It's National Walk/Bike To School Century!

A beautiful September morning, 20 minutes before classes start, and no traffic jam to be seen. Instead, students are flocking to Princeton High School on bikes and on foot. Is it real? It was real yesterday morning. Had I missed the memo? Was it National Walk/Bike to School Day? No, that's October 8. Maybe there was an inspiring announcement in school the previous week about the benefits to self and future of walking/biking. Or maybe they all plumbed last year's depths of WalkablePrinceton. Has Princeton embraced unified action to slow climate change, inspired by the upcoming march in NY?

Whatever it was, it felt safe, for Princeton's streets, for the kids, and for the future. And it felt right--individual action and global realities suddenly aligned. But maybe I read too much into it. Maybe kids are riding and biking simply for the taste of independence, the pleasure of morning air, or because their parents have other things to do.

I've played the chauffeur at times, so can attest that a school day morning is the worst time to be crowding the streets with bulky cars. Drivers are in a hurry, perhaps not fully awake--I suspect some are still in their pajamas--and the dropoff in front of school is awkward. I drive up Franklin Ave, dismayed by the inefficiency of a cold engine while cars poke their noses out from side streets like ghosts in a game of Pacman. The best thing one can do for safety in Princeton is to take a car off the street.

Still, there are attractions to chauffeuring a kid to school. It's a quiet moment to talk, if one isn't too harried by the traffic. And maybe it's interpreted, by the kid at least, especially a middle schooler ambivalent about independence, as an expression of parental love.

But the sentiments inside the car are in conflict with the back end of the car, which is quietly feeding the atmosphere with the ghosts of climate future. (No, that's not a Prius exhaust pipe.)

So kudos to the kids who are participating in Walk/Bike To School Century, and one question for the schoolboard: Have you thought of getting more bike racks? They're packed to the max.

Saving Money Through Solar Energy for the Home

It may come as a surprise that you can get a solar array on your house with no up front cost, and reduce your energy bills in the process. That sounds like something a phone solicitor might say, but my friend and neighbor Peter Thompson, who has considerable technical expertise as manager of IT at Princeton High School, decided to research the issue, and ended up with solar panels on his roof.

He went with solar even though his roof doesn't face south, and is shaded for part of the day by nearby trees. Despite these less than ideal conditions, the panels are projected to supply nearly half of his home's energy needs. Since getting the panels up and running, he's learned that they produce significant energy even when it's cloudy.

In a detailed writeup with photos and graphs about his experience researching solar and getting the panels installed, he describes the various factors that influenced his decisions about whether to purchase or lease, how many panels to get, and what sorts of financial incentives are in place.

His explorations of this may have begun when I asked him about the possibility of using energy from solar panels during power outages. Most solar arrays shut down during power outages, for reasons Peter explains in his writeup. But he was able to negotiate with the installer to include a way to feed solar-generated electricity to one wall outlet even during a power outage. That electricity can then run small electronics and charge a battery that could be used at night.

My ideal would be to have an electric car whose batteries could keep the house going in low energy mode during a power outage, with the solar panels providing a means to charge the car's batteries. Peter's writeup shows how he took a significant step in that direction. He also gives contact info if you want to ask him any questions. If you're driving down Hamilton Ave, his house is at the corner of Horner, just past Harrison St.

Thanks to Peter for sharing his research and experience with the community!

Riverside Elementary Getting New Insulation

Princeton's Riverside Elementary is getting a new roof. If the materials stacked on the roof are any indication, that may mean the school's getting better insulation as well. I'm told that the insulation being applied varies in thickness, so that water will drain off the otherwise flat roof. Roofs are replaced every 20 years or so.

It seems a mundane thing, but any money spent to heat/cool the buildings is money that's diverted from our childrens' education.

Democratic Party's Party Gets A for Recycling

A subtle suggestion for Labor Day weekend parties: At their annual party in Harrison Street Park this past July, Princeton's Democrats were proud of how little trash got generated. When throwing a party, it's hard to remember to be ready with the right array of bins. Paper cups, plates, napkins and food went into the green compostable bin. Bottles and cans landed in the yellow tub.

That left just a scant few items like utensils to go in what they labeled the "bad garbage" can.

The system worked because a few simple rules were followed: Make the various containers visually distinct, and put them side by side so that anyone with something to throw away doesn't have to walk farther to put it in the right container.

Foodwaste Bins and the Missing Hook

Princeton's curbside foodwaste collection uses small rollout bins. I happened to encounter one of Central Jersey's trucks making its rounds the other day. The bins are emptied by hand, without any mechanical assist. Rollout bins are widely used in other communities for trash or recyclables, and in places like San Francisco, Seattle and Ann Arbor, MI, foodwaste is combined with yardwaste in a large rollout bin as well.

