Looking Back

 *NOTE TO THE PROFESSOR* This blog post is the same as the reflection summary I turned in.

 I started out at the beginning of this semester with the goal of defining sustainability for myself, and living up to that definition as much as I could.  Before this diary I was environmentally conscious, but I didn’t necessarily back up my words with actions. In the end, I discovered how I truly felt about sustainable living and learned a little bit more about what I could give up for it. This is a reflection on what I did and whether my efforts were successful.

At first I started out small by changing the tungsten light bulbs in my apartment to compact fluorescent lights and increasing my recycling efforts. I have always recycled but this blog forced me to make it into a system. My apartment now recycles all paper, plastic, metal and glass — that is, as long as my roommates don’t forget! I also went with a roommate to buy some everyday products from Sam’s Club. It cost a lot, which makes me wonder just how effective the trip was at reducing packaging costs in the long run, but we didn’t have to buy toilet paper for a long time and we still haven’t need to buy more paper towel, Clorox wipes, Kleenex, body wash and feminine products.

Throughout all of these beginning steps I discussed Roderick Nash’s book Wilderness and the American Mind because what I was learning through reading it made me stop and think. I had never considered the obvious separation between humans and the wilderness. It caused me to really ponder the issue of how humans should act within the environment because it depended on whether they were actually apart of the environment. During the semester I went on a camping trip to Nordhouse Dunes, a designated Wilderness area and that helped further my thoughts on man’s relationship with the wilderness. I noticed how nature seems to show signs of man everywhere, even in our “Wildernesses.”  I also thought about the effect I have as a single person and whether my changes will matter in the long run. It was a depressing little thought, but in the end I decided a single person has to matter, because without that single person movements would never start! I feel the same way about the type of changes I instituted. I wondered if I needed to make more drastic changes in order to cause change, but decided even little changes matter in the long run.

Eventually I defined sustainability for myself — an important step in trying to be sustainable! I decided it has to do with the balance of nature. For me to be sustainable I have to maintain that balance in my own life and give back to the world as much as I take out of it. I began thinking about globalization and the movement to buy local products and how they interacted. It is a difficult question because globalization promotes efficiency but comes with inherent transportation costs! I really like the ideas of Barry Commoner in Closing the Circle and the Gaia hypothesis. They really struck home to me as related to my diary, since Commoner talked about only taking what you need from nature and the Gaia hypothesis talks about the planet as one large organic system.

Other efforts I made to live sustainably involved reducing how much I drive. This one was the most difficult for me. As the semester wore on it got colder and biking became harder and harder to do. I rarely drove into campus for class during the day, but I did drive in every Wednesday for my night class and for evening meetings. I can’t say I succeeded in driving less, but to compensate I have been trying to drive in a manner to save gas! I used the Nature Conservancy CO2 emissions calculator to see where I fit in the grand scheme of things and found out my estimated emissions are 11 tons of CO2 a year, which is less than half of the average American citizen’s emissions, but more than double the average world citizen’s emissions. I consider this to mean I am doing well in my quest but can still improve and so continued to look for ways to live sustainably.

I started shopping at the East Lansing Food Co-op, which I discovered is a nice place, but hard to implement because I don’t always do the shopping. I also considered composting on the balcony of our apartment, but discovered it would be very difficult to do in the winter, so I’ll have to revisit that in the spring. With Christmas time approaching I started thinking about presents and consumerism, and with John Kenneth Galbraith’s ideas in the back of my head, I decided to buy most of my presents from second had stores. It should be fun!

Overall I am proud of the actions I have taken and I really believe that I can continue these as permanent changes in my life. I know that even if my actions don’t change the world, they are at least helping push the world in the direction I believe is best.

Local Marine Shrimp?

