350 Ways to Reach a Green Future

Bard Students at Global Food Crisis Conference

2010-03-11T15:23:00.001-08:00

Before you begin reading my delightful blog, be sure to watch this awesome Recyclemania video (two soda cans wondering about the afterlife)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uK31ubS10E

And now for this week's sustainability news. A group of hardy Bard students, including yours truly, piled into the van last Saturday and drove to a Global Food Crisis Conference organized by SUNY students. My own personal breakfast food crisis was averted at the registration table, by BATHTUB-SIZED BASKETS of the most delicious muffins the world has ever seen. Reeking of cinnamon and dribbling crumbs, I plopped into my auditorium seat, not sure quite what to expect.

The keynote speaker came on stage. His name was Eric Holt-Gimenez, and he spoke with great passion and statistical accuracy about the evils wreaked by the Industrial Agri-Foods Complex. In 2008, food riots shook the world. These riots occurred not only in places you'd expect (Haiti and Nigeria) but also in Milwaukee and Italy. The media blamed climate change and financial speculation. But when you look at the numbers, 2008 was actually a year of record crops. Why were there no grain reserves? Why did the USA, one of the planet's richest countries, experience an increase from 36 to 50 million food-insecure citizens? Why can't we just feed the hungry?

It turns out 2008 was not only a year of record hunger, but also a year of record profits for the industrial agri-foods complex. Monopolies control prices and prevent the formation of grain reserves to ensure there is always plenty of demand. First world countries pump billions of dollars of subsidies into our industrial farms, which pollute the watershed, destroy the topsoil, and dangerously diminish biodiversity. Since we focus on growing only a few crops, our world food system could get a big hole knocked in it by a single unlucky disease (a la Irish Potato Famine.)

The subsidies make the products of industrialized farming so cheap it's hard for sustainable farmers to compete. When we ship our food to developing countries and sell it (usually at below the cost of production, so much for the free market) the native farmers cannot compete and go right out of business. We have essentially colonized their markets by flooding them with our artificially low-priced goods. In a very short period of time, developing countries have gone from a net food export of one billion to a net food import of eleven billion; there's twelve billion dollars worth of dependency for you. For this reason, "Food Sovereignty" has become a rallying cry for poor countries loosing their political autonomy due to reliance on foreign food.

Meanwhile, the focus of our farming system on a few cash crops means Americans are eating increasingly more unhealthy diets. Fresh fruits and vegetables suffer at the expense of endless calorie-rich, nutrient-poor, corn-syrup based products and processed foods. The resulting obesity, of course, causes enormous drag on our health care system.

Food issues, despite drastic environmental and health implications, remain low on the priority list of the world's leaders. Most of the world's leaders did not grace the UN World Food Summit with their presence. In fact, the sole significant result of the Summit was to drop the Millennium Development Goal to end hunger by 2025, (the goal was deemed too ambitious.)

After the talk, the speaker offered copies of his book, Food Rebellions! Crisis and the Hunger for Justice, for the signing. I asked him, “What first got you interested in these issues?” He looked at me, a handsome face, iron-grey hair, pouches drooping under tired eyes.

“I worked with farmers in Latin America on sustainable agriculture systems,” he explained. (He was originally trained as an agronomist.) “I was working in Central America when a terrible hurricane destroyed their agriculture systems. The sustainable farmers went to the government and said, 'Since we have to rebuild anyway, why not rebuild our way?' They had scientific evidence that the sustainable way was working better. But they were completely ignored. It was then that I realized that being right isn't enough. You can't just figure out the right way to do things; you have to start a political movement to convince people of what you've discovered. And that's what I'm working on now.”

After the keynote speech, we heard from a farmer-activist who moved from what he called “New York Shitty,” to live with the land and grow organic apples. “Never take no for an answer,” he urged us energetically. “Don't listen to the negative thinkers who tell you its impossible. Where there's a will there's a way. They wouldn't let me join the farmer's market. What did I do? I organized my OWN farmer's market, and people were forming lines!” A New York city student told us about extending Community Supported Agriculture to low-income families in the Bronx. Best of all was the delightful gentleman who told us about the sustainable mill and bakery he ran with a cooperative of local grain farmers-- croissants from fresh and delicious Hudson Valley Wheat!

After attending workshops in the afternoon (all topics from permaculture to kombucha tea) we returned to Bard excited about all we'd learned. Freshman year, I used to volunteer for the Community Garden. I remember how muddy and exhausted I was after turning over the vegetable beds looking for bindweed. I loved the garden and I loved the idea of growing my own food. But I didn't understand why, in the grand scheme of things, little projects like our Bard Community Garden are so important. Now I understand why. Not to be melodramatic or anything, but it's an act of defiance and hope, against the global systems of agriculture who have us enfolded in their chains.

Agnostic about Recycling?

2010-02-27T14:21:00.000-08:00

Some Bard students are recycling skeptics. "I watch the Aramark workers, and they just shove everything into the same bag!” Laurie (Department of Environmental Resources Head) assures you earnestly they have a separate paper recycling bag within their big plastic bag. Appearances can be misleading!

Other Bard students complain recycling is energy-inefficient. “All our recycling is shipped ridiculously long distances. In the long run, it creates more carbon emissions than the creation of new materials!” one Bard student told me, saying this was the result of his research during a think tank internship.

Well, let's see if transparency will convince the naysayers. What really happens to those valuable recycled materials once Aramark leaves them on the curb? A couple of very nice guys named Fred and Paul load the bags into their truck and bring them to the Bard recycling yard. Perhaps you have stumbled on this fenced area near SMOG, haunted by crows joyously feeding on compost. Under the eerie cries of the crows and in the haze of overwhelming stench, these materials accumulate in thirty-yard bins. Then the Royal Carding trucking company takes them away to Ulster County Resource Recovery agency.

Whence from there? The cans go to Kingston, where “Millens & Son, Saving the Planet since 1888,” salvages them. Besides providing the full array of metal recycling services, Millens & Son preserves the memory of “Gus, the Safety Dog,” whose photo features prominently on their website. Posed in front of an American flag and a panoramic view of Earth from space, this adorable puppy with a brown squished face tells us to “Live Green.”

Mountain View Recycling in Little Falls, NY takes the plastic bottles. Some plastics and whatnot go to K.C. International (located in the glorious town of Brick, New Jersey) but most of the paper goes to a plethora of little recycling companies scattered all over New York State. For example, Sierra Recyling in Clifton Park NY takes our newspapers, magazines, and paperback books. The only out-of-state paper recycler is North Shore Recyling in Salem, Massachusetts.

However, for a few tricky materials more complex than paper, we seemed force to rely on Haycore Canada Inc, in Russell, Ontario. Some would argue, doubtless the carbon-spewing trucks should not have to drive all the way to Canada. But its a natural result of Canada's more advanced recycling infrastructure. Recycling has long been mandatory for quite a few towns in Ontario. Maybe someday New York can hope to attain Canada's level of sophistication.

Moral of the story: the recycled materials do travel around, but not as much as you think. The vast majority of it seems to stay in New York. Making paper from paper still probably consumes less energy than making paper from virgin timber ripped from the land. So keep on dumping those essays in those friendly little red bins....

Are Bard students dirtier than a mouse?

2010-02-21T08:18:00.001-08:00

It's an ordinary day. You're walking through Kline, wondering if they are serving pie for once. Suddenly the air is split by a shriek! “Is that a mouse?” cries the Kline lady. You look around wildly. There stands a cute Indian boy (my boyfriend, incidentally) with a little mouse peeping out of the coat of his gray hood.

“Its my new pet mouse,” says my boyfriend plaintively. “I named him Tachyon. He goes with me everywhere.”

“No mice allowed in the cafeteria,” says the Kline lady sternly. “Health regulations.”

At home, my boyfriend visits the place where every college student vents their wrath. No, not the ear of a sympathetic bartender-- Facebook. “Health regulations, my shiny metal butt,” he typed furiously. “Most of the people who enter Kline are way dirtier than Tachyon. Bah. Really, what is a mouse going to do to you? Kill you with his furriness? Or maybe gnaw you to death with the same mastication that takes 15 minutes to get through a grain of corn? Bah again.”

So is my boyfriend right? Are Bard students dirtier than a mouse?

What do you mean by “dirty?” The little mouse Tachyon emits feces which can promptly be reabsorbed into Mother Nature. On the other hand, the average American human produces 1600 pounds of trash per year, (not including industrial or commercial trash) according to the Environmental Protection Agency. In case you're bad with visualizing numbers (I know I am) that is roughly the weight of a full-grown female walrus.

By this inescapable logic (despite my daily showers and the quarters I feed the laundry machine) I am, in fact dirtier than a mouse. This is very distressing to me. So what can I do about it????
I can learn to recycle.

But when you think about it, the contest between me and Tachyon is a little unfair. Mother Nature has been practicing recycling for billions of years. In fact, every atom in your body has been recycled millions of times. Yes— the atoms which are now part of you, were once part of Jesus, a carrot, Susan B. Anthony, and a great sperm whale. It's all part of the glorious cycle of life. Human eats apple. Human is killed by swine flu. Nutrients in dead human are broken down by fungi. Apple tree absorbs nutrients. And so on.

But what I call the cycle of life comes to a grinding, screeching, halt, every time we make one of those mysterious substances that nature doesn't know how to break down. Dozens of industrial chemicals, and of course the infamous, ever-present plastic.

Although we all seem to agree that a majestic forest is infinitely more beautiful than a row of cartoon-character adorned cereal boxes, we keep on cutting down said forests to create said cereal boxes, with disturbing regularity. Of course the fungi get their slippery little tendrils over Cap'n Crunch's grinning visage eventually— but at least for now, the cereal boxes are in the lead.

The reason? While Mother Nature knows exactly what to do with Tachyon's cute little feces, humans are still struggling to find ways to efficiently turn their trash into treasure. Start viewing your trash in a new way. Before you throw something in the garbage can, think “How could this object be reused?” Stare deeply into the soul of that plastic bottle. Perhaps it is fated for a nobler destiny than the dump.

For example, trash can be recycled to create art. Bard BERPS have created a series of inspirational sculptures made out of recycled objects to place in their dormitory public spaces. I am especially proud of my fairytale castle, with a tower made from a mini Cheerios box and packing foam. I pay homage to nature's tremendous powers of recycling with a photo of a bee cut from a discarded children's book. Beside the bee is inscribed the motto, “Bees are cute. Bees recycle nectar,” (see photo above.)

In the hands of another talented BERP, the box of an old Star Wars game becomes another inspirational poster. (The Force bids you to RECYCLE! Come to the green side of the Force.) Another sculpture features an old plastic finding Nemo toy, along with the slogan, “Don't FIND Nemo, SAVE him!” And so on. Look around campus. You'll see posters everywhere of people recycling. And of course Barack Obama. Who tells us, “Yes we CAN!”

College against College: Recyclemania Showdown

2010-02-12T08:20:00.000-08:00

Recyclemania is an inter-college competition that tracks which college can recycle the most over 8 weeks.

* Cue Dramatic Music *

A Bard student, magnificently dressed in rainbow scarves, a leather jacket, and a polka dot dress, strides boldly onto the stage. Her sleeves are adorned with buttons supporting various political, social, and ecological causes. She wields a copy of Kant in one hand, and a thermos of Fair Trade coffee in the other.

* Music turns Evil *

A Vassar student swaggers jauntily onto the stage, surrounded by a crowd of groupies. She is dressed in a sweater suit and pearls. She wields a copy of the Oprah magazine in one hand, and in the other (audience shudders in revulsion) a paper cup from Starbucks. The Bard student, bound to show her disapproval of this beverage travesty, bites her thumb at the Vassar student.

