in response to the more than 100 fires since oct. 8, head of operations for the lebanon’s civil defence, george abu masa, said in an interview with agence france-presse, “we have mobilized 80% of our personnel and almost all our centers in lebanon.” the dire situation was echoed by syrian agriculture minister mohammed hassan qatana who reported dozens of fires still burning on oct. 9, with two provinces along the lebanese border, tartus and latakia. 

this is a pattern that began in october of 2019, due to rising average temperatures and increases in the wind. one factor that continues to plague lebanon, in particular, is the increase in human pollution in natural spaces without the proper infrastructure and institutions to account for the debris that will fuel future infernos.

there is a growing international movement and recognition of nature-based solutions to economic, ecological, and systemic conundrums. the undp equator initiative highlights local sustainable development achievements across all seven continents through the collaborative efforts of the united nations, governments, civil society, business, and grassroots organizations. 

in 2020, a community in the congo basin called vie sauvage was one of the equator prize awardees because of their commitment to the health of various native, endangered species (particularly the bonobo ape) and the accompanying economic development that arose from ecotourism, sustainable management, and community activism. this community proved that placing biological conservation and indigenous values as the main priorities is also the most economically beneficial move for this, and potentially other, isolated indigenous and local groups.

“the just shall flourish like the palm tree, shall grow like a cedar of lebanon.” (psalms 92:13)

there is a deep connection between the strength and vitality of the cedar trees and that of the lebanese culture and identity. given the obvious linkage between this natural capital and social capital, i believe that there are plenty of opportunities to restore faith in institutions and the role of government through a biological conservation drive. green cedar lebanon is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that leads reforestation drives and social media campaigns to raise awareness on green solutions and galvanize political will for climate action.

while the influence of civil society in lebanon may not be as great as other nations due to unrest, its existence and collaboration with other groups demonstrate a tepid, yet growing demand for climate action and civic engagement in a nation that has struggled with both since its inception.

as a dena’ina athabascan, ruth stood on the ashes of centuries worth of decisions made for, not by, her people: the visitors who had pockmarked her tribe’s ground and polluted their waters; the visitors who had come and gone on their boats and airplanes; the visitors who had, she soon noticed, never really left. melting permafrost. vanishing caribou herds. oil rigs sprouting faster than the beets and broccoli. the impact of decisions was palpable—all she had to do was take a look around.

ruth grew up in anchorage, the de facto capital of alaska, nestled 180 miles into the cook inlet (tikahtnu in dena’ina), a small body of water shaped like a knobby finger stemming from the susitna, matanuska, and kenai rivers and spilling off into the gulf of alaska. 

the cook inlet basin is alaska’s oldest gas and oil basin. during its heyday in the ‘70s, production topped 230,000 barrels per day, but by the early ‘90s, operations had all but sputtered out, and by 1996, chevron corp. and marathon oil, the two big players in the region, ceased all activity. a year later, ruth was born to two indigenous rights lawyers. one could say she had it lucky.

“growing up i think i had the safety of innocence in that i saw our state blooming and thriving,” ruth said, now 22. “i knew what fresh wild salmon tasted like, what fresh moose meat tasted like. you know, we had access to our subsistence foods and our lifestyles.”

but every now and then, ruth would catch glimpses of industrialization. in 2009, cook region inlet, inc., started the construction of 11 wind turbines on fire island, a small uninhabited island near the head of cook inlet. in 2012, the turbines began feeding into the anchorage electrical grid. still, these projects could hardly deserve the name “industrialization” and anchorage—a city that in 2000 measured 250,000 people and to this day barely cuts 300,000—was a far cry from your typical metropolis.

and yet, the city has long been hailed alaska’s “biggest native village,” home to alaskan native communities from across the state, including yup’iks, inupiats, alaskan athabascans, tlingit-haidas, aleuts, and tsimshians. 

“we joked that either all of us are cousins or all of us have like 100 mutual facebook friends,” said ruth, who grew up immersed in this indigenous diversity, an experience that would later inform her advocacy work on behalf of these populations.

