kids too, but in classic Boulder style, they’re also concerned about whether folks are growing their pot with energy from coal plants. (All those heat lamps can burn a heap of electricity.) So last night, when city council passed a new set of pot shop rules, this was among them: growing operations have to offset 100 percent of their electricity use with renewable energy!

Read more about last night’s decision to pass the rules here, or read more about the concept of requiring renewable energy here.