Naturally, this literary allusion to Shakespeare’s classic Romeo and Juliet goes right over the Vassar student’s head. So the Bard damsel is forced to register her disapproval in a cruder way, namely by flipping the bird.

Vassar wench: Do you flip your bird at us, madam?

Bard Damsel: I do flip my bird, madam.

Vassar wench: But do you flip your bird AT us, madam?

Bard Damsel: (speaking softly to her friend in the wings of the stage): Is the law of Botstein on our side, if I say ay?

Friend: No.

Bard Damsel: I do not flip my bird at you, madam, but I flip my bird, madam.

Vassar wench: Do you quarrel, madam?

Bard Damsel: Quarrel madam! no, madam.

Vassar Wench: If you do, madam, I am ready; for I am as well versed in the ways of Kant as you, and the claim that I spend my days reading cliff notes and watching American Idol is mere hearsay.

Bard Damsel: Well versed in Kant you may be; but can you RECYCLE?

Vassar wench (blanches in fear, then with a toss of her head, resumes her haughty dignity): Recycle? Why, in Vassar, we recycle a forest every day! The aluminum cans which we hath tossed in the recycling bins doth furnish the wherewithal to build entire airplanes!

Bard Damsel: Cease thy hollow boasting, foolish wastrel, lest you are prepared to engage in mortal combat with me, thy rival.

Vassar wench: Have at it then!!!

* The music swells to a dramatic crescendo. Piles of garbage, along with the appropriate recycling bins, are rolled onto the stage. Both warriors begin furiously chucking things into the bins. *

Bard Damsel: Lo and behold! For my stock of recycled food scraps to put into composting is far greater than thine!

Vassar wench (sneering): That’s because Bard students don’t know how to clean their plates!

Bard Damsel: Nay, but lo and behold! For the statistics show that last year Bard was the all-USA food scraps CHAMPION!

Vassar wench: Speak not to me again of the disgusting offal that remains from your piggish food orgies at Kline!

* the clang clanging of cans going into bins escalates in rhythm and intensity. *

Bard Damsel: Ah-ha-ha! Know you not, ignorant Vassar varlet, that all containers must be rinsed and have their caps removed before being placed in the recycling bin?

Vassar wench: Aaaaaaarrgh! (Retrieves the last 100 bottles she has placed in the recycling bin and begins to wash them.)

Bard Damsel (speaking to herself): I begin to see now why they say that 3% of America’s energy is used to produce packaging. I must lay my plans well, and bring about a revolution that will transform the system of this decadent imperialistic country!

(Vassar wench holds up a used printer cartridge, a confused expression on her vapidly pretty face. She tosses her blond curls and pouts in puzzlement.)

Bard Damsel (rubbing her hands together): Mwa-ha-ha! The Vassar wench does not even know that printer cartridges, CFLs, batteries, cell phones, plastic bags, and other hazardous items must be placed in the BERP box or brought to the nearest BERP for proper disposal!

(BERP = Bard Environmental Resource Person)

Vassar wench: Well, Vassar doesn’t have BERPs! Vassar has VERPs! Bard student, beware the dread wrath of VERPly might! (She throws the last of her aluminum cans into the bin with a defiant crash.)

Bard Damsel (letting the last load of Free Press papers slide into the recycling bin): I am finished!

Vassar wench: I too am finished!

Bard Damsel: Let the weighing commence!

A giant pair of scales is brought onto the stage, and loaded up with the recycling bins from either team. The suspense has everyone on the razor’s edge. The audience is holding their collective breath.

Bard Damsel (interjects cheerily): Did you know that Americans throw away enough paper every year to build a twelve-foot high wall from Los Angeles to New York?

Vassar wench: Be silent, fool! The moment of truth is approaching. (The scales sway, then steady. The audience breaks out into a roar.)

Ringmaster: Lo and behold! The Vassar Team and the Bard Team are exactly tied.

The Vassar wench gets a wild look on her face, glugs the last of her Starbucks, and then throws her paper cup into the recycling container on her side of the scale. The balance tips ever-so-slightly in her favor. She cackles in evil triumph.

Vassar wench: Behold! I have triumphed!

Bard Damsel in Distress: NOOOOooooOOOOooooooOOOOOooo!!!!! (clutches hands to head and collapses onto the stage like a melting witch.)

* Close curtains *

So, I’m sure you’ve gotten the message by now. Recycling something is great, but not using it in the first place is even better.

The question I struggled with when writing this blog, is WHY is recycling so hard to do? Why do we have to hold exciting intercollegiate competitions with names like Recyclemania? Why isn’t it just something everyone does as a matter of habit?

Well, forgetting to recycle still carries very little social stigma. And recycling initiatives in the USA are still mostly voluntary. When I lived in Canada, the garbagemen wouldn’t pick up the bags at the curb, unless we had properly sorted into wet recycling, dry recycling, and landfill. You always felt guilty if you saw you had more landfill bags than your neighbors. True, we lived in Guelph, Ontario, where the Green Party enjoys unusual levels of support.

A cynic would say that appealing to the goodness of our hearts and posting signs around campus isn’t enough to make us change our ways. Well, let’s prove the cynics wrong: Let’s recycle more, and use less, than we ever have before! Not because BERPS will be hovering around waiting to give raffle tickets to people who are “caught green-handed” (although they will.) But because we have to live up to our reputation (acknowledged by the Fiske Guide to Colleges) as one of the most socially aware campuses in the United States.

Ecovillage at Ithaca

2010-02-05T09:22:00.000-08:00

While the slow and lumbersome governmental beast ambles (hopefully) towards some type of climate-related legislation, there are plenty of people who aren’t willing to wait for the politicians. Bard students are entering Recyclemania season (more about that later). Sustainable Hudson Valley Organization is dashing about urging people to take up the “10% Challenge” (10% reduction in emissions by the end of 2010!). And right here in New York, people are building ecovillages-- intentional communities, created to resolve that perpetual dispute between man and nature.

Over Thanksgiving Break I paid a visit to the Ecovillage at Ithaca. I’m writing my Senior Project on ecovillages. Ever since I heard of them, I’ve been in love with the idea. And you know the usual fate of those starry-eyed idealists who fall in love with an idea. Their dream falls to pieces before their eyes; the people they idolize fall off their pedestals; their hearts and souls are brutally crushed on the harsh wheel of reality. So I got on the bus for Ithaca with some trepidation. Would the ecovillage (the REAL ecovillage, at last— after reading books about them for weeks!) be everything I dreamed it would be? Or would I meet only with disappointment?

I stumbled with my suitcase through the dark to the Common House. There I found the ecovillagers dining, and a plate set aside especially for me-- the most delicious vegetarian meal I had ever eaten! I was warmly invited to join a table, and sat down and listened to my heart’s content. The conversation was very much like it is at Bard College; wry humor, talk of social justice, a little good-natured teasing. They teased me for being “an anthropologist come to study them,” and joked that “maybe we should act weird or something,” so I would have something interesting to write down about them. The impression was very much that of ordinary people, mildly surprised and amused to find themselves at the center of all this fuss. “We have a nice shelf of all these theses people write about us,” one of the elderly gentleman laughed.

I had this little list of interview questions, stamped and approved by the Bard Institutional Research Board. One of the questions was, “What influence do you think the Global Ecovillage Movement will have on the future of the world?” A sweet lady named Graham (“like the cracker!”) had consented to be interviewed after I helped her spread mulch on her garden. When I came to that question she laughed and said, “Oh my goodness, I don’t know. I mean, I’m sure there are people in the ecovillage who are thinking about that. But I don’t think about that— I’d rather be out…. planting garlic or something, you know!”

I had a couple of tour guides over the weekend. There was a Cornell professor who talked on very impressively about solar panels and insulated homes and straw-bale housing and the economic efficiency of shared resources, arrays of facts and figures. The vanguard of the war on global warming, so to speak. The other guide was a longtime ecovillage resident named Jim who entertained himself during the tour by making off-putting jokes. Showing us the root cellar, he said, “This is where we lock up people we don’t like. Ah ha ha!” Then, wandering into the Common House’s Recreation Room, we stumbled upon a couple of normal-looking teenagers enjoying a foosball table. With a grand flourish (as if displaying a couple of savages clad in nothing but war paint and eagle feathers) Jim proclaimed, “There are the REAL ecovillagers! You can observe them in their Native Environment.” The teenagers were startled, their foosball game interrupted by a group of twenty people staring at them intently. Then, catching onto the joke, they started making loud monkey noises and jumping about. I snorted laughter into my hand as we excited the building.

Besides taking the tour, I also ate the Thanksgiving meal with the ecovillagers. A potluck of about fifty people crowded themselves into the Common House dining room. We began the meal by singing a song together, and then there was a “Grateful Ritual.” Everyone said a sentence about what they were grateful for, and lighted a little candle next to their plate. One golden-haired young child said he was grateful for, “All the love and smiles which inhabit this Earth,” and I just about died from the cuteness of it. A lady with a mischievous smile proclaimed, “I say this every year—I’m grateful for chocolate!” Most people were grateful for food and family. I found it all incredibly moving, but I admit that fifty people are rather a lot to listen to on a hungry afternoon. Towards the end one grumpy old man (who’s stomach must have been rumbling) stood up and said, “I’m grateful this Grateful Ritual will be over soon….”

It was so fun laughing and chatting with everyone. Imagine Kline cafeteria at Bard, only with people of all different ages and much better food. I exchanged stories with a retired old lady who had (like me) had traveled to Africa. And this cute kid told me about naming the fish in the local pond. “We named one of them Gold-y, and another fish we named Orange-y, and then one of the fish died and floated to the top, and Daddy named THAT fish Dead-y…..”

When we had all stuffed ourselves, a group of enthusiasts clamored for the musicians in the group to perform“Uncle Dave’s Grace,” apparently a Thanksgiving tradition there. I’ll give you some of the lyrics:

Thanksgiving day, Uncle Dave was our guest
He reads the Progressive, which makes him depressed.
We asked Uncle Dave if he’d like to say grace,
A dark desolation crept over his face

“Thanks,” he began as he gazed at his knife,
“To poor Mr. Turkey for living his life
All crowded and cramped in a great metal shed
Where life was a drag, then they cut off his head.”

“Thanks,” he went on, “for the grapes in my wine
Picked by sick women of seventy-nine
Scrambling all morning for bunch after bunch
Then brushing the pesticides off of their lunch.”

It goes on like that for nine or ten verses, everything from jungles cut down to make our chairs, to unrenewable fossil fuels heating our rooms, to mines that make silverware polluting rivers; the whole kaboodle. Feel free to Google it, but I won’t inflict it all on you here. I’ll just skip to the end.

Sighed Uncle Dave, “though there’s more to be told
The wine’s getting warm and the bird’s getting cold”
And with that he sat down as he mumbled again
“Thank you for everything, amen”

We felt so guilty when he was all through
It seemed there was one of two things we could do
Live without food, in the nude, in a cave,
Or next year have someone say grace besides Dave.

It was the first time I had heard that song. I was struck by how it combined a passion for social justice with an ironic sense of humor. As someone who tends to be a little bit overly zealous, I’m accustomed to people wincing when I show signs of launching into some rant. But this song made me feel compassion for the people who end up on the receiving end of my rants, so to speak. I can imagine the Grandma resting her head in her hands after Uncle Dave’s speech, thinking, “Good grief! I just wanted to have a nice family dinner…….. No one’s going to enjoy my cooking now….”

That song was very typical of Ecovillage at Ithaca in general. People clearly felt deeply about environmental and social justice. (The Bed ‘n Breakfast I stayed at was run by a woman who had started a nonprofit to help the 3rd world.) But they didn’t like making speeches. They didn’t take themselves too seriously. They knew how to laugh at themselves. I’m used to living among college students, some of whom take themselves very, very, seriously. But if you can’t see the humor of it all, you’re just like poor Uncle Dave: broadcasting doom, gloom, and destruction everywhere he goes.