“i was gifted knowledge and wisdom and gifted relationships with people from all across the state,” she said. “and the stories they chose to give me are ones that i have to carry with care in my advocacy work while maintaining, you know, specificity and making sure that i’m not speaking stories that aren’t mine to tell.”

that’s not to say nothing was rotten in the state of anchorage. in the early 2000s, u.s.-indigenous relations in anchorage were souring. a month before ruth’s fourth birthday, three teenagers from eagle river, an anchorage suburb, drove downtown armed with paintball guns and ammunition and wounded several pedestrians. in a recording of their 15-mile drive, the teenagers were heard calling the pedestrians “eskimo(s).” the alaska house of representatives shortly declared the incident a hate crime.

as a multiracial child, ruth’s ancestry was always a sticking point. her mother is a dena’ina athabascan born in seward, a port city on the kenai peninsula about a 100 miles south of anchorage. ruth’s father, on the other hand, is a russian ashkenazi jew, born and raised in new york city.

“he did 23andme and he is like 99.8% russian jewish,” ruth said, “and then the other 1.2% is eastern european. so he was the first person ever in his entire lineage to marry out of the faith.”

you can imagine how this might have been difficult for ruth. before anchorage was an american city, it belonged to the russians. in the late 18th century, the lebedev-lastochkin company erected forts at kasilof and kenai and coerced the dena’ina athabascan people into the russian fur trade. ruth’s father was, of course, not part of this history, arriving much later in the ‘70s. a mountain climbing enthusiast, the alaska range lured the man north, but it was the work that kept him there. he was already a partner at sonosky, chambers, sachse, miller & monkman, an indigenous rights firm, and he opened up an office in anchorage. 

“i cannot imagine a life more devoted to the service other than the one that my dad chose,” ruth said.

bystander no longer

as a child, ruth became a regular participant in her parents’ practice, toted along to various tribal communities in alaska—the tlingit, eyak, yup’ik, cup’ik, and iñupiat—and in chile, nepal, and jordan. as she got older and started to understand what was going on, questions arose: “why is this happening? who’s causing this and why are those causing it not being a part of the solution?”

ruth credits kivalina as the first community she engaged with critically. kivalina is a thin barrier reef island between the chukchi sea and the kivalina lagoon in northwest alaska, only accessible via cargo plane. the island is home to the iñupiat village, a small group of around 400 subsistence hunters.

as early as the 1990s, changes started to occur in the landscape. hunting season, normally in may, was beginning two weeks earlier than before, which meant the ice was also thinning earlier. but the iñupiat only noticed the change years later when this became a habitual occurrence. sea ice was now consistently forming later in the year and melting at an alarming rate in the spring and summer. whaling camps became unsafe and the small island, dependent on the permafrost to keep the land from sliding into the ocean, was now at the mercy of the autumnal storms.

in 1992, the village voted to relocate but hit a wall of expenses, so in 2008 they sued 24 of the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies. these companies, they claimed, were a “public nuisance” that inflicted “unreasonable harm” on villagers through their greenhouse gas emissions. damages were designed to subsidize relocation, but the supreme court dismissed the case on the basis that their claim came under the clean air act, not federal tort law. the iñupiat, faced with the decision of filing a new claim in state court, dropped the case. 

ruth grew frustrated with the law. she couldn’t fathom how fossil fuel companies could get away with parsimony at the expense of her people or how the federal government could be so slow to exact justice. she was tired of playing the bystander.

in 2012, at the tender age of 15, ruth dove headfirst into advocacy work, joining a tribal 2022年世界杯亚洲预选赛结果 called united tribes of bristol bay (utbb). she was stationed in dillingham (also known as curyung), a small city in southwest alaska where utbb was organizing against pebble mine, an open-pit copper and gold mine proposed by pebble limited partnership.

holed up in an old storage unit, ruth talked to local fisherman about what they stood to lose if the project moved forward. dillingham sits on nushagak bay, an inlet of bristol bay, the world’s largest wild sockeye salmon fishery. a mine, even a mile wide, a mile long, and 200 meters deep, she explained, could destroy nearly 3,500 acres of wetlands and 81 miles of salmon streams, meaning thousands of american jobs lost and the death of subsistence hunting, sport-fishing, and tourism. 