Did you think it would be possible to have fresh, marine shrimp in Michigan? Well I learned a way that I can! I learned in class of a man who is raising his own marine shrimp and selling it in Okemos. This is very exciting in my opinion because I can have shrimp alfredo and not buy it from Meijer, where the shipping and transportation costs alone are enormous! Also these shrimp are not depleting the amount in the oceans. The only questionable thing is the sustainability of aquaculture. I can't think of any major reason aquaculture would have negative effects, other than the energy the indoor recirculating system burns by running. I imagine, though, that those negative effects are outweighed by the positive benefits of mainting shrimp populations in the oceans and eliminating transportation/processing/preserving costs.

I think I'll be making Shrimp Alfredo in the coming weeks. 

Also, I found out about some Co-op gift shops in Old Town, Lansing where I might do some Christmas shopping. They are second-hand, but they are locally made. I much prefer supporting locally made products to mass produced ones. I think it is a suitable alternative option to purchasing second-hand. Don't get me wrong, though, I am going to look at second-hand shops as well.

P.S. Happy Snow!

Spriiing Break!

Ah, the never-ending battle of saving money. That is my life as a college student. It seems that as quickly as I save it, it is spent again. Books, bills (...speaking of, rent is due tomorrow!), and those necessary vacation trips that will create memories for a lifetime. Okay, so maybe vacations aren't really necessary, but if I can't have fun now as a college student, when will I find the time later on in life?

I have a confession to make! I have bought a plane ticket to Hawaii. Yes, I can hear you. All those tons  of carbon spewing into the atmosphere for one Spring Break trip. In my quest for sustainability, did I consider how my desire to travel would effect my impact on the world? Honestly? Not at first.

I didn't even think about my "green ideals" when I decided to go with roommates to Hawaii for a week in March. But when I reached the end of my purchasing process, it asked me if I wanted offset the carbon I would produce by purchasing a little luggage tag that had the word "ECO" on it. While I don't exactly know how effective such a purchase could be, I decided to do it anyway. It was only an extra $7! I wonder now, though, if this is an example of green-washing or legitimate attempt at going green. Either way, I would have gone on this trip. Now I can feel a little bit better about it. As far as I can tell after some research, it's legit!

Timely reflections on consumerism

The man himself!

Reading John Kenneth Galbraith's writings on "The Theory of Consumer Demand" (that is a link to the abridged text of the overall book, The Affluent Society) brought up a great point, in my opinion. Sure, we all talk about how all of our consumption is a bad thing, but did we ever think about the cycle of consumption we are locked into? Why do we consume so much if we need very little? Why do I crave new shoes or the fanciest Apple product?

Galbraith said it is because advertising tells us we need it! Think about it. To quote him:

"A man who is hungry need not be told of his need for food. If he is inspired by his appetite, he is immune to the effect of Messers. Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn. The latter are effective only with those who are so far removed from physical want that they do not already know what they want. In this state alone men are open to persuasion." [Note: I am assuming the aforemention Messrs. are advertising gurus. Also, the italics were my own.]

This water came from a pure mountain!

Surprisingly I had never thought this through before. Why do Americans, among others, need to have commercials for food? Bottled water? Because we actually have no great need for it! Were I in desparate need for water, I would not need at TV commercial tell me which mountain spring it came from in an exotic country. I would just drink the water.

With the surplus of production in Western society, producers had to do something to entice us to buy beyond our needs. Hence, the rise of advertising. I find this very interesting. A whole sector of our business is perpetuating the constant consumerism that causes so much trouble environmentally. In order to change it, we wouldn't just have to change people's habits, but also remove or completely alter portions of our economy.

After coming to this realization, I will be more suspicious of advertising I see and attempt to see past all the bru-ha-ha about the newest toy. Even though iPads look pretty sweet ...

Happy Black Friday! Not.

Today I slept in, woke up, and immediately ate some leftovers for breakfast. I did NOT brave the chilly November air to risk life and limb for that one Christmas gift. In fact, none of my family did. I am home for Thanksgiving and I have to say, I am very thankful to have all of my family home.