The moral of the song is, don’t be like Uncle Dave!!! When people hear that kind of rhetoric, they get overwhelmed. They feel like their choices have narrowed to “living in a cave” or trying not to think about it. While the world boils because of global warming, and the genocides rampage unchecked, and the child workers in the factories in China make knicks and knacks for our greedy American appetites….. I’m sure you’ve all written some variation on that essay.

What if the world isn’t saved by the grand theories we write in our essays, but by the simple things? Simple things like planting garlic. Or planting a tree, or giving hugs, or dropping a can in the recycling bin. (Recyclemania! More to come in following blogs!) Surprisingly enough, you can save the world without being pretentious about it…….

I can blather about paradigm shifts and “alternative modes of living,” about “addressing society’s problems at a systemic level,” social fragmentation, and crass consumerism. But I’m sure you’ve all heard that all before. So I’m just going to keep it simple:

Ecovillage at Ithaca was pretty special. It wasn’t just a matter of chickens, or solar panels, or Community Supported Agriculture, even though those are all awesome things to have. I keep talking about how much the social atmosphere reminded me so much of Bard. See, there was a reason for that.

Bard is an amazing place because of the degree of community we enjoy here. Sometimes I have the feeling of being nestled in the center of a giant extended family. My friends are like my immediate family, but even the most distant Bard acquaintance is like a cousin-once-removed, whom I may, if I choose, address in a tone of friendly camaraderie.

I don’t like to think how many of us lose that after graduating. The naturally gregarious, perhaps, continue to maintain extended social groups, but I can’t keep count of the number of adults who have said to me, “College? Those were the best years of my life!” The idea that at the age of twenty one, I have already passed over the peak of my happiness, is horrifying to me. But I think the reason people remember college as a golden age is because of the friendships they formed there. Friendships which are no longer so easier to form, once you cannot meet people in the cafeteria and the dormitory.

The Ecovillage at Ithaca was founded to help the planet by sharing and using fewer resources. But the side-effect of sharing resources was a communal kind of living which did much to connect neighbor to neighbor. These people went on to become adults without giving up what I think of as the best part of college life.
As I waited for the taxi to take me away from Ecovillage at Ithaca, I listen to some woman hollering a conversation from one house to another. In an earlier era of American history, such a conversation would have been commonplace. I don’t know how commonplace such conversations are now. It went something like this:

“I grew a giant squash! I’m putting half of it in the Common House cooler for you to cook this evening, okay?”

“How do I coooook it!”

“I don’t know. Cut it up or something. Sprinkle salt and paper and broil it for a few minutes.”

“How many minutes?”

“How should I know? Until it looks done!”

(Another woman joining in) “I have some celery you can use.”

“What if I put the celery in a soup?”

“Squash soup! Mmmmmm delicious….. I can’t wait!”

I’m sure every Bard student wants to make her or his mark on the world. I really believe every one of you is going to go out there and do great deeds. But the great deeds won’t be what makes life worth living. What makes life worth living is the preciousness of everyday things. Like yummy squash soup.

So hold onto your sense of humor. Appreciate the everyday things. Work to make a difference in the world, sure, but seek out an environment where people love you and a state of mind where you love yourself. And that’s all I’ve got for today.

350 Ways to Think About the Environment

2009-11-14T15:58:00.000-08:00

On the first day of Introduction to Environmental and Urban Studies class, new faculty member Jennifer Berky had a real mob to contend with. About fifty students flooded into her classroom, some of them making loud proclamations to the effect that they would "die" if they did not get into her class. Although competition for popular courses is normal at Bard College, for students to display this much enthusiasm for a single course is unusual. Somehow, a large number of Bard students had decided that this topic was crucial for their future.

"The environmental movement has moved into pop culture suddenly, in a way nobody can ignore," said Lily Saporta-Tagiuri. Lily is a student doing a project on EUS curriculum design. The Bard program lets you concentrate in Environmental and Urban Studies, but EUS cannot be your primary major. Lily, who wishes she could major in EUS, is interested in strengthening the program. "No student should graduate from Bard College without knowing something about environmental issues," she says.

This makes me wonder, what if environmental awareness was a requirement for graduation? Bard already has a "Rethinking Difference," requirement, which has been the subject of much controversy. Basically, in order to graduate, a student must take a course that teaches about issues of discrimination and prejudice. College curriculum design can be a tool for enforcing awareness about certain political issues.

Professor Berky accepted as many people into her class as she possibly could, but there just wasn't room for everyone. This overwhelming surge of student interest shows a need to provide more courses in this subject. When I asked Lily why she thought students were so interested, her answer was deeply insightful. "People are scared! This is a really scary issue, especially for our age group-- this is our future! This is us! Every single one of us is going to have to deal with it.... In the sixties there was this upsurge of communes and sustainable farming and all these things, but it died out because there was no infrastructure to support it. Now people, serious businesspeople, are seeing the need to build that infrastructure. Especially with the economic crisis and fluctuating oil prices, people are scared about how unstable things are. And for a lot of people, sustainability equals stability."

Its important to mention though, that people aren't just scared-- they're also excited. I recently attended a "Green Drinks" event at the newly opened Rhinecliff Hotel. "Green Drinks" organizes social events where people who are interested in green issues can meet, have a drink or two, exchange business cards, and help one another suceed at their projects. There were over a hundred people of all ages at this event; it was overwhelming to see how many Hudson Valley residents were interested in sustainability. Everyone was kind and friendly and full of buoyant enthusiasm about their projects. I met someone who had just started a business growing vegetables in people's backyards. I met a mural artist who did nature paintings and told me, "Sustainability is all about love!!!" I met a "green collar accountant," a green architect, a publisher of a local sustainability magazine. It made me remember that words of politician Tom Mansfield (reported in my last blog) "These issues are taking hold in people's souls." More and more souls as time goes on. (If you're interested in attending the event next month, see http://www.greendrinks.org/index.php?country=USA&city=Hudson%20Valley.)

Students hope that EUS curriculum will focus on hands-on activities. "We need to learn to apply concepts to the real world," said Lily. Her idea was to have a class where people could work on semester-long projects to improve the ecofriendliness of Bard campus. For instance, the class could divide into small groups, and each group could pick a project: improving composting practices, fundraising for a hybrid shuttle, et. etc. Although Bard students care a lot about "saving the world", classwork consumes the majority of their energy. If sustainability action was part of a class, that would be a way of ensuring student commitment to projects. "If people don't have an outlet for their enthusiasm, it just goes to waste," says Lily.

Perhaps summer programs in Environmental and Urban Studies could help make the program more "hands-on." Bard already has a summer program in New Orleans, where students intern for NGOs by day, and take urban studies classes by night. Maybe this could become a field studies option for EUS concentrators in years to come. Stephen Tremaine, who organizes the New Orleans program, gave a presentation to the EUS class last Thursday.

"In the 50s, the mayor of New Orleans called it 'America's most interesting city,'" said Stephen. "A geographer has also called it, 'The impossible yet inevitable city.' " Impossible because of its location in the middle of a swamp. Inevitable, because of the economic benefits reaped from being on a major trade route.

Stephen showed the class a map of development over time. The settlement started in the high ground near the river, which was a little safer. But as time went on the development crept closer and closer to the low ground near the sea. A key event was the invention of a pumping system in 1905 by Albert Wood, to transform swamps into land. However, the swamps serve an ecological function, absorbing water and protecting the land from storm surge. Changing swamps into land disrupted the natural balance.

The lower income residents were more likely to live in flood-prone areas. Stephen said that demonstrated a "near-universal correlation between ecological vulnerability and economic vulnerability.... Even if they're in danger, they have nowhere else to go." When Katrina hit, the area of the city that was lower than sea level was just like a bowl that filled up with water. Even buildings with only two inches of water in the basement, could suffer damages from toxic mold which crept up sheetrock. The mold was 20,000 times more toxic than abestos. Many residents chose not to come back.

Stephen described a controversy where city officials had to decide whether to tear down 200,000 apartment's worth of low-income housing units. They were built in areas which were at high risk for flooding, and concentrated economic and social problems into a dangerous neighborhood. The people who lived there were scattered all over the USA because of Katrina. No one knew what percentage would come back. However, tearing down someone's home without asking their permission seems pretty unjust. Stephen asked the class, "What would you do if you were mayor?" and got a whole range of responses.

Stephen's presentation showed us how many disciplines can be involved in understanding a city. Right now Environmental Studies courses at Bard tend to focus on science; the biology of ecosystems, or the physics of climate change. Although science is vital, there are a range of other green-collar fields, that students are anxious to accquire skills in. People who dream of being green architects, or starting their own organic farms, or becoming environmental policy advocates in Washington, will benefit from knowing more than just science. The "environment" is a political and social as well as a scientific issue, so it demands an interdiscplinary approach.

The faculty are currently in the midst of discussions about how the EUS curriculum should be shaped. If you're interested in getting involved, share ideas with Kris Feder (teacher of the course "Ecological Economics") or attend the Open House on this Tuesday the 17th of November, 4-6 in the multipurpose room. Lily says, "Bard needs a full-fledged revolution, step by step, and the Environmental and Urban Studies class is the first priority..... every single person I talk to have has something to say about this issue. I have amazing conversations where people are really excited. It's like we're all working together on this huge thing...... its like we all know this wonderful secret, and we're working to spread the news."

Lily's statement captures beautifully a feeling people get when they join the Environmental Movement. If Bard can strengthen its EUS program, maybe more Bard students will become inspired to be a part of this "Green Surge."

Challenge: Read 350 pages of a book that shows you a novel perspective on an environmental issue.

350 Teach-In

2009-10-28T21:48:00.001-07:00

The climate change Teach-In last Thursday presented a spectacular array of panelists; Bard professors of different disciplines, local politicians and activists, and even a student. The Multipurpose Room was full of people happily munching on slices of Pizza and brownies that had “350” written on them in powdered sugar. Although each member of the panel could probably have talked for hours, each struggled with a three minute and fifty second time limit.

Ebon Goldstein kicked off with a discussion of the costs of climate change. “We only need 1-3% of the GDP to address this,” he said. “It’s far less than what we spend on the military.” And then he came up with the memorable phrase, “We can do this. This isn’t about economics or technology. It’s a question of whether we have the political will.” Then physics professor Gidon Eshel shared some science with us, including graphs that correlated temperatures in Antartica with CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere.

Environmental and Urban Studies professor Jennifer Berky had a few words to say about the impact of sprawl. “60% of vehicle miles traveled are generated by sprawl,” she said. The way we build our infrastructure and communities, has a huge impact on the way we live and the emissions were produce. However, planning a better infrastructure can be politically complex, because local, county, state, and federal governments all have influence.

Next, Tom Mansfield from the Duchess County Legislative Board stepped up to the plate. “Its much easier to attack Global Warming from the use side than the produce side,” he said. “We could save a billion dollars in Duchess County from energy efficiency alone!” In other words, we don’t have to sit around and wait for them to install the windmills. We can buy energy-efficient applicances, insulate our buildings, turn off our computers, eliminate waste, and make a direct personal contribution to global warming that way.

Mr. Mansfield then went on to mention the "Green Jobs, Green New York," bill that New York State Senate passed on September 11th, 2009. This bill would provide funds to homeowners to retrofit their homes for energy efficiency. No sooner is the program born though, than it is under attack. In November they might vote to slash away the budget for Green Jobs. Mr. Mansfield strongly urged the audience to write to their senators in support of the bill so it can keep its money.