It's customary to give workers' backs a break by mounting a small hydraulic hook on the back of the truck. The worker rolls the bin up to the hook, which grabs the metal bar on the bin, lifts it up, gives it a shake and then eases it back down to the pavement.

Princeton's foodwaste bins are small, so most have loads light enough for the worker to deal with. But foodwaste is mostly water, and can be heavy if the bin is full. Maybe that's why the worker said he'd love to have one of those hooks. I priced them out once. It costs 3-5 thousand for a retrofit. Seems a small price to pay for saving a man's back.

Excavation Exposes One of Princeton's Underground Streams

There she flow! Ain't she a beaut? Harry's Brook, in all her glory. Where has she been all these years? Why, just beneath the ground, buried alive, embraced by concrete, seven feet wide, seven feet high--spacious compared to most pipes, I suppose, with all the room in the (under)world...

This post continues with more photos and text at the PrincetonNatureNotes site.

Think and You Shall Receive--the Kurbside Kmart Comes Through Again

Look what appeared on the curb across the street the other day--a nearly new and entirely functional Canon MX 922 printer. How convenient, seeing as I had meant to head out to Route 1 two days before to buy a new one, but had gotten sidetracked.

One by one, our printers had failed over the past six months. An old HP flashed some sad excuse or other on its screen. A Canon outright lied, pretending to have a paper jam when clearly no paper was jammed at all. An internet search, which usually brings up some wisdom about how to repair stuff, gave only a mocking suggestion to turn off, unplug, then plug in and turn back on, to be repeated ad nauseam. Then my wife's fancy Lexmark laser printer, nearly new, suddenly claimed it was missing a thingamajig. This, too, was a baldfaced lie--probably some sensor that had lost its sense. Support said to extract the "missing" part from the printer's innards, then put it back in. Three times I did this, turned the printer back on and, voila, the same error message. Useless printers were beginning to accumulate like dysfunctional pens that, for some reason, are so hard to give up on.

In the past, before religion became so politically charged, one would call the appearance of a nearly new, functional printer on the curb a Godsend, without any implication as to one's personal beliefs. It was just part of the language. Perhaps a tenant in the rental across the street was moving out and couldn't take the printer along. Or perhaps they found an annoying glitch in the printer's performance that we have yet to notice. In any case, it was nice of them to put the printer out after the overnight rain rather than before.

I'd like to think that the exasperating attempts to fix the other printers were a necessary prelude to finding the printer on the curb, that fruitless effort eventually bears fruit. Hard to prove. This would be akin to curbside Kharma, in which reward for earnest effort is oblique rather than direct. Going out in search of a printer on the curbs of Princeton would have surely gained nothing. The key to shopping at the Kurbside Kmart is to never actually go looking for anything. Call it serendipity, which works like ideas or insights bubbling up out of the unconscious mind. Its gifts always come by surprise.

It's Only Spilled Glass on a Sidewalk

There's a story in this picture. Two pet peeves converged, and the result was broken glass for pedestrians to tread through on their way to and from the Princeton Shopping Center. And the municipal response? Not so great.

Pet Peeve #1: Television put out for the trash. State law bans televisions from the landfill, therefor, putting them on the curb with your trash puts the garbage collectors in the position of breaking the law. What to do with them? Here's a previous post on the subject. You can also check out the town website's "What to do with.." info sheet here. Hopefully it's up to date. TVs have lots of lead and other toxics that should be recycled rather than placed in a landfill where the toxics could leach into groundwater.

Pet Peeve #2: These folks put two long fluorescent light bulbs out with their trash. Some people put fluorescents out with the recyclables, which is just as bad if not worse. The fluorescent light bulbs have traces of mercury in them, which are released when the bulb breaks as it's being compacted by the garbage truck, with the trash collector standing close by. The trash collectors, who are already sacrificing their backs and their sense of smell, should not have to breathe mercury as well. What to do with the burnt out bulbs? Well, the options aren't great. Three county recycling days a year, or give Home Depot a call to ask if they still take them.

So, what happened when the neighbors put out both a TV and the light bulbs at the same time? The clues are a broken fluorescent bulb and a TV taken apart. What happened here is that a scavenger driving by stopped, opened up the TV case and took the copper coil of wires to sell as scrap for a few dollars. During the struggle with the TV, he must have accidentally broken a light bulb, leaving us pedestrians--kids, the elderly, the handicapped guy with an electric cart--with broken glass and traces of mercury to dodge for X number of days. Jolly.