After living in an apartment for a few months, I realize how useful a yard is. I'm not sure how sustainable it is to have a yard — shouldn't we all be living in small cities in the ideal sustainable future? But I have to say a yard would be ridiculously useful. I could have a large compost pile and use the end product to fertilize my garden - where I would grow all my herbs and vegetables I would cook with. What a nice fantasy. It is unlikely I will have a yard anytime soon, however, so I will have to make do. I asked my father about composting supplies to see what he knows about it. He grew up in the 60s and 70s, so I figured he might have some knowledge. He told me about the importance of the carbon dioxide and nitrogen ratio and said his ideal composting situation would be 4 areas sectioned off with cement blocks on a rotating cycle. He didn't however have much confidence in apartment composting. That tells me to be cautious because it is likely if I don't know what I am doing, I will just end up with failed experiment. I will have to do some more reading and see what I can do.

In other news, I heard from a professor about a man only a handful of miles from East Lansing that raises his own marine shrimp. He is using a method of indoor aquaculture we were learning about in class called indoor recirculating systems. It would be a good place for me to buy shrimp next time we want to cook with it! At least there won't be a lot transportation involved! I will be emailing my professor for a way to contact the shrimp man today.

Christmas Presents

Ahh, the season is upon us. This weekend, after everyone stuffs themselves on turkey, cranberries, mashed potatoes (mmmhmm, my favorite) and a variety of desserts, Americans will do what they do best. Shop! Black Friday (what an ominous name) and the newer Cyber Monday are the official start of the Christmas shopping season. Although, I have already heard Christmas music in Meijer and seen signs for the Biggest Sale Of The Year! That point aside, patriotic Americans will dutifully cram in to shopping malls and department stores to spend every last cent on Tickle-Me-Elmos, video games, jewelry and iPads.

I am sitting in my apartment procrastinating homework for my Media & the Law class by thinking about what I want to buy my family for Christmas presents. I was also thinking about my efforts to reduce consumption this semester and wondering how well I have done so far, when it hit me. Why should I participate in the consumerism-driven circus of the next few weeks? Do all of my friends and family really need brand new items? Why don't I purchase Christmas presents at second-hand shops? There a tons of cute little stores that sell used items - items that are perfectly usable. I could even not buy things for some people at all, I could use my newly developed photography skills and make personal gifts for each person.

I have to say...I am excited about this idea! It gives me a chance to give people more personal gifts than just another piece plastic-eye-candy from a department store! :D

Closing the Circle

I just read a synopsis of the views and opinions of Barry Commoner, a biologist, professor and Eco-socialist. He wrote something called The Closing Circle. It was interesting because while it contrasted the ideas of the pessimists who believed overpopulation would lead to the end of life as we know it, it arranged a lot of thoughts I had been throwing around in my head quite nicely.

Barry Commoner felt the main cause of the environmental crisis was the economic and political systems that weren't distributing the wealth and resources sufficiently, which was basically technology and the growth of civilization. He called it a "counterecological pattern of growth". Closing the circle means to return to nature the wealth we derive from it. Basically, sustainable living. I didn't expect to agree with Commoner, since I do believe overpopulation is an important issue that shouldn't be dismissed lightly, but I found I did agree with a lot of his ideas. He encapsulates my idea of sustainability in a neat little phrase "closing the circle". Whatever we take out we must put back in.

Related to this line of thought is the Gaia hypothesis, which states that the planet Earth is basically a living being that creates circumstances suitable for life. The problem is that it traditionally it adapts at a biological pace, but humans are causing change at a social pace, one that is much faster than biological change. I like the idea of thinking of the Earth as one complex being with complicated systems for life because it reiterates my idea, and the ideas of Commoner, that humans can't just continue on a path of destruction or the entire system for life may stall. Sure, it may fix itself in the end and life may return or continue on, but there is no guarantee that humans will be apart of that picture. Scary thought.