Yes! We’ve Moved!
At last, BRING is on the move. By the time you get this newsletter, BRING’s resale outlet will be open for business at our new home in Glenwood. Stop by and see our new covered retail area and customer service/education building. Check out our beautiful bioswale and covered boardwalk. Park in our paved parking lot. If you’ve been shopping at BRING for all these years, you simply won’t believe the difference! (click here for directions).

Our former home of 36 years will be closed forever, marking the end of an era. The land, leased from Lane County since 1971, will be restored as wetlands. (Rumor has it that some County staffers are dreaming of a park!) We want to thank the folks at Lane County for working with us all these years and allowing BRING to flourish on that little, swampy acre we called home.

While our new resale outlet is up and running, we still have a lot of work to do to complete the transformation to sustainable learning center — a place where you want to linger, explore, learn and return.

Watch for new features as you visit us over the next few months:
• We’ll beautify our entryway on Franklin Blvd. with trees and plants, selected by landscape architect Kate McGee to thrive in the poor soil and challenging conditions we discovered there.
• We’ll install a swing-arm, railroad crossing-style gate to secure the site at night. LCC’s advanced welding class will fabricate the mechanism with metal donated by Schnitzer Steel. BRING employee Dale Stepp will add giant metal cut-outs of our logo. Watch for it!
• The entry plaza outside our (almost finished) office will be graced with tile work and a mural created by the ArtChics, a group of multi-talented artists who have raised more than $7,000 for the campaign through two holiday card and art sales.

Our staff is ready to welcome you to BRING’s Planet Improvement Center, 4446 Franklin Blvd. in Glenwood. (Left to right) Damien, Chris, Abram, Brandon M., Caleb, Brandon P., Tony, Ron, John, Jay, Preston, Julie, Dale, and Greg

Hot Tips for a Cool Planet
There are lots of actions you can take this summer to help cool down our warming planet. Each day is an opportunity to chip away at your carbon load. Take a look at this list of tips and find at least one change to try out. It’s worth the effort. Also be sure to check out the Carbon Footprint below. The source for most of this information is the UO’s Climate Leadership Initiative (click here)

SUMMERTIME TIPS

Closed by day, open by night
Closing window blinds or curtains during the day will keep things a lot cooler inside. After the sun goes down, open your windows to ventilate and let the cool air in.

Ratchet it up a few notches
If you use an air conditioner, try setting the thermostat at least two degrees warmer this summer. This simple adjustment, hardly noticeable to you, can save a lot of energy since almost half of the energy we use in our homes goes towards heating and cooling. It’s also good to make sure your air conditioning unit is shaded in the summer so that it doesn’t have to work so hard.

Fans are cool to have
A cool breeze from the wind or from a fan does wonders to cool things down. Remember this low tech solution this summer before you switch on the energy-guzzling AC.

Air your clean laundry
Our hot, dry summer days are perfect for drying clothes. It adds time to the clean clothes chore but subtracts around 600 pounds from your carbon dioxide tally if done for 5 months out of the year.* Dishes, too, can be quickly air-dried by opening the washer after the rinse cycle.

Make the neighbors green with envy
Grow an eco-lawn or bountiful garden instead of a thirsty, high maintenance lawn. Your neighbors might get a bit jealous—and inspired--when they’re out mowing once again and you’re enjoying the finer points of summer like hammock naps, fresh-picked tomatoes, and beautiful flowers.

Build some muscle
Take advantage of the reliably dry summer weather to bike to destinations as much as possible. Mount a basket on the front and/or back of your bike to make errands easier. Pretty soon, your leg muscles will be stronger and your “carbon footprint” (see below) will be much, much smaller. You may decide to keep on pedaling through the rainy season!

Stay close and get fresh
Summer in Lane County is a literal cornucopia of fresh local foods. Whether you get your fresh produce from a CSA box, a natural foods store, the farmers’ market, or your backyard, getting your food from nearby is the yummiest way to reduce your carbon load. Try eating only locally grown foods for a week and see how you feel—you may never go back to the imports.

Turn it off before you take off
If you’re going on vacation, turn your hot water heater off . You can install a switch or timer or simply flip the circuit breaker. Heating water is one of the biggest energy users in our homes and leaving heaters on all the time is a slow, steady energy leak.

Green get-aways
The hospitality industry spends $3.7 billion per year on energy and an average-size hotel buys more products in a week than a hundred (American) families do in a year. Whether you leave the country or stick closer to home, seek out lodging and activities that support the companies that are taking steps to go green (e.g., using renewable energy, reducing laundering, etc.). To go really green, stay close to home and discover our local wonders!

Unbottled hydration
Quench your thirst this summer without all the bottles. Not only is bottled water expensive, it takes energy to make the bottles and transport them full of liquid. Tap water loses any chlorine taste after sitting overnight, plus we have some of the best tap water in the country—take advantage!

