One of the things that strikes me about Las Vegas is how little food is actually produced nearby. We are literally on a drip feed system that depends on the timely transportation of fresh food for our survival, mostly via Interstate 15. Along with water and energy, this is one of our most important challenges in building a sustainable community. There are some simple changes we can make that can help ease our water and energy issues as well.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, on a national basis our food travels an average of 1,500 miles before it is consumed. Due to our location in a desert, our numbers could be even higher. It can take a week or so to make the journey, losing nutritional value along the way. It takes a lot of energy to produce, process, package, transport, refrigerate and cook the meals we take for granted every day. In fact, for every calorie of energy we get from our food, we've used an average of 10 calories of energy to produce it. Most of that energy comes from fossil fuels, something we've become overly dependent on.

If we produced more food locally, it would be fresher, more nutritious and use much less energy. Wait a minute, we live in the desert. There are no farms around here to grow food on. Well, there may not be many farms, but there sure are a lot of yards around that are getting watered every day.

Think out of the box for a moment. Imagine that we decided to really shift some of our basic assumptions about our local environment. What if we became committed to creating a truly sustainable community? Rather than flying in fruit from New Zealand or trucking produce from California, we were instead growing much of the food we need right here in our valley. What a great way to build a more socially interactive community.

There are many people with local gardens. The concept is nothing new, yet it is far from the norm. During World War II, almost 20 million Americans planted victory gardens that produced up to 40 percent of the food consumed during that period. We certainly do not need war as an incentive for something that is just good, plain common sense.

Water is already being used to grow crops here. We call them lawns, shrubs, plants, flowers, etc. Simply converting some of our existing, visually-oriented landscapes to include edible plants would go a long way to reducing the number of 2,000-mile Caesar salads we consume. Watering a garden with efficient drip irrigation actually uses much less water than a typical California farm using more traditional methods.

Cultivating a productive garden is a very satisfying experience. There is a deep connection that is restored when one works with the earth to create nourishment. Sharing the activity with friends and family helps build common bonds and fosters better communication. We get more exercise and fresh air. Our children learn more about how the real world works. Many kids have no idea where food actually comes from.

Composting yard waste and kitchen scraps can turn even the toughest Nevada dirt into rich, healthy soil that plants will thrive in. Composting saves energy and resources, turning waste into an asset. Because we control what goes into our garden, we can grow healthy, organic food, avoiding the harmful chemicals that are used on many conventionally grown crops.

A shift toward edible landscaping is a shift toward sustainability and smarter use of our water and energy resources. Start with a few simple steps and go from there. Living with a greater connection to the place we call home by growing our own food is the very embodiment of green living.

Steve Rypka is a green living consultant and president of GreenDream Enterprises, specializing in renewable energy, green building, alternative transportation and lifestyle choices for both residential and commercial clients. The company is committed to helping people live lighter on the planet. Steve can be reached via email at steve@greendream.biz or at www.greendream.biz.