the utbb’s efforts have stymied the permitting process, but it remains unclear whether their activism will terminate the project or merely delay the inevitable, a plodding, stop-start trail of paperwork entering its ninth year with no end in sight.

at the recommendation of alannah hurley, executive director of the united tribes of bristol bay, ruth was inspired to try out advocacy work from the inside. the following summer, at the age of 16, she entered the belly of the beast, joining the office of sen. mark begich. (“a senator i supported,” ruth said; begich had served as mayor of anchorage from 2004 to 2009.) working under andrea sanders, sen. begich’s legislative assistant for the senate indian affairs committee, ruth drafted the findings section of the traditional foods and nourishment act of 2013, making her not only one of the youngest interns on capitol hill, but possibly the youngest lawmaker that year. 

every now and then, ruth will be reminded of that law, the impacts of which are felt even today. 

“just last week, i was talking to andrea about bringing traditional subsistence foods into our public schools and that was only made possible because of this law that i contributed to,” ruth said. “it made a world of difference.”

ruth’s experiences on capitol hill have made her keenly familiar with the world of red tape and organizing bodies and you’ll rarely, if ever, hear her eulogize the system. when discussing tribal council meetings and alaska federation of natives (afn) conventions—“like the un”—she’ll eventually bring up robert’s rules of order. (“i think it’s really silly.”) “evil,” “capitalist,” and “colonial” usually go in the same sentence and don’t even get her started on the alaska native claims settlement act of 1971 (ancsa), the law that effectively established alaska native corporations.

‘lip service’

when ruth attended the inaugural u.n. youth climate summit last september, she was surprised to find herself in high spirits and hopeful. for many in attendance (including greta thunberg), the summit was a panoply of firsts—their first time in new york city; their first visit to the u.n. headquarters; the first time young people were being recognized on this scale. but for ruth, a seasoned student leader and burgeoning native rights advocate, this was already her third time inside the u.n. building. that year.

for all intents and purposes, the summit was a full-day program of panels, presentations, and photo-ops designed to galvanize young activists, innovators, entrepreneurs, and change-makers into climate action. u.n. secretary-general antónio guterres was in attendance, as well as heads of state, big business executives, and olympians (who got their own afternoon panel). the conference featured events such as a segment called “youth take the mic!” led by nonprofit founder yusuf omar and youtube influencer penny tovar, two peppy millennials with inexplicable 11 o’clock energy that appealed to the youthful crowd. (their voices nearly busted my speakers over the livestream via which many digital denizens, like me, tuned in around the globe.)

the conference ran smoothly for the most part, but was not without its hiccups. it’s pollyannaish to put impassioned, teenaged environmental activists in a room with middle-aged, white men entrusted with billion-dollar (carbon-intensive) corporations and not expect some friction. a particularly memorable episode was during the q&a portion of the “youth take the mic!” session, designed as a diplomatic forum for the young attendees to interact with the who’s who of the private and public sectors. the room went riotous when a girl who looked no older than 15 seized the mic from omar and, with eyes darting nervously around the room, pilloried microsoft chief environmental officer lucas joppa for his business dealings with oil companies. 

“let’s keep it civil,” omar said after taking back the floor.

setting aside these sporadic lapses in organization, the summit appeared—at least virtually—to achieve its goal, providing “a platform for young climate action leaders to showcase their solutions at the united nations and to meaningfully engage with decision-makers on the defining issue of our time.” according to the u.n., the summit was “was action-oriented, intergenerational, and inclusive, with equal representation of young leaders from all walks of life.”

ruth called foul.

“i found that the u.n. youth summit was seriously lacking in productive action,” she said. “i believe that there was a lot of lip service paid. from a youth perspective, i think that it was almost a convening to let off steam because what are global leaders going to walk away with from this? that youth care about the environment?”

for the youth climate movement, including greta thunberg’s fridays for future and jamie margolin’s zero hour, whose work is predicated on the attention of world leaders, the summit was a huge step forward. in fact, the whole week of sept. 20, was a huge step forward. the september 2019 climate strikes, which have since come to be known as the global week for future, consisted of several protests across the world demanding action from the highest levels of government. they generated inertia that was instrumental to the success of the youth climate summit. but ruth wasn’t so sure the summit was an effective climax of the movement’s efforts.