I called the police. Law breaking had led to vandalism. What can they do? The first call yielded nothing. A second call the next day prompted an officer to stop by. He was nice enough, and spent some time on the issue, but seemed less than concerned, and was unaware that putting TVs out on the curb is illegal. I had to email him the link to the Princeton Health Department's April memo on the subject. He said it's the neighbor's responsibility to clean the sidewalk, but if no one is home when he knocks, there's nothing to be done. He kicked some glass aside. There is now less glass on the sidewalk, and one officer is somewhat better informed about the environmental laws they are being paid to enforce.

Can we call this progress? There is essentially no communication with residents (or with police for that matter) to inform them of the law, and then no communication after residents break it. The glass, the law, the system--all are broken.

-- This post provided by the Princeton Peeve Society

Free Concerts at Pettoranello Gardens

People are starting to discover the hidden concerts in the hidden Pettoranello Gardens in Princeton. Twice a year, those of us who stay in town for the summer are rewarded by free infusions of world music put on by Blue Curtain. The second (and last) concert is this Saturday, August 2, beginning at 7pm.

The concert two Saturdays ago featured Cuartetango, a New York-based string quartet that plays Argentine tangos, led by the son of a violinist who performed with famed Argentine composer Astor Piazzola.

Such a pleasure to sit on the grass, music wafting across the park, cloud patterns above on a perfect summer evening.

Adonis Puentes followed up with his salsa band as the sun set over nearby Mountain Lakes. The contagious rhythm and bon ami stage presence of Puentes quickly filled the outdoor dance floor.

After all of these years, I've finally figured out why it's call Blue Curtain.

Stage lighting made the tent for the band photogenic as well.

Blue Curtain has a facebook page, and another concert coming up
this Saturday, with the first group performing at 7pm. Performers are Awa Sangho and Noura Mint Seymali. You can usually google the names to find youtube videos, to get a sense of their music.

Here's a post about a previous performance, in which a tempestuous performance by saxophonist Oliver Lake was finally enveloped by a real tempest. Very exciting.

Princeton's New Tearer Downer

Meet Princeton's new possession--a three bedroom on a slab at 59 Meadowbrook Lane, with no updates but a verdant setting, in a pleasant neighborhood. The deal's not sealed yet, but town council voted June 23rd to approve purchasing it. At $30,000 in local funds, it seems like a steal, but the story gets complicated, and much more expensive, very quickly.

It's got lots of room to stretch out. Looks like the sort of property that long ago would have been snatched up and turned into a McMansion or two. Just one problem.

A river flows through it. That's Harry, as in Harry's Brook.  Harry is a very longtime Princeton resident, as old as the hills. You'll find him all over the eastern half of town if you look hard enough, but he stays quiet. Doesn't send letters to the editor. You may hear him gurgling now and then, deep beneath the street, when you walk past a manhole cover. Like a lot of Princetonians, he gets his start at Princeton High School, and picks up this and that at Palmer Square. He used to get some spring in his step around Spring Street, but was forced underground and turned mischievous. He thinks of campus as a whole other watershed. He still finds inspiration up around Mount Lucas, but from there it's all downhill, as he meanders eastward towards Carnegie Lake.

Harry's well behaved uptown, where he accepts without vocal complaint all the dirt and discards washed off the streets during a rain. It's a convenient service old Harry provides, but his headwaters in town have hardened over the years. Roads, driveways, bigger houses, and urban soils deprived of nature's annual infusion of absorbent leaves have made that Old Softy watershed less receptive to rain and Harry more prone to radical mood swings.

Downstream, as his many feeder streams mingle, he can quickly turn into a whole other animal. As they say of poison ivy vines that can be identified by their hairiness, Harry can be scary. This is the view of the same brook as in the previous photo, but from downstream looking up at the patio of the house, on the evening of July 2nd after an intense but not very long rain.

Yikes! Anyone want to sign a lease? The mayor lives right across the street, and it's nice to have waterfront property. The Princeton Packet reported that since 1979, "the Federal Emergency Management Agency has paid out $250,000 in damage recovery funds for damaged property and contents of the house." Renters could be seen over the years drying out their possessions after floods.

Now, FEMA is contributing $595,000 of federal money to buy the house, and another $70,000 to demolish it. This being Princeton, the seller, who had long since turned the property into a dubious rental, was not happy with $595,000 and demanded an extra 30 grand in local money. That's nearly a million dollars in public money paid to deal with a house the seller reportedly bought for $182,000 in 1989. There were two very bad private decisions made. One was to build the house in the first place, on floodplain land thirty feet from a stream. The other was the current owner's decision to buy it in 1989. Neither of those decisions appear to have had negative financial consequences. Then there were all the public decisions, permitting the house to be built, and allowing the hardening of the landscape upstream, exacerbated by the increasing intensity of rainfall as we continue to tinker with the earth's climate. For these, the public is paying dearly. Though we have collectively contributed to the problem, this looks like another example of privatizing profit while socializing risk.

