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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 25, 2001)
Alternative gardening can conserve water ■ Practicing xeriscaping, or drought gardening, allows conservation and beauty Sue Ryan Oregon Daily Emerald Here’s something to keep in mind as the weather gets warmer: Watering the garden and lawn can use a large amount of water, especially in the summertime. The practice of “xeriscaping” conserves water in gar dens with the practice of seven estab lished principles: planning and de sign, soil improvement, appropriate plant selection, practical turf areas, ef ficient irrigation, use of mulches and appropriate maintenance. “You can save up to 70 percent on a water bill in the summer, said Toni Gwin, a botanist in Washington. Xeriscaping, also referred to as drought gardening, began in the 1970s in Colorado. Begun as an earth friendly practice, the techniques were actually developed by public utilities foreseeing a potential crisis. Cindy Wise, a Eugene resident, lived in Col orado when xeriscaping started. “There was phenomenal growth in the Denver area. A lot of communi ties’ capacity to treat and deliver water was inadequate,” she said. “Basically you had escalating demand and static supply.” Today, Wise advises gardeners on xeriscaping through the Master Gar dener program at the Extension Ser vice. Her approach focuses on garden ing as a certain mindset rather than a strict set of rules. “Be tolerant of less-than-perfec tion,” Wise said. “Pick the one xeriscaping principle that makes the most sense and start with it. Allow plants to be a little brown, including your lawn.” Gardeners can also choose to group similar plants together. This helps conserve water by having low-water plants and high-water plants in sepa rate areas. Plants stress less easily and use less water when grouped. “It's every plant in the right soil and right place with the right amount of moisture,” Gwin said. “But it's not high-desert plants that people often think of when they think of drought gardening.” Soil, especially the heavy clay found in many parts of Eugene, can be amended. Small particles pack tightly together in clay soil, leaving little to no air space. Compost or organic amendments can be added to aerate the soil. “This opens it up to add nutrients,” Wise said. “This time of year you should get a ‘glopping’ sound when you dig. Right now the soil is as dry and workable as in June. ” Mulching an inch or more on top of the soil in flower or vegetable beds is also a good idea. The mulch can be a commercial product, dead leaves or home-grown compost. Pam Hender son gardens hill time now that she has retired as a forester from Oregon State University. “Mulch stops water from evaporat ing away,” she said. “Put down a soak er hose first, under the soil at the root level so it avoids evaporation. Then mulch over the top of it. ” Other tips for conserving water in the garden simply urge people to be more efficient. “Have your plants that need more water closer to your house and hose. Then you don't need to drag the hose across the yard to water plants and wastewater,” Henderson said. Henderson advised people to keep the amount of new plants in gardens this summer to a minimum because new plants require more water than established ones. Experienced gar deners might hold off on plans to add a new flower bed or edge to gardens, keeping garden sizes smaller to con serve water. InterSKOons Conference 2001 Leslea Newman ~—-.. : : 6PM, April 26th - Ben Linder Room .:: f Activist, Poet and Author of Heather Has Two Mommies, shares her philosophies and perspectives on LGBT issues in our education#] institutions. Directly followed by a book signing sponsored by Mother Kali’s Bookstore Debra Chasnoff 6PM, April 27th - 180 PLC lit fin* m A discussion with the Academy Award winning director about tfellll current educational climate, concerning issues of sexuality and identity followed by a screening of the films “It’s Elementary” andilll “That’s a Family.” 6PM, April 25th - Ben Linder Room There will be a pre-screening of “That’s a Family.” Young Women’s Theater Collective 6PM, April 28th - Ben Linder Room A group of 13-19 year old performers from the Eugene/Spring Held communities, led by Robin Aronson, Ph. D., presents their perspectives and experiences with LGBT and other social issues* Sponsored by: The UO Standing Committee on LGBT Concerns, LGBT Education and Support Services Program, Humanities Center, Department of English, Center for the Study of Women in Society and UO Cultural Forum. For more information contact Chicora Martin at 346 .... :■ - . Smith joins Dems on energy bill By Katherine Pfleger The Associated Press WASHINGTON — Sen. Gordon Smith broke with the Bush ad ministration Tuesday to join Western Democrats in introduc ing legislation that would force federal energy regulators to im pose price caps on the dysfunc tional Western market. No other Senate Republican — or the White House — has joined with Smith, R-Ore., to push for legislation that would order the Federal Energy Regulatory Com mission to institute temporary price caps on wholesale power. Instead, Smith found himself flanked by Western Democrats, including Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell of Washington. “It is a serious mistake for this government — and all of us — to defend a system ... that victimizes little folks in our society,” said Smith, who authored the bill with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D Calif. The West is facing an energy crunch brought on by a botched deregulation effort in California, a lack of new generation capacity and a drought that is sapping the Northwest hydropower system, among other factors. President Bush warned Tuesday that Cali fornia should expect more black outs. Energy prices are soaring throughout the Northwest and are threatening to get even higher. Cantwell said the West makes up a third of the gross domestic product, and the energy issue is creating a crisis for the national economy. If the bill goes into effect, it would require FERC within 60 days to set wholesale price caps or reasonable rates that are based on the cost of producing power. The caps could cover up to 11 states in the Western power mar ket. Critics of caps — including Vice President Dick Cheney, head of Bush’s energy task force, and Energy Secretary Spencer Abra ham — believe a free market can best handle the situation. They say price limits will discourage new generation capacity, one of the major problems in the West. But the bill’s supporters say they’ve created a fix for that: the caps would not affect new energy facilities and would remain in ef It is a serious mistake for this government— and all of us—to defend a system... that victimizes the little folks in our society. Dianne Feinstein senator, California yy feet until March 1, 2003, when the new energy sources are ex pected to be coming online. “We can impose a temporary control that does not discourage new energy production, that ex empts new plants from the cap, and will pull us out of this crip pling energy crisis,” Murray'said. Smith and others concede the legislation may not have much of a chance until after what could be a painful summer, complete with rolling blackouts and angry con sumers. The bill has just six original sponsors. In addition to the four West Coast senators, co-sponsors are Sens. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., and Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn. Smith said he has been meeting with Cheney and the administra tion to encourage a change in their position on caps. Smith is also hoping to get some Northeast Republicans to go along with his proposal. “I really fear when I hear Dick Cheney and others talking in terms of brass-knuckles, free-mar ket energy use,” he said earlier in the day at the National Hy dropower Association’s annual meeting. “I won’t help them with that.” In California, utilities are going bankrupt in part because under the deregulation law the state’s consumers are protected by caps from high retail prices. To remedy that, the bill says states that participate in the caps must allow their utilities to pass their costs onto ratepayers. The bill won’t be popular at home for Feinstein. But “Califor nia must past costs on,” she said. RECYCLE for Ducks Do you have an idea that will benefit a large number of students at the University? The ASUO has a 100 grand and wants your ideas on how to spend it! Projects of all sizes with a cap of $100,000 will be accepted! Deadline extended until April 27th Applications available in the ASUO