Made in the shade
Trees are a great way to naturally cool your home. Planting deciduous trees on the south, west, and east sides of the house will greatly reduce the amount of solar heat coming in when it’s hot but when temperatures start to drop in the fall, so do the leaves to allow the heat and light in. Awnings over sunny windows are another great way to cool things down cheaply and beautifully.

Tree cheers
One tree can absorb a ton of carbon dioxide in its lifetime and releases oxygen all the while. Trees also increase property value both economically and ecologically. Th e best time to plant a tree is in the fall when the rains return but do some research this summer about what type to plant and where it should go to maximize the tree’s health and its advantage to you (e.g., for summer shading).

YEAR-ROUND TIPS

Burn less gas
It’s said that for every gallon of gasoline you save, 20 lbs of CO₂ are avoided. For ways to wean yourself from your car, check out LTD’s Commuter Solutions by going to www.ltd.org or call 687-5555 for alternative modes of movement.

Stay tuned
Keeping your car (or motorcycle) well-maintained will improve its fuel effi ciency and reduce emissions. Check spark plugs, oxygen sensors, air filters, hoses and belts. Be sure to use the type of motor oil recommended for your specific car since efficiency drops if the oil’s thicker than needed. Also, get rid of any unnecessary weight in the car: even 100 extra pounds will cut into your car’s economy by 2%.

Maximize manuals, minimize motors
Burn calories, not gas by using manual tools whenever possible. The U.S. EPA cites gas-powered landscape equipment like mowers, trimmers, blowers, and chain saws as the source of a full 5% of urban pollution in our country.

Don’t be idle
If you idle for more than 10 seconds in a typical car, it takes more energy and emits more pollution than if you simply restarted your car.

Get pumped
Check your tires weekly to make sure they’re properly inflated: www.carcare.org/Tires_Wheels/inflation.shtml This can improve gas mileage by more than 3% (that’s about one more mile to the gallon in a 30mpg car!).

Baton down the hatches
Does your home have a good hat on? A poorly insulated home leads to a lot of energy waste whether by excessive heating or cooling. Ask your utility if they off er free home energy audits, to save 30% or more on your energy bills!

Exorcise phantom loads
Even when they’re not in use, electronics like televisions, toasters, computers, cell phone chargers, and hairdryers all drain a small amount of energy—i.e., “phantom loads.” For most households, the phantom load amounts to how much energy a 100-watt light bulb burns if left on 24 hours a day, all year long. Plug several electronics into a power strip, and switch them off when they’re not in use to prevent thousands of pounds of CO2 a year.*

Feed the loops
Reuse and recycling (including compost) saves a lot of energy. Just by recycling half the waste generated by a typical household, over 2,000 pounds of CO₂ a year can be prevented. Click here for a listing of over seventy materials that can be reused or recycled in Lane County.

Less is best
Whether it’s packaging, products, or poundage, going for options that minimize how much you get—even if it later gets recycled—will greatly improve your environmental impact. The Carbon Footprint graphic below illustrates the significance of cutting down on material consumption.

Eat low on the food chain
Animals take a lot of energy to raise for food. By eating more grains and other plant products, we get the sun’s energy more directly and at less environmental cost. For example, if there are fewer cows needed for burgers, we’ll cut down on the amount of methane gas emitted by these bovine beasts and forests cleared for their grassy grazing.

Cold water cleans
Save money and energy by washing clothes in cold or warm water instead of hot. Detergents are now designed to clean effectively in cold water.

Take the Challenge! Mayor Kitty Piercy invites one and all to sign on to the Mayor’s Climate Challenge. You can calculate your personal greenhouse gas emissions and learn how to reduce your load. Visit www.sustaineugene.com

Meet our two newest board members: Carole Knapel and Emily Shack.

Carole is a Project Manager for the City of Springfield and has over 20 years experience in managing construction projects. Currently,she’s working on the Peace Health River Bend development. She is an animal lover and works with RideAble to provide horseback riding for individuals with special needs.

Emily Shack is an Attorney at Shlesinger & deVilleneuve. She moved from Chicago to study environmental law at the University of Oregon, where she helped organize the Public Interest Environmental Law Conference. She interned at Western Environmental Law Center and the Domestic Violence Clinic. She likes gardening and backpacking with her dogs and loves “the energy and challenge of working for the environment and working with a group that is energized and poised to handle emerging environmental issues.”