“if our protests did not make that clear (that we care),” she said, “if our entire movement did not make that clear, this conference did not particularly feel like it added more perspective.”

there were larger issues, too, to be found in the “equal representation” that the u.n. press releases have extolled.

ruth could not find many faces that looked like hers at the conference. it seems that economic struggles, especially acute amongst alaska’s native communities, can compound issues, affecting indigenous representation in spaces where indigenous representation matters most.

“if actual inclusion and acceptance was a priority for the u.n., then i would have expected to see many more youths who have been feeling the front lines of these climate change issues for years, not only the youths articulate enough to speak at a conference, but also the youth who have been chaining themselves to pipelines,” she said. “(the ones) who are protesting now in mauna kea. and the youth who may not be able to pay their way to a summit like this, for whom it may not be acceptable to miss school.”

in the dena’ina language, the traditional form of greeting is the phrase naghe nduninyu, which literally translates to “you came to us.” over the course of her life, ruth has spoken these words countless times and yet, their truth is becoming more and more uncertain.

although the summit opened with an indigenous prayer, the conference seemed to ruth to ignore the indigenous presence in the debate. the rest of the day was devoid of any mention of the people in closest relation to the earth, prioritizing lessons like “instagram on purpose” and the “viral video masterclass.” it was as if, ruth articulated, the summit was trying to blot out an irrefutable fact:

“we are still here. despite the efforts of genocide, despite massive pandemic, that wiped out our populations, we are still here. and we are still advocating for the sustainable and life-giving practices that we have learned from living in relationships with the environment for so long.”

marching forward

in december, ruth and two fellow native rights activists started an online platform for indigenous voices called always indigenous media. the organization, as the title suggests, aims to elevate the voices of indigenous people in the digital sphere, making that most egalitarian of communication modalities, the internet, service their needs. their content can be found on the defend the sacred alaska’s facebook page, a nonprofit group fighting for state-wide indigenous visibility.

ruth’s activism since the summit has taken her to the cop25 meeting in spain, where she marched alongside half a million other activists to the tune of “canada’s warrior woman” by martina pierre. currently, she’s back in anchorage, putting together a task force of high school-aged youth from across the state as part of the alaska youth for environmental action. on black friday, they staged a climate strike to bring awareness to the violence of the thanksgiving story and, as ruth puts it, to “encourage people to resist the consumerism and capitalism of black friday.” 

last may, ruth graduated with an undergraduate degree in development studies from brown university. her thesis, on the changing definition of indigeneity, explored how u.s. policies like ancsa have twisted native identity into something no longer recognizable. in an addendum, ruth included a letter attributed “for my grandmother, to my grandchild.” 

“someone told me that our blood remembers,” she writes, “it remembers being spilled out, it remembers drowning in the air, it remembers each drop that was taken from the body it cared for, left as dry as drought. that the land couldn’t turn away as they turned against her. that we were forced to watch, as they started taking, harming, scratching, clawing at her. pickaxing up the soft down of her legs, opening her arteries with oil rigs, pulling out her golden and copper teeth.” 

all ruth can hope is that her descendants, generations down the line, will read those words and remember who wrote them.

click on the photo below to learn more and see the full story about putnam:

the citizens of highland park knew they could not rely on their utility for support; the solution would have to come from within the community. the idea to install the first solar-powered street light can be credited to three community members working together in a church basement. this street light, financed by a crowdfunding campaign, was installed at 150 victor street. with just one street light, an idea was born. highland park community activists had caught sight of a larger vision, one of citywide, community-owned solar lighting.

in 2012, the organization soulardarity was formed, and over the next several years, the movement grew from a single initiative into an organization with the mission of lighting the city through a clean energy system developed and owned by the community. jackson koeppel, soulardarity’s executive director, admits the process was far from easy. 