The charming Felicia Keesing was next in line, come from Bard's biology department to answer the question, "What effect will climate change have on the spread of infectious diseases?" "The scientific method is very clear about how we can answer this question," Professor Keesing told the audience. "First we need a good sample size, like maybe six earths." Six earths, shining green-and-blue, appeared on the Multipurpose Room's massive screen. Professor Keesing grinned at the room, then said, "Three of the earths can be a control group. The other three earths get global warming." She pressed a button, and three of the six earth images lit up with a sinister red glow. "Now we collect very detailed data from all six and compare them." She stopped and sighed dramatically. "Unfortunately, this experiment was canceled due to budgetary considerations." A large red X appeared across the scene, vetoing the experiment. "So we have other methods to study the effect of global warming on infectious diseases."

These methods including building computerized models, synthesizing the results of disparate studies, and even studying the changes in disease as you travel up a mountain (so as to view the same organisms at different temperatures.) “These studies overwhelmingly show that climate change increases disease,” Felicia Keesing wrapped up. “However, some people still say the results are inconclusive, because we cannot do that experiment with the six earths.” Politicians, particularly those that oppose action on climate change, like to make a big deal of scientific “uncertainty.” I appreciated Professor Keesing’s humorous presentation because it demonstrated the true nature of scientific "uncertainty."

Barbara Lukas, our beloved psych faculty member, was the next to take the microphone. Speaking in her calm, cool voice, she said, “They asked me to talk about the psychology of global warming. But I didn’t want to come here and talk about how we are all bad people. So, I’ve really thought about it, and I’ve come up with three images I think will help us understand the problem. Please take these images home with you. The first image is a bottle of ibuprofen. The second is a gently sloping road. The third image is a rolled-up lawn, the kind they use in landscaping.”

She then continued, “Intestinal bleeding from overuse of ibuprofen is a more common problem in this country than HIV. Did you know that?” She looked over the audience with a gentle, knowing smile. “Now that you know that, are you any less likely to take an ibuprofen when you need it?” I knew for certain I wasn’t going to give up MY ibuprofen, and the rest of the audience seemed to agree. Professor Lukas continued, “Now the lesson we draw from that is, ‘Information is necessary but not sufficient.’ For people to take action, they need information, but they also need some kind of personal motivation.”

She continued, “In my hometown, we had these roads with sharp right angles. There were lots of accidents. The way they solved the problem, was not by telling people to be better drivers, but by rebuilding the roads so that they gently sloped into a turn, and you could see the other drivers coming. If you want to fix a problem, scolding people is not the answer. You need to build the world in a way which makes it easy for people to do the right thing." I saw where she was going with that right away. I’m sure many people would sell their cars and use public transportation, if the transportation was convenient and easy to use. But we’re embedded in an infrastructure that makes cars the only convenient option.

Then came the last image, of the rolled-up lawn. “We hear a lot of talk about grassroots change. But when the lawn is rolled up, the grass roots cannot reach the soil and grow. So I would say that we need someone to unroll the lawn. Grassroots change is important, but we also need top-down change.” I struggled a bit with the complexity of this metaphor. What I think she meant was we need both social movements AND governmental policy that enables them.

Melissa Everett, a local activist who runs a Green Talent Pipeline, spoke next. “In these days we get an overwhelming onslaught of information,” she said. “We hear the world is ending, and what are we supposed to do about it? Change to fluorescent light bulbs and wait for the next generation to solve the problem. This doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

She then went to talk on enthusiastically about the “tremendous range of exciting and creative work,” there is available to someone who really wants to make a difference. Innovative solutions she mentioned ranged from “smart irrigation” to “recycling-based industries.” She also put in a word for the Sustainable Hudson Valley organization. SHV is currently working on a“10% challenge,” trying to achieve a 10% emissions reduction by 2010. This way we will be on track for 80% emissions reduction by 2050. They want a minimum of 10% of the people in Hudson Valley to get involved in the climate change campaigns. That way, they will build a leadership base for the transition into a clean energy economy.

Hannah Mitchell, a Bard student from the Environmental Collective, was next to speak to the audience. She had worked for GreenPeace and the Youth Environmental Movement and felt strongly about climate change issues. In high school, she started a club called “Going Green,” that made the high school start recycling, and helped get a Green Building Code passed in her town. “Don’t believe that my generation is apathetic,” she told the audience. She went on to say, “Global warming should not be a polarizing issue. It affects the whole world. My hometown will go underwater if it continues.”

She then gave us the formula she had invented for defeating apathy. “First, people need a personal connection to the issue. Then, they need an outlet for action. Together, these two things will defeat indifference."

She concluded by saying, “We have to tell Congress what we need and value,” and encouraged us to attend a rally in Poughkeepsie. I was impressed by Hannah’s rhetorical style and elegance. Although the youngest panel member, she seemed to be the most gifted at public speaking.

Robert McKeon, from the Town Council of Red Hook, spoke next. “I’m going to talk about an issue which is very near and dear to my heart: farmland protection,” he said. Mr. McKeon began his involvement in politics because he hated watching farms being paved over. Since then, he’s striven to protect farms in various way. He spoke with pride about our 1.5 mile apples. “At Bard you can eat apples that come from only a mile and a half away, when most people eat products that have traveled an average of 1500 miles!” he told us. He talked about a Green Jobs and Clean Energy initiative, where municipalities will finance weatherization and solar installations on homes. “Real change happens locally, so get involved locally,” he concluded.

Then they opened up to the audience for questions. I said, “This is a question for any panel member who cares to answer. Mr. Goldstein said this was about lack of political will. What do you think is the core reason for this lack of political will?”

Tom Mansfield was the first to speak up. “The answer is very simple. Money! The political system is controlled by people who benefit from the status quo, and its very difficult to break that gridlock. This is a hugely emotional issue, not one that is being rationally debated. It all comes down to: people are making money from the current state of affairs, and they’re not going to give it up without a fight.”

Felicia Keesing chimed in with an answer of her own. “Those of you who’ve taken math or computer science courses probably remember the Prisoner’s Dilemma. This is a scenario from game theory, where the one person who defects can gain an awful lot. In global politics, the USA has been the defecting prisoner for a long time now. It has been gaining economic strength and political clout from its refusal to address climate change, from letting down its neighbours. We need to join the global support network. The coal and oil interests are putting lots of dollars into the fight against the bill, so the grassroots should make their voices louder.”

“Also, I would say, if you want to help: take a science class! That way you can learn to fix the problem with technology, and offer a concrete alternative to replace the system we have. There’s a man named J. Craig Venter, a molecular biologist who does genome sequencing, who is try to make artificial organisms that will convert CO2 into energy. They will take in CO2 and spit out octane! The technological solution is shockingly close.”

One audience member raised her hand and scolded the panel organizers for only allowing each person 3 minutes and fifty seconds to speak, overlooking of course the fact that you can hardly expect Bard students to listen to more during midterms. She then shared her opinion, “We need to scare people…. although without depressing them. We need to time our guilt effectively."

This sparked a thought from Barbara Lukas. She mentioned ads which feature cute polar bears dying, and said “These do work psychologically.” But then she continued, “When you scare people , you need to have a solution available immediately. Perhaps not donating money but…. maybe you could put the polar bear above the recycling bin. We need to make things convenient. It may be difficult for the young generation to understand, but adults like convenience. They like doing what they are used to doing. And people need images of what they can do tomorrow, rather than abstract ethical ideas.”

Then a student asked the panel, “I used to hear a lot of encouragement to join politics if we wanted to do something about this. Nowadays its more like ‘join an NGO’ and I hardly ever hear ‘become a politician.’ Why do you think that is?”

The politician McKeon naturally responded with a “Please get involved in politics!” Tom Mansfield chipped in with, “What we desperately need in politics, is smarter people. I hope that’s not being too frank. People often accuse me of being too frank to be a good politician. But seriously, having well-educated people around really helps. And politics is suffering from a real brain drain. Being a politician can be pretty demoralizing, what with the media hurling insults at you. And our current system is designed to further the gridlock. This can only be swept through with social movements. It happened with abolition, it happened with suffrage, and it will happen again. These issues are taking hold in people’s souls.”

Talks concluded, audience and panel members gathered for a GIANT GROUP PHOTO in front of the 350 banner. A professional photographer snapped several shots to send to Washington. Photos of 350 events are being taken all over the world, to send to political leaders and convince them there is a real need for action. The visuals which show how many people are involved in this movement should be very compelling. And it was fun to awkwardly squeeze into the front of the Multipurpose Room with a hundred other people.

Photos taken, people milled around chatting, and someone unfurled a giant roll of paper. We dipped our feet in green paint and walked all over the paper, "To show Washington what kind of footprint we want to have: a GREEN one!" I smiled in sarcastic amusement when I imagined a politician unrolling our big awkward painty art project on his desk. Some people were reluctant to take off their shoes and get their feet gross. But there was a bucket of water with a lady sitting behind it, and she enthusiastically offered to wash and massage the feet of anyone who got their feet painty. Of course I was very excited to leave the footprint and took off my shoes right away, but my boyfriend was sort of grossed out by the whole concept. Finally he said, "I'm only leaving the footprint if you give me a big kiss." You see how you sometimes have to be very persuasive to get people to join your cause. ;-)

Challenge: Write to Washington! Tell them to make our country's footprint green!

(More than) 350 Thermoses Saving the World From Paper Cups

2009-10-23T12:58:00.001-07:00

In a science fiction novel by Robert Heinlein, the main character puts on cheap flimsy clothes each morning, then shoves his clothes down the waste-disposal chute each evening. At first I found this idea kind of repulsive and decadent. “How can this guy afford to waste 365 suits of clothes a year?” I thought. But everyone in his civilization did the same. And when you think about it, it’s not so different from our habit of throwing away paper cups at every meal.

That’s why Kline Cafeteria is doing a Disposable-Free Week! The Environmental Collective set up a table by the entrance of the cafeteria. They asked people to sign a pledge never to use paper cups in Kline again. In return for the pledge, people were given free thermoses with the logo of Bard’s catering company on them. They could also help themselves to eco-friendly lightbulbs, cloth napkins, and stickers with the 350 logo. The EC tablers also encouraged Kline diners to attend a 350 Teach-In on Climate Change.

The thermoses were very popular. People lined up in large numbers to sign the pledge and receive their free prize. It was a triumph for disposable-free activism.
Nevertheless, there were a few bumps along the way. “I think the majority of people supported our effort,” said Kira, an Environmental Collective member. “The problem is, the minority which didn’t support the effort could be very vocal at times.” You see, paper products students were accustomed to using disappeared from the shelves of Kline during the week.

One charming young gentleman dramatically proclaimed that since he had no paper cup, he would throw his regular cup in the trash instead. But another guy remarked good-naturedly that Disposable-Free Week was helping him lose weight. He was in the habit of taking away paper cups of sugary cereal at the end of every meal, and now that habit was no longer practical.

The week was somewhat stressful for the Chartwells staff. One girl asked the Kline staffperson for a paper cup, and argued with him when he refused. But then another student asked for a paper cup and the staffperson caved in (maybe he didn’t have the energy for another debate.) The girl who had initially been denied a paper cup started screaming about unfair treatment.

As a result of this scene, paper cups were on the shelves during a brief period of Disposable-Free week. However, most of the time, the paper plates and dishes were not available. The Environmental Collective has high hopes for the possibility of phasing out paperware entirely.

The problem is, if people can’t take paper dishes out of the building, there will be problems with regular dishes being stolen. As every Bard student knows, Kline has many entrances and exits, so it is quite easy to carry ceramic plates and mugs out of the building. Sometimes people come to Kline five minutes before class and really need to grab something to go. Pressed for time, they take dishes and forget to return them. Obviously Chartwells Catering cannot afford to buy a new set of cutlery and tableware every week, so stolen dishes are a huge concern.