Harry's Brook is lapping not only at the house but at the bridge as well, which is just a few years old and you'd have to think is designed to accommodate periodic overtopping.

Even after the house is torn down, some hazards will remain. The creek has become deeply eroded over the years from all the flash floods generated upstream. The sharp, rocky dropoffs and tendency towards flash floods could put in question any use of the property for a park. The stream also curves sharply to go under the bridge, and the outer bank continues to erode, which means over time the road could be undermined.

So the stream that could be an asset is currently a hazard. What happened is that the stream was originally much more shallow, and any potentially erosive flood waters would have quickly spread out into the surrounding fields, dissipating their energy. As Princeton grew and the watershed hardened, floodwaters became excessive, erosion deepened the streambed, and now the stream can no longer dissipate energy by spreading out, thus causing even more erosion. This is known as a stream becoming disconnected from its floodplain. Significant restoration of the stream could create an enlarged floodplain at the lower level, but a big issue will be expense, and also how to stabilize the bank currently eroding towards the road. Presumably, the stream's potential future harm to the road would have been a public liability regardless of whether the property is publicly or privately owned.

So, what to do with this less than ideal situation? The brook, though deeply incised, still provides some habitat. A lot depends on whether the stream can be made into an asset. One naturalistic vision would be a restored stream flowing through a floodplain with diverse field/shrub/tree habitat, where kids could safely explore the stream.

The hydrology may or may not be conducive for turning the field into a showplace for attractive floodplain wildflower species like bonesets, cutleaf coneflower, swamp milkweed, tall meadow rue, hibiscus, and joePyeWeed. (A deeply incised stream lowers the surrounding water table, which in turn makes it harder for vegetation to access groundwater during droughts. What typically wins out in such altered hydrologies is aggressive invasive species like mugwort.) Shrubs like silky dogwood and elderberry would add to the showiness and habitat, along with some trees for shade. A shaded area for picnic tables would be unobtrusive, and play equipment, less or more, is an option, depending on neighborhood needs and the dilemma of periodic flooding.

Wherever this story leads, there's nothing like a stream to dramatize the interconnection between public and private, upstream and downstream, past decisions and present circumstance.

One Way to Reduce Your Home Energy Bill

Another entry in my "Don't try this at home" Home Improvement series:

About a month ago, I received a phone solicitation from IDT Energy--one of many third party energy suppliers that have called, seeking to sell me energy. In Princeton, PSEG still delivers the energy, but the energy itself can be bought from a large variety of suppliers through the NJ Energy Choice program. You can buy 100% renewable energy, or some smaller percentage, but even the 100% renewable is only minimally more expensive. If you stay with PSEG as a supplier, their energy is produced mostly from nuclear, coal, and gas. Some of the other suppliers calling for your business may be mostly coal.

It sounded like IDT was going to sell me electricity at an incredibly cheap rate of 3 cents a kilowatt hour. The usual rate is about 17 cents. Thinking it too good to be true, but intrigued, I went along with it. What followed was about a half hour of tediously arranging the shift to the new company. It sounded like there were inconsistencies in what they were offering, but they promised I'd see it all in writing in a week or two, and could cancel or switch back to my current provider at any time and for no charge. When the written version arrived, it turned out to be vague and boiler plate. The 3 cents, it seemed, was not the full amount but instead what they would add on to a base charge, which could vary.

I called to cancel. IDT said they'd investigate whether the third party company they had hired to do the phone solicitation was being misleading. Meanwhile, my current electricity provider, EnergyPlus, had called, offering 8% cash back at the end of the year if I stayed with them.

So it was not a complete waste of time. Some questionable phone solicitors may be investigated, and I'll get an annual check in the mail, which I'll probably mistake for junk mail and throw away. I also learned that the 100% wind power I'm paying a penny per kilowatt hour more for doesn't really come into my house as virtuous, green electrons, but rather means that EnergyPlus buys an equivalent amount of renewable energy certificates on the open market somewhere in the U.S. In other words, I'm helping stimulate wind energy production in Texas. It's one of the better things one can do with a few spare pennies.

Recycle Electronics and Toxics This Saturday, June 28

This Saturday is the last county electronics recycling day until September, which means it's time to fire up the 94' Ranger pickup and head on out with another load of outdated TVs, printers, and other funky items that by law are not supposed to go to the landfill. For a complete list of what they accept, click here.

Hours are 8-2, the line moves pretty quickly. If you can't go, my contact info is on the right of this screen in a pop-out tab entitled "About me". I'll have some room in my truck. Or, if you have an old TV, call Best Buy and chances are they'll say you can drop it off there, at no charge.