“there are systemic and structural barriers to the problem we wanted to solve. corporate divestment, structural racism, and the monopoly investor-owned utility system kept blocking the solar street light solution in one form or another,” koeppel said.

as it turns out, the technology itself was the simple part. solar-powered street lights collect and store power in a battery during the day to be used at night. the installation cost of the solar lights ranges from $5,500 to $6,500, depending on the model. with maintenance expenses following installation, each light costs roughly $100 per year. traditional street lights actually cost more in both installation and long-term use because they require a connection to the grid system. instead of monthly electric bills, the largest cost of solar street lights is replacing the batteries. additionally, the electric bills for traditional street lights don’t consider the harmful environmental and health effects due to their primary power sources of coal, natural gas, and nuclear energy. 

while traditional street lights rely on energy from the electrical grid, solar street lights operate independently with batteries, so even when highland park is without power, the street lights will be shining. these lights are even able to power through michigan’s dark winters. the upper midwest is often considered inefficient when it comes to maximizing solar energy production, but these batteries are designed to store energy to supply power for five days without sunlight. michigan actually has a higher average amount of annual sunlight than germany, which has been leading the world’s solar market for years. 

while street lights are often thought of as a municipal service, it became clear this would not be the case in highland park. as long as they are acting within the city’s code and ordinances, businesses, schools, churches, and other organizations can own and manage their own street lighting. in highland park, there is a democratic membership process that allows the community to share ownership of the street lights installed by soulardarity. there are ample ways for members to engage in the program. they can join steering committees, attend quarterly meetings, or vote in elections for soulardarity’s board — which must have a majority of highland park residents.

“it takes a little more time and capacity to do things that way, but it’s important to the organization that we build leadership and create a culture of collective work and ownership of decisions — because that’s what we want the energy system to look like when we’re done,” koeppel said.

soulardarity believes energy democracy is necessary because the people most impacted by energy decisions should have the greatest voice in shaping them. the current energy system impacts the planet, health, and economy, but those who are most negatively impacted do not have the means to influence this system. energy democracy gives those communities — often lower income and/or of color — a voice in what their energy system will look like. 

environmental justice is at the forefront of soulardarity’s mission. they have a strong partnership with the michigan environmental justice coalition and advocate for structural change. they empower and enable frontline communities to own and benefit from clean energy systems.

rep. rashida tlaib, d-mich., has praised soulardarity’s years of hard work in her district. 

in a video for soulardarity’s grassroots gala, tlaib said, “nowhere more than michigan’s 13th congressional district knows what doing nothing at the government level looks like. we are among the most polluted, our children suffer the highest rates of asthma, and we face issues with corporate polluters, water quality, and utilities taking advantage of our residents every single day… soulardarity has worked to build a brighter, more sustainable future for us all through education, organizing, the expansion of solar-powered energy system rooted in energy democracy, and so much more.”

the efforts do not stop here. soulardarity continues to work on building a more just and sustainable community. they’ve supported the equitable internet initiative to come into highland park, and hope it will be a prelude to citywide wi-fi through the solar lights. they are also close to launching a cooperative energy enterprise. they continue to engage in numerous educational initiatives and support other neighborhoods with their own solar lighting. 

these issues do not just exist in michigan, and soulardarity is determined to use their success as a model for others. this past fall, they released a blueprint for energy democracy, and hope other communities can use it to initiate similar projects. 

“our goal is to make highland park a global model of sustainability and self-determination. we want to see an energy future that is safe, affordable, and democratic,” koeppel said.

in 2011, the local utility failed the citizens of highland park and left them in the dark. this is an example of one of the many effects of racial and economic injustice that has plagued the city for decades. the community-wide mobilization that followed is one of hope and inspiration. in a five-year report on soulardarity’s impacts, koeppel reflected on the work that has been completed and the hope he has for the future.

“the arc of history only bends toward justice because we take it upon ourselves to bend it,” he said. “working together, we have made real impacts in people’s lives and built an organization which i believe will not only bring light back to highland park’s streets, but power to its people — in every sense.”

the entire boat waits in anticipation for the bottlenose dolphin pod to reappear. with my camera i scan the turquoise water of the aegean sea desperately searching for an out-of-sync splash.

