This Just In: Reston Still Home to Hippies

Electric cars! Sustainable farms! You needn't pinch yourself -- you're not at some fancy Hollywood Hills party hosted by Ed Begley Jr. Founded by hippies who liked the idea of living in townhouses in the middle of nowhere, Reston is still home to a variety of idealistic folks who annoy the rest of us by driving their electric-powered cars at their top speed of 4 mph, slowing down our gas-guzzling SUVs, or urge their neighbors to cut out the sucralose and eat only free-range vegetables fertilized by their overly tall compost bins and whatnot.

Meet Mark Moody, who was selected to drive one of just 100 of the hydrogen-powered Chevy Equinox vehicles released nationwide.

The Reston resident is the president of the Clean Fairfax Council, which promotes litter reduction and recycling through education. Moody founded the Reston Association's Adopt-a-Spot program, in which citizens volunteer to care for stretches of the community's vast pathway network. And he works with engineers and industry professionals to develop energy-efficient buildings through his work as a regional sales manager for Critical Power Group.

So it should come as no surprise that Moody was selected as one of the few people in the nation to test-drive General Motors hydrogen-powered Chevy Equinox through a program called Project Driveway. Moody applied for the program through the Chevy.com Web site, and was selected to drive the hydrogen vehicle for two months from among about 80,000 applicants.

The car gets the equivalent of 55 miles per gallon, which is a good thing, as the closest place to refuel it is in Fort Belvoir. Convenient!

"To be one of the people who get to drive these vehicles you can't say 'no,'" Moody said. "You put up with it."

Maybe he should just drive around looking for oil geysers.

Anyhoo, another Reston couple has started a second "farm drop," which is a place where you can pick up fresh produce and whatnot from farms, as opposed to, say, going to a grocery store.

Keith and Kimberly Hartke, who have been helping to operate a “farm drop” with Mount Vernon Farms at the National Realty office building on Sunrise Valley Drive, are inviting another Virginia farm to their location.

Polyface Farm, located in Swope, Va., is one of the leading sustainable farms, according to Kimberly Hartke. Owner Joel Salatin has written books on sustainable farming and thousands have visited the farm. Salatin teaches his techniques to other farmers, including Cliff Miller, owner of Mount Vernon Farm, Kimberly Hartke said.

The Polyface Farm Buying Club is the largest in Virginia and sells to many restaurants in the state. The club already has a farm drop on the north side of Reston and will begin a drop at the National Realty office on March 10. Kimberly Hartke said the north Reston drop brings in about $17,000 in sales every visit and has become very crowded, increasing the demand for another drop site. The Hartkes said having a second drop in Reston will be more convenient and also help attract new customers to purchase sustainable foods.

Sweet! If anyone's interested, there's plenty of "sustainable" (or at least expendable) firewood available from the awesome stream restoration project. Just grab your chainsaw and go!