Green Jobs : Buzz

In the 1930s, Larpenteur Avenue on St. Paul's northern border was the favored getaway route for bank robbers seeking sanctuary in the Saintly City. Now a different kind of conspiracy--crop mobs of urbanites looking for a chance to dig in the dirt--is finding what it needs along the same road, on the University of Minnesota's St. Paul campus. The Twin Cities Daily Planet explains:

"Though sustainable small-scale farming may be seen as a return to low-tech methods of growing food, Anderson is organizing Crop Mobs using very contemporary mediums. One third of Saturday's volunteers signed up through his Fair Food Fight  website or follow his Twitter feed, Anderson said, another third came through the Twin Cities Crop Mob page on Facebook, and the rest were students.

"Fair Food Fight started as an online blog and conversation sponsored by Equal Exchange, an employee owned cooperative committed to fair trade relationships with farmers for crops like coffee and chocolate. River Cook, an Equal Exchange sales representative who participated Saturday, said that Fair Food Fight and the Crop Mobs are 'our way of making a local connection to the work we've done internationally.'

"After cleaning up, the Cornercopia Crop Mob air-dried while eating lunch donated by the University of Minnesota's Campus Club in a classroom. The mostly urban twenty- and thirty-something volunteers filled up tables and talked with those around them. Conversations ranged from the mainstreaming of organic products to farming experiences and plans to attend future Crop Mobs."

Read the full article here.

Eureka Recycling is trying something new this summer: compost pickup service in the Mac-Groveland neighborhood, via bicycle. If the pilot project goes citywide, St. Paul will be a pioneer nationally, reports Living Green Twin Cities:

"As part of the pilot project, composting will be done via a drop-off location, a recycling truck, and a bicycle pulling a trailer, each of which will be measured for effectiveness and maximum waste reduction. So far, no city has offered a zero-emissions bicycle pick-up plan for composting. If St. Paul initiates it citywide, it will be the first time a major metro area has implemented and offered organics pick-up on bicycle.

"While it might seem small in scope, the real benefits are the long-term plans that will sprout from the study. According to the press release, Eureka Recycling will use data and information on waste reduction and management culled from the Mac-Groveland project to develop a long-term composting plan for the city as well as uses for the finished compost."

Read the full article here.

Silent Power is getting press for its role in a Sacramento-area smart-grid project.

Earth2Tech reports that Silent Power's OnDemand system will be installed at about 15 houses in suburban Sacramento as part of a stimulus-funded smart-grid pilot project.

The Baxter, MN company, which we recently wrote about, makes technology that helps maximize the value of solar electricity panels by storing power until it's needed.

"This is a very consumer-friendly-type solution," CEO Todd Headlee tells the blog, explaining that the system can also serve as a backup during power outages.

Read the Earth2Tech blog post here and our previous report on Silent Power here.

A timely introduction to farmers markets in Minneapolis and St. Paul appeared in the Asian Pages newspaper and was picked up online by the Twin Cities Daily Planet.

"With two dozen markets in the Twin Cities alone, choosing the right market is like deciding where to dine, for each market has its own personality. The Minneapolis market open every morning at Lyndale near Olsen Highway is most like the State Fair featuring crowds of people strolling through the booths offering local produce, imported items, fast-food (grilled corn-on-the-cob, grilled brats, coffee, etc.), live music, outdoor furniture, even clothing items

"The downtown St. Paul market on 5th Street, open Saturday and Sunday mornings, is more like a country roadside stand where the farmer comes in from the field with freshly picked food. In fact, this market does not allow any imported food

"And, then there are the small markets throughout the area with their own approaches to food and fun."

Read the full story here.