Those of you who have been following my sustainable lifestyle progress understand that the ever-growing vegetable garden has been a source of joy this season. Well last night mother nature decided to show me that she can ravage crops on any scale.

Yesterday was a beautiful day. As the work day was coming to an end, Corey and I were making plans to start some new projects in the yard. Then, surprisingly, the tornado sirens started to howl. We checked the weather online and saw a storm rolling our way. The NWS was saying to expect strong winds and possible hail. We debated if we wanted to pull the car into the garage (usually reserved for bikes) or just leave it out. In fact, we thought from looking at the radar that the sirens were a bit of an overreaction in the context of the serious storms that we have had lately.

But we decided to be safe I should move the car. As I was clearing space in the garage (bikes again), I was taking my time. The sky was still blue, and the sun was shining. In an instant, there was a massive rush of noise. I turned from what I was doing and looked out at the front yard. The wind hadn’t just picked up, it had hit our neighborhood like a freight train. Branches started flying everywhere, and our little river birch was almost on its side.

I rushed to pull in the car just as the rain and hail started to fall. It was the most frightening display of natures power that I have ever seen. I was on the edge of being outright scared.

Corey came rushing out and said that it looked like the giant oak trees in the back yard looked like they were going to slam through the windows they were swaying so violently. When I went to the back windows to see for myself, my jaw literally dropped. We have a pretty expansive view of the neighborhood from our hillside home. Every tree that I could see, including ours, were being severely tested by the storm.

The rain and hail intensified and the leaves that were being ripped from the trees were being pasted against our windows by the wind gusts. We heard branches cracking and falling. We grabbed the pets, a radio, and a flashlight, and rushed to the basement. We tuned in to learn that the whole city was being rocked. The view from our windows certainly confirmed it. What a feeling. We didn’t know if the trees were going to come crashing through the house.

The violence lasted only about 15 minutes. But it was an incredibly destructive quarter hour. We went outside to survey the damage. The street’s gutter was a river of water, our yard experienced a year’s worth of erosion, all of our plants were shredded from the hail, and our trees lost several big branches.

The supercell, traveling at 90 miles per hour, generated an unprecedented amount of wind, rain, and hail. The effects were tragic for historic Midtown Omaha. Trees were down everywhere, nearly 300,000 people were without power, and shell-shocked people were forced to cope with massive damage.

Our cherished vegetable garden was completely destroyed. Brussel Sprouts were shredded and broken, beans were torn, and even our once hardy squash were diced.

The next couple of days are going involve a lot of cleanup. It is sad, we take great joy from our gardens. It is really hard to see them destroyed. But we will make it.

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The Sierra Club just sent me an email link to the Cool Cities website. Cool cities are cities that have made a commitment to stopping global warming by signing the U.S. Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement. Begun in 2005, the Cool Cities campaign empowers city residents and local leaders to join and encourage their cities to implement smart energy solutions to save money and build a cleaner, safer future.

Initiated and led by Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement (USCPA) is a pledge by mayors to reduce global warming pollution in their cities by 7% below 1990 levels by the year 2012. In the summer of 2005, the U.S. Conference of Mayors unanimously passed a resolution supporting the USCPA. As of June 2007, over 540 mayors from 50 states, representing over 67 million Americans, have signed the USCPA.

Omaha adopted the program in the Spring of 2006. To date, Omaha has completed the first 3 out of 5 milestones in the program.

Some of the reason’s that Omaha is a cool city:

• City and Non-Profit Organizations like ActivateOmaha and Omaha by Design
• OPS retrofitting 270+ buses with emissions scrubbers
• Metro Rideshare Program
• LED traffic lights
• Pedestrian Bridge
• Tree planting program

View Omaha’s Cool City Profile.

Omaha’s carbon footprint ranks about middle of the pack among the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas. This is according to a report issued by the Brookings Institution in Washington. The report utilizes data captured between 2000 and 2005, looking at each city’s per capita carbon footprint based on residential energy use and highway transportation.

Generally, the smallest carbon emissions are generally in warmer areas or cities with a highly developed public transit system. Most are in the West. The worst emitters are mainly in the mid-Southern and Midwestern parts of the US.

Some factors contributing to poor scores in the Midwest are winter weather, urban sprawl with long commutes in automobiles, and wasteful use of cheap energy from coal fired power plants.

According to the report, “The transportation portion of Omaha’s per capita footprint increased 7.7 percent between 2000 and 2005, compared to an increase of 2.4 percent in the 100 largest metro areas.”

As Omaha races Westward the city is burning more gas to stay alive. The city’s public transportation or bicycle trail network can’t expand to support outlying communities, so people become reliant on cars. Urban sprawl is clearly becoming unsustainable in Omaha. For residents who are living out in the farthest burbs, they should consider using the Metro Rideshare program to carpool.

I ride around the city center everyday, and I see all of the opportunities for infill development. I certainly hope that the city catches on that with rising energy prices and limited resources there needs to be an alternative growth strategy.

I checked my own carbon footprint at climatecrisis.net. There are many carbon calculators out there, but this one is quick and easy. It only took me 2 minutes to learn that my carbon footprint is slightly over the national average. That kinda bums me out, but it gives me something to work on. I think that I have the transportation issue under control, with only one car and mostly riding my bike. But now I need to move onto home energy savings.

All of our little changes each day can make a big difference in our community.

I started the day today in beautiful Midtown Omaha with a healthy crowd of fellow bike commuters. The mayor hosted a press conference and a bike ride to announce several new initiatives for the city.

The event started with a tour of the Omaha Community Bike Shop, followed by a brief speech where the mayor announced a new 20 mile bike loop project in downtown, the formation of a Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee, the kick-off for the 3rd Annual Omaha Metro Bicycle Commuter Challenge (which Harvest designed the graphics and brochures for), and the start of National Bike to Work Week.

The ride rolled out with probably over a hundred cyclists. Our convoy was fully escorted by police in cars and on bikes or motorcycles. For one day of the year, cars were forced to completely concede the roads to bikes. Once we arrived at the river we took a moment to discuss the nearly completed pedestrian bridge that will link Nebraska and Iowa. The bridge will open up endless cross-border fitness and commuter options.

Thanks to everyone who put time into promoting this event. It is great to see such civic support to changing the way our city views transportation alternatives.