Dropoff for this Saturday is the usual spot, out past Quaker Bridge Mall. The address is:

Fire Service Training Center
350 Lawrence Station Rd
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648

One Table Cafe Hosts OnStage Performance

Though the OnStage performance tonight is sold out, I'm posting this for the record, and also in case readers don't know about One Table Cafe, the special community restaurant that serves seven dinners a year for a good cause. 

OnStage, a Princeton-based theater ensemble of seniors (ages 55 and older), will perform original monologues and scenes from their current production, Live With That, at Trinity Church’s One Table Café. (That's me in the middle of the back row.)

One Table Cafe is a community-supported restaurant where all are welcome. Meals are offered on a "pay what you can" basis. All proceeds are donated to organizations working to reduce hunger. One Table Cafe takes place the third Friday of most months. Reservations are required by calling (609) 924-2277 ext. 352.

Drawn from interviews with area residents, Live With That examines decisions that have shaped and re-shaped lives, including personally momentous events beginning at colleg-age and continuing through late adulthood. Now in its sixth year, OnStage is directed by Adam Immerwahr, associate director at McCarter Theater Center and resident director at Passage Theatre in Trenton. To learn more, visit www.onstageseniors.org and www.trinityprinceton.org.

The Worst Intersection in Princeton

Is there a worst intersection in Princeton? My vote is where Vandeventer Avenue and Washington Road converge at Nassau Street. It pits impatient northbound Washington Rd. drivers, wishing to turn left, against rightful but tentative southbound Vandeventer drivers. Because the Vandeventerians are in deep shade and downhill, they find themselves at a physical and psychological disadvantage, even though they have the right of way. The Washingtonians, in contrast, are emboldened by their elevated, sunlit position, and tend to continue cutting in front of the hapless Vandeventerians, completely disregarding the rules of the road.

Vandeventerians thus find themselves with a green light, yet remain trapped unless they aggressively assert their rights and enter the intersection against the left-turning Washingtonian tide. For years I've seen tempers flare at what seems like hard-wired audacious disregard, and yet nothing has been done.

Now, shall we punish the malefactors? Or shall we change the environment that is tilting good people towards bad behavior? The topographical mismatch could be alleviated by changing the traffic signal for northbound Washington Rd. Currently, the northbound Washingtonians, having crept laboriously up from Carnegie Lake and through campus, are rewarded with a green arrow to turn on to Nassau Street. Well deserved.

Then, the arrow turns yellow. Still good.

But then, the yellow disappears. Though intended to mean that left-turners must now yield to oncoming traffic, the disappearance of the yellow actually sends the message that less caution is now required, not more. Drivers continue to turn left, failing to yield to oncoming traffic.

What's needed is to follow the yellow arrow with a blinking yellow arrow, thus maintaining a yellow presence in the eyes of Washingtonian left turners, and to remind them that there might be oncoming traffic emerging from the shadows of Vandeventer Avenue.

My guess is that Nassau Street, being state-owned, will require any change in traffic lights to creep through a labyrinthine bureaucracy, yielding at every turn to apathy, fear, and indifference, until it becomes trapped indefinitely in some deeply shaded alley of state government, never to be seen again. The reputation of Princeton's worst intersection appears secure.

More on Prius as Backup Generator for Homes

After a meeting of Citizens' Climate Lobby's Princeton chapter, Gaylord showed me the inverter he bought that allows him to use his Prius as a generator during power outages. It may not be officially condoned by the Toyota dealership, but he says it has kept his house going through a number of storms in recent years. As the frig, furnace, etc. draw down the battery power in the Prius, the engine automatically starts up to replenish the batteries. The inverter, with a capacity of around 1500-2000 watts, switches the car's DC current to the house's AC current. The frig uses one or two hundred watts, depending on the vintage. A furnace may use 750 watts for the initial ignition, then about 400 watts to run the fan. Definitely don't want to try running the electric dryer (3500 watts).

The inverter can be bought online, but Gaylord bought his at Harbor Freight in Trenton. A cord to connect the inverter to the Prius battery can be bought at a local auto parts store. These two items add up to less than $200--far cheaper than buying a stand-alone generator that will be rarely used and may prove less than dependable. You'll likely need a switch installed on the furnace so you can plug it into an extension cord running from the inverter. (At our house, we've always used a wood stove for backup heat (and often primary heat as well), but this sort of inverter would be handy for the refrigerator and other appliances.)

Another approach to energy backup for the home, for those who have a lot more spare change, is the Joule Box. It's an invention of Mike Strizke, best known for  The Hopewell Project, a hydrogen powered home not far from Princeton.