Beginnings and Endings

Good things come to an end, good people move on to new ventures and new ones take their place. This spring we said goodbye to our Business Manager, David Wollner. David ran our deconstruction and warehouse programs for the past eight years. During his time with us, both programs grew significantly, replacing recycling as our main source of income. He put a big emphasis on customer service, and made the warehouse a welcoming place. He was instrumental in creating the vision for the Planet Improvement Center as a place to demonstrate practical ways to conserve and live sustainably. David is an excellent writer, and readers of Used News will miss his insightful articles—unless we can convince him to keep writing! You’ll be able to look in on David in his new life—he’s opening up a sustainable home store across from Down to Earth on 5th & Olive.


Meet Brandon Petitti, our new Deconstruction Manager. Brandon is a local guy, with many years of construction and crew supervisory experience. He’s built a lot of structures around town, and now he’s looking forward to taking things apart for a change! Deconstruction is a great way to give usable materials a second life, do something good for the environment and save some money. Whether you have a whole house or just a set of cabinets you want removed, give Brandon a call at 606-1476.

Letter from the Director
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE PEOPLE.

One of the best things about being part of BRING is meeting and working with the dozens of amazing people who volunteer, work or interact with us as customers, donors and suppliers. People really do turn dreams into reality, and a small group with purpose and vision can move mountains. You only have to look at our beautiful new home to confirm that. Back in 2000, a handful of dreamers developed the initial concept for the Planet Improvement Center as part of BRING’s first 5-year Strategic Plan—now hundreds of people have contributed their money, time and resources to make it happen. In this issue of Used News we’ve highlighted some of the many dedicated volunteers who are part of this project. Come by our new home and see what they’ve done.

BRING has always been about thoughtful, committed people working towards a common goal—conscious, prudent use of the Earth’s natural resources. Many people are familiar with Margaret Mead’s often used quote, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Our history supports Margaret Mead’s belief: when people act together, great things can happen. Following Earth Day in 1970, people all over America formed grass roots organizations to protect the environment. BRING was one of them. Just a handful of people gave birth to an organization that has helped shape the culture of this community—a community where recycling is now the norm, not just something a few zealots do.

We’ve been developing the Planet Improvement Center so we can tackle a much more challenging issue—increasing public understanding of how wasteful and inefficient resource use contributes directly to climate change, pollution and habitat destruction. We want to hear how you think we should approach this. What kinds of programs should we have? What services should we provide? What can we do to improve? To find the answers to these questions and set our course for the next few years, BRING’s volunteer Board of Directors has committed to a comprehensive visioning and planning process resulting in an updated 5-Year Strategic Plan.

We need you, our readers, customers and clients, to uncover our collective wisdom. Given these challenging global trends, what is your vision for BRING? Project yourself out into the future in the year 2015 and answer these questions for us: 1) It is now 2015, Why/how is BRING important to you? 2) It is now 2015, what does BRING do best? What are we known for in our community, nationally and beyond? 3) In order to move toward your vision for BRING, what is one key thing that BRING needed to do or improve back in 2007-08?

It’s easy to give us feedback. You can click here to go to the survey page and print&mail or email a response. You can fill out a survey when you shop, they’ll be right at the cash register in our beautiful new customer service lobby at the Planet Improvement Center. You can take one home and mail it later. No matter what method you choose, please do weigh in! Together, we can shape a dynamic future for BRING and help our community—and the world—live well without waste. —Julie Daniel

Volunteers make it all happen at the Planet Improvement Center! If you want to meet some of the most interesting people in town, do something fun that really makes a difference, learn new skills or share your expertise, we’re the place for you.

Our vision of a place with classes, tours, demonstrations, exhibits and events will mean lots of great opportunities to be part of the fun. Thanks to a grant from the Oregon Community Foundation, we’ll soon have our very first volunteer and community outreach coordinator. Watch our Web site, this newsletter and United Way listings for ways to get involved. You could help build a tool shed from cob, design and build a rainwater catchment system, teach a class or help organize a trash fashion show. You could be an ambassador, helping people find just the right item in the warehouse for their project, or avoid people altogether and commune with the lush crop of weeds that keep popping up in the landscaping.

Call today and find out more!