“there!” amy, one of the new behavior team members, exclaims. we all follow her outstretched arm to see the pod of fifteen bottlenose dolphins approaching the okeanos. i watch in fascination and wonder at the graceful marine mammals. i had spent close to a month in greece interning at archipelagos and this was my first marine mammal sighting. my excitement is unparalleled, and i struggle to keep my hand still to take clear photos of the breaching dolphins. in between shots, i look around at my fellow marine mammal team members. the other interns who’s first sighting it is are just as excited as i am but remain professional. the seasoned interns are focused but you can see the small smiles and glints in their eyes from the presence of the dolphins and the prospect of new data. this tense and animated yet professional atmosphere persists on the boat until we lose sight of the pod when they deep dive. the atmosphere on the boat then shifts back to the same relaxed one felt just before the sighting. i lean back into the railing and realize that i will remember this experience for the rest of my life and can leave greece feeling that i accomplished my goal of contributing to ongoing research to protect marine mammals of the aegean sea.

archipelagos institute of marine conservation is a nonprofit ngo dedicated to protecting the biodiversity of the aegean sea and surrounding greek islands. archipelagos uses their scientific knowledge to work with local communities to influence environmental policies, actively stop destructive human behavior, and start environmental advocacy campaigns. its novel business model of hiring aspiring conservationists as interns contributes to their ability to produce robust data, promote their research and conservation efforts, and support the scientific and local communities through education. this takes citizen science to the next level. the interns provide a continuous cycle of young, eager students to collect data and bring fresh perspectives. this unique structure allows interns to gain field knowledge and experience while improving their independence and cross-cultural communication.

one intern, hedvika, said of her experience: “i came to greece with a lot of expectations about how it [worked] and was originally disappointed with the reality. however, it turned out to be [beneficial] because i had to learn how to adjust and mainly how to work independently which i’m certain will be useful in the future.”

i personally understand hedvika’s expectations and lessons learned from the internship. i imagined a period of orientation and education followed by constant fieldwork under strict supervision. this was not the case, but it taught me independence, flexibility, and patience. i was able to construct the internship i desired by being my own advocate, stepping out of my comfort zone, and being open to new experiences.

another intern, kristin, commented on the meeting of cultures at archipelagos: “my perceptions of other cultures and ways of life are changing every single day… i’ve never met people from so many different countries, and i’m so excited for the opportunity to be able to work with them and bring skillsets from all over the world together.”

like kristin, i had never worked in such a culturally diverse setting. there were interns and staff members from all over the world. i had to quickly learn new professional and social expectations to more effectively work and communicate with the other interns and my supervisors. it was difficult at times but provided an opportunity for growth and i feel confident in my ability to navigate such a setting in the future.

kristin also said of her experience as an intern at archipelagos: “i’m learning skills in more active roles than i’m used to in school. i will be able to use this experience in a long-term career.”

internships at archipelagos prepare students for futures in research and advocacy through direct contact with the biodiversity they are observing and local communities. it is such a valuable experience for students to prepare and conduct their own research projects, surveys, and environmental advocacy campaigns all under the guidance of experts in the field. all interns have their own ideas, perspectives, and goals for their time at archipelagos which can bring about new research projects and campaigns to propel the organization into new domains and deeper into existing ones. this allows archipelagos to continuously grow and progress as an organization which is made possible by its structure with interns at the core.  

meet free salad

free salad is one small part of this growth. they are a recently formed student organization at the university of wisconsin-madison dedicated to embracing and spreading the hydroponics movement. lucas peterson, the organization’s co-founder, shared his dream of a hydroponics-driven future: “every home could have the technology and knowhow to sustainably grow some of its own food supply.”

hydroponics 101

for those uninitiated, hydroponics is an alternative method of agricultural production that doesn’t rely on soil, and can be done in confined spaces indoors. hydroponics systems facilitate plant growth through a constant flow of nutrient-infused water. plants are commonly suspended in a trough with their roots reaching down into the water flow, gathering as many nutrients as needed. meanwhile, natural sunlight is replaced by led lighting.

the water flow system is what makes a hydroponics project so efficient and effective when compared to traditional soil farming. chief among its benefits is the constant recycling of the nutrient water throughout the system. because of this, farming with hydroponics results in 99% less water use than its soil counterpart. additionally, there’s no fertilizer runoff, representing a tangible improvement over soil farming in regards to the health of waterways.