Free Stone Soup Circus Performances This Weekend

Following up on a highly entertaining production of British "panto" this past February, Princeton's own Stone Soup Circus will perform outdoors this weekend at Pettoranello Gardens. The performances are dedicated to the memory of Liz Erickson. Here's the announcement:

"On June 14th and 15th at 6pm there will be a free, public performance of Circus Neverland by Stone Soup Circus and The Circus Place. Liz Erickson was engaged with our community circus from early on, as a parent, cheerleader and even performer. Over the years she has brought many friends into our ring. This year, Liz kindly provided a budget to allow a group of young leaders to take over production of the show. The producers are dedicating the performance to Liz' memory. 

Circus Neverland is an original creation involving both youth and adults as performers. Our third annual show will take place in Pettoranello Gardens, Mountain Avenue, Princeton. Seating from 5:45pm, show at 6pm. The show will last about 75 minutes. All are welcome."

My guess is that you'll want to either get there early or park near the Community Park fields and then walk over to the Community Park North side of 206. Or, of course, ride a bike.

Princeton Festival Full of Promise

Having grown up listening to a recording of Leontine Price and William Warfield singing Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, I had the June 5 Princeton Festival's preview of their upcoming production circled on my calendar. The program announcement on the Princeton Public Library's website sounded straightforward enough: 

"Principal singers present scenes from the opera that is the centerpiece of The Princeton Festival’s tenth season. Artistic director Richard Tang Yuk and stage director Steven LaCosse will discuss the production and answer questions from the audience." 

The description by the directors of all that goes in to this ambitious production was breathtaking. Over the past year and a half, they traveled across the country auditioning singers, dealt with countless details of acquiring the performance rights from the Gershwin family, casting, rehearsal scheduling, on and on. More than half of the cost of the festival is paid by the Festival's generous donors. 

Then came some stunning renditions by members of the cast. A rendition of "My Man's Gone Now" left many of us in tears.

Then came a beautifully rendered, deeply moving duet on "Bess, You Is My Woman Now."

This promises to be an extraordinary show. A full listing of Princeton Festival concerts can be found at this link. Performances run through June 29.

Citizens Climate Lobby Monthly Meetings

There is strong support among economists for "taxing bad", meaning to tax activities that have detrimental impacts. This runs contrary to the blanket condemnation of taxes that has long interfered with improving our use of this important tool for influencing behavior.

The most efficient way to prevent further destabilization of the climate is to put a tax on carbon-based energy--the sort that we have been taking from its safe sequestered state underground, and pumping into the atmosphere in its highly active form as carbon dioxide. Everyone agrees that carbon dioxide, in the right amount, plays a vital role in the atmosphere, keeping the planet hospitable for life. But there can be, and there now is, too much of a good thing, just as the vital capacity of our bodies to stay warm can morph into a dangerous fever if things get out of balance. So much of our personal health, and the health of the planet, depends on maintaining the right chemical balance--in our bodies, in the atmosphere, in the oceans. Similarly, carbon-based fuels have many short term benefits, allowing us mobility and comfort, but we now know that the longterm impacts of utilizing them are devastating and long-lasting, and alternative energies coupled with greater efficiency can be applied now to squeeze these harmful fuels out of our lives.

The Citizens Climate Lobby is a national organization with local chapters, each working to build support for a carbon tax that will drive innovation and motivate people to reduce consumption of carbon-based fuels, without imposing financial hardship. One argument against a carbon tax is that it might affect the poor, who often need to drive from poor neighborhoods to more prosperous locations where the jobs are, and tend to live in poorly insulated houses. But the tax being promoted is "revenue-neutral", meaning that instead of going into government coffers, the money raised is given back as equal payments to all U.S. citizens. Each of us gets a periodic check in the mail for an equal amount, regardless of how much carbon energy we use.

The best tax is the kind you can avoid paying. With a carbon tax, each of us can find ways to use less carbon energy, whether by using a more efficient car, planning out errands better, using fans more and the air conditioner less. Our innate resourcefulness and adaptability can be applied in many ways to trimming the amount of gas or electricity needed to maintain comfort and mobility. The less energy used, the more money from that check that can be applied to other purposes.

Princeton's chapter of the Citizens Climate Lobby meets the first Saturday of each month, usually at 12:30pm in one of the members' homes. Meetings are informative and upbeat. If you'd like to attend or find out more, send an email to climatecallie@gmail.com.

On Jo Butler's Primary Victory

In this past Tuesday's primary election, Jo Butler won a spot on the fall ballot for Princeton town council along with fellow Democrat Bernie Miller, narrowly beating challenger Sue Nemeth. The campaign was an uncomfortable situation for me, because I had served on commissions or committees with both Jo and Sue, and have had very positive interaction with both of them, and Bernie as well. The following is a letter I submitted to the Town Topics the week before the primary, but which was not printed for lack of space. 