“We need to change people’s mindsets,” said Natalie from the Environmental Collective. Almost everyone at Bard College feels comfortable stealing from the cafeteria. Ethical students who would never dream of shoplifting, for example, see no problem stealing a free meal for a friend who is visiting them. And people help themselves to dishes as if they were public property.

The student handbook threatens dire fines and penalties for students who take Kline dishes out of the building. But the policy is pretty much unenforced. The issue is made even murkier by the “Kline dish return bins” which are in the trash area of some dorms. Although these bins are an effective way of getting the dishes back to Kline, they send mixed messages about proper behavior.

There’s a painting hanging in my parent’s living room that shows an old-fashioned scene from Holland. Everyone is merrily dancing about, and one portly gentleman prancing about in mustard-yellow breeches, has a spoon tucked into the ribbon tied around his hat. I remember asking as a child, “Why does he have a spoon in his hat? He looks ridiculous.”

My mom gravely told me, “In the olden days, not everyone had a spoon. Having spoons was a sign of wealth and prestige. So of course he wanted to display it. Also, if he wants to buy some soup, this spoon is nice and handy.” I have no idea whether this answer was true, or just something she said to shut me up. But it gives me an idea. Why doesn’t every student carry around their own personal set of tableware? Why stop at mugs? I’m not saying we need to wear hats with spoon, fork, and knife tucked into the brim (although it would be pretty cool if we did.) I’m just saying sometimes it’s fun to think outside the box.

Some people decorate their thermos mugs with stickers. Other thermos mugs have slogans of causes they support, or names of places they’ve been. A thermos can be a form of personal artistic expression— much like clothing can be. People get attached to thermoses the same way they get attached to favorite sweaters. When I read about the cheap disposable clothing in Heinlein’s sci-fi future, I wondered how people would express themselves through such clothing. Why, such clothing would be as impersonal and as devoid of sentimental value as Kleenex!

Speaking of Kleenex. In the books I read when I was a little girl, people would always sentimentally wave their hankerchiefs to say goodbye. If a girl liked a boy she would secretly slip him her hankerchief and he would wear it next to his heart while he jousted. In the book Little Women, the Beth character embroiders hankerchiefs with the word, “Mommy,” and her mother cries and says “I will treasure these hankerchiefs always.” And what do we have now? We have Kleenex. Who cares about Kleenex?

This culture of disposable consumer goods does more than hurt the environment. It deprives us of the chance to form emotional attachments to objects. When we switched from hankerchiefs to Kleenex, maybe we gained in hygiene, but we certainly lost an important part of our culture.

Perhaps the switch from paper cups to thermoses can be a cultural gain. Thermos-decorating can become the new art. Thermoses with provocative slogans can become starting points for conversations! I read a poem once where a boy sends a girl three roses. If she wants to marry him, she’s supposed to wear all three in the bosom of her gown. If she likes him a lot, she’s supposed to wear two, if she likes him a little, she’s supposed to wear one, and if she doesn’t like him at all she’s supposed to leave the roses at home. The flowers become a kind of secret language.

Well, we don’t wear roses in our bosoms so much anymore, but maybe stickers on thermoses could be a new kind of secret language. “Honey, if you love me, put these stickers on your tea thermos. When I see you in Kline at breakfast, I’ll be able to tell in a glance how much you feel for me.”

In a culture where everything can be thrown away, where’s the creativity? Where’s the self-expression? Where’s the ROMANCE?

Challenge: Attend a 350 event on Saturday, October 24th! It’s the International Day of 350 Action! Bard students should be informed that vehicles are leaving at 11:00 from the Kline parking lot, to attend a 350 March on the bridge.

Who will build 350 Eco-friendly Skyscrapers?

2009-10-14T21:13:00.000-07:00

So nowadays, it takes a lot more than a can of green paint to turn a house "green." I used to think green architecture meant "hobbit house" like the low-impact woodland home on this link: http://www.simondale.net/house/ Check the website out, it's a charming story. Mom camped out with the toddlers, while dad and grandad built the family homestead. I remember when I was a kid, my friends and I would build "houses" out of fallen branches we found; this seems like the durable adult version of that. And the house seems really beautiful and sturdy; and it looks organic, like it grew naturally out of the hillside.

Another spin on green architecture is this guy in Texas who makes recycled houses out of thrown-away materials! http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20090907/news/909069957?Title=Home-recycled-home. He makes roofs out of old license plates, windows out of old see-through platters. His

original intention was to provide low-cost housing for the poor. But his homes are so wacky and wonderful that yuppies will pay high prices to live in them-- a little unforeseen consequence there.

So if I want a "green" home, do I dig it out of the hillside? Do I build it out of recycled materials? Or...... do I rent a room in a Bob Fox skyscraper in Manhattan?

For those of you that think skyscrapers are the antithesis of green, think again. Bob Fox is a renowned green architect who designs corporate headquarters in New York. He uses the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System to ensure his skyscrapers are as eco-friendly as possible. "A LEED rating is basically the 'nutrition facts' for a building,' " Bob Fox explained in a talk he gave to Bard students last Thursday.

Most of his presentation focused on the Bank of America skyscraper he is building just now. The building has a high-tech air-conditioning system designed to save energy. If I haven't gotten my story garbled, it uses electricity during non-peak hours to make GIANT ICE CUBES in its core. Then the ice melts and flows through the "cooling" towers, giving people energy-efficient air-conditioning. It also has its own energy-saving cogeneration plant. The cement in the building has garbage mixed into it, which oddly enough makes the cement stronger (now I call that recycling.) They're going to plant a lovely roof-garden and have a tree/park area around the border of the building.

He really thought through every detail, right down to the waterless urinals with the biodegradable chem cartridges to eliminate odor. But there are other things you wouldn't expect, like the historic theater which has been restored and made part of the building. I've noticed that "preservation of cultural heritage" gets lumped in with environmentalism a lot of the time. Whether that connection is logical or not, its a fun twist to have a bank with theater performances on the first floor.

Also to get his LEED points he had to ensure the employees would be getting a lot of sunshine. Apparently they did a study once which showed kids who took tests in sunny rooms got 16% higher scores than kids in windowless rooms. So a big selling point for the building is the "higher productivity" that will apparently result from the sunny rooms, big windows, and fresh air. (Their advanced ventilation system filters out the majority of the pollutants from the street.)

"Forty million dollars is what it costs to put in these eco-friendly features," said Bob Fox. "But a 10% productivity increase means a 100 million dollar savings for the company in just the space of one year." Bob Fox is confident that people working in his pleasant buildings will be at least 10% more productive. "People say it feels better, working there," said Bob Fox. People even have knobs to personalize the temperature of their cubicles. My definition of "green" is broadening all the time-- apparently to be a green office space, you need to have a HAPPY work environment.

And even if the productivity increase doesn't come through, the building is still saving the company $3 million each year in its energy bills. Buildings are responsible for 43% of our carbon emissions, while transportation accoutns for 32% and industry creates a mere 25%. So why do we always pick on industry? It looks like green architecture might be the most important frontier of the War on Global Warming. Bob Fox mentioned some interesting global warming stats I hadn't heard before, such as the likelihood of 20% of Bangladesh disappearing under the water.

Take a guess at what you think the MOST important eco-friendly feature of the building is. The water system? The electric system? The roof garden? No! What matters most is the building's LOCATION-- smack-dab in the middle of one of the world's best public transportation systems. Most people, when they think "Green" probably imagine a little hut surrounded by friendly clusters of goats and pigs. But if you're pounding thirty miles of highway in your car to get to that hut, it isn't green at all. Richard Register wrote a book called "EcoCities," saying the best thing we could do for the environment is start living in really tall buildings close together. That way, the elevator replaces the car as the primary mode of transportation.

Admittedly, this Richard Register fellow is a little eccentric. He thinks we need to wage a "War on Cars." He put an old car in his front yard, removed the tires, chopped off the roof, filled it with soil and planted a vegetable garden in it. Then he put a license plate on it which said, "OBSOLETE." Then he put up a sign next to the vegetable car, explaining it was a monument for the first person to ever die in an automobile accident. Or to put it in his (slightly more loaded) language, "A monument to the opening battle of the Car Wars."

I know you're snickering at poor Richard right now, but when you think about it, the automobile casualties in a year probably equal if not exceed the people killed in 9/11. So why are we waging a "War on Terror," rather than building up public transportation infrastructure? That would save more lives. Even if we go with buses rather than trains or trolleys, that still means fewer vehicles on the road or more trained drivers.

(Example of a "vegetable car")

Of course, maybe the most effective way to avoid cars is to design our lives so that everything we need is within walking distance. That is why Bob Fox is also a fan of "mixed-use" buildings. This means working, shopping, and living space all in the same building. If these different elements of life are all in the same area, that means less commuting. Not only that, but the building can be very energy-efficient, because the amount of electricity it uses stays more or less constant during the 24 hour cycle.

Some of the more flashy "eco-features" Bob Fox decided not to include. They thought about putting a windmill on top of the building, but they got dubious when they measured wind-speeds. Even that far up in the air of Manhattan, there's still not enough wind blowing to make the wind-mill cost effective. The same with solar cells. Even though they sound cool, they didn't make financial sense for this particular skyscraper.

Another nifty feature that got vetoed was the "bio-digester," an unbelievably cool gadget. You throw in your food scraps, and the suite of bugs and bacteria living in the biodigestor convert them into high-quality compost. Not only that, but the bugs produce methane in the process of digesting the food scraps. This methane is then used to make electricity! Now isn't that awesome! (When I heard that, I gaped and thought, 'I can power my TV off of bug farts?') Bob Fox wanted to put one of these in his building, but it was too big and there wasn't room. Now Laurie is wondering if we could have a bio-digestor at Bard; we certainly have enough food scraps from Kline. It sounds so wild, but apparently it works.

Another part of eco-friendly design is looking where construction wastes go. Their study on construction wastes revealed that most of it was wood. This was confusing because they were building steel and glass buildings! So where's the wood coming from? Turns out they use wooden palettes to wheel the construction materials onto the site. So they forced the construction workers to reuse the wooden palettes instead of tossing them out. At first the firm was unhappy at being forced to change their ways, but they brightened up when they realized the reuse was saving them money.

At this point in the story Bob Fox turns around, fixing us all in an intense stare. "NOTHING MAKES SOMEBODY GREENER THAN SAVING MONEY." Which is so true-- recycling, reuse, conservation, looking for ways to eliminate waste, are all cost-saving measures. This is why the rhetoric of the "expense" of saving the environment makes increasingly less and less sense.

Another project Bob Fox's firm worked on was remodeling the 33rd floor of the Empire State building. The firm asked him to create a space with the best LEED rating that would be possible in Empire State. They made bigger windows, increased the ceiling height, and added an efficient underfloor heating/cooling systems. They also put in reflectors so natural daylight could brighten more of the building. However the possibilities were more limited because they had to cope with what was already there. It is tough sometimes for the green architects to remodel these old buidlings.

Mr. Fox's sales pitch was very smooth. By the end of his talk I was wishing wistfully that I was a multimillionaire CEO so I could afford one of his products. :-P Ha ha. Firms like his are really on the cutting edge; membership in green architecture associations has been increasing exponentially lately, and "green" buildings have higher value in the real estate market. Bob Fox's work also fits into something called PlaNY--- the "Greater, Greener buildings for New York" plan. This PlanNYC is part of New York City Mayor Bloomberg's promise to bring CO2 emissions down 30% by 2030. Already 100,000 trees have been planted for PlanNYC-- so even though the plan is far from completed, its far from a pipe dream either. Eventually the plan will plant a million trees.

Challenge: Look around your home or dwelling space and find a way to make it more "green." Anything from putting a potted plant in the window, to installing insulation, to designating a special recycling area for your plastic bottles. A potted plant doesn't need to cost more than 350 cents.

Three Flipty (Pancakes)

2009-10-07T21:53:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, the usually sleepy kitchen of Village C dorm was a blaze of activity. Creamy bowls of batter blossomed on the table. The music of the sizzling griddle was punctuated by the percussion of chopping apples. The land flowed not with milk and honey, but with apple cider and maple syrup. At least ten people were cooking, and dozens more were eating. I hopefully sidled towards the table of bounty, snagging my own personal load of melt-in-the-mouth apple pancakes. Every time a new load slid off the griddle onto the plate, it was hailed by a triumphal cry. "That's 75 pancakes so far! Only 275 to go!"

"Are you really going to make 350 pancakes?" I asked a cook in dazed awe. "Yup," she said cheerfully, then adding with a modest blush, "Of course they're only small ones.” And the spatulas flipped away like mad. Murmurs of "Why 350?" went through the room. As the pancake count mounted, an assertive young gentleman emerged from the kitchen's fragrant fumes and took his "soapbox" in the common room. "Many of you may be wondering why 350 pancakes," he said. "This is part of a national campaign to raise awareness for a 350 ppm carbon dioxide commitment. Right now we're at 389 ppm, so there's still a long way to go. All over the United States, people are organizing events featuring the number 350, so at least the number will be in people's minds. So they'll be aware of the problem and our goal."

As a publicity event I would call Sunday's pancake breakfast a spectacular success. It can be difficult to get people to show up for lectures and such, but offer them a warm and delicious alternative to Kline cafeteria food and they're all over the place!!! Even the photo you see here of the pancake-eaters in formation before the 350 banner only represents about half the number of people who came.

So I started thinking, "Here's a nice segment of environmentally-minded Bard students. Time to do some research." So I started asking people, "Do you think Obama will succeed in passing climate change legislation?"

Rachel burst out laughing and nearly dropped her pancake. "In magical wonderland, it would happen, but in reality.... people are stupid." she said. There was a chorus of groans of agreement.

I wandered the room in search of greater optimism. What does the lady who is frantically slicing apples think? She sighed and pondered long over her answer. "I hope so.... but I don't know," she said. "There's too much fear out there. People are afraid of losing things that matter to them.

"Obama has so much facing him at once," another student answered me. "With health care and everything else that's on his plate, will he be able to tackle the environment too?"

"Well," I asked my friend Josh, the jovial history major, "Do you think Obama can do it?"

Josh chortled. "Yes, and maybe after he gets done with that miracle, he will punch God."

Tom has a different take entirely. "Yes he will pass it," he told me. "By now, even the Republicans have accepted the fact that climate change exists."

But there's a difference between scientific consensus and political will. Repeating my question again to another group, I heard, "I don't know. I would like to say yes, but with everything else that's going on.... ..Obama's momentum since coming into office has slowed."

Well here I had a range of opinions. But before I hauled myself and my pancake-laden stomach away, I wanted a word with Ashfaque Kabir. Ash was an econ major with an interest in student government, so I thought he could give me a good thoughtful answer. Problem was, he had been on griddle duty and I feared to approach him for danger of being hit by a flying pancake.

But luckily he came out just then to deposit a new plateful and I pounced on him. "Ash," I asked, "Do you think Obama will succeed in passing climate change legislation?"

Ash pursed his lips. "I'm sceptical, but I hope so. However, there's the economy to consider. In a recession, will industry really want to take on extra costs?"

That seemed to be the clincher. People are losing jobs, people are afraid, people don't want more change. All of which spells bad news for the environment.

To get some really professional opinion on this issue, I went to a lecture by Rachel Cleetus from the Union of Concerned Scientists. Dr. Cleetus was the professional economist on a UCS team working on, "Blueprint for a Clean Energy Economy." The question they posed themselves was, "Without counting on any lucky breaks, can the USA mobilize to halt global warming at two degrees above normal?" Of course, in order to answer this question, the team had to make many assumptions; including assumptions about what level of international cooperation could be expected.

"This blueprint focuses on the USA's economy," said Dr. Rachel Cleetus. "On the international stage, there's been quite a bit of that 'You go first! No, you go first!' attitude slowing down negotiations. What people don't realize is, science says EVERYBODY has to go first."

She did a fast summary of global conditions analyzed by USC climate scientists. "Current carbon levels in the atmosphere are unique-- major coastal cities should worry about flooding--" that sort of thing. And then she launched into her economic blueprint. According to her, we need,

-- Cap and Trade Program
-- National Renewable Electricity Standard (a requirement for utilities to generate a minimum percentage of electricity from renewable sources.)
-- Energy Efficiency Standard for appliances and buildings.
-- Reduce vehicle miles travelled (perhaps through SmartGrowth plans)
-- Energy Efficiency programs for agriculture and industry...
-- And about ten other things, which scrolled down the screen faster than my rapidly cramping pen hand could record.

She looked at us and said proudly, "All these programs in combination would cut energy use by third. This helps us not only with global warming, but with many other things as well."

For starters, if people are using energy-efficient appliances and well-insulated homes, it saves them a substantial amount of money on their electricity bill. Businesses also could benefit from government-enforced efficiency standards. If you waste less energy, everyone saves money. So WHY WHY WHY is everyone convinced that fighting global warming is too costly?

I raised my hand and asked the nice economist, "If we can SAVE money by following your blueprint, why do we hear all these debates about the environment VS. the economy? Why do people think it's a choice between fixing one and fixing the other?"

Her answer was somewhat long and involuted, but it boiled down to this: People never consider the costliness of the status quo. Right now, we're spending a lot of money on the energy we waste. But we're used to doing that, so it doesn't bother us. But although habitual costs fade into the back of your mind, you notice any new costs right away. And putting the energy-efficient infrastructure in place is going to mean short-term costs for long-term gain.

"The classic example of market failure," she said, "Is tenant housing. If you would insulate the apartment, you would save so much money on the cost of heating the house. But the landlord doesn't want to do it, because those aren't his electricity bills. And the tenants won't pay for it, because they're only staying in their terrible apartment building for only a few months before moving on to something better." She thinks the government has a role in regulating this kind of market failure.

Since hearing all this from Dr. Cleetus, I've been turning the problem over and over in my mind. I think I have a humorous analogy which accurately represents the situation.

Suppose all the USA ate at one restaurant that charged by the plateful. However, all the plates in this restaurant are full of holes. For some reason the government cannot find the money to fix the holes in the plates. And there are so many plates, there is no doubt patching or replacing them all would require substantial investment.

However the problem with the holey plates is that food keeps dropping out the bottom of them. This is making the world a messier place, clearly. Shocked by the disgusting mess, the environmentalists have started running awareness campaigns about the need for a "clean economy." But the most obvious downside for the American consumer is that instead of buying one plate of food at each meal, they need to buy two or three platefuls of food. Because most of the food is leaking and dribbling out of the first plate, leaving them hungry.
However, the big restaurant has many powerful lobbyists in Washington. And when activists begin saying, "We need to have laws against these holey plates," there is a great uproar. The restaurant groans and moans and says it will put them out of business to fix that many plates. Think of all the poor waitresses who will go jobless! What will it do to the economy!

Although maybe we can't tell from a simple number like the GDP, there is more to a good economy than simply producing more. We also have to consider how we are using what we produce. Are we using it well or are we wasting it? We are less sensitive to electricity waste than we are to food waste because it less obvious. If someone was dropping their food all over the place we would laugh at them and call them stupid. Whereas, if we buy an energy-hogging, poorly designed appliance it's not like we can SEE all that precious electricity trickling away. It just vanishes invisibly, manifesting itself only as a hidden number on next month's utilities bill.

The trouble is, it has become far too easy to scare people with the word "Economy." Most Americans including me do not understand how the economy works. I have a chilling suspicion that even people with ten degrees in this subject do not really understand what's going on. And yet the economy can have a devastating impact on our lives, if managed improperly. It's so frightening that our jobs and lives depend on this great big thing we can neither control nor understand.

And so, people can take advantage of this fear very easily. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry with an agenda can run around saying, "If you do not do WHAT I WANT the Big Bad Economy will EAT you!" (And grind its bones to make your bread.....) And because nobody actually knows what is going on, Tom, Dick, and Harry can find people to believe them, no problem.

What's the moral then? Be careful what you believe? Once economists did a study about how people make the decision to purchase green products. There were these eco-friendly socks made with organic cotton by workers in good conditions. Then there were some ordinary socks. The economists doing the study tried selling both kinds of socks at the same price. They did not sell many eco-friendly socks because people did not believe they were actually organic. Then they tried increasing the price of the eco-friendly socks by quite a bit. Then suddenly they sold a LOT MORE eco-friendly socks, because the high price convinced people the eco-friendly tag on the socks was not lying.

The funny part is that these particular eco-friendly socks actually cost less to produce. But because of the psychology, they had to sell them at a high price. Sad, eh? People instinctively believe that virtue comes at a tough price. If anyone tells you that doing the right thing is cheaper and easier, you just laugh at them. Because for some reason we all believe we have to suffer to save the planet.

It’s not so much a question of suffering as that of overcoming inertia. Dr. Cleetus's clean energy blueprint does not count on cutting-edge technologies being invented. The blueprint is based on technologies and policies that we already know about. Most of the things she's suggesting have already been implemented on a small scale. We know they work. We just need to use them. "JUST GET STARTED," says Dr. Cleetus.

It’s going to take a lot more than 350 pancakes to flip us into a better future. Maybe it’s our minds we need to flip. Maybe the greatest obstacle to saving the planet is our belief that we can only save it through self-sacrifice. Maybe it doesn't take self-sacrifice. Maybe all it takes is a willingness to look beyond the status quo and embrace what works.

Challenge: Question 350 of your own assumptions about the way the world works.

The Coming of the GreenMobile; 350 rides into an eco-friendly future

2009-09-30T21:01:00.001-07:00

The good news is, Bard's share of the loot from Obama's Recovery Act, is half an eco-friendly diesel-hybrid Magnificently Green Shuttle Bus. Half a shuttle you say? HALF??? The front half or the back half? How will it move on only two wheels? Won't that let in the cold air?

Ah-ha-ha. In fact, Bard has been planning on purchasing a new shuttle bus for a long time. The problem is, the eco-friendly version costs slightly more than twice as much as the regular version. So the Head of the Environmental Resources Department hit up the federal government for some cash (by which I mean she wrote a successful grant) and they offered to pay half. So we can afford it! Yay! GreenMobile-- coming soon (whenever we wander out of our labryinthe of paperwork.)

The bad news is, nobody agrees on how to use the Greenmobile. Transportation issues have been controversial lately on campus. Its a battle of opinion between the on-campus and the off-campus students. On-campus students want to get from North to South Campus. But if the shuttle is loaded up with them, will there be room for people trying to make it to their apartments in neighboring towns?

We had problems last year with students not fitting onto packed buses and being left forlornly in the rain "We have to recognize the fact that we have limited resources," said Erin Canaan. So it was decided that the shuttle bus would be used exclusively for taking students to neighboring burgs Tivoli and Red Hook. The walk between North and South Campus, is after all, less than a mile.

But LO-- the plot thickens. I'm sure you've seen tiny conservatory students bent under the weight of their enormous musical instruments. (Okay, a violin isn't too bad, but a chello? A tuba?) They look like those ants who can lift ten times their own weight. And it's possible that such a student might have a class in the Fisher Perfoming Arts Center AND in Blum Music Hall. Walk a mile in five minutes? No way.

That's why Laurie Husted is looking into matching shuttle schedules with class schedules. But will this be enough to satisfy the enraged on-campus students? I was coming back from Red Hook with heavy bags of groceries for a party I was throwing for my friends. It was quite a shock to be booted off the bus at Kline. I hadn't been expecting to carry those groceries all the way home to North Campus, handles cutting into my hands. Although under ordinary circumstances I quite like walking and never take that shuttle trip.

Enough people have been irked by the elimination of the North Campus stop that a petition (about 80 signatures by now, says student secretary Chris Given) is circulating around asking to get the stop back. On the other hand, students who live off-campus are thrilled. Not only is the bus less crowded, fewer stops make it run more efficiently. An anonymous Tivoli-dwelling student said she was delighted with the change. Then she told me "not to use her name," because "she didn't want to get involved with this."

"It's difficult for us," said Ed Schmidt, head of the transportation department. "We get some emails from students saying they love the new shuttle schedule and thank you so much. Whereas we get emails from other students saying they hate the new schedule, and threatening to drive." I find this somewhat amusing. ("Arrange the schedule so it is exactly to my convenience! Otherwise, its global warming for you!") Its like holding the knife made of carbon dioxide fumes over our collective throats.

"We hear that more people are using cars," said Chris Given. Dean of Students Erin Canaan disagrees. "If the shuttle is running more often, and more efficiently," she says, "That means fewer Tivoli and Red Hook students are driving. We have to prioritize here. What's more important-- to prevent drives across campus, or to prevent drives between towns? 533 students live off-campus, 200 students live on North Campus." She continues, "If a student is walking from North to South Campus, that's safe-- even healthy. But if a student is walking three miles along the edge of the highway, it's not safe at all."

She also has this concept of "academic" and "non-academic" uses for the shuttle. The monday morning shuttle is "academic" because it is taking you from your house to your class. The friday night schedule is "non-academic" because it's taking you home from a party. But although Erin Canaan might prefer to maximize "academic uses" of the shuttle, she recognizes safety issues are also involved. One of the shuttle's key uses is to prevent drunk driving. In that way, the friday night run might be the most important of all.

"Sometimes they have really big parties in Tivoli," says Ed Schmidt. "The driver goes to Tivoli at 1AM Friday and finds a hundred people who just left a party to get on the bus. What's the solution?" With a little creative thinking, Ed Schmidt hit upon the idea of a "stealth shuttle." This sneaky little shuttle would make unscheduled stops to pick up extra people during peak times. Although its Batmanesque name is appealing, the logistics of this proposal might be a little tricky. Once the GreenMobile arrives, we'll have a second vehicle available, but the transportation department is chronically underfunded. How do we pay for the gas and driver? Erin Canaan points out, "We have to raise 20-30 million dollars a year just to keep the lights on in this place. Adding to the transportation budget means additional money, and where is that coming from?"

People are tossing around the idea of using a student driver. But Ed Schmidt is not happy with the idea. Students are not trained in crowd control, he says, and "should not be responsible for handling drunks. And also......" He pauses. He leans over the table, looks surreptiously from side to side, and practically whispers, "Please don't take offense at this. But I'm afraid students are not the most reliable people in the world." I laugh because it's true. Who shows up for work when they've got a final paper due?

Ed Schmidt the transportation director is quite a character. His enormous and colorful bulletin board features a sign which says, "I am here to serve. Not to observe," and another which says, "Lack of planning on YOUR part does not constitute an emergency on MY part." Which captures quite nicely the dual personality of transportation services here on campus. On the one hand, they are warm caring folks who want to help students and will make extra trips to prevent people from being stranded. On the other hand, they get impatient with students who are self-absorbed or whiny. "I think what students need most of all is a little patience," said Mr. Schmidt. "People say, I don't want to take the shuttle because it gets me there half an hour early. So what? Go to the library or something!"

"What people want from their shuttles is instant gratification," he continues glumly. "We can't please everybody all the time-- but we try. In the past, I've given the shuttle schedule to student government and said-- 'CHANGE IT! I'll do anything you want.' And they haven't changed it, aside from making the format easier to read."

On first hearing of the canceled shuttle stop, I wondered if my blog would be about Poor Stranded Students vs. Big Bad Administration. But the story just won't slant that way. I asked both Chris Given and Ben DiFabbio (Student Senate representative on the transportation committee) if the administration was sensitive to student needs. Both men instantly replied with the same word, "Definitely." I want to take a moment to whine about how HARD it is to be a muckraking journalist on Bard Campus. You go out looking for blood, and instead you find this big conversation where everyone is considering everyone else's needs. I wanted to write a sensational story of conflict and controversy, but the campus is too darn full of peace and love.

Even Ed Schmidt! I was getting up to leave when he said, "Before you go, let me show you something. In my wild hippie days I was on an album cover!" And he takes the album from its treasured spot, points out a wild bearded figure holding a "Peace on Earth" sign, and says, "That's me."

What it boils down to is, everyone's voice will be heard when we decide how to use the GreenMobile. Ben DiFabbio of Student Senate strongly urges you to watch out for the survey his committee will be sending out. The info about student's transportation needs will be presented to Erin Canaan in the October dialogue she is hosting. "Our main muscle is the surveys," Ben says. "That way we can really tell the administration what we want."

And by the way? Erin's meeting? Everyone is welcome. Really, if you are paying attention there is no way you will be left out. An Environmental and Urban Studies class recently went on a field trip to Kingston. They saw many beautiful locations including a beach with sailboats and a plentiful farmer's market. On returning, we heard them say, "Why does the shuttle go to the strip mall and not the farmer's market? For years I thought Kingston was a terrible place, just because the only place the shuttle ever took me was Target." Students who want different stops just need to get involved.

And who knows, you might win a prize! A 350 initiative by the Environmental Resources Department is giving out RAFFLE TICKETS to win 25 DOLLARS at our delicious local cafe. The lucky winners will be the passengers on the 350th shuttle ride. And who knows what shuttle ride that will be? Get involved in public transportation and reduce carbon emissions in our atmosphere. Then instead of a cup of noxious fumes, you'll be sipping a cup of delicious hot chocolate at the Taste Budds Cafe.

Challenge: Take 350 bus rides by next September.

350 Milkshakes from Happy Cows; Increasing Food Sustainability Awareness

2009-09-24T20:01:00.000-07:00

I was supposed to be meeting a girl who looked like a horse. I scanned the crowds of eating and laughing students, but all of them looked more or less human. This was so confusing.

Kira Gilman, the sustainability intern for Bard's food service company, Chartwells, and I had arranged to meet for a pleasant chat. Since I had never met her, I had checked out her Facebook picture to recognize her in the crowd. Problem: Kira Gilman's Facebook profile picture was a horse.

“Charlotte! Charlotte!” called a lovely girl with a shy sweet smile and a glittering nose ring. Ah-ha! That must be her. I did the little, “Don't wham into people and drop your plate of food,” dance and made my way to her table.

“There's actually a human on that horse if you look closely,” she clarified, as we dug into our delicious plates of local food.

“All's well that ends well,” I said, and began the barrage of questions. What does her sustainability intern job entail?

“Well, Locavore Week has been great, and I made the signs for that. But mostly I work with Waste Stream Management,” she said. “Look at how much is thrown away at Bard each week. Try to improve composting practices. Things like that.”

“Chartwells composts all its food wastes, right?” I said.

“Well, it composts everything that gets left on the plates,” she explained. “They can't really sort through what goes into the trashcans.”

I was startled. I always feel a little guilty shoving my filthy plates at those hard-working dishwashers, so I had taken to scraping my plate off into the trash before I put it on the dirty dish ledge. I wasn't sure why, it seemed more polite. But apparently I had been taking my food scraps

out of the glorious land of compost and into the ignominious land of landfill.

“People should know this!” I cried.

“Yes, well, maybe we should have better signage, just so people are aware....” Kira agreed.

“What is the biggest source of waste from the cafeteria?” I asked curiously.

Kira echoed what Chas Cerulli, Chartwells director, had said early that week. “Paper cups and dishes. We throw out more of them than we can possibly compost.”

My boyfriend Abhi prefers paper plates, because he finds it disgusting to imagine how many hundreds of previous user's saliva and food leavings have touched his china plate. Every time we go to the cafeteria, I take china and he takes paper. By now I was sick of the Raging Paper Plate Debate. So when he cut into my conversation with Kira, I drooped my head into my hands. Not again......

“Paper plates are better for the environment,” he cried. “Think of the poisonous detergents polluting the waters. Think of all the water wasted washing the plate.”

“But paper plates you have to keep reusing,” Kira argued. “It takes so much more energy to manufacture 365 paper plates. You use much less energy when you use one china plate for a year.”

“That's not true,” said my boyfriend, who is always ready for a good argument. “I have visited a paper plate factory. You use recycled paper pulp and a thin piece of cloth, and wham them into shape with a giant weight. It looks totally sustainable to me.”

“Harvard did a study on china vs. paper,” said Kira, blinking at him. “I forget the exact numbers, but it was something like the energy to make fifty paper plates equals the energy to make one china plate.”

I thought about that for a moment. “So basically, if you were a really clumsy person who was always breaking dishes, it would make sense to get paper plates. But if the china plate can stay intact for more than fifty days, it's the more sustainable option.”

“Exactly,” said Kira. Then she told a story about Manor Cafe, the hot dining spot for North Campus. Chartwells had decided they would rather use paper and plastic dishes for Manor. Some environmentally-minded students had been distressed by this, and volunteered to wash dishes— FOR FREE— so that Manor could afford to go on using china.

The problem was, people were taking dishes home with them and never bringing them back. So Chartwells just had to keep buying and buying new dishes. In the end, they were replacing dishes so often the practice no longer made sense. They were buying new china plates less than fifty days apart (or whatever the Harvard benchmark was.) So the environmentally-minded students gave up in disgust, and now Manor uses paper.

I think what we need is a dish-thief-punishing ninja. You go to Manor, purchase a delicious turkey burger and whoops— there's your ex-girlfriend in the dining room! Carrying your plate of steaming food, you dash for the door, hoping to eat in the ex-girlfriendless comfort of your dorm room. But no sooner have you set foot outside the door than BAM!!! the black-clad dish ninja drops from a tree, and cuts off the Thieving Hand that holds the Stolen Plate. Dripping with blood and clad in glory, the ninja will dart into the cafe to restore the ceramic treasure to its rightful guardians.

Never mind. I think this policy might infringe on the restrictions of the Health Code.

“In India, we use banana leaves for plates,” my boyfriend piped up, breaking me out of my ninja reverie.

“Really?”

“On festivals and special occasions, especially,” he said, looking cheerful. “Its the ultimate in sustainability!”

“Too bad we can't do that over here,” said Kira. I imagined a giant banana tree growing in the center of Kline for people to pluck plates from, and smiled.

“To be frank with you, I was expecting something a little more drastic for Locavore Week,” I told Kira. “We still have bananas, for instance. And coffee.”

“Yes, well they're putting in local products wherever they can, but I guess they're not allowed to stop having certain things.”

“Just out of curiosity, how do you think people would react if we..... TOOK AWAY THEIR COFFEE?” I said. Maybe I have a sadistic streak in my sense of humor, but the idea of people going up to the coffee dispenser only to find it empty, was funny to me.

“Well....” Kira asked. “I think there would probably be a backlash. Like the time we had ONE MEATLESS LUNCH, there was a huge backlash. The comment board of Kline was covered with index cards written by angry angry people.”

“This was just for one meatless meal?” I said.

“Yes, I know!” said Kira, waving her hands. “We weren't even asking them to go without meat for a whole day!!!”

“I talked with the director of Chartwells the other day,” I told Kira. “I asked him whether he would be saving or losing money with Locavore week. He'll be losing money, and its mainly due to the cost of getting the free-range local meat.”

Now I have to stop typing, take a few deep breaths, and get a grip on myself. Or this blog will degenerate into a long rant on the evils of factory farming.

“That's a lovely mug you have there,” I told Kira. A tall blue thermos flask emblazoned with the 350 logo was proudly positioned on the table before her.

“We're planning to give them away to people who pledge never to use paper cups again,” Kira beamed. Keep an eye out for these attractive 350 flasks, people. No more burning your hands because the coffee is too hot and the paper cup is too thin.

“Where are you ambitious to take the sustainability initiative in the future?” I asked Kira.

“I'd love to see Bard be an example for other schools,” Kira said.

Chas Cerulli, the Chartwells manager I interviewed for this blog, thinks the same thing. When I dropped by his office, I found an energetic young executive who moved from swivel chair to swivel chair fighting with computers who hated him. Once the computers had been properly vanquished he came over to talk to me.

I found out that Locavore week is a company-wide initiative taking place in all the many campuses and locations where Chartwells caters. Bard, however is taking it a bit further than the other campuses. Local foods and sustainability has always been a personal interest of Mr. Cerulli. It was he who decided to use the Hudson Valley Fresh milk, whose wondrous qualities have been catalogued in a previous blog entry. He's also started cage-free egg initiatives and tries to buy local foods whenever he can, Locavore week or no. It all began with purchases of local apples from the lovely orchards around here, then snowballed from there.

He mainly purchases from the Hudson Valley Food Co-op, which buys food from an association of diverse small farmers, and sells it in quantities large enough to interest the major buyers. Ordinarily, food purchased from Hudson Valley Co-Op would travel into Manhattan to undergo quality inspection, before returning to Bard (not far from where it started.) Mr. Cerulli arranged to have the food inspected internally in Chartwells and save our lettuce and carrots the 200-mile round trip. “It just makes so much more sense this way,” Mr. Cerulli said. If only more managers would follow Mr. Cerulli's example and look for ways to combine efficiency with sustainability.

“What was the most challenging thing about arranging locavore week?” I asked Mr. Cerulli.

“Creating menus and figuring out recipes based on what we could get locally,” Mr. Cerulli replied. A certain investment of creativity was required. “Its easier for those bigger schools, which have farms that grow exclusively for them,” Mr. Cerulli explained. But small school or not, Bard's performance has been impressive. The menus during Locavore week have been varied and rich.

In the future, Mr. Cerulli hopes to see Bard embrace even better composting practices, cut down on paper waste, and explore sustainable meat and fish. Even though the free-range local meat is more expensive, Mr. Cerulli would, “love to do more with meat,” and he is intrigued with the possibilities presented by the Monteray Bay Aquarium, a sustainable fish-farming operation.

Lately all of us have been seing tiny plaques next to our foods mentioning the number of miles the food has traveled. As people eat their meals, they are forced to think about where the food came from. Signs all over the cafeteria describe various local farms which sourced the foods.

So far the crowning success of Locavore week has been the local cheeses. Long lines of people formed before the cheese counter, where they waited to receive little slices of gourmet cheese on crunchy crackers. The cheese was created only sixty miles away.

My personal favorite, however, has been the little milkshakes made with Hudson Valley Fresh milk. A dairy farmer in a blue uniform stood by the counter and proudly informed students that, "The milkshakes taste so good because they come from my cows.”

You'd love to see Bard be an example for other schools, Kira? Well, I think we already are. I mean we still have a long way to go (getting funding for an environmentally-friendly-behavior- enforcing ninja would be nice for instance.) But what other schools get dairy farmers telling kids in the cafeteria, “Those milkshakes come from my cows?”

Hooray for Bard!

Challenge: find a beautiful thermos and avoid using 350 paper cups before Christmas.

350 mile radius of deliciousness; Eating Local

2009-09-14T08:48:00.000-07:00

Did you know that your average bite of food travels 1500 miles to reach your mouth? Eeeeewww!!!! Talk about fresh, right? We'll munch and crunch into better things when Chartwells Catering Company begins Locavore Week. For the first time in Bard College history, we’ll be eating things that come from 350 miles away or less. That is, if Chartwells succeeds in meeting its challenge. Eating local food in our cafeteria, (even if only for a week) will be a massive adjustment. But you know what they say, right? Foods which are fresh, seasonal, and grown close to home are not only better for the environment-- they TASTE better as well.

Still. What about the bananas? "I MISS MY BANANA!!!"-- I can hear the screams already. If only the bio students could figure out how to build a banana-bearing greenhouse in the RKC. As fossil fuels grow more and more expensive, we can expect to see this type of agritech solution to support Americans in the variety to which they've grown accustomed. Unless the American Empire falls, in which case its back to the land for us!

Ho ho. Instead of discussing Socrates in comfortable armchairs, we'll be hewing potatoes out of the raw earth and begging Bill Maple (the natural history prof) for tips on how to find food in the woods behind Cruger. He will lead expeditions of intrepid students to harvest the distinctive fungi known as Chicken of the Woods, bright orange mushrooms the size of elephant's ears that grow on the sides of rotting stumps. Do you think I'm making this up? I took his class; I kid you not. Talk about local eats.

Clearly I'm just pulling your leg when I talk about the fall of the American Empire. OR AM I?!?!?! Ba-da-da-DUM! Its not just the whackos who say things like that nowadays. Award-winning professor Richard Heinberg writes books about Peak Oil telling us we need "lifeboat communities" (i.e. self-sustaining communities with local agriculture) who can survive when Titanic-- THE UNSINKABLE-- has sunk. And by the Titanic, yes I do mean civilization AS WE KNOW IT (complete with bells, whistles and military-industrial complexes.)

For those of you who love reading (and if you don't, why are you going to Bard?) you might try Barbara Kingsolver's book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. It is a humorous account of her family's struggle to eat local for the space of one year. Because guess what-- eating local is hard in a world where farmers have been forced to bow to the god of mass production. Still, Duchess County is not the middle of the Sahara. We are living in the heart of plenty here.

According to Duchess County Bounty website, we have 650 farms which produce dairy, fruits, vegetables, flowers, hay, sheep, goats, horses and more. About 25 of those farms grow fruit including apples, pears, peaches, blueberries and strawberries. Our vegetable farms offer potatoes, tomatoes, sweet corn, pumpkins, lettuce, and assorted greens.... mouth watering yet? And I haven't even mentioned the five Duchess County wineries. Not that Kline serves wine or anything. (Small side-track: wouldn't it be awesome if Kline served wine? Awesome and......... ILLEGAL! Oh well, so much for that train of thought.)

Ahem. Back on topic. Nine farmer's markets and innumerable highway produce stands offer up their wares to Duchess-county dwellers. I've bought peaches and green beans many a time from the stand conveniently located within biking distance from Bard along the 9G highway. Maybe Bard should organize an Ecological Awareness shuttle trip to a local orchard so Bard students can pick their own apples. The apples are cheap, and the wildflowers which grow between the rows are absolutely free. Pick them. Put them in your hair. Put them in your boyfriend's hair and see how long before he notices he is the victim of girlish adornment.

And while we're singing the praises of Locavore Week, let's not forget to give Chartwells credit for what they do already. I don't know if any of you have noticed the Hudson Valley Fresh labels on our milk bottles. I looked at their website today, and that milk is delivered straight from heaven, poured from golden chalices wielded by angels....... no, not really. Actually, the milk comes from local happy cows who get to eat their favorite foods and lie down to sleep on rubber mats instead of the hard concrete floors which are standard practice in dairy farming.

Actually, the first time I bought a bottle of this Hudson Valley Fresh from Manor, I took it back to the cashier thinking there was something wrong with it. "Excuse me, but this gooey crust has formed over the top of my milk..... that can't be good...." In fact, the suspiciously"gooey crust" was CREAM, which had risen to the top of the milk, just like you read about in Laura Ingalls Wilder and Heavens to Betsy and Ann of Green Gables and all those wholesome books about old-fashioned girls skimming milk on the prairie. Factory-processed milk is homogenized so the cream doesn't separate. Many people worry about the health risks of this including increased cholesterol. What is wrong with our world? Milk starts behaving naturally and I freak out because I've never seen it before.

More about Hudson Valley Fresh. This not-for-profit dairy cooperative allows its cows to live for seven to eight years instead of pumping them full of hormones, overmilking them and slaughtering them at age four as many others do. And why is their milk so foamy? The secret ingredient is hay! Apparently, most farmers are too cheap to buy hay for their cows. But hay makes the milk foamy and delicious. And best of all, the cows live within twenty miles of the dairy-processing plant-- talk about local.

Their website says, "Hudson Valley Fresh milk proudly powers the bodies and brains of New York’s students," and then goes on to brag about how the milk is served at Bard. Are they trying to imply their milk makes people smarter? That might not be true, but their milk is probably healthier. No bovine growth hormone, no recombinant somatotropin.

So Chartwells is pioneering socially responsible catering, but what about the baking we do in Bard kitchens for our friends and fundraisers? Www.eatlocalfood.org provides a range of recipes made from all or mostly local ingredients. Or you can adjust your own favorite recipes to have a more local flavor, simply by looking at their list of substitutions. Need to bake a birthday cake? Consider using maple syrup or honey instead of sugar. Not only do the bee juice and the tree juice have more flavor, but you don't have to worry that the sugar in your cookie is supporting child labor in El Salvador. Bard students love throwing bake sales to support social causes-- wouldn't it be ironic if the savory sweetness in those brownies is actually the flavor of ecoystem destruction in Brazil?

If only the supermarket would label those canisters with a little sticker saying "good" or "evil," our lives would be so much simpler. But if we buy Andrew's Honey (harvested from hives in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens) we don't have to worry about it. According to a NY Times article, it is "a deep, smooth wildflower honey with distinctive caramel and fruit flavors. The rich amber color radiates from the jar." Email Andrew at beekeeper71@gmail.com, and he will satisfy all your honey needs. Although according to the article the poor dude is so busy trying to keep his business going, he only sleeps between midnight and four.

I know what you're thinking, and it's "I bet that honey costs a fortune." How can the third-generation overworked beekeeper who puts Winnie-the-Pooh quotes on his website compete with the big guys? I don't know his prices, but I do know one thing. When I bake cookies, I do it to make my friends happy. And I have the kind of friends whose day would be inexplicably brightened by eating honey with a hand-drawn cartoon of a crazed local beekeeper parting his teeth in a manic grin on the label. In other words, "There is less waste because there is more appreciation." And who knows? It might not cost more after all. I'm sure the excess packaging and transportation costs of the non-local food get passed on to the consumer.

As locavore week unfolds, the concept of local food will truly be put to the test. Will Bard students bite into their sandwiches with dreamy looks of ecstasy, exclaiming "How strangely healthy and delicious!" Or will the raftered roof of Kline Cafteria ring with the wails of those who mourn the loss of their favorite exotic items? Which will triumph, our sense of social responsibility or our inherent whininess? Cue dramatic music. O the suspense.

For those of you predisposed to be more on the whiny side, think about this. Pioneer child Laura Ingalls Wilder once lived for an entire winter on nothing but bread made from wheat she ground herself in her family's coffee mill. Trains delivering supplies were blocked by record snowfall, so they lived on their seed wheat. If you think you can't live without x-- y-- z-- item, look for the Laura Ingalls Wilder within. Rediscover the intrepid pioneer heritage which is the true meaning of America. (Cue national anthem. Waving stars and stripes. Grimaces of blog readers wondering why blog author is trying to pull this patriotic bullshit.)

Challenge: see if you can eat 350 local foods by the end of this year.