HEC - Jesse Kharbanda

Images of vast oil slicks, lifeless marine mammals, fish, and birds, and devastated fishermen fill our minds as we envision the extraordinary pain unleashed on the world of the Gulf Coast. For the people of Indiana, hundreds of miles away from making a direct impact, what must we do to mend a world so harmed?

Hoosiers, possessing a vast highway network and endeared to the Indy 500, must join a national effort to end our addiction to oil. While use of oil has done much good for commerce and family life, it has also caused great harm to our air, water, and land, as well as our national security and economy: In our daily lives, we—who bear responsibility for our oil addiction—must pledge to find biodegradable substitutes to our plastic containers and commit to walking, biking, and carpooling whenever safely possible. And as citizens, we Hoosiers must champion the cause of finding a sustainable, dedicated source of funding for public transit and passenger rail, two oil-saving strategies grossly underfunded in our state.

Indiana Living Green offers ways for you to make a difference.

Reflections on troubled waters
As my dogs and I took our daily walk one hot evening, we cooled ourselves with a trek up the creek that runs through the woods. The clear water was refreshing against my ankles as I watched for scurrying crawdads so loved by the countless raccoons that also call this
home....

This issue of Indiana Living Green welcomes Betsy Sheldon as editor. Former editor Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp left some big shoes to fill, and so I felt immense satisfaction when Betsy accepted the position...

All farmers love to brag about their vegetable successes, and I’m no exception. But failures make much better tales. So I’m finally ready to admit that in my first couple of seasons as a produce farmer, I had no luck growing root crops. Pre-school kids grow carrots in paper cups and city-dwelling amateurs tend them on their high-rise balconies.....