On the June 3 primary question of whether Jo Butler should be displaced on town council, I have friends I respect and have worked closely with on both sides. It is painful to see Princeton once again, as with the Dinky, split into two contradictory views of reality, with stories circulating and no adequate way to filter out fact from fiction. In my own interactions with Jo, on the Citizens Financial Advisory Task Force and elsewhere, I have found her to be dedicated, open-minded, thoughtful, and considerate of other views. I could say the same of Bernie Miller. 

I see two underlying tensions at issue. One is the question of how to balance independence of mind with being a “team player”. My sense, having served on town advisory commissions, is that a reality-based independence can serve the “team” better than a default loyalty. Generally speaking, at a national level or locally, staunch loyalty to a group can diminish loyalty to truth, leaving the group vulnerable to false assumptions and assertions. 

There is also a tension between the often contradictory needs to get through a meeting’s agenda while adequately examining and discussing the issues at hand. It’s a balancing act, dependent on the good judgement and sensitivity of all members. The most productive meetings I’ve taken part in are those where all members are free to efficiently interject, to agree or disagree, all while moving forward. Results are not preordained, but instead grow out of the facts presented, and the values and judgement of those present. In such situations, democracy is not an abstraction but fully on display--a deeply satisfying part of our lives.

That's what I wish for Princeton, and I believe the current council members are capable of achieving it.

Zen and the Art of Climate Stabilization

On Memorial Day, some examples of how to fight for the homeland:

The old way: fighting by emitting.

The new way: fighting by not emitting (the Bicycle Brigade),

or by emitting less.

"Water: Our Most Undervalued Resource"

This morning, Sustainable Princeton will host another in its excellent series of Great Ideas Breakfasts at the Princeton Public Library. This month's program is about water that comes through Princeton in all its forms: precipitation, runoff, drinking water, wastewater. And those are just the liquid forms of that most magical of substances we take for granted. I'll be leading one of the discussions at the event, which prompted going back through the hundreds of posts on this blog and finding the ones particularly relevant to the issue at hand. Together, they show how connected are all these sources of water in our community.

INFO ON PRINCETON'S DRINKING WATER

Where Our Drinking Water Comes From--Canoeing the Mighty Millstone: A kayaking adventure downstream to where Princeton's drinking water is drawn from the confluence of the Millstone and Raritan Rivers, treated and pumped some 20 miles to our faucets.

Princeton's Drinking Water: A writeup on what watersheds supply Princeton's drinking water, and what chemical is used to treat it (usually not chlorine).

Where Princeton's Drinking Water Comes From: Some of Princeton's water used to, and occasionally still does, come from wells in a nature refuge.

INFO ON PRINCETON'S WASTEWATER

Where Princeton's Wastewater Goes: Princeton's annual electrical bill for wastewater treatment approaches $1.5 million dollars.

Save On Sewer Rates: How to reduce your sewer bill and, while you're at it, your water bill.

Reduce Your Water and Sewer Bills:

Practical Dreaming: Atlantic City Lives Part of the Future Today: Windmills, solar panels, a green roof, and treatment good enough to restore nearby shellfish beds.

Willow School: Where the World Starts Making Sense: Cisterns to catch and reuse rainwater, and off-the-grid wastewater treatment by wetlands, are just a few of the sustainable features of this private school to the north of Princeton.

UTILIZING RUNOFF

Sump Pump-ageddon: Sump pumps can be a tool for good or mayhem, depending on where they pump your basement water.

Philadelphia's Waterworks: How Philadelphia used to pump its water to the top of the hill where the art museum now stands, and let it gravity feed to neighborhoods.

Clean Water and Recycling: The Connection: The fate of plastics that fall into the street.

RUNOFF AND HABITAT

A Great Blue Heron Pays a Visit: Backyard miniponds + goldfish = surprise backyard guest

Native Floodplain Wildflowers and the Pollinators They Attract: Many posts can be found on the beauty and rich habitat that runoff can sustain in a backyard. This link was created by typing the word "boneset" into the search box at the companion blog, PrincetonNatureNotes.org. Try typing in names of other plants or insects to find additional posts.

Retention Basin Beauty: Converting the retention basin "turfpit" at Farmview Fields in Princeton to warm-season native grasses.

Habitat for Education: Another retention basin converted into a rich wetland with frogs, crayfish, wild rice, and thirty other native plant species, at Princeton High School.

Use a Prius as a Backup Generator

For anyone considering buying a generator to run portions of the house during power outages, consider the hybrid car option instead. Though a gas generator can be bought for under $1000, they are noisy, polluting, and will prove undependable if not properly maintained. I overheard a hardware store manager speaking very pessimistically about the life span of the generators he sells. Natural gas generators hooked permanently to the house are quieter and more dependable, but are much more expensive, may require that larger bore gas pipes be installed, and also cannot be guaranteed to start when needed. A generator, after all, requires substantial investment in a machine that will be used very rarely.

One couple I know is considering using their money instead to invest in a Prius for their second car. Devices are available to convert a Prius (and perhaps other hybrids as well) so it can serve as a quiet, dependable generator to sustain vital home functions during power outages. The engine in a Prius is designed to automatically turn on and off to keep the battery pack charged. Here's one brochure on the subject. Definitely worth researching as an option.

Saturday's Pancake Breakfast Benefits the Princeton Rotary

The Rotary Club of Princeton is one of those organizations that works quietly to do a lot of good. I've been getting to know the club's members through their efforts to help save the historic home of the visionary mathematician Oswald Veblen, in Herrontown Wood.

They are a group with a can-do attitude, who find pleasure and satisfaction in serving the community, and have international service projects as well. Their annual Pancake Festival at Palmer Square makes it easy to support their work. Come by tomorrow, Saturday, May 24, for food and jazz, then catch the Memorial weekend parade down Nassau Street.

Learn more about the Rotary at http://www.princetonrotary.org/community.html.

The Aroma of Sun-Dried Bedsheets

I've encountered these pullies before--rusted, crumpled on the ground--and wondered what they had been used for. Here's one in working order, holding up a clothesline in a friend's backyard. She hangs sheets and pajamas on it. She had worried the neighbors would mind, but that's not the case. The pulley system allows her, or a housekeeper, to hang up all the laundry while standing in one elevated spot on the backyard deck.

Interesting is the story she told of the appealing aroma of sun-dried laundry. She thinks it's the wind that makes it smell so good. She has vivid memories as a child of crawling into bed with freshly cleaned and air-dried sheets. She continued the tradition with her own children. When her kids were young, there was one item (a security blanket?) that one of the kids would only allow to be washed if it was dried out on the line. I like to think of the air-dried sheets as sails whose aroma does the transporting.

This deep sensory connection, of falling asleep to the aroma of the wind, captured in the bedsheets, has an added dimension when it comes to energy. In the photo is our "whole house energy meter", which all houses should come with. The first photo shows our house being powered by nature (air-drying of clothes). Only 90 watts are being used. The consumption skyrockets to 4000 watts if the electric dryer is being used. A clothesline, then, is a way to be solar powered without the expense of panels.

As important as the pulley at either end of the clothesline is the mechanism that allows the clothesline to be easily tightened, particularly when it's new and is stretching out. This little device locks the rope in place after you pull it through.

One note of caution: It may be important to keep the clothesline away from shrubs and other perches, as birds are most likely to lighten their load while perching or at the moment of takeoff. At our house, we use folding racks indoors to dry laundry, with the exception of towels, and an outdoor line under an overhang for sheets in the summertime.

Update: Here's my friend's experience with clotheslines and birds:

"When I started using the clothes line more than 40 years ago I decided that if I had bird droppings I would spot wash the item if I needed to. Surprisingly enough, I have had very few problems over the years even when I still had some wild cherry trees in my back yard, and some of the bird droppings left some very purple markings on my deck. But not on my clothes!!! You just have to have faith."

OnStage Performs Locally Harvested Stories This Weekend

(Also posted at PrincetonNatureNotes.org) 

OnStage, the 55+ community theater group I joined two years ago, will be performing locally harvested monologues and scenes at the Arts Council of Princeton this Saturday, May 17 at 7:30pm. Directed by McCarter Theater's Adam Immerwahr, we create original documentary scripts gathered from interviews within the community. This year's show, "Live With That", has to do with "the decisions we make, big and small, that have shaped our lives--everything from starting college at age 40, to moving a parent into a nursing home, to dealing with a daughter’s less-than-ideal date."

More info, including a video, can be found at www.onstageseniors.org. Tickets can be bought online, and there may be some at the door.

Rummage Weekend

Princeton's Unitarian Universalist church is packed again this weekend, that is, with furniture, books, and who knows what else, ready to sell during its super sized rummage sale on Saturday, May 10. Funds raised are given to a long list of local nonprofits.

 Here are the details.

I took the opportunity to deliver a few items rescued from the curb that still had some life in them.

Looks like they'll be going headboard to headlamp against another annual rite of redistribution, the flea market hosted by the Princeton First Aid Squad at 237 North Harrison Street, next to the Shopping Center. That one's 9-1.