Hal Petersen graduated from the Master Recycler program (Spring ’06) and wanted to find a good way to spend his payback hours. When he called around “to find a place that was congenial,” he was told by BRING’s project manager, Carol Stineman,that he would be “welcomed with open arms.” As a retired carpenter and industrial arts teacher, Hal has a serious skill set that we put right to use at the Planet Improvement Center. Everything from framing our office to building a countertop in the staff break room, his work has been a huge help. Hal enjoys helping out at the Planet Improvement Center because, he says, it’s a “very interesting place. I look around and see so many opportunities – for volunteers and customers alike!” Hal Peterson has put his carpentry skills to use in and around the Planet Improvement Center. Here he is in front of a relic from the past: an old steam engine. Tomoko started working on BRING’s future green roof three years ago. Her daughter, Aya, joined the project a year later and together the duo has grown over 3,500 plants! Aya turned this mighty undertaking into her high school community service project, logging at least 100 hours total.Aya says, “When my mom first told me about the project I had never heard of a ‘green roof ’ before. Now that I have been involved in the project at BRING for the past two years, I am passionate about the subject.” She adds that “With the constant development of our world we need to be equally environmentally aware. The green roof conserves energy, filters run-off water and keeps this water cool so it doesn’t heat up our rivers and lakes.This is especially important for the Eugene area because we have the Willamette River running right through town.”Tomoko says that she loves the idea of a green roof because, “It’s like having your cake and eating it too when you can have an urban building element and maintain the beneficial effect of the natural environment.” Both enjoy helping BRING “do its wonderful work” and the Sekiguchis have given all of us a wonderful gift of healthier water. Tomoko and Aya Sekiguchi grew some of the thousands of sedum plants for BRING’s new office building roof. Besides being beautiful, the “green roof” will provide many environmental benefits. Newt started Solar Assist in 1994 to help shed more light on the renewable energy issue. His company has helped install hundreds of systems that tap the sun for energy such as solar water heaters, photovoltaics,and hydronic heating. Newt has given a generous amount of his time, expertise, and resources to help install solar features at the Planet Improvement Center including a solar water heater and radiant floor heating.Originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan,Newt left his family’s local fame (his Dad was the U of M’s gymnastics coach creating renewable energy in its simplest for years) to come out West and stake a form, since the embodied energy of the name for himself. The area’s deep belief object is renewed for another use. Perhaps in recycling and environmental protection then, applying ‘classic’ renewable energies to obviously clicked for him as this insight BRING’s buildings and processes results in from Newt conveys: “Recycling is truly ‘Deep Recycling.’ Let’s all Dive IN! Newt Loken of Solar Assist standing on the Planet Improvement Center’s office roof where he has been helping to hook us into solar power. Bob has been a serious photographer for over 40 years but only recently made a profession out of it. When Gail Newton,a friend (and BRING Board member),asked him to start snapping photos at the Planet Improvement Center, the site was little more than a pipe dream. Bob agreed to take the volunteer task on and says that he has “…found it very rewarding. It was great fun watching the PIC take shape and finally open!”Bob recommends volunteering for a cause or organization that you believe in saying,“BRING works for me by helping me feel I am contributing to an organization that is is all that free pizza at the work parties!”helping the planet. It is also a great group We’re just really glad that Bob is around to of people to know. And of course, there capture all our baby steps on film. Bob Roelke stays focused on capturing the progress at the Planet Improvement Center

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality awards grants yearly to municipalities for eliminating waste and implementing reuse and recycling. BRING partnered with the City of Springfield and received $24,000 to make displays, carts, end-caps, and other sales tools that showcase the creativity inherent in reuse.

Here are examples of what we’ve done.

CAROUSEL DISPLAY RACK			END CAPS
Looking like a silly 50s’ Hollywood space robot with an open maw, this spinning display grew from the mind of BRING’s Dale Stepp. It’s a surprisingly balanced mix of stainless and cast iron sinks, auto parts,and steel tubing, but designed to destroy civilization as we know it.			These end displays show what can be accomplished when you hoard stuff for years hoping it might someday be useful. For the Hult Center orchestra shell, donated to BRING in 2002, “someday” finally came this year. Designed by Paul Clark of Metanova Studios and built by Dale Stepp, the graphic images are the handiwork of Abram, Anthony, Caleb and Brandon of the Decon Crew., and a smattering of volunteer painters.
BICYCLE CART
This area is known for bicycle carts, and here is our contribution. Based on a design by Paul Clark of Metanova Studios, the finished design was adapted and executed by Dale Stepp, with an assist from Damien Czech, using part of two bike frames and a wheelchair.
—David Wollner, BRING’s now former Business Manager

Dear Eco-Meister PETER REPPE

Available: hard-working, reliable workers skilled at transforming food waste into high quality compost; will work year-round with no time off or holidays.

Requirements: provide meals (plant-based food only; occasional eggshells are okay); well-ventilated, comfortable shelter that won’t get too hot or cold; a safe place to raise young.

Contact the Skinner City Farm at 344-8322 to inquire about getting some red wiggler worms.

Tossed & Found Reuse Art & Craft Show at BRING Come to the Planet Improvement Center to see the Tossed and Found traveling art and craft show from Portland. The practical and street-influenced works will inspire everyone with their amazing wealth of creative reuse of free materials which integrate the community through art. Wear your trashiest fashion and come ready to be wowed! Saturday, July 28th , 4pm to 7pm Planet Improvement Center, 4446 Franklin Blvd. in Glenwood. Click here for directions and call 746-3023 for details. The works will be showcased for a month.