Ozarks Going Green

People come to compacting from a diverse background and for a lot of reasons. Some are doing it for thrift or simplicity. For others, it is an act of protest against an out-of-control corporate machine. Another cornerstone to compacting is sustainability. Simply refusing to contribute to an unsustainable system is likely the primary motivation for most compacters.

When we moved from California to Springfield, Missouri, we hardly expected to find anything on the cutting edge of sustainability. In our blue-state arrogance, we thought the San Francisco Bay Area had a lock on such things. Matt O'Reilly, the owner of Dynamic Earth outdoor outfitters and developer of the Green Circle shopping center is proving us wrong.

Green Circle is shooting for a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum rating. This platinum rating isn't easy to come by, and if he succeeds, O'Reilly's shopping center will be the first anywhere to get that rating.

The shopping center shares parking space with an area church, so no new land is paved for those parking slots. The roof collects and recycles rainwater, Skylights cut down on the need for interior lights, and at every turn, the consumption of resources is managed for the center and its tenants.

It will soon be the centerpiece of a surprising number of area green building innovators and innovations. Local startup company theworkshop 308 LLC is focused on green furniture and green building techniques. The Discovery Center, our local children's science museum, just got its LEED gold certification and local firm EWI plans to build a LEED certified headquarters. It has been a real surprise to us to find how widespread green building techniques have become here in the Ozarks.

Compact Action: In with the Old (part.2)

Cynthia let's me share with you our family's effort's to live without buying anything new as part of a group called "The Compact." In the face of ongoing revelations about the abject criminality of the current administration, it sometimes seems like wasted effort. What we get out of it is community, a divorce from advertising, and a heightened awareness of consumerism’s grasp. Along the way, we save a little carbon and a lot of sanity by making due instead of chasing new.

As a compacter, you spend a lot of time looking for things used. It doesn't add up to as much time as we shopped before, but the quest for used items requires effort. Bay Area flea markets provided most of the household goods we needed. As people discarded last year's model, we were right there to scoop it up. It has been hard replacing that resource.

It was a quirk I hadn't counted on. A flea market here in Missouri isn't the same as a flea market in California, or even my childhood home of Tennessee. Around here, the outdoor gathering of sellers I think of as a flea market is called a swap meet. The flea markets are antique malls where you can rent space by the booth. They are useful for a compacter, we got some shelves for our daughter's room at one, but not quite what I'm looking for.

It is a local linguistic quirk that changes right at the border apparently. In Collinsville, Il, just across from St. Louis, flea markets revert to what I'm used to. We haven't found a good one yet so we lean heavily on thrifts and garage sales.

One Missouri perk has been the trend of city-wide yard sales. From Neosho to Bolivar, you can find one every weekend in spring. This amounts to dozens of easy to find smaller sales and has been a great resource for kids clothes, tools, and household items.

Thrift stores have been a disappointment. In the high-living bay area, space and fashion meant the thrift stores were full of new and barely used items. Here, good old hillbilly thrift sees to it that items get used until they are threadbare.

Overall, this means we've had to adjust some of our buying. We remain largely on the path, blithely throwing out the circulars from Wal-Mart and Target unread. As I told a friend here, I don’t care how cheap the prices are, the cost is too high. Next week, we'll look at a major Missouri development toward sustainability that will soon be heard about nationwide.

Compact Action: In with the Old (part.1)

Buying used is the core activity for compact members. For a year, they are challenged to "not buy new." After making the commitment to simplify their lives and walk away from the corporate and commercial world of consumption, actually doing it takes up the other 364 days. We’ll look at a couple of ways to avoid buying new this week and I’ll post a couple more next week.

One predicted consequence of our move was the need of new things. This means new to us, not necessarily "new" as in fresh from the store. Here are our family strategies.

First, can you borrow it or do without? Especially for tools and large, seldom used items, borrowing is the best way to avoid buying. My father-in-law's lawnmower works as well as a new one and costs me only gasoline.

I suppose a real hard-core compacter would do without the lawn. Talking yourself out of purchases all together works fairly well. We didn’t replace a lot of things we left behind in California. Every person has a different level of need. There are folks on the compact list that have learned to live without toilet paper. I'm not there yet.

Can you get what you need for free? Asking friends and neighbors, family, and freecycle for something is usually my next step. I've turned up a surprising amount of useful loot. I also give away the things I'm done with as well. This is an excellent strategy for kids clothes, baby items and recreational items. I got a couple of coolers and a swing set this way.

I’ll continue down the list in a couple of weeks with thrifts and flea markets and the Missouri quirks that have gone along with them. Until then, try redusing and reusing for yourself.

Compact Action: Faint Blue Lights

Before I ever left California, I knew I would find allies in Springfield. Thanks to the Internet and the almighty power of Google, I moved knowing there were at least a few faint blue lights in this red-state landscape.

One of the first I found was The Radish, an anarchist infoshop. Infoshops act as a clearinghouse for activist information. Just seeing they had one in Springfield was a very good sign to me. Alas, they are homeless at the moment, but I am still networking with them.

Feel isolated and alone in your beliefs? Use the Internet to find a local branch of your community. I networked through Democratic Underground and The Compact before I ever left California.

Open Secrets is another amazing resource. You could find all the Nader, Gore or Kerry supporters in your zip code with a well-crafted search. I did.

Search out sympathetic businesses. I find like-minded souls at Mama Jean's, a popular health food store. They help me find organically grown and locally produced products.

Finally, you can grow your own allies.

That's the experiment I'm in now. Writing for the Springfield Business Journal, I've already gotten some Domestic Partnership coverage written. I tell everyone I meet about the Compact and find common ground in a determined Ozark resourcefulness.

Before long I expect to find others to join me along this path. Together we'll fan the flames of these ever brightening blue lights.