Yachats Oregon Writer Rick Schultze

No, it’s not a wave full of green algae or the sludge from the ocean bottom as the churning of the sea dredges up seaweed and foam, but the movement to get people to turn Green. Green as in environmentally friendly. It’s a powerful and sweeping wave that certainly isn’t deadly like a Tsunami, and given all the study this wave appears to be a good Green Wave. In Oregon there are over 100 Farmers Markets, 10 here on the coast, which throughout the summer months through mostly October provide people with places that offer locally grown, healthy produce. This cuts the cost of transportation since its local, keeps the money mostly within the community. Portland alone has 17 Farmers Markets with a couple that operate year round. Then there is the Slow Food movement which was founded in 1986 in Italy to combat fast food. The movement has since expanded globally to over a 100,000 members with chapters in 132 countries. There are 8 chapters in Oregon each with a leader who is responsible for promoting local artisans, local farmers, and local flavors through regional events. In 2008 Slow Food USA hosted its largest gathering to date when 50,000 people attended the inaugural Slow Food Nation in San Francisco. It was the largest celebration of American food in history. The motto of Slow Food USA is Good, Clean, and Fair which fits nicely intothe Green Wave. No doubt you’ve been overwhelmed with commercials about Green products, environmentally correct vehicles, building materials that are Green and the Government is making big strides in making their buildings and vehicles Greener. Green is the hottest buzz word going and many are certainly tired of hearing it but here on the Central Oregon coast it really can impact us. Since we are geography removed from the larger Metro areas many of our supplies must be trucked in from some distance. However, with locally produced products we eliminate the extra cost which is tacked on to the consumer. Obviously we don’t have the facilities to manufacture everything we need but you would be surprised just how much of what we consume is made locally and is available from local merchants. Good examples of staying local are the people in the Yachats/Waldport area that raise hormone and anti-biotic free, grass feed cattle. A Waldport family owns a mobile meat butchering business in South Beach, Oregon Coastal Cutters, and takes care of preparing the cattle for market. All of this is done within a small area by local people for local people. In Waldport, Yachats, and Florence there are merchants who are very knowledgeable about the latest trends in environmentally safe materials from windows, paints, plumbing products, lumber and decking supplies and more. Since they depend on local trade they have studied up on the top of the line supplies and can help you stay Green locally. It’s a wave that may crest in the future but at the moment the Green Wave is gaining momentum and with the amount of education the school kids are getting on the environment and reducing the “Carbon Footprint”, we can expect to be riding the Green Wave for sometime. To reach Rick Schultze email: yarick@pioneer.net