the increased efficiency of hydroponics farms also leads to considerably higher crop yields and faster growing rates. these benefits, coupled with a decreased spatial requirement compared to soil farming make smaller-scale hydroponics systems ideal for urban agriculture, peterson explained. he continued, “this is sustainable everywhere, and the range of crops you can grow is almost limitless.”

growing a movement

“hydroponics is much more accessible today than the average person realizes.”

peterson and his two co-founders, in collaboration with roughly a dozen other students, are working to spread awareness of hydroponics’ potential through a variety of community education and outreach projects, as well as the development of their own on-campus hydroponics farm. tucked away in a storage area of a campus-associated building, free salad builds, tests and modifies a range of hydroponics systems.

after only two months of development, the current efficiency and size of free salad’s farm is only a fraction of the group’s long term goals, but the results are already tangible. using only donated supplies and a little diy construction, the team has created a functioning farm, and is growing real produce.

free salad will soon begin construction on a second story in their tower garden setup. this style, referred to as vertical farming, capitalizes on the small footprint of hydroponics systems, maximizing the growing potential of limited spaces. once completed, the addition will double the system’s total yield.

“hydroponics is much more accessible today than the average person realizes,” peterson said. he estimated the total cost of the tower garden pictured at roughly $100, including the water pump at the heart of the fixture.

as a part of their community outreach plan, free salad will be distributing tomato plant seedlings in miniaturized hydroponics systems at a community event. peterson and the rest of the group believe that direct public exposure like this will achieve two of their primary goals: broadly increasing awareness of hydroponics itself, and increasing food access. free salad also has plans to work with local schools, introducing hydroponics systems into classrooms and educating younger students about its applications in agriculture.

addressing hunger & nutrition

free salad’s education and outreach efforts come at a critical time, with dane county’s department of public health reporting that 11.8% of people, and 17.5% of children in the county face food insecurity. peterson and others share the belief that hydroponics seems poised to be an answer, or at the very least a part of the solution to pervasive issues like food deserts and insecurity.

the u.s. department of agriculture defines food deserts as areas that lack access to affordable foods that make up a full and healthy diet. this issue disproportionately affects low-income and minority areas where grocery stores are replaced with fast food and convenience stores offering only primarily sugar-filled, processed foods.

hydroponics seems poised to be an answer, or at the very least a part of the solution to pervasive issues like food deserts and insecurity.

while also affecting rural areas, food deserts are especially troublesome in urban areas, where population density is greater. free salad is looking to raise awareness and contribute to the eradication of the more than five local food deserts in the greater madison area.

this issue is not unique to madison either, affecting 23.5 million americans in total as of 2010, many of them residing in urban areas like chicago, new orleans, san francisco, atlanta, and other populous urban areas, according to the usda.

what’s standing in the way?

hydroponics is not without its obstacles and drawbacks. peterson was frank that the future of the technology is highly dependent on a widespread shift to renewable energy sources. the energy costs for large scale growth can be enormous, especially for certain crops like corn and tomatoes. this makes hydroponics operations difficult to scale, and renders their environmental benefit questionable in areas without access to renewable energy.

“the biggest barrier to hydroponics being mainstream is a lack of public awareness,” peterson said. this is why he believes so strongly in the work that free salad, and other groups like it, are doing. growing the hydroponics movement, inspiring others to embrace the technology and help its spread, this is the ultimate goal of free salad, peterson explained.

despite these challenges, peterson is unwavering in his dream of hydroponics’ future: everyday people approaching their local administration for change, creating their own organizations to continue learning, or simply experimenting with growing. he believes that with efforts like free salad’s around the country and globe an inflection point could occur, and a widespread embrace of local foods and sustainable, accessible eating could be on the horizon.

on sept. 8, the peoples climate movement hosted 800 events in 90 countries, bringing together people fighting for climate, jobs, and justice around the world. the organization’s goal is to demand our political leaders at every level fight for a clean energy future that “helps to stop climate change,” according to the group. this effort resonates with even more importance after the recent ipcc report. the movement’s rallying cry, which could not be more relevant at this moment, is: “to change everything, we need everyone.”

i attended the chicago event in september — and it struck a chord with people of all backgrounds. please check out the day’s events below: