Newspapers / University of North Carolina … / Feb. 22, 2007, edition 1 / Page 6
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I A th ei hi ft a C( h C P c a a il y V f. c a a t I c ( Features Page 6 ITic Blue Banner — Ser\ ing the l'ni\ crsit\ of North ( Arolina at Asheville sinee 1982 Thursday, February 22,2007 i6 My girlfriend found the tank in her attic. She has my Sujjan Stevens CDs though, so I guess we 're even. Alex Williamson sophomore student Jasper, the last of Williamson’s three fish, joined the tank in October. “Jasper was linked to .some one from a fling I had last semester,” Williamson said. “We went to PetSmart, and I just wanted to look at the fish since I wanted one. 1 didn’t really have any money with me, so she was like, ‘I’ll buy it for you,’ because it was only $3 or some thing.” But Jasper suffered a similar fate. Williamson said. “He was later also orphaned. Well, actually, he was kind of out of wedlcKk, 1 suppo.se,” he said. F-reshman Alyssa Teat, who bought Jasfier. said she rarely sees him anymore. “1 never really intended to abandon my fish that I bought for him,” Teat .said. “He’s .still kind of my fish, so 1 guess I’d be sad if he died.” Still, Teat said she doesn’t feel like a failed parent. “Every time 1 go over there, I check to make sure that the fish is still alive,” she said. “1 always tend to my fish when I see it.” After the two relationships failed, he alone had to care for the fish, according to Williamson. “Now they’re all linked to failure, and there’s very little happiness in that fish tank,” he said. “Except that I like them becau.se they didn’t do anything to me at all.” Though he jokes about the * fishes’ bad connections, he said he doesn’t actually resent them. “It s kind of funny how even though they’re all kind of linked to bad memories, they’re still really comforting,” he said. “In a way, they’re sort of reminders of not being alone .they keep me company.” Williamson .said there could be fish bought with future romantic interests. “It’s possible,” he said. “There are plenty of other fish in the tanks at PetSmart.” Clean City moves to clear Asheville air Jessica blvthe - Staff Photographer Arnold The Orange Fish, one of Williamson’s original pets. Pet of the Week: Fish as remnants of love lost By Miinnah Doyle Staff Wutfji Though sophomore Alex William.son said the bubbling in the fish tank above his bed soothes him at night, there’s one thought that doesn’t: the three fi.sh living in it are all linked to failed relationships. Williamson said his home town ex-girlfriend bought the original two fish for him: Arnold The Orange Fish and Adair, a small, silver guppy. “My ex-girlfriend found this tank in her attic,” Williamson said. “That’s where they live now. All of those little rocks in the tank are hers too, and 1 have them. She has my Sufjan Stevens CDs, though, .so 1 guess we’re even.” His ex-girlfriend bought the two fish during the summer and she broke up with him two weeks into fall .semester when he returned to his hometown to visit, according to Williamson. “My fish were orphaned,” he said. By Daoiel Hartis Staff Wiinui Only around 100 vehicles pre vent the U.S. Department of Energy from designating Asheville a Clean Cities region, according to Bill Eaker, environmental services manager for the Land of Sky Regional Council. “We hope to get designated by the U.S. Department of Energy as a Clean Cities region within the next year,” said Eaker, coordinator of the local Clean Air Campaign and Clean Vehicles Coalition. “Based on the Department of Energy’s formula, we have to have 400 alternative fuel vehicles in the region. We’re right around 300 vehicles right now that we’ve identified.” Tbe Clean Cities Program pro motes vehicles which run on alter native fuels like biodiesel, ethanol, hydrogen, electricity and com pressed natural gas, or CNG. Asheville opened its first CNG filling station a little more than a year ajgo. TTie station represents Asheville’s dedication to the Clean Cities Program as well as the city’s increasing interest in CNG. “You have to show your commit ment to alternative fuels and clean vehicles by actually having those vehicles in place in your region,” Eaker .said. “We also have to sub mit a program plan that spells out what we will do over a five-year period to further promote the use of alternative fuels.” Part of this plan involves using CNG in the city’s own fleet, according to Kevin Haughinberry, stockroom supervisor for Asheville’s fleet management division. “The program seems to be working out fairly well,” said Haughinberry, who also man ages the CNG station down the street from the division. “We have a few vehicles, and we’re buying more. We’re looking at the feasibility of it for the Asheville transit.” The city’s fleet includes several Honda Civics and General Motors trucks running on CNG, Haughinberry said. CNG gives off less emissions than any other alternative fuel, said Ashley Featherstone, engi neering supervisor at the Western North Carolina Regional Air Quality Agency. “Tlie CNG vehicles have less pollution than any other vehicles currently available,” Featherstone said. The agency’s fleet contains some 'J nmu I ; The specialty fuel tank for Fahrer’s CNG fueled Civic. of the 300 alternative fuel vehicles tracked by Eaker for the Clean Cities Program , according to Featherstone. Because most ozone pollution comes from motor vehi cles, the pro gram bene fits the local environment, Featherstone said. “It should reduce the J'' emissions,,., p. ^ Au. photos by Clint Uthinghouse- Staff Photographer! motor quality engineer, with his Honda Civic GX, which produces s here and received the title of “cleanest internal combustion vehicle on from vehicles here in our area' *‘ i u Featherstone f“«'-buming vehicle the planet.” The sticker (pictured right) proclaims the car’s status as an alter- said. “It should definitely help.” Though CNG vehicles offer many environmental benefits, the vehicles often lack practicality, Haughinberry said. “We’re limited on our range,” he said. “Many only go about 150 miles on a tank. That is a big drawback.” Only a few cities in North Carolina own CNG filling stations, and the distance between them is often further than a CNG vehicle’s capacity. “One of the big problems with the whole CNG thing is there’s not much of an infrastructure,” Haughinberry said. “If a citizen were to buy a CNG vehicle and leave Asheville with it, he might have a problem.” Despite this, CNG vehicles are ideal for the city workers, as well as people using the car to get around Asheville and the sur rounding areas, Haughinberry said. “If I lived in Asheville, I’d be driving a CNG right now,” he said. “Our station’s top of the line. It’s open to the public and you just need a credit card.” Vic Fahrer, an air quality engi neer who works with Featherstone at the WNCRAQA, swipes his credit card at the sta tion whenever he fills up his Honda Civic GX. He purchased the car, which Land of Sky used as a demo, after Eaker told him about it at a meeting on local air quality. The tank capacity satisfies Fahrer, who drives the car around the Asheville area. “It’s fine because I just use it to go to work and around town,” said Fahrer, who noted the economical advantages of CNG. The last time Fahrer filled up he paid $1.24 for the equivalent of a gallon’s worth of gas. The Honda Civic GX produces almost no emissions and received the title of “cleanest internal com bustion vehicle on the planet,” according to the vehicle’s brochure Terra Diva fuses fashion with consciousness By Maggie West I Staff Writer Forget your flip flops and pack up your parkas. Environmentally conscious clothing just got a lot more fashionable thanks to the efforts of one local merchant. “In the past, people have had to compromise their style in order to wear environmentally friendly clothes,” said Cori Gardner, owner of Terra Diva. “Now there are so many more fashionable options.” Terra Diva, located at 80 North Lexington Ave., specializes in fashionable clothing made from environmentally conscious fibers, according to Gardner. The store, which has been in business for over three years, offers a wide range of products. While a dress made out of bamboo fibers can cost over $120, a camisole set made out of soybeans can be purchased for under $30. “I always thought ‘environ mental’ clothes were just itchy hemp shirts and hippie-looking garden shoes,” said Brittany Hart, a sophomore political sci ence student. “But Terra Diva has really awesome looking clothes.” After moving to their current location sales increased 60 per cent, which is partially due to Asheville’s dedication to envi ronmentally sound products, according to Gardner. “People around here pay so much attention to what they con sume, and yet we absorb so many toxins through our skin,” she said. “I think it’s important to pay atten tion to what we put on our bodies. / \M «« I j -C7 ■ . 'JESSICA Blvthe “ Staff Photographer Store Manager Melody York dresses a dummy for display with a bam boo dress from the company Same Underneath. as well as what we put in them.' Natural fibers are both softer and longer lasting, according to Gardner. Unlike bleached cotton, textiles such as organic cotton grow softer with each wearing. Gardner said. “More and more women are beginning to consider natural fibers for their clothing choices,” said store manager Melody York. While Asheville’s market for eco-friendly clothing continues to expand, businesses all around the country are beginning to take an interest in environmentally con scious textiles. Organic Exchange, a non-prof- ^ i ? ? it trade associa- t i o n , / think when you can expects feel good about global what you wear and organic the way it was made, cotton you are going to look is,. worldwide Melody York Terra Diva store manager ! H to a recent study done by the organization. “I guess people just want the things closest to their skin to be natural,” York said. Gardner maintains that the use of natural fibers, such as bamboo, soy and organic cotton, is essential to the earth’s preservation. “As we overpopulate the earth, we have to take care of the land around us,” Gardner said. The use of natural fibers has much less impact on the environ ment, according to Organic Exchange. A recent study by the nonprofit group revealed that it takes over one third of a pound of pesticides to produce one cot ton T-shirt. “Until recently, I had no idea how many pesticides it took to produce regular clothing,” Hart said. “It really makes me respecti Terra Diva for selling natural 1 organic clothing.” Although a few items in the stoitj are made from more conventional! fibers, almost all the clothing inj Terra Diva is made in fair wagel factories. j “The store is really concerned j with work ethics,” York said, just wanted to make sure ttetj almost all of our clothing sweatshop free.” ~ The store makes an intense effonj to follow up' on their manufactuf j ers and the conditions their clott-j ing is manufactured in, accordin?^ to Gardner. “I think when you can feel i about what you wear and the w*) I it was made, you are going to lot'll stylish,” York said. ■ In addition to most of their pnxlT nets being environmentally ethically sound, much of Diva’s merchandise is made fro® j local designers. [ “Almost all of our jewehy i-'l made locally,” York said. really like to support the lidll guys.” I Terra Diva also sells some Wj lingerie lines, according Gardner. Before they began running Diva, both Gardner and Yor*| designed and sold clothing the®'| selves. “I used to sell clothes I made a Grateful Dead shows,” said. “Every time someone foui'"l out one of the shirts were made d| hemp they’d be like ‘Hey I smoke this.’” Though currently not as popularl as other alternative fuels, will gain in popularity once a lay j er infrastructure exists, accordii[| to Featherstone. “It seems like its gaining inpf j ularity,” she said. “1 think more and more people will kj interested.” Federal and state govemmenls| work with cities to provide fu ing for CNG filling stations i the use of other alternative fuels,| according to Haughinberry. “They’re working on it.'i Haughinberry said. “They’vij thrown the grass out there, but ill takes someone to step up like tkl